STATE ZERO | Wolves of Atlano

[Heyitsjiwon]

(You're good! Just wanted to make sure and clarify. And yea, I could imagine how tired you are! You've been really quick to reply, I appreciate it!)

Lothar found the current position to be.. adequate but not quite good enough. There wasn't any hard cover to speak of. He ordered the men to start digging shell scrapes (Small pits that give a soldier cover when they lie prone) to have some hard cover in the event there is return fire. Then once their positions were made, they would then dig out the dirt road to force vehicles to slow down or even come to stop. For now, they would make a solid position to engage, and observe any movement along this road.

 

[cl0ud]

(I appreciate your patience.)

With plenty of entrenchment tools to distribute between the settlers with you, they form their own defensive positions in just a bit over an hour. While a small crew of settlers dug up parts of the road to make it difficult for vehicles to cross, the rest of the group stood on the hills on the watch for any vehicles or unknown entities heading towards the direction of the trap.

After about two hours, the crew is satisfied with their sabotage of the road and head to their positions and await for someone to come down the road. Other settlers of your contingent stay vigilant, watching the road, looking for a sign of Sumorciese soldiers or otherwise. Some of the others play games in their trenches, ranging from cards to knucklebones.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

With the current down time, that meant there was even more time to work on the positions that they had. Such was the life of infantry... they were "gravel technicians" so to speak among the military. While it was a joke, digging and making positions was the bulk what what many infantrymen found themselves doing, and for good reason. A good position was the difference between life and death. Thus, Lothar ordered two different shifts where half would dig while the other would rest and keep watch. If they could dig deeper and make proper foxholes, then they would all be better off. Not to mention, that he had to maintain discipline among the men... and particularly the recruits. Being an infantryman was a lot of labor and patience, which was a lesson that they would have to be constantly drilled into their minds until it became natural for them.

 

[cl0ud]

Not all of your settlers knew what these defensive fighting positions were, so they followed the lead of Huffman and Casey. Constructing the foxholes was a lot of work. Only two foxholes are made before your settlers are exhausted as a whole. Some of them did complain about all the manual labor, but continued to carry out your orders dutifully.

You've exhausted all of the production from these workers today.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

With the men now exhausted, Lothar simply called for the men to rest and hold their positions while he would go up the hill and monitor the road. However, he gave explicit orders to not shoot until he gave word. After all, the main target was Sumorciese supplies and soldiers, and not others. Thus, the men simply waited to see if anyone would trigger their trap.

 

[cl0ud]

You watch the road from the top of the hill, praying for a Sumorciese convoy to come across. You keep praying until the sun begins to set. The settlers who accompanied you on this mission are hungry and thirsty, already having consumed the snacks and water that they had brought with them. There is still no sight of any Sumorciese equipment coming along the road.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

It appeared that they would be setting up camp here for the night. Lothar gave orders as such. 1. There would be shifts, where four men would rest/sleep in the humvee while the rest kept watch and held the positions. They would alternate every 8 hours. 2. One recruit was to drive back to base with the sedan to pick up additional supplies and bring it back.

 

[cl0ud]

The recruit that is tasked with returning to the base asks what you would like for him to bring back to the encampment.
The rest of the group sets up camp and gets comfortable. They start a small fire to keep warm and talk about their lives before the war.

Your settlers are forming stronger bonds with each other.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

The recruit is to mainly bring back food, water, and a little bit of medicine and fuel.

 

[cl0ud]

The recruit sets off. He will return shortly with food, water, medicine, and fuel.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

As the men awaited for action, Lothar continued to bounce among the men, checking on how they were doing and see if they had any ideas or concerns.

 

[cl0ud]

They were calm. Some were disgruntled about having to wait out in the cold, but were overall content with the situation. As you sit with some of the settlers that have crowded around a small fire, one of them, Sonny Knepler, asks you a question, "What if they don't come? How long are we supposed to stay out here?"

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

"Well, that garrison in Anvik has to be supplied at some point considering how they're surrounded by infected. They would run out of ammo if they weren't supplied often. If we sit and just wait, then we at least learn how often they get supplied, and can time future operations against the Republican soldiers in the city for when they're starting to run low on supplies." Lothar then looked at the road and said "Besides, would they really spend all that time and energy making this road if they don't use it?"

