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report covers: 14 May 2139, 1430 PT to 28 May 2139, 0900 PT
14 May 2139
weather report: CAVU, winds moderate from NE; nightly low 22 C, daily high 34 C; no precipitation.
Recon team R54 was a few kilometers north of Crater Lake, headed away; it was about 2 pm. JJ and Doc were feeling woozy, and in fact their symptoms were very similar to exposure to Agent BZ:
The gas causes temporary slowing of physical and mental activity. Effects include stupor, confusion, and confabulation with concrete and panoramic illusions and hallucinations, and with regression to automatic "phantom" behaviors such as plucking and disrobing. Between 50 and 80 percent of affected persons have to be restrained during recovery to prevent self-injury (walking into traffic, for example); other common symptoms during recovery are paranoia and mania.
Scotty said,
"Since Universal Antidote can't counteract the effects of Agent BZ, and based on our abbreviated experience with BZ during training, we're going to let the guys have plenty of water or bug juice and rest. We'll move away from Crater Lake for about 3 hours and then select a safe, defensible spot to lay up for at least a day. The toxic effects of BZ can last up to 96 hours ... although most of them are on average much less than that."
15 kilometers north of Crater Lake, about a half-hour drive from the rim, the Team came to the intersection with Route 138. From that point, they could:
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travel back east towards US 97 (the "obvious route" north towards Washington state), it was 140 kilometers to downtown Bend, about 5 hours travel on roads like this
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or north-and-west along State Route 138 into the Umpqua River basin ... a possible route over the Cascades to the Sutherlin-Roseburg area.
It's now about 2:30 pm ... given the condition of the team, they decided to head towards Bend along US 97 for a couple of hours, and then camp until the morning.
US 97, north towards Bend
15 May 2139
weather report: CAVU, winds moderate from N; nightly low 22 C, daily high 33 C; no precipitation.
The team decided to have JJ sneak up towards Bend on foot, to scope it out. The day was spend repacking and repairing the vehicle; an hour or so before sunset, the team drove to within 8 kilometers of Bend and dropped JJ off. He advanced under cover of darkness along the Deschutes River, while the rest of the team retreated back south and set up camp.
16 May 2139
weather report: CAVU, winds moderate from N; nightly low temperature 25 C, daily high 35 C; no precipitation.
JJ came to within a kilometer of Bend before dawn, and set up his watch position to observe the Pale Riders.
The fort was about 800 meters long, 200 meters wide, along what used to be NW Wall Street; it was surrounded by barbed wire and a few sandbagged fighting positions, with about 1800 meters of frontage. There was a 13" spigot mortar in the middle of the outpost (about where the parking lot in front of City Hall is in 1989, where NW Louisiana Avenue crosses NW Wall Street), on a sort of rotating turntable. The "parade ground" had been smoothed over, and basements filled in.
A couple of large, masonry buildings were clearly used for barracks and headquarters; a number of outbuildings were scattered about (stables, garage, a smithy, slave quarters, supplies, fodder, and so forth). A small powerhouse produced electricity for lights; there were phone lines between all the "manned" positions, and off to Pilot Butte.
Pilot Butte is a cinder cone rising about 150 meters above the surrounding plain; it's about 2 kilometers due east of "downtown" (where the outpost is located). The Pale Riders had a simple lookout tower on the Butte; a phone line and electrical power line ran from the outpost to the tower. A formerly paved road wound about once around the butte, to the peak; a wide brick-and-concrete paved platform supported the Riders' tower.
JJ estimated there were 35 or 40 armed men present, plus about 20 servants, employees, or slaves; and half-a-dozen children, mostly male. The armed men wore buckskin or rough pale canvas clothing, and carried cartridge firearms (but no automatic weapons). A group of four men went out to Pilot Butte in the mid-morning, and four other men came back around noon (clearly the lookouts changing). Three hunters on horseback rode in around mid-day also; they had obviously been out at least overnight, shooting deer and antelope.
The other members of R54 continued re-packing their equipment. The "tunnel" leading to the rear door was now sufficiently filled with equipment to prevent anyone from passing back to JJ's seat.
After midnight, JJ exfiltrated back to the pickup point.
17 May 2139
weather report: scattered high clouds, winds moderate from N; nightly lows 21 C, daily high temperature 28 C. No precipitation.
Before dawn, the team drove north closer to Bend and picked up JJ; they returned south to their camp and JJ slept till mid-morning; after washing up a bit and being fed, he briefed the team about Bend. The team decided not to mess with Bend for now.
JJ had some words for the team about the vehicle packing scheme; a bit of adjustment took place. The team decided to drive wide around Bend, to the east, after dark, and head north along US 97 towards the Columbia River.
Thus, after sunset, R54 was driving along when a black bear ambled across their path. Gootz plugged the bear with a few shots from the coax, and the team dismounted to admire, inspect, clean and pack the bear.
They camped about 100 km north of Bend, off the highway between Willowdale and Antelope. The road showed signs of use by horses, poeple on foot, and wagons; there were human and animal skeletons, worn-out boots, and other signs of hard travels.
