Dr Avery opened a portal for what could be the
last time for his friends.
They stepped through and into Crusader Citadel. Manta
Man greeted them. He took them to the computer room where he introduced and
granted them access to TEACHER, their computer system, a near-sentient computer
of ultra-advanced design.
“Unfortunately none of the other Crusaders are
able to join us. The others are trying to reestablish their personal lives or
haven’t overcome the effects of the invasion. So it will be the 4 of us.”
Manta Man, Adamas, Black Orchid, and StrikeForce
boarded the Crusader shuttle. Manta Man contacted the Governor of Florida.
The Governor told them, “Three days ago, a
supposedly secret military installation in the Florida Everglades was broken
into. There are very few clues on who was responsible or even on how the
existence of the base was discovered. There are, however, some very puzzling
facts which you could investigate once you get here.”
“Please, do not notify the news media or the
general public as we wish to keep the nature of the theft which occurred under
wraps. Please go to Sanza, Florida as quickly as possible, for delays in
uncovering the culprit or culprits responsible could be disastrous”
Manta Man gave communicators to the other heroes.
“StrikeForce sit up front with me. I would like to teach how to fly the
shuttle. Black Orchid if you sit over there you can interface with TEACHER as
we are in route. Adamas, you also have cellular communication ability from that
panel next to where you are sitting as well.”
Black Orchid, with TEACHER, researched Sanza,
Florida. There is a military installation there but what kind isn’t available.
It is in the Everglades, near an Indian Reservation. A village was not far.
Aerial views showed several islands and a burial mound. The vegetation was
dense as expected for a swamp but the combination of satellite imagery with
both ultraviolet and infrared the land masses were able to be identified.
Adamas contacted the Super Forces. He greeted
former teammate Semper Fi, asking if the General was available. Semper Fi was
sure the General would be able to spare the time for a former Forcer. General
Wilson E Samuel was soon on the comms.
“What can I do for you Adamas?” Adamas explained
the Governor’s request and asked if he can shed any light on the situation.
“Yes, I think I can. Outside of Sanza, Florida
you say?”
“That would be a U.S. Army chemical Warfare Technology
Facility. We created several of those hidden locations during the invasion. We
were desperately trying to come up with something to stop those Demons or
convince them the Earth wasn’t worth having so they would turn around and go
home.”
“I have pulled up the situation report. It was a
straight smash and grab. Whoever it was ripped out a section of the electrical
fence and then crushed the side of the chemical storage building. That is all I
can tell you over the unsecured comms.”
“Lieutenant Donald Nash is waiting for you and
will be your liaison with the civilians. He is a good officer and you can trust
him. We have worked with him on several occasions”
“Godspeed Adamas, glad to see you are handling
this one. Over and out”
Adamas shared the information with his teammates,
and recommended they go directly to the base to begin gathering information.
StrikeForce concurred with Adamas. "I would
rather head to the base first to gather Intel first. Adamas, since you already
have a relationship established, why don't you take point when we arrive. Is
there any information on protocol when dealing with your friends? I would hate
to step on any toes."
Manta Man stated protocol would be for a liaison
from both the Florida police force and the military would be provided to us.
Adamas looked to his new team, “I reached out to
my old Super Forces contacts to see if anyone would be available to escort
us. This sounds like something one of
them might be either involved in, or be aware of. They are generally pretty understanding as
far as not following protocol than other branches as a lot of the members are
either new to this planet or don’t come from a military background… Some do,
but I don’t think it’s the norm. They
took me in when I could barely communicate and helped me to assimilate to this
world. I have a lot of good memories of
my time with them.”
Seeing that it was a much smaller group gave The
Black Orchid a moment's pause, but then she thought on what she's been able to
accomplish with these heroes over a very short time and was reassured.
"Thank you for your trust in us, Manta Man. We will not let you
down."
Adamas informed the team that Lt Donald Nash from
the Sanza police force will me them at the municipal airport. The military didn’t
want the Crusader Shuttle to land on the base in case it was under surveillance
by the thieves.
