Outpost 6

Outpost 6
Outpost 6 is the governing outpost of District 6, one of the most dangerous, far-flung districts the NCD has to offer. It borders the north-northeastern part of District 4. It was founded by Director-6 a few months after the formation of the NCD. District 6's northern borders see constant fighting, creating a population of battle-hardened veterans. In addition to the constant horror and the backdrop of fighting, the district has the highest occurrence of diversifying mutations. Outpost 6 itself is a once-abandoned military compound. After joining the NCD, Outpost 6 was refurbished with supplies from District 4, but was not able to connect with the rest of the outposts because of the shortage of manpower. The outpost is now one of the most heavily-fortified outposts in the districts, second only to Outpost 5.

History
Post-formation of the NCD, Director-6 (then not a director at all) took a handful of men on a long-range scouting mission, well beyond the then-small borders of District 4, and well beyond the range of even the longest-ranged radios in the possession of the outposts. Two days into the mission, the scouting party was attacked by unidentified mutant strains. Director-2 became the sole survivor. He was found wandering the streets and was taken in by a sizeable group of 57 survivors, sheltered in an abandoned, military compound.

Director-6 was not able to immediately return to the NCD due to the shortage of ammunition. However, he proceeded to prove his worth, aiding the group by acquiring supplies for them. After winning enough trust, the director proceeded to tell the group about the existence of a confederate state from whence he came. The group remained unconvinced. The director proceeded to exit the outpost with several hundred 12 gauge shells strapped onto him. Within 24 hours, the 57 survivors were woken by the sounds of seemingly fully-automatic shotgun fire and a Ducati Streetfighter's engine. Director-6 entered the outpost uttering what would become the district's motto: "Back from heaven. No different from hell."

The director proceeded to offer each man and woman a tour of the NCD, one by one. After all of them had seen the NCD, the entire outpost unanimously decided to join it, with Karlson Kaiser entitled to the position of Director-6.

General Overview
Outpost 6 at-a-glance:
 * Holding capacity: 430, 700 (overcrowd)
 * Area: 3250 sq. meters
 * Facilities: one armory, three 2-storey barracks (one separate officers' quarters), one 3-storey central building, one motor pool
 * Fortifications: perimeter concrete wall, outer perimeter barbed wire fence, one fortified entrance/exit gate, 76 machine gun emplacements (12 additional interior emplacements excluded), 13 triple-50 sniper emplacements, 11 counterweight trebuchets, 42 fougasses, 128 rifle monopods
 * Functions: defense, command center, weapons stockpile, housing, emergency housing, small-scale weapons R&D and manufacturing, vehicle maintenance and outfitting, firebase
 * Strategic significance: retention of command over the Northeastern Combat Front

Fortifications
Outpost 6 is the most heavily-fortified de facto outpost there is (although Outpost 5 is technically an outpost, it is commonly considered as its own district, due to it encompassing half of its district). Outpost 6 is a refurbished military compound located in a fringe city, with no other structures surrounding it within 100 meters. It is composed of an armory, two 2-storey barracks, and an officers' quarters surrounding the central building, a three-storey building which acts as an HQ, sniper nest, command and observation post. A large basement located underneath the central building also acts as an emergency bunker, outfitted with long-range radios and supplies good for several weeks, for officers and regular soldiers alike, where operations can still be coordinated in the event that the outpost is overrun. There is also a topside motor pool located beside the two barracks and near the gate entrance that can house up to 14 vehicles.

Perimeter Defenses
The entire compound is surrounded by a 4 meter-high, reinforced, concrete wall, topped off with razor wire, with an outer perimeter barbed wire fence located 15 meters from the wall to provide further impediment to attackers. The original concrete wall was of a mixed construction of relatively-weak precast panel and cinder block construction, resulting in relatively thin walls, which meant that anything even mildly stronger than a normal zombie would be able to break them down. Following the establishment of a trade corridor with District 4, Outpost 6 engineers were able to eventually upgrade the walls of the outpost, thickening the walls by 1.5m with a formed concrete construction.

