“Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Into this house, we're born
Into this world were thrown”
The radio droned on as flight crews made their final preparation to ride the lighting into Dhéǵhōm. Meanwhile you just sit back and mindlessly check your gear one last time while trying to get comfortable in the heavy humidity. You sit there watching the storm slowly approaching and there was an air of slight anxiety that always came when it got close to launch time. Looking over the swarth of passengers you cracked a shit eating grin “Lots of new bloods”  you say to yourself. 

You could tell who was new and who was experienced from what they were doing and how they composed themselves. The new guys were the ones talking and drinking amongst themselves, some of them even taking their drugs, anything to keep the nerves at bay. The ones that have experience are checking their gear, attempting to get some sleep before the flight, or shaking down the first timers for smart electronics that could get them and their chopper killed during the ride. 

You take your eyes off the chaos just in time to witness the arrival of the people who sponsored this flight. A Princeton University archeological expedition that partnered with the American Museum of Natural History and the MET to study and gather artifacts from various ruins in Dhéǵhōm. They must have given the expedition a blank check because the Sons have their entire fixed wing transport fleet here and a good portion of the helicopter fleet as well. A green flare went up signaling ten minutes until launch time and everybody scrambled to their aircraft. You get into your Huey just as the last C-130 took off and the DC-3s started rolling down the runway. 
>look around to see if you recognize anybody in the huey
>one last gear check (weapon and gear choice)
>try to get a nap in during the flight

>You have a basic bitch M4 Carbine, a 1911, ten homemade IEDs along with seven pounds of C4 and six magazines for each excluding the ones already in you guns
>You have a Winchester 1886 chambered in .45/70, a Colt Navy, a large amount of rope along with a copious amount of cigars and alcohol
>You have a scoped M14, a sawed off double barrel shotgun, four smoke grenades, and flare gun
>You have an AK pattern rifle with 8 magazines and 4 bottles of vodka
>You have a FAL, a Colt Python, a Bowie Knife, three grenades and a machete
>You have a classic M16 no attachments, a 1911 with 5 magazines for each and a bowie knife
>You have a Tommy Gun drum mag, a mares leg, and a satchel filled with Italian meats and cheeses
>You have a Mosin Nagant with a rusty bayonet, two bandoliers of ammo and a kilt made up of full stripper clips with two RPG rockets at your hips
>write in



After you have finished checking your gear you hear a voice call out from beside you.

“Aren't they supposed to wait until the first aircraft is fully clear before sending out the second?” asks the college kid sitting next to you.

 You turn to him and say “No, we got a small window to time to get into the storm to ride the lighting down into Dhéǵhōm. So they launch the next plane as soon as the previous one is airborne.”

 “Makes sense.” the kid says.

“Say, How many people are on this expedition anyway?” You ask, surprised at the amount of equipment being used for this ride. 

“You didn’t know? Every archeologist, anthropologist, professor, and student on the east coast that wanted in on this expedition joined up.” The kid exclaimed his New England accent finally coming through.

 “That explains why the Sons pulled out enough aircraft to move a brigade.” You say as you attached your harness to the seat “You might want to do that as well, because once we ride the lighting it is five minutes of straight freefall until we get to Dhéǵhōm” You yell over the noise of the huey’s blades as you take off into the storm.








The storm bashed and bayed violently with lightning striking around you. 
The storm bashed and bayed violently with lightning striking around you. You turn to the kid whose name you find out is Jeff. “Alright, which ruins is your expedition going to?” You question noting his unease.

His stammered reply of “Were headed to the Fuk Hor Palace then to the Bactrian cities and finishing off at Pueblos on the El Dorado Plateau.” confirmed your suspicions. That the people behind the planning of this expedition had no idea what they were doing.

“You're all going to die” You cackled out “The Bactrian cities are a warzone of Pashtun tribes and  the El Dorado Plateau is firm Injun territory, they shoot anybody that gets close unless they are invited and escorted in. Fuk Hor Palace is probably the only relatively safe place on that list and its booby trapped to shit”.

His rebuttal was muffled by the sound of thunder and a flash of lighting. “You see that over there” you say pointing to a bolt of lightning stringing one of the C-130s. “Relax” you say to the paniking kid who at this point was a hair away from hyperventilating at the sight of the vanishing aircraft “What do you think I meant when I said ride the lighting, we literally ride a lighting bolt down into Dhéǵhōm. What's next you're going to tell me you don’t know who the Fortunate Sons are?”.

