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OVERCAST: Prater's Rebellion

"My thinking exactly, Ruger," Prater says, scratching his chin. "The reason why I didn't want Mason's group to have the long-range comms is because I wanted to set up another outpost. I was thinking either Pulitzberg or Sawyer. What do you guys think about those two locations?"
 
Your lieutenants look at the map, judging the viability of the two locations you brought up. Bobby is the first to comment "Well, both Sawyer and Pulitzberg are situated across a government-controlled highway. Though, we've heard of tunnels that could be utilized to go underneath the roads and avoid the patrols. Still, the thing is, there's very little rebel activity in those areas, and Pulitzberg and Sawyer are located dangerously close to the Army Airfield, and Granger and Drewville, respectively. The only rebels in the area are in Tatlock, which is contested, and in Cutter. To be honest, judging from Cutter's location, it could very possibly have already fallen to government forces without us knowing. Since we last received intel from Cutter, which was a few weeks ago, the Woodlane and Forest Outpost garrisons could have launched an attack on them. I also think that the Tatlock rebels don't stand much of a chance either, since the rebels are about to be defeated in Parliament. That would leave any outposts we set up in those western towns completely surrounded by the NPA."

Ruger decides to shed some light on the idea. "There could be more rebels to the west. They'd just have to be in hidden compounds like us, though. Anyway, back to Pulitzberg and Sawyer... Those towns are listed as abandoned on the map, but they're undoubtedly now homes for civilian war refugees, since the towns of Lynston, Copperdale, Tatlock, etc. have been mostly destroyed by the fighting. I've heard reports and rumors to confirm people are now inhabiting those areas. Many malcontents could be there, which actually might make them a good place to look for recruits. But, as Lam said, those towns aren't strategically viable places to actually build an outpost or fortify. Still, I'd be willing to take a squad over to one of them, try to blend in with the locals. Maybe set up a small office, and put up some posters. The radio pack would allow us to maintain safe comms."
 
Prater smiles at Ruger, "That's exactly what I was thinking, to be completely honest. I know my recommendations should've portrayed my blatant strategic incompetency, but that was due to a lack of communication, a bad play on my part. I wanted to set up recruiting outposts in these areas by sending only one or two men on motorbikes and then transporting fresh recruits back to the compound. Previously, I hadn't remembered about these underground tunnels used to circumvent NPA assets, thank you Bobby, and they would be excellent to use in our recruiting efforts," Prater taps on the marker indicating the Army Airfield with his index and middle finger on the map, "This would be the advantage over the NPA. Air superiority is one of the largest strategic resources that the NPA possesses. From this airfield they're able to launch attacks, logistical runs, bombing campaigns, or scouting missions with literally no counters. The airspace in Centralia is uncontested as far as we know. If the airfield, or at least the aircraft in the airfield, are destroyed, then operations from the NPA are going to be significantly easier, and their mobility might even be halved if we're so lucky. Even though they don't have many aircraft, it's the fact that they still do that provides them with an edge over anyone else."

Prater stands up, propping up his right arm with his left and scratching his chin, "I feel like Pulitzberg would be a good staging ground. And before I delve further into this, I want to say I'm by no means suggesting a full frontal assault. It's almost guaranteed that the airfield is one of the best guarded NPA installments. But, a firing squad of three-to-five men armed with explosives and silenced weapons could take out the sentries, destroy the planes, and sabotage anything else possible before the entire camp were to stir and make quick work of them. Now, I feel like the new recruits, especially refugees from Lynston, Parliament, Tatlock, and so on and so forth, who are camped in Pulitzberg and Sawyer are zealots. They've been dealing with the NPA's oppressive doctrines far longer than we have. They've just been freshly removed from their homes and their hatred for the NPA is probably burning bright int heir hearts. They'd be excellent candidates for such an operation. I just wanted to share my thoughts on that, feel free to provide feedback," Prater said, inhaling deeply to begin his next part.

"As for a more permanent encampment, I wholeheartedly suggest another outpost here in the same forest. This one on the eastern end, closer to the Lake Outpost and Tosaco, but still well within the woodlands. Eventually I want to free the prisoners at the labor camp southeast of Chavez, but the Lake Outpost stands as one of, if not the, largest inhibitors of that plan. In the coming days or weeks, we could collaborate with the Reformists in Tosaco and move to attack the Lake Outpost under the cover of night. If the sentries there are anything like the ones at the Nursery, we'll be in their bunks slitting throats before the break of dawn."

