Present
PJ – Samson
Dabe – Rosalyn
PhilM – Simone/Rolf
Dave - Chuck
Blob - Eldnah
Kell – Marcel
Not Present
Sukh - Leonid
PhilJ - Poncio
Rich - Leopoldo
The final push on the US base is imminent. The Crack Commando Unit A, i.e. the party, are introduced by Richard Bering to a new member, an Australian/Nigerian bit part and advert actor called Eldnah Eman, known in Aus, as he proudly states, as the Durex Man. There is much sniggering from the UK contingent. Everyone else just looks blank. He takes a shine to Simone even more so when Samson explains on the quiet that she is the party bike and a right goer. Simone sighs as appears she has to cope with yet another sexist male pig as Eldnah fails to impress her.
The plan is explained.
The party are to spearhead the taking of the base. Mumbles of 'cannon fodder' are heard.
They are to secure the new barracks on the base in order to remove the large population of soldiers from the fight. Richard wants minimum casualties for the whole operation.
“We are here to force them to talks, not rack up casualties and just confirm to the various governments why they were right to put us here in the first place.”
Rosalyn looks disappointed.
The party are to attack at night and take out the security tower nearest the barracks, then get the old Czech man, Milan Zdradnik, over to the barracks where he has assured Bering that he can summon a ring of tentacles, like the ones the party encountered at the old church, to seal off the area thus preventing the soldiers from getting out. The party need to protect Zdradnik whilst he summons up the eldritch energies required to create such a large fence of tentacles.
Eldnah is key with his ability to create worm holes in space that will allow the team to traverse a mile with a single step bypassing the clear ground, the mine field and the fencing. Once they've secured the tower, silently, without massacring everyone, they can cover the 500m to the barracks where Zdradnik will do his thing before they send up a flare to say the job is done. Then the other Supers, will go in and force the rest of the base and their masters to the negotiating table.
Simple really.
However there is no sign of Zdradnik yet so the party go shopping, during which there is a small earthquake.
<Outside the game there then followed 2 hours of real time party planning...about how to take out one security tower with 3 guards in it. 8-) >
What does becomes apparent during this planning phase is that Eldnah's spatial worm holes are in fact only 200' long, not a mile. Simone comments that it is not the first time she's encountered a man over estimating his length to impress the girls, and then coming up short. Plans are revisited. Finally, mere hours before the attack, Zdradnik finally turns up, looking tired and ill. He nevertheless assures everyone that he is going to be able to fulfil his part of the plan. Unfortunately the taem are not done with planning just yet, which seems to involve a set of scales and working out what combinations of people Marcel can best carry. Zdradnik looks at them like they are something he scraped off his shoe.
Finally the party are ready togo, Marcel using his 1000' spatial warping power to carry groups of the team over in his dim pocket in a series of hops, depositing them in the darkness underneath the unsuspecting tower. Unfortunately the warping of space does generate a bit of noise and a soldier opens the trap door in the tower to see what's going on underneath. The few team members there scatter and hide and the soldier drops his torch. Muttering, he is sent down by the squad leader above to get it before being told to return to the top of the tower. What with the abuse being heaped on him from above, he fails to noticing everyone hiding in the dark underneath. Phew!
Eldnah raises the knotty issue that now they are underneath the tower, how do they know where on the soldiers are standing? The plan was to worm hole right behind them! Someone kindly points out that he should perhaps turn on his x-ray vision?
The ferrying continues, again with plipping noises, so once again the soldier has a look. He starts shining his torch around and as people scatter, Samson falls over his own laces, not being very good at tying them up in the first place, with quite a thump. The torchlight instantly swings around and picks him out. The muscle man limply surrenders immediately.
The balloon has gone up and so Eldnah opens a worm hole to the top of the tower and heroes pour through and take out the soldiers, whilst Samson, now under fire, leans through the worm hole and yanks the squad leader back though. Up top the soldiers are subdued, eventually, without too much effort. Down below Samson has the squad leader in a deadly crushing embrace and Rosalyn has his mind pinned down. Unfortunately his fights off the mind control and then, putting his close combat skills to use, he throws Samson with apparent ease, for which the strong man receives heaps of abuse. Still, it is 10 Supers verses 3 soldiers so eventually, after a bit more chasing around, phase 1 is completed, the tower is theirs!
However one soldier managed to get a shot off and Chuck has noticed that the other towers alomng the fence line are turning their attention in the party's direction. Time to make a break for the 6 big barrack buildings.
Most of the team spatial warp to the middle of the barrack area where Zdradnik says he needs to be.
Marcel is aghast. “Can't we hide just off centre on one of the roofs?” he asks, to which Zdradnik informs him crabbily, that this is a tricky operation and that if he is to ensure that he does encircle all 6 barracks with his ring of tentacles, then he needs to be dead centre. He starts his spell. Chuck uses his superpowers to kill the generator and all the lights go off. A few disgruntled soldiers come out of their barracks and head to the generator building to see why the damn thing has broken again. Most are blissfully asleep. With people walking around Leopoldo decides to create an area of darkness to shield the team gathered around Zdradnik. Now no one can see them, but then, they can't see anyone else, including each other, either. Outside the zone of darkness Samson, Rosalyn and Eldnah take out some patrolling guards.
