World War II - The Vanguard Issue #11 Long way from home...

After a few minutes sentinel made a real effort to try and shake the shell shocked feeling away but then suddenly was aware it wasnt the bombardment it was the sheer scale of the damage, the massive loss of life. He still even after all he had seen hadnt gotten used to death on that level. He thought he was numb after being in trenchs and seeing men, good men slip away into the grim beyond.....god that seem like a age ago now but to see masses of lifes snuffed out like that made him sick to his core, he would never get used to it but in some kind of demented way his was glad, even with his superhuman powers he was still human after all and he had to hold on to his humanity or he would become the very thing he sought to destroy.

All the time he stood there he wasnt aware that one of the badly deformed supporting beams that Steve reforged with the metal manipulation that he had been granted was subconsciously formed into the image of his parents, now lost one way or another thanks to this war, embracing lovingly yet still supporting the gridded decking that urned to colapse.

Admin wrote:Our own ship lost more than a dozen decks. We await your arrival."

The screen winked off.

Frostbite was in no mood to take prisoners, he would release the aliens when they understood what they faced. But right now his aim was to find Lionheart at best possible speed.

OOC:
Ok whilst I am not ignoring the aliens, I will monitor their ships for signs that they might change their minds when it comes to surrender. We'll try and give them a wide birth so as not to provoke an attack or spring a trap. Unless getting to Lionheart requires that we get closer.

Oh blow it, I'm going to use the Dark Shadows to gain lifesenses and find Lionheart that way, trying to scan flotsam and jetsome is going to take too long. So use Efforts points as required (don't assume just 4) to gain sufficiently powerful lifesense to pinpoint Lionheart and then make best speed to him. I'm going easy on the dark power for now, this is me being reluctant but necessity forces my hand

Sj

Gently pushing Beth to one side, part of him reluctant for she still represented the woman he'd found himself in love with, but then lost. Having her back, stirred old memories, feelings and right now he didn't know quiet what to do with all of that.

"Beth we got to go to work, that ship is going to hit us, and even if we move out of the way, it won't all burn up before hitting Earth. I know the others were on route, so we can only hope they'll find us. But it never hurts to get help. Based on their location and trajectory I expect them to be somewhere here..." Lionheart pointed in a certain direction, having made the calculations quickly in his head.

"I need you to find them, if they survived that blast, tell them where we are, I am going to need help deflecting that thing away from the Earth."

OOC:
Ok here is my plan, although the ship still have mass it doesn't have weight, so I will elect to put my psi points either into strength or and flight so that I can go around to one side and get it moving fast enough away from the ongoing ship falling toward us.

After that I will see if I can get any kind of an idea as to how I might be able to deflect it off its present course. Maybe setting up an explosion within it or something. But then again, it might be full of survivors at the mercy of the situation....One step at a time.

Since Lionheart doesn't know what Frostbite and the others are doing, or where they are exactly, he is carrying on, on the assumption of what he did know, until he knows otherwise.

Sj

Sentinel could not only repair and mould metal to his whim, he could sense when it was about to fail, and rupture! He closed his eyes, looking for something to take his mind from the horror of what he'd been a witness to - the destruction of that fleet had been a small part of... NO!

He knelt, placing a hand on the metal deck, then his consciousness spread outwards, through every metal molecule in the ship!

Throughout the ship Skrall technicians leapt back, their computers registering something was happening beyond their control. Not something bad... they watched as wires reformed, as vital structure supports flowed and meshed together like liquid, pipes sealed, the engine casing 'healed' its cracked casings, hairline splits that could widen and rupture vanishing, so that the engines were better than new! The broken electronics were beyond Sentinels knowledge, but the engine diagnostics on the ship flashed up some interesting numbers.

"Uh, if I'm reading this right" said Peeler 87, Keith Hamilton-West, a former RAF pilot "Fuel efficiency just jumped by 22% Our top speed and acceleration rates have gone up by nearly 15%. Hull integrity... 104%? How is that possible?"

Frostbite glanced over, knew his friend was trying to keep busy, and simply smiled before calling on the dark power.

OOC Using the 'if I fail use enough points to succeed' costs double, but I guess you don't want another cataclysm, so ... Dark power say 7 points + Dark Power growth 1 + Roll 3,3 (6, double, uh oh) plus roll 10,9 (19)=33 Ego 12+ Roll 8,1 (9) plus 9,8. Pick 8,8 (16, double) and add 6,4 (10)=38. Job done, but I did wonder there... Cost 4 hero points. 7D10 gives 10,10,7,3,6,2,3 (41 plus 2d10 4,1=46 * 2=92 points). Frostbite summons up Life Sense (20 for grade 1, 15 for subsequent grades. He can summon grade 5, which should do near space up to around Mars)

Frostbite
60htc
42/48htk
Dark power level 2
Dark power experience 8/10
Dark Power growth 2
Dark Power points 12 (8fr)
Life Sense Gr5 (8fr)
Hero Points 64
Fate Points 10

Frostbite struggled, feeling the Dark Power come on in a rush! He tamped it down, wrestled with it, and brought it to heel with barely the flicker of a struggle showing on his face, and taking less time than it took for a heartbeat. Breathing out, he opened his eyes and stared, moving over to a console. Frostbot interfaced with the unfamiliar systems and threw up a display on the damaged screen, zoomed in, and pinpointed the smashed craft Lionheart and dozens of Peelers were aboard. Frostbites Life Sense indicated the crew complement was barely 25%, meaning it had taken awful damage, but was probably luck to still be flying - but it wouldn't be for long!

A vast chunk of slow spinning debris, burning and heading towards the Earth, was on a path to smash the V - Ship into smithereens!

Peeler 87 shouted "Egads!" and gestured for a Skrall technician to throw up numbers and an intercept trajectory... "It'll take, at top speed, 5 minutes to get there sir!"