Prater's eyebrow furrows, and his lips move to the side of his face, "It appears I didn't answer your question. My apologies. For a separate outpost solely dedicated to accepting recruits, I suggest the northern piece of land that juts out into the nearby lake, here," Prater says as he marks a small area on the lake with his marker, "This position would allow us a staging ground into Hoslan and it would provide us with a jetty to launch an amphibious attack on the Lake Outpost while our compatriots from Tosaco to attack on land. In terms for our recruitment, our new recruits from Pulitzberg and Sawyer could be led through the forest, along the southbound highway from Granger, and crossing over briefly into Arbury. From Arbury, we could ferry our new recruits to our position on the lake. Alongside the ability to run SDRs (Surveillance Detection Routes), there'd also be plenty food, as our colonists there could just eat the fish from the lake," Prater said. He was smiling, confident in what he was saying, hoping for Bobby and Ruger to also bite at his proposition.
 
"The guys who took out the sentries at Sturgess had a horde of undead to do all their work for them. Even if we do manage to take out most of their night watch, there would be too many men inside that outpost for any of our infiltrators to deal with. People make noise, crack under pressure, get unlucky, that sort of thing. They'd end up getting caught- they're not special agents," Bobby warns.

He continues. "Same thing for the Army Airfield. Security would be tight there, although I do suppose that an airfield would have a lot of open space, since it needs long runways and all that. They couldn't afford to have much more than a chainlink fence around the perimeter. Actually getting to the aircraft hangars and helipads would be a bit of a problem though, since they probably have more actual security in those places. And unless we somehow got our hands on remotely-detonated explosives, our operatives probably won't be able to be extracted before the base goes on lockdown and they are caught. Still, it might be worth a shot, since taking out even a few aircraft would be a large blow," he says. "Still, it'd essentially be sacrificing some of our fighters."


Ruger appears to like the idea of sending in a few recruiters to Sawyer and Pulitzbeg, as well as the prospect of establishing a lakeside outpost. "That sounds fantastic. We could shake any feds off our trail by then, and maybe be able to project a little extra force. As for staging an attack on Lake Outpost, we should ask Mason and the other rebel outposts if they plan on doing anything to that NPA base."

Your propaganda minister also considers establishing another outpost to the east of the forest. "Maybe- we don't have many men at the moment, but once our recruitment operation gets going, that will surely become more plausible as time goes on. Liberating the labor camp would undoubtedly net us a lot of potential recruits, but remember that the NPA also throws common criminals into that mixture as well. Not all of the people in there are political prisoners."
 
"Since Lovelace is our top-tier spy guy, I wanted him to train a cell of three to four recruits in the ways of subterfuge, sabotage, and espionage. My plans were, later down the line, to deploy this cell to do a hit-and-run on the Airfield. And, if everything goes tits-up, those operators will still be seen as heroes by not only our troops but any Centralian who hears of their exploits. Hopefully by then we'll have a larger presence in Centralia as well. An attack on the Airfield would definitely bolster our recruiting process," Prater says, acknowledging what Bobby pointed out about the Airfield attack.

"As for the Lake Outpost, we'll table that debate for now. We can get back to it later once we have a steady flow of recruits coming into the camp. Before I start dishing out orders, Bobby, is there a tunnel that you know of in this location? If not, let's get some men out there and tunnel to the other side."

"Let's load up eight men in two pickup trucks with shovels and toolboxes and send them to the designated location for our recruiting outpost. I'll have a list for you shortly," Prater says as he takes a piece of paper from his field notes booklet and begins to scribble on it, "I want a house built for our new recruits to stay in and I also want some boats built to ferry them across if we can't find any. I only have two further concerns with our lakeside outpost, one, do you think that the NPA will send out amphibious patrols in the lake, and two, will it be safe to send our men across between Hoslan and the Lake Outpost?"

♂ Oswald Nugent | Foreman | Hunting rifle [5/5, 0/5] & .22 pistol [10/10, 10/10]
♂ Oliver Eastwood | Militia ⛉ | Varmint compact [5/5, 5/5, 5/5] & Baseball bat
♂ Wesley Jones | Militia ⛉ | Varmint compact [5/5, 3/5]
♂ Travis Florins | Militia ⛉ | .45 pistol [7/7, 7/7]
♂ Matthias Dailey | Militia ⛉ | 9mm pistol [12/12, 12/12, 12/12]
♂ Charlie Ross | Militia ⛉ | 9mm pistol [12/12, 12/12] & Baseball bat
♂ Vince Raybles | Militia ⛉ | 9mm pistol [12/12, 10/12]
♂ Cyril Johnson | Militia ⛉ | Varmint compact [5/5, 3/5]

x2 Pickup Trucks
x3 Toolboxes
x400 Wood
x50 Scrap
 
Ruger agrees that in a worst case scenario, that the deaths of saboteurs could still be useful in the creation of martyrdom. Bobby shrugs, obviously not opposing it, but still finding the idea of a high-risk mission disconcerting. He does concede, however, that a daunting attack on the airfield in any fashion would likely inspire other oppressed Centralians to rise up against the NPA.

