"There Is Power In A Union" is the fifty-third mission of Season 3.
This gated community has its ups and Downes.
Cast[]
Plot[]
Rich-Poor Divide[]
The ZRD needs a new battery, and your best chance is to infiltrate a Comansys compound and locate the residing expert in micro-power systems.
Grappling Hooks Away[]
As you wait for a gap in the patrol, Maxine and Sam pass judgement on the compound, which contains farmers, gardeners, cooks and maids.
Eggplant![]
Maxine scoffs as the wealth in the compound as Sam tries to get her to concentrate on the mission in hand.
Tripwire[]
As you gain some ground, you hear a twang and trigger an alarm - time to run!
Look Familiar?[]
You burst into the house, pursued by guards, and Maxine muffles Professor Downes’ protestations as you close the shutters.
Everything OK?[]
After Maxine explains the scope of Moonchild’s threat to humanity, Downes cooperates and distracts the guards outside.
This'll Be Fun[]
With the guards pacified, Downes takes a look at the ZRD. It’s more serious than initially suspected, but not unfixable.
Transcript[]
SAM YAO: Okay, night has fallen. The zombie moaning and shrieking and rattling of the fence has started up as usual. Honestly, I’m sure you miss it here. And Moonchild’s forces seem to have eased off for the day.
MAXINE MYERS: How’s the war going, Sam?
SAM YAO: Eh, not bad, not bad. Amelia and Janine have reached some kind of truce based on swapping stories of famous military commanders. They pulled a maneuver today where they covered the mind-controlled New Cantoners with animal entrails, so the zombies attacked them, and then they fell back.
MAXINE MYERS: Sounds fun.
SAM YAO: Hey, as long as they are attacking us, it means Moonchild doesn’t know you’ve got the Zombie Repelling Device, and the longer she doesn’t know that, the safer you are. And if we can keep her from that until D-Day, when the satellites align - well, if we can do that, we’re golden. As long as we can get the thing working again. Can’t believe the battery stopped working. I mean, what is it, a product of Argos?
MAXINE MYERS: We should be able to fix that here, though, right? Is that a light up ahead? There, through the trees.
SAM YAO: Yup. That’ll be it. Keep following the river. The compound is right on the banks.
MAXINE MYERS: Careful, Runner Five, it’s kind of slippery. Watch your step.
SAM YAO: Night in Henley-on-Thames, current home of our best hope of fixing the anti-zombie doohickey.
MAXINE MYERS: Are you sure Professor Downes is in here?
SAM YAO: Judging by the Rofflenet rage when people found out about the Henley Compound, they’re pretty damned sure. One of the few Comansys scientists not still with them, an expert in the micro-power systems used by most of the company’s technology, living a life of luxury in a high security super rich survival colony on the banks of the Thames. The Rofflenet folks hit the roof!
MAXINE MYERS: Yeah, I can definitely see light now. Yeah, hang on. Slow down, Five. The light’s moving.
SAM YAO: Spotlights. You didn’t think this compound wasn’t heavily guarded, did you? Now, where would be the fun in that? I count two guards in elevated lookout posts, one spotlight each, tall brick and steel fences, razor wire. Your basic rich-poor divide.
[zombies moan]
MAXINE MYERS: Ah, and some zombies to chase us in. Yeah, this does sound like fun.
COMPOUND GUARD 1: Unit Seven, do a sweep of Sector Two and report.
COMPOUND GUARD 2: Copy that.
SAM YAO: Stay low. There’s another patrol just passing on the other side of the wall.
MAXINE MYERS: Nice wall. Good brickwork, steel mesh. The zoms’ll have a hard time clawing through this.
SAM YAO: Zoms, the middle classes, you name it.
MAXINE MYERS: No one got in without a first class ticket, eh?
SAM YAO: Used to be one of those – ah, what do you call them? - gated communities. The richest people from miles around have holed themselves up in there, waiting out the apocalypse, until they can come out and spend their way to power again.
MAXINE MYERS: Delightful.
SAM YAO: You think that’s good, you should see their wine cellar! I’ve been reading up on it. Some butler – because yeah, they’ve got butlers – some butler got kicked out for swiping a sack full of food and trying to smuggle it out to his family. Once he was outside, he had nothing left to lose, and spilled the beans on Rofflenet. They’ve got farmers in there, gardeners, cooks and maids. They grow their own food and make their own power. More than enough to go around, of course, but none of it ever leaves the compound. I mean, no one even knew about the place until this butler guy went public.
MAXINE MYERS: So, we don’t know what’s inside?
SAM YAO: We’re working on the butler’s information. He even drew a little map.
MAXINE MYERS: Can we trust him?
SAM YAO: Well, a few posters thought it was all just a hoax. I mean, the compound is so secretive, it’s all so hard to prove, but he definitely mentioned there’s a Professor Downes in there, and that she used to work for Comansys. So I did a bit of my own research, and – hang on. There’s a gap in the patrol. You’ve got to move now. Grappling hooks away! [grappling hooks deploy] Right, get climbing. Catch you on the other side.