5 minutes?

Lionheart didn't even have 1 minute!

Knowing that his force field protected him from the rigours of deep space, but unsure for how long, Lionheart summoned it about him, then moved through the ship to a rent in the side - no need for airlocks when the ship was so badly damaged! Here and there forcefields held the atmosphere in but didn't stop solid matter from passing through - that wasn't their function and the ship didn't have enough power anyway.

Beth stepped beside him "I have some measure of superhuman strength but nothing like what is needed to counteract the mass of this thing! Best I can do is get out there and blast away at that.. that thing and hope to deflect it!"

She sped off into the cold hard vacuum and Lionheart concentrated, shifting his power to a measure of strength and of flight...

Moving to the outside of the ship, he glanced across the hull of the V-Ship - it was scrapped, nothing much to salvage really, but he had to hope the others might be able to bring the Robo Carriers around and save the crew! Plus of course he had no way of telling how long he could survive in space or whether he could survive re-entry! His mind worked quickly, and he could see the two vessels, one smashed, the other sliced in half, and immeasurably larger and getting closer, were drifting towards each other! With a push he attempted to change its course...

KRUMP!

The once reinforced hull buckled under his grip and pushed inwards! He pushed harder... and part of the ship broke away, sending him tumbling into space! He flailed for a moment and swooped around to find a less damage portion. There, he grabbed the metal and his fingers sunk into Skrall steel - or the equivalent. With a wrench and a surge of flight he slowed the V-Ships approach towards oblivion... but the bigger vessel loomed large in his vision now! Lionheart was reasonably sure he would survive the collision, with his speed and powers, but those on board the V-Ship were doomed unless he could think of something else to try! (OOC take a look at his powers, see what you can come up with. May need an Ego roll to push beyond his known limits!)

Beth swooped about, blasting chunks of debris that preceded the vast tumbling vessel! It was like an asteroid field, with sections of shattered spacecraft flying past her! She made sure the largest of the sections were blasted with her energy beam, but felt her power waning! Time and again she blazed away, all the while ducking and swerving past smaller chunks! She gasped in surprise as a rain of bodies sailed past, and turned away - she was no killer, despite her previous role as an agent!

Looking back, she saw Lionheart struggling, and she racked her brains, coming up with only one answer - the ultimate sacrifice!

"I wish things had turned out differently Richard..." she said quietly.

She sped towards the vast bulk of the spacecraft, getting brighter, and brighter, and brighter...

Lionheart grunted with the effort, seeing Sunburst shining like the sun flying towards the wrecked spacecraft! What was she doing? He strained with the effort he was making - he would deflect the ships course, but would it be enough?

Admin wrote:Lionheart (OOC take a look at his powers, see what you can come up with. May need an Ego roll to push beyond his known limits!)

OOC:
Ok I might be misreading your here, but apart from great speed, all I can think of is to use my high strength with my telekenesis to try and grapple the ship away faster? Unless you are suggesting I try that with the bigger oncoming ship? With a intelligence score way and above my own, I'd go with whatever Lionheart would think best to do in a situation like this ;-). Which if that means also 'pushing' my powers past their known natural limits then so be it.

Lionheart gather his breath, he needed more, there were still people alive on this ship. Forcing his mind to take control he allowed the strange transference of strength in his body to flow out through his mind as he, grappled the ship to move it out of harms way.

But deep in the back of his mind, even as he gave himself to the task at hand, part of him couldn't help worrying over what was Beth was going to attempt or do?

Sj

Admin wrote:Peeler 87 shouted "Egads!" and gestured for a Skrall technician to throw up numbers and an intercept trajectory... "It'll take, at top speed, 5 minutes to get there sir!"

5 minutes?

Lionheart didn't even have 1 minute!

"I don't want to hear how late we'll be, I want everything this ship has to get us there in time. Sentinel, keep doing what you're doing as I've a feeling we're in danger of shaking the ship to smithereens."

Frostbite shouted, as he command every ounce of speed into the ship, to get it to the location of Lionheart's craft. The life senses were working beautifully, Lionheart 'shone' like a beacon in the inky blackness of space, but dare he disk more dark power to aid them if the ship couldn't match the needs of the situation at hand?

OOC:
Ok if we cannot make it, then I'll have to go for more dark power points to teleport them all out of that situation and then see if Sentinel and I couldn't combine our efforts to set that ship into a new course away from earth. If need be make that 8 hero points needed to make sure I don't fail on rolls.

Sj

OOC: Couldnt sentinel aid you somehow like we did when we joined hands (must have been SS gimp suit at the time) and took out those giant robots? Or could sentinel carry on boosting the ship maybe add a few dark power points to try and stretch that boost even further?

OOC I'll interpret Lionhearts future mind/actions as coming up with...

Lionhearts mind raced! His powers had improved recently, but he still thought in terms of what he used to be able to do. If he... He moved to an area of the ship still sealed with the protective force field of the ship, barely holding the atmosphere in, though it was cold! He shivered as he altered his force field (OOC to G3 area), changing it from the protective type to one 5m high and 10m across, forming a protective bubble on this side of the ship! It might hurt him, but he hoped that the oncoming spacecraft would strike his forcefield, and he could use his strength (OOC G2) to brace himself and hold onto whatever solid piece of structure he could! The resulting 'pinging off' would hopefully send them spinning away, safely!

Just then he saw the light that was Beth grow brighter, and brighter... There was a sudden flare!

And she was gone!

Large sections of the oncoming ship were melted into liquid instantly, and it began to break up! Lionheart had no time to think though because several sections were headed this...

BOING!!!

SMASSHHHH!!!!

