[START OF WEEK 9, HALF 2 OF THE GREAT CRUSADE]

[FOR REMEMBRANCE'S SAKE, HERE'S THE CRUSADE'S CURRENT STATUS]

>Manpower:
2 full strength Mechanized Infantry Platoon
1 full strength Sidewinder Platoon [LOCKED ON THE GILA]
1 half strength Sidewinder Platoon
1 half strength Pontifical Guard Platoon [LOCKED WITH THE CASINO]
1 full strength Inquisitorial Platoon [Mountain Base]
1 half strength Support Platoon [Priority: Artillery Section]
Full Platoon Garrisoned Mobile Light Infantry [Mountain Base]
Full Platoon Garrisoned Mobile Light Infantry [Mobile]

~575 followers (non-combatants)
~65 prisoners

>Wealth:
60 Wealth Points
+120 WP per half-week from followers
+30 WP per half-week from Maricopan patronage
372 Food Units
-61 Food from consumption per half week
+40 Food from 6 farms
+15 Food from Maricopan patronage
+120 Food from Stanfield support
43 Meth Units
+7 M.U. per half-week


>Have access to rare electrical gear for currently unknown projects or other uses...


[WELCOME BACK CRUSADER]

[AS A REMINDER, THESE WERE THE ACTIONS YOU CHOSE...]

>Envoy [Musella's Choice]

>Diplomatic action [Gila Counter-Raid]

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It has been about two months since you have concluded the Californian Exodus and led the Crusaders to the promised land (of Mobile Arizona) from where the entire Badlands and nation will be conquered in the name of Christ. In that time the faction has grown from a small group of militarized refugees measured in the dozens to a minor power in the region south of Phoenix Arizona numbering in the hundreds. Much of this growth has come with trying to avoid direct confrontations, naturally so with the inability to bear casualties that all small factions must deal with. Even the long awaited showdown with the POZ threat looming over Maricopa was, as if by miracle, resolved without so much as a shot fired by either side. But now, just before entering the tenth week after settlement, there's a sense that big things are on the horizon. The two expeditions being carried out in opposite directions both point to this.

First and foremost on the minds of most of the faction is the military venture to the east. At the suggestion of your patron/suzerain in Maricopa's Preis you will be giving the Crusaders what should be a proper battle.

>DIPLOMATIC ACTION LOCKED-IN: [GILA COUNTER-RAID]

To the east is the raid on the native proxies being used by the POZ to raid trade shipments being sent out by your suzerain, Maricopa City. The factional politics that led to this situation are somewhat convoluted but the plan is simple: launch a frontal assault on the small network of towns and villages while their main force is out trying to raid the supply caravan scheduled to head out soon. The bizarre eastern European representing the POZ was not subtle about the fact that such "accidents" could happen without the POZ's "protection," which in this case would technically not be done by the POZ itself but by its pawns. Which then means an attack by the Crusaders, who are likewise not Maricopa, is simply a case of turnabout being fair play. You have already placed assets in the area in the newly placed 'Sidewinder' force comprised of Crusader loyalist natives who have taken up hidden positions in the desert. All that is left for you, the Messenger, to decide is the matter of choosing how much force you'll dedicate to the mission and who will take the lead. From there on, it'll be in the hands of your infantrymen and, ultimately, in the hands of God.

To the west a very different mission is about to be undertaken. Your most reliable underling, Cardinal Musella, was honored with the choice of conducting whatever diplomatic mission he thought would be best and has made up his mind.

>[DIPLOMATIC ACTION] CHOSEN: [MUSELLA'S CHOICE]

>[MUSELLA'S CHOICE]: ENVOY [PALO VERDE NUCLEAR ZONE]

Cardinal Musella has made it clear that he wishes to build relations with the Electric Union faction comprised of engineers and other workers from the largest nuclear plant in the country and seemingly the only ones concerned with actually maintaining vital services over struggling for dominance in the Badlands. To reach the nuclear zone, however, he will have to go through the territory of the Lewis Correctional Protectorate, a faction of prisoners turned raiders led by the masked and exceptionally muscular Warden. They have made it clear that they will not allow free passage and require a token tribute of a couple dozen kilograms of meth (a small fraction of your weekly output that you're currently just stockpiling, but nonetheless a slight to even ask for), a price Musella seems either fine with paying or has some creative workaround for in mind. Apparently, this choice was influenced by a meeting that Musella had with another cardinal, Trkulja, who has been in an 'interesting' mental state after being humiliated by the Warden's men in an extremely unfortunately-timed shakedown/slave recovery mission on the Warden's part that caused Trkulja to go berserk that was later replaced by pious (i.e. maddened) religious devotion consisting of prolonged fasting in the middle of the desert in search of divine guidance. Perhaps there is actually something to Trkulja's unorthodox ways if Musella, your most trusted and reliable of men, sees promise in his plan.

For the journey to the west the details and planning and essentially everything else has already been delegated to Musella. It is [Musella's Choice], after all. And as for the expedition east, there aren't very many options on who should lead the way. Your usual "action man" in Cardinal Mueller is currently out on account of grievous injuries sustained in a high-stakes showdown in purging the last of traitorous elements in the Maricopan Native Region, and while nominally 'free' Cardinal Yuri, is being kept busy enough managing the Inquisition and in any case does not carry the confidence of the crusading warriors after what some consider a poor showing in a deep infiltration battle mission in Phoenix. The logical choice, therefore, is the remaining Cardinal Paul, a Hollywood star turned zealous crusader whose gregarious charm and high energy confidence is a favorite among your men (especially the self described 'meth-enthusiasts' among the crusaders.) But you are the Vicar of Christ and the head of the meth operation, so if you really wanted to ram though some random villager or crusader as leader you could probably get away with it (emphasis on if).

The bulk of the Crusaders eagerly await an opportunity to finally "take the fight to the fucking degenerate scum instead of some gay bullshit ass investing in factories or some shit" as it was put by a nameless crusader during a meth high. Those with more a more long-term view see that the only way for the Crusaders to truly become a power capable of challenging those in the Salt River Valley lie in the west, where the infinite potential of Mexico and California (places where at least theoretically there is some extant Crusader presence) lie, Musella obviously among them. As the for details of the military operation itself, which honestly most of the men aren't too interested in the finer points (as per their mental state, the crusader's role is not to reason why, but for the sake of Heaven fight for and die) of, the main idea is to strike the hearts of the various POZ Native American proxies' while they are out raiding Maricopan supply trains and thus vulnerable. Since the POZ can claim that those Natives are technically separate actors whose actions nobody can blame the POZ for, surely if you were to send out fighters nobody could blame the Maricopans (your current patrons) for anything! And as for the envoy out West, you're sure Musella has the details taken care of. Of all of your cardinals, he is by far the most trustworthy and rock-solid of council, being an intelligent man who can see the big picture while not being some strange, possibly mentally ill, Eastern-European who's a magnet for accusations of treachery. If only you knew.

Given all of this, which perspective would you like to go into first?

>[DIPLOMATIC ACTION]: Gila Counter-Raid
>Select PoV/Leader for Operation (natural choice: Cardinal Paul)

>[DIPLOMATIC ACTION]: [MUSELLA'S CHOICE]
>Musella's Choice: ENVOY [PALO VERDE NUCLEAR ZONE]

>>6089055
In case it wasn't obvious, these are the two potential choices you can select. Basically, it's whichever one of the previous actions you had elected for in times before to continue from.

Anyway, I'd make a corny "kept you waiting, huh?" joke, but not only have I used it before but also this has been disgustingly long. Genuinely, from the core, mercy for that. The time in between this and Autumn of 2022 (absolutely insane year) has been quite not-ideal. A month ago, when I was just 'freed', I posted in /qtg/ about this and was about to just start then and there. When I sobered up (I hadn't gotten so properly drunk in a while) I recognized that perhaps I should maybe take some time to get things sorted out and so waited until now. The (likely) next posts, by the way, are 'banked' in highly unusual fashion. But I'll still leave up time that ought be enough for the sake of initial voting and the like. In any case, I recognize that given the deranged circumstances behind said posting I'm likely to not have the same kind of thing as before (not unexpected given the exile) but I'm bound to continue this as I can nonetheless.


Also, holy fuck, was the Captcha (Sp?) always this bad, holy fuck it feels like I'm posting on this site on Lunatic difficulty or something, aaaahhhh!!!

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>>6089055
>Cardinal Paul
Bros, we are so back.

The anon that had been hoping against hope for this to return should be so happy.

>>6089059
Also it may not need to be said out loud but no need to worry about it QM, we know irl shit and the need to sort things out happens and takes priority over running a quest.
I think I can speak for most of us anons when saying that we're just happy this is back and hope you're doing good.

>>6089071
Thank you. But actually, for the first 21 or so months(?) sbc was genuinely on the mind for each passing day (unable to post anywhere anyhow). Yet the last month was a kind of "yea, let's not rush it too hard" if that makes sense. It probably doesn't, but w/e. If anything I'm jumping the gun by a few days but fuck it. Anyway, since I don't think I mentioned this before, but after the last 'proper' SBC thread there was a sort of side-quest in EftV, which was a prequel quest in Escape from the Valley. The tl;dr version, which ought not merit spoilers but which I'll put on anyway was: The absolute Golden Ending I didn't even think possible which has given the Crusaders a massive potential power boost and fast-track in power-progression should they cross the Mexican border to the far-off land of Mexicali. The difference between this outcome and literally protag dying in ignominy was just some random anon saying 'hey, can we get a little slack', which one may interpret as a prayer akin to that of Jonah's when he was dragged to Hell, something that's too poetic to overlook. Should you actually care, link is: https colon // suptg dot thisisnotatrueending again put in a d o t com forward-slash qstarchive [Department of Transportation's acronym] html question mark search all= 'escape from the valley' [remove quote marks and replace spaces with pluses] though it's not 'requisite reading' per se


That aside, given the nigh-unforgivably slow pace I'm quite open to any suggestions or whatever else on how to do things differently or fast-track things or get you guys some potential bonuses that might get things going a bit. Although I will say that during the Exile it became clear that you guys actually have a pretty good 'opening in the door' to both the otherwise blocked off California and Mexico regions due to the splintered nature of the faction, but I'm babbling enough as is.

Also, I made a guide for all of the characters and current story up to now and everything, but I actually can't seem to find it. I'll search through whatever I have and get it posted...

Gaaaah, holy fuck the spam filters on this site are nothing short of rage-inducing aaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!

>>6089091
I didn't know there was a prequel lmao. I'll have to get to reading that.
Actually I should probably skim through the threads for a refresher once I get the time.

As for any suggestions, don't push yourself too hard since it's been a while and it's always good to pace for momentum when starting back up, and also because burnout is a bitch that doesn't stop sucking.
And as for anything in game, I think a character and status guide of our faction would be nice.

>spam filters
I feel you, QM.

>>6089055
>The Messanger
A bit overkill but hey he's free. If there's a tie just put me in for whatever has the most votes.
Good seeing this back after so long.

>>6089055
>Cardinal Paul

Welcome back QM

>>6089124
I just finished reading the prequel and man I can't believe Porfirio squeaked out such a kino ending without any allies dying. My favorite parts have to be outrunning Lalo and the sniper showdown against the old South African dude. Although the Commissar and Gomer Pyle were funny, the insane rant about Lunarians/Lizardmen/Space Nazis from the radio was great.
I still wonder what the Church John Doe went in was all about.

I'm looking forward to (eventually and hopefully) meeting up with Prester Juan's Kingdom.

Oh shit the quest lives! Good to see this back and kicking man!

MOST HOLY OF FUCKS, THE PROPHET DRUNK QM (Peace be upon Him) RETURNS, ENSHALLADA!

Glad all my constant Qtg callouts weren't for nothing.

>>6089055
TOP KEK
>>6089052
Nice map, but the text is barely legible & you put Casa Grande as two different locations.
>>6089091
Kek, solid prequel, honestly didn't think we had a chance in hell, but prayer guided us through.

>>6089055
>MUSELLA'S CHOICE

Friendly reminder anons, we need to renegotiate with Preis about escorting his men to the POZ so that we can gain intel & sell product to the reds & other urbanites. Plus our old Gunney-approved red christian propaganda.

>>6089055
>Gila Counter-Raid

The Messenger

And holy shit, welcome back. I had given up hope, glad to be proven wrong

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>>6089070
>>6089183
>>6089148
>>6089540

OPTION SELECTED: >[DIPLOMATIC ACTION]: Gila Counter-Raid
TIE FOR LEADER, USING SECRET METHOD OF RESOLVING TIE (coin flip since it seems like enough time past since last votes)

...

...

LEADER SELECTED: Cardinal "Jesse" Paul

>CHANGING POV...

It's been too long since you've seen some fucking action. You adjust the body armor underneath the sand-colored 'camo' (although with the custom designs painted on it almost looks like something from centuries ago) and ready your battle rifle on the hood of one of the modded pick-up trucks you'll be riding into battle with. You and the rest of the Crusaders you're about to lead into battle are just waiting for the go-ahead from the Sidewinder scouts. The Maricopan trade caravan just began its drive up to South Phoenix, so any moment now word should be coming in on the inevitable raid sent by the POZ proxies. The core of the plan is simple: when the enemies are out raiding the trucks of food going up Highway 347 you and the rest of the fighters will raid the various communities they're part of, smashing through whatever token defenses they have there, taking what's there to take, and showing them (and the POZ by extension) that they're not the only ones who can wield force. Maricopa's leader, Preis, must've taken a page out of that roided psycho's playbook when he came up with it, and it's not a bad plan. At the very least it'll be a good break from building shit and training exercises.

Your hands shake a bit as you fidget around with a rosary rope. You're not going to commit to the actual prayer with a possible go-signal to come in at any moment, but honestly you've always been terrible at the actual 'prayer' part of being a Catholic. The whole 'living a virtuous life' thing honestly feels like a pipe dream at times. You sometimes second guess yourself and think about everything you've left behind. Your face was on screens all over the country. The Hollywood contacts got you enough money to throw the craziest of parties fueled by only the finest of drugs for the finest of bros and bitches. It was honestly pretty nice. If the country hadn't had started imploding you know you'd still be out there in the Hills being a complete meth-addled degenerate. Not that you aren't still one. But here in the deserts, clad in Crusader robes and battle armor leading the Army of Christ, you feel like you actually have a chance to rise above the mire. Not in the sense that you think you're better than anyone for it (if anything the burden can be crushing) but that you know a lot of people were left behind. You can't help but think of what became of your old friends out in California, maybe some of them are still stuck in that hellhole or perhaps-

[1/3]

>>6090219

[2/3]

"Hey, you alright boss?" It's one of the crusaders, a platoon leader to be specific.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yea of course! I was just thinking about the fight we got ahead of us," you lie, not wanting to kill the mood. "Yo, you remember the details r-" You stop yourself.

>Traits [Hollywood Star], [Crusader Rage] Alter Events

"Fuck it, might as well do it with the whole group. And make it count."

You climb onto the roof of the pick-up. From here you can see just about everyone, dozens of crusaders geared up for battle next to the trucks and ATVs modded for both off-roading and extra protection where necessary. "Yo! Everyone!" Your voice booms across through the desert staging area like one of the actual stages you used to practice acting. "Alright Crusaders, any minute now I'm gonna hear back from our snakes and you're all going to get the action you've been waiting for!" You hold up the radio up in the air conspicuously. "This is the part where I'd say 'if you're having second thoughts, now's the time to blah blah blah,' but FUCK THAT! I know you all are ready. I know you all are fucking thirsting to show that we're not all talk and to take the fight to these Godless Commie thieving fucks!"

You get some cheers and shouts of encouragement. While no doubt effective, the recent diplomatic maneuvering of the faction has led some hungry for some combat, yourself included if you're being honest. Preferably a clear cut win under the Crusader banner at home and not some low level skirmish or game of tag-a-long with some others. You continue.

"Not too far from here, just some miles up, is that group of settlements nearby. If they're going to have an organized defense, it'll be there. Past the I-10 it's open desert for a while with the dry Gila, which is where our Sidewinders are at between the 10 and 347. And at the other side of the I-10 are their main populated areas. Even if all we do is ransack those quick and then we'll strike the fear of God into them. Show 'em who's boss."

You see nods of approval and the signs of an engaged audience. Morale going in is high, despite whatever setbacks the Crusaders may have faced before. Still holding the radio and still not having gotten word yet, you figure you have time to do one last quick rundown of the plan.

"So..."

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>>6090220

[3/3]

GILA COUNTERSTRIKE:

>A few points ought to be nailed down...

>As a reminder, these are the forces available to the Crusaders and their current status

>Manpower:
2 full strength Mechanized Infantry Platoon [BOTH COMMITTED TO THIS OPERATION]
1 full strength Sidewinder Platoon [LOCKED ON THE GILA]
1 half strength Sidewinder Platoon
1 half strength Pontifical Guard Platoon [LOCKED WITH THE CASINO]
1 full strength Inquisitorial Platoon [Mountain Base]
1 half strength 'Support Platoon' (i.e. mix into forces to add medical/mortar support)
Full Platoon Garrisoned Mobile Light Infantry [Mountain Base]
Full Platoon Garrisoned Mobile Light Infantry [Mobile]


SELECT FORCE COMMITMENT:

>Minimum Necessary: 2 'Mechanized' Crusader Platoons with the existing Sidewinder Platoon out on the Gila should be enough to do this, no further commitment needed
>Combined Operations: 2 'Mechanized' Crusader Platoons with the existing Sidewinder Platoon out on the Gila. In addition, add a platoon's worth of men via the medics, mortarists, and remaining Sidewinders combined [Very Likely To Reveal Existence of Crusader Mortars]
>'Kampfgruppe Jesse': 2 'Mechanized' Crusader Platoons with the existing Sidewinder Platoon out on the Gila, the combined platoon of medics/mortarists/Sidewinders, denude forces from Mobile and the Mountain Base garrisons to get a 'Mobile Infantry' platoon as well to have a full company [Very Likely To Reveal Existence of Crusader Mortars]
>[Write-In]: Adjust one of the options above (e.g. 'Combined Operations [No Mortarists]', 'Minimum Necessary' plus denuding Mobile Infantry to get an extra platoon to use, etc.)


SELECT INITIAL BATTLE PLAN:
(Note that since no plan survives first contact with the enemy changing things mid-way will be expected.)

>On The March: Send forces to the nearest of the settlements, clear out hostile forces, move onto the next one, repeat as necessary
>Seize And Secure: Send forces to the cluster of settlements nearby, clear out hostile forces, and dig-in in anticipation of an enemy counter-attack
>Bypass: Ignore the cluster of settlements and drive the distance to go straight for eastern town of Sacaton (or Lower Santan Village for some reason?) and whatever defenders are there to ransack it
>Cut The Knot: FUCK OVERTHINKING! DISTRIBUTE KILOGRAMS OF METH TO THE CRUSADERS AND JUST TEAR SHIT UP! [Crusader Rage: Special Option]
>[Write-In]: Come up with a novel plan or adjust one of the options above

>>6090221
As usual, the whole point of the pre-battle stuff is to kind of outline things. In this case things like when the attack commences are already pre-determined due to the nature of it, but there's still the core questions of how much to commit and how.


>>6089124
Thanks, it was a raging dumpsterfire in many ways, but one that I do think has value in answering a few questions and resolving one of the more bizarre aspects that the initial map posed. All of the prequel quests were oriented around resolving some such matter and were around the top 3 USA cities by population/influence, and all of them had a 'deeper layer' going on (the Chinese takeover and factional development in Greater Los Angeles, Paxton's almost inhuman unification of Greater Chicago and the Midwest that was annihilating itself just prior, and dark money fueled military intelligence operations in Greater New York/The Eastern Seaboard) It was of course the prequel quest I expected to win if only because of the Kurt Russell title and its tie to California, the original home of the Crusaders.
Although it wasn't burnout. I've probably babbled on enough about that so I'll stop myself there...

>>6089226
Fun fact I feel like mentioning in case it wasn't evident: The Commissar is actually the guy who was yelling at 'third rifle' to (how did I phrase it?) 'stop being a bunch of limp dick faggots and just bayonet charge the enemy positions or I'll liquidate you myself!', i.e. probably the most stereotypically 'US Marine' thing you could do in response to hearing that there are no bullets. And since the Communists managed to seize that factory at the start of Stage 5...

>>6089459
You are absolutely right, that area on the north-western part should be Buckeye/Goodyear area, and I have no idea what the hell I was thinking (i.e. I wasn't) with the choice of green text without doing something like having an outline on the text. Evidently, I must have been on meth while making that, that is the most logical explanation. Hopefully this map is better if only because it has black color text on a light background, but if not I can adjust and make a new one, it's no big deal.


And just a few minor things: I'm feeling generally pretty open to suggestions, including for /qst/s that are recent/ongoing. I think I mentioned this before, but I haven't been on this site in a while so am curious as to if there's been anything good as of late the past couple of years.

