senior officer Mikael van Atta

Yup, a Hitchcock'esque "start with an earthquake".

And yes, @Snowyn, Angel's family are small-time crooks. Trust me, hardly the worst possible outcome, if you hail form L.A. Combat Zone...

• Regarding Mateo, does anything seem fishy to Angel at this stage, or it seems like it was indeed an accident? If it is suspicious, Mateo will be handled in due time (there's the rest of the family that needs Angel's attention right now). If it was an "honest accident", Angel can blame his once best friend till the end of days, but he can't honestly hold him responsible. 
• As for Marcia and Antonio - does the newspaper article mentions them as victims of the crash, or merely says there was such an accident there, and two people were killed? As in, does it seems like a trail to be followed, or does it seem like a (literal as well as figuraitve) dead end?
• Of course pay the Baskin Undercover detective agency's bill for doing their job.
• Yes, call Gloria right away. Now, my parents peddling Blue Glass is totally within the realm of possibility, but that doesn't mean they have to rot in prison right now. Need to contact their lawyer (assuming they have been given one! If not, get them one...) and pay the bail, if possible (meaning if legal shenanigans permit someone else than the accused to pay the bail. We had some odd regulations in bails and fines here in recent years, then again our legal system is very different). Consult with the lawyer what is their chance of walking out of this without getting convicted, or with a merely slap on their wrist (as said, peddling drugs wouldn't be above my parents! And likely they had their run-ins with Johnny Law many times before). Yes, yes, they claim they are innocent, and the drugs have been planted - same old story. "If you get caught red-handed, claim those arent your hands". Yes, I get it that I'm kissing quarter of a million eurobucks goodbye, so mom and pops, don't bolt right away please - or if you bolt, at least have a good plan this time (yeah, sure. If they ever had one, they wouldn't be where they are). If things look bad, we might need to arrange their escape, probably to Nevada (since peddling Blue Grass isn't illegal there, I guess?).
• As for Miguel, we need him moved to a facility with long-term care capability. Probably in Night City (IIRC, there was a hospital in South San Morro, where B&B Tech had their HQ, the one where Rue worked - would it do, from the medical point of view? The benefit would be Angel already knows it, and has whatever connections to it), given Gloria is here, and Rosa, Daniel & Ricardo in LA can't be contacted. Yes, this will come off Angel's funds. Yes, he'll cover Miguel's medical bills up-to-date too. BTW, need to check what the heck happened to him.
• Rosa, Daniel & Ricardo - I'll need to check on them. 
• Gloria, sis, I know you just got hit by a brick wall of news, but I have that thought that was bouncing inside my head recently and I need to offload it: wouldn't you like to open some kind of a legitimate business [OOC: what we talked about @Allen1]?

Seems a trip to L.A. is in order, Angel needs to talk to his parents - in person. Also, that checking on Rosa, Daniel & Ricardo. 

Nah, Rusty is way better with a GL than 8-Ball. I'll stick to these 3 HE.

OK, the priorities stand. First, the War Rig, and if - by the time I have the 2nd round loaded - it is obviously down-and-out (i.e. burning nicely, rolled to a side, or otherwise identifiable as neutralized), the second round goes for the 2&1/2-tonner.

If the first round wasn't enough to do the War Rig, it'll get second helpings. 

Both are going to be HEAT. The War Rig is obviously armored and the convoy's heaviest combat piece. The 2&1/2 is still SP20, so it should be able to withstand shrapnel from a HE. Plus, there won't be time to make decisions on ammo choice: the RPG round will take a moment to cover the distance to the War Rig, and 8-Ball will have to have his eyes on reloading the pipe (it is not as with the rifle, where he can relaoad it blindfolded, and it wouldn't make any difference). Plus, as said above, he might need to rinse, repeat on the War Rig.

The HE will be there for use on open-top (and side...) buggies, bikers and the like. Assuming we'll stop to fire it, because honestly I can't see the RPG-A being fired out of a speeding buggy with anything resembling effectiveness. Even the 40mms would be stretching it.

6 hours ago, Allen1 said:

[...] About 100 meters behind; the second part of the column:

• A Combat Big Rig (Tractor Trailer) with about 10 heavily armed men riding on top of the trailer
• A wasteland car with some sort of heavy weapon
• A pick-up truck with two heavily armed men in the back bed
• A 2 & 1/2 ton truck with a canvas cover on the back
• A wasteland car with some sort of heavy weapon
• A Nomad "Big Bus"
• A pick-up truck with two heavily armed men in the back bed
• A wasteland car with some sort of heavy weapon

     A Flanking force guarding the sides in close in formation (shifting)

• 2x Scorpion FAV
• 2x ATM Baja Blasters
• 7x motorcycles [...]

