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Team Members

     Background checks began late 1982, contact by the Project recruiters would have been in April of 1983, and actual induction (after the background checks) was roughly May of 1983. Thus it's very likely the team members were born between 1954 and 1961 (especially if they just received a bachelor's degree). Covering up for the new member's absence, or arranging for a fake death, took a month or so. Training began right after the 4th of July, 1983 (in cohort 17), and ended in March of 1984. The team was frozen and placed in their cryo-berths on April 27, 1984.

     Their vehicle is the assault version of the SK-5.

Standing Orders

     You expect to be awakened a very few years after the War.  

     The goal of the Project is the continued survival of human civilization after the War. The standing orders for every team are to:

• assist the population in recovering in any way you can

• reunite with the rest of the Morrow Project

• survive!

     If they don't get any immediate specific instructions otherwise, Recon teams are expected to observe, record, evaluate and report on conditions in their assigned area -- locations of nuclear attacks, and the resulting damage, the environment (especially fallout and radioactive contamination), remaining population, power generation and industry, transportation, communications, government, civil rights and public safety, etc.

     The team members know that hidden somewhere in California south of the Tehachapi Mountains there are:

• three other Recon teams (R-46, R-48, and R-49), with various V150 armored cars and XR311 "off road scout cars"
  

• two MARS teams (M-40 and M-42), more heavily armed than the Recon teams
  

• a well-stocked Maritime Base with a landing ship (400+ people) and lots of other vehicles
  

• an 8-person Engineering team (E-4) with an Overland Train in a depot

• a 7-person Science team in a V150S armored personnel carrier (S-41). 

     To support these teams, there are at least a dozen caches in Southern California.

     The Maritime base commander is the "top boss" of all these teams, with the Engineering team leader as second-in-command. Project operations north of the Tehachapi Mountains exist, but you don't know any more than that. It's also possible that there are other specialist teams in southern California known only to high-clearance Project members.

     All the team members know that the Project has large amounts of "reconstruction supplies" stashed in various places.

     The Team R-40 team leader has additional information and instructions, and is authorized and encouraged to share it with the rest of the team immediately after wake-up:

     The referee would like to remind the players of the movies "The Spy Who Loved Me" (1977) or "Moonraker" (1979)  -- both involved plans to decimate humanity, or wait out through some predicted catastrophe, and return to take control of the world. Computers taking over control of the nuclear arsenal are seen in War Games (1983), and Colossus - The Forbin Project (1970).

The characters missed seeing The Terminator, which premiered on October 26, 1984.

Facilities

     For security purposes, you only know the location of your own bolthole and of your team's six supply caches. Keep in mind that the Project might have to change your team's location, vehicles, equipment, cache contents, or even membership after you've entered cryosleep. 

     Their bolthole was in the Mojave Desert, 6 kilometers south of Clark Mountain, on the site of a lead-copper-zinc-silver mine closed since 1952. The underground passages of the mine total about 800 meters in length, and connect the north and south slopes of the Mohawk Hills; the "back door" from the bolthole leads out through old mine tunnels. The exit on the south slope of the Mohawk Hills has what appears to be a rusty old sheet-metal door, spray-painted "Keep Out - Danger", along with a faded plastic orange-and-black sign reading:

DANGER UNSAFE MINE

STAY OUT STAY ALIVE   Some of the dangers around abandoned mines include: LOOSE ROCK    BAD AIR    FALLING CAVE-INS    RATTLESNAKES OLD EXPLOSIVES    ROTTEN TIMBER.   California Divisioin of Mines & Geology 1416 Ninth Street, Room 1341 Sacramento, CA  95814

this is just a sort of mock-up of the sign, not quite the actual sign

     The door is actually a 4 centimeter thick slab of stainless steel; it can be opened manually from the inside, but requires the insertion of a MPID card in a non-obvious slot (not close to the door) to unlock it from the outside.

     One of the old north-facing adits was enlarged to allow the bolthole to be built about 20 meters inside. Several of the vertical shafts within the mine were filled with rubble created when the bolt-hole was constructed.

A map of the vicinity of the R40 bolthole; the circled red X marks the bolthole.

    A similar CDMG sign, along with cyclone fencing, and plywood doors, are in front of the gravel "cave in" outside of the actual bolthole doors.

     The location is 35° 28' 42'' north latitude, 115° 37' 3'' west longitude, in the Mohawk Hills; it's 433 meters above sea level. A dirt road leads from the "back door" mine area to Interstate 15, about 1.5 kilometers to the south (the "back door" used to be the main entrance to the working mine). A small stream, the Mescal Ditch, leads from the hills down past the Interstate highway -- this stream is dry almost year-round.

A cross-section of the terrain at the R40 bolthole; north is to the right.

Vertical scale is exaggerated about ten times.

     The front hatch hinges at the top; the first time it's opened a pair of powerful gas generator pistons can push the ~100 tons of dirt out of the way (it's mostly gravel, actually). There is an electric motor which can open and close the hatch afterwards. A vertical escape trunk, and a passage leading to the "back door", allow the team to leave the bolthole without opening the main hatch.

     The interior is 14.2 meters wide, 17.5 meters long, and 5 meters tall (and thus over 1200 cubic meters of air volume). The main door is 8.5 meter wide, 4.9 meters tall, and 10 cm thick (armor value 42); it is steel, and weighs 32 tons. Examining it on-site, it was clearly welded together from three separate panels.