Lionheart cried out as the forcefield was struck and slammed him backwards into the metal walls and floor of the ship around him! The ship spun, and he grit his teeth, holding onto what he could and maintaining the field! A rain of debris clattered across the hull, further damaging the remainder of the ship and tearing into the smashed shell, causing a number of atmospheric leaks!

But they were alive!

Some instinct (OOC his intuition) told him he wasn't out of danger yet! As he struggled to free himself from the metal he'd been pressed into, his clothes shredded and skin bleeding in places (Lionheart took 46htk for saving the ship, even after his Force Field absorbed most of the impact of 100htk) he knew they'd achieved only a temporary reprieve - the ship was tumbling towards Earths atmosphere!

Out of the frying pan...

Silver Sentinel summoned up his will! He tried to force more control, more efficiency, into his power than ever before!

Silver Sentinel
87/110htc
88htk
65 Hero Points
10 fate points
Dark Power level 2
Dark power experience 3/10
Dark Power growth 2
Metal Morphing (+6 gr, 6fr)


OOC I assume you call up the Dark Power and use hero points if you fail, say 7 dark power points (+1 dark power growth) to boost your metal morphing powers... Dark power 8 + Roll 8,5 (13)=21. Sentinel Ego 12 + Roll 6,2,8 (2 hero points spent)=26. Roll passed. 7d10=6,7,7,5,10,3,8+ bonus 2=48 * 2=96. You can boost your Metal Morphing by 6 grades (to Grade

Sentinel gasped! He 'felt' the presence of all the metal in space and on this side of planet Earth! He detected the vast quantities of Lunarium on the moon! With a gesture he looked at the ship around him.

It morphed, reconfiguring to become a completely new craft, stretching and widening to become a sleek shining silver craft, but the metal was changed so that it was near invulnerable! The ships designs had incorporated a number of concessions due to the limits of Skrall technology, and he overcame all of those! The circuitry was upgraded, the metal changed in such a way as to be fluid, changing, morphing, so the ship was almost a living thing! The computers rewired to become more efficient, with boosted processing power and develop the ability to learn! The Skralls on board, tied into the craft as they were, could place themselves into specialised bays where their biological brains could be hard wired into the ship to increase processing power and speed, all the while allowing the Skralls themselves to rest and recuperate!

With a look at the controls, where a Peeler stood gaping at the sleek, shining, reconfigured touch panel, he smiled. "Third star on the left and carry on until morning." he said.

The ship seemed to 'jump' forwards, the atmospheric controls compensating almost immediately! It shot through space to cover the distance that would have taken minutes in mere seconds, and an improved tractor beam captured Lionhearts ship! Frostbite watched as his friend waved another hand, and transformed the metal bombarding the upper atmosphere of Earth into tiny fragments that would burn up!

Moving to the airlock several decks down in a hype fast lift, Frostbite pulled on a mask, sealed the 'lock behind him, and opened a hatch into space. The void looked serene, silent, cold... but of course he wasn't affected by the cold! He thrust a hand out, creating a solid casing of ice around the remains of Lionhearts ship, sealing the holes and preserving what was left of the atmosphere even whilst Sentinel 'tidied up' near space gathering all the huge debris chunks into one vast ball, which he could move around steadily, or send on its way to the sun! By changing the properties of the metal, he could make it all super magnetic, and draw stray fragments and car size lumps, of which there were thousands, into the same massive floating mass. With a thought he could disintegrate the mass, change its properties, or even reform it, into a new large spacecraft or even a space station! He was, truly, the master of metal!

Frostbite continued to pour on the cold until he could see no gas escaping from the other ship. With another thought he created a solid section, a tunnel, to the stricken craft from the airlock he was stood in, and he continued to strengthen it, exhausting his cold powers in the process, but sure that between his ice and the tractor beam, the other ship was secure. Sure enough, Lionheart punched a hole through the ice to peer through and smile at his friend, the crew of the other V-Ship gathered behind him with masks and space suits on.

There weren't many of them left though, and most of the skralls had died due to the catastrophic damage the ship had suffered.

=========

Minutes later the remains of the ship was set free, to be pulled into the magnetic ball orbiting the Earth.

Dozens of survivors, including Lionheart, were getting treatment in sick bay. One of them, an older Peeler named Kirk Hanscroft, (Peeler 22) sat on a medical bed as a robot doctor saw to his wounds. Frostbite came in to see how everyone was doing, including Lionheart who was being treated for cuts and bruises. Hanscroft asked the question both Vanguardians feared they knew the answer to... "Who.. or what, caused all that devastation?"

OOC Sentinel won't have his power for long - any ideas what he wants to do with a few million tons worth of scrap metal? Do you plan to go back to Earth, or do something else whilst you're up here?

Admin wrote:OOC Sentinel won't have his power for long - any ideas what he wants to do with a few million tons worth of scrap metal? Do you plan to go back to Earth, or do something else whilst you're up here?

OOC:
Wow, and well wow. I know its up to you mate, but with such power, I'd suggest a base and defence platform of some sort, at least for the time being. Esp with the powers that are on their way.

Turning to the peeler, Frostbite chewed on a finger, with all that had happened he'd not had time to give it much thought, but with a knowing look Lionheart's way, Frostbite knew what had happened. But what had happened to cause it was still, something of a mystery. "We're looking into it, get better, there's a war on don't you know!" He said with half a smile to cover the lie. Before leaving with a cheery wave and ascending up through the ship by direct means. When at the Bridge, Frostbite reaching out to Anyman, 'Hello old friend, care to let us know what was with the fireworks? Are you and the team ok, down there?"

