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+<gamebook xml:lang="en-UK" version="0.11.3">
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+Revision 1.5 2006/09/06 09:01:34 Wibbleboy
+o Fixed a few formatting errors
+o Implemented series-wide consistency changes
+
+Revision 1.4 2006/06/19 08:22:53 Wibbleboy
+Made errata changes for consistency with other books in series.
+
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Applied misc formatting changes to match manual of style.
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<meta>
<title>The Omega Zone</title>
- <creator class="short">Joe Dever and Brian Williams</creator>
+ <creator class="short">Joe Dever</creator>
<creator class="medium">Joe Dever<br />Illustrated by Brian Williams</creator>
<creator class="long">
- &inclusion.joe.dever.bio.lw;
- &inclusion.brian.williams.bio.lw;
+ &inclusion.joe.dever.bio.fw;
+ &inclusion.brian.williams.bio.fw;
</creator>
<publisher>Project Aon</publisher>
- <date class="publication"><year>2005</year><month>11</month><day>25</day></date>
+ <date class="publication"><year>2005</year><month>12</month><day>17</day></date>
<description class="blurb">
<p>You are Cal Phoenix, the Freeway Warrior, champion and protector of Dallas Colony One. The third stage of your life-or-death exodus to the California coast takes your colony of survivors across the wastelands of New Mexico and Arizona, a region still blighted by lethal radioactivity. Can you find the safe route through to the sanctuary of Tuscon, or will you and your people perish in the desolation of The Omega Zone?"</p>
</description>
<description class="publication">
- <p>Internet Edition published by <a href="
http://www.projectaon.org/">Project Aon</a>. This edition is intended to reflect the complete text of the original version. Where we have made minor corrections, they will be noted in the <a idref="errata">Errata</a>.</p>
+ <p>Internet Edition published by <a href="
&link.project.website;">Project Aon</a>. This edition is intended to reflect the complete text of the original version. Where we have made minor corrections, they will be noted in the <a idref="errata">Errata</a>.</p>
</description>
<rights class="copyrights">Text copyright <ch.copy/> 1988 Joe Dever.<br />Illustrations copyright <ch.copy/> 1988 Brian Williams.</rights>
<rights class="license-notification">
</meta>
<data>
- <p><quote>I would be especially pleased if my granting of the rights to distribute my books in this way was seen as my <quote>millennium gift</quote> to all those devoted readers who have kept the Kai flag flying high, through all the good times, and the not-so-good. It would make me very proud indeed if this enterprise laid the foundations of a lasting legacy, securing the longevity of Lone Wolf by making my creation freely and readily accessible to current and future online generations. For them, for us, for Sommerlund and the Kai.<ch.ellips/></quote> <strong>Joe Dever</strong></p>
- <p>Project Aon would first like to thank Joe Dever for making this generous offering of the books that we have all loved from the beginning. We would also like to acknowledge the following members of Project Aon for their diligent work:</p>
+
+ &inclusion.joe.dever.endowment;
<section class="frontmatter" id="credits">
<meta><title>Credits</title></meta>
<data>
<dl>
<dt>Transcription</dt>
- <dd>Ryan Landek</dd>
+ <dd>Philip Baccus</dd>
<dt>Illustration Transcription</dt>
- <dd>Jonathan Blake<br />Simon Osborne</dd>
+ <dd></dd>
<dt>XML</dt>
- <dd>Jonathan Blake<br />Jeff Dougan</dd>
- <dt>Alternate Illustrations</dt>
- <dd>JC Alvarez (text illustrations and action charts)<br />Jonathan Blake (extramatter charts and tables)<br />Michael Hahn (map)</dd>
+ <dd>Jonathan Blake<br />Iain Smith</dd>
<dt>Proofreading</dt>
- <dd>Mark Laird (Sections 36<ch.endash/>70 and 281<ch.endash/>315)<br />Christian Leonhard (Sections 106<ch.endash/>140 and 211<ch.endash/>245)<br />Brad Phelps (Sections 176<ch.endash/>210)<br />Michael Richey (Sections 1<ch.endash/>35 and 316<ch.endash/>350)<br />Tyson Torres (Sections 71<ch.endash/>105, 141<ch.endash/>175 and 246<ch.endash/>280)</dd>
+ <dd>Jeff Dougan (frontmatter)<br />Frank Prather (sections 1&endash;350)</dd>
<dt>Editing</dt>
- <dd>Mike Feldman<br />Ingo Kl<ch.ouml/>cker<br />Mark Laird<br />Simon Osborne<br />Thomas Wolmer</dd>
- <dt>PDF Layout</dt>
- <dd>Ingo Kl<ch.ouml/>cker</dd>
+ <dd></dd>
+ <!-- <dt>PDF Layout</dt>
+ <dd></dd> -->
<dt>Coordination</dt>
<dd>Jonathan Blake</dd>
<dt>Special Thanks</dt>
- <dd>Pedro Almeida</dd>
+ <dd></dd>
</dl>
</data>
</section>
</meta>
<data>
- <p><strong>1900-1998</strong><br />Rise of global terrorism on an unprecedented scale. Political violence funded by organized crime syndicate called HAVOC - The Hijack, Assassination and Violent Opposition Consortium.</p>
+ <p><strong>1990-1998</strong><br />Rise of global terrorism on an unprecedented scale. Political violence funded by organized crime syndicate called HAVOC - The Hijack, Assassination and Violent Opposition Consortium.</p>
<p><strong>1998-2003</strong><br />The governments of many small and impoverished nations fall into the hands of HAVOC. International terrorists receive arms, training and shelter in these 'Badlands'.</p>
<p><strong>2003-2008</strong><br />Raids on oil and gas installations, assassinations, and the kidnapping of prominent world statesmen become commonplace as HAVOC attempt to terrorize the civilized world into submission. Despite public outrage and growing international tension, the major powers steadfastly refuse to give in to HAVOC's demands.</p>
<p><strong>2008</strong><br />President of the United States and General Secretary of Supreme Soviet both assassinated at emergency summit meeting. US, USSR and major European nations create the World Defence League and declare war on HAVOC. The Badlands are invaded, key HAVOC bases destroyed, and thousands of HAVOC agents are captured.</p>
<p><strong>2009</strong><br />HAVOC leaders imprisoned for life in 'Deep Pens' - maximum security gaols located deep underground - to prevent their escape or release by HAVOC agents still at large.</p>
<p><strong>2010</strong><br />New leadership emerges to unify the scattered remnants of HAVOC and plan revenge.</p>
<p><strong>2011</strong><br />A WDL train transporting seventeen 100-kiloton nuclear warheads, destined to be neutralized and dismantled, is attacked by HAVOC agents. The train is destroyed and its deadly cargo stolen.</p>
- <p><strong>2012 New Years Day</strong><br />HAVOC hijack a WDL news satellite and broadcast a chilling ultimatum. They have planted the seventeen stolen warheads in major cities throughout the US, USSR and Europe. They call for the immediate release of all HAVOC agents held in Deep Pens, plus the payment of $2 trillion in gold bullion, or they will trigger the warheads one by one until their demands are met in full. A twenty-four hour deadline is set. WDL leaders declare emergency and request that the deadline be extended. HAVOC refuse.</p>
+ <p><strong>2012 New Year's Day</strong><br />HAVOC hijack a WDL news satellite and broadcast a chilling ultimatum. They have planted the seventeen stolen warheads in major cities throughout the US, USSR and Europe. They call for the immediate release of all HAVOC agents held in Deep Pens, plus the payment of $2 trillion in gold bullion, or they will trigger the warheads one by one until their demands are met in full. A twenty-four hour deadline is set. WDL leaders declare emergency and request that the deadline be extended. HAVOC refuse.</p>
<p><strong>2nd January</strong><br />First warhead detonated at Brie Nuclear Energy Plant, ten miles south of Paris, France. Blast and radioactive fallout claim millions of lives. HAVOC repeat their demand and extend deadline by twenty-four hours.</p>
<p><strong>3rd January 'The Day'</strong><br />World Defence League agents discover location of HAVOC command headquarters on an island in the South Pacific Ocean. Immediately orders are given to infiltrate and destroy the HQ and its occupants. The assault is swift and decisive; the complex is quickly overrun and its inhabitants are killed. Yet, ironically, as the news of this victory is being relayed around the world, HAVOC enact their ultimate revenge. A transmitter hidden on the island, fitted with a time-delay mechanism, clicks on, sending its high-frequency radio signal to a communications satellite orbiting the earth. This signal is amplified and returned to earth where, simultaneously, it triggers the remaining nuclear warheads. The initial explosions set off a disastrous chain reaction that feeds on civil and military nuclear installations all across the northern hemisphere. Hundreds of millions of people are killed within days, and many more perish during the years that follow, falling victim to the lingering radioactivity and the severe climatic changes that affect the earth.</p>
<p><strong>2012-2019</strong><br />Gale force winds sweep across the world, carrying enormous amounts of dust into the upper atmosphere and preventing much sunlight from reaching the earth's surface. Temperatures plummet, deterring survivors from remaining above ground. Communications are disrupted by gamma radiation, making all radio, cable and satellite contact impossible. Small colonies of survivors develop in total isolation from one another during these years of darkness.</p>