>>6090221

>Minimum Necessary: 2 'Mechanized' Crusader Platoons with the existing Sidewinder Platoon out on the Gila should be enough to do this, no further commitment needed

>Cut The Knot: FUCK OVERTHINKING! DISTRIBUTE KILOGRAMS OF METH TO THE CRUSADERS AND JUST TEAR SHIT UP! [Crusader Rage: Special Option]

The goal of this operation is to destroy enemies rear echelon forces and punish them for their raiding. A small highly mobile force properly motivated (by meth) will put the fear of god into these sinners

>>6090221
>>Minimum Necessary: 2 'Mechanized' Crusader Platoons with the existing Sidewinder Platoon out on the Gila should be enough to do this, no further commitment needed

>>On The March: Send forces to the nearest of the settlements, clear out hostile forces, move onto the next one, repeat as necessary

Damn, it's back! When it was active some year ago I tried to catch up but couldn't, mainly because my attention went to other stuff. Could anyone be kind to give me a link to the archive? I wanna keep reading, I think I left it after the fight against the Natives, and I vaguely remember some wannabe Nazi guy finding the group and buying meth, but maybe I'm a couple of threads further from that point

>>6090221
>[Write-In]: >Combined Operations: 2 'Mechanized' Crusader Platoons with the existing Sidewinder Platoon out on the Gila. In addition, add a platoon's worth of men via the medics, and remaining Sidewinders combined [No Mortarists]
Enough to make sure we do some damage without letting people know about our weapons.

>On The March: Send forces to the nearest of the settlements, clear out hostile forces, move onto the next one, repeat as necessary
Kill all the enemies and sympathizers, let the neutral civvies witness it.

>>6090500
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Sun%20Belt%20Crusaders
Here you go.
>I wanna keep reading, I think I left it after the fight against the Natives, and I vaguely remember some wannabe Nazi guy finding the group and buying meth
I remember that, but not the specific thread it happened in. Were you here for the sheriff's coup in the reservation and the machine gun duel?

>>6090505
>Spoiler

Damn!... You got me thinking, I remember something about [b] the guy who's infiltrated into the cult trying to make some diplomatic relationships with a town and speaking with different Catholic priests and churches so they join him [/b]

I'm phone posting so maybe I'm fucking the spoilers, sorry about that if this is the case lmao

>>6090787
Yeah, fucked lmao

>>6090787
>>6090789
Don't worry about it man. I vaguely remember the Messenger convincing a Catholic priest about him being the real Pope. I should really stop being busy and reread these threads again soon kek
Also spoilers can be made with [ spoiler ]thing you want spoiled[ /spoiler ] but without the spaces between the square brackets, I imagine they're kind of a bitch to make while phoneposting. Using a keyboard you can just ctrl+s any highlighted sentence and you can just spoiler things easy.

>>6090221
>Write-Ins:
>Gila Monsters: Minimum Necessary + Half Strength Sidewinder Platoon + Quarter Strength Medic Squad distributed amongst the force.
>KREUZKRIEG!: Medics & Sidewinders keep the force on target & mobile, preventing civilian casualties; Crusaders fuck shit up, burn, & loot.

As for Qst recommendations, you should already be aware of Sworn to Valour & Star Wars: Interregnum, I presume. Plenty of others have come along too, but those are 'yuge.

>>6090866
Another series are the Trojan War Qsts: Trojan War, Deianara, & Seven Against Thebes, by the QM Lesches.

I liked the Foebadyn Qsts also, set in an alt universe US civil war essentially with monarchists in an Albion-inspired land.

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The day I was struck down with plague is the day the Crusaders Resurrect? I’m so fucking happy…

WE’RE BACK LADS! YAHOOOOOOO!

>Combined Operations [No Mortarists]
Medics, but mainly unmethed units to focus on looting. Keep the Mortars a secret for a rainy day~

I fear another Skeleton Garrison Mobile situation, but I’m willing to put that fear aside to fully embrace a first Crusader combat in YEARS!

>On the March
I’m very tempted by the Cut the Knot- it’s just a question of our endurance, the terror and ferocity of the attack, and whether we can actually get them to loot anything afterwards.

If we want to straight out terrify them and break their spirit, I’d be for it, but if we’re going to backdoor diplomacy with them (in exchange for a ‘cut’, be it profit, meth, or a bloody bayonet), might be worth while to wait for the counterforce before mething out- or maybe just say fuck it anyway, I’m somewhat undecided here.

>>6089091
I enjoyed the slow pace, but I do think it’s time to get moving before reality conspires against us again. Probably cut down on some of the Slice of Life filler (though that is the good shit ngl), and maybe revamp the actually good caravan deal that anons dismissed for some reason?

As must as I love the meme of Walter sitting on a Papal Throne of Cocaine Bricks, our industrial production of meth has reached a distribution bottleneck, and it’s been long enough that, while the Warden shakedown still stings, I can actually move past it in order to start distributing meth and making a break to Mexico or New Vegas.

I do think it time to stop playing around with the other Churches- first we convince Saul with Jesse and bricks of cocaine to join up, then we get Yuri to mind-melt the Burning Heart Priest or an appropriate patsie to bring them into the fold, or low-level violence if need be. Then we convince McAuthor and the Mayor to assist us in reaching Mexicali, and maybe get them assisting in on our surrounding diplomatic/trade efforts as a secondary priority.

The Warden Question will have to be dealt with eventually, but that’ll be for Bob’s mission.

>>6090228
Graverobber’s Daughter is great, I think you’d like it. A prayer received, a prayer answered~

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>>6090336
>>6090424
>>6090505
>>6090866
>>6090923

OPTIONS SYNTHESIZED:
>Minimum Combined: Two mechanized Crusader Platoons Plus Some Few Medics

OPTION SELECTED:
>On The March: Send forces to the nearest of the settlements, clear out hostile forces, move onto the next one, repeat as necessary

"So, while their best guys are out on the raid, we drive hard and fast into Casa Blanca, fan out along the roads, and storm whoever they got defending them. If they got shit to take in view, make it damn quick, because we'll be moving onto either Wet Camp or Sweet Water before those guys even know what the fuck is going on. We all got trucks, full tanks, and no extra infantry or clunky ass mortars weighing us down. We need speed to succeed. We do this right, we'll be back before noon and partying in the Casino. Maybe with the other speed." You smile as you see some among the dozen or so groups perk up at that line. "Ah, who the fuck am I kidding, it won't be a maybe!" That line actually gets a few chuckles. "Listen guys we're gonna fucking KILL it! Messenger's got this plan nailed down. We got scouts letting us know if shit's hit the fan and we gotta bounce. Yo, we have GOD on our side! We-"

You're interrupted by crackling on the radio.

"I'm seeing some Gila Monsters coming out of their holes," the Sidewinder scout says in not-so-subtle code, not that it's even necessary in the first place. Nobody you've seen or heard of in the Badlands has shown to be able to intercept signals on the radios that animal-fights guy in Maricopa gave you all. "I hear they're venomous, could use some help."

"Yo, roger that," you respond. "I'm on it." You lower the radio and look to the rest of the fighters. "What're you all waiting for? Let's fucking GO!"

[1/2]

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>>6091663

[2/2]

With that last pre-battle order you hop off the car roof and get in the driver's seat. You rev up the engine a few times and drive a bit ahead of the main group while they're either getting in the pick-ups or taking positions on the truck-beds with the ammo and other supplies you'll need. Naturally you'll be leading from the front, although with the plan being to rapidly storm lightly defended settlements from multiple angles it shouldn't be too dangerous, God willing.

The group drives east and passes by the first landmark along the way, a memorial to the Japanese interment camps, and turn into a network of farm-roads that while poorly maintained do provide a measure of obscurement given some of the tall grasses that sprouted up in the untended fields with some of the recent rains. As the group moves up north towards the southern edge of Casa Blanca you mutter a quick prayer before crossing the path running west at the very edge of the settlement. You're officially in enemy territory.

The crusader sitting next to you scans the horizons with his rifle at the ready. The guys on the back are doing the same. So far, nobody is shooting at you, which is expected with how much area so few people have to cover, an advantage furthered by your timing.

You all continue further north and encounter no resistance until getting less than a kilometer out from the central part of the village.

"Hey, up on the water tower!" one of the crusaders shouts as he readies his rifle and takes a few shots out on the moving vehicle, probably more for suppression than anything else. You don't stop driving and continue up according to plan. With one of theirs getting shot at, the defenders are no doubt scrambling to put up some sort of resistance even if they don't know what's going on. The battle has now truly begun. The question is if you're feeling blessed today...

>Roll 2d20 to determine how the opening goes

Also, if you guys have suggestions for handling combat mechanics or other 'crunch' then now's probably the best time for throwing those out there. During EftV I tried experimenting with some stuff like dice sizes and floated some ideas like per-thread rerolls. For now I'll try to keep things as was done prior with SBC, but I would like to keep that open.

>>6090866
>Sworn to Valour & Star Wars: Interregnum, I presume. Plenty of others have come along too, but those are 'yuge.
'yuge is definitely right, I'm honestly a bit intimidated with those (I had considered StV a while ago) from the number of threads/reading.
>>6090875
These I don't recall (recent?) so I'll check them out.

>>6090923
>I fear another Skeleton Garrison Mobile situation
If you recall the prior Local Event roll, it was quite a big number. Now technically it was a "to be revealed later" kind of thing, but it's highly, highly unlikely that anything particularly bad would happen. At least if I'm not egregiously lying! Oh and Warden/LCP stuff is definitely more Musella's mission.

Rolled 10, 1 = 11 (2d20)

>>6091664
I love dicerolling.

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>>6091668
>1
I no longer love dicerolling.

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>6091664
It's traditional that we roll 1 die at a time, friends.

That way, we die together, as God intended.

>>6091689
Seven is a divine perfection, for the Lord created the Earth in Six days, and rested on the Seventh.

As God Intended~

>>6091664
>Also, if you guys have suggestions for handling combat mechanics or other 'crunch' then now's probably the best time for throwing those out there. During EftV I tried experimenting with some stuff like dice sizes and floated some ideas like per-thread rerolls. For now I'll try to keep things as was done prior with SBC, but I would like to keep that open
I always like flavor dice- I know in Graverobber’s Daughter, we sometimes get meta Talents (currency) as rerolls, with enemies getting natural rerolls if they have enough numbers or hostile rerolls (rerolling your dice instead of theirs) depending on the situation.

I also vaguely remember a faction system from Swamp Lord Quest that intrigued me (and now I’m imagining a Megagame version of this like Watch the Skies), but speaking on just combat mechanics? I dunno- you could go three success tiers based like Enclave Remnants and GD, though I would probably prefer something similar in appearance to the old dice mechanics in a sense, only evolved or expanded upon. Being a small faction just starting out, the mechanics might naturally evolve anyway, much like this quest was a natural outgrowth of all our enthusiasm.

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>6091664

I do recall it getting a bit crunchy in the past, but I have no complaints.

I prefer best of three, though I know it's not for everyone, and doesn't tend to be as punishing when anons make bad decisions. Though, I do like how some quests implement it for decisions that the character would be expected to perform strongly in.

I suppose I prefer the story as opposed to the number crunching in quests. Anons have mentioned the grave robbers daughter, the quest that QM ran prior, which ran concurrently with some of the first SBC threads though I forget the name, was excellent though the crunch and harshness of the setting led to a point where anons didn't want to take actions for fear of the results. Worth keeping in mind.

>>6091670
>I no longer love dicerolling.
Brütal... especially since I believe I did count people doing multiple rolls at once (just kind of encouraging people not.) So that 1 would count then...

>>6091722
The Talents reroll mechanism sounds like the 'fate points' thing I mentioned before (i.e. limited re-rolls per thread) and I was thinking about having especially badass/creative/exceptional events grant additional fate-points (or 'invoked miracles', 'heartfelt prayers', or however else it'd be flavored) at QM discretion.

Also, tying in with what >>6092344 said, Bo3 would generally increase the expected outcome, but funny enough it also increases the odds of getting a Nat 1 assuming a 'crit override' system where rolling 1 or 20 overrides all other outcomes. Theoretically, BoN actually turns into a coinflip as N grows in size. Not that such insane sizes would actually happen, but it's a funny thought experiment.

Thinking about it, I guess doing Bo3 for especially easy or one-sided tasks might work. This situation, where a well-armed, highly motivated and numerically superior force is storming a weakly defended outpost would actually be one such case. Not that it'd help in this case with the crit override. Maybe I should get rid of it in such one-sided situations, although that'd mean that there wouldn't be miraculous turns of fate in the Crusaders' favor. Or perhaps I could just make it go one way? Hmm, at this point I'm more 'thinking aloud' so I'll stop there for now.

Won't be able to write the update immediately, but it'll be out soon

>>6091664
>>6091668
>>6091689
>>6092215

Bullets zip by left and right as the guard on the tower shoots wildly in your general direction. You keep driving at a steady pace toward the central area as per the maps you've reviewed before heading out. Gunshots ring out from behind you as the Crusaders begin to shoot out volleys of gunfire at the woefully outgunned fighter. Holes appear in the water tower as full-size rounds are fired one after another from the Crusaders on the truck's bed. With its comparatively large size the water tower doesn't take too much damage with only some minor leaks appearing. The same can't be said for the defender up there who keels over onto the platform, motionless.

With the unprepared state of the area's defenses and the lack of manpower, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise.

>Local Force Superiority: +3

It only takes just a little bit more driving to realize that this place really isn't defended nearly as well as it could be. You get that it's a relatively open area with a lot of approaches one could get to with, nothing like Mobile with its only entrances being with the 238 or open desert, but you've been silently hanging around the discussions on how to defend Mobile long enough to realize there's a lot that could have been done. There aren't roadblocks, IEDs placed on the outskirts, or much of anything. They obviously aren't totally open judging by the fact that they had some armed guy up on a vantage point, but it's very apparent that they just aren't prepared for a fight.

Defenders almost always have some advantage from being able to shape the area to their benefit. But if it's not taken advantage of properly, then that advantage can only go so far. This is a lesson the enemy at Casa Blanca is learning.

>Enemy Defenses (Subpar): -1

Attackers, meanwhile, almost always have some advantage from being able to decide the moment of the battle to their benefit. With knowledge that some kind of attack was to happen and forwardly placed observers granting advance warning, you've decided quite a good moment. And as you drive into the center of the town, quite near the water tower and by a large building of some kind, it's clear that they're still scrambling. You slow down, but only a bit, as you take a left turn and cross by that large building, some kind of community center you think.

As you round the corner the crusaders with you shoot at anyone they see. They're completely unprepared for the assault. One could even say you...

[1/???]

>>6093272

[2/???]

>[Strike First, Strike Hard]: +2 to this preemptive strike
>Training Bonus Invoked! (Bonus to ambushes and preemptive strikes)


As per the training not too long ago, the crusaders focus on seizing the initiative by rapidly identifying enemy targets and shooting them as rapidly as possible. It sounds very simple in theory but in practice people have a natural hesitance that has to be trained out of them. You yourself are more focused on driving, but you can see what look like people running around that large central building. Most of them are armed, but unfortunately for them they can't seem to get a hang of actually shooting at moving targets. That too is a bit of a hard thing to get a hang of if you're just some low grade defender whose just warming the proverbial trenches like these guys seem to be.

>Mobile Warfare: +2

"Got a few of 'em coming out of that side door," the guy riding shotgun calls out as he lays down fire with the rifle propped up on the open window. This is a worthy enough cause to lose hearing for and a worthy enough cause to lose your life for. That's the general sentiment everyone in the force feels and is a serious advantage on the field. You take the next right and are back to heading up due north like before. "Shit, they're holing themselves up!" the same crusader calls out.

"Damn it, they fled inside," you hear on the radio. "Fuck it, we gotta clear 'em out, I'm going in!"

True to the plan, you're not going to wait around for them nor are you just going to bypass this area and let them get their shit together.

"I see a loading area out back, let's go!" you say. You've already driven by a couple of unmoving bodies, they obviously don't have very many guys here, and they're actively running at the so it's safe to assume that their morale is about to break.

>Morale Advantage: +6

You quickly pull up to the edge of the loading area in the back, skidding your tires loudly while crusaders lay down suppressive fire at a window overhead. You get out of the truck without turning off the engine and get to work.

"Shit, door's locked!" The crusader on shotgun reached the door before you did.

You fire a three round burst at the lock and kick down the door. "Not anymore..."

>>6093274

[3/???]

Actually inside, you can tell this was definitely once a community center but has been turned into a staging point of some kind. It certainly fits with all the various raids they've been able to launch. You radio over to the group that you've in and continue.

"Cover me!" Two of the crusaders in the squad lay down suppressive fire at two possible points enemies could come out of as you move up with a buddy.

You move up and peek around a corner to see a large central room with boxes of ammunition, fuel, supplies, and a bunch of enemy fighters trying to take positions behind whatever they can find and trying to put up some kind of a fight. Already there are crusaders attacking them from the front direction opposite of your guys.

Some of the guys from their rear, your front, realize your approach and hide behind a couple of stacks of wooden pallets. "Bad move."

>Superior Arms/Armor: +3

You line up your sights not with the person but the cover he's hiding behind. You unleash a three round burst and, just as expected, a loud yell of pain comes from his direction.

"Wood versus full size cartridges, don't need to be a gun sergeant to figure that one out," you joke to your buddy before continuing. "We got you outgunned, surrounded, and beat! Surrender, give up your loot, and we'll spare your lives! We'll even provide medical aid to your wounded!" you shout out.

>Assessing enemy morale...
>Result: BREAK!

"A-Alright!" you hear from the central area where the hostiles are before seeing a rifle get flung out from behind a piece of cover onto the ground. A man leaves his cover with his arms raised above his head. Then another man. Then a woman.

"Hell yeah!" one of the crusaders shout out.

"Hey you, medic," one of your squadmates starts, "You good to treat that one over there?"

"That, err, the guy with a bloody side on the ground? Yea, I don't think anyone of ours got hurt so I'll help him out quick before we continue."

You keep your rifle ready as you move to the center where a few other crusaders are already beginning to handle the surrendering enemies. "Any casualties?"

"No, they were too panicked to shoot straight, all good here."

"Hell yeah brother!" you say, forgetting that technically you're not supposed to use that kind of language in the heat of the moment (honestly nobody cares) and give him pat on the shoulder. You then turn around to one of the women surrendering to wrap this up and move on. It feels great starting out with an operation going exactly as planned.

>Final Result: 10 + 13 - ...
>...
>!!!

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>>6093275

[4/???]

You turn around and time freezes. In that exact moment, frozen in your perception, you see the woman holding a pistol pointed directly at you. Instinctively, without even thinking, you move your right hand, the one holding your rifle, and she fires.

"Ggaaaaggh!" You cry out in pain and hit the ground as you're shot.

>NAT 1 OVERRIDE...

>>6093276

[5/5]

Immediately the guy you just patted on the shoulder turns around and pelts her with automatic fire before she can even switch targets. Her body is torn apart by bullets, practically exploding in blood as what may be a full thirty rounds make contact with her at point blank, although you're not counting. You writhe in pain on the ground as you clutch your gut where you got shot. Funny enough, you've done a lot of shooting but this is your first time being shot. At least first time being shot in real life. They make it so easy in Hollywood, but having it happen for real fucking hurts.

"YOU PIECE OF FUCKING SHIT!" you hear being screamed out along with the characteristic sound of a bayonet being unsheathed and fixed.

"Jesse! You alright!?" The medic clearly left that wounded man he mentioned earlier behind as you can see his view. "Here? You got shot here?" He removes your hands from your gut and puts his hand on where the bullet entered. "Ah, fuck! Still hot!" He adjusts your position as you're still catching your breath and helps get that armor off of you.

You move your hand to your gut and, as you anticipated, there's no blood there. It doesn't even hurt to touch really, probably because of all of the adrenaline. Psychologically, just knowing the bullet didn't actually penetrate, you feel a lot better and are able to get up and take stock of things.

The rest of the enemies look absolutely terrified beyond belief just from their eyes as half of the crusaders have their rifles trained on them. The woman guilty of the sin of perfidy is totally unrecognizable with the myriad bullet holes and stab wounds that cover the blood-drenched area around her, and most of the remaining crusaders look to you. You catch your breath a bit more and, radio in hand, command the group on how to proceed.

How do you deal with the 'surrendering' enemies here?

>Restrain: Tie them up as quick as possible so they can't try any tricks or whatever. Leave them to be freed by their own.
>God Knows His Own: If these fucks treat your mercy as weakness, then they deserve no mercy. Kill them all.
>Take Prisoners: Get some Crusaders from Maricopa to come over here and take whoever they can, number is in the low dozens overall, back as prisoners.
>Drive Them Back: Stuff these guys into the backs of your trucks at gunpoint and maybe take a few of theirs while you take them to Maricopa yourself.
>[Write-In]

And how do you proceed with the overall mission?

>Continue: Call up some of the Crusaders stationed in Maricopa to take whatever loot's worth it while you go to the next settlement. [CHOOSE: Bapuche/Wet Camp, Sweet Water, Bypass To Sacaton]
>Bail: You almost died, you're not going to risk it again. Call it a success and bail.
>Hunker Down: The Sidewinders haven't mentioned anything about the main raider force coming back, but maybe they're wrong! Fortify this location anyway and prepare for some kind of attack!
>[Write-In]

I gave it some thought, and I think that one way of 'balancing' out the thing with nat 1 overrides is to have them 'scale' with the overall difficulty of the tasks and the other dice rolled in the series. So they can throw things for a loop and mess up situations, but not necessarily turn slam-dunks into disasters. Although they could turn disasters into catastrophes, on the flip side. I don't know. I couldn't justify this turning into some kind of slaughter for the Crusaders since they didn't have some kind of 'ace in the hole' and legitimately were just caught with their pants down (kind of like Mobile was way back, now that I think about it.) But you did get shot and you probably don't want to get shot again...

