Team Log: Specialty FW-11S (Frozen Watch)
Late Night 25 Oct - Early Morning 26 Oct.
After tending all wounds, it was decided for the team to complete its instructions to establish voice communications. It was hoped that once this was done, the malfunction of the cryotubes would be resolved and the remaining personnel revived. Further, there would be some questioning and interrogation of the prisoners.
While McMahon sorted out the radio by setting it up outside and running the antenna to the roof, Barrows continued to guard the prisoners while Kowalski watched the trail towards I-5 by concealing himself in the woods. The weather continued to be poor, with a mixture of snow and rain (sleet) and night began to fall in the mountains.
Interrogation of the prisoners determined that the nearest community was Grants Pass, to the west along I-5. The population was about 200, with an Oregon State Police garrison of some 100 people, including 3 police cars and 1 jeep, and a "Road Warrior" (like the movie), possibly an improvised armoured vehicle of some kind. The local commander was called a Sheriff, or possibly Judge, or maybe they were different people who's roles in the power structure was unclear or ill-defined. Regardless, there was little time to clarify as it was clear that the team should relocate sooner rather than later.
The women hostages were somewhat forthcoming. The older woman and younger girl were related as mother-daughter. Margaret Mancino, the mother spoke for the pair, and Sasha Mancino was her daughter. She said she was a widow and they lived in the local area. They had been collecting wood and looking for a goat of theirs which had run away. After locating the runaway goat, they were confronted by the patrol of bandits, whom they called "Badges" (a generic term for all gangs descended from law-enforcement entities). The gang accused the mother-daughter of theft and apprehended (kidnapped) them for interrogation and "questioning". The third woman appeared to be catatonic and in shock and was treated for wounds that indicated sexual assault. Her full identity remained a mystery at that time, as was that of the forth women (who had been killed).
In the mean time, McMahon established voice contact with Prime Base. They informed the team they had been activated to effect the rescue of Morrow Project personnel and another HIV (High Value Individual) who were taken prisoner far to the east, in Colorado. The team was to proceed to a vehicle cache located in nearby Ben Hur Lampman State Park about 12 km to the east. McMahon was instructed to return to the bolthole to find maps and codebooks that had been secreted behind the cabinets. The coordinates of the vehicle cache and the target would be supplied via radio. As well, Prime would attempt to start the wakeup cycle for the remaining two personnel, Carson and Wolkeweitz.
McMahon and Breckenridge returned to the bolthole and succeeded in reviving the other Project personnel, and retrieve the maps and code book information. Breckenridge was designated ad hoc team leader of FW-11S, and plans were made to make a night march to the vehicle cache. The freed hostages were to be brought along and the bolthole supplies and tools were loaded onto the stretchers (including an empty plastic water drum to store additional water). Margaret and Sasha could walk, the unresponsive woman would be carried. Margaret also asked to accompany the team much farther, as it would be impossible to return to her home after the patrol of Badges went missing. It was agreed to transport her and her daughter to a community in Utah as it was on the way to their destination in Colorado. Margaret knew the local area and offered to act as guide.
The Mission (Operation Deep Freeze): FW-11S was tasked with recovering the vehicles as instructed, then proceed east to Colorado. Three Morrow Project personnel had been captured in California by the Slavers, who sold them to clients of theirs known as the Breeders. FW-11S was to free these prisoners and any other slaves, then ex-filtrate in a westerly direction. There was no additional Project support available at this time. Also, the Breeders' numbers, capabilities and exact location were as-yet unknown. Prime is currently investigating and will supply the details when they became known. It was known that the Breeders buy slaves for medical research and experimentation, and their life-span was less than a week once they reached Colorado. The captured personnel were on their way now and expected to arrive at their destination within the week, giving the personnel until around the 3rd of November to complete their mission.
In an hour team left the emergency shelter area, concealing the bolthole's entrances. The prisoners were bound together and stripped naked left underneath a blanket with the fire going. Although they were warm enough and would eventually escape, the lack of clothing at night and in the snow would seriously hamper any pursuit or attempt to get help. Eventually it was surmised someone would come along and free them but by the then the team would be long-gone. Darkness and falling snow would cover their tracks until morning, if they were not completely covered by then.
Lacking long-range weapons, some of the team procured captured rifles and shotguns. (Barrows taking a Springfield rifle, Breckenridge taking the .44 Magnum Anaconda and a Winchester rifle, McMahon the Remington 870 shotgun, Kowalski the other Springfield, Carson the other Winchester. Margaret and Melissa each took a bow.) For the trip to the vehicle cache, Carson (a MARS branch member) took point and Barrows brought up the rear with everyone else in between carrying supplies and stretchers. The snow soon stopped, making travel easier.