 The blank look on his face and the reply of “I don’t listen to rock'' told you everything you needed to know about the group of dipshits you're going to be babysitting. In a tone of barley repressed rage you say “How the fuck do you not know the name of the group that is currently flying you to another dimension”. Your attempted angry tirade was cut short by the copilot shouting “Thunder strike in three, two, one” and with that we started out entrance to Dhéǵhōm. 

The five minutes of straight free fall surrounded by an electric blue stops freaking you out after the first minute, or so you thought because Jeff is still screaming. You smack him one to shut him the fuck up and then turn to the rest of the guys in the chopper with us for some help and their amused looks tell me that this guy is my problem until we land. 

“So why are you in one of the security choppers anyway?” You ask him and he tells me he swapped choppers with a raider who wanted to catch up with one of his old buddies from high school in one of the chinooks. Before you can even comment on that action the huey lurches and everybody perks up as sunlight returns to view.

And over the radio you hear “Welcome to Dhéǵhōm dipshits, it is currently a nice and sunny 87 degrees outside with humidity at 73 percent. To our civilian passengers I will kindly ask you to keep all arms and legs inside the aircraft until we reach our stopover at Kilgore Airfield. As for Fortunate Sons on this flight as well as independent raiders who rely on us for transport. Lock and load the chinks are attacking FOB Quaritch and we are the closest group that can respond. All security aircraft peel off and releve FOB Quaritch, also heads up Rhuook and his band are there as well so watch your fire.” 

Upon hearing this you all perk up as the stario’s in every chopper blasts Fortunate Son as you fly off into combat. You ready your Tommy Gun and look the kid in the eye and say “This is where the fun begins.”




The six hueys weaved their way through the labyrinth of cliffs, caves and arches, the tense mood from before was lifted. 

One of the guys Gabriel Ramirez was regaling us with the story of one of the chicks he hooked up with in high school “And her sister walks in and says can I play too. Before I can say anything the chick I'm banging says yes. At this point I realized I stuck my dick in crazy and am a dead man either way so I grab my clothes not even bothering to put them on, open the window and then jump from the second floor and ran buck ass naked the fuck out of there.”

 Once the laughter died down the one of the guys on the M60s Tyson remarked “You got the worst luck when it comes to women Ramirez you know that.” 

Before he could retort the pilot butts in “Cut the chatter were almost there.” As FOB Quatitch came into view there was a deep pants shitting roar “Good to hear he’s still alive” commented one of the guys.

 “What was that and who are you talking about?” Questioned a terrified Jeff. “You’ll find out soon enough” was the only response.

 “Chopper 4 this is Chopper 6 the enemy is in the southern treeline as well as on the hilltop, suppress them while we and chopper 2 deploy troops.” 

“Got it Chopper 6 suppressing the treeline any location on Rhuook and his troop?” You tap the pilot on the shoulder and point to the moving shadows in the treeline on the hilltop to the east. “Never mind, we have a positive ID on Rhuook and his people. They are in the eastern treeline. I repeat, avoid firing on the eastern treeline.” 

“Copy that Chopper 4 we’ll avoid firing on the eastern treeline.” The cacophony of gunfire spewed from our chopper into the southern treeline led by Tyson and Johanes on the M60s. The clack of your Thompson was music to my ears as you lay fire into the treeline. 

“Chopper 4 this is Chopper 6 you are cleared to deploy troops, I repeat you are cleared to deploy troops. We'll cover you while you drop your guys off.” 

“Is it over” whines Jeff and Ramirez answers “No. This is where the fun really begins.” Our huey barely touched down as we sprinted out of it. You turned to Jeff and said “Find a place to hide and stay there until it's over. Got it.”
 
 ''Got it” he replied as he ran off.

 With that moron dealt with you turn your attention to the more pressing matter: the Chinese platoon raining fire down upon us from the top of the hill. You hear the sound of a colt monitor and you turn and see Nunfucker one of the craziest mother fuckers here.

 “Good to see you again” he yells out over the gunfire.

“Good to see you too, what did I miss when I was topside?”

“Nothing much just more of the same old same old, well besides Manfred’s band of merry band of dipshits saying that they found a way to awaken the ancient master race.” He says popping off to let off another burst.

 “And I already told you I got 5k on them being discount Pillar Men.” You reply, letting off a burst from your own weapon.

 “Let's finish this later, I got to rally those new bloods in the western side of the base” he says. 

“Alright, have you seen Rhuook anywhere, he should be dealing with the guys on the hilltop by now?” You ask just as another guttural roar rocks the jungle “Nevermind”.

You charge forward towards the hill, your Tommy gun blasting as you charge. Your mad charge has surprised them allowing you to fell two positions with ease. You reload in cover and by the time you finish the Chinese on the hilltop have focused their fire on you. Pinning you to your cover. 

