[Révolution] [Crocmon] James Saisima, Ferryman to Nebraska

Crocmon

Crocmon

Pop-punk n' space magic. Not always in that order.
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James Saisima had made the plan to begin work as a smuggler for Kenneth Moss, hoping to earn a more stable income and have something to do with himself. He referred to a few maps to find patches of wilderness between the Red zones surrounding Nebraska and Nebraska itself, specifically Kansas. He used what skills he had of surviving in the wastes (Survival, spec Navigation roll) to create a route to take people from Kansas into Nebraska.


It was risky, but as he thought of how there might be bandits who would know something about his family's murderer, he felt this would all be justified. Every bit of it would work out in the end, he felt. He made it to the Kansas end of his route, looking to find someone who wanted to make it out of the Red Zone.
 
Scouting the route between Kansas and Nebraska took longer than expected, but eventually, James made the run solo to Wichita. Unfortunately, a good chunk of that route runs close or on the main roads, which is exactly what the people being smuggled are trying to avoid. The route James used to get to Wichita won't be any good. Parts of it will, but most of it is unfeasible to avoid being seen.
 
James would ask around Wichita, looking to find a hub of where people would gather for smuggling. Upon doing so, he would use that point to scout a route that wasn't as useless to his intentions. Combining what could be salvaged from making the route to Wichita, he would hopefully make a route back to Nebraska that would be suitable.
 
Again, James made the run between Witchita and Nebraska, but once again, the route wasn't viable. It relied too heavily on roads. Upon his arrival in Nebraska, an outdoorsman offered his assistance to James, already knowing what James was trying to do. The outdoorsman can help James make the run again, and this time, upon their arrival in Witchita, help him make adjustments. He is asking for $1,200. James is already down $100 for taking the route twice for supplies.
 
James would take the man's help, having had more than enough trouble with this. Scouting out the route again with the man's help should make things significantly easier on him, he figured. With any luck he could pick up a few tricks to help him later on in his work.
 
"Damn kid, are you sure you needed my help?" the outdoorsman, Peter Yule, laughed, "Hell, I might use that route myself one of these days. In fact, why don't we do just that? I'll help you on the way back. We'll bring three people to Nebraska with us, and I'll only take my cut. That's three thousand, and I won't charge you my original fee. What do you say?"
 
"Let's just say that was luck..." James would laugh somewhat, "I'll cover your cut when we get them to Nebraska. Let's get those people ready and move as soon as possible, Peter." Upon meeting the people, James would introduce himself as J, and at least get to know who he was smuggling enough to know what to expect from them.
 
The party was a family: Father, mother, and a nine year old son. They aren't open about why they're fleeing Hyde controlled territory.


"I don't do kids," a veteran runner mentioned before James heads out, "Too much of a pain in the ass, always complaining, can never keep up. The fathers are always the worst, though. When the shit hits the fan, they think they've gotta toughen up and do what's right, when doing so just gets them and everybody else killed. You're lucky you've got Yule with you if you're doing a family. If I ever do kids, which isn't often, I run them with the mother, then come back for the fathers in a different run. But that's just me."


He pats James on the shoulder.


"Good luck."


Roll for Day 1. Add 1 dice because you've already scouted the area.


Gain 1 xp.
 
James felt a bit of relation for the family, talking to the father and trying to stress that if anything went wrong that he needed to listen to others and not do anything too crazy. As they left, He made sure to keep a good eye out for any signs of trouble. He'd try to be warm with the kid if possible, encouraging him to think of it like some game of hide-and-seek so he'd be extra quiet.
 
Rolling for convincing the father to keep calm (Manipulation+Empathy=2) 1 success


Rolling for Hyde patrols (3) 3 successes


"I'll trust you to do your job," the father said, "I can only hope that it doesn't mean I have to do mine."


Almost out of the gate, trouble began, as the Hyde patrols started swarming the area.


"Damn, this is gonna be tougher than I thought," Peter growled, "If we can slip away we might be able to shake them. We just have to keep moving."


"What if we lay low?" the father asked, "Maybe they'll give up if they can't find us."


