The large and roomy building that was located directly in the middle of Whitlash had been a church before the great war in twenty seventy seven. Many years after the bombs had fallen and humanity began to once again repopulate the world, it was quickly repurposed and made into whitlash's Town Hall by Nicholas and a group of his fellow Wastelanders who had come from the North. Some remnants still remained of the old church though, like the stained glass windows, the organ in the very rear of the building, and of course the many rows of pews. At one time, some may have considered it distasteful or disrespectful to repurpose the church, stripping away almost everything that had resembled formed religion before the apocalypse. Now, it seemed that most people had pushed that from their minds, and were merely focusing on surviving. 

	The ringing of the bells from the Town Hall echoed through Whitlash and the nearby wilderness in the early morning. This was not out of the ordinary, the fact that it was ringing on a Saturday though, was. While Whitlash's occupants flooded in through the Town Halls massive main doors, Nicholas and his advisor Johnathan were discussing the topics that were about to be shared with the town from behind closed doors for the moment being. It had been decided on earlier that due to their unique situation, they were going to have to take some desperate measures that were bound to make them both appear heartless or untrustworthy at the best. Nicholas had been having second thoughts about what he was about to ask some of his citizens, but Johnathan kept on repeating the fact that they had little other choice in the matter.

 	As soon as the bells from the Town Hall fell silent, both Nicholas and Johnathan appeared, walking up to the podium that had once been used to read off holy scriptures. The mass of people who had been conversing quickly quieted down as soon as the two figures came into view. All eyes were now focused upon the two leaders who had waited patiently for everyone's undivided attention. The building was now filled with an odd silence, before Nicholas's gruff voice filled the emptiness around them. [color=00aeef]"First off, I would like to thank you all for joining Johnathan and myself at the town hall on this early Saturday morning. You all know that I would not ring those bells unless there was a damn good reason to do so. So, let me begin." Nicholas motioned towards the large piece of cloth behind him that was being used as a makeshift screen.[/color]

	Nearby, Johnathan was attempting to get an antique projector to power on by unplugging the machine, then plugging it back in. When that did not work, he used brute force and hit it a few times which seemed to do the trick. A discolored image of the local Montana area appeared upon the thick piece of cloth that hung along Nicholas's left side. Thankfully, the image had been edited to show all off the changes to the area since Whitlash had been recolonized, so one could say it was mostly up to date. [color=00aeef]"As you all know, Whitlash is located in a unique location. We have the river to the north, lush mountains to the east, rich farm grounds to the south, and lush forests to the west. Due to this, we have easy access to all the raw materials we would ever need to help make Whitlash prosper well into the future. Raw materials need to be processed though. Without the small processing facilities that we hold, like the lumbermills, forges, water purifiers, and so on, our lives would be much more difficult and complicated than they are now. Not only this, but our trading routes would essentially shut down as well. We cannot afford to loose anything critical locations that we have held for many decades."[/color]

	Nicholas pointed at a location on the map labeled [Ammunition Factory] before continuing, [color=00aeef]"Last week, a few of the machines at the ammunition factory malfunctioned, causing eight towns members to be injured from the result of a chain of explosions. I am thankful to say that everyone effected will be making a full recovery, though extensive repairs had to be made. My daughter, who is extremely talented in engineering, volunteered to help a few others make the repairs. That was five days ago, and I just found out today that the ammunition Factory has been overrun by the Helena Raiders Legion. They have not killed or hurt anyone, but are demanding we hand over a month of all of our supplies to them or they will kill the hostages then take over the ammunition factory for their own. I do not need to say how much my daughter means to me, we all hold our family very close, and above all else in the world."[/color]

	A few seconds would pass before Nicholas would speak once more, [color=00aeef]"Which brings us to the point of this meeting, I understand that this is quite unorthodox but we have been left with no other choice. I have chosen a rather large group of talented and trusted individuals from the community that Johnathan and myself feel will be able to carry out this mission. These individuals will be heading to the ammunition factory to meet up with the squad leader for the Helena Raiders Legion and help resolve the situation in whatever way they deem necessary. Their TOP priority is saving the hostages, everything else is secondary. The people I have chosen for this mission are, David Clark, Elijah Fowler, Conor Abraham Smith, Eliza O'Connor, Walker, Alexander Whitmoore, Raven Collins, and Jimmy Van Buren. The rest of you are dismissed, please go about your normal daily duties. As for those whos name I just read off, please step forward once everyone had cleared out, there are a few more details I would like to go over with you all."[/color]

	The towns people quickly flooded out, almost as fast as they had arrived, though now speaking amongst each other and giving passing glances too those lucky or unlucky enough to had been picked for the high priority mission. It would not take long though for the Town hall to empty itself, and once it had, Nicholas motioned for those he had chosen to step forward once more. [color=00aeef]"I know that many or all of you may not want to take part in this mission, but I hand picked each and everyone of you for your unique talents and skills that I feel will cover any issues that may present themselves during this. As I stated before, the lives of the hostages, which include my daughters, are of the utmost importance. I have a map with the location of the ammunition factory here for all of you to look over."[/color] Nicholas placed the map down on the table in front of him before speaking once more. [color=00aeef]"You will all be departing this evening under the cover of night, please keep in mind that snow is expected for this evening as well, which may hinder your vision. I will also be supplying anything the group may need before departing. Now, are there any questions?"[/color]