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6 May 2139 7 May 2139 8 May 2139 9 May 2139 10 May 2139 11 May 2139 12 May 2139 13 May 2139 14 May 2139

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Report covers  6 May 2139, 1500 PT to 14 May 2139, 1300 PT. Note that my photoshopped road images are only very slightly altered, mostly to make the road surfaces look a bit less "new".

 

6 May 2139

 

weather report: CAVU, winds light from NW; nightly low 21 C, daily high 30 C; no precipitation.

 

     The game began at 3 pm PT. The team had already been at Willows for nearly 2 hours. A bit more purchasing went on, including buying two sand channels from a Cartel truck. Jesse expected to take advantage of the free brothel tokens, but quickly retreated from the brothel ... most of the "ladies" weren't female, and the actual females were obviously diseased ("leprosy or something" was his non-medical diagnosis).

     A lot of the packing was hurried, the team wanted to move out quickly, and was on the road by 3:30, heading north along Interstate 5.

     Jesse had managed to find the radio channels being used by the Foundation:

 

     "This is Willows Station, four four two four, sixteen hundred hours, condition yellow,

possible Paladin commando vehicle departed at fifteen thirty hours."

 

     Eleven miles north of Willows, they were approaching the remaining bridge over the Tehama Canal. A boy came running out of the bridgekeeper's cottage and flagged them down; he said he was Seth Arkwright, supporting the Paladins. He displayed a worn but recognizable US Army cavalry collar insignia, worn on a cord hidden under his tunic.

 

 

     "The Enlightenment are setting up a roadblock, probably to capture you, a few miles north of here.

You need to hide until dark, then they can't follow you from the air."

 

     "Safe directions might be northeast, into the Range of the Lost, past Shasta; or west, into the Great Forests.

You would have to avoid the Slavers or the tribes, though."

 

     "My father fought alongside General Todoshi and his Paladins in the Rift War, fourteen years ago."

 

     The boy pointed out a small airplane, approaching from the north; and said he'd learned of their approach from the Foundation radio. The airplane was a small, tail-dragger high-wing propeller plane, tan with Foundation markings (the Hamael class). It had a small bomb or something under each wing. More radio traffic:

 

"This is Fortress Stygia, zero five niner seven, sixteen hundred hours, condition red,

all units alert and standing by, mobile force en route to roadblock. Host-Commander Jones is ranking officer at the roadblock."

 

"Hamael Wun-Six, this is Dis Control, we are launching Cherubs Four and Seven, they will refuel at Stygia,

ETA your location about seventeen hundred hours.

Prepare to mark targets for the Cherubs if Host-Commander Jones requests assistance."

 

     The Hamael began making a slow circle around the Morrow vehicle, and as the pilot said:

 

"Dis, this is Hamael One-Six, I have the intruder vehicle ... "

 

... Scotty 'lased' the pilot with the rangefinder. The pilot, partially blinded, broke off his transmission, but (lucky or skilled) flew south towards Willows. The Project team made a short radio transmission:

 

"I am Colonel Bowie of the California Liberation Milita. God is on our side! We have no quarrel with you, cease hostilities immediately!"

 

     The Morrow team quickly drove east into the dusty valley, and hid their vehicle in an old watercourse, covering it with their camo tarp and shovelfuls of dirt.

     A very loud "jet plane" approached from the northwest, but was unable to find the Morrow Project team. It was clear that the jet plane was a combination pulsejet/ramjet, carrying weapons under its wings.

     After the plane left, the team began moving east again, and eventually camped on the banks of the Sacramento River that night.

 

7 May 2139

 

weather report: CAVU, winds very light from NW; nightly low 23 C, daily high 29 C; no precipitation.

 

     After re-stowing some of their gear, team R54 quickly drove east, crossing Route 99 and up into the Sierra foothills. A serious jolt suffered when the vehicle ran through a rusted-out culvert gave several team-members minor injuries and bruises. Finding an ominous set of Foundation soldiers' skulls on posts across the road, they decided to camp about 5 miles short of State Route 36.

 

skulls near here!

 

8 May 2139

 

weather report: CAVU, winds moderate from N; nightly low 25 C, daily high 33 C; no precipitation.

 

     The team argued hotly about their route this day, but decided to avoid Lake Almanor and instead headed north around Mount Lassen. The roads had not been used much in recent decades, so there was a certain amount of winding about trees grown through the pavement, and crossing washed-out sections.