     The team's supply caches were:

• CA34:  contains ammunition and repair supplies for SK-5 team; located in Kern county, at 35°20'01.1"N 118°43'56.0"W

• CA38:  "typical" cache, near Panamint Springs, in Inyo county
  

• AZ6:  "typical" cache; located near Valentine 
  

• AZ9:  "typical" cache; located near Interstate 10 at the southern end of the Harquahala Mountains

• MN2: contains ammunition and repair supplies for SK-5 team 
  

• AL2: contains ammunition and repair supplies for SK-5 team
  

Radio Frequencies

     The team is assigned ten FM voice communication frequencies:

• channel 1:  48.1 MHz - Zone 4 common tactical channel
  

• channel 2:  44.5 MHz - team primary channel
  

• channel 3:  41.9 MHz
  

• channel 4:  40.5 MHz

• channel 5:  38.1 MHz

• channel 6:  33.0 MHz - also MARS general
  

• channel 7:  36.4 MHz
  

• channel 8:  34.2 MHz

• channel 9:  32.7 MHz

• channel 10:  32.5 MHz

A couple of other important FM channels:

• 34.0 MHz - Recon common channel
  

• 31.0 MHz - Science common channel
  

     Note that changing these frequencies on their PRC-68 radios will require a successful Electronics skill roll if your skill is less than 40%; a failed roll (especially a fumbled roll) will result in channels not being usable. The PRC-70 vehicle/backpack radio is much more flexible; the HF band covers a lot of aircraft and marine channels, though it requires a long antenna to be really useful. 

     HF channels to watch:

• 2.182 MHz:  international distress and emergency

• 7.0 to 7.3 MHz:  the "long range" channels for the Project (one for each Zone, plus a couple of general purpose channels) ... Zone 4 uses 7.185 MHz.
  

• 14.06 MHz:  a common amateur radio channel

• 26.617 MHz:  Civil Air Patrol common channel
  

• 26.96 to 27.41 MHz:  CB radios on 40 channels. CB channel 11 (general calls) is 27.085 MHz; channel 9 (emergencies) is 27.065 MHz
  

• 27.87, 27.92, 27.97 MHz:  US Navy-MARS (Military Affiliate Radio System)
  

Immediate Instructions

The equipment preparation checklist for Team R-40 is as follows. At minimum expect to take 3 hours to prepare to move out:

• inspect Auto-Nav and computer in vehicle; both should already be on and will have received data from the bolthole monitor

• any changes to team location, equipment, personnel, etc. will be described on a sheet of paper on the driver's seat, or (if confidential) on the computer

• remove and install the single camera battery and radio battery from the recharger into the radiation survey meter and one of the team's M1 CBR kits; spare (discharged) batteries should be placed in the recharger every 15 minutes until all the team's batteries are charged

• log into the computer to view any high-priority messages or information

• vehicle preparation (2 hours)

• grounding cable  remove/stow
  

• windshield wipers and wiper fluid     examine/fill

• anchor and line     secure

• radio antennas     secure

• navigation light     examine

• electrical access hatch     secure

• motor and transmission cowlings     secure/examine

• drain and vent pipes     examine

• intake filter on lift fan     examine/secure

• lift fan structure    examine

• nacelle support structure     examine

• propeller lashings     remove

• propeller hub     examine

• beacon and light     examine

• propeller blade leading edge     examine

• accessories access hatch     secure

• search light     examine

• pitot tube cover     remove

• windshields and turret canopy     examine

• Martin 250 turret     examine/test sight

• Martin 250 magazines     test boosters/fill

• turret guns      examine/safe

• waist guns ammunition boxes     fill

• waist guns     examine/safe

• peripheral skirts     examine

• piano hinge attachments and pins     examine/secure

• puffports     examine

• pannier and stowage covers     secure

• rudder     examine

• rudder connecting rod     examine

• rudder support struts     examine

• elevators     examine

• back skirts and keel skirts     examine

• ramp hinge attachments and pins     examine/secure

• fire extinguishers     secure

• life jackets     stowed

• immersion suits     stowed or worn
  

• first aid kit     stowed

• miscellaneous equipment     stowed

• FOD check (esp. items on deck or cabin roof)     examine

• tie down lines     remove/stow 

• rudder bar     unlocked

• check bolthole monitor and radio for status - they should have self-destructed after initiating team wakeup

• load the vehicle with team and personal equipment. 30 minutes 

• insert batteries into radios and other electronic equipment
  

• test vehicle and personal radios for power and function. Before the main door is open, it is not likely that they can be detected outside the bolthole

• remember to move your personal effects boxes into the vehicle

• when the vehicle is ready to move and team members are fully equipped, raise the periscope and inspect the vicinity

• after visual inspection, team members should don SCALP suits or AUIB protective clothing before opening the door. 10 minutes

• with the driver in the vehicle, engage the hydraulic rams to open the main door. Note that the rams are chemically-powered; there are electrical motors to use for operating the doors later.
  

• if the main door will not or should not be opened, the emergency exits may be used. The vertical escape trunk has an operating bar with two shackles; one person should be able to pull the bar to empty the shaft, but ropes or winch cable can be attached to the shackles if required. The "back door" escape passage leads through 300 meters of improved mine passages -- bring flashlights.
  

• once the main door or the emergency exits are open, team members should closely observe environmental conditions, and the gauges on their M1 CBR Kits

• secure or take outside any loose items in the bolthole -- the hovercraft will blow the folding table, packaging material, etc. around, and items might damage or block the lift or propulsion fans.