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2 July 2139 3 July 2139 4 July 2139 5 July 2139 6 July 2139 Jesse Cooper's Adventures in the Corrupt City  Notes

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report covers:   2 July 2139, 1900 MT to 6 July 2139 1800 MT

 

2 July 2139

 

weather report:  wind light from W; nightly low temperature 14 C, daily high temperature 50 C. No precipitation.

 

      The team was rolling to a stop along Interstate 15, just outside the ruins of Littlefield, Arizona. A kilometer or so ahead, the old Interstate had once crossed the Virgin River on two bridges -- long fallen. A dirt road now meandered down the low bluffs along the river, crossed the riverbed itself on a new bridge (build from salvaged I-beams), and traversed up the far side of the river bank to regain the Interstate highway.The dirt road is clearly used by heavy trucks, up to 18-wheel tractor-trailers.

     However, on the far bluff, the team could see an outpost alongside the road, roughly 30 meters on a side, with a couple of guard towers visible. The outpost would certainly have noticed the team's V150 approaching -- it threw up a fine roostertail of dust, visible for kilometers -- but with the sun behind the vehicle, the outpost's inhabitants probably couldn't make out much about the vehicle. Likely all they could tell is "it's just one truck".

     More descriptions of the outpost were given at the end of the last report.

     The team had less than an hour left before sunset; the air was still stiflingly hot. In the end, after a brief CB radio conversation with the outpost (in which trading was discussed), the team drove well around, and continued along the dusty caravan route. A passing supply caravan, headed to Outpost November, said that about 3 dozen men were stationed there.  The team continued to where the trade route swung off the old Interstate highway, and headed roughly southeast towards Styx. The team camped near the ruins of Hurricane, Utah.

 

3 July 2139

 

weather report:  wind strong from SW; nightly low temperature 16 C, daily high temperature 50 C. No precipitation.

 

      The team drove about 200 kilometers along the old state highway routes, from Hurricane UT to Fredonia, and finally to Marble Canyon. The weather was terrifically hot; the terrain was mighty dry. The Navajo Bridge over the Colorado River was long gone, probably destroyed immediately after the war. There was a long, sort-of paved runway near the former bridge, with a rather unimpressive attendant; he said airplanes came by once or twice a year. The team followed the trade road northeast, along the west edge of the canyon; the river itself, far below, looked very polluted.

     As the team approached Styx, they could see wide areas of irrigated farmland to the north (northwest of the town, that is), windmills above small farming villages, tall lookout towers scattered about the landscape, lines of utility poles converging on Styx itself, and a dark plume of smoke and haze streaming up out of the canyon and away to the north. Styx! Noisy, hard-working, polluted and dangerous center of industry! As the team approached the city, it was late afternoon -- the sun had long ago gone below the western rim of the canyon, but still shone on the high peaks and canyon walls to the east.

 

     A broad junkyard/shanty town (population a couple hundred) stood beside the highway; very little of value to the town made it into the junkyard, however. In the stockyard just outside the town, horses, goats and sheep were being led to slaughter. The main gate for travelers had a wide plaza de los camions (truck lot) beside it, with the rigs of Cartel truckers who didn't want to pay the entry fees to drive into the city. Flying over the Iron Palace was a flag:

 

the flag of the Iron Society

 

     The team decided that they didn't want the city guards poking around inside their truck, so they parked in the plaza. Each of the Cartel trucks had a guard on duty, so Jesse was left to talk to the Cartel changos, guard the V150 and monitor the radio. The rest of the team wandered into the city.

     The city smelled of stockyard, slaughterhouses, canneries, foundries, welding, soldering, steel mills, paint, breweries, tanneries, chemical plants, coal-burning steam engines, diesel exhaust, sewage and pollution. Trucks rumbled by, powered by gasogen engines; railway locomotives thudded and clanked in the switch yard, coupling rusty old hopper cars; machine tools vibrated and screeched in the factories, pumps hummed or throbbed, and the blades of big wind turbines whooshed by; steam whistles, electric bells, telephones, primitive speakers, and loud-voiced men all vied for attention; and a thousand other noises made sleep difficult. As the sun went down, light was provided by oil lamps, coal-burning braziers, incandescent bulbs, a very few neon lamps, and (from the watch towers and in the factories) the harsh blue glare from arc lamps.

