Violet Day 15 - part 1

This week there will be no Bushido updates (boo, hiss!) instead I have a two part ATZ AAR that's been sitting in my drafts for way too long. You may remember from last time That Violet was speeding away from the suburbs of Jungville, the AAR conclusion can be found here. Anyhoo the story continues....

The tears would not stop flowing, filling her eyes and streaming down her cheeks, a constant reminder that she had let her survival instincts over-ride her sense of decency.  Violet looked into the rear view mirror of her "borrowed" car hoping that the final scene of Maggie's demise would be re-written.  The sight of Kitty (another girl abandoned) tearing out her companion's throat was almost too much to bear and Violet stifled a sob as her tortured mind played it out over and over again.  She needed to stop, she needed to take stock and process the guilt that was eating her up, she needed to rest and she needed to find out what the hell was going on!

"byt' po semu" she said out loud in Russian (as she always did when under stress) "So be it" she repeated in English. She would find a little house out in the countryside somewhere and catch her breath. Up ahead a huge plume of smoke billowing up into the atmosphere brought her back to the here and now and she had to slam on the brakes as she saw the flashing lights of an ambulance blocking the road in front, behind that was a police car and more importantly behind that was a huge truck on it's side and on fire!  

"What now?" she muttered to her self as she stepped out of the vehicle, carefully hiding the assault rifle she had taken from the Guard back in Jungville under the coat she had taken from the farm house (sigh, more guilt) and strapped on Ran'un or Storm Cloud - the heirloom katana she had taken from Vlad (no guilt on that one) after he had murdered her friend Stefan. Striding over to the paramedics who were standing by the ambulance she went to find out what the hell was going on now.

Violet day 15 

ok its been a while since the last episode of Violet's adventures in Z land, you can read the last part here. After driving off and abandoning Maggie, Violet is consumed with guilt. She had hoped that she had suppressed her ruthless nature when she had run away from her possessive father. She has tried to reason it out by telling herself that Maggie’s zombie bite had condemned the quiet, competent woman to her death anyway, but it isn’t sitting right with her.  Tired and lonely she decides she needs to find somewhere to get her thoughts straight and  heads back out of the ‘burbs to find a farm where she can rest and recuperate.  

This is a take back mission, where Violet needs to find a safe place to rest I.e. the farm house. However in the way is an overturned truck that is blocking the turn off.  The emergency services are in attendance and are also blocking the road (I keep forgetting in my games to involve the police after shots being fired, so decided to include them from the start……) 

the crash site

So Violet comes in on section 8 in her sedan.  All of the PEFs are rep 5 and there are two in section 4 – one behind the wreck another in the wheat field. The last PEF is behind the bushes but on the road in section 6. I roll an initial 5 zeds when first coming on the board. I rule that the truck on fire will attract a further PEF onto the board via a randomly determined road edge, with a maximum number of three on the board at any one time until 10 turns have been played in total (just for fun!). The police officers are sergeant Roberts (rep 4) and officer Jones (rep 4) both armed with BAPs. The paramedics are both unarmed and rep 3, Katie and Andy. 

V comes on the board, note the PEF's are marked by red dice and a BA pin  marker

• Turn 1  
• V has to stop her car because of the road block and turns the engine off. The noise still attracts two more zeds from the ruins on the hill. V gets out of the car, careful to hide her (stolen) assault rifle under her (stolen) coat. Naturally distrustful of the police, due to her upbringing (and conscious of all the stolen gear!) she heads towards the paramedics to find out what’s going on. 
• Meet and greet – one success each and the group exchange pleasantries. The paramedics explain that they are waiting on the Fire service to put out the truck.  They also tell V to watch out for some citizens who have been walking around attacking people as they appear to be infected with an unknown contagion. 
• The zeds close in on the humans. The PEF in the wheat field exits and crosses over the road without being revealed. The other section 4 PEF moves away from the group up the road but out of LOS so still unrevealed. The other PEF moves through the woods toward V. 