 With another unearthly roar the soldiers on the hilltop fell one by one and with the choppers bringing their full firepower to bear on the ones in the south this battle was all but over. As you relax you see Rhuook in the treeline and you motion to him that there is a civilian in the third building to the left of his position, Jeff’s hiding spot. 

“Did you really sic him on the civ Rabbit?” one of the older guys asked

 “Yes I did, that's what he gets for being a dumbass who got on the wrong chopper as well as annoying me.” You reply as another guttural roar bellows through the compound followed by a feminin scream the we assume came from Jeff and the Jeff himself running for his life while screaming “Evil wookie, evil wookie.” 

You trip him then grab him by the scruff of his collar and say to his blubbering face “First of all that is not a wookie that is Rhuook and he's an Orang Pendek otherwise known as a Rock Ape, third of all don’t call them wookies or all that will be left of you body is going to be a severed head that was tossed into camp. Comprende?”

 “Comprende” he says as a laughing Rhuook joins the group.

 Nunfucker comes up to us and says “I just got off the horn with Kilgore. The relief force should be here in five minuets to replace us and take us back to base so we can properly gear up for guarding those school kids. How many of them are there anyway?”

 “About 1200 if all of those aircraft are filled to capacity” You respond.

 “Oh shit that many. We’ll probably have to expand Clearwater Viginti Octo then.” Nunfucker replies.

 “Wait, I thought we only had 23 Clearwaters, now we're at 28? I was gone for two months when did this happen?” Nunfucker just chuckles and walks away. “Good to be back” You say as the choppers arrive.

You look around at this motley band of fighters and you see
>Shamus, an Irishman with a penchant for drinking and brawling. You do not know if acting like a walking Irish stereotype is deliberate or not.
>Benny, a proper Englishman who will do anything for Queen and country, is here to loot artifacts in the name of the British Museum (whether they like it or not).
>Appalachia Mac, big heart, bigger stomach, the BBQ kind of Deghome. You almost killed him once when you found out he turned the jar of your nonna’s sauce into BBQ sauce then you tasted it.
>T̷̰̘͎̐̃͛͠h̶̩́̾̃̔̕͝e̴̢̖̙̫̲͐͐ ̴̢̤͇͓͙̲̰͆͆K̴̢̩̟͗̋̾̕o̷̧̚̕m̷̡̳̱̣͍̖̩̊̆̉̈́͘͜m̵̩̈́̉̉̐̄̽̓̚ą̴̛̛̣̲͇̲̤̽̆͊̏͝n̷̗̘̯͕͗̇̈͒̕d̶͖̞͈͑͗̍̋͛o̶̼͍̩̜̙͎̬̩̓, armed with only a Nugget a rusty bayonet, and wearing only a gasmask, a bandoliet of ammo and a kilt made out of full stripper clips. Nobody knows what he looks like or sounds like without the gas mask. He wields two RPG rockets as melee weapons hanging from his waste. 

You see a headless figure with a Tommy gun, he gives you a salute and then dissipates into thin air. You shout “Roland was with us. He has judged our fight worthy.”  Your response is a round of cheers, hoops and hollers.

You hear in an Appalchian accent behind you say “So he decided to reveal himself to you this time. Ey Rabbit”

Turning around you see Appalachia Mac put a hand on your shoulder. “It seems so” You say to him.

“Come along now my friend, let's get back to Kilgore. I have a grand feast smoking for this expedition and I need your help putting the final touches on it”. He boasts getting onto the same chopper as you and Jeff.

“You better not have turned my nonna’s gravy in BBQ sauce again” You reply and Mac gives out a hearty laugh as you take off.

Your arrival at Kilgore Airfield was a quiet one, by Kilgore’s standards anyway, even with the Orang Pendeks hanging from the landing gear. While most of the men went off to drink, grab stashed gear, or collect their pay from defending Quaritch. Some stuck around to help unload the research team’s gear, others to make sure Rhuook and his band aren't hassled by an over eager undergrad and several others went off with Mac to help set up the welcome feast.

You heard a yell of “JEFF” and saw Jeff get tackle-hugged by a tall blonde girl. After getting up and dusting herself off, she walked over to me.
“If you hurt him, so help me god…” she started her southern drawl flaring, before noticing Rhuook standing beside me. “Is that a wookie?” she said drastically changing the subject.

“Oh god dammit not another one” You say to yourself before starting. “No, this is Rhuook. He is an Orange Pendek, otherwise known as a Rock Ape. Did you not read the pamphlets, or visit the wiki? It was still up the last time I checked.”