SAM YAO: Okay. Professor Downes’ quarters shouldn’t be too much further. See the row of houses over to your right?
MAXINE MYERS: This place is insane! Those aren’t houses, Sam, they're fricking mansions!
SAM YAO: Well, let’s not get carried away.
MAXINE MYERS: Oh, come on! They’re not exactly council flats. I mean, how much do these places cost? And who has time to keep windows that clean anymore? Or mow lawns, like that? My front yard never looked as good as these before the end of the world.
SAM YAO: Focus! Get behind the houses. There’s a path back there. Follow it.
MAXINE MYERS: Careful, Five! Guards. [foliage rustles]
[footsteps]
SAM YAO: It’s okay, they’re heading away from you.
MAXINE MYERS: Come on. Topiary. They’ve got topiary! I mean, who has time for topiary?
SAM YAO: Like I said, they’ve got gardeners on staff. Eight of them!
MAXINE MYERS: Priorities! Oh, cute little Narnia lamp post, too. So they definitely have power.
SAM YAO: Plenty of it, according to that butler. Solar, wind, even a little water mill by the river. [laughs] Yeah, the residents of Henley Compound are very well looked-after. Yeah, there’s the path. Follow it until you reach the end of the houses.
MAXINE MYERS: Jesus. Look at this. They throw food away. They have food to throw away! I haven’t seen leftovers in months. Is that – that’s eggplant. Oh man, eggplant!
SAM YAO: Maxine Myers, I am not going to stand by and let you eat out of bins. Keep your mind on the job! If we don’t get that ZRD fixed -
MAXINE MYERS: I know, yes, yes, I know. But if we don’t fix it, we won’t be able to release everyone from mind control. I know! But still. Eggplant!
SAM YAO: Good. Now come on. Those guards are turning back. Keep moving!
MAXINE MYERS: This is a farm, a good farm!
SAM YAO: They’ve got to eat.
MAXINE MYERS: Look at it! Vegetables, fruit, an orchard. They’ve even got pigs and chickens.
SAM YAO: Feeling homesick?
MAXINE MYERS: Well, this more small-scale than where I grew up, but still, I mean, it’s huge, and so well-equipped. This place must have cost a fortune. I mean, how many people live here?
SAM YAO: Well, our butler friend says twenty-five residents, sixty-odd staff. Plus armed mercenaries to defend them all.
MAXINE MYERS: Sixty?! All this for just twenty-five people? I mean, how did they get so many staff to work for them?
SAM YAO: Oh, where would you rather be? Somewhere warm and safe, with plenty of food, or on the outside? I wouldn’t blame anyone who decides to do whatever they can to stay on the good side of the wall.
MAXINE MYERS: Okay, this way, Five. Oh, watch out for the - don’t step in the – ah. Yeah. No, never mind. Yeah, you know, I am sure chicken manure is really good for sneakers.
SAM YAO: Yeah, you should be about to reach the far side of the farm.
MAXINE MYERS: Um, yeah. I can see some single story buildings ahead.
SAM YAO: Yeah, that sounds about right. I’m looking at the map the butler drew. The prof’s quarters are around there.
MAXINE MYERS: Come on, Five. This way. [alarm rings] Damn, trip wire!
SAM YAO: Get moving, now!
[dogs bark]
[alarm rings, dogs bark]
SAM YAO: That’s it. Door on the right. Quick!
[door busts open]
ANGELA DOWNES: What? What? Who are you? What’s going on?
SAM YAO: Put your hand over her mouth! Stop her talking!
[ANGELA DOWNES’ muffled protest]
MAXINE MYERS: Oh, quiet down. Runner Five, close the shutters on the windows.
SAM YAO: The guards are getting close. They’re right by the substation.
MAXINE MYERS: Did they see us?
SAM YAO: Hard to tell. They’re letting the dogs sniff you out, so no, I don’t think so. But it won’t be long before they reach you.
MAXINE MYERS: Alright. Professor Downes? At least, I assume you’re Professor Downes. I’m going to take my hand away from your mouth, and I need you to be very quiet. Or you can scream for help, that’s fine, but you need to hear us out first.
ANGELA DOWNES: Get out of here. Leave me alone.
MAXINE MYERS: I’m afraid we can’t do that. Have you got a lab near here?
ANGELA DOWNES: My lab? What – why?
MAXINE MYERS: Does this thing look familiar?
ANGELA DOWNES: That’s Comansys technology. Where did you get it?
MAXINE MYERS: London, originally. It’s changed hands a few times since then. But you recognize it?
ANGELA DOWNES: I recognize parts of it. Comansys had so many different teams, each working on different projects. We had a modular approach to development. Certain basic components were shared between projects. Well, [laughs] I say “basic” -
MAXINE MYERS: And you worked on the power packs?
ANGELA DOWNES: Yes. Well, that’s my work right there, on that – what is it?
MAXINE MYERS: Get it working again, and maybe you’ll find out. You can start by taking us to your lab. Now move it.