"There aren't any tunnels in that location, at least that we know of. Here are the places where confirmed under-passages are. The northern tunnels are in dangerous areas where heavy fighting between ARF and the military is still occurring. South of Drewville, the tunnel is controlled by a criminal group. They might try to demand a toll or something," Bobby informs you.

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Ruger chimes in. "Though, I can see why a tunnel by Arbury would be more along the lines of what we're looking for. We could try to scout that area, but we might not be able to turn up with anything."

Bobby continues. "It should be save to send our men across the road between Lake and Hoslan. It's not routinely patrolled, and our men could just wait for an opening if they see any enemy forces using that road. I'm not sure if the NPA has boat patrols, since I'm not sure what they'd be looking for. Maybe they have some around Lake Outpost, since Chauvez poses a threat. The area we're setting up isn't much interest to them, most likely. So we might be safe."
 
"Alright, then let's send the new outpost crew to the small piece of land sticking into the lake, the ones that I detailed in my paper. Over the course of the next few days hopefully we'll have some more money and we can set up contracts with weapon contracts throughout Centralia. Although, foreign, cheaper weapons would be ideal, as long as they're not from some commie lobbyists," Prater says, reaffirmed by Bobby's assessment of the route to their new outpost. "I've also come up with a name for the outpost. To sound more inviting, I think we should call the settlement Lilypad. What do you think?"

"As for the tunnels, the ones we know about are all far too close to NPA hot spots for my liking. Let's send two groups down south, one to scout out Arbury and the other to scout the area around the highway," Prater says as writes down more names and supplies on his field notes pad.

♂ Jordan Daniels | Militia Veteran ⚔ | Assault rifle [25/25, 17/25] & Snubby [6/6, 6/6] | Ballistic vest
♂ Morgan Daniels | Militia | Assault rifle [25/25, 2/25] & 9mm pistol [12/12, 12/12]
♂ Javo Maverick | Militia | Compact SMG [20/20, 7/20] & .22 pistol [10/10, 10/10]
♂ Don Kleiner | Militia | Compact SMG [20/20, 5/20] & Machete
♂ Luke Holloway | Militia | Gov't carbine [15/15, 15/15] | Assault pistol [20/20, 20/20, 10/20] & Crowbar

x1 Pickup Truck
x1 Radio Pack
♂ Barry Swen | Militia Veteran ⚔ | Scoped mini-carbine [12/12, 12/12] & 9mm pistol [12/12] | Flak jacket

x1 Motorcycle

"Here you go," Prater says, handing the two pieces of paper to Bobby.
 
"Lilypad sounds nice. It's by a lake, so..." Ruger shrugs.

Bobby looks over the papers. "Daniels is knowledgeable about the general area, and I think he has enough men to do a thorough search of the roadside. It might not be worth sending out our radio pack in their hands, though. If they get attacked by an NPA patrol, it'll be lost forever, most likely. If we keep the radio back here, we won't be able to have direct contact with them until they get back, but I suppose that'd be an exercise in the trust of Daniels to deal with any situations that come up himself. Also, Barry Swen will be the one actually going into the tunnels with a flashlight if one is found, correct? He'll still be accompanying the main group, though?" he asks.
 
“True enough, Bobby. Let’s keep the radio setup here at the compound and test Daniels. As for Swen, once the main group begins to approach Arbury, he’ll split off to see to the surveying of the highway. If he can’t find a tunnel, he’ll reunite with Daniels in Arbury and continue scouting.”
 
"Sounds good," Bobby says. "I'll make sure the orders are relayed, and I'll hand the personnel list over to Daniels so he knows what men to take along with him. Is there anything else to discuss?" he asks.
 
Your deputies don't have anything else to talk about. The meeting is therefore concluded.

Ruger has manipulated the work and watch shifts so that Donna is kept away from Cass McCoy and her friends, at least most of the time.

The Arbury scouting retinue is ready to depart.

Katie O'Leary has returned to the compound, back from Granger. She has a bag full of paper and a few containers full of ink for Ruger's old printer, along with a few colored cartridges she bought from Borden Pen & Paper Company. She delivers the supplies and receipts to Trevor Ruger's office. These can be used to print out simple flyers, which can be posted around various locations to promote the Reformist cause, or recruit members to your group.
 
Instruct the Arbury Scouting Retinue to head off on their mission and Ruger's group to start printing out fliers in preparation for recruiting. Also tell the Lilypad construction workers to depart.
 
Music

The scouts and constructors depart to complete their assignments.


Lovelace returns from his assignment with Ernest Demora and Lily Hogg.