- <p><strong>2019-2020</strong><br />Gradually, the dust storms die down and the sun penetrates the atmosphere, thawing the earths frozen surface. Radiation decays to tolerable levels, and survivors emerge to reclaim what little remains of the world they once knew.</p>
+ <p><strong>2019-2020</strong><br />Gradually, the dust storms die down and the sun penetrates the atmosphere, thawing the earth's frozen surface. Radiation decays to tolerable levels, and survivors emerge to reclaim what little remains of the world they once knew.</p>
</data>
</section>
<p>Six months after you arrived at DC1, the colony was faced with a major crisis. A heat wave was causing a drought that threatened to destroy the food supply. Crops were failing and the colony's artesian well, its only source of uncontaminated water, was beginning to dry up. The drought was also provoking more attacks from the city punks, who were desperate for food and water. Their common need had united them and now they posed a very real threat to the security of DC1. It was the last day of May, 2020, when Pop Ewell made radio contact with another colony, who were based in the city of Big Spring, 300 miles west of McKinney. Their situation was completely the reverse of DC1'S: they had food and water in plentiful supply but they were desperately short of fuel. They told of their contact with survivors in Tucson, Arizona, who were also without fuel. The Tucson colony reported that the territories west of the Sierra Nevada mountains had been spared the worst effects of the radioactive blizzards that had devastated the rest of the country and, miraculously, much of southern California was still widely populated: it had survived the last eight years virtually intact. When you heard the news you could hardly believe your ears. Perhaps your family were still alive. After all that had happened, there was now a real hope that one day you might be reunited with them.</p>
<p>A meeting was held to decide how best to deal with the crisis facing DC1. Everyone agreed that to stay at McKinney would lead to eventual death, either slowly from starvation or suddenly at the hands of the murderous city gangs. The only choice open to DC1 was to try to reach California; only there lay real hope for the future of the colony. The decision was relayed to the survivors at Big Spring and a deal was struck to rendezvous with them as soon as possible. DC1 would give them fuel in exchange for food and water, and together they would join up with the Tucson colony for the final stage of the journey to California.</p>
- <p>Careful preparations were made for the long trek, and three vehicles were chosen to make up the convoy: the school bus, your customized roadster, and a gasolene tanker laden with 5000 gallons of petroleum syphoned from underground storage tanks at the Ewell ranch. Supplies of food and water were adequate but the colony lacked sufficient firearms and ammunition with which to defend itself. On the day before the convoy was due to leave, one of the colonists was sent north to search the town of Sherman for weapons. He radioed back to say that he had found a cache of hunting rifles and ammunition, but that his truck had broken down and he was stranded in the town. He had also found a survivor - a beautiful teenage girl - and he requested that you go to Sherman to pick them up. As soon as you arrived you were ambushed by the scouts of a brutal gang of bikers known as the Detroit Lions and, in the ensuing gun battle, you killed Stinger - the scouts' leader.</p>
+ <p>Careful preparations were made for the long trek, and three vehicles were chosen to make up the convoy: the school bus, your customized roadster, and a gasolene tanker laden with 5000 gallons of petroleum siphoned from underground storage tanks at the Ewell ranch. Supplies of food and water were adequate but the colony lacked sufficient firearms and ammunition with which to defend itself. On the day before the convoy was due to leave, one of the colonists was sent north to search the town of Sherman for weapons. He radioed back to say that he had found a cache of hunting rifles and ammunition, but that his truck had broken down and he was stranded in the town. He had also found a survivor - a beautiful teenage girl - and he requested that you go to Sherman to pick them up. As soon as you arrived you were ambushed by the scouts of a brutal gang of bikers known as the Detroit Lions and, in the ensuing gun battle, you killed Stinger - the scouts' leader.</p>
<p>Later you learned that the girl - Kate Norton - was the sole survivor of a Kansas City colony, which had been attacked and wiped out by the Detroit Lions. The Lions' leader, who calls himself 'Mad Dog Michigan', had taken a liking to her and spared her life. Mad Dog was once a high-ranking HAVOC agent who had escaped from Pontiac Deep Pen near Detroit, and he and his gang, most of whom were also HAVOC escapees, were heading for the Fort Hood Military Reserve near Killeen, Texas, the largest armoury in the whole of the United States. There he hoped to find enough weapons to equip the other HAVOC clans who were now in control of cities all along the eastern seaboard. Kate had managed to steal a motorcycle and escape from their camp, but Mad Dog was determined to get her back. He sent his brother - Stinger - and a handful of his best scouts to track her down, and they had finally caught up with her at Sherman.</p>
<p>When Mad Dog learned that you had killed his brother, he vowed to get even with you at any price. He abandoned his plans to loot Fort Hood and embarked instead on a relentless pursuit of your colony as it crossed the sun-scorched wastelands of Texas. The journey to Big Spring was fraught with great danger, and yet, in spite of the many perils you faced - perhaps because of them - you felt yourself falling in love with Kate. Moreover you sensed that she was becoming increasingly fond of you. Sadly, the convoy was only a few miles from Big Spring when disaster struck. The land surrounding the settlement was controlled by a gang of bikers, a renegade clan called 'the Mavericks' who had been the bane of the Big Spring colony for many months. As the convoy drew nearer to its destination, the Mavericks launched an attack, and, in the running battle that ensued, they captured and abducted Kate. The convoy entered the fortified gates of Big Spring to a rapturous welcome from the colonists of that settlement, but for you the mood of celebration was soured by the vivid memory of Kate's abduction. You vowed to rescue her, and from that moment on every waking minute of every day at Big Spring was spent thinking about little else.</p>
</meta>
<data>
- <p>Before embarking on your adventure, you must first determine your personal characteristics and the weapons and provisions with which you are equipped. On pages 6 and 7 you will find an <a idref="action">Action Chart</a> on which to record and amend these details as the adventure unfolds. For ease of use during play it is recommended that you photocopy these pages.</p>
- <p>Your personal characteristics comprise two basic attributes: <typ class="attribute">CLOSE COMBAT SKILL</typ> and <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ>. To discover your initial <typ class="attribute">CLOSE COMBAT SKILL</typ>, take a pencil and, with your eyes closed, point the blunt end of it on to the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a>
at the back of this book. If you pick a 0 it counts as zero. Add 10 to the number you have picked and write the total in the <typ class="attribute">CLOSE COMBAT SKILL</typ> section of your Action Chart (for example, if your pencil falls on the number 5 in the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a>, you have a CLOSE <typ class="attribute">COMBAT SKILL</typ> total of 15). When you fight an enemy in hand-to-hand combat, your <typ class="attribute">CLOSE COMBAT SKILL</typ> will be measured against that of your enemy, so a high score in this section is desirable.</p>
+ <p>Before embarking on your adventure, you must first determine your personal characteristics and the weapons and provisions with which you are equipped. An <a idref="action">Action Chart</a> has been supplied on which to record and amend these details as the adventure unfolds.</p>
+ <p>Your personal characteristics comprise two basic attributes: <typ class="attribute">CLOSE COMBAT SKILL</typ> and <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ>. To discover your initial <typ class="attribute">CLOSE COMBAT SKILL</typ>, take a pencil and, with your eyes closed, point the blunt end of it on to the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a>. If you pick a 0 it counts as zero. Add 10 to the number you have picked and write the total in the <typ class="attribute">CLOSE COMBAT SKILL</typ> section of your Action Chart (for example, if your pencil falls on the number 5 in the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a>, you have a CLOSE <typ class="attribute">COMBAT SKILL</typ> total of 15). When you fight an enemy in hand-to-hand combat, your <typ class="attribute">CLOSE COMBAT SKILL</typ> will be measured against that of your enemy, so a high score in this section is desirable.</p>
