"Turn Your Radio On" is the eleventh mission of The Home Front.
A damaged transmitter, a mall full of zombies, and a radio on the fritz! You'll need all of your skills to get back in touch with Abel!
Exercises[]
Cast[]
Scenes[]
Screen and Share
Sam has managed to get through to you, although his signal is full of static. He has an emergency and needs your help. You'll need to warm up so try jogging on the spot to stretch those muscles. They were just bringing the comms back online after maintenance when the horde trampled Abel's main repeater tower. They can't contact half of their runners in the field. There's a phone mast on the roof of the shopping centre which should be possible to convert into a replacement repeater. There's a crank handle to open the shop shutters. It uses the same movement as Bicep Curls. Get the shutter door open! The shutters are inching up, but the signal boosters are burning out. Keep going until you can slip under the shutters then head to the electronics store.
What Does the Fox Say?
Peter gets through to you. Some runners have radio gear so they've been able to make temporary boosters to help. Peter can see your headcam feed and you're at the electronics store. It looks like part of the ceiling has collapsed and you'll need to move the rubble to get through. Make sure to lift using your legs, like you're doing Squats. Good job! Grab one of the yellow boxes on the shelf. There are zombies coming, so head out to the fire exit and lock the door behind you. The stairwell should take you straight to the roof, but first you'll want to block the door with some rubble. Unfortunately, the fox in the cinema with Peter has panicked and bitten through a wire, and seems to have cut Peter off.
Offline
Sam is back and tells you that Peter is having technical difficulties. You head up towards the roof, but the zombies inside can see you through the windows and are following you from inside. You'll need to speed up to lose them or they'll follow you to the roof. Good job you've been doing lots of Stair Stepping! Good job, you've managed to get a lead on them. Keep heading up. Sam has to go offline for a bit so Janine can do some calibrations. In the meantime, get to the roof and find the phone mast!
Feel Like Dancing
Peter is still having fox trouble, so Jody is here to be the backup operator. You've reached the roof and the phone mast is on your left. There are lots of live electrical cables around it, so you'll need to Plank to reach the panel. Get the latches open, then stick the cord in. Good job! Now get to your feet and turn it on. It will take a few minutes to configure and the zombies are here so you need to get off the roof. You can jump over that railing and do some fancy footwork to avoid the live wires. Just like dancing!
Old Times
Jump off the roof, now! That looked like a rough landing, but you're on a window cleaning cradle and you can see everything for miles. Including the hundreds of zombies below. You'll need to get back inside, especially because the fall jolted the window cleaning cradle loose. You could probably Punch through the plywood over that window! Get into a good stance and get through those boards. You managed to get through just in time as the cradle falls onto the zombies below. Better check the room you're in Five. Jody tells you that she's enjoying this because it feels like old times, but her signal is cutting out so take care of yourself.
Thanks to You
You did it! Sam is back loud and clear and the comms are back at full strength. It looks like you've found yourself in the mall's game and comics shop, and it's already barricaded so you should be safe. There's a vending machine next to the shelf of Demons and Darkness books so you won't be bored or hungry! You should get some rest, and pick up a couple of those Demons and Darkness books so you can have a good long game when you get back home. Sam will be back really soon. Keep the channel open.
Transcript[]
[static]
SAM YAO: Five? Five, it’s Sam. Are you receiving? I’m getting your headcam feed. I’m glad you’re safe. Well, safe as anyone can be, hiding in a camping store in a mall full of zombies. We’ve got an emergency, Five. We need you. Better warm up, do some jogging on the spot. You’ve been lying low for weeks, you need to stretch those muscles.
It’s the comms. We’ve had them down for maintenance. We were just bringing everything back online when the superhorde trampled Abel’s main radio repeater tower. We’ve set up signal boosters to compensate, but comm range has been crippled. You’re at the very edge of our reach. We can’t contact half our runners in the field. You can help, Five, but… you’re gonna have to leave that store. Are you willing? Yes, that’s my Five.