 

Coinage seen in Styx

 

      The shops and businesses mostly used the usual old American coinage, but there was apparently some coinage also issued by the City; along with tokens issued by the Cartel for some purpose.

     The city was incredibly busy. The "flea market" wasn't actually the 20th Century style -- it was mostly objects made by the individual craftsmen in town. The Central Market featured the wares of the larger merchants, guilds, or companies (including the Cartel). Scotty bought a box of fifty .45 ACP reloads for $25.

 

this map is rotated a bit; north is off towards the upper right corner

 

     After eating some "meat", the team hired a young urchin boy, Pablito, as a guide. The team asked to be taken to the zep hangars, a bar ($0.25 for two shots of generic 100 proof hard liquor -- with names like Taos Lightning, Cactus Wine, Tanglefoot, Coffin Varnish ...; rye or bourbon whiskey goes for $0.50 to $0.75 a shot; non-alcoholic sasparilla at $0.10 a glass; bad coffee at $0.50 per cup ), a bath ($0.25 for hot bath, $0.05 for a cold shower), a brothel (Padre Pedro's, $1 short time, $3 for all night), and an eatery ($0.25 to $0.50 for a meal, probably) in that order (though the bath and the brothel probably coincided). Doc paid Padre Pedro's about $0.10 per girl, for 20 girls, to "play doctor". Kevin, cross off some money ...

     The team came out to the V150 to give Jesse a chance to see the sights; see the Notes section below, and the "current information" page on Styx for some of the information learned that evening.

     Up on the northern rim of the canyon, the team could see what looked like a rocket launch site:  a wide concrete pad, with light stands at the corners; a 25 meter tall gantry tower; and a low masonry blockhouse off to one side. The gantry, light stands, and pad were all scorched and slightly damaged by either a launch or an explosion ...

     In the Central Market, a weapon merchant had a 9mm Ingram MAC 10 submachinegun for sale. It was in fairly good condition, complete with a Sionics suppressor and one magazine; the team felt fairly certain it was Morrow Project issue. The merchant claimed that he'd purchased it recently, from the apprentice of a Ranger -- the Ranger had died in combat against the Wastelords, but the apprentice had returned to Styx. The price, $300, was too rich for the team.

     A note:  the 9mm version of the MAC 10 does indeed use a proprietary magazine; however, Team R54 has at least two caches which should contain 120 empty magazines each. One of those caches is the one in New Mexico.

     After hearing about the death of the Ranger, the team went to the Ranger station, but were told by two young boys there that the surviving Ranger Rodolfo couldn't see them.

     That night, the team decided to sleep at their vehicle, out on the plaza.

 

4 July 2139

 

weather report:  wind strong from SW; nightly low temperature 17 C, daily high temperature 48 C. No precipitation.  

 

     At about 4 in the morning, one of the boys from the Ranger station approached the team on the plaza. He said the team was in danger, and that the Ranger recruit, Rodolfo, wanted to speak with them. The team spread a few rumors among the Cartel guards:  "The Wastelords may be preparing to attack Styx tonight." That certainly brought out more Cartel guards, nervously handling their rifles The boy led the team (again, except Jesse) through a low hole in the town wall, and to the back door of the Ranger station. In the living quarters, they met Rodolfo, who was recovering -- or dying -- of the wounds he'd gotten a couple of weeks ago in the San Luis Valley.

     While Doc examined the Ranger's wounds (severely injured leg, plus several light injuries), the team asked him about the danger. He told them the Foundation was trying to persuade the Iron Society and the Overlord to seize the team, and their vehicle, probably about dawn.

     Doc was able to completely heal Rodolfo's wounds with his Project large Med Kit (and a minor amount of 'regular' supplies from his first aid bag). This counted as "healing a major wound", by the way. Rodolfo was quite amazed and grateful; the local medicos had expected that he would lose either his leg or his life.

