The Vanguard! Issue #3 - The Vanguard, The long dead Queen, and the Holy Grail...

Space... orbiting the far side of the moon, in the shadow of the dark side...

James Caldwell (Nowhere Man) sat on the bridge of the ship. It had taken a teleport from the fully powered systems to gain access to the place if you didn't have the ability to turn intangible. Once on the bridge, it could be unlocked to be accessed from the rest of the ship, giving an extra floor that the lift could go up on. All this time, the Nazis had sat on these spacecraft, completely unaware of their potential. Presumably they'd fallen out with their original owners, slaughtered them and been unable to access the ship controls. Over time they'd been used as bases for troops, their original purpose forgotten. Who were the aliens who'd brought them to Earth? Did they know the Nazis would betray them?

Caldwell looked at the view-screen at the shining blue planet over 200,000 miles away. As the hours ticked past he regained more and more of his memory. Still, the same old problem. This was someone else's body, stolen from him by the power within and now it was Nowhere Mans, the previous occupant simply a quiet voice in the corner of his mind. With a sigh he flicked a switch "Joe. How you and the others doing?"

In the infirmary, Joe Rigdon (Frostbite), Guy Saint Ives (Stormwarden) and the being known as Putty were being treated by automated surgeons under the watchful eyes of Lionheart. Nowhere Man continued. "Before our link was severed with the Nazi computer network I dug up a few interesting things. Back in the day, Adolf Hitler was obsessed with the Occult. It's probable that whoever changed time used an artefact of unimaginable power, along with a coven of mystics who knew how to access it, to open the gate to another time. I found numerous references to the Spear of Wotan, or Spear of Destiny as it was also known. There was also mention of an artefact known in legend as the Holy Grail which Hitler was also obsessed with finding. I have a theory."

There was a pause, and Frostbite and the others, lying on beds as automated arms and robots treated them, listened on. "For us to be able to open a gate to go back in time, we need a source of mystical power, and someone who know show to use it. Back in our own time, the White Warlock was the foremost practitioner of the mystic arts in all of the British Isles, so I would hope the version in this reality will know much of what the other one did, and therefore how to open the gate. Therein lies the problem. A source of mystical power isn't exactly something you'd find on a street corner. From everything I've been studying over the last few hours, it seems Hitler tracked down a number of artefacts back to the British Isles and his spies narrowed down a short list of names who knew of legends, signs, portents, any information that might help in finding said artefacts. The sword, Excalibur, from the Arthur Legend. Also, the Spear of Lugh, the Cauldron of Dagda, the Sword of Light (Claíomh Solais), and the Stone of Destiny (Lia Fáil) from Ireland. A lot of those things are said to be one and the same with other legends. The cauldron, for example, may have been another name for the Grail. The spear of Lugh, another term for the Spear of Wotan. Hitler chased every wild goose chase going. Anyway. We need a source of mystical power. The list of names..."

He paused for a moment before reading...

"Anna Seigfried, a lecturer at Cambridge University. Born in England in the 80s, some 35 or so years ago. Her grandfather was one of Hitlers' historians, might be something we can learn from her."

"Benjamin Klanshammer, SS officer and 'amateur treasure hunter' it says in his bio. Despite Hitler not being around he made noises about continuing the search for artefacts. Based in York."

"Willheim Shrick, a German born tutor who came here to live and work, as well as indoctrinate the populace into accepting the German way of doing things. He's at Edinburgh university."

"James Peterson. English born and bred, a prisoner in Strangeways prison, Manchester. Despite being tortured, he never spilled the beans. The Nazis gave up on him I should think, but kept him alive for their own morbid fun. Said to be the direct descendant of the old Monarchies' Equerry - officer of honour. The Nazis tracked anyone who was anyone down when they invaded, and eventually caught up with him when he was living on a farm in the countryside. Killed his family, tortured him, seems for nothing. Not sure why he cropped up when I dug about to be honest."

"Elizabeth Chase. Wanted by the authorities as a traitor and resistance leader in Cumbria. Not much else on her - the link was severed before I could investigate further."

