A CALDOR Merc Contract from Elders:
BLACK MARKET CONTRACT: OPERATION TUNNEL-RUN
Contract ID: WHISKER-6-ALPHA-9 Employer: Captain Kai Tai, 1st Armored Rodent Div., Fort Iron Whiskers (The "True Citizens") Subject: Heavy Escort & Defensive Security (Mercenary Grade)
1. MISSION OVERVIEW
The Employer is conducting an emergency evacuation of "Non-Combatant True Citizens" (150+ mutant rat women and children) from Fort Iron Whiskers. The convoy consists of three heavy transport crawlers and the command vehicle The Liberator's Maw.
Due to imminent Coalition States (CS) gas attacks and "Dog Boy" sweeps, the convoy will utilize an "Underground Railroad" route—a series of pre-dug tunnels and canyon floor passes heading West toward the neutral territories.
2. CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES
Vanguard Defense: Neutralize CS scouting parties (Skycycles/Hoverbikes) before they can radio convoy coordinates.
NBC Defense: Provide active counter-measures against CS chemical agents (Gas). Contractors must possess their own sealed Environmental Armor or power armor.
Tunnel Integrity: Protect the tunneling vehicles from structural sabotage or "burrowing" threats.
No Retreat: Contractors are expected to hold the line at the "Extraction Point" until the final transport has breached the surface at the safe zone.
3. COMPENSATION & BOUNTY
Base Pay: 500,000 Universal Credits per squad, per 24-hour cycle. +1 Million if All Elders and Children make it alive.
Hazard Pay: A bonus of 15,000 Credits for every confirmed CS "Deadboy" helmet or Dog Boy tag recovered.
Salvage Rights: Contractors retain 70% of all salvaged CS gear (Deadboy armor, C-12 rifles, etc.). The remaining 30% must be offered to Fort Iron Whiskers for "Citizenship Tax" at fair market value.
Special Bonus: The Captain offers one (1) "Golden Squeak" pass—lifetime amnesty and free repairs at any Iron Whisker-affiliated chop-shop.
CONVICTION OF TERMS
Contractor Signature: ___________________________ Authorized by: Capt. Kai Tai (Rank: O-3, US Army - Pecos Div)
B CAMERON
SECURE UPLINK: ORDER OF THE CYBER-KNIGHTS
SOURCE: UNIT-JUMBLES // AI DESIGNATION: "STALLION-LOGIC" TARGET: [ENCRYPTED] COMMAND PRECEPTORY / HIGH COUNCIL ARCHIVE PRIORITY: DELTA-REPORT (AUTOMATED VALOR MONITORING)
[PROTOCOL 01: MISSION LOGGING] Knight Cameron Case has formally engaged in a defensive contract with the non-human entity designated Captain Kai Tai of the "Fort Iron Whiskers" (Mutant Rodent Collective).
[SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS] Subject is attempting a mass evacuation of approximately 150+ non-combatant sentient mutants (biological classification: Rodentia Sapiens). Threat assessment confirms Coalition States (CS) deployment of chemical dispersal units. CS intent: Total eradication of "sub-human" enclave via neurotoxin gas.
[AI MORAL ALIGNMENT CHECK]
Action: Defending the defenseless? YES.
Opposition: Tyrannical aggression? YES.
Personal Gain: Negligible (Contract credits redirected to "Jumbles" maintenance and convoy rations).
Risk Level: EXTREME (CS Black Ops detachment in pursuit).
[JUMBLES’ AI COMMENTARY] I am programmed by Northern Gun, but my "Knight-Watch" subroutines are dictated by your Council. Cameron didn't even read the pay scale. She saw a mother rat clutching a kit and her heart rate spiked 40 beats per minute. My logic processors suggested a strategic withdrawal; Cameron countered by drawing her Psi-Sword. My servos are now locked into a high-speed vanguard formation.
[COMMAND PROTOCOL: VALOR/CENSURE DETERMINATION]
AUTOMATED JUDGMENT: In accordance with the Code of the White Rose, protecting those deemed "monsters" by the CS—who show no malice and seek only survival—is a Grade-A act of Valor.
REWARD ISSUED: +5 Favor with Cyber-Knight Command.
STATUS: "The Path of the Just."
COUNCIL NOTIFICATION: If Cameron Case falls in this defense, her name is to be inscribed in the Hall of the Unforgotten.
[ENCODED ENVELOPE ATTACHED] Message for Cameron
Cameron, your mount has reported your choice. The Council watches through the machine’s eyes. You have chosen the hard road—the one that leads underground into the dark to save those the world has spat upon. Stand firm. The Light of the Rose burns brightest in the deepest tunnels."