<p>To discover your <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> level, repeat the process, but this time add 20 to the number you have picked from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a>. Write the total in the <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> section of your <a idref="action">Action Chart</a> (for example, if your pencil falls on the number 8 on the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a>, you have a total <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> score of 28). If you are wounded in combat, or injured at any other time during your adventure you will lose <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points. If, at any time, your <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points total falls to zero, you are dead and the adventure is over. You can regain lost <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points during the course of the adventure, but your <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> level can never rise above your initial score.</p>
<section class="frontmatter-separate" id="sskills">
<data>
<p>Ever since the day you returned to the surface, you have endeavoured to develop your skills and natural instincts fully in order to best defend yourself and your colony.</p>
- <p>Listed on your <a idref="action">Action Chart</a> are your five basic survival skills:</p>
+ <p>Listed on your <a idref="action">Action Chart</a> are your five basic Survival Skills:</p>
<section class="frontmatter" id="driving">
<meta><title>Driving</title></meta>
</data>
</section>
- <p>Your ability in each of these five individual skills is measured in skill points. You begin with 3 points per skill. Before starting the adventure, you may allocate an additional 4 skill points to your list of five survival skills. These 4 extra points can be used to improve one or more of your five skills. During your adventure, all five skills will be severely tested, therefore the higher the individual skill level, the better your chances of survival. You may allocate your 4 additional points entirely how you like.</p>
+ <p>Your ability in each of these five individual skills is measured in skill points. You begin with 3 points per skill. Before starting the adventure, you may allocate an additional 4 skill points to your list of five Survival Skills. These 4 extra points can be used to improve one or more of your five skills. During your adventure, all five skills will be severely tested, therefore the higher the individual skill level, the better your chances of survival. You may allocate your 4 additional points entirely how you like.</p>
<p>When you have decided where to allocate your 4 additional skill points, make a note of the totals in the Survival Skills section of your <a idref="action">Action Chart</a>.</p>
<p>(If this is your first Freeway Warrior adventure, your total number of skill points should be 19: five skills x 3 points each = 15, plus 4 additional skill points = 19 points.)</p>
<p>If you complete successfully the mission set in Book 3 of the Freeway Warrior series, you may add an additional 4 points to your Survival Skills in Book 4. These additional points, together with any equipment and provisions that you possess at the end of Book 3, may then be used in the next Freeway Warrior adventure, which is called:</p>
<section class="frontmatter" id="medikit">
<meta><title>Medi-kit</title></meta>
<data>
- <p>A well-stocked Medi-kit can make all the difference to your chances of survival should you suffer injury in the field or as a result of combat. It contains useful first aid supplies, such as dressings, antiseptics, antibiotics, water purification tablets, sulphonamides, pain killers, potassium iodine tablets (to delay absorption of radioactivity) and sutures.</p>
+ <p>A well-stocked Medi-kit can make all the difference to your chances of survival should you suffer injury in the field or as a result of combat. It contains useful first aid supplies, such as dressings, antiseptics, antibiotics, water purification tablets, sulphonamides, pain killers, potassium iodide tablets (to delay absorption of radioactivity) and sutures.</p>
<p>For convenience, these medical supplies are grouped into units. To find how many units you have in your Medi-kit, pick a number from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a> (0 equals 10) and add 2. Your total score equals the number of units with which you begin your adventure. To keep a record of them, circle the appropriate number of unit symbols in the Medi-kit section of your <a idref="action">Action Chart</a>. The maximum number of units you can carry in your Medi-kit is twelve.</p>
<p>You may use your Medi-kit units to restore lost <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points; each unit used in this way restores 3 points. Units cannot be used to restore <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points in lieu of a Meal or Water when instructed to eat or drink.</p>
</data>
</li>
<li><p>After working out your Combat Ratio, pick a number from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a>.</p></li>
<li>
- <p>Turn to the Close Combat Results Table on the inside back cover of the book. Along the top of the chart are the Combat Ratio numbers. Find the number that is the same as your Combat Ratio and cross-reference it with the number that you have picked (the random numbers appear down the side of the chart). You now have the <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points lost by both Cal Phoenix and his enemy in this round of close combat. (E represents points lost by the enemy; CP represents points lost by Cal Phoenix.)</p>
+ <p>Turn to the <a idref="crtable">Close Combat Results Table</a>. Along the top of the chart are the Combat Ratio numbers. Find the number that is the same as your Combat Ratio and cross-reference it with the number that you have picked (the random numbers appear down the side of the chart). You now have the <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points lost by both Cal Phoenix and his enemy in this round of close combat. (E represents points lost by the enemy; CP represents points lost by Cal Phoenix.)</p>
<p>Example<br />The Combat Ratio between Cal Phoenix and the Renegade Clansman has been established as <ch.plus/>1. If the number picked from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a> is a 4, then the result of the first round of close combat is:
<ul>
<li>Cal Phoenix loses 3 <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points.</li>
<section class="frontmatter" id="evasion">
<meta><title>Evasion of Combat</title></meta>
<data>
- <p>During your adventure you may be given the chance to evade close combat. If you have already engaged in a round of close combat and decide to evade, calculate the combat for that round in the usual manner. All ENDURANCE points lost by the enemy as a result of that round are ignored; only Cal Phoenix may lose <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points during that round, but that is the risk of running away! You may evade combat only if the text of the particular section allows you to do so.</p>
+ <p>During your adventure you may be given the chance to evade close combat. If you have already engaged in a round of close combat and decide to evade, calculate the combat for that round in the usual manner. All <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points lost by the enemy as a result of that round are ignored; only Cal Phoenix may lose <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points during that round, but that is the risk of running away! You may evade combat only if the text of the particular section allows you to do so.</p>
</data>
</section>
</data>
<p>You nod in uneasy agreement and get ready to glance around the tailgate the instant the captain opens fire. 'Let's do it!' he says, as he rises above the cover of the truck and squeezes off a burst of automatic fire. The noise of his gun drowns out the sniper's shot, but within a second of his breaking cover, Frankland is hit. With the machine pistol still chattering in his hands, he falls backwards and crashes to the ground, the assassin's bullet lodged deep in his skull.</p>
<p>The shock of Frankland's death, following so closely after Sergeant Haskell's and so nearly after your own, hits you like an icy shower. You cower behind the truck, shivering with fear and convinced that you will be next. For a terrible moment, the fear wells up and consumes you, and all you want to do is run as far away and as fast as you can. Despite Knott's pleas to stay where you are, you scramble to your feet and stumble blindly towards the woods. In your haste you trip and fall, grazing your hands and knees on the flint-sharp shale: lose 1 <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> point.</p>
<p>Inadvertently, your fall saves your life. Another shot passes over your head barely a second after you stumble, missing you by a hand's breadth. The imminent danger clears your mind and you race towards the trees with a determination to survive. Knott encourages you to increase your speed and you pray that you will reach cover before the sniper has a chance to slip another round into the breech of his rifle.</p>
- <p>Add together your Stealth skill total and your current <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points score. [Note: If your <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> score is low and you are heavily encumbered, it may be advisable to discard some of your Backpack items in order to increase your Stealth skill level.]</p>