The path from the building led south down a mountainside to the former I-5 corridor, now a trail known as the "Open Road". Using flashlights, team followed the trail through thick forest alongside the Rogue River, the town of Rogue River itself gone, the ruins completely vanished in the forest. After several hours they reached the location of the state park and found the now-buried USGS marker, which pointed to a nearby cliff face. Inside a chamber hollowed in the cliff side were parked 2 XR311 jeeps, with some supplementary equipment.
One XR311 was the standard "Recon" version with M2HB machinegun in a ring mount, while the other was a "convoy escort" with paired M60 GPMG and XM174E3 auto-grenade launcher on pintles mounted on the roll-bar:
Each vehicle is issued the following supplies:
VEHICLE SUPPLIES
The following list of supplies are carried in the vehicle. The supplies are
placed in the vehicles while they are in storage and so are available for
immediate use.
1 pr. AN/PVS-7 NVGs
1 CP-7 Laser Range finding binoculars
AutoNav navigation system
2 AN/PRC-70 scambled radios
1 Radio Direction Finder
1 Magnetic Sensor Unit
Fusion-Powered Water Filtration System
Vehicle Equipment, Containing;
1 Shovel
1 Axe
1 Sledgehammer
1 Machete
20m Tow chain
1 Set Vehicle Camoflage Netting, Poles
Sandbags
Road Flares, 12
Spare Winter Kit (Personal)
3 Fire extinguishers
XR311 MPV Tool Kit
M122 Tripod
1 Large MedKit
Mountaineering Equip, contains;
2 5Om 11mm Nylon rope
1 Folding grappling hook
20 Pitons
30 Snaplinks
1 225grm Hammer
6 M688 40mm Rocket shells
2 Ration packs, 120 man-days total
Trade pack containing;
50 Silver Dollars
6 one liter bottles of Whiskey
6 Sewing kits
4 Mirrors
6 Comb and brush sets
6 Hunting knives
6 250g packs Tobacco
2 Cartons Cigarettes
6 packs Hard Candy
Various toilet articles
6 Fishing kits
2 kg freeze-dried coffee
Extra weapons and ammunition carried:
1 M79 40mm GL (for Mountaineering Kit)
1 M21 rifle/10 Mags.
4 ARMBRUST 300s
1 case M26A1 grenades
1 case M7A3 CS grenades
1 case M34 WP grenades
2 Ml8Al claymore mines
1 roll primer cord
2 M1 timers
1 M183 demolition charge
10 M2A1 detonators
1 case Mk 1 Illumination Grenades, 25
1 case 9xl9mm, 2880 rds
1 case 7.62x51mm, 920 rds
1 case 5.56x45mm, 1640 rds
1 case 12 gauge, 500 rds
Additional weapons and ammunition:
1 M2HB .50-cal. w/5 belts (525 Rounds total)
or
1 M60 GPMG w/3 belts (300 rounds total)
1 XM174E3 w/3 drums (1 drum ea., HE, HEDP, CS. 36 rounds total)
Additionally: 1x case each; 40mm HE, HEDP, CS Gas,Parachute
Flare, Starshell, Smoke, Stunbag, Multiple Projectile.
PD Note: the XM174E3 is an automatic grenade launcher tested in Viet Nam. It is a recoil-operated selective fire weapon firing low-powered 40mm grenades, using a pistol grip. Magazines are flattened oval drum-type holding 12 rounds. The sights are of M79-type and the weapon can be fired from the hip, vehicle or tripod-mounted.
The cache door was faulty so while Kowalski worked on it, the team got the vehicles organised and loaded up. The Project uses a stretched version of the XR311 (more resembling the Lamborghini Cheetah) with more room behind the front seats. Extensive electronics in front and equipment still only comfortably seat 2 with 2 more in jump seasts in back. Assignments were as follows:
FW-11S-A (M60/XM174E3): Kowalski (driver), Carson (gunner), Breckenridge and Barrows riding in the jump seats.
FW-11S-B (M2HB): McMahon (driver), Wolkeweitz (gunner), Margaret and Sasha in jump seats, unidentified woman on a stretcher secured to the rear cargo deck.
Some weapons were redistributed, with the eventual supplementary weapon loads and ammunition were as follows:
Kowalski: Load #9, M21 rifle/10 mags.
