World War II - The Vanguard Issue #4 - The Battle Of Britain!

The Vanguard
Frostbite
Anyman
Saladin (Lionheart)
Guillotine
Boadicea
Spartan
Where:En route to Poland

As regards what you do regarding the Putinarian ship in orbit? That's anyones guess. We know that the counsel were in favour of pulling out, but there wasn't a united front. We've no idea who won, nor indeed if that ship is stationary. Perhaps we all ought to take a leaf from Anyman's book and hail them, you never know it might just frighten the life out of them. Then again..." He said leaving things hanging. None of them were under any illusions that this could be a trap.

"Aw heck! Let's just hail them," Anyman says. "We are going to need all the allies we can get. If we can get them on our side, so much the better. If not, we can always fight."

Anyman morphs into the shape that Putty remembers as being the regular P'utarnarian form to take part in the talking.

ooc: And the hurricane is now off coast of us. Should only get rain and some power flickers since I'm so far inland.

The Vanguard
Frostbite
Anyman
Saladin (Lionheart)
Guillotine
Boadicea
Spartan
Where:En route to Poland

As the others talked Saladin wrestled with the problem of how to stay awake and in control. His situation was unique - he and Lionhear were so far beyond the original PSI agent remit that even Bentham would be surprised, and his intellect had so far been proven colossal, albeit frustrated thanks to Lionhearts tenacity. He thought about various yoga techniques, and considered downloading them from... he sighed. 1940. No computers. He looked at the computers on board the ship. There may be some way of digging through the data banks - Bentham had been 'growing' the cloned agents on this ship and had implanted the knowledge they needed somewhere on board. That meant they might yet be able to develop mind powers, though whether that would benefit Saladin or not.... His biggest problem was that Lionhearts mind and body were perfectly matched. He was a passenger at best, intruder at worst. He would - eventually - lose control of ...

He stopped for a moment, then looked about.

The others were talking still.

He sat down in a chair to consider the thought he'd just had. This ship had been a science vessel for Bentham to experiment on, and he'd managed to use the facilities to start the growing of a cloned army, albeit a dozen or so at a time. Could Saladin find a way to grow himself a new body, and transfer his mind, or a copy of his mind at least, to that body? As his mind reeled with the possibilites, Anyman morphed into the shape of a P'utinarian, and, with Frostbots' guidance, activated the view screen to establish communications with the P'utinarian ship in orbit.



The computers automatically translated thanks to Frostbots hasty reprogramming,a nd the garbled alien language turned into robotic english.

"...say again, we have come to retrieve our peple from captivity. Neither you nor your Nazi masters will stop us, turncoat! Even if it means our lives, we will at least try to rescue them. Denounce your Nazi oppressors and .... skrzzzz...."

Anyman had been about to answer until the screen went blank and he turned with an oozing eyebrow raised at Frostbot. The robot plugged a finger into socket and turned to explain. "Communications array is working fine at this end. The link must have been severed at the other end of the call, probably as a result of a malfunction or sabotage. The only other explanation is that the signal has been intercepted or jammed."

Spartan called over from his station "Incoming contacts! Three ... no... they were flying in close formation! Six vessels approaching from high orbit! Long range scan indicates three Skrall Science class vessels - identical to the one we are using - closing in on the P'utinarian craft. Their trajectory suggests they came from the moon!"

Saladin looked up. The equipment for cloning was destroyed when they took the ship. Those new craft though... if Bentham had set them all to producing clone bodies...?

Spartan frowned, then leaned across his panel, adjusted several settings and called back. "Those craft will have the same armament as we have. One against six is no kind of odds! However... we can apply maximum speed and get into orbit to where that P'utinarian craft is before the other ships get there first..."

A blaring alarm rang out!

"What now?" muttered Spartan. He looked over at Frostbot, who confirmed "High speed projectile heading in our general direction. Scan shows non metallic, probably organic. The Nazis have found us, I suspect, and will be sending their most powerful metahumans. Speed... tracking... equivalent of Mach 3. We still have time to get to the camp, but the metahuman will arrive shortly after. Or we can head into space... or fight?"

Anyman looked at the console. Simply sending that transmission had allowed the Nazis to pinpoint their position! Did that mean they were expecting the Vanguard, and this was a trap? Or perhaps Lionhearts enemy, Bentham, was proving to be the genius Lionheart had said he was, and he was predicting the Vanguards moves before they made them!

Spartan looked at the readings again. "One metahuman, obviously very powerful. Surely you lot can take him?"

