"A Castle Full of Rascals" is the twelfth mission of Season 7.
You, Janine and Maxine head to Fort Blackmoore for a simple trading mission, which turns out to be anything but simple...
Cast[]
Crew[]
- Writer: Elliott Gresswell
- Director: Matt Wieteska
- Sound Designer: Mark Pittam
- Series Created By: Naomi Alderman
Plot[]
The Sun’s Going Down[]
With Janine and Maxine, you head to Fort Blackmoore, a settlement of mostly young people. The lie of the land makes outside communication impossible, so you’re without Sam. It does mean you can find a ‘clean’ version of ANNIE for Veronica, however.
In The Main Keep[]
Mayor Fallow’s relieved to see you. There’s a huge horde of zombies, some without heads, massing at the north of the valley. You only came prepared to trade, but Janine slips straight into command mode; ordering anyone not willing to fight be evacuated, while you find the AI.
Snap To It[]
Mayor Fallow shows you to his office, where you can access the AI, and fills you in on the history of the settlement: the Ministry tried to win them over with guns, which they’ve somehow lost. They do have petrol fueled generators though, which gives Janine an idea to hold off the horde.
Back Up To The Battlements[]
You and Maxine deal with the generators, siphoning off petrol from them into cans. Halfway through filling the second can you get a message that Janine needs you up top, so that will have to do.
Light Up The Night[]
The zombies are forming a pile of bodies, to try to scale the fort’s walls, and the settlers only have farm tools to push them back. Janine directs you and Maxine to split up and pour petrol over the horde.
Hold This Wall[]
With the zombies well doused in petrol, Janine lights a flare, and they go up in a rush of flames. The fire won’t stop the V-Types, but it will at least slow them down enough for you to grab that ANNIE copy.
S07E12 // Rofflenet[]
Discussion regarding this mission can be found on Rofflenet
Transcript[]
SAM YAO: All right, guys. You should be approaching Blackmoore Valley by now. The high iron content in the rocks is going to block your comms, so be careful, okay? I’ll be waiting for you to get back in range. Oh, and Janine, once again, I’m so sorry about storing all those Curly Wurlies in the armoury - [static]
MAXINE MYERS: Sam? Sam? I never realize how much I’m going to miss Sam’s voice until it’s gone.
JANINE DE LUCA: Yes. I admit, I’ve come to find a strange comfort in Mr. Yao’s perplexing digressions.
MAXINE MYERS: This valley is pretty shadowy. I keep expecting something to jump out from behind those big rocks. I’d feel safer if we had more than one gun.
JANINE DE LUCA: Fort Blackmoore’s isolated position makes it secure, yet vulnerable, Dr. Myers. They rarely trade with outsiders. It would be best for us to appear non-threatening.
MAXINE MYERS: And we really think they can tell us what we need to know?
JANINE DE LUCA: This settlement has a large number of young people, Dr. Myers. Our intel suggests several of them ran with the Last Riders for a time shortly after the apocalypse. We may be able to learn what motivated the atrocity at the rave.
There is a second part to our mission. Miss McShell believes the Ministry gifted Fort Blackmoore a simple administrative AI based on the original ANNIE. Since this valley is cut off from outside communications, their ANNIE has not been in touch with the other parts since before the apocalypse.
MAXINE MYERS: And Veronica thinks analyzing a clean version of ANNIE will help her stabilize herself.
JANINE DE LUCA: Miss McShell may be clutching at straws, but we must try to help her. It was she alone who developed the cure to the original zombie virus, which the Minister then stole from her. She is our best hope for similar assistance in the battle against the V-types. We have very fortunately obtained a new AI core for her to add to her processing power, but -
MAXINE MYERS: But it’s no use if she just installs a corrupted version of herself onto it.
JANINE DE LUCA: Precisely. So our work here is important. That’s Fort Blackmoore, Five. The castle ruin in the distance. It looks as if the inhabitants have repaired some of the fallen stone walls with wooden ramparts. The sun’s going down, but we can be there in minutes if we run. Go!
[portcullis raises]
MAYOR: Visitors! Thank goodness. And you even have a gun.
MAXINE MYERS: Okay… well, not exactly the reception we were expecting.
MAYOR: You’re from Abel Township, aren’t you? Even here, we’ve heard of those shirts. Please, come with me. Up the stairs to the battlements. Hurry!
