Top Secret
Heroes: Zeke, Jenissa
Enemies: Uncomfortable Seating, the Spheran Tigerclaw Division,
and Pepsi Cola
Although some campaigns might distribute rating sheets on
adventures that are multiples of 4, it seems that 5 is the magic
number for the Res Publica campaign. As such, Adventure 5 began
with the first such rating sheet of the campaign.
This chart asked the players to rate many of the military
officers they had met in terms of their Leadership ability on the
field of battle. Such a rating included both their bonuses to
various attack-types, their Morale and Discipline bonuses, and
the sheer number of men that they could command. It did not,
however, include the officer's skills at training troops during
down-time. Anyone reading this page can therefore also
participate in this chart by rating the following characters from
1 to 20, although they won't get the 1000 bonus XP for doing so.
Vidal Sassoon ____ Varin ____ Sgt. Slaughter ____
Cetina ____ Brock ____ Cpt. Wincester ____
The Duke of York ____ Cpt. Mace ____ Maj. Lanver ____
Major-General Byrne-White ____ Maj. Khaurus Vanbaal ____ Vygrymm, Dragon of Sphere ____
Stone Cold Steve Austin ____ Funky ____ Sir Karsh ____
Duke Nukem ____ Sneaky Pedro ____
Although they tended to agree on the top and bottom of the chart, Jenissa and Zeke still presented a divergent opinion on their fellow officers' skills. In the end, were it not for Jenissa's horrible misjudgement of one particular, but unknown, character, she would have come out on top. But as it was, Zeke took the win, proving that the Wheel was still on a full-blown roll.
Although to some it may have felt otherwise, only a short time had passed since we last left the heroes of the Res Publica campaign, where they had just defeated Duke Nukem and liberated the village of Valmore from his squadron of rogue Auxiliaries. As the curtain opened on this adventure, our two heroes had been joined by Varin and Cetina, and had found their way into Valmore's mayoral manor, where they were being congratulated for their exploits by both Roch Voisine (who was likely to write some kind of folk song about them at any moment) and the mayor of Valmore himself.
Rudy Giuliani
Race: Electran
Rank: Civilian
Affiliation: Village of Valmore Office of the Mayor
As his affiliation implies, Rudy Giuliani was the mayor of the
tiny village of Valmore in the Electran Velguara mountains. A
middle-aged, balding man with glasses and a dark suit, Rudy would
likely describe himself as a dynamic leader, who had succesfully
led his people through trial and hardship. However, like most
mayors, it is speculated that despite these 'leadership
qualities,' he may in some kind of trouble of an
indeterminate nature.
Rudy was quick to dub all four of the young officers as 'heroes,' and thanked them for liberating the town from the villainous Duke Nukem. Apparently, the Auxiliaries had done nothing but plunder the town ever since their arrival, and had stripped it of most everything of value. However, although our heroes questioned the mayor further on this matter, he knew nothing of what Duke and his men had done with the stolen loot, or what their motivation might have been, aside from perhaps pure greed. All that he knew for sure was that his town had undergone incredible hardship, and it would take much hard work and toil to restore it to its former prosperity. Rudy felt, however, that he was more than up to the task, and smugly speculated that he might even be named Man of the Year by some kind of national magazine. Clearly, he was far more worthy of such a title than someone unimportant like the Dragon of Sphere. Jenissa disagreed with this, stating that she'd been hearing a lot about this Adolf Hilter guy, and thought that his chances were pretty good. Rudy remained optimistic of his own odds, but nevertheless thanked our heroes once again for freeing them from the tyranny and plunder of the rogue military officers.
This statement was echoed moments later by none other than Field-Marshall Model, who had just now arrived on the scene. After reassuring the mayor that the town was indeed free from plunder, he proceeded to claim the mayoral manor as his 'command centre,' and ordered his valet to bring in his cognac and cigars. Naturally, the Mayor wasn't overly pleased by this development, and it didn't go over any better with our heroes. Zeke and Jenissa protested that their troops had already established a camp outside of town that the Field-Marshall could use, but Model, busy with occupying Giuliani's desk, proclaimed that he would need to be overseeing the rebuilding of the town from a more central location. Jenissa caustically suggested that perhaps this 'overseeing' should be done from right outside in the town, but Model assurred her that the Mayor would doubtless be handling that position. Lighting up a cigar, he told our heroes that he had been in contact with Republic Command and that reinforcements were already on their way via RAF airlift, and that they would receive their next orders upon their arrival. Until that time, they were dimissed to see to their troops.
As had become their custom as of late, Zeke and Jenissa promptly enlisted each other's subordinates for the training of the troops, which resulted in the usual amount of resistance. Zeke's men in particular were getting tired of the 'swishy' Vidal Sassoon. But they also had even more important complaints than that for their commander. With their supply of beer having run all but dry, the 'boys' had been searching for other drinks with which to quench their thirst. But to their dismay, they had discovered that there was but a single kind of beverage available in the entire town: something called Pepsi Cola. Zeke, being thirsty anyway (perhaps due to the saltiness of certain pretzels), gave the drink a reluctant try, but found only the horribly overly-sugary acidic taste that he'd been expecting. Jenissa, meanwhile, was surprised at the lack of new Vanilla Coke, given its prevalent promotional campaign, and while Zeke whole-heartedly agreed that even this latter drink was preferable to Pepsi, there was apparently none to be found.
Our two heroes swiftly decided that there was only one man who could answer their questions concerning the town's lack of choice in beverages, and general disappearance of valuables: Duke Nukem. However, as they were heading through the town towards where a temporary prison camp had been established for the villains, they passed by Mayor Rudy Giuliani overseeing the re-construction of a pair of two-storey buildings that had been demolished during the battle with Duke. Of course, this 'overseeing' seemed to consist mainly of numerous interviews with journalists and a camera-crew, and upon seeing the 'heroes' of the day, the Mayor invited them over for some comments. Upon examining Zeke's grungy attire, however, he quickly decided that really only Jenissa needed to be in the shot with him. Together, he speculated, the two of them would make a great cover-page for an international magazine. Jenissa was only too happy to agree, as well as to point out her own political lineage, while Zeke merely slung his beaten flight-jacket over one shoulder and waited impatiently. After several photo oppotunities, the Mayor offered our heroes some refreshments, although regrettably the only thing available was Pepsi Cola. This proposal was of course heatedly refused by Zeke, and the two Republic officers went on about their business.
A pair of Varin's Conventionals were guarding the prison area, but let the two ranking officers pass without complaint. There, standing in plain sight in the exact centre of the otherwise empty cell was none other than Duke Nukem. The belligerent Auxiliaries leader wasn't afraid of no Quake, and he wasn't overly concerned about the two other officers either. Our heroes first questioned Nukem about his motivations in seizing the town, but the only admission they got here was that Nukem felt that his usual pay just hadn't been enough. The topic then shifted to the matter of the town's stolen loot. Although Duke admitted freely to having plundered the town dry, especially of gum, he refused to say where the valuables had been taken. Though he did seem to imply that wherever they were, they were in plain sight. There seemed to be nothing our heroes could do to persuade the rogue officer to talk further, and thus, with Duke still standing in a pose identical to when they had entered, they returned to see what progress their men had made.
Unfortunately, it seemed that the training had not gone well. Jenissa's soldiers felt that they'd had quite enough exercise running from all the Spherans, and it was quite obvious that Zeke's men had vehemently resisted Vidal's attempts to slick back their hair. However, before the two Lieutenants could find fault with either squadron, one of Zeke's men started gesturing frantically to the sky. Looking up, they all spotted two flying vessels swiftly winging their way towards the town, one of which was glowing bright green! Speculating that these must be the reinforcements that Field-Marshall Model had promised, the two went to fetch Varin and Cetina, and to meet the aircraft as they landed.
The two vessels made a landing on one of the roads leading into town, with the four young officers waiting on the sidelines. The first ship, the one that had been glowing, was a large Hercules-class transport plane, and the second was a rather familiar red and white helicopter. Disembarking from this latter vehicle was none other than a man wearing a beige military uniform and gigantic dark sunglasses: Edward Byrne-White. He was accompanied by both another sunglass-wearing man who our heroes recognized as the Acquisitions Captain Glenn Beck, and a third hulking form that our heroes had never seen before.
Krog
Race: Terrorian
Rank: Captain
Affiliation: Electran Auxiliaries
Krog's character is so simplistic that I could practically sum it
up in one line. But I won't. Krog's major physical
characteristics consisted most prominently of his gigantic size,
rocky blueish-green skin, and overpowering vaporish green breath.
Despite this rather brutish appearance, Krog actually serves as
one of the highest-ranking Auxiliary officers, second only to
Commander Genghis Khan. For the most part, he appears to be a
man of few words, and when he does speak, it seems to almost
exclusively involve how he could rock the world of
whomever it is he happens to be talking to. But with huge
grasping arms the size of a normal man's torso, most would agree
that there's very little doubt that he could do just that.
