UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

[teh bunneh]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

As LW said, UNITY 2010 should be resuming this weekend, so you should get an update next week. Until then, one last tidbit to tide you over -- a list of most of the major superhero organizations and their members...

UNITY 2010

Team A – This is the largest, most experienced, most powerful team. Team A is assigned to deal with problems that threaten the entire world – such as alien invasions. They are not based on Earth, but instead explore the galaxy in order to keep trouble away from our Solar System. Team A consists of:

Quasar (German) – An energy projector who is in touch with the cosmic forces that power the universe.

Fortunata (Italian) – An Italian woman with the power to alter probability in her favor.

Inque (Indian) – A hero who can stretch and contort her body at will.

Pharaoh’s Daughter (Egyptian) – She can call upon the powers of the ancient Egyptian gods to give her strength.

Seeker (Australian) – A master of many different types of martial arts.

Shadow Puppet (Balinese) – She has the power to bring shadows to life.

Tiger Hawk (Korean) – He can transform into either a gigantic tiger or a huge hawk.

Warsmith (Kenyan) – A genius who can build nearly anything & wears powered armor.

Simian Fury (Congolese) – An animist shaman with the power to harm and to heal.

Team B – Team B is called on for world-shaking problems involving mass destruction, super-villain attacks, alien sightings on-planet, and bigger problems. Team B consists of:

Myrmidon (Greek) – A man in a suit of armor infused with the power of the Greek gods.

Bird of Paradise (Brazilian) – A man with the power to flight and fire sonic bolts.

DragonWing (Thai) – A young woman with the power to fly and generate flame.

El Picaro II (Mexican) – A swordsman with a magical sword, son of the original El Picaro, who was injured in battle.

Rock Steady (Alien) – A super-strong, rock-like alien.

Spellbreaker (Monaco) – A powerful sorceress.

Gadget Man (United States) – A brilliant (if unstable) man capable of creating nearly any kind of gadget or gizmo.

Team C – Team C is sent to investigate situations that may need UNITY's involvement, and to defuse the situation before it becomes an international crisis (if possible).

Straight Arrow (British) – An archer and former Special Forces agent.

Ifrita (Jordanian) – Descendent of the Efreeti; flies on wings of flame.

Aurora (Finnish) – A woman made of pure electricity.

Red Dragon (Japanese) – A Japanese student who possesses (and is in turn possessed by) an ancient suit of samurai armor.

New Man (Canadian) – A powerful mentalist.

Thich Nat Han (Tibetan) – A sorcerer seeped in the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.

Tank (Destrugan) – A walking, living tank.

Team D – Most of the members of Team D are still in training, and they don't expect them to be ready to begin work for 3-6 months, which is about when Vanaheim (the southern satellite) is supposed to be finished.

Pan-Africa (Ethiopian) – An Ethiopian (though he claims to transcend such concepts as national boundaries). He is quite powerful, with super strength, near invulnerability, super speed, and a number of super senses. His costume is reminiscent of the pan-African flag – red representing the blood that unites all people of African ancestry, black for the dignity of the black people, and green for the abundant natural wealth of Africa. Pan-Africa is slated to be the leader of UTD.

Mitarbeit (Swiss) – A woman with the power to increase the power and effectiveness of others. Temporarily assigned to Team C.

Vilkacis (Georgian) – A shape-changer and infiltration expert. He was trained by the Soviet Super Soldiers to be a spy, but when he learned the nature of his government, he escaped to the west. Temporarily assigned to Team C.

White Tuxedo (Chilean) – A magician. He is arrogant, vain, and cocky, but no one can deny his power or his versatility. He was the last recruit for Team D; he was brought on board after Thich Nat Han got bumped up to Team C.

Phreak (Philipino) – He has the ability to hack any computer and control any machine. He is outfitted with a wide variety of gadgets that he controls mentally. He is young and very excitable, but he looks up to authority and takes directions well.

Brigette (Haitian) – A lightning-caster. Her powers are similar but not quite the same as Aurora's. Boastful and swaggering, she doesn't get along well with White Tuxedo (the two are perhaps more alike than either would ever admit).

Star (Singaporian) – Singapore's favorite hero, Star is about 19 years old and is perpetually happy. She is a powerful martial artist, her skills augmented by her great strength and speed. She changes costumes about as often as most people change their socks.

-----

Africa's New Warriors

Though there are quite a few supers who call Africa their home, they are not as well-organized as their counterparts in America or Europe. There are few national teams, though there is one group (one hesitates to call it a team) of heroes who sometimes come together to deal with threats that they couldn't handle individually.

Anansi: Ghana's own Batman who, using minor spells and magic trinkets taught him by a spider god, fights evil with stealth and trickery.

Gazelle: The heroine of Kenya who uses her super speed and animal reflexes to defend both the people and the environment of her homeland. UTC met her just a few weeks ago when she helped them defeat the Slug and prevented the nation of Burundi from falling under his evil sway.

Spiritkeeper: The animist from the Congo who channels the spirits of nature to take the form of both plants and animals.

Djinn: The Islamic hero of Algeria who commands the swirling winds that allow him to fly and wields a matching pair of enchanted scimitars.

Boomslang: The hero of Chad who gained reptilian powers after being cursed by an evil snake god and now seeks to use his curse to help others.

Hiphop: A singer and dancer with the ability to generate and control sound and vibrations who returned to his family's native Zimbabwe to discover his roots.

Night Soldier: The enforcer of Ethiopia who uses a variety of firearms and customized ammo to bring a violent end of anyone who threatens innocent people.

Anansi sometimes brings these heroes together as the New Warriors to battle great threats to Africa such as the arch villains Warmonger and Witch Doctor or deadly groups like the Blood Pride and the Horsemen.

-----

EuroGuard

EuroGuard have two teams. EuroGuard was originally created to deal with the ongoing threat of Eurostar, but have since branched off into a team much like UNITY, but confined to Europe. The team consists of:

The Watchman: A Polish hero; a technical genius who wears a suit of powered armor.

Bielo: The God of the Spring; a Slovak hero and one of the most powerful beings on the Earth. Also, one of Aurora's boyfriends.

AngelFire: A Spanish heroine. Extraordinarily beautiful, but also quite vain. She’s as much a supermodel as a superhero. She generates and controls light.

The Purple Juggler: A funny guy who can create various types of energy and throw it at his enemies. Yeah, it sounds silly, but he’s quite well-respected by his teammates.

Tick-Tock: A robot, originally created by the mechanical would-be overlord Mechanon, he was reprogrammed to work for the side of good. He can stop time.

Speed: The Fastest Man in Europe, Speed is bitter and withdrawn. His face was scarred by Eurostar, and now he seeks revenge against them. He is from the tiny island-nation of Malta.

Passion: A Frenchwoman who seems haughty and arrogant. She has the ability to control a person’s emotional state.

Doc Giant: An Irishman, and a dwarf. He has the power to grow to an enormous size.

Okeanoz: A Greek hero who controls water. You don’t know much about him.

Schadewster: A Dutch hero who generates darkness.

Volva: A witch from Sweden who specializes in divination.

-----

PRIMUS

PRIMUS East:

Paragon Super Soldier

Balrog Brick-Blaster

Mjolnir Brick

Rebound Blaster

Technomancer Gadgeteer

Umbra Mentalist

PRIMUS Central:

Justice Brick-Blaster

Blizzard Blaster

Charcoal Brick

Lionheart Martial Artist-Gadgeteer

Loup Morph

Phantom Ghost

PRIMUS West:

Silver Avenger Brick-Blaster

Bushido Martial Artist-Weaponsmaster

El Nino Blaster

Luminary Mentalist

Gadget Girl Gadgeteer

[teh bunneh]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

Ah, back in the saddle again. Had a nice little cliffhanger for the re-opening session. We'll see how the PCs react next week...