[footsteps]
JANINE DE LUCA: I think there’s been a misunderstanding. We’re here to meet with the local mayor.
MAYOR: The mayor, that’s me. But there’s no time for any of that.
MAXINE MYERS: Wow! That’s a hell of a view. We can see all down the valley.
MAYOR: The north wall’s always been my favorite spot. But look at the north end of the valley, the other direction from the way you came.
JANINE DE LUCA: Movement. Lots of it. Hard to tell with the shadows, but looks like… hundreds of zombies. Some are missing heads. Their movement pattern is odd.
MAYOR: We’ve heard stories about nearby settlements falling to it. A tide of indestructible zombies. I never gave them credence. Please, you have to help us. Aside from the walls, we’re defenseless. Abel overthrew the Ministry. You have military experience! You must have guns, or bombs, or vehicles with you?
MAXINE MYERS: Well, we have a gun.
JANINE DE LUCA: We came here to trade, not fight. But that’s immaterial, given the situation. We will provide any help we can, Mr. Mayor. Tell your people to begin a general evacuation and to gather anyone willing to fight. In the meantime, we were hoping to access your administrative AI. Can you give us that?
MAYOR: Yes, of course. Anything. Thank you. There’s a computer terminal in my office in the main keep. This way. Hurry!
MAXINE MYERS: [whispers] Janine, we can barely even hold off one V-type!
JANINE DE LUCA: I’m aware of the tactical situation, Dr. Myers.
MAXINE MYERS: And you weren’t wrong about the locals. None of them looks over 20. This castle is full of kids!
MAYOR: Fort Blackmoore was hosting a school trip when Z-Day happened. 50 teenagers and one teacher. This place has been our home ever since. We hunkered in, restored the walls, kept a low profile.
Lately, we’ve taken in a lot of young refugees. Some of them ran with the Riders. But they never meant it! They left when they realized what those people were doing. They’re just kids with nowhere else to go. I think I’m probably the oldest person here. That’s why they made me the mayor.
MAXINE MYERS: How old are you?
MAJOR: 27. I was the teacher. Geography.
JANINE DE LUCA: I suppose History of Warfare would have been too much to hope for.
[door opens]
MAYOR: Here, this is my office. There’s a computer by the fireplace. You can access our system from there.
JANINE DE LUCA: Five, plug this memory stick into the computer. Miss McShell designed it to automatically copy any version of ANNIE it detects, but the process could take some time.
MAXINE MYERS: How did a place like this end up with a sophisticated AI?
MAYOR: Oh, the Ministry was keen to win us over for the PR. They installed an AI to automate our medical center and generators. They even gave us a few rifles.
JANINE DE LUCA: Which you’ve since lost?
MAYOR: We used them for hunting. Ran out of bullets a while ago. We tried scavenging an abandoned Ministry base, but all we found was an ugly black paper weight, a ginger kitten, and a stack of MOD stationary.
MAXINE MYERS: So to recap, we have no way of calling for help, no weapons, and an army of zombies at the door, but an excellent view of a picturesque valley. Does that about sum it up?
JANINE DE LUCA: Generators. You mentioned generators. What kind?
MAYOR: Petrol. They’re in the generator station, the big warehouse next to the castle keep. Why do you ask?
JANINE DE LUCA: They might be our only chance of holding the horde off until your people evacuate. Five, Maxine, our dual mission here will come to nothing if this mainframe is destroyed before we can copy the clean AI off it, and if the Last Rider refugees we came to talk to are killed.
MAXINE MYERS: Also, helping these people is the right thing to do?
JANINE DE LUCA: Yes, it is. You two, go to the generator station and siphon off as much fuel as you can, then meet me on the north wall. Mr. Mayor, show me everything in this settlement that even resembles a weapon. What are you all standing around for? Snap to it, now!
[generators run]
MAXINE MYERS: Through here, Five. They’ve strung a bunch of portable generators together. Grab those petrol cans and I’ll shut the generators down. Did you hear Janine up there? She sounds scared. [turns generator off]
Okay, Five. Help me get this valve loose. Watch it, it’s hot! I siphoned gas from cars when I was a teenager. I bet I remember how. [unscrews cap] There should be a Yankauer tube in my med kit we can use for the flow. Just have to get one end in the generator and suck on the other. [sucks on tube] Don’t try that, Five. One mistake, and you’ll get gasoline poisoning.