"If we're looking for artefacts of magical power and importance to get the Warlock to open a gate for us, I think some of the people on this list might be able to help. Either that or we could sift through the ruins of the tower of London, see what we can dig up?"

As the words sunk in, a klaxon rang out across the ship.

"Great. Whatever the Nazis have been doing in space just detected us as a UFO. You'd better get up here when you can."

Hiding from the Nazis in a stolen spaceship, mourning the apparent death of a team mate, fleeing from tyrannical and overwhelming forces, hunting a lost artefact that may not even exist, needing to rescue a mad wizard from the highest security prison in Europe, guarded by the most powerful metahuman in Europe and one of the top five in the world, in order that they could go back through time and stop the Nazis from winning world war II.

Just another day in the life of ...

The telltales on Putty's machine hadn't turned all green yet but would do so soon.

"Excuse me," he said to the others, "I have no real memories that I trust beyond just before I joined you but I seem to remember that there are two or more swords called Excalibur. Is that right or is this a false memory? One Excalibur was the sword in the stone and the other was the one given to King Arthur by the Lady of the Lake?"

There was one light left to turn green now as he looked around.

"And how do we get to "up here?"

Frostbite

It was hard to take in all that was going on around them as Frostbite was grateful for the medical attention his body was getting from the ship's incredible facilities. To be honest he was grateful for Nowhere Man's distraction. To stop and think too much, would allow him to feel the full weight of what was going on. And he couldn't afford the luxury of mourning Jason Darkshadow right now anyway.

His body felt bruised and damaged, but deep within a bright and burning indignation also kept him focused. Hitler was a tyrannical madman, the world united to stop. Now he'd found some way to counter that move and won, his twisted realm of reality was even worse, unfettered with meta human power to make his dream a reality. He had to be stopped.

Hence the talk from Nowhere Man whilst they lay still being attended to and patched up.

"Joe. How you and the others doing?" In the infirmary, Joe Rigdon (Frostbite), Guy Saint Ives (Stormwarden) and the being known as Putty were being treated by automated surgeons under the watchful eyes of Lionheart. Nowhere Man continued.

Frostbite was grateful that his grunt of acknowledgement was enough, he'd appreciated the work James had done since getting them where they were. The horror of this world and the terrible price some people were paying to fight back was overwhelming enough.

As Nowhere Man flicked through the names, Frostbite couldn't imagine any of them wanting to help willingly.

"James Peterson. English born and bred, a prisoner in Strangeways prison, Manchester. Despite being tortured, he never spilled the beans. The Nazis gave up on him I should think, but kept him alive for their own morbid fun. Said to be the direct descendant of the old Monarchies' Equerry - officer of honour. The Nazis tracked anyone who was anyone down when they invaded, and eventually caught up with him when he was living on a farm in the countryside. Killed his family, tortured him, seems for nothing. Not sure why he cropped up when I dug about to be honest."

"Elizabeth Chase. Wanted by the authorities as a traitor and resistance leader in Cumbria. Not much else on her - the link was severed before I could investigate further."

'Ah ha,' Frostbite thought within himself, these two seemed more likely, but again how to get to them. Breaking out James Peterson from Prison - this was becoming a habit.

As Nowhere Man continued Frostbite started to move from the bench. He was feeling better already and was tired of being waited on.

"If we're looking for artefacts of magical power and importance to get the Warlock to open a gate for us, I think some of the people on this list might be able to help. Either that or we could sift through the ruins of the tower of London, see what we can dig up?"

"Right now that might be an easier option, since we don't want to alert the authorities, at some point we'll need to break the Warlock out of prison, so we don't need to keep popping up on their radar or we'll only give them more time to counter attack and be ready. Our greatest weapon is surprise right now. What does..." Frostbite's word were interrupted.

as a klaxon rang out across the ship.

"Great. Whatever the Nazis have been doing in space just detected us as a UFO. You'd better get up here when you can."

Allowing Lionheart to detach the final bits and pieces monitoring his vital signs, Frostbite didn't bother with the lift, instead turning intangible he shot up through the infirmary floor toward Nowhere Man.

OOC:

Paul couple of questions.