----------

UNITY 2010 Recap for November 12 2005

The heroes returned from capturing Raising Caine, Amazon, Psymon, and Lyonesse and had a few days in which they weren't called to perform missions. They used to time to practice, get some stick time in the new Grungnir, and make a few more contacts in the superhero world.

So far, the heroes have managed to contact Africa's New Warriors, the Middle-East's Defenders of Islam, Shoujo and Baka from Japan, EuroGuard, Albion of Great Britain, and China's Tiger Squad. Most of them (with the lone exception of Tiger Squad) expressed a willingness to help against the suspected upcoming alien invasion.

After about three days, they were assigned a new mission and left immediately. The Paris police had requested help. Someone – who the press has dubbed "The Leech" – has been attacking and murdering people along the Seine, then disappearing without a trace. The police have been unable to capture him, and were asking UNITY for assistance (in fact, they specifically requested UTC, since those heroes had already visited France twice before and were generally well-regarded).

The heroes flew to France and meet the Inspector Vue D'mer, an older man who's been on the force for 30 years. He was happy that UNITY was there, because he'd never seen anything quite like what was happening, and was completely stymied.

The heroes got right down to business, questioning the Inspector about everything he knew. He told them that the police had been trying to keep this out of the press, but the information was still slowly leaking out. So far 14 people have been killed. Autopsies show that the victims had all the blood in their bodies sucked out through dozens of tiny sucker-marks. In each case, there had been a struggle. This had been going on for exactly two weeks – one murder per night.

Inspector Vue D'mer was of the opinion that the attacks were being committed by an alien of some sort – after all, no creature on earth was capable of such an act. The heroes dismissed this theory, because the attack patterns didn't match any known alien physiology.

The Inspector also told them that the police had a break in the latest case – an eyewitness. Straight Arrow assigned Ifrita, New Man, and Vilkacis to interview the witness. He took Mitarbeit and Thich Nat Han to the morgue so they could examine the latest victim. He sent Tank, Red Dragon, and Aurora to the riverfront to search the crime scenes for anything the police may have missed.

At the hospital, Ifrita and New Man spoke with the witness. Michel was a homeless man, aged well beyond his years by his difficult life. He suffered from schizophrenia and had a severe alcohol dependence, so the police were not sure how much of his story was true. He seemed friendly enough to Ifrita (drugged as he was on a variety of anti-psychotic medicines), and he told her the same story that he'd told the police.

"It was a cold night and I was having trouble finding a place to bed down," he said. "All the good spots were taken already, but eventually I found a dumpster to sleep in. It was filled with cardboard and was pretty warm. I crawled in and fell asleep for I don't know how long, and then I was awakened by the sounds of a fight. I peeked out (being very careful because you don't want to get involved in these things) and I saw a horrible sight!" Michel was visibly frightened by the memory of last night, but Ifrita begged him to continue. "What I saw was terrible. It was like a monster – 10 feet high, with slimy purple skin. Instead of hands it had tentacles like a squid, and it had grabbed this man and was bashing him up against the wall until the man stopped struggling. Then it wrapped its tentacles around him." Michel's eyes bugged out. "I shut the lid of the dumpster and hid there the rest of the night. I didn't see anything else until the police found me there the next morning."

While Michel was telling his story, New Man probed his mind for inconsistencies or untruths. He found that the man was telling the truth as far as he could remember – however, his alcoholism and mental instability made the images hard to discern. The heroes thanked Michel for his help and left to find Straight Arrow.

Meanwhile, the English hero's team was in the morgue examining the latest victim. Thich Nat Han used his magical senses to see if the body had been tainted with dark magic. He was relieved to find that it was not. Mitarbeit examined the corpse and found that everything was as it was described to the heroes. Straight Arrow checked the medical records – toxicology reports and such. He found a few interesting things. The first was that there were large amounts of a naturally occurring anti-coagulant in the body. The second was trace amounts of a strange chemical.

Straight Arrow was intrigued and used the hospital's computer to research the chemical. He finally found it on a list of internationally banned chemicals. Known colloquially as Proteus X, it had once been used to help regulate chemical processes – it made the manufacture of medicines and the like much quicker by speeding up the reactions a hundredfold. However, it was found to be a very powerful mutagen – people who worked with it began to develop highly aggressive forms of leukemia. It had been banned about 10 years ago by international treaty.

Meanwhile, out in the city, Red Dragon led his team through the various crime scenes, examining them carefully. Tank and Aurora kept getting distracted by the various sights and sounds of Paris, but Red Dragon (uncharacteristically) was deeply focused on his task. After visiting a half-dozen crime scenes, he realized that they all had something in common – they all took place within just a few feet of a manhole cover! He deduced that the creature was using the extensive Paris sewer system to move around undetected. He also guessed that the reason the creature was staying so near the Seine was because it needed to stay wet.

Meanwhile, Mitarbeit (who wasn't interested in sitting around while Straight Arrow played on the computer) decided to use the information she got from Red Dragon to go down to the city's sewer department and see if she could get a map of the sewers. The men there were more than happy to help her (printing out multiple copies and laminating them all). As she was leaving, one of them remarked that he hoped she caught the killer, since one of their own workers was the first victim.

This confused her a little bit. She had read the reports, and none of them mentioned a sewer worker. "He disappeared the night before the first murder," they explained. "He was down in the sewers working on fixing a broken pipe, and he never reported back. The police didn't even have time to start an investigation before the first body was found, and when that happened Pierre's disappearance became secondary. But we're all sure that poor unlucky Pierre was the monster's first victim."

She relayed this new bit of information to Straight Arrow, who was busy arranging patrol patterns with the rest of the team. This changed things; UTC decided to investigate the spot where Pierre was last seen. Leaving Aurora, Ifrita, and New Man behind to keep an eye on things topside, the rest of the team trudged through the sewers to Pierre's last worksite.

Everything seemed normal until Straight Arrow used his X-ray visor to examine the area. He immediately noticed a door, carefully disguised to look like a part of the wall. He had Tank break the door down, which revealed a narrow passageway. Vilkacis took point. They had entered a much older section of the sewers, a part that had not been used in what appeared to be decades. The tunnel took them directly under the Seine, where they found a very large chamber, partially filled with water. Hundreds of large barrels – all of them emblazoned with the international Toxic Waste symbol – filled the room. The heroes spread out to search the place.

Straight Arrow checked the barrels. There were a variety of toxic chemicals, and prominent among them were barrels of Proteus X. He searched around and sure enough, he found one that had a small crack in it that was slowly leaking into the stagnant water. He noted that the chemicals had all come from a prominent French drug company known as Pharmaceutiques Internationales.

Vilkacis examined one of the room's three entrances – a large cargo door. He found that the lock and the alarm on it had long-since rusted out, and he figured that the door hadn't been used in at least ten years. He cautiously checked the other side of the door and found nothing but a long, wide, unlit corridor that looked like it was the perfect size for trucks to come in and out through.

Mitarbeit checked the second door and found that it (like the door they had come through) had been used recently. She began to get creeped out by the darkness, the black water, and the sewage-smell of the place. She felt like someone was watching her.

Red Dragon climbed up onto one of the catwalks above the room to get a better look at the place. Suddenly, something large and powerful knocked him off his perch and into the water below. He felt powerful tentacles wrap around his body. Even his armor couldn't protect him from the dozens of tiny stingers that entered him. He felt his very life being drained from his body as he struggled against his unseen foe. But with a mighty heave, he managed to throw the creature away from him. He climbed unsteadily to his feet and drew his sword.

However, he couldn't see his foe. He wasn't sure if it was the darkness and the water or something else, but all he could make out was the frantic splashing where he had thrown his enemy.