It was hard to say which was more unpleasant: Krog's terrible breath, or Glenn Beck's bitter rant about how he wasn't surprised to find all these soldiers shirking their duties and partying it up in a secluded back-water town. Reasons such as the impending Spheran advance and liberating the town from Duke's rogue soldiers seemed to have little effect on the Acquisitions Captain, likely due to the fact that his was obviously the only military division that could do anything right. Meanwhile, Byrne-White interjected that they had come to re-supply the four beleaguered squadrons, and inform them of their next assignment. The modern Major-General was most pleased with Model's occupation of the Mayoral Manor, stating that this civilized treatment was certainly preferable to his Yemen Desert campaign. Zeke even mentioned that he thought the manor had shag rug carpetting, which Byrne-White instantly declared to be an absolute necessity. As such, he would hold his briefing at the Mayor's home in twenty minutes time.
That gave our heroes just enough time to fetch their subordinates before heading over to the commandeered manorhouse. Several chairs had been arranged for them in the sitting room, and waiting at the back were presumably the pilots who had brought in the Republic planes: Kal Meecham and Roger Murdoch. Kal greeted our heroes in his typical friendly, though eccentric, fashion, hinting that they might soon be flying with him. He hoped they would enjoy such a flight, because afterwards it might be time to die. The cheerfulness with which Kal made this statement was somewhat unnerving, but the briefing was beginning and our heroes had no time to worry about it for now.
Byrne-White began by congratulating the four officers for their performance, and then went on to introduce their next assignment. As they knew, a significant portion of the Spheran force in the region had just marched on the town of Ersha. This force had formerly been based in the Spheran-held settlement of Istava, a mining community to the north of Ersha and Valmore. Due to inside information provided by a Republic informant based in that village, Byrne-White had confirmed that Istava had been left in a relatively undefended state. The plan was thus to air-drop the four Republic squadrons behind enemy lines, where they would quickly capture the village, cutting off the Spherans in the south from being re-supplied. With the bridge to Valmore down, it was expected that the Spherans wouldn't last long in the desolate mountain wilderness without fresh supplies.
Taking the town, however, wouldn't be entirely trivial. Although it was lightly defended, it was also protected by a set of city walls that would be difficult to overcome without heavy equipment. Byrne-White thus proposed that after the drop, a small force should infiltrate the village to take down the walls from within, thus opening the way for a full-fledged assault. There was also an Electran resistance movement that had already established itself in the mining community, which might be of some help in this endeavor. Last of all, Byrne-White stated that all military operations and procedures needed catchy code-names, and thus dubbed this mission Operation Market Garden.
The young officers had some questions of their own, and the Major-General was now ready to receive them. First, Jenissa asked whether they would receive any aid from the operative that Byrne-White had mentioned earlier, but the response was negative. The operative was apparently firmly entrenched undercover and couldn't afford to reveal him or herself for this assignment. Next, Zeke questioned what kind of supplies they would be given for this assignment. Glenn Beck fielded this one, although his answer was mostly a rant about how Zeke was only really interested in obtaining beer and marijuana for the mission. However, he eventually admitted that each squadron would be granted 5 military credits to use as they saw fit for the upcoming assignment.
with these questions answered, Byrne-White turned over the floor to Captain Krog for some closing comments. After breathing several times on his audience, Krog's only real contribution to the briefing was to declare that this mission would rock their world. He seemed to mean this in a bad way, but with Krog's lack of ellucidation, it was hard to be sure. Whatever the case, the four officers were then dismissed to see about their supplies, and to report to the aircraft as soon as they were ready.
After a short period of enduring yet more abuse and bitterness from Glenn Beck, Zeke and Jenissa got down to the task of re-supplying their troops. Jenissa's Outfit in particular had been decimated in the Battle of the Bridge, and sought to gain a loan from the Wheel to replenish the pricey Special Forces troops. In the end, Zeke agreed to this proposal, although not without vague repeated promises of vast interest rates. Leaving Jenissa to see to the selection of her new troops, the Auxiliaries Lieutenant stepped out of the supply tent for a breath of fresh air.
However, fresh air was the last thing he found; for no sooner had he done so than he was blasted in the face with a cloud of greenish breath and dragged into a side street by a pair of gigantic hulking arms. It was Captain Krog, and he had harsh words for the subordinate officer. Between grunts of awful breath, he suggested that in the future Zeke think twice before fighting against his own division, and that he should carefully whose side he was on. Zeke expressed confusion, but Krog's elaboration was as poor as his communications skills. All he would say was that great changes were in the making, and they could very well rock Zeke's world. With this utterance of his main tag-line, Krog stomped away, leaving a puzzled Zeke to return to his normal duties.
These past few days have only confirmed what you already knew: that the Special Forces are the only decent division in the Republic military. The Conventionals are filled with incompetents and the Auxiliaries are loaded with traitors. Surely, it will all be up to you and your unit to single-handedly succeed in this upcoming mission, as it clearly has been in every battle so far.
Troop Status
- Supplies: PK-33 Handguns, Combat Helms, spotless set
of Deluxe Uniforms,
Climbing Spikes, completely full supplies of ammunition and field
rations.
- Morale: An increasing amount of hostility is
developing between your troops
and the other units, particularly Zeke's
auxiliaries. Your men find it rather
suspicious that they suffered next to no casualties in
the last battle, and
blame the Wheel for their own decimation. This
situation could develop into
something ugly if not held in check.
- Health: Your men have pretty much recovered from the
trek through the
mountains. However, a few are concerned about
airsickness on the upcoming
flight. There is apparently some doubt
that the co-pilot is in fact not a
trained pilot at all, but rather a famous basketball
player. Also, they're
afraid that refreshments may not be served. Now that
would be absolutely
preposterous!
Military Communiques
- As you already know, your current mission is to
re-capture the town of
Istava. You're a bit worried, though, that you can't count
on the other units
to pull their weight. It might be up to just you
and of course Cetina.
- However, shortly before departure, you received an
urgent and Top Secret
Special Forces dispatch. Apparently, Istava's
public library was formerly a
secret Special Forces intelligence repository. In
particular, the computer
station in its hidden lab contains confidential
intelligence data that can't
be allowed to fall into enemy hands. The
Spherans may well be aware of this
and are probably trying to crack the codes on the
system. You must destroy
this equipment before the Spherans manage to break
through the system's
security. The knowledge of the existence of this base must
also be kept to yourself alone if at all possible.
Personal Notes
- You recently got a phone-call from your chauffeur,
Jeeves: he's now in the
Velguara region and is currently lost. You tried
to give him some directions
to Valmore where you are now, but given the lack of
roads and signposts in the
area, you're not sure how well it will work out.
- At least you don't have to walk to this next
assignment of yours. Finally,
some decent courtesy!
- Your Daddy was of course very worried by your
disappearance into the
mountains these past few days, and has apparently filed
some kind of reprimand
against that awful Khaurus Vanbaal.
Clearly, any proper commander would
never have let something like that happen.
Mini-Objective
- Destroy the Special Forces computer equipment in the
Istava library.
It looks like this war is going to be even more interesting than you thought. But you have to admit, with guys like Model and Byrne-White in charge and treachery from their own troops, things don't look good for the Republic. And if what Captain Krog told you is true, there are more forces at work here than meets the eye...
Troop Status
- Supplies: Hacksaw Shotguns, Combat Daggers, Combat
Helms, full supplies of
ammunition and rations. However, you are a bit short on
non-alcoholic beverages,
since you refuse to let your unit bring any Pepsi.
- Morale: Frankly, your men aren't thrilled about this
latest assignment.
Some of them seem to be concerned that after being
dropped off, Major-General
Byrne-White will close down the border and refuse to allow them
back into
friendly territory. You don't why, but you even find
this scenario rather
plausible yourself.
- Health: A few of the boys have been complaining that
the Pepsi available in
the town has made them sick. You wouldn't be
surprised - you have less
respect for that stuff than you do for Vanilla Coke.
Military Communiques
- As you already know, your current mission is to
re-capture the town of
Istava. You can only hope that the Conventionals and the
Special Forces will
continue to take the brunt of the blows in the battles to come.
Personal Notes
- Vanilla Coke might not have been worth the pain, but
this Pepsi stuff is an
abomination! You're completely outraged that it's been pretty
much the only
thing to drink in this whole town, and don't want
to see the stuff ever again
in your life! It just can't compare against the smooth
taste of Coca-Cola.
- A few of the boys have been complaining about the
'nasty talk' they've been
getting recently from the Special Forces. While
this isn't particularly
unusual, it seems to be worse than normal. You
wonder what all this is about.
- It's hard not to be a little concerned about the talk
you got from Captain
Krog. In fact, it's almost fair to say that it
rocked your world, and not in
a good way. Something big is definitely brewing, and
you certainly don't want
to be caught in the middle of it.
Mini-Objectives
- Destroy any and all references to Pepsi cola.
