New heroes in Town IC [Marvel Superheroes RPG]

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

New York, 1989 - A Monday.


The previous week had been very busy. The converted warehouse/base was finally finished being renovated. A fresh coat of white paint was put on the Van. Brand new top of the line fitness equipment was set up and ready to go in the gym. The latest, most powerful computer chalked full of cutting edge 1989's technology including a 9600 Baud fax/modem was setup. Everything was coming together nicely. Even the hectic battle against the Rhino and the Sinister Six earlier in the week seemed so long ago. In the end the villains were defeated soundly - the first major victory of 'Vanguard' as a cohesive team.


It's early morning on a Monday when the team members slowly filter out of the private bedrooms and congregate in the meeting room/electronics room. They were meeting for one last conference call with Derek from the Avenger's support and logistic team to iron out any last minute needs or requests for supplies.


Two things were waiting for the group in the electronics room. The first was a FAX that apparently came in overnight rescheduling the conference call for next Monday. Apparently Derek was swamped with work.


The second thing waiting for them was significantly more curious. It appeared to be a large box sitting on the conference table. It was nearly 3 feet square. No one remembers bringing in a package or knows how it got there. A label on the top of the box has the warehouse's street address on it with the name 'Vanguard - Open me' on it.

[Elodin]

Leech sits down, sighing. She turns to Rockstar and Anthem. "Hey. Hotshots. Next time, wait to kill the bad guy until after I take their powers." She glares around. "Is someone going to deal with this dumb box thing? I need to finish his ancient Sumerian document about an immortal woman who can teleport and looks like me. It's the best I've found in Sumer so far..

[Zen Gypsy]

Anthem (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20927312&postcount=1)
Health: 75 of 75 | Karma: 50 of 50

James yawned, he was wearing his typical ripped jeans, combat boots, a Fantastic Four tee, and a flannel shirt over top. He blinked, looked at Teia suspiciously, "Seriously? Old horn head had a school bus lifted overhead, you know with kids in it? He was ready to throw that $h!t at Brock, so I stunned him with ultra sonics, and Brock caught the bus before it hit the ground. Don't get cranky cause we double teamed the big threat, and you got to deal with the flying geriatric."

He smirked playfully, and went to the counter, pouring himself a coffee, "Huh? Probably something one of the contractors brought in." As he walked back to the table, he grabbed a pair of scissors. As he set to opening it, he remarked, "House warming gift from Mr. Stark?"

[Conaldar]

SPECTER

Ray enters the conference room, "Man. Tell me yall 'aint still arguing over the Sinister Six. Leech --- c'mon, let it go. We won, right? All that matters. We even impressed Captain America! No small feat, my friends!"

Walking to the coffee pot, Ray sniffed the vapors, then stared at Anthem, "You gonna get us fired wearin' that shirt. We're with the 'A-vengers', not the Fantastic Four. I worry about you sometimes, Anthem." Ray grinned and shook his head.

"Derek show up yet? We need to talk. See if we can trade that van for some bicycles or something. Every time I ride in it, I feel like we're delivering mail or chinese food. Not cool."

"What's in the box?"

[GreyStormcrow]

Tin Man shrugs from his seat (heavily reinforced) at the table. "Maybe - just as long as it isn't a bomb."

[Conaldar]

Going through the faxes from the Electronics room, Ray makes a discovery, "Coupons! Ooooh - Orange JuliusTM - daddy likes. Hey, Tin-Man: found a good coupon for WD-40! How'd they know you live here?" Specter smiles at his old-new buddy.

Still going through the faxes, "Okay everybody: looks like Derek wont be showing-up today. The meeting's been rescheduled for Monday because we're nobodies, obviously." Ray sighs and lays the papers on the table.

"That works. I was going down to Calgary Cross in Harlem to make a donation to Reverend Jackson's church. He does a lot to help the neighborhood and I've been supporting his efforts for awhile. Anyone else want to make a charitable donation? Might get you into heaven ---"

Ray looked around at his teammates with a smile ......

[Elodin]

"Oh, it's always about impressing the Avengers with you guys. Ok fine, lets open this package. Be careful of traps and such.

[Zylas]

"Greetings, friend." Creq'olk gently projects into the minds of the others as he walks into the room. He was careful to make it like a whisper, and to message to each of his new colleagues individually.

Atop his head his nostrils falttened themselves reflexively as he smelled the air, but he still felt a little queasy. He had never tried it, but he was pretty sure this 'coffee' substance would be poisonous to him. It sure smelled that way, anyway.

With a shudder he shrugged off the thought of the bitter black neurotoxin, and adds to his first message, with a bit more intensity behind it.
"Please allow me to scan the box before we open it. Feel free to look along."

He mentally offers others to join the mind link, so they can 'see' through his senses. Then he uses his bracer to inspect the box for hidden electronics.


[roll0] at remarkable (26)
I think the mind-link doesn't need to be rolled for, since it's a power stunt?

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

"


[roll0] at remarkable (26)
I think the mind-link doesn't need to be rolled for, since it's a power stunt?




Mind link is an established power stunt - so no rolling necessary. Anyone can 'opt' out if they like though.



Creq'olk isn't able to detect or connect with anything that might be in the box. It might be shielded somehow.

[Zen Gypsy]

Anthem (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20927312&postcount=1)
Health: 75 of 75 | Karma: 50 of 50


"You gonna get us fired wearin' that shirt. We're with the 'A-vengers', not the Fantastic Four. I worry about you sometimes, Anthem." Ray grinned and shook his head.

James returned the playful grin, "No way man, that's like wearing a Dead Kennedy's tee to their concert, if you are going to see the Dead Kennedys, you wear your Ramones shirt. Basic concert fashion man, get it right."

He noted Creaq come down, quickly drained his coffee and rinsed out the mug, he knew that the off worlder detested the aroma of caffeine for some strange reason. Despite his alien form, the fact he hated coffee is what was most disturbing.

"Alright, lets see what Tony left for us, going to be some sweet @$$ high tech toys I bet it's one of those Famicon's from Japan." With that, he began to open the package carefully using the scissors he had grabbed earlier.

[Conaldar]

Morning, Creq", Specter said as he watched Anthem opening the package, "That's a pretty big box. Maybe it's the hate-mail from Rockstar and Anthem's last concert. Hahah!"

Looking at Leech, Specter crosses his arms, "Sumer? That was like 10,000 years ago! How old are you, Leech?"

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

With Creq'olk offering up his senses telepathically, everyone who joined the link found a flood of information pour into their brains. Creq'olk's senses were unnaturally sharp and picked up on even the smallest, nigh-invisible clue. The consensus was that there was no immediate danger. It was just a 'feeling' since there was nothing concrete to go on but it just 'felt' right.


The packing tape was tenacious and the scissors were dull but in the end Anthem was able to prevail. Once the top was off the sides folded down neatly. A large electronic machine had been enclosed with a monitor built in. It look like some sort of futuristic TV set.


As if by magic the screen turned itself on and went fuzzy for a moment before stabilizing. On the screen appeared the image of Colonel Nick Fury.

"Good Morning Vanguard! My name is Nick Fury. You might have heard of me as the executive director of the Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law enforcement Division, otherwise known as SHIELD. I hope this stunt didn't scare you too much, but I needed to ensure our conversation would be completely private. I don't have time to beat around the bush so I'm going to get straight to the point. Two days from now the Research and Development branch of a classified branch of the US military will be testing the new "Cavalier" infantry support system. We would like you to participate in the test. "

"This isn't fun and games boys and girls. The testing itself will be hard work; but if you cooperate we'll see that you are well rewarded. Any questions ?" he says.









