Only got in an hour before a headache defeated me. Still, nice conclusion to build on next week!
Brad: So! Jesus and Hoberman are sitting on top of a pyramid poking a hovering metallic sphere while Duarte is walking the perimeter and spots incoming vehicles. Some cars and three buses. Looks like the work crew is returning. Anyone recollect any details they want to make sure we recall?
JB: Pretty sure we had decided it’s time to go.
Dune: There are advancing unknowns.
Brad: What do you do?
JB: “Let’s get the hell out of here!” I am scrambling down to get to our vehicle
Dune: I fire up our ride.
JB: Did we find some fuel?
Dune: “Where to?” (Like a taxi driver)
Brad: Yes, plenty of fuel and water
Jesus: “YOu sure we want to abandon this great loca—” (watches Hoberman skid down the pyramid). “Oh.” Jesus follows him down and looks for a grenade launcher, or SMG
JB: “Well we could lay an ambush but not from up there. They’ve probably already seen us.”
Toph: “Yeah, yeah”
Brad: You have whatever you took with you when you fled the other fight. Some small arms, nothing special (nothing Lootworthy). Feel free to describe your rapidly scavenged weapons.
Dune: Same ol’ handgun for Duarte.
Toph: Jesus runs out to the shed with the radio, and finds a spear-gun that the last radio operator had used when on leave and sport fishing. There were three javelins nearby, each with fishing line attached. Jesus leaves the photo of the Marlin being held by its tail, a trophy from a forgotten cruise years before.
Brad: haha; Okay that’s a surreal vignette on this desert world but we’ll run with it.
Dune: i love it
Brad: Let’s say, and it hints at the Soft Horizon, that you have no idea what that marlin thing is or why it was caught in a reservoir.
Dune: You can’t see the gorilla, but the hand holding the line is awful hairy?
JB: Yeahhhhh
Brad: Or for that matter what the hell a speargun is for. Someone at this camp was a planewalker!
Toph: heh, I just see a weapon
Dune: Anyways, if we want to set up an ambush, we should drive the car in an obvious direction and cut them off as they pass in pursuit.
Brad: The vehicles are getting closer. They don’t look like military vehicles. No mounted weapons and no armour.
Dune: cut them off with some off-vehicle ambushers.
Brad: Car’s not drivable as I recall — no tires.
Dune: oh we have no vehicle then? is our ride further away (i recall hopping off and walking to the pyramid)
Brad: You just have the motorcycle & sidecar
Dune: (but i also assumed we retrieved it when we set up camp for the evening) yeah that one… let’s roll!
Brad: Duarte runs for the motorcycle as Jesus emerges from the shed with the speargun, looking at it quizzically. But fondly.
Dune: I would like to observe for signs of allegiance.
Brad: You have maybe 5 minutes before the convoy arrives. Dune: markings you mean? On the motorcycle?
Dune: I mean the convoy… any way to determine who they’re with? where they’re from? We can already see it’s non-military. makes, symbolism, formation?
Brad: The buses bear not so much a military marking as a logo. Commercial maybe? You don’t recognize it.
Dune: I think we should spy on them. I can drive the car away, but I’d like to know what they’re up to. Either of you feel sneaky and lucky enough to not get caught?
Brad: 5 minutes: where do you want to be when they arrive?
Dune: (car meaning moto and sidecar)
Toph: I’ve got the radio. Jesus suggests hiding near the perimeter fence, on the inside.
Brad: Radio is heavy — think 1930s military. It would be a hard haul on a backpack but can be stored in the sidecar.
Toph: “If you guys set up a distraction, we can see how they react. Maybe chase you for a bit. It’ll be interesting to see what they choose to protect.”
Dune: We’ll take the radio in the sidecar and listen to the airwaves.
Toph: can I have a transistor or something from it
Dune: (or wait did you mean to take the radio with you?)
Toph: The can wrapped with wire?
JB: “That’s a cute stratagem.”
Brad: You can pull a vacuum tube from the radio, T
Dune: “No time to waste, revs…” (oops that “revs” wasn’t supposed to be in-quote)
Toph: The Jesus, vacuum tube in his satchel pocket, goes and buries/conceals himself near the perimeter, but with an eye on the door of the Radio room.