The action resumed with our heroes and their respective divisions already onboard the Hercules transport plane, winging their way north over the Crystal Mountains. And the very first thing they noticed about the flight was that the chairs in which they were seated were most uncomfortable. In fact, they could really hardly be called chairs at all, but rather angled metal boards with a narrow plank jutting out of them at waist level. Vidal Sassoon was of course the loudest in his complaints about this matter, and was demanding to speak to the plane's captain. Brock immediately declared this to be a great idea, as he hadn't visited the cockpit of a plane in a long time. He tried to make it into a 'field-trip' by inviting the two ladies, but both Cetina and Jenissa respectfully declined. However, one of Zeke's men was also excited by the idea of this visit, as he had never seen a cockpit before. This latter fact resulted in no small amount of mockery from his fellow soldiers. Zeke himself even decided to come along, although it was mainly just to get out of the excrutiatingly uncomfortable chairs.
Thus, the four soldiers headed up to the cockpit, where they found just who they had expected. Captain Kal Meecham and Sergeant Roger Murdoch were piloting the plane from seats that looked rather strangely like high-tech toilets. Zeke questioned the pilots about both this and the chairs in the back, but Kal only laughed and declared that his chair technology was light-years ahead of the rest of the galaxy's. He had apparently been working on such top secret projects for quite some time. This didn't stop Vidal from acidically suggesting that the rest of the galaxy had in fact discovered the science of cushions. Meanwhile, Zeke was musing that they might have to watch out for the new Spheran table technology, which he'd heard they'd been working on. This statement utterly shocked Kal Meecham, and caused him to declare that he might be the dumbest man alive.
Meanwhile, Roger Murdoch was busily dealing with the member of the Wheel who had accompanied his commander to the bridge. This fellow appeared to be insinuating that Murdoch was in fact Kareem Abdul Jibbar, the famous basketball player. The soldier himself was a big fan of Kareem's, but some of the other boys in the unit thought that he only tried during the play-off season. Murdoch attempted to deny these allegations at first by gesturing to his shiny white pilot's badge, but grew enraged at this last statement by the Wheel trooper. Grabbing the startled fellow by the collar, Murdoch declared that he was out there busting his buns every night. In the end, the troublesome soldier agreed not to advertise Murdoch's slip of the tongue in exchange for an autograph on his basketball.
Meanwhile, Zeke was still talking ergonomics with Kal, when all of a sudden, the outside of the cockpit started glowing a bright green. Zeke was more than a little troubled by this, but Meecham reminded everyone that they were all blind where such strange happenings were concerned. However, Zeke persisted in pointing out that the green glow might give their position away to the Spherans, and advocated that something be done about it. Unfortunately, this statement only caused Kal to lunge forward in a desperate attempt to poke out Zeke's eyes. After recovering from this painful eye-gouge, Zeke consented to the fact that he had indeed been blind, and decided to return to his seat before invoking further wrath from the unpredictable Kal.
Back in the passenger section of the transport plane, Jenissa and Cetina were thoroughly enjoying the absence of Brock. However, it seemed that Varin was not enjoying the flight nearly so much. In fact, he seemed to be suffering from accute air-sickness, and it was all he could do to keep the contents of his stomach down. This of course caused a great deal of amusement and not much sympathy on the part of the two Special Forces officers. Zeke, for his part, arrived back just in time to see Sgt. Slaughter bring Varin his 'usual.' At first, the Wheel's commander paid no heed to this, but he grew suspicious when Slaughter did not drop any white cubes into the drink. Noting Varin's grimace upon sipping the drink, Zeke 'idly' enquired as to what it might be. He wasn't at all pleased with the answer: Pepsi Cola. The grungy Auxiliary was incredulous of how Varin could stomach anything so awful and unhealthy. Varin admitted to the poor taste of the beverage, but stated that its fizzy nature helped to calm his stomach. This explanation only caused Zeke to grow even angrier, ranting on how the incredibly unhealthy drink would impair Varin's performance in the field. Flinging open the parachute drop-hatch, Zeke thus snatched the cup away from Varin and tossed it out of the plane. The Conventionals officer was aghast, but Zeke grimly declared that they were all better off without it. And on those words, the Republic soldiers settled down for the remainder of their voyage.
The transport soared steadily north, and it wasn't long before the soldiers of the Republic had reached their drop-point. The troops were just in the process of double checking their parachutes as their leaders congregated by the hatch. Cetina was in the process of complaining how the military-green of the parachute straps didn't match very well with her uniform. This sentiment was quick to be echoed by Jenissa and of course Vidal Sassoon, who was glancing towards the hatch below rather uncertainly. Brock, meanwhile, was more than willing to do anything to agree with the ladies, and stated that not all the parachutes were so bland. In fact, he thought that his own was even adorned with some kind of flashy logo. This comment ellicited a groan from Zeke, though for the moment, Jenissa and the others couldn't quite figure out why.
In any case, due to all of this complaining, Varin could only assume that the Special Forces had no knowledge whatsoever of parachuting, and was thus giving the two commanders insultingly simply instructions of how it was done. In fact, if they froze up on the way down, he could even drift over and pull the rip cord for them. Jenissa had had quite enough of the Conventional's condescension, and expertly leapt out of the plane without another word, although Vidal Sassoon required a bit of 'coaching' from Zeke's Auxiliaries to follow. This coaching looked rather suspiciously like an surprise shove from behind. The rest of the troops swiftly followed, with Zeke and Varin overseeing things as the 'rear guard.'
Aside from what seemed to be the extreme height from which they had started and the constantly changing topography beneath them, the initial part of the drop went smoothly. However, Zeke's fears came to pass when Brock pulled his rip cord. Blossoming out of the backpack was a gigantic blue-and-red symbol with wavy lines across the middle. There was no way Zeke could tolerate the sight of the Pepsi logo filling the air. Using his hands as air-foils in an expert fashion, he fell in alongside Brock and grabbed hold of the strings of his parachute. The ex-gym trainer was naturally rather shocked, and was even more so when Zeke drew out a knife to cut loose the strings and shred the parachute they had once held. He then pulled his own rip cord, hanging onto Brock's backpack and hoping that his own parachute would support them both.
One parachute, of course, was not designed to support the weight of two people, but fortunately for Zeke, Brock was on the bottom and ended up absorbing the majority of the impact. As the Special Forces sergeant rolled about in pain, he demanded what the big deal had been. Zeke declared that the bright colors might have alerted the Spherans to their presence. As such, he'd had no choice to dispose of them. Brock complained that surely there must have been a better way, but he wasn't getting much back-up from his commander, or anyone else.
Speaking of the Spherans, Varin suggested that the four ranking officers head up to the ridge above to get their first glance at the occupied town of Istava so they could plan their approach. Both Zeke and Jenissa agreed to both this sensible plan and the proposition to leave Brock's grumbling behind, and followed Varin up the rocky slopes. The four then crouched down as Varin pulled out a set of binoculars to get a closer look. As they'd been told, the town was indeed surrounded by a 15-foot stone wall, with only a single gate on either side of town. The walls were being patrolled by Spheran soldiers at regular intervals. The soldiers themselves were not numerous, but Varin quickly spotted a much more daunting obstacle. Fortified just inside the city gates was a rugged, heavily armored tank. This news was of great concern to Cetina, who urged them all to leave the ridge immediately. Varin only scoffed at this, smugly declaring that they were well out of range of the tank's main gun.
Of course, such a bold statement could have only one consequence, and seconds later, the booming sound of the tank gun being fired filled the air. Varin shouted for them all to dive forward over the ridge, and just as they did so, the little niche behind them exploded from the tank shell's impact. Obviously they were not nearly as 'out of range' as Varin had claimed.
The four officers speculated that the Spherans may have caught a glimpse of Kal's glowing green plane, and would likely be sending out scouts to investigate. They would have to form their plans quickly. It was decided that a small contingent of officers would infiltrate the town to take down the walls from within, while the majority of the troops remained hidden in the hills, waiting for a signal from those within to begin the attack. Zeke, being a non-Electran, was an obvious choice to send to avoid suspicion. And there was obviously no way Jenissa could trust a grimy Auxiliary to do this job properly, therefore making her presence necessary as well. Varin and Cetina would take charge of the soldiers out in the wilderness. The main issue that remained was how Zeke and Jenissa would infiltrate the town, and what precisely they would do when they did.
A dubious answer to this question was presented when Sergeant Funky came jiving over the hilltop towards the four officers. He had apparently been drawn by the sound of the tank shell, thinking that there might be explosives at work. Funky immediately volunteered to accompany the infiltration crew, as well as offering to sell them 'discount' explosives with which they could take down the walls. However, Zeke and Jenissa decided to turn down this offer. Funky's colorful personality and loud Hawaiian shirt would doubtless attract more attention than they desired, and most likely he would try selling his wares to the Spherans as well. Funky made no real attempt to deny either of these facts. Instead, the two decided that they would hook up with the local Resistance, in the hopes that they would have the means to provide explosives. Jenissa also mused that the city would also likely have a Town Hall or a Public Library that they could raid for plans on the city's architecture. Since the town was a mining community, it was likely that the Spherans were still making use of the mines for their war effort. The two Republic soldiers would thus attempt to slip in with one of the columns of miners which would likely be returning to the town at the end of the day. Using Varin's binoculars, they also picked out a tall building adjacent to the city walls. They would send a morse-code signal via flashlight from the second storey of that building when they were ready. With the plan thus laid, Varin, Cetina and Funky returned to the men while, after a brief wait for Jenissa to change clothes and for Zeke to take off his 'vaguely military' flight jacket, our two heroes proceeded on their own towards the town.
