We're Alive: Descendants - Chapter 21 - Full Steam Ahead - Part 1 of 3
28 min
•Jan 13, 20263 months agoSummary
In this fictional narrative episode, a group of survivors deals with the aftermath of a tragic loss and plans a dangerous military operation. Nick contacts the Republic to call in an airstrike on an infected facility, while Alex leads a team to infiltrate Primm and retrieve tanks and ammunition to support Westport's defense against an advancing military threat.
Insights
- Leadership under grief requires balancing emotional responses with strategic decision-making in high-stakes scenarios
- Resource scarcity drives risky tactical decisions; teams must weigh immediate survival needs against long-term consequences
- Trust and loyalty are critical when asking people to undertake dangerous missions; leaders must earn support through demonstrated competence
- Preemptive strikes and intelligence gathering can shift power dynamics in asymmetric conflicts
- Emotional support and accountability matter as much as tactical planning in maintaining team cohesion during crises
Trends
Post-apocalyptic fiction exploring military logistics and supply chain management as survival factorsNarrative focus on psychological trauma and grief processing in high-stress leadership rolesThemes of resource redistribution and coalition-building in fragmented post-collapse societiesExploration of moral ambiguity in military decision-making and collateral damage acceptanceCharacter development through mentorship and knowledge transfer in resource-constrained environments
Topics
Military logistics and vehicle operation trainingAirstrike coordination and military communications protocolsGrief processing and emotional accountability in leadershipTactical planning for resource acquisition missionsCoalition building and inter-faction diplomacyTank and armored vehicle operationsAmmunition and fuel supply managementRisk assessment in high-stakes operationsTeam morale and psychological supportPreemptive military strategy
People
Nick
Main character who initiates airstrike on infected facility after personal tragedy, driving major plot action
Alex
Leader planning and executing dangerous mission to infiltrate Primm and retrieve military vehicles and supplies
Dean
Character attempting to counsel Nick against airstrike; provides emotional support and tactical perspective
Will
Team member involved in crisis response; provides digital research data and tactical input
Tanya
Character who becomes infected; her death triggers Nick's decision to call airstrike on facility
Gloria
Authority figure who approves and supports the dangerous Primm mission despite risks to her community
Grant
Experienced tank operator and locomotive engineer leading vehicle training for mission team
Quotes
"It's not your fault. It's not your fault, Nick."
Dean•Mid-episode emotional support scene
"This is about one thing. Getting rid of them and wiping out everything as she did."
Nick•Justifying airstrike decision
"You really are like your mother. You know that?"
Gloria•Acknowledging Alex's leadership qualities
"Nothing we've done so far has been without one. You really are like your mother."
Gloria•Supporting dangerous mission approval
"I was a guardian before and still am. This is the best chance I can give you all here and Westport."
Alex•Explaining mission motivation
Full Transcript
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Legal Star Wars smart play sets contain everything you need for interactive play. Including a powerful smart brick that reacts to how you move and play. Smart bricks recognize smart tags and smart minifigures to bring play to life with amazing interactive features. So now, the galaxy plays back. Shop all in one set for interactive play. This is an ad from BetterHelp. Some days, it feels like you're carrying something no one else can see. Stress, grief, responsibility, the kind of heaviness that doesn't show up in photos but follows you everywhere. You don't have to hold it alone. With BetterHelp, you can talk to someone who helps lighten what you've been carrying for far too long. Take the weight off. Start therapy any time from anywhere online with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash random podcast for 10% of your first month of online therapy. This episode is dedicated to the friends of Adrian Gomez. We're alive. Descendants. Written and directed by Casey Wailand. Chapter 21. Full steam ahead. Part 1 of 3. Part 2. Part 2. Part 2. Part 2. Part 2. Part 2. Part 2. Part 2. Part 2. Part 2. Part 2. Part 2. Part 2. Part 2. Part 2. Are you sure there's no one? Nick, get up here. Nick, stick my hand. I'm climbing! Leave right. Get the ladder down. Get it! Cloth the hatch! Hurry! Hurry! Oh man, they're strong! Roll that fuel jump over here. Hurry! Hurry! Come on! Adrian! Get that from point! Now, roll it! Get it! It worked! Help me get the other drum! Stand in a brain so it doesn't roll. Ah! Ah! They're not going to be able to move the hatch now. Yeah, no kidding. 