18 May 2139
weather report: 75% cloud cover, light winds from N; nightly low temperature 27 C, daily high temperature 37 C. No precipitation.
About 2 am, Randall the Mountain Walker came ambling by on the highway, with his dog and pack mule. He was invited over to share a late-night snack, and talked for a couple of hours about the Walkers, and communities along the Columbia River and Willamette River watershed. The team claimed to be members of the California Liberation Militia. Randall had some crafts and tools to trade, including some knives, hatchets, and other forged tools (draw knives, hewing knives, axes, etc.) and several muskets and muzzle-loading single-shot pistols. He recommended Stan, a gunsmith in Oregon City.
Randall asked if the team had a "hash" -- a Unislang symbol to communicate with Mountain Walkers and others. The team decided their symbol was:
The team did some trading with Randall, before he continued south; he was heading to trade with the Yahooskin and Klamath tribes.
After dawn, the team headed north about 100 kilometers along US 97. There were no communities along the route. Approaching the Columbia River gorge, they headed west along Oregon Route 206, to avoid the Sam Hill Bridge.
Biggs and the Sam Hill Bridge
The roads on both sides of the river seemed little-used, and there were signs that people had in fact gone out of their way to block Interstate 84 - the team had to briefly swim across tributaries.
Following the Interstate, the team came to the Dalles dam. The dam, powerhouse and locks were long-destroyed; a small community of River Folk lived on the remaining wings of the dam. One reason for their presence was to operate a cable-towing rig, to assist underpowered boats going upstream over the dam remnants.
The River Folk had some primitive defenses set up on the Interstate ... road blocks, barbed wire, some removable posts sunk into the pavement. Scotty and the team made amiable contact with the locals, and in fact decided to spend a couple of days there. R54 continued their ruse de guerre of claiming to be the California Liberation Militia.
From this point onwards, as far as I can tell,
the team never states or acknowledges any connection to the Morrow Project,
and wears nothing which indicates their affiliation to the Project -- except their unmarked coveralls in dangerous situations.
That is the plan! Although Scotty has only strongly suggested that the team continue to try to not advertise who they really are until they know more about the current (hostile) environment on the Pacific Coast.
19-20 May 2139
weather report: light high clouds, moderate winds from NW; nightly low temperature 20 C, daily high temperature 30 C. No precipitation.
The teams spent two whole days at the Dalles with the River Folk. The local clan numbered about 50 people, of which a dozen or so were warriors taking turns at guard duty. About 20 or so were children. Weaponry was very mixed -- a few cartridge weapons, some crossbows, swords, bows, spears, knives, etc.
Jesse made valiant efforts at romance; the small number of women in the clan, and the careful watch being kept on the Morrow team, put quite a crimp in his plans. The River Folk are traders, but even so hesitant to mix too much with outsiders -- sorta gypsy-ish in that regard. Plus, all the adult women in the clan were "spoken for" or married (Jesse may not have been concerned about that).
Ted, the senior captain at The Dalles, said that they couldn't sell the team a boat; but maybe if the California Liberation Militia dealt with the Pale Riders at Biggs, something could be arranged!
21 May 2139
weather report: about 50% cloud cover, light winds from NW; nightly low temperature 23 C, daily high temperature 30 C. No precipitation.
The team left for Oregon City in the morning (about 150 kilometers away), with a River Folk deckhand riding along to Bonneville Falls (about 50 kilometers west from The Dalles). They passed the the burnt, shattered ruins of Portland -- the first real, major urban devastation seen by the team. Thickets and tangled trees shrouded the remaining structures; the horse-path which the team followed kept well clear of the city.
A few small farms and watchtowers dotted the Willamette Valley south of Portland. Oregon City itself was surrounded by a tall palisade; within the town could be seen utility poles, brick chimneys, and grain silos. A wide wooden sign over the north gate said:
Welcome To
OREGON CITY
pop. 2804
The low-ranking guards at the gates were reluctant to allow an armored car into the city; eventually, a United Combine Regulator, named Thompson, agreed to allow the team into the city. Thompson represented the Combine in Oregon City. One of the town's two "scrap tanks" was seen leaving the area near the gate.
light scrap tank
Scotty claimed, once again, that the team were part of the California Liberation Militia, and that he was Sergeant Crockett in that organization; their commander (presumably back in California) was Colonel Bowie.
By the time the Commando V150 had pulled up to Delton's Hotel (best in town!), just about sunset (8:40 pm), a crowd of nearly a hundred people had gathered. The mayor, Fred Willis, put in an appearance, and gave a short speech which didn't commit the town to anything. He did present the team with 10 tokens for Theresa's Joy House (best in town!). Scotty spent a while talking with the "leading citizens", while the other members of the team checked in at the hotel, arranged for laundry services, baths, haircuts, meals and (after the sun went down) visits to Theresa's.
One member of the team was always left to watch the Commando V150 vehicle, usually on 4 hours shifts in daytime, 8 hour shifts at night. Nighttime "watch" was mostly sleeping inside the vehicle.