+ <p>Add together your Stealth skill total and your current <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points score. [Note: If your <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> score is low and you are heavily encumbered, it may be advisable to discard some of your Backpack Items in order to increase your Stealth skill level.]</p>
<choice idref="sect57">If your total score is 15 or less, <link-text>turn to 57</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect83">If it is 16-19, <link-text>turn to 83</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect254">If it is 20 or more, <link-text>turn to 254</link-text>.</choice>
<li>Enough water for four Drinks</li>
<li>Enough water purification tablets, bandages, pain killers, and antiseptics for four Medi-kit units.</li>
</ul>
- <p>If you wish to keep any of these weapons, ammunition, Medi-kit units or Backpack
items, remember to adjust your <a idref="action">Action Chart</a> accordingly. You hide the bodies before entering the gas station to took for the spare ignition unit.</p>
+ <p>If you wish to keep any of these weapons, ammunition, Medi-kit units or Backpack
Items, remember to adjust your <a idref="action">Action Chart</a> accordingly. You hide the bodies before entering the gas station to took for the spare ignition unit.</p>
<choice idref="sect273"><link-text>Turn to 273</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
<meta><title>36</title></meta>
<data>
- <p>Nervously you wipe your palms then pump a shot-shell into the breach of your Remington Brushmaster. A quick glance confirms that the safety catch is off. Then you tense yourself in preparation for this dangerous run.</p>
+ <p>Nervously you wipe your palms then pump a shell into the breach of your Remington Brushmaster. A quick glance confirms that the safety catch is off. Then you tense yourself in preparation for this dangerous run.</p>
<p>Slowly you count down from five and, the moment your count is complete, you leap to your feet and race up the steps. As you clear the crater you mark your destination and sprint towards it, whilst simultaneously covering yourself by firing your shotgun at the sniper's position.</p>
- <p>Add together your Stealth Skill total and your current <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points score. To this total add 1 point for every round you choose to fire from your shotgun (minimum equals one round; maximum equals five rounds).</p>
+ <p>Add together your Stealth Skill total and your current <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points score. To this total add 1 point for every round you choose to fire from your shotgun (minimum: one round; maximum: five rounds).</p>
<choice idref="sect249">If your total score is now 11 or less, <link-text>turn to 249</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect210">If your total score is 12 or more, <link-text>turn to 210</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
<meta><title>39</title></meta>
<data>
- <p>Within a minute he has made a hole large enough to of the truck, there is another sharp crack, followed by the trailing sound of a rifle shot echoing across the surrounding mountains.</p>
+ <p>On the other side of the truck, there is another sharp crack, followed by the trailing sound of a rifle shot echoing across the surrounding mountains.</p>
<p>Pick a number from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a> and add to it your Stealth and Perception skill totals.</p>
<choice idref="sect347">If your total score is 12 or less, <link-text>turn to 347</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect10">If your total is 13-16, <link-text>turn to 10</link-text>.</choice>
<meta><title>66</title></meta>
<data>
- <p>The gas station's three storage tanks have been emptied of fuel recently, but a little still remains at the bottom of each. It takes an hour to syphon this residual gasolene - less than two gallons - from the tanks, by which time Sergeant Haskell has been able to seal the three bullet holes.</p>
+ <p>The gas station's three storage tanks have been emptied of fuel recently, but a little still remains at the bottom of each. It takes an hour to siphon this residual gasolene - less than two gallons - from the tanks, by which time Sergeant Haskell has been able to seal the three bullet holes.</p>
<p>While Haskell is pouring the precious gasolene into the truck, you help Knott to make a quick search of the gas station for useful spares. Your search uncovers the following items:</p>
<ul>
<li><typ class="item">Electrolyte</typ></li>
<li><typ class="item">Wire Cutters</typ></li>
<li><typ class="item">Screwdriver</typ></li>
</ul>
- <p>If you wish to keep any of these Backpack
items, adjust your <a idref="action">Action Chart</a> accordingly.</p>
+ <p>If you wish to keep any of these Backpack
Items, adjust your <a idref="action">Action Chart</a> accordingly.</p>
<p>Captain Frankland is disappointed at having found so little fuel, but Knott assures him that it should be sufficient to enable you to reach Lordsburg and rendezvous with the colony. Once the refuelling has been completed, you climb aboard and set off in a new direction - north, towards a junction with Interstate Freeway 10.</p>
<choice idref="sect183"><link-text>Turn to 183</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
<meta><title>92</title></meta>
<data>
- <p>The only way you know of retrieving gasolene from a fuel tank is by syphoning, and to do this you need a length of tubing. You search the parking lot, but can find nothing that remotely resembles a length of flexible pipe. Then you remember something that Cutter taught you when you were learning to drive, and the recollection of it spreads a smile across your face. Using a braided fuel line cut from the carburettor, you are able to syphon more than a gallon of gasolene from the truck's fuel tank. Once you are sure that you have retrieved as much fuel as possible, you seal the fuel can and call for Marine Knott to join you in the parking lot.</p>
- <p>If you wish to keep the braided fuel line, mark it as a <typ class="item">Plastic Tube</typ> on your list of Backpack items.</p>
+ <p>The only way you know of retrieving gasolene from a fuel tank is by siphoning, and to do this you need a length of tubing. You search the parking lot, but can find nothing that remotely resembles a length of flexible pipe. Then you remember something that Cutter taught you when you were learning to drive, and the recollection of it spreads a smile across your face. Using a braided fuel line cut from the carburettor, you are able to siphon more than a gallon of gasolene from the truck's fuel tank. Once you are sure that you have retrieved as much fuel as possible, you seal the fuel can and call for Marine Knott to join you in the parking lot.</p>
+ <p>If you wish to keep the braided fuel line, mark it as a <typ class="item">Plastic Tube</typ> on your list of Backpack Items.</p>
<choice idref="sect47"><link-text>Turn to 47</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
<p>'Very well then. If we can't ambush 'em on the outside, we'll have to get inside the track and destroy 'em there. It'll make our chances of escape a whole lot shorter, but I agree with you - I reckon we have no choice.'</p>
<p>Having decided on a plan of action, Sergeant Haskell distributes the mines, one to each man. 'Set the timers to five minutes,' he says, and demonstrates how to do this using his own charge. 'They're magnetic, so try to fix them to the fuel tank if possible. Failing that, place them as near to the explosives as you can get.'</p>
<p>You examine the heavy, saucer-like device and then carefully set its clockwork timer, according to Haskell's instructions. Finally, you flick across the safety cover so that it protects the detonator button, and slip the mine inside your Backpack.</p>
- <p>Record the <typ class="item">Contact Mine</typ> on your <a idref="action">Action Chart</a> as a Backpack item. If you already possess the maximum quota of Backpack items, you must discard one article in its favour.</p>
+ <p>Record the <typ class="item">Contact Mine</typ> on your <a idref="action">Action Chart</a> as a Backpack item. If you already possess the maximum quota of Backpack Items, you must discard one article in its favour.</p>
<choice idref="sect124">To continue, <link-text>turn to 124</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
<p>'I think I might have the answer to our problem,' you say, as you fish in your Backpack for the solar regulator. The unit is not designed to fit this vehicle, but you plan to attach it to the battery's terminals and then short circuit the unit to provide a surge of power, sufficient to recharge the battery and spark the engine.</p>
<p>It takes nearly an hour to rewire the regulator, by which time the sun is beating down directly on to the exposed, unregulated solar core. The cells at the core convert the solar power unchecked, and within a few minutes the unit is humming and giving off wisps of pungent blue smoke.</p>
<p>'Try starting it now,' you call out to Knott, who is sitting in the driver's seat, looking as anxious as if he were sitting on a ticking time bomb. He hot-wires the ignition switch and immediately the engine coughs and splutters into life. As soon as it is running smoothly, you cover your hands with your leather jacket, disconnect the red-hot regulator from the battery, and throw it away.</p>