The Vanguard
Frostbite
Anyman
Saladin (Lionheart)
Guillotine
Boadicea
Spartan
Where:En route to Poland

Admin wrote:Spartan looked at the readings again. "One metahuman, obviously very powerful. Surely you lot can take him?"

Frostbite threw a dark glance at Anyman, both men knew what the other was thinking and weighing up the consequences of having to call on the dark power, they possessed. Trouble was they might not have the luxury of wondering what to do next.

"I think you ought to stay!" Frostbite looked meaningfully at Anyman, knowing it was his call. Already he knew that of them all, only Saladin and he could fly unaided. They had the best chance of staying off the meta human. Still if they broke orbit, then that would give the pursuing Meta more to think about. But then what? Their options, didn't look great.

Meanwhile Spartan, ignoring what was going on around him, took on a sly look. "If we are going to be boarded and or face off against more of these ships I'd better make sure I know as much as the other Psi agents. Without waiting for approval, he moved over to a glowing console, fully intending to make sure he had everything he needed to find the equipment he might need for the possibilities of cloning. Possessed of a raw drive the thought of being free from the fight with King, inside him; gave Saladin renewed energy.

OOC:

Ok I think we blast off toward the P'utinarian ship let the Meta catch up if he can.

Meanwhile Saladin is going to get anything he can from the ships computers on cloning and any of Bentham's research or techniques so that if and or when he gets the chance to board another science vessel he can grab what he needs or what he cannot do without.

SJ

The Vanguard
Frostbite
Anyman
Saladin (Lionheart)
Guillotine
Boadicea
Spartan
Where:En route to Poland

"Let's get to the P'utarnarians ship," Anyman said. "Maybe we can help them. Maybe they can help us."

The Vanguard
Frostbite
Anyman
Saladin (Lionheart)
Guillotine
Boadicea
Spartan
Where:En route to Poland

OOC Didn't get an email update to say there'd been replies, otherwise would have posted last night. Sorry chaps

Saladin sat at a console, looking at the Alien symbols. His incredible mind assimilated what he need to know to work out basic functions, but he knew that Bentham would have encrypted the information at a level possibly even he couldn't crack. Still, the possibility he might have his own body was...

He set to work.

The V-Ship soared upwards, Frostbot directing its path with a tendril like interface plugged into a console whilst Skrals scurried about, making course trims and maintaining the ships integrity.

"That metahuman is gaining!" said Spartan, looking about at the Vanguard. "Guillotine?" he said over the comms. "Are you ready? Are you sure this will work?"

She squawked back from the engine rooms "If it doesn't essentially I'll have turned the ship into a bomb and you'll be detonating it."

Spartan rolled his eyes. "Comforting to know. Engage pulse drive."

Frostbot nodded. Instantly alarms blared all over the bridge with Skralls scurrying to silence them and make adjustments to the power levels. The lighting turned red and started to flash whilst a klaxon rang out. The ship started to vibrate and several panels pinged from the walls as rivets gave way. There was an ominous metal groaning sound, then the vibrations starte dto ease. On the view screen the clouds sped past and the the great blue yonder of the upper atmosphere stretched out from horizon to horizon, getting darker as the ship climbed higher.

"Sensors show that Metahuman is dropping back. He's fast though, one to watch for." said Spartan.

"Leaving Earths atmosphere." said Frostbot. "Course corrected to rendesvouz with P'utinarian ship. The Skrall vessels are changing course to intercept. Eta... 10 minutes. We'll be at the P'utinarian ship in 3."

The black void spread out now, the emptyness of space awesome in its majesty. Cold, cruel, dark. Frostbite glanced at Saladin when he had those thoughts.

Anyman knew they'd have to get their timing right - the Skrall vessels were too many for them to take on with just teh V-Ship on its own, but the prospect of entering vacuum without a suit? Could he, or any of the others, survive? It was awe inspiring enough that they'd left planet Earth but...

"Incoming!" said Spartan. "A missile from the lead ship... It's too far away, and bound to miss by quite a margin, but they made their intentions clear. I suspect they know we're in the stolen Skrall ship somehow and that we are their enemies. Some transmitter maybe?" he looked about at the Skralls. "Them?"

The white dot that was their destination grew large in their view.

The P'utinarian shuttle ship was in pristine as new condition, unlike the one Frostbite had used on his trip to America weeks ago. It sat in orbit, a steady blue blinking light on the outside and... waited.