     Three or four miles short of State Route 44, the team camped again, and decided to lay low for a couple of days -- Route 44 was in periodic use by the Foundation.

 

the team pulled off the road here to find their camp site

 

9 May 2139

 

weather report: CAVU, winds light from NW; nightly low 18 C, daily high 26 C; no precipitation.

 

     Repairing and restowing their gear, watching the traffic on Route 44, and hunting. An armored "gun truck" went east on Route 44 in the morning, and returned in the afternoon.

 

10 May 2139

 

weather report: CAVU, winds light from W; nightly low 19 C, daily high 29 C; no precipitation.

 

     Just before dawn, JJ was on watch and spotted a person creeping ever-so-carefully towards the camp. JJ shot him dead, with a bullet through the heart; the other team members didn't even hear this (he was using the suppressed M21). The dead man was wearing moccasins and "primitive" clothing, carrying a bow and arrows, and a knife; JJ found a simple camp or cache a mile or so away, with a few more supplies. The road watch continued.

 

11 May 2139

 

weather report: CAVU, winds light from NW; nightly low 20 C, daily high 30 C; no precipitation.

 

     Scotty decided this would be the day to ambush a passing Foundation armored car. The team set up an L-shaped ambush along Route 44, and stopped the afternoon west-bound truck by dropping a tree on the road.

 

near the ambush site

 

     A few well-placed shots, and a tear gas grenade, killed 2 of the 5-man crew; Scotty questioned them pretty roughly.

 

"I am Sergeant Crockett of the California Liberation Militia!"

 

     The armored car crew claimed to just be couriers between Shingletown and Old Station. The Project team took their weapons, clothing, money and other personal effects, and trussed them up thoroughly to trees along the roadside; the armored car was vandalized beyond repair. Items taken:

 

• two M37 machineguns (a variant of the M1919 Browning, built in the late Fifties and early Sixties), they use 7.62mm NATO ammo in M13 disintegrating link belts. See here.

• two 100-round M13 belts of 7.62mm ball ammo

• four Foundation rifles -- mix-match bolt action rifles with large box magazines, using 7.62mm NATO ammo

• 60 loose rounds of 7.62mm NATO ball ammo

• one M1911A1 pistol, in crappy condition

• two magazines for pistol, with 14 rounds of .45 ACP ammo total

• four combat knives (not bayonets)

• five sets of web gear with ammo pouches, one holster, a few other small canvas or leather pouches

• $2.75 in quarters, dimes, and nickels, all pre-1990

• one axe, one shovel

• five pairs of pants, five pairs of boots, all somewhat bloody and tear-gas-infested

• some bread and meat, about enough for five sandwiches

• five canteens with reasonably clean water

   

     As the sun neared the western horizon, the Project vehicle traveled quickly north-east along Route 44, and came to Old Station (14 miles away from the ambush) after dark. The small town, in a large flat valley, now had a Foundation fenced perimeter, with four watchtowers and sandbagged firing positions. With music and shouted ... hmm ... slogans blaring incomprehensibly from the vehicle's PA system, Team R54 crashed through the southern gate and continued at speed through the center of the camp. A few random gunshots were fired through the darkness, but within less than a minute the Commando V150 tore through the northern gate and sped into the darkness, trailing barbed wire and fence posts for a while.

     Old Station seemed to be a logging and charcoal-production camp, by the way.

 

the building on the left was present, but much repaired and altered

 

     Rumbling through the darkness, along the dirt road that used to be Route 44, the team eventually came to the last Foundation outpost, at Hat Creek, a slightly-defended farm. The team drove around the farm; past this point, the dirt road quickly deteriorated into a horse path, winding among the trees (red fir and quaking aspen). After driving a total of 35 miles that day, they came to the intersection with State Route 299, turned east, and camped a kilometer or so away.

 

the intersection, pre-War

 

12 May 2139

 

weather report: CAVU, winds light from N; nightly low 21 C, daily high 32 C; no precipitation.

 

     Traveling northeast on Route 299, a bit of trouble was had crossing the Pit River. No habitation was seen crossing the Big Valley, but another set of Foundation skulls on posts was seen. Past Bieber (only a few dozen foundations and chimneys remained), the team turned north, crossing an old Great Northern railway line. A person mounted on a horse, herding a hundred or so sheep, was seen in the distance.

     The team camped deep in the Modoc National Forest, near the intersection with State Route 139.