Looking at Leech, Specter crosses his arms, "Sumer? That was like 10,000 years ago! How old are you, Leech?"


A gentleman never asks a lady her real age....

[Conaldar]

Specter rubbed his chin and looked around at the others, "Hm. First the Avengers, now S.H.I.E.L.D. We're definitely getting the lay of the land. But, I'm not sure about being Fury's guinea pig. What do you guys think?"


Who lied and said Specter was a gentleman? :smalltongue:

[Zylas]

"I believe mister Fury is still listening. This 'box' seems to offer 2-way communication. It might be best not to converse vocally, lest we put all our cards on the table.

I for one will go where the team decides to go. I did not take up this role to test weapons. But we do need a new van. And it might be good practice."

[GreyStormcrow]

Mark shrugs. "If you need our help, I don't see why we shouldn't give it. It's our job, isn't it - helping?"

[Elodin]

Morning, Creq", Specter said as he watched Anthem opening the package, "That's a pretty big box. Maybe it's the hate-mail from Rockstar and Anthem's last concert. Hahah!"

Looking at Leech, Specter crosses his arms, "Sumer? That was like 10,000 years ago! How old are you, Leech?"
Leech turns red. In her mind Leech punches Specter in the face and says "How purple is your face? In real life she says "About 10000000 years old by carbon dating on my internal organs."

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Fury chewed at his cigar. "You'd be doing your country a great service. Tony seemed confident you would be interested in helping."

[Elodin]

"Will you help us with our powers and such? If so, I'm in. If not, I'm still in, albeit with slightly more reluctance."

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

"Well you will have the opportunity to test out your powers against the Cavalier. After the testing I can make a few scientists available to run a few tests for a few days and consult with you." Fury says scratching his chin.

[Conaldar]

Specter nods, "I for one am in. How soon do you need us, Fury? And, where?"

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

"A private plane is waiting at the airport at your convenience as we speak. A van should be out front in just a few minutes. The testing should only take a couple days." Fury answers.

[Zen Gypsy]

Anthem (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20927312&postcount=1)
Health: 75 of 75 | Karma: 50 of 50

James broadcast his thoughts outward over Creq'olk mental network, 'I seriously hope that the government isn't using this series of tests to gather data on us and our powers.' He nodded towards the digital screen, "Better not take too long, we've," he swung his head towards Brock, "have a practice Thursday, then a gig down at the Bowry, Friday."

With that he turned his back to the monitor, and went back upstairs towards the living quarters and packed his kit for the next few days. His costume, regulator bands, civvies, his discman, along with a couple cd's. He packed all of his gear carefully in an old army surplus duffel bag, then grabbed his old acoustic, checking the case to make sure he had some spare strings and picks inside.

[GreyStormcrow]

Anthem (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20927312&postcount=1)
Health: 75 of 75 | Karma: 50 of 50

James broadcast his thoughts outward over Creq'olk mental network, 'I seriously hope that the government isn't using this series of tests to gather data on us and our powers.' He nodded towards the digital screen, "Better not take too long, we've," he swung his head towards Brock, "have a practice Thursday, then a gig down at the Bowry, Friday."

With that he turned his back to the monitor, and went back upstairs towards the living quarters and packed his kit for the next few days. His costume, regulator bands, civvies, his discman, along with a couple cd's. He packed all of his gear carefully in an old army surplus duffel bag, then grabbed his old acoustic, checking the case to make sure he had some spare strings and picks inside.
Mark frowns and concentrates, attempting to send thoughts back. "Why? What would be so bad about that? "

[Skald]

Brock, who had been silent this whole time finally speaks up, hinting at the cause of his lack of input.

"UGH. So much noise." He says as he staggers towards the coffee pot.

[Conaldar]

Specter:

Giving TV-Fury a thumbs-up, Specter replies, "We'll be at the airport ASAP, Fury. Uh ..... LaGuardia or JFK - and is S.H.I.E.L.D. handling our expenses? Long-term airport parking is ridiculous!"

Without waiting but listening for Fury's response, Specter headed for his quarters to pack a suitcase .... "Good morning, Rockstar ..."

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

"uh, as I said, A van should be out front in just a few minutes. So no need for long term parking or any other expenses." Fury says.

[Zylas]

Communicating through the mind-link is all but effortless, for everyone. Creq'olk has been hosting links like these since before he had legs.

Sensing Leech's anger, the alien reaches out telepathically to the ancient warrioress.
“Friend Leech, it pains me to see you hurt like this. If there is anything I can do to help, please know that I would be happy to assist.”
Though slightly less urgent, he does the same for Brock in an unspoken way, and tries to ease the pain of the hangover as best as he can.

Whilst doing all of this, he moves back to his room and starts packing clean robes. He didn't need much, but he may as well bring spares. After packing, he moves back down and sits meditating, waiting for the mind of the driver to appear on the horizon.

[Skald]

Through the combination of the coffee and Creq'olk's efforts, the throbbing in Brock's head subsides to a tolerable level.
Addressing the box, Brock asks "How long we gonna be away?"

[Elodin]

Leech shakes her head. A tear rolls down her cheek. No. Thank you, but I'm fine, I just need a second. She wipes her eyes and looks up. "How about we wait outside for the van? Anyone want to play soccer with me while we wait?" Not over the mental link, she thinks Well, at least I don't have to pack. I've got no possessions.

[Conaldar]

Specter speeds out to the waiting van, "This works for me, but there isn't enough room for Rcockstar's and Anthem's lingerie. Where's the auxiliary vehicle?" Specter smiled and climbed inside ...

[GreyStormcrow]

The Tin Man lumbers out the van and opens the rear doors. Ducking low, he crawls inside.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Fury swivels his head at Brock and leans in a bit and says "As I mentioned earlier, just a few days. We'll have you back and playing paddy-cake with the Sinister Six before the weekend." He grinned and chuckled. You catch a glimpse of his grey hair and a few wrinkles are evident as he leaned over. The years have really seemed to have caught up with him. "Sounds like you all are onboard. Excellent. The van should be there in just a few minutes. I look forward to meeting you all in person. The driver should be able to answer any other questions you might have. Your country thanks you for your contribution. Good day. "

With that, the box seems to power down and the screen goes blank. As everyone gathers their belongs (or not), Creq'olk senses a strong and organised mind with no hostile intent, approach the building. A few moments later the buzzer for the door rings.



The van was a large white cargo model, with ample room for everyone. The driver had also picked up a dozen breakfast muffins. His offical SHIELD ID looked real enough - "Edgar Hoover". Before anyone could comment or had a chance to ask he preemptively said "No, I am not related."

"Do you have any errands we need to run before heading to the airport ? The plane is just standing by." Edgar asked as he finished off a muffin.




If anyone wants to make a slight detour to the bank to make a donatation to charity, now's the time.

I've already accounted for Specter's contribution. If not, I'll move the game forward.

[Elodin]

Teia sighs. The van arrived too early. Without talking, she gets into the van and takes a seat in the back.
"How about we make a donation. It could be to.. ecosystem preservation! Sure!" Her eyes grow slightly glazed as she rhinks of those flashes of memory. Her favorite was from the Jurassic period. It was very green back then.