>>6093278
>Take Prisoners: Get some Crusaders from Maricopa to come over here and take whoever they can, number is in the low dozens overall, back as prisoners.
We need intelligence, and could use the extra manpower. Having the Mortarists or Inquisition handle the prisoners/loot while we continue the offensive is smart.
>Continue: Call up some of the Crusaders stationed in Maricopa to take whatever loot's worth it while you go to the next settlement. [CHOOSE: Bapuche/Wet Camp, Sweet Water, Bypass To Sacaton]
God favors the bold, and we have meth. We must continue the push. For God and Country.

Shame it had to end with us getting shot, but I’m just glad it didn’t turn into a shitshow from turn 1.

>>6093278
>God Knows His Own: If these fucks treat your mercy as weakness, then they deserve no mercy. Kill them all.

>Continue: Call up some of the Crusaders stationed in Maricopa to take whatever loot's worth it while you go to the next settlement. [CHOOSE: Bapuche/Wet Camp, Sweet Water, Bypass To Sacaton]
I'll vote for Sweet Water on this one.

>>6093319
I should also add- hostages would also be useful as bargaining chips. They might fetch a pretty penny WP or special trade goods wise, though I’d settle for them not attacking the caravans further or getting us a backdoor into the POZ market.

>>6093278
>>Take Prisoners: Get some Crusaders from Maricopa to come over here and take whoever they can, number is in the low dozens overall, back as prisoners.

Gaining information, converts, or ransom, sounds good.


>>Continue: Call up some of the Crusaders stationed in Maricopa to take whatever loot's worth it while you go to the next settlement.

I figure we should hit Bapuche/wet camp and then sweet water. Looking at the map they are close enough that they should be alerted to whats going on and may be able to cut us off if we leave them be.

>>6093278
>>6093354
I'll change my choice from Sweet Water to Bapuche/Wet Camp.

>>6093319
>>6093354
>>6093447
>>6093594

OPTIONS SELECTED:
>Take Prisoners: Get some Crusaders from Maricopa to come over here and take whoever they can, number is in the low dozens overall, back as prisoners.
>Continue: Call up some of the Crusaders stationed in Maricopa to take whatever loot's worth it while you go to the next settlement. [Wet Camp/Bapuche]

"YOU WANT SOME TOO YOU LITTLE SHIT?!" You look to the side and see the blood-covered crusader from before now pointing his gun at a wide-eyed man with his hands trembling in his air and feet in a small puddle. "Pull out your gun on me, I fucking DARE you!" His bayonet is mere inches from his face. "We should kill you all for that little stunt alone! The fuck kin-"

"Enough," you tell him softly but firmly. "C'mon, we're not going to just kill them all."

"Jesse, they fake-surrendered. The fuck else do they deserve?"

"Look m-" you cough a few times before you continue. That bruise is starting to hurt. "Do they deserve death? Yea, they probably do. But we kill them all and then what? Let's ignore the chance some of these guys got the fear of God put in them and might want to try giving faith a chance. We kill them then we can't get any info from them, can't trade them, can't do nothing. We get nothing. And if you're mad, trust me, I'm madder. I'm the one who almost died."

His brow furrows with rage as he keeps his bayonet raised. "Fuck, Jesse," he starts. "You're right." He lowers his rifle and crosses himself.

"Good choice bro..."

[1/2]

>>6093788

[2/2]

The rest of the surrendering enemies are rounded up, given first aid if needed, and tied up without incident. The upshot of that stunt they pulled is that the resulting justified use of force/brutality really did scare them into compliance. You, meanwhile, go outside and send word back to Maricopa to pick up the prisoners of war and all of the other loot that's been conveniently left over here. Having guys locked up at Maricopa to fulfill various obligations normally sucks, but it can be convenient in moments like this.

"You secured the area with no casualties among your guys, huh?" you hear from the other end of the call. Technically, you didn't lie to them about that, since you yourself don't count as one of your guys. "Well, good to hear! We'll get there ASAP with as many trucks as we can. We'll give you a quick rundown of how much stuff they got there after you're done. Godspeed."

>Loot from Casa Blanca Staging Area: To Be Revealed

"Alright, let's get a move on!"

When the prisoners are tied up and everyone is back in his respective cars, you let them know the next steps of the plan.

"We continue onto the Wet Camp Bapuche area up north. They're probably alerted but not dug in. We storm them like we stormed this place, and-" You're interrupted by a surge of pain in your gut around where you were shot, but continue. "It's smaller and in their back so it'll be less defended. Yo, not saying we can get cocky, but we can do this. I'll take point on north as we go along the main road on Wet Camp, take out anyone dumb enough to put up a fight, then we swing east. There are a bunch of buildings by a school so I think that's where they'll mostly be? My guys on the north road will start and the rest of you hit them from the south. Or you guys have any better ideas?"

With that little speech, the raiding group begins moving out. Honestly, you're feeling good about things except for the whole 'taking a bullet' thing, which still hurts like a bitch. You really get a sense that most of their best guys, most of their guys in general maybe, are out raiding the Maricopan caravan. That might suck for the guys guarding that but it makes your job a whole lot easier. You just hope that this northern cluster of settlements' defenders don't have some kind of ace up their sleeves.

>Roll 2d20
>OPTIONAL: [Write-In] any changes you want to make to the plan or suggestions or anything else

With that vote change I think it's clear which way it's going, so might as well do an "early" (or technically late?) update and keep the pace while possible. The plan suggestions is optional, but just there in case you guys have any ideas (will be added into the narrative)

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>6093792

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>6093792
I’d give them a little taste of Meth- not enough to get high and go crazy, but a little something to encourage them, and maybe prime them for a ‘finale’ if it comes to it. Like licking and rubbing a bit of it on their teeth, something small but hype inducting.

>>6093792
If it was allowed, I’d probably call up the plainclothes MMP and tell them to take and hold the position for a pincer ambush- as is? All I say is we should approach Sweet Water from the North if we get there- in the confusion they may assume we’re POZ reinforcements instead of the raiders attacking them from the South.

Doing some research on the map- Arizona Materials is somewhat interesting, but the main prize would be the John Deer Proving Grounds Sacaton, besides Sacaton itself. Probably worth raiding Sacaton just for that, though given the distance, they may not know their buddies are under attack and may just think it’s their own caravan raid.

Beyond that- I do think next turn should be a mix of getting Saul on board and either heading into Phoenix to trade with the caravan (assuming it’s an option next turn) or just exploring the Wastes for loot and skilled personnel. Figure Saul will fold after a mixture of showing the wealth (of meth) and a show of force, maybe pointing out that we’re in good with the MMP afterwards (vests probably good enough proof). Figure Jesse would be best, though Trkulja would probably do well (having both Righteous Wrath and the Logistical Bug), or Bob (probably would kindly ask a squad of MMP to meet him down here for a ‘community bonding exercise). After that, it’d just be a question of a secondary objective (probably cozying up to the MMP? Maybe the Mayor? Maybe a scheme with the Native Spirits to trade some of his liquor in Phoenix/when we scout?…another Redfield Experience? ;)

I do think we should take the kiddy gloves off with the Burning Heart and have Yuri deal with him semi-offscreen. Just a question of whether to built the Oubliette and the Hallucinogenic Lab first- sorta leaning on yes, despite a bit of distaste, because it’ll probably achieve the subversion of the Burning Heart the quickest, and thus open up a pool of skilled labor. That’ll take a while to cook though, and I do remember reading that there are opportunities in the Badlands, if only we explore them, so assuming we can’t jump on a POZ caravan next turn, probably worthwhile to send some Scouts just to explore around us.

>>6090866
To clarify, in this vote I intended to have the Crusaders meth'd up while the Sidewinders & Medics (Hospitallers sounds better) would keep them cohesive. It all worked out though.

>>6093278
>PUT OUR BODY ARMOR BACK ON
>Take Prisoners & Loot (via INQUISITION; they should also be grabbing any intel)
>Continue to Closest Target (Bapuche?)

>>6093792
Late post aside, here's an idea:
>Take the captured radios/walkie-talkies & setup an ambush; ask the captives for their callsigns & such, convince the defenders that we were repelled to a spot ideal for an ambush, then mop them up when they arrive there

>>6093892
>>6093955
>>6094949

You adjust the fresh set of body armor you put on while everyone was busy tying up the prisoners of war as you start the drive up north. It's a short distance, but enough to get a sense of the local area. This place was poor and rural even before the war, so much so that you can't tell if the obviously abandoned mobile homes you pass by were like that before the war. The grasses in the open fields are a mix of dried out yellow and uncontrolled new growth from the recent rains/flooding, a sure sign that there either isn't anyone around to tend to these areas or that nobody cares to. Nobody's shooting at you, and you don't see any signs of anyone approaching from the western side of this northern area. It's safe to say that the Wet Camp area is either depopulated or at least lacking any kind of armed forces. This will surely come as welcome news to the Crusaders who'll be picking up the prisoners and the loot, most likely the Guards stationed at the Casino since they're the closest (although you're pretty sure those weirdos at the Inquisition will be doing most of the 'talking.')

>Wet Camp Area: Secured Without Action

With that confirmed, you move to then along a sort of road running along a canal due east. As planned, you and the other trucks with you will ride along the northern route while the rest go along the south. That cluster of buildings near the school on the east end of the area is probably where they'll have most of their guys on defense.

"Hey, boss, you see that in the distance up the road?" You squint a bit and can just barely notice the tell-tale signs of a moving vehicle on a desert road. "Can barely tell, even with the scope, but I think they got guys on the back. Looks like the reinforcements are coming in late."

This sort of 'mechanized jousting,' as one Crusader put it, is actually one of the scenarios you've thought about and even trained for. You slow down a bit, keep your eye on the vehicle up ahead, and radio to the truck a bit behind you on the opposite side of the canal. "Yo, they're coming to us! I'm going to turn around..."

[1/???]

>>6095596

[2/???]

You slow down, stop, and do a three point turn. In the meantime the hostiles up ahead haven't slowed down and are still coming right for you head on, exactly as intended. You wonder if they think you're actually running away from them as you try to adjust your speed to keep a certain distance from the opposing vehicle. While carrying larger, heavier rifles that require more space for less ammo is normally a disadvantage, the kind of war fought on the Sonoran Badlands with its long distances and wide open spaces puts the range and raw power of such arms at a premium.

>Superior Arms/Armor: +3

You hear bursts of gunfire from the back as you pay attention to driving and trying to coordinate things with the southern group. They're also currently engaged with what were supposed to be Casa Blanca's reinforcements. Obviously you're not there, but it sounds like they're solidly outnumbering and overwhelming whoever they're up against. Maybe they'd have been able to put up a decent fight if they had concentrated their forces from the start, or better yet had their raiders present, but as it stands their forces on the southern route are getting cut down.

>Local Force Superiority: +5

And on the topic of 'getting cut down', the crusaders on the back unleash rapid series of bursts at the mostly static enemy (in terms of relative position.) A combination of experience, training, and simple cruise control let them accurately send lead down the road. Faster than you'd expect you see black smoke billowing out of the truck on your side of the canal. Without skipping a beat, they adjust fire and focus on the one remaining. You're not sure whose rounds got the mobility kill, but in any case the second one also stops and billows out smoke as it almost swerves into the canal before coming to a stop.

In effect, the skirmish at the northern canal is already won. It's just a question of if they'll surrender or if they're going to fight to the last bullet. The situation is obviously desperate for them, and previous experience suggests that for the most part they aren't the types to choose death (as much as the still hurting bruise on your gut biases you.)

>Morale Advantage: +3

>Assessing enemy morale...


For a while they scramble to get out of the vehicles even as stray shots fly in their direction while your fighters are still unsure of what exactly is going on. Soon after, however, one of theirs tosses his gun on the ground and walks up with his hands in the air.

>Result: BREAK!

"Good job guys," you shout to your guys before turning the truck around. "Looks like w-" you're interrupted by a surge of pain in your gut as you adjust your armor. The weight of the armor pressing against the tender wound is really starting to hurt, but you can manage it. "Looks like we got another group of prisoners. Yo, nice job everyone. You guys handle them, our truck's going to continue and meet up with the others."

"You got it..."

>>6095599

[3/???]

You drive past the two disabled vehicles, slowing down as you do so to avoid any unwanted collisions and noticing they seem to be around a dozen people overall.

"Cardinal Paul," you hear from the radio. "We just fought and defeated a group of their guys going on the main road, you guys-"

"Yeah, we fucked 'em up on our side over here. They couldn't even close in to get in effective range of their guns, so we're good. We good to meet at that school community area thing on the east of Bapuche?"

"Affirmative, um, we'll head up there and meet you there."

There's not much road to cover and you soon get to the main area of the place. You slow down as you round the corner and have your guys scan the area for any signs of defenders or anything, but it seems calm. It really does seem like they made the unfortunate decision of sending their men as reinforcements into an already lost battle. At best, they slowed you and the rest of the Crusader raiding group down.

>Final Result: 15 + 11 = 26
>DECISIVE VICTORY!

Your truck's group catches sight of the rest of the Crusader group, sans one truck (presumably for the same reason you're short one). At the mid-point, the school area, you notice just a single man waiting, seemingly posing no threat. You drive up carefully to where he is under the protection of a number of crusaders pointing rifles at him and scanning the area for any hidden threats. You wouldn't want a repeat of what happened at Casa Blanca.

"We surrender," the man tells you before you even finish getting out of the truck.

"Yo, we're from the S-, wait, really? Just like that?"

"We heard the group going to Casa Blanca was defeated, and those were all of the fighters we had. The rest of us have evacuated to the school and we pose no threat. Take whatever you want, but please spare us our lives!" It seems like these people really do fear your group. "We are just civilians; we don't even have communications with the group that went to the 347! We at Bapchule are a humble, peaceful peoples, please do not kill us!" He drops to his knees as he humiliates himself begging...

>>6095602

[4/4]

"C'mon, on your feet," you tell him as you physically lift him up a bit. It seems like these guys actually think you guys are about to commit to some kind of mass slaughter. "Don't humiliate yourself man, have some pride." You really hate seeing people put themselves down and grovel like this. "Oh, and what did you say, Bapuchle?"

"Bapchule. It is the name of our settlement."

You do a double take and look at a nearby sign that, sure enough, say 'Bapchule.' You're pretty sure this whole time you've been reading it 'Bapuche' or something like that.

"Oh, yeah. Of course," you trail off. At about this point a truck pulls up and a few crusaders demount to flank you.

"Orders, Cardinal Paul?"

What is the fate you decide for the people here?

>Bypass: Do nothing and just move on with the raid since these people obviously aren't a threat.
>Loot: Call the guys in Maricopa and tell them to come over here and take anything of value once they're done with Casa Blanca.
>Kidnapping: Call the guys in Maricopa and tell them to come over here and physically move the population here once they're done with Casa Blanca.
>Slaughter: You didn't say you wouldn't just kill them all.
>[Write-In]

And where is the next stop on the raid?

>Sweet Water: Take the area linking this region to the I-10 and clear out anyone in the local area.
>Sacaton: Bypass the I-10 using country roads and go straight for the major settlement of Sacaton on the far side of the region.
>Maricopa: This is enough, just go back home to Maricopa and don't venture out any further.
>[Write-In]

File: Ork_Warboss_vs_Hospitaler(...).jpg (376 KB, 1168x1408)

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Wanted to post this earlier but was getting some posting issues. RIP original IP (RIPIP In Peace?) and any potential formatting I could have attempted. Not that I would've (fun fact, I actually tried with some of the more [Crusader Rage] stuff but totally botched the formatting and had to concede with some post deletions iirc...)

>>6094244
Yea, the whole point of the operation was to have the attack not be conducted by Maricopan forces. Granted the Crusaders are using Maricopa as a staging area, are equipped by Maricopans, and even many of the Crusaders are actually from there since it has been a major recruiting area... but you could say the same about the Gila region and the POZ. And yes, it's clear looking at the general map that Sacaton and that general area would be the 'big prize' since it's obviously the most built up and populated area.
Also, not sure how much of a priority it'll end up being short term, but on the point of trying to legitimize the faction as actually being the legitimate Church there's definitely room for skullduggery or brute force. Historically those have always been options in religious expansion. You can reasonably assume there'd be more downside risk, but dragging people into dungeons and trying to mindbreak them with drugs and torture isn't impossible or anything. Assuming that's what you were hinting at with mentioning Oubliette and Hallucinogenic Lab. I'm probably going on too long so I'll stop there.


>>6094949
>Medics (Hospitallers sounds better)
That it does. Once you guys develop Spess Mehreen tech I expect nothing short of pic related (jk jk!)

>>6094950
I'd say given the state of Casa Blanca at the end of the previous update this wasn't really possible, or would at least require completely changing plans beyond what I could fit in for just someone's [Write-In], although I did make sure to draw attention to Jesse putting on another pair of armor. Given that you guys specifically requested a priority on armor from Maricopa's supplies, it's not even a question that you would have multiple pairs as backups.

>>6095606
>>Bypass: Do nothing and just move on with the raid since these people obviously aren't a threat.

If they have anything of actual value, which I doubt, they'll have hid it by the time anyone gets here to collect.

>>Sweet Water: Take the area linking this region to the I-10 and clear out anyone in the local area.

I wonder if we have the manpower to hit Sacaton

>>6095606
>Check-up: Make sure there isn't anything funny going on here.

>Sweet Water: Take the area linking this region to the I-10 and clear out anyone in the local area.

>>6095606
>S’mores: Call the guys in Maricopa and tell them to bring some marshmallows, chocolate, and gram-crackers. Going to give these civilians a proper bonfire.
Vibes well with Bypassing and Check-up. Figure if they’re not going to fight us, maybe a community bonding experience will warm everyone’s hearts in the callous Badlands. The loot is tempting, but I doubt they’d have anything interesting enough to bother with (hence why the Crusaders would come up to take a look with the marshmallows).

Besides, it’s known as where Ira Hayes‘ died, the local Marine from Iwo Jima who helped raise the flag. Maybe some of the good ones will remember that (Mauler certainly would’ve brought it up enough that even a coked-out Jesse would remember it).

>Sweet Water: Take the area linking this region to the I-10 and clear out anyone in the local area.
Take the set, then see if we can convince Sacaton that we’re their ‘returning friendly raiders’.

>>6095626
Odds are good- I’d assume that the majority of the Indian Raider’s manpower is from Sacaton. They probably wanted a good showing to the POZ after the debacle of the Mountain Base and the Maricopa Raid, and would take the opportunity to ‘stack the deck’ against the MMP Caravan Guards.

>>6095606
>Check-up: Make sure there isn't anything funny going on here.

>Sweet Water: Take the area linking this region to the I-10 and clear out anyone in the local area.

There could be important human resources in this group. Imagine the value of a wound care nurse, a mechanic, welder, farmers, ect.

>>6095816
Honestly? Doubt it- all the useful people would’ve gotten poached or conscripted by the POZ or the Reservation Raiders. Best we’re looking at, besides farmland? Maybe some construction workers/machine operators. Sacaton would have a better human resource base, as well as loot in general.

Doesn’t mean we can’t send our Maricopa boys to check it out anyway, or send in some food luxuries as a goodwill building effort (since we get a shitton of Food, it’ll probably mean more to them than anything we could reasonably get for it).

After we leave a good impression, we hit up the Sidewinders and our ‘friendly’ Indians to begin either subverting them or open up backdoor diplomacy for a informal cessation of hostilities.

>>6095606
>>Bypass: Do nothing and just move on with the raid since these people obviously aren't a threat.
>Sweet Water: Take the area linking this region to the I-10 and clear out anyone in the local area.

>>6095606
>Loot
>Sweet Water
>Check them all for Weapons

Explain that we're only responding to their unjustified raids to the West, & that we're willing to trade food for vehicles & skilled labor as one anon mentioned.

>>6095971
I doubt they build vehicles or have skilled labor that isn’t already tapped by the other factions. What they do have, is location and access. Imagine being able to know beforehand when a raid is in the pipeline, or to be able to smuggle something into Phoenix on the sly, without dirtying our MMP connections.

They don’t really have much else in the way we’d want, being squeezed by the POZ, but a beneficial smuggling/trading/intel deal, for some Food, maybe a bit of Wealth? We’ll worthwhile.

>>6096103
Solid thinking, I was talking about taking their pre-existing vehicles though, especially box trucks, pickups, vans, & buses.

Actually, thinking about it, is Loot taking their kitchen stove, or raiding their military stockpile? Because while I don’t want to be stealing civilian jewelry, I would like to demilitarize them, given the goal of this operation.

Hmmm… well, I hope the Check-up option doesn’t make our guys braindead and take some valuable stuff while not being excessive. Would be a shame to leave them with a militarized capacity because we were trying to be nice with leaving them their family jewelry.

>>6096581
>Would be a shame to leave them with a militarized capacity because we were trying to be nice with leaving them their family jewelry.
That's a very reasonable concern I feel.

>>6095626
>>6095639
>>6095728
>>6095816


OPTION SELECTED:
>Sweet Water: Take the area linking this region to the I-10 and clear out anyone in the local area.


You're about to speak up, but a sudden feeling of paranoia hits you. "You, get in the building." The old guy complies and enters the school area.

"Jesse?"

"Chill, just don't want anyone hearing us. So, here's what we do, we continue to Sweet Water. If we wanted to bypass it to Lower Santan or Sacaton we could, but the roads suck and if things go bad we're fucked. If it were me, I'd have that place guarded to block off the I-10 but not the roads to it. They're low on guys and still figuring out what's going on, we press 'em where and when they're weak."