 

R54 camped near here that night

 

13 May 2139

 

weather report: CAVU, winds moderate from N; nightly low 20 C, daily high 33 C; no precipitation.

 

     Making good speed towards Tule Lake, the team was a bit alarmed to detect low levels of radiation; they buttoned up and motored quickly onwards. South and west across Butte Valley, a series of cinder cones could be seen near Mount Hebron -- cones that weren't on the Autonav. A thin coating of volcanic ash covered the ground here, deposited by some eruption decades ago.

     Crossing into Oregon, the team came upon the Klamath Falls area about sunset. The city itself consisted only of burnt, looted ruins, with some yellow pine (ponderosa pine) growing among them, and a large, rusted-out railyard; at some point not long after the war, there had been a major flood, pushing debris into large piles against the few structures strong enough to endure. There were herds of sheep and goats within a few kilometers, some horses, and a notable set of fabric-and-leather lodges or yurts near the lake itself, just north of the old city (on US 97, the "Dalles-California Highway"). The lake seemed to have receded from its previous shore a bit. Scotty knew this area only got about 20" of rain per year, pre-War; the rivers and lakes are mostly supplied by deep underground aquifers.

     The team approached the main group of lodges, where a hundred or so people had gathered in colorful clothing. No weapons were visible, but the locals seemed a bit un-nerved by the arrival of an armored car. A careful approach by JJ revealed that this was a group wedding:  six couples were getting married -- only two couples were man-and-wife, the other four were man-and-man. The female brides were aged about 15 and 18; the male brides, a bit older.

     After a bit of careful introductions, Jesse, Doc and Gootz came out to mingle; Scotty stayed in the V150 to keep an eye on things. One of the locals, Frank, could speak fairly comprehensible English (the rest knew only various local languages). The locals quickly accepted the team as non-hostile, and invited them to join in the evening's festivities!

     Members of R54 pestered Frank with questions all evening. Let me know any questions you may have posed -- keep in mind that Frank was there for a wedding, not for an interrogation!

 

"To the west, across the Cascades, there are people with vehicles such as yours. And, of course, to the south, past Shasta.

They haven't come here in a generation or more.

In the north, up towards the big river, there are the Pale Riders, bad men who steal and kill.

In the east are more bad men with guns, who also ride horses and capture slaves; the Yahuskin have much trouble with the slavers.

The river folk ride boats on the big river; we trade with them every few years.

Our people have grown more numerous as generations pass; but the slavers come to steal women.

I learned English from a mountain walker; I apprenticed with him for many years, but came here to help my parents when they got sick."

 

     A couple of bonfires, a big potluck meal, dancing, songs, etc. Some of the dances or songs were theatrical rituals, of which some were specifically about marriage and fertility. Musical instruments were rattles, flutes, and drums. Kazoos were present, but not considered very musical, even by the locals. Children were playing cat's-cradle games, and a sort of "catch the salmon vertebrae on the long wooden pin" game. Jesse was quite the hit as a strolling guitarist!

     The two men who were marrying females had to pay a large bride-price to the girls' parents; much smaller bride prices were called for when marrying men -- it's not clear to the Morrow team members how it's decided who paid what in that case. During the marriage ceremonies for male couples, one of them painted three stripes on the chin of the other one -- the "designated woman" apparently. Frank used female pronouns for the male brides after that point. One of the old women didn't have her chin painted, and Frank used masculine pronouns when speaking about her.

 

Three-quarters of the people present at the wedding were men.

Apparently, for every infant girl, there are about three infant boys born.

Some women have a lot of miscarriages.

Slavers prefer to carry off females, which also reduces the (local) female population.

 

     Foods included apple cider, manzanita cider, buckwheat beer; roasted or oven-cooked meats, mainly antelope. Flat buckwheat noodles were provided, too. Have a nice blackberry pie, with a buckwheat crust! Men (excluding men-passing-for-women) were served before women.

     The team (and some other visitors) were given a gift of a big basket of tobacco.

     After the feast and ceremonies were over, the team was invited to join several men (and the old woman with no chin-stripes) in the sweat-lodge for a smoke; the pipes were either soapstone or wood. The sweat-house wasn't fired up, though. It smelled heavily of drying tobacco-plants; big flat baskets of drying leaves were up in the "rafters". Frank was kinda talked-out and hoarse by that point, so there wasn't much conversation between the team and the locals.