MAXINE MYERS: Nice lab! Very Star Trek.
ANGELA DOWNES: Very expensive.
MAXINE MYERS: You don’t say. Okay, so where do you keep your tools? What do you need to fix this?
ANGELA DOWNES: Before I start, what did you say Cynthia Hill’s calling herself now?
MAXINE MYERS: Moonchild. It’s a long story.
ANGELA DOWNES: No, I think I remember. That was the name she took after she did that vision quest. She was always an odd one, even in Comansys, and we were all oddballs. I mean, look at poor Jerold – running the IT department one week, and disappearing off the next to found that mad conspiracy group. What were they called? Neophil? As for Cynthia, I saw her once when her father came to visit. Really regressed to an almost child-like state. But will she really do this? Take over the minds of everyone in the world?
MAXINE MYERS: It’s her kind of thing.
ANGELA DOWNES: I mean, everyone knew Cynthia. I thought Diana was the real powerhouse there. I’d always worried Cynthia might send herself over the edge. But this?
MAXINE MYERS: You worked for Comansys. You must have known the kind of thing the other scientists were up to.
ANGELA DOWNES: Mm, she was rather secretive. But we’ll be safe in the compound, won’t we? I mean, the guards -
MAXINE MYERS: - will soon be serving Moonchild.
ANGELA DOWNES: The wall?
MAXINE MYERS: Yeah, will be great to stare at when your mind’s taken over, too. I mean, what’s so hard to understand? She wants to rule the world. A fancy wall and a few spotlights won’t stop her.
ANGELA DOWNES: The general, Doctor Ashgrove, told us that when we gave them the money to set this place up -
MAXINE MYERS: It doesn’t matter what they said! All the money in the world can’t save you from Moonchild.
ANGELA DOWNES: Maybe we can find some way to neutralize the signal!
MAXINE MYERS: We have a way! This device right here. It’s just not working right now. We could have built our own, except, well, we couldn’t. None of us are clever enough.
SAM YAO: Uh, Maxine, we’ve got trouble.
MAXINE MYERS: The power pack’s broken. We need to fix it, that’s all. And then we can take it to London and stop Moonchild’s plan.
SAM YAO: Maxine, the guards are outside!
[knocking on door]
COMPOUND GUARD: Mrs. Downes, everything okay?
ANGELA DOWNES: Oh, fine, fine!
COMPOUND GUARD: Do you mind if we come in?
MAXINE MYERS: [quietly] What’s it going to be, Professor? Will you help us?
ANGELA DOWNES: Coming, just a minute! [quietly] Back door. Shed at the end of the garden. I’ll meet you there. Go!
ANGELA DOWNES: The guards have gone. I think I managed to convince them they saw a fox. They’re not employed for their brains.
MAXINE MYERS: Good job, Professor. Now, can we please get this thing fixed?
ANGELA DOWNES: Alright. Hold the torch still. Hmm, let me see.
MAXINE MYERS: How does it look?
ANGELA DOWNES: The hysteretic relay’s blown. This is not good at all.
MAXINE MYERS: How long will it take to fix? I mean, we’ve learned it’s only a few days now until Moonchild throws the switch!
ANGELA DOWNES: Look, it’s not that simple. If we’d ever managed to get the neural interface working, perhaps. But we were forced to halt that research. People get awfully squeamish when you do those sorts of things to monkeys. No, as it stands, this isn’t something I can fix here.
MAXINE MYERS: You can’t fix it?
ANGELA DOWNES: I didn’t say that. There’s an old Comansys lab nearby, just a small one. An experimental facility built into the banks of the Thames. They were doing some stuff with trout - suppressing usual mating behavior, trying to increase the creatures’ limbic – not that any of that matters now. It was abandoned long ago. But they’ll have the right kind of equipment there, the things I need to fix the power pack.
MAXINE MYERS: Okay, that’s that, then. Can you provide our communications guy with coordinates?
ANGELA DOWNES: Of course. They’re on the computer in my lab. There’s just one thing.
MAXINE MYERS: What now?
ANGELA DOWNES: I’m going to have to come with you.
MAXINE MYERS: No way! It’ll be faster for us to go there, get what you need, and bring it back.
ANGELA DOWNES: I’m sure it would. But the lab has a voice-activated security system. You’d never get in.
MAXINE MYERS: Oh, wonderful. Well then, I hope you’re a fast runner, Professor.
ANGELA DOWNES: I used to jog. But it’s been a little while.
MAXINE MYERS: Oh, you have got to be kidding me.
ANGELA DOWNES: I’m sure I’ll be able to keep up. So, shall we? After you, Doctor Myers. This’ll be fun!
Codex[]
Supplies[]
The following supplies can be found in this mission.
(List may be incomplete.)
9mm Ammo
Axe
Batteries
Bottled Water
Crutches
Fuel Can
Garden tools
Glasses
Hearing Aid
Overcoat
Pain Meds
Pistol
Power Cable
Rope
Sports Bra
Thermos flask
Tinned Food
Tool Box
Trainers
Trousers
Underwear
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