- <p>This item is now beyond repair: remember to erase it from your list of Backpack items before you continue.</p>
+ <p>This item is now beyond repair: remember to erase it from your list of Backpack Items before you continue.</p>
<choice idref="sect329"><link-text>Turn to 329</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
<p>After ten hours' deep, uninterrupted sleep, you wake feeling thoroughly refreshed: restore 4 <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points. The barricade is still intact and, once it is dismantled, you arm yourself before investigating the six other buildings that comprise the town. All of them are empty and show no signs of having been entered during the night, prompting you to believe that you may, at least for the time being , have given the assassin the slip.</p>
<p>In a shack behind the diner you discover a motorcycle that is in a serviceable condition. The tyres are sound and the gas tank is over half full with gasolene, but its oil level is very low. As you kick start the engine you can only hope that it will get you as far as Tucson before breaking down.</p>
<p>After studying the map you mount your new vehicle and set off, heading north along Highway 666. You have ridden only seven miles when a collapsed bridge forces you to change direction and travel west along an unmarked mountain road. You enjoy the cool breeze whipping through your hair as you ride at speed along this empty trail, and you cover more than twenty miles before coming to a small town where a sign proclaims:</p>
- <p><signpost>GLEESON WELCOMES CAREFUL DRIVERS</signpost></p>
+ <signpost>GLEESON WELCOMES CAREFUL DRIVERS</signpost>
<choice idref="sect64">If you wish to stop at this mountain town, <link-text>turn to 64</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect50">If you decide to ride through without stopping, <link-text>turn to 50</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
<data>
<p>Nervously you wipe your sweaty palms on the front of your T-shirt before checking to see that there is a live round in the breach of your rifle. Then, once you are sure that your equipment is secure, you tense yourself to begin this dangerous run.</p>
<p>Slowly you count down from five and, the moment your count is complete, you leap to your feet and race up the steps. As you clear the crater, you mark your destination and sprint towards it, whilst simultaneously covering yourself by firing your rifle at the sniper's position.</p>
- <p>Add together your Stealth skill total and your current <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points score. To this total add 1 point for every round you choose to fire from your gun (minimum equals one round; maximum equals three rounds).</p>
+ <p>Add together your Stealth skill total and your current <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points score. To this total add 1 point for every round you choose to fire from your gun (minimum: one round; maximum: three rounds).</p>
<choice idref="sect249">If your total score is now 13 or less, <link-text>turn to 249</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect210">If your total score is 14 or more, <link-text>turn to 210</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
<meta><title>129</title></meta>
<data>
- <p>You leave the office by a rear door that opens on to a parking lot. Here you find Marine Knott. He has discovered a wrecked US mail truck, and although the engine and tyres are beyond repair, he has been able to syphon more than a gallon of gasolene from its fuel tank. You congratulate him on his find, and together you return to the furniture store to meet up with Frankland and Haskell.</p>
+ <p>You leave the office by a rear door that opens on to a parking lot. Here you find Marine Knott. He has discovered a wrecked US mail truck, and although the engine and tyres are beyond repair, he has been able to siphon more than a gallon of gasolene from its fuel tank. You congratulate him on his find, and together you return to the furniture store to meet up with Frankland and Haskell.</p>
<choice idref="sect218"><link-text>Turn to 218</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
<p>'Let's do it!' he says, as he rises above the cover of the truck and squeezes off a burst of automatic fire. The noise of his gun drowns out the sniper's shot, but within a second of him breaking cover, Frankland is hit. With the machine pistol still chattering in his hands, he falls backwards and crashes to the ground, the assassin's bullet lodged deep in his skull.</p>
<p>The shock of Frankland's death, following so closely after Sergeant Haskell's, hits you like an icy shower. You cower behind the truck, shivering with fear, afraid that you will be next. For a terrible moment, the fear consumes you, and all you want to do is run as far away and as fast as you can. Despite Knott's pleas to stay where you are, you scramble to your feet and stumble towards the woods. In your haste, you trip and fall, grazing your hands and knees on the flint-sharp shale: lose 1 <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> point.</p>
<p>Inadvertently, your fall saves your life. A shot passes over your head a second after you stumble, missing you by a hand's breadth. The imminent danger clears your mind and you race towards the trees with a determination to survive. Knott encourages you to increase your speed and you pray that you will reach cover before the sniper has a chance to slip another round into the breech of his rifle.</p>
- <p>Add together your Stealth skill total and your current <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points score. [Note: If Your <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> score is low and you are heavily encumbered, it may be advisable to discard some of your Backpack items in order to increase your Stealth skill total.]</p>
+ <p>Add together your Stealth skill total and your current <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points score. [Note: If Your <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> score is low and you are heavily encumbered, it may be advisable to discard some of your Backpack Items in order to increase your Stealth skill total.]</p>
<choice idref="sect57">If your total score is 15 or less, <link-text>turn to 57</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect83">If it is 16-19, <link-text>turn to 83</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect254">If it is 20 or more, <link-text>turn to 254</link-text>.</choice>
<data>
<p>You pull back the slide of your Beretta just far enough to check that there is a bullet in the breach, then you tense yourself in preparation for this dangerous run.</p>
<p>Slowly you count down from five and, the moment your count is complete, you leap to your feet and race up the steps. As you clear the crater, you mark your destination and sprint towards it, whilst simultaneously covering yourself by firing your pistol at the sniper's position.</p>
- <p>Add together your Stealth skill total and your current <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points score. To this total add 1 point for every round you choose to fire from your pistol (minimum equals one round; maximum equals eight rounds).</p>
+ <p>Add together your Stealth skill total and your current <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points score. To this total add 1 point for every round you choose to fire from your pistol (minimum: one round; maximum: eight rounds).</p>
<choice idref="sect249">If your total score is now 13 or less, <link-text>turn to 249</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect210">If your total score is 14 or more, <link-text>turn to 210</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
<meta><title>150</title></meta>
<data>
- <p>For a few seconds you stand entranced, not knowing for sure whether you are dead or alive. Then, as the warm breeze clears the lingering gunsmoke, you see the body of the assassin lying motionless beside the courthouse wall. You are filled with a great sense of relief, as if a huge weight has been lifted from your shoulders. Then the shock of your encounter takes hold of your body and you begin to shiver uncontrollably. You must now take a Drink or lose 3 <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points.</p>
+ <p>For a few seconds you stand entranced, not knowing for sure whether you are dead or alive. Then, as the warm breeze clears the lingering gun smoke, you see the body of the assassin lying motionless beside the courthouse wall. You are filled with a great sense of relief, as if a huge weight has been lifted from your shoulders. Then the shock of your encounter takes hold of your body and you begin to shiver uncontrollably. You must now take a Drink or lose 3 <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points.</p>
<p>With grim curiosity you move forward to search the body. You pull off his helmet and stare at the face of this killer. At once you recognize the cruel, angular features: he is Helmut Varken, a top HAVOC assassin who achieved infamy on 1 May, 2008 when he assassinated both the President of the United States, and the General Secretary of the Supreme Soviet at an emergency summit meeting in Rome. HAVOC were proud of his ignoble feat, and when by chance they leaked his identity, his photograph appeared on every television screen and on the front page of every newspaper around the world. You were only eight years old at the time, but the image of his face became synonymous with the evil that HAVOC represented, and it etched itself indelibly upon your mind.</p>