The gate to the compound is located at the southern end of the compound, opening into an open avenue. Two .50-cal machineguns and four .30-cal machineguns positioned on the walls overlook this avenue. A single triple-50 on the outpost's sniper nest is assigned to protect the gate at all times. Additional guns may be brought to bear upon the gate if it is under heavy attack.

Linked-M16, .30 and .50-cal machineguns are spaced evenly along the concrete walls, with a dozen other triple-50's looking down from the sniper nest. Located between the concrete walls and the outer perimeter wire fence are flame and fragmentation fougasses (a type of simple, buried, directional landmine), intended to beat off especially large hordes that come too close to the outpost's walls.

Local Outpost 6 engineers have also managed to construct several, small, counterweight trebuchets, capable of launching projectiles weighing 10kg up to 70 meters. These trebuchets are aimable, and are usually used to lob explosives and incendiaries against approaching attackers.

Other defenses include experimental ballistic and cryogenic weapons, courtesy of Science Division.

Inner Defenses
In the event that the perimeter defenses are compromised, the outpost is still capable of epic defense. From the sniper nest, 13 triple-50's are stationed to provide fire support against O.P.'s and other mutant strains. From the roofs of the various quarters and the armory are also various other MG emplacements, flamethrowers, and fixed monopods for riflemen who want stable shots. The buildings themselves are reinforced, with windows sealed shut with welded steel plates and firing ports located intermittently to allow riflemen to shoot out. Their simple, wooden door entrances have been replaced with hydraulically-actuated steel-reinforced concrete slabs that resemble blast doors. If any of the wings of the compound have been compromised, those wings would be completely sealed off with more steel-reinforced concrete slabs. The corridors of each building are turned into killzones, with last-ditch miniature fuel-air bombs located in front of security reception checkpoint desks' machine guns.

In the event that the entire outpost is compromised, a basement-turned-emergency bunker is the last resort for any survivors. Its sole entrance and exit utilizes a hydraulically-actuated solid steel slab, smelted by District 4 metalsmiths. It is equipped with hand crank-recharged long-range radios, enough food, water and other basic provisions to last 30 people a month, and enough ammunition to attempt a break-out.

The outpost is also outfitted with an insanely-large fuel-air bomb, which serves as a self-destruct mechanism for the outpost. It is capable of blowing up the outpost and everything within 50 meters of its walls. It can be detonated by the authorization of all three authorized personnel, namely Commander of Security Shak, Brigade Commander Dominic Wallace, and Director-6 himself. It can also be detonated if the countdown timer is left for 3 weeks. If the countdown timer is not reset for 3 weeks, the fuel-air bomb will detonate. The countdown timer can be reset by pressing any one of four red buttons located in each level of the central building. It is assumed that if the buttons are not pressed after 3 weeks, then there is no human presence in the outpost, and it therefore follows that if the outpost contains no humans, then it must have been overrun.

Special Weapons
Aside from cryogenic defensive weapons, the outpost also houses an artillery piece on the roof of the central building. With a maximum range of 35km, the artillery piece itself is an experimental light gas gun, chambering 30mm shells. These shells exit the muzzle of the artillery piece at 10km/s. There are two main types of shells used: kinetic and high-explosive. Kinetic shells are solid slugs, usually used in direct-fire mode against especially-tough attackers. High-explosive shells are self-explanatory.

Combat Culture
Outpost 6's original 57 residents represented the pinnacle of what a survivor acted and looked like. They wielded all manner of weapons and used them in a desperate bid to survive. With their incorporation into the NCD and the leadership of Director-6, Outpost 6 soon became renowned for the ferocity of its fighters and their esprit de corps.

Two months into the existence of Outpost 6, its residents soon became discontented with regular outpost life; it seemed too secure, which ironically raised insecurity amongst Outpost 6 residents. This was voiced directly to Director-6, which prompted him to establish the Hunter Brigade.

Hunter Brigade
The Hunter Brigade is a loosely-commanded auxiliary NCD organization established by Director-6. It does not require subservience to a specific chain-of-command, as each hunter acts on his own. The only actual "commander" the Brigade has is the "brigade commander", being Brigade Commander Dominic Wallace. Aside from him, all hunters also personally answer to the Directory of the NCD. No hunter is ever obligated to follow orders given by a regular militia or guard commander, although they have the right to do so. The Hunter Brigade is, so far, the only alternative to conscription into militia and guard ranks. Hunter work is completely voluntary, and it removes you from conscription.

