UE Issue #5: The Melting DAGGER

[shaidar]

Eclipse

"Azir! Who is this? My plan isn't going quite how I hoped."

[MrKinister]

Warlock

Warlock cast the Gate into the "target space", as instructed by Azir. It looked like he had hit the right spot, as he could see another pair of individuals matching the description she had given him.

As he stepped through the portal, and the attention fell on him, he said in a terrible dead-pan Austrian accent:

"Come with me if you want to live!"

He chuckled at those words.

"Heh! Always wanted to say that.

So, Azir, this is the place, right? And this must be Eclipse. And that... must be Umbra."

"Azir! Who is this? My plan isn't going quite how I hoped."

The young man with the leather jacket looked around but it seemed rather perfunctory. He wasn't really actually studying the place, more simply noticing it with slight distaste.

"Alright, I hear you need to evacuate. Come on. This portal can carry you out of here."

Warlock turned around and reached his hand into the air, and where there seemed to be nothing suddenly appeared a broad ring of blue light emiting what may have looked like a light electrical corona, except for the fact that the little sparks resembled small symbols or glyphs in a language none of them would have seen before, and a deep baritone of a hum that was just loud enough to hear it if you were reasonably close. The space within the ring showed another place, somewhere beyond this one, promising refuge and escape.

"Let's move. My name is Warlock. We can do formal introductions later."

Warlock looked at the remaining heroes calmly, waiting for them to make up their minds.

[OOC: Hello everyone! Pardon the vagueness of the post. I am pretty much operating blind until I get a full briefing from our GM. And I probably need to spend some time catching up on all the posts of this session.]

[shaidar]

Eclipse

Eclipse nods "You don't need to tell me twice. Come on Umbra."

He heads through the portal. As he steps through he looks back and says "I'll be back." with a wink at the young man.

[shaidar]

Umbra

"Thank you, young man."

Umbra heads through the portal.

[Rex]

Azir

Azir follows suit, bring up the rear.

[MrKinister]

Warlock

[OOC: So, I finally caught up with the session. Warlock opened a portal to the hotel safehouse in Peru, where he met with Sidestep and Azir. So everyone should be back at the safehouse right now.

GM, let me know if I need to change anything on this. I am taking a few liberties and making assumptions.]

[gurusql]

Epilogue Part One: The Melting DAGGER

The aftermath of the mission lingered in the air like the acrid smoke rising from the smoldering remains of the alien base. Though the Crusaders had succeeded in their objective—sneaking into the alien stronghold, gathering vital intelligence, and escaping after minimal detection - the battle that followed was devastating.

On Saturday, October 31, 1987, Halloween Day - Carrier Strike Group 7 controlled the USS Constellation and the Kitty Hawk unleashed its might upon the island, raining destruction from the skies. Jets screamed overhead, their payloads finding targets with devastating precision, while alien anti-aircraft defenses fired back, creating a maelstrom of destruction. The once-secret base was obliterated, its infrastructure reduced to molten metal and ash.

Both sides had paid dearly.

The Binary Brotherhood forces, caught off-guard by the bombing, scrambled to retreat, their forces decimated as six advanced ships fled into the ocean. But the cost to the carrier group was severe—several ships were sunk, the three submarines that were supporting the strike group were all destroyed, multiple crews were lost, leaving only silence in their wake. Survivors spoke in hushed tones about strange energy weapons and glowing projectiles that pierced steel like paper.

Back In New Chicago
With the help of Warlock, the heroes returned to their headquarters under the cover of darkness, the limited intelligence they retrieved securely in hand. The data revealed confirmed chilling truths:

• The Binary Brotherhood had established the base years ago, quietly infiltrating Earth's systems to gather resources and other unknown reasons.
• The island had been a waypoint for larger-scale plans—a prelude to something far more sinister.
• Fragments of their transmissions hinted at other hidden bases and the ominous phrase: "Phase Two is inevitable."
• As the Crusaders debriefed, the weight of their actions settled heavily on their shoulders. They had dealt a severe blow to the Binary Brotherhood, forcing their retreat and exposing their hidden operations to the world. Yet, they couldn’t shake the sense that this was not over.

A Moment of Reflection
Standing on a rooftop overlooking the New Chicago Bay, Wind Dragon, spoke quietly to his team communication system: "There is no way that we did anything except buying humanity time. Not peace. Not safety. Just time."

For now, the skies were quiet. But everyone knew it was only a matter of time before the storm returned.

[gurusql]

Epilogue Part Two: The Melting DAGGER

The Tense Special Election: A Turning Point in North American History - November 3, 1987
In a move that shocked the world and redefined international borders, 11 out of 13 Canadian provinces voted in favor of joining the United States in a special referendum. The election, touted as one of the most contentious in modern history, was marked by heated debates, widespread protests, and deep divisions across Canadian society. The two provinces that voted against the union—Quebec and British Columbia—erupted in widespread unrest following the announcement of the results, casting a shadow over what was intended to be a historic moment of unification.

The special election officially had been triggered by rising tensions in Canada, spurred on by economic, cultural, and political factors. With Canada’s economy struggling, particularly in its resource-dependent provinces, many Canadians saw union with the U.S. as a path to prosperity and stability. The U.S., for its part, had been increasingly interested in integrating Canada into its fold, seeing the prospect of an expanded territory with access to valuable resources and a larger market for American goods.

The election was fiercely contested. In the lead-up to the vote, heated debates filled the airwaves, with proponents of union emphasizing the economic benefits, enhanced security, and potential for global influence. Opponents, however, warned of the erosion of Canadian sovereignty, cultural identity, and the loss of a distinct national voice on the world stage.