     Once a pipe or two had been passed around, the local men took their leave; only visitors sleep in the sweat-lodge. Four men of the Yahuskin slept there that night, along with any Team members who didn't skulk back to their vehicle -- or make other arrangements.

     Notably, Jesse didn't sleep in either the sweat-lodge or at the vehicle.

     Discussions with Frank about the people around Klamath Lake provide the information summarized here.

 

Doc talks with Frank

What do you eat? What are your favorite foods? Shanks (sort of like popcorn), manzanita or apple cider, fried antelope (marinated in goat milk and bread), antelope meat pie, scrambled duck eggs with vegetables. What are the staple foods? Buckwheat, wokas-flour, fish, deer and antelope meat, goat milk, berries, preserved duck eggs (sort of like 'century eggs'). Where do they come from? Deer and antelope we have to go some distance to hunt; the rest come from the lake or river, or nearby (an hour's walk or less). When do you have lots of food? In the spring. When do you have only a little food? In the winter if it was a bad summer. What do you not eat? People, eagles; there are also a lot of food customs that relate to when you can eat a certain food, who gets to eat it first, what it can be eaten with, etc. Why is that? Eating people would be cannibalism! And eagles are the symbol of America. Our other customs are mostly good manners, and also to keep the spirits of the animals and our ancestors happy. Who do you trade with? The Modoc and Yahuskin, of course; and the Mountain Walkers. Sometimes, we will travel north with the Mountain Walkers to trade at the big river. When do they visit? Men from the Modoc and Yahushin are around every few weeks; there are some here now because of the weddings. The Mountain Walkers come by once a year. Are they on a fixed schedule? The Modoc and Yahuskin aren't, but the Mountain Men have their rendezvous in the spring, up along the big river, and some of them come down here in the summer to trade. I was apprentice to a Mountain Walker, Big Herbert, for several years -- that's how I know your language so good. Do you live here all year round? Yes. Where else do you go, and when? Some of us travel to meet relatives and barter with the Modoc and Yahuskin; and there's hunting and gathering food in the hills around here. Not all us live right here -- families have homes around the edge of the lake. How big and area do you hunt in? Not more than a day and a half travel from the lake (so within 30 kilometers of the lake). There are some hunting camps and places known to have useful materials around the hills. Who are your friends in the local groups? The Yahuskin and the Modoc, though the Modoc can be hard to get along with. The Modoc are mostly south and west; they herd a lot of goats and horses in the hills. The Yahuskin are to the east; they move around a lot, hunting.   Who are your enemies? The slavers, from the east, or a bit south of east; and the Pale Riders, to the north (but still south of the big river). Why do you not like them? The slavers attack people, and carry off slaves! Duh! They haven't attacked the Klamath people for about 15 years or so; but they attacked the Yahuskin last year, I heard. The Pale Riders came through from south of Mount Shasta, in my father's time; they attack the River People, and the tribes north of the big river. I'm sure the Pale Riders would attack us, but they need fodder for their horses, and the land between here and the big river doesn't have a lot of grass. Who else is in the local area? There are the Mountain Walkers, and the River People up on the Big River; and across the Cascades there are people with cars. South of Mount Shasta are more people with cars; I've heard they're fighting with the slavers. How did your group get here? We've always been here, since long before the War. What is your creation story? Our ancestors wandered here from forgotten lands far away, past the eastern deserts. They must have been Ancients, because this was long before the War. They did not know their own names, or how to get food to stay alive. They sat starving beside the lake, and saw men -- the ancestors of our chiefs -- floating on the lake. The starving people called to the floating chiefs, who came to the shore. The first chiefs showed the Klamath how to harvest pods; they showed the Yahuskin how to hunt; and showed the Modoc how to keep herds of goats (note:  this is considered an amusing point by Frank for some unexplained reason); other tribes made bridges, cars, glass, towns, and other wonderful things. All of these tribes were part of the great U-S nation. But far away in the north were the Commies, who hated U-S because it had good hunting, many fertile women and lots of food, plus the roads, bridges and things. The Commies sent atom bombs, which made big fires and explosions in all the U-S, killing lots of people and poisoning the land. After the fires ended, there were many years of winter, with all the land covered in snow. The chiefs of all the tribes traveled east past the deserts, to where the Sun comes up, and told him that people would die if there was not more sunlight. The Sun agreed, and went up into the sky; but because he had rested for many years, he was now much brighter and hotter than he was before the War. The snow and ice melted, making great floods; diseases had been hiding beneath the ice, and killed off many persons and animals. The tribes argued with each other, saying they had not given the Sun good advice; there was fighting, and many tribes were no longer friends. The tribes that had made bridges, cars, and other wonderful things had died off during the Long Winter, or in the fighting afterwards; only the tribes that knew how to get food have survived. Because many good customs have been forgotten, no so many women were born after the Long Winter; fortunately, our wise men and chiefs have been creating good customs, and women are being born again.

