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Post by Scarlet Scorpion on Jun 20, 2019 14:49:25 GMT -5
The coffee was warm and comfortable to her lips. She could smell the dark roast as slow-rising vapor reached her nostrils. A smile formed after a sip and swallow. Kathryn caught herself thinking of … nothing. She savored the experience and pushed all other thoughts away.
Looking out the window, the dirty streets on the south-side of Las Vegas juxtaposed the cleanliness of the diner she frequented for some privacy. Repurposed from a used car dealership, the diner still had the elongated bar table with swiveling stools and short-back booth seating. The staff did not wear any uniform and the décor was more modern. Yet the food items were certainly diner style and quality … except for the coffee. After all that Kathryn saw in Paragon City, it humored her to think the proprietor was receiving coffee beans from a divine source.
Since the Paragon City Chapter had shuttered many years ago, Kathryn had settled down. She returned to her home town to start a new life, and started a new business, Pallas Peace Consultants. Being a one-person entity and working in the security-sector was rewarding, intellectually, physically and (in Las Vegas) financially, but Kathryn could not separate the fact she lived a life as a “superhero” for years. Having powers gave her an edge in her work and she was not afraid to use them when needed.
Otherwise, she tried to keep a low profile; it was challenging due to her being tall with red hair and an eye-patch. Typically, Kathryn would cover the left side of her face with her hair and that worked for the most part. Occasionally, she had to deflect someone’s curiosity when they had a sense of her hero identity from Paragon City. Such recollections were rarer as the years passed.
Taking a sip of coffee and smiling, she then remarked two booths ahead sat another woman whose back was to Kathryn. The woman’s shoulders rose slightly and some hand motions suggested she was agitated.
“I need to go to the bathroom,” the woman said as she stood, revealing a man in the booth with crossed arms and wearing a blank expression on his face. Walking past Kathryn, she was clearly upset about the hushed conversation.
Kathryn looked away to respect the privacy the woman clearly needed and saw the man was staring at Kathryn. A smug smile on his face made her feel uncomfortable, so she looked to the grimy street outside. After a few seconds she checked and the man licked his lips suggestively. Her discomfort turned to disappointment with anger at the periphery. Kathryn did not look away but instead raised her cup to hide her deepening frown.
Kathryn realized a chirping sound emanated from her purse and she welcomed the distraction. Thinking it was her cell phone, she dug to the bottom of the bag for a long forgotten piece of history. Recalling its private importance, she activated the small display …
Dawn Patrol, this is Lady Britannia. Arthur 01-Rising Dawn; Paragon City
Kathryn was elated to know Tania seemed to be well. They lost touch shortly after the Paragon City Chapter of Dawn Patrol disbanded. Clearly, something changed and the “Arthur” designation meant an all-call was sent.
Her heart started beating loudly as she started planning her next moves. Kathryn could simply ignore the request; this was quickly dismissed as doing so would also ignore what she had become, what she was. The only other real alternative was to go back to Paragon City.
Back to the Dawn Patrol.
Back … home.
The woman walked back to her booth but did not sit down. The man looked up and was immediately slapped in the face. Everyone in the diner was stunned into spectating, except Kathryn whose body tensed.
“What the Hell was that for?!”
The man’s anger was sudden, yet not unexpected.
“Only what you deserved,” the woman replied and she swiftly gathered her purse and stormed out the building.
The man scoffed and rubbed his cheek while everyone else quickly went about their own business. He looked up to Kathryn and any anger quickly transformed into self-assured machismo as he nodded appreciatively.
Kathryn tried not to roll her eye as she stood and dropped a few dollars on the table. The man stuck his leg out to block the isle as Kathryn walked toward the exit, forcing her to stop. She noticed this captured the attention of a few diners nearby who watched from curiosity.
She pushed her hair back to reveal the eyepatch. “Can I help you move your leg?”
The man did not seem bothered by her suggestion and leaned in a little. “I’ve just become open to new opportunities. You should learn about them with me.”
Kathryn leaned down and stopped within centimeters to whisper, “if that woman is disinterested, then so am I.” Standing, she tapped the heel of her foot. Feeling the sound ripple from the floor, Kathyrn’s hand opened to capture the audio wave. With a flick of her finger, the sonic bolt invisibly pushed the man’s coffee cup, spilling hot coffee over the edge and onto his crotch.