[Skald]

"I know he said our ride would be here soon, but I didn't think he meant that soon. I'll be out in a bit."
Brock hastily fills a backpack with a weeks worth of clothes and grabs his bass, then make his way out to the van, picking a place at random.

[Zen Gypsy]

Anthem (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20927312&postcount=1)
Health: 75 of 75 | Karma: 50 of 50


"Why? What would be so bad about that? "

As he packed, he pondered Mark's question, responded via the Thought Net, 'It's information that they can use against us, hell, there are already protests about mutants, their abilities, Senator Kelly ring a bell? One government nut job is all it would take.'

He continued his packing, and wandered through the base out towards the van. Once he stowed his gear, he settled in next to Teia. "Hey, T., want to practice those chords I've been showing you?" He flashed her a kind smile, broke out the acoustic and started running his fingers up and down the neck, strumming out the Clash's 'Should I stay or should I go.'

[Conaldar]

Specter spoke up, "Errands? As a matter of fact, can we shoot by Harlem real quick? I need to drop something off at Calgary Cross church."

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Edgar says "Not a problem at all. Anywhere else ?"

[Zylas]

Creq'olk slowly gets up from his meditative pose. He grabs his luggage and gets in the van with a friendly nod to Edgar.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Albuquerque, 1989 - A Monday, Early Evening


After making a few stops, the van finally makes it to the airport. You are waved through security when Edgar flashes his badge and driven up onto the tarmac to a waiting private plane. The plane was a new model, the Stark Excelsior - known for its reliability and speed.

A helpful steward shows everyone how to use the seat belts and brings around some drinks and a snack during the flight. The flight is uneventful. A few hours later the group lands in Albuquerque, New Mexico and find themselves piling into a similar white van. It's only a fifteen minute drive from the airport to the fenced off military base.

The MPs guarding the gates check the driver's ID and he parks in the visitor section. A few minutes later visitor badges are given to everyone with your pictures on them. It's uncertain where they got the photos from.

Nick Fury himself is on hand to meet you. "Thanks again for coming!" he says. He looks even more grey and grisled in person. He must be in his early sixties these days. The building behind him is fairly massive, a good four storeys and about the size of 4 gymnasiums.


A small flight of Apache helicopters fly overhead in formation - drowning out the conversation for a brief moment.




Tia and Spector (whom have Espionage and Espionage/military training respectively) recognize the tail number designation on the plane you fly on as being military.

I've moved things along a bit since no action is likely to take place. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves.

[Conaldar]

Meeting Fury face-to-face, Specter responds, "Thanks. I mean, yeah the Avengers took us on and we proved ourselves with the Sinister Six. But, I want to thank you for this test. It's bigger than a street-fight. It's a real test of our capabilities. You've been a pretty consistent stable of government protocol with people like us. The papers and TV call us freaks. We sacrifice our family and friends with the time we spend fighting crime. Crime the cops can't handle - and nobody appreciates it. We stand-" Specter grits his teeth, "- ALONE in this. Even as a team, you are this abnormal person even teammates can't understand. Hell, I've done things I can't talk about, but I also can't deny it either. I can't, like my teammates, turn my back on who I have become. All I can do is press forward. So - I appreciate your invitation. It gives us a chance to be something more - something more like heroes."

Specter moves to shake Fury's hand ....

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Fury takes your hand and shakes it. "Everyone deserves a chance to do the right thing. I learned that a long time ago. These tests should be a great oppertunity to cut loose with your powers in a safe environment. No bystanders to get in the way. Should be hard work but fun."

He proceeds to give the team a tour of the facility. Everywhere you go there are camera's and sensors and guards. This must be one of the most secure bases on the planet. Apparently all the doors are somehow magnetically locked and only respond to a swipe of the name card/badges you were provided. Very high tech stuff.

The living area you are assigned to is comfortable looking. Next he drags you to the security office and introduces you to the guards. From the security station they seem to be monitoring all the camera and can see most of the labs, offices and hallways.


Fury explains, "There are two main research labs on the base. This first one is run by doctor Kruptmann. He is one of our most trusted scientists, simply because he and I seem to be the only ones who are old enough to remember WW II. He is working on the 'other' secret project here - not the 'Cavalier' you are here to test."

He introduces you to the elderly scientist.


"Hello and er, welcome to the base." The scientist says little enthusiasm.



Anyone in the telepathic link and using Link-up's senses is able to pick up on the fact that the scientist seems nervous or uncomfortable in your presence.

[GreyStormcrow]

Mark nods. "Thank you."
He looks around. "What exactly will we be doing?"

[Elodin]

They pull up to the base, and Teia sets down the guitar. "Doesn't look too bad. How is the water here?" She asks the assistant.

[Skald]

Fury takes your hand and shakes it. "Everyone deserves a chance to do the right thing. I learned that a long time ago. These tests should be a great oppertunity to cut loose with your powers in a safe environment. No bystanders to get in the way. Should be hard work but fun."


Brock cracks his knuckles "A chance to go all out? Sounds like a party."

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

@Teia

The assistant replies " The water is warm - though a bit chalky. Perfectly safe to drink or so I'm told."


@Mark

Fury responds " You'll be combat testing the cavilier combat system. It will be the six of you verus it. The weapons will be powered down to non-leathal simulated levels of course."



@Brock


"Should be a blast" Fury says.



====================================


Fury continues the tour. The next major lab includes a massive open area, presumably where the combat test will be held. A massive robot with a central body the size of car sits in the middle of the empty space. It had four legs suspending the 'body' of the robot some twenty feet off the ground. Two nasty looking cannons were mounted on the front.

Fury introduces you to a Dr. Cooper, who runs this lab area.

"Hello. Looking forward to the test." The man in the lab coat says. He looks to be in his mid-thirties. He turns back away to work on some small circuit board. "Sorry don't have time to gossip, need to finish this before the test."


Fury grunts and chews his cigar. "It better be ready doc..."


He leads you back towards the entrance of the building and ushers you into his office. It's small but has several monitors set up and half dozen phones. A few pictures are on the wall - most are with some president or world leader shaking hands with fury. One of the larger black and white picture dominates the far wall. It seems to include the Howling commandos, Fury's unit back in world war two, along with a group of strange costumed heroes. None of the costumes look familiar though.


"This is where I run things, if you are looking for me at any time - likely I'm here putting out some fire or another." He pours himself a whiskey and offers one to anyone who wants.


"The tests should begin tomorrow morning around 9 AM. Do you have any questions or concerns before I live you to retire for the night ?"

[Skald]

Brock accepts a glass of whiskey and slams in down.
"Is the testing room gonna be open to the ground? Gonna have to break through the floor otherwise, unless your interior designer happens to be a geologist."

[Elodin]

"Are we only going to be fighting machines?

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Fury turns to Brock. "The floor is concrete, feel free to break it if you can. Only thing we ask is after the test you put any huge chunks of rock back in the ground so we can re-concrete over the holes."


@Teia

"Yes - only a robot. Through its cutting edge and very powerful." Fury says.

[Conaldar]

Passing on the drink, Specter takes a closer look at Fury's pictures, coming to a stop at the photo of the unknown superheroes, "Hm. So, who are these people in this photo, Fury? I recognize a few of your World War II pals, but the other heroes I can't remember ever seeing."