"Got it boss," he tells you as he lifts up his helmet and wipes sweat under the Sonoran sun. "We going back to the trucks."

You think on this a bit. Your niggling paranoia isn't satisfied yet. "Not yet, come with me."

OPTION SELECTED:
>[Write-In ~ Check-up]: Make sure there isn't anything funny going on here.

You check your rifle, walk over to the door to the old man walked through, and open it carefully. The room inside is a school gymnasium with dozens of people all over, most of them women, children, or seniors. The moment your boot makes contact with the wooden floor indistinct chatters and murmurs become silence. Nobody's pulling a gun on you, which is at least an improvement from last time.

"W-What do you want?" It's the same old guy from before.

"Just doing a check up. Making sure there isn't anything funny going on here."

"We were told to wait here until the danger had passed. We got everyone to evacuate their homes and shelter here."

The story he's saying doesn't contradict what you've heard before. "We're here to take out a threat to us, not rob the shirts from your backs. You're safe..."

[1/???]

>>6097480

[2/???]

>Events Altered By Trait {Heart of Gold}:

He doesn't say anything in response and is still obviously nervous. Most of the people here look at you with tense looks the way you imagine a prey animal might look at a predator they're really hoping will just pass by. You don't know what these people have been told about your faction, but it can't have been good. Maybe they even have good reasons for thinking that. After all, much of the Crusader's heavy fighting has been against their own, and much of it has been brutal. It's times that like that make you question whether or not you're actually doing the right thing. Although so far you've done a good job of not just mowing down anyone and everyone. And a recurring pain in your gut tells you it's not for a lack of pretense.

Among the group you notice one of them, a woman who's probably in her twenties or thirties, staring and squinting at you in a way you quickly recognize.

>Events Altered By Trait [Hollywood Star]: Your skills as successful Hollywood actor grant you a minor level of fame and bonuses to diplomacy

"Yo!" You try to start the conversation a bit more high energy without going overboard. "You good? It almost looks like you recognize me from somewhere or something?"

"What? Uh, no? Err, I mean, you just kinda look like a guy from a TV show I watched."

"I just 'kinda' look like him? Damn, I gotta work on my me impression!"

"No, it's fine," she starts giggling. "I just meant-"

File: Yeah bitch YEAH SCIENCE.jpg (121 KB, 1200x600)

121 KB JPG

>>6097483

[3/???]

"Yeah bitch! SCIENCE!" you quote from one of your more famous roles.

She starts cracking up. "Oh my god, you're actually him! Like, I wasn't expecting to meet you here, or at all. Why are you even here?" she asks you. You ask yourself that question a lot, although not always in the excited joking way that she just did.

"Yo, long story. LONG story, for real. Found Jesus and all that good stuff. Back in Hollyw-" You're interrupted by two loud honks coming from outside. "Ah shit, look, I'm on a tight schedule here, but, uh, you want an autograph or something?"

She nods.

"Great, got a pen?"

"No, I just have a pencil."

You look at her baffled. "Look, pencil's fine, retard." You pause. "Shouldn't have said that, was just quoting the-"

"No, no, I got it! Um, here you go!" She hands you a pencil and a crumpled receipt. "It's all I have right n-"

"Don't worry," you tell her as you uncrumple the receipt and ready your pencil. "I'll come back here and give you a real one later, miss, uh," you trail off.

"Isabella."

"Yea, I'll get you a real one Isabella," you tell her as you hand over a grease-stained fast food receipt with your autograph on it. In any other context this would be a borderline-insult, but given the circumstances it's more than fine. "When I return I-"

Again two loud honks are heard. The crusader you had come along to guard you looks like he's about to drag you by your ear...

>>6097485

[4/4]

"We'll figure it out, but, yea, always nice to meet a fan. Alright see ya!"

After awkwardly putting together some parting words you head back out. As you rush over to the Crusader truck it occurs to you that if anyone wanted to simply 'decapitate' the Crusader force raiding them, then they would have surely tried something during that encounter with the fan. That means that at the very least the people there are probably actually civilians or genuine non-combatants of some sort, although with just a little check-up it's really not something you can confirm completely. Still, you don't have time to run through every room looking for ammo crates or other military supplies. The war continues.

"What was the hang-up Jesse?"

"Was just doing a check-up. No hostiles in there, so the area west of Sweet Water is clear. Well, except for their raider group, but they're still busy with the M.M.P. right?"

"Sidewinders haven't said anything, so guess so. By the way, our guys are going through Casa Blanca, they'll get to the guys that surrendered and got disarmed in this area later."

"Cool, cool. So, to Sweet Water Village!"

You and the rest of the Crusaders continue riding out. You're thankful that so far things have been kind of easy. You feel like you 'dodged a bullet' with the first region of Casa Blanca, in as much as things could have gone much, much worse but didn't simply due to enemy unpreparedness and perhaps even a somewhat gracious countenance from the Lord (as you've heard the more booksmart-religious people in the faction put it.) As you presume, which may or may not be off base since you're not exactly the wisest of the Crusaders, the area of Sweet Water Village will have most of its calcified defenses set up along the I-10, so attacking it while you're in the cluster of settlements to its west almost represents a natural "flanking attack" in that their defenses will be naturally set up perpendicular to the angle of attack. Therefore, attacking directly from its west (where you're at) would be the most effective way of dealing with any threats there. Unless you have any other plans...?

>[WRITE-IN] Any potential specific plans or suggestions you may have for the assault on Sweet Water Village...

And if the fates (or God rather) does not have anything to say about this...

>Roll 2d20 for combat

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>6097486
For Sweet Water? Hit them Hard and Fast, and if God gives a sign, maybe have one of the Native Crusaders trick them into thinking we’re friendlies returning from vanquishing the enemy.

As I read this update the literal moment it came out, I imagine this must be a sign from God to roll on my mobile now instead of waiting for a better opportunity…

Also, really liked the fan scene, while I’m waiting to make my post. A bit of humanity in depths of vicious combat.

Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>6097486
Basically what >>6097509 said.

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>6097486
Lord, why must you test us so…

>>6097599
Point taken Lord, I apologize for offending your infinite wisdom

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>6097486
RELIGION, bitch!

>these rolls
God has punished our hubris.

>>6099633
Just a trial- I do think we’ll make it out alright, what with our decent bonuses and all.

Even if we suffer light wounds, we may be in good enough shape for [Crusader Rage] on Sacaton- a good finale to finish us off on, and to put the fear of God in the raiders!

>>6097509
>>6097520

So far the assault on the Gila River has been going pretty well, knock on wood. Looks like the basic plan the mayor cooked up was solid since apparently they really did just leave themselves totally open. With all of the fighting they've been doing and all of this land they have to cover you think you get why they're spread thin. The Sidewinders not reporting anything about the raiding party starting to return or updating you at all really is kind of weird, but it's not your job to worry about that. Your job is to fuck up your enemies across the deserts, and as you continue on road to the highway on-ramp, in the distance you can make out some shiny objects moving to the middle of the road. You're not a battlefield genius or anything, but it's obvious they're trying to move vehicles to the area and physically block off the area at this important crossing.

"Cover our right," you order. A few bursts of fire are shot at the various little buildings and homes on the right-hand side of the road, just enough to give any potential attackers from there second thoughts. As you get closer, an idea pops into your head. "Bro, check the map real quick for distance from the gas station to the crossing."

The crusader riding shotgun shifts his seat back as he sets the rifle under his chair in a highly unsafe but very convenient position while pulling out the map. In the heat of battle to the sounds of guys on the truck-bed firing bursts, he quickly measures out the distance out with his thumb. "Um, six to- yea, six to eight hundred meters, something like that."

"Cool," you respond before pulling out the radio. "Alright, us on point'll take the gas station, you two in the rear cover the village area on back, rest of you take 'em on head on but be careful, they're actually readying up this time. Got trucks blocking the on-ramp and shit."

You turn your attention to your role. From what you can estimate, the gas station area near the on-ramp would be a great vantage point and place to lay down long range fire on the enemy. Besides, it'd be good to clear out anyway just because if you were defending you'd make sure to put a few guys there.

No sooner than when that thought crosses your mind do you hear a loud, continuous honking followed by the sight of the truck just behind you veering wildly and careening toward the roadside shrubbery. Looks like they aren't just guarding the highway...

[1/???]

>>6099809

[2/???]

As the battle commences, it seems like the element of surprise you've been relying on has turned in the other direction. At the very least they've been able to prepare a little ambush of their own.

>-1 From Enemy Preparations: Hasty

You can see guys jumping and scrambling out of the stopped vehicle in the rear-view as the shotgun passenger loads a grenade under-barrel. "Smokin' the market entrance!"

"Yo, I'm going in, cover me!"

You stop the car to the side area of the gas station's market, an area you think is safe since it doesn't have any windows or obvious places to get shot from, and head on out. Smoke billows from the grenade shot at the entrance as you get a hold of the situation.

"Yo, we got guys up in this gas station we gotta clear out, you guys good out there? I saw you guys lose control over the truck. Yo? Yo! You guys listening?!"

An uncomfortably long pause follows your broadcast. During this time you see the rest of the guys in your group converge on your position.

"Yo Jesse, what are w-"

"Uh, Jesse?! Sorry, we uh, fuck!" The voice on the other end sounds a little panicked. "Sorry, uh, trying to stem the bleeding. Looks like his femur's broken? No, that can't be right... I'll let you know-"

"Yo, take care of him, you're their medic right?"

"Of course!"

"So focus on taking care of him, hand off the radio to someone else in your group yeah?" A long, tense pause ensues. "Hello, hello?" The speaker is clearly someone else. "Uh, our car got shot, our driver-"

"Yea I know, get to the point!"

"We're in the middle of the road across by the gas station, what do we do?"

"Lay down fire on the market's front door area," you order. "They're gonna be confused with the smoke, just make 'em think that we're trying to get 'em from the front, yea?"

"You got it boss!"

"Yo, over and out!" You catch your breath. You're cooking up a risky plan, but one that should work. "Alright bros, I just told the other uh, truck, that's with us to focus on fucking blasting the front," you say as you pause to catch your breath. As you do this the pain in your gut flares up, but you power on. "They'll be thinking we're gonna fuck 'em up from there with all the gunfire, but let's go for the backdoor. Catch them between a rock and hard place, ya' get it?!"

You get nods of agreement.

"Alright, the fuck we waiting for! Let's fucking go!"

>>6099810

[3/???]

As expected, there's a back door to this gas station convenience store turned defensive fortification. You and the rest of your little squad get ready at its sides, but not before noticing a few of your trucks zooming past along the road. They'll be the ones dealing with the actual fortified area on the on-ramp of the highway. Logically, you'd know that the highways are vital points of supply and 'communication' in a logistical sense. At least, that's if you're remembering correctly the lessons taught by the Crusader's main 'logistical master' who, in recent times, has had some kind of weird ass mental break in the middle of the desert. The point is, wide open paved roads able to sustain multiple vehicles are of vital importance to actually letting an army function. While in the desert this isn't quite as much of a concern as somewhere where, say, entire seasons forbid cross-country travel due to vast quantities of rainwater turning the lands into a swampy morass where mud-drowned roadways are the closest things to solid ground, such highways are still vital points to take hold of. In this case, you're lucky enough that such places are guarded by only small, undermanned garrisons. Or at least, that's how it seems. You won't know until you kick down the door of course.

With a burst of gunfire you shoot the lock into pieces before kicking down the actual door. The area just before you is an open loading area, but thankfully there isn't anyone actually defending it. "Go! Go! Go!" You take the right side of the room along with another one, this time not your previous shotgun-seater but rather an almost toothless meth-addict turned soldier-of-Christ who was previously on the pick-up's bed. "Room's clear, let's keep fucking going!"

You're not going to lie, as much as you might ruminate on the tragedies of war, this is pretty fucking awesome. In class, you always had a hard time paying attention for more than two minutes. Even in Hollywood, you could barely force yourself to memorize line-reads when there where literally thousands of dollars riding on each sentence. But here, in the middle of Bumfuck Arizona, your brain is 100% totally fucking wired into the right frequency, or however the phrase goes. Every hunting instinct built up over thousands of years of evolution, or natural design or the state of the sinful fallen world or whatever the fuck, are firing on all cylinders. You're about to kick down the next door, the one to the actual customer-facing part of the gas station's market, when you hear a bizarrely unnatural crack. You can just fucking tell there's someone else on the other side of the wall. You're not sure if this is hunting instincts or some kind of undiagnosed ADHD or meth withdrawals, but you just fucking know...

>>6099811

[4/???]

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up," you think to yourself as you signal to the rest of the squad. "You, there. You, there," you think to yourself as well while using hand signs to command the rest of the guys in position. It's amazing how in all of God's creation there are things of such complexity that the mind cannot even comprehend that simply fade into nothingness as raw instinct take over. You may not be the best in terms of the highfalutin theology stuff, but you just fucking know there's someone opposite of this decorated drywall.

"GAAAAAGH!!!"

The voice can be heard from a mile away as you unleash a full mag-dump in the drywall. Looks like you were lucky. Despite all of the talk of how intermediate cartridges are 'strictly superior' to full-sized cartridges in most combat situations, you can't help but appreciate how most cover is actually visual-only in practical terms. Or put in the extremely crude words of a fellow meth-enjoyer in the Sonoran Badlands 'the government, they don't want you to know this, but wall-hacks are real, you can just shoot right through them walls in real life!'

On queue, one of your guys kicks down the door. Instead of rushing through or something, he launches a flashbang.

In the moments before the rush you can't help but think of how lucky, or blessed, you are to actually have good equipment instead of just relying on whatever bullshit happens to be lying around amid the realities of civil war. It's let you automatically ventilate one person's body through a wall with confidence as has allowed the rest of your group opportunity to destroy the others' eye-sight and ear-drums, at the very least.

>Superior Arms/Armor: +3

The second the flashbang goes off rest of your guys leap into motion. You hear cries followed by gunfire followed by what seems like panicked cries from your own men. You're one of the last to round the corner into the main section of the mart to actually engage, but from what you can tell your men were fearless and willing to simply go with whatever you (and the rest of the 'leaders' of the faction) told them was the best course of action. One (presumably enemy) body lies on the ground as the rest of your guys are taking cover behind aisles of gas-station convenience food, which is a good sign. While in theory the enemy should have been able to suppress the one exit and keep them from pressing on, in practice such intense firefights are often decided by the simple factors of morale and willingness to kill (i.e. willingness to die) and other such matters. In this area, your faction excels, since it realizes the objective truth that, indeed, man's life is fleeting and merely a test of devotion to the Lord...

>>6099812

[5/???]

>Morale Advantage: +3

You rush past the door and behind a piece of cover, in this case an ice cream chest, and fire wildly without even looking to simply try and suppress the enemy. You're beside another Crusader fighter, but don't exchange words. There's nothing that needs to be said given the reality of combat before the both of you. He nods and raises his head up from the aisle he's using for cover before unleashing a burst of fire. During said burst of fire, one of the bad guys raises his head from the convenience store counter and fires a couple of rounds in the direction. Neither of them hit each other, as is typical of most exchanges of fire in actual combat. You, however, do manage to get a burst of shots in unmolested by enemy fire.

You hear the characteristic grunting and crying out of a man shot. You're not sure how many guys are even here, but you know it can't be much. They are, after all, splitting their forces between guarding the actual highway crossing of Sweet Water and guarding this forward position at the gas station. Your guys are reasonable in terms of force commitment enough to go toe to toe with them. And, in fact, you're pretty sure that there's another truck of Crusaders that are supposed to arrive any minute now.

The second you seem to think that, you can hear a burst of fire despite not seeing any of your own guys rising up out of cover to shoot. That can only mean one thing.

>Local Force Superiority: +2

While you chose to Force Your Way through to the enemy's forward position, you provided an opportunity for the other squad to simply ingress through the primary entrance. While in theory the force-multiplier effect of being a defender is enough to make up for raw numbers that enemies can concentrate in opposition, in practice the 'flanking' effect afforded by even slight numerical superiority (presuming enemies able to freely maneuver) is more than enough to make up for this.

"Yo, we got you surrounded! Seriously, we got you from all sides, and are willing to let you surrender and shit! For real, one of your guys literally shot me while surrendering, and we still spared you all. For real, this is your last chance..."

You call out an extremely reasonable offer to surrender. The question is whether or not your enemies will be reasonable in turn...

>Assessing enemy morale...

"Fuck you! You are colonizing fascistic nazist traitorous-"

"Fuck, I don't want to die!" This comment is followed by a guy tossing out his rifle out over the counter and then popping up with his hands up.

"Shit, are you really?"

"Fuck, I got kids to return to!"

"D-Don't shoot!"

>Result: BREAK!

"I- err, fuck! W-we t-tender our resignation!" The once high and mighty resistor of surrender willing to fight to the last bullet, too, chooses surrender after his own men have chosen the path of not dying...

>>6099813


[6/???]

"Whew! Alright, good choice boys!" You take a deep breath and put your hand to your heart. You swear you can feel it even beneath the layer of body armor you're wearing. "Yo! For real, we don't want to actually kill any of you, we just want to-"

"Can it! We don't need to hear some self-righteous bullshit about-"

"Kai you fucking dumb?" one of the enemy's own questions. "We're fucking surrendering, don't give them reason to get mad and cap us!"

You keep your hand on your heart as you continue to take deep breathes. As dangerous as it is for a force surrendering, being the ones to accept surrender is hardly less a task in terms of difficulty. And given the danger involved in actually convincing the foe in front to not kill you, that's quite a statement. "Yo, you two, continue up. We'll take care of these guys." They nod and take to the stairs to the roof.

You catch your breath as you keep your rifle trained on one of a group of guys crouching over. Every once in a while you pry your gaze off of that group and toward your buddy as he cuffs the first of the group to get tied up. You can't help but think of the possibility of one of them trying to grab his gun and commander it for himself. In that case, you don't think you'd have much of a choice but to butcher the perfidious foe's squad-mates and come to the aide of your buddy. It's a small miracle that the perfidy attempt on yourself didn't end in a slaughter, come to think of it.

"Alright, got you tied up, going to the next guy!"

As he calls that out, you hear bursts of fire. The others must've gotten to the roof and must be providing supporting fire. As for the fight outside of this gas-station market, you cannot be sure, but given the fact that they split their already limited forces up to pull some kind of ambush you're hopeful.

You keep your rifle trained on the group of surrendering foes on the far side of a cashier's desk, almost like a robber would. You breathe deep and fast as you watch the fellow Crusader tie up the guys one by one. It's a strange mix of boring monotony with heart-pounding anxiety. You try to start a prayer in your head to get yourself through it, but you can't manage to keep your head straight for the duration. It's just another thing you'll try to atone for.

"And last one!"

You exhale hard as you hear that the last one of them is secured. As the adrenaline wanes in your system you feel the pain in your gut's wound flare up. It's just another consequence of prior failure you have to live with. Although in this instance, it seems like a success. Still, as lead it's your job to confirm.

"Yo, yo, what's the situation out there..."

>>6099814


[7/???]

"Uh, Jesse? Yea, I think one of ours is down, but we got a good h-" His answer is interrupted by a burst of fire. "We got a good handle on the situation. It think one of thei- yeah, one of their heads just blew up! Um, shit, looks like we're getting some surrenders. Um, shit, will need to get back to you!"

The voices on the radio become quiet, but you can still hear things going on. You can vaguely make out some bits of dialogue such as "c'mon you fucks," "we got GOD protecting us," and "-fix bayonets!" before all you can hear is incoherent screaming and gunshots.

"Yo, anyone there? YO!"

An uncomfortable pause passes before you hear a response.

"Hey, uh, yea, we got things under control," you hear before you sigh in relief. "Yea, we charged at them and they surrendered. Not unscathed, but, uh, not defeated-"

"Yo, we're getting to your position, just secure that area yeah?"

You gather up all of the guys here and get back to the truck. This time, you're the one sitting shotgun and able to catch a breather. On the way to the actual highway crossing you notice the truck on the side of the road. There a medic is sitting on a guy's chest.

"Gaaaagh!" you hear the guy scream, his voice cracking toward the end. The medic seems to be shoving something in his leg. Naturally the driver slows down.

"Hey, you guys alright there?"

"You're gonna make it alright budd-" The medic's comforting words are cut short by blood curdling groans. "C'mon you pussy, I got that quick-clotting shit in your wound, don't embarrass us in front of boss!"

Unfortunately, while the battle did go successfully overall, you weren't as fortunate as you'd expect. Still, whether or not the truck can be brought back to service and whether or not the guy is going to survive ultimately isn't so important in the grand scheme of things. The driver continues forward, and rounds the initial portion of the on-ramp. As he does so he has to slow down and carefully navigate around a sedan parked perpendicular to the road to block the way. He has to do this again for another sedan parked similarly not too far out from the first one. But in any case, you reach the rest of the Crusader fighters...

>>6099815

[8/???]

As expected, you can see a group of enemies being subdued and ones already tied up on the middle of the road. As the truck pulls up to the bulk of the Crusaders one of them walks to you. "Cardinal Jesse, my man! We're just finishing up on processing these guys. Had a rough start, but we managed to clear the guys out. Won't lie, we have a couple of wounded, one who looks like he won't be fighting for a while, but once we got a good coordinated charge at them, they folded. Especially with you and the rest of your guys on the roof laying down fire!"