Straight Arrow, Thich Nat Han, and Vilkacis ran to help, but they couldn't see the creature either. It seemed to blend perfectly in with its environment. Thich Nat Han concentrated and found that he was able to sense the creature's spirit. "There it is, on top of those barrels!" he told the others, simultaneously casting a spell to hold it trapped. Straight Arrow fired a blinding strobe arrow at it, and was rewarded by hearing the creature's screech of rage and pain. For a moment, he was able to see it – much as Michel had described, with sickly purple skin and tentacle-like arms.

The creature broke free of its bindings, but Red Dragon had a good idea of where it was. He leapt into the air and hit it as hard as he could. The Leech flew across the room and smashed into a barrel, but the force of the impact cracked the barrel open. Thinking quickly, Straight Arrow fired a glue arrow at the barrel, sealing the crack before the toxic sludge within could leak out.

Mitarbeit attempted to use her entrancement powers to calm the creature and get it to surrender, but her presence seemed to enrage it further. It leapt straight towards her, wrapping its powerful tentacle-arms around her body. She screamed as she felt it draining her blood. Red Dragon leapt out of the water and then, with uncharacteristic precision (so as not to harm his teammate), stabbed the creature in the gut.

The Leech crumpled to the ground and faded into visibility. It was a hideous thing, though it was obvious that the creature had once been a man. The heroes bound the monster tightly and searched the room, finding some torn clothing (still bearing a nametag – Pierre) and a sewer-worker's helmet. They deduced that poor unlucky Pierre had found the secret door while working and had come down here to investigate. The toxic chemicals in the water mutated him into the horrible thing they had fought.

Now the only thing was to take this pitiful creature back to Midgard and to get an environmental crew down here to begin with the clean-up. Oh, and to serve a warrant on Pharmaceutiques Internationales for illegal toxic dumping.

Meanwhile, up above ground, New Man was keeping a careful watch on things. As the fight was winding down, he got a call on his cell phone. Curious, he picked it up. An unfamiliar voice (speaking with a lower-class English accent) told him, "It's started, mate. It's all over the news. Now's a good time for you to disappear…" The man hung up before New Man could question him.

There was a radio nearby, so New Man switched it on just in time to hear a news report. "The top story tonight is an alarming report from the United Nations," the anchorman said. "UNTIL has issued arrest warrants for the members of UNITY Team C. Details are still sketchy at this point, but our sources tell us that UTC is accused of collaborating with aliens and attempting to undermine the legitimate governments of Earth. UNITY Team B has been authorized to serve the warrant, though UN officials are urging UTC members to turn themselves in voluntarily. More on this breaking story as it comes in."

To be continued!

[Lonewalker]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

There was a radio nearby, so New Man switched it on just in time to hear a news report. "The top story tonight is an alarming report from the United Nations," the anchorman said. "UNTIL has issued arrest warrants for the members of UNITY Team C. Details are still sketchy at this point, but our sources tell us that UTC is accused of collaborating with aliens and attempting to undermine the legitimate governments of Earth. UNITY Team B has been authorized to serve the warrant, though UN officials are urging UTC members to turn themselves in voluntarily. More on this breaking story as it comes in."

 

"Oh, bother..."

 

Lonewalker

aka Straight Arrow

[Cardinal]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

As always, a great write up! I'm looking forward to the coming Super on Super battle.

[Virtue]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

You are an Evil man i love it

I figured the Leech was a rather week villian for the likes of Unity C

They better contact the secret Unity Team ASAP

[TheRavenIs]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

I so love these little plays that force the heroes into fighting other heroes. I love it. Keep it coming Bill.

 

Raven

[teh bunneh]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

"The top story tonight is an alarming report from the United Nations. UNTIL has issued arrest warrants for the members of UNITY Team C. Details are still sketchy at this point, but our sources tell us that UTC is accused of collaborating with aliens and attempting to undermine the legitimate governments of Earth. UNITY Team B has been authorized to serve the warrant, though UN officials are urging UTC members to turn themselves in voluntarily. More on this breaking story as it comes in."

 

 

With this bit of alarming news, our heroes had become fugitives. But it had not been completely unexpected; UTC began to put their contingency plans into play. The heroes got rid of their Secure Links and fled from the scene of their battle with Leech (knowing that UNITY Team B would eventually come down here to track them and find the unconscious monster). Straight Arrow sent two teams up to steal some transportation – he knew that the Grungnir would be the first place UNTIL would look for them. Meanwhile, he went to talk to Tank. He wasn't sure where the cyborg's loyalties would lie once he'd heard the accusations.

 

 

Tank volunteered to stay with UTC, saying that as long as UTC opposed the aliens he would stand by them. Straight Arrow was grateful – Tank, while not subtle, was a valued team member.

 

 

The heroes got out of Paris and headed south, toward Spain, keeping to the tertiary roads so they'd be less likely to be stopped. Pausing at a rest stop somewhere near the border, they caught wind of a couple of news reports:

 

 

UNTIL agents staged a daring midnight raid in the peaceful London suburb of Northrop, taking two adults and two children into custody. The press speculates that these persons are related to the British UTC leader Straight Arrow. Lords Geoffrey Greengables and St. John Portland-Smythe protested the arrests on the floor of the House of Lords. "This is a clear violation of the rights of our citizens, not to mention our own national sovereignty," Lord Greengables angrily demanded. "How dare the UN not even consult British law enforcement before they made these arrests?"

 

Lord Greengables announced that he intends to open a board of inquiry into the matter. "We will find out the truth of the matter," he told reporters. "I for one cannot believe for a moment that Great Britain's finest hero is a traitor to our world."

 

 

UNTIL agents arrested Jordanian ambassador Irem bin Faud in Paris this morning as he attempted to board a plane bound for Amman, Jordan. "Ambassador Faud is not under arrest," UNTIL spokesman Sherman Reid announced. "He is being held for questioning in the matter of UNITY Team C.

 

Reid admitted under questioning that Ambassador Faud's daughter Peri is the UTC member known as Ifrita. UNTIL has asked that anyone with information about the whereabouts of any member of UTC please contact them.

 

 

 

Upset that their families were caught up in this, the heroes felt they were running out of options. Ifrita suggested they try to cross the Straight of Gibraltar and get to Algeria, where they could hook up with the Algerian hero Djinn. They were running out of options, and this was as good as idea as any, so the heroes continued south.

 

 

US Defense Department sources indicate that a Mondabi scout craft was shot down over the Indian Ocean two weeks ago, forcing it to crash-land in the Himalayan Mountains and prompting the widely-reported showdown between PRIMUS, UNITY, and the Chinese superteam Metal Storm.

 

The Pentagon had no official comment, but UNTIL spokesman Sherman Reid vigorously denies these allegations. "There is absolutely no indication that the Mondabi have returned or ever will return," he said in his daily press conference. "Anyone who suggests otherwise is engaged in baseless fear-mongering." He refused to comment on UNTIL's refusal to release the recovered wreckage to the Pentagon.

 

In related news, Senator Hank Goodkind has asked UNITY Team C to turn themselves in to US authorities. "I ask that they do this in the spirit of friendship, trust, and cooperation," he told reporters. "I for one am willing to give these heroes the benefit of the doubt for now, but until we get to the bottom of this matter it would go a long way to assuage the public's fears if they turned themselves in. I am offering to act as an ambassador between these heroes and the United Nations."

 

 

Faced with a skeptical public and cries of protest from the British, Swiss, and Jordanian governments, UNTIL has released more details about the charges against UNITY Team C.

