Lt. Benito Tecumseh Pain

[headquarters]

LA July 4th 1200hrs Temperature 25 C*

A merciless wind howled around the corners of the Library Tower ,whirling clouds of finely powdered ,grey dust up to coat the outside of the NBC - proof windows.20 stories below a ragged line of huddled workers shuffled uncomfortably out into the RAD storm escorted by the MOPP Suited guards.They were heading to the ruins due north to start rebuilding or looting yet another dilapidated structure.General Pain watched them with eyes red and sore from the amount of booze he had helped himself to .He threw his gunbelt on the table without noticing the dent it gave the polished wood.
He ran a few fingers over his scalp and closed his eyes as he brought the hand down to see."..Hay una historia linda ..Un historia de mi amor...He hissed the Norteno ballad under his breath and opened his eyes .
He looked at the hair coming of his head and swore. Rad sickness had made his gums sore,made him puke for days,loose 35 pounds ,shit liquid for over a forthnight,put him down and out with fatigue countless times (whiskey didnt help -but couldnt possibly hurt either he found).And now the shit was taking his hair.Maybe it would grow out with red curls .He gave a little steely sneer of mirth

Outside to the east the ruins of the once majestic downtown sector lay gaping with mangled skeletons of the once huge buildings.A million pieces of broken glass made the dust shimmer with whatever light there was to reflect ,making the ground close to the once gleaming office buildings seem almost fluorescent .Some steadily decomposing cadavers in a street far below had attracted another pack of dogs.The guards fired of a few shots winging one of them as they scampered over the rubble to get away.Nothing unauthorized was allowed to breathe in the secure area around his beloved Library tower.Those dogs would kill and eat anyone not armed if they had their chance anyway.He sipped his herbal tea and gathered his wolf coat around him .That damn kne was acting up again .You would think several generations of WWI and II amputees would have laid the groundwork for the design of his leg.It still made his knee where it buckled on stiff and sore from time to time.Below and further out east ,tracers flashed across the grey ruins .A patrol was clearing a building suspected of marauder or insurgent elements.He watched the small pricks of yellow tracer hiss across the street in front of the building ,raking the door .Some tracers zapped the other way.

But the gangs to the east were a nuisance at most ,denying the area only halfheartidly and never fighting efficiently enough to throw him back .The marauders to his south also so -tougher in terms of available firepower but still basically the same.

It was the north and west sectors that bothered him .The North .Only 10 kilometeres out the loyal men and women of his former organization were squabbling over what to do no that he was MIA , presumed KIA.None of them had taken well the proposal for a sit down and some had threathened immideate attack.

But the west was different .The sectorcommander in this -the last of the four uncontrolled areas that surrounded his headquarters was welcoming him with open arms and callling for his urgent transportation to meet up under the sector commanders protection.All the others had warned him not to try and assert his authority and keep well away -even if he in deed was General Pain ,alive and in the flesh.

But the western sector commander was different .He respectfully urged him to come and meet him -as father and son .

[General Pain]

After a plot by General Pain's son ;George Michal Zorg Pain ,the honourable General Pain tried to have his incolent offspring killed. But the little twerp seemed to have learned a trick or two from his heroic father and escaped his kill squads. Much to the General's disapointment.

[headquarters]

LA has suffered badly after the terrorist attacks of 2004.The acts of terror destroyed several blocks of the city and killed tens of thousands of inhabitants.The breakdown and consequent efforts to restore law and order and stabilize the supply situation immideately after, killed hundreds of thousands.

The retaliatory attacks made by the US of A -its last move as a sovereign and undivided nation - prompted a response in kind form the former partners in the mutual assured destruction death pact.The exchange was limited however ,for reasons unknown.

Having been the target for several nuclear devices on two differnt occassions did not do much to improve the LA smog at first .But as the milions of citizens flooded the countryside and the makeshift FEMA camps north and north west of the city and the fires that ravaged it had died down ,it began to dissolve never to return.The city ,nuked,burned and the scene of bitter fighting between various agencies and their civillian opponents soon settled into its routine as a ghost town of immense proportions.The wind blew down empty streets filled with wrecked cars and litter .It seemed desolate .But it really wasnt .Scavengers scampered over the debris to get what supplies they could.Small groups of survivors huddled in their makeshift fortifications squinting into the dark at night to spot any marauding intruder bent on taking food or women.

Shots rang out from time to time as a pack of dogs got to come too close for comfort or two different groups came upon the same cache at the same time.

Gangs in gaudily painted vehicles -some of them grafittied LAPD cruisers roamed the streets .Being alone and unarmed made it a matter of time before you succumbed.

The sudden and violent grab for control by the organized and well supplied Praetorian guards of General Pain and his cult of postapocalyptic acolytes sent shocks through the precarious system of gangland rules and territorial agreements that had become LA 5 years later.

Shock troops wearing body armour and wielding AKs with plenty ammunition mowed down any and all opposition ,quickly establishing the new order.

Years of relative peace followed.Although war against outsiders still raged .MilGov bombed the ruined city from time to time .Small rebellions occured that gen.PAin put down with as much collateral damage as possible in the rebel camps.

As the supplies became steady order and loyalty increased.Give a man food enough to live and you would be amazed of the lengths he will go to for you.

The relative peace was shattered after 9 years of steady growth and prosperity.The crops from all the little and big plots in LA and the herds of livestock, (much of it was rabbits and rats - but hey -they taste like chicken with enough salt) ,were almost feeding 250 000 people by then .The fisheries another 100 000.