55 gallon drum, mostly 4-bit. That's like 400 pounds each. And pushing above their heads. I mean, it infected. We're strong, but not that strong. Wait, where's... Nick? Oh no. Nick, you're... Nick, you... Oh, you're... Nick, I... Can't do this without you. Oh, hey, that was... I... I just can't imagine. No, no, you can't. Can we help her? And do what? What the fuck do you think anyone can do now? We should give him some space. Yeah, yeah, sure. Where? In the tunnel? You just stood there with your fucking rifle and did nothing. No. You saw everything that happened, Dean. I didn't, I couldn't. The rocks were in the way. What was I supposed to do? Shoot, Tanya? Yes, yes. You knew what was fucking happening, Tanya. We... We all fucking knew. Everything was happening so fast, Nick. None of us could have reacted any faster. You... Will, you have no room to talk either. You know, we wouldn't have been down there at all if it wasn't for you. You fucking junkie. I would. Hey, Nick. Too far. The fuck it is. After what I just... After what I just had to do. You have any idea? No! No one does. No one can. And no one... One ever, sir. I... I... I... I... I... I... I... I... I didn't have a choice. Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Jesus. Nick. I... I... I... I know. I know. Dean. Dean, what? What have I done? What... Nick, you did... You did what you wanted. It wasn't your choice. It was... It was hers. It's not your fault. It's not your fault, Nick. It's not your fault. No, I... No, I... I know who's faulted us. So... So, in fact, did... Insomnia. Wait. Wait, were you... Where's he going? Just... Just let him... But is that safe? We're bored with someone, coms. This place has been abandoned every time I've been here. Just let Nick have some space. Ah... I definitely feel like he's going somewhere. Where? There's nowhere to... The guard tower. You said no one's up there. Are you sure? It's empty. All there is is... Is the radio... Oh, shit! Nick! What? What is it? Nick, no. I know what you're going to do. Stop, man. What is he going to do? Nothing good. Nick! Nick, stop! No! You don't want to do this! Yes. Yes, I do. Where is it? What's going on? What is their frequency? What are you doing? There are other ways. Think about this. There is no other way. I don't understand. He's telling the Republic about Lachigia. No more than that. I'm going to tell them to blow that place to fucking hell. That's not going to bring her back. Who think that? You think that I don't know that? What about the plane? How are we going to get home now? The fuck does that matter? Well, it's not like we can get back to it anyways. This is about one thing. Getting rid of them and wiping out everything as she did. Tanya? There it is. What about all the research she did in the cave site? I mean, what if it could help in some way? Well, not to side with Nick here, but I do have a digital copy of everything Tanya had. I brought the drive with me. All the more reason. Will? Not helping. Nick, listen to me. This is not a good idea. It's not going to change anything. Yeah? And how would you know that, Dean? Do you know what any of this feels like? How the hell could either of you know? No, no. This has to happen now. Because the longer we wait, the more of those fucking things can get away. Tanya too. She's fucking one of them. Now you can fight me on this Dean, or you can help me, but either way, it's going to happen. Oh, fuck it. Give me the handset. You're already even close to the right channel. Will, slide over that map. You know how to read a grid? Yeah. Read me the elevation of where the visitor center is. Are you sure you want to do this, Nick? Don't ask me again. Okay, here you go. You know how to tell the Republic how to blow something up? Yeah, I've listened to their radio transmissions many times. So I knew the bombers were heading towards the truck after you crossed the border. Lancer 4-0. This is J-TAC, Haymaker 6. Standby for 9-line and form 1 ready. Ready to receive. Mission type 1. IP Bravo heading 1-3 distance 10 November, Mike. I'm going to make it seem like we're from another control point out here. Target elevation 5500-approx. Target National Park Visitor Center. Massive, infected above and below ground and tunnels. Grid reference 7-7-4-3. No mark. 10 kilo, Mike, Southwest of Target. Egress Southwest. Standby. We have Lancer already in the air and you're biode the proper payload. Oh, jeez, that's all it takes. Yeah. I mean, you have to know exactly what to set. How long will they take? Not sure. The squadron's based out of Dias Air Base. But if they already have bombers in the air, might be quick. You know, Tonya is the only family I have left. Had left. My dad, Lisa. Pigs. Now, Tonya. Just me now. It's never been just you. You know that. Yeah. Nick, I'm so sorry. I didn't think this would happen. I never... I just... I hate myself so much. For the way I am. No, I... I shouldn't have called you a junkie. You... you couldn't have... No, but I am. I am. I need it if I had... Well... It's alright. This isn't on you. Damn, you either. I need to stop blaming everyone else. This... This... It's all on them. There they go. Block ground target requesting. Clear it, huh? Nick. Nick? Do it. You are cleared, huh? Weapons away. Oh, boy. The! Descendants