Doc tells his American creation story

“One morning long ago and far away, First Man and First Woman woke up. They looked around in wonder at the world, seen for the first time by people. First Man and First Woman had many children, some of whom wanted to wander and see what new wonders were hidden over the hills that wrapped their home. After much traveling the great, great grandchildren of First Man and First Woman came over the sea to America. They lived in harmony and plenty for many years and raised many fat and happy children.      After many years, some other children of First Man and First Woman came over the sea to America. They were distant cousins to the people of America, but had become hard from many years of wandering. These cousins were very pleased to find the rich land that was America, and greeted the people as long lost cousins should. Over time the cousins gained control over the people. They grew cruel and harsh and made the lives of the people very hard. Finally, after many injustices, the people began to rise up and fight their cousins from over the sea. The cousins had such skill that they could kill any man who rose up against them. The cousins were so many that any family that refused to give up all their food and goods was enslaved or killed. The cousins were so strong that any tribe that stood up to them was crushed and dispersed. The people had to join together, family with family and tribe with tribe to have the strength to defeat the cruel cousins. After many years, and many hard battles the Americans had defeated their cruel cousins, and had built a strong nation out of the many small and weak clusters of people that filled up the land.      Now it seems that someone has vanquished the Americans and sundered the nation that they built. Many bad men are loose in the world, causing mischief and spreading terror and woe to all. But what was built once shall be rebuilt, and those who are weak shall be strong and live free of fear!”

Scotty talks with Frank

Scotty will let Frank have several sips of some of the trade liquor as he is conversing with the team.    What other settlements are they aware of that are within 5 (?) days travel for them?  Hmm, within 50 miles or so, there are only some Modoc and Yahuskin towns or camps. (Michael says:  let's not get too post-facto about Crater Lake, here) Who are the Yahuskin? Where do they reside? Are they another 'tribe' like the Klamath people? They live in the dry, sagebrush-covered lands to the east and northeast. There are some of them at the wedding feast, including one of the grooms. Yes, they are another tribe, but they (and the Modoc) intermarry a lot with the Klamath people, and they all speak (more or less) the same language. Who are the Pale Riders? Why "pale"? As in, are they ethnically and distinctively Caucasian like R54? They are whiter than the Klamath, yes; and they wear sort of tan or khaki clothing, about the same color as the team's coveralls. They ride horses and use guns. They're mostly up north (past Bend). Where are the slavers located? Do they have any known trade camps? Where is their main location? East of Klamath Falls, around Lake Albert, Goose Lake, and the old cities of Alturas and Lakeview. Frank doesn't know of any trade camps they have. Are there other large groups they are aware of besides the Brotherhood, the Cartel, and the Slavers?  What's the Brotherhood? Who are the Cartel? Frank has never heard of those groups. The Klamath know about the Modoc and Yahuskins, the slavers, the Mountain Walkers, the Foundation (barely), the people to the west of the Coast Range "who have cars", the Pale Riders, and the River Folk. There are also other tribes in the Cascades, and in the Willamette Valley. Frank has heard the names of some other inhabited places:  Beavertown (near Portland), and Bone City (somewhere north of the big river). He's heard the name "United Combine" for some group or nation generally "up north", but doesn't know more than the name.  What places/communities are known for their excellent horse stock? Where would be a good place to get some decent horses? Our horses are excellent! (The team looks a bit dubiously at the rather small, non-muscular horses and donkeys of the Klamath). Alas, the Pale Riders and the slavers have the best horses around here. How do they know there are other people with vehicles like ours to the west if they have not been seen for over a generation? Some of us get around! And we talk with the Modoc (who live in the Cascades) and the Mountain Walkers (who travel a lot); I think the Boat People trade with the car people. How far west were they? The people with cars? Mostly west of the Coast Ranges, actually. More than 100 miles from here. What is the area to the north like? The Cascades are rough and hard to travel on. East of the Cascades is kind of dry, with lots of sagebrush country. Where are the best spots for trading with the River Folk? Uh, on the big river. Bonneville Falls and The Dalles are probably the closest trading spots.   At JJ's wise suggestion, Scotty also had JJ show Frank how to operate a rifle and left one of the Foundation rifles and all 60 rounds of the 7.62mm ammo we captured from the patrol truck.   In addition as guesting and wedding gifts, we distributed: four combat knives (not bayonets), one axe, one shovel, five pairs of boots, 1 sewing kit, 1 mirror, 1 comb-and-brush set, 2 knives (one each folding and fixed blade ... leaving 2 in the trade pack), and a selection of “various  items of fishing gear (hooks, weights, nylon line, bobbers)”. The combat knives, axe, shovel, and boots all came from the ambushed Foundation patrol truck. The boots are pretty rank, between being 'used' and 'exposed to tear gas'.    Scotty strongly suggested to Frank that the Klamath folk try to hide the boots and rifle from any Foundation troops that may be showing up in the next month. Frank has carried and fired a muzzle-loading rifle before (he was an apprentice Mountain Walker).   "Uh, are you saying they'll be coming up here? Is this rifle ... stolen?"

