(Savage Pulp) #3.2 The Oncoming Storm

Fighting in the streets of Sohai had violently removed Mayor Roland Tower and his minions from power.  Haley O'Killery had assumed the mantle of mayor for mere hours, but the town was at its weakest in years.

Off to the horizon, Lt Col Thaddeus Ovaltine and his Rough-n-Ready Riders were closing in on the newly constructed walls.  Can the skirmishing factions inside the city unite just long enough to fight off this imminent threat???

Lt Col Ovaltine's men storm the wall at dusk.

Ovaltine's Rough 'n Ready Riders (Run by Dear Old Dad)
Lt Col Ovaltine (Wild Card)
2 Squads of Rough 'n Ready Riders (1 NCO per squad)
The "good" Lieutenant Colonel has been the an ongoing foil for our heroes (who are off-site thus far this season), ever since Season One, Episode Three.  A wealthy archaeologist-for-profit with his own private army,  even Sohai's criminal underbelly and corrupt government knew well enough to ban he and his men from town. 

The Russian Sailors (Run by Maja, age 8)
Captain Kaputin (Wild Card)
2 Surviving Sailors
1 Russian "Com-Bot" (with boltgun)
The visiting Russian sailors just seemed to be guys in the wrong place at the wrong time, but in reality, they had tipped off Ovaltine to O'Killery's coup attempt.  The plan had been for Ovaltine's men to arrive in the thick of the fighting, and he and Kaputin would split up the spoils.  Now it seemed the double crosser had been double crossed.  Despite having procured some ill-gotten loot during the rebellion, Kaputin ordered his men to man a guard tower which, if the rebelling police hadn't abandoned, everyone would have gotten advance notice of the attack.  

"Lock and Load, Comrade Com-Bot"

O'Killery and the Rogue Sohai Police (Run by Millie, age 7)
Haley O'Killery (Wild Card with a Katana)
Surviving Police (7 with 1 NCO)
O'Killery stared out the window of Mayor Tower's old headquarters, Tower-Tower and was frightened by the oncoming attack.  She wanted to rule the town, not make decisions for it!  She pondered what disguise to make for herself and if the captured mules across the street had any supplies to help her slip out of town.
The police had been merciless in their treatment of everyone during the street fighting, slaughtering minions and sailors, and trying to pillage the town.  With the attackers in sight, the police sergeant tried to assemble his men to check inventories and injuries, and organize a defense, but when a pot shot hit one of his men in the chest, the rest began an organized retreat that resembled an all-out panic.  The sergeant wisely chose to follow them.  

"We're not paid to defend the citizenry!"

With murmurs of the attack stretching across the town, a few Valiant Civilians (5) gathered weapons to defend the town.  Led by local antiquarian, historian, and opium importer Mr James J. Jimmerson, they were a rag-tag bunch of fellow.

Mr James J Jimmerson (far right) and the local citizenry

And lastly, the Surviving Cultists (3), errr.. minions of Mayor Tower were holed up in a safe house, tending to wounds, and eating dinner.

With no noticeable defense, Ovaltine's men moved quickly but deliberately, constantly scanning the wall for a hint of snipers.  As they neared the wall, they could spot the police in a disorganized mess near the opening.   The targets were just out of range, after one policeman was felled in a hail of bullets, the rest scattered into the back alleys like rats.

The second squad's plans were to climb over the wall and flank the defenders inside, but none accounted for the Russian sailors and 'bot colluding with the townsfolk and manning the tower.  Piotr the sailor and the 'bot opened fire on the charging mercs leaving a few four dead and most scurrying to the safety of the other side of the wall.  A few brave men hit the dirt and returned fire on the tower, hitting Piotr was hit.  The wound might not have killed him, but the fall certainly did.

Meanwhile, Haley O'Killery, laden down with cash and gold from the Tower-Tower, slid out a back door to escape, but not before checking out the supplies on those mules across the street.

Which just happened to be next to the safe house of the cultists!

"Hey, you can't steal our stuff!  We stole it back from you after you stole it from us!"

The fleeing mayor and the lone cultist who checked out the noisy mules spent the rest of the game debating each other over the correct choice of action.  The initial reaction roll for the cultist was oddly sympathetic to the katana-wielding woman's plight, and she seemed altruistic in her concern that "Everyone's got to evacuate," but it wasn't enough to sway him to her side... or alert the others.

Ovaltine's men charged through the opening, and took some minor fire from the 'bot in the guard tower, but nothing else.

Thaddeus Ovaltine, unsure what to do in the face of overwhelming success, hid up against the wall to formulate the second half of his plan... which he usually never got to execute.

Some of his men scaling the wall were taking fire, but were also firing back at the Russian 'bot, causing sparks, and at least one hit, causing the machine spray shots wildly into the air.  Captain Kaputin figured it was time to leave and ordered his last remaining sailor to scale down the ladder and into the city. 

Ovaltine finally built up the guile that he was always missing, charged around the wall, and with pinpoint aim, pulled the trigger at the already damaged robot still in the tower.

.
*click*  *click*

He had never loaded his rifle!   (Or he rolled two 1's on the attack roll).

After fumbling with his ammo, Ovaltine looked up and the 'bot was no longer up in the tower.

In the back alley, Kaputin's crew had met up with the Valiant Civilians, who were having a hearty conversation with the fleeing Police.  The Police were so craven and cowardly, that they threatened to shoot the civilians if they didn't let them leave!

No sooner did the Police duck down another alley, than Ovaltine's men turned the corner, and seeing the large group of people congregating with weapons, opened fire, striking down two civilians!

With ammo finally in his rifle, Ovaltine turned the corner, and upon seeing the cursed Russian captain and the 'bot, fired repeatedly at the crowd. After emptying his weapon (using all his Bennies for re-rolls), the 'bot was hit by a lucky shot, and that piece of futuristic tech exploded.

Figuring the gig was up, Jimmerson and Kaputin formed a fast friendship out of necessity, and fled the scene.

....as did the Police

... and even Haley O'Killery, probably dressed up in an overtly obvious cultural appropriation of Arab dress.  But as seemed tried in vain to blend into the fleeing crowds, a few words from the cultist echoed in her mind,"

"We were here well before Mayor Tower, we will be here long after you're gone."

It didn't matter, they were Mayor Ovaltine's problem now.

Although I have most of Season Three of the "Egypt" game plotted out, this scenario happens when you rely on randomness to work on certain plot points.  Ovaltine and a smaller force of his men were supposed to show up during the last game, anytime after the second round, once a Joker was pulled during initiative.   I should have known better that after multiple games with multiple Jokers (everything gets reshuffled once one is pulled), that last game the first Joker wasn't pulled until all the forces were decimated.   No chance for the remaining bad guys to pool their resources and fight back for their corrupt slice of the pie.  

Throw in two girls who haven't fought too many defensive games (The last time I can remember a full defensive game was my take on Rorke's Drift, and Millie was rolling dice in a high chair.) and what could be be a valiant stand by anti-heroes, turns into an evacuation by those who believe the Lieutenant Colonel's justice would be swift and quite deadly.  

One more episode about the bad guys until we turn our attention to heroes, both local and those vacationing in far-off exotic locations... like Sweden.

And yes, I plan on buying my own set of Jenga blocks and paint them tan, so I don't have to ask Maja for hers. 

Next:  Episode #3.3: Black Market Science