Brad: Okay I have Jesus concealed by the fence, Duarte on the bike, … Hoberman?
JB: Um I guess I’ll hide behind a bush. Or, yeah, in the car upon blocks
Dune: nice… I’m already zooming away… [dust trail]
Brad: The vehicles arrive — a couple of beaten up Benz jeeps, a roadster, and three buses — trucks really — with huge grills.
JB: That is indeed a mighty grill
Brad: The trucks are covered flatbeds. The cars stop and a handful of people spill out in good desert garb, not military, but certainly expiditionary. They have handguns.
JB: Well that’s not ideal
Brad: One has some kind of huge smoothbore shotgun, probably single shot. Two of them pull the cover off the first flatbed revealing a dozen people in work clothes. And chains. What do you do?
Toph: (no one chased the dust trail? Jesus continues to watch)
JB: What kind of arms do I have? I don’t remember
Brad: Ah thanks for the cue! One of the men shouts and points at the dust trail.
Dune: I look over my shoulder. Any pursuers?
Brad: The woman with the shotgun raises a pair of dainty opera glasses to her eyes. Says something to the others.
Dune: (perhaps a spear handed to you by Jesus lol) (or more likely a shotgun)
Brad: They start putting the cover back on the truck. What do you do?
Toph: (there’s one flatbed or two with slaves?)
Dune: dozen(s?) oh mb i meant a dozen slaves in one at least
Brad: Two flatbeds, a dozen revealed in the first
Toph: Jesus continues to watch.
JB: HOw many are the slavers?
Brad: They cover up the flatbed again and the shotgunner yells some orders you can’t here. (5 JB)
JB: OK, I am trying to signal to . . . Jesus is here, right?
Brad: One of the others goes to the tool shed and swears loud enough to hear.
JB: CAn I like flash at him with a mirror?
Brad: Yes Jesus is here nearby — behind you. You’re in the broken car.
Dune: Jesus is there.
Brad: Sure
JB: BAsically signalling “let’s go” – I think we can take them.
Brad: One of the slavers takes a compass bearing pointing towards Duarte’s rooster tail of sand.
Toph: Jesus springs up and sprints towards the flatbed. The speargun is loaded, and he’s going to take a single shot at the woman with the opera glasses, and then he’s going to hop into the flatbed that is being covered up (the driver is no doubt helping with this, process, and will have left the cab door open). If the keys are there, he’ll drive away. With the slaves.
JB: Shit. OK, I’ll uh, work with that.
Brad: Sounds like VIOLENCE
JB: I’ll cover Jesus, then head towards his position .Yuuup
Brad: and your goal is to steal the truck?
JB: And I am awesome with this soup wound. Heck I’ll try to steal the other truck
Brad: Risk is spillover, Toph. Big bore on that shotgun. Anyone helping?
Toph: (what were you signalling? If only there was a way to send more than a basic “go” with a mirror flash)
Brad: Just the d10 then?
Toph: (dust trail to distract and deplete?)
Dune: i don’t know if my dust trail counts as help but it’s certainly providing a bit of distraction
JB: I’m helping with my own VIOLENCE
Dune: i think it makes sense to combine their efforts and consequences >shrug<
Brad: Hoberman shouts useful instructions for a d6. Maybe not that helpful.
Toph: Violence.
JB: Uh I”m down on physical stuff still. What’s a d6 minus a step?
Brad: No I think they’re ignoring the dust trail as soon as the violence starts. JB: nothing
mechanical: roll VIOLENCE with help from KNOW->VIOLENCE to steal the truck
Toph rolls d10 and gets 6.
JB: Right then. Sorry
Brad: But you can have the d6 violence from knowledge
Toph: ok
Dune: agreed
JB: Just running for that other truck I guess. Oh, right. OK
JB rolls 1d6 and gets 5.
Brad: Not that it matters.
JB: OMG not terrible
Dune: hah
Toph: SO with spillover, I succeed and JB gets shot, right? 😀
JB: (－‸ლ)
Dune: 😀
mechanical: 6 means the spillover risk is realised. Ref must improvise the result!