[Zylas]

Creq'olk follows Fury around the complex without saying a word. Speaking wasn't something he felt comfortable with, much less speaking English, and he wasn't sure how the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. would feel about telepathic contact.

He does try to get an impression from the guards around the complex, looking for stray surface thoughts to get a feel for what they thought of the Vanguard and if they knew of why the group was here.


[roll0]
[roll1]

Assuming the others do the same, he drops off his stuff at the living area, before moving on to the security station. Inside the security station, he quickly looks over the monitors for the labs, to see if he can find any hints for what doctor Kruptmann's research might be.


[roll2]

When they meet doctor Kruptmann, Creq'olk tries to identify the source of the scientists' unease, but other than trying to pick up stray surface thoughts, he doesn't go poking around the scientist's mind.


[roll3]
[roll4]

When Fury explains about the cavalier combat system, the alien swallows deep. His mental powers were of little use against a robot, and his bracer would likely not be enough to disable a system like that entirely. This would definitely have to be group effort..

The alien nods at dr. Cooper, and tries to get a feel for this man's thoughts towards the Vanguard as well.


[roll5]
[roll6]

He declines the alcohol, and listens to the questions by the others, before retiring to bed and meditating on his bed for the night.
He will share impressions from today via the mindlink with the others if they wish, showing them memories of things he picked up on while going through the base (i.e. successful rolls I've made above that were answered.)

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Creq'olk does his best to keep his 'ears' open.

[Guards]

The guards were in a state of readiness. You get the feeling the guards didn't have a strong opinion about Vanguard one way or the other. Creq'olk drew more than his fair share of stares as did Tin Man but nothing that set off any alarm bells.
Only way to be sure though would be to invade the mind and poke around. No one seemed openly helpful so any contact would have to be forced as they are all 'unwilling'.



Forcing contact might be viewed dimly -let me know if you want to force contact with a guard or guards.




[Doctor Kruptmann]

Doctor Kruptmann has a very closed mind. Nothing seems to escape. Likely he had been trained at some point to resist torture or mental powers at some point. It is obvious however that he is surprised Vanguard is at the base, and is nervous about your presence.


The view from the security monitors is far too blurry to make out small print on Kruptmann's research papers. But Creq'olk was able to sneak a peak at a stack of papers during the tour. The papers seem to be very heavily math related but is either too abstract or obtuse for Creq'olk to figure out.



[Doctor Cooper]

Doctor Cooper is an open book. He is worried Vanguard is going to easily destroy his precious robot and his project is going to get canceled. He is uneasy with Vanguard's presence but it seems related to the test not to them personally as super powered individuals.


================================================== ==========



[Regarding the picture on the wall in Fury's office]


Fury turns towards Specter. "I dunno who those guys were - they refused to give much detail about themselves but they sure saved our bacon back in '43"

[GreyStormcrow]

[Regarding the picture on the wall in Fury's office]


Fury turns towards Specter. "I dunno who those guys were - they refused to give much detail about themselves but they sure saved our bacon back in '43"
That catches Tin Man's attention; war stories are something he is familiar with. "What happened?"

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

That catches Tin Man's attention; war stories are something he is familiar with. "What happened?"


"It's uh still classified unfortunately. A bunch of heroes came out of nowhere and foiled a German plot that could have turned the tide of the war - All I can really say."

[Conaldar]

Espionage FEAT: [roll0]


Looking off into a corner of the dank office, Specter takes in Fury's words, feeling there was more there than what was being communicated.

"What do we have for chow nearby? Anything better than McDonald's?"

[GreyStormcrow]

Mark nods to Fury. "Course. Opsec. Sorry I asked."
He turns to Specter. "Probbly be at the chow hall. You need us for anything else, Director?"

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

[ Regarding : "What do we have for chow nearby? Anything better than McDonald's?" ]

"Mess hall is back over by 'Lab One' - help yourself. We have scientists working at all hours of the day so they always keep something edible warm. " Fury says. "If you want real food, you'll need to journey into the city. Just stop by the motor pool to pick up a guest van. You've already been cleared for access."





Espionage : You seem uncertain if Fury is being deceptive. Most classified operations (but not all) during WWII have been declassified already by the mid-80's. You're at a bit of a loss.



Intuition: Through the telepathic link you have access to AMAZING level intuition.


As far as you can tell Fury isn't lying about the classification.





[ Regarding : "You need us for anything else, Director?"" ]


"Nope I think we are done, unless you have any questions. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow. Bring your best combat under-Roos." he says.






If there are no other questions I'll move the game forward tomorrow night

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

After arriving back at the lab, Fury and Dr. Cooper greet the heroes.

"Morning." Fury says as he sips a mug of coffee.


You are ushered into the main testing area which is a large open space. The robot is in the center of the room and is making an ominious humming noise. Fury asks that you take up positions and get ready for the fight.








Details


The testing area is 7 areas wide and 7 areas long. Fury is standing at the edge of the testing area with a clipboard and will be taking notes. Dr.cooper has left the room as he can't bear to watch his creation being destroyed.
The distance to the roof is 3 areas if that matters.



Combat map:


http://i67.tinypic.com/2s7dlvo.png


Combat is starting. I need two things from each player


1.) What square they choose to start the fight in. Choose something in the grey testing area. (A1 through G9)

2.) The declared actions for the first round of combat.

[Skald]

Brock cracks his knuckles and takes a place at f-3.
Taking a grounded stance, he crosses his forearms over his chest then extends his arms outwards to either side, activating his body armor as some of the the concrete in the area covers his body to form a protective shell.

(ooc: It's like a magical girl transformation! Except, a lot more masculine, and with rocks...)

[Conaldar]

Specter walks right up to the robot and looks back at the others, "I'll keep Megatron here distracted, while you guys take your shots at it, okay?" He gives the others a "thumbs-up" and starts doing stretching exercises ....

[Zylas]

Creq'olk moves to F8 and uses his bracer to try and tap into any information being sent to and from the Cavalier.


Using Computer Links power, Remarkable (26) rank.
I realize that this is in the 80s, but if I'm able to get into something like a wireless remote control system, I'd like to have the Cavalier just power down. If I instead run into a data stream being sent from the cavalier, I'd like to tap into that, so we can notice things like where it has blind spots, which parts are overheating, stuff like that.


Questions:
Since we're telepathically linked, I can share my Intuition rank with the others and I noticed that Specter has martial arts E. So would that make our initiative modifier 5, or is it 4?

And just out of curiosity, what sort of roll is used for initiative? Not a d100 I guess?

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Creq'olk moves to F8 and uses his bracer to try and tap into any information being sent to and from the Cavalier.


Using Computer Links power, Remarkable (26) rank.
I realize that this is in the 80s, but if I'm able to get into something like a wireless remote control system, I'd like to have the Cavalier just power down. If I instead run into a data stream being sent from the cavalier, I'd like to tap into that, so we can notice things like where it has blind spots, which parts are overheating, stuff like that.


Questions:
Since we're telepathically linked, I can share my Intuition rank with the others and I noticed that Specter has martial arts E. So would that make our initiative modifier 5, or is it 4?

And just out of curiosity, what sort of roll is used for initiative? Not a d100 I guess?




By the rule book initiative is team based with the best (highest) intuition being used. So in this case it would be Specter making use of your intuition so 4+1 = 5.

Init checks are d10 based in the Marvel system so +5 is freaking huge.