1) Didn't you say that the White Warlock was to be executed in a couple of days, hence there was some pressure to get him out before he was incinerated? I believe we talked about it with the resistance. Its just that might effect our plans.

2) When do we get our new powers active?

3) And just in terms of continuity can we assume Putty has been updated with the information he'd need to understand where we're up to. As we're jumping forward a bit, it seems reasonable to assume one of us would have told him what was going on whilst we lay in the infirmary?

As for the Klaxxon and what not, I'll get to the control room and find out what we can do - but we need to make a decision quick, to see if we can get into the ruins of the old London Tower to see if we can't find clues to what is going on that might help.

Sj

Stormwarden

"Urggh. Great, just great. Not a moments rest, eh?" Stormwarden muttered as he slid off the couch. His physique was already healing without the aid of the med bay. With it, he could barely feel an ache.

"Come on, Putty. Let's get up topside." As they entered the lift that would take them up to the bridge he thought on the information before responding to Putty. "Yeah, well. The whole thing with Excalibur is fairly hard to decipher. One book has it that the sword in the stone is another sword entirely, that Arthur pulled it out to prove his worthiness but that it was afterwards broken. Then he gets Caliburn - or Excalibur - given to him. And Caliburn may be a much older sword than that, used by some of the great Irish heroes and kings. But if there's one treasure thats surely lost, its that one. It disapears totally in Arthurs time." He paused. "The Holy Grail, though. That continues on past that time. I wonder why the Nazi's put the other two people on the list? What does a royal equerry have to do with anything, and why is this Chase woman a traitor as well as a resistance leader?"

He slumped as a realisation hit him. "Its my fault. ALL my fault, all of this." and he waved around. "The Spear of Destiny. That's what Firebird was after at the Museum; the Spear of Destiny! And I let them get away." His eyes were far away as the sheer enormity of this hit him. He had lost his friend because of his actions. How many people had been killed, murdered, because of his failure?

Admin wrote:OOC just a quick answer to the OOC points, full replies later today (family stuff to do )

OOC: Excellent thanks for the clarification. I've already got ideas about how I can roleplay the powers as soon as you give me the word on what and how they're improved in crunch terms.

Sj

OOC ah... best laid plans. Better late than never etc

The Vanguard

The Vanguardians arrived from the lower level, most by mundane means (the lift was now working to the upper level whereas before it had stopped short). The bridge area was a large circular expanse, smaller than other floors as the vessel narrowed towards the tip but in itself one of the large rooms. Consoles were arrayed along the walls with chairs provided. Most were dust covered and the consoles were inactive, but the centre of the room had a large chair in the middle with Nowhere Man currently sat in it.

"Still trying to get the hang of all this stuff. Talking to machines is fine so long as you're talking the same language or one you can translate. It's the whole 'lost in translation' part that leaves you confused. I've mostly gotten the computers on board to understand English voice commands, and there are enough automated systems to ensure the ship can pretty much fly itself. Down on the lower levels we have a small army of robots beavering away restoring the ship to what it was. Decades of misuse by the Nazis or inactivity have taken their toll but Darkshadow really came through for us. The power level should remain topped up now that the nannites fixed the solar energy absorbing qualities of the hull." said Nowhere Man who stood, gesturing for the 'Captains Seat' to be taken by Frostbite.

He walked forwards, hands behind his back and strolled towards one wall with two consoles in front of it. "Hope I finally got this bit right. Computer! View-screen!" Suddenly the bare wall shimmered and changed to one stretching several metres across and high, showing inky blackness of outer space! "Focus on Earth!" said Darkshadow. The screen switched, showing Earth, though there appeared to be nothing the group could see moving towards the ship. "Weird. Ok, focus on whatever tracked us and show it on the view-screen"

The Viewscreen showed inky blackness until it focussed on a silver dot moving towards you almost imperceptibly! "Ok, not from Earth's direction. See what I mean about lost in translation? Definitely headed for us though, from space!" said Nowhere Man. "At the rate that's coming towards us,we'll have company in the next 10 minutes or so. Who or what it is, and if they have anything to do with the Nazis, well, I can't tell at the minute."