22 May 2139
weather report: complete cloud coverage, light winds from NW; nightly low temperature 18 C, daily high temperature 25 C. Light rain during the night.
The team was staying in Oregon City; besides sleeping in late and having large breakfasts, they were shopping, relaxing, and talking with the locals.
Scotty went over to Stan's gunsmith shop, and discussed some purchases and possible repairs and alterations. Among other things, Stan showed some smoothbore 40mm launchers.
Jesse spoke with a couple of salvagers, and put in an order (so to speak) for audio equipment. It would take at least two days for "new" stock to show up, since the word would have to reach Portland, and any resulting items would have to come back to Oregon City.
23 May 2139
weather report: CAVU, light winds from NW; nightly low temperature 10 C, daily high temperature 20 C. No precipitation.
More time resting in Oregon City; the team got to make their experience checks. During the daytime, there were still usually a half-dozen people gathered to look at the Commando V150. Scotty spoke with the Regulator and the Mayor about the politics and schemes in the area, and decided to demonstrate the usefulness and dedication of the California Liberation Militia by driving the Purity Corp out of Jefferson. Regulator Thompson wasn't about to hand out badges to the CLP, but he did provide Scotty with some handbills printed up by the Combine:
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People of the Valley! Do not listen to the lies of the Purists! They are wrongdoing persons in general, having a look for to increase in their size, expansion their very great control to your towns. The Purists do not make ready food for the persons, they only put to death and make waste! They hate anybody who is not one of them! If you see a Purist, let your town leaders have knowledge, or say to the Regulators. You may get reward. By order of the United Combine, the true group of our towns and farms.
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24 May 2139
weather report: 10% overcast, moderate winds from N; nightly low temperature 8 C, daily high temperature 18 C. No precipitation.
Team R54 packed up and set out from Oregon City early in the day, south along the Willamette Valley towards the barony of Jefferson. The road roughly followed Oregon state route 99E down to Interstate 5, and had no signs of use by motor traffic. Carts and wagons, pulled by horses or mules, were encountered, along with people on foot or riding on horses. Outside of Oregon City there were no signs of radio, telegraph or telephone communications; a few of the larger towns had some electric lights. The trip to Jefferson was about 80 kilometers, at 16 kph ... 5 hours. A couple of fortified towns were seen, off a kilometer or two on either side of the road.
Early in the trip, Jesse picked up some faint FM radio signals from the west, operating on four different channels between 36 and 46 megahertz (note to self: frequency band is 30 to 80 megaherz, radio range is less than 10 km). Probably a radio on the other side of the coast range, operating at about 1 or 2 watts radiated power. Jesse wasn't able to make out any words or even language, just "brrt bzt brr bzzzt" noises that sounded like conversation.
The town of Jefferson was 4 kilometers east of Interstate 5; as the team approached (circa 2 pm), they could see a motte-and-bailey fort on the far side of the town. A sturdy wooden bridge crossed the Santiam river, just before the town, on the piers of the old highway bridge; the team decided to not try crossing the bridge. JJ stealthily exited the vehicle and climbed a tree for a good line-of-sight towards the fort. On the far side of the bridge, a line of rusted-out boxcars and hopper cars stretched towards the Cascade Range, still where they last moved in 1989, and now forming the southern boundary of the town. A tangle of bridge girders and railway cars was visible on the banks of the river, downstream.
The town itself lined both sides of a dirt road; for hundreds of meters on either side the remains of 20th Century homes could be seen among the fields -- porch steps, foundations, and chimneys, mostly. The fields were mostly newly-planted, and looked well-tended and watered. Scotty got on the public address system and commanded the inhabitants to flee their homes, in the name of the California Liberation Militia; then, he and Doc exited the vehicle, walked across the bridge, and into the town. The population of the town might have been 500 persons. As Scotty and Doc walked along the road, they pulled open the doors of houses and yelled at the inhabitants -- many of them (but not all) did as the Morrow Project commanded and fled into the fields on either side.
As the two Morrow team members approached the fort, a tough, grizzled man walked out; he wore boots and canvas clothing, with a pistol-holster and knife-sheath on his belt. His name was Samson, the bailiff of Jefferson. He didn't seem too impressed by the Morrow team, and had some harsh words for the team's actions in scaring the townsfolk. Scotty (still claiming to be Sergeant Crockett) demanded that any Purity Corp members present be handed over to the California Liberation Militia for questioning and rehabilitation. Samson told the two Morrow folk that Jefferson didn't treat their guests that way, but if the CLM wanted to come inside and talk with the Baron about the subject, they were welcome to enter.