Annie heard the bit about the demon's attack and
sucked in her breath. When the conversation was done, she addressed the others.
"This certainly doesn't sound good. It sounds like someone was making a
planetary 'poison pill.' If someone did know about this and was able to steal
it, the potential for global blackmail is enormous. Fortunately I know a thing
or two about secret government research facilities, so there are probably some
similarities we can take advantage of.
Black Orchid had Adamas request an aerial photo
of the base. She pointed out the types of facilities and their purposes to the
team.
As was typical of The Black Orchid, when she
started thinking of plans and actions her voice sped up a little. "Let me
evaluate their attack based on the description and anything we can get on the
specifications for the facilities. At first pass it smells like an inside job.
Also, in the vicinity must be records of purchases at food, hardware stores and
the like that can give us a sense of the size and function of the operation.
They do a good job of hiding their tracks, but we can use the government's
adherence to protocol to our advantage. What do you all think?"
Adamas looked at Black Orchid with a renewed
appreciation, “It sounds like maybe you should be taking the lead on this
investigation. I’ll be happy to
introduce you to my contacts, but subterfuge and stealth have never been my forte,
and I wouldn’t have a clue how to do half of the things you just mentioned.”
StrikeForce concurred on Black Orchid taking
point. He offered any pertinent skills that he had.
The Black Orchid almost blushed and said,
"Well, thank you both for your confidence. There is much we all can do. Adamas,
how soon can we get in touch with your contacts?"
"I have made initial contact; Lt Donald Nash
will be meeting us when we arrive. I'm
not sure who that will be," Adamas replied
When StrikeForce landed the Crusader Shuttle the
Sanza National Airport, they were quickly located by Lieutenant Nash.
A man of above average qualities with no
outstanding attributes, he pulled an official looking vehicle with the Sanza
city seal on the side up to the curb of the sidewalk outside the main door of
the airport terminal. He introduced himself, explained that he had been sent to
pick up the heroes and asked them to join him in the van he was driving.
Once the Crusaders are in the van, Nash again
stressed the importance of keeping a lid on the events in the Everglades. The
van took the Crusaders to the military chemical warfare technology facility
which was hidden in the Everglades outside of Sanza.
At the base, Nash stopped the van outside the
main gate so he could show them the government’s projected sequence of event of
the crime. At the fence they were met by a member of the Super Forces. Adamas
immediately recognized him. It was Ground Pounder.
Standing next to Ground Pounder was Hector
Ramirez.
He was one of the two men that wore Ground
Pounder super suit. Adamas knew that meant that Josh Stevens was in Ground
Pounder right now. By having two soldiers skilled in using the 18 foot tall
super suit the Super Forces could have Ground Pounder on active duty around the
clock. It appeared they were currently doing that to protect the base since its
perimeter was breach.
Hector greeted Lt Nash and the Crusaders. “Glad
you made it Hector,” Lt Nash said, “I was about to lead them the sequence of
events”
“Sounds good Nash, let’s proceed”.
The two men took the Crusaders through the ripped
section of electric fence and then onward to the crushed side of the chemical
storage building. Ramirez informed the Crusaders that it had been determined
that an explosion of dynamite could not be responsible for the gaping hole in
the structure. Once inside, they were shown there were great smears of swamp
mud splashed over the entire floor of the building. Many of the remaining chemical
containers have similar muddy smears. Within some of the smears are the
footprints of some unknown person wearing boots. One guard had been killed.
There was nothing extraordinary about the bullet that killed him. Hector
Ramirez informed the team that it has been determined that nothing else of
importance has been found.
They are informed they will be allowed to perform
their own investigation on the base. Hector will need to accompany them to make
sure that the military personnel don’t hinder their efforts.