She walked away as he screamed with pain and stumbled out of the booth. He yipped like a dog running to the bathroom.
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Post by Battledog on Jun 22, 2019 22:01:26 GMT -5
I should have known better.
An easy job to take my mind off of events...feeling...things.
A simple favor for the FBSA now that I was available. Get a fake identity, forget to shave for a while, and just infiltrate the Rogue Isles to get up to date intel on Arachnos troop movement. Nance's wink and grin should of tipped me off that more was going on then I thought.
Then I met my contact.
I launched the grenade in a shallow arc and let the high explosive scatter the approaching squad of Wolf Spiders. The staccoto rhythm of dual large calibre handguns sounded to my right.
"Easy...piece of cake...no problem." I shouted over the Arachnos soldiers' return fire.
"It's not my fault." the pistol-wielder pleaded.
"Skotti, it's never your fault but it always happens."
"At least we got the data."
"Not going to matter if we can't get it out."
I set myself and launched a gas grenade into the approaching mob. The acidic nature of the gas quickly ate into the spiders' armor plates. Skot Fujikawa ejected the magazines out of his pistols and reloaded with incendiary rounds. I looked into his cybernetic eye and reloaded my launcher.
"I guess we can say that we are officially cutoff from exfil site Alpha." he remarked as he sent his new payload into the weakened Arachnos, "So....Plan B?"
I let loose with a heavy burst.
"Yeah....Plan B."
I opened a new comm channel.
"Lupe, you copy?"
The sweet feminine voice of our pilot responded, " I copy, North 1."
"Moving to exfil Bravo.'
"Roger that."
I switched to another comm line.
"North 3, Arclight. I say again...North 3, Arclight."
Skotti looked at me , his natural eye wide with fear.
"Arclight!? What are you doing?"
I grinned at his discomfort. I snap my left arm up and will my telekinetic shield to life. A venom blast hit and harmlessly slid off the gold glowing energy disk. I spotted the approaching dot in the sky behind the attacking spiders. It quickly became a female form that slammed downward into the mob, scattering them. It launched itself forward and zomed towards us.
"Better clench, Skotti." I shouted.
"I hate this part." he yelled back.
The woman flew over us and grabbed our belts. The sudden acceleration forced various sensitive bodyparts into our tac-belts and we were airborne on our way to Bravo.
It doesn' t take long for us to reach Site Bravo where Lupe Vargas was waiting with our recently acquired Arachnos flyer.
"Nice work, Cate." I say as the flying female placed us on the ground. We quickly loaded up. I silently chuckled as I watched Skot complain bitterly about his very sore bits.
We are over water before anyone spoke again. The three of us just stared at the sun sparkling off the passing waves.
Cate tucked a lock of her blue hair behind her ear as she spoke.
"It's good to see you active again, Dave. You just haven't been the same since...you know...since Lily left us."
Skot nodded slightly in agreement.
"Had I known that this menace would be my contact, I would have stayed on my couch."
I say with a slight grin that faded quickly as the memories of my dead wife return. They were followed by thoughts of my deceased brother. The melancholy of my losses began to drag me down again when a flick from the finger of Cate snapped me back to the now. An ice cold bottle of beer was thrust into my hand.
"To a job done." Skot says.
We clinked the bottles together and take a drink.
"To getting back out and living again." Cate atones.
The bottles clinked again.
"To friends that still care." I spoke reverently.
"Hey, Dave." Lupe sounded over the intercom, " Your go-bag is beeping."
I fumbled behind me for my pack. One of the pockets was sounding an incoming message. I pulled out the small box of a communicator, it's blue light flashing.
"Dawn Patrol, this is Lady Britannia. Arthur 01-Rising Dawn; Paragon City"
I stared dumbfounded at it. My thoughts jumbled. "Not possible." I mumbled.
Cate and Skot watched me as I turned the communicator over and over in my hands.
"Guess Nance knew something we didn't." Skot remarked, " How didn't you know? Weren't you their second in command?"
"Only of the MC brigade. You would think I'd get a heads-up or an inkling."