<p>As your pulse returns to normal, you begin to search his blood-stained body. You are disappointed to find that his air-con suit has been irreparably damaged, but you discover more than enough useful items to compensate for the loss:</p>
<ul>
<li><typ class="item">Compass</typ></li>
<li><typ class="item">Signal Flare</typ></li>
</ul>
- <p>If you wish to keep any of these weapons, ammunition, Medi-kit units or Backpack
items, remember to adjust your <a idref="action">Action Chart</a> accordingly.</p>
+ <p>If you wish to keep any of these weapons, ammunition, Medi-kit units or Backpack
Items, remember to adjust your <a idref="action">Action Chart</a> accordingly.</p>
<p>You hide the bodies before entering the gas station to look for the spare ignition unit.</p>
<choice idref="sect273"><link-text>Turn to 273</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
<meta><title>195</title></meta>
<data>
- <p>Using rubber sealant, insulation tape, and strips of metal cut from an old oil can, you help the sergeant to patch up the three bullet holes. Meanwhile, the others are able to syphon nearly two gallons of gasolene from the station's storage tanks, which is then carefully transferred to the truck's newly repaired fuel tank. Captain Frankland is disappointed at having found so little fuel, but Knott assures him that it should be sufficient to enable you to reach Lordsburg and rendezvous with the colony.</p>
+ <p>Using rubber sealant, insulation tape, and strips of metal cut from an old oil can, you help the sergeant to patch up the three bullet holes. Meanwhile, the others are able to siphon nearly two gallons of gasolene from the station's storage tanks, which is then carefully transferred to the truck's newly repaired fuel tank. Captain Frankland is disappointed at having found so little fuel, but Knott assures him that it should be sufficient to enable you to reach Lordsburg and rendezvous with the colony.</p>
<p>Once the refuelling is completed, you climb aboard and set off in a new direction - north, towards a junction with Interstate Freeway 10.</p>
<choice idref="sect183"><link-text>Turn to 183</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
<data>
<p>Suddenly something hits you in the back. The impact knocks you flat on your face, and you gash your hands and cheek on the jagged rubble: lose 2 <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points.</p>
- <p>Although you have been hit by a bullet, you are not seriously wounded. Your Backpack has saved you from fatal injury: the bullet has lodged itself in one of your Medi-kits. (Erase one Medi-kit from you <a idref="action">Action Chart</a>. If you have no Medi-kits, erase the first item you have recorded on your list of Backpack items.)</p>
+ <p>Although you have been hit by a bullet, you are not seriously wounded. Your Backpack has saved you from fatal injury: the bullet has lodged itself in one of your Medi-kits. (Erase one Medi-kit from you <a idref="action">Action Chart</a>. If you have no Medi-kits, erase the first item you have recorded on your list of Backpack Items.)</p>
<p>Breathlessly, you drag your aching body towards the front of the truck and start to help Frankland and Knott clear away the debris that is blocking your escape. A thick, wooden pole, which once supported overhead electricity cables in this part of town, is jammed between the wheel and the truck's front fender. With your help, they are at last able to dislodge it, and Knott braves the gunfire to climb into the cab. The engine starts first time and, as he brings the truck over the mound, you and the captain leap on to the tailgate and pull yourselves aboard.</p>
<p>The street ends at a piece of wasteland, but a few hundred yards beyond lies a highway running east to west. The captain peers through the cabs partition window and gives a harsh laugh when he sees the highway.</p>
<p>'Make for that road and head west,' he commands, and Knott obeys. Then he turns to the sergeant and says, 'It looks like you're finally outvoted, Haskell. We're on our way to Mimbres.'</p>
<instance class="html" src="ill15.gif" width="386" height="572" />
<instance class="pdf" src="ill15.pdf" width="386" height="572" />
</illustration>
- <p>Kate draws her pistol, but before she can take aim, you hear a burst of heavy machine gunfire and see muzzle flashes erupting from the front of Mad Dog's speedster. The heavy-calibre rounds slam into your trunk, and the force of their impact at high speed sends your roadster careering into a skid.</p>
+ <p>Kate draws her pistol, but before she can take aim, you hear a burst of heavy machine gun fire and see muzzle flashes erupting from the front of Mad Dog's speedster. The heavy-calibre rounds slam into your trunk, and the force of their impact at high speed sends your roadster careering into a skid.</p>
<p>Pick a number from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a> and add to it your Driving skill total.</p>
<choice idref="sect41">If your total score is now 6 or less, <link-text>turn to 41</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect161">If it is 7-10, <link-text>turn to 161</link-text>.</choice>
<p>You wake shortly after dawn feeling thoroughly refreshed after ten hours' uninterrupted sleep: restore 4 <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points. The barricade is still intact and, once it is dismantled, you arm yourself and investigate the cabin above. Nothing has been touched during the night, prompting you to believe that you may, at least for the time being, have given the assassin the slip.</p>
<p>After eating breakfast, you set about unpacking and constructing the motorcycle. There is sufficient gasolene stored in the cellar to fill its tank, but you can find no engine oil. The motorcycle's oil level is very low and you can only hope that it will get you as far as Tucson before breaking down.</p>
<p>After studying the map, you mount your new vehicle and set off along the road, heading west through the Swisshelm Mountains. You enjoy the cool breeze whipping through your hair as you ride at speed along the empty highway, and you cover more than twenty miles before you come to a small town with a sign that proclaims:</p>
- <p><signpost>GLEESON WELCOMES CAREFUL DRIVERS</signpost></p>
+ <signpost>GLEESON WELCOMES CAREFUL DRIVERS</signpost>
<choice idref="sect64">If you wish to stop at this mountain town, <link-text>turn to 64</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect50">If you decide to ride through without stopping, <link-text>turn to 50</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
<instance class="pdf" src="ill16.pdf" width="386" height="627" />
</illustration>
<p>The fire escape offers no solution: its ladder descends to the main street. There is only one way off the roof and that is to jump to the neighbouring building fifteen feet away. After jamming the roof door to delay the clansmen for as long as possible, the captain leads the escape. The others throw their guns and equipment across and then make the jump safely. You are making the run-up to your jump when you hear a loud burst of gunfire and see the roof door collapse, shot off its hinges.</p>
- <p>Add together your Stealth skill total and your current <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points score (ignoring any encumbrance penalties you have due to the number of Backpack
items you possess). Now pick a number from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a> and add this figure to your score.</p>
+ <p>Add together your Stealth skill total and your current <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points score (ignoring any encumbrance penalties you have due to the number of Backpack
Items you possess). Now pick a number from the <a idref="random">Random Number Table</a> and add this figure to your score.</p>
<choice idref="sect45">If your total score is 18 or less, <link-text>turn to 45</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect349">If your total is 19-22, <link-text>turn to 349</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect130">If it is 23 or more, <link-text>turn to 130</link-text>.</choice>
<meta><title>269</title></meta>
<data>
- <p>Using the length of plastic tubing, you are able to syphon more than a gallon of gasolene from the truck's fuel tank. Once you are sure that you have retrieved as much fuel as possible, you seal the fuel can and call for Marine Knott to join you in the parking lot.</p>
+ <p>Using the length of plastic tubing, you are able to siphon more than a gallon of gasolene from the truck's fuel tank. Once you are sure that you have retrieved as much fuel as possible, you seal the fuel can and call for Marine Knott to join you in the parking lot.</p>
<choice idref="sect47"><link-text>Turn to 47</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
<meta><title>276</title></meta>
<data>
