IC-SWORD-Rangers in the Night(Dan Aldrich/Julie St. James)

As day gives way to night, time may be running out for the human race. Warren Air Force Base is still in human hands, but there is a crisis within and what's left of the world risks plunging into nuclear chaos. A small group of captive women hopes desperately to escape from their cruel captors, while another woman is undercover amongst them. Two park rangers at a station near Chimney Rock prepare to weather the night. In a convenience store south of Ogallala, tensions are high as employees, survivors, and criminals try to survive the night. In Omaha, scientists may have won humanity a reprieve, but at a high cost. The zombie outbreak appears to have ended there, but there are still dangers. Will Omaha be a bastion for survivors, or will it descend into anarchy?

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IC-SWORD-Rangers in the Night(Dan Aldrich/Julie St. James)

Post by Mr. Handy »

Z-Day - 6:58 PM Mountain Time - Chimney Rock, western Nebraska
Image
In the ranger station-
Julie St. James sat in front of the shortwave radio in the ranger station near Chimney Rock, cruising the airwaves for any sign of life. It had been a long, exhausting, and terrifying day. Now the sun was sinking low in the west, hanging just above the horizon. Throughout the day she and her fellow ranger Dan Aldrich had managed to reach some people out there, and what they heard was horrifying. All over the country, perhaps all over the world, people were infected with some sort of disease that turned them into vicious cannibals that were very hard to kill. The two of them had had to fend off a number of attacks already today, first from tourists at Chimney Rock who had tried to mob the ranger station, and later from residents of Bayard and other nearby towns. The ranger station was in a good defensible position. It was elevated, and the only way to get inside was to climb a steep set of stairs. Between Julie's bow and Dan's rifle, they had killed most of them before they got close to the station, and their handguns had taken care of the ones that had gotten too close for comfort. But now they didn't have as much ammo as they had started with. Julie had made more arrows during the afternoon, but she had needed to fire them faster than she could make them.

Three quarters of the station were taken up with the main L-shaped room where Julie sat. An interior door led to a small bedroom with bunk beds that occupied most of the last quarter. A door inside the bedroom led to a tiny bathroom, composed of just a shower, a toilet, and a sink. There was also a trapdoor in the ceiling of the main room that was currently open, and a ladder led up to the roof, where Dan was currently on lookout duty. There was a decent supply of emergency rations, more than enough for the two of them to hold out a while here if they wanted. The waves of attackers had gotten smaller throughout the day, petering out until only one or two came at a time. None had been seen for almost an hour now. At the base of the station, a green pickup truck waited near the bottom of the stairs. Julie had the keys.

Julie continued to adjust the dials, but she had no joy. The number of survivors out there still operating shortwave radios had dwindled throughout the day. Once she had even heard a woman's terrified screams as she was eaten alive before going off the air. Warren Air Force Base was still operational, some 50 miles to the southwest outside Cheyenne, Wyoming, but their frequencies were encrypted. They could probably hear her transmissions, but they hadn't responded.
OOC,[b]Julie[/b], roll Luck and Listen. The base skill for Listen, which is not listed on your character sheet, is 25%. For each of these rolls, roll 1d100 on Invisible Castle (see the Rules and Guidelines thread) and try to get less than or equal to your respective scores.
On the roof-
Image
Dan Aldrich watched from his perch on the roof as the sun got lower. No matter how much he saw of it, Chimney Rock never ceased to be beautiful. From high on top of the ranger station, he was able to get a good view for about a mile around, thanks to his binoculars. But once it started getting dark, his visibility would be very limited even with them. He and Julie both carried walkie-talkies that they could use to talk to each other, though he could also call down through the open trapdoor easily.
OOC,[b]Dan[/b], roll Listen and Spot Hidden.
Doctor Who/CoC Campaign:
(viewforum.php?f=176)The Terror Out of Time
(viewforum.php?f=191)]The Ninth Planet
The Shadow Over Dunwich
The Brotherhood of Death
The Horror in the Blackout
The Masque of Nyarlathotep
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Re: IC-SWORD-Rangers in the Night(Dan Aldrich/Julie St. James)

Post by Voodoo »

Image

Dan stretches and yawns before yelling calling down to Julie, "Hey, I'm gonna give it a once over again, then i'm going to take a break."

Turning his attention back to his duties, Dan scans the surrounding area. Just as he was about to call it quits he notices something...
Listen,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2239392/]1d100 → [65] = (65) failed[/url]
Spot Hidden,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2239394/]1d100 → [28] = (28) passed[/url]
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Re: IC-SWORD-Rangers in the Night(Dan Aldrich/Julie St. James)

Post by Mr. Handy »

On the roof-
Peering through his binoculars, Dan saw a couple of vehicles approaching from the south along the road that passed near the ranger station. There was a white pickup truck followed by a white panel van, about a mile away and closing. The driver of the pickup was a huge man with a shaved head and what looked like an M-16 on his back - and he was looking right back at Dan. Beside him was an average-sized man, also bald. In the shotgun seat sat a beautiful woman. She was wearing a white tank top like the others, but she had a full head of gorgeous blond hair. In the cab of the van were three more men with bare pates, all of them tough-looking and heavily armed. The sun continued to sink, and it was now touching the horizon to the west.