 

"We have evidence to show that UNITY Team C is directly responsible for attempted escape of Durak, Scorpia, and Killer Frost, the successful escape of Bluebird and Howler, and the deaths of 36 UNTIL officers – good men, some of them with wives and children, horribly murdered while attempting to perform their duties. UTC were attempting to free a telepathic alien lifeform which UNTIL had imprisoned in their Ultimate Security Prison off the coast of Sweden," UNTIL spokesman Sherman Reid announced today.

"Furthermore, team leader Straight Arrow has been accused of the attempted murder of Team B member Gadget Man. Evidence clearly shows that the arrow which wounded Gadget Man during the battle against Metal Storm came from Straight Arrow's bow. Gadget Man is currently recovering from his wound in Yggdrasil."

 

"Most incriminating," Reid continued, "UNTIL Intelligence has recently learned that one of the members of Team C was an alien in disguise, sent to infiltrate our defenses, probe our weaknesses, and corrupt the ones who we have relied on to defend us. Alida Agmaar, known to the world as Aurora, is a shape-shifting creature from another world. We believe we have finally discovered one of the mysterious Wraiths – hiding like a viper among us."

 

Reid once again denied that a second alien invasion was imminent, and added "UNITY Team B is still here and ready to defend the world against anything that may threaten it. Furthermore, we are accelerating the deployment of UNITY Team D, just to be ready for any eventuality."

 

 

Superheroes around the world react to the accusations of UNITY Team C's alleged treason. "I will not believe that my cousin is a traitor or an infidel," Egyptian hero Fist of Allah told al Jazeera in a live interview. "No good Muslim would ally herself with the infidel aliens. I have seen into her heart and I know she is true. Let those who accuse her do so in front of me and they will taste my steel!"

 

African Heroine Gazelle told reporters in Johannesburg that she personally assisted UNITY Team C destroy an alien menace in Burundi. "If they're working for the aliens, why did they risk their lives to destroy that alien city?" UNTIL has refused to confirm or deny that there was ever an alien city in central Africa, though a large number of UNTIL troops has set up headquarters in that area – ostensibly to assist with the peace process.

 

EuroGuard has not released an official statement, but EuroGuard co-leader Bielo, when asked about the accusations against Aurora, was caught on camera saying, "And if she is an alien, so what? Can not other worlds give birth to heroes as well?"

 

PRIMUS has declined to comment, but sources close to the American hero team say that there are differing opinions about the guilt or innocence of UTC. "In America, we believe that people are innocent until proven guilty," PRIMUS leader Paragon said. "Until then, I have nothing to add to the debate."

 

 

At another rest stop some hours later, Straight Arrow decided to make a call. He still wasn't sure he could trust them, but right now UNITY Team Omega seemed like their best option. After all, they had some 25 years' experience at keeping under UNTIL's radar. He dialed the number that "John" had given him. It rang and rang and no one picked up. Straight Arrow was disappointed at the dead end. He went to use the men's room and as he was washing up, heard a familiar voice behind him.

 

 

"Got a light, mate?" John asked. The cocky Englishman was accompanied by the young American known as Flicker, and the cyborged woman who Straight Arrow had learned was called Circuit Breaker. "The ****e's truly hit the fan, hasn't it mate?"

 

"We need some help," Straight Arrow told him. "But I need to make sure that you're still on our side. The information about Aurora has been leaked to the media. How is Midnight taking it?"

 

 

"He's taking it like any paranoid Russian takes learning that his paranoia was justified," John laughed. "But I think I can keep him off your backs for a few days. What do you need from me?"

 

 

"We need two things," Straight Arrow said. "First, we need to know that our families are OK, and that UNTIL won't try to harm them. The second thing we need is a place to lay low for a few days, to regain our bearing."

 

 

John nodded. "The second thing won't be a problem. I can set you up in a house that'll be safe for a couple of days. And I'll try to find out about your people – I know a guy who knows a guy who might know something."

 

 

John instructed Straight Arrow to drive to a secluded campground a few miles away and to wait there. He'd send someone along presently to pick them up and take them to the safe house. John and his companions then vanished. Straight Arrow told his team that he'd arranged a place for them to stay and they headed out.

 

 

Straight Arrow still wasn't sure he could trust the Englishman, so he had Vilkacis, Aurora, and New Man find a place to hide, where they could see the campground but not be seen. The rest of the heroes waited for about an hour, and then a tour bus drove up. The driver told them to hop in. He didn't even bat an eye when the massive Tank climbed up into the cargo section of the bus – the heroes were guessing that he'd been mesmerized in some way.

 

 

Straight Arrow told Aurora, Vilkacis, and New Man to follow at a safe distance. The bus drove all night until it came to an ancient Moorish-era castle somewhere in the south part of the country. Though the castle looked ruined from the outside, inside it was sumptuously decorated. John met them there and told them they could stay for two days. "More than that and Midnight'll find out," he said. "And I'm treading on thin ice with him as it is. There's plenty of food, lots of room, hot water, a TV, and even an anonymous Internet hookup if you need it. Make yourselves at home, and try not to wreck the place. Now me, I'm off to find out about your rugrats. Cheers, mate." John drove off in a sportscar, leaving the heroes to fend for themselves.

 

 

They immediately began checking news sources to find out what was going on in the rest of the world. They also tried to contact many of their friends to make sure they were OK.

 

 

The world, already shaken by startling revelations of treason within the ranks of UNITY, was shocked and saddened when UNTIL announced today the loss of UNITY Team A. "They were on a deep-space mission, seeking to defend our world from the threat of the alien menace," UNTIL spokesman Sherman Reid said this morning. "We lost contact with them two weeks ago, and all attempts to raise them again have failed. We have no choice but to believe they have fallen."

 

Flags around the world will be flown at half-mast to honor the fallen heroes, and the UN General Assembly held a moment of silence after the announcement. Reid refused to speculate whether the disappearance was linked to UNITY Team C but asked once again for the heroes to turn themselves in.

 

In related news, the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center announced that it had begun receiving strange signals, apparently beamed from deep space. NAIC Director Terry Ghosh told reporters, "It's too early to speculate on what it means, but these signals are regular and recurring, and seem to be coming from outside our solar system. It's definitely a transmission, but what it's saying I can't guess."

 

 

UNTIL has asked the governments of the world to begin detaining members of their own superteams who have had contact with UNITY Team C. "Until the threat has passed, we need to ascertain the loyalty of each and every super human on the planet," UNTIL spokesman Sherman Reid told reporters. "Some may say this is a draconian step, but we cannot underestimate the threat that our planet may be facing. There is no telling which heroes may have been turned – even unwittingly – to the side of our enemies."

 

The European Union has already ordered all members of EuroGuard back to their home countries, prompting one member – co-leader Bielo – to angrily quit the team. "Bureaucrats and politicians talk and talk," he was overheard to say, "While the true heroes stand with their backs to the wall, defending civilization. I will not submit to the talkers."

 

Sources say that several other superheroes around the world have gone into hiding. "When the entire planet is asking who these people are and where their loyalties lie, their response is to skulk into the shadows," Reid said. "I think that tells you that our suspicions are warranted."

 

UNTIL also released the true names and photographs of all the members of UTC. "If you see any of them," Reid said, "Please call UNTIL. Do not – I repeat, do not – attempt to detain them yourself, as they are very powerful and are considered highly dangerous."

 

Senator Hank Goodkind of the United States submitted a bill to the US Senate authorizing PRIMUS to turn over all records of its members to UNTIL. "We have nothing to hide," he told reporters. "As responsible members of the international community, we have a responsibility to set an example for the rest of the world. Anyone who hides who they are only looks more guilty – and that is something we can't stand for in this day and age."

 

UNTIL also announced that, due to the crisis, it is upgrading UNITY Team D's status to Active. "Though we are a new team," UTD leader Pan-Africa said, "We hope the world will rest assured that we will do all that is within our power to defend it. The future is bright, and we will make sure that all peoples experience it together."