"Looks like you really are getting back up on that horse." Cate said with all seriousness.
"Looks like." I responded, " Lupe, get us home."
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Post by PAX Lawbringer on Jun 23, 2019 15:21:07 GMT -5
SIX AND A HALF YEARS AGO-*An email sent to all addresses in the GUINEVERE database*
To whom it may concern,
I, the Post-human Arthropoid Xenomorph known as Lawbringer, do hereby officially resign my commision and membership with the Dawn Patrol organization. The recent controversial actions taken by members of the Patrol and the resulting conflicts and their outcomes, along with other more personal considerations leads me to this decision. I go now to seek my retirement and return to my own era with the help of the Menders of Ouroboros. It has been a pleasure and an honor to work and live among you and know that if I successfully return, the memories I have; the lessons of our triumphs and cautions of our failures will become part of the living memory in the Lawbringer line and spread among all the Ixtlic' Hiveworlds. They will come to know you as I have. Not as forgotten myths and legends, but as people. People who struggle and aspire to be the best persons they can. Know that knowledge will inspire your descendants to become like you- Heroes.
Your Friend Lawbringer A Place Outside of Time – The Ouroboros PlatformLawbringer levered himself up the steps with the aid of the brass Nemesis staff, its geared head rotating and sparking. The once vibrant green on bright green shading of his body had been leached out to a matte grey green, the intensity of his red multifaceted eyes was faded and he moved stiffly. Inside the Hall of the Pillar, Mender Silos stood before the huge temporal artifact itself- the Pillar of Ice and Flame. He stroked his chin and looked into the different images each plane of the pillar held. He waved a hand blanking them all and turned at Lawbringer’s approach with a smile. “Another paradox neatly resolved Lawbringer, well done.” Lawbringer inclined his helmet shaped head.
“I simply replicated the original tablets down to the atom and put them into place in Hammurabi’s palace. They will be found as history has dictated.” Lawbringer’s cultured sounding voice said. It was Silo’s turn to nod at the Hiveworlder.
“And so, you live up to your name, ensuring the Code of Hammurabi is brought to future generations.” Silos places a hand on Lawbringer’s shoulder. “I know why you have chosen not to take the Mender title but these past five years you helped us greatly in our work, but now it is time.”
“You asked to speak with me, have you resolved the conflict? Can you return me to the Hiveworlds?” Mender Silos’s eyes looked saddened as he spoke.
“No friend Lawbringer, but I have unlocked the secret to your travel past the Carbon Limit of the Pillar. A person’s memories are the building blocks of their history. Indeed, the act of remembering is a type time travel.” He offered the insect a slight smile. “And your people have adopted a way to transmit the memories of one individual directly to the next generation genetically”
“This is true, I carry the memories of all the Lawbringers before me who either retired or whose body was recovered. And we all carry the shared social memory matrix gifted us by the Procreatrixes.”
“Exactly, and this ability to experience genetic memory is what allowed these Children of Earth to see and experience this era using their own fragmentary genetic material dating back to before the Calamity. The alien device simply created a portal using that link, being experienced in that present time. You did not so much travel through time as was remembered into the common era. A simple teleport into a memory of a time and place, neatly side stepping all the known limits time travel.” The mender’s smile faded. “Only someone able to read genetic memory and possessing memory introns of your time could create such a link back.” Lawbringer lowered his head.
“I feared this.” Silos gave the shoulder a comforting squeeze before dropping his hand.
“There are problems yes, but solvable ones.”
“And I have no time Silos.” Lawbringer looked directly in Silos’s face. “My life clock stands at 37 years old today. I am two years past my retirement time. My organs have begun to fail.”
“No one likes to face their mortality.”
“You’re wrong, I long to stand before the Procreatrixes of the Klarx Hive. To have them take me in their loving arms. Kiss me to my final sleep with their venomous lips. To consume my body, so that I might be remembered by my people for all time.” The dying hiveworlder looks into the depths of the Pillar. “They will continue on of course, there will be another Lawbringer, but he will not have my experiences. Have at the ready the solutions they bring. He could make the same mistakes I have.” He turns back to Silos. “It has happened before to Hive Law Enforcers. They are destroyed doing their duty, and each one unrecovered is a broken link we mourn.” Suddenly Lawbringer stumbles the staff falling from spasming hands. Silos easily grabs him, supporting him. “I do not want to die unremembered.” He says softly.