will continue after a word from our sponsors. Worried about rising energy bills? Looking at renewable energy, but you aren't sure where to start? Choose solar. Solar is Gloucesters' highest rated solar PV and battery installer, and we are here to make solar simple. We work with you to provide a bespoke, high-quality solution, and with our online instant quote-tall, you can get a price in minutes with no personal details required. Visit solar.co.uk. That's S-O-L-R dot-co.uk. For the past two years, medical aid for Palestinians have been working tirelessly to help those affected by Israel's genocide. Under unimaginable conditions, our local teams provide life-saving treatment and ongoing medical care, with delivered water to families forced from their homes, vaccinations to protect children from disease and won't care to prevent life-threatening infection. Today, will you help us continue our life-saving work? 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Visit BetterHelp.com's Lashrandom podcast for 10% of your first month of online therapy. And now, we continue with descendants. I know you're recovering from a head injury, but you can't really be this stupid. Can you? Hey! Look, I get that it's risky. Risky? More like a death sentence. Maybe not. I promised I would help Westport however I could. And as a guardian, that's part of the duty. We're sworn to protect that place. That sort of applies for me too. And I'm not stopping you. You need to go, I get it. I can't keep you here. But this can't happen without your support. They're your supplies. You're a fuel. And these people look to your guidance. If there's others here that want to help your home in California, no problem. Maybe a lost cause. But I can see some logic in helping there. Going back to Primm however, there's no way I would ever support that. Westport has plenty of soldiers. But they're going to need something more if they even hope to stand a chance against the Republic. Primm has seven more tanks left still and large stockpiles of munitions. They didn't bring everything that they had here. Would those even matter? From what you've said the Republic has an entire division of heavy armor. The Boers' animals had plenty of gun trucks too. It's not just tanks. More throwing rocks against a crashing wave. No, we've come east. Exactly. The Republic wouldn't expect an attack from this direction. It could hit support units in the rear and slow any advance to the front. Buy Westport time and make the Republic question who else would come and help. A little bit would go a long way. Yeah. Okay, say you're right about all that. There's still a risk for everyone here. You're taking away fighters and provoking the bear. Don't you mean, Boer? Bear, Boer. You know what I mean. I need to protect these people. How would the cost outweigh any benefit for them? She cares. Gotta admit, I'm kind of surprised. I didn't expect that from you. I need to protect my home. So it happens these people are in it. Yeah. Okay. Well, if that is your goal, those tanks you have posted outside Hackbury might as well be two-toned scarecrows. They have no munitions left. Sometimes the threat of violence is enough of a deterrent. The infected don't know that. Your ammunition stockpile in the atlas sure took a hit. What if the Boer were to come back again? She knows those tanks are empty. You're right. Going back there would be crazy. But the Boer would also never expect it. A preemptive strike would cripple the chances of them ever coming back here. It would give you the munitions to actually defend this place and also give you favor of any future with Westport. If they survive. There is a rail line not far from here. That would let the atlas become a powerful trade partner with Westport. And it would give you access to the Pacific. All these people are going to need a lot of supplies if they stand a chance of surviving out here. You too. What is this three on one? How many people would you take with you? Grant.ni and eleven others. We could use more, but that's the bare minimum. If we're going to drive off with the rest of her seven tanks and at least two gun trucks. Can these people even drive the tanks? Atlas. Okay, sure. Whatever they want to be called. I can show them on the two we already have. The Abrams and the Bradley tanks. Our atlas only have to be able to drive them out of prem. Nothing else. Only need one person per vehicle. I've already familiarized myself with how the tanks work and started training. Nice, Grant. How? Not too different than what I had to do as a locomotive engineer. Just had to figure out where to look. And while the tanks are being driven away, the other two gun trucks will cover our retreat. Hopefully we'll be in and out of there before anyone even notices. Here. Show. There are two Abrams and five Bradley's left. Stored between the train station and water management. Surrounded by different arenas. But as long as we come in from the north, it'll be a straight shot out of there. I'm sorry. Is this map hand drawn? Yes. It's as accurate as possible. Some of the maintenance folks help dot draw it. But if you are even