[SIGNAL TERMINATED // TRACKING ACTIVE]
C Kai
The Rats gets a report over radio about a UAR-1 Enforcer robot near the group's position that is close enough to possible have already detected the nuclear power sourice of the group's robot vehicle.
PRIORITY BURST TRANSMISSION
ORIGIN: Scout-Squeaker 09 (Designation: "Half-Tail")
TO: The Whisker-Council, Fort Iron Whiskers
SUBJECT: Blood-Debt and Iron-Giants
THE MASSACRE REPORT
Elders, the scent of ozone and burnt fur still clings to my whiskers. Twitch and Squeal are gone. They died in the Red-Gorge trying to reclaim the pelt of Brother-Biter. They were brave, but they were fighting a machine made of hate and pre-Cataclysm steel.
The "Deadboy" is wounded—broken in the middle like a snapped twig—but the Great Iron-Giant (UAR-1) dragged him from the rocks. They are not retreating. They are occupying.
SENSOR SCAN: THE INVADERS
I have remained downwind, belly-crawling through the irradiated scrub to bring you these readings. My optics are cracked, but the signatures are unmistakable.
1. The Nuclear Signature (UAR-1 Enforcer)
The beast hums with a sickness that makes my teeth ache. It is a walking reactor.
Engine Type: Fission-Core (Standard Coalition Issue).
Thermal Output: Massive. It is a sun walking on two legs.
Acoustic Profile: Heavy thuds at 1.2-second intervals. It is distracted, currently "watching" the canyon floor.
2. The Platoon Strength
This was not a solo patrol. A full "Fire-Support Spearhead" is dug in three miles North-Northwest of the Red-Gorge.
Infantry: 12 Deadboys (Mark V Armor), currently setting up a perimeter.
Support: 2 Spider-Skulls (Light Recon Walkers) are skittering on the ridgeline.
Status: They are waiting for a Medevac-Sams for the broken one.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS: "THE DUST-GHOSTS"
The Great Mother is angry today. The spirits of the Badlands are trying to choke the invaders, but the Coalition filters are holding.
Visibility: 15 meters. A Heavy Silica Storm has rolled in. The sand is charged with static electricity ($+15\%$ interference to long-range comms).
Air Quality: Toxic. High concentrations of sulfur and radioactive grit. The "Deadboys" won't dare crack their helmets here.
ATTACHED DRAWING: THE "ENFORCER" DATA-TRACE
Hand-sketched on a digital slate via multi-optic overlay:
"The Skull-Walker"
Head: A grinning death-mask. It houses the pilot and the main sensor suite. Aim for the glass-slits with the heavy rifles if we have them.
Right Arm: Massive rail gun. If it points at you, you are already dead.
Shoulders: Loaded with missile tubes. Do not group up. If we swarm, we die in clusters.
SCOUT’S RECOMMENDATION
They have the broken one in a stasis-bag. He is screaming, even through the morphine. The Pilot of the Giant—the one who collapsed the rocks—is sloppy. He trusts his sensors too much in this dust storm.
The Plan: We wait for the silica storm to peak. The static will blind their radar. We move in with the scrap-bombs while they are busy loading the wounded "Deadboy" onto the transport.
REPAY THEM IN RUST AND BLOOD.
Transmission Ends.
D Towjam hears black market chatter about the contract the Rats to survive and get a copy of what the Elders are about to sign. He can choose to stop them, change the contract, explain the blackmarket concepts of the contract, or do nothing.
Towjam Smuggler assessment:
The Patron: Emperor Sabre Lasar
While most bandit leaders might view a tribe of mutant rats as vermin or a snack for their mounts, Sabre Lasar is a visionary strategist. He doesn't just want to raid; he wants to build a nation.
Why Sabre Lasar?
The Technology Connection: Lasar is the primary partner of Bandito Arms. He has the technical infrastructure and the spare parts (salvaged from his wars with the Coalition) that the Iron Whiskers need to maintain their massive, frankensteined mechanical homes.
The "Outcast" Umbrella: Lasar’s Pecos Empire is a melting pot of D-Bees, mutants, and outlaws. He values utility over aesthetics. If a group of mutant rats can provide a mobile, burrowing fortress, he will grant them "Imperial" protection.
The Siege Engine: Lasar constantly eyes the Coalition’s Lone Star Complex. A tribe that can dig under CS fortifications using "Fort Iron Whiskers" is a strategic asset he cannot ignore.
Integration: The Iron Whiskers in the Empire
The relationship would likely be a Rating 4 (Trusted Associates) on your scale.