 

 

John returned in the afternoon with news about the heroes' families. "They're all being held on Yggdrasil," John said. "They're being kept well, not tortured or anything like that. They aren't being allowed access to any communication with the outside world. Red Dragon's little sister seems to be taking it well, Ifrita's dad is furious, and Straight Arrow's family is just confused by the whole thing." This bit of news relieved our heroes and allowed them to concentrate on other matters.

 

 

Ifrita thought the strange radio signals that NAIC was receiving were significant. "What if they are signals to hidden sleeper agents?" she asked. "We might be able to find out their plans if we can decipher the message."

 

 

This seemed like a good idea, but Straight Arrow and New Man knew one thing that might be a problem. They had a brief conversation, then called Vilkacis in. "Remember when New Man scanned your mind a couple of weeks ago?" Straight Arrow asked. "Well, he found something quite disturbing. In fact, so disturbing that we're not sure we'll be able to trust you for much longer."

 

 

Vilkacis begged them to tell him what it was that had been buried in his mind. "If you tell me, perhaps together we can get it out of my head completely. We can do it in a controlled environment, rather than having it accidentally slip out in the heat of combat. It is better to learn these things as a group then to find them out individually and let the trust we rely on erode completely. Right now, with the whole world against us, we have to be able to trust one another. In Soviet Union, we learned to never trust anyone, but I have discovered in my time with you that we are stronger when we are able to put our lives in each other's hands and rely on everyone equally."

 

 

It was an impassioned plea, but Straight Arrow wasn't completely convinced. "We are not sure," he told his Russian friend, "That even as hard as you try, you won't be able to resist the programming. It's too much a part of you. But we'll think about it."

 

 

The team formed a plan to raid one of the NAIC stations in the Mediterranean Sea so they could get a full copy of the radio signal, and before they left on their mission they held a group pow-wow. They asked Vilkacis to remove his armor and give up his weapon, and then they revealed the big secret:

 

 

Vilkacis is a Wraith.

 

 

The Wraiths, they learned, are a race of parasitic shape-shifters. Vilkacis' shadow form is what these alien creatures really look like. They infest and assume control not of individuals, but of entire societies. Long ago, they infested Mondabi culture; now they want Earth. Vilkacis was sent to Earth as a sleeper agent, but he was injured. The injuries made him forget what he really was and caused him to completely assume his cover identity.

 

 

Vilkacis refused to believe any of this. Why, he remembered his parents, he remembered his grandfather, he remembered everything! He was no alien; he was completely loyal to Earth. New Man read Vilkacis mind and found confusion, disbelief, and anger – but no alien thoughts. They decided that the programming was still buried deeply, and that they could still trust him.

 

 

The mission to the NAIC station was as simple as could be. It was lightly guarded, and New Man, Vilkacis, and Aurora slipped in without any problem. Aurora found a recording of the alien message and listened to it. She was shocked – it was not a code, it was someone speaking in her native language!

 

 

A female voice was saying, "Can anybody hear this? We are being held prisoner on the Mondabi flagship. Massive fleet is headed towards Earth. The UNITY humans have been captured and are being held prisoner; I attempted to aid them and got caught. Can anyone read this? Please help us; I cannot keep this broadcast up for much longer. Our coordinates are X,Y,Z. Please help us."

 

 

The three heroes snuck out as easily as they got in, and Aurora told Straight Arrow what she had learned. The heroes decided that they had to find the Mondabi fleet and rescue UTA, but the only way to do that would be to steal a Grungnir, and the only Grungnir on Earth was in the hands of UNTIL.

 

 

UTC thought of a daring plan… to lure UTB down to the southern hemisphere (where they couldn't teleport) and ambush them, then steal their plane before they knew what hit them. It was bold enough that it just might work…

 

 

To be continued!

[hooligan x]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

YIKES! I gotta move to Colorado!

[APE]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

uuoo! I love this story.

[Enforcer84]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

CoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCool

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[Lonewalker]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

CoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCoolCool

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I don't know, Bill. That's only 161 "Cools" out of a possible 162. You might want to work on that poor score. I'll refuse to play anymore if we can't keep the gaming quality up to snuff.

 

-Lonewalker

[Cardinal]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

It is always nice to see when a GM can hit everyone single one of his players with NPC and Secret ID issues in one stroke.

 

Great story and keep it up.

[Virtue]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

Oh No the Wraiths are going to take over the world just as they have control over the UN and Until now Unity C must unite all the True Heros of the World and save them from the Wraiths

 

(If there ever was a reason to move to Colorado)

[teh bunneh]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

Thanks guys. Though from this point forward, GMing the game will become more difficult, since we are treading into unknown territory and I have no earthly idea what happens next. I don't generally like to GM without a plan, though I've done it before to pretty good effect. Right now, all I know for sure is that there is an alien fleet headed towards Earth, and that certain segments of UNTIL are compromised. And I'm not at all certain what the PCs will do next, which makes it hard to plan.

 

I'm hoping to wrap the UNITY 2010 game up by January, but we'll just have to see what happens next...

[teh bunneh]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

Still on the run from UNTIL, UTC found an anonymous boat to Africa where they would put their audacious plan into motion. Ifrita took a quick detour to Slovakia, where she found Bielo doing what he did best – saving people's lives. She asked for his help in taking the fight to the aliens, but he had to refuse. His power, he told her, diminishes when he is away from the soil of his beloved Europe. He would keep the home fires burning and could be counted on if they needed his assistance closer to home.

At the same time, Mitarbeit took a short trip to Kenya to meet with Gazelle, who was eager (annoyingly eager) to help.

The heroes made it to Burundi without trouble and found a small hotel to hole up in while they scouted the area. They learned (from spying on the local UNTIL troops) what the SOP for capturing the heroes was – if UTC is spotted in the area, the troops are not to confront them, but to immediately call for backup. UTB or UTD will come as quickly as possible to capture the traitors.

This fit in with our heroes' plans perfectly. They began to make a series of random appearances throughout the city, pretending to be hiding but in reality making certain that they got spotted by local law enforcement. As they were led to believe, a few short hours later the Grungnir arrived in the city. From a distance, the heroes spotted five UNITY members, though it was hard to see who they were.

Aurora and Vilkacis scouted the ship, now parked in a secured hangar. It was guarded by about a dozen UNTIL agents, and at least one person was still inside the ship. Aurora got a good look at that person's aura, and to her it very much resembled Vilkacis'. Aurora also detected strange magnetic waves in the area, leading her to believe that Rocksteady was somewhere in the area.

Certain that the person inside the ship was a disguised Wraith, the heroes quickly came up with a new plan. Vilkacis, Aurora, Thich Nat Han, and New Man would raid the hangar and take the ship without harming any of the UNTIL agents (capturing the Wraith would be a bonus). Meanwhile, Straight Arrow, Mitarbeit, Ifrita, Red Dragon, and Gazelle would distract the UNITY team. The plan was set in motion.

In the center of downtown Bujumbora, Straight Arrow and his team made a public appearance… but seconds after they revealed themselves, UNITY Team D was there! It was an ambush! Mitarbeit was entrapped in one of Phreak's gadgets, Red Dragon took a hurled manhole cover in the face (via Pan-Africa) and a powerful kick to the ribs (via Singapore Star), Ifrita was hit by a bolt of Brigette's lightning, and Straight Arrow narrowly avoided a blast of White Tuxedo's pure magical light.

Though the heroes didn't know who tipped UTD off, they had to defend themselves, and the fight was on. However, UTD's relative lack of field experience worked against them. Phreak went down to a vicious pummeling from Ifrita and Gazelle, and Star was taken out by a combination of Red Dragon's blade and Straight Arrow's bow.