Nowhere Man turned to the other Vanguard. "As far as I can tell, we can set this ship to Aggressive, Neutral or Defensive stance. It kinds of sends out a message to other vessels and prepares the ship. What action would you have it take?" he asks, slumping into one of the chairs at a console in front of the screen, looking at the bank of controls, all buttons and dials, and shrugging. "And whatever happens next, let's hope the ship learnt enough English - or German - to understand us!"

OOC I wanted to put up a picture of the oncoming ship, using the 3d modelling software within the old 'Spore' game, but it looks like the save games are corrupted and I had to start from scratch to get to the spaceship stage (where I can design my own), so there may be a slight delay in the picture putting up department...whilst I work through the game!

"I would suggest Defensive," Putty Replies. "Is there any way to get the computer to talk to those on the other ship?"

FROSTBITE

Frostbite, inclined his head as Nowhere Man allowed him to take the captain's seat, whilst listening intently to what he had to say.

"I would suggest Defensive," Putty Replies. "Is there any way to get the computer to talk to those on the other ship?"

Frostbite nodded, pleased the Putty was sufficiently relaxed around them to feel free to offer comment.

"As ever James, you've surpassed yourself when it comes to computers." gesturing toward Putty, he continued, "But I concur with Putty, I suspect we'd all rather ask questions and shoot later, as we don't know what we are facing. But since this ship belongs to an advanced race used to space travel, is there anything in the computers database that might help identify the approaching ship? Anything on its owners and diplomatic protocol for instance?"

Despite being an army whelp, Joe's Father had made him understood that more battles are won through diplomacy than force of arms. It was a lesson that had stood him in good stead, for sometimes the most effective weapons were words, and terms not bombs and bullets.

OOC:

Sorry to hear about the hassle with the 3d programme. But do want to see if we can find out if we can negotiate a way forward. I suspect that we're about to meet either the owners of the ship we've purloined or a very interested party.

Sj

Steeple_jackuk wrote:FROSTBITE

Frostbite, inclined his head as Nowhere Man allowed him to take the captain's seat, whilst listening intently to what he had to say.

"I would suggest Defensive," Putty Replies. "Is there any way to get the computer to talk to those on the other ship?"

Frostbite nodded, pleased the Putty was sufficiently relaxed around them to feel free to offer comment.

"As ever James, you've surpassed yourself when it comes to computers." gesturing toward Putty, he continued, "But I concur with Putty, I suspect we'd all rather ask questions and shoot later, as we don't know what we are facing. But since this ship belongs to an advanced race used to space travel, is there anything in the computers database that might help identify the approaching ship? Anything on its owners and diplomatic protocol for instance?"

"Agreed" Stormwarden nodded. "Thats likely to be another Super, or even one of those Aliens who designed this ship - that is, if they're still around. Can the ship give us any more info on that score anyhow?"

OOC:

If you want just tell me what you want and I'll scoot one out for you.

The Vanguard

"I would suggest Defensive," Putty Replies. "Is there any way to get the computer to talk to those on the other ship?"

Nowhere Man raised eyebrows (on the ship with you guys he's in uniform but without mask) at Putty speaking. He knew from experience that superhumans came in all shapes and sizes, but Putty was about as far removed from a human being as could be! He wondered if he'd tested the limits of his powers, what extremes (heat, cold, vacuum) he could tolerate and whether he even needed to eat or breathe!

"Well, I've been programming the ship to accept English commands as fast as I can. The basics it should reply with 'affirmative' in that it understands and is getting on with it. I've nicknamed it 'Zen', named after a very old TV... forget it." he said, glancing at Putty. It would sound like gibberish to describe a TV programme made in an alternate timeline when Putty was used to state run television, being told what to do, think and say... "We're slightly less than seven too." he quipped with a smile.

"As ever James, you've surpassed yourself when it comes to computers." gesturing toward Putty, Frostbite continued, "But I concur with Putty, I suspect we'd all rather ask questions and shoot later, as we don't know what we are facing. But since this ship belongs to an advanced race used to space travel, is there anything in the computers database that might help identify the approaching ship? Anything on its owners and diplomatic protocol for instance?"