You didn't actually take to the gas station's roof and start hosing down enemy positions from that vantage point, but what's important here is that it looks like the Crusaders got a win here.

>Final Result: 8 + 7 = 15
>Success

You're not going to lie, it kind of sucks seeing actual casualties between the guys here and the driver out back currently groaning in pain as he's getting treated. Still, you can't help but look at the bound enemies before you and think about how you and your guys seem to be doing well in comparison.

"So boss, where to now...?"

>>6099816


[9/9]

It's a good question. The Sidewinders haven't keyed you into any movements by the actual raiding party, so what's going on there is totally up in the air. As for the actual objectives in the area, you'd say that with the amount of prisoners you've taken and the fear the Crusaders have probably struck into anyone else few would question you if you returned and just said 'mission accomplished' just now. Yet, across the Gila area, lay other targets, perhaps more lucrative ones. Notably, Sacaton lies to the east at about the midpoint between familiar Maricopa and the far-off San-Tan Valley area that lies across miles of harsh desert hills. Or alternatively, you could try striking north at the comparatively less populated Lower Santan Village area to the north, just by the confirmed POZ territory of Southern Phoenix. Should you feel like it, you could backtrack and go northeast toward the route the MMP guarded caravan might be going, or command the Crusaders to do something completely 'left-field' entirely.

What do you order?

>Head East to Sacaton and hit the raiders in their main populated area while it's likely undefended
>Route over toward the Sidewinders and past them toward where the Maricopan Caravan might be in case they're still en route to Phoenix somehow
>Go North toward Lower Santan Village and see if you can maybe catch them by surprise there and maybe deal some serious damage
>Return back to Maricopa with whatever prisoners you have here instead of waiting for others to come around to returning them and call it a mission-accomplished
>Tell the Crusaders to expect the unexpected and do something unplanned for [Write-In]

And, if you have any, specify any additional actions you wish to take or order in addition to any of the choices
>OPTIONAL: [Write-In] (E.g. Go North toward Lower Santan Village and see if you can maybe catch them by surprise there and maybe deal some serious damage [Command Sidewinders to abandon forward positions and join main force to bolster numbers] or Head East to Sacaton and hit the raiders in their main populated area while it's likely undefended [Leave half of forces with you at Sweet Water to defend against enemy raid while you raid Sacaton] or something else along those lines)

>>6099633
>God has punished our hubris.
In a sense, your shit rolls have been 'used up' on a bunch of stuff that was after the 2d20, so surely things can only get better, right?!

>>6099686
Taking meth and deciding to go all in on the major location at the end is a viable option, although I will say that [Crusader Rage] as mentioned is technically just one of Jesse's traits. It's just one that you guys have chosen not to lean on too much, what with deciding to spare an enemy combat unit after an act of perfidy. Not sure if this is spoiler material or not, but firing upon your captors after offering surrender is really, really bad and quite frankly the sort of matter for which you sign your entire group's death warrant for. In the event you are press-ganged into a war, please do not choose to commit perfidy, as you are not choosing 'death over dishonor' but rather insubordination and deaths of your comrades over swallowing your own pride! Deciding to take meth and go all-in is of course an option this faction almost always has at its disposal and it is assumed that everyone has an arbitrarily high amount of meth (for personal use) on his person given the faction is producing hundreds of kilograms of the stuff it cannot easily offload. Cardinal Paul just happens to be more conducive to such choices as a leader.

>>6097509
Humanity in the depths of vicious or otherwise hellish matters is what I feel like, from my viewing, the entire point of Jesse in the later parts was, and honestly probably from quite early on. Even in something as simple as the meeting with Saul after Combo's death, Jesse was the one who looked like he could recognize the intense tragedies that came with the situation whereas 'Waltuh' (couldn't resist) was more thinking 'Fuck, one of my underlings got capped, it makes me look like such a moronic druglord' in the scene. But on the surface he's just a 'dipshit junkie', so you wouldn't get that if you were theoretically just looking at public dialogue per se.

>>6099817
>Head East to Sacaton and hit the raiders in their main populated area while it's likely undefended
Best put the fear of God into them- it’s the best opportunity we’ll ever get, and while I do think some of Lower Santan Village might be worthwhile, Sacaton is the bigger prize. If there’s a second raid, we can see about hitting Santan later.

>Take the [Crusader Rage] option- hit them hard, fast, and meth-ed up. Put the fear of God in them. Decapitate their leadership, preferably through capture, if the opportunity presents itself, but the focus is raiding and survival, don’t forget that.

>Call in that Half-Strength Sidewinder Platoon to Sweet Water- they are not to defend, but misdirect and confuse the enemy should they come by, and ambush/loot if the opportunity presents itself.
Way I figure it, the Native Raiders probably won’t question fellow Native Indians in ‘friendly’ Reservation territory. This will allow them the opportunity to misdirect and redirect the surviving Indian Raiders to Santan or Goodyear Village as ‘reinforcements’, and potentially ‘protect’ (seize) the loot/wounded the Reservation Raiders leave behind as they head into combat (or so they assume). Afterwards, they’d simply leave with their new ‘acquisitions’, maybe stage it like they were raided again and overwhelmed/surrendered.

Figure it’s worth a shot- fits with their training, avoids direct combat with a half-strength platoon against a superior force, etc. etc. Maybe they’ll even get the chance to stealth-raid the low hanging fruit in Santan, i.e. the construction companies just on the edge of the village.

>Someone tell the Inquisition to either bolster our numbers or assist in the looting.
Yuri’s lads should still have the Strike Fast, Strike Hard training, given that they’ve turned Inquisition after the Training Exercise and combat experience in Phoenix. This raid was also planned in advance, so Yuri should have at least expected prisoners and pre-positioned his Inquisition to help out. Ain’t expecting a whole platoon (though that would be nice), but even an extra half-platoon would help out with minimal disruptions, or at least enough guys to fill in for the casualties. If this was already addressed in-universe off-screen QM, then just ignore it.

>Write-In

I still think Sacaton is too big for the forces we have on hand, even if it is lightly defended, and I expect that there is a good chance they'll be ready for us. We have to assume that if the defenders here had time to prepare they had time to warn Sacaton. Waiting around for .ore forces to join us would be a bad idea, we'd just be giving up our momentum.

I think we should risk hitting the John Deere proving grounds to see what we can loot there then gather up our loot and prisoners and head back.

>>6099878
>+1 I support this course of action.

>>6099817
>>6099839
+1, to add to that:
>Send the wounded back with a medic or two & the best loot we've grabbed to Mobile.

As long as we don't head to Lower Santan we should be alright, since the POZ would likely send reinforcements there. At this point we've hit Wet Camp, Bapchule, Casa Blanca, & Sweet Water right? I'm curious if Arizona Materials would have anything worthwhile. Thanks for the 'yuge & insightful updates, Drunk QM.

>>6099839
>>6099944

I'd just like to point out that Sacaton has a prewar population of 3200 people, let's assume maybe 700 people have died or left since things have kicked off, at 2500 even if we assume 3/4 to be elderly or children that leaves roughly 600 fighting age adults, perhaps a few hundred have left to raid. We should have around 30-45 men on hand, minus wounded. If we wait around we could at most double our numbers.

>>6099818
>so surely things can only get better, right?!
I want to say yes, but that would just be asking for something bad to happen.
>spoiler
That's something I hope all of us anons will remember for later.

>>6099817
>>6099944
this

>>6099944
Construction equipment- maybe even a couple of cement mixer trucks. It would help with an idea I was kicking around, the creation of a ‘Mobile Fortress’, heh…

A bit of a shame to miss out on it, but I want to be in as best shape as possible to really hit Sacaton.

>>6100011
Those numbers seem a bit low- I’m suspecting each platoon has a couple dozens each, with additional combat medics maybe making that a baker’s dozen. That’s around 70ish (3-dozen each) minimum to potentially around 100ish (4-dozen) maximum, minus the wounded.

But even if it was around 2-dozen each, I would still take the gamble, for two reasons. First of which is this
>Trait [Crusader Rage]: Your insane devotion to the faith (emphasis on insane) can grant a massive bonus to crusaders under your command and encourages 'extreme' options (with certain choices auto-locking if said options are consistently not acted on...)
We haven’t experienced this massive bonus yet, being Jesse’s first raid and choosing to be more logical and clearheaded with our raid so far, so I’m sorta hyped on it, especially with since this will be the first time we’d popped our Pervitin bonus in a while now. But even if that wasn’t the case, I’m a bit worried about another Trkulja Episode, this time Guest Starring Jesse.

The second reason is that raiding Sacaton will put us in good with Maricopa- and I do mean Maricopa, not just the Mayor and the MMP. Don’t forget that the Maricopa Raid and Hospital bombings happened just a couple of weeks ago in-quest- everyone’s still feeling the pain and loss there, and right pissed about it too. Even if we really didn’t do any serious damage, we would still be seen avenging Maricopa’s Pearl Harbor (and MacArthur‘s MMP Caravan) by striking at the beating heart of their raiding force. Even is we pull the equivalent of the Doolittle Raid, I do think this’ll give the Crusaders a PR boost with the masses and a bigger boost with the leadership.

>>6100011
Fair point, but you're forgetting fence-sitters & boat-rockers, so the number of combatants should be much lower.

>>6100073
30-45 is a correct estimate for a platoon sized formation, I should doubt there is anywhere on the planet where a platoon sized formation is 70-100 men. At 100 you're approaching a company, which is typically several platoons.

And dude, where is your math? A dozen is 12, or 13 for a bakers dozen.

I'm all for dealing a heavy blow against these commies, but I don't think we have adequate manpower to hit their main settlement. Besides, we've inflicted some significant damage thus far without a single death on our own side, I'd say that's significant in and of itself. Let's not be greedy and risk heavy losses.

>>6100125

Sure, but when an enemy shows up to rip ass through the town who is still going to be sitting on a fence? For that matter adolescents and elderly in significant numbers would easily overwhelm our raid.

Simply the amount of ground and buildings that will need to be covered is too much for the forces we have available.

>>6100348
Ah, I think there’s been a miscommunication- our raiding force is 2 full-strength Mechanized Platoons strong, plus some assorted medics.
>Minimum Combined: Two mechanized Crusader Platoons Plus Some Few Medics
Which would line up with my fast and loose math more (3 dozen=36, 4 dozen=48, the attached medics turning a dozen into a baker’s dozen, etc.) I must assume you’ve been under the impression that we’re just a platoon, given you previous statements.
>We should have around 30-45 men on hand, minus wounded.
Granted, I could’ve been clearer- I should specified that I mean 3-4 dozen per Platoon, instead of using ‘each’ or nothing to signify what I mean. For that, you have my apologies.

>Sure, but when an enemy shows up to rip ass through the town who is still going to be sitting on a fence?
Probably a lot, if you take the enemy disposition/morale into account- they’ve surrendered at every opportunity, and the civilians in Bapchule outright surrendered, despite them assuming we meant to slaughter them wholesale.

Keep in mind, I don’t expect this to be a cakewalk, but I’m not expecting do-or-die resistance as it were ordained by God- I’m assuming their best, trained, aggressive raiders have already left to raid the MMP caravan, leaving a skeleton force of poorly motivated irregulars to garrison the town.

Granted, a properly motivated defense with significant numbers would overwhelm us, but do you think they’d really throw their adolescents and elderly at us in human waves? Or will the ill-disciplined, poorly motivated civilians just run away or surrender?

And even if we fail to make progress, we can always bug out with the Proving Grounds equipment, since we’d be hitting that first before any serious defensive line into the urban/suburban centers of the town.

>>6099944
>At this point we've hit Wet Camp, Bapchule, Casa Blanca, & Sweet Water right?
Yes, that entire area that was being used as a staging area has been cleared of resistance. In the case of Wet Camp specifically, that area seemed depopulated as far as you guys could tell. I can't really tell you anything about places like "Arizona Materials" (at the outer part of Lower Santan Village) or the Proving Grounds (outer part of Sacaton) since this area is unexplored for the Crusaders & co.

>>6100073
>‘Mobile Fortress’
If anyone were to go "Cardinal Killdozer" it would be Jesse. And on the point on conflict between these guys and Maricopa, you are right that the big events all happened fairly recently. This would include the big raid on Maricopa in response to the chaos seizing the Mountain Base caused (and subsequent fighting/hospital vehicle-bomb incident), Dick Mueller's investigations with Maricopa's Native community that led to the Dolores' purges and forceful seizing of power, and whatever might be going on with that caravan of trade goods.

>>6100348
>>6100484
Currently, the manpower you guys have is about two platoons worth since that's what you guys started with and you guys have taken only light casualties during all of the fighting (easily made up for since extra medics were called up.) As for exact manpower counts, I'm hesitant about getting too granular and counting individual heads since I think that approach could bog things down, but I'll try and clarify how I'm trying to handle force structure.
I'm going to assume that the structure follows the United States' Marine Corps in no small part because Mueller is an experienced Marine who got to a pretty high up rank and would be a natural fit in organizing a military force at this level. As you guys said, the force is in that range of over thirty to under fifty, so three or four dozen would be fair. Two of these forces would be under a hundred guys, but not by much. Also, we can assume the Sidewinders, who currently haven't been dedicated to combat with the main force (and are still hidden out in the desert north-west of the cluster of settlements) would be of that similar three or four dozen man size.

Anyway, for now I'll leave you guys to further discuss what the next plan of action should be and try to answer any questions.

>>6100605
Agree with ya on the hard number crunching- it’s why I went with a couple dozen answer instead of hard numbers, just doesn’t feel SBC Quest, you know?

What about the Inquisition idea? I’m not expecting Yuri to give us his full platoon, but a half-strength one would reinforce our Two Platoons to slightly over full strength, or near a hundred, and I do sorta expect him to have pre-staged at least some of his forces in Maricopa for a prisoner handoff. I figure this is more of a ‘nice-to-have’ instead of necessary, and I probably would prefer speed over reinforcements if the timing is unreasonable.

Could we call in a Arial Recon, like we did during the the Double M Raid (Mountain and Maricopa)? Surely we be flying something around the MMP to assist them, we could divert it to flyby Sacaton if it’s in the air already.

Otherwise, maybe we call the Sidewinders for an update- probably something along the line of they better be cooking something up over their, like an ambush or something- they wanted to contribute after all. Alternatively, I do like pleasant surprises.

Another alternative- we could send the Sidewinder half-platoon to recon Santan- or, pull a distraction to the south of Sacaton.

Otherwise, can’t wait to really get moving- been dying to know what Trkulja found in his wanderings. If it’s good enough, may just reward him with a recon mission of the Wardens holdings- and as far down Route 8 as possible.

>>6099944
Trip-Dubs was me.
>>6100623
>Supporting Aerial Recon of Sacaton

>>6100484
>>6100605

Ah, yeah, my bad, I was under the impression we had one platoon

Well, with that in mind, the odds are a little better. I still think it's better to avoid it, but if you're sold on the idea, I would at least recommend avoiding staying in place waiting for assets to be mobilized to join the raid, it will likely take too long. At best I would call in the Sidewinder platoon to join the raid and then go either south to Casa Grande and back north to Maricopa or cut across the county roads west of Sacaton. Wouldn't want to risk encountering returning raiders laden down with loot and prisoners.

>>6100749
It’s not that I’m sold on the idea, and I am sympathetic to the notion of not harming our troops so we don’t spend time trying to reconstitute them later on. It’s mainly because I think the odds are in our favor, and even if we don’t succeed we still get other benefits from the attempt.

I figure the Sacaton garrison are like the others- ill-motivated, and potentially under-equipped and undermanned for the caravan raid. Jesse and the boys get a massive combat buff from Crusader Rage and Pervitin, while also keeping the trait satisfied. We’re largely combat effective still, and mobile. The Proving Ground are largely on the edge of the town, so we’d hit that first, and all the important buildings we’d want to hit are concentrated together, while the irregular garrison will probably be spread out, more focused on protecting personal property instead of government property. Odds are good for a decent success and above, but even if it isn’t a success, we’ll have the opportunity to bug out if we wish. And attacking the raider’s beating heart directly gives us a propaganda win we can milk in Maricopa.

That’s just where my head’s at. Plus, it’d be nice to end this first combat back on a potent high note.

What's the vote at, 3 meth-charge Sacaton & 2 make a reasonable withdrawal/diversion?

>>6100988
Pretty much- though being reasonable is wise for the most part, it been literal years since the last meth-fueled charge. I’m hoping it’ll be fun to return to our signature move!

Also wouldn’t mind pincer-ing the main raider force if the opportunity remains- concentrate the MMP’s and Crusader’s firepower into obliterating their main force would be rad ngl

Another thought- we could quickly head to the caravan, hit the raiders between a rock and a hard place, then disengage to lead them into a Sidewinder ambush, and hit them again. Would be a solid bait n smash.

The silence is getting to me- I’m getting vibes I don’t like from it, and I don’t know if it’s just nerves or if it’s God trying to tell me something. I’d like some input, please, or a sign from the Almighty about our choice.

>>6102398
Psalm 98:3
He has remembered his love
and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.

Psalm 39:8
Save me from all my transgressions;
do not make me the scorn of fools

My soul rests now, for this prayer has soothed it.

It is a curious thing, what weaves between the other verses of 39:8.

Exodus 39:8
They fashioned the breastpiece—the work of a skilled craftsman. They made it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen.

Job 39:8
It ranges the hills for its pasture
and searches for any green thing.

Isaiah 39:8
“The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.”

Jeremiah 39:8
The Babylonians set fire to the royal palace and the houses of the people and broke down the walls of Jerusalem

File: Hemostatic Gauze.png (1.89 MB, 1291x1256)

1.89 MB PNG

>>6099839
>>6099944
>>6100030

You’re faced with a tough choice here, not from failure but from success. The mission is already a success with the main area the raiders operated from having its entire defending force either killed or captured including this strategic highway crossing you’re at. ‘Rear elements’ (you think that’s the right military-sounding phrase for this) are mopping up whatever loot and prisoners they can get. Their main raider force is still out there, but that’s MMP’s problem, not yours. You could come back to Maricopa and get pats on the back right now.

But there has to be more.

OPTION SELECTED:
>Head East to Sacaton and hit the raiders in their main populated area while it's likely undefended

“Yo everyone, brothers in Christ!” you call out to the grouping of Crusaders from atop a truck-bed. “Down that road like ten minutes out, is where their main town is. They got two, three thousand people, something like that, spread out over a big area on the east. It’s where they get their guys from, where they planned out operations like the raids on Mobile, raids on Maricopa, truck-bombing that hospital, all of that.” You notice nods from some of the Crusader fighters listening to your speech. A good number are themselves Maricopan. From the way they grip their rifles it’s clear they already know what you’re going to order. “We take ‘em out there and we get rid of this threat. We hit ‘em hard enough and I don’t care if they get their supplies from Phoenix or volunteers even, there’ll be no way they can even think about doing anything except maybe turtling up and praying we don’t come back!”

The pain in your lower abdomen flares up again, but you power through it. You’re fired up, and so are your men. But just in case the speech isn’t enough you pull out your secret weapon.

You reach down and pick up a kilo of blue meth. The cheers are instant. “Hell yeah! It’s been too long. Look, I gotta make some calls, get some shit sorted out, but then we ride. So get ready and keep the Mobile Ice handy, we’re gonna tear some shit up!”

You jump off the truck-bed satisfied with that speech and head off toward one of the medics tending to one of the wounded. The guy got shot in the chest during the push on the highway intersection area. He’s alive (he was also wearing armor), but he got hit by an actual rifle round that penetrated. Maybe it absorbed enough of the impact to save his life, but watching him cry out in pain as the medic with a thumb in the wound pours disinfectant onto his torso is all you need to make a choice...

[1/???]

>>6103094

[2/???]

INTEGRATING CHOICE:
>Send the wounded back with a medic or two & the best loot we've grabbed to Mobile.

“You don’t think he’s coming with us to Sacaton right?” He gives you an uneasy look as he focuses back on the wounded crusader and stuffs sheets of hemostatic gauze in. “Get in touch with the guys in the rear and ask them if that one truck that went off-road after the ambush can be brought back. If so, I want you, the other medic there, and the wounded we got back in Maricopa. If you have any spare room take some loot too, just the good shit, with you on the way back.”

“You got it boss, I’ll-” He’s interrupted by the crusader he’s treating screaming out in pain. “Stay still you little bitch, almost done with the gauze.”

You leave them behind and get to some of those calls you mentioned in the speech.

INTEGRATING CHOICE:
>Call in that Half-Strength Sidewinder Platoon to Sweet Water- they are not to defend, but misdirect and confuse the enemy should they come by, and ambush/loot if the opportunity presents itself.

“Yo, it’s Cardinal Paul,” you introduce yourself to the Crusader guards you called in from Maricopa to grab stuff from Casa Blanca. “Everything good there?”

“Yea, still trying to get some of the prisoners and ammo and everything hauled off. No sudden enemy attacks or anything if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“Good. No, I just needed to check in. Look, in that case get the rest of the Sidewinders out and have them get their asses to Bapchule. They shouldn’t do any defending or anything, but in case those raiders swing by they should do some kind of misdirection or confusion or something.”

“Misdirection or confusion?”

“Yeah. Like maybe lure them into an ambush or make ‘em think we’re not doing what we’re doing?”

“Uh, ok boss. I’ll tell them that.”