Scotty and Doc agreed to enter the fort; Doc kept up a running commentary on the radio, hoping that Gootz (back in the turret of the Commando V150, about 500 meters away) would deal with any trouble. Jesse was on the radio and also watching for trouble around the armored car; JJ was still perched high in a tree. Here are some pictures of similar motte-and-bailey castles:
http://www.buildmodelcastles.com/assets/images/motte_bailey.jpg
http://www.stronghold-knights.com/site/album/aubergine/motte.jpg
http://th00.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2012/116/b/8/motte_and_bailey_castle_by_vonmurder-d4xm1kk.jpg
Inside the bailey (the lower, outer part of the fort) were about twenty soldiers; they had clubs, swords, and bows, old US military helmets, leather armor, and some wall-mounted ballistas. The buildings in the bailey included a forge and a stable. Samson led Doc and Scotty up the motte, to the central tower (about 8 meters on a side, 3 stories high, mounted on stilts). A few more guards were present atop the motte, with a couple more ballistas and a couple of fake machine guns.
Inside the wooden tower, it was very dark on the two lower floors, which were divided into rooms. The third floor, however, was the throne room (more or less), taking up the whole width of the tower at that level, and fitted with three wide windows on each side. Baron Pierce (armed with a .44 Magnum revolver) and half-a-dozen of his soldiers were present, along with two Purists. The Purists, Caucasian males, were wearing white robes over what seemed to be camo pants; one had a pump shotgun near-to-hand, the other, an old M3 grease gun ("Ooooh, I want," said Gootz). The Purists looked like tough and ruthless men; the older one, Jeremiah, did all the talking.
Scotty blustered and cajoled, but Baron Pierce wasn't about to turn the Purists over to "Sergeant Crockett", due to some cultural rules about hospitality, and perhaps due to having been nicely bribed by them. Plus, the Baron was sort of a jerk.
Scotty and Doc were escorted out of the fort and back to the bridge by Samson; he hinted that he was not too fond of the Purists himself. Back at the Commando V150, Scotty decided to have JJ deal with the Purists when they leave; the vehicle drove off back to the Interstate and parked (it was about 5:30 pm).
JJ waited in his tree with his M21 rifle, as the townsfolk went back to their usual activities.
25 May 2139
weather report: 10% overcast, moderate winds from N; nightly low temperature 11 C, daily high temperature 18 C. No precipitation.
After midnight, two horsemen rode out of the bailey; JJ shot them, killing one and mortally wounding the other. Probably the Purists, and good enough for the team! JJ shimmied down from his tree and was picked up by the rest of the team.
The team drove north for an hour or so, pulled over into a copse for some rest, and continued their return to Oregon City after dawn. Once back at the city, they had more showers and shaves, and a huge lunch.
Scotty convinced Regulator Thompson that the team had assassinated the two Purists; in return, Thompson agreed to provide "troops" to help the team drive the Pale Riders out of Biggs. The Project members turned in for a good night's sleep (with some assistance from Theresa's Joy House), they planned on getting an early start the next day.
26 May 2139
weather report: 50% overcast, light winds from N; nightly low temperature 7 C, daily high temperature 15 C. No precipitation.
The sun rose at about 5:30 am; the team was more or less aboard their vehicle at that time. Waiting at the north gate were six mounted men, as arranged by Regulator Thompson. The men (Chuck, Zach, Ollie, Brugo, Dixon and the notorious Ted) were very scruffy and dissolute; but they all had cartridge firearms and good horses. Scotty gave them a brief talking-to, and the team headed towards the Columbia River.
By sunset, they were 50 kilometers from Oregon City, and camped along the riverbank. The other members of R54 were amused when Scotty took Ted off into the bushes for some ... hanky panky?
27 May 2139
weather report: 50% overcast, light winds from N; nightly low temperature 13 C, daily high temperature 22 C. No precipitation.
The team and their militiamen continued riding and driving east along the south shore of the Columbia River. It became clear to the militiamen that the Commando V150 was amphibious.
28 May 2139
weather report: CAVU, light winds from N; nightly low temperature 17 C, daily high temperature 26 C. No precipitation.
Late in the day, R54 and their militia reached The Dalles. The River Folk there agreed to help with a dawn attack on the Sam Hill Bridge -- among other things, they would send some of their boats.
29 May 2139
weather report: CAVU, light winds from NW; nightly low temperature 20 C, daily high temperature 28 C. No precipitation.
The plan of attack: the signal would be Gootz firing the V150's 20mm cannon from the southern bluffs, into the mortar pit on the north bank (you can see the bluffs beyond the bridge in this modern photo); Jesse would be firing the MAG-58 on the turret roof at the same time. Doc and a squad of River Folk would be a few hundred meters away from the south fort, with the other MAG-58; JJ would have crept as close to the south fort as he could, and Scotty would lead a mounted attack with the militia.
Sam Hill Bridge. 783 meters long, 8 meters wide center span, 2 meter wide suspension spans, 25 meters under center in current conditions
In point of fact, Gootz's shooting was skilled and effective -- a few rounds of high explosive incendiary and armor piercing incendiary ammunition set off the stored ammunition and gunpowder at the north fort! The sound of the explosion echoed across the river, as Jesse and Doc opened up with their machine guns, and JJ began sniping. Scotty called out, "Charge!" and led his piratical gang at a gallop towards the south fort.