[GreyStormcrow]

Tin Man moves to C-7 and prepares to blast the thing with steam.

[Skald]

Satisfied with his concrete armor, Rockstar pulls up more of the surrounding earth, shaping it into a sharpened five pointed star.
"Let's... Rock!" he shouts as he sends the projectile spinning at the machine.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Fury shouts "okay, lets begin! Gooooo Vanguard!"


The machine lunges to life and its cannons make an ominous humming noise. They practically glow red as it fires its beams at the group. Its legs orientate themselves but the machine doesn't really move from its spot.

"Criminals designated. Beginning termination sequence. Exterminate, Exterminate, Exterminate." it announces dispassionately.






Declared Actions:

Specter - Evasion
Tin man - Steam Blasting
Rockstar - Rock Blasting
Link-up - "Linking up"

Robot - I rolled a d6 earlier in the OOC thread and the robot randomly choose to to attack Specter. Unfortunately the its main method of attack is with it's laser cannon.

===============================


Robot Initiative : [roll0]

Vanguard Initiative : [roll1]


===============================


Pre-combat Rolls:

Specter - Evasion

[roll2] [Result - Yellow result - Any attacks Specter makes next round are +1 CS to hit as he dodges and weaves ]


===============================

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Combat Round 1


While Specter keeps the front of the machine busy, Tin Man and Rockstar blast it. Using the distraction, Link-up tries to hack into the robot's control systems. The jet of steam from Tin Man seems to have no effect on the robot. Rockstar takes a brief moment to harden the concrete 'star' into a stronger crystalline shape before throwing it.


Link-up is pleasantly surprised. This particular machine seems to have a remote control system. He is able to determine the control unit is somewhere on the desk over by Fury. The technology was very advanced - by human standards at least. It still paled in comparison to the tech he had back 'home'. (Think fancy garage door opener controller)



Link-up is easily able to hack into the robot and then suddenly he loses all control and connection with the machine as it shuts down and rests on its feet. Rockstar's 'rock' slams into the center of the robot's head, and exits the other side. A few vital looking components seem to fly out the other side following the missile and lodging into the back wall of the testing area. The robot never even got a shot off.





Init is tied but the players have a higher modifier so they'll go first



Tin Man

Attack [Poor accuracy check]: [roll0] [Result: Miss!]
Damage - 20 heat


Rockstar

Attack [Excellent accuracy check]: [roll1] [Result: RED - Kill result - Robot failed its endurance check. Robot is incapacitated. ]
Damage - 46 edged [-30 FOR BODY ARMOR = 16 DAMAGE]


Link-up

Attempting to hack the remote control system:

Computer sense (RM) vs Robot Reason score of RM (Yellow result required for success) [roll2] [Result: Robot is hacked and under Link-up control starting next round.]


Specter

Evading - nothing to roll here.


==============================

Robot [ACTION NEGATED DUE TO FALLING UNCONSCIOUS]

Shoots at Specter with its lasers

Attack [Good accuracy check]: [roll3] [roll4] [Result: ]
Damage - 30 Energy

[Zylas]

"That was.. Unfortunate for dr. Cooper."

Creq'olk stays alert, scanning the room for potential reinforcements or self-repairs starting on the robot.

[Conaldar]

Specter looks around, looks at the smashed robot, looks at the other heroes, then looks finally in Fury's direction, "Nice warm-up, but when does the test start?"

[Skald]

Brock looks around the room, then at Fury. "Is that it?"

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Fury scribbles some notes on his noteboard. You can barely hear him mumble. "6 months, 9 million dollars....." he looks at his stopwatch. "6.48 seconds. What a goddamn joke." He toss his pad on the desk in frustration.


He looks up to the heroes and shakes his head. "Nice shot. Well, a lucky shoot I'm sure. Great work. I think Doctor Cooper has a spare 'head' unit in the back. We could probably give this another go later tonight. That puts you back on the plane tomorrow morning and should get you home prior to your Thursday..'gig'. " Fury says. He really was showing his age with how awkward the word 'gig' sounded coming out of his mouth.


"For the rest of the afternoon - I can make a few of our biologists available to run tests on you and your abilities, as per our agreement. This is absolutely optional though so if you'd rather return to your quarters or go use the pool you are more than welcome..." Fury's attention is drawn elsewhere.




Across the open area of the test floor, a service door opens up and six men barrel into the room. The door slams shut behind them. They all wear labcoats and stop dead at the sight of Fury and the heroes. One of the men attempts to open the door they just came through but it appears to be locked.

"Was ist das ?" one of them asks another.

"Excuse me, this is a closed test lab, how did you get in here?" Fury shouts.

"Attackieren!" The apparent leader of the men yells and all six pull out machine guns from their labcoats and began firing wildly. Fury looks stunned and draws his sidearm. This obviously wasn't part of the test.







Three of the new arrivals are in square A3 of the battle map. The other three are in A2. Go ahead and declare your actions for this round.

[GreyStormcrow]

Fury scribbles some notes on his noteboard. You can barely hear him mumble. "6 months, 9 million dollars....." he looks at his stopwatch. "6.48 seconds. What a goddamn joke." He toss his pad on the desk in frustration.


He looks up to the heroes and shakes his head. "Nice shot. Well, a lucky shoot I'm sure. Great work. I think Doctor Cooper has a spare 'head' unit in the back. We could probably give this another go later tonight. That puts you back on the plane tomorrow morning and should get you home prior to your Thursday..'gig'. " Fury says. He really was showing his age with how awkward the word 'gig' sounded coming out of his mouth.


"For the rest of the afternoon - I can make a few of our biologists available to run tests on you and your abilities, as per our agreement. This is absolutely optional though so if you'd rather return to your quarters or go use the pool you are more than welcome..." Fury's attention is drawn elsewhere.




Across the open area of the test floor, a service door opens up and six men barrel into the room. The door slams shut behind them. They all wear labcoats and stop dead at the sight of Fury and the heroes. One of the men attempts to open the door they just came through but it appears to be locked.

"Was ist das ?" one of them asks another.

"Excuse me, this is a closed test lab, how did you get in here?" Fury shouts.

"Attackieren!" The apparent leader of the men yells and all six pull out machine guns from their labcoats and began firing wildly. Fury looks stunned and draws his sidearm. This obviously wasn't part of the test.







Three of the new arrivals are in square A3 of the battle map. The other three are in A2. Go ahead and declare your actions for this round.





Tin Man charges forward with a shout, interposing his body across their line of fire. His shoulder gun fires a Knock-Out Canister as he does so.

[Skald]

Brock erects a concrete prison around the one that seems to be calling the shots.

[Conaldar]

Specter Dodges a few seconds to see if Tin Man's canister does the trick - plus, he didn't want to get caught in the gas ....

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

if you are going to wait a round, you might as well declare a dodge action.

[Zylas]

Creq'olk attempts to knock one of the German assailants out with a telepathic push.


Telepathic push (telepathy, established powerstunt) at amazing (46) rank for both telepathy and agility, aimed at a target that's not being attacked yet. Preferably one that's attacking Fury.

Will attempt to deal nonlethal damage, if that matters.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Vanguard declaration:

Link-up - mind bolt
Specter - dodge/delay
Tin Man - partial shield / gas grenade
Rockstar - entrapment



Enemy declaration:

1 soldier will shoot at every active hero. (4)
1 soldier will shoot at Fury
Left over soldier will shoot at Tin Man since he trying to attract attention and step into the lines of fire.