He describes Arkwright as a medium-sized town in decrepit condition, due to having been abandoned early in the outbreak and never fully re-populate.d He reports that there is an ARF presence in one particular neighborhood, possessing a makeshift wall and several additional scrap-built structures as well. Lovelace tells you that there is most likely over one-hundred Allied militiamen at Arkwright, although with quite a few support personnel and camp followers as well. He observed patrols leaving to scavenge the rest of the town, usually every one or two days, sometimes twice a day. No night patrols take place. Sniper nests and MG positions are manned on a 24/7 basis, with around fifteen sentries on night watch.


Ruger asks what type of fliers should be made. You have 500 blank fliers at the moment. [5 propaganda points to distribute.]

Recruitment propaganda: Statements and images that encourage civilians to attempt to directly join your group. This flier will likely have to include some kind of instructions, hopefully ones that are too vague for loyalists or government elements to easily figure out and/or sabotage.

Reputation propaganda: Statements and images that focus on improving the reputation of your group, especially if there is some controversy surrounding it. New groups can still benefit from building up a positive initial reputation. In general, this makes future recruitment easier.

Specialist propaganda: Messages that essentially serve as an advertisement to certain specialists. For example, mechanics, gunsmiths, tailors, foremen, etc. These fliers will likely have to promise some sort of reward in order to draw these types of specialists.

Incendiary propaganda: Statements and images that focus mainly on encouraging direct action against the NPA. Your group's name and symbols will be included, but most of the flier is dedicated to anti-regime vitriol, not pitching recruitment. This makes civilians more likely to rise up and make their own groups, rather than directly join you.

Donation propaganda: Encouragement to donate supplies and other means of support to your group without placing emphasis on directly joining.
 
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"Welcome back, brother," Prater says, patting Lovelace on the back. "The information you've brought back with you is invaluable. I appreciate your research. I have a question for you, though. Do you think you'd be able to train a handful of recruits to become intelligence agents, like yourself?"

Distribute 3 Propaganda Points to Recruitment propaganda and two Propaganda Points to Reputation propaganda.
 
Lovelace tells you he isn't sure if he'd be able to fully train anybody in any reasonable amount of time, but he believes that if he brings a small number of people with him (one or two), then he will be able to keep them hidden without suffering any penalties to his own level of stealth. Further advantages could be gained by equipping his companions with silenced weaponry. Lovelace does tell you that he will keep an eye out for anybody he thinks might show 'extra' promise, however.

Ruger begins working on some designs for two types of posters, enlisting the help of Jenny Parker, a decent amateur artist from before the civil war. The plans are to print three hundred recruitment-based fliers, and two hundred reputation-based fliers.
 
With everything taken care of on Prater's agenda for the day, he retreats to his quarters to relax and read unless something would come to demand his attention.
 
The gardens and fields and planted under Howard's guidance. Your map has been updated. The green beans should be ready in 2 days, while the corn will take 10 days to grow.

The rest of the day is mostly quiet, and the night watch eventually takes over as you and the rest of the men head off to bed.


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You wake up in the morning and receive a supply report from your quartermaster. 74 rations were consumed yesterday, including food that was eaten before your teams left and/or was taken along with them for the trip. This brings the supply of rations from 773 to 699. 19 units of alcohol were consumed, bringing the supply down from 144 to 125.


Your lookouts report hearing distant gunshots to the north.
 
Now that we're growing crops, we should be able good on rationing. Although, it's good to keep meat in the ranks, keep up the morale. Maybe after awhile we could even make some corn whiskey. Prater thought to himself. The thought of an expanding compound and remaking civilization showed through a glint in his eye. He had a spring in his step this morning, pleased with the progress that the compound was making.

"Send out the usual. Groups in the forest to hunt animals, pick berries, and collect vegetables, and a group along the stream to look for fish and maybe even crabs," Prater says to Lambert, who should dutifully carry out his requests. "As for the gunshots we heard north, send our fastest runner up there. Tell them to stick to the shadows though, and report back to the compound within a day."
 
(srry 4 wait)

Two groups (Team 3, Team 4) are sent out to the forest for some general foraging. Team 2 heads over to the stream to do some fishing and searching there.

Eric Hyder sets off to investigate the gunshots. He radios back, informing you that there are at least a few dozen infected up there, and that he came across what appeared to be the half-eaten corpse of a leftist militiaman, judging from the red (he made sure it wasn't blood) armband and a few pieces of memorabilia with Kazacian lettering. There's still a few gunshots in the distance here and there, suggesting a few of them might still be alive.

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"I need to go, sir. There's a lot of the fuckin'- wait, aw shit. Fuck me! God, ahh- AH! AGHHH! GRHFKFFfff... grchkl..."
 
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