- <p>The three other members of the sabotage team are waiting for you at an earth rampart that forms part of the southern perimeter wall. In a hushed voice, Captain Frankland gives a final briefing, while you join with the others in applying camouflage blacking to your face, and taping your weapons and equipment to muffle any noise. Five hundred yards away, across a rubble-strewn no-man's-land, clan snipers are entrenched behind a makeshift barricade of old cars and other debris. Their rifles are trained on Fort Bliss and, in the past, they have been all too eager to use them whenever a target has presented itself. Crossing this zone will be perilous in the extreme and, in order to minimize the risks of the mission failing here, the captain proposes that the team split into pairs and cross the zone at two separate locations. Each pair is to make its way through the enemy cordon and the city beyond, and then regroup at the Stanton Street Toll Bridge at one a.m. precisely. You synchronize watches before joining with your chosen partner, Marine Knott, in getting ready to go.</p>
+ <p>The three other members of the sabotage team are waiting for you at an earth rampart that forms part of the southern perimeter wall. In a hushed voice, Captain Frankland gives a final briefing, while you join with the others in applying camouflage blacking to your face, and taping your weapons and equipment to muffle any noise. Five hundred yards away, across a rubble-strewn no-man's-land, clan snipers are entrenched behind a makeshift barricade of old cars and other debris. Their rifles are trained on Fort Bliss and, in the past, they have been all too eager to use them whenever a target has presented itself. Crossing this zone will be perilous in the extreme and, in order to minimize the risks of the mission failing here, the captain proposes that the team split into pairs and cross the zone at two separate locations. Each pair is to make its way through the enemy cordon and the city beyond, and then regroup at the Stanton Street Toll Bridge at 1 a.m. precisely. You synchronize watches before joining with your chosen partner, Marine Knott, in getting ready to go.</p>
<p>There are two routes open to you. The most direct path will take you south, through the heart of El Paso where the enemy are most numerous. Or you can attempt a detour around the northern edge of the city before you try to reach the bridge, a longer but possibly less dangerous route.</p>
<choice idref="sect190">If you wish to cross the zone heading south, directly towards the city, <link-text>turn to 190</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect44">If you decide to cross the zone heading west, on a detour around the city, <link-text>turn to 44</link-text>.</choice>
<data>
<p>As you reach the bottom of the steps you hear an angry voice shouting from the first floor window: your adversary is attempting to warn his partner that you have escaped. His shouting spurs you to greater effort and, despite your injuries, you run from the building through a maze of dark alleyways. Not until you are sure that you have not been followed do you stop to catch your breath and dress your wounds. It is then you discover that, during your fall through the window, you lost one piece of equipment from your Backpack.</p>
- <p>Erase the article noted second on your list of Backpack items. If you have less than two Backpack items, erase two Medi-kit units instead.</p>
+ <p>Erase the article noted second on your list of Backpack Items. If you have less than two Backpack Items, erase two Medi-kit units instead.</p>
<choice idref="sect158">To continue, <link-text>turn to 158</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
</section>
<p>You nod in uneasy agreement and get ready to glance around the tailgate the instant the captain opens fire. 'Let's do it!' he says, as he rises above the cover of the truck and squeezes off a burst of automatic fire. The noise of his gun drowns out the sniper's shot, but within a second of breaking cover, Frankland is hit. With the machine pistol still chattering in his hands, he falls backwards and crashes to the ground, the assassin's bullet lodged deep in his skull.</p>
<p>The shock of Frankland's death, following so closely after Sergeant Haskell's and so nearly after your own, hits you like an icy shower. You cower behind the truck, shivering with fear, afraid that you will be next. For a terrible moment, the fear wells up and consumes you, and all you want to do is run as far away and as fast as you can. Despite Knott's pleas to stay where you are, you scramble to your feet and stumble blindly towards the woods. In your haste, you trip and fall, grazing your hands and knees on the flint-sharp shale: lose 1 <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> point.</p>
<p>Inadvertently, your fall saves your life. A shot passes over your head a second after you stumble, missing you by a hand's breadth. The imminent danger clears your mind and you race towards the trees with a determination to survive. Knott encourages you to increase your speed and you pray that you will reach cover before the sniper has a chance to slip another round into the breech of his rifle.</p>
- <p>Add together your Stealth skill total and your current <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points score. [Note: If your <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> score is low and you are heavily encumbered, it may be advisable to discard some of your Backpack items in order to increase your Stealth skill total.]</p>
+ <p>Add together your Stealth skill total and your current <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points score. [Note: If your <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> score is low and you are heavily encumbered, it may be advisable to discard some of your Backpack Items in order to increase your Stealth skill total.]</p>
<choice idref="sect57">If your total scores is 15 or less, <link-text>turn to 57</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect83">If it is 16-19, <link-text>turn to 83</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect254">If it is 20 or more, <link-text>turn to 254</link-text>.</choice>
<data>
<p>You decide to make a dash for the clump of foliage before the sniper circles around the crater and picks you off at his leisure. With sweat-slick hands you raise your gun and get ready to fire as you run for cover.</p>
- <signpost>Note: If Your <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points score is low and you are heavily encumbered, it may be advisable to discard some of your Backpack items now, in order to increase your Stealth skill score before you attempt your run.</signpost>
+ <p>Note: If Your <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points score is low and you are heavily encumbered, it may be advisable to discard some of your Backpack Items now, in order to increase your Stealth skill score before you attempt your run.</p>
<choice idref="sect148">If you are holding a Pistol, <link-text>turn to 148</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect323">If it is a Machine Pistol, <link-text>turn to 323</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect36">If it is a Shotgun, <link-text>turn to 36</link-text>.</choice>
<data>
<p>You draw back the bolt of your G-12 and make a quick check of the magazine to ensure that you have sufficient bullets to cover yourself. Then, with your pulse pounding loudly in your ears, you get ready to run to the forest.</p>
<p>Slowly you count down from five and, the moment your count is complete, you leap to your feet and scramble up the steps. As you clear the crater, you fix your destination and sprint towards it, your machine pistol blazing at your hip.</p>
- <p>Add together your Stealth skill total and your current <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points score. To this total add 1 point for every burst you choose to fire from your machine pistol (minimum equals one round; maximum equals five rounds).</p>
+ <p>Add together your Stealth skill total and your current <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points score. To this total add 1 point for every burst you choose to fire from your machine pistol (minimum: one burst; maximum: five bursts).</p>
<choice idref="sect249">If your total score is now 12 or less, <link-text>turn to 249</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect210">If your total score is 13 or more, <link-text>turn to 210</link-text>.</choice>
</data>
<p>The captain screams and throws his hands to his face: he has been hit. Blood oozes thickly through his fingers as he crumples slowly to the ground, the assassin's bullet lodged deeply in his skull.</p>
<p>The shock of Frankland's death, following so closely after Sergeant Haskell's, hits you like an icy shower. You cower behind the truck, shivering with fear, afraid that you will be next. For a terrible moment the fear consumes you, and all you want to do is run as far and as fast as you can. Knott has taken cover among the pines and he pleads with you to stay where you are. But you cannot think clearly; panic has overwhelmed your senses. Blindly, you scramble to your feet and stumble towards the woods and, in your haste, you trip and fall, skinning your hands and knees on the flint-sharp shale: lose 1 <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> point.</p>
<p>Inadvertently, your fall saves your life. A shot passes over your head a second after you stumble, missing you by a hand's breadth. The imminent danger clears your mind and you race towards the trees with renewed determination to survive. Knott encourages you to increase your speed and you pray that you will reach cover before the sniper has a chance to work another round into the breech of his rifle.</p>