"Thats likely to be another Super, or even one of those Aliens who designed this ship - that is, if they're still around. Can the ship give us any more info on that score anyhow?" added Stormwarden

"Let's give it a try shall we?" he said in reply to Frostbites query. "Zen, scan the oncoming unidentified object and send out, in all languages and frequencies, a request for identification. Also scan your database for files, anything that matches the configuration of the craft when it comes within identification range."

"AFFIRMATIVE"

"Oooh." winced James. "Let's turn that down shall we?" he said, in response to the deafening reply repeated throughout the ship. He closed his eyes for a moment then opened them. "Done. The voice should also be less 'Stephen Hawkings' and more 'Terence Stamp'. Easier on the ears in any case."

OOC Kendal, if you fancy a crack at something 'vaguely' Liberator shaped, but massive - the ship you are travelling in is but a pod on this thing. There are hundreds of holes all over it where pods protruded and only a few remaining that haven't been fired off. This is 'the mother ship' as it were. That said, happy to go with any design you come up with May as well reveal that to you because...

"ZAgrellalAcardVAshtorvenkraahVorinTengAnalvemmsoCharVudKARR" boomed the response from the incoming ship on the intercom system!

Everyone covered their ears, wincing. "Oops." said Caldwell. "Let me.. there. Adjusted. Sorry people."

"Zen. Defensive stance. Though... I'm not sure it would do any good. Look at the size of that thing!"

"Affirmative. Shields raised, defensive evasion pattern initiated. Chaff and anti missile lasers online." repeated the computer.

"Hey Joe, you might be able to talk to this thing in a similar way I do, save I kind of 'inhabit' the machines, rather than chat to them." said Caldwell to Frostbite. "Let's see if we can't get a translation program online. Might help if we figure out that they're saying 'we come in peace shoot to kill'..." He concentrated once more. "Hmmm. It's going to take time to work on, even for me. I'll get on it. Hold on." he said, going over to sit at what seemed to be a science console. "Let's try..."

"... we have long awaited your...htorve...for a number of solar cycles. Homeworld is gone. We are the last...rinTen...contact with other worldships...AnalvemmsoCharV...not upheld their part of the bargain. This 'Hitler' may not be all he...udKARR" said the voice not unlike Terence Stamp - soft, crisp, clear English accent. Caldwell swivelled in the chair "I'll keep working on it. Start any ship commands with it's name and a clear statement of what you're after. If you need me, I'll be here... sort of..." He placed hands on the console and seemed to shimmer as he sat there, the console flashing with lights as the thing was spoken to at a rate far faster than ever designed thanks to Nowhere Mans direct communications method!

PUTTY

At the name "Hitler", Putty unconsciously changes his shape so that he now looks like the last colored picture he saw of the man.

Admin wrote:The Vanguard

"... we have long awaited your...htorve...for a number of solar cycles. Homeworld is gone. We are the last...rinTen...contact with other worldships...AnalvemmsoCharV...not upheld their part of the bargain. This 'Hitler' may not be all he...udKARR" said the voice not unlike Terence Stamp - soft, crisp, clear English accent. Caldwell swivelled in the chair "I'll keep working on it. Start any ship commands with it's name and a clear statement of what you're after. If you need me, I'll be here... sort of..." He placed hands on the console and seemed to shimmer as he sat there, the console flashing with lights as the thing was spoken to at a rate far faster than ever designed thanks to Nowhere Mans direct communications method!

~Stormwarden nodded and then smiled ruefully as he looked at the 'new' Putty. "Nice One. But what little I heard of that statement probably means that they're as peeved at Hitler as you are, mate!"

He turned to look around the bridge. "Alright then."

"Zen. Please display any information held on German or other installations in Space. Then show same information for any installations for a 200 mile radius around the City of London."

FROSTBITE

At the name "Hitler", Putty unconsciously changes his shape so that he now looks like the last coloured picture he saw of the man.

