An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

[Mark Rand]

This is not set in the mainstream Marvel Universe. They are, however, nearly the same.

 

The split from the mainstream Marvel Universe occurred in ancient Greece, around the time of Hercules. A number of tribes of Amazons were giving the Romans problems. At a decisive battle, 200 older Amazons stayed behind and faced two Roman legions while their younger sisters escaped into the cities, married, and had children. At the end, all 200 Amazons died, but they took half the Romans with them.

 

In ancient Britain, the Celtic people had a number of Holy sites. The most important was a loch that reputedly led to Avalon. It was referred to as Loch Avalon and the nearby temple was the Temple of Avalon. The priestesses were the Ladies of Avalon and the high priestess was the Lady of the Loch.

 

In the fifth century, Ambrosius Aurelianus was a Roman cavalry commander based near Hadrian's Wall. When they were about to be freed from service, they were given one last command, to rescue an important Roman noble and his family from the Pict lands (behind Hadrian's Wall) and bring them back. When he saw what the noble and his people had done to the natives, Ambrosius freed the Picts and left the Romans to die.

 

When they returned, Ambrosius reported what he'd done to the bishop and said that it was the right thing to do. The bishop, angered by this was about to order Ambrosius, his men, and the Picts killed for disobeying Roman orders when a soldier came up and reported a Saxon fleet had been spotted on the East coast. The bishop said that he didn't care. To the bishop's surprise, Ambrosius said that he did and that he and his men were going to fight the Saxons. The Picts joined the fight on Ambrosius's side.

 

To Be Continued

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

Once the Saxons were driven out, Ambrosius was proclaimed king. He then married Gwenhwyvar, the fiercest of the Pict women warriors and daughter of Taliesin, the Arch-Druid, or Lord Merlin. Another Pict woman was Vivianne, the Lady of the Loch. After their marriage, Ambrosius and Gwenhwyvar ruled from a wooden fort atop Cadbury Hill.

 

As they died, their souls were approached by the Green Knight, an aspect of the Green Man. He told them of the Red Lord, his enemy, and his servants, the Bane. Then, he told them how they could help. They agreed. The Pendragon Spirits were born.

 

Over the centuries the tales of the battle became confused. Ambrosius Aurelianus became Arthur, an English king. Gewnhwyvar, a Pict warrior queen, who could take any lover she wanted became Guinevere, whose affair with Lancelot ruined the Round Table. Taliesin became Merlin the Magician. Their wooden fort became a large stone castle known as Camelot.

 

In the early 12th century, Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote these tales down and they began to spread. Meanwhile, things were heating up in what was now England. A new king arouse from the ashes. Interestingly enough, his name was Arthur and his queen was Guinevere. They ruled together at Camelot.

 

To Be Continued

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

Like the original Arthur, he had a wizard named Merlin and a Lady of the Lake, in this case, Morgaine. Like Arthur, Merlin, and some of the knights, she was a Pendragon host, Vivianne's. Mordred is Arthur and Morgaine's son and he was raised by Morgause, an evil woman who used him against Arthur.

 

Edit: While Morgaine was a pagan high priestess, she and her priestesses had a good relationship with England's Catholic priests for two reasons. First, Morgaine was the King's half-sister and they didn't want to make him angry with them. Second, Morgaine and her priestesses were quick to respond when anyone, no matter how they worshiped, needed their help.

 

The Grail exists. It is sentient and travels the multiverse. It occasionally comes home to the Otherworld. When it does, it stays with Raven, a priestess, in Vivianne's time, who took a vow of silence when she was alive.

 

Joan of Arc was a Pendragon host.

 

In the early 1990s, the Knights of Pendragon formed in England, the spiritual heirs of King Arthur and his associates, they were all Pendragon hosts. After a while Kate McClellan, Astra TV's fearless and beloved reporter, left the group, continuing on her own. She often assisted Brigadier Alysande Stewart, head of the Weird Happenings Organization, and her genius brother, Alystaire, with their investigations.

 

To Be Continued

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

On September 11, 2001, terrorists tried to fly four airliners into various buildings. The Avengers and other heroes stopped the attacks and turned the terrorists over to federal authorities.