Spartan looked around as the V-Ship got closer. "Orders? You want up to dock with it? It's about a quarter of our size. Maybe we can tow it. Saying that, with our fuel situation, maybe they can tow us!"

"8 minutes till intercept by the other ships." said Frostbot. "this may be an opportunity to capture more of these vessels?"

The Vanguard
Frostbite
Anyman
Saladin (Lionheart)
Guillotine
Boadicea
Spartan
Where:En route to Poland via Space

Spartan looked around as the V-Ship got closer. "Orders? You want up to dock with it? It's about a quarter of our size. Maybe we can tow it. Saying that, with our fuel situation, maybe they can tow us!"

"8 minutes till intercept by the other ships." said Frostbot. "this may be an opportunity to capture more of these vessels?"

"Try hailing them again," Anyman says, in a duet voice with Putty, "this close maybe whatever is jamming us isn't strong enough and we can contact them now. And dock while doing so."

"If we put their ship into tow or vice versa, can we get away from the other ships? Or manuever to string them out so we only have to face them one at a time?"

The Vanguard
Frostbite
Anyman
Saladin (Lionheart)
Guillotine
Boadicea
Spartan
Where:En route to Poland via Space

Spartan almost laughed at the suggestion. "It took us the majority of our power to break free of the Earths' gravity. Unless that ship has lunarium they can lend us in the next 8 minutes, we're sitting ducks to the enemy. Our defence systems are limited to rail guns more accustomed to blasting asteroids, our shields are at half power when we use full speed, which is a quarter of what it should be, and Guillotines' 'hack' that got us into space when the ship was in no condition may have caused some unseen damage. Other than that? Let's try that hail again."

He flicked several switches, then looked up at the big screen. "P'utinarian vessel, this is the Vanguard. Respond. We are here to help you. Respond."

There was a momentary pause then comms opened... "....*Skrrrzzzz* we're being attacked! One of the crew! He was... *crackle whzzzz* Arrrggh! K'atinarian!"

There followed a loud burst of static, then the line went dead!

Frostbot turned "Initial scan at range did not penetrate their shields, but this close, we can confirm that there are 27 ... correction... 26 life signs aboard. That ship has, in theory, a crew complement of around 85."

The Vanguard
Frostbite
Anyman
Saladin (Lionheart)
Guillotine
Boadicea
Spartan
Where:En route to Poland via Space

Admin wrote:There was a momentary pause then comms opened... "....*Skrrrzzzz* we're being attacked! One of the crew! He was... *crackle whzzzz* Arrrggh! K'atinarian!"

Frostbite stood up, suddenly alert. He along with the others had read Lionheart's briefing on these creatures. He knew what was going down on that ship if one of those abominations was loose. "We've got to get us onboard now, we'll have to fight from their ship..."

Meanwhile Saladin, shivered, he shared the memories of Lionheart and knew full well what these creatures could do. Even though it was beneath him to feel pity, still something within moved him. He might have been focused around his mission, but he wasn't without a heart. He pitied the creatures on the ship, wondering how many would be left when they docked with them.

OOC:

Its Dave's call, but I guess we should dock and take things from their ship, which is either going to be able to repower ours or else perhaps we can take theirs and use ours as a trap.

Sj

The Vanguard
Frostbite
Anyman
Saladin (Lionheart)
Guillotine
Boadicea
Spartan
Where:En route to Poland via Space

With Frostbot at the controls and Spartan assisting, the V-Ship manoeuvred into place to extend a docking tube towards the P'utinarian shuttle. Despite being only a 'shuttle' it was a large craft in its own right, albeit smaller than the one the Vanguard used. With a CLUNK! and hiss, the docking tube extended to the other ship. The Skralls dutifully grabbed cutting gear, expectant and ready for using it should the airlock on the P'utinarian ship not be opened.

Frostbite, Anyman, Saladin and Spartan headed for the lift, dropped down several levels then walked out to cross the ship to get to the airlock. The circular door opened up and the tube running from the V-Ship to the P'utinarian vessel showed the other ship had not opened its airlock.

"How are we going to do this?" asked Spartan, scratching his head. "Unless we cut our way in, there's no way to open the door from the outside! I think we should... ah yes." suddenly he recalled to whom he was speaking, and turned to Frostbite.

OOC I would have autopilotted Frosty entering the other ship but wanted to make sure you guys were ok with that first or had different plans...

"Enemy ships closing. ETA 7 minutes. Their missile missed, but they may have used it to get a bearing on us for another shot. With us docked like this, its probable their next shot may be more accurate..." said Frostbot over the tannoy.