There was a lull in the fighting, and Mitarbeit begged Pan-Africa to stop this. "You know me," she told him. "We trained together. You know I'm not capable of betraying the world to the Mondabi. We've been set up. You have to believe us – we're working to save the world, not to harm it. UNITY Team A is still alive, and we are going to save them!"

Pan-Africa considered this. "I'm going to see to my injured teammates," he told her. "Which means I'm going to have to turn my back to you for a few seconds." Over their loud protests, he told White Tuxedo to see to Star and Brigette to check out Phreak. UTC took the hint and hastily made off toward the rendezvous point – but not before dropping a copy of the information that Straight Arrow had assembled.

Meanwhile across town, New Man and Thich Nat Han approached the UNTIL hangar disguised as an UNTIL Colonel and his aide. "You people are needed at HQ," he told the guards at the door. "Haven't you heard? UTC has been spotted in town!" The guards were reluctant to leave, but a little mental nudging convinced them to go, leaving the door unguarded. Thich and New Man walked in unopposed to find nearly a dozen UNTIL soldiers staring at them.

At this distraction, Aurora (hidden inside the hangar's electrical junction box) popped out and zipped over to the Grungnir to help take out the person inside. As she did so, however, she noticed the magnetic fields in the hangar suddenly grow stronger. She dreaded what she knew was about to happen – Rocksteady, who had been hidden inside a metal crate on the floor, stood up.

At the same time, Vilkacis shadowed up to the Grungnir and slipped into the cargo bay. And what did our Soviet hero find within? Tune in next week to find out!

To be continued!

[Virtue]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

You cant end this game these Heros should continue to save the world for many more months and against many more threats to the world

 

(Maybe they should enlist some Villains help to save the world if they cant get enough heros to belive them

[teh bunneh]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

UNITY Recap for December 3 2005

Vilkacis, Aurora, New Man, and Thich Nat Han found themselves in the UNTIL Secure Hangar along with a dozen UNTIL agents, Team B member Rock Steady, and the Grungnir they intended to steal.

Vilkacis snuck in through the back of the plane. Aurora entered through the hull and immediately went to the cockpit. She found no one there so immediately began to prep the plane for take-off… except she had no idea how to do that (she had been too busy checking the jet's entertainment system while Straight Arrow had been giving demos). Instead, she concentrated on figuring out how to open the outside doors.

New Man attempted to trick the UNTIL agents by creating the illusion of him and Thich Nat Han racing for the hangar doors. The agents seemed fooled, until Rock Steady blasted New Man. The mentalist collapsed in a heap. Thich Nat Han immediately teleported his unconscious teammate closer to the plane.

Rock Steady and the UNTIL agents advanced on Thich Nat Han, but he was too quick for any of them. Once he got within range, he teleported Rock Steady out of the hangar (which effectively took the slow-moving alien out of the fight), then tossed New Man into the plane and jumped in after him.

Luckily, Thich Nat Han had paid attention to Straight Arrow's lessons, so he started the plane. Meanwhile, Aurora and the now awake New Man went to the back of the plane to see what was keeping Vilkacis. They found him tossing an unconscious Spellbreaker out the back. "I had a little trouble," Vilkacis said. "But it's all taken care of now."

New Man didn't exactly trust Vilkacis, so he mind-scanned the Russian hero, but he found nothing to confirm his suspicions. The plane took off before UNTIL could scramble any other defenses, and they picked up the second team at the local rendezvous point.

Straight Arrow took the plane up into orbit, and then took some time to dismantle all its tracking devices. The heroes knew that this was the only interstellar craft UNTIL had available so they wouldn't be followed, but they wanted to make certain anyway.

Following the co-ordinates that Aurora discovered, the heroes raced into interstellar space, hoping to intercept the alien fleet before it arrived. But then came the question… what do we do when we find it? Their tiny ship was no match for the combined might of the Mondabi Empire. They tossed ideas back and forth and eventually came to the conclusion that they had to hijack a smaller Mondabi craft, and use that to try to sneak aboard the flagship where Team A was being held.

They went on the lookout for a scout ship or some other straggler, and as luck would have it, eventually found one. Vilkacis recognized it as a long-range communications vessel with a crew of maybe 15-20, mostly technicians. It was perfect. Straight Arrow blocked their communications and then gave chase.

Apparently, the pilot of the comm craft was new, because Straight Arrow had no trouble at all catching the fleeing ship. Tank, Vilkacis, and Aurora all went out the airlock to board the enemy ship while Thich Nat Han prepared to teleport Red Dragon directly into the Mondabi's control room.

Unfortunately, the alien pilot had a stroke of luck. When he heard Tank's heavy footsteps on his hull, he veered just as Thich Nat Han was teleporting his comrade. Red Dragon appeared just outside the alien ship. Panicked, Thich brought him back aboard, but Red Dragon was not happy. "Don't do that again," he gasped.

"Do it again," Straight Arrow ordered, and Thich teleported the angry samurai back to the Mondabi ship. This time, fortunately, he hit his target.

Inside the ship, Red Dragon appeared in the midst of a group of Mondabi who were furiously working on some kind of alien computer system. A red mist closed over his eyes. In seconds, all the Mondabi were dead – but this did not quell his bloodlust. He burst from the room to find several aliens rushing to see what the disturbance was. Before they could even shout out a warning, they too had met their fates on the samurai's sword. Red Dragon, still overcome by his rage, charged into the next room to find the pilots franticly trying to simultaneously draw their sidearms and pilot the ship. They also met their fate.

Meanwhile, Aurora, Tank, and Vilkacis broke through the alien ship's airlock and stepped aboard. A group of Mondabi guards waited to greet them with a hail of blaster fire… that did no damage whatsoever. Aurora shocked one guard into unconsciousness, Tank grabbed three of them and squeezed all the air out of their lungs, and Vilkacis tackled the last one, taking him prisoner. "Take me to your commander!" the Russian told the alien, who quickly agreed.

Back on the Grungnir, Thich Nat Han was preparing to teleport the rest of the heroes over. Gazelle (eager to go, despite what had happened to Red Dragon) was next. She appeared in the same room that Red Dragon had, and the sight of the mangled Mondabi corpses freaked her out. She ran away from that room, straight into Vilkacis' team. Seeing a Mondabi with them, she immediately attacked, pounding the alien into next week.

"Thank you so much," Vilkacis remarked dryly. "You have saved us from my PRISONER!"

"Oops," she said, sheepishly, and then told them about the carnage in the next room.

The fight was over now; most of the crew of the long-range ship were dead, the rest were unconscious. Vilkacis took over the controls and the two ships docked. Gazelle was sent to clean up Red Dragon's mess (since New Man refused to board unless all those bloody corpses were cleared away!).

Straight Arrow found Red Dragon in a side room with the severed head of one of the pilots. Red Dragon was very carefully cleaning it, which disturbed Straight Arrow greatly. "Get rid of that hideous thing," he ordered the samurai. "But I need it," Red Dragon protested. "One must always collect the heads of one's vanquished enemies." But Straight Arrow wouldn’t hear any of it, so Red Dragon reluctantly did as his daimyo commanded.

The heroes couldn't take the Grungnir, so they marked where it was on their charts and left it idling in space. Hopefully they'd be able to find it again when they came back. Vilkacis took the controls and the team headed off with all speed towards the alien fleet…

TBC!

[Virtue]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

Red Dragon is going down a dark path (I like It!)

 

Are any of these NPCs or are they all Character now?

[teh bunneh]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

You cant end this game these Heros should continue to save the world for many more months and against many more threats to the world

 

Thanks much for the vote of confidence, Virtue. I tend to run games that last approximately 1 year (give or take); dunno, I guess my attention span isn't long enough. I hear about people running the same campaign for 10 years or longer and I'm simply amazed. No, UNITY 2010 was intended to have a definite beginning, middle, and end, and we are approaching the end. But fear not, I'll almost certainly run something next year. Probably fantasy, but ya never know.

