Welcome to the Strip 2

16:30

"OK, that took a little longer than expected, but you're clean, so it should be pretty quick from here on out. You have signed everything in triplicate - right? Your belongings are in one of the banks, and will be returned upon leaving the city. We're under martial law here, and keep petty tight tabs on the populace, and even tighter ones on new comers. I'm sure you're a bit hungry and tired after your journey here, but this would be the best time to get a tour - curfew is at eight PM. Yeah - another thing you'd never expect in Vegas.

The Streets are pretty much the same as they've always been and you can look up the exact names on the SPHERE later. However, what you should know is that its been divided up into sectors with transport terms for reference and admin purposes. The Strip is still the main thoroughfare - though not quite as fancy as it once was. Gambling was officially established here in the early 1930s so that part of town is still traditional, but the real upper class area is the Cloverleaf. Its two big ramps going up, then curving back and circling around with tall buildings in the loop they form together, and even more areas underneath. That's where most of the post 2020 construction and big names went.

The "interchange" and "off ramp" are the code names for much of the city proper. Parkway is where all the greenhouses are. No one gets in there without permission and clearance given how vital that is, even the generals need to call ahead. Turnpike on the north end of town is where the major transit hubs are - notably the maglev station and one of the smaller airfields. However, that is the only one we've left open to civilian flights - all the others are basing military craft. McCarran International Airport has become the largest deployment of bombers in this hemisphere, so far as I know. Don't go near there.

We've got functioning buses, which I would recommend using even if you just want to get across the street. Otherwise you're going to hit a security checkpoint about every 200 feet. Its not like we've literally paved the roads with gold - but we need to do something with all the solders we've got here. The actual mechanics of all these deployments are bit much to explain on an empty stomach - but i know a few good restaurants.

19:21

Foods good huh? Nobody's been stuck eating noting but MREs for years now. Admittedly, we haven't so much made the desert bloom as create an entire town of green houses but if you don't mind the near meatless diet, its not so bad. There is some good money to be made if you can start a cattle dive and bring fresh beefs to any city.

Hold on - over your shoulder. No, the other one. See the gal with the yellow beret that has one black stripe down the center? That is a crossbow. Do Not antagonise them, hell if you ever end up in 20 feet of one offer to buy them a drink or otherwise be as polite as possible.

As if three regiments, four aircraft squadrons, and the local police weren't enough, there are three special forces groups in Vegas. Commando Platoons one through five are akin to police special response and help break up problems non-lethally or doing covert ops if necessary. They're drawn from all branches of Special Operations Command since we don't have an abundance of any one group - there's even two or three guys with odd accents from the Special Air Service in the group. Its not like they were going to get home anytime soon, so they decided to help out.

Unlike the all volunteer World War Two Special Service force, ours is anything but. Not to mince words - its a penal battalion. However, since everyone is alike in a willingness to act in an unconventional manner, thinks on their feet, and knows how to get around security - those that survive two or three missions develop a certain esprit de corps that makes the group very effective - especially in their main role of scavenging for supplies.

And of course, the aforementioned crossbow. Eighty Five percent of SLAASH is bureaucrats and technicians who plan out and make ready for nuclear war. Ten percent are the actual pilots and misileers who carry out the strikes. The last five percent are the ones who guard all that stuff and recover it if necessary. It takes a special kind of loyalty to personally move live plutonium pits and cary launch codes - and these guys are fanatical. Try to steal a weapon, and they will beat you down, then pump you full of artificial adrenaline so you can't pass out as they proceed to rip your your eyes, break your legs, set you on fire, and then dump your charred carcass in the desert.

Well, with that lovely image - hurry up and finish your food. Curfew is fast approaching, and we need to get to your accommodations for tonight.