OOC: Dam it. Sorry I missed loads, according to my pc the forum didnt update from last Thursday till last night. Thought I was weird you guys were'nt posting.

IC: Ripping the pin off his uniform with his free hand Steve paused for a second
"sorry old boy, this is going to hurt" Steve winced as he drove the pin deep within jocks arm, just behind the tendril, then wriggling his other hand back pushing it towards the gaping wound and 'milking' it out of jocks huge arm. As the battered alien worm hit the floor it tryed to return to the wall from which it came but Steves size 12 saw to that

SSQUISHHHHH

As the purple gunk burst from it as if he stomped on a grape

The Vanguard
Frostbite
Anyman
Saladin (Lionheart)
Guillotine
Boadicea
Spartan
Where:En route to Poland via Space

Admin wrote:"Enemy ships closing. ETA 7 minutes. Their missile missed, but they may have used it to get a bearing on us for another shot. With us docked like this, its probable their next shot may be more accurate..." said Frostbot over the tannoy.

OOC: Speaking for myself no worries about getting on with things, especially with the sense of impending doom hanging over us with missile firing craft coming closer. Having said that Bentham, might have issued order not to kill only disable. Saladin/Lionheart is unique and therefore too important to loose.

As they stood for a moment gathering their thoughts, Frostbite felt the sudden keen loose of his on board computer once again, as he was unable to interface with the craft. Although he could walk through, the use of his onboard computer was an additional tool he could do with. But then he reasoned who'd fly the craft, this new lease of life the computer seemed to enjoy, though very unlike its usual tone, had proven useful.

Meanwhile Saladin, looked on, aware that he could send the energy form of himself through, but at what cost. He knew the others already had strong feelings for Lionheart, seeing him would only further strengthen those feelings. But he also knew it shouldn't be necessary, he was well aware of what Frostbite could do.

"Ok I'll go in, I'll get the door open from the other side, but if anything goes wrong, you might need to be prepared to rip off the door."

With that he walked forward, placing a tangible hand on the alien metal to get a feel for the craft, before slipping into his intangible state, first appearing to merge then slide forward through the metal outer skin of the craft.

OOC:

Ok yup go for it, I don't know what to expect on the other side, so I'll go ready to blast if need be, especially if I see one of the K'atinarian.

Sj

Silver Sentinel
+Anchor
+Fastback
+Normal Human (MP)
Where: Qrii Scout Ship in Orbit
What: In a holding cell, being 'probed' by... the ship itself!

OOC Wondered where you'd gotten to Ross but with the weekend being 'long' I expect people to have other plans, so no worries mate.

Whilst Anchor was durable, he wasn't bulletproof, thankfully. That said, his skin was stretched tight over iron hard forearm muscles, and Sentinel really had to pinch to get enough skin bunched up to puncture it!

"Arggh! What are ye...? Ach, get on wi' it laddie! Th' buggers comin' up mae bloody arm!" spluttered Anchor, clearly panicking now.

Sentinel slashed Jocks skin open then forced the bulging thing out...

It was like a beetle, an insect the size of a womans fist! As it dropped onto the floor, covered in blood, Sentinel saw it was swelling and growing all the time! His boot took care of that, and with a SQUELCH! the purple ooze splattered on the walls...

The ship shook!

Mary (Fastback) woke, looking about, then saw Anchors gore splattered arm. She promptly fainted again!

As if in response to the death of the seed/pod/beetle the ship itself seemed to react, with tendrils sprouting from the walls themselves! Each tendril had a pod on the end, a small mouth on each lined with teeth and ready to inject another of those deadly beetles into the human host!

"Good...work... laddie" said Anchor. "But now wha' do we do?"

Sentinel whirled about. There were half a dozen tendrils stretching from the six walls - he could fight off one, maybe two, but thirty? This ship, creature, whatever it was, clearly wanted something from them, and was prepared to kill them for it!

OOC You have a round before the tendrils grow long enough to reach you. Thing of them as writhing long snake like things with nasty mouths and ready to pop another beetle inside you...

The Vanguard
Frostbite
Anyman
Saladin (Lionheart)
Guillotine
Boadicea
Spartan
Where:En route to Poland via Space

ooc: Yeah, it is weird. I get about one out of five notices that something new has been posted even though I'm set to watch this thread. Didn't get a single notice of anything new since I last posted.

