Area 11 · Act 3 · Crossing the Nullarbor
The Kimba Grain Line
Eyre Peninsula wheat country around Kimba — 'halfway across Australia' — flat golden paddocks hemmed by mallee scrub, a single narrow-gauge grain line, and salt-lake glare off the north that bends the horizon: heat mirage periodically hides outposts and gun cones alike until you close in.
DAY 96: THE EMUS HAVE REACHED HALFWAY. THE RAILWAYS ARE ADVISED TO RUN ON TIME.
The history behind it
The Eyre Peninsula's real 1930s wheat boom ran on narrow-gauge grain trains; parody has the state government declare the rail line a 'strategic artery' after emus are sighted pacing the trains and, allegedly, timing them.
Outposts (4)
Take all of them and the area is yours. Retreat halfway through and the ones you already hold stay held.
Silo Junction Picket
Grain silo · Defence tier 1
Tier 1 Picket guarding the grain silos: one Rifleman Line dug in among supply crates and overflowing feed bins. Area objective: pace the grain train down the line — keep the mob alongside the moving wagons to screen the approach, exactly as the sightings alleged. The silos themselves are the richest food nodes in the area.
Mallee Fence Depot
Supply depot · Defence tier 2
Wire and post stockpile ringed with its own product — Barbed Wire funnels the swarm toward a Lewis Gun Post whose gunner practices his sweeps on scarecrows.
The Water Tower Garrison
Gun post · Defence tier 2
Lewis Gun Post atop the rail water tower with a Sandbag Officer below, whistling reload buffs. Salt-lake mirage shimmers this outpost in and out of view from range — its telegraphs only read true inside 40 metres. Thrown rocks arc over the sandbags; the tower's shadow is the only shade for miles.
Buckleboo Homestead Garrison
Telegraph station · Defence tier 3
Farmhouse garrison with a Truck-Mounted Lewis circling the home paddock and a Rifleman Line on the verandah. Peck the truck's tyres near the sheep dip to strand it in mud.