==== Init ===============

Vanguard + Fury: [roll0] [WINNERS]
Bad guys : [roll1]

===========================

Pre-combat Rolls:


Specter Dodges [roll2] [Results : -6 CS ]

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Tin Man grenade shot:

PR accuracy : [roll0]
RM knock-out power

Soldier 1 save vs passing out (spending up to 40 karma if the grenade hits) : [roll1]
soldier 2 save vs passing out (spending up to 40 karma if the grenade hits) : [roll2]
soldier 3 save vs passing out (spending up to 40 karma if the grenade hits) : [roll3]

[RESULT: ALL THREE SOLDIERS FALL UNCONSCIOUS. NONE OF THEM CAN GET A 'RED' RESULT EVEN WITH BURNING ALL THEIR KARMA ]

Link-up's Mind Bolt

Note: sorry this is 'energy' based


AM Accuracy : [roll4]
Damage : 46 [RESULT: HIT! ]


Specter

Just chillin'




Rockstar

Going to rule you need to make a successful agility check to 'hit' or they jump out of the way.

EX Accuracy : [roll5]
Damage : incapacitate [RESULT: HIT! Incapacitated ]



Fury

RM Accuracy: [roll6] [RESULT: HIT! ]
Damage : 20


============================================

Likely some of these will be negated...strike out text denotes this.


Soldier 1 : Specter

Attack: Excellent (shift 0) [roll7]
Damage: 25 [RESULT: ]


Soldier 2 : Rockstar

Attack: Excellent [roll8]
Damage: 25 (-46 body armor = 0 damage)


Soldier 3 : Linkup

Attack: Excellent [roll9]
Damage: 25 (36 Force field - 10 protection for physical = -26 armor or Zero damage)


Soldier 4 : Fury

Attack: Excellent [roll10] [RESULT: MISS]
Damage: 25 (-6 body armor = 19 damage)


Soldier 5 : Tin Man

Attack: Excellent [roll11]
Damage: 25 (-30 body armor = 0 damage)


Soldier 6 : Tin Man

Attack: Excellent [roll12]
Damage: 25 (-30 body armor = 0 damage)






The riot gun proves to be incredibly effective. Three of the enemies colapse immediately. A bolt of sheer mind energy streaks from Link-up to one of the soilders. He staggers back a bit and looks very injuried but still in the fight.

Specter dodges the incoming gunfire though one of the soldiers was getting a good bead on him when he slumped over in the gas cloud.


A large solid cage of concrete surrounds another one of the attackers, effectively taking him out of the fight as well. A stray bullet hits the desk near Fury that he was using as a shield, he appears unharmed though.

The hail of bullets slamming into Tin Man making a loud noise as they ricochet off but do no damage what so ever.




4 enemies incapacitated.

1 badly injured

1 minorly injured.

[Conaldar]

Specter 'appears' next to one of the remaining gunmen, "Not sure where you idiots came from, but I know where you're going - DOWN!" The speedster unleashes a semi-sonic punch at the crook!


Spending Karma to get a STUN result ---

[Zylas]

Link-up checks the now no doubt desperate enemies for things like grenades/bomb vests. If he sees those, he will inform the team, and attempt to shield fury from the blast by diving in front of him and trusting his shield to absorb most of the damage.
If he sees nothing like that, he'll simply try to dodge attacks and wait for the others to knock the remaining enemies out.

[GreyStormcrow]

Finishing his charge, Tin Man body-checks the other gunman back out through the doorway and follows up with a blast of steam.

[Skald]

Brock creates a concrete quarterstaff and charges into the fray.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Declared actions:

Bad Guy 1: attack target with machine gun (target = [roll0] )

Bad Guy 2: attack target with machine gun (target = [roll1] )



(1) Link-up: Shielding Fury

(2) Tin Man: Charge/bodyblock + steam cleaning

(3) Brock: Creates a melee weapon and moves closer.

(4) Specter : Super punch

(5) Fury : dodge + Shoot anyone still standing (-2cs accuarcy penalty due to dodging while shooting)


==================================

Pre-combat rolls:


Fury dodge: [roll2] (Ex agility) [Result = No effect - failed dodge]


==================================

Init:

Vanguard + Fury = [roll3] - Heroes go first (again)


Bad guys = [roll4]

==================================

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Link up spots a grenade on two of the fallen enemies and positions himself between Fury and the attackers - just in case.




Note for future reference that you wouldn't provide much protection for a grenade or area type attack due to your force field being 'personal' in nature. Though you did save Fury from being shot at by one of the attackers - assuming he is conscious on his turn.




Brock fashions a weapon out of pure concrete on a whim and charges into battle.


Tin-man charges into one of the enemies and smooshes him into the closed and very locked door.


Fury manages to shoot the other soldier in the stomach just as Specter delivers a vicious punch to his head.






Tin Man

fighting feat roll for 2 attacks : RM intensity fighting feat required. Needs a yellow result

fighting : [roll0] on RM table. [RESULT: Successful!]


Charge attack: Incredible + 3cs for charging, -1 CS for multiple attacks or -3 CS for failed multiple attacks depending on roll above. [roll1] [RESULT: SLAM! ]
Charge damage: Best of Endurance or body armor which is 50 + 2x3 (2 damage per area travelled)= 56 damage


(2nd action could be negated by failed fighting roll above)
Steam attack : Fe agility + 1 CS gun skill - 1CS multiple attacks in a round penalty, -3 CS for using a ranged attack in melee = shift 0 accuracy [roll2] [RESULT=MISS]
Steam damage : 23




Specter

Punch : [roll3] AM accuracy + Karma till stun result. [RESULT: STUN! -23 karma]
Damage: 40


Fury

Attack: [roll4] RM accuracy - 2CS = good (due to dodging this round) [RESULT : HIT! ]
Damage: 20


================================================== ================

Both bad guys were incapacitated before their attacks went off, which would have both been moot.


Bad guy 1 (Attack is moot as he is attacking Fury who is being shielded by Linkup who cannot be harmed by this attack)

Attack(ex)
damage: 25

bad guy 2 (Attack is moot as he is attacking Linkup who cannot be harmed by this attack)

Attack(ex)
damage: 25






The fight appears to be over.


Fury says "Well that was unexpected..."

[GreyStormcrow]

After checking to make sure all the attackers are down, Tin Man turns to Fury. "Do you know these men, sir? Do we need to evacuate?"

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

"No I don't recognize these men at all. They aren't mine. I think they were speaking German." Fury responds to Tin Man.


He picks up a black walkie talkie from the desk "Red alert! This is Eagle one, declaring a base lock down! We've had intruders in one of the testing labs. Full security sweeps. All security teams report back every five minutes."

In sequence, a number of security teams and stations check in over the radio.

"We don't need to evacuate the base, no other teams seem to be reporting an intrusion. I'll need to coordinate the security sweep from my office."


After a few minutes a detachment of guards show up to help secure the scene. A number of scientists show up to in order to find out what is happening. Dr. Cooper and Dr. Kruptmann are among them.

Dr. Cooper looks very sad when he sees the ruined robot.

[Skald]

"Wanna interrogate this one?" Brock asks, pointing to the concrete prison.