[teh bunneh]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

Red Dragon is going down a dark path (I like It!)

 

Are any of these NPCs or are they all Character now?

 

Tank has always been an NPC (or as I call him, the GMPC). The heroes recruited Gazelle while they were in Africa -- she's an NPC. Everyone else has a player behind him/her.

[teh bunneh]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

Here's a little bluebooking that a couple of my players are doing...

 

Vilkacis wrote:

As Vilkacis begins to explain the basics of the space craft to Straight Arrow, he seems uncomfortable. His normal calm demeanor is countered by a nervous chewing of his thick cigar. After a few moments of silence, he turns...

 

"I beleive we have a problem."

 

After Straight Arrow acknowledges the comment, he continues, "Well, we have two problems. This first is that I cannot function if Red Dragon continues to threaten me. If I am to remain, there are only three options I can see... He spontaneously comes to this senses

and realizes I am not his enemy. Barring that shift in the laws in the universe, the second option is you speak to him. Because either you trust me implicitely, or you do not. If you do, you must deal with this situation. If you do not, then the problem is bigger than one overly aggressive samurai. The final option is that I work to preserve

myself, and while he is much stronger than myself, If he forces it into him or me.... I will do whatever I can to make sure he does not succeed. You know as well as I that his strength is as much his weakness as his power."

 

He sighs, and shakes his head, "But that is not the real problem. I have learned information that may change the face of this upcoming conflict. And this gets back to the issue I just raised, either you trust me or you don't. I have not lost who I am with the discovery of my nature.... you should see that. But if you do not trust me, I will accept

that and I will not work against your goals. I will part ways when we arrive, and I will operate independently. If you do trust me, then there is more... but it means you must trust me completely, no more precautions, no more fall back plans, and no more threats from anyone on the team."

 

He leans back and watches Straight Arrow intently. He is relaxed, but still apprehensive. He begins to work on flying the plane again and offers minor corrections, making it clear his instruction in flying is seperate from the conversation at hand.

---

Straight Arrow wrote:

Simon was silent for a long moment, seemingly focused on memorizing the layout of navigational controls that Leshey had just pointed out. He considered what to say very carefully.

 

"I won't guarantee that I won't have a 'fail-safe' plan for dealing with you should the need arise," he said coolly, "But keep in mind that I'm a tactical thinker. I can't help it. Bloody Hell...I have contingencies in my mind for dealing with every member of this team. It's not that I don't trust any and all of them, including yourself, it's just that I've dealt with too many telepathic villains not to be prepared.

 

"So, what I'm saying here...is that I do trust you. I wouldn't be bringing you on this mission if I didn't. I apologize for the suspicion I cast your way when I realized your true origins. You have to understand that it was as much as shock to myself and John as it was to you. I just wasn't sure what to think...how to react...so I fell back into my military training. I'm sorry for that. It was remotely fair to you. I just couldn't believe that the man I met and worked with all those years ago...who saved my life in St. Petersburg and Lisa's in Kaliningrad...I couldn't even imagine he was an alien."

 

Simon sighed heavily. "If you can forgive my paranoia, I promise that I will give you my trust. You've certainly had ample opportunity to turn on us if you truly wanted to. I'm going to believe that you won't and that you are with us to the end."

 

A light flashed on the console and Simon adjusted the ship's heading ever so slightly per Leshey's directions. "As far as Saingo is concerned, I promise that I'll talk with him. I suspect that his latest anti-alien aggression is a result of the pressure of everything we've had to deal with in the past week. Saingo might be withdrawing into himself and letting more of the samurai ghost's personality take control." Simon recalled the bloody remains of the ship's Mon'Dabi crew and suppressed a shudder. "His aggression will have to be dealt with but that's not your problem. It's mine and I promise I'll deal with it. I'll make sure the rest of the team is off your case as well."

 

Simon took his eyes off the navigational console for the first time and looked directly at Leshey. "So, old friend, what have you learned?"

---

Vilkacis wrote:

Leichy nods, "I will consider the matter with Red Dragon dealt with. Before I threw her out of the plane, I had a conversation with another Wraith, Spellbreaker. The problem is more complex than I originally imagined. As you should know, I did not forget who I was when I learned that I was a wraith, I am still the same Leichy.... and there is a reason for that."

 

He gestures towards the panel and guides Simon in a few more intricacies, "There are going to be Wraiths on both sides of the battle. The reason being... how to explain... I *am* Leichy. Wraiths are not like humans or Mon'Dabi. Maybe I should start from the beginning..."

 

Sighing, he looks back to the entrance to the cockpit, then turns back to the controls, "The Wraiths brought the Mon'Dabi to Earth. They gave them technology and direction, and are infiltrated into the highest rungs of their ladder. Just like they have done to UNtil. Their purpose, however, was never to conquer anything. They do not control the Mon'Dabi, no more than they control the Humans. They guided the Mon'Dabi to Earth in the hopes that the Mon'Dabi would lose, and they could escape Mon'Dabi culture. The Mon'Dabi are violent and short-sighted. They do not understand peace nor do they ever want to. But here is the problem..."

 

Leichy turns to Straight Arrow, his hand still on the second control stick, but his eyes focused on him, "The Wraiths are Mon'Dabi, just as they are Human. They... we... do not exist on our own. We exist as members of another's culture. We take on their hopes, dreams, and emotions. I am still Leichy because I am just as human as you or Red Dragon. Just as the Wraiths with the Mon'Dabi are just as Mon'Dabi as the next one. But here is where it gets complicated... There are very few Wraiths, and we have only one desire that is our own... to preserve each other. Now the Mon'Dabi have returned to Earth because they were slighted, they were hurt. They want revenge. They are bringing Wraith technology and their own to bear, and it is not the Wraiths who are doing it."

 

Turning back to his eyes on the stars, "You know me, you know how much I trust people, especially strangers. I beleive them, to a degree. This is where you must trust me. I beleive I can help my people while still saving the Earth. The Mon'Dabi are the enemy. Not the Wraiths. The Wraiths made the mistake of assimilating into Mon'Dabi culture, but now they hope to assimilate into ours.Assimilate, not conquer. UNtil has been running off of Wraith technology for a long time, the teleporters, the satellite, the ships... they would not have given this technology if they were our enemies."

 

"Now the choice is yours. My concern for Red Dragon was not unrelated to what I learned. These were all Mon'Dabi... but his hatred for aliens... and I beleive that extends to people alien to his own culture as well... may end up killing one of our own people by accident. He may end up killing a potential ally. I can help Mon'Dabi Wraiths, but I need to talk to them, to touch them, while they are alive. But... but this is what we have. I did all I could to ascertain deception from SpellBreaker, and I beleive her... I am still going to be careful... but I need to know you are with me."

 

He stops, opens his mouth to speak again, then closes it... he is obviously waiting for Simon's response.

---

Straight Arrow wrote:

Simon stared almost unblinking at Leichy, his jaw set tight. His face betrayed no emotion, locked behind a mask of British stoicism. Inwardly, however, he was cursing like a drunken Irishman as he struggled with the ramifications of Leichy's revelation.

"Bloody Hell," he finally muttered, "Calling this 'complex' is an understatement." If what Leichy was telling him was true (and Simon had little doubt that his friend at least believed it to be true), then that meant there were innocents and allies hidden amidst the enemy forces. And there was no easy way to tell friendly from hostile.

What was worse...if the Wraiths weren't intent on weakening Earth's defenses against the Mon'Dabi, who was? Were alien invaders actually responsible for his team's sudden status as fugitives? Were there genuine traitors within UNTIL's command structure? Not only did Leichy's information make the coming rescue mission more complicated, it also negated the answers to the questions he and his team had thought they'd solved.

