Departure

Blake’s Raiders”

Memphis, Tennessee

Sunday, 7 July, 2030

After morning chow, we double-checked that everything was properly secured, everyone had the correct radio frequency lists, and so forth.  I sent SSGT Ruiz ahead in the HumVee with SPEC McCarthy as the driver and SGT Whitehead as the gunner on the MK-19, while SGT Rodriguez and I rode the horses behind.  The plan was for them to drive a little past the edge of our patrol area and set up camp.  SSGT Ruiz and I had gone over the maps, and had picked out primary and alternate campsites for the first week’s worth of travel, knowing that it was probably useless to try to plan out much further than that.  The primary today was the Walls, MS Fire Department.

[Horse travel : 20km per period]

[Encounter Roll:  5 - Military Convoy; The HumVee group encounters a 5th Army convoy headed toward the refinery at Robinson, IL for refueling.  The refinery is controlled by the 194th Infantry Brigade, which is also supporting the 5th Army.  They reported recently encountering a group of refugees on foot [Encounter Roll: 8 - Refugee]

[Encounter Roll:  6 - Merchant Convoy, Cargo Roll 4 - Shell Casings.  The mounted group encounters a merchant convoy with a load of shell casings of various calibers for reloading. Captain Blake advises them of the proper approach for trade with the 197th G-4.  They don’t have anything of value to trade other than shell casings (INT:ESY roll of 23, second Cargo Roll 4 - Shell Casing).]  The platoon left their small caliber ammunition reloading supplies behind for this mission.

[Because the two groups are moving at such different movement rates (50km/hr for the HumVee vs 5km/hr for the mounted group), I will roll two encounter rolls for each period that they are not actively trying to stay together.  Since the HumVee has the still, it will spend more time stationary, while the mounted group patrols the area, looking for skilled survivors and valuable salvage.]

SSGT Ruiz established a camp near the former town of Walls, MS.  The only reason to stop there was that there had been farms to the west before the war, so I hoped to find good forage at a minimum.  Who knows, I might even find some experienced farmers and farm equipment that could be recovered…

After weeks of grazing in a fenced pasture, the horses weren’t particularly happy to be confined after the ride, but I detailed SGT Whitehead and SPEC McCarthy to work with them while SSGT Ruiz and I made a foot patrol of the area.  SSGT Ruiz spotted a small herd of feral pigs, and we were able to bag nine of them with our crossbows before the rest scattered into the woods [Roll of 10 on Clear column of encounter table (based on map); Roll of 27 vs ESY:RCN (40) to gain advantage; 2D6 roll of 12 for total number; 2D6 roll of 3 for the number escaping; 3Kg of meat each for a total of 27Kg of food]

Seeing no sign of survivors, we returned to the camp with the results of a successful hunt, ate a satisfying meal of freshly roasted pork, and I retired for the evening, leaving SPEC McCarthy and the two SGTs to share the overnight watch.

Map of the Area South of Memphis


The blue marker in the center of the map (near the US 61 and TN-175 markers) is the platoon’s normal cantonment at the Geeter Primary School, and the point of departure for this adventure.  The blue marker at Walls is where the platoon stopped for the night.  The road distance from the school to Walls is just under 12Km, just beyond the platoon’s normal patrol area, which ends at Lake View, just across the state line.