In the ranger station-
"Okay, I'll take a shift when you're done!" shouted Julie. "I'm not getting anything on the radio anyway." She cocked an ear. "Did you hear something? Sounded like a couple of light trucks in the distance to the south, heading this way! They can't be more than a mile off, so they'll be here in a minute! This is wonderful news! Finally, signs of life!" She continued to tune the dials of the radio, but all she could pick up was static.
OOC,Nobody is actually playing [b]Julie[/b] yet, but I left the instructions for her to roll in case someone picked her up.
Doctor Who/CoC Campaign:
(viewforum.php?f=176)The Terror Out of Time
(viewforum.php?f=191)]The Ninth Planet
The Shadow Over Dunwich
The Brotherhood of Death
The Horror in the Blackout
The Masque of Nyarlathotep
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Re: IC-SWORD-Rangers in the Night(Dan Aldrich/Julie St. James)

Post by Voodoo »

Image
Grabbing his stuff, Dan heads back inside, calling to Julie as he does, "We got some company, Jules."
Once back inside he drops his stuff and heads to the window and says, "This could be good, but we have to be careful. We have no clue who they are or what they want." Next he moves to the weapons and checks to make sure they are all loaded and ready, grabbing up his rifle when he's done.
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Re: IC-SWORD-Rangers in the Night(Dan Aldrich/Julie St. James)

Post by Mr. Handy »

In the ranger station-
The smile on Julie's face faded when Dan mentioned that the new arrivals might not be friendly. Dan made sure that his Ruger Model 77R rifle was fully loaded with five rounds. It did not have a magazine; it was a side loader, and the bullets needed to be loaded individually. It was also a bolt action rifle, so it would take longer to fire, as the casing had to be ejected and the next round chambered between shots. However, its bullets were very deadly and it had good range. His revolver was fully loaded with .357 Magnum bullets, which had good stopping power at close range. Julie checked her Glock and ensured that it had a full magazine. She also had her bow slung over her shoulder.

When Dan peered out the window to the south, he could see the vehicles arriving from the south, and now they were close enough for him to hear them too. From up close, he could see more detail. The average-sized man in the middle seat of the pickup truck was wearing what looked like blue surgical scrubs, not a white tank top like the others wore. The road they were on went past the ranger station on the west side, about thirty yards away. The pickup truck's driver looked back and made hand signals to the van's driver, gesturing to the northeast. Then he pulled off to the side of the road and stopped just to the east of it. The van stopped a short distance behind it, parking at an angle and facing northeast. The van's side door was not visible from the station. To the west, the sun finally sank below the horizon.

Julie heard the vehicles stop. "They're here," she said.
Doctor Who/CoC Campaign:
(viewforum.php?f=176)The Terror Out of Time
(viewforum.php?f=191)]The Ninth Planet
The Shadow Over Dunwich
The Brotherhood of Death
The Horror in the Blackout
The Masque of Nyarlathotep
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Re: IC-SWORD-Rangers in the Night(Dan Aldrich/Julie St. James)

Post by Voodoo »

Dan continues to patiently watch the new arrivals, trying to find some hint as to whether they are friend or foe. After a few minutes he glances over his shoulder at Julie and says, "Keep your weapons out of site but near, I don't want to spook them but I also want to be ready just in case." he pauses to think for a second then continues, "I doubt it will work, but why don't you try them on the radio." finished, he turns back to the window, raises the binoculars and continues to study the newcomers.
OOC,I am going to pay close attention to the woman, I have a weird feeling about her. Hell I have a weird feeling about all of them but she seems really out of place.
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Re: IC-SWORD-Rangers in the Night(Dan Aldrich/Julie St. James)

Post by Mr. Handy »

In the ranger station-
Julie nodded, opening up the locker near the desk with the radio and stashing her bow and quivers within it. She closed the locker door and then unclipped the holster with her Glock from her belt and slid it into a desk drawer, which she slid shut. "They may have a CB," she said, "but without knowing what frequency they use, we'll be very unlikely to reach them. Worth a shot, though." She sat down at the radio again and turned the dial, but all she could get was static. "What do you see out there, Dan?" She pressed the button to talk and spoke into the microphone. "Can anyone read me?"

As Dan watched out the window, he saw the driver of the pickup truck get out. He held his M-16 ready, and Dan could see that it had a grenade launcher attached under the barrel. He walked over to the van, where the three men inside got out. He and the van's driver walked around to the side of the van that was hidden from view. The other two men approached the pickup truck. One of them walked with a limp and had a crudely bandaged leg, and the other one, who had a sniper rifle on his back, helped him along. Meanwhile, the man in the blue scrubs slid across the driver's seat of the pickup and got out, closing the door behind him. He walked around the front of the truck and opened up the blonde's door, offering her a hand to help her out. The woman definitely seemed out of place, but he couldn't put his finger on what was different about her just yet.
Doctor Who/CoC Campaign:
(viewforum.php?f=176)The Terror Out of Time
(viewforum.php?f=191)]The Ninth Planet
The Shadow Over Dunwich
The Brotherhood of Death
The Horror in the Blackout
The Masque of Nyarlathotep
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Re: IC-SWORD-Rangers in the Night(Dan Aldrich/Julie St. James)

Post by Mr. Handy »

In the ranger station-
As Dan watched, the blonde woman stepped out of the truck and stumbled into the man in scrubs. He could see now that she was wearing khaki shorts and one of her legs was in a cast, and she was using a pair of mahogany canes as crutches. She kissed him on the cheek, and they started walking towards the ranger station. Then the two men came back from around the side of the van. One of them held another woman by the arm. She was devastatingly gorgeous, with stunning red hair, and she wore a sexy little black dress. She looked to be in her late teens. All of them were heading for the ranger station as well.

Julie kept trying to reach out on different frequencies, but she still got no response from the radio.
OOC,[b]Dan[/b] and [b]Julie[/b] are moving to the following thread.
Terror By Night
Doctor Who/CoC Campaign:
(viewforum.php?f=176)The Terror Out of Time
(viewforum.php?f=191)]The Ninth Planet
The Shadow Over Dunwich
The Brotherhood of Death
The Horror in the Blackout
The Masque of Nyarlathotep
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