Simon let go of the controls and leaned back in the uncomfortable pilot's chair. He brushed his eyes with one hand. "This intelligence is accurate?" Simon shook his head. "Never mind. Of course it's accurate. You wouldn't have told me if you didn't think it was the truth."

Simon's computer-like mind started working on this problem, talking aloud as he processed the details. "So...our immediate issue is that we have potential allies mixed among our enemies but we can't tell one from the other. If we turn this into a knife fight, we run the risk of killing a friendly. So..." He groaned at the prospect of explaining this to the team. "...so we'll need to continue our practice of engaging in non-lethal combat even against the invaders."

Without looking at Leichy, he added, "I'm assuming that you can tell a Wraith from a non-Wraith somehow. Aurora can as well. It would make sense to have you two at point during the rescue attempt. We'll deal with Mon'Dabi opponents as necessary but if we locate a Wraith, it'll fall to you to open a dialogue with them."

Now Simon sat back up and turned to his comrade. "I am with you on this, old friend. I don't believe 'friendly fire' or 'collatoral damage.' I'll do everything in my power to protect the lives of any innocents we come across. I don't know how this will affect our return to Earth; this information means we still don't know who's responsible for our

blacklisting." He shook his head. "But that's a problem we'll deal with if we return home."

If possible, Simon's _expression turned more serious. "We'll need to share this with the team. This is information they need to know."

[teh bunneh]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

UNITY Recap for December 10 2005

The session began with UTC having a little talk with Vilkacis. Apparently, he had recently learned something of his alien heritage. It seems that the Wraiths are not the bad guys in all this. Wraiths, according to him, absorb the culture of the people with whom they assimilate. When they assimilated with the Mondabi, they became aggressive and warlike. Now, the Wraiths wish to leave the Mondabi behind and assimilate with humans. The Mondabi war fleet has nothing to do with the Wraiths, although it is possible that Wraiths are hidden amongst the Mondabi command. Vilkacis made it quite clear that he didn't want any Wraiths to be killed in the attack on the flagship. "My people are few in numbers and just as vulnerable to damage as any living creature," he told his comrades. Straight Arrow announced that this new information changed their mission parameters – this was now a zero body count mission.

 

As for the mission, the heroes came up with an idea to infiltrate the alien fleet in their new stolen ship. They would fly back towards the enemy at a low speed, communicating with the fleet that they were damaged and flying blind, and ask to be taken aboard the flagship for repairs.

 

Vilkacis did a credible job of sounding like an inept commander, and he was severely reprimanded for his incompetence. The tiny scout ship was told to dock with the nearest battleship, and the idiot captain was to report for his punishment. As Vilkacis flew his tiny ship into the heart of the fleet, the heroes saw exactly what Earth was up against. They counted 20 of the Mondabi's kilometer-long battleships on their sensors – three times as many as took part in the original invasion.

 

The heroes were taken aboard the flagship and Vilkacis (wrapped around and disguising New Man) disembarked. He was surprised to find the landing bay empty. As they looked around, suddenly someone dropped from the ceiling, knocked them down, and put a knife to their throat. "Get back in the ship, mate," the attacker hissed. "You're taking us out of here…"

 

New Man recognized him immediately – it was Seeker, the Australian hero from UNITY Team A. Vilkacis dropped the disguise and Seeker recognized New Man (they had met once before). "We've come to rescue you!" New Man told the delighted Aussie. The three of them quickly boarded the ship and the whole team had a powwow.

 

Seeker told them what he knew. "Team A had been on a long-range mission to try to identify threats and potential allies across the galaxy. We were specifically looking for a race of people called the Mythnari, who we had heard about and thought might be friendly. We were also looking to recon the Mondabi to make sure they weren't planning anything." Seeker said between mouthfuls of rations (he hadn't eaten anything but Mondabit cuisine for weeks). "Well, turns out they were planning something big – as you probably noticed. We fled, they gave chase. They managed to disable our Grungnir and took us all prisoner. By the way," he added. "We found the Mythnari, too. One of them tried to help rescue us, but wound up captured, too. We've been calling her The Queen."

 

"Funny that," Aurora smiled. "Team C managed to find a Mythnari, too, but they didn't have to travel halfway across the galaxy to do it."

 

"How did you escape?" Straight Arrow asked.

 

"They put us in cells designed to dampen our powers," Seeker told him. "Unfortunately for them, I haven't got any powers – just my brains and my skills. They were careless; I killed a guard and escaped into the waste disposal system. They've been hunting me, but I get the impression that I'm pretty low on their priority list – sort of a "He's just one man and he doesn't have any powers" kind of attitude, I'm guessing. I've been living in the ship's Jeffries tubes and sewers ever since, looking for a way to either free my team or get off this boat to warn Earth. When I saw your ship docking, I thought that was my big chance to escape."

 

"Well, we're here to free the rest of Team A," Straight Arrow told him. "Do you know your way around?"

 

"Yeah, mate, I can get you there," the Australian ninja said. "But security is pretty tight since I escaped."

 

Seeker took Team C through a series of ventilation ducts, sewer lines, and empty corridors until they finally reached the prison section. Each hero was kept in his or her own private wing, each wing watched by four alert guards and wired to a central security room.

 

The plan was for Vilkacis and New Man, in disguise as a Mondabi officer, to enter the first corridor and begin yelling at the guards. Meanwhile, Aurora would slip into the hallway's computer and try to shut down the security system from within. The rest of the team would wait unseen in a nearby waste disposal port.

 

Vilkacis/New Man entered the area, shouting at and cuffing the guards (it seems that the lower ranked Mondabi expect a little abuse from their commanders). However, Aurora wasn't as sneaky as she thought and one of the guards noticed the arcing electricity around the control panel. He brought this to the attention of the "commander," who berated them for their incompetence and sent two of them to fetch a technician to fix the problem.

 

Aurora set off a sparkle-burst, which screwed up the corridor's electronics, and then she and New Man blasted the two guards that were left. Vilkacis quickly opened up the prison cell and released the prisoner. It was none other than Warsmith, the Kenyan gadgeteer.

 

As soon as he was informed about the situation, Warsmith went to the control panel and reprogrammed it to show that everything in the area was "Situation Normal." The heroes locked the unconscious guards in Warsmith's cell and the entire team made their way to the second cellblock.

 

Team C quickly and with little trouble managed to free Fortunata (the luckiest woman in Italy), Inque (the Indian stretcher), Shadow Puppet (shadow-mistress from Indonesia), and Pharoah's Daughter (the Egyptian avatar of the gods). And that's when the alarms went off – obviously someone discovered the unconscious guards and missing prisoners.

 

Warsmith and Straight Arrow went into a huddle. "You free the rest of the prisoners," Warsmith told his fellow team-leader. "My group and I will get down to the engine room."

 

"What are you going to do?" Straight Arrow asked.

 

"What I do best," Warsmith grinned. "Improvise."

 

Warsmith took Gazelle and the rest of Team A and took off running. Straight Arrow and his team prepped themselves to finish their mission – one way or another…

 

TBC!

 

Just FYI, the people you still have left to free are: Quasar (the German cosmic hero), Tiger Hawk (the Korean shape-changer), Simian Fury (your former teammate, the Congolese animist), and The Queen (the Mythnari who tried to help Team A).

[Scifi_Toughguy]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

So good yet so sad. The game is great but the arc is coming to a close...

[Virtue]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

I will miss my Unity C fix when its over

[TheRavenIs]

Re: UNITY 2010: A New Champions Campaign

 

I will miss this. So Bill you'd better post your next game. PLEASE!!!!