 

Dubya wanted to make war on the sources of the attackers, but Congress wouldn't go for it. The Patriot Act was passed by Congress. The Supreme Court struck down the provisions that violated civil rights. Dubya and his cohorts weren't happy about that.

 

In June of 2003, the residents of Sunnydale, California left town over a period of several days. As the last vehicle, a small school bus left, Sunnydale vanished into a crater. The site is now a national park.

 

In May of 2004, Los Angeles was invaded by creatures that have been described as "demons" and 'dragons". Superheroes and the military defeated the invaders.

 

To Be Continued

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

Before I continue with the history, I thought we'd make a quick stop into outer space and take a look at the Local Group. This is a group of over 30 galaxies, with it's gravitational center located somewhere between the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy. The galaxies of the local group cover an area that's 10,000,000 light years in diameter and belong to the Virgo Supercluster.

 

The major aliens that show up in the Marvel Universe come from outside our galaxy. The Skrulls are in the Andromeda Galaxy. The Kree are in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Although the location of the Shi'ar's home galaxy is never mentioned, I'm putting them in the Small Magellanic Cloud.

 

As far as the TV series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis and the novel Way Station go, the Goa'uld and the civilization from Way Station are in separate parts of the Milky Way while Stargate Atlantis takes place in the Pegasus Dwarf Irregular galaxy and the Asguard galaxy of Ida is outside the local group.

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

Back to the history.

 

In mid 2005, the Avengers, now considered by the U.N. as a world power, proposed adding new bases around the world and creating new teams. These would be, in accord with their charter, in Great Britain, France, Russia, and China as well as at least one other team in the United States. According to the charter, these would be paid for by the host government.

 

Dubya, in turn, demanded that the Avengers add new bases only in the United States, and where he wanted them, including the original team in the Washington, D.C. area. Furthur, he demanded that the Avengers discountinue their United Nations sanction and accept sanction from the United States National Security Council.

 

Additional liaisons would be provided by the FBI, Homeland Security, and three agencies to be named later. He also wanted all but housekeeping staff positions filled by members of the USAF.

 

The Avengers agreed to move the original team to College Park, Maryland. They also looked over the list of cities Dubya wanted the other teams in, and admitted that they didn't like having the federal government boss them around. The U.N. sided with the Avengers.

 

To Be Continued

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

Dubya wanted a team in each time zone, teams in Alaska and Hawaii, and the original team in the DC area. Here is the list of cities he came up with.

 

Anchorage, Alaska

Chicago, Illinois

College Park, Maryland

Colorado Springs, Colorado (at the United States Air Force Academy)

Honolulu, Hawaii

Las Vegas, Nevada

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

 

More history to come.

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

A few quick notes.

 

SHIELD is an international anti-terrorist organization. While PRIMUS doesn't exist in the mainstream Marvel Universe, it does exist in this version. Dubya wants a PRIMUS base within 100 miles of each Avengers headquarters.

 

Mariko Yamashiro will be the Silver Avenger assigned to the PRIMUS base closest to the PCs. She looks a lot like Maria Chow, has Terry Kestlers stats, has Mayte Sanchez's adrenaline junkie style, and years of ninja training.

 

Besides PRIMUS equipment, she carries her own tanto (knife), weighted chain, and throwing stars (all bought from a relative's martial arts supply company), and a katana made by the 16th century's finest swordsmith.

 

Back to the history.

 

In February of 2006, just days before The State of the Union Address, Secretary of Education James Collingsworth and his wife, Kathryn, a nurse, headed for Durant, Oklahoma, where the Collingsworth's daughter, Holly, worked for the Ross Brothers Circus handling the big cats. With them were Senator David Martin, and his wife, Ellen, an eye surgeon and Kathryn's employer.

 

To Be Continued

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

After James and Holly had a reunion, he spent some time talking to local educators and other people about the methods used to teach circus kids. At the same time, Senator Martin talked with the circus management about the problems the circus industry had with government regulations and Ellen and Kathryn spent time with their circus counterparts Annette Campbell, M.D. and her daughter, Catherine, a nurse practitioner.