The vote was razor-thin in several provinces, with Ontario and Alberta narrowly tipping in favor of joining the U.S. after weeks of contentious campaigning. In contrast, Quebec and British Columbia decisively rejected the proposal, citing concerns over sovereignty, identity, and mistrust of the United States' influence. Atlantic provinces such as Newfoundland and Nunavut, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick voted overwhelmingly in favor, citing economic revitalization and access to U.S. markets as key motivators. Quebec’s rejection was rooted in its longstanding commitment to preserving its French heritage, while British Columbia’s opposition centered on environmental concerns and skepticism toward U.S. policies.

News of the Saturday, November 7, 1987
By Saturday, the world learned of the loss of life to the carrier group, even though the official position was that the carrier group destroyed by a freak corrosive gas build up around the island that destroyed the ships and crews. Conspiracy theories ran rampant—everything from secret weapons tests to creatures from the sea. The actions of the heroes and the Carrier Group were classified as Top Secret and the Truth did not win on this day.

[Rex]

Azir

"True Wind Dragon, but safety is unattainable. All we will ever be able to do is buy humanity more time, and that alone is worth it. That is the history of humanity, you just have to see it for the forest and not the trees."

[gurusql]

I will give you about a week to discuss among yourselves and/or ask questions to me. I will kick-off the next issue in seven to eight days.

[shaidar]

Eclipse

"I still can't help but think that this phase two is something to do the elections, that the Binary Brotherhood are behind it somehow."

[shaidar]

Umbra

Even Umbra isn't quite his usual optimistic self.

"We tried our best, my friends. That is all a man can do, and trust that God has a plan. We bought more time, and at least we know the brotherhood is up to something. That is important."

[Rex]

Azir

"Agreed my friend, we did as well as we could. We must trust that God has a plan."

[Rex]

Grimm

"The election makes sense for them to mess with, but what we found wasn't really set up as a place where subterfuge was the focus, it was just brute force. It seems to me that they are more violent then scheming from what we have seen so far. I would expect an invasion or attack of some sort."

[MrKinister]

Warlock

Warlock stood around the living room in the mansion, where he listened to the other heroes express their opinions about the events that transpired, not just personally experienced, but also the aftermath of the astounding assault on the alien base. He had heard that the attack was "classified", and hence to be kept secret, but he did not understand why. Would not a generally informed population be better at uncovering any more such locations or any other such subterfuge that may be "out in the open", so to speak?

"It has been been quite a revelation to hear that there are beings from a remote distance of space who may have an interest on this planet. I have always thought that dangers may be more prompt from other dimensions, but that never materialized quite like this..."

Warlock shook his head in frustration. Then he stopped and the thought occurred to him that perhaps it had, and his home dimension may have been keeping things secret for everyone, just like this group of leaders keep this set of events secrets from its own population.

Still, the thought of the invader's final intent crossed his mind. What were they called again? The "binary brotherhood"? He had never heard that name before, and it pulled at his mind for more information like a fishing lure with a freshly caught carp, ready to be pulled in. Except he could do nothing but observe at the moment. He needed to take action and learn more.

"So, what do we know about this ... binary brotherhood? Where do they come from? What are their intentions? Who are their leaders? Did any of them survive the assault on the island? And what of their technology? I am sure that the armed forced stormed the compound after the assault and quite likely seized whatever technology was available and not completely destroyed by the assault. If anything, the underground levels you escaped from would not have been overly damaged by the surface assault, so an interior battle must have occurred, one where the only means of conquest must have been a tightly pitched room-by-room engagement. Have we heard the results of any such action?"

Surely the binary brotherhood would be able to converse. We could speak to them and find out what they desired, and if it was possible to establish peaceful relations with them. Of course, it may be possible that their ambitions might be far and above what the planet would tolerate. He was hoping it wouldn't come to that, but the possibility filled his mind with concern.

[gurusql]

I will note that there are some historical references to the Binary Brotherhood in this post.

[MrKinister]

No worries. I am just roleplaying his responses. Since he's not originally from this world, he would have a rather lacking education in their history. And he would like to engage with the other members of the team as well.

[shaidar]

Our characters really don't have any answers to those questions, we only know what is in the link gurusql gave. Those sort of guestions would be best directed to our handler Agent McGinley. With Warlock joining the team I assumed that Agent McGinley will be doing some kind of official introduction, but we can do one of our own if you want.

[MrKinister]

No worries about what the characters know or not. I am merely roleplaying Warlock. If the characters don't know anything about the Binary Brotherhood, then that is precisely the information Warlock is looking for: what is the state of information on the BB? If we know very little about them, other than historical references and archeological assumptions, then it may behoove the team to learn more about them, right? Perhaps we need to take some action in that regard, and do some studying, consult experts, and do some exploring.

As a matter of fact, now that the assault on the island has concluded, is the team able to visit and explore the ruins of the base? We may be able to learn something about them. Perhaps we can take parts of their technology for study and analysis.

And while I am sure the government and the armed forces are already doing that, I am also pretty confident they would not share all they find out with the team.

And yes, we can do an introduction on our own if Agent McGinley is not quite present, although I am sure he will. It's just our GM being busy at the moment.

... just playing the game.

[shaidar]

Absolutely, it's all good.
Our group is relatively new to the hero game, and probably don't have the clearance for that kind of thing. Of course with what's going on now that might change and we might get 'read in', as they say.