"Sorry bro." He says when he sees Dr. Cooper.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

"Awww shucks, it's okay. You were just doing your job. I think I can fix it...." Dr. Cooper says. "Where did these guys come from ? its a sealed base! what were they doing here?" he says in a concerned voice. An MP ushers him away to take his statement a few feet over to give the heroes some space.

[Conaldar]

Specter frowns, "German-speaking hoods? This smells like HYDRA. I read an article about them in Esquire. Fury, can we assist with your interrogation of the one Rockstar caught? Pleeeeeeez?" If Specter could make a halo appear over his head, he would, as he smiled at the grizzled S.H.I.E.L.D. Commander ....



What do I use for this? Popularity, right? Roll away - no Karma!

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Fury scratches his chin for a moment. "Sure why not, I could use the help. Once we secure them in the brig, you can interrogate them. I don't *think* they are hydra. No one shouted 'Hail Hydra' during the attack. Those fools are always doing that. But then again that's what the interrogation will find out. I have to say though, reading a magazine doesn't make you an expert in anything in the real world. Back in my day someone handed you a rifle and threw you out of a perfectly good airplane and we figured things out from there. No fancy magazines or coddling to help you get through it. " Fury seemed to go off topic a bit. "I'll be in my office." He walks off.



The MPs begin searching the intruders and piling up their gear to the side.


- 6 white lab coats (with SHIELD patches)
- 12 Explosive grenades
- 6 smoke grenades
- 6 pistol sidearms
- 6 combat knives
- 6 old-style machine guns with 4 clips of ammo each.
- 1 Shield Labs microscanner


The soldiers appear to be wearing some kind of black uniform underneath the lab coats. There is a distinctive purple skull and dagger emblem on their shoulders.





You immediately recognize the machine guns as Schmeisser MP40. A World War II era machine gun. The handguns are Lugers which also seem to be from WWII.

You don't recognize the uniforms or the patches.






After a few minutes a detachment of guards leads away the prisoners to the holding cells. One of the conscious soldiers was put into an isolated interrogation cell.

[Conaldar]

After seeing the weapons, Specter tells the others, "That's weird: if I know my guns, and I know my guns, those gunmen are using World War Two-era firearms. Usually, you'd expect crooks to have newer weapons. I mean, either these are the cheapest criminals I've ever seen, or something's wrong about this. We should find out where they got those weapons from. Did you guys see anything else strange?"

[Skald]

"They seemed pretty surprised to see us here, what do you think that was all about?" Brock offers.

[Zylas]

"Would you like me to attempt to read his thoughts while you interrogate him, Specter?"


Once the interrogation starts, Link-up will attempt to read the surface thoughts of the captive, in addition to sharing the rest of his senses.

If the captive has a psyche of Amazing, this auto fails.
If he has psychic powers or wards, it requires a red telepathy feat.
If he has a psyche of Incredible, it requires a yellow feat.
Otherwise, success is automatic.
[roll0]

[GreyStormcrow]

Tin Man remains silent, with little to offer. His training dealt more with resisting interrogations than giving them.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

The soldier's mental defenses are quite extraordinary. It appears he has had training to resist mental and mind control attacks-likely by someone with mind powers. At the end of the day though, he was still just a human. Link-up is able to enter his mind and look at his surface thoughts.





The soldier doesn't have any mental powers or abilities so a red result isn't needed. But his training gives you a -2CS penalty instead - which is still an easy success on a 'Green' feat - which you got.


First surface thought: "Is that thing an alien ? it's hideous! Get out of my mind." These come across more as concepts and pictures than actual words.

[Zylas]

Link-up points out in a similar data-stream that humans, with their weird curves, bumps, lumps, hair, excrements and smells, aren't exactly attractive either from his point of view.

"I am merely here as an observer. Call me a translator if you like. What you should really be worried about, is the human who's about to interrogate you.

So, human. What is the last song you've heard?"

Asking for the song was fishing for a clue. If the captive was from another era, it might be something old. And moreover, it would likely be accompanied by parts of the rest of that memory.

Creq'olk is also very interested in any red herrings the captive uses. People that resist having their minds read often purposefully think of other things, to keep their minds occupied. Someone from the 1940s wouldn't be able to think of much from the '80s.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

The soldier grins at you. "Schmidt, Konrad 776K4-6617G........................... Schmidt, Konrad 776K4-6617G " he says with a heavy German accent.

[Zylas]

Link-up takes up a meditative pose and waits for the others to do their interrogation thing, while he observes the man, both mentally and outwardly.

He shares all he detects.

[GreyStormcrow]

Tin Man frowns. "Name and number. That suggests soldier, not terrorist. "

[Conaldar]

Specter walks up to Schmidt, then looks at Tin Man, "We'll need a bucket of water - and something with a plug-in cord."

As he turns back to Schmidt, Specter unleashes a nasty right hook on him! "You have one chance to save yourself, soldier: cooperate by answering our questions. You don't want to cooperate? Fine by me. Your life is in your own hands, 'Schmidt'. Now - what's that skull symbol mean and who do you work for?"


Specter has +1CS to Espionage for this, or does he use something else?

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

The soldier repeats his name and serial number again, despite the threats. Through the telepathic link you get the sense that the soldier has a very strong resolve and is borderline fanatical in his beliefs.


One of the guards jots something down on a pad of paper and shows it to Link-up. He ensures the prisoner can not see what is written.



We are not cleared for enhanced interrogation techniques at this time. You can threaten him and but electroshock and the like isn't approved by order of the Colonel.






I think either military or Espionage would grant a bonus for interrogations which you have. Feel free to make some reason, intuition or psyche rolls as you see fit. Though keep in mind it's pretty tough to get someone to talk when they don't want to - Especially in the limited time you are likely going to have with the prisoner. Proper interrogations can take days ...Also keep in mind the prisoner has had training to resist interrogations.


Tattoo ? I assume you mean the emblem/patch on his uniform. This soldier doesn't have any actual tattoos.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Unfortunately you are unable to get anything else out of the soldier of value.

[Conaldar]

Specter rubs his fists, looks at the others and shugs, "These guys are crazy! Let Fury deal with 'em."

[Skald]

"Yeah, that works for me." Brock says, letting his armor fall away and restoring the ground to proper condition.

[GreyStormcrow]

Tin Man nods. "That works."

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

One of the MPs nods at the group. "I understand, might take weeks to get something useful out of someone like that. Fury is still in his office co-ordinating the security sweeps. If you are so inclined there are a few things that need to be done that you can help with." The MP says.


"The soldiers seemed to have a bio-scanner in their possession that belongs to SHIELD. We should try to find out where that came from. I would also feel a lot better if you took a look at our security perimeter and computer systems to see if we were hacked, we didn't register any intrusions, yet here they are. " He nodded towards Link-up as if he was familiar with the aliens powers. "Then there is the matter of the unit patch we found on the soldier's uniform. We still have not been able to identify it."

He scratches his head. "We can probably check all these things ourselves but time might be a factor and Fury is well... Furious. "


"We've check this guys name and serial number and it doesn't match any known Military - Nato or Warsaw pact country. Matter of fact the formatting doesn't even match with any country especially either West or East Germany."




Just giving you guys some options on where to go next since we seem to be at a bit of a crossroads since running into a brick wall in the interrogation. It's not an exhaustive list and you have the freedom to do other things of course.


(I had to look it up but apparently Germany was still two countries back during the time this game takes place. Crazy talk. Feels like a lifetime ago.)