 

On the afternoon of the State of the Union Address, an Army Signal Corps trailer arrived at the winter quarters. Along with it were Secret Service agents, a military officer with a Nuclear Football, more press, and a federal judge.

 

That evening, the circus band held a bi-weekly practice session. Many people, including Holly, attended. Her parents and the Martins, attended, too, after Holly set her VCR to record it for them.

 

Just before the practice, Mr. Ross, using the ringmaster's microphone, welcomed them and reminded them that, since it was a band practice, only the band was required to stay. He added that the pie car (or snack bar) was still open, some mechanics were working, and that they expected at least one mare to have a foal shortly. He then turned it over to the band.

 

To Be Continued

[Shaft]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

Hey Mark, is this campaign in the same continuity as your Batman/Nightman campaign?

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

Hey Mark' date=' is this campaign in the same continuity as your Batman/Nightman campaign?[/quote']

 

No.

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

At 9:15 that evening (8:15 central), as the President started his speech, Washington, D.C. was reduced to rubble. Moments later, Mr. Ross was told about the distruction and he told everyone sitting in on the practice about it.

 

While the bandmaster searched his scores, Mr. Ross informed President Collingsworth that he had the run of the facilities as long as he wanted them. While Holly, with Secret Service agent Gina Toscano at her side, left to get her copy of the Hebrew Bible (the Collingsworths are Jewish), the bandmaster sounded Taps for everyone who had died.

 

President Collingsworth chatted briefly with Lieutenant Commander Gail Peters, USN, who had the football. She nodded, then stood aside and passed his orders on while, standing beside the ringmaster's microphone, he was sworn in. After the swearing in, Holly put her bible away, then went to check on her cats. As she did, President Collingsworth had a quick chat with Mr. Ross.

 

To Be Continued

 

note 1: The Mr. Ross mentioned in the above posts is circus president and producer David Michael Ross.

 

note 2: When everything is set up properly, the ringmaster's microphone is on an elephant tub about 25 feet away from the bandstand. During band practice, it's used for general announcements.

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

Within five minutes of the swearing in, officers of the Oklahoma State Police and the Oklahoma National Guard had the circus property surrounded. As the shock of what had happened settled in, people began to gather together in groups and took comfort from each other's presence.

 

At 8:59 (central time) the next morning, a group of generals and admirals were waiting in front of the circus office for their ride to where the President was to meet them. At 9 straight up, a circus bus rolled up to the office. They climbed in and were driven to the barn that the showgirls learned their skills in. Once the new Joint Chiefs of Staff and their chairman were chosen and his briefings had been concluded, the President called for their bus and they were driven back to the office.

 

At 10:30, when he was along with his thoughts, he looked over his notes, then he and Commander Peters discussed one of the things they'd been briefed on.

 

To Be Continued

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

Around 11:30, President Collingsworth spoke to the press, giving them the names of the new Joint Chiefs of Staff, cancelling all of Dubya's demands to the Avengers, telling them that preparations for an uncoming press conference were underway, and reminding them to make sure they knew that they'd be in Durant for a few more days. He then left to finish making his arrangements with Mr. Ross.

 

At the same time, in Washington, some members of the Avengers and other teams, as well as the Red Cross and other people were continuing the search and rescue/recovery work they'd started right after the destruction while others searched for the source of the attack.

 

The press, of course, provided continuing coverage of everything, including Ellen Martin, M.D., taking care of an elephant worker that had something in his left eye, Kathryn, a nurse, accompanied by Secret Service Agent Andrea Price, helping Annette Campbell, M.D. with a reporter's heart attack, and Catherine Campbell, R.N.P. dealing with the wounds caused by two workers brawling.

 

To Be Continued

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

The next few days, while the nation held its collective breath, President Collingsworth held mettings in the barn. At the same time, recovery operations continued in Washington, the senator and two representatives returned from their "undisclosed location" (actually, Camp David), and began looking for a temporary Capitol Building.

 

A nearby church that was going to be converted into a community center filled that need while an office building across the street from it became the Senate Office Building.