The main purpose of a hunter is to clean the streets of undead. If called for, hunters may also act as early warning operators and skirmishers against advancing hordes. Hunters afford their own weapons and ammunition, and are paid only enough to keep themselves and their weapons alive and firing, with the only form of surplus being an outpost check-in every 2 weeks to affirm their status as alive and the resulting "payment" of 30 rounds of free ammunition.

It is these aspects of the life of a hunter that made the Hunter Brigade so attractive to all of the Outpost 6 residents, as well as several other enterprising individuals from other districts. Hunters are what O.P.'s are to zombies: the archetype of the human spirit of determinaion and resilience against all odds.

Attacks
Outpost 6 is the site of many of the most brutal battles the NCD has ever fought. It would be no exaggeration that millions have died by its guns since its founding.

First Battle of Outpost 6
A sudden flood of reports from early warning operators outside of the fledgling territory of District 6 alerted the men stationed in and around Outpost 6. Director-6 happened to be in the outpost's command post when the former commander of security, Pak Williams, sounded the alarm, prompting all hunters within a kilometer of the outpost to return to the outpost and prepare its defenses against an approaching horde, about 15 kilometers from the outpost. Early warning operators estimated thousands upon thousands of individuals, coupled with hundreds of mutant strains, would arrive at the outpost within two hours. With the horde insofar only 5 kilometers from the outpost, 327 hunters and Director-6 readied themselves.

Outpost 6 at that time was not as heavily-defended as its current form. Only 8 machine guns were available, along with 3 .50 cal sniper rifles. There were, however, 11 grenade launchers and 250 40mm as well as 300 handheld fragmentation grenades in-stock. All the other armaments the hunters had were what they brought with them: automatic rifles, shotguns and sniper rifles. Staff slings had also found renewed use in manually chucking hand grenades large distances.

The resulting intense battle dragged on for 4 hours. It ended before reinforcements consisting of 2 batallions from District 4 arrived. The hunters took no casualties.

As a result of this action, Hunter Brigade registrations soared.

First Battle of District 6
Although not exclusively fought at Outpost 6, the Battle of District 6 was the largest attack on the NCD by undead forces. The attacking horde was so large that the Battle of District 6 also spilled into District 4. District 4 easily beat off the attacking zombie contingent, but District 6 was effectively encircled and cut off.

Outpost 6's artillery piece directly contributed to the casualties incurred on undead forces. Director-6 and 141 other men and women made their last stand at Outpost 6, the local forces having suffered almost a thousand casualties over the past few days. Thankfully, Outpost 6, at this point, has been fully-outfitted with all of the above mentioned fortifications, enabling the outnumbered unit to put up fierce resistance. Meanwhile, elements of the 4th and 5th Militias attempted to break the encirclement and relieve the besieged outpost.

On the fifth day of fighting, hundreds of thousands of undead surrounded the outpost. Director-6 was about to bring out the Tau Cannon, the most fearesome weapon in the NCD arsenal, to level the entire district. Director-3/5 arrived via high-speed stilts with an uncalled-for contingency of 16 hunters and 7 pathfinders, 23 men from the NCD-registered organization Badassery Consolidated (which were inserted via airdrop), prompting Director-6 to change his mind and put the Tau Cannon back.

Fighting ended on day 11 when a last-ditch push by 27,000+ zombies attempted to overrun the outpost. At the same time, elements of the 4th and 5th Militia also attempted a last-ditch push to break the encirclement. At the same time, Director-3/5 climbed to the top of Outpost 6's sniper nest's observation post with two M60's, chambered with white phosphorus incendiary rounds. He proceeded to provide fully-automatic, white-hot machine gun support, managing to get a headshot for every bullet, hip-firing, doing a 360. Director-3/5's machine-gunning, combined with Director-6's last-ditch shotgun blasting and efforts by the 4th and 5th Militia, managed to defeat the final wave.

After the battle, it was estimated that 170,000+ infected were felled over the course of the fighting. The Battle of District 6, subsequently, was heralded as the NCD's single greatest victory, as well as its single greatest loss.