{Location: Everglades Florida}
To the group and away from anyone else StrikeForce
said. "I think that we should check out this location that
"Coot" is talking about. We can run a full scan on it before ever
having to get near it. What are your
thoughts on this?"
Adamas stated he will go along with what the team
decided. “I'll support taking on Tank Gunner to get answers, or following the
crane.”
StrikeForce replied to Adamas. "Since you've
been doing this for a longer time, if you want to go after Tank Gunner, then I
say go with that."
Manta Man asked Skink and Black Orchid what they
thought, it appeared the team was split one vote for each.
The Skink said “Follow the crane!”
"Hmm... Do we want to go directly after Tank
Gunner now or do we want to go back and put more pressure on Karen. That might
alert Tank Gunner and he might bolt as a result. If you think he's jumpy, we
should go directly after him." Black Orchid replied.
Manta Man gestured “We don’t know if he’s jumpy
or not” with his shoulders and arms.
As the New Crusaders talked Adamas envisioned himself
ripping the hatch off Tank Gunner’s tank and dragging him out of it.
"MM, Tank Gunner is that nut from the mid
90s that was tank rampaging left and right... The professor had a file on that
guy. Whats he doin layin low like this? Where's his tank?" Skink asked.
"Yes, I believe you are right Skink",
Manta Man said. "After the rampage, Spyder freed him from jail and
recruited him to join the Inhuman League."
"Where is his tank? Now that is a very good
question"
Skink asked "Spyder is still in a Supermax,
right? They got him? Champions? Crusaders?"
"No, he is still at large." replied
Manta Man. “That’s gives us more than enough to worry about. Everyone prepare
yourself as we will follow the crane.”
When the New Crusaders return to the water hole
late that night, a white hero was wading in the water. “Swamp Goat” was not
anywhere in sight. At the shore near the fishing hole, the white hero took
flight. It flew deep into the swamp where she finally began to circle the
island. When the heroes landed (or hovered above it if they could fly) the
white heron flew away, after giving an ominous nod of approval to the heroes.
As the New Crusaders scanned the shack and
island, they discovered the island was deserted. No human life registered on
either their scanners or senses.
The shack showed it had been lived in recently
but was empty now. It was sitting on 5 poles. All the same height but one large
pole was larger in diameter and in the center and 4 smaller diameter poles were
at each corner of the hut. This was a familiar design for huts in the swamp
where seasonal flooding was a possibility. There was a ramp walk way up the
front that led to the porch of the house.
Manta Man said, “What next heroes, do we scout
the island more or check out the hut? I don’t believe we will learn anything
more unless we get near it, maybe even enter it.”
StrikeForce said, "I think that we should
examine the hut first, then possibly the rest of the island."
Black Orchid said "I think we should scan as
quickly as possible and then go directly to the hut. Just because there is no
human life in the hut doesn't mean that nothing is there. If we go scouting
around the island, we might give them time to cover or destroy evidence, or
simply leave."
Then she pondered her own comment, realizing that
the unfamiliar environment of the swamp and her relative ineffectiveness at
figuring things out here seemed to be making her somewhat paranoid. "Of
course I don't want to truncate any plans prematurely" she added.
"Quickly, can you scan the heron? It might
also not be what it seems."
StrikeForce “I’ll scan and see what shows
up."
StrikeForce informed the New Crusaders, “It is
unusually clean and it is sitting in a tree watching us from the other island.”
Using his stealth skill, StrikeForce kept his
senses active as he moved toward the building; he had his staff ready in case
he needed it. He used his senses to scan the white heron at it sat in the tree.
Once they decided to actually go down to the
island, The Black Orchid said "That all sounds good. Drop me off about the
middle; I'll be invisible so try to make it nonchalant. I can keep an eye open
for anything out of the ordinary that may creep up. I don't think I'll be much
help unless there's a lot of hidden tech in that hut."
Adamas landed Black Orchid as she requested and
then provided backup, hovering nearby, scanning with his enhanced vision.
Inside the hut the rest of the New Crusaders
searched for answers.
They found the hut to be empty of people. Their search did
not turn up anything which would identify who was staying here. They did find
the same mud on the ramp that was found in the Base. StrikeForce tried to find
any signs of the trace elements of the stolen chemicals but was not successful.
Manta Man said, “Okay, I think we have search enough. Let’s
tell the others what we found and start to search the rest of the island.”
As they started to leave, StrikeForce heard the tell-tale
click of disaster.
The blast caught Manta Man full on. {GM Note: Roll a “1” so the crit hit was he
couldn’t roll with Knock Back damage, 15 damage points, -15 to HP, 1 point of
damage from Knock Back. -1 HP} Manta Man was thrown across the island. He
landed with a groan and a thud. He passed out incapacitated.