[Skald]

"I don't mind helping with the sweep," Brock says, "but I'll need to borrow some of this." He continues, gesturing at the ground.

[GreyStormcrow]

"I'm willing to help as well, for as ll the good that it might do."

[Conaldar]

Looking at the guard, Specter responded, "Never been great with computers, but my teammates can maybe handle that end. I can run a quick sweep of your perimeter. Be back in a flash."

Specter speeds to the door, opens it and dashes away at incredible speed headed outside the facility to inspect the compound's fence-line!


Not sure how long the perimeter is, but Specter moves at high-speed during his up-close inspection looking for damage or anything unusual:
Intuition: [roll0]

[Zylas]

Link-up leaves the mind of the German captive, but does plant the Pi song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDiSYp_51iY) before he goes. Try counting with that going on..

He nods to MP. "Very well, I am happy to help. What do I have clearance to check? I would not want to overstep my bounds."

He offers assistance in whatever way S.H.I.E.L.D. requests, short of sharing his own technology. He won't go actively snooping in their systems, but would of course notice breadcrumbs, and might be tempted to act on them if they're interesting enough.


Intuition at amazing rank, rolling 3x just in case multiple rolls are needed [roll0] [roll1] [roll2]
Computer sense at remarkable rank [roll3]

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Link-up leaves the mind of the German captive, but does plant the Pi song before he goes.

You sure you aren't a super villain ?





Brock and Tin Man help Specter do a quick sweep of the perimeter. Specter's sweep of the perimeter and finds no physical breaches or irregularities. He sees footprints and chalks it up to the bases' foot patrols. Brock doesn't find anything out of place. Tin Man is intrigued by the foot prints in the sand though, there seems to be a squad size set of prints that approaching the fence and move towards the compound. He would have expected them to patrol around around the edge base as one might expect guards to do. This stands out to Tin Man's detective skills and seems out of place based on his experiences with the military.





The first time Link-up connects to the security system it crashes and a few sirens go off. MPs run back and forth taking up defensive positions to defend against an unknown intruder. The guard shake their heads at Link-up and reboot the security system which appears to be running the latest version of DOS. Once the system is back online, the 'Alert' is canceled and an announcement that the alert was just a 'Test' of the system.

The only permanent damage was to Link-up's ego. Link-up looks over the log files and security video files and notes that they have not been altered in anyway. He does note a slight blip when he looks over the data however that seems 'off' - perfectly acceptable but still odd somehow.


Link-up comes to the conclusion that it's possible some type of device was used to mask the soldier's life signs and this caused the barely noticeable spike in the log files, though they would have needed to have the device with them at all times.

[GreyStormcrow]

Mark frowns thoughtfully at the ground. "Here. Look at this. I think this must have been where they entered."

[Conaldar]

Running over to Tin Man, Specter looks around, "Hey! Can't believe I missed this, but it definitely looks like a point of entry. Those goons must have scouted the facility from here. Good work, Tin Man."

When the alarms sound, Specter rushes back inside to get information, only to find out it was all a system malfunction.

When the heroes gather again, he goes over things, "All right: we have those dated, WWII weapons. Bunch of crazy fanatics. Tin Man found their tracks outside. What about the skull patches? "

[Zylas]

Link-up turns a deep shade of blue, and thinks a few curses about Bill Gates and something about RAM-testing systems being far inferior to UNIX.

When he regains composure and spots the blip, he immediately checks the life signs that the prisoners are currently giving off, if any. He'll also try to use the blip in the data to reverse engineer the route that the intruders might have taken, before asking the MP

"Did you find anything other than weapons on the prisoners?"

Depending on the answer, Creq'olk will asks to see what might be the device in SHIELD's storage, or asks to see the prisoners so he can scan/search them. He'll also inform the rest of the team.

"Found something interesting here. Blip in the data. Seems like the intruders masked their life signs somehow. Could have been a device. Will update if I find out more."

Inb4 probing jokes >.<

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

The MP sighs and pulls out his note pad and reads off the list in a monotone voice.



- 6 white lab coats (with SHIELD patches)
- 12 Explosive grenades
- 6 smoke grenades
- 6 pistol sidearms
- 6 combat knives
- 6 old-style machine guns with 4 clips of ammo each.
- 1 Shield Labs microscanner


The MP motions to another soldier and the lab coats and microscanner are brought forward.


The prisoners seem to be showing up on the scanners bright as day now. Tracing back their path that they likely took, is seems like they came out of the desert, hopped the fence and made a bee-line for the lab where the Cavalier was being tested. It was almost like they knew where they were going.

[Zylas]

Link-up asks the MPs to wear one of the labcoats, and tries using both the microscanner and his own bracer. He also tries on a labcoat himself, and tests that too.
He tests the SHIELD patches on the labcoats too.

He shares whatever he finds, as well as the route the infiltrators took and their apparent familiarity with the complex's layout with the rest of the Vanguard when they/we meet back up.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

The MP looks quizzically at Link-up but complies. Nothing seems amiss with the coats. When Link-up turns on the bioscanner though everyone's life signs within 20 feet become scrambled and disappear off the base's sensors. Obviously the bioscanner has been modified from it's original purpose. There doesn't seem to be any indication who might have modified the scanner when link-up checks the programming.


The MP notices your interest in the scanner and offers " As far as I know there are only two bioscanners on the base. They were pretty expensive. One each for the two main labs on base."

[Conaldar]

Specter rubs his head, "This just gets weirder and weirder. The goons just appear from nowhere, sneak in using some kind of device, and we can't get anything out of them. What are we missing here? Does this place have security cameras we could access playback?"

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Nothing seems amiss on the cameras. They don't have full coverage though so the cameras sweep back and forth.





It seems obvious to Link-up that the soldiers had the bio-scanner and were using it before they crossed the perimeter. This implies they might have had inside help. The soldiers were masked from detection before they approached the fence.

[Zylas]

Creq'olk asks the MP that had been helping him "This facility has two bioscanners total, one for each lab, correct? Do you know from which lab is this one came? And I understand these scanners are kept behind a lock? Do you keep a list of who has access to the scanners?"

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

"No, sorry I can't tell by looking which lab its from. Only the head of each lab respectively has access to the combination." the MP says.

He scratches his head.

[Zylas]

Link-up asks the rest of the Vanguard: "Do you think we should get mr. Fury before we check out if it's the one from the lab of dr. Kruptmann and dr. Cooper? So he can see the reaction of the scientists?

I'd prefer if one of you asked him. Speaking in words is.. difficult. And I'm not sure if he'd appreciate a telepathic conversation."

[Conaldar]

Specter rubs his chin, "I got a funny feeling about this whole set-up. My vote is we skip Fury and check it out ourselves."

[GreyStormcrow]

Tin Man frowns. Something about the situation bothers him. "I can't help but think that we're missing something. What is it that investigators always look for? Means, motive, and opportunity, right? We've figured out the means, and don't know enough about the attackers to determine opportunity... But what about motive? It could have been to assassinate Fury, but they looked surprised to see him, so..."

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

The MP shrugs and looks at his watch. "Jones get a team and go check out which lab is missing the device. It might not mean anything but at least its some place to start. It's going to get hot soon, we better hurry this up."


A Young corporal pull together a couple men and grabs a clipboard. "OKay. Hey did you want to come with me?" He asks the group.

[GreyStormcrow]

Tin Man looks to the others before nodding. "I think that would be for the best."