"Ok I'll go in, I'll get the door open from the other side, but if anything goes wrong, you might need to be prepared to rip off the door."

With that he walked forward, placing a tangible hand on the alien metal to get a feel for the craft, before slipping into his intangible state, first appearing to merge then slide forward through the metal outer skin of the craft.

"Yeah, I would prefer not to break the craft," Anyman says dryly. He moves forward to be the first one to ooze through the door if it starts to open.

The Vanguard
Frostbite
Anyman
Saladin (Lionheart)
Guillotine
Boadicea
Spartan
Where:En route to Poland via Space

Intangible, Frostbite passed through the airlock of their own ship and up to the wall of the P'utinarian vessel. Placing a hand on the wall of the other ship, he felt a strange tingling sensation but he had passed through easily, followed by the rest of him. Inside, it was dark save for a flashing red strobe light, and an incessant howl of a siren that rose up and down. There was no one in this room, so Frostbite flew up and towards the centre of the ship. Passing through the ceiling and into the cylindrical core that ran up and down the middle, Frostbite immediately paused. He was in a lift shaft, in the lift itself, and poked his head through the bottom of the lift.

Two P'utinarians in there screamed!

There was a moment of hesitation, then one of the P'utinarians changed from a frightened grey puddle into a semi-recognisable figure. "Frostbite!" gasped P'ertaria* and she launched herself to hug the Vanguardian, only to splatter as liquid against the floor and reform into a humanoid shape moments later as Frostbite came up into the lift.

"Thank the shaper!" she gasped. "We came to rescue our people... the High Council... Father... they told us it was too dangerous, ordered us not to go but... They couldn't have known what would happen! There is a K'atinarian on board! The bloodthirsty killer revealed itself as we prepared to make an assault on the prison camp, now it's hunting us down, one by one!"

'The Shadows Darken around this creature the alien mentions' said the Dark Power inside. 'It is a powerful creature. It lives on hate and terror, much like shadow demons do, and so the symbiosis will be a more natural match. It will be more powerful than any joining of the Nazis and a Shadow Demon...'

=========

Meanwhile back on the V-Ship

Anyman, Saladin and Spartan waited on the other side of the docking tube. Spartan seemed the most agitated. "What's taking him so long? We need to get in there, help him! What if he's been waylaid?"

Just then the ship shook, and the sound of metal groaning gave cause for alarm!

There was a ferocious rush of air and the temperature plummeted as the seal for the docking tube was momentarily broken before the gravitic clamps secured it again!

Anyman leaned in, calmly, to a wall mounted communicator panel. He looked at it for a moment, reached a finger towards a button, then changed his mind and pressed another. "Bridge? This is Anyman. What's happening?"

"The enemy fired another missile. It was close enough that the explosion caught us on the edge of its wake. Computer scan shows it to be a powerful protonic wave disperser, designed to concuss rather than destroy. If there is a direct hit, it will generate a protonic pulse that will disrupt the nervous system of living beings. They intend to take you alive, it seems." said the Frostbot. "Ah. They have fired another missile. What is your status down there? It would be prudent to move, for this one will surely hit!"

=========

Intangible, Frostbite didn't feel the strange wave of energy rock the ship...

But the two P'utinarians did! Both collapsed instantly into grey oozing puddles that sploshed across the floor of the lift. P'ertaria rose unsteadily, her form like melting wax and so unsteady she couldn't form vocal chords with which to speak!

Suddenly there was a lurch... and the lift started moving upwards!

OOC Rock and a hard place time. Next missile will surely hit, effect on the Vanguard unknown. The lift going up will surely be the work of the dark empowered K'atinarian (*asterisk refers to Vanguard Issue #2 in the Story so far section). Do Anyman and co. break off from the alien ship or try something else? Is Frostbite staying in the lift or looking for a different way to take on this bad guy? Should he even take him on alone? The missile is on it's way, the clock is ticking... tick, tick, tick, tick...

OOC: Am I right in saying those snake things are just on one wall? If so the chances of taking out 30 in one round is insane so how about me and jock kick in the door with our super strength, grab Mary the fainting pansy. So the insects are part of a hive mind, if we grab one of the little buggars we could communicate with the queen, better that than trying to make our way to her. Hold off on the dark power.....for now at least

The Vanguard
Frostbite
Anyman
Saladin (Lionheart)
Guillotine
Boadicea
Spartan
Where:En route to Poland via Space

Admin wrote:Suddenly there was a lurch... and the lift started moving upwards!