     Rodolfo told the team that his instructor, Corporal Ferdinand Schneider, had agreed to help the Tradelands thwart the Wastelords. On June 22, Schneider and Rodolfo had been ambushed by the Wastelords, near Mount Mestas (on the southeastern route into the Valley, along old US Route 160). Schneider was killed, but he and Rodolfo managed to wipe out most of their attackers; Rodolfo returned to Styx with Schneider's body and some items taken from the attackers. He arrived here on June 27th and sold a few items (including the submachinegun) to pay for messengers to warn the Rangers (and to pay the local medicos). Schneider felt that the attack was an ambush.

     The team agreed to meet with some representatives from the Tradelands, here in Styx -- the same folk who had contacted Corporal Schneider in mid-June. The team also got the names of some reliable people, here and in Santa Fe, to pass messages or store equipment. Given the likely raid by the Iron Society or the Foundation in a few hours, the team asked Rodolfo to bring the Tradelands representatives for Doc and JJ to chat with; Scotty spoke with a couple of the "people considered reliable by the Rangers" in town at the same time. Gootz went back out to the plaza to help Jesse prepare the V150 for a possible hasty retreat under fire.

 

• Zdenko Jahoda - originally from Ultraviolet, in Colorado; works as a late-night shift foreman at the acid works -- the team spoke with him
  

• Bear - a mountain man and trapper, knows the Big Rocks very well

• Iron Hat Wapasha - an exile from the Navaho Nation

• Wubbe Aukema - a native of Styx, a bartender and retired caravan guard -- the team spoke with him
  

• Alexander Jo - a locksmith
  

 

     Rodolfo said he only knew of one Ranger "associate" in Santa Fe:

 

• Ricardo Perez - a horse-dealer

 

The Tradelands Need You!

A delegation from the Tradelands is present in Styx, seeking assistance. They are a coalition of small, independent towns in the Wet Mountain Valley, to the northeast of the San Luis Valley.      For decades, the Tradelands were raided by the Wastelords once or twice a year. Sometimes the Wastelords were driven off, sometimes they had more success. About ten years ago, the Wastelords were taken over by, or conquered by, a more powerful outfit; they kept the name but soon changed their ways. They still came over the mountain passes about once a year, but their demands were ... more specific. They mostly preferred young men, and Ancient knowledge and equipment; and they even provided support and protection in a few cases:  medical assistance, driving off other raider outfits, and the like.      Some of the young men drafted into the Wastelords returned to the Tradelands from time to time, and said that a group of a few dozen outsiders ruled the group, using their powerful Ancient science. They have a cave in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, on the east edge of the San Luis Valley, called Shelter City. The Wastelords' leadership were attempting to impose a new attitude on their army:  "Knowledge is Power". They were teaching some of their warriors to read and write the Ancient language, even.      In May of this year, the Wastelords conducted "tribute trips" of an unprecedented nature -- early, and far more damaging. They didn't take too many more young men, but went out of their way to gather valuables. In fact, they even took away some things (water pumps at the village of Ebb, for example) that they had installed in previous years.      Most of the loot was traded with the Cartel, or with merchants in Styx, for war materiel -- guns, ammunition, scrap tanks, tires, etc.      The biggest towns in the Tradelands -- Bazaar (formerly Gardner, CO), Dry Fort, and Spilunk (formerly Silver Cliff, CO) have formed a military alliance against the Wastelords. They have sent three representatives (and three guards) to Styx, to seek assistance:   Elder Vilunk, a tall, withered albino from Spilunk Trademaster Gorgel, a handsome man in white robes, from Bazaar Captain Ulz, a veteran from Dry Fort, scarred and deformed, with an ugly scar from his right nostril to his left lip, exposing far too much of his gums and jagged teeth        The Tradelands alliance has tried to send spies into the Wastelords lands -- none returned; they suspect Wastelord spies in their towns betrayed their agents. Here in Styx they contacted Corporal Ferdinand Schneider of the Rangers. Schneider agreed to help, but was ambushed in the San Luis Valley and died in a massive firefight.      The alliance fears that the Wastelords have spies even here in Styx; it seems likely, since the Wastelords do business here from time to time. They need persons who can perhaps be recruited by the Wastelords without appearing to be agents of the Tradelands. Literacy, and knowledge of the Wastelords' "battle languages" (French and Vietnamese) would be useful, as well.      The representatives will offer trade goods, but the Tradelands are not rich (and are in fact fairly poor now, after the attacks). The largest of the towns, Bazaar, has about 300 inhabitants. Muskets and zip guns are their best weapons.      They provided the names of some more Tradelands representatives in Santa Fe:   Trademaster Gagan, a short, balding man, from Bazaar Lieutenant Shim, a thick, dark-haired, unintelligent warrior from Dry Fort        An interesting point about the Wastelords:  they used radios to communicate, and some of their conversations were in French or Vietnamese.