JJ talks with Frank

JJ will also add some questions about the Pale Riders, the Slavers and such.        "Of course, Frank, you may not know many of these things, but these people are bad, are now our enemies, and the best weapon against an enemy is knowledge (and claymore mines, automatic weapons, low signature weapons, etc). We'd appreciate any wisdom you can share with us.      Regarding the Pale Riders -- are they located closer to the Coast or further inland than here and how far south from the Big River? Near any particular landmarks? How often do they come through? Where else do they go? Do they seem to be organized, or a bunch of small groups? Numbers? Just men in the raids, or are they women, too? Children? Ride horses or other things? What sorts of weapons do they use?  What do they steal? How do they dress? Any other way to identify them when they aren't actually stealing stuff? Are the settled when at home, or do they move about a large range? How often do they raid here? Do they trade or make alliance with anyone you know of? Do they have any particular enemies that you know of?" The Pale Riders are pretty much north and east of here. They don't go into the Cascades much, and the deserts to the east don't appeal to them. Frank does know they breed their horses and probably raise some crops around Burns; and they can usually be found at Bend. They are otherwise nomads, raiding for loot and captives -- especially women. They've never attacked down here at Klamath, thank goodness. Frank has never seen one, but they come in large numbers ("their numbers are as the fish in the lake"), on horses, using guns, plus some swords and bows. He thinks they mostly raid on the far, northern, side of the big river, and retreat back into Oregon for safety. They wear not-quite-white, dust-colored clothing, with some colorful patches on them. Nobody in Oregon likes them, that Frank knows of -- though he could easily imagine them selling captives to the slavers. Their leader is named Zorthag, which certainly doesn't sound like the name of a nice person. The Pale Riders control a bridge across the big river, somewhere east of The Dalles, which irks the Boat Folk. The Riders could ford or swim the river in the summer, but that'd make them very vulnerable to the Boat Folk, and it's hard to carry slaves back from Washington by swimming.       "Regarding the Slave Takers -- do they seem to be organized, or a bunch of small groups? Numbers? Ride horses or other things? What sorts of weapons do they use?  How do they dress? How often do they come through? How do they raid -- do they grab folks on their own or at isolated homes, or do they raid villages? Do you know where the slaves go and what they are used for? Do they trade or make alliance with anyone you know of? Do they have any particular enemies that you know of? Any local camping spots or routes that they use?" The slavers usually travel in small groups, maybe a dozen; but if they need to they can call upon many others. They ride horses, and use guns, swords, and bows. They wear leather armor, plus bits of Ancient gear, and cover their faces with hideous masks. Frank thinks they mostly raid to the east of their "homeland", nowadays. They'll raid small towns, isolated homes, or whatever they can get. The slaves go to big camps around Lake Albert and Goose Lake, and eventually get sold to people far away. Frank has heard that late in the summer, the slavers organize big slave caravans heading south and east (they don't want to feed the slaves over the winter). The slavers used to sell slaves to the Foundation, south of Mount Shasta, but apparently stopped doing that some years ago.      "If Frank can savvy maps, then see if he can point out the locations of the Yahuskin, the Modoc, the Pale Riders, the Slavers, the River Folk's major settlements and how much river they travel, Mountain Walker settlements and routes, the location and range of the "people with vehicles like yours" and more details of them if Frank has them:  when, where, how many, uniforms, symbols or flags, routes? How can we tell who belongs with the Modoc, the Yahuskin, the Mountain Walkers?" Frank can't really read a map. The Modoc, Yahuskin and Klamath tribes all dress "sort of alike"; the team should be able to recognize them. The Mountain Walkers don't really settle, plus you get the impression that Frank might be unwilling to reveal any of their secrets. The Mountain Walkers have the whole "mountain man" look going:   coon skin hats, muzzle-loading rifles, regular Daniels Boone. As far as Frank knew, the River Folk claimed to travel the big river (clearly the Columbia) from "spring to sea". They mostly had settlements either at places where they can operate a ferry, or where they had to portage their boats or cargo around an old dam. Frank had never met the people-near-the-coast-with-cars; he knew the Boat People traded with them. Apparently they didn't speak English, but a lot of communities don't. He was also beginning to think you guys don't know how to have fun at a feast.      "Do your people have any spare boots or moccasins that would fit us? How about local clothes? Needn't be in great repair. Looking about -- do the women (the XX chromosome types) dress distinctively?  If so, any clothes to spare -- needn't be in good repair."      JJ smiled.      "I'm thinkin' bait may be useful!"      Sure we've got some beat-up clothing, let us know what you'd like. The way women dress has nothing to do with their ... chromo-whatsists. Quoted from above:      Clothing include gaiters, moccasins, loin-cloths and robes, mostly made from buckskin; better clothing (worn at feasts and festivals) will have embroidery of beads, coins, washers, porcupine quills, and bits of plastic. Women wear a sort of bowl-shaped hat, with a feather in their hair, men wear a sort of baseball hat or headband in the summer, fur hats in the winter. Necklaces of shells, beads or (if you're very manly) bear or mountain lion claws are common. There's a lot of ear and nose piercing, and some visible facial tattoos; the adult women (or token women) usually wear three vertical stripes of paint (red, yellow, black or white) on their chin. Widows and widowers coat their faces with pitch and charcoal until remarried.