"We have hiding spots and relays along the way, it's best if we keep moving. James, it's your call."


The Hyde patrols are using motorcycles and are moving in a search pattern. Either way, it won't be an easy fix.
 
James cursed under his breath, "If we stay here they'll find us. Those search patterns don't look relaxed. Someone must have tipped them about us or something. But, if we get out of their way quickly and quietly then we should be in the clear, since they seem so focused on this area." James would look to Peter. "Just keep quiet, and let's go. Worst case scenario, we'll have to split up to distract them. We'll sort that out when it happens, though."
 
Rolling for Hyde patrol (4). No successes.


Further rolls involving the father will be +1.


Despite a rocky, terrifying first day, the party made it through the second to their first safe zone a little bit ahead schedule, allowing the group to take a breath. The Hyde patrol had spooked them; had things gone wrong, they would have been found for sure. For now, Hyde seems to be looking in the same area they'd just slipped out of. The boy was shaken, but was now awed by James, who had just gotten them out of that mess.


"Mister Saisima? Thank you for helping us," the boy, Harry, said. He was munching on a sandwich. They were eating high-calorie meals; it was a lot of exercise like this every day.


"What's the plan for tomorrow?" Peter asked.
 
"No problem, Harry," James said, smiling at the boy. He looked to the boy's father, "It was scary but everything went alright. Good job," He looked to Peter. "We'll use our route and keep going. We'll have to be extra careful, seeing as how the patrols seem to be a little more alert than they were when I was making my rounds earlier, but otherwise we should be fine if we keep this up."
 
Rolling for Hyde patrols (4)


The third day of traveling was not a good one. After the success of the last day, they got up early, and kept going down the path, but they were slow and messy about it. Anyone that was tracking them would have easily done so. Fortunately, but the time they arrived at the next resting place, there was no hints they were being followed. Peter lagged behind to cover up some of the mess they'd made. He arrived late, and confronted James in the morning after he woke up.


"That was sloppy, James," he said, "We almost lost time. I lost sleep, at least. We've got to be careful about things like food wrappers and fires."
 
"Yea, we do. I feel like I'm going to have to spend some time out here alone to get acquainted with the wastes again, after this run. Thanks for the help, by the way." He would look to the others, "Alright everyone, we did okay today but we need to be more cautious with how we tend to our campsites. Be sure to not leave anything behind, and to be extra careful with how we build and maintain the fires. We're about halfway there, we just have to stay careful."


To make up for Peter's loss of sleep, James would stand watch a bit longer than he was supposed to so that the outdoorsman could be wide awake the next day.
 
Rolling 4 for Hyde patrols.


"Hyde's shaven leg, Jim!" Peter growled, after a second day of having to lag behind and double check their path, "I told you to be careful about this sort of thing. I'm glad that we get there tomorrow, this has been a pain in the ass."


Peter's stress is starting to share with the people being escorted. They know Peter's a good man, who's done a lot for them, but he's starting to get abrasive from getting tired. Peter said that Hyde's forces still have not picked up their trail since they left Wichita, but he also makes it clear that if he hadn't been clearing their footsteps, they would be.


"I'm sorry, James, we'll try to be more careful tomorrow," the mother, Linda, said.
 
"I'm sorry, Peter. This is embarassing..." he scratched the back of his head. As the mother spoke, he nodded, "Yes, please do. Hey," James would walk over to the father, "Do you think you could help us keep from leaving too much of a trace? He's getting stressed out, and we need to give him some room to work with. Let him watch first, tonight. That way he gets a long night's sleep before we move out tomorrow morning."


James made a mental note to spend a good deal of time making a more secure route back and forth, and would need to talk to Peter about getting a few tips for this kind of thing, assuming the outdoorsman wouldn't be done with James as a whole.
 
Rolling for the father (Manip+Persuation+1=4)


Rolling for Hyde patrol (3)


Rolling for bandits (3)


"Hey, we've paid money and lost everything for you to get us there. You do you job, okay?" the father presses his finger into James's chest with a snarl. It does little to ease the tension.