 

Morrow Vehicles Seen At Styx

The "Paladins" were first seen as some Foundation project or military expedition, when they came through in August of 2129 (ten years ago).      They totalled over 1200 men, in 80 gasogen-powered trucks; and four "silent armored cars". The city of Styx later noticed that this force had cleaned out the outposts along the Interstate on their way east from Sierra Gehenna, and were not helped by the Foundation garrison of Fortress Nessus (in Styx).      They were dressed and equipped the same as the Foundation at the time (i.e., only officers had  some Morrow Project small arms and Resistweave® clothing).      They stopped only for a couple of days, made some big purchases (arms, ammo, etc.) and headed southeast, past the Big Rocks into Arid City, in Texas.

The next year (May of 2130), another convoy of vehicles came from the west (or at least along the road west from Styx). They didn't claim to be the Foundation, and some of them gave obviously false names for themselves and for their group:    the League for Progress  the Well-Endowed Army  the United Project  the American Civil Lubrication Union  the Liberation Society  Mortal Kataract  Sweet Bullet  the Playboys the 'Merican Project (in response to the "MP" seen on a coverall)  the Rat Patrol  and just the Project ... plus many more that people have forgotten. A few folk may remember seeing Morrow Project insignia on coveralls; their leader was a man, age about 40, named Jacob Krell. They had two big "land trains", half a dozen or so silent armored cars, a dozen or so other silent vehicles, and at least one whup-whup. There were about 40 of them, all men, almost all in khaki coveralls; most of them knew only the Ancient language.      This group traveled east through the Navaho Nation (causing trouble) and eventually ended up in the Big Rocks, where they clashed with -- and conquered -- the Wastelords.      Some locals later followed their tracks back to Hurricane Mesa, near Zion Park, and found a mountain with a recently-abandoned underground base (see below).

 

     The team agreed to help the Tradelands, and quickly left Styx. They didn't want to risk swimming their V150 across the river, and (if the warnings about the Iron Society were correct) couldn't pass through the town to cross the bridge. Thus they went speeding back along the northwest rim of the canyon, back to the airstrip and then sped northwest through the mesas and arid plains, towards the Interstate.

     By 10 a.m., they were near Hurricane Mesa, and decided to investigate. High atop the mesa was the abandoned, looted and deserted bunker where a considerable amount of Morrow Project equipment had been stored.

 

Depot Delta

A Morrow Project engineering depot, located on Hurricane Mesa, Utah (near Zion National Park). The mesa rises 300+ meters above the Virgin River; the top is 1550 meters above sea level. A paved, two-lane road leads up to the mesa top -- it's somewhat prone to landslides, and pretty clearly was repaired about nine years ago by the departing Project teams. There are two airstrips atop the mesa:  an semi-paved 1500 meter strip, and a 3600 meter paved strip (originally disguised as a test track for rocket sled testing). The actual depot is located just below the surface of the top of the mesa, near the former "VIP center".      It was designed to hold Engineering Team Delta; Omega Team O-101; Recon Team R-111 (equipped with Air Scouts); and apparently a Science Team (number not known yet).      There were two chambers where cryogenic berths had been installed:  one for the "team" berths, near the vehicles, radios, armory, etc.; and another behind a security door for the Omega team. There were enough pads for about 50 persons total; on the top of the mesa were a dozen iron crosses, with names of dead Project members lasered into them. The team numbers known to R54 were found on some of the crosses, also.