• Turn 2  
• Sarge Roberts spots a zed in the woods and calls out to everybody, making them aware of the danger around them, lifting his service pistol he shoots and “kills” the zed on its own.  Officer Jones peels off to the other side and spots a larger group, shooting and killing the closest, his shots generate a zed (the driver of the truck who was ejected in the crash) 
• The paramedics get into the ambulance and decide to make a break for it, being unarmed but the ambo doesn’t start…. But does generate 2 zeds. 
• The zeds get closer, the PEF in the woods comes closer and into line of sight of Roberts, revealing nothing! 
• The PEF closest to the truck  gets revealed by Jones LOS and nothing! (Curse these rural settings!) 
• The other retreats up the road.  
• Violet decides to let the police handle the zeds and leaps the bushes lining the road and jogs through the woods (visibility reduced to 12”) 

• Turn 3  
• Two PEFs enter from the north road both (rep 5) 
• Only the emergency services move this turn, the ambo still doesn't start and 3 more zeds are generated. 
• Roberts takes up position between the ambo and squad car shooting a zed and killing it.  Jones stays where he is knocking over a second but generating a zed close to V! 

• Turn 4 
• V spots the zed and shoots him with the AR stashed under her coat, it goes down in a hail of bullets. Crossing the road to head toward the farm house she spots all three PEFs. The first is nothing, the second is some spooky shadows that raise the ER to 2 and that enables the third to be revealed as a single zed. 
• The paramedics finally get the ambo started and slam it in reverse racing up to the edge of the road and generating a zed and exposing Roberts. 
• Roberts shooting and knocking down a zed, calls over to Jones enquiringly about the gunfire from the woods, Jones who shoots “dead” a zed in the woods, just shrugs his shoulders and wonders where the hot Russian chick went. They generate 2 zeds between them, one just behind V (again) 
• The zeds close in…. 

• Turn 5 
• 2 PEFs appear on the north road and are immediately in V's LOS. The first is nothing and the second increases the ER to 3. A third PEF appears on the west road and in LOS of officer Jones and is 3 zeds. 
• The zeds are the only ones to activate and the police are in trouble each being charged by 5 zeds. 
• Roberts passes his reaction to charge and shoots twice, missing both times. The zeds are rolling 7d6 and he rolls just 4. The result is 4:2 in the zeds favour and he is reduced to rep 3, 5:2 in the next round and he’s down to rep 2, 4:1 in the third and 3:1 in the last and the sarge gets swarmed and goes down….. (Feast lasts for 4 turns) 
• Jones passes his charged in melee test and shoots and kills a zed. They are rolling 6d6 to his 4. The first round 5:3 in the zeds favour, 4:3 in the second, 3:2 in the third and 3:1 in the last before he too succumbs. The feast lasts 5 turns 

• Turn 6 
• The zeds chow down on the cops with a couple of late comers joining the feast. One spots V and heads toward her. 
• 3 new PEFs arrive. One from the south road (rep 3) one from the west road (rep 4) and one from the east road which is revealed as a bad case of the jitters and the ER goes up to 4! 

•  Turn 7 
• A new PEF arrives on the south road 
• Violet moves closer to the barn and picks off the lone zed with her AR but generates 2! 
• All the zeds that aren't feasting head towards V 
• The newly arrived PEF heads toward her as well. 

• Turn 8 
• The PEF by on the west road moves forward and hides behind the truck 

• The zeds feasting on Roberts disperse with 4 of them spotting V and heading her way. The rest of the zeds head toward her. 
• V ducks between the two buildings and manages to take out a zed  

• Turn 9 
• V goes first, I want to charge a lone zed in melee but she fails her brown pants roll and ducks back behind the farm house. 
• The zeds feasting on Jones disperse 
• All the other zeds head toward the last sighting of V

• Turn 10 
• V steps out from around the barn (she recovers from duck back 2d6, she is the star!) and takes a shot at the closest two zeds, missing both (star!?!) 