“With all the power of the Pillar I could only send you into the heart of the coming storm, and I will not do that. But I have seen another way.” Silos gathers the hiveworlder into his arms lifting him up. “A local time distortion, returning your body to its youth. Resetting your life clock to the day you were born. There might be consequences, but it will give you what you need most- time”
“Memories….” Lawbringer croaks and goes limp.
“Yes, but a person is more than the sum of their memories. I have seen you in the Pillar, acting again in this time frame. So I send you to that future Friend Lawbringer, but like all good things, it will take some time.”
There is a blinding flash and the scene begins repeating itself on the wide faucets of the clear crystal bearing the metal Ouroboros symbol inside. The crystal is embedded into the dark green resinlike material securing the roughly spherical veined shape to the interior of the junction of three large air ducts. There is no moving air in the ducts and they are absolutely dark and silent, but the shape quivers and emits a soft green glow intermittently. In that light it can be seen the lateral duct has words painted in red by small fingers- Mr. Pax's House and an arrow pointing toward the junction. Time passes.
(( Continues HERE thedawnpatrol.boards.net/post/513 in an open story.))
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Post by Lady Britannia on Jun 25, 2019 21:07:32 GMT -5
Tania Lockemont leans back in her chair and stretches, having finally finished transferring the remaining physical personnel files to the computer system. The Dawn Patrol was now all digital. “Why on earth hadn’t Homeland been working on getting this done for the last six years? I swear, it’s a wonder anything still works.” She mutters to herself.
“You know you really should stop talking to yourself all the time mother, people are going to start talking.”
Tania looks up to find her seventeen-year-old daughter Elena standing there, holding her youngest Daniella. Tania smiles and comes around the desk, giving the two girls a kiss and taking Daniella in her own arms. “How was your day?”
“It was okay I guess. I still miss my friends though.”
Tania nods and says “You talk to them almost every night on facetime Elena. Its not like you’re completely cut off from them.”
“I know mother but its not the same, and I’m not making friends here as easy as I did back home. I’m not sure why.”
Tania reaches out and gives the teenager a hug with her free arm. “Give it time sweetie. We haven’t been here that long. Now how about some dinner? We’ve got the cafeteria here finished and they’re fixing up some food right now.”
Elena makes a face and says “Cafeteria food? No thanks. The food at school is horrible, why would I want more of the same?”
“Oh, trust me, the food in this cafeteria is better. Nothing but the best for our people. Come..” Tania pauses as her communicator beeps. “Lockemont.”
“Commander, this is Dr. Novacek. Maintenance workers found a weird egg in one of the old air ducts and we retrieved it. From all of our scans it seems to be a new incarnation of Leftenant Lawbringer.. and its starting to hatch. What do we do?”
Tania’s right eyebrow shoots up in surprise at the news. “Do what you need to do Doctor. I’ll send one of the Officer’s down to assist with any issues that arise.” Tania ends the call and contacts Mars, letting him know what’s going on and asking him to head to medical. Once that is done, she goes down to the cafeteria with the girls for dinner.
Forty-five minutes later…
After introducing the girls to Edna’s famous six cheese bacon mac and cheese, watching them wolf it down, Tania leads the girls out of the cafeteria. “That was as good as I remembered it being.”
Four-year-old Daniella pipes up “Momma, I wanna see Auntie Lex and Unca Maws!”
Tania chuckles at the pronunciation, wondering what Mars and Alex would think of the new nicknames, but what can you expect from a four-year-old? “Maybe later sweetie. But right now, I’m going to have your sister take you home. Momma still has work to do.” Tania had accomplished quite a bit the last week. Along with getting all the files updated and having a pleasant conversation with the returning Alumette, she had gone down to the receiving bay to find a huge box of robot parts that had arrived, most of them painted in Dawn Patrol colors. After having consulted the archives and finding that this “Bot” had actually been a Patroller, she ordered the Engineering staff to start reassembling the robot from the parts in the box.