 

     Scotty painted on the inside of the main doors: 

 

R-54 MARCH 25 1987 ALL OK

 

     Upon returning down the mesa, the team saw a dust cloud on the Interstate -- the dust raised by a couple of attack buggies and a couple of bikers. The team took up defensive positions, with Doc and JJ up on a hillside; the buggies stopped a few hundred meters away, and the two bikes rode up to the V150. The bikers weren't with the Foundation, though of course they could have been paid by anybody; they demanded that the team surrender or be destroyed. Gootz destroyed the two buggies with careful 20mm shooting, Scotty blasted one of the bikers with a burst from the MAG-58 machinegun at the loader's hatch, and JJ killed the other biker with a single shot to the chest. Loot gained from the encounter:

 

• two light motorcycles (similar to Honda XL250, mass each about 130 kg), with tools and minor spare parts

• motorcycle saddlebags with food and water

• one double-barrel sawed-off 12 gauge shotgun, with 12 black-powder buckshot shells

• one beat-up .38 Special revolver, with 18 rounds of ammo, and a belt with holster and 24 cartridge loops
  

• one cracked and foggy pair of binoculars

• four solid dollars, 64 quarters

• some rope, a canvas poncho, a couple of clubs, two belt knives, and a few small survival items

   

     One of the buggies had been equipped with a 57mm recoilless rifle. Proceeding to the Interstate, the team turned northeast and headed into the dusty, dry and hot lands of Utah. The roads were covered in several centimeters of volcanic ash, plus plenty of blown dust and sand. There were few signs of any vehicles using the road north of Hurricane.

     The team swing east onto Utah route 20, over to the former US Route 89, and followed the highway near the dry bed of the Sevier River north to the site of Sigurd. The heat was scorching, and the landscape had obviously not seen any rain in at least a year. Nobody had lived in the towns and ranches here for many decades.

     By the end of the day, the team had followed Utah route 24 to the ruins of Torrey, where they camped. They decided not to fire off any pyrotechnics that night, despite it being the Fourth of July ...

 

5 July 2139

 

weather report:  wind moderate from SW; nightly low temperature 18 C, daily high temperature 52 C. No precipitation. 

 

      The team woke early, and drove along Utah state routes 24 and 95 towards Glen Canyon. Near the Henry Mountains, they could see evidence of railway tracks, coal mines and steel mills operated by people from Styx. Clouds of smoke, and the distant noise of industrial activity, made the scope of the activity clear. They followed the railway line to the canyon edge, where a hundred or so workers operated an aerial tramway over the Colorado River. The tramway was about 80 meters above the river surface, and about 150 meters long; the two large tramcars carried balanced loads back and forth -- steel, coal and coke towards Styx; scrap metal and mining supplies towards the Henry Mountains. Railway tracks at both ends of the tramway were arranged for fast loading and unloading; the tramway facilities were set up to allow trucks and wagons to roll onto and off of the tramcars.

     The tramway workers were very curious about the V150, but agreed to allow the vehicle to cross the canyon on the tramway. "Important lesson, boys:  when the armored car wants to pay you to do something -- you'd better do it." The fare was $5.

     R54 continued southeast into the Valley of the Gods, following the railway towards Styx, and then northeast along Utah state route 95 to US Highway 191. Here, as on the other side of the Colorado River, several centimeters of volcanic ash had once coated the landscape. There were signs of some use of this road by truckers and caravans.

     Through the amazing but parched scenery, past mesas and natural arches, the nuclear-powered car drove silently forwards. Near the deserted, sand-covered remains of Monticello, they turned east towards Colorado on US Route 491 (following the tracks of trucks and horse-drawn wagons). By the end of the day, the team was camped a few miles east of Turkey Mountain, just off of US Route 84. This area seemed to get some regular rainfall (though not in July), and there were trees growing near the highway.

 

6 July 2139

 

weather report:   wind moderate from W; nightly low temperature 15 C, daily high temperature 50 C. No precipitation; cloud cover 10%.