 

As far as the Avengers went, while Chicago welcomed them with open arms, officials in Las Vegas were somewhat worried about what this would do to the tourist industry. Officials in Anchorage, Pittsburgh, and Honolulu said that'd welcome talks with the Avengers. The Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force said that he found the idea of have the Avengers at the United States Air Force Academy interesting.

 

To Be Continued

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

While at the circus, the Collingsworths and the Martins are living in rented motorhomes. The day after the destruction of Washington, Mrs. Collingsworth made arrangements for the extention of the rental of the motorhomes while Dr. Martin called her office and briefed them on the situation. At the same time, the Secret Service had the FBI run background checks on the circus personal. No red flags popped up.

 

Finally, the day came for President Collingsworth's first televised press conference. It was to be held in the barn the band practice had been in and he was going to use the bandstand itself as a stage. As the morning progressed, circus people worked under the watchful eyes of the Secret Service.

 

Boss electrician Tom Smith and his crew, his wife and their two children, made sure that there was plenty of power. Maestro Matthew Reese, the bandmaster, and an electronics engineer, tended the equipment for the multimedia part of the news conference while his wife, Becky, the head showgirl, kept an eye on the sound system. Secret Service agents stood close to them.

 

With one hour to go, President Collingsworth relaxed and smoked his first pipe of the day.

 

To Be Continued.

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

President Collingsworth's preferred kind of tobacco is cherry cavandish.

 

Onward. The Educational Department spokesman, who was acting as the White House Press Secretary, stood at the podium and said, "Listen up, folks. The president will speak on several topics. Then, he will open it up for any questions not about the cause of the destruction of Washington, D.C. Following that, there will be a multimedia presentation on that destruction. More questions will follow that. After which, I'm sure the networks will analyze everying to death. Questions?"

 

"How soon will the President arrive?" a mouthy reporter asked.

 

"Right now," the reply from the door. They turned and saw the President standing there with his pipe in his left hand and Gail and a number of men just behind him.

 

The spokesman said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States," then vacated the stage.

 

To Be Continued

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

The President took the podium and spoke in a pleasant, well-modulated tone.

 

He asked the people to choose ordinary people instead of career politicians that would be tempted to listen to the special interest groups instead of their constituents. He wanted a flat tax with no exemptions or deductions instead of the complex system we now have.

 

He said that he'd make government efficient instead of clumsy. He informed them that the requirement that states permit a right turn on red in order to receive federal tax dollar was no more and the law requiring governments to pay union workers five years worth of salary if their agency was disbanded no longer existed. Finally, he said that we shouldn't be in Iraq and that most of the troops were on their way home. The only ones staying in the area would be in Kuwait. He then asked for questions.

 

To Be Continued.

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

I've been doing a bit of editing on the previous posts, mostly to fix spelling errors.

 

Onward. After the questions, the President asked the assembled to pay attention to the movie screen on the bandstand and the various monitors in the room. He then signaled Matt Reese. For the next hour, the assembled press, and everyone viewing the press conference was introduced to Stargate Command.

 

When it ended, the President said, "Folks, we have a two-way teleconference with Stargate Command next." Facing Matt, he asked, "How soon?"

 

"Now," Matt replied, flipping a switch. "Becky should be getting the zero-level audio tone," he added as color bars appeared on the screen and monitors.

 

"Got it," Becky replied from the audio board. "Army Signal Corps reports clear signals."

 

To Be Continued

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

Catherine Campbel, R.N.P. is known to most at the circus as Cat. Should she show up again, she will be referenced that way.

 

President Collingsworth is 6'5" tall and wears glasses. During the first two sections of his press conference, he never smoked the pipe in his left hand. Instead, he just fingered it. Those with good vision could note that it's empty.

 

Onward. Major General George Hammond appeared on the screen and introduced Dr. Elizabeth Weir of the State Department to everyone. He also introduced Lieutenant Graham Simmons, Chief Master Sergeant Walter Harriman, Staff Sergeant Laura Davis, and Master Sergeant Sylvester Siler, their chief engineer.