A few random shots from the south fort (and from the squad on the mid-span defenses) did no damage: the Pale Riders clearly had only seen the cannon fire from the V150. Gootz, JJ and Jesse fired some rounds at the mid-span area, since the Riders were traversing their 3" Ordnance rifle around to the south. Doc, meanwhile, was peppering the south fort, and Scotty continued his gallop towards the south fort.
Gootz realized that the big mortar on the near side would no doubt have his lovely firing position pre-registered, so he shifted his fire from the center span of the bridge to the mortar position in Biggs. And just as happened on the north side, a burst of 20mm rounds set off the stored ammunition and propellant, with a glorious boom! Scotty and his howling militiamen were about 100 meters from the fort, and got a bit deafened by the blast. A chunk of wood came spinning out of the huge, gray cloud of smoke and killed Dixon.
Seeing the blast and the damage it had done to Biggs, Doc and his River Folk picked up their machine gun and began advancing. Gootz and Jesse fired another burst each at the Pale Riders on the center span, and noticed that the suspension spans at the north and south ends of the bridge had both been broken by the blasts. Jesse shifted over to the driver's seat of the Commando V-150 and began the cautious trip down through the hills to Biggs.
Meanwhile, Scotty and his remaining five militiamen entered the fort at Biggs -- it was entirely devastated. As the militiamen gazed at the rising mushroom clouds, reaching into the dawn skies, Scotty turned to them with his Stoner leveled. He commanded them to all drop their guns, before he would "give you your reward." The militiamen, poltoons all, knew that phrases like that usually came right before being blasted into kingdom come -- except for Ted, who laid down his pistol and walked to the riverbank with his reward as Scotty commanded.
There was a brief standoff, while Doc and his machinegun team trotted towards the fort. JJ was watching the scene in Biggs through his riflescope, but the combination of dim lighting and huge clouds of smoke made his view a bit uncertain. Suddenly Brugo -- the biggest and meanest of the militiamen -- put down his shotgun and walked forward, saying, "I'll take that reward, Mr. Crockett." Scotty slung his rifle and held out a bag of gold, but kept a hand grenade hidden behind his back; as Brugo reached out for the money, there was a flurry of action, and the grenade was thrown.
Scotty later told his team mates that Brugo pulled out a holdout pistol as he reached for the gold. The bullet went though the meaty part of Scotty's hand (9 points of damage > functionally incapacitated, 9 points of blood loss).
The grenade went off behind Brugo, killing him and Chuck, Zach and Ollie (and a couple of the horses); Scotty's resistweave coverall saved him from any (serious) damage. Thus, as Doc and his River Folk climbed over the debris at the edge of the fort, they saw Scotty and his militiamen down on the ground (except for Ted). Doc deployed the River Folk to secure the near bank and Ted, then ran up to render aid. JJ began climbing down from the bluffs, and the Commando V-150 was making its way to Biggs.
The tops of the smoke clouds were touched by the morning sunlight just at this time, and reflected a reddish pale light down onto the fort. A heavy scum of debris, corpses and ash slowly swirled away on the Columbia River; more River Folk in boats were approaching the bridge, killing any Pale Riders that tried to escape.
Ted came back from the riverbank, and asked Jesse for his reward; after receiving it, he retrieved his gun, mounted up, took the reins of another loose horse, and headed east; "Give my best to Mr. Crockett, it's been a real pleasure!" Later, there was some confusion between Doc and Scotty about how many rewards Ted had received ...
Doc stitched up Scotty's hand, after cleaning up some broken bits of bone; then he turned the Large Med Kit on it. Looking over the rules, the wound counted as Major, so it uses one of the kit's "doses."
Notes
During the battle, Gootz fired three bursts from the Rh202 (one at each mortar pit, and one at the center span; he also fired two bursts from the coax Stoner. JJ fired off ten shots; Doc and Jesse each fired off four or five bursts. Gootz's bursts were 6 rounds each; Doc's and Jesse's were 10 rounds each. And of course Scotty threw a frag grenade. All duly noted and recorded.
Shopping requests! Still being collated and responded to.
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Jesse
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radio repair parts
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antenna parts
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adapters, adapters and more adapters. If scroungers can come up with sets of RF adapters, we should buy 'em
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coax cable (50 or 75 ohm, preferably 50)
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main problem: rubber and plastic insulators and gaskets have deteriorated. They're not very flexible now, and have cracks.
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Lab and aircraft coax cables use PTFE or FEP (versions of Teflon), not rubber. They're good to 100C and are quite resistant to chemicals. Retains 50% of its resilience after 20,000 hours at 205C (400F).
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a better soldering iron than the one from Willows, crimpers and cutters
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these are available, you had to draw them for the scroungers to recognize them and fetch them from Portland - Added to my team list
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multi-meters, field strength meters, and other hand-held or small bench meters
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again, the rubber and plastic parts have deteriorated ("Damn, the knob fell off"), and capacitors have usually gone bad. Actual circuit boards are okay once you clean them off -- if they weren't short-circuited by bad capacitors or other messed-up components. Nuclear EMP destroyed many solid-state components. And again, you'll have to draw them.