They didn't have to wait long before a column of miners, escorted by a pair of Spherans in grey military trench-coats and combat helms, came into sight on their way into the town. The only one who noticed the integration of our heroes to the column was a mustachioed fat man at the back, but his confusion was put to rest by Zeke's convincing explanation that he had just been taking a leak, and Jenissa's dazzling smile which assured him that they hadn't been doing anything bad. As such, the column arrived without incident at the gates of Istava, but this state of affairs was about to change thanks to the following man.
Aldrocht
Race: Spheran
Rank: Armsmaster
Affiliation: Spheran Coalition, Dragon Division
Armsmaster Aldrocht admirably fits the image of an officer in the
Spheran military. A pale skinned man with a harsh, humorless
face, he wears a black combat helm with a set of tank-goggles
placed on top, a pair of black leather gloves and a black
military uniform with a silver dragon insignia on his left
breast. However, as our heroes would later discover, his
presence amongst the Spheran Tigerclaw division who held the town
of Istava was somewhat resented by these latter soldiers, because
of both his overbearing presence and military affiliation. It is
perhaps then not surprising that Aldrocht prefers to do battle
with steel machines than with simple foot-soldiers.
The gates of Istava had been opened for the mining column, who were now proceeding into the city under the watchful eye of Aldrocht and a small contingent of Spheran soldiers. Zeke and Jenissa tried to slouch down behind the cover of the fat man, but just as they were passing through, Aldrocht shouted for them to stop. Face grim and unforgiving, the Armsmaster marched straight up to Zeke, looking him up and down. And then, in heavily accented Electran, he declared that Zeke should do something about the deplorable state of his ragged foot-wear before setting out for the mines again. Playing the part of the belligerent miner, Zeke loudly declared that maybe that would be an option if he actually got paid a decent wage for his efforts. This comment however only earned him a blow to the face from one of Aldrocht's subordinates. The Armsmaster, for his part, arrogantly stated that Zeke should feel fortunate that he was allowed to work at all, and should watch his tongue in the future. That said, he turned on his heel and told the column to proceed. As Jenissa and Zeke proceeded into the city with the latter rubbing ruefully at his chin, the iron gates swung shut behind them. They were now within the occupied village of Istava.
Once within the city, our two heroes needed to decide upon a course of action. There seemed to be several places that might be of interest to them around the city. These included the Town Hall, the Public Library, the Back Alleys, the Junk-yard, and the Arc de Triomphe hotel. This latter building was in fact the one they had spotted from outside the town, and had decided to use to send their signal to Varin and the troops. The two swiftly decided to split up. Jenissa would head to the Public Library in hopes of finding city plans that might help them in their demolition of the walls, while Zeke would hit the Arc de Triomphe to pick up local gossip and hopefully make contact with the Resistance.
As Zeke entered the Arc de Triomphe hotel, the first thing he noticed is that it seemed to be a popular place with the locals. The place was packed to the brim, with a long, orderly line-up of people at the counter being served some kind of stew, or perhaps soup. By the far wall, Zeke spotted a door that presumedly led to the upper levels, but it was guarded by a pair of burly German guys on either side. However, Zeke didn't have time to appraise the situation any further, for his entrance had shocked the following man who was seated adjacent to the door.
Deja-Vu
Race: Electran
Rank: Civilian
Affiliation: Village of Istava
The first thing that anyone might think upon reading this
description is they might very well have read it before.
Or at least, that's what they would think if they were Deja-Vu.
Deja-Vu appeared to be a dark-haired Frenchman with an unkept
mustache, a floppy purple french beret, a grey vest and wool
pants and constantly mystified grey eyes. By far his most
prominent characteristic, aside from his obvious French accent,
was the fact that he claimed to have seen a great many things
before, even (or especially) when such was in fact not the case.
In combat, Deja-Vu hardly seemed to know what was going on, but
the fact that he had seen nearly any attack before made it all
but impossible for his foes to strike him.
After several bizarre french exclamations that seemed to include the words 'Zut alors' and 'Quebec,' Deja-Vu asked his trademark question of whether he had met Zeke before. Zeke had no desire to deny being a local, but admitted that he did not think that they had. This answer of course only baffled Deja-Vu, who could have sworn that this was not the case. Nevertheless, he decided to give Zeke his name, perhaps to jog this latter's memory, and Zeke introduced himself as Dan the Coalminer. Once again, Deja-Vu was confused, for he hadn't thought there were any coal mines in the Istava region. Because if there were, he surely would have seen them before. After back-pedalling and explaining that it was merely a name, rather than a profession, Zeke decided to continue into the bar and see what the line-up was all about.
Adding himself to the back of the line, Zeke found himself right behind the same fat man that had been in the mining column. Zeke was a little surprised about how orderly the line-up process was, given that he was in a bar filled with rowdy miners. The fat man explained that the Arc de Triomphe's proprietor made the best soup for leagues around, but had some very strict rules about how people acquired it. Peering over the crowds, Zeke got his first glance of this rather eccentric master chef.
The Soup Nazi
Race: German...?
Rank: Civilian and Hotel Owner
Affiliation: Village of Istava, Arc de Triomphe hotel
The man known only as the Soup Nazi was a strict-looking German
man with a brown mustache, a white chef's hat covering his shaved
head, and an apron decorated with a red swastika. As well as
being the owner of the Arc de Triomphe hotel, he had also
perfected his own top secret soup recipe, which was renowned for
miles around. The Soup Nazi was a man who liked order in all its
forms, and had very stringent rules about how his establishment
was run. However, despite this harsh exterior, it would be found
that he was not a man without his sympathies for the local
populace.
As Zeke approached the front of the line, he noted the savory aroma of the soup and the freshly baked bread that each customer was being served. However, no sooner had Zeke received his own soup when he noticed that he had not been given any bread. Despite the urgings of the fat man to just let it go, Zeke loudly pointed out this fact to the Soup Nazi and his sous-chefs. Naturally, this only caused the Soup Nazi to grab away Zeke's bowl in a rage and declare that there would be no soup for him. Zeke's protests only seemd to make the hotel's owner even angrier, and he eventually slinked away from the line without receiving any dinner. Taking a chair up at the bar, he found himself seated next to the following man.
Chocolat Mousse
Race: Loracian
Rank: Civilian
Affiliation: Village of Istava
Chocolat Mousse was a big black miner from the village of Istava,
and it wasn't hard to see how he got his name. His buzzed hair
was covered by a brown cap, and his grimy white shirt was covered
by a chocolate-brown vest and brown pants. Furthermore, Chocolat
Mousse could hardly ever be seen without what appeared to be a
chocolate cigar stuffed in his mouth, puffing out large
quantities of chocolatey brown smoke. Although Chocolat Mousse
proclaimed not to like 'trouble,' he later showed himself to be
more than capable of dealing with it with his chocolate cigar and
heavy street brawl action.
The cloud of brown smoke in his face is what first alerted Zeke to Chocolat Mousse's presence. The big man was musing about how most people knew about the Soup Nazi's policies by now, and that he hadn't seen Zeke around before. With another puff on his cigar, Mousse ominously declared that he wasn't overly fond of 'trouble,' or those who caused it. Apparently suitably intimidated, Zeke simply rubbed at his chin and mentioned that he'd been put in a bad mood by an encounter with the Spheran authorities. He then went on to introduce himself as Dan the Coalminer. Chocolate Mousse found this title rather suspicious, given the lack of coalmines in the area, but 'Dan' explained in exasperation that it was only a name and it was only a coincidence that he happened to be any sort of miner at all. Chocolat Mousse seemed to accept this answer, and Zeke went back to complaining about his rough treatment at the hands of the Spherans. In fact, he even went on to comment how the town would likely be a better place without them, and he thought there were others who shared his sentiments. However, these oblique references seemed to have little effect on Chocolat Mousse, who went back to languidly puffing on his chocolate cigar.
However, Zeke's agitation hadn't gone entirely unnoticed, for approaching at that moment was the hotel's local barmaid, who seemed to have nothing but sympathy for our hero's predicament.
Ciboulette
Race: Chalchakian
Rank: Civilian
Affiliation: Village of Istava, Arc de Triomphe Hotel
Ciboulette was a pretty, young and vaguely french lady working as
a barmaid at the Arc de Triomphe hotel in the village of Istava.
A bouncy mess of dark curls framed a friendly face, and she wore
a dark vest and long purple skirts overtop of her frilly white
shirt. Her kind-hearted cheer was certainly a most welcome
feature in the strict regime of the Soup Nazi's establishment.
However, like so many others in this adventure, she would later
be found to be much more than she appeared.