8-Ball considers these to be his priorites, unless Suzy tells him otherwise. Only the Big Bus is really an option there, and I wouldn't expect it to be anything else than a personnel transport, this the only thing buses are really good for. Sure we could disable it, but that isn't likely to really hinder the Raffen. Maybe delay them to offload the trops in it into other wehicles, but that'd be all.

1. The big rig has the chance of blocking the road if hit. Maybe even a pile-up, if we're really lucky (if there's 60-80m between convoy units, then I guess the vehicles inside an unit go closer together. Then again, they aren't going that fast to make a really impressive pile-up, I'm afraid). It is listed as Combat Big Rig, so I assume it has trailer outfitted with armor and firing ports - a sort of what they call a gun truck - rather than a cargo mover with added combat capability. It would be advantageous to hit the tractor rather than the trailer (better chance of doing harm, rather than just hitting an empty space / frying one or two unlucky Raffen who got into the way of a HEAT jet-stream), but we'll see what 8-Ball can do about it.
2. The deuce-and-a-half, I'm gambling, is carrying something important under that canvas cover, if they are keeping it under wraps. And if it is important, we should deprive them of it. 

Wasteland cars (frankenmoblies, I guess?), pickups, FAVs, Dust Devils, Baja Blasters and so on are small fry the anti-material rifles should make short work of. Definitely not worth one of our few RPG rounds.

Also, 8-Ball wants to have as many 40mm grenades for his underbarrel as practical / available (if that means a total of zero, tell me that...) fot the run away from the convoy part. Not necessarily on himself - a bandoleer or two can get fixed on the FAVs dashboard where his shotgun seat is. HEDP and some HE (HE are likely to be reasonably effective against lightly armored / partially open vehicles...). 

The intel from the drone lists all the visible Raffen as "heavily armed". Any specifics (not asking exact models, but general or less general classifications. I'd assume this means military-style automatic rifles and infantry support weapons - machineguns, grenade launchers and RPG-analogs...)?

Also, any info on their personal armors? Do they seem to be, generally, wearing:

• helmets
• obvious body armors (eg. MetalGear)? 

Are the vehicles chock-full of people, or more conservatively crewed (or maybe just skeleton crews on them)? It should be easy to determine in case of the open ones (FAVs, Baja Blasters, Devils, bikes etc)?

( I did some math, and ~130 people is the bare minimum - the guys we see, and just a driver for everything we can't see into. My realistic estimate is north of 250, that's assuming the 2&1/2 tonners and big rigs are just cargo transports, and buses carry ~20 people each, while small vehciles are more or less fully crewed. Pessimistic estimate is north of 560, but that assumes every vehicle we can't see into is chock-full of people - including trailers on the big rigs - and that every bike carries a passenger).

Well, I guess a couple tarps is something Kessie should be able to come up with without much trouble. Especially if we specifically ask for tarps that are worn down.

The old-style waterproofed canvas should be next best thing to a proper mil-spec camo tarp (color!) here, but but a vinyl or polyethylene one would do, if the color is at least mostly right.

On 19/04/2023 at 20:28, Allen1 said:

 We will proceed down Interstate 70 to the ruined interchange where old Gove County Road 18 used to cross the Interstate (this is just south of the old, now destroyed Western Plains Energy complex marked A on the map below).  There all three vehicles will exit the road and the Armadillo will hide behind the ruins of the bridge on the northeast side to be ready for Phase Two of the Defense.  I will lead the two remaining vehicles across the area to the north and drop a signal repeater for the drones along the way.  I want the Scorpion FAV to set up out of sight of the Interstate near the spot marked B.  Cossack should be driving as he will be the rabbit pulling Raffin Shiv into a kill zone.  The 7.62 mini-gun should be mounted on this vehicle with Jesse Wayne on the trigger.  I want 8-Ball as the third man in this vehicle with his assault rifle and the RPG-A.  We need to ask if some of the locals have area knowledge, good driving skills, and if this person would be willing to drive the AMT Baja Off-Road Blaster.  Zdravko and I will ride in that vehicle, and have the satellite uplink, the Bumblebee Rotor Craft and my Microtech Attack drone.  We will set up at the point marked C on the rise overlooking the lower areas to the south,  My custom M-90 can range that entire small valley.  There we will both set up sniper nests and the AMT Baja Blaster will hide over the rise we are on or under a cover, if we can find one in town. 