>Events influenced by trait [Heart of Gold]

“Oh, also, tell them that there are a bunch of regular civilian types in the big school gym. They seem cool, you know, but they were kinda scared shitless when we showed up. Like, they thought we were going to be like the Mongols or some shit.”

“Mongols?”

“Yeah, you know, like, I saw them on a TV documentary. Yo, that’s not the point, point is, tell them that if everything’s cool and there’s no attack or whatever, to just see if they can chat with them. And bring them some water or snacks if they can spare it.”

You still feel kind of bad about the whole interaction at the gym back there. Seeing a whole village worth of people crammed into a gym scared the next people they’ll see will be bloodthirsty killers is actually fucked up. There were kids there.

“Alright Cardinal Paul, I’m writing this down. Anything else?”

“Not for you, no. God bless, over and out...”

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>>6103098

[3/???]

INTEGRATING CHOICE:
>Someone tell the Inquisition to either bolster our numbers or assist in the looting.

Next, you radio over to the mountain base. For a moment you were worried you wouldn’t get signal to them since maybe it wouldn’t reach far away in the mountains or something, but you get in contact with one of Yuri’s guys.

“Yo, it’s Cardinal Paul, letting you know we want some more guys out here.”

“Ah, Cardinal Paul. Sorry, Yuri is currently busy personally attending to matters of divine guidance with some of the individuals here.”

These guys have always given you the creeps. You know Messenger says they’re valuable members of the Church and cause, but that doesn’t mean you can’t press them a bit. “Listen, I don’t know what games you’re playing out there, but we got a major battle on our hands. We need you guys to send some guys out, and I know you’re not going to send everything you got, but we need some more numbers, more trucks, more hands to grab loot. It’s time sensitive stuff, so interrupt him and get him to send some guys out, yeah?”

“It would’ve helped had you asked us before.” He pauses and takes an audible breath over the call. “I’ll see what I can do. One moment please.”

You wanted to roll in with a small, tight crew that could use speed and initiative to strike hard. You got exactly that, but rolling up on Sacaton might call for some more bodies. Hopefully they just don’t end up being there to bail you out. You really wish you had a better idea of what exactly was going on with the raiders’ main grouping. Unfortunately, with how the Sidewinders are positioned they can’t exactly stalk them without being exposed and probably overwhelmed by the weight of numbers. It then occurs to you that, actually, there is a way to get some kind of decent intel on the vague groupings of forces.

“Hello, Cardinal Paul? Yuri said he can spare about half a platoon and no more. We’ll move out as fast as we can, but no promises.”

“Alright, alright. I do have one more thing though.”

INTEGRATING CHOICE:
>Aerial Recon of Sacaton

“Get one of those guys flying those crop dusters to do a fly by of the area. You know, get us some eyes in the skies.”

“Ok?”

“Just ‘ok’?”

“Would have really helped if you had given some advance notice.”

“Yeah, look, I didn’t know we’d roll over their defenses like we did and didn’t want a big ass plane giving away what we were doing. You gonna let Mobile know or not?”

“Of course I will. Anything else you’d like?”

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>>6103099

[4/???]

You can think of more than a few things you’d like. You’d like it if those crop dusters could fit in maybe a half dozen guys or something. You can just picture what it would be like if you could get maybe a dozen good men way behind at the back of Sacaton to just wreck house and make them panic. Or maybe if you could find a tank museums you could get some of those bad boys up and running. You could just picture yourself sticking out of the hatch of one of those old WW2 tanks firing off 76mm shells like a champ.

“Nah, we’re good.”

Some day.

With all of that out of the way, you can finally return your attention to your actual guys. A truck with bullet holes in it idles in the middle of the highway as a couple of people are laid flat on their backs on the truck-beds with a medic sat on the side holding some piece of railing by the back window. It looks like they did get the truck that veered into the roadside shrubs back up and running. The rest of them are mostly readied on the highway due east toward your target, their motors on and the guys on the back ready with their weapons or baggies of meth pills. As is custom, you take point and lead from the front.

One of the leads notices you’re done with the calls and briskly walks over to you. “Cardinal Paul!”

“You know, Jesse’s fine..."

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>>6103100

[5/5]

“Jesse, what exactly is our plan for the attack? I’m looking at the map here,” he says while folding out a large printed map of the general region. “Place looks real big and spread out. We going for a focused attack, spreading out, maybe some creative stuff? And what’s going on with the Sidewinders or those reinforcements you called up?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about that, I was just about to fill everyone in. I’ll go over things again on the road. So, here’s the plan I’ve cooked up…”

How do you organize your forces?

>Center of Gravity: Everyone sticks to one large mass to maximize concentration of forces and thus power at any given point, perhaps enabling a defeat in detail.
>Pincers: Split your forces in two halves that will attack from different directions to confuse enemy response and potentially allowing for some kind of flank attack.
>Broad Front: Split up the force into three or more groups that all attack at once to pin down defenders or perhaps even confuse them into thinking your force is much larger than it is.

Will you wait for the reinforcements you’ve called in?

>Wait for them to arrive before doing anything to ensure maximum fighting force.
>Attack immediately to prevent the enemy from further organizing a defense.

What orders do you give the Sidewinder platoon in the desert?

>Tell them to stay in reserve and wait for further orders.
>Tell them to move up to Sacaton with the main force against a certain direction [Specify
>Tell them to do something else entirely [Write-In]

And which districts as per the map, do you choose to attack, selecting one per group in your overall force (i.e. depending on the first choice)

>Citadel: Cluster of law enforcement buildings such as the police department and detention facilities.
>Hub: A large area comprising of community areas such as shopping centers and hospital buildings.
>Abodes: The general residential area the bulk of the population lives in with scattered miscellaneous buildings.
>Admin: The cluster of government and administrative buildings up in the northeast part of the town with some community and residential areas.

Sorry about the wait, it took me a bit to figure out how I was going to structure this with a bit of the usual sidelining. Unfortunately, I think that given that this is now one of the biggest operations the Crusaders have done so far with an entire town in the crosshairs, a second round of planning is probably in order. Also, I'm assuming that the decision to do meth is already baked in, although if you guys are for some reason having second thoughts about the 'combat stims' then it's technically not too late to back out.

As before (from what I can remember) these sets of choices are more to try and help out with planning by giving it a structure. Feel free to add in other aspects not mentioned or only make choices for the ones you actually care about.

Oh, and before I forget, I tried to do the white text with colored stroke thing I mentioned earlier for readability. I think it's a lot better than the light green on light desert text style, but let me know if it's still shit.

>>6100988
I certainly hope so, since that's what I counted as well.

>>6100623
Reading this over again, I think these were addressed at me whereas I for some reason read them as being more directed at others as planning. Anyway, I did try to address these in-update as best as possible.

>>6102401
>set fire to... the houses
Guys, guys, I was only committing arson because it was in the Holy Book! It's self evident in the text!

>>6103102
>>Center of Gravity: Everyone sticks to one large mass to maximize concentration of forces and thus power at any given point, perhaps enabling a defeat in detail.

It is to our advantage that the town is spread out, concentrating our limited forces is our best option.

>>Attack immediately to prevent the enemy from further organizing a defense.

As I've said, we must assume they are aware of our counter raid, we must maintain our momentum. As the situation develops we can direct our reinforcements/reserves to either join up with us or hit a different area depending on what we encounter.

>>Tell them to stay in reserve and wait for further orders.

I feel as though we are overextended, I'd really like them to accompany us on the raid though. Perhaps once we have a plane up in the sky they can reposition themselves to the John Deere proving grounds and begin looting it? They'll be close enough to be quickly called in if we need them, and if we don't they can save us the time of looting the place.

>>Citadel: Cluster of law enforcement buildings such as the police department and detention facilities.

Let's hit them hard where we can assume they have their best force concentration, rather than allow them to react and gain the initiative on us. I say we make the detention center a priority, we might be able to free some able bodied men that we can arm and enlist.

>>6103102
>HAIL OF HOLY ICE:
>Blue Crystal
>Center of Gravity
>Attack Immediately
>Sidewinders - Misdirect, Distract, Divert, & Ambush the Raiders
>Citadel

Hit their main defenses head-on, loot their best gear, & recruit their rejects (God's most felonius soldiers)

>>6103102
>Center of Gravity: Everyone sticks to one large mass to maximize concentration of forces and thus power at any given point, perhaps enabling a defeat in detail.
Maybe the Inquisition will be able to raid the Administrative centers, or assist the Sidewinder Platoon if they pull off an ambush.

I am tempted by the broad front for maximum chaos, but ideally we’d have more cardinals available to pull it. Best keep everyone under Jesse’s direct command.

>Attack immediately to prevent the enemy from further organizing a defense.
Only wise.

>Tell them to stay in reserve and wait for further orders.
I’m assuming they’ll cook their own ambush for the raiders when they inevitably retreat- or take so long with the MMP to invite Paul’s reprisal.

For Jesse’s main force
>Citadel: Cluster of law enforcement buildings such as the police department and detention facilities.
Straight into the teeth- if we blitz the fast enough, we may be able to liberate and arm the prisoners in the detention center under our command.

For for Inquisition boys, it’s either be reinforcing the blitz if we didn’t achieve a breakthrough by then, get started hitting the Administration centers if we have it well in hand, or regrouping for the main force for another push.

Is our priority Admin or Hub after the Citadel has fallen?

I do wonder if we can get Recon plane to grab one of the machine guns from Mobile and do some strafing runs- seems like it would’ve meshed well with Holy Fool, and I do remember hearing about how they caused disorganization and chaos on the ground forces. Ah well, shame all the ideas hit after the update, eh?

>>6103107
>Guys, guys, I was only committing arson because it was in the Holy Book! It's self evident in the text!
Not even the craziest thing- perusing some of the 6:10, they have relevant combat verses in them. Psalm 107 is also fascinating.

>>6103450
>Is our priority Admin or Hub after the Citadel has fallen?

I would say admin, though I suppose that depends on the amount of resistance we face getting there.

Thinking on it, we might be able to pull a ‘pro gamer move’, considering that the detention center must be overcrowded not just with the usual bad actors, but with other prisoners captured in previous raids. Jesse might be able to rally them to fight with ease, and with the rest his Crusaders helping to organize the rabble, we could potentially come out of this with more combat manpower than we came into it, if we manage to keep them cohesive with our Crusader platoons.

>>6103102
>Center of Gravity: Everyone sticks to one large mass to maximize concentration of forces and thus power at any given point, perhaps enabling a defeat in detail.
Meth. We gotta keep it simple.

>Wait for them to arrive before doing anything to ensure maximum fighting force.

>Tell them to do something else entirely: Briefly Attack the Abodes, set Fires, then retreat, hopefully drawing defendwers in Admin and Citadel out from their entrenched positions to defend their families so we can pound an undermanned Citadel.

>Hit the Citadel first, overwhelm them while they are still responding and en route to the Abodes.

I wonder if we can pull another cardinal here- Trkulja would probably be perfect for taking the Admin before they realize what’s happening, and I don’t want to leave the freed rabble unsupervised to pursue the Admin, considering they’re a force multiplier here.

>>6103786
We’re coming in from the North-West, right? To hit the Abodes, we right next to the Admin anyway- it’ll probably be more prudent to hit that instead of heading all the way around to his the Citadel.

If you want a distraction, we may be better off hitting the Middle School in the Hub- some Molotov cocktails on the trees, maybe a dilapidated building. If school’s in session, it’s cause a massive freakout as everyone in the settlement starts panicking in the chaos.

Keep in mind, I don’t want the kids harmed- we’ll have to meth up after setting the distraction up, cause I don’t want us slaughtering innocent children in a meth-fueled rage.

Now that I’m thinking about it, maybe pulling the full Sidewinder platoon may be beneficial- they could potentially walk in and take the Admin, since they may be seen as ‘reinforcements’ from Lower Santan, then we consolidate the Sidewinders and Admin in the taken Citadel. Depending on the situation, we could possibly set up these Sidewinders in Gali Government Service uniforms for total surprise ambush on the returning raiders, who may dismount to rearm and coordinate at their Citadel. The Sidewinders play the part of the local friendly garrison, luring the raiders into a false-sense of security, while the rabble hides in the surrounding buildings, argument by a Crusader platoon, with another in reserve ‘raiding’ the Hub in a potential pincer maneuver.

Depending on differing levels of success, we may be able to ‘silently’ takeover the Reservation region outright, assuming we can cut a deal with the local Reservation authorities.

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Presuming no further votes or changes, the plan seems be to charge "Citadel" with a concentrated force of everyone you have without waiting for the reinforcements you called in to arrive and without issuing any particular orders to the Sidewinders out in the desert. Although I'll answer a few questions and check in before updating

>>6103247
>Blue Crystal
A given since the previous choice was "meth-charge Sacaton"

>>6103450
>Not even the craziest thing- perusing some of the 6:10, they have relevant combat verses in them. Psalm 107 is also fascinating.
That was more a general joke about how you can pick out quotes and chop them up in order to get funny/absurd results. Yea, I'm pretty aware that there are a lot of 'combat verses' and not surprised since the Old Testament has a lot of Bronze/Iron Age warfare and politics going on (Israelite cleansing of Canaan, wars with peoples like the Assyrians and Greeks, etc.)

>>6103450
>I’m assuming they’ll cook their own ambush for the raiders when they inevitably retreat- or take so long with the MMP to invite Paul’s reprisal.
That would assume that the main raider force is going to go in their general area (i.e. return the way they entered) and that their force has been sufficiently attrited to where it'd be an actual ambush and not just they themselves getting rolled over. If that's not the case, then they'd generally try to keep out of combat unless ordered otherwise and maintain watch in the open deserts they're hidden in. Neither your forces nor the Sidewinders themselves are aware of what exactly is happening.

>>6103975
>I wonder if we can pull another cardinal here
You cannot. At least not in any reasonable timeframe. Trkulja specifically cannot for reasons that will probably become obvious with the Musella update.

And yes, you're coming in the northwest along Casa Blanca Road unless you guys specify otherwise because that is the logical path of advance as per the map (pic related, for real this time since I'm double checking the image is attached to post). Let me know if I am misreading things (possible, I have mixed up east/west before iirc) but you should be able to easily access any one of the 'districts' by simply taking an appropriate right on the road. The one exception would be 'Abodes', although you guys don't seem to want to attack there so it's a moot point. Oh, and if you want to firebomb the middle-school area in 'Hub' district, then to me that'd at the very least indicate splitting off part of your forces so I don't think that'd be compatible with having a concentrated force.

I think ordering the Sidewinders to raid Abodes and take hostages as we hit Citadel is a good way to win. Trade the hostages for surrender and a gaurantee for eveyrone's lives except perhaps the adults who orchastrated the worst attacks against us.

>>6104063
>That would assume that the main raider force is going to go in their general area (i.e. return the way they entered) and that their force has been sufficiently attrited to where it'd be an actual ambush and not just they themselves getting rolled over. If that's not the case, then they'd generally try to keep out of combat unless ordered otherwise and maintain watch in the open deserts they're hidden in. Neither your forces nor the Sidewinders themselves are aware of what exactly is happening.
Then we should probably just pull them and have them try to take Admin posing as ‘Reservation reinforcements’- its a straight shot down the road to the Admin center, which I didn’t fully realize until you posted that pic.

>You cannot. At least not in any reasonable timeframe.
That’s fine- I’m just thinking in terms of negotiations, assuming success. I do think we could pull off a bit of a Reservation coup if the stars align.

>Trkulja specifically cannot for reasons that will probably become obvious with the Musella update.
That gets me hyped ngl- can’t wait to see what our resident Josh the Baptist cooked up.

>Oh, and if you want to firebomb the middle-school area in 'Hub' district, then to me that'd at the very least indicate splitting off part of your forces so I don't think that'd be compatible with having a concentrated force.
Copy- I was just throwing out ideas anyway, probably better to focus on the Citadel.

>>6104067
Don’t think that logic quite tracks- the people who organized the attack are in the Admin section, and considering the Sidewinders are also coming from the North-West, they’re better off just hitting the Admin going straight down the road.

If we’re going for surrender, we’re better off hitting the Citadel and Admin in quick succession, and then organize a deal from a position of strength. I don’t necessarily care who ends up running the Reservation at the end of the day, but I do think given how the Crusader’s and Reservation are considered ‘third parties’ in this affair, assuming decent success we can probably negotiate/dictate a deal the Reservation wouldn’t be adverse to.

I’ll try to get more ‘into the weeds’ of my thoughts later, when I’m off of work. But I do think the control (or at least serious influence) of the Reservation is in the cards here, if we play it right.

>>6103102
>Pincers: Split your forces in two halves that will attack from different directions to confuse enemy response and potentially allowing for some kind of flank attack.

>Attack immediately to prevent the enemy from further organizing a defense.

>Sidewinders - Misdirect, Distract, Divert, & Ambush the Raiders

>Citadel: Cluster of law enforcement buildings such as the police department and detention facilities.
Although a temptation to try for another reservation coup is strong here.

>>6104094
Expanding upon these thoughts briefly, and doing a bit of research and theorizing, their raiding forces probably a rough equivalent ratio of militarized to population as the MMP is to Maricopa, maybe less if the current pro-POZ regime is unpopular. The Indians’ main problem is that the Reservation population is spread out over a huge portion of territory that they are obligated to defend, compared to Maricopa’s relative concentration of population. Not only that, the population differential is roughly 5:1. This leads to the conclusion that the MMP could force the Reservation to throw the proverbial sink of their manpower at them, and still achieve a 3:1 advantage in numbers easy, with enough in reserve to defend Maricopa proper, whereas the Reservation is forced to rely on irregulars to garrison their broad homefront.

This is to illustrate the point that the MMP should be able to maul the raiding forces even if they job it- meanwhile, if we assume between the raiding, the POZ-aligned purging, and the regular criminal actors, the detention center is probably overcrowded with dissidents. If we arm and organize them (and maybe meth them up to the gills), we can probably achieve local combat superiority, and potentially cripple the Raiding Regulars if the stars align. There is a serious chance that we may take over Sacaton via la the Lewis Protectorate playbook, given that the Reservation probably went all in on the raid.

Which brings me to the inevitable conclusion that there is also serious chance for a political shake-up, even if we just humiliate them and sack Sacaton before heading home.

Now, I don’t want to get too into the weeds, but between their (potential captured and Crusader purged) Admin, their police chief, or an important anti-POZ dissidents, there’s bound to be someone we can make a deal with. In an ideal world, it would be a ‘secret’ coup of the local government, that can be caulked up to a purge, that preserves the illusion that the Reservation is still POZ-aligned while we puppeteer it de facto, but even lower degrees of success could improve our influence here.

Largely, we don’t care who’s in charge, we just want a trade corridor, maybe some preaching rights- everything else is gravy. The Reservation sentiment is likely to retain their independence and defend their community. Really, the incentive is there to one up this convoluted diplomacy game between the POZ and MMP by instituting a ‘Third Party Pact’- in which they fake the raids, we fake the caravan defense, we give them some of the Stanfield surplus to play off as raid spoils in exchange for a cut of the industrial profit, and we can set up a drug corridor while the Reservation focuses on it’s other neighbors while both our patrons are satisfied by their ‘plan’ working.

Now, we may not get there in-part or in-full with this raid, but I feel better planning for success than being the dog who finally caught the car.

>>6104468
Solid ideas. I'm thinking that we hit the John Deere spot on the way back if possible, & start a policy of claiming every physical catholic church, as well as any abandoned prot/orth/mormon ones as our own.

>>6104681
During the iron age, between 6-9 of every 10 people were farmers. Being able to grow food and tools to do so is a high priority and those vehicles have many other possible uses too..

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>>6104681
We got the Pontifical Guard for that- besides, worse comes to worse, our Holy Fool can order the Guard (or the Inquisition) to use this ‘holy heavy armor’ to Killdoze their way into the Citadel, maybe in a pincer maneuver. After all, no one would expect it….

Yea, thinking more on it, it’s probably best for the Sidewinder platoon to cut off any potential retreat by the Admin rather than sit around hoping for an ambush opportunity North-East of Wet Camp. At least then they’ll be in the area to assist if things really go sideways.

Alright, based on all of this I'm going to assume that the order for the Sidewinders
>Tell them to stay in reserve and wait for further orders.
Will be changed to
>Tell them to move up to Sacaton with the main force against a certain direction [Enter From North After Traveling East Along Gila]
Note that they are significantly further back from you (not as far back as the reinforcements you guys scrambled from Maricopa et al) and so will necessarily arrive after your force reaches Sacaton and starts fighting since you guys also chose
>Attack immediately to prevent the enemy from further organizing a defense.

As for specifics like the state of Sacaton and the nature of whatever polity is there and how things could go, you guys don't have solid information on any of that other than the tight link with the POZ. Maybe that'll change once this adventure is done, maybe not.

Unless I'm really misunderstanding what you guys mentioned, I'll go with what I mentioned before as the consensus with the alteration here.

One Crusade, Pls

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>>6103235
>>6103247
>>6103450
>>6103786
>>6104094
>>6104468
>>6104681
>>6104899 (I hope that's everyone including relevant discussion shifting Sidewinders' goal)

"Alright bros, I'm not going to waste any time. As one group with me at the lead, we charge at Citadel. You know how it works by now: Anyone shoots at us, we cut them down, and we keep cutting them down until they break or until we fucking kill 'em all! We got back-up on their way, so even if it looks like things are going tits up, we have it in the bag. You saw how they folded back there, we got 'em on the backfoot."