 

[cl0ud]

"But how long should we wait? A day? A week? A month? Who knows. Them Summies might drop off a shitload of supplies to the Anvik garrison and then just wait until next month to deliver the next shipment," Sonny says.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

"We won't find out unless we spend some time here anyways. Besides... Anvik itself is dangerous to scavenge from. I would fight a platoon of Republic soldiers over a thousand infected any day. But, yea... we won't be here for too long. Just a couple of days at most. We need more supplies and sitting here for too long won't help."

 

[cl0ud]

Sonny mumbles something to himself but drops the subject. The recruit returns before people start going to sleep.

The Recruit brings:

• (50) Rations
• (100) Water
• (24) Alcohol
• (10) Fuel
• (5) Medicine

Your Group Consumes:
21 Rations
42 Water
8 Alcohol
​

The night sky puts you and your men to sleep. You wake up the next morning.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

With the new day, Lothar gave word for the men to continue their work on their defensive fighting positions to turn them into deeper fox holes. They would continue to hold this position for two days longer before returning to base, but until then they would continue to prepare for a firefight.

 

[cl0ud]

The day is uneventful. Your survivors continue to entrench themselves around the road. Some of them are slightly more disgruntled than they were yesterday. Despite this, they dig their holes obediently, stopping every so often for a quick water break or to cool off.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Another uneventful day, still they would now simply wait for one more day before they returned to base.

 

[cl0ud]

Your group works through the day, increasing the defenses around the road. As night falls over the earth, your men go to sleep.

Your Group Consumes:
21 Rations
42 Water
8 Alcohol​

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

This would be the last day that the men stayed at these positions. Lothar informed the men as such and asked that they stay vigilant. If there was no vehicle in sight, then the men would return to base and focus on finding supplies elsewhere. Perhaps, they could explore to the west. Last he heard, there wasn't any major factions towards there.

 

[cl0ud]

The day goes by. You nor your men see any vehicles on the road.

Your Group Consumes:
21 Rations
42 Water
8 Alcohol​

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Lothar sighed and gave word for the men to pack up. They would first visit Anvik. Seeing how often they were going to have to scavenge in the city, it would be prudent to set up an outpost there. Second, he refused to go home empty handed. Thus, the men were ordered to get in their vehicles so that they could 1. Find a safe location for an outpost, and 2. Do some scavenging.

 

[cl0ud]

Abandoning your post at the ambush spot, your men load up into the vehicles, disappointed in having to come out and tirelessly labor for three days. Although, some of them see that this was a necessary work and the group, if they were to attack the Sumorciese, would at least now have a defensive position, a place they could fight from, but the majority of them see it as needless labor and are somewhat upset.

You set off from your position along the road connecting otzen and Anvik, heading towards Anvik for another scavenging run.

T H E _ C I T Y _ O F _ A N V I K
​

You arrive at Anvik with a much larger group of people than your previous expedition. While confident in your numbers, your settlers are still weary of this scavenging run due to the recent events that transpired and led to the death of Lincoln Plowe. These increased numbers will also prove to increase the amount of loot you recover. A small contingent of your scavenging party, led by Kent Huffman, look for a place that would serve as a good outpost in Anvik while not being too far from the Silo and remaining outside of immediate reach of the Sumorciese garrison in the city. The remainder, led by yourself, scavenge through the buildings, searching for loot to bring back to the Silo.

After a few hours of scavenging, you come up with a list of everything that your party managed to scrounge up during the urban safari.

​

When you rendezvous, Kent Huffman reports that the group found an apartment complex suitable for an outpost in Anvik.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Lothar handed the 9mm to Venita Bailey, and made plans. First, they would all go to clear out this apartment complex. Once that was done, it would be fortified and converted into an outpost. Kent Huffman would stay and lead the small group in the outpost. He would have Spencer Mullett, Sonny Knepler, Bertha Farmer, Rona Koscinski and Venita Bailey under his command while at this outpost. Their mission was simple: maintain the outpost, keep an eye out on the Sumorciese, and continue to scavenge around the area. But, their number one priority was safety. With this outpost, Lothar hoped that future operations in the area would be safer, and that they would now have safe access to water. In terms of supplies, the outpost would have some of the rations, water, medicine, ammo, the bicycle powered generator, and one long range walkie talkie so that they could stay in touch with Lothar.