Standing up, Frostbite extended a hand to Putty's shoulder, "That's probably something you want to save for now! Why don't you adopt a less conspicuous persona, for now." He encouraged gently, wondering what the Nazi's had done to bring about Putty's existence.

"Zen. Please display any information held on German or other installations in Space. Then show same information for any installations for a 200 mile radius around the City of London."

Whilst the information was being collated, Frostbite moved over to the 'science space' along the wall, and instructed his computer to interface with ZEN, assuming such a computer could multi task. "Computer I want to establish a link between us and ZEN at least for the present time. Once Link is established I want to try and speak with the ship approaching."


Whilst Frostbite waited for his onboard computer to respond, he went through in his mind what he would say to the ship approaching them. To be honest until they knew more, they didn't know what kind of situation they were in, but if common ground existed between them such that they could fight together against Hitler - so much the better.

When the link had been established Frostbite spoke up again. "Zen, open a channel to the approaching ship and translate my words in this exchange."

"Greetings, we are called the Vanguard and we welcome anyone who fights against the Nazi forces and Hitler..."

Frostbite left the statement hanging in the air, wondering what the aliens would make of it and indeed how they might respond?

Sj

PUTTY

At the name "Hitler", Putty unconsciously changes his shape so that he now looks like the last coloured picture he saw of the man.

Standing up, Frostbite extended a hand to Putty's shoulder, "That's probably something you want to save for now! Why don't you adopt a less conspicuous persona, for now." He encouraged gently, wondering what the Nazi's had done to bring about Putty's existence.


Putty blinks and looks down at himself and realizes he has changed forms again. He concentrates and reverts back to his more putty-like form, even though it is harder to talk in that form, it seems easier to hold onto.

OOC Apologies for the late reply. Just got in, bit of a bonkers day. For the 2nd time in a week ended up having to take my motorbike wheels off. Easy enough, then you find out to do a 10 min job you need thread lock which I didn't have so a 2 hour round trip to a friends house later... anyway... *sigh* Will catch up prob tomorrow night, long shift tomorrow

The Vanguard

Zen replied to Stormwarden. "Details on German installations. In 1941 Nazi forces established a base on the satellite to planet designation 'Earth' with the sole intention of mining the element 'Lunarium'. That base has been dormant for 30 years in Earth terms after its security was compromised and the decision made to expel the atmosphere into space with the loss of over 300 lives. The Nazis currently have 11 pods like the one you now travel in situated around London. They house between 50 and 100 troops. None of them are powered and functional as this one is. Recently the Nazis started work on an orbiting space station with the help of several metahumans, including the Class 5 Ultrahuman designation 'Adjutant'. It is nearing completion mechanically, but is some way off being fully functional as a base. However, given the metahuman resources the Nazis have, this unit surmises the space station can be operational in tens of hours if their resources are directed at it. As for Nazi bases there are garrisons in every major city and town in the British Isles with garrison sizes ranging from tens to thousands. The largest is based Foxley Manor house in Herefordshire with a standing force of 12,000 regular soldiers and support personnel as well as a metahuman training compound and experimental facility."

Meanwhile Frostbite spoke inwardly to his computer. It replied <<Link established. Sending message for translation and transmit.>>

There was a pause and suddenly a voice boomed out across the bridge. "We are the P'utinarians. You will surrender control of the vessel you travel on and submit to our inspection or be destroyed!"

At the mention of the word 'P'utinarians' Putty glances at the screen. The word seems to unlock something in his mind. His earliest childhood memory, when he was a toddler. Playing with something like dough... words being spoken... not unlike what the computer has said before the words were translated!

OOC David M you might guess where I'm going with this. Let me know if you're ok with the direction I'm pointing Putty, otherwise we'll stick with his Earthbound origin

FROSTBITE

There was a pause and suddenly a voice boomed out across the bridge. "We are the P'utinarians. You will surrender control of the vessel you travel on and submit to our inspection or be destroyed!"

Inwardly Frostbite gave a groan and said over his shoulder to the team, "Wouldn't you know it."

Frostbite cleared his voice and spoke in measured terms, he didn't like being threatened but remained calm,
"Welcome to our solar system, P'utinarians. We are not a threat to you and would wish to open diplomatic negotiations with you. We do not, however, recognise your authority to challenge our position within our own sovereign space."