 

Forward Deployment for Phase 1 & 2 of the Defense of Grinnell, Kansas

Phase One:  The electronic interference is traveling west to east so it will clear us where the advance group is set up to the west before the town of Grinnell.  When this advance group is clear of the interference, I will contact Whyte Hat Headquarters in Wells for assistance.  8-Ball can request this, but that request will go through the chain of command and will need multiple approvals before it can be acted on.  I can simply order it to be done.  As 8-Ball suggested Cam should use some of the footage he will take this evening and put together a story and an appeal for help to authorities for assistance, which I will transmit to DMS and the Kansas state government.  The story should stress that we are all in the Town of Grinnell and there should be no mention of this sally force.  Zdravko will launch the Bumblebee Rotorcraft with its extensive surveillance set-up and begin to watch the Interstate 70 for the advancing Raffin Shiv.  As soon as the electronic interference clears Paulie will take over that role.  Hopefully, the signal repeater I dropped will allow that to happen sooner. 

 

When (and if) the Raffin Shiv are seen moving down the road,  Zdravko will put the Bumblebee in high altitude hover mode (if Paulie can't control it yet) and launch the Microtech Attack Drone.  When the main body of the enemy convoy appears (ignore any advance force sweeping ahead on the road) 8-Ball should should fire the RPG-A on one of the larger leading vehicles to slow or stop the column.  8-Ball needs to let himself be seen at this point in his Whyte Hat marked EMA-1 armor.  Cossack needs to pick him up quickly and drive back over the small hill there.  Zdravko will use this distraction to sweep in from the east with the Microtech Attack Done and target their light plane which the locals say they often haul with them.  The plane should be easy to spot and is a top priority target.  The Serb should then get that drone out of there and once it is 500 meters from the enemy activate its return program.  I have equipped it will a simple inertial navigation program so it will return to its cradle which will remain in Grinnell.  Once it arrives in Grinnell the 40mm Grenade Launchers need to be reloaded so it will be ready for Phase Two.

[ic]OK, do we set-up the RPG position where?

Should I try to camouflage there and wait for the potential screening force to drive past me, or will Cossack deliver me near the position once the screening force is past us? Honestly, if you can get me some tarp or the like for camo, I'd prefer the first option. There should be enough nooks and crannies among the rubble to hide among, and the screening force is not likely to see much anyway. Not a lone man, not from a moving vehicle.

I guess I'll be firing from less than 400 meters, if we want an assured hit [OOC: base roll off 16/17 with Boostmaster active, RPG accuracy -2, very large target, i.e something truck-sized +4, moving target - I don't expect the convoy to move faster than 60km/h in my direction*, so -1 - total of 18+roll. Short range to ~187m / diff 15, medium to 375m /diff 20, long to 750m / diff 25], assuming I get a little time to aim the thing properly [aiming, 3 rounds, for a total of +3. I guess we can't count for the +5 Surprise Shot modifier - first of all, a RPG round in flight isn't that fast, so given the distance, they will see it incoming. Maybe not enough for a vehicle dodge, but still enough to keep it from being shooting fish in a barrel...], which should be doable. I can stretch the initial shot to beyond these ~400 meters, but it won't be as assured.

Also, Cossack, how fast you'll be there to pick me up? I'm guessing it will be longer than a New York second, so I should have time to reload and send away another RPG shot. Not as sure as the first one, but still worth a try, I think. Plus, use it or lose it - I won't be able to operate the RPG once in the FAV.

I guess I can waltz out of my original positon at this moment, and let them see me as I reload.

You good with that, Suzy?

Ah, and you guys get yourself a tarp to camouflage the Baja Blaster. Something in the surrounding colors will be perfect, but anything not too bright and adequately weathered will do, especially if you add a few shovels' worth of sand and random junk. It'll look just like another small heap of stuff in the desert...

* 60km/h is a decent marching speed for a convoy. This will still make the tail of the column go at 100kmh to keep up, as every change of speed and every maneuver cascades down the column. I guess good training and discipline (if a bunch of Raffen can lay claim for that) may allow them to go a bit faster, but even the Guidelines for military convoys suggest that best control is available, when vehicles are moving at up to 40km/h and in closed order. 

60km/h is about 16,7m/s. 

Of course, until we get air recon data, we won't have exact data on what are the Raffen doing, how fast are they driving, and what type of convoy order are they maintaining. But the above seen to be a good limits for the broad esitmate.

Okay, let's try sorting this out.

On 19/04/2023 at 19:53, Snowyn said:

When 8-Ball suggests he stay in town to "run the battle", she asks when was the last time that a plan survived first contact with the enemy and why would our highest skill solo be best placed away from the combat? Unless perhaps he is again planning to retreat inside a bathroom in the heat of battle -- oh wait, did he need to reload? Or maybe he just needed to pee?

[IC] 8-Ball gives J.J. a small, sad smile. "- We'll have to have a word, you and me, if we're still alive this time tomorrow. If we're not, it's pointless anyway. So do me a fuckin' favor and don't get yourself killed." - you might have noticed 8-Ball rarely uses foul language. Surprisingly rarely for someone with a gang past. " -Now stick to the matter at hand, or keep silent."