StrikeForce’s armor mesh skin protected him from
the blast. He walked out of the flames unscathed. {17 damage points, -17 to Invulnerability}.
Skink was surprised by the blast. He cried in
pain as he was thrown from the hut. He flew across the water approaching the
other island. Skink gathered his wits, tucking his body, he rolled as he
landed. {20 damage points, -20HP, and 1
point damage from Knock Back. Rolled with damage, -1 PP}
The white heron looked down, from its perch in
the tree, at Skink.
Black Orchid was surprised by the explosion. The
shockwave slammed into her. She was thrown across the island into the swamp,
SPLASH!!! Black Orchid gasped for air as her head rose from the water. {12 damage points, -12HP, and 2 point damage
from Knock Back. Rolled with damage, -2 PP}
Adamas was surprised by the explosion. The
shockwave slammed into him. He resisted the force and was not moved. {22 damage points, -22 to Invulnerability}.
Adamas saw a swamp boat approaching quickly after
the explosion. The man was wearing military grab like he hadn’t seen before. It
wasn’t any US uniform he was familiar with. It appeared to be different styles
combined like they had been bought at a thrift store. This was someone new, not
Tank Commander.
The other New Crusader saw a creature rise from
the Swamp. It was large and appeared to be covered in mud.
{GM Note: Black Orchid regenerated 3 HP for PR of 2. +3 HP,
-2 PP}
Turns
and Actions due July 17th>
Battle
Conditions:
Adamas Hit
Points: 46 Power Points: 48 Invulnerability: 2 (will be back to 24
at beginning of turn)
Black Orchid Hit
Points: 21 Power Points: 83 Willpower
Defense active; Invisible
StrikeForce
Hit Points: 60 Power
Points: 74 Invulnerability: 11 (back to 28 at beginning of turn)
The Skink
Hit Points: 24 Power
Points: 81
Manta Man Hit
Points: 0 Power Points: 68 Incapacitated
Phase
of Action for next turn:
[43] Adamas
[30] Skink
[26] StrikeForce
[15] Black
Orchid
[ 0] Manta Man – No wake roll, Needs 1 Hit
Point to attempt to wake up.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Great issue Tom. I will start working on my
response.
Jamey
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
StrikeForce "I think that we should
examine the hut first, then possibly the rest of the island."
OOC: Adamas has the flight speed and senses
to scan the island in a short amount of time. Jon, if that's o.k. with you.
What do the rest of you think?
Jamey
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sounds like a plan.
Jon
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"I think we should scan as quickly as
possible and then go directly to the hut. Just because there is no human life
in the hut doesn't mean that nothing is there. If we go scouting around the
island, we might give them time to cover or destroy evidence, or simply leave."
The Black Orchid pondered her own comment,
realizing that the unfamiliar environment of the swamp and her relative
ineffectiveness at figuring things out here seemed to be making her somewhat
paranoid. "Of course I don't want to truncate any plans prematurely"
she added.
Marc
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OOC: oh good, a map! We all know what that
means.
BIC:
A thought comes quickly to The Black Orchid.
"Quickly, can you scan the heron? It
might also not be what it seems."
Marc
----------------------------------------------------------------------
StrikeForce “I’ll scan and see what shows
up."
OOC: Marc, I'm sorry if it didn't come out
right, but I also wanted to check out the hut first, and then the rest of the
island.
Jamey
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lol, Are you saying I should have saved the
map for next issue?
Tom
--------------------------------------------------------------------
OOC: I for one am glad that you posted it. :)
Jamey
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yep, feels like we're getting somewhere.
Jon
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Certainly not! Advance info is always
welcome.
Marc
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Using his stealth skill, StrikeForce keeps
his senses active as he moves toward the building; he has his staff ready in
case he needs it. He will use his senses to scan the white heron.
OOC: StrikeForce is willing to take point
heading toward the hut.
Jamey
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am reading this that Strike force will lead
the team toward the hut stopping only when resistance is met. Am I right?
Will he lead in the search of the hut too?
Thanks
Tom
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes and yes. He isn't going to shove anyone
out of the way, but StrikeForce thinks that with his invulnerability that he
would be the best choice.
Thanks,
Jamey
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Adamas will provide backup, hovering nearby,
scanning with his enhanced vision...
Jon
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Once they decide to actually go down to the
island, The Black Orchid says "That all sounds good. Drop me off about the
middle, I'll be invisible so try to make it nonchalant. I can keep an eye open
for anything out of the ordinary that may creep up. I don't think I'll be much
help unless there's a lot of hidden tech in that hut."
Marc
----------------------------------------------------------------------