Ciboulette was quick to apologize to Zeke for the harsh treatment he had suffered at the hands of her boss a few minutes earlier, and offered to bring him a drink on the house. This was the sort of offer that an Auxiliaries officer couldn't refuse. Sipping at the house draft that the barmaid promptly brought in, Zeke introduced once more as Dan the Coalminer, and once again was informed that there no coal mines in the region. This set Zeke off on a rant on how nobody assumed that people named 'Smith' were actually smiths, and the fact that he just happened to be named 'the Coalminer' had no relation to his profession. Once he'd finished, Zeke went to enquire about the possibility of renting a room at the establishment. Unfortunately, Ciboulette informed him that they had no rooms available, due to the large number of refugees who had been forced into the town by the Spherans. Even getting a room for an hour or two was out of the question. Glancing again at the two burly Germans by the stairs, Zeke figured it wasn't a good idea to press the issue. And besides, at that moment, Ciboulette's attention was drawn away by the entrance of the following man.
Seravian
Race: Spheran
Rank: Armshand
Affiliation: Spheran Coalition, Tigerclaw Division
Seravian was one of the ranking Spheran officers stationed in the
town of Istava during its occupation. A tall man with a charming
smile, he sported a long blond ponytail, the standard grey
Spheran army trenchcoat, and metal boots with spiked ridges at
the back. Despite his affable nature, the Armshand could rarely
be seen without his steel spear strapped across his back.
Seravian was something of an oddity for a Spheran soldier; not
only was his command of the Electran language near-flawless, but
he seemed to fancy himself a 'man of the people,' even in
occupied cities. Although this trait did serve to make him more
popular with some of the locals, it did little to endear him to
his fellow Spheran officers.
A slight hush fell over the room as Seravian, flanked by a pair of Spheran soldiers, made his entrance. However, it quickly became apparent that the Spherans weren't there to cause trouble, but only to relax. The Spheran Armshand took the liberty of seating himself at his 'usual' table and invited Ciboulette to join him, which she did with a typically French giggle. His conversation thus abruptly brought to an end, Zeke surveyed the room for anyone else that looked like they might be of interest to him. It didn't take him long to find such a person, as he swiftly spotted a trench-coated man seated at a shadowy corner table who appeared to be watching him.
Zeke casually started making his way towards his mysterious observer, but as he did, he passed by the table of the two generic Spheran soldiers. The two were in the process of heatedly complaining about both Armsmaster Aldrocht and the Dragon Division in general. Despite his status as ranking officer, they saw no reason why a member of the House of the Dragon should have any say over the Tigerclaws. Surely, once Sir Karsh returned, he would knock some sense into the arrogant Dragon officer. Filing away this information for future use, Zeke helped himself to a chair at the corner table. Its lone occupant seemed to be expecting him.
Passe-Partout
Race: Chalchakian
Rank: Civilian
Affiliation: The Resistance...?
Greasy black hair, a grimy white shirt, a tattered black
trench-coat and three-day stubble, these were the distinguishing
features of Passe-Partout. This rather suspicious individual
could usually be found in a corner of the Arc de Triomphe hotel,
shifty eyes always on the look-out and watching everything.
Passe-Partout seemed most adept at making cryptic references
about his true affiliations in Istava's state of affairs, and
there was in fact very little that could be taken for granted
with the weaselly-faced man. In combat, although Passe-Partout
could throw a mean hook punch, his greatest ability was his knack
for convincing his opponent that he was in fact on their side...
Zeke used his alias to introduce himself once again, and pre-empted Pass-Partout's inevitable questions by explaining how 'the Coalminer' was just a name, and didn't actually mean he worked in a coal mine of any sort. Passe-Partout went on to remark how he couldn't help but notice Zeke's loud rant against the Spheran authorities. With a sidelong glance at Seravian, Zeke cautiously replied that while the Spherans did get on his nerves sometimes, there was really nothing he could do. Unless, of course, he had friends. Passe-Partout obliquely replied that he might indeed have a friend or two. Leaning forward, Zeke stated that he was always happy to make new friends. Clasping his hands behind his head, Passe-Partout told Zeke to meet him out by the Junkyard in one hour's time. The Auxiliaries officer smiled to himself. It looked like he had finally succeeded in making contact with the Resistance.
During Zeke's rather lengthy investigation, Jenissa - or 'Melissa' as she was now claiming to be - had by no means been idle. Making her way through the village, she found herself in front of the Public Library, with what seemed to be an agenda of her own. However, it didn't look like things were going to be any easier for her than they had been for Zeke - the entrance to the building was guarded by two fully armed Spheran soldiers. Undaunted, 'Melissa' approached them and tried to talk her way in, under the pretext of some project to trace her family history (this being a rather natural explanation for someone as family-oriented as herself). Her task was made more daunting by the Spherans' extremely limited ability to speak Electran. Jenissa tried to use this very fact to her advantage by trying to force them to explain why the building was closed to the public, and flustering them with a complicated vernacular. The Spherans did indeed grow increasingly agitated in the face of such tactics, but didn't seem about to relent on their no-entrance policy.
Fortunately, things were about to turn in Jenissa's favor. For all the commotion had apparently attracted the attention of the following individual, who obnoxiously flung open the doors to the library to see what was going on.
Mafia-Boy
Race: Tortalian
Rank: Hacker
Affiliation: On-hire with the Spheran Coalition
Judging from his appearance, the hacker under the alias of
Mafia-Boy rarely saw the light of day. A large set of glasses
framed his pale, pimply face, and he wore a pair of sloppy blue
jeans, dilapidated sneakers, and a black t-shirt with the word
'Hax0r' written across the front. By his own words, Mafia-Boy
was a 'legendary' computer hacker who had created a large number
of worms and viruses, though the effectiveness of these
programs remains somewhat questionable. He had been hired by the
Spherans as a computers expert, but he seemed to have little
respect for them, or indeed anyone who lacked his own l337
haxx0ring skills. And as if this wasn't bad enough, he was also
an addict of the abhorrent Pepsi Cola. However, anyone who took
issue with any of these characteristics would find themselves up
against his irritating cyber-talk and paralyzing Virus Attacks,
which were surely more than a match for any n00b who would dare
challenge him.
Allegedly, all the noise from Jenissa's conversation with the soldiers had disturbed Mafia-Boy's 'groove,' and he had nothing but derogatory comments for both sides. The word 'n00b' seemed to figure rather prolifically amongst these comments. Upon this turn of events, Melissa promptly changed her tactics and started speaking in l337 herself. She claimed to be a fellow hax0r herself who had been sent to assist Mafia-Boy with his work, but the 'lamers' of guards were giving her a hard time. Of course, the guards themselves barely understood Electran at the best of times, and this cyber-babble went completely over their heads. However, Mafia-Boy took exception to any insinuation that he needed any 'help,' and took this moment to arrogantly introduce himself to the n00b who obviously didn't know who he was. This information failed to impress Jenissa, who claimed that Mafia-Boy's 'lame' virus hadn't even done any damage to begin with. Besides, even if he didn't need any help, Jenissa had heard that there were some low-level hax0ring books in the library that would help her with an 'old-school' system she was working on. Mafia-Boy only laughed at this, stating that in the internet age, everything a hax0r needed could be found online. But Jenissa persisted with her story, claiming that this stuff was so 'old-school' that nobody had even posted it online yet. After several more rounds of calling both the guards and each other n00bs and lamers, Jenissa finally appealed to Mafia-Boy's ego, begging him to let her prove that her book would be of great use to his current efforts. Mafia-Boy eventually agreed to take pity on the 'n00b,' and told her to meet him around the corner of the building in half an hour. He'd see about getting her inside then.
Pleased with this development, Jenissa took her leave of both the pimply-faced Mafia-Boy and the extremely confused guards. Her next destination was the Town Hall. However, upon arriving at this building, she found it to be even more heavily fortified than the library. A pair of Spheran guards were posted at the front gates to the premises, and another two could be seen patrolling the gardens within. Surveying the area further, Jenissa also noticed a set of four pennants snapping in the wind atop the roof of the Hall. The largest of these depicted a white dragon against a black background, while the others displayed a tiger, an eagle and what appeared to be a bear claw. Judging from these flags, Jenissa could only presume that the Town Hall had been claimed as the Spheran command centre. A quick conversation with the guards at the gate (who seemed to speak better Electran than those at the library) seemed to confirm this, as well as the fact that there was once again no public access allowed to the premises. Seeing the number of guards present, Jenissa decided not to press her luck in this case. Besides, this wasn't really the building she was interested in. With still a bit of time left before her meeting with Mafia-Boy, she decided to return to the main street to see what kind of trouble Zeke had gotten himself into.
Despite the aversion to 'trouble' that certain patrons of the bar had proclaimed, Zeke certainly seemed to have no difficulty finding it. At that moment, he was still seated with Passe-Partout, glancing towards Ciboulette and Seravian and remarking how it didn't look like he'd be getting a refill of his beer any time soon. These musings of his were abruptly interrupted as the doors to the bar were angrily flung open by an even angrier individual.