After he had gone, Lionheart sat grateful for a moments respite. But since coming aboard he'd heard and seen nothing of Beth Carter, what had happened to Beth - had she somehow sacrificed in one last blaze of glory. Her efforts were heroic, but with Sentinel's incredible metal control, unnecessary it would seem! Was her sacrifice then for nothing? She might be a sophisticated robot, but she was still sentient and Lionheart, despite the shock of seeing her again, had a bit of a soft spot for the old girl. As he lay there he let his mind, its incredible potential spin out trying to sense if she was around.

OOC:
Do we know if Beth died in a blaze of glory, can a tech check for - 'life signs' or the equivilent?

Sj

OOC Anymans reply in the Dark power telepathy thread was:

"Lost control. Destroyed solar system of invaders instead of killing millions of humans. As I promised to do to them if they tried taking what doesn't belong to them," was Anyman's quick reply. "Now disobeying orders to return to England and cease all activities, to continue saving P'utanarians and other Death Camp survivors. Also defeated Major Nazi and his cohorts. They have just been "drafted" into my newly form Legion of Supers to protect the world and help with war victims. They are not happy. Don't give a rat's ass what they feel. Going to "draft" all supers on Earth into the Legion. At least those we are at war with. Hope others volunteer."

"How's the battle going up there?"

On the bridge of the 'new' ship, Lionheart looked at screens and panels, hoping to find some clue as to the whereabouts of Beth Carter. He was able to track her last movements, and marvelled at the technology on show. He glanced over at Silver Sentinel, unsure of how he'd managed it until he remembered that the Dark power was within him. With Anyman and Frostbite being leaders & figureheads, with almost legendary status thanks to their exploits on the battlefield and now their ending of the second World War, it was easy to forget the other warriors of the vanguard and the Justiciars. He wondered how Wynn, Nowhere Boy and the Sky Eagle were getting on, though suspected they would all be powerless thanks to the unsettling change that had come over Britain. Unsettling because fear, despair and worry were as much part of the human psyche as joy, hope and the will to succeed, which the British people displayed in over abundance.

In truth, they reminded him of the future, living in cold sterile, clean domed cities. With crime being ruthlessly stamped out, he'd considered his future as being close to paradise, but saw it now for what it was. A utilitarian state that crushed creative thought and free will, and ground under its heel any who did not conform.

He wondered where Saladin, Bentham and Trowers were. He was uneasy, having not accounted for them in all that had gone on, but hoped that they'd given up their schemes for world domination now that the Vanguard had proven themselves beyond any doubt the ultimate force on planet Earth.

Lionheart settled back against a console as he mulled that over. He looked at Frostbite and Sentinel, and couldn't imagine them as gods, meting out punishment and law to the 'puny humans', but Anyman had once more proven that resistance was in fact futile. He looked up at the screen at the small metal moon growing in space as Sentinel gathered the metal fragments of the alien fleet to it. The remainder of their vessels stood apart, waiting further instructions.

Then a light blinked on the panel, and he glanced over. The energy signature was the same as Beths, as far as he could tell, though it was faint. As he watched, the scanners showed the energy growing, reforming. He breathed a sight of relief and remembered a rule of physics 'Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed from one form to another'. She'd changed into light and heat, and was somehow pulling herself back together, though it would take time.

Another light blinked on the panel, and he looked over.

An object, small and fast, had been launched... from the Moon? Computer showed it was heading towards the Earth... Scan... some kind of torpedo? Almost too small to pick up on, but this new ship of Sentinels design was truly amazing!

Admin wrote:OOC Anymans reply in the Dark power telepathy thread was:

"Lost control. Destroyed solar system of invaders instead of killing millions of humans. As I promised to do to them if they tried taking what doesn't belong to them," was Anyman's quick reply. "Now disobeying orders to return to England and cease all activities, to continue saving P'utanarians and other Death Camp survivors. Also defeated Major Nazi and his cohorts. They have just been "drafted" into my newly form Legion of Supers to protect the world and help with war victims. They are not happy. Don't give a rat's ass what they feel. Going to "draft" all supers on Earth into the Legion. At least those we are at war with. Hope others volunteer."

"How's the battle going up there?"

Frostbite

Frostbite beamed back to Anyman, 'We knew it had to be you. The full ramifications of what took place will have to wait, regretable though they were. In truth its war an we did warn them. I'm glad you're finding some use for those other supers down there, after so much misery the best they can do is try and make amends.' Frostbite paused as he considered Anyman's question, 'The battle was over the moment you shot your beam into space, sliced the ships into nothing. Sentinel has performed wonders with his powers, you'll love the new V ship. Anyway we'll rejoin you soon, we've got something else going on...'

Lionheart

Admin wrote:An object, small and fast, had been launched... from the Moon? Computer showed it was heading towards the Earth... Scan... some kind of torpedo? Almost too small to pick up on, but this new ship of Sentinels design was truly amazing!

Lionheart was just about to warn the bridge of what he was seeing here on the monitors, when Frostbite chimed in, "I see it. Some desperate attempt by the Nazi's perhaps. Could be anything including a Lunarium bomb or something. We'd better look into it."

OOC:
Ok we'll make best speed for the rocket, sadly Sentinel's scheme, if its not done already, will have to wait. Ross I suggest Sentinel use his powers over metal to reach out, through the ship if necessary, to assess the threat and find out what if he can neutralise it or not.

Sj

Sentinel was astonished how the dark powers had upgraded the ship through him using there own technical information. He wondered how long would it take for man to catch up to this level which was far far beyond his comprehension although he technically made, he even didnt understand the 'basic' future stuff such as the 'microwave' in the mess hall but with these powers and his creative juices flowing through him he spotted the other ships reckage floating just off the portside.

Stretching out with his mind the panels, wires and struts formed as one giant ball of what looked like metalic silly putty (OOC: No relation to Daves character) the mass pulled and tweeked in all directions slowly at first but then morphing faster then almost sentinel could track before finally coming to rest.
Steve looked back at what he had done, he never really had a plan for what it would finally look like he guess the dark one inside him must have taken over even just for a second but what stood just outside of his own ship was another ship with two big gattling guns that looked too long for the sleek vessel.