“There is a wiki?” was her response. 

“Yes there is now I take it there will be a safety meeting for your expedition?” You ask, hoping that somebody intelligent actually planned out this expedition.

“Yeah, its at six” she said while intensely watching a Rock Ape help unload one of the c130s.

You roll your eyes knowing exactly how this is going to go. “Good, pay attention to it and don't die in the meantime.” You say before walking off.

>get a drink
>help Mac
>avoid her
>find a place to sleep


You head off Babba Booey’s the wildest bar this side of Kubeloon. Once you have cleared the rows of hangars and have entered the chaotic sprawl of buildings that make up the settlement of Kilgore Station. Throughout your march to Babba’s you feel as if you are being followed, you try several times to catch a glimpse of your stalker but find nothing and chalk it up to nerves. 

Outside of Babba Booey’s you find the palace to be in more anarchy than usual. Probably owing to both the presence of the research team and the rock apes. You see Bhouba, one of the rock apes, chugging a whole barrel of bourbon to a cheering crow. You give him a wave as you walk in to find Mac discussing something with Babba Booey. He leaves two crystal skulls and some clay tablets as payment before walking out.

As he walks out he says to you “I’m serious about needing you help with the perpetrators my friend, as soon as my order is ready I want you to escort it to me or you're going to be at the end of the line for dinner.”

You shudder and let out a “yes sir” as he walks away. Turning your attention to Babba Booey you ask the djinn.
>for a Disney Star: bourbon mixed with orange soda, ginger ale, vodka, grenadiers and cocktail cherries
>a Manhattan
>a beer
> what Mac ordered

“Hey Rabbit what can Babba Booey the Great and Powerful do for you today?”  He greets you. 

“Just a beer tonight, I gotta deliver Mac’s order to him and then help him with his grand feast or it's the back of the line for me.” You respond, finally starting to relax after a long day of bullshit.

“That is a fate I would wish upon any man” The djinn says while conjuring you up a bottle of Switchback.

“Still amazed you get that out here.” You reply, still wondering how a being from another dimension is able to import beer from Earth.

“She is still looking for you, you know.” He says as you sip your beer.

“Still? I would have thought that she would have given up by now.” You ask.

“She is a persistent one, that she is. What did you do to get her after you anyway. Rabbit?” Babba questions while cleaning a glass.

“It's something out of a pulp story, I caught and gave her village some wild boars and they believe it's a dowry. Next thing I know I’m held at spearpoint and married off to the chief's daughter.” You tell Babba.

He lets out a laugh and asks “and this is a bad thing because?”

Your only reply is “Dude, she’s fourteen years old, that is a major problem.”

“I am a multi-millenia old being, human ages stopped making sense to me a long time ago. Also Mac’s order is ready out back.” Babba replies. 

“Thanks for the Switchback and the heads up.” You say as you pay him for your drink before heading out back. 

Out back you find a halftrack laden with alcohol of many different types ready and waiting for you to hop on. You climb on the back and give the cab a good hit to tell the driver to start moving. The streets are quieter than normal and you soon see the reason why as you reach the hangar Mac converted into a smokehouse and chow hall. A large crowd had gathered around it and were being held back by armed guards as portions of the runway were also being turned into open air dining. 

As you pull in, Mac approaches you and says “Ah Rabbit I knew you would come. I need your help making sure the rest of these numbskulls don’t fuck anything up while I’m finishing up the meat. We got mammoth, auroch, and buffalo on top of the usual beef, pork and chicken.” before heading off with a few bottles of the truck.

“You pulled out all the stops tonight” You say as you get to work.

>small talk with the other guys who a helping Mac cook
>check the ovens
>snag some antipasto or appetizers
>stop other people from snagging some antipasto or appetizers (melee weapon acquired: wooden spoon)

The kitchen is what one would describe organized chaos with raiders running back and forth tending to various large scale dishes. As you make your way towards the ovens you grab a large wooden spoon perfect for beating away anyone trying to sneak some food early. Arriving at the ovens you make note of the dozens of different breads, biscuits, and mac and cheeses baking in the oven, nothing seems to be ready yet so you set a timer on your watch and slink over to the appetizers and stand guard. 

After smacking away a few people trying to grab a few plates for themselves, Marcus, one of the Sons’ line cooks, comes up to you. “What's the full menu tonight?” You ask him.

“I take it Mac already told you about the meat.” He says leaning back on the counter.

“Yep, that is an impressive spread and I assume that there is more than what I saw?” You ask knowing that you have only seen a fraction of what is going out to the feast.