Caszara
Race: Spheran
Rank: Armshand
Affiliation: Spheran Coalition, Tigerclaw Division
It wouldn't take a military expert like either of our two heroes
to guess at Caszara's affiliation. If the flaming red hair and
fierce, cat-like green eyes weren't enough, she also wears a pair
of grey military fatigues and a short black jacket with silver
fur at the neck and wrists and a vivid tiger's face etched
proudly onto the back. Some might even describe Caszara as a
fanatic, and her strict attitude would seem to support this
description. Like Seravian, Caszara was one of the ranking
officers stationed in the village of Istava, but unlike her
colleague, she had little use for irresponsible carousing with
the locals. However, despite her fierce loyalty to the Spheran
Tigerclaws, she could hardly be said to bear a similar love for
the other members of the Spheran Coalition.
Stalking up to Seravian's table, Caszara contemptuously remarked that she thought she'd find him here. Seravian, for his part, only rolled his eyes, inviting her to take a seat if she would stop her growling for a moment or two. Caszara of course would have none of this and continued to berate Seravian as a disgrace to the honour of the Tigerclaws. This didn't stop Seravian from sending Ciboulette for a glass of his 'usual,' and offering some of the clear, sparkling liquid to Caszara. After all, it certainly couldn't hurt the Spherans to build up some good will with the locals, he proclaimed.
Seeing both this exchange and the suspicious liquid that Seravian was sipping with satisfaction, Zeke decided to take this moment to interject. Heading over to the table, Zeke declared that he really agreed that a Spheran officer shouldn't be drinking on duty. Caszara was surprised to find this support from a local, but agreed whole-heartedly with this sentiment. However, although Seravian admitted that a soldier always needed to be 'on call,' he maintained that his drink of preference was non-alcoholic. In fact, it was this revolutionary new stuff called Pepsi Clear. Ordering up another glass, he urged for 'Dan' to take a seat and give it a try. Although Zeke readily complied with the former part of this statement, he just couldn't agree with the latter. As such, as soon as he pretended to take a sip of the deceptively-colored drink, he broke out in a choking fit, flinging his own glass across the table in an attempt to knock over Seravian's. However, the Spheran officer was too smooth, and moved his glass out of the way just in time. After wondering aloud how Seravian could actually like the stuff, Dan went on to apologize for his clumsiness. After all, he had spilled his drink all over the table-cloth. And as such, he felt he had better get another one for the Spheran officer. Acting upon these words, Zeke then 'clumsily' whipped the table-cloth off the table, 'accidentally' spilling Seravian's drink all over him in the process. The Armshand was naturally rather upset by this, but was cheered up considerably by Ciboulette's offer to take him upstairs to get him cleaned up. Caszara could only snarl in rage at this whole situation and went stalking on her heel out of the bar. Leaving Seravian and the barmaid to hitch arms and head upstairs, Zeke decided to take this moment to make his timely exit as well.
Zeke's exit from the Arc de Triomphe just happened to coincide with Jenissa's arrival, and the two exchanged the information they had gathered. In particular, Zeke informed Jenissa of the meeting with the Resistance at the Junkyard. Jenissa was pleased with this information, but not so pleased with the fact that the second floor of the hotel seemed to be inaccessible. In any case, she still had business at the library, and would meet Zeke at the Junkyard in half-an-hour's time. In the meantime, Zeke would investigate the Back Alleys, in hopes of finding an alternate route to the upper levels of the Arc de Triomphe.
Arriving swiftly at the side of the library, Jenissa had no trouble spotting her quary. Mafia-Boy was already there, engaged in the act of obtaining a can of Pepsi from a vending machine that was placed against the wall of the building. After the obligatory period of accosting Jenissa as a n00b, Mafia-Boy explained his plan. He would claim that the vending machine had eaten his coins, and get the guards to come over and help him. Jenissa could thus circle around and slip into the library unnoticed. Mafia-Boy seemed to take some amount of satisfaction in this flagrant disregard for authority, not to mention the fact that he would likely get a free Pepsi out of the process.
In any case, the plan, perhaps surprisingly, worked without a hitch, and Jenissa soon found herself inside the Istava Public Library. Glancing through the glass doors into the main section, she spotted a bored-looking guard reading a book behind the librarian's desk. After finding nothing of interest on the library's darkened second floor, Jenissa decided that deception was once again the way to go, and the haughty young officer belligerently made her entrance into the main room. Declaring herself to be a hax0r named 'Scorn,' she demanded to be taken to where Mafia-Boy was working with the goods. The Spheran soldier, baffled by her l337-ness, was quickly brow-beaten into submission, and led her to the library's "Pooh's Corner," where he revealed a secret elevator hidden in Owl's tree.
Arriving in the hidden basement, Jenissa found Mafia-Boy already hard at work in front of a giant mainframe, one hand on the keyboard and the other holding a can of Pepsi Cola. A gigantic pile of similar, but empty, cans were messily thrown in the corner of the room. As Mafia-Boy would put it, a real hax0r needed his boost to keep going day and night. Thinking quickly, Jenissa asked to have a sip from Mafia-Boy's can. However, no sooner had she done so than she started coughing and sputtering, spilling the drink all over the floor. This caused Mafia-Boy to once more label her a n00b, complaining that he hadn't yet gotten his fix. He would have to go out and get another can, leaving Jenissa behind in the unlikely event she could get something 'useful' done in his absence.
The Special Forces officer was more than up to this task, though perhaps not in the way that Mafia-Boy had intended. Thinking fast, she salvaged what was left of the spilled Pepsi, and started dumping the corrosive substance all over the mainframe's circuitry. Within moments, the machine was sparking uncontrollably, and bursting into flame. It appeared that maybe Pepsi Cola was good for something after all.
However, before Jenissa could make her escape, the elevator doors swished open again, revealing Mafia-Boy in all his horrid palor. With a panicked exclamation of 'OMFG!' Mafia-Boy stared in abject shock at the smoking ruins of the giant computer. He couldn't believe Melissa had been so much of a n00b to screw up that badly. There was clearly only one way such incompetence could be dealt with. Jenissa, on the other hand, had finally had enough of the 'lamer,' and was more than happy to take Mafia-Boy down. This task did not prove difficult. Although Mafia-Boy's Cyber-Talk was, without doubt, painfully annoying, it proved no match for the girly pink fire that flew from Jenissa's pristine hands. Even Mafia-Boy's paralyzing Virus Attack was so poorly written that it proved ineffectual against his foe, and with his horrible consitution, he collapsed into the pool of Pepsi on the floor in a matter of moments. With the fire from the smoldering computer slowly spreading to the walls, Jenissa thought that this would be an admirable time to make her exit. And thus, with a final baffling l337 comment to the hapless guard at the desk, she strolled out of the building, quite pleased with a job well done - in more ways than one.
During Jenissa's high-tech escapades, Zeke was handling something that was much more his speed. The back alleys of Istava seemed to be a confusing weave of narrow dirt paths, populated by a host of derelict bums at every turn. Despite his tough appearance, even Zeke felt a need to keep his hand on his wallet in these circumstances. Having no desire to get lost, he stuck close to the wall of the Arc de Triomphe in order to get a look at the building from behind. Once he did indeed reach the back, he noticed something curious. It appeared that at one point, the building had actually possessed a fire-escape; but this was now no longer the case. Only the upper metal platform of the fire escape remained, the rest having been cut off some time ago. It seemed that someone had put a great deal of effort into making sure that the second floor of the hotel could not be reached.
However, this sight was not nearly so troubling as what was on the building opposite the back of the hotel. Fists clenching in rage, Zeke found himself staring at a large, full-color poster advertising Pepsi Cola. There was no way Zeke could allow the continued presence of this promotional abomination. However, as he advanced angrily towards it, he noticed several of the nearby bums giving him dangerous looks. On the fly, Zeke changed his tactics, using the white table-cloth, which he was still carrying from back in the bar, to cover up the offending posters. The bums were baffled by this act, and enquired what Zeke was doing. The Auxiliaries officer responded to this by claiming that he was putting up a poster for the new, upcoming James Bond movie. This poster in particular featured a shot of Bond's incredible invisible car. The bums were instantly pacified by this answer, and gathered about the poster to rave about the new movie's amazing special effects. Having successfully defused the situation, Zeke prepared to take his leave, but his actions had attracted the attention of the following character.
Tinoir
Race: Electran
Rank: Civilian
Affiliation: None
Tinoir was a short, scrawny weasel of a young man making his
living in the seedy back alleys in the mining village of Istava.
His physical hallmarks were, perhaps by design, rather
unremarkable: a dark complexion, greasy black hair and a
ratched-up black overcoat. He seemed to make his trade, such as
it was, in the sale of that most valuable commodity of
information, and could potentially answer a great many questions,
given that the right price was involved.
