The Thalassocracy has developed some surprising security after the difficult few years they have passed through. When the raiders came from the south once again, they were repulsed by ample heavy weapons fire, and only a few people were lost, while numerous raider ships were sent to the bottom of the sea. Also on the home front, a new ammo convertor was constructed so that the people of the Thalassocracy will never again run short on ammunition. Some issue was had with the allegedly harsh treatment and imprisonment of a child who had been caught stealing from the Doge-President, but the dissent at this action has been kept to murmurs at worst. An expedition of canoes was sent to the east to salvage Fiesta Key, and they had tremendous success, recovering a large number of rifles from an abandoned gun store. A little bit of ammunition had to be expended to keep attacks from the nearby mirelurks at bay, but it was widely agreed that the cost was worth it when the expedition returned home.
In what many called an odyssey of unknown proportions, the Thalassocracys sole surviving boat went to the north, its five month mission: to explore strange new lands, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where resident of Duck Key has gone before. They crossed the Rabbit Key Basin, and spent their journey headed north along the western coast of the Floridian Peninsula. To their surprise, they found the old vessel that had been seized by mutineers a couple of years ago, completely intact, though lacking any fuel, and with no signs of the crew or their supplies. It was beached in the swamp, and partially overgrown with local flora. The ship was seized and equipped, allowing them to haul a better amount of scrap throughout their journey. This proved to be the first stop of numerous ones, as they sought to explore the western coast in a grand expedition, though no real sign of humanity was detected until they reached Marcos Island. This island, once a resort town, was found to be empty of friendly life, but filled to the brim with mirelurks, causing the expedition to carry on a bit further. They next reached the ruins of Naples, which they found to be empty of any significant life, though a few ghouls were seen scurrying about. An extended shore party made contact with some vault dwellers who stated they came from Vault 40 somewhere in the Everglades. A friendly exchange was had before the islanders returned to their ships after conducting some further exploration. They found another massive pre-war military stockpile of ammunition, and found that there was too much to return home with them. They turned over half to the vault dwellers, and brought the rest on board.
They next traveled to the Fort Myers and Cape Coral area, looking through the two conjoined towns for any sign of life. Cape Coral proved to be empty except for the radroaches, with no sign of any human habitation. Fort Myers seemed to be the same sort of scenario, with very little movement in the ruins. They next entered into Charlotte Harbor, exploring the ruins alongside the bay. Punta Gorda was clearly dominated by the local mirelurk population, and the crews of the ships kept a wide berth away from them. Port Charlotte was found to have a smaller mirelurk population, and the crew was able to make a more thorough exploration on foot of the ruins, finding not much in the interior.
The expedition continued up the coast, to the town of Englewood, and similarly to other locations, the area was vacant of any significant hostile life. They carried on to Venice, which they found to be walled off, but friendly, giving them greetings and stating that they are the first representatives of another civilized town that theyve encountered. A feast was put on the table, and the Venetians welcomed the travelers, giving them a safe harbor and a much needed respite. In exchange for some ammunition, they gave the travelers some supplies, and even a few tech parts they had in storage. They found a less friendly welcome at Siesta Key, a fortified island compound of raiders calling themselves the Corsairs. They pursued the vessels for a time, until heavy weapons fire and the sinking of a few of their canoes led to a hasty retreat. The expedition continued into Sarasota Bay, where they found the town of Sarasota to be mostly empty. They found a handful of tech parts to return to the ships, but not much more. The nearby town of Longboat Key was populated by a small amount of mirelurks, encouraging the expedition to push on to the much larger Tampa Bay area.
The expedition made landfall in the ruins of St. Petersburg, finding a group calling themselves the Saint Vikings, apparently the source of some recent sports broadcasting. Friendly greetings were exchanged, as the ships carried on with their mission. They found the Tampa area, rather than being clogged with ruins like the rest of the world, were a verdant land full of varied fruits and vegetables, a true Garden of Eden. A landing party reported the same throughout the entire area that used to be Tampa. The last stop of the expedition proved to be Apollo Beach, and there they found the familiar ruin of the pre-war world, accompanied by a good amount of mirelurks. The expedition continued to travel north after Tampa, but found little beyond wooded interiors and various types of monsters. By the time they reached Apalachee Bay, they determined to turn around and set a course for home, arriving just a few days before Christmas to much celebration.
Turn Stat Changes
-10 Population, -210 Ammunition from raider attack losses
+1 Military Skill from combat
-600 Scrap Parts, -5 Tech Parts from construction
-55 Ammunition from Fiesta Key expedition losses
+50 Scrap Parts, +150 Ammunition, +30 2-H Guns from Fiesta Key expedition salvage
-40 Ammunition from Odyssey losses
+9 Tech Parts, +1,040 Ammunition, +20 1-H Guns, +1 Small Boat from Odyssey salvage
+300 Food and Water from surplus production
High Doge-Presidents Challenge: Our voyage was a definite success, but since the return of our heroes, theres been an outbreak of disease among our people. Some are quite concerned about this outbreak and are unsure on how to proceed. One suggestion is that a quarantine be enacted over the infected, but others have suggested a more purifying approach, burning equipment and food and water brought back by the late expedition. How do we respond to the outbreak?