The new ship then unfolded infront of his very eyes and deployed itself into some kind of mobile armed radar outpost. With a closer look as Steve inspected his handy work and he noticed a name on the side (OOC: MARO Mobile Armed Radar Outpost? Or it could be named after the destroyed ship its made out of out of respected for the ones that died)

Silver Sentinel seemed wrapped up with creating what appeared to be a much, much larger version of the ship they travelled in, with guns so big they could spit tanks! Even as Frostbite requested he do something about the missile, Lionheart watched as it neared the planet.

The ship they were in now was fast, however, and it became clear they'd intercept the object, albeit in the higher reaches of Earths atmosphere.

A peeler looked across at the trio, then shouted out "As much as I can make out, that is a missile of some kind, origin? The Nazi moon base. Scan shows... some kind of chemical based warhead? Unknown ty... wait... computers just detected more launches from the moon! Eleven... no, twelve missiles, en route to Earth all on different trajectories... This one... we're almost in weapons range... is headed for London! The others... New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, Amsterdam, Birmingham, Detroit... still calculating the trajectories on the rest!"

"Weapons in range... firing!" said the Peeler.

There was a VARRRRRR!!!! sound as huge lasers pulsed out, slicing through the distance between the ship and the missile, through space and into the cloud covered region of Earth where the missile plunged into... there was a flash of light, an explosion, though it was small and muffled.

"That wasn't a powerful explosion" said Lionheart. "More like some kind of dispersal system! Scan it!"

A skrall technician tugged on the sleeve of a Peeler who turned, then looked at a read out. "Scan shows chemical made up of unknown types. It's... a virus of some kind!"

Lionheart glanced at Frostbite and Sentinel. With a dozen missiles fired at the Planet, and possibly more to come, there was a definite need to stop whatever was firing them from the Moon Base! There was also a need to stop those missiles from deploying their unknown, probably deadly, cargo!

"Sir!" shouted the Peeler. "Scans show that the virus will be rendered inert due to the cold and altitude. If Frostbite can freeze it, chances are it will be kept in stasis long enough to die!"

Another alarm blared out. "More missiles from the moon! Heading to the same locations as before!" shouted Fiona Havard, Peeler 56.

Frostbite cursed under his breath. Someone was determined to 'win' the second World War, even at the cost of wiping out thousands or millions of people! How many more missiles awaited them?

OOC You have: the three of you on the smaller converted V Ship and Sentinels unmanned larger ship (one thousand times the size of the V-Ship, made from the remnants of the alien fleet), currently 18 missiles (12 heading to Earth, 6 just launched from the moon base) heading through space at speed, the remainder of the surrendered Alien fleet awaiting the Vanguards attention, and Sunburst out there gathering her energies up. There's also someone, or something, on the moon firing these missiles at the Earth, which contain some kind of unknown virus...

Admin wrote:OOC You have: the three of you on the smaller converted V Ship and Sentinels unmanned larger ship (one thousand times the size of the V-Ship, made from the remnants of the alien fleet), currently 18 missiles (12 heading to Earth, 6 just launched from the moon base) heading through space at speed, the remainder of the surrendered Alien fleet awaiting the Vanguards attention, and Sunburst out there gathering her energies up. There's also someone, or something, on the moon firing these missiles at the Earth, which contain some kind of unknown virus...

"Son of a gun!" Frostbite said, clearly perturbed by what he was witnessing. "Question is, how many more missiles are on the moon, we could go on doing this all day. Ok, we'll have to worry about that in a moment. Sentinel I want you to try and catch the missiles, extend you range again if need be. Lionheart you help the Peelers to monitor the moon and watch for any we miss. And I best go and see if I can freeze these up."

With that Frostbite grabbed the necessary equipment and strode right through the ships walls intangibly as he flew toward the dispersed area as quick as he could.

OOC:
ok not sure what I need to get, other than a space suit to withstand the vacuum and I still need air. Also if the effective range of this stuff gets away from me I'd better pump in some dark power points to empower my abilities to the scale needed. Assume points as needed to prevent things going down the pan again, but only as needed. I want to be more cautious about using our powers if at all possible.

Sj

"What? Um on my way......I'm so sorry chaps, I let my guard down for just a moment" he quickly apologized thinking to himself 'i wonder how much time had past', when his shadow had taken over in the sculpting of the new ship.
"but theres a unmanned ship that might be useful, Lionheart?" sentinel asked then made his way to the most forward part of the ship. He stood at the main bridge at what he could only describe as reinforced glass then with his legs astride reached out with his powers yet again and with that he spoke inside to implore to his shadow.

'Hello my friend, I call to you once again for this is a hour of great need. Missiles are on there way to obliterate millions. I beg you stretch the range of my abilities'

OOC: So my current range is 100m and with the missiles flying at way more than that in a second I have no chance, what 'safe' level of dark power points are we talking about to double it or would the better choice be to boost in duration or a 'wall' of a physic metal manipulation barrier? Saying that how concentrated are the missiles or are they quite scattered?

Frostbite considered his options. Intangible, chances were all he needed would be a supply of air - he was immune to physical pain or stress otherwise. That said, he'd not be able to affect the gas cloud when in that form. A peeler strode up "Sir, we have a plan. Might be a bit of a squeeze, but we can get you in the upper atmosphere after that cloud inside a torpedo with a limited air supply. You can fly and possibly breathe in the upper atmosphere, but the air is thin."

Frostbite nodded - before that gas cloud dropped to the ground and affected a large area, he could freeze it, and if it needed him to squeeze into a cylinder to do so... He shrugged "Let's go."