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Oregon City has some electrical services, but the local electricians use not-multi-at-all meters: galvanometers, ammeters, and volt meters, basically. Usually a small wooden box with post connectors; a few lucky fellows might have old pre-WW2 multimeters. They don't have any tube technology in Oregon City, and don't use AC power.
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when Team R54 returns to Oregon City (I'm assuming you are) there will be several wagon loads of busted televisions, car stereos, electric clocks, refrigerator motors, light fixtures, telephones, etc. brought down from Portland to sell to Jesse. A wagon-load probably goes for $10; almost nothing in the wagons is in working condition, but can be salvaged for parts.
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So Kirk should make some luck rolls (?) as we can pay for *2* wagon loads of assorted crappy salvaged electronics.
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a good SWR meter (standing wave ratio) and/or antenna analyzer would be a coup
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yes, yes it would
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old film or video equipment would be interesting
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old video tapes are in pretty horrid shape; the tapes and cases are brittle, and the oxide powder is pretty much falling off the tapes. They've been left in very hot environments for decades.
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Movie film is know of in Oregon City (but not produced there); they don't have any long films (at most one reel), and they're only shown at fairs and holidays, projected without sound (but with an orchestra and spoken script). They have more 16mm and 8mm projectors than they have films. Some bits of 35mm film are projected more-or-less as filmstrips.
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? I was interested in equipment, not tape or film.
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general
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Scotty says, "I believe both the River Traders and the Oregon City folk agreed to allow us to restock staples and food stocks. An overview of what we might find in the way of foodstuffs would be helpful. Also, do they have any noticeably better clothing available than what we saw in Willows and Potter Valley? If so, I imagine some of that would be very useful for each of us. Good boots, shoes and socks are always interesting."
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I'll get a bit more detail, but generally Oregon City has better prices and variety than Potter Valley or Willows. Still no pork, beef nor chicken, though. The River Folk buy most of their food from the Willamette Valley, except for fish.
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from Randall the Mountain Walker:
cost, price, and description of his five best knives
two 20th Century butcher knives, a bit nicked and with new handles, but very sharp and strong: $4 each - None taken.
three hand-made hunter knives, with leather or horn grips: $4 each - Purchased for Doc, Gootz, and Scotty.
one T-handle push dagger: $6 - Purchased for JJ.
cost, price, and description of the weapons he was carrying.
four .58 cal smoothbore flintlock muskets: $18 each
two .58 cal smoothbore flintlock pistols: $20 each
flints, horns, molds, etc. for these
any other interesting trade goods he had, including some of his local herbal 'chronic'.
blank books, blankets, salt, corn whiskey, gunpowder ...
'chronic' pretty cheap at $1 per pound - 1lb purchased.
from Stan the gunsmith in Oregon City:
repair/refurbish (new barrel, spring, and/or firing pin) for the M1911A1 from the Foundation folks.... and any magazines he might happen to have lying around
Stan has never made an M1911 barrel or firing pin. On a POWx1% roll for each of those things, he might have sold "old stock" around. Ditto for magazines, which will be very old of course.
Roll missed on barrel and magazines, made for firing pin. Do I get a POW/Luck check? ;)
nope. It'll cost you a measly $1
cost of production of 2 'local' M79-oids and delivery time ... with stocks and rifled barrels. Sights would be good but I can't see how he could make anything close to accurate
actually, he can look at the sights you have for your M203. The hard part (for Stan) is making a rifled 40mm barrel. As a note:
Stan's workers can turn out a rifle-musket in 120 man-hours, to a known design with their jigs set up, etc.; Stan charges $16-$20 for one of those. A custom, one-off gun will take about 480 man-hours; Stan would probably charge $75-$100 for one of those. His skilled workers earn about $1 per day.
a smoothbore 40mm grenade launcher would cost about $25, sight not really needed, and might be ready in a week. A rifled one, with a sight, about $100, and take him about a month to deliver. - One rifled model so ordered!
leather shooters gloves or leather with resistweave on the backs of the hands.
Stan doesn't have any resistweave ... what are you gonna cut up? -
After showing Stan and his workers a resistweave coverall, do they think they could actually sew it in such as manner as to attach resistweave to the back of some shooters gloves and then cover that with thin leather or dark cloth (to improve durability)? If so, Scotty will sacrifice a sleeve or two off his 'spare' coveralls and order gloves for the team. What is the likely cost and time to delivery?
A couple of days if you want. Stan isn't a glovemaker, but he can put you in touch with someone in town. Resistweave isn't too hard to cut with scissors, and it can be easily sewn. A pair of roping gloves uses almost 1000 square centimeters of materials; the "back of the hands" is about 100 square inches. A whole single sleeve is about 2000 square centimeters -- both the amount of fabric in a glove and in a sleeve are rough estimates here, but two gloves per sleeve seems likely. Remember you guys also each have a pair of nomex "pilots" gloves. Custom-made gloves, about $1 each (either modified leather gloves, or a complete pair of gloves made from resistweave.
any pump shotguns
roll POWx1% for him to have one around; on a special, two of them; on a crit, one will be "fancy" (8 round magazine, good condition, etc.)