On 19/04/2023 at 20:28, Allen1 said:

  I want the Scorpion FAV to set up out of sight of the Interstate near the spot marked B.  Cossack should be driving as he will be the rabbit pulling Raffin Shiv into a kill zone.  The 7.62 mini-gun should be mounted on this vehicle with Jesse Wayne on the trigger.  I want 8-Ball as the third man in this vehicle with his assault rifle and the RPG-A.  

When the main body of the enemy convoy appears (ignore any advance force sweeping ahead on the road) 8-Ball should should fire the RPG-A on one of the larger leading vehicles to slow or stop the column.  8-Ball needs to let himself be seen at this point in his Whyte Hat marked EMA-1 armor.  Cossack needs to pick him up quickly and drive back over the small hill there. 

 

In regard to one of 8-Ball's previous suggestions, yes, we should equip the best trained locals with weapons and armor.  If we find a local to drive the AMT Baja Blaster, I will give him the National Guard armor I got in Pensacola.  That leaves four other National Guard sets.  I will point out that Rusty is deserving of one of these.                                   

 

[IC] The FAV has decent field-of-fire from the upper rack (he mean's the gunner's ring in the top/back) only. Shotgun seat works for front only with a heavy weapon. I get that you don't want me to fire the RPG from the vehicle at, basically, any time - if Jesse has to do anything there when they're chasing us, he'll need the upper rack, and the "pipe" (he means the RPG) will be useless in the shotgun seat (due to backblast - and the sheer size of it. Even if it is a counterweight model, having all that counterweight waste blasting into the vehicle ain't gonna be fun).

2 hours ago, Snowyn said:

Wyn speaking again.

I think we also have a meta-game question here. Namely: What is the best use of 8-Ball's talents and skills?

If I am reading Mikael's words correctly, he is saying (more or less) that 8-Ball is now in a position of command -- ie, higher rank in the sense of looking at the overall situation and giving orders. Eg, he's a colonel rather than a butter-bar lieutenant or plain grunt. And therefore, his best use is staying back, assessing the situation, and giving orders as that situation changes.

Wyn agrees that was appropriate and useful in Wells -- but this isn't Wells. We don't have lots of people doing a variety of stuff. I believe we now need every gun we've got to be out there shooting. (And this belief may have bled into JJ's thoughts about 8-Ball's proposed role here in Grinnell. As I said, I'm bad at compartmentalizing.)

Yes, Mikael, please continue doing planning as 8-Ball. But when it comes to this battle, please bring 8-Ball's A-game as a solo.

Also, since plans often don't survive first contact with the enemy, Wyn thinks that players need to improvise in the moment -- keeping in mind the overall objective, especially as the original plan intended to accomplish that. Eg, designated teams/duos need to stay together, go to designated locations (unless that suddenly is unwise), and so on.

In other words, I am suggesting that 8-Ball can trust the players to do smart things (usually) once the combat commences, and doesn't need to supervise everyone's actions. Of course, if there is some action he thinks someone or everyone should take, he definitely should speak up.

Yes, that's the crux of the problem.

Let's leave 8-Ball's supposed rank aside (to quote one of my favourite books, "a centurion without a century is a centurion in name only", but last time I checked, he was a Whyte Hats Major. Which makes him formally a senior officer in any military rank structure I'm aware of). If he is in the field, blasting away with his rifle, he's limited to 3-second rounds for trying to direct the flow of a fight, or reacting to the changing situation. Plus he's distracted. Not really a chance to apply his Tactics skill - and he's really a professional in that area. 

I've seen this in real life, and I've been shown why this is a problem. Even on a squad level (and definitely on a platoon level).

3 hours ago, Snowyn said:

This is Wyn speaking.

First, it is quite possible that out-of-game knowledge bled over into JJ's response. I (me: Wyn) am not good at compartmentalizing. To the degree that this may have -- and probably did -- contribute to the situation, I apologize. I do try to be careful about out-of-game knowledge, but my brain doesn't work well in that regard, and that's not something I can really change.

Second, most of JJ's reaction is based on the fight at the hotel in Tallahassee. From her point of view:

a) 8-Ball shot through the door [in the surprise round], rather than open it and fire. This reduced the amount of damage he did to the opponents. JJ thinks he probably stayed behind the door in order to limit his exposure to opponent return fire (ie, gain cover). That can be a smart move. However, result was that it reduced his effectiveness in the fight.

b) [Wyn believes his next action was in the next round, but could have been the following one. There were only 3 rounds altogether.] 8-Ball then went into the bathroom. [He did not declare a purpose in doing so -- nor did he say he was reloading.] JJ thinks that if he merely wanted cover for reloading, all he needed to do was to move back around the corner. She also thinks that the only plausible reason for going farther into the bathroom was cowardice.

c) JJ believes that his retreat into the bathroom left the rest of the party more vulnerable to attack, essentially abandoning them in the middle of the fight. She finds this somewhat unforgivable, especially coming from someone who is not just a solo, but our most highly skilled solo. She expected more from him.

d) As a result, JJ thinks 8-Ball is a coward, and has also lost all respect for him. Going forward, she would view any commands from him as suggestions that she would follow only if she thinks they make sense.