- <p>Add together your Stealth skill total and your current <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points score. (Note. If Your <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> is low and you are heavily encumbered, it may be advisable to discard some of your Backpack items in order to increase your Stealth skill total.</p>
+ <p>Add together your Stealth skill total and your current <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> points score. (Note. If Your <typ class="attribute">ENDURANCE</typ> is low and you are heavily encumbered, it may be advisable to discard some of your Backpack Items in order to increase your Stealth skill total.</p>
<choice idref="sect57">If your total score is 15 or less, <link-text>turn to 57</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect83">If it is 16 - 19, <link-text>turn to 83</link-text>.</choice>
<choice idref="sect254">If it is 20 or more, <link-text>turn to 254</link-text>.</choice>
<p>You and Kate enter the Tucson stronghold to receive a hero's welcome. The colony are overjoyed; they feared they would never see either of you alive again. They are saddened to hear your account of how Captain Frankland, Sergeant Haskell and Marine Knott met their deaths, yet they draw comfort from the knowledge that their memory will live on in the hearts of the colonists. If it were not for their ultimate sacrifice, the colony would never have reached Tucson intact.</p>
<p>After celebrating your successful return, the colony leaders set about planning the last stage of the journey to California, confident that now Mad Dog Michigan is no longer around, his army will be disinclined to continue the pursuit of the convoy. But a nagging doubt remains in your mind. Did Mad Dog Michigan really meet his doom at the Pantona Bridge?</p>
<p>For you, Cal Phoenix, the answer to that question, and the final part of your exodus to California, await you in book four of the Freeway Warrior series, entitled:</p>
- <p>CALIFORNIA COUNTDOWN</p>
+ <p><cite><a href="&link.04cc;">CALIFORNIA COUNTDOWN</a></cite></p>
</data>
</section>
</data>
<meta><title>Errata</title></meta>
<data>
<p>(<a idref="tssf">The Story So Far</a>) Replaced <quote>re-establish</quote> with <quote>reestablish</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="tssf">The Story So Far</a>) Replaced <quote>syphoned</quote> with <quote>siphoned</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="gamerulz">The Game Rules</a>) Replaced <quote>if you pick a O</quote> with <quote>if you pick a 0</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="gamerulz">The Game Rules</a>) Replaced <quote>On pages 6 and 7 you will find an Action Chart</quote> with <quote>An Action Chart has been supplied</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="gamerulz">The Game Rules</a>) Removed <quote>For ease of use during play it is recommended that you photocopy these pages</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="gamerulz">The Game Rules</a>) Replaced <quote>the Random Number Table at the back of this book</quote> with <quote>the Random Number Table</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="gamerulz">The Game Rules</a>) Replaced <quote>survival skills</quote> with <quote>Survival Skills</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="cmbtrulz">Close Combat Rules</a>) Replaced <quote>cross-refer</quote> with <quote>cross-reference</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="cmbtrulz">Close Combat Rules</a>) Replaced <quote><ch.plus/> 1) He</quote> with <quote><ch.plus/>1). He</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="cmbtrulz">Combat Rules</a>) Removed <quote>on the inside back cover of the book</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="equipmnt">Equipment</a>) Replaced <quote>map of New Mexico/Arizona</quote> with <quote>Map of New Mexico/Arizona</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="equipmnt">Equipment</a>) Replaced <quote>potassium iodine</quote> with <quote>potassium iodide</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="sect8">8</a>) Replaced <quote>head over heals</quote> with <quote>head over heels</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="sect11">11</a>) Replaced <quote>antispetics</quote> with <quote>antiseptics</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="sect36">36</a>) Replaced <quote>shot-shell</quote> with <quote>shell</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="sect36">36</a>) Replaced <quote>(minimum equals one round; maximum equals five rounds)</quote> with <quote>(minimum: one round; maximum: five rounds)</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="sect39">39</a>) Replaced <quote>Within a minute he has made a hole large enough to of the truck, there is another sharp crack</quote> with <quote>On the other side of the truck, there is another sharp crack</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="sect55">55</a>) Replaced <quote>Tennon Saw</quote> with <quote>Tenon Saw</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="sect66">66</a>) Replaced <quote>syphon</quote> with <quote>siphon</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="sect92">92</a>) Replaced <quote>syphoning</quote> with <quote>siphoning</quote> and <quote>syphon</quote> with <quote>siphon</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="sect98">98</a>) Replaced <quote>If is is 11 or more</quote> with <quote>If it is 11 or more</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="sect104">104</a>) Replaced <quote>reassurringly</quote> with <quote>reassuringly</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="sect125">125</a>) Replaced <quote>(minimum equals one round; maximum equals three rounds)</quote> with <quote>(minimum: one round; maximum: three rounds)</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="sect129">129</a>) Replaced <quote>syphon</quote> with <quote>siphon</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="sect136">136</a>) Replaced <quote>turn 235</quote> with <quote>turn to 235</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="sect148">148</a>) Replaced <quote>(minimum equals one round; maximum equals eight rounds)</quote> with <quote>(minimum: one round; maximum: eight rounds)</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="sect150">150</a>) Replaced <quote>gunsmoke</quote> with <quote>gun smoke</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="sect167">167</a>) Replaced <quote>straigthening</quote> with <quote>straightening</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="sect171">171</a>) Replaced <quote>expodes</quote> with <quote>explodes</quote> and <quote>turn 304</quote> with <quote>turn to 304</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="sect174">174</a>) Replaced <quote>Tool kit</quote> with <quote>Tool Kit</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="sect195">195</a>) Replaced <quote>syphon</quote> with <quote>siphon</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="sect220">220</a>) Replaced <quote>landcruiser</quote> with <quote>Landcruiser</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="sect223">223</a>) Replaced <quote>you Action Chart</quote> with <quote>your Action Chart</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="sect226">226</a>) Replaced <quote>motorcyle</quote> with <quote>motorcycle</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="sect241">241</a>) Replaced <quote>binouclars</quote> with <quote>binoculars</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="sect252">252</a>) Replaced <quote>machine gunfire</quote> with <quote>machine gun fire</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="sect264">264</a>) Replaced <quote>encumberance</quote> with <quote>encumbrance</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="sect269">269</a>) Replaced <quote>syphon</quote> with <quote>siphon</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="sect276">276</a>) Replaced <quote>one a.m.</quote> with <quote>1 a.m.</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="sect291">291</a>) Replaced <quote>turn to, 83</quote> with <quote>turn to 83</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="sect323">323</a>) Replaced <quote>(minimum equals one round; maximum equals five rounds)</quote> with <quote>(minimum: one burst; maximum: five bursts)</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="sect11">11</a>,<a idref="sect63">63</a>,<a idref="sect82">82</a>,<a idref="sect150">150</a>,<a idref="sect152">152</a>,<a idref="sect192">192</a>,<a idref="sect310">310</a>,<a idref="sect320">320</a> Replaced CCS Bonuses in <quote>[]</quote> with <quote>()</quote>.</p>
+ <p>(<a idref="sect10">10</a>,<a idref="sect11">11</a>,<a idref="sect66">66</a>,<a idref="sect92">92</a>,<a idref="sect100">100</a>,<a idref="sect106">106</a>,<a idref="sect134">134</a>,<a idref="sect192">192</a>,<a idref="sect223">223</a>,<a idref="sect264">264</a>,<a idref="sect282">282</a>,<a idref="sect291">291</a>,<a idref="sect295">295</a>,<a idref="sect340">340</a>) Replaced <quote>Backpack items</quote> with <quote>Backpack Items</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="crsumary">Combat Rules Summary</a>) Added missing period after <quote>total</quote>.</p>
<p>(<a idref="crsumary">Combat Rules Summary</a>) Replaced <quote>cross-refer</quote> with <quote>cross-reference</quote>.</p>
</data>
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