“We got the meat, the antipasto, the apps, breads, biscuits, mac and cheese, potatoes of several types, italian homestyle salad, and then you regular cookout fare.” Marcus says as your stomach grumbles in approval.

The timer on your watch goes off, you walk back to the ovens to take the food out as you hear Mac call out to start getting things set up. With the stuff cooking in the ovens handed over to the line cooks to be put in place to be served, your obligations to Mac have been fulfilled. You now have a place at the chef's table and a spot at the front of the line.

>help serve
>get a spot at the front of the line
>hang back and eat in the kitchen

You forgo your seat at the table to instead help serve the many hungry souls that went through Mac’s hangar. You serve a few familiar faces and acquaint yourself with some of the professors in the expedition. After serving a few dozen people Mac tapps you on the back telling you to go take a seat and get something to eat.

Pick 5
>brisket
>chicken
>pulled pork
>ribs
>salad
>potatoes (write in what type)
 >mac and cheese
>biscuits
>bread
>grilling fare (write in)
>koleslaw
>antipasto
>apps (write in)

As you sit down to dig into your meal of meat you take a good look at the army gathered before you. You know tomorrow is going to be a mess and you dig in with gusto, the Auroch is tougher than you expected but still very good. The chicken was cooked in what is on paper an unholy combination of honey mustard, buffalo sauce, and BBQ sauce, but tastes divine when put into practice. The rest of the barbecue however tastes strangely familiar, the bastard used your nonna’s sauce as a base for his BBQ sauce again. Not letting that get to you, you plan your vengeance against Mac later now you finish your first plate and go and get some sides. You fill your second plate with roasted potatoes, coleslaw, salad, mac and cheese and antipasto. Finishing your second plate you come across.

>Jeff and his girlfriend
>one of the professors
>Nunfucker
>her
>Shamus
>Benny
>The Kommando
>write in

>you fuckers had to pick the headless ghost and the /k/ tisim incarnate that only speaks in muffled slavic autistic screeching
Through the chaos of the party you catch a glimpse of a headless figure that quickly disappears before you almost bump into The Kommando. He is chugging vodka from the filter hole in his gas mask, the filter being placed on the table. 

He turns to you and says in his heavily muffled voice “Anno cheeki breeki?” while gesturing to the food.

“Uhhh yes?’ you heastently reply.

He gives off a celebratory gesture while saying “Ive danke” and then chugs another bottle of vodka.

Shrugging off that awkward and somewhat disturbing conversation you go get in line for more food. 

Go crazy (meaningless vote just wanted to get an update in before work)
>brisket
>chicken
>pulled pork
>ribs
>salad
>potatoes (write in what type)
 >mac and cheese
>biscuits
>bread
>grilling fare (write in)
>koleslaw
>antipasto
>apps (write in)

You go and sit down in order to polish off the massive plate of food that has definitely earned yourself a few looks from other people. Ignoring the looks of horror and disgust coming from the expedition you dig into the pile of mac and cheese, bread, sausages, and ice cream sandwiches. Washing it down with an entire bottle of bourbon, your stomach is full and you are now drunk enough to do whatever without hesitation. You look around and see that many Raiders and students are breaking off to do their own things, you decide to join one of them

So what do you do
>Card Game
>Shooting Contest
>Fire Pit
>Beer Pong
>Pool Table
>Oh god they got the karaoke machine
>Fuck it go to sleep
>Write in

>Oh god they got the karaoke machine

You drunkenly stumble over towards the firepit and you see three Sons sitting around it with a couple of kids from the expedition roasting marshmallows. You take a seat as one of the Sons pulls out a guitar and another hands you a beer. The Son with the guitar starts strumming a familiar tune https://youtu.be/f7-d2OI0K24, earnestly you and the other Sons start to sing.
“Yes we have to come back to the hustle of towns
Their highways and noise will absorb us again
We come back from the conquered magnificent mountains
With the hearts that no longer belong to the plain

So stop all your arguments now
I've proven it all to myself
Is there anything better than mountains?
Only mountains yet to ascend.
Only mountains yet to ascend.
 
Tell me who wants to be all alone when in trouble
Tell me who will ignore the call of his heart
Is it wrong to abandon those cliffs that we conquered?
Even gods have descended - we know that part
 
All these words, all these hopes, all these songs, all these themes
Are awakened at once when we come to the mountains
Should we stay? But the path takes us down and down
And for some that's end, others stand to be counted
 
So stop all these arguments now
I've proven it all to myself
Is there anything better than mountains?
Only mountains yet to ascend.”

“Yall just came back from the mountains?” You ask curious about the song choice. 