The Role: They act as the Empire's Sappers and Salvage Corps. When Lasar’s army moves, the Iron Whiskers travel beneath or alongside them, providing a mobile supply depot and a subterranean flanking option.
The Economy: In exchange for "protection," the Iron Whiskers provide Lasar with expert mechanical scavenging. Because they are small and numerous, they can strip a downed CS Spider Skull Walker in hours, dragging the "organs" back into their towed storage containers.
Interaction with the Black Market
Because they follow Sabre Lasar, their relationship with the Market is filtered through his alliances:
Bandito Arms (Rating 5): The rats are likely "Technical Consultants" for Bandito Arms. They find the rare pre-Rifts components in the dirt that the Market can't find elsewhere. The rats get high-grade welding fuel; the Market gets "lost" tech.
The Chicago Network (Rating 1 - Enemies): The Network hates the Iron Whiskers. The rats have a habit of "accidentally" tunneling into the Network’s secret underground smuggling vaults in the Burbs and "liberating" the contents. To the rats, it’s just scavenging; to the Network, it’s a declaration of war.
"Fort Iron Whiskers" Tactical Stats
The Burrowing Shell: The central units of the fort are modified Coalition Mark V APCs or Titan Robotics torsos, stripped of armor and fitted with massive industrial drills.
The Towed "Warrens": The storage containers are reinforced with MDC (Mega-Damage Capacity) scrap plating, making the moving caravan look like a giant, rusted mechanical centipede.
Towjam Smuggler Hacked Copy of Contract aquired from his blackmarket contacts over radio:
This document serves as a binding Blood and Iron Compact between the sovereign authority of the Pecos Empire and the High Skitter-Council of the Iron Whiskers.
THE TREATY OF THE SUBTERRANEAN MARCH
BETWEEN: His Imperial Might, Emperor Sabre Lasar, Lord of the Pecos, Scourge of Lone Star (hereafter "The Emperor").
AND: The Elder Trinity of Fort Iron Whiskers: 1. Elder Twitch-Eye (Master of the Great Drills) 2. Elder Squeak-Gear (High Scavenger and Tech-Shaman) 3. Elder Long-Tail (Mistress of the Warren-Logistics) (hereafter "The Iron Whiskers").
I. GRANT OF TERRITORIAL NAVIGATION
The Emperor hereby grants the Iron Whiskers a Perpetual Right of Transit through all Imperial-claimed lands.
The Low-Road Proviso: The Iron Whiskers are authorized to excavate subterranean transit lanes beneath the wastes, provided such tunnels do not undermine the structural integrity of the Emperor’s primary fortresses.
Navigation Data: The Emperor shall provide encrypted topographic and geological data-slugs, detailing Coalition patrol routes and mineral-rich "dead zones" suitable for Fort Iron Whiskers to deploy "Root-Mode."
II. LETTERS OF SETTLEMENT
In recognition of their status as Imperial Subjects, the Iron Whiskers are granted Sovereign Burrowing Rights in the "Dust-Bowl Sector." They may establish permanent nest-cities and scrap-yards, which shall be recognized as protected Imperial protectorates. Any attack on Fort Iron Whiskers shall be viewed as an attack on the Emperor himself.
III. THE LETTERS OF MARQUE (The Blood Debt)
In exchange for the aforementioned lands, the Elder Trinity hereby pledges the tribe’s mechanical might to the Emperor’s cause.
Privateer Status: The Iron Whiskers are commissioned as Imperial Sappers. They are authorized to seize, dismantle, and "repurpose" any Coalition States (CS) or Chicago Network assets encountered in the wastes.
The Tithe: 20% of all recovered "High-Tech Salvage" (Nuclear power cells, intact sensors, and heavy plating) must be delivered to the Emperor’s depots. The Iron Whiskers retain all "Edibles," "Soft-Goods," and "Scrap-Metal."
Active Support: Upon the Emperor’s command, the Iron Whiskers must provide subterranean flanking, tunnel-sabotage of CS perimeter fences, and "Fortress Deployment" during active sieges.
IV. COVENANT OF THE BLACK MARKET
The Iron Whiskers agree to prioritize trade with Bandito Arms for all industrial lubricant and welding needs. Interaction with The Chicago Network is strictly prohibited; any Network smugglers found within "Whiskers-Reach" are to be treated as hostile salvage.
SIGNATORIES
For the Pecos Empire: Always Signed in the blood of a Coalition Dog Boy, [Seal of the Sabre] Emperor Sabre Lasar
For the Iron Whiskers: UNSIGNED [Paw-Mark of Twitch-Eye] [Paw-Mark of Squeak-Gear] [Paw-Mark of Long-Tail]