Before Tania could say anything else though, her comm beeps again. Answering it she hears “Commander this is Flight Control. We’ve just received a request for landing from an Arachnos Flyer that’s sending out old DPPC IFF codes.”
Tania frowns and says “Someone trying to pull a ruse on us? A prelude to an attack?” As she asks she hands Daniella off to Elena and motions for the teenager to follow her, heading for her office as she continues to listen.
“I don’t think so Commander. We asked for some confirmation and information for onboard crew. The Flight Officer identified herself as Lupe Vargas.”
“Lupe? She used to be one of our flyer pilots! Who else was with her?”
“She’s got three people on-board. Two registered Heroes unaffiliated with us and someone who’s security code identifies him as former Captain Kinmount.”
“DAVE?! Are you sure?” “Yes ma’am. His codes matched and he got onscreen with me. Facial recognition was a match.”
Tania’s thoughts were racing a mile a minute. “Did he.. How old did he look?” The last time she had seen Dave, right before she returned to England, he had been reverted to the age of a teenager and didn’t remember her at all, which at the time was a severe blow to Tania. He had become a close friend and confidant that Tania could trust. Both Dave and Lily had.
There was a pause before a slightly confused answer came back over the comm “Um, like a normal adult male. From all appearances, he matches up with the age in his DPPC file.”
“Very well. Clear them through, but I want a full security detail there just in case. I’ll be right down.” Tania shuts off the comm and weighs her options, debating on if she should take the girls down. She finally says, “How would you like to go down to the hangar with me and meet an old friend of mine?” Reaching for her swords and hooking them to her belt as she asks.
Elena nods and replies “Sure, if you want us too mother.”
Tania motions for her to follow. “It should be okay, I hope, but I’ll have you stay up in Flight Control with your sister until we verify that all is secure. Come on.” Tania leads them to the elevator and heads for the flight deck.
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Post by Crimsonstar on Aug 11, 2019 20:40:00 GMT -5
Lady Victoria
Steel Canyon University Library. Wednesday night; 11:43 pm
The librarian staff had rearranged since my last visit. That included not only relocating the sections but the furniture as well. I banged my knees twice into tables and chairs that weren’t there three years ago. But it was well worth it, they had recently taken in a large collection of tomes on the occult and mystical references from the Wellington library that had shut down in West Virginia. As I poured through several of the new additions to their occult section, I found multiple references to ancient cults I either hadn’t heard of before, or new references to cults I thought long dead.
I was scribbling notes like crazy on a legal pad I had brought with me, I couldn’t take the chance of using the photocopier. Some of the books were already brittle enough as it was and I didn’t need the extra noise to draw attention to me. Suddenly a light shown down on my desk and into my eyes.
I could see a shadowy shape holding the flashlight in one hand and a revolver in the other.
“Okay, stand up slowly and put your hands up. I seriously don’t think a late night bookworm is dangerous, but then again, one can’t take chances.” The night guard said.
I put my pen in my pocket, picked up my notepad “You’re good, really good. I’m a hard person to sneak up on. You should be tested for any meta abilities. Most normal people can’t move as quietly as you obviously did.” I stood up, slowly to not make him nervous. “Look, I’m just going to go back out the way I came” I pointed at the second story window, “Nothing’s been taken, I just needed to do a little research. So let’s both just turn around and move on, okay?”
“I can’t do that, I have a job…”
“Yeah, okay. Damn.” I said and kicked him quickly in his solar plexus. Oh not enough to do any lasting damage. Just enough to knock the air out of him and keep him immobilized while I got away. I jumped to the second story window and heard the gunshot as he yelled for me to stop. This guy recovered way too fast for a normal person. “Now see, why did you have to shoot? You could have just dropped the whole thing.” I jumped out the window and…never landed on the pavement? Huh? I was suddenly just hanging in the air.
“Breaking into a university library, really? The Victoria I knew wouldn’t have done that.” Said a voice I immediately recognized.
“Marisus Denthar!? Is that you?” I said, even as he flew us down to the pavement. I turned and confirmed that sure enough, it was him. I jumped into his arms and hugged him. “Oh my God it IS you! I didn’t think I’d ever see you again after you left to go home. Is Alex here too?” I said, and scanned around the campus grounds.
“She is, but she’s still setting up our apartment.”