“Yep” One of the Sons replied.
 “You guys make out good?” You ask.

“No it was a shit show, between the Pashtuns, Russians, Djinn and giants we were lucky to escape with our lives. Lost our gear and loot and forced to jump down a waterfall to escape an angle” 

“Wait, the giants are back? I thought they all were wiped out long before Deghome became accessible?” You question, now worried about your own plans for treasure hunting.

“They're rare but seen occasionally, from what I heard they fight any angle that is nearby and apparently they can kill them.” The Son explains. “If enough of them start popping up we might be able to move into angel territory.” He continues.

“When that happens it will be a free for all.” You say chugging another beer as the guitar picks back up.

“Then here's to us getting there first.” The Son says, toasting towards the prospect of greener pastures and the loot held within them.

You raise your bottle in response and hear from behind you “There he is.” as you are dragged off towards the makeshift stage where a couple of Sons have set up the karaoke machine.

You see Nunfucker and he tells you. “The boys here wanted to hear how good you were on this thing, so pick a song.” as he gestures to the crowd of raiders behind him. 

>Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
>Fortunate Son
>Live to Forget
>Write in

Chugging a bottle of bourbon you step up to the microphone as the music begins https://youtu.be/TkClJm9SrHI. 

“Standing on the edge of the crater
Like the prophets once said
And the ashes are all cold now
No more bullets and the embers are dead
Whispers in the air tell the tales
Of the brothers gone
Desolation, devastation
What a mess we made, when it all went wrong”.
 
The crowd of raiders cheers as you begin the first verse.

“Watching from the edge of the circus
For the games to begin
Gladiators draw their swords
Form their ranks for armageddon

I'm nuclear
I'm wild
I'm breaking up inside
A heart of broken glass
Defiled
Deep inside
The abandoned child”

As the song goes on your singing attracts the attention of others, drawing them to the little makeshift stage.

“Standing on the edge of the underworld
Looking at the abyss
And I'm hoping for some miracle
To breakout, to escape from all this
Whispers in the air tell the tales
Of a life that's gone
Desolation, devastation
What a mess we made, when it all went wrong”

I'm nuclear
I'm wild
I'm breaking up inside
A heart of broken glass
Defiled
Deep inside
The abandoned child”

The gathered crowd cheers and Nunfucker shoves another bottle into your mouth. Calling out to the crowd “He pulled it off, we need more booze.” to the crowd’s cheer. “You up for another song ey Rabbit?” He asks.

“Fuck it I’m in.” Is all you say.

>Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
>Fortunate Son
>Live to Forget
>Napalm Sticks to Kids
>Billabong Valley
>Hound Dog
>Gangsta’s Paradise
>Write in

“Alright, give me Godzilla.” You say as you chug two bottles of bourbon at the same time.
 
“Three two one” Nunfucker counts down as the music starts.

“With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound
He pulls the spitting high tension wires down
Helpless people on a subway train
Scream bug-eyed as he looks in on them
He picks up a bus and he throws it back down
As he wades through the buildings toward the center of town
Oh no, they say, he's got to go
Go go Godzilla, yeah
Oh no, there goes Tokyo
Go go Godzilla, yeah
Oh no, they say he's got to go
Go go Godzilla, yeah
Oh no, there goes Tokyo
Go go Godzilla, yeah”

As the guitar solo begins you are given another bottle of bourbon to chug and you finish it.

“Godzilla
Godzilla
Rinji news o moshiagemasu
Rinji news o moshiagemasu
Godzilla ga Ginza hoomen e mukatte imasu
Daishkyu hinan shite kudasai
Daishkyu hinan shite kudasai
Oh no, they say, he's got to go
Go go Godzilla, yeah
Oh no, there goes Tokyo
Go go Godzilla, yeah
History shows again and again
How nature points out the folly of men
Godzilla
History shows again and again
How nature points out the folly of men
Godzilla
History shows again and again
How nature points out the folly of men
Godzilla
History shows again and again
How nature points out the folly of men
Godzilla”

With the second song finished Nunfucker walks up to you and offers you the chance to run the gauntlet, you decline not wanting to further risk alcohol poisoning. Wandering off into the night you pass out somewhere.

The next morning you wake up
>In bed with HER
>Hanging upside down from a tree
>In a bunk at Kilgore
>Under a table at Mac’s
>In a hole full of ruins
>write in

You wake up in a bed somewhere, you have no idea where. As you sit up you feel the force of a thousand trucks hit your forehead as you hear a yelp followed by a loud thump occur from the side of the bed. Looking over the side you see Hika, the girl you were forced to marry at spear point and have been running from for three months. Considering both of your states of undress you quickly figure out what happened last night.