OPTIONS SELECTED:
>Center of Gravity: Everyone sticks to one large mass to maximize concentration of forces and thus power at any given point, perhaps enabling a defeat in detail.

>Attack immediately to prevent the enemy from further organizing a defense.

>Citadel: Cluster of law enforcement buildings such as the police department and detention facilities.

"They got the numbers, but we have God on our side. And some of this too!"

You hold up a pill bottle, take out two of the sky-blue colored tablets (you've built up enough of a tolerance to need both), and pop both of them into your mouth. You start chewing and power through the disgusting taste to swallow and get it in your system as fast as possible.

"YES!!! This is fucking IT! Dude, what a rush!" The crusaders follow suit and partake as well, be it with pills or smoking or in the case of one showoff by snorting it off of a bayonet. You'd give him props for originality, but you somehow feel like you've seen it before. Besides, there's no time for bullshit like that. You unnecessarily rev up the engine and peel out of the path of highway turned staging area.

The meth high isn't quite instant, but the rush of chewing on desert ice in front of a warband and getting behind the wheel to battle is. You gave up a good life in Hollywood to be here, and while there are times you miss it, this isn't one of them. The speedometer creeps up as you keep your foot heavy on the gas pedal on the open desert straightaway holding back just enough to keep the loose formation you've all got going on.

"Shit, almost forgot," you think aloud as you activate the radio...

[1/???]

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>>6106181

[2/???]

OPTION SELECTED:
>Tell them to move up to Sacaton with the main force against a certain direction [Enter From North After Traveling East Along Gila]

"Yo, what's up, it's Jesse. You guys aren't in some kind of gunfight or some shit right?"

"No," the Sidewinder responds. "We're just p-"

That's all you need to hear. "Great, look get your asses over to Sacaton, shit's gonna pop off!" You can feel the meth starting to really circulate through your system.

"Just to confirm, you want us to leave our positions in the desert and head ov-"

"Did I stutter? C'mon, you're gonna miss out!" You start laughing as you can just imagine rolling up on whatever half-assed fortifications they're scrambling to make out of a police station or some shit. You can practically see it in your mind, the sight of you liberating your fellow meth-afficionados from the clutches of the gay communist legal system. Or maybe you can figure out some kind of flanking maneuver. You just need some kind of distraction maybe, something that's not too crazy. You remember there was a middle school somewhere near the middle of the place. If you could just firebomb it real quick, maybe you could make 'em panic and flush them all out to get them in easy shooting range.

"Jesse? Jesse!"

"Uh, yea, for sure! God be with you, see you in Sacaton! Got to go now!"

Now that you think about it, maybe firebombing a middle school isn't such a good idea. You'd have to split up your guys. Though it is a great idea, you have to admit to yourself. You always come up with great ideas once the meth starts hitting good.

"Hey, keep an eye out on that tractor place that's coming up," you order your guys. "They could be hiding dudes there. I know I would if I was them. But not after taking some of those tractors. Hey, you know the horsepower those things have," you begin ranting without realizing. "You know how many armor plates you could slap on them? Dude, for real, you could deck that thing out like a turtle AND still have room for a big ass cannon or something. It'd be invincible!" You've been cooking up the idea of the 'PanzerKampfTraktor' for a while and you just know it's a slam dunk...

>>6106182

[3/???]

"Jesse? We've currently just taken off of Mobile." You're snapped back into reality as you hear what's obviously the pilot getting back to your request. "Currently at, uh, azimuth 270 and turning toward azimuth 90. Gaining elevation, but still pretty low. Can't see above the mountains or anything. Will get back to you."

"Yo, sure, copy," you tell him pretty sure that's just pilot-speak (pilot-babble?) for him saying he's still on his way and hasn't actually seen anything. "Just let me know if you guys see anything, alright got to go now, over and out."

You can feel yourself overheating. You reach over to crank the A/C up but find it's already at max. You almost open the window too before you stop yourself. You're high, but you're not THAT high. Not yet.

Your vision alternates between the road and the map you're referencing. So far all you're seeing are roadside trees and the untended fields behind them. You should be seeing a giant tractor complex you can use for your grand nation-conquering war machines, but there's no sign of them. That is, no sign until you see a couple of barn-looking buildings and then an asphalt road connecting to the main one you're driving down. Honestly, it's not as grand and impressive as you imagined.

Also, you're not being shot at, which is nice.

"Hey! You see any of those big tractors out there?" Maybe you just missed it?

"No Jesse, maybe they were in some of those big ass buildings?"

"They have to be there," you reply to the crusader while stuffing the map between the wall of the center console and your custom battle rifle. "I mean, no way they just moved those things out of there. They're fucking huge!"

"Yea, I mean, what the fuck are they going to do? Just drive them away?!" You pause, briefly realizing that the tractors do indeed have wheels and can be simply driven to somewhere safer than the middle of a lawless desert in the middle of a civil war. "I mean, you saw how tiny that asphalt road was, no way a tractor can fit!"

"Hell yeah brother!" Never mind, that shitty excuse has restored your faith in the armored fighting tractor dream. "I'm telling you, I got big plans. We take this place and we'll have an entire fleet of war-machines!"

"We're going to seize Sacaton? I thought we were just raiding?"

"I meant the tractor place," you respond. You continue thinking, though. "Although, you know what, fuck it! How many guys they got, can't be too many with all of the prisoners we took, their raiders out fighting the MMP guys, I mean, I think they're fighting the MMP." It randomly occurs to you that you haven't even heard of any of the fighting happening there. "What else could they be doing for this long? What was I-"

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>>6106183

[4/???]

"Hey, hey, easy on the gas!" You realize you've been speeding way too hard while you were going on that tangent. The truck's actually shaking. It does feel kind of cool though, and you're sure you're making 'hella' progress on getting to Sacaton. Which actually reminds you that you need to make sure you don't miss Citadel.

"Hey, that dirt path was-"

"The last path before we turn," you finish for him. "Fuck, these tiny ass little intersections," you vent as you reluctantly brake the truck. "Can go as fast as you want but NO, you just slow down like a turtle for these ninety degree turns," you ramble almost incoherently. "Unless- Hey guys out back, hold on for dear life!" You have an extremely stupid idea that you might never get to try again.

Your right hand rests on the hand-brake as your focus is utterly consumed in attempting to estimate the distance to the near ninety degree turn you're going to navigate. Sure, the truck has armed combatants sitting on the back (hopefully holding onto the bars), guns everywhere, and is at the head of an 'armored column' that could be thrown into chaos with a crash, but one could argue that getting to Citadel slightly faster would constitute a valuable edge in battle. More importantly, drifting in a technical is fucking awesome, and by now everyone should be high enough to just go along with it rather than critique your choices.

"YEAH!" you scream out as your truck skids at high speed, shit flying around while you focus on your footwork and working the wheel. You almost overshoot and hit a stop sign, but as far as you're concerned you got it perfect. "YEAH BITCH! You fucking see that?!"

"Hell yeah brother! Man, that was fa-" Your fellow Crusader sitting shotgun takes an abrupt break from 'gassing you up' to check if the people on the back are actually still there. "Whew, they haven't flown out, we're good!" That little maneuver saved you at least ten seconds, maybe. It was definitely worth it...

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>>6106185

[5/5]

You've spent countless hours doing stunts like this for a particular racing movie you were lucky enough to be the lead star in. Even if all people remember you is for your famous role as a druggie ('method acting' is the term for it you think) your favorite role will always be as the street racer driving the coolest shit. Even if those fucking Hollywood journalist scum are too busy huffing their own farts and bitching about useless hit like 'plot' and 'plausibility' to appreciate true cinema. When you're in the top circles of power after this War is done, you'll get your revenge on the journalist scum who review-bombed the film. You still remember their names. "DIE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"

>[CRUSADER RAGE] ENGAGED

"Rifles at the ready, got Citadel in my sights!" You see the rest of the crusader trucks behind you via the rearview mirror. Down the road you can see people scrambling behind a chain-link fence by some building you think is a police station. As expected, Citadel isn't going to be undefended. Good too, since you're itching for a fight. "Remember, concentrate here, then we can move on. I want these fucks cleared out before they can even figure out what's going on! We win here and we show the whole Badlands who's boss!" That last part might be a bit of an exaggeration, but you're too amped up to even think about giving a shit. "We're doing this for CHRIST!"

>The Battle For Sacaton Begins

>Roll Four d20s
>Feel free to make meth-compatible suggestions [Optional]

Wait, how many d20? Am I actually on meth to have typed such a thing? Surely, no, as the power of such substances would have allowed me to write this update ten times over in the grossly long period, verily! Quality probably wouldn't have suffered either but rather would have improved (i.e. would have been able to write somewhat passable lunatic meth connoisseur dialogue and antics)

>>6105731
Post unclear, ended up doing eight Crusades...

Rolled 9 (1d20)

>>6106190
>keep a stash of powdered meth in your pocket, called pocket meth!

Rolled 20 (1d20)

Holy cannoli, that was a righteous update. Deus Vult!

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Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>6106190

DEUS VULT!

>>6106232

WITNESSED

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>6106190
Rollan

>>6106232
Nice.

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>>6106196
>pocket meth
"You got one part of that wrong. This is not meth."

>>6106232
It seems like you people are heeding the advice to just roll better! Or at the very least to get the terrible rolls out of the way on fights that are more or less already won (not that you want to roll another 1 while already wounded) and save the good ones for the head-on assaults against strong points (btw note that it actually mattered that it was the second roll; this wasn't a Bo4).

Normally I'd do this 'behind the screen' but I'll give you guys 'the honors'
>Roll 1d3
Don't worry about rolling a 1 btw, this isn't that kind of roll.

Rolled 2 (1d3)

>>6106415
Religion, bitch!

>>6106182
>"No," the Sidewinder responds. "We're just p-"
>That's all you need to hear. "Great, look get your asses over to Sacaton, shit's gonna pop off!" You can feel the meth starting to really circulate through your system.
>"Just to confirm, you want us to leave our positions in the desert and head ov-"
Mmm… probably would’ve preferred more of a sitrep before the decision, since my gut feeling was that they were about to do something interesting. Then again, I don’t know if the original intention for the Sidewiders in this mission was for them to do something on their own initiative or us having to prod them into action, from a quest perspective.

>>6106190
Driving in a circle like it was the reverse mirror-world version of Little Bighorn? Also do a stunt move of Jesse walking out of spinning/drifting truck with a gun out all badass movie like.

And you can’t forget the Crusader Classic- the smoke n’ bayonet charge! Deus Vult!

>>6106232
DEUS VULT!

>>6106415
>btw note that it actually mattered that it was the second roll; this wasn't a Bo4
Ngl, sorta thought that was part of the Crusader Rage trait. It’s going to be interesting seeing what the other Bo2 was, or the other 2 options of the d3.

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>>6106232
Gott mitt uns!

>>6106617
You're right that they could have been more detailed or that Jesse could've tried to get more specifics out, but Jesse's on meth and doesn't want to hear others yapping. Not unless they're his meth buddies. Or himself.
Jokes aside, there wasn't an "original intention" other than them being out there in the desert to keep an eye out for the raiding force and to follow orders as the rest of the Crusader force under Jesse's command. They might be lighter equipped and not high enough to simply ignore getting shot, but they're still there if you want to use them. So far it seems like you guys have just opted for rapidly rushing down the cluster settlements hoping that they were poorly defended and not at all ready for a fight (this assumption ended up being true) rather than trying to do any fancy hammer and anvil or pincer or whatever such tactics with the second group. At least for that phase of the battle.

By the way, [Crusader Rage] actually is why I asked for four d20. But it's not a Bo4. I think it'll be apparent once the update's out (soon-ish)...

How soon is soon-ish?
How Soon is Now?

>>6108194
Psalm 94:20
Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?

Quite potent, given Psalm 94 itself is given to Vengeance, starting with Psalm 94:1~
O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.

Vengeance against the Law, Holy Swords storming the Citadel- quite a fitting verse, given the situation.

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>>6106232
>>6106318
>>6106420
>>6106644 (checked)

You feel your heart pounding and your blood boiling as you close the distance to Citadel. You pull out your pistol and keep holding it as you shift gears just because you want to have a gun ready that bad. You can feel the Blue really circulating in your system. The guys in the back are having a blast just firing at the general direction of the police station. But, strangely, the crusader next to you is just staring at some weird mask that looks like it came from a prop department.

"Yo, we're about to storm the police station. You good?" It wouldn't be the first time someone had a weird psychosis or hallucination or something.

He seems to ignore you as he nods at the mask, puts it on, and affixes a bayonet to his rifle. He finally turns to you. "I'll take the police station."

You're closing in on it really quickly. "The fuck are you talking about?!"

"Drop me off, you guys continue without me."

"Why?"

"God told me."

"You son of a bitch!" You almost crash into a stop sign as the truck veers while you grab the guy in a handshake and do the most awkward chest-bump of your life between the center console. "Hey everyone," you call out over radio. "We're bypassing the police station, just lay down suppressive fire or smokes at 'em and focus on the next building." On cue, the guys in the back begin shooting wildly at the front of the police station immediately shattering the large glass facade. You brake as hard as you can and toss a smoke grenade out to give the absolute madman sitting shotgun the opportunity to do whatever the meth angels in his head are commanding him to. Come to think of it, you really don't know how he's going to even begin clearing out the police station presumably garrisoned by hostile forces.

"Yo man, real quick before you go, what's your angle? Like, how do you plan on entering?"

"I'll knock..."

[1/???]

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>>6109179

[2/???]

Somehow, in your drugged out state, this makes perfect sense to you. "Fuckin' Godspeed!"

He walks out the door and jaywalks across the road directly to the police station's entrance amid the smoky haze and flurry of fire.

>???

You bypass the police station and go directly for the next area. On the approach it's clear to you they're not nearly as prepared as they should be. Road's not blocked, no IEDs have gone off, and there are no traps from what you can tell. Still, as you close the gap you can tell they're actually somewhat prepared. The entrance to the building has an improvised fighting position that basically consists of a bunch of sandbags stacked up to protect anyone covering the large open roads connecting the building to the road. Even if it's not the best position to take (you'd personally set up shop on the roof to get the high ground since Hollywood has taught you that once you take that it's over) manned sandbag positions are a step up from what you've had to deal with before.

>Decent Enemy Preparations: -3

You dismount in the best position you can spot, a small island of cacti, signs, rocks, and other shit that give you some cover. Ideally you'd advance along a treeline, but unfortunately the trees lining the sidewalks are merely the kind of shriveled up pathetic husks you'd expect to find in the middle of the desert.

"You and you! Come with me," you shout as you exit the just stopped truck as bullets whiz by. "You, stay up there and cover us!"

A hail of fire suppresses the enemy and you advance between the obstacles to gain some precious distance. Enemy forces continue to blindly shoot at you as they hide behind their sandbags, but you just keep moving forward. If you were more sane you might choose a more cautious path, but the speed in your system reminds you that God will protect you from trifling matters such as enemy bullets or friendly fire. Once you close in about a third of the way, you pull out a grenade from your belt.

"Going in!" you shout as you toss the grenade and wildly fire at the fighting position. Smoke billows out as you three charge forward guns blazing. In the absolute chaos you reach for another grenade and toss it to where you think the fighting position you can no longer see is. You're not even sure what you threw until you hear a very, very loud bang while you're still moving through the black smoke. "C'mon c'mon c'mon!" you shout...

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>>6109180

[3/???]

Emerging from the smoke you realize you're within just a few meters of the chest-high wall of sandbags and rush to it. One guy just stands there without a gun grabbing his ears while you line up sights and unleash a burst of fire. Around this time the rest of your teammates rush over, one to your right and left, and help clearing out this position from the edges. You lean over the sandbags and see someone actually just opposite of where you're at. Without hesitating you hop over and bash him with the stock of your rifle, causing him to drop his weapon. He puts up a resistance, but you're too high to even feel him punching you as you pull out a knife and stab him. Or, more accurately, you fail to stab him as the tip of your knife fails to pierce his armor. He tries to wrest control over you but fails as you bring your arm up and slash down with the sharp edge of your blade sinking into his throat. You hear a terrible squeal of sorts as air rushes out of his throat before being replaced with nasty gurgling as blood rushes out. You continue stabbing him as blood sprays all over your face until it just stops flowing. You don't even need to look into his unmoving green eyes to know he's dead. And you don't have time for it either.

"Hey, Jesse!" one of your guys calls out. "You alright brot-"

"Yeah, yeah!" you respond as you scramble back up. "And people say you shouldn't bring knives to-" you're interrupted by a sudden dryness that grips at your throat and sends you into a dry coughing fit. Maybe it was from running through a bunch of burning smoke or maybe it's just the meth. Either way it's no big deal. "Sorry, fuck. We cleared the entrance right? Good job."

As you say the word "entrance" one of the guys in your team checks the bodies strewn about. He pulls out his pistol and shoots one of them in the back causing him to spasm out a bit. He shoots again, this time in the head and this time without causing any further movement. "Cleared now."

You catch your breath and try to clean yourself off a bit, although all you really end up doing is just smearing blood all over. It occurs to you that while you and your forces are better armed than these guys, it's not by much. Compared to the people you've fought before these guys actually have body armor and just generally seem like a cut above the ones you've fought before.

>Superior Arms/Armor: +1

"Front entrance cleared," you announce over radio. "What's the situation with you guys?"

"We're currently blocking off reinforcements from the detention area and we got some guys working on the side entrance."

"Good." You turn to your own guys. "Fuck it, let's go in!"

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>>6109181

[4/???]

One of your guys opens the front door and immediately begins to shoot. The glass on the door shatters from return fire and he pulls back behind a large brick pillar beside the door before you can try and follow. You and the other guy end up taking cover by another pillar.

"Fuck, they're covering the entrance from the end of that big ass hallway."

Generally the way this entire place is laid out is highly defensible. There are plenty of wide open 'firelanes' that allow for them to get easy shots off. It makes their choice to hunker down and defend here make some sense...

>Enemy Homefield Advantage: -3

"How many of them are there?" you ask.

"Shit, at least five all with their guns pointed at the door." Bullets whiz by as he talks. "Not sure how good shots they are, but, fuck, there're a lot of 'em." You knew you were going to be outnumbered when you made the choice to attack Sacaton and go directly for 'Citadel,' but you weren't registering how much it would suck. It feels almost unfair that they can have a whole squad of guys camp out at the entrance while also covering various other entry points and having reinforcements on the way.

>Enemy Force Superiority: -4

You won't let that stop you, however. You're in way too deep to pull out now and having way too much fun. It's one thing to take the best meth in the Badlands but doing insane, life-threatening shit just bumps that high up to the next level.

"Hey, how far away are they again?" the 'medic' asks the crusader taking cover behind the pillar by the entrance. He's in the process of attaching a grenade launcher to his rifle.

"Shit, I don't know, a hundred meters maybe?" He fiddles around with his sight before peeking out and pulling back. Chips of brick and glass fly all around. "Yea, around that much, maybe a bit more."

"Good, gonna smoke 'em. Cover me."

You look at him and exchange a nod. You check your rifle to make sure it's set to "God Wills It" (i.e. automatic fire) and affix your bloody bayonet to its end in true Crusader fashion...

>>6109182

[5/???]

These guys are actually well motivated enough to put up a decent fight and not simply break once the fight starts and their forward guys get killed. It's a change of pace from the defenders of the cluster of settlements earlier who really didn't seem willing to die. But when it comes to willingness to fight and die, they're not at the level of meth fueled zealots.

"GOT MIT UNS!" the medic yells as he runs out of cover and fires a grenade.

>Morale Advantage: +1

You grab another stun grenade, this being your last one, and throw it into the room. After the flash and the bang you charge in with reckless abandon and are followed by the other two. You hear a truck pull up by the entrance, reinforcements you presume, but you don't stop for them.

"FOR THE MESSENGER!" you shout at the top of your lungs while firing into the smoke for a lack of visible targets. "FOR CHRIST!"

You sprint directly across the hallway, your ability to feel how tired you are nonexistent. One of the defenders walks out of the smoke, but before you can turn your attention to him a hail of gunfire from your brothers in Christ cut him down. You keep going and as you approach the edge of where the smoke is someone walks out from it while coughing up a fit in a total daze.

>FIXED BAYONETS: +1

You don't hesitate as you sink the pointed edge of the bayonet in her upper torso. You smile as you hear the dying gurgling of POZ aligned scum. The 'god of this world', as the Holy Bible describes Satan (you can't remember which verse, but it's somewhere in there) has just lost one of his pawns. You pull back the rifle and hear the corpse's thud as blood pools on the ground. You even begin to laugh as you think of the day when the last of the Devil's foot-soldiers are vanquished and the world is made right in Final Judgement.

>Assessing enemy morale...

>Forcing multiple disadvantaged checks on enemy from meth charge...

>Result: BREAK!

"Shit shit shit!" a panicked voice calls out. One of the enemies starts to scramble up a set of stairs leading to an upper level. "Fuck, please spare me! We-"

>[CRUSADER RAGE]: +2

You don't need to hear the honeyed lies of demonic traitors to the natural order. You charge at him as he stumbles. Looming over him you raise your bladed rifle as he tries to put his hands up and out to guard himself. You change the direction of your attack to his legs and plunge the bayonet into his inner thigh and twist it. Blood gushes out as a blood-curdling scream graces your ears. You'd almost think of yourself as a modern Saint George the Dragon-Slayer, although to be honest this is less of a dragon and more of a snake or even worm. You raise the blade and sink it into his exposed throat and move onto the next...