Third, JJ does have an open mind on the subject, and can be convinced that 8-Ball is not a coward if he displays bravery in the future. Wyn knows full well that 8-Ball has been quite brave in the past. But JJ has not seen a lot of that. Mostly what she has seen is caution.

Fourth, yes, you were right that the part about maybe needing to pee was an insult. OTOH, shouting match = no. She wouldn't bother.

Fifth, just to explain a bit more about my character concept for JJ. She is fearless, easily bored, and a bit of an adrenaline junkie (aka a cure for boredom), so her standards for bravery are perhaps a bit higher than your average Joe. She also, as I have said, has zero tact.

Sixth, I too hope for a solution that does not blow up the game. Mikael's input via 8-Ball has been uniquely valuable for coming up with combat plans. Yes, they often need tweaking and/or critiquing, but they have formed the basis for most of our combats and, on the whole, successful combats. 8-Ball is also an essential member of the Team.

Seventh, if JJ is wrong about why 8-Ball behaved as he did in the Tallahassee fight, Wyn welcomes finding out about that.

OOC: I might have played it more effectively, but that's from a hindsight.

• Yes, I have underestimated the effect of the doors on bullets. I have expected the hotel room doors to be less... sturdy. Then again, we have never done shoting through the door with small arms (ACPA-carried 14,5m doesn't qualify as small arms).
• I might have played my Initiative better, by Holding a bit longer. Suzy does that on a regular basis. Let the oponents waste their reactionary shots on someone else. I'm not sure it would have been better, though.
• Yes, shooting through the door was done to avoid provoking a reactionary fire from all the opposition (or rather, 5 of them, the last one had his line-of-fire blocked). Opening the doors - given how Allen runs his game - would likely get 8-Ball blasted with all they had in reaction, at 1-2m distance. I've considered such a move to be suicidal. 
• 8-Ball's fire was still enough to kill one opponent, and wound the other. 
• He then moved away from the door, as I expected the opponents to either reciprocate the favor (fire through the door at point-blank range), or rush the door to a. get rid of the person inside (8-Ball) and b. gain cover from the rest of the team. His position in the bathroom allowed him to still keep an eye on the door (and he declared Hold Action there to be able to pump a round of autofire into anyone rushing in), and it was closer than getting the same effect from the corner (plus - in my own CQB experience - an opponent would more likely expect 8-Ball at the corner than way closer, crouching in the bathroom: there would be a chance to remain unnoticed due to being too low and too close, improving 8-Ball's chance to shoot first).

A part of the problem was we had two staircases to supervise, and if the bountyhunters took the other one, it would be Cossack and Jesse James having the same kind of a number of bad choices available to them. 

I have partially expected for the other enemy team to show up on the scene, once they realized we were not where they expected us. 

Still, 4 out of 6 opponents went down to Team's fire in the initial barrage, and if memory serves me, Rue riddled the 5th in round #2 with what she had left in mag, effectively sending the enemy into retreat.

6 hours ago, Allen1 said:

OK, children, can we stop the squabbling and get back to the plan?  

No, we can't.

I'm still trying to find an outcome that won't blow the game up. I hope such a solution does exist. 

I'm not seeing one yet. 

And yes, we can.

Except I'm frustrated by the way plans come together. Also, I can't see anything I could add to the plan at this moment.

So, you're taking something that was mentioned off-camera in a planning session as explicitely requiring GM's opinion, and ignoring the explaination given for it in the very same paragraph, then turning it into an in-game reason for your character to jump mine.

Because J.J. has zero tact. 

OK, that's an interesting school of roleplaying. You are entitled to your take on what goes and what goes not in a player group, of course.

But I am just as entitled to not have to deal with it. 

OOC: @Snowynthat's why I'm asking the GM. It is a problem of command, control and coordination. IRL, it is very difficult to coordinate an unit if the commander is in the fight itself. I've seen it on as low as a squad level: a squad commander has more effect on the result of a fight when he's coordinating his fireteams, and coordinating with his platoon commander, than putting his attention into pulling the trigger. 

This is exactly why 8-Ball was fighting a lot of the Wells-era larger battles, armed with a radio, rather than with his rifle. 

I take your words as an attempt to insult, and to initiate a shouting match between J.J. Hunter and 8-Ball. I do not appreciate it. 