'04- Special! How much and what sort of condition?
Winchester Model 12, sawed off to 38 cm (15 inch) barrel, whippet stock, 5 round capacity (but not for magnum ammo), $120
Ithaca Model 37, 46 cm (18 inch) barrel, 5 round capacity, can handle magnum ammo, $150 - This one purchased.
cost, price, and description of the best longarms he can produce readily.
cost, price, and description of the best handguns he can produce readily.
Stan is the president of the Gun Club (and a satisfied customer); the prices listed for Oregon City are pretty much his prices.
price for trading/selling the 3 Foundation rifles we 'salvaged'.
he's never seen those before, and people around here (the Willamette Valley) don't have 7.62mm NATO ammunition (though the Purists do). He'll pay $40 each, presuming you throw in at least all the ammo that came with them.
Sold! 3 rifles with 60 Foundation & 40 Project rounds ammo. Would we get more as 'store credit' instead of cash?
sure, Stan will give you a 10% store credit bonus, thus $44 each rifle = $132 store credit; call it $200 with the 7.62mm NATO thrown in
price per round for Morrow Project 12 gauge, 5.56, 9mm, 7.62 ammo we could make available.
the Purists are about the only people in the Northwest with any substantial number of weapons in 7.62mm NATO or 5.56mm NATO. Stan will pay $2 per round, for up to 20 rounds of each; his price will drop after that ... Done - 20rds each
so $80, or $88 if you take it as store credit
Stan will pay $1 per round for 9mm Parabellum ammunition, up to 50 rounds. His price will drop after that ... Done - 50rds
so $50, or $55 if you take it as store credit
He'll pay $4 per round for Project 12 gauge shells, for up to 40 shells; his price will drop after that. - Done - 40rds
so $160, or $176 if you take it as store credit
any small SMGs sitting around waiting for proper ammo or buyers
nope
.45 ACP reloads
Stan has a dozen or so beat-up, mismatched rounds of .45 ACP in his "random ammo drawer". He'll sell those for $0.50 each, as-is. - Sold - $6
you can pay for those with store credit, of course
Plunder so far includes:
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two militia horses (Scotty was riding a loaner from the River Folk, two militia horses were killed, and Ted took Brugo's horse) - What about the Pale Rider horses that we were able to collect at the last run??
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the River Folk collected them (they were on the north bank of the river).
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the weapons and gear of some militiamen
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Dixon
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saddle, canteen, bedroll
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percussion lock breechloading .58 rifle, and 6 rounds (including 1 in the gun) - To be traded to Stan in Oregon City for $??
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Stan will pay you $15 for it, or give you $16.50 in credit
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M5 bayonet (for Garand rifle), old and beat up, with leather scabbard - to be refurbished in Oregon City for $??
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Stan will pay $1 for this
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percussion lock muzzle loading pistol, .58 cal (no holster) - To be traded to Stan for $??
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Stan will pay $6 for this
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$0.50 in quarters
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forage bag with cheap 20th Century binoculars (kinda cloudy and worn, but still working) - Added to team stores
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Ollie
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saddle, canteen, bedroll - Saddle to be kept with horses. Canteen added to team stores. Lacking access to pesticides or heavy detergents, bedrolls burned up.
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the River Folk will wrap it around a dead militiaman for burial
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percussion lock breechloading .58 rifle, and 3 rounds (including 1 in the gun) - To be traded to Stan
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Stan will pay you $15 for it, or give you $16.50 in credit
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bowie knife, old and beat up, with scabbard - Scotty took this.
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Stan will pay $1 for this
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percussion lock muzzle loading pistol, .58 cal, with belt clip - To be traded to Stan
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Stan will pay $6 for this
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zip gun derringer, .38 Special with one cartridge - To be traded to Stan
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Stan will pay $0.50 for this ("Well, it does come with a bullet ...")
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Zach
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saddle, canteen, bedroll, leather saddlebags with nothing you want in them Saddle and saddle bags to be kept with horses. - Canteen added to team stores. Bedroll burned up.
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the River Folk will wrap it around a dead militiaman for burial
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breechloading double-barrel 12 ga shotgun (black powder cartridges only) - To be traded to Stan
- Stan will pay $12 for this
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hunting knife, old and beat up, with scabbard - to be sold in Oregon City for $??
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Stan will pay $1 for this
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16 rounds of black powder 12 gauge buckshot, on a canvas bandolier (capacity 32 rounds) - Added to team stores for JJ's booby trap making request.
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Chuck
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saddle, canteen, bedroll - Saddle to be kept with horses. Canteen added to team stores. Bedroll burned up.