Then shifting his head to one side, Frostbite spoke to Zen, "Zen, can we get a visual feed from the P'utinarian's?" Before adding aloud, "I dislike not knowing who I'm about to be threatened by!"

Sj

Stormwarden

He shook his head at the news that Zen was giving them. "Oh. Just typical. Adjutant - Again! Is there some kind of link here? We keep on meeting up with him."

He nodded at the screen, then, as the aliens message came bounding over their comms system. "And I get the distinct impression that those guys don't like humans, under any guise. This is going to get interesting all right. What do you think? Should we go for the surrender issue and talk, or refuse the surrender, stand off and then talk?

PUTTY




"There is something familiar about their name," Putty adds. "Some vague memory I have as a child. But I really am not sure if it is a real memory or a false one. Any way to get a view of these ... people?"

FROSTBITE

DavidMcMahon wrote:[b]PUTTY

"There is something familiar about their name," Putty adds. "Some vague memory I have as a child. But I really am not sure if it is a real memory or a false one. Any way to get a view of these ... people?"

Frostbite turned to stare for a moment at Putty, then turned back to the viewscreen, but not without catching Stormwarden's face with a raised eyebrow. "Interesting..." is all he elicited as he waited on the aliens response.

Sj

The Vanguard

Zen intoned "Establishing visual link."



Lionheart, recently arrived on the bridge after cleaning up in the surgery, turned to Putty. "Friends of yours?"

The resemblance was startling!

Those on the viewscreen seemed about to speak, then paused when seeing the being the Vanguard knew as Putty stood amongst them! They seemed to glance at one another, forms shifting and oozing all the time. The computer translated.

"...unexpected turn of events. Is our kinsman a prisoner of yours? We will.. negotiate for his safe release. Do not harm him." said the middle of the trio facing the screen. The one of the right seemed to speak angrily.

Only Putty knows what he is saying <We cannot negotiate with these vermin! Have you forgotten the treachery? We sought a place to live, negotiated with their vile human forms, even wore them as a way to bridge the cultural gap! The last messages we received were that they were being wiped out by these... Nazis, and that they have superhumans able to punch holes through Ceramite! Despite the presence of a youngling on the pod, we MUST destroy them! They cannot be allowed to crush our remaining peoples out of existence!>

The ship was getting larger on the scanners. It was approaching Earth on a course that directly placed the moon between it and the planet, but the scanners had trouble keeping a lock on it. It seemed to shift, in and out of phase. Some kind of defence or stealth mechanism?

Nowhere Man gasped, pulling his hands away from the console. "Uhhh... I think the computers have as good a command of the English language as I... oh." he sees the screen, then looks at Putty. "Friends of..."

Lionheart grinned, turning to Nowhere Man "Been there already."

Nowhere Man rolled his eyes, pulled his mask and hood down, then moved to stand alongside Frostbite, Stormwarden and Putty. "Your call Joe. When I placed you in charge, it was because you have a cool head. No pun intended."

OOC the ship is closing rapidly. See the OOC section for some kind of idea of the size of it compared to the ship you travel in. Thanks Kendal

FROSTBITE

"...unexpected turn of events. Is our kinsman a prisoner of yours? We will.. negotiate for his safe release. Do not harm him." said the middle of the trio facing the screen. The one of the right seemed to speak angrily.

Frostbite considered what he saw before him before turning with one eyebrow ridge raised as he gave an appraising look at Putty.

Nowhere Man rolled his eyes, pulled his mask and hood down, then moved to stand alongside Frostbite, Stormwarden and Putty. "Your call Joe. When I placed you in charge, it was because you have a cool head. No pun intended."

"If I may..." Frostbite waited for the P'utinarians to give him and the bridge their full attention once again. "Putty, the designation, our friend," Which Frostbite emphasised for effect, "Has taken to calling himself, found us, and has been an invaluable ally in our struggle against Hitler's forces. And is as surprised by your arrival, as we are as he barely has any memories of his early years let alone the recent past. Now perhaps instead of fighting one another, since we've got something of a reunion going on here, might this be a time to put aside distrust and think about how we might work together for our common good?"