 

14 May 2139

 

weather report: CAVU, winds moderate from NE; nightly low 22 C, daily high 34 C; no precipitation.

 

     The team got an early start; not many of the Klamath people were awake when they left. Driving north along US 97 (the "Dalles-California Highway"), they made good time; small villages of Klamath people were passed for about 40 kilometers, and the highway has clearly been used as a horse-path fairly often. The railway could be seen parallel to the highway; the rails at least were still in place.

 

East Diamond Lake Highway

 

      While passing Crater Lake about 2 pm, a reflection could be seen from above the rim of the lake, about 15 kilometers west of US 97. The team decided to investigate, turned onto East Diamond Lake Highway, and from there entered through the old "north entrance". From there, they drove along about 15 kilometers of old road, though a pumice desert and past some small volcanic cones; they approached the rim of the crater on the northwest side, about 2 kilometers from Wizard Island. The roads approaching the rim showed signs of maintenance and heavy use -- the maintenance within the last year or so, the heavy use not very recently.

     The lake looked about the same as in the 20th Century, geologically speaking (though the water level had dropped a bit, and in fact Wizard Island had a small connection to the rim). However, there were several structures built on the sides of the crater, and more on Wizard Island; a couple of boats were moving about on the lake surface. Tall poles with what were probably cameras stood on the rim every 400 meters or so. The structures looked modern and maintained.

     The structures:

• Spaced roughly evenly around the rim were six "residence clusters"; since the rim circumference was about 41 kilometers, the clusters were about 7 kilometers apart. Each cluster had six levels; an elevator and utility tunnel ran at a slant just below the surface. The top level was at the rim itself; the lowest level was about 15 meters above the lake surface; since the rim was an average of 500 meters above the lake, the residence levels were about 100 meters apart. Each residence level was pretty much a cantilevered house-and-deck, with wide glass windows facing the lake, looking very Southern California-ish. The rim-level house had a flat roof, a sign that not much snow has fallen here; the whole platform at each level was 16 meters on a side, with the deck taking up the 4 meters on the lake-facing side. Given how far apart the clusters were, and the vertical spacing of the actual residence levels ... they're pretty well isolated. 