There’s a phone mast on the mall roof. Janine says you can find equipment to convert it into a replacement repeater. First, you need to open that store’s shutters to get out. They’re controlled by a crank handle by the door, remember? Now grab the handle and move it up and down. You know, the same movement as those bicep curls you practiced with tin cans. [shutters rattle and creak] Yeah, that’s it. The shutters are raising. Keep going, Five.
No, the crank’s jammed! The shutters are too low to fit under. Uh, keep pulling the crank, Five. Try and work it loose. [crank squeaks] Hurry, Five. I’ve got cams in the mall. No zoms outside your store, but there are plenty in a nearby clothes shop. The noise has them shambling your way. [shutters clang] Yes, that’s it! The crank’s unjammed. The shutters are inching up. [static] Oh no, signal boosters are burning out. Five, keep working that crank until you’re sure you’ve raised the shutters enough, then slip under them. Find the uh, the Screen and Share electronics store somewhere on that floor. You’ve got a few minutes before the zoms catch up, but try and be quick. Once you get there – [audio distorts and fades]
PETER LYNNE: Oh Five, how are we? It’s Peter, still here in the Princess Louise cinema. Oh, uh, Sam’s signal boosters died. But lucky for you, some of us are stranded in the field with radio gear. Sam had us make our own boosters so we could be backup operators. So I’ve got cam feeds on my cinema screen. I can see you searching the mall. So that is the electronics store on your left. Head in there. [door opens] Oh. Seriously, this store is a complete mess, and looks like part of the ceiling’s collapsed. Um, right. Sorry. Five, the gear you’re looking for, that’s on the back shelf. So it’s behind the massive pile of rebar and broken TVs, so you’re going to need to move the rubble to get through.
Right. Use your legs to lift. And you know, doing squats should probably help. I mean, you know squats. Come on now. You plant your legs hip-distance apart and then you bend your knees like you’re sitting on an invisible chair. So uh, make sure that you’re doing one squat for each piece of rubble you shift. Get squatting.
See? There we go. Gorgeous! Best looking chair I’ve seen in years. That’s it, Five. Just throw the rubble aside, no one’s using it. Right, we’re halfway down, Five. Speed up, come on. Um, I do actually see some shamblers heading towards the store. They’re coming through the food court and they’ve not stopped at Claire’s for earrings, so probably hurry on that one. [fox growls] Yeah, I am sorry about that growling, Five. See, you know – easy! I am holed up with a fox and those zombie moans are pretty loud on our end and that’s woken the poor thing up.
That’s it, Five. Well done, shifted the pile. Right, grab one of the big yellow boxes on the shelf behind. They’re the ones labeled Valmont Inc. Home Broadcasting Kit. [zombies moan, fox growls] Hello, fox. Yep, that’s uh, zoms pouring into the store. So right, fire exit on your right. Duck through. [door opens] That’s it! Right, okay. Lock the door behind you. Oh, I can tell you’re on quite a nice balcony, actually. I mean, it’d be a decent view if it wasn’t so foggy.
And uh, that stairwell just downwind of you, that’s gonna take you to the roof. Okay, I’ll accept that the zoms might break that door down. So the collapsed wall by the stairs, Five. Uh, pick up some more rubble and you’re gonna use that to block the door. That’s a good idea. And when it looks secure - trusting you on that - head up the stairs. Come on, a little more squatting can’t hurt. Come on. Yeah, see? There we go! Great, keep going. [fox growls] Oh, for God’s – no! No, listen to me. Stay away from the cable! Uh, sorry, Five. All the noise is freaking out my fox, and he - I don’t know if you’ve had a fox, but he bites things when he’s nervous. Uh yeah, no, that door, uh, get that door blocked and then get to the roof. No, bad fox! Bad fox! Drop it – [audio distorts and fades]
[static]
SAM YAO: Five, Five, are you there? It’s Sam. Yeah. Oh, great. Uh, Peter’s having um, technical difficulties. Listen, Janine’s setting up better boosters at Abel so we can transmit to the relay once you get it working. She’s not done yet, but I wanted to check in. Oh! Oh good, you found a stairwell. Outdoor fire escape, right? That should lead up to the roof. Take the stairs at your own pace, Five. It’s misty out. I guess we’ve all had a lot of practice stair stepping lately, eh?