Nebraska is both beautiful and terrifying. There is legions of cornfields, which, if you're just looking at that, is fantastic to see. It's like looking upon a sea of food to be. But there are parts that are much darker, much more terrifying. The places that had been cornfields, burned or destroyed by Hyde forces or bandits or some twisted combination of both. Hyde helicopters and planes fly sorties regularly.


James and his group makes it to their destination in southern Kansas. Now, it's up to local farmers sympathetic to their cause to handle them. Pete is glad to see them go.


"Toenails, kid, that was tough..." Pete said, looking through his half of the money, "Still, for a first run? At least you survived. When I first saw you here in Nebraska I thought you were going to be the one needing an escort. You just have to think smarter next time."


"Jim Sashimi?" one of the resistance guys asked, "You need to get out of here. Pete, you might want to lay low, too."


"What? Why?"


"Hyde's looking for you guys. They spotted you, and ID'd James. You two have gotta go, and if you don't leave, I'll shoot you and turn you in myself, say I found you on the road and got the jump on you."


"Fuck!" Pete snarled, "Thanks for the offer of HELP, asshole!"


"Hey, I gotta keep this place safe, even if it's your head to do it, Pete, I'm sorry."


"I gotta find somewhere to rest for the night, then lose Hyde. Good luck, James," Pete shakes James's hand, "You're going to need it."
 
James couldn't help but smirk when the man mauled his name, but as the news of Hyde having gotten an ID on him was spoken he quickly shifted into a look of concern. He shared Pete's surprise, but couldn't help but appreciate the man's intentions. It was smart. A bastard move, but smart.


"I'll do the same." James said to Pete, hoping to do the same himself. Making a leave of the Resistance outpost, he'd try to find a place to hunker down for the night and escape Hyde's search-teams. He wasn't about to get caught on his first attempt at this.
 
Rolling Intelligence+Stealth (4) 2 successes


Rolling Intelligence+Survival (5) 1 success, 1 crit fail


Without any connections in the area other than Peter, James ended up having to find somewhere to sleep. He was able to remain hidden and found shelter in what seems to be an animal den or some other kind of hole. When he woke up, however, he woke up to being completely wet; his blanket and his clothes were wet, and James was shivering, possibly hypothermic. He was definitely really cold. There was a layer of frost on the ground. He could hear the deep rumble of motorcycles nearby.
 
James would move out of the cave slowly, peeking outside to try and get a look without revealing himself. He didn't want to try and get spotted, because he wouldn't be able to escape at all. Well, at least not easily. "How the Hell did they...?" he'd whisper to himself.
 
James poked his head out, and realized that these motorcycles were not here for him. They weren't even Hyde motorcycles; these were civilian, or modified military, motorcycles. This was a Bike Bandit gang. They were all armed in one way or another. Only a handful of them had military armor, the others had improvised theirs or had none at all. The gang was parked in front of a gas station/house farm. Fossil fuels had gone the way of the dinosaur a long time ago, so fuel was both expensive and had to be grown. This farm probably grew and processed its own ethanol, and the gang had come to collect. An old man was clutching a shotgun while he spoke to a particularly large man. There was a motorcycle that was hauling a trailer with a large plastic tank.
 
James would slowly work his way out of the cave, curious to see what was going on but not wanting to get spotted. He would watch, while slowly walking away from his cave. Keeping his head low, he'd try to get a headcount of how many bandits were here before sizing up his next move.
 
Wits+Investigation (5) (1 success, 1 crit fail)


Hypothermia (Stamina+Survival, 4) (2 successes)


There seems to be an army of bikers out there, and only the farmer with his shotgun opposing them. James can't quite make out what exactly they're saying. As James shivers, he started to warm up, though he remains cold. It's getting better, but a fire and some food will go a long way.
 
James decides to lay low, hugging to the ground and watching this scene unfold. He wasn't about to do anything that might get him caught up in the middle of whatever this was. He felt a need to help the farmer, but he only had an assault rifle and a shotgun. Not exactly one-man-army weapons on their own, especially when his only claim to combat armor was some patchwork clothing he had maintained by himself for years.


He would, however, get the assault rifle ready in case he got spotted.
 
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