==========

"It really is a squeeze isn't it?" asked Frostbite

The Peeler nodded apologetically. It's taken moments to get down to the weapons room. With half of the torpedoes lacking ordnance, there was room inside for a man, albeit at a squeeze. He pulled the air mask on in place and checked the flow of air to the pack on his waist, giving a nod and thumbs up. The Peeler returned it, then turned to the Skrall Technicians who lifted the torpedo head into place and applied bolts. Inside, it was dark and somewhat claustrophobic, plus Frostbite had to trust that his people didn't mess up!

==========

Back on the bridge Sentinel summoned the Dark Power from within

Silver Sentinel
87/110htc
88htk
65 Hero Points
10 fate points
Dark Power level 2
Dark power experience 3/10
Dark Power growth 2

OOC Dark Power Growth 2 plus 6 or so Dark Power (enough to buy three extra grades of morphing). The missiles are moving at speed and spread out in places up to several miles apart as they spread out and head for their targets across the world. I will assume you use Hero Points for extra dice if you fail, with no limit on spend to avoid Dark Power 'overload'. Using them in this way will burn up THREE (3) Hero points per die BUT you'll keep rolling extra dice as required so long as you have hero points. Another way of doing so (and much cheaper) is to use a FATE point. That guarantees a double result. Anyway, let's see what the rolls come up with - you might not need to spend any at all.

Dark Power Growth 2 plus 6 plus Roll 7,7 (14, double!) plus roll 10,8 (18). Oh dear, here we go again. Total for Dark power, 43. Silver Sentinel Ego 12 + Roll 7,7 (14, double!) plus 10,10 (20,double!) plus 5,5 (10, double!) plus 8,1 (9). No doctored rolls, that's what came up. Not sure if I've ever rolled so many doubles, even in all my years GMing tabletop DC heroes! Silver Sentinels total is 65 (!). Dark Power roll passed, no hero points spent!

6D10 roll is 6,2,4,4,1,8 (25 * 2 = 50 points). Buys 3 grades of metal morphing and the spare 5 points used for healing.

Sentinels status is now:

Silver Sentinel
92/110htc
88htk
65 Hero Points
10 fate points
Dark Power level 2
Dark power experience 4/10
Dark Power growth 3
Metal Morphing +3 Grd (4fr)

Sentinel almost panicked as he felt the Dark Power well up like a wave! Knowing that to lose control here and now would be utterly disastrous and mean the death of his team mates, he grit his teeth, drawing on reserves of will that he never knew he had!

Even the Dark Power was impressed 'You are... strong, mortal' it rasped, before going silent. With the power under control, Sentinel looked at the screen and concentrated.

A peeler saw it first, and excitedly announced "The missiles are changing course! They.. they are reversing, forming into a ball!"

OOC Want to do anything with them, or send them on their way into the sun (a process which will take months, years even, seeing as it's 93 Million miles away) as they are full of this virus. Or... you could do something risky and bring it on board, to analyse and found out what you're dealing with. Your call Ross.

Under the supervision of Lionheart, the Peelers were able to configure their sensors to watch the moon, and would have an early warning if any missile tubes were opened. The threat of more missiles could not be discounted though. They could be reactive, and stop them in flight, or cut them off at the source!

==========

The Torpedo was battered and bounced about, then suddenly there was a CRACK! and it split open, the shards tumbling outwards!

"You're in the right area, Frostbite, good hunting!" squawked Lionheart in Frostbites ear piece.

Frostbite looked about - the strange green crystals of the virus were raining down from above in a crystal shower. They had frozen in the upper atmosphere, but would thaw as soon as they got closer to the Earth. Frostbite could use his power to deep freeze them, and properly kill off the virus strain according to his onboard computer, but would he be able to catch all of it before it struck... he looked down, miles as he was over the Earth. He wasn't sure but... that looked like London!

OOC Hero point use? You'll be 'pushing' your Frost Manipulation further than ever before, to the point it may 'burn out'. Or you can use the Dark power, but we've had one instance of it all going wrong, and another very, very near miss in this thread! Your call Dave...

Admin wrote:Frostbite OOC Hero point use? You'll be 'pushing' your Frost Manipulation further than ever before, to the point it may 'burn out'. Or you can use the Dark power, but we've had one instance of it all going wrong, and another very, very near miss in this thread! Your call Dave...

Once again, against all probability Frostbite found himself wondering how he, a mere man got into this situation in the first place. How it was possible that he had this near limitless power, but with so many repercussions. And how this war had become so screwy so quickly. As he hung over the jewel of the earth, between Heaven and Earth he had to wonder how small he felt, and yet how fragile it all was as well.

This wasn't a time to take chances, he knew that the Dark power was flexing its muscle, Anyman's shadowy companion proved that. With every use, he had to dig a bit deeper to fight for control and yet with all his great power he knew that as one man, empowered or not, his resources were not enough.

"Time to go again..." He almost growled as he steeled himself for the effort required in just keeping his humanity.

OOC:
Ok I will use 10 hero points, so that I don't pay a silly cost for them, that should equally be enough to quell any grief from the Dark Power, and use enough only to extend the range and potency of my powers to freeze and kill the virus permanently. So lets do this thing.

Sj

After calling out to the others silver sentinel listened to there the options and not to the shadow, as much as he wanted to punish the wicked out right they should be judged first for there crimes. Murdering a monster for trying to kill makes yourself almost as bad as that monster.

The missile, now melted down spheres, pushed back to one side and hope he didn't have to start stock piling.