I keep thinking about those kids. Sara’s closer to their age than mine. I was trouble when I was a teenager. Maybe she’ll be like me. I keep telling Paula she’s taking too many risks. She’s going to be so mad at me if I die here tonight. Okay, that can’s full. Pass me the next one.
JANINE DE LUCA: Five, Dr. Myers - [static] - comms are barely functioning, even at short range. [static] - but I need you to - [static] zombies are here. I need you to - [static]
MAXINE MYERS: Sounds like she needs us up there, Five. Second can’s half full. It’ll have to do. We’re heading back up to the battlements. Ready? Go!
[locals fight zombies]
JANINE DE LUCA: Five, Dr. Myers, this way! Step away from the battlements. The zombies are piling up on top of each other trying to climb over.
MAXINE MYERS: There’s hundreds of them down there! Like a big dark pile of ants! Oh God, the smell!
JANINE DE LUCA: Here’s the situation. Most of the older locals are forming a defense force while everyone under 18 evacuates. We must hold the castle until the evacuees are at a safe distance. To that end, I’ve positioned defenders at the wall with pitchforks and scythes, pushing the zombies back. The only weapons available were farming implements, alas.
MAYOR: Well, there’s that old paperweight you nabbed from my office. You seemed to think that might -
JANINE DE LUCA: You are supposed to be rallying the troops, Mr. Mayor! We must take immediate action to avoid being overwhelmed. Five, run east along the wall. Maxine, run west. Take a petrol can each and pour the contents out over the zombie horde. We’re going to light up the night. Go, now!
MAYOR: Everton, Lucy, remember what the Colonel said. Use the pitchforks to push them back and the scythes to cut off limbs. Don’t give me that look, young man.
MAXINE MYERS: Janine, zoms on my side of the wall. I’ve got them - [static] - totally gassed. Okay, [static] can’t stay here any longer. Heading back to you.
JANINE DE LUCA: Excellent. Five has just returned to me with the same report. Get behind me, Five. [shouts] All defenders, stand well back from the wall! [under her breath] And to think Mr. Yao wasn’t convinced flares needed to be part of every runner’s standard pack.
[flare lights, flames erupt, zombies scream]
MAXINE MYERS: That is a lot of burning zombies. Ugh, the smell is actually worse!
JANINE DE LUCA: The fire won’t destroy the V-types, but it’s harder to climb with your extremities wilting. Five, Maxine, return to the Mayor’s office. That ANNIE copy should have finished downloading by now. Everybody else - [shouts] Defenders, with me! Those zombies are still coming! We hold this wall for as long as we can!
[door opens]
MAXINE MYERS: Phew! It’s Logan’s Run meets Helm’s Deep out there. Did you see Janine swinging that pitchfork? She’d give Aragorn a run for his money.
JANINE DE LUCA: [static] Five, Maxine, come in! Come in!
MAXINE MYERS: Five and I just arrived at the Mayor’s office, Janine. The download is at 97%.
JANINE DE LUCA: Our line was breached, Five. [static] - but it looks like our hostiles are headed in your direction. The threat profile does not - [static]
MAXINE MYERS: Janine? Janine? [glass shatters] Five, get out of the way. Something’s coming through that window. [zombie roars] Okay. It’s just one zom. We can do this. Five, grab those heavy tongs from the fire and I’ll - hey, you ugly zombie. Over here! Fresh-tasting human meat.
Hit it now, Five! Now! [zombie squelches] Skull won’t crack. It’s still moving. Throw me the poker. [zombie squelches and collapses] Oh my God, I think we got it. That was a hell of a swing you took at the back of its head, Five. I can’t believe its skull was so tough! Glad I managed to get it straight through the eye with the poker.
It’s not moving, so it’s not a V-type. Look at those yellow eyes. Its skin is decayed. It’s human, or was, but it moved on all fours. It wasn’t a normal zombie. It sounded more like a V-type. But we’ve killed it by destroying the brain. Five, whatever’s attacking us here, it is not just V-types or ordinary zoms. I think it’s something new.
Codex[]
Supplies[]
The following supplies can be found in this mission.
(List may be incomplete.)
Axe
Batteries
Book
Bottled Water
Cooking oil
Glasses
Hearing Aid
Makeup
Matches
Mobile Phone
Power Cable
Shorts
Sleeping bag
Tampons
Teddy bear
Trainers
Trousers
Underwear
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