Uh, Five, turn to the left. Yeah, look through the windows you’re passing into the mall. Oh, I was afraid of that. The zoms inside can see you, and they’re stalking you, heading up inside the mall while you head up outside it. You need to outpace them or they’ll catch you on the roof. Speed up. Start tackling those stairs as fast as you can.
Yeah, that’s it. Keep pushing it, Five. The zoms are slow, but the mall has super fast escalators. They’re whisking the zoms up right behind you. Great, you’re pulling ahead of the zoms, Five. Keep going. Oh God, they’re creepy. They’re scratching at the windows until you’re out of sight, then shambling after you.
Okay, Five, you’ve got a good lead on the horde. You can slow down. Take the rest of the stairs at whatever pace you like. Huh, that’s weird. I’d swear the floor you just passed isn’t on the blueprints. What’s that, Janine? Okay, right on it. Uh, Janine says I’ve got to go offline so she can do some calibrations. I’ll try and get Peter back so he can take over. In the meantime, get to the roof, find the phone mast there. You’re doing great, Five. Just keep going.
[static]
JODY MARSH: Five, it’s Jody, coming at you from my warehouse den. Peter’s still offline. I’m the backup backup operator. Uh, hey, you’re on the roof and the fog’s clearing, nice. Look at all those rooftop solar panels. The phone mast’s on your left, big metal spike on a little concrete platform. Quick, take your broadcast kit out of the box. [kit pieces jingle] So uh, it’s your basic metal tube covered in dials. See the yellow cord on the underside? You need to connect that to the control panel at the base of the mast. Oh, they must have been doing rewiring up there when Z-Day hit. Those are live electric cables all around the mast, no room to sit or stand next to it. You’ll have to stretch into a planking position to reach the panel.
Get on your knees in front of the cables, holding the end by the yellow cord in your mouth by its side. Lean forward to rest your arms on the platform under the mast. It’s just wide enough. Adopt a planking stance. Support your weight on your forearms and toes, keeping your back straight. Now shuffle forward until your toes are almost touching the cables. Right, your face is near the panel. Use your nose to nudge open the latches keeping its outer case shut.
[cables zap, latches click]
Hold that stance. Hold it. Keep going with the latches. Okay, that’s a quarter of the latches open. Don’t risk using a hand, Five. You could lose balance, and those are live cables under you. Nice. Keep it in place. Halfway done, Five, you’re doing great. Stay strong. Zoms shambling onto the roof. They’re on the far side, headed your way. Don’t panic, Five. You’ve only got a few latches left. Great, the case is open!
Okay, lean your head forward, stick the cord in that shiny red socket. That’s it, Five. Now on your feet. The kit’s um, designed to hijack any transmitter it connects to. It was a selling point, apparently. Turn it on. Uh, set it to um, send and receive Abel frequency 1. [buttons beep] It’ll take a few minutes to configure.
Those zoms are almost onto you. We need to get you off that roof. They’re blocking every way down except… see that railing to your far right? There’s a platform below you can jump onto. Trouble is there are loads more live wires that way. You’ll have to leap between them, do some fancy footwork. Think of it as dancing, Five! It’s less scary that way. Go on, toward the railing. Get dancing, go!
JODY MARSH: That’s it. You’re at the railing. Jump off the roof now. [wind whooshes, Five lands] You okay, Five? That was a rough landing. You’re on a window cleaning cradle suspended beside the building by cables. Good job Sam gave us detailed recon notes on that shopping center. Hey, now that the fog’s gone, you can see for miles. The town around the mall, the countryside. The uh, zillion zoms on the pavement below. We’d better get you inside fast. [metal creaks] Really fast. Your landing jarred the cradle. It’s coming free of its cables.