“Apartment? So you’re back for a while? That’s great!”
“Victoria, back to what just went down. Honestly, you’re breaking into Paragon University?”
I straightened my back a bit, readying myself for a fight. “Well, I don’t have access to the resources I once did. Once Dawn Patrol was shut down, you all left. Some of us still had to live here, had to carry on while all you just left.”
He looked down at the sidewalk “You’re right, we DID abandon you. All of us. It wasn’t right. I’m sorry.” Then he stepped up and put his hands on my shoulders. “But that’s why I’m here. We’re back, all of us. Dawn Patrol is back, and we need you.”
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Post by Lady Britannia on Aug 28, 2019 5:36:25 GMT -5
((This is a combination of actual rp and some story after))
2100 hours, Dawn Patrol Field Commander’s office; Paragon City
Tania Lockemont leads Rebecca Price, known to the rest of the Dawn Patrol as Agent 32 into her office. “So, before we start, is this just a personal type private conversation or a classified one?”
Rebecca nods “A classified one. Rest assured ma’am always classified. I trust you received the paperwork when I transferred in?”
Tania holds up a finger as she nods and says “DOGMA, activate Pendragon Protocol. Authorization Britannia 867 Whiskey Tango 5309.”
The doors to the office slide shut, securing it as a white noise generator kicks on to soundproof the room. The smooth female computer voice of DOGMA comes across the speakers “Pendragon Protocol activated.”
Once they were secure, Tania turns back to Rebecca and says “Yes, I received your file from the Service, and I have to say that its very impressive. I’m curious to know why the SIS thinks that they need to place an operative in the Dawn Patrol. Is it a liaison type spot between SIS and Taliesin Division?” naming off the Intelligence division of the Dawn Patrol.
Rebecca inclines her head “Thank you ma’am. That’s quite a compliment coming from you. But I’m afraid to say that I’m not here in a liaison capacity. I am here at the direct request of the Foreign Secretary. With the Prime Minister’s approval of course."
Tania raises an eyebrow at that statement but doesn’t respond, waiting to hear a further explanation.
Rebecca continues “My mission is to monitor the Dawn Patrol for any potential anti-British sentiment that may be forming. While you are under no such suspicion of course, due to… events that have happened in the past, the Foreign Secretary has determined that a watchful eye in the Paragon City chapter of Britain’s premier supergroup would be prudent at this time.” She places a hand upon her chest and says, “I am that watchful eye.”
Tania bristles at the implication that Rebecca has laid down, coldly replying. “Pardon me for speaking bluntly, but the Foreign Secretary couldn’t find his own arse with both hands and a flashlight. Frankly, the past events that you are alluding too are classified above yours, and the Foreign Secretary’s clearance level. The only ‘anti’ sentiment going on here is my personal disagreement with Lady Jane and her continued existence as Leader of the Dawn Patrol as a whole. Both the PM and the Queen are well aware of that already and understand my concerns with that subject.”
Rebecca smiles slightly. "Ma'am, permission to speak freely?"
Tania motions with her hand and says, “By all means…Please do.”
Rebecca nods once, the smile utterly disappearing from her face. "Ma'am, with all due respect, the Foreign Secretary made the request and the Prime Minister signed off on it. He is well aware of your feelings on the matter you mentioned, which is precisely why I'm here. Several members of Parliament have expressed concerns, both public and private, that the Dawn Patrol is in danger of wholesale collapse, and much of the blame, rightly or wrongly, has been laid at your feet."
Tania eyes narrow as she coolly says "Maybe the PM needs to go back and re-look at the facts. DPPC wouldn't even be open again if the Queen hadn’t personally asked me to take command of the chapter. If there's issues with DPUK back at home, then that's not my concern. The only thing that is wrong with the Dawn Patrol is the fact that Lady Jane, in my opinion, is a traitor and should have not only been removed from her office, but she should be sitting in a prison cell right now."
Rebecca takes a breath. "I have read all the reports, ma'am, and rest assured that my clearance is high enough to have read all of them. You need not explain your distaste for Lady Jane to me. Frankly, I agree with you. However, my mission remains the same. Britain is a democracy, and should Parliament decide that the Dawn Patrol no longer serves the best interests of the nation…” she trails off. "You begin to see the issue."