Brad: Jesus leaps from cover and fires the speargun at Opera Glasses. It hits her center chest and she swivels trying to figure out what’s happening while pulling the trigger on her punt gun. It blows her driver in half and shears through the bonnet of one of the flatbeds. Steam erupts.
JB: Well that’s two down
Brad: Duarte you hear a huge firearm report from the camp. Still charging, Jesus makes it to the wheel of (which vehicle?) Hoberman makes for his own vehicle muttering something about going for a headshot to avoid accidental fire from the shotgun.
Dune: I do a cool 180 maneuver. (it’s not at all cool, actually lumbering and awkward) Heading back into action.
JB: The other truck with human chattel in it
Brad: You nearly spill the Ural — this is not a maneuverable bike with an empty sidecar — but get around and head back at top speed. JB you’re behind the wheel of one slaver transport. The other is disabled. Toph where are you?
JB: Any guns in there?
Toph: I was heading for the one that had been uncovered. It’s now disabled?
Brad: Yes you reach it and it’s screwed. One tire is out, the radiator is blown out, and it’s covered in blood.
Toph: In that case, I head for the roadster, f it’s empty.
JB: I’ll start up the truck and see if I can ram anything the bad guys are using
Brad: One of the remaining slavers runs for the shed. The other two are trying to figure out what the hell is happening, drawing their pistols.
JB: Also bellowing at them to surrender “STAND DOWN AND YOU WON’T BE HARMED” Not very believable I guess
Brad: The truck starts up smooth, JB. You immediately drive over one of the Benz jeeps, crumpling the rear half under the massive truck. There’s shouting from the flatbed behind you.
JB: Hee hee hee
Brad: Jesus reaches the roadster, a nice open topped vehicle made for straight well-paved roads.
JB: Once I think the bad guys’ escape is cut off I’ll see if I can’t free the people in the truck
Brad: Duarte arrives, taking a little jump over the dune by the gate.
Dune: awesome
JB: so cool
Brad: The remaining slavers are totally confused and upset. The two outside the shed drop their guns and put their hands on their heads like they are familiar with a stop by the Desert Police.
Toph: KEys in it? If not, hides behind it.
Brad: The last one is still holed up in the shed. What do you do?
Toph: I’ve got the vacuum tube, so the radio’s out.
Brad: Smart
Dune: I’ll drive up and collect the weapons from the surrenderers.
JB: OK, I”ll dismount the truck, keeping the keys (if it uses them).
Brad: JB, you said you were releasing the human cargo — you look in and realize they are probably safer from the sun under the cover than standing in the heat. But you find a key from one of the slavers to take off the long chain that loops through all their foot bindings. There is no sound from the shed.
JB: I ask them to stay here until we know it’s safe, but that they are free
Brad: Duarte has the two surrendered slavers face down in the sand, disarmed. “Been free before, mate.”
JB: “yeah, it’s no picnic”
Toph: Jesus notices the abcence of gunfire and pokes his head up. He walks towards the others.
Dune: “That was easy. Is that everyone?”
JB: “There’s one holed up in the shed, I think.” “Wow, Jesus, you made one hell of a mess. Impressive.” “What the hell is that gun anyway?” I assume the hurt people are dead people?
Dune: “Hey, You. In the shed. Come outta there!”
Brad: Opera Glasses is still and glassy eyed. The one hit by the punt gun is in two pieces.
Toph: DOn’t know, but the spears have strings attached. He points to the one he left trailing behind him, and currently tying opera gLasses to the dune buggy.
Brad: No sound from the shed.
Dune: I’ll approach the shed and take a spot with at least partial cover and a view of the door.
Toph: “Come on out, or we drive the truck over the shed.”
Brad: No sound from the shed.
JB: “Damnit.”
Dune: I pick up one of the hostages from the ground. Go open the door and tell your friend to come out.One wrong move and we blast ya.
Toph: Once the slaves are off the flatbed, Jesus goes over and starts an engine.
Brad: The slaver, pants wet with fear, goes to the shed and opens the door. He turns back to you. “It’s empty.”
Dune: Gesture for them to go back to the ground and then I’ll head into the shed to investigate.
mechanical: hint at the soft horizon ref move
Brad: The shed is empty. And the picture of the marlin is missing.
brad j. murray 
cool session!
LikeLiked by 1 person