OOC Rock and a hard place time. Next missile will surely hit, effect on the Vanguard unknown. The lift going up will surely be the work of the dark empowered K'atinarian (*asterisk refers to Vanguard Issue #2 in the Story so far section). Do Anyman and co. break off from the alien ship or try something else? Is Frostbite staying in the lift or looking for a different way to take on this bad guy? Should he even take him on alone? The missile is on it's way, the clock is ticking... tick, tick, tick, tick...

OOC:

I take it from the way you wrote that there was no way to open the airlock from the other side, as that was always my intention, if that wasn't the case, since I wasn't planning to keep everyone waiting I might have suggested we try something else, like rip the door off and let the gravity seals take care of it so the V ship can get away, for now. Which I think is our second priority next to gaining access.

So lets go with this.

Seeing the state P'ertaria was in, was little comfort to Frostbite, but he didn't wait for her to form vocal cords. "Get out, get out of this lift and get the airlock down below open. Our friends are their waiting to get onboard." With that he resolidfied and punched a hole through the bottom of the life shaft so that P'ertaria and her friend could pour through to the area where he entered.

Then not waiting he looked up returned to his intangible state and shot off through the walls and up to the creature, he knew he had to distract it so that the others could get onboard and help him fight the thing. But more importantly they had to sever the link so that the V ship could get free.

Sj

The Vanguard
Frostbite
Anyman
Saladin (Lionheart)
Guillotine
Boadicea
Spartan
Where:En route to Poland via Space

Then not waiting he looked up returned to his intangible state and shot off through the walls and up to the creature, he knew he had to distract it so that the others could get onboard and help him fight the thing. But more importantly they had to sever the link so that the V ship could get free.

Worried that it was taking so long to get the door open to the ship, Anyman turned into his ooze form and flattened himself around the door, trying to find any opening or secret button that would allow him to open the door without ripping it open.

Silver Sentinel
+Anchor
+Fastback
+Normal Human (MP)
Where: Qrii Scout Ship in Orbit
What: In a holding cell, being 'probed' by... the ship itself!

OOC Tendrils are coming from every wall towards the group. The ship is, quite literally, alive. A more fitting description would be to say the ship is actually a giant insect and not a ship at all...

The MP pulled his handgun, letting off round after round into the the walls and those awful tendrils. The bullets sank without trace into the sticky resin texture which immediately set hard a heartbeat later!

Sentinel and Anchor moved to the wall they'd come in through, then started pounding away with superhuman strength! Both turned when the MP screamed behind them, wrapped by dozens of tentacles that bit and coiled around him! Anchor started for the MP to help him, but the tendrils dragged him back towards a wall which oozed open like a gaping maw, and dragged the MP into the darkness beyond, sealing behind like a mouth slamming shut!

With a growl Anchor set to with a vengeance! He was stronger than Silver Sentinel and with every hammer blow the tough resin splintered and cracked, oozing like a wound to set and harden again, save that the pair worked as a team, pounding and slamming away... there were louder cracks, crunching sounds... tendrils started sprouting from the wall around where they were punching...

Suddenly the wall gave through and the ship shook, an inhuman scream ringing through its corridors!

"Ah'll bet that brings th' buggers running..." growled Jock as he moved to Fastback, sweeping her up. Sentinel helped him, batting away tentacles and looking to the wall where the MP had been taken. There was no trace of it ever having opened!

With a multitude of tentacles writhing towards them and the hole they'd made into the corridor beyond closing as oozing resin sought to shut the gap, the pair (with Fastback) leapt through it and into the corridor beyond, gasping with the effort.

The corridor ran east/west. To the east was the direction they'd come from. It would lead to the docking bay where their car was parked, and doubtless to more of the Qrii Insectoids! The west was a curving corridor, the walls of which pulsed lightly with some distant blue light. There was a distant 'ticking' and 'clicking' sound echoing down the corridor from somewhere.

"Ah bet th' lassie is needin' somethin' tae eat. She'll have tried tae use her powers an' it shuts her body doon. Knickers." growled Jock. "If we can find somethin' her speed'll be damn useful..."

The clicking/ticking sound was echoing louder...

The Vanguard
Frostbite
Anyman
Saladin (Lionheart)
Guillotine
Boadicea
Spartan
Where:En route to Poland via Space

OOC Dave E - Sorry, should have said. There are no controls on the other side of the door - opened from the bridge controls, unless the P'utinarians know as way (they do, but remember they aren't even vaguely human. They only assume humanoid form when dealing with humans as a courtesy)

With a steel hard fist Frostbite smashed a hole into the lift floor, the P'utinarians flowing like grey ooze through it and into the lift shaft, splattering at the bottom, but in a more coherent stream as they regained their senses. After seeing them go Frostbite turned intangible again and started flying up the lift shaft towards where the enemy was...