After several more comments involving both invisible cars and the desire to see the new Bond movie, Tinoir remarked that Zeke looked a little lost in the back alleys. Zeke admitted that he was just 'looking around,' and Tinoir hinted that he might be able to speed up this process. Interested, Zeke removed a bill from his wallet, crinkling it around in his hand, and started asking questions about Armsmaster Aldrocht and the Spherans. Tinoir explained that although after the departure of the Spheran Battle-Knight, Sir Karsh, Aldrocht held the highest military rank in the village, there were a great many Tigerclaw soldiers who felt that ranks between division held no real meaning. They saw Aldrocht's authority as an infringement on the autonomy of the House of the Tiger. Adding another bill to the one in his hand, Zeke enquired as to how one might leave the village, should they wish to do so uninterrupted. Tinoir mused that although the Spherans maintained a strict watch on the gates, when you can't go through something, you can often go under. In fact, there might even be a set of tunnels leading directly beneath the city's wall. Furthermore, it was even possible that the entrance to these tunnels was located in the Arc de Triomphe hotel. Of course, Zeke had guessed this latter part as soon as Tinoir had mentioned the tunnels, but he handed over the 20 marks in bills just the same. It seemed that all roads led to the Arc de Triomphe, and he could only hope that his meeting with the Resistance would yield a way to get inside.
Once more, Lieutenants Zeke and Jenissa linked up on Istava's main street to update each other on their respective progress. Zeke told Jenissa about the tunnels underneath the Arc de Triomphe, whereas Jenissa's most interesting news was about the Pepsi vending machine that could be found outside the library. However, strong as Zeke's hatred was, it was time for their meeting with the Resistance, so this matter would have to wait until later.
Together, the two arrived at the village's Junkyard. The place was aptly named. Several mounds of scrap and garbage filled the area, and the ominous shadow of a compactor-crane loomed overtop of them as they made their approach. Needless to say, Jenissa was none too pleased by this choice of meeting place, nor by the tardiness of their contact. The two waited impatiently for several minutes before finally, Passe-Partout stepped out from behind a junk heap. He seemed pleased that Dan had brought a friend. However, a man in his position always had to be sure he wasn't making a mistake, and he questioned the pair's motives in wanting to meet with him. Although our heroes were reluctant to reveal their military affiliation, they admitted that they wanted to see the Spherans gone from the town. Passe-Partout nodded, stating that that was what he'd been waiting to hear. And with a snap of his fingers, a pair of men appeared from behind the intrepid duo, with a third stepping into view atop the control tower of the trash compactor. It appeared that Passe-Partout already had some friends of his own.
The Junkyard Dog
Race: Loracian
Rank: Civilian
Affiliation: Passe-Partout's miscreant gang
None of these three figures were even real, official characters,
but it was easier to introduce them all at once. The Junkyard
Dog was a rowdy, heavily muscled black man, with buzzed black
hair, red wrestling shorts, and a 'ghetto' chain around his neck.
Not surprisingly, the JYD made his turf in the Istava junkyard,
and could really dish out the pain with his 'ghetto' street brawl
skills.
David Carridean
Race: Electran
Rank: Civilian
Affiliation: Passe-Partout's miscreant gang
David Carridean was an ominous, blade-slender man with short,
wispy brown hair and a serious face. He also wore a wide-brimmed
black hat, black Western-style trench-coat and cowboy boots. By
far his biggest (and only) characteristic was that he knew
Kung Fu. This fact alone was more than enough to impress
a great number of characters.
Will Smith
Race: Loracian
Rank: Civilian
Affiliation: Passe-Partout's miscreant gang
Will Smith was yet another black man, but he wasn't nearly as
ghetto as the Junkyard Dog. Instead, he sported a small,
well-kept mustache, a black cowboy hat and vest, and a shiny fake
sheriff's badge. Smith's "Wild, wild West" combat style seemed
to involve only sniping from a great distance with his PK-33
handgun. Which was understandable, given how fast he went down
if he ever suffered a blow.
Passe-Partout promptly introduced his associates, seeming particularly impressed with David Carridean's knowledge of Kung Fu. And with a traitorous smile, he declared that the Spheran authorities always paid well for the capture of trouble-makers. Not to be intimidated, Zeke stated that it was a shame they couldn't all be friends, and that Passe-Partout still had a chance to let them go without being hurt. Passe-Partout countered this empty threat by once again pointing out David Carridean's knowledge of Kung Fu. It seemed that a battle was inevitable, and so Zeke put up his dukes and Jenissa, for the first time that her companion can seen, pulled out her glimmering, designer Steeltek Sword (where she was keeping this entire time remains a mystery).
Passe-Partout, the Junkyard Dog and David Carridean advanced on our heroes from three sides, with Will Smith providing cover fire from above. No doubt greatly intimidated by the hype around David Carridean, Zeke decided to tackle the Junkyard Dog first, laying into him with a heavy hook punch. The JYD soaked up this first blow and retaliated with a low-down-and-dirty knee-groin. Meanwhile, David Carridean's Kung Fu was unleashed upon Jenissa, while Will Smith proved somewhat less than accurate with his wild shooting. With a flash of pristine Electran steel, Jenissa's blade cut through the air, finishing the work Zeke had started in dropping the Junkyard Dog. Shortly afterwards, it turned out that while David Carridean may have known Kung Fu, it wasn't enough to save him from a single swipe from Jenissa's sword. With the odds numerically evened, Zeke took the time to make several smug comments, but was forced to eat his words when the combined forces of Passe-Partout and Will Smith took Jenissa out of the battle. Desperately, Zeke set upon the trenchcoat-wearing traitor with his trademark hookpunch, but was forced to pull his blows as Passe-Partout repeatedly convinced him that he was really on his side. Of course, Passe-Partout would dispel this myth moments later by nailing Zeke with a sneaky hook punch of his own.
However, just as the battered Auxiliaries officer was brought to his knees, he suddenly heard a familiar French voice asking Passe-Partout where they had met before. It was Deja-Vu, who had just stepped into sight and was regarding Passe-Partout with a critical eye. As Passe-Partout turned to address this rather strange question, a lithe figure acrobatically flipped in behind him, pointing a gun to his temple. Even though she was now wearing black jeans instead of her purple skirts, Zeke still recognized the barmaid Ciboulette. And meanwhile, Will Smith, who had been climbing down from the tower, suddenly found himself walking into a cloud of chocolaty smoke. Chocolat Mousse demonstrated his dislike for 'trouble' by dropping Smith with a single smash to the chest. In light of such odds, Passe-Partout obviously could do nothing but surrender.
When our two heroes recovered both their senses and their health, they found themselves lying on a pair of cots in a sparsely furnished room. Leaning over them with a puzzled expression on his face was Deja-Vu, who was musing to himself about whether or not he had met Zeke before. He actually seemed rather surprised when Zeke confirmed this in the affirmative, but at the very least he could still puzzle over Jenissa. Fortunately, Deja-Vu's random musings were interrupted by the entrance of Chocolat Mousse and Ciboulette into the room. Mousse expressed his pleasure at getting to take care of Passe-Partout and his gang of trouble-makers. However, the fact that they had tried to take down Zeke and Jenissa confirmed that these latter two were on the level, and thus why they had come to their aid. Apparently, our heroes had finally met with the real Resistance. Ciboulette confirmed that they were currently in a room on the second floor of the Arc de Triomphe. Apparently, despite his grumpy demeanor, the Soup Nazi was in fact a strong Resistance sympathizer, and used his strict policies to protect the Resistance's HQ.
Deciding that they really could trust La Resistance this time, Zeke and Jenissa revealed their affiliation. They also started to discuss their plans, but Ciboulette interrupted them, saying that it would be better if they discussed such things with la Resistance's leader. As such, she led the two Republic officers, along with Chocolat Mousse and Deja-Vu, to yet another empty room, this time with a grungy window looking over the alley behind the hotel. Chocolat Mousse remarked that the boss wasn't there yet, but that knowing him, he would be arriving any minute. This prediction proved most accurate, as seconds later, the room's window shattered in a flurry of glass shards and the following man swung on a rope into the room.
Tarzan
Race: Electran
Rank: Leader of La Resistance
Affiliation: Village of Istava, La Resistance
Contrary to what one might be inclined to believe given the roots
of this adventure, the leader of la Resistance was not in fact za
Torche, but rather Tarzan. Tarzan was a dynamic and dramatic
young man, with wild black hair, a black leather jacket, white
muscle shirt, and a length of rope which he would apparently use
to swing through windows at any opportunity. He also seemed to
consider himself quite the lady's man, although due to his
obvious lower-class background, certain ladies might be inclined
to disagree with this assessment.
