The Last War - A Post World War Dieselpunk Quest

23.5.1919

Unfortunately for you, the communists actually did set up a proper guard. After making the choice to try and steal the Spider, Arno and you had made your way to a small hill near the depot and waited there for night to fall while watching the patrols. The depot was not very large, only three small warehouses surrounded by a thick, earthen wall kept upright by retaining walls of brick. There was only one gate, a sturdy looking metal one at that, and three guards stood there the entire time.

"We can climb in, no problem, but I have no idea how to get out of there without doing something about the guards," Arnos poke next to you while handing you the binoculars. "Could a Spider break down that gate?"

"No, probably not. But we won't have to. The wall is pretty high, but it should be able to get up there."

"And I here thought the name was just about the legs."

"I can't say. We mostly called them by a different nickname and I'd rather not live up to that." As you spoke you kept your eyes on the depot while trying hard to think of anything you were missing. The Spider berths were in the middle one, the guards at the gate were mostly concerned with the road and the one man ambling along the wall should have been easy to evade in the night. It seemed almost easy.

"Still surprised you were so eager for this." The click of a lighter and the smell of a cigarette made you put down the binoculars and look over to Arno. "You don't seem the brave one most of the time."

Maybe you should have been offended, but you just laughed it off. "Maybe. Haven't been charging into no-mans-land on foot like you did for months or years."

"Are you kidding? I didn't see a single trench that wasn't full of Germans. Do I look like I have a death wish?"

"But you were in the infantry. How did you never get ordered to join a charge?"

"Oh, I was ordered to do things quite often, but here is the thing: I always had this strange problem where I would fall into a crater, sprain my ankle, and then crawl back to our own lines a few hours later when nobody was paying attention. Weird how often that happened."

This time your laughter was much heartier. "Should have seen that one coming by now."

---

24.5.1919

It was around midnight when you decided to try your luck. The guards at the gate had started to play cards with each other and the man patrolling between the warehouses had slowed down. There was probably not going to be a better chance. So, you packed up your things, put on the red armbands just in case, and got moving.


Arno was leading the way and you followed hot on his hells. Through some hedges near the depot, then sprinting over the open field towards the wall. For a moment the two of you waited, just in case someone had noticed you and came to check, but it remained quiet. Up the wall, hiding briefly in the weeds growing on top, and a careful jump back down, then you were in.

It couldn't have taken much more than a minute or two, but every step of the way felt like it had taken ages. Your heart was beating so hard that you were afraid someone would hear it. Arno on the other hand seemed fully in his element. If anything, he was excited by this whole thing. And a few steps later, you were already at the back door to the warehouse.


Through the dirty window in it shone a dull light and you could faintly hear two people arguing with each other.

"Shit," Arno whispered.

"Shit," you agreed equally quietly.

"How fast can you start that walker?"

You stared for a moment, unsure you liked where this was going, but the faint footsteps of the guard echoing in between he warehouses squashed the feeling. "If it's ready to go, very fast."

"Alright," he replied and suddenly stood up.

Before you could get another word in, he boldly opened the door and strode into the room and all you could do is press yourself against the wall and peek into the hall. Within were three berths for Spider walkers, of which one was empty and the walker in the second had some of its armor peeled back to expose the motor. The third looked ready to go though, all pristine grey paint with two red stripes on each side that looked to be a recent addition.

The two men you had heard arguing stood before the broken walker and apparently were in the process of fixing it. Now they had stopped their work and instead turned to Arno. "Hey," he called to them. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"


The Luger was already in your hand when Arno reached the two, expecting them to call for the guards any second. Against all odds, they did not. Instead, they started talking and after a moment, he managed to make them look away from your position.

You tried to be quiet as you entered the room. They did not hear you walking on the concrete. They did hear you on the metal steps of the gantry. You ran upwards the stairs as they started shouting and jumped onto the Spider, then down its hatch. There was no time to do this properly. You heard someone running up the gantry and hoped it was Arno. Hand on the clutch lever, you spoke a silent prayer and kicked the starter pedal down.


The engine stuttered and loud bangs of misfires rang through the hull. "No. Don't do this to me." Someone dropped into the hull with you, but you had no time to check who it was. "Come on," you yelled and kicked the starter gain. The engine roared to life. "Yes!"

You threw a glance to your side. Arno was looking at the gunner controls as if they were about to bite him. "Optics before you. Right one is the machine gun," you shouted over the roaring engine as the Spider lurched forward. You needed to be somewhere else, and you needed to be there fast. One of your legs clipped a mechanic, sending him tumbling, while you barreled towards the gate of the warehouse. The thin sheet metal did not even slow you down.


But the gate of the depot was far more solid and so you charged straight at the wall. There was a lot of shouting, and you were certain that Arno's voice was among it. It did not matter. Bullets started to plink against your hull. That did not matter either. Two of your legs lunged upwards and found purchase atop the wall, the momentum carrying the hull upwards as they began to pull. Two steps later and you were down again, charging towards the road.

You ran…

[] … directly to Urmitz. (Risks being misidentified as a communist attack and fired upon. Might start a larger battle.)

[] … to the fields and trees to lose your pursuers. (Might have to fight off pursuers. Keeps your deal with the soldiers in Urmitz.)

[] … back to the truck. This was your walker now. (Will attempt to cross the Rhein in Remagen instead.)

---

AN: All things considered, this went pretty well, but the dice definitely are being divas again. Decided to start adding rolls to the updates again, since keeping this completely in the background is probably not the best when I have a rather crunchy system for this quest.