You feel almost as uncertain about the Eastern Nomad as the gate guards. You want to find out his intentions and maybe make his people your allies but you worry that he could do some terrible violence or even blow something up. After thinking it through you decide that the best course of action, since he's passed out at your gates, is to take his more dangerous weapons, take him inside under guard and see what's wrong with him. The healers look him over and tell you that he seems to be very dehydrated and that he has three large claw marks down the left side of his torso, which accounts for all the blood. They give him some antibiotics and find him a spot to rest quietly under guard. They tell you that he should be ready to answer questions in a few days and that they don't foresee any complications.
After last weeks judgement debacle you finally institute a civic council. Five members are drawn from the pillars of the community while another five are chosen by lot from all citizens of good standing. The councils first act is to pass sentence on the two injured brawlers. They decree that in punishment for their uncivilized behavior in the presence of strong drink all sales of alcohol to both men are forbidden for a year and a day. From their reaction you think that the miscreants would have been happier to lose a hand. The council also asks for permission to find some volunteers to act as a sort of police force. Their reasoning is that while the current system, where citizens just intervene if they see wrongdoing, works admirably for most problems within the community there are occasions, such as when to drunken maniacs are jabbing at each other with pointy things, that having people around who's job it is to deal with these problems might be useful.
You finally get around to sending out a scouting expedition. You select five of your militia, who you know to be skilled at wastecraft and general outdoor survival as well as asking for five Tinkerers to accompany them, in case they find something of a technological nature. They take the bare minimum of the tools required for salvage and enough supplies for a month. You instruct them to scout the area around Sala-Zione for anything of value to the town and to report back within a month or immediately if they find something important.
Progress on the hull of the new fishing boat continues well, with the apprentices finishing the frame and starting to weld the hull and deck plate in place. In the communal workspace the Tinkerers finish a design for a mortar and basic shell. Its not spectacularly powerful and its range is a little less than two hundred meters but it does allow you to drop explosives on people from behind cover. One of the Tinkerers apprentices suggests that they build the engine for the new trawler as a larger scale copy of the steam engine prototype. Sure, you don't have any Conducting or Insulating Alloy like the merchant's engines but a steel version should work.
There is no change with the injured militia. One week has passed, the Eastern Nomad is recovered and ready to talk and the Technocratian caravan should arrive next week. What do you do now?
Alcide Brunelleschi: Family Armor, Laser Rifle, Hover Scout Trike (currently on loan to the Roman Embassy)
Sala-Zione:
Population:996
Major Official Buildings: The Main Building (water desalinization and machine shop), the Control Room (computers that control important stuff), The Reactor (a Sony AFIC MK23.a45 civilian Light Industrial Fusion Reactor) currently at 33.73% of fuel capacity and generating 14.95% of potential full capacity, the Control Tower (once a large coms relay unrelated to the plant but within its walls, now missing its dish and the seat of your government.
Minor Official Buildings: A small steel barrel and chain dock, painted white. A communal workspace with some machine tools, a power line, small simple greenhouse and a small prototype steam engine. Three prototype launchers.
Citizen Owned: A variety of houses, from rich to poor. Many small industries. A dozen tinkerers workshops, A large Solar Forge operating bellow capacity.
State Stores: 3 large caliber linear accelerator rifles, 900 6mm nickel cored Alloy tipped rounds, 19 Kalash Rifles in a poor state of repair, 4850 rounds of ammunition. 37 Arbalests in good repair with 20 pig iron bolts each. 11 crude iron muskets with 20 rounds and powder each. Three satchels of pipe bombs. A medium-large pile of assorted Alloy. A small pile of composite plates. A good stock of basic spare parts and scrap metal. A small stock of essential advanced parts and 24 spare laser power packs. 102,162.89 L of pure water. 20 Composite rods, three crates of electrical parts. 12 barrels of preserved fruit. A compact and efficient computer unit. 1 pressurized container holding 5kg of HE-3. An ☼armored exosuit☼. A small pile of knives. 6 simple HE rockets of unknown design. Some assorted trade goods (nails, bolts, torches etc).
Health: No diseases of note, an immunity to genetic plagues.
Defenses: Large Circular Pored Stone Wall, in reasonable Repair. 11 breaches filled with crude stone blocks and Alloy plating on the outside, some minor damage near the gatehouse from a recent raid. 30 dedicated Militia with Old Composite Armor and Laser Rifles, 3 out of action due to injuries. 2 Rocket launchers with 2 HE and 2 incendiary rockets remaining.
Food Supplies: Adequate. A sudden shortage could cause problems.
If you notice stuff that should be here but isn't, please tell me. Likewise with any suggestions I may have missed.
Author
Topic: You are a Lord of the Wastes (Read 26327 times)