OOC 10 Hero points for Dark Power usage is one (pretty sure fire) way of avoiding going 'dark nova'! Ego 12 + Roll 7,6,10,5,7,5,8,5,8,8,3,9 (16, double) plus 9,5 (14)=42 vs Dark Power (say, 7?) plus Growth 2 + roll 8,3 (11)=20. Easy. 7D10 Dark power points gives 6,3,7,1,6,4,9 (36 * 2) = 72 points. That's enough to boost Cold manipulation by 4 grades, more than up to the job... Remainder of points used to heal up.

Frostbite
60htc
48htk
Dark power level 2
Dark power experience 9/10
Dark Power growth 3
Hero Points 54
Fate Points 10

Frostbite used his will, every fibre of his being to call on the Dark Power, accept the boost that it gave, then slam it back 'into it's box' so to speak! Pandora would not unleash the evils of the world on HIS watch if he could help it!

He felt the power course through him. Felt the temperature in the air, knew that he could transform the deserts into snowy wastelands, at least for a time. He could expand the icecaps in every direction, making enough ice to unbalance the Earth! instead he gestured upwards and outwards, and froze every microscopic spore, the cold so final and absolute that it would simply disintegrate as it shattered!

Satisfied that the virus cloud was completely inert, he looked about, at London, and Englands green and pleasant land beyond. They were unsuspecting, wrapped up in their own idyllic, structured, ordered thoughts. He was uncomfortable in the knowledge that he had the power to change the way an entire nation thought, and that from this moment on they would be steered on a direction that led them away from the path history had laid before them.

World War II would not now claim the catastrophic loss of life he knew - from the 'other' inside him, or at least from glimpses of his memories - had done so in Joseph Rigdons reality. With a final glance at the country sprawled out miles below, he pressed a finger to his earpiece. "Any chance of a pickup?"

=========

Sentinel gathered the deadly missiles up and steered them into the sphere of scrap orbiting the Earth

In a way he felt like using the Dark Power gave a glimps of his *true* potential, and wondered if there might come a time when his mastery of metals came so naturally that the Dark Power would no longer be needed?

Meanwhile, across the bridge Lionheart looked at the viewscreen. The Alien ships stood down, docile, waiting to bow the knee to their conquerer. They probably didn't know about the bolt of power that had wiped out their entire planet, and Lionheart glanced across at Sentinel.

If the time came when the Vanguard had cause to turn against humanity, where would he stand? And if he stood against them, what could he do? He shuddered, seeing a future too dark to contemplate, yet knowing it was a possibility. He was glad when a Peeler called out "Sir, Frostbite is requesting a pickup" and nodded, indicating that the ship soar into the upper atmosphere and teleport him aboard. This 'new' ship was astounding. In the blink of an eye Silver Sentinel had improved it in every way. Though only slightly bigger than a V-Ship, it was much better armoured and armed, and faster, more agile too. In every way the Vanguardian had changed it for the better, without even knowing how!

He gazed over the consoles, the layout and function of which had been morphed to a new, more efficient shape and effect. The Skrall Technicians wandered about with a loving look to their alien reptile faces, seeming to stop and place hands gently on a panel or access node. He knew that throughout the ship there were small bays for the Skralls to lie in, plug into the ship and 'become one' with the technology, and in doing so improve the ships computers and functions.

He stopped, then gazed about again.

He could use this to form a new PSI academy, to train and educate others as he had been done. A new PSI corps. one formed with a sole purpose - to ensure law and justice were upheld not just in Britain, but around the world!

He glanced at Sentinel again. They were his friends, but if they ever went rogue, he couldn't stand alone... a PSI corps stood alongside him would stand a better chance if...

"Sir? Another signal. Faint, getting stronger."

"On screen."

The screen flicked to show a small light in space, like a will-o-the-wisp, getting brighter and larger.

"Incredible energy levels, seemingly floating without purpose!" said the Peeler, in awe. "What could...?"

Lionheart looked, then smiled. "It's Beth. Guide her home. Send a radio beacon on every frequency to call her in."

Sentinel came over to stand nearby. He looked at the moonbase and wondered how many more missiles were waiting to be sent. The ship, meanwhile, swooped into the atmosphere of Earth, then beamed Frostbite aboard. Minutes later he strode onto the deck having accomplished his mission. The missile had been neutralised, its deadly cargo destroyed - save for a chunk of solid spherical ice in Frostbites hand, so hard and dense it could not have possibly come from nature!

"Be careful with that" he told a Skrall who came up with a special sealed box to place it in. "Analyse it, find out what it is, then blow it into space" he said of the sample he'd gathered.

As the trio watched the dim light get brighter, they were hailed again by the impatient aliens who wanted to know their options.

They were also hailed by the Robo Carriers surrounding Earth on what to do - continue scanning the solar system, or perhaps even bombard the moon, to destroy the nazi mine and moon base once and for all?

=========

The analysis didn't take long to come back

It was a virus, designed to piggyback alongside the human immune system, then strike at it whenever any kind of illness was sensed. The person would die of the natural diseases of the Earth that their body had previously been immune to...

...Then rise from the dead, to walk amongst the living, bite them, and spread the disease throughout the world.

Hitlers final solution.

He couldn't win World War II, but he would make sure no one else would...

All three turned to the screen, and looked at the distant moon and base there.

They knew where Adolf Hitler was...

Frostbite

Admin wrote:
Hitlers final solution.

He couldn't win World War II, but he would make sure no one else would...

All three turned to the screen, and looked at the distant moon and base there.
They knew where Adolf Hitler was...

"Gentlemen..." Frostbite said aloud to those in the room, "...pack you're stuff we're going to bring Hitler to trial or die trying!"

Then indicating to the Pilot he new to head toward the moon, once Beth was onboard.

Sj

"Hitler? I've got Hitlers trial right here" sentinel replied through gritted teeth as he slowly formed his right hand into a foot long spike.