After commenting on the macho and dramatic effect of his own entrance, Tarzan's first words were of course for Ciboulette, swiftly going from there to introduce himself to Jenissa. The two Republic officers explained both their purpose in the city and the way in which they had found la Resistance. Tarzan was pleased to finally have support from the outside world, but was not so pleased by any mention of his hated enemy, Passe-Partout. Our heroes continued their story, stating that they had troops waiting to storm the city if only they could take down the walls from within. Tarzan, pleased to do anything for a lady, immediately confirmed that la Resistance could supply the explosives necessary for the job, and suggested the use of the secret tunnels beneath the hotel. In fact, using these tunnels, one could get right into the gate-house by the town's entrance, and blow away the supports for the gate itself. Zeke and Jenissa both readily agreed to this plan, and asked when they could start. Tarzan replied that with him in charge, la Resistance was ready any time. However, just as these plans were made final, the newly-made allies suddenly heard several explosions seemingly coming from the hall right outside the room. The door was flung open, and clouds of acrid smoke came billowing into the room. And along with it came a man teetering on the very brink of death.
Latrine!
Race: Electran
Rank: Intelligence Operative
Affiliation: Village of Istava, La Resistance
By far Latrine's most dominant characteristic is that no matter
the circumstances, he always appears to be horribly wounded by an
explosion of some sort or another. Due to this fact, it's hard
to tell much else about him: he has a frazzled dark mustache,
soot-covered skin, numerous burns and scrapes, and some badly
singed tattered outfit usually with half a sleeve or so missing.
Also, no matter the location, his entrance would always be
preceded by a massive set of explosions that apparently were
dangerous to nobody but him. Despite his constant condition, or
perhaps because of it, Latrine was a crucial man to the la
Resistance's operations, and could always be counted on to arrive
in the nick of time with critical information to the situation at
hand.
After all the members of la Resistance had shouted out his name, Latrine breathlessly delivered his urgent news. The Spheran forces in the village had just been put on full alert status, and had doubled the guard at all critical locations, the gate-house among them. Apparently, this might response might have been related to some kind of incident involving incendiary effects at the Public Library. Latrine also pointed out that this information had very nearly come at the cost of his life.
After several moments of praise for Latrine's heroic efforts, Tarzan stated that getting into the gate-house would be near impossible with the doubled guard. However, as always, the dynamic leader had a plan. He would create a diversion with a feinted assault against the Spherans headquarters at the Town Hall, allowing the Republic officers to infiltrate the gate-house with minimal opposition. Zeke and Jenissa approved of this plan, but stated that neither of them had much knowledge in the use of explosives. Tarzan declared that Chocolat Mousse, as a former miner, was an expert in the field, and that Deja-Vu had done such things before. Thus, both would accompany the expedition, although the two officers found the statement about Deja-Vu's expertise none too reassuring. Latrine, meanwhile, would serve as the liaison between the two different operations. The intelligence operative swore that he would perform this duty even if it meant his life. Which given his usual circumstances, it likely would. In any case, it would take la Resistance at least twenty minutes to prepare the necessary supplies, and told Zeke and Jenissa to rejoin them then. At that time, the liberation of Istava would begin.
While la Resistance was making their final preparations, Jenissa had decided the time had come to give the signal to Varin and the rest of the troops. Zeke, however, had other unfinished business. Making his way out of the bar, he soon arrived at the town's Public Library. The place was a beehive of activity, with both Spheran soldiers and fire crews rushing about the burning building. Nevertheless, Zeke had no trouble reaching the object of his visit: the Pepsi vending machine by the side of the building. After a few moments of contemplating the machine's fate, he decided that some poetic justice was in order. Purchasing a can, he proceeded to crack it open and dump the vile liquid into the motor of the very machine that had supplied it. Needless to say, the vending machine instantly burst into flames, coincidentally setting the already-burning building on fire from the outside as well. Satisfied with his work, Zeke hurried back to the Arc de Triomphe, content that the most important part of his mission was now dealt with.
Without incident, our two heroes soon found themselves waiting in a cramped underground passage along side Chocolat Mousse and Deja-Vu. The smoke from Chocolat Mousse's cigar was beginning to make it difficult to see in the confines of the tunnel, but given that he was carrying several pounds of explosives on his back, none dared complain. Deja-Vu, meanwhile, was remarking how he thought he had been in these tunnels before, and both Zeke and Jenissa certainly hoped this was the case.
Just then, the group heard a tremendous explosion, and stumbling into view around a bend in the tunnel was a horribly wounded Latrine! Between groans of pain, Latrine informed them that the Spherans had responded to the bombing of the Town Hall, and that they were ready to proceed. After cautioning Latrine to stay down in the tunnels to avoid being hurt (although it was rather too late for this), the four infiltrators burst through the trap door into the gate-house above.
Despite the distraction, the lower floor was still guarded by a group of four Spheran soldiers, but they proved to be no match for the combined forces of the Republic military and la Resistance. Although Jenissa took a grazing gunshot wound, Chocolat Mousse's constant cloud of chocolate smoke made the attacks against him highly inaccurate, while Deja-Vu had clearly seen all of his opponent's moves before. Finished with this skirmish, Chocolat Mousse and Deja-Vu started planting the explosives on the building's supports, and instructed Jenissa and Zeke to check the upper floor to make sure the fight hadn't drawn any attention.
Unfortunately, the two Republic soldiers were about to discover that it had. They arrived on the second floor just in time to see a furious, red-headed figure emerge on the catwalk above them. It was Armshand Caszara. The Spheran officer expressed surprise at finding Dan the Coalminer involved in this insolent insurrection, but vowed to put an end to him nonetheless. 'Dan,' for his part, stated that he'd had quite enough of doing underpaid work in the mines and was ready for a change of pace. He was, however, about to find this pace more difficult than he expected. With a growl, Caszara came leaping in from above, searing both Republic officers with a blast of psyshic fire. Jenissa went down immediately under this assault, and the hardened Zeke wasn't in much better shape. Nevertheless, he was still hungry for revenge, and launched a mighty hook punch against his opponent. However, the blow was absorbed by the Tiger Spirit of angry flames that roared into existence around Caszara's body. Fortunately, with much of her energy drained by her taxing maneuvers, Caszara's subsequent blows were considerably weaker than her first strike. Zeke kept up the pressure with his street brawl, but continued to take a beating from his opponent's lightning-fast martial arts. However, just when he thought he could take no more, Zeke's mighty punch connected with flesh rather than flame, sending the Spheran officer staggering backwards. Reeling from the blow, Caszara declared in classic villain fashion that the two would meet again and leapt to make her escape via the catwalk. Breathing a sigh of relief, Zeke dared not follow.
After reviving the fallen Jenissa for the second time that adventure, Zeke and his fellow officer hurried back to the underground tunnels. Chocolat Mousse and Deja-Vu had finished with the bombs, and the whole place was set to blow. Moments later, a thunderous roar shook the air, and the gates came toppling down. Waiting only long enough for the falling rubble to subside, the four burst from the underground to find a scene of chaos. Spheran soldiers were pulling themselves in panic from the fallen walls, and the four Republic divisions were pouring through the breach, with Zeke's men rowdily firing their shotguns into the air. The two officers were glad to be linked up with their trusty divisions again and proceeded to take command.
However, the battle for Istava was not over yet; for the Electran officers suddnely heard the grinding of metal on stone, and the Spheran Landshark Mountain Tank came driving into view, flanked by a pair of Spheran infantry divisions. Popping up the hatch to the tank, a grim-faced Armsmaster Aldrocht declared his intention to grind this assault into dust. The Electrans, of course, had other ideas, and despite Aldrocht's intimidating words, even Chocolat Mousse and Deja-Vu offered their services to the cause.
The battle in the streets of Istava began with the Republic divisions taking cover atop nearby buildings, but their rudimentary weapons seemed to have minimal effect on the heavy armor of Aldrocht's tank. Seeking to swarm the tank and prevent the use of its deadly main gun, Cetina led her men in a valiant charge, slashing with their Republic sabres, but Aldrocht just gave the order to run the soldiers down with the tank's heavy treads. Meanwhile, the other Republic units were having better success focusing their fire upon the Spheran Infantry, but they still lacked an effective means to stop the tank. Grimly, Zeke declared that they were in over their heads and were going to need help. And fortunately for them, it came.
In a tremendous explosion, one of the nearby buildings collapsed to the ground, and out charged Latrine! leading a rag-tag, three-man gang of la Resistance. After both Jenissa and Zeke shouted out Latrine's name, they noted that although la Resistance was undisciplined and untrained, they were carrying something that could turn the tide of the battle: demolition charges. Fearlessly, Latrine and his Resistance charged the Landshark tank, and put the charges to use. The explosive blast ripped right through the tank's armor, dealing heavy damage. However, it would take more than one charge to bring the steel beast down, and the first brave member of la Resistance was soon crushed beneath the tanks grinding treads. In desperation, the four Republic units proceeded to surround the tank, using their own men as bodyshields to protect la Resistance. After several tense minutes of battle, la Resistance was reduced to a single man with a lone remaining charge. However, this last charge proved sufficient to pierce the tank's armor once and for all, reducing it to a smoldering wreck.
With this dramatic and symbolic victory, the people of Istava came tearing into the streets en masse to thank their liberators. And in the background the remaining members of la Resistance were hoisting a blue-red-and-white flag, shouting such slogans as 'Vive l'Istava libre!!.' All in all, though our heroes' methods in this battle may have been top secret, their resounding victory most certainly was not.