Tania’s fists involuntarily clench before she takes a deep breath and relaxes a bit, continuing. "How do you know the details of what happened? Only the PM and the Queen, along with myself and a few members of DPPC who were involved know the whole truth. Your clearance isn’t that high, and neither is the Foreign Secretary’s."
Rebecca smiles slightly again, this time a bit too smugly. "I apologize, ma'am, but that information is classified."
Tania grunts "Classified my arse. Obviously the PM released the info to you. It doesn’t matter one way or the other. Parliament doesn't have the authority to shut us down just on their own. The Queen has to sign off on it as well. You think anti-British sentiment is a worry at bringing the Dawn Patrol down? Its not. The knowledge of that past mission is the real threat to not only the Dawn Patrol but the British government as well. You think the that the Foreign Secretary, or the Prime Minister for that fact will survive the political heat the world brings down on them if that gets out?” Tania points a finger at Rebecca “You walk a fine line with that knowledge Agent Price. I suggest you be EXTREMELY careful about ensuring that you don’t reveal that information to anyone."
Rebecca shrugs as if it’s nothing and says “If you say so, ma'am. However, that was not my primary purpose in requesting this meeting.
Tania raises an eyebrow "So what was then?"
Rebecca says, “The lack of competent intelligence assets at your disposal, especially as regards the situation with... Monstra, I think she's called?” Tania nods and says, "That is indeed what she's called, though I think that our entire Intel division would be insulted."
Rebecca nods. "Good. They should be. Do you have a Chief Intelligence Officer, ma'am? One with actual experience?"
Tania looks at her watch and says "I will put you in touch with the head of Taliesin Division. That’s our Intel department. But for now, I need to get home to my girls."
Rebecca nods again. "Of course, ma'am. I look forward to speaking with them. Do take care."
Tania returns the nod and says "You as well. My door is always open... DOGMA, deactivate Pendragon Protocol." the generator shuts off and the doors open.
Rebecca adopts her pleasant expression again. "Thank you, my lady."
Tania primly corrects her, “Countess, or Commander. Either/or will work.”
Rebecca gives a small half curtsy “Of course, my apologies Countess.” She turns and leaves the office. Tania resists the urge to throw several items around and leaves the office herself, heading for home to make sure the girls are tucked in for the night.
The next day…
0800 hours, Dawn Patrol Field Commander’s office; Paragon City
Tania leans forward in her chair and smiles at the face looking back at her on the screen. “So is Auntie ducking out on my call or is she expanding your duties?”
William; the Duke of Cambridge, second in line to the throne, and Tania’s cousin smiles back at Tania “Of course not. Grandmother wants me to assure you that she’s always available to you if need be. She’s just passing oversight of the Dawn Patrol to me, as you have already guessed. I suppose she felt that I needed more to do.” He chuckles at his own little joke.
Tania gives off a small laugh before getting serious. “Well, if she was going to pass off the Dawn Patrol to someone, I’m glad it was you Will. I take it you reviewed the video from my office of my conversation with Agent Price that I sent over?”
“I did indeed, and I have to say that I’m gravely concerned. Not only at the implications she leveled but the fact that she was entrusted with the… knowledge of the incident. I just read the entire file this morning after your message arrived last night.”
“Precisely. She has secrets she shouldn’t have and there’s only one place she could have been given them from. The Prime Minister’s office. He’s the only person over there that knew the details. When the incident originally happened, the Queen very pointedly told him to leave it that way. Even today this knowledge would be dynamite in the wrong hands. The fact that he told Agent Price, or worse yet the Foreign Secretary who we both know can’t keep a secret to save his life is alarming.”
“I agree. What do you suggest?”
Tania sighs and leans back in her chair. “There’s something else going on here Will. Something we’re not seeing yet. Agent Price’s excuse of Parliament being concerned about what’s happening over here and possible anti-British sentiment is rubbish. They don’t know about the incident; therefore, how can they be worried that we hold any animosity towards our own government? And even if they did know about it, why is it only coming up seven YEARS after it happened and AFTER we re-opened DPPC? Not to mention the fact that we only have a very small contingent of members that were actually here for the incident. A good ninety percent of our membership in DPPC is new and have no reason to have any grievances with the British government. No, there’s some other game going on here.”
