Executing the Prisoners

Further notifications have come in from my players indicating we'll be falling below quorum again this week. Most unfortunate, but it takes some of the time pressure of preparation. Speaking of preparation, where were we? Oh, yes, provoking a firefight.

The real trick here is that I have to communicate that being taken alive is tantamount to death for the PC's, and quick death at that. It has been common for my players in the past to allow themselves to be taken, confident that they'll find a way to escape jail in the past. I'll need to prologue the session with something that drives home the danger of being taken in, something that will put it fresh in their minds. For demonstrating action and consequence, nothing beats an example.

Last session I laid some groundwork by mentioning a group of ComGuard who were taken prisoner in Connecticut after fleeing the destruction of the 394th. I can leverage that story and the other notes regarding David Alsace's (Precentor TerraSec) increasing rage by having them swiftly and publicly executed for treason against Earth and the Word of Blake (metaphorically if not literally.) This provides two major benefits in the upcoming session: first, the consequences of being captured by TerraSec are spelled out explicitly: you don't sit out the war in prison, you die. Second, it helps pain Alsace as the bad guy, whom the players are feeling somewhat sympathetic towards at this point since they got news of his wife and child's demise.

The practical upshot of this is that when TerraSec surrounds them in the Montana countryside, they'll have no choice but to stand and fight, because to surrender would mean the certain death of at least David, Alex, and Shin, and possibly Clark and Simon as well for collaboration.