coming since they have first hand knowledge of where everything is. And experienced workers who know how to help build this place back up. What if you don't return? What? Like captured? We won't let that happen. What if? I can't speak for everyone. But anyone who was held by the board before, they wouldn't let it come to that. Would go down shooting. No caught. Long as dot and I are together, we'll be fine. I don't quite share that same sentiment. Then we're just going to have to take that risk. Nothing we've done so far has been without one. You really are like your mother. You know that? I don't. You know if it was anyone else, I wouldn't support this. But for you, I'm willing to take that risk again. You won't regret this. You won't. When are you leaving? Tonight, undercover of darkness. Well then you better get moving. Get some of those red gels and glorious set-stance stairs for the lead vehicle's headlights. You got it, Alex. Pull the fuses on the others. We can't risk being seen. We need more 556 ammo. Let's get that creep move. The driver sits down here under the tank's turn. The steering wheel is like a handlebar above you. As you turn, that'll change the speed of either tread to maneuver. Everybody got that? Load up those fuel canisters for the truck. They'll need enough to get there and back. Consolidate any extra body armor and ammunition in those crates and get them to the surface. Yeah, they got go with them. Give us a shot of standing up against the porthroins. What about you, Phil? I'm gonna go to, but are we really taking that dot? Girl, we can't communicate with her. She's going to be a liability. Demon. Okay. Gus. Help. You really think I can take care of this huge horse? Me? Yep. How do you think I am? Got it? Oh, boy. All right. Gloria. Alex's plan is to drive to the hills east of Prim. Park the vehicles and move on foot after that. For emergency. Exactly. We'll be sure to leave an emergency driver behind in the hills to come get us if there's a need for a quick pick up. But we can't risk being seen coming in. See, this is why I trust you with this. Two steps ahead. Dot, dot. Thank you. And these people know how to actually drive the tanks? Well, we trained a few of our shorter atlants. It can be a bit cramped inside. Are you referencing my movie or are you really going to be one of the drivers in these monsters? Driver. Any last chance you wouldn't want to just call this off and stay. It's just such a risk and I hate to lose any of you. We got to do this. I was a guardian before and still am. This is the best chance I can give you all here and Westport. Not goodbye. All right. Go before I change my mind. Let's get moving. We need to make those hills before nightfall. Come on. Take care of yourself too, Gloria. Oh, oh, hugging here. Okay, I'm not. I'm not really in the bear. Oh, okay. No! Oh, god. Okay, you know. Oh, okay, okay. Just get out of here already. We're going. Come on, you're welcome. You ever think you'd be headed back to Prim? Not a chance in hell. But if you get me once to get closer and get me back to my daughter in Westport, I'll take it. I hear that. You really mess her, don't you? More than anything. The more she has and honestly, she's all I have to. Name? Oh. Her name is Lisa. Lisa Grant. Oh, uh, that really? You know, you may have run into her. She was a guardian. Lisa. Easy does it there. Lisa? Dot, hey, uh, why don't you get in the truck? I'll be right there. Lisa? Yeah, we get it. Now, go on. Tott. Please. Get her ready to do what you have to do with it. Sorry. Sometimes she just gets, you know, hung up on words. Oh, yeah. Yes, I get it. She's getting a lot better, I've noticed. Are you sure you want to go back there with us? It's not going to be safe. It's a long-ass walk. And I mean, you showed the others how to drive. Too late now. Got my heart set on it. Who knows the state of those tanks in there? You're going to need me. You're sure? Try and stop me. I don't think I could. To Prim and back. To Prim and back. You've been listening to We're Alive Descendants, produced by Wailand Productions, written and directed by Casey Wailand, starring Ditton Gilbert as Nicholas. Austin Trace as Alex. He's a great singer. He's a great singer. He's a great singer. He's a great singer. He's a great singer. He's a great singer. He's a great singer. He's a great singer. He's a great singer. He's a great singer. He's a great singer. He's a great singer. He's a great singer. He's a great singer. 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We've delivered water to families forced from their homes, vaccinations to protect children from disease and won't care to prevent life-threatening infection. Today, will you help us continue our life-saving work, search medical aid for Palestinians, or visit map.org.uk to donate? Lego Star Wars Smart Play Sets contain everything you need for interactive play. Including a powerful smart brick that reacts to how you move and play. Smart bricks recognize smart tags and smart minifigures to bring play to life with amazing interactive features. So now, the galaxy plays back. Shop all in one set for interactive play.