=========

Anyman turned into a semi-liquid form, covering the door and oozing around it, looking for a way in...

Almost immediately he felt a series of pinprick indentations clustered together in a 10x10 formation no bigger than the size of a thumb print. Returning to his human form, he leant in close to get a look, but they were too small to see clearly. Pressing his thumb to it, then making his thumb like liquid, he deduced it to be a lock of some kind. Stretching his ear out like a trumpet to press against the door in one place, then another, he used his liquid form to depress into the indentations, listening for... ah!

Figuring it was a lock of some kind, he listened again at the door and heard the faintest clicking sound of microscopic tumblers. With a smile on his face he concentrated, ignoring the sounds around and using his world class lock picking skills. A heartbeat later the door hissed and opened, popping inwards and sliding to the side! Saladin and Spartan glanced at one another. Both were what could be considered 'world class' lock pickers with the right skillset loaded into their brains, but the bandaged man in the hat was in a different league!

They followed him into what was a large circular lobby. There was was a central core in the middle of the room that ran up and down the ship, and a lift door suggested it was they way in/around. "Where's Frostbite?" asked Spartan. Suddenly the lift door hissed open slightly and the three assumed defensive positions! Anyman relaxed when he saw grey ooze spilling onto the floor, then separating into two distinct forms, one 'male' and the other 'female' - or at least an approximation for the humans benefit.

P'ertaria looked at those gathered and gasped "Lionheart! Thank the shaper! There are dozens of our people trapped on the bridge with that monster! It's a K'atinarian, but ... changed somehow! It overpowered ten of us without even trying! Frostbite has gone upstairs to face it, but even with his power, there might be no way to stop that thing!"



OOC I don't think Anyman met P'ertaria, did he? He was off gallivanting around Germany with Captain (now Major) Steed at the time if I recall...

She was genuinely terrified, and yet, she looked back to the lift shaft. She turned to the other P'utinarian and spoke to him. "The K'atinarian knows all our tricks and escape routes. As a last resort we cannot let it escape from here! Get down to the engine room and ready the engines to explode if there is no other way of stopping it!" The male P'utinarian nodded, then made for the lift, oozing down it like an eel to the lower floors. P'ertaria turned to 'Lionheart' and the others. "We must help Frostbite! This ... thing ... is a throwback to a less enlightened age, and the reason our people escaped into space in the first place! They live to destroy and inflict terror! They can't be reasoned with ... it is a form of madness that transforms our people from the colour and texture that you see of me into a dark crimson creature that is all barbs and spines, teeth and rage! Even so, we should be able to contain it, but this one is different! It would normally try to convert some of us to be like it, and spread like a plague, but it simply... slaughtered our people on this shuttle! So much for our rescue mission! It is WE who need rescuing more!"

=========

Frostbite sped through the darkness, outpacing the lift shaft below him and passing a number of floors, doors branching from the main elevator core.

When he came to the top he knew he had the right floor - the screams on the other side of the door were chilling to hear!

'The creature in that room is possessed by the Dark Power. Even now it is teaching it the pleasure and the power to be derived from the terror of its enemies, and as such, it will be powerful indeed! Consider carefully before you enter the room!' said the Dark Power inside.

=========

Anyman moved to the elevator door, his superhuman strength easing it open more...

Looking up into the darkness he knew that the creature at the top of this vessel was a symbiote with a Dark Power. A lesser one to himself, but free of limits and restraints that made it a dangerous foe indeed, whereas he and Frostbite had to temper their abilities for fear of unleashing annihilation!

All three turned back to their ship as the sound of rail guns opening fire on the incoming missile rang out! Spartan pondered, then spoke "That won't stop the missile. It may buy us time as the thing changes course and takes a slightly longer route, but we have only minutes before it strikes. We should decide on our priorities - do these Aliens merit the risk of us all dying?"

P'ertaria was about to answer, then she bowed her head. "I can't ask you to risk your lives. You are right, but I will not abandon my people!" She headed for the lift shaft...

"Ah bet th' lassie is needin' somethin' tae eat. She'll have tried tae use her powers an' it shuts her body doon. Knickers." growled Jock. "If we can find somethin' her speed'll be damn useful..."