“Motherfucker” You sigh as you fall back into the pillow.

“What, was I not good enough for you? I may be inexperienced but it is a wife's duty to please her husband.” She stutters out, the rabid yandere that chased you across deghome for months now reduced to a stuttering lovestruck fool.

“Uhh yeah you did good.” You say as you pull her into a hug, not really knowing what to do and too hungover to think.

The awkward and somewhat touching moment was ended by banging on the door and a shout of “Choppers dust off to Fuk Hor in twenty minuets Rabbit get your ass in gear.” from Nunfucker.

Hastily throwing on your clothes you turn towards Hika and wonder what are you going to do with this girl.

>take her with you
>leaver her here
>run like hell
>write in

“Can’t leave you here, get ready you're coming with me.” You say to Hika as you run out the door to get ready.

After a painful fifteen minutes of teaching Hika to use a shower while simultaneously denying her renewed advances, the two of you are standing on the side of the runway. You hear a growl from beside you and you turn to Hika as she gives off a squeak of embarrassment.
“You could have just told me that you’re hungry” You say as you pull a log of hard salami, a block of provolone and a loaf of bread out of your satchel and start cutting them into pieces.

“I didn’t want to bother you” She says, her face red with embarrassment.

“Just let me know if you need something, ok.” You say, ruffling her hair before handing her the meat, cheese, and bread.

Hika’s eyes seem to light up with her first bite of salami and she devours the rest with gusto. Her cute reaction gives you a smile. 

With the hot morning sun beating down on you, you watch the rest of the raiders on the security team and the expedition members stumble out to the side of the runway. The majority of them are clearly hungover, with the expedition members being worse off than your fellow raiders. 

After a few minutes the ground team consisted of M113s, LVTP5s, M706s, Greyhounds, Halftracks, trucks and a few Bulldog and Patton tanks. Where loaded up and on their way to Fuk Hor. Now it's the security teams time to mount up on their choppers and fly out. 

Who is on your chopper?
>Shamus
>Benny
>The Kommando
>Nunfucker
>Mac
>Tyson
>Ramirez
>write in

As you and Hika approach your assigned Huey you find Shamus, Ramierez, and The Kommando are on your flight. Walking up to them you are met with a round of mornings before Shamus addresses the elephant in the room.

“Oi Rabbit, you got yourself a native piece of ass, didn’t yah Rabbit, a little young though don’t you think.” Shamus jokingly questions.

“Yeah, this is Hika my wife and before you ask it was a shotgun wedding.” You say introducing her to the group.

“Yeah he’s my husband, don’t try anything or I will stab you!” Hika yells out in a flurry of energy whilst brandishing a knife.

“Damn chica’s got some balls.” Ramirez chimes in.

“Yeah she’s got some fire in her, chased me across deghome for months until she finally cornered me.” You say as you floof Hika’s hair.

Just then the speakers spark to life and call out “All security team members mount up on your choppers, take off in five.”

You all pile into the huey, with Hika taking a seat in your lap as there is no room anywhere else for her to sit. Shamus was sitting across from you with Ramierz next to him and Kommando was hanging off the side of the landing gear. 

The flight out of the winding jungle mountains into the flat forested plane was normal by Deghome’s standards until you were halfway there. Then someone calls out Roc and everyone is focused on the massive bird flying underneath the helicopters. Every gun was trained on it, with the men aiming down the sights praying that the Roc does not notice them. Hika wraps her arms around you and buries her face into your chest as you awkwardly shoulder your Thompson. Thankfully it banks right down another channel of this twisting maze of hills and mountains. 

Your arrival at Fuk Hor was quiet, with the choppers landing in clearings made by the wandering herds of wild elephants in the area surrounding the sprawling temple complex. As you touch down you must decide what you are going to do.

>secure the perimeter
>check out the left side of the temple
>check out the right side of the temple
>check out the center of the temple
>hang back and secure the landing site
>write in

“Mac I’m taking Hika and going wide around the perimeter.” You call out over the roar of the Huey’s propwash.

“I copy Rabbit, the rest of us are going through the center of the complex. Meet up with us there after your sweep.” Mac responds, hoisting his Browning m1919 as he walks off into the complex with the rest of your chopper.

You turn to Hika and say “Follow me and stay close, you haven’t been to this area and there are plenty of sinkholes for you to fall into.” as you grab a bundle of marker rods.

Hika nods as the two of you walk off to the far side of the complex. Your patrol goes smoothly until you spot an indentation in the ground, pulling out one of the marker sticks, you push it into the ground as it collapses around the stick, revealing the punji trap beneath.