• The zeds all head toward her. 

Violet pulled the trigger, the rifle was on full auto and she sprayed the area in front of her with bullets. The zombies she had been hoping to hit moved ever closer,"Kagogo Cherta!?!" she screamed, "what the hell". 

Discretion being better than valour, V retreated behind the farm house once more to check the load out of her assault rifle, "bloody shoddy American gun" she thought to herself, wishing she had a more familiar AK or something.  This was getting serious again, she had thought that with the Politsiya nearby that she would be a bit safer, but those poor "duraki" - fools had gone down hard under a flood of the infected and now she was once again fighting it out with the undead on her own. 

• Turn 11 
• No more extra PEFs will be generated 
• V retreats once again behind the farm house, this time on purpose and picks off the redneck zed by the barn. Generates a zed on the road by the truck 

• Turn 12 
• V attempts to charge again and can't quite muster the courage, ducking back again 
• Turn 13 
• Double six rolled so the morning becomes the day time segment. 
• Turn 14 
• Zeds close in on V 

• Turn 15 
• 2 zeds charge V who ducks back onto the north road and reveals a PEF to be 2 citizens, the meet and greet is a draw and the two men, one armed with a shotgun – Johnnie (rep 3) and one armed with a knife – Phil (rep 2) just exchange pleasantries. V gets charged by a lone zed and draws her katana, slicing it to bits 

• While she's in the mood she charges a lone zed in her nightdress and puts her down too! 

• Turn 16 
• The boys go first and head up the north road looking for the table edge, Johnnie shoots and knocks down the dead cop. 
• V moves around the edge of the wheat field looking to pick off stragglers and shoots one by the west road and reveals the PEF lurking behind the wreck and reveal 3 more citizens. Lyla (rep4) with a shot gun, Frank (rep3) with a pistol and Rhianne (rep3) with a pistol. The groups exchange pleasantries as well… 

• Turn 17 
• Zeds go first and a group of 4 zeds tries to move in between Johnnie and Phil and escape. 
• V shoots a stray zed by the farm house 
• Johnnie and Phil skirt the big group of zeds and scamper off the board on the north road shooting a zed dead on the way past. 
• The other group of citizens head down the east road (I randomly rolled their exit point as they were at the junction) shooting a zed on the way, but generating one.. 

• Turn 18 
• V realises she left the keys to her car in the ignition….. 
• Turn 19 
• The zed that is lurking behind the wreck and recently generated by the Lyla’s band turns out to be Lorna (rep2) armed with a knife. Meet and greet goes well for V and Lorna agrees to run with V 

• Turn 20 
• Since the boys escaped down the north road, the zeds spy V and head toward her. 
• V heads over to join Lorna and picks off a zed from the group on the north road.

"Hey, don't shoot! I'm not one of them things, I'm human. Don't shoot"  Violet dropped the sights of her rifle down a little, not all the way, she was becoming wise to the new world order but a little.  The voice was coming from behind the wreckage of the military vehicle that was the root cause of V's latest headache.  With her hands in the air and woman dressed in a neat business suit and carrying a rather nasty looking meat cleaver came out from behind the truck.

"My name's Lorna, please don't hurt me i'm human i swear".  Violet grunted an acknowledgement as if to say it was obvious by the way she was speaking. 

"My name is Violet, what are you doing here Lorna?" Violet indicated with the barrel of the gun for Lorna to put her hands down.

"Same as you I guess, the crash blocked my path.  the group I was with turned back and headed back to the city but i didn't want to go back to that hellhole so jumped out and went over to speak to the cops when those things attacked!"

"We can talk about it later, there are too many of those damned dead-heads around!" said the lithe Russian, gesturing again with the rifle and taking a shot at a zed that was getting a little too close.  "Let's go!"