Steve thought about the MP who valiently gave his life for a second then concentrated on the now
"You're right my friend. God if we could only get to the MPs car then I could suit up giving us a bit of an edge" sentinel said through gritted teeth "........yes the car. Antifreeze!"

"Wot in blazes are ye on ebout?" exclamed Jock

"Antifreeze contains almost 50% sugar, granted a fair bit of alchol but......."

"Mary!! It might just work............or make her blind. Jenson your crazy but I like you" he said giving sentinel a breathe taking slap on the back before they picked up Marys slumped body and quickly made there way to where they believed the MPs car was.

OOC I don't think Anyman met P'ertaria, did he? He was off gallivanting around Germany with Captain (now Major) Steed at the time if I recall...

ooc: Nope, never met her. You are right, he was in Germany when all the fun was happening back in "home". But this is bad! Except for Emma, every other pretty girl he has met has died or was so horribly wounded that she is will be gone for months! If this happens again .... Lionheart will be out an alien girlfriend! Poor Lionheart!!!!!

The Vanguard
Frostbite
Anyman
Saladin (Lionheart)
Guillotine
Boadicea
Spartan
Where:En route to Poland via Space

All three turned back to their ship as the sound of rail guns opening fire on the incoming missile rang out! Spartan pondered, then spoke "That won't stop the missile. It may buy us time as the thing changes course and takes a slightly longer route, but we have only minutes before it strikes. We should decide on our priorities - do these Aliens merit the risk of us all dying?"

P'ertaria was about to answer, then she bowed her head. "I can't ask you to risk your lives. You are right, but I will not abandon my people!" She headed for the lift shaft....

"Out of the way, miss," Putty orders through Anyman's mouth. "Frostbite and I will handle this thing. You others get back to the V-Ship and see what you can do about those other ships. We have to solve these problems fast if we want to save Silver Sentinel and those folks down in the death camp!"


With that, Anyman ooze up the lift shaft, stretching as needed, gripping where he needs to grip to climb as fast as possible to get to to help Frostbite. He doesn't wait around to see if the others obey him or not.

"I take it we voted on this and majority rules," asked the third voice inside Anyman's head.

"Guess so," Lance "says" back, "but I seemed to have missed the vote."

"Shut up," Putty says to both of them.

Silver Sentinel
+Anchor
+Fastback (hungry!)
Where: Qrii Scout Ship in Orbit
What: In a holding cell, being 'probed' by... the ship itself!

The sound of the clicking/ticking coming down the corridor became apparent as the pair made their way back to where the car was. Rounding a corner, they saw a 20m straight and a bend where a large group of Insectoids was heading their way! They were flying with their wings, but their speed was - at best - a reasonable jogging rate. Ducking back behind the corner Anchor muttered "Ah've been wantin' tae start smackin' these swines aboot, but we've got nae idea how many there are o' them! Blasted clickin' o wings suggests... ah dunno... lots!"

Popping his head out, then back behind the corner Anchor snarled "More than 10. You up fer a scrap, or ..." he looked about. The resin like corridors were sealed and hardened. They could smash there way through to whatever lie beyond the walls, but they'd make a lot of noise and may end up in no better a place - or worse, exposed to the hard vacuum of space!

"Whaddya think?" muttered Anchor.

The Vanguard
Frostbite
Anyman
Saladin (Lionheart)
Guillotine (on V-Ship)
Boadicea (on V-Ship)
Spartan
P'ertaria
Where:Space!

Spartan paused a moment, then nodded. "This way... Miss." he said, waving a hand for P'ertaria to board their ship. He turned to Saladin. "Coming? You heard the man, and technically he's 2nd in command only to Frostbite... not that I suppose rank means anything to you anyway!"

=========

Anyman moved into the elevator shaft, arms stretching out and adhering to the walls...

He made effective progress, even going so far as to stretch as far as he could, grab on, and yank himself with all his might to soar upwards, let go his anchoring point and wait till his ascent slowed before doing it again! By doing so he caught up with the lift car, seeing the gaping hole in the bottom and climbing inside to, ah, 'hitch a lift'. The symbols on the panel were alien, but strangely enough he found himself able to understand them perfectly! The lift was heading for the bridge, but there was no sign of Frostbite. Standing aside from the hole in the floor he saw there were only seconds before the lift got to its destination. He had a choice - wait till the lift opened or get out of the lift - either through the hole in the floor or by a new one in the roof!