OOC Started this post 15 hours ago. In between tipping at Power Stations, then getting home from work and having a kid/dog thrust at me, then the older kid getting home to commandeer the laptop, then the younger one not going to sleep (chickenpox are driving him nuts, admittedly) it's been... challenging. Anyway, let's see how I get on. I'm expecting the house to blow up or aliens to invade and interrupt my posting...

"Course plotted, laid in. ETA... 20 minutes." said a Peeler as he sat at a console. The half dozen other peelers, mostly ex RAF personnel who'd been trained on the V-Ship operation, seemed to sense the tension rise as the ship turned and jetted forward. It slowed and waited, and a voice squawked over the radio "Sir, we have... something in the hold. It's like a ball of light, save semi sol... oh. It's Beth."

Lionheart glanced at the radio speaker, then at Frostbite and nodded. He couldn't sense Beth as an ordinary human being but he knew there was *something* of her inside that automaton form she wore.

Frostbite settled in the Captains chair, turned to a Peeler and stated "Proceed"

==========

Alarms blared out, the lights dimmed to red and Skrall technicians scurried about, monitoring readouts

"Report!" barked Frostbite, having left the bridge for a bite to eat with Sentinel and Lionheart, whilst meeting up with the reconstituted Beth Carter. She'd explained that she'd tried to absorb as much solar energy as she could - more than she normally could - and set herself to 'explode' against the incoming spacecraft to divert its path. It'd certainly done that, but more remarkable was the fact that she'd been able to gather up the displaced parts of her strange energy form, then absorbed more sunlight to charge herself and gather the rest of her scattered atoms together.

It'd been uncomfortable - Frostbite and Sentinel hadn't known quite what had gone on in Lionhearts adventures in the arctic where Beth had been killed, but there was a definite barrier between them now, sadly. Though she looked - outwardly - to be human, Beth was only to aware that it was in appearance only. When the alarm had blared out across the ship it'd been a relief, and the four Vanguardians had raced from the mess hall where bewildered technicians had sought rest after the V-Ship had suddenly (and to them inexplicably) repaired itself after Silver Sentinels incredible use of the Dark Power.

"Incoming contacts. Some kind of surface to air... uh, space... missile. Three off, homing in on our position. Sir, we're ah, not quite sure what this changed vessel can do. Normally we'd repel with the rail gun but..." the Peeler broke off to see a Skrall Technician tugging at his trouser leg. "What is it? Can't you see I'm..." He glanced at a large green flashing button on the console where the Skrall was busy pointing, shrugged and leaned over to press it.

On the outside of the ship, the sleek panels were interrupted by a sliding hatch from which jutted a large laser turret. It turned, targeted, and fired!

Those on the bridge watched as a green laser line shot from the hull of their ship to pinpoint the silver dots approaching from the moon. There were three lines, three mushrooming explosions, then void between them and the moon.

The Peeler turned, shrugging "Rail guns have been upgraded sir." he said, with a shrug.

=========

The Sentinel ship circled the moon, flying low over the mostly flat and featureless landscape, across the vast 'sea of tranquillity'

"takes your breath away, doesn't it?" said Beth. Despite all she'd seen, all she'd become, she retained the sense of wonder and childlike innocence that made her transformation harder to take. The bridge crew watched the screen as the horizon of the moon peeled away to reveal a vast dark shadow as the dark side, hidden by the sun, came into view. Vast floodlights activated on the exterior of the ship, lighting up for miles around. It was eerie, dark, dead.

"Look!" gasped a Peeler, pointing at the viewscreen.

"Is that...?" asked Beth.



"INCOMING!" shouted another Peeler

"Three marks, missiles, coming fast! Scans indicate there are... counting... a dozen sentry guns turning towards us! It's about to get hot, fast!"

OOC Trust to the ship to get you in the last couple of miles towards the base or use superhuman abilities? Your call...

OOC: I wondered what had been going on, sorry to hear about your youngest I remember when my two got it, certainly with my oldest it was also a nightmare. Hope you get through the worst of it soon.

Lionheart found himself unable to fully appreciate what Beth was. On the one hand he'd notice the clearly human reactions to things about them, wonder, laughter, relief. But both knew she was who she was because she was 'housed' in some form of body that wasn't human. Although Lionheart wasn't able to boast, was he any different, genetically manipulated and grown outside of the normal gestation process in a vat?

As the alarms cut in, he to was relieved getting to the Deck with the others he saw the problem and wondered at the solution. Not for the first time he was thankful for the V ships upgrade.

Frostbite too marvelled at what the V ship could do, but when they reached the base, he had to wonder if subjecting the ship to a pounded would be a good idea. If they left the ship and went under their own steam, they'd be much harder to find and stop.

"Ok we're here now, pull back to a safe distance, keep weapons hot, we don't want them to think we're being complacent."

Then turning to the others he said, "We're going in, lets suit up for deep space and bring spare equipment. We'll hit ground and circle around. No doubt they'll have surface defences, so Sentinel that will be you're call. You'll be able to sense the metal and perhaps rearrange them into something less offensive. Lionheart you and Beth run interference, scout ahead and give Sentinel and me chance to catch up. But make them think we're coming from a different points. When we're close I think we'll create our own entrance so as to keep them on their toes. Shame we haven't got more of them robots with us. Having said that...

Frostbite turned wondering if the ship might, in its upgrade, have upgraded robotics that he could use to house Frostbot, having him with them in such a form might prove very helpful.

OOC:
1. Ok see if their is another Frostbot type robot aboard not unlike the original see if its available and upgraded.
2. Leave by the most expedient way and try to confuse the ground defences as to our specific approach.
3. Keep in constant communication, if that suddenly drops out we'll know that we need to regroup that defences have got to the serious stage.
4. When Sentinel can sense the extremities of the base, we'll use whatever tunnels or other passages snake off as a potential way in and adapt our plan from there.

Sj