The ISF analyst stood nervously in front of the ISF Commander. Being human, she wore an ISF uniform but was unarmed. Only bound humans were allowed weapons. But the analyst was valuable because of her mind. A weapon that the ISF recognized and recruited for.

 

Despite being a little nervous with her first brief to the commander, she managed a smile and then continued with the briefing. “Sir. We have identified the following hazards in the Wastelands and wilderness areas around the city.” The analyst pointed to the presentation. “As you are aware, the War unleashed unspeakable horrors which included magical, nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. The result not only killed large segments of the population on all sides, but it also contaminated the environment and destroyed multiple species. Though life is returning in even some of the worst impacted areas. But it is slow and not as it was before… During the rest of the brief, I will touch on the key highlights on your slides.” The analyst continued.

 

“Flora and Fungi: there are several known plant and mushroom species that pose hazards, due to toxins, needles, thorns, etc. Since the war, new species have bloomed. Rumors of strangle plants and blood cacti cannot be discounted due to the frequency of such reports.

 

Fauna: Rattlesnakes, poisonous insects, dogs, wild dog-wolf hybrids, mountain lions, bears, and badgers pose a significant threat to most humans in wilderness areas or the Wastelands.

  

Fauna, water: Sharks and barracuda always pose a threat along the West Coast. However, stories of sea monsters are growing since the human fishing fleets and navies were mostly decimated during the war. Sightings of giant sea serpents and giant squid have also become more frequent. Additionally, there are rumors of plesiosaurs living in underwater sea caves that predate the war.

 

Fauna, mutant: Strange animals have also been sighted in the wilderness areas, even more so in the Wastelands. Two-headed dogs and giant bears. The former are mutated by contaminants as previously discussed. The latter is likely throwbacks. Animals that have devolved back to their earlier animal ancestors. Like saber tooth cats and cave bears. The stranger mutant animal sightings can not yet be confirmed. ISF scouts are investigating the sightings of “raptors” in the Wastes. If such animals exist, we have no idea where they come from.

 

Human: Dangerous human government factions, survivalist groups, and remnant human military units were hunted down or faded years ago. Most soldiers who fought in the war that survived, have died of old age or other causes by now. Still, raiders, bikers, cannibals, scavs, rogue slaver factions, and religious extremists are but a few of the groups that operate in the Wastelands and often terrorize the local humans. Some even pose a risk to the ISF.

 

Human, Mutant: Like the mutant fauna discussed earlier, we have seen humans that are also mutated. Some are full mutants, having little traces of their human ancestry. What is disconcerting is that government scientists don’t believe that humans should have mutated so quickly and, in the numbers, often seen now. They believe something else is to factor into this.

 

Zombies: For the moment, we are categorizing the Zombies as a subcategory of mutants until we can better understand what they are and where they come from. For the moment, we believe there is more than one type.

 

Guardians: Humans have always warded themselves from supernatural creatures. The two we have seen to be more prevalent are the Stone Golem and the Gargoyle. Both are animated statues. The first usually protects human settlements in the Wastes. The other is often associated with rogue witches and vampires that have remained unaffiliated.

 

High-Tech Threats: At the end of the war and in the days following, remnants of the human governments and resistance groups continued to fight. The more technically advanced factions built hi-tech weapons in an attempt to tip the edge back to humanity. While these initiatives ultimately failed, some of them still pose a threat.

 

Sunblade: A child of the US Military’s SDI program, the remaining satellites in orbit pose a danger to all life in the area it is covering. Initially, the satellites redirected sunlight from other parts of the globe, to be reflected down from an orbiting platform, to cover large swaths of ground in the middle of the night. Sunlight in Africa could be used to reflect light down in Japan. This acted to illuminate areas where supernaturals were operating, protect human enclaves, and force vampires to seek shelter. This was often called the “Light of God” or even “Rainbow in the Dark” after an old 80’s song. As the US military became more desperate, the Sunblades became kill satellites with lasers, burning all, human and supernatural in the path of the directed energy weapon. While only a few are known to operate today, the weapons platforms in geosynchronous still burn the swaths of the Wastelands they still overwatch, day and night now.

 

Hunter-Killer: Most autonomous flying drones crashed over the years. It is what we at the ISF base the current UAVs on. Some wheeled and tracked Hunter-Killer units are still operating in the Wasteland, though their friend-foe identifiers have often malfunctioned.

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Another type of Hunter-Killer is supposed to be a human look-a-like. But we cannot confirm if this is true. Our shifters should be able to tell the difference by smell though if this is confirmed.”

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The analyst finished up her briefing and awaited the Commander’s comments. The vampire Commander stayed very still and stared at the woman for what seemed forever in uneasy silence, before leaning back in his chair.

 

“You forgot to mention the other type of human mutants. The ones that don’t have multiple arms and eyes. They still look human. But they do possess strong mental powers. Not witches. But still, someone the ISF should watch and keep tabs on.” The analyst appeared nervous and fidgeted with her papers, “how long have you known, Sir?”

 

The Commander smiled, flashing his fangs just a bit. “Since you were a babe. When your mother brought you out of the Wastelands for early medical care. I made sure you got the care you needed, and the school you required to excel, and then picked you to work here at the ISF. Once you began here, I could tell. Your precognitive skills are too good to be chalked up to just e it from the ISF. From me. Now have a seat. Let's talk about your continued future with the ISF…”

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