IC: 8-Ball had enough on his shoulders lately, and J.J's comment doesn't help. He'll bear with it. But it is another pebble he bears with. One day you may see an avalanche.

At the moment I'm waiting for J.J. Hunter and Zdravko to express their opinions / form a plan. 8-Ball might be the one technically most competent to run a battle, but that doesn't mean someone else can't have a better idea (plus, he's kinda professional. And professionals are predictable - however, the world is full of dangerous amateurs).

Once we have that, we might try setting up crews for vehicles: there's the FAV and Armadillo, there's the Baja Blaster Offroad, if memory serves me, there is a pickup or two with the townsfolk, there's the big rig's tractor if we can find a job for it (we might use the bus for a gate filler instead). Cossack's idea of deploying in advance sounds good, but we'd need to give it more details.

Then there's the people - the team, the tour crew, the band, the townsfolk - question being how many of these people are willing to go into a skirmish line, and are qualified as drivers or gunners. We don't plan on deploying mobile infantry, so there's no point in adding extra people on the vehicles. 

Exceptions to the Team:

• Rue - I'd prefer to have her back in town, so our best medic isn't going to eat lead somewhere in the skirmish! Plus, leave her the MANPADS, she's qualified with that. Should the enemy air support show up, she'll give them a hot welcome)
• Paulie - he's our eyes-in-the-sky (via the Bumblebee).
• Realistically, 8-Ball shouldn't be up front either, if he is to pay attention to the overall situation and run the battle. Unless @Allen1says it is okay for him to be in the skirmish line and command the whole shebang.
• I believe Zdravko will be more useful somewhere on the wall with his Light Fifty. That'll give us some cover on the retreat. Yes, we need to find him a sniper's nest, preferably something where he can camouflage well (so his muzzle flash and the sizeable dust cloud that thing kicks up won't be noticed). Even better, more than one, if there are such options.

People who don't go on the skirmish line but are sensible combatants stay on the wall. People who are willing to fight, but aren't sensible combatants (due to shortage of weapons / lack of skill) man the observation points on non-western walls as lookouts: we don't want the Raffen to pull a dirty trick on us just because we had no-one looking into the right direction. They are to fall back to the city hall once phase #2 begins. 

Also, since most of the team are going into the battle in their EMA-1 Softshells, 8-Ball will suggest lending our armored clothing to folks short on body armor. Same with nylon helmets we brought. This stuff can mean a life-or-death difference for someone.

Well, answers will be coming in pieces from me.

And, with all due respect, I don't feel like we have all the answers. But we gotta work with what you've given us.

• No, 8-Ball is not willing to conduct a forced interrogation, i.e. de facto torture the Raffen for info. Should it be his last stand, he wants to face his fate with a clear conscience. If Marshall Hunter wants to dispense some frontier justice to the captured Raffen Shiv, it is her prerogative as a Marshall. If not, these men will remain bound and under guard by townsfolk (not gonna suggest the towns fathers should hold a speedy trial and dispose of the Raffen, but he's not going to lament if that happens).
• I'm surprised the townspeople can't tell us more about the Raffen strength: they know the group has mortars and an airplane, but they don't know what kind of vehicles do the Raffen drive? At least the presence of weapons mounts on the captured vehicles implies they do have some of these.
• We have no way of knowing how many Raffen are going to turn up, and how much do they know about us. Therefore assuming the worst case scenario: well over a hundred of them. 
• OK, they'll be coming from the west. 

Suggestion - how about setting up a three-phased defense:

1. Skirmish line. Use whatever Cossack chooses to drive and the Armadillo (due to it's turret auto-GL) to sally out in the initial phase of the battle. Perhaps one or two more cars, if we have the people to crew them reasonably. Try causing as much damage as possible. Delay the Raffen as much as we can. 
2. Man the city walls (initially, with whoever doesn't go into the skirmish line). Again, put as much attrition on the Raffen as possible as they close in. Defend the walls as long as it is feasible.
3. Then, fall back and fight house-to-house. A delaying action / fighting retreat. We don't have time to prepare the town for that kind of fight, so we'll have to make do with what is there.
4. Everyone retreats to the city hall. Make the last stand there. I'd prefer to hole up all the non-combatants there, if there is anything that could act as a saferoom. Somewhere where the Raffen won't be able to easily get to, even if they break into the city hall itself. 

...with one exception. Once phase #1 is over, and the vehicles retreat into the town via the western gate (well, what was left of the vehicles, at least. And their crews, too. One good reason for having multiple vehicles is to be able to evacuate crews from any vehicle that gets disabled), Cossack and whoever he can get to act as his gunner get to the eastern gate, grab a vehicle that'll be waiting for them there (my suggestion would be - save the T-Bird for that role) and sally out again, thorugh the western gate, to wheel around the battlefield and try getting those mortars (job for Paulie: fly the drone and provide us as much recon as possible) before they get us, plus generally sow chaos and destruction*.