 

     After midnight, a pair of Wastelord scouts attempted to sneak up to the camp; after a short skirmish (and the firing of a 40mm flare), one was killed, and the other surrendered. The captured man, named Anton, was a native of the San Luis Valley; his home was near Alamosa. He was part of a scouting company, under Captain Tritron, watching the southern passes. After he answered a few questions about the Wastelords, Anton was executed by Scotty.

     Equipment obtained from Anton and Simon:

 

• a Styx rifle, and 30 rounds of .44 Styx ammunition

• an old .38 Special revolver, and 6 rounds of .38 Special black-powder reloads

• a couple of belt knives, a canteen, and not much else ...

 

     The bodies of the two scouts were tossed in the brush, and the team decided to move on well before dawn. They traveled over the high pass on US Route 94, to Chama, and then south in New Mexico. The next 120 kilometers were rough going -- the old highway had washed out or been cut in many places, and the truck route often took crudely-construced detours. Rough, rocky hills and deep gullies had to be negotiated.

     By the end of the day, R54 had come  to the much more level lands, 10 or 20 kilometers north of Santa Fe. Scattered ranches dotted the landscape, along with the ruins of old suburbs and outlying towns. In camp, the team discussed how to approach Santa Fe, and also what to do about their cache, located a few kilometers southeast of the city.

     The refugees from Boise have been traveling for 8 days of their 38 day trip to Bone City (formerly Spokane). It'd take them at least another week to reach Colville, where the River Folk can begin transporting them down towards the Willamette Valley.

 

on to the next report

 

Jesse Cooper's Adventures in the Corrupt City 

 

     When Team R54 arrived at Styx, they left Jesse to guard their armored car, in the plaza de los camions outside of the city gates. He chatted with the other changos (vehicle guards, lit. "monkeys"); everyone agreed it was unfair that they were left out here while their so-called friends had fun in the city.

     After a couple of hours, his friends came out of the city, and briefed him on what they'd found and on some recommendations. He was then sent into the city, along with one of his team mates as an escort.

     more to come ...

 

Notes

 

     Present in Styx were one of the three War Zeps, and two of the smaller Scout Zeps.

     Rodolfo thought that Fortress Nessus might have 100 or so Foundation people in the garrison. He knew about the Doom Riders, as a raider group far to the north, that had overthrown the Montanan Empire.

     Some locations and groups heard of:

 

• Arid City:  formerly Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. It's the home of the Paladins and the Revenants (yet another faction from the Foundation, apparently)

• Sierra Gehenna:  the Road Talk term for California

• Nuevo Laredo:  a major Cartel city, down in Mexico

• Kingman City (or Cuidad Kingman):  another important Cartel town, in Arizona

• Havasu City:  a Cartel agricultural center, in Arizona

• Bullhead City:  a Cartel agricultural center, in Arizona

• Santa Fe: a ranching community in New Mexico. A trading group from the Tradelands is there, along with at least one Ranger "associate"
  

• Socorro:  another trading town, in New Mexico

• The Holy City of Light:  formerly Phoenix, AZ; controlled by the Brotherhood of Light

• Ultraviolet:  a town in Colorado

   

Organizations heard of:

 

• the Brotherhood of Light:  controls the Holy City of Light, formerly Phoenix, AZ. Another group, the Followers, is somehow linked to the Brotherhood

• the Clean:  in full, the Clean Water Clans; a group of traders, in much besides water

• the Crystaltime Merchants:  another set of traders, mostly in water

• Deo Americana:  a monastic community, overrun and destroyed by the Wastelords this year

• Haulers:  a group of cargo-carrying truckers, not part of the Cartel

• the Highwaymen:  guides and cartographers

• the Motherhood:  some kind of matriarchal clan; present in Styx, but not based there

• the Movement:  a cult known best for producing simple woolen clothing

• the Navaho Nation:  a powerful society in northern Arizona and southern Utah. Window Rock is their capital.

• the Revenants:  some faction of the Foundation, or perhaps a faction of the Paladins. In any case their headquarters is Arid City (formerly Dallas-Fort Worth, TX)

• the Roving Ladies:  mobile brothels