Meanwhile some muttering starts. Questions are raised about how long it is going to take Zdradnik to create his ring of tentacles. No one remembers it taking him very long back at the small church, but then it is suggested that it was a small church and perhaps he had them prepared? More soldiers start appearing and two people in civis are spotted. When one turns into a small ball and bounces into the strange area of blackness the party realise that there are other Supers here.
Leonid notices a glowing ring of St Elmo's Fire appear, encircling area of the barracks. Zdradnik starts chanting out loud, much to everyone's consternation. This raises more questions from the team about what the old man is doing but they don't have much time to continue the discussion as the small ball has transformed itself into a big, heavy one and comes ricocheting loudly through the darkness, narrowly missing Leonid, passing through Zdradnik, who the party now realise is insubstantial before mowing Poncio to the ground from behind, laying him out cold. The ball bounces away as Zdradnik stands up and starts chanting ever more loudly. The party prepare as more soldiers appear, wandering bleary eyed out of their barracks to see what the hell is going on.
The entire party wonder what is going on as everyone is covered by St Elmo's Fire. Someone suggests that perhaps they should get the flock out of there but the discussion is interrupted as with a sharp cry, Zdradnik stops chanting. Everyone stops and waits for a second before the old man quietly says “Time to go”.
The party look nervously at each other. “Um, where?” enquires Simone.
Zdradnik shouts some strange words and a shock wave blasts out from him, dispelling the area of blackness and a dome of St Elmo's Fire forms over the entire area.
The general opinion within the party is that this was most certainly not part of the plan and that this is probably not a good thing. Any fighting between the two sides quickly peters out as everyone jointly contemplates their situation...which starts getting worse.
Simone quizzes Zdradnik over what is going on, and he vanishes. Leonid notices that time outside the dome seems to be running faster than inside. Everyone can see the main attack on the base has now started, but it is like watching a slightly speeded up film, and the rate is increasing.
The general opinion within the party is that the plan is shot to hell and that this is definitely not a good thing! Feck!
Attempts are made to teleport or wormhole outside the dome. They cannot get out. Chuck tries to search for computers or contact the machines he can still see outside the dome. He can't detect them. He traces the computer network links from the barracks, and they go no where now. Uh-oh!
Frantic discussions are interrupted by sudden excruciating pain. Some soldiers start to fall, writhing on the ground, some are staggering around holding their heads and screaming, some start throwing up, others are passing out. Some force is tearing at everyone's very being, physically, mentally, like their very souls are being torn from their bodies.
The Supers resist.
The pain increases, many soldiers are down and out, but some are now tearing at each other, screaming in agony. They look wild and crazed.
Poncio is still out for the count, possibly a saving grace. Leonid faints and joins him on the ground. Then the two Supers with the army collapse. Time outside the dome is still getting faster. More pain. Samson, Leonardo, Marcel, Chuck and Eldnah pass out. Rolf whimpers before falling over.
Crawling on their hands an knees in agony, the girls nevertheless hang on in there. They notice a person, tall, well built, well dressed, walking quite normally passed the end of the barracks and then out of sight again. Despite the pain they investigate.
The stranger is touching the wall of the dome. He turns when he hears the two woman stagger over. It is Milan Zdradnik, but a much younger, almost supernaturally younger and more handsome version. He greets them casually.
Fighting through the pain they quiz him on what is going on, why did the plan change?
“But Ladies, *my* plan has not changed,” he says with a smile. “I zaid to Berink zat I vould secure ze barracks und ensure that ze soldiers were taken out of ze equation, and I am being true to my vord.”
“Why can't you let us go?”
“Oh, I do not have time vor such zings. I am a busy man vith much to do.”
“Where are you taking us?”
Editor's note: It is a shame no one added “you fiend” at some point 8-)
“Ve are going to my little vorld, my playpit.”
“And what is going to happen to us?”
“Who can zay? I care not. Zere vill be pain and you vill die, but I shouldn't vorry, it vill be all over for you zoon.”
Simone shoots him with her shotgun. The pellets pepper the man's chest, tearing into his clothing and skin. He doesn't flinch, he doesn't bleed, he doesn't seem to care. Rosalyn shoots him point blank in the head with her pistol. Again, no effect. There is a neat wound but it doesn't bleed, he didn't even move.
“Good, ve have arrived,” and he disappears.
Their whole world twists, folds, collapses in on itself. The pain is unbearable, but somehow they don't seem to feel it any more, almost as if they are in the eye of the storm of pain, trapped within it, unable to do anything about it and yet oddly unaffected by the maelstrom boiling around them. Then blackness and the pain goes and they are left floating for what feels like ages, vaguely aware of the unconscious Supers around them drifting, ringed with St Elmo's Fire. There is no sign of the soldiers. A light appears and everyone spirals towards it. There is a fleeting glimpse of what bizarrely looks like some sort of small theatre before finally Simone and Rosalyn pass out.
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