 

rim-level residence; further down the slope, they're mostly embedded in the rock

 

• Wizard Island had several buildings, mostly built on a common base structure at the peak of the island (so maybe it was just one building). They were mostly grey "stone or concrete" looking, the tallest being about 12 stories, with tall narrow windows, broad terraces, and bridges connecting some of the higher stories. Calling it the "Wizard's Castle" wouldn't sound at all un-natural. A couple of "helipads" (complete with a big yellow H) could be seen, but no aircraft (perhaps they were in hangars). A few people were wandering about. Three piers could be seen around the shore of Wizard Island.
  

 

Don't get too hung up on this image, it's just to get the idea across.

There is actually a 'residence cluster' just to the left of the tree, but you can't really see it at this resolution.

 

     The team decided to investigate, entering the nearest residence (Scotty snuck in through a rooftop hatch to the utility closet). Nobody was present, and no movable furnishings or personal possessions were found. While some large appliances and fixtures were installed (including the bed and mattress), the interior was scrupulously clean, with air conditioning, lighting, and hot and cold water. Water! The team immediately broke ranks for a "bathing frenzy" in the shower. Gootz remained in the vehicle as guard; Scotty went to look at the nearest "camera tower".

 

Most of the text found on installed equipment used Arabic numerals and the Latin alphabet,

but just initials and abbreviations, not very informative; or what is apparently the Arabic alphabet.

But the refrigerator also had some actual Latin text on it:  "Peralatan Besar Koperasi, Prang Besar, Selangor"

 

     Alas, the locals had noticed this intrusion, and remotely released an aerosol into the residence -- something pretty close to BZ gas, in fact. Doc and JJ were taken prisoner; fortunately, Scotty was able to rescue and revive Jesse before the "apartment ninjas" could take him away.  Scotty killed a couple of the "ninjas", and then he and Jesse went down the long stairs to the lowest level, where Doc and JJ were about to be taken away on a boat.

 

Long stairs indeed!

I didn't emphasize at the game the 500 meter length of the stairwell,

which looks a lot like the kind of stairs seen embedded in hydroelectric dams.

 

     Scotty and Jesse skirmished with the people holding their teammates, and managed to kill all four ninjas. They untied JJ and Doc, grabbed some stuff from the ninjas, and took the elevator back up to the rim -- a boat could be seen approaching across the lake. The team piled back into their vehicle and high-tailed it to the north; JJ and Doc were still a big groggy, having trouble walking straight, etc.

     A smallish drone (about 1.5 meters wide, with three ducted fans) paced the V150 for a few hundred meters as the team fled.

 

from the viewpoint of 1985-dudes, pretty high-tech!

The ball in front is the main camera/target designator.

 

     The items looted from the 'apartment ninjas' were as follows:

 

• four dark plastic face masks, which included a filter, radio, earphones and microphone. The radio was low power FM, with only 10 channels built in; the frequencies were scattered kinda randomly from 165 megahertz (the 'common call' channel) up to 175 MHz. The filter wasn't very fancy, but would keep out germs and aerosols; it was really not much more "capable" than a surgical mask. The mask was made to seal onto the suit hood.

• four semi-automatic bullpup pistols, with fancy semi-spiral magazines. They fire 9x17mm ammunition, presumably 9mm Short, from odd curved magazines. The magazines each could hold 12 rounds, and the team recovered 88 rounds total, plus 4 holsters and 4 magazine pouches to hold one magazine each. Mechanically, the guns were simple double-action blowback weapons, similar to a Walther PP or Makarov PM. They were kind of small and awkward for the hands of the R54 team members. They each weighed 0.7 kg when fully loaded. On the slide, besides the caliber and serial number, they had three Arabic words, and under that the Latin-alphabet words, "Negara Senjata Kilang." Call of Bruce Morrow stats:   range 15 meters, shots 2 (i.e., as a Minor Action), damage 1d10, malfunction number ... unknown! 
  

 

 

sort of like this ...

• four field dressings

• twelve big antiseptic/antibiotic "prep pads"

 

     The "apartment ninjas" were each wearing a black one-piece suit, including gloves, hood and boots, of some advanced synthetic material. The suits were not armor at all (maybe as tough as tyvek), but did have some fancy, hmm, hygienic properties. They were primarily bio-hazard protection gear, not combat gear. Given that the suits were shot full of holes (or burnt) you didn't take any, but Scotty did cut a few samples from one.

     The people in the suits were short, the three males were about 160 - 165 cm (5' 3" to 5' 5"), the one female 153 cm (5'). They all had dark hair, cut very short, and no facial hair. You could generally call them "Southeast Asian" in appearance.

 

     Here's the route taken this episode:

 

  on to the next episode!