Lt Nash stated he would be waiting back on the
road in the van. He will drive them to any other location they desire but of
course they could strike out into the swamp on their own. Lt Nash explain that
the only unusual activity occurring outside the based is that some of the
Indians from a nearby reservation have been scene sneaking around late at night
not far from the base. He can’t imagine how they could have done it but he
hasn’t visited the reservation in a long while either.
<Turns
and Actions due Feb 5th >
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom,
Adamas will share the information with his
team mates, and recommend they go directly to the base to begin gathering
information.
For his level up, I’m a little confused on
his Heightened Initiative. Does the
initiative bonus apply to all attacks, but the +5 to hit only applies to HTH? I
might want to buy off that limitation if it is one… and it looks like I’ve
still got a level six advancement held…
With that I was thinking about buying off his prejudice… He’s been
around awhile now, and after saving the planet a couple of times… maybe people
are getting the idea that he’s not one of the bad guys.
My thoughts, let me know what you think,
Jon
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Buying off the prejudice makes sense. He has been here long enough to understand
Earth's customs.
Yes the +5 from initiative applies only to
HTH. If you want to buy off the limitation, I think we can do that
Regards
Tom
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Done and done. On to the adventure.
Jon
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
StrikeForce concurs with Adamas. "I
would rather head to the base first to gather Intel first. Adamas, since you
already have a relationship established, why don't you take point when we
arrive. Is there any information on protocol when dealing with your friends? I
would hate to step on any toes."
Jamey
------------------------------------------------------------------------
IC: Adamas looks to his new team, “I’ll reach
out to my old Super Forces contacts to see if anyone would be available to
escort us. This sounds like something
one of them might be either involved in, or be aware of. They are generally pretty understanding as
far as not following protocol than other branches as a lot of the members are
either new to this planet or don’t come from a military background… Some do,
but I don’t think it’s the norm. They
took me in when I could barely communicate and helped me to assimilate to this
world. I have a lot of good memories of
my time with them.”
OC: So it’s to the base first to get a feel
for what’s going on, and what we should be about.
Jon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seeing that it is is a much smaller group
gives The Black Orchid a moment's pause, but then she thinks on what she's been
able to accomplish with these heroes over a very short time and is reassured.
"Thank you for your trust in us, Manta Man. We will not let you
down."
----
Annie hears the bit about the demon's attack
and sucks in her breath. When the conversation is done, she addresses the
others. "This certainly doesn't sound good. It sounds like someone was
making a planetary 'poison pill.' If someone did know about this and was able
to steal it, the potential for global blackmail is enormous. Fortunately I know
a thing or two about secret government research facilities, so there are
probably some similarities we can take advantage of (Adept at Govt/Bureaucracy,
Specialist in Business and Engineering, Teacher in Research and Technology)."
As is typical of The Black Orchid, when she
starts thinking of plans and actions her voice speeds up a little. "Let me
evaluate their attack based on the description and anything we can get on the
specifications for the facilities. At first pass it smells like an inside job.
Also, in the vicinity must be records of purchases at food, hardware stores and
the like that can give us a sense of the size and function of the operation.
They do a good job of hiding their tracks, but we can use the government's
adherence to protocol to our advantage. What do you all think?"
OOC: Thanks Tom for the advancement and feel
free to provide as much or as little information as you want based on her
skills noted above.) Good to be back in
the saddle!
Marc
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Adamas looks at Black Orchid with a renewed
appreciation, “It sounds like maybe you should be taking the lead on this
investigation. I’ll be happy to
introduce you to my contacts, but subterfuge and stealth have never been my
forte, and I wouldn’t have a clue how to do half of the things you just
mentioned.”
Jon
----------------------------------------------------------------------
StrikeForce will concur on Black Orchid
taking point. He will offer any pertinent skills that he has.
Jamey
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Black Orchid almost blushes and says,
"Well, thank you both for your confidence. There is much we all can do.
Adamas, how soon can we get in touch with your contacts?"
Marc
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"I have made initial contact; someone
will be meeting us when we arrive. I'm
not sure who that will be," He replies.
Jon
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