Role for the big rig: preposition it in the alley leading to the western gate, and - once the skirmish line is back - use it to plug the gate. I have a feeling it will be a way more effective roadblock than whatever scrap metal they have for a gate. Force the Raffen to enter the town via the gate - but not be able to ride in (and the more difficult will they have entering, the better are our chances of grinding them down.

I don't have any role for the bus. Unless someone wants to run away in it - and hope the Raffen will miss the bus leaving. Or that they'll ignore it. Or that they'll detach a pursuit party, reducing their main force for the time necessary to catch the bus, stop it, and kill whoever is inside. 

The problem I foresee is timing. Fighting retreat is considered one of the more difficult maneuvers to pull, one that requires good coordination and well-disciplined troops. Something we definitely don't have there.

Regarding Cam Newfield - 8-Ball will suggest him to do all the recordings and interviews he considers absolutely necessary during the night. Send them out via our satlink as soon as the weather allows. If things go sideways, there will be no-one to talk to for an after-action material. Even if things go well, we have to realistically expect some folks on our side won't be seeing the next sunset, so he won't be able to tlak to them then - and, Cam, that's assuming you'll be alive yourself. Which is not a given. Those fuckers don't give two tugs of a dead dog's cock about the freedom of press and such.

* as the slogan went, God made tanks to spread chaos and destruction. We - sadly - don't have tanks. But we have Cossack. Let him do his job.

Thoughts?

OK, @Allen1 I'd need to roll me a couple Tactics rolls for 8-Ball, and tell me some stuff (I'm making na assumption here that Tactics skill will allow 8-Ball to anticipate probable enemy's actions. Note that I'm not asking for the value results of the rolls, just the information they bring. Perhaps with how sure 8-Ball is on that).

1. Given what we know on enemy composition and equipment, I'd expect a motorized infantry assault. Exact direction can't be determined, as they could have had their main force in any direction (unless the residents can give us more details). Come in close with their transports, and unload their infantry to enter the town: bringing the vehicles, apart from maybe the bikes, into the town is not practical.
2. Have the mortars and aircraft deployed and ready to provide support. They won't be starting a suppression barrage right off the bat because they won't be willing to just destroy the town, and also I expect their ammuntion supply for these heavy weapons is limited. 
3. The walls of the city aren't going to provide us with any sensible cover. Adobe and scrap metal won't stop rifle bullets, at least not for long. Therefore setting up a static defense within town walls is not really an option.
4. The terrain around is mostly flat, with not really a place to hide. Its ability to bear vehicles without bogging them down is not yet determined.
5. This seems to be steering us towards mobile warfare. A running battle of cars versus cars, thus robbing the opposition of their mortar assets (simply don't let them set up), but also stopping us from staging an ambush, or using concealed snipers.

Note: given the expected enemy numerical superiority, Sun Tze suggests a withdrawal. The problem is we can't outrun the Raffen, the sandstorm doesn't allow us a headstart (and, well, that's metagmaing, but I'm sure we'd run straight into them regardless of which direction we'd head). We also don't seem to have the transport capacity to take the townsfolk with us, do we? And leaving them to dry just ain't our style. 

Apart from numbers (120 to 200), what do we know about these Raffen?

• vehicle-wise, are there any armored vehicles / big vehicles, or just light stuff like buggies and pickups?
• weapon-wise, apart from the mortars, what do they have been observed to have? Is the small arms collection we catured a good sample? What about heavy weapons / vehicle-mounted weapons (again, the vehicles captured should be a good indication...)?

On our side, how well-armored is the big rig's tractor (I see no point in lugging the trailer behind it in combat, but we can detach it and leave it in town) and is the ground around adequate for its use (whether due to the ground being flat and firm, or the tractor being off-road-capable: that's a yes / no question)? Does it have a weapons mount or at least a top hatch?

How is the terrain? from what I get from Google Maps, it is mostly flat, with very low changes in terrain. Nothing looks like it could provide a concealment (and I guess any movement is going to raise a hell of a lot of dust) for miles.

Well, that makes Suzy the designated artillery operator. Paulie on support, feeding her spotting data via the Bumblebee drone. They have a few hours till the weather settles to get their stuff together. 

Leaving Cossack and Jesse for a potential mobile force, sallying out of town - provided the terrain allows for that. 

...I'll get to chewing through the data over the next few days (and defintiely checking the Kansas entry in HotB, as you've suggested! Because I think it is no longer the Kansas we know, Toto...) - now, it is 10 PM and I need to get up for work tomorrow

On 12/04/2023 at 18:08, Allen1 said:

2) Arasaka announces a joint venture with B&B Technologies to build a high tech police security (surveillance) system for the capital city of the Sultanate of Riau located between Malaysia and Indonesia.  