Carson: Load #9, M21 rifle/10 mags., S&W M27 .357 (6 plus 2 speed-loaders)e
Barrows: Load #9, Springfield (1 5-round clip in the magazine plus 3 spares)
Breckenridge: Load #9, Colt Anaconda (5 in weapon, 3 loose), Springfield (1 5-round clip in the rifle plus 3
spares), 1 Winchester copy (6 rounds in weapon, plus 12 loose rounds)
McMahon: Load #9, Remington 870 (5 + 3 12 ga. Slugs)
Wolkewietz: Load #9.
Maragaret: Bow + 20 arrows
Sasha: Bow + 20 arrows
Proceeding in their vehicles further east towards Klamath, per Margaret's directions, the team halted after dawn and camped for 6 hours for some much-needed rest. It began to rain, melting what snow remained. The team reached Klamath at around 1700 hours. Klamath was a small farming village surrounded by a wooden palisade, with 4 observation towers. An American and Oregon state flags were hung from the gate and there were two guards (1 armed with an M16A2 and another with a shotgun). The team was allowed into town by the Mayor (called the Governor) and booked rooms at the tavern/inn and renting the local stable down the street to shelter their vehicles.
The Governor was very forthcoming about historical trivia and current information, what little he knew. Many of the people in Klamath (formerly Klamath Falls) were descended from surviving FEMA personnel and members of the state government relocated there during the war. Therefore they consider themselves the rightful government of Oregon and the only legitimate local representatives of the federal government after the death of the Last President, Dick Cheney (the pre-war Secretary of Defence.) This is many generations after any of this ceased to mean anything. Further investigation may reveal the historical truth but of course it's largely irrelevant in day-to-day practice, as the Governor's militia (the protective detail and State Guard) only controlled the satellite farms in the Klamath valley and Lake, and around Klamath itself.
The team found out additional information about the Badges who controlled the former I-5 corridor, know know as part of the Open Road. The Open Road mostly followed the old Interstate system, although other trails and routes did exist. While the Open Road was often the most well-maintained route in a region it was also paradoxically the most dangerous. It was plagues by bandits, highwaymen, bikers and even rogue Truckers and while travelers tended to be well-armed, those that preyed on them were equally well-armed. The gang who infested the Open Road in Oregon were descended from the Oregon State Police, also known colloquially as Badges.
Additionally, it was revealed that slavery was common in many communities. Slavery as an institution was promoted and protected by the Slaver's Guild, an organisation with branches throughout most of the prewar contiguous United States that billed itself as "labour procurement specialists". They employed slave hunters (known as "bounty hunters" or "skip tracers") to track down escaped slaves, and mercenaries to retaliate against communities that interfered with their business or that of the slave hunters, such as sheltering escaped slavers. The people of Klamath privately opposed slavery but did so quietly to avoid the wrath of the slavers. Klamath also kept a low profile to avoid the attention of the local Badges, allies of the Slavers. Being off the Open Road helped them do both, but they were still an important secondary trade route east.
In general the Slavers (at least on the west coast) had a strong commercial motive, but also strongly believe that slavery was something that the Founding Fathers approved of and felt was important (after all, the Founding Fathers were all slave owners, too). Further, for generations they have tried to foster the belief that abolition was only imposed upon the unwilling states through government interference (a war) and resulting from judicial activism, a hijacked Constitution, the ACLU, etc. The nearest branch, the Western Slavers Guild, was located in a former casino in Taho, Nevada.
That evening, Breckenridge talked to the as-yet nameless victim, using his training in trauma and sexual assault counseling, assisted by Melissa Wolkeweitz. The former hostage finally opened up, revealing her name (Jennifer Sims), but she was unable to tell them much else.
After finishing talking to the Governor, the team made a report to Prime (using a wire antenna looped through the rafters of the barn) and went to sleep for the night in the tavern and barn. In the morning the team traded for supplies and Breckenridge met with the local EmDee in order to run a clinic. The EmDee, Doc Winslowe, had a facial tattoo of a caduceus to denote her status as a medical professional. Doc Winslowe offered to take care of Jennifer as it was clear further travel would imperil her fragile mental state, and the Team eagerly accepted the offer. Further trades and commerce was conducted prior to the team's departure.
A final call to Prime for further instructions and intelligence on their planned route (through eastern Washington, southern Idaho towards the Colorado border) surprisingly yielded additional information from another active team Specialty QP-11 (PSYOPS), located in the Puget Sound and part of Combined Group Seattle.