Session 33: Cleaning Duty
General Summary
The session began in the aftermath of the players’ attack on Ol' One Eye's flagship. May stood over the pile of gore that had once been Johnny. The players tried to pull her away, eventually covering his remains with a tarp and convincing her to move on. The five remaining Pioneers reamed May for her failed mission, agreeing to disband when they made it to port. When they arrived, they promptly did so. Avery stood on the deck with the Marino State militia at her back, demanding answers. The players filled her in and offered a captive Red Tide sailor in exchange for the remaining Pioneers' freedom.
Inside, the players joined a debriefing with Sharos, Jeremy, DiMa, and Tektus, who were arguing over a plan of response. Avery had faith in the Minutemen, DiMa was deep in thought, and Tektus wanted to secure his people's path east. The players shared their opinions: Kenny wanted to secure the borders and strengthen the navy, Jason wanted to repair the radio first, and DiMa recommended moving with caution, securing the border, and then sending the players south to make contact with the mainland since the radio wouldn't be operational for a week. The players agreed to DiMa’s plan but decided to keep May out of the fight, as they now considered her their responsibility.
The players gave Johnny and his ship a Viking funeral. The Children of Atom salvaged the best parts from the high-speed engines, and the harbormen pulled the ship out into the bay. Jim Bob rigged an explosive and handed May the detonator. After a while of contemplation, she hit the button, and they watched the ship sink. Kenny said to May, "You're gonna carry that weight, cowboy." May nodded sadly.
After paying their respects, the players got to work. Jason and Jim Bob spent a day and a night getting four more boats in the water. Meanwhile, Sharos and Kenny played good-cop-bad-cop with the prisoner, extracting all the information they could about 2nd Fleet and The Red Tide. The prisoner told them about additional ships equipped with missiles and torpedoes, as well as at least one other fleet. Ol' One Eye, the commander of 2nd Fleet, reportedly answered to a glowing green ghoul wizard. The players were shocked and frustrated by this revelation. The prisoner recounted how the wizard had once called the previous commander and exploded his head with glowing purple eyes. Kenny asked about master tinkerers, and the prisoner mentioned Vex, a cybernetics mad scientist.
The prisoner also expressed concern about whether anywhere was safe from The Red Tide, and Kenny advised him to head to the center of the country and not stop running. When asked about leads on other boats, the prisoner said there were no contingency plans, as they hadn't expected this level of resistance. Jason inquired about what The Red Tide knew about them, and the prisoner revealed that they were seen as upstarts with insane funding, chaotic but highly competent. The glowing wizard apparently hated them, and The Red Tide knew about their connections with The Pioneers, 1st Vanguard, and Ellie's Marauders, making their penchant for turning proxies against them a thorn in The Red Tide's side.
With this information, the players set out to hunt down the remaining ships. Avery provided them with three boats. They eventually spotted a bay where the fallback could be and left two boats to monitor the escape while landing on the far side of the island. Sharos scouted from a hill while the others moved in, surrounding the camp. Sharos felled a tree with a pipe bomb, trapping two patrol boats in the small bay. Jim Bob approached the camp, posing as a terrified Red Tide member. Using a psychic spell during their hesitation, he pacified most of the enemies, and as the tree exploded, the rest were scared into surrendering.
The players gathered the prisoners and commandeered their ships. However, on the way back, they were confronted by the two remaining enemy ships. An intense battle ensued, filled with ramming, Gerrek falling off a boat (almost dying this time), melee engagements, and explosions. After the smoke cleared, the Liberators emerged victorious but were one boat poorer.
The players returned to the island with 10 boats, now secure in their position. They interrogated the new prisoners. Sharos failed to intimidate one, and Jim Bob asked another captain if he knew anyone named Kutter, but the man said mutants named Kutter were a dime a dozen. Gerrek and Kenny went to apologize to Avery, but Avery refused to accept their apology. Satisfied with getting their Vim back, Gerrek and Kenny celebrated with a jumping high-five.
Jim Bob proved to be a skilled investigator, extracting valuable information from a mutant named Gug "The Mansmasher." Gug revealed that The Red Tide had two other raiding fleets, similar in size to 2nd Fleet, and that 2nd Fleet's mission was to pillage and recruit. He also explained that The Red Tide did not use conventional inter-fleet communication; instead, the "wizards," known as The Heralds, communicated with commanders and kept them in line by exploding heads and shooting lightning. Gug further revealed that 2nd Fleet had been deployed for three years, building up its strength over that time. The "Big War" was the ultimate goal, but it wasn’t expected to happen soon—if it were, they would have been recalled already.
Jason questioned another captain but learned no new information. He then switched to interrogating Gug, asking what The Red Tide knew about the Liberators. Gug confirmed what the first prisoner had said. Jim Bob offered Gug a chance to join them, but Gug stated that should he take up this opportunity, betraying The Liberators was the only way he would survive The Red Tides retribution. With that Jim Bob bid him farewell. Gerrek then burst into the room, offering Gug a bottle of Vim in exchange for his loyalty. Gug accepted, declaring his undying loyalty in return for the Vim. Christening himself as the third Vim brother Kenny, and Gerrek welcomed him into the fold.
Gug revealed that the "Big War" was supposed to happen in 4–6 months. Confident in their ability to prepare, the players sailed south, bringing May along as she figured out what to do next. However, in the early hours of the morning, they began to hear chaos and distress on all Minutemen frequencies. As they approached the Commonwealth, they saw the sun rise from the south, fade, and then a second explosion rocked the horizon. The crewmen scrambled to find a channel to contact Minutemen command. On the final approach, they saw around 20 warships engaged in a fierce naval battle.
Report Date
26 Aug 2024