I assume it is more or less the Riau-Lingga Sultanate re-emerging as an (more or less) independent state somewhere in the 21st century?

Man, it has to be a pit of snakes... 🤪

I'm leaning more to the latter, though the idea of sallying out with a vehicle also crossed my mind. I'm just not sure the Armadillo is the best choice for it (and well, it is our major firepower, with the GL...).

Plus, AFAIK Cossack and Jesse are the only people who know how to operate the auto-GL?

Okay, so the hell is coming for breakfast. Or rather, the (desert) devils are coming, and we intend to give them hell for breakfast. 

• I need maps (starting with...where are we, exactly? Can I find that place on Google Maps?).
• And I need info on available assets. Including who of the locals hasa longgun and a knowledge on how to use it (and is willing to participate). 
• And the enemy. Expected numbers, equipment, vectors of approach, time when we expect them to show up.
• Somebody try set up a satellite uplink and call Whyte Hats HQ in Wells. If (and that's a big if, given the weather conditions) we can reach them, tell them the situation, and ask them to try and get us some support. Yes, I'm aware Wells is 1500km and three states away, there isn't much time, the weather is shit, and even if the HQ hears us, probably the best they'll be able to really do is keep their fingers crossed for us. Still worth a try.

Yup. Point being, we don't expect to be facing Alabama "justice" system, so I expect invoking the Fifth Amendment until my lawyer is present could fly in Florida.

8-Ball will make a mental note on which liberty to invoke (to remain silent) should there be a need. 

16 hours ago, Allen1 said:

However, Celestine was asked if she agreed with one New York City critic who said, the Cyber Revolutionaries will be bigger than Elvis.  She answers, “Elvis Costello?”  When corrected that he meant Elvis Pressley , she replies, “Oh, right, him.  Well, he was wayyy before my time”. 

Other than that, the interview goes very well.

[...]

 An Elvis poser’s voice, amplified by his audio vox thunders out a cry, “Drive out these blasphemers who have insulted the memory of our God King, Elvis!  Leave these premises immediately!”

Ah. I guess that's what it was about.

Not really a reason to get their knickers in a twist so bad, but on the other hand, I guess 8-Ball - given his not inconsiderable expertise related to gangs - would know it could be enough to have them worked all up. Posergang / cultist hybrid they are, they probably do tick that way...

Good to see these back

While the explicit, detailed reports are extra fun to read, I know (from my own experience) how much time and effort do they consume to write. Not really a  sustainable thing...

13 hours ago, Companero said:

EASTERN STANDARD TRIBE by Cory Doctorow

There's a type of cyberpunk novel, often written after the 80s, which is so up-to-the-minute in its technological speculation, it seems obsolete and dated within a year of being written. Pat Cadigan's Piotr Konstantin novels fall into this category, but the true avatar of them all is Eastern Standard Tribe.

When I read this around 2012, my main thought was "wow, this novel published in 2004 really captured the experience of living in 2008." It's about the experience of living in international subcultures enabled by the internet - i.e. the experience I had waking up at weird hours to have conversations with Malek77 or Interrupt or Chalkline or Encanta or Van Atta back during the busy years of this forum...

I miss that version of the internet a lot. 

Reading this novel after the internet had moved on into the social media era made it feel a bit nothing-y. Speculation about a period already been and gone had little interest and the plot lacked stakes at the time. I don't want every novel to be serious, and I like that it's about work and labour organisation, but it wasn't anything more than just fun. Fun is good, great even, but there wasn't anything to remember a decade later.

Ah, Those were the days (and yes, I miss them too. But the time has moved on, for better or worse...).

But yeah, that's one of the problem with near-horizon SF. Doctrow has a lot of that vibe...

EMA-1 has one more (situational) advantage: people see you, they know you mean business. Power-assisted MetalGear doesn't need lenghty explaination.

Of course, we usually wear these when we know we're going into a fight, but should we need to stand guard and look intimidating, EMA-1 beats SpyTex camo uniform hands down.

Okay, regarding Tallahassee gig: we're going to look out for trouble. I guess we have to assume that Alabama cops won't try pulling a full-scale raid in Florida's capital city, so that's not what we're focusing out attention against. But they are still capable of pulling some dirty trick - sabotage, covert action, and the like. 

So keep our eyes open, and not leave the vehicles / gear unattended.

Kudos points to Zdravko, then.

And we'll have to look into getting some Spy-Tex ourselves at some point, eh, Cossack?

Good idea.

Though I'm afraid getting it anytime soon is going to be a problem.