“Moutherfucker” You say, motioning for Hika to come closer. “This is why I wanted you to stay close to me, one wrong step and you're getting impaled on one of these.” You say motion to the trap. 

The rest of the patrol reveals a few more pit traps, two sinkholes and three skeletons completely out of place in the southeast asian styled temple. Placing the final marker next to a clearly Norman skeleton, you can't shake the sinking feeling of something watching you from the temple complex. Hoping that it's just a bored Son sighting you into his scope, you and Hika march into the temple in search of Mac and the rest. Upon entering the winding passageways of the temple you are faced with a choice of taking the left, right or central passageway.

 take the left passageway, taking note of the marked traps and the fresh bloodstains from the poor bastards who didn’t watch where they were going. You soon make your way up to the top of the central tower where Mac and the rest of your squadmates are eating lunch. 

“About time you joined us Rabbit, Hika.” Shamus says, his Irish accent thick as he greets you.

“Yeah yeah yeah” You respond, plopping down on the floor and pulling out your assortment of Italian meats and cheeses as well as a bottle of Sangria. “Any idea when the ground team is going to show up?” You ask, knowing ground travel in Deghom is slow at best even with a clear cut road.

“They should be here any minute now, they picked up a hitchhiker and his entourage.” Ramirez says, taking a bite of his sandwich. 

“Cheeki Breeki” shouts the Kommando pointing towards the road where the convoy can be seen making its way towards the temple.

Amongst the convoy of vehicles you can make out a herd of camels walking in stride with them.

“Are those camels?” You ask, bewildered by their appearance this far into the jungle.

“More importantly, why are they painted green?” Mac asks.

“No idea” you say as the convoy pulls up to Fuk Hor.

>stay in the tower and provide overwatch
>go down and meet the convoy
>explore the temple more
>write in

“Alright, I’m gonna down there and find what the fuck happened to them and why the fuck there are camels here.” You say, preparing for the bullshit answer that you know is going to await you. “Hika stay with Mac'' You say as you climb down from the top of the tower.

To say that the ground team was in chaos would be an understatement, between wrangling the camels, unloading the transports and dealing with whatever else was going on there was little time for organization. Walking over to one of the Pattons you grab a stick bang it on the side of the tank to its crew’s attention.

“Oi, any of you know where Squawbrook is?” You ask, trying to find the only man who probably knows what is going on at this point.

“He’s probably by the M19 Chaffees, a Rok made pass on us on our way over here. They drove it off but they got hit pretty hard.” One of the tankers said.

“Alright thanks” You say, as you sprint off towards the battered anti air vehicles.

The M19s were shredded, dented and covered in blood and feathers. Letting off a whistle upon seeing the gash marks on a particular Chaffee, you make your way through the crowd in search of Squawbrook. It didn’t take long to find him, having a heated discussion with a man in traditional Afghan tribal garb.

“For the fifteenth time we do not want your camels.” You overhear Squawbrook saying.

“I said nothing about want my friend, I said that you need my better than new used camels.” The apparent camel salesman says before he notices you “My boy, please tell your leader about the wonders of hump based transportation.”
 
“Oh god damn it.” You mutter under your breath. “Hassan my friend, I believe that you have the wrong location, we were expecting you at the great sale in Clearwater prime. There are many men there waiting to buy your camels, and you don’t want to make your valued customers wait do you? No no no, you must get there quickly and I’m sure your camels can get you there in time if you leave now.” You say hoping your ploy works.

“Yes, yes, yes, how could I forget my valued customers waiting for me without their camels, I must go quickly.” He says as he whistles and assembles his camels to ride towards clearwater prime. As he rides off he yells to you “As a reward for reminding me my boy, you get 30% off your next better than new used camel.”

“Well I came down here looking for answers and I got them” You mumble to yourself before you turn towards Squawbrook. “Heard you guys got hit hard, what's the damage?”

“Nobody dead, plenty of wounded though. The Rok totaled one truck and wrecked the Chaffees.” He says turning to the closest Chaffee and sees a camel sized bite mark on the tank. “Those fucking camels.”

You just laugh

“Very funny, wise guy” He snaps back before continuing “You think these yuppies are going to find anything?”
“Doubt it this place got stripped clean during the early days, they’re not going to get anything good until they venture farther out of our territory.” You say.

“Well they better find something good this trip it's getting too expensive already.” Squawbrook says as the sound of helicopters fills the sky. “Took them long enough.”

>meet the choppers
>find Hika
>poke around the temple
>write in