 

Suddenly, alarms sounded, Davis, who was at the controls, closed the iris, then announced that Bra'tec was sending his code. Hammond ordered the iris opened, then he and Elizabeth went down to see what the Jaffa leader wanted. "Hammond of Texas, will you grant me leave to enter your compound?" Bratec asked as he entered.

 

"Of course, Master Bra'tec," General Hammond replied. He then introduced Dr. Weir and told them that the President was watching via television and that the public was now being made aware of the project.

 

"It is an honor, Mr. President," Bra'tac said.

 

To Be Continued

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

"Thank you, Master Bra'tec," the President said. "It is an honor for me to meet you."

 

Hammond then briefed Bra'tec on the events of the past few days. "You said that two of Anubus's ships attacked Earth, destroying Washington, D.C. before being destroyed by the mothership that you took from his fleet and two ha'taks that once belonged to Ba'al?"

 

"Correct," Dr. Weir replied.

 

"We must end that threat to the universe," Bra'tec stated.

 

"Agreed," Dr. Weir said.

 

"At this point, I have promotions, awards, and such to announce," President Collingsworth said as he reached for a thick folder. Major General Hammond was promoted to Lieutenant General and made head of the Department of Homeworld Security, which would be based in the SGC Complex. Dr. Elezabeth Weir became the new head of Stargate Command. Colonel Jack O'Neill was promoted to Brigadier General.

 

Both Major Samantha Carter, Ph.D., and Major Janet Frasier, M.D., were promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. Dr. Frasier was also awarded a Purple Heart for being wounded offworld while on a medical mission. Lieutenant Diana Connors, R.N., was promoted to captain and made the SGC's new head nurse.

 

Finally, it was announced that SG-1 would get two additional members. Chosen were Sha're Jackson, Daniel's wife, who had been de-Goa'ulded on Cimmeria, and Lieutenant Jennifer Hailey.

 

To Be Continued

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

SG-2 showed up next. They were early because Captain Bethany Fields, Ph.D., their cultural and linguistical expert, had been injured. It turned out to be nothing more than a badly sprained ankle.

 

Senator Kinsey showed up soon after SG-2 went to the infirmary, demanding that Stargate Command be put under the NID. President Collingsworth refused. Kinsey threatened to use his clout against the President. The President explained that several days ago he had the U.S. Marshal's Office raid NID headquarters and obtain their files. Anyone who resisted was arrested, and anyone who drew on a marshal was shot.

 

Using information obtained, NID agents involved in illegal activities and corporate leaders who sponsored said activities were arrested. Kinsey refused to believe that the NID computer experts wouldn't have destroyed their files. The President explained that Lieutenant Colonel Carter had prevented that from happening and that there was an arrest warrent out for Kinsey.

 

Grinning, Elizabeth ordered Kinsey's arrest. Kinsey decked Elizabeth before being knocked into the wall by the beams from two ribbon devices, one of which was wielded by She're Jackson. Samantha Carter, still the host of Jolinar of Markshur, wielded the other. Once Elizabeth was on her feet, she ordered Major Robert Castleman (USMC), the head of base security, to toss Kinsey into a maximum-security cell after making sure there was nothing on the senator that he could use against anyone, including himself after being cleared by the medical staff.

 

To Be Continued

[SSgt Baloo]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

Good stuff, Maynard! Repped!

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

Good stuff' date=' Maynard! Repped![/quote']

 

Thank you. More to come.

[Mark Rand]

Re: An Avengers Campaign, version 3.0

 

Once the press conference was over, the senator and two congressmen that had been at Camp David were questioned by the press. The senator expressed his support for Stargate Command and their mission.

 

One congressman stated that the President, in addition to being the federal government, had to get a new White House staff, appoint a new Supreme Court, form a new Cabinet, fill many governmental positions, and oversee the rebuilding of both the federal bureaucracy and Washington, D.C.

 

The second congressman talked about the legal problems Kinsey would be facing in the near future. When asked if the President had the right to inform Kinsey of the arrest warrant and Dr. Weir had the right to order his arrest, the congressman replied in the affirmative.

 

To Be Continued