WW3 - Session Notes - “A Lucky Break at Satus Peak”
Session #4, March 11, 2022
After exhaustive analysis of movement and attack patterns, the Dragoon intel group agreed that they were most likely to catch a break by keeping a close eye on the southern part of the Yakama Nation, near Toppenish Ridge (Hembre Mountain to Toppenish Mountain). The squad mounted foot and truck patrols, but made heavy use of a small RC traffic surveillance drone found in storage at the YCSD offices. The drone, lightweight and solar powered, allowed SPC Vandergriff and SGT Thompson (the squad’s “Intel Group”) to watch large areas of countryside with little effort. SGT Copley took a team to the north, to patrol areas previously hit by raiders. CPL Davies took a bike and rode west, trying to take a break from the constant MEDCAP duties, which played a vital role in generating goodwill among their somewhat reserved Yakama hosts.
Within a short time, the drone observed a small, suspiciously armed group on the southern slopes of Satus Peak. Taking a gamble, SGT Korilov quickly sortied out with two teams of YCSD deputies, meeting SGT Copley and his team, who had just returned from a relatively quiet patrol around Tieton and HWY 12 in the North. The large combined group advanced south into the rugged countryside, making hostile contact within short order. After a short exchange of fire with a sniper on Satus Peak, and a small firefight with a number of NAF insurgents in the woods, the Dragoons were able to take two wounded prisoners back to Chief Farmer’s station in Harrah for interrogation. Both men were easily identifiable as NAF members by their tattoos and excellent physical conditioning. SGT Thompson, assisted by CPL Davies and her medical bag, the Dragoons gleaned the following information:
1) The captured NAF insurgents, named Shawn Rich and JC Rudel, were part of a team operating to the south, which was in turn part of a larger raiding party. There are 15-20 in the entire group, which maintains a forward base at someplace called “Oak Creek”, to the northwest. The raiders made heavy use of annotated copies of detailed hiking guides of the region, allowing them to navigate the back country with some ease. The raiders are armed with a mix of US and Commie-Bloc weaponry, a leftover from Rojay covert assistance to the rebels during the Second Civil War… not a surprise at all.
2) The raiding party was led by a man named Bryan Mercer, who the PC’s theorize is a relative of Dwayne Mercer, one of the MC Consulate staff. When the Dragoons and deputies sortied out, the MC Consulate transmitted a coded message on open channels - first the radio tech said “FAMILY FLASH, FAMILY FLASH“, then handed the mike to Dwayne Mercer. Mercer then spoke a short repeating coded message in some unknown language, possibly Germanic. It seemed like he was having some difficulty speaking the language, as though it was not one he used a lot. The prisoners had heard Bryan Mercer use this language on the radio, but didn’t know what it was, or who exactly he was talking to. “Need-to-fucking-know, he said. We didn’t ask - that’d get your ass kicked.“.
3) The NAF force is part of a much larger group called the “Sammamish Lodge“, located somewhere in Sammamish, WA. This is a suburb of Seattle, easily located on any atlas. This “lodge” apparently is home to 150+ NAF fighters, a significant force by any measure. Apparently one of the primary goals of the NAF raiding party, in addition to whatever MC political objectives were served, was to capture slaves. These slaves were then to be sold, according to both prisoners, to “the Russians”. Apparently someone called the “Baron of Seattle” was acquiring slaves and selling them to “the Russians”, and the NAF leaders were interested in eliminating the middle man and selling directly to the “Russians”. Neither prisoner had any real idea where the “Russians” were or how to contact or locate them.
Jason adds:
“Oak Creek is a hunting lodge out past Tieton, which is their forward base of operations. There should be a couple RPGs and a PK machine gun that make up the base’s defenses.
The group lead by a Rudy West is most likely responsible for the attacks to the south (#s 7 & 8 on the map), as the group we hit have not raided anyone yet. Other possible group leader names mentioned: Jessie Burunda, Jaime Gallow and Ted Garmony (spellings might be off on the names).
Someone called Clayton, who might be the leader of this NAF Lodge in Samammish, is the one who thinks a better deal can be made going directly to the Russians.
The group we found had some night vision gear (two pre-war NVGs) and thermo-camoflage blankets to conceal themselves from us.
JC was the more talkative of the two prisoners, as he was a sniper who will now have the nickname “lefty” thanks to Chloe’s shot into his rifle’s breech after Joss drew his fire. I suspect that the other one would’ve talked more if his face was more intact (Thompson got in a good punch with CID gauntlets, poor little NAF Raider).
The local map they were using was the 2017 edition of the Hiker’s Helper, Central Eastern Washington Edition. About a dozen places are maked on these maps in this book, which the NAF use as meeting and rally points.”
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Captured Equipment
JC Rudel - smashed Remington 700, .454 Casull revolver, 40rds of .308 match, NVG’s
Shawn Rich - AK47 “Krinkov” and suppressor (not attached), NVG’s,
NAF 3 - M4 carbine and suppressor (not attached), .38 revolver,
NAF 4 - AK47, Norinco 75rd drum, and suppressor (not attached), 9mm automatic, NVG’s
NAF 5 - Remington 870 (tacticool), TEC-9 (w/ aftermarket integral suppressor), katana,
NAF 6 - M4 carbine and suppressor (not attached), 9mm automatic,
When you combine the NAF ammo load together, you get the following:
12 AK magazines (30)
1 AK drum (75)
10 AR magazines (30)
5 Glock 9mm magazines (18)
3 TEC-9 magazines (25)
20rds .38 special
7rd .454 Casull
4 HE/Frag grenades
The NVG’s are all of the less advanced TL8 sort that we have today, giving “Night Vision +7″. All NAF members were armed with a variety of knives and tomahawks, one of which was a “superfine” quality TL9 knife (+2 damages, 1/2DR), superior to yours (which are “very fine”). The group had a first aid kit, three IR-cloaks (-2 to detect), a crank charger for batteries, three walkie-talkies (indicating that they probably deploy in pairs), sparse food and water for the group for an additional four days in the field, an old copy of “The Turner Diaries”, a well marked copy of “The Rising Storm” (Franklin Hart’s rambling manifesto for the “Homeland Movement”), and a small plastic bottle with a couple dozen home-made uppers or “stims”. All of their equipment, kit, and clothing is old, worn, but as well maintained as circumstances allow - none of it was simply neglected.
Looking at the physical conditioning of the NAF fighters, their limited camping comforts, and their ability to move overland long distances gives you a healthy respect for their potential abilities. NAF fighters are rarely formally trained, and only a couple of these guys look old enough to be CW2 veterans, but they were brave and tough considering what they were facing. Meeting NAF on anything approaching an even footing would be “exciting” to say the least.