Okay, don’t panic. Think, Jody, think! Oh yeah, great. That’s really helpful. Brace yourself, Five, the cradle’s listing. Move your head, look around. There must be some way in! Wait, that window on your left, it’s boarded up with plywood. I bet you could punch through it. Quick. Into a jabbing stance, one hand shielding your face, the other eye level, ready to strike. Get punching now. Punch it, come on! Come on, Five, hit those boards. Give it some welly. That’s it, belt it! Oh no, my signal booster’s overheating. Hurry, Five! Quickly, get through. Keep going, Five, you’re getting through. Belt it! Come on, nearly there! That’s it, the boarding's smashed. Climb through the window, Five.
That was close, Five. The platform’s crashed down right behind you. Sometimes I think you’re the only runner luckier than me. Better get the lay of whatever shop you’ve climbed into. Run a perimeter circuit of the room. I’ve really missed this, Five, working together. I’ve been stuck in this warehouse for ages, zonked out on painkillers for my sprained leg, which is feeling way better, by the way. Being on a mission again, it’s almost like old times, right? I’m losing reception. I can’t resolve your head cam feed anymore. I hope that signal relay works, Five. I guess we’ll find out – [audio distorts and fades]
SAM YAO: Five? Five, come in, it’s Sam. You did it! That kit hijacked the roof mast for us. Comms are back to full strength. Signal from the Spectrum Mall is green. I repeat, Spectrum is green. You saved the day, Five, just like you always do! Five, are you actually jumping for joy? Yeah, yeah well, I don’t blame you, actually. I might join you. Oh yeah, looks like you found your way into the mall’s big games and comic shop. And hey, the door’s already barricaded shut. Most of the zoms are still up on the roof. You should be safe there for a while.
I knew you’d come through, Five. You just sit tight until we find a way to get you out. There’s a vending machine right by that shelf of Demons and Darkness books, so you won’t be bored or hungry. And now the comms are working, we can start the indoor exercises again! Hey… Yeah, but can’t I…? But I was just…! All right. [sighs] Janine says I have to go offline for a bit so she can run some systems checks. In the meantime, get some rest. Pick a couple of Demons and Darkness manuals to take from that shelf so we can all have a nice long game when you get home. Stay safe, Five. Keep this channel open. I’ll be back really soon, and that’s all thanks to you.
Codex[]
Letter[]
Five!
You. Absolute. LEGEND! I can't thank you enough for all your hard work helping us get comms back up and running! I'm not going to lie, it was a little dicey for a minute there what with the running for your life and the zombie horde and all those live electrical cables, but we never doubted you for a SECOND.
Speaking of dicey, if you happen to spot any dice kits while you're scrounging around the Demons and Darkness section of that games shop, I'd definitely be willing to trade you, say... a couple of Curly-Wurlys and an extra laundry ticket for them? For some reason, I keep giving out my dice during our DnD sessions and people never seem to give them back - I swear, I must have gone through at least three kits this past year alone! If you happen to find any extra paint thinner too, maybe when you get back, you and I can finish painting our figurines for the next session?
Hah, sorry- I feel like I'm always giving you shopping lists during these messages! I'm mostly just really happy to have the comms up and running again, you know? It was awful not being able to check in with you as often as I wanted to, even though I knew you'd be okay. I really can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to all of us being together again. I swear, the moment you're all back, I'm not letting you lot out of my sight for at LEAST three days!
Love,
Sam
Supplies[]
The following supplies can be found in this mission.
(List may be incomplete.)
Anti-depressants
Board game
Cricket bat
Dress
First Aid Kit
Flashlight
Football
Makeup
Mobile Phone
Overcoat
Pain Meds
Shirt
Sports Bra
Trainers
Umbrella
Underwear
Whisky
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