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percussion lock breechloading .58 rifle, and 1 round in the gun - To be traded to Stan
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Stan will pay you $15 for it, or give you $16.50 in credit
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hunting knife, old and beat up, with scabbard - to be sold in Oregon City
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Stan will pay $1 for this
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zip pistol, 9mm with 8 cartridges - to be traded to Stan
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Stan will pay $4 for this ("Well, it does come with some bullets ...")
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$3 in quarters
- Brugo
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breechloading double-barrel 12 ga shotgun (black powder cartridges only) - To be traded to Stan
- Stan will pay $12 for this
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hunting knife, old and beat up, in leather scabbard - to be sold in Oregon City
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Stan will pay $1 for this
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throwing knife, new, in scabbard worn on thong around neck - kept for JJ.
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12 rounds of black powder 12 gauge buckshot - added to JJs booby trap makings bandolier above
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.45 Single Action Colt "sheriff's gun", 2" barrel, no ejector - kept for JJ
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this is the gun Scotty was shot with
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15 rounds of .45 Long Colt ammo, black powder with plain lead bullets
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leather gunbelt, with loops for 20 rounds of 12 gauge ammo and 12 rounds of .45 ammo, and a holster for a Single Action Colt - Kept
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bullwhip - to be donated to the River Folk
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forage bag with $17 in quarters and a couple of solid dollars - bag added to team stores
" ... what do I have? Nothin' but you egg-suckin', chicken stealing gutter trash with not even sixty rounds between you."
-- Deke Thornton, from "The Wild Bunch"
The Spectator
While the team was in Oregon City, there were a lot of curious people asking questions. The local newspaper will have articles about you guys in the next issue (available by the time you return from throwing the Pale Riders out of Biggs). Here are some questions that I'd be curious to see your answers for:
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Who are you?
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We're the California Liberation Militia! Individually, we are:
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(Scotty) I am Sergeant James Sonny Crockett, of the 1st of the 54th Reconnaissance. "Recon sees the way, man!" We are always willing to speak with distinguished members of the fourth estate, particularly if they are buying the beer.
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(Doc) Gerry Davis
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(Gootz)
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(JJ)
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(Jesse) SPC Jesse Cooper.
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Who/what are you liberating California from?
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(Jesse) narco-oppressive collectivist dictators
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What the locals hear: "Gibberish oppressive collect-something dictators"
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(Scotty) Oppressive neo-fascist collectivists
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What the locals hear: "Oppressive gibberish collect-somethings"
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(Doc) Some bad people who are oppressing the common folk of the fair state of California.
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Who's your leader?
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Colonel James Bruce Bowie
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What brings you to Oregon City?
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(Jesse) trade
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(Scotty) Other than our vehicle? The food, the weather, the women, supplies.... and trade
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(Doc) We heard there were good folk up here. Times are tough in Cali.
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Are you allied with the Combine? Or the Purists, the Hand of Jehovah, the Chinook, or the People's Army?
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(Jesse) Friendly, no, no, who? and who?
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(Scotty) Apparently, not until we are able to survive the trek to Eden, NO, Hell No, don't think so, and who?
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(Doc) We like the combine just fine! You are all fine, upstanding folks! Any alliance would have to be decided up in Eden, though, right? The Purists and Hand o’ Jehova folks sound like a bunch of pushy weirdos. I think they sound like a lot of trouble. Chinnook? Never heard of them! Are the decent folk? Where abouts are they? Peoples Army? Never heard of them neither! What are they like?
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What does "MP" stand for?
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(Jesse) 'Morrow Project' unless Scotty gave us an alternative. Midnight Prowler? Mighty Peckers?
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(Scotty) It denotes us as Cadre Militia Personnel
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(Doc) That’s pretty, isn’t it? I think it stands for <dramatic pause> Mustache Patrol (holding up the handlebar mustache from his kit, or just wiggling a finger sideways under his nose, while waggling his eyebrows)
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We hear you don't like the slavers out in the desert (this refers to the Pale Riders and other raiding groups), is that so?
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(Jesse) Yes. Yes it is.
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(Scotty) Yup, we don't like em!.... Don't like slavery... and we really don't like slavers or slave traders.
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(Doc) Don't like them at all! Slaving is WRONG!
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Is your armored car electric? Who made it? Can we get one?
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(Jesse) Cadillac Gage. No. No, you can't.
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(Scotty) What? What he said! Cadillac Gage. If I find a place that sells them, I'll buy one and you can pay me back.
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(Doc) Yes it is electric. Made by Cadillac-Gage. You have to talk to Sgt. Crockett.
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Do folks down in California all have guns like yours?
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(Jesse) Yes.
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(Scotty) No, of course not! Only the Militia, Foundation soldiers, Cartel guards, Slavers, and the neo-fascists.
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(Doc) Not everybody. But there are a lot of guns down there.
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Are you available for paying work?
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(Jesse) Speaking for myself? Sure.
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(Scotty) That would depend. I am sure we would be happy to listen to most reasonable offers ... as long as it was not working for the Slavers, Purists, or Hand of Jehovah.
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(Doc) Talk to Sergeant Crockett, he's in charge.
on to the next report!