General Pain went missing in the middle of a threatening MilGov offensive.

Without any warning LA was hit by nuclear weapons a third time the summer of 2019.Later Pains analyzis would lead him to believe that this attack was the largest to date but locally and globally.As far as limitations in a nuclear exchange go ,he predicted that this round had seen as much as 10 000 warheads in the air .Whereas the earlier exchanges had been "token" in comparrison.

The empire broke up. Various heirs to his position - related or not - emerged with their own hierarchy of military units scrounged from his chain of command.

The gangs threw of the bonds of control he had imposed and rearmed.(They were already being armed as a "peoples militia" to ward of the expected MilGov offensive from Arizona in the spring that year.

Infighting broke loose in earnest when it became clear that PacGov wasnt coming back from this one anytime soon -and supplies were not going to be restocked.

LA is divided roughly into 5-6 general zones.
NORTH : a confederation of heirs aligned in the common cause that the man in the library tower is an impostor and should be fought -the question of succession is not settled among them either .A typical two act piece if ever there was one
West : The would be usurper Zorg George Michael Pain ( named by both his parents independently) and his loyal EndoGuard ,mostly former Pretorians and loyal auxilliaries.With his legitimacy as the oldest son and the emergency powers he has been able to utilize the 14 year old has taken control over a sizeable chunk of land and resources .His issues with daddy runs deep.This is one serious teenage trouble.

east :unconsolidated ganglands -a multitude of small and big gangs fighting eachother as much as everyone else

south : marauders and petty warlords robbing what they can and trying to copy Gen Pain and jis friends way to the top by building cantonments.Unconsolidated - largely.

Interspersed and strewn about the map are small groups of survivors and communes that try to make it .They live of whatever they can , primitive farming,all sorts of animals are eaten-and they do sometimes rob someone that wont be noticed when he doesnt return.

General Pains disaster contingency plans allowed for the situation LA is in now.Storages with supplies and caches of resources are sprinkled about the city to facilitate the defense in case of siege and/or occupation by MilGov or anyone else.The various factions are busy helping themselve sto the contents.

The Library Tower and the blocks adjacent to it is a citadel in the middle of the mayhem.no one tries anything here .It ha sartillery and sniper detailson watch all the time.

[General Pain]

ACHTUNG ACHTUNG!!!!!!!!

"Here is the latest news from GPGNAR "General Pain's Golden New Age Radio" coming to you live from Los Angeles "

The Pain Praetorians and Wolf Company are recruting...all former praetorians and WC can apply for rejoining/reunion ;families are also welcome.

The General is back and so is his forgiving nature.....

[headquarters]

LA ,July 10th 0325hrs Temperature : 22 C*

Eyes still hurting from the even the subdued emergency lighting in the corridors in his Library Tower -the General hurried angrily down towards the ops room." damn them for interupting " he snarled at the expressionless faces of his bodyguards as they marched ahead and behind him to safeguard his progress."Dont they know what kind of pressure I am under ? Do they have any idea how hard it is to sleep when the fate of everything rests on your shoulders ?" This last sentence he rasped out in an ever increasing volume ending with a high pitched ,angry yell.The sound of the boots of guards snapping to attention all over the floor -startled by his voice made him chuckle. The fear he instilled in his men still made getting up from the first night he had slept well in years kind of worth it .He entered the guarded operations room and a young lieutenant snapped to attention .

"SIR-GENERAL -SIR!" The lieutenant gave him the transcript of and nodded to his radio operator who began playing the recorded message for him .At first just radio noise and distant morsecode signals from desperate ,isolated groups that he couldnt care less about but then a pretty cleare jingle and presentors voice : This Radio America! Freedom is at hand! Rid your self of the impostors and warlords that have assumed governance of our nation!Throw the false General pain from the roof of his beloved library tower ,where he and his croonies sit with the stockpiles of emergency rations that were meant for everyone in this hour of need!

"This is the 5 itiration Sir!"

A popular song seamlessly merged and took over with repeating message " On a lost desert highway..cool wind in my hair.."

Someone who knew their way around a mixing table or a computer were doing this.

"Who is broadcasting this ?" the General demanded.

"we dont know Sir!We only have an approximate location but it would appear that some sort of improvised broadcasting equipment is set ut around 10 miles north of here " The lieutenant looked uncomfortably at the wall still standing at attention.

"Very well" the General finally said after his silence and grim stare at all the present company had lasted almost a full minute ,and finally breaking the thick suspense ." I want that radio shut down and everyone who works there interrogated and then hanged from its antenna mast as notice to the rest of the people up there.Salvage what you can though."

A nervous corporal at the door snapped to attention and handed him another message .He dismissed him and quickly skimmed the the little note .Over 100 people had gathered at the recruiting station for their rations already..

"Soon..soon".. his thoughts wandered to the image of a vast army marching forth under his banner - conquering all in its path .After all- who else was there to give them food and medical attention other than his people ? They would either march under his articles or die by their own in the ruins.

He yawned and stretched .There would be no going back to sleep now .

"Seargent! Get my armour and kit - I want to take a little field trip. there is a radio anchor man who shall have an exclusive to die for. Dont forget the rope ".

[Rupert Willies]

there is a radio anchor man who shall have an exclusive to die for. Dont forget the rope

epic comment!

I have no problems visualising this encounter.. lol

[General Pain]

location - hidden