[AtB: A1.4] Dover

Hook: Thirty years ago mutant chickens rose up against the Cardanian government to have wild chickens removed from the nations livestock/commodity list. This event was known as the Cluckers Revolt, a bloody revolution that ended when the government agreed to open numerous refuges for the chickens, both wild and mutant.

The Cluckers Revolt also saw the rise an extremist cell within the chicken community known as the Free Rangers. These chickens wanted more than freedom for their species, they wanted the entire Delaware peninsula as their own nation.

Since the revolt, the Free Rangers have conducted numerous terrorist actions against Cardania in an attempt to force the government to hand over the land they wanted.

Three years ago, in a raid on a Ranger stronghold, Cardania announced that they had finally broken the Free Rangers organization with the capture of their leader, Erik Rigdon.

In secret, a covert cell worked on plans to free their leader from Fort Borow in Smoketown, Cardania's Maximum Security Penitentiary.

With Cardania now watching their northern border, the Free Ranger cell was able to move into Smoketown with a large cache of weapons and soldiers in preparation for its assault on Fort Borow.

Line: The group will be flown, by helicopter, to the main chicken reservation in Dover County (formerly Delaware) where they are to find and take Erik Rigdon's brother, Paul Rigdon, into custody for interrogation to find where the Free Ranger cell is operating from in Smoketown.

Sinker: Erik's brother is being guarded by seven cell members at the Dickinson Mansion [alt img] in a small poultry settlement south of the town of Dover, Delaware. The guards are armed with automatic weapons and light body armor and will fight to the death.

Paul is a pacifist who does not agree with the Free Rangers means of fighting the system and will assist the group by giving them the name of a known Free Ranger operative in Smoketown who would most likely know where the cell is operating.

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NOTE: I never did get around to writing AtB: A1.5, but that doesn't mean that I won't get around to it eventually. :) Suffice it to say it was to be a number of small firefights that lead up to a final confrontation in the Free Ranger Extremists in Fort Borow. Feel free to come up with your own conclusion, or modify A1.4 to conclude this HLS adventure series.

[AtB: A1.3] Streets of Wild Filly

Hook: Following a string of attacks on Cardanian assets, one foiled attack has led to evidence that implicates the Rodent Cartel in Filly.

Line: A paper trail from the Shifter Mouse that was hiring mercs and others to attack Cardanian sites (see HL&S "[AtB: A1.2] The Philly Connection") has implicated the Rodent Cartel of Filly as being involved. Cardania has directed the group to track down who within the Cartel is responsible and what their motives were.

Sinker: The Cartel, not wanting to take the blame for these attacks, fingers a young faction of the Cartel who has been running their operations without the permission of the Cartel-at-large. The faction of the Rodent Cartel responsible for the attacks against Cardania has retreated into the Wild Filly, a savage part of the city ruled by street gangs and ferral mutants. They can be found in an old building not far from the Wild Filly border, but has recruited several "natives" to provide security.

Once the characters are able to secure the factions leader, a mutant mouse named Rodney, he will be quick to spill the beans and tell the group that he was paid a large sum of money by the Free Rangers for weapons (explosives and rifles), and to set up their operative (the shifter mouse from "[AtB: A1.2] The Filly Connection") in Filly with protection (bodyguards), EoH documents, and connections (mercs and anti-Cardanians). They did not tell him why, but his spies in eastern Cardania indicate that the Free Rangers were using these attacks as a smokescreen while they prepared for an operation in Smoketown, though he doesn't know what that operation involves.

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Notes: Getting the information from the Cartel will require either a larger bribe, connections within the Cartel, or providing a service for the Cartel (run guns, provide information, rough someone up, etc.) Be creative. Once the Cartel is satisfied, they will give the group the location of the faction responsible for the actions in "[AtB: A1.2] The Filly Connection".

[AtB: A1.2] The Filly Connection

Hook: An EoH operative in Filly is hiring mercs and anti-Cardanian's to run sabotage missions with the promise of great rewards on their return from a success missions.

Line: Intel gathered following the mission at Radar Station Zulu (see HL&S "[AtB: A1.1] Radar Station Zulu"), points to an EoH operative working out of Filly who is hiring groups to perform missions against Cardania. The intel, however is incomplete and they don't know who or where the operative is in the city. If the characters were able to subdue and capture one of the raiders, he will divulge the name of a contact in Filly who may be able to get the characters close to the operative. The Cardanian government assigns the characters to go to Filly and gather as much information as possible on the Empires operation and operative by any means possible. Any evidence the characters can bring back that will implicate the Empire's hand in this situation will fetch the characters a handsome reward.

Sinker: The operative is actually a Shifter Mouse in the guise of a Human, and will use his powers to change his appearance to elude capture if needed. The Shifter Mouse is actually working deep undercover for two parties: the Rodent Cartel, and the Free Rangers (the Free Rangers are an extremist group of mutant chickens in Dover County, Cardania (Delaware)). In 48 hours, the operative will be assembling another group of mercenaries to launch an attack at another Cardanian installation. If the characters can stop this attack in time they will receive an additional reward.

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Note: There is no information in the Shifter Mouses possession that indicates his connection to the Free Rangers, but there is a paper trail that can be followed to the Rodent Cartel. That trail will be expanded upon in the next HLS. If, by some chance, the Shifter Mouse is captured and returned to Cardania, he will be found dead in his holding cell, the victim of an unknown assailant.

[AtB: A1.1] Radar Station Zulu

This is the first in a series of Hook, Line and Sinkers I'm working on.

Hook: For the past two weeks, there have been numerous successful attacks on Cardanian assets along the northern border with evidence pointing to a possible incursion by the Empire of Humanity. Now a band of raiders have taken the operators of a Cardanian radar outpost hostage. The raiders threaten that they will blow up the outpost with the Cardanian operators inside unless Cardania agrees to deliver to them money, weapons, and an armored vehicle. Since Cardania has moved much of the Elite Militia to protect the borders it is unwilling to move them to handle this event.

Line: Cardania officials refuse to give in to the demands of the raiders. The official in charge activates the characters militia status and assigns them to escort a diplomat to diffuse the situation. If that fails they are to remove the raiders by any means possible, but to minimize damage to the radar station.

Sinker: The official who briefs the characters pleads with them to ensure the safety of his son, one of the operators who was taken hostage at the outpost. During the first round of negotiations, the diplomat is shot by the raiders and is thrown out of the outposts compound. The raiders threaten that if their demands are not met in 12 hours, they will shoot one hostage every fifteen minutes until their demands are met, and then blow up the outpost.

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Follow Up: If the raiders are taken care of, the characters will find that the raiders were all equipped with EoH weapons and equipment. Further investigation will uncover a dead human with EoH ID papers - shot in the back - in the back of the raiders vehicle. Interrogation of any of the raiders will uncover that they were hired in New Kennel by the human to destroy the outpost, but decided that they could get more if they ransomed the operators. The human threatened the raiders leader and was shot to keep him from interfering.

Saving the officials son will give the characters some clout with Cardanian official in the future.