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>>6109183

[6/???]

You should be tired by now, but you're feeling more amped up than ever. Gunshots ring behind you, but turning around you just see your own guys moving up. You rush down the stairs and scan the area for threats, finding none.

>"COMBAT STIMS": +4

At this point it's clear that the battle for this strongpoint is won. You're not sure if they're trying to surrender, and really you don't care. You signal to the reinforcements that you and your squad will clear out a set of rooms on the lefthand side of the entrance and get to work. The first door just leads to some janitor's closet. The next two are just empty restrooms. And the final one is some kind of office. There are cabinets and legal documents and other crap all around.

"Shit!" you hear one of your squad-mates call out before dumping a mag's worth of rounds under a table. Blood pools out from there. "Damn, she picked a bad spot to hide."

"Yep," the medic responds as he walks over. "Well, room's clear and our job's done."

"Yo guys, nice fucking job with th-" You're again interrupted by your voice cracking from dry throat. "Fuck, need a drink."

Luckily this office has a water cooler. "Damn dry ass smoke filled desert air," you mumble as you take a drink from the plastic cup. The water from the cooler is ice cold and feels really nice. You drink a second time and then a third and forth after that. You realize just how hot and sweaty you are. Without even thinking you keep the water on and put your head under it. "Yeah, yeah! That's- yeah that's the good stuff!" You're tempted to just rip the five gallon jug off of the cooler and dunk it all over yourself.

"Jesse, you good?" one of the reinforcements asks while you're still pouring water on your head. "Anyway, we cleared out the building, barley took any casualties too. Orders?"

>RESULT: 20 - 1 = 19
>DECISIVE VICTORY: Strongpoint Cleared With Minimal Casualties...

>>6109184

[7/???]

"Orders? What do you think?!"

>[CRUSADER RAGE] SPECIAL EFFECT: IMMEDIATELY CONTINUE COMBAT

"We still have that detention center to take. C'mon, no wasting time!" you say as you finally get your head out from the water cooler dispenser and pull out the radio. "Alright boys, we're rushing down the next target. Me and my guys will hit 'em at their eastern side, rest of you go for center and western side." You remember the place's general layout as having a large yard area at its center and south surrounded by building. It's at least as defensible as the positions you just took, if not more so given such areas are explicitly designed as fortresses.

>Enemy Homefield Advantage: -3

Running over to the entrance you notice the reinforcing truck's just outside, motor still running, while the one you drove over to the end of the entrance road is gone. The rest of the crusaders probably did the smart thing and just kept going instead of waiting around doing nothing while you guys were clearing the inside. You just get on the bed and are driven the short distance over. Gunshots can be heard all over, a good sign that your guys are keeping the bloodshed going and transitioned to this next location before you even gave the order. You remember Dick would always talk about "mission command" when he would explain Marine principles of war (which as far as you understood means something like "don't be a fucking pussy and just do it") and it seems like your crusaders are embodying the principle.

The truck continues all the way until it reaches the razor-wire tipped fence at the edge of the yard next to the eastern building. The doors are shut and, if last time was any indication, well guarded. But you also get to thinking. If they were only able to get some decent preparations up before then they can't be completely solid this time either. Barely any time has passed in the grand scheme of things with how rapid the assault was and the lack of any lag time between them. Their defenses have to be decent, especially with how naturally defensible a detention facility is, but they can't be perfect.

>Decent Enemy Preparations: -3

"Yo, I have an idea!

>Trait [Holy Fool] alters events

Instead of attacking directly through the building's guarded entrance, you're going over the top. And you're going to make the defenders help you do it...

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>>6109185

[8/???]

"Hey, get in reverse and back up," you order. "I'll tell you when to stop!" The trucks begins to back up. "Keep going, keep going. A little more. Ok, stop!" You hop off and start hauling a corpse over. "Yo, help me grab this! Oh, and when you park on the fence do it to the side!"

Part of you thinks this is fucked up, but part of you also thinks you're a genius for coming up with this. You're pretty sure you saw in a movie a bunch of soldiers charge at a bunch of barbed wire and climb over the corpses of the first wave. If it worked in World War 2 (or maybe the first one since you're unsure) then it surely will work here.

It takes considerable effort and coordination, but you and another meth-addled lunatic toss the body over from the roof of the truck's cab onto the razor wire and form a sort of bridge. You're the first one to get across and land at the opposite edge. You ready your rifle and prepare to fire at the yard exits in case the defenders catch wind of what's going on, but by the time the second crusader gets down you get the feeling that nobody's on the way. The whole squad gets over the fence and you lead them to the back door to the eastern building area. You turn the knob and it simply turns. They didn't even bother to lock it.

"Huh?" The defender doesn't even finish turning around before getting shot at from his defensive position at an overturned cafeteria table. The rest of the crusaders pour in and begin clearing out the rear area. Despite being the enemy having prepared, the mix of rapidity and insanity of the meth-fueled assault catches them off guard as if you had actually done a proper ambush or preemptive strike.

>Special Circumstances Allow Training Bonus Invocation
>[Strike First, Strike Hard]: +2

Your guys fan out and take up good positions behind cover while the enemy reorients. You end up behind the counters that serve slop to inmates. As you fire at enemies behind their own cover your rifle's ejected casings litter the serving area or end up in the trays. Not that the barley porridge can be made much worse by literal metal trash...

>>6109186

[9/???]

As before, you take advantage of your faction's use of heavier rifles that are able to penetrate most forms of improvised cover. Lugging around larger weapons and carrying fewer rounds that are heavier still is normally enough of a disadvantage to justify switching to intermediate cartridges, but the unique conditions of the Badlands where fights are brutally short and often fought at long range provide an unusual exception.

>Superior Arms/Armor: +1

"You can't win assholes!" one of your guys shouts as he leans right over a door and sprays rounds while another crusader moves up to a more advantageous position. "We got you surrounded and cornered, surrender and you might live!"

"Fuck that, don't listen to him!" yet another crusader shouts. "Fight to the last bullet, it'll be more fun! Deus Vult!"

Both of them have a point. Both of them also point to an eager fighting force willing to actually stick their necks out and potentially die rather than being paralyzed into passivity by fear or fatigue.

>Morale Advantage: +1

It's an open question, though, which option the enemy will choose. Prior fighting suggests surrender, though few things are guaranteed in war.

>Assessing enemy morale...

>Forcing multiple disadvantaged checks on enemy from meth charge...

>Result: Hold

"Eat shit fascists!"

To the last bullet it is, then.

"You asked for it!" you shout as you pop out of cover and shoot at the one you think was the respondent. With the chaos of battle you're not sure, but the message you convey is clear. As you reload your rifle you look at another crusader who notices you as well. You hold your rifle out like a spear and do a couple of thrust motions from behind the slop trough. He nods in silent acknowledgment and communicates with the guys near him. It's time to lean on a time honored Crusader tradition.

"DEUS VULT!"

Half of your guys lay down suppressive fire at the enemy positions. The other half, you included, hop over and charge screaming.

>[CRUSADER RAGE]: +2

You sprint across the cafeteria's seating area while dodging tables and chairs and blind fire unleashed by enemies behind their cover. It may seem insane to use a rifle as a spear, but blades are ludicrously deadly if you can close the gap, and closing said gap can be achieved much faster than most people would recognize. That, and you're all on meth.

>Stiff Enemy Resistance: -3

"DEUS-"

>>6109187

[10/???]

The crusader to your front-left shouting the battle-cry is silenced as his right shoulder is destroyed in a small explosion of blood. He drops his weapon but his legs continue on. '-VULT!" You don't stop either, but somehow you keep an eye on him as you keep going. It's like time slows down or stops as his body gets riddled with holes as the enemy focuses their fire on him. You rationally know guns don't click when they run out of bullets, but you swear you can hear that clicking sound from enemy positions as the guy's entire torso is turned into a moonscape of entry wounds and falls forward flat on his face. It's impressive that the meth-induced zombific pain tolerance that he was able to actually keep going after the first shot or dozen and force the enemy to draw their fire.

>"COMBAT STIMS": +3

You finally close the distance to the enemy position and hop over the chest-high cover bayonet-first. The blade sinks into the closest opponent's chest. He falls back from the momentum of you crashing into him and doesn't get up. Just a few meters away is another one of them fumbling around with a mag. He fails to reload in time. After cutting him down you look around and see the rest of them getting stabbed and shot by the remaining crusaders.

>FIXED BAYONETS: +1

With that final charge, this eastern part of the detention center's free of enemies. "Hell yeah, all clear!"

The ones who held back and provided covering fire for your charge group up and move out to the far side to the central part of the area. While you were fighting here the fight continued raging in other parts of the building and outside of it as well. You can assume that generally the same factors that went into your fight here apply out there.

As you and the other chargers try to follow the rear group to the central part you hear short bursts of gunfire followed by silence. When you cross the door and reach the others it becomes apparent what happened. Corpses lie in the middle with cover facing away from the Crusader forces who just got here, their guns still smoking as they walk over to the main group that was attacking the center.

"Came just in time, Jesse!" one of them shouts at you as you two walk toward each other.

"Yo!" you tell him with a handshake and chest-bump. "Nice, nice! How're things out there?"

"Just mopping up. We've taken some losses, but fuck there are a lot of corpses. We're killing it!"

You wipe sweat off of your forehead. The fight's over.

>RESULT: 13 + 1 = 14
>VICTORY: Strongpoint Cleared With Some Losses

"Hey man, what happened to that police station?" you're asked.

"Oh, that. I dropped off a guy there."

"Dropped him off?"

"Yes."

"You mean at its front? Like you were giving him a ride to the courthouse or some shit?"

"Did I fucking stutter?!"

"Uh, no Jesse! But we gotta check it out..."

>>6109188

[11/???]

You exhale hard and nod your head. "Yeah. No, you're right, let's head out." You get the radio and start talking to the rest of the forces. "Yo, good work everyone! Finish off any stragglers, take whatever loot you want, and maybe get some rest! Gonna check up on the police station, will let you guys know the plan and call up reinforcements when needed."

You walk over to a truck outside, stepping over more than one corpse on the way there. The wall of the building-proper's entrance is covered in bullets, but the gate for the fence outside is wide open. This time you ride shotgun. The police station is a short distance down the road, but during that short ride you notice broken glass and bullet holes riddling the building. You even see a corpse on the outside you can't immediately identify. You're not being shot at on the way there, but your mind can't help but wander to some unsettling places. You hop out of the truck door with your rifle readied and your mind prepared for yet another bout of fighting.

The door slowly opens. Smoke and dust filters out from the entrance as a single blood-soaked man walks out. He's wearing a mask.

>Critical Bonus ~ Masked Man(iac): Automatically clear out one 'Citadel' strongpoint

"BRO!" you shout as you rush over to him. "You fucking did it, you absolute madman!"

He doesn't respond, and you can't exactly read his expression with the mask covering his face, but his mere presence tells you all you need to know.

"Hey man, I gotta do this," you tell him with a goofy grin as you take out your phone. "C'mon take your mask off!"

He doesn't respond. You just see his eyes from the slits in the mask.

"Please?"

There's an uncomfortable pause. Just before you capitulate and accept that he just won't take the thing off, he turns around a bit and lifts his mask.

"Hell yea brother, thanks," you tell him with a lot more softness than you were intending on. You smile for the camera and notice that he is as well, though he is hanging his head a bit low out of either shyness or shame or some other idiosyncratic reason. "Smile!" He raises his right arm and sticks out his index finger, middle finger, and thumb for the camera.

"Nice. Gonna send this to you once we're back." You pinch-zoom on the photo. "Ah shit, didn't notice that blood didn't wash off when I stuck my head under the cooler." It's a weird thing for you to focus on given that his face has more blood on it than yours with some even in his blonde hair, but that's what you notice...

When you turn to him, you see he's gotten his mask back on. "Look man, I don't know HOW the fuck you cleared that place out, but major props. Anyway, we got a truck out there and the rest of Sacat-" You stop yourself as you notice his chest isn't just covered in blood but is still bleeding. "Shit, shit! Hey, never mind that, you get yourself some rest." You can't help but put your hand on his armor and feel a clean hole going right through it...

>>6109189

[12/???]

"Medic, medic!" you shout as you run over to the truck. With the help of the others you lay him down on the truck's bed and make sure he's getting some basic aid. You know he's going to make it, but he's done enough for one day. More than anyone could reasonably expect, in fact.

"Status on the detention center? Any lingering hostiles?" you ask over radio.

"Clear. No signs of anything from the judicial place either. What about the police station?"

"It's cleared out," you tell him even if you have a hard time believing it yourself. "You know what that means, Citadel down!"

>Sacaton Zone "Citadel" Successfully Taken

You look out down the road and all around. It doesn't seem like there are any signs of any enemy reinforcements. That doesn't mean that there aren't any, but at the least the speed at which your forces took down Citadel means that you've bought yourself some time to check on a few things and figure out your next moves in peace.

"Sidewinders? Sidewinders, can you hear me?"

"Yep, we're on our way. You guys about to start the assault on Sacaton or something else happen?"

"We've started the attack, already took Citadel."

"Holy shit. Uh, wow!" He stammers on a bit more trying to find words. "Well, we're still on our way. Let us know if you want us to do something else."

"Will do, gonna make another call real quick, might get back to you."

With that out of the way you call up the Crusader forces stationed at Maricopa you told to mop up the cleared cluster settlements region. "Yo, how are things going over there?"

"Going well. Still got guys taking prisoners in Casa Blanca, but I'm actually at Bapuche-"

"Bapchule," you correct him.

"Bapchule, right. Yea, you were right when you said there were a bunch of people crammed out here. They seem friendly enough, if thirsty. They already went through all of the water we brought them. Anyway, will let you know if we catch wind of hostiles or if there are any major developments."

"Nice. God bless, over and out."

Things at the previously cleared settlements are about what you expected them to be. Next you check in on the 'aerial recon' consisting of a guy in a crop duster flying up high to get a good view of everything. At least, you try to check in on him. Strangely, you're either not getting through to him or he's not able to hear you or is choosing to not respond or something. You're positive that he hasn't crashed or anything since you'd be made aware of an actual plane crash. You'll have to check in later, you suppose.

Last, you check in on 'Yuri's guys' from the Mountain Base area you called up. They're not exactly huge in numbers and it'll take time for them to even get out of the base, but you might as well check in while talking is a free action.

"Jesse?" the leader of the group moving out responds. "Ah, we're on our way. Just got on the road and are still winding down the mountains." You figured as much.

"Boss?" the driver asks you. "What do we do now...?"

>>6109190

[13/13]

It's a good question. There's still a lot going on both in and out of Sacaton. Reinforcements are on the way, although your own forces are still in fighting condition with maybe a quarter dead or wounded in some capacity, which on the surface isn't so great but is a small miracle given the sheer intensity of the fighting here and the number of enemies killed in the process.

What do you do?
>Leave behind the wounded with a couple of medics and continue the fight for Sacaton in another region [Select: Abodes, Admin, or Hub]
>Order your men to go on a wild looting spree assuming that there will be no more resistance
>Regroup forces and move to attack some area outside of Sacaton [Where?]
>Dig in and wait at Citadel in case the enemy is about to launch some kind of immediate counter attack here
>Call it a day and tell everyone to head back to Maricopa [ACTION UNAVAILABLE DUE TO INSUFFICIENT BLOODSHED TO SATE 'COMBAT-STIM' FUELED CRUSADER RAGE]
>Expect the unexpected! [Write-In]

And do you issue any orders to the other groups?
>No, let them continue to do what they're doing
>Yes [What? To Whom?]

You picked a very high-risk option in attacking Sacaton and going directly for the obvious strong-point head on. Sometimes risks don't go so bad.

>>6108194
A shameful display on my part, I failed to realize just how much I would have to write out since this was effectively 2 combats combined into 1 (with the second one getting bonuses with its rapid meth-fueled nature) along with having to pay sufficient respects for the 'very original character' who cleared out an entire police station after knocking.
I also may have looked into trying some imageboard magic that seems to not work anymore on this site since after the Exile. Also, this site seems to do some kind of compression on png files you upload. While I normally prefer jpg files (since most of the time I'm not trying to do sorcery) it turns out that png files that you download are likely smaller than what they should be regarding file-size, and if you put a question mark after the file extension in the url and type gibberish, downloading it then will give you a bigger file. Maybe I'm just tech-illiterate and missing something, but it does seem to be the case (at least sometimes.)

>>6106617
You're right that they could have been more detailed or that Jesse could've tried to get more specifics out, but Jesse's on meth and doesn't want to hear others yapping. Not unless they're his meth buddies. Or himself.
Jokes aside, there wasn't an "original intention" other than them being out there in the desert to keep an eye out for the raiding force and to follow orders as the rest of the Crusader force under Jesse's command. They might be lighter equipped and not high enough to simply ignore getting shot, but they're still there if you want to use them.

By the way, [Crusader Rage] actually is why I asked for four d20. But it's not a Bo4, more like 'speedrunning' war (emphasis on speed.)

>>6109193
Wonderful update!

If we’re speedrunning this shit, do we hit up the Hub first, then transition to the Admin? Full on blitz? I feel given the -4 force superiority we just faced, plus the fact that they needed a full raiding party for the Caravan, can’t really be much left- like, we must’ve easily killed around, what? A Company or two of their Militarized Reservation Police, right in their HQ? Plus all the forces we blitzed through already?

Don’t want to get cocky, but I’m feeling good here. We should consolidate our wounded in a defensive structure btw.

>>6109222
>Militarized Reservation Police
I don't think I gave you guys a name for them, but yeah you guys basically went beast mode with that perfectly timed Nat 20 when going for the high-risk high-reward meth charge. That not only cleared out two strongholds at once but also meant that for the second action your forces were not meaningfully attrited and so it was actually easier. When going for right for Sacaton and specifically "Citadel" there was a potential scenario where you guys just get bogged down, worn down, and end up in deep shit, so taking it almost immediately in a rapid attack is very much "speedrunning" (though honestly I dropped the phrase mostly for the drug pun.) Not that you guys are locked into continuing that course of action.
While your forces aren't counting the enemy dead one by one for obvious reasons, the casualties are very lopsided. Especially if you consider the prisoners and dead in the previous areas that were obviously not prepared for a head on attack in force, you could leave right now and have it count as a win in terms of destroying enemy forces. Not that you're going to be able to convince your fellow bloodthirsty methed out zealots to pull back without giving them some more action.

By the way, I forgot to mention that the 1d3 was to determine which of the three strongpoints would be auto-cleared. I was glad to see it was the police station because of the obvious theme it allows (I later realized it shouldn't have been since I was misreading the map until using street-view but by that point I was already writing.)

>>6109193
>Leave behind the wounded with a couple of medics and continue the fight for Sacaton in another region [Hub]
We're on a roll here, folks.
I feel like we should make an order for the wounded to get picked up by some of the people from home, just in case worst comes to worst.

>>6109222
>We should consolidate our wounded in a defensive structure btw.
This.

>>6109193
>>Leave behind the wounded with a couple of medics and continue the fight for Sacaton in another region [Select: Abodes, Admin, or Hub]

Lets consolidate our wounded in the detention center. Can we also check on the prisoner population? Pressganging them is a tempting thought.

I guess hitting the hub next is logical, as it is between us and admin.

>>6109193
>Gather all the loot, wounded, prisoners (if any), & most of the medics inside the citadel, secure the exits & entrances.
>Cardinal Jesse will talk to the convicts, hype them up, recruit a few that are suitable, give them the rez goons shit-tier gear, & press them into attacking the next point (with some crystal for motivation).
>Sidewinders attack admin.
>Crusaders + voluntary pressgang attack hub.

>>6109379
Lastly,
>Aerial recon get eyes on the caravan raiders or any reinforcements

>>6109193
>Dig in and wait at Citadel in case the enemy is about to launch some kind of immediate counter attack here.
We need to protect our wounded. I'd say consolidate our forces at the Detention Center, since they probably have the most/best medical supplies/facilities we can make use of.

>Sidewinders attack admin, but leave an avenue for escape.
We want to maximize enemy casualities by forcing them into a fighting retreat that turns into a retreat.

>>6109193
>Leave behind the wounded with a couple of medics and continue the fight for Sacaton in another region [Select: Abodes, Admin, or Hub]
People forget that the Hub has actually trained doctors- considering, you know, that’s where the hospital is. You know, literally right next to us, assumed to be protected by the Citadel and the fully garrisoned MRP, so likely largely unprotected? If we’re not gunning straight toward the Admin, we are getting our guys sorted with trained doctors.

Besides, keeping the initiative and the enemy reacting to us is for the best.

>Yes [What? To Whom?]
Update the looters of the situation. For the Sidewinder platoon, it depends- they should have police bodyarmor, just relay what the MRP looks like and tell them to emulate them when infiltrating Admin. Then when we hit Admin, they could pincer/ambush them from behind. They should have a clear identifier to avoid friendly fire- a bandanna on the arm/head, or something inconspicuous but obvious to us. Make sure we both understand the identifier.

If they don’t have armor, they are to head to the Citadel to armor/uniform up as the MRP- depending on how fast we blitz through the other areas before they arrive, they may be better off heading up to the Abodes and taking in the situation there- maybe they could convince them to pull a Bapchule and that’s everything’s under control by the MRP, they’re just evacuating out of caution, if possible.