The stepping aside, Frostbite motioned for Putting to join him before the screen, "As a gesture of good will, why don't you speak to your him yourself. He can tell you, as is fairly obvious, that he is not our prisoner but a welcome and valued ally in our mission."

Frostbite then stood down, quietly hoping that Putty, didn't suffer for whatever passed for nerves at this crucial moment.

OOC: Over to you Dave/Paul

Sj

PUTTY


The stepping aside, Frostbite motioned for Putty to join him before the screen, "As a gesture of good will, why don't you speak to your him yourself. He can tell you, as is fairly obvious, that he is not our prisoner but a welcome and valued ally in our mission."

Frostbite then stood down, quietly hoping that Putty, didn't suffer for whatever passed for nerves at this crucial moment.

OOC: Over to you Dave/Paul

Sj[/quote]

"Um ... I can understand your language," Putty [/b] says tentatively. "I don't know why I can understand it but I do. And I really wish you wouldn't listen to your friend there that wants to kill us all. We are not Nazis!"

"I call myself Putty after a child's toy I remember. I have no real strong memories before a few hours ago. The Nazies were experimenting on me, trying to make me into a super human man, and thought me a failure and were in the process of rolling my "containment box" down a conveyer belt into a furnance to burn me up. I barely escaped. I do not remember my parents very clearly, just snatches of things that seem to contradict themselves. I have a vague memory of someone like you as well, that just popped into my head."

"We are fighting the Nazis. These men have been fighting them for some time now. They tell me that they can stop the Nazis with some help. I have decided to help them. Would you consider helping too?"[/i]

The Vanguard

The aliens seemed to consider the words for a moment before they spoke, this time in a dialect the computer could translate into English. "We have been betrayed before, so you must pardon our caution. This ship houses the last of our race. In Earth terms, almost 80 years ago we made a pact with humans to rehouse our race. We appeared to them in human form, brought our advanced technology and were assured we could live in peace. Our bodies adapt easily to the atmosphere on the Planet. We were never able to determine how the humans were able to contact us as we passed by in deep space as all indications suggested it was a primitive warlike society with no space travel or advanced communications. However, the garbled message we received plus the strange temporal readings on our scopes caused us to divert to Earth. We sent representatives, and once a deal was struck to help the dominant (or so we thought) 'Master Race' as they called themselves, we we helpful in 'turning the tide' of war. The Nazis already had a clear advantage over other factions though with a small army of metahumans and certain technology, plus of course that strange energy you call 'magic' in a limited amount. We eventually realised the depths of the Master Races' evil, and this was confirmed when our true forms were discovered."

"Our people went into hiding, leaving their pod homes and integrating with your human society after receiving a deep hypnotic suggestion to forget all knowledge of our people, our past and our true heritage. Our colonisers 'became' human to all intents and purposes. They lived, worked, formed lives and families, all the while denying their true forms as the Nazis sought to hunt out anyone who was different to their ideal. If you stay in one form for long enough, even your body forgets any other form, down to a cellular level. Your parents will have been human to all outward and inward appearances, even when they died, but the hypnotic suggestion was not so deep rooted with you because of your age. Your torture revealed your true form, not any serum these Nazis might have developed. If your father was working for them, I cannot believe he would willingly help them, though in order to stay alive and useful he will have appeared to in very small ways. The people on this ship that remain are the last of our kind. We are a dying race, and now we are stranded. We do not have the fuel to leave this solar system, for the 'Lunarium' on your moon is off limits thanks to those metahumans that ignore our weapons and armour and kill our people. So we have waited, here, at the opposite side of the solar system, to die. Until now."

"As to your question. Would we help? We must consult those few that are left. We will not approach any closer. We will, instead, initiate a homing system on your ship that brings you, to us."

Zen intoned "Automated systems are being overridden."

Nowhere Man glanced at Frostbite and the others "I can reprogram them to resist, but its your call."

PUTTY


"I'm not human," Puty mutters to himself.