William nods in agreement and says “Any thoughts on what that game might possibly be?”
“I do. While I’ve always had an angel on my shoulder in the Queen, the PM has always been the angel on someone else’s shoulder, which is why she’s still in a position of authority and not sitting in a prison right now.”
“Lady Jane.”
“The very same. How the PM managed to keep her out of handcuffs, much less in her position is beyond me. It’s the one time that I’ve disagreed with one of the Queen’s decisions. I couldn’t fathom why She sided with the PM on it back then. The only scenario I can come up with is the fact that our Field Commander at the time falling on her own sword to help save the Dawn Patrol is the only thing that saved Lady Jane.”
“I can see what you’re saying there.”
Tania looks up at the ceiling for a moment before looking back at the image of her cousin. “I can’t help but feel that this is her still trying to find some way, anyway, to bury her past mistakes and close the doors on DPPC forever. She was extremely opposed on it being re-opened, and I’m told her screams of frustration over my appointment as Field Commander could be heard throughout the building. I mean, lets face it. I’ve not pulled my punches, so to speak, on how I feel about her or what she did. Not back when it happened and certainly not now either. Especially when she didn’t get carte blanche to rule over us due to the agreement I reached with the Queen as a condition of returning. It also probably didn’t help things either that I had her escorted back to Britain after her impromptu trip here.”
William laughs and says “That right there is the understatement of the year Tani. You could literally feel the waves of anger coming off of her as she got off the flyer in the Palace courtyard. Her mood was even worse when she came out of her private conference with Grandmother. I don’t think she said a single word to anyone on her way out of the palace. So… How do we handle this?”
Tania rubs her chin for a moment and says “Right now I think we play the waiting game and see where it leads us. We’ve got our hands full dealing with this Monstra girl that’s targeting a few of our members as it is. I’m going to bring in a few of my most senior people on this and have a little strategy session. For now, we’ll keep tabs on Agent Price and see where it leads us. Honestly, I get the feeling that despite it all, she was being honest with me. I don’t think that she realizes that she’s being possibly used as a political pawn, or that the motives given for her mission aren’t genuine. At least not yet. She seems intelligent enough to put the pieces together.”
William nods “Well I trust your judgement. I’ll keep my ears open here and see what I can learn. If I hear anything I’ll let you know. If you come across anything else, don’t hesitate to call me.”
“You know I will. Thank you Will. Give everyone my love.”
“You as well Tani. I will talk with you later.” The call ends and Tania sits there for a few minutes thinking things over. Finally, she sends out requests for Crimsonstar, Scarlet Scorpion, and Battledog to report to her office as soon as possible.
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Post by Crimsonstar on Sept 16, 2019 12:13:24 GMT -5
Marsius and Alex were having a quiet morning enjoying coffee and scones as the little sidewalk cafe in Founders Falls that Alex loved. The two of them used to frequent it when they first started dating and it was one of the places they missed while living on Andromeda. Now that they were back, they had made it a morning ritual. Terri, the owner, was completely in love with the fact that two of Paragon City's finest came to her shop every morning. She had their picture up on the wall and had taken countless selfies with them. As a result her business was booming and she in turn discounted their coffee and pastries and was always 'slipping a little something extra' in their bag at no charge.
"Terri, you're going to make me fat if you keep this up." Alex teased.
"Oh please, Alex. You couldn't be fat if you wanted to." she said passing the bag of scones over the counter
"It's really Mars I'm worried about. His uniform is looking a little tighter than usual" Alex giggled
"I can hear you." Marsius said from the corner of the shop where he was posing with two kids for a photo. The two women exchanged hugs and Alex and Marsius headed to a small table out on the sidewalk.
"We should have Terri and Donna over for dinner sometime." Mars said sipping his coffee, and pulling a doughnut out of the bag
"Hey buster, the chocolate one is mine. You said you wanted the butterscotch. I'd love to have them over. And we still need to have Tania and the girls over too" Alex said.
And as if on command, Marsius' comm link beeped. He listend to Tania's request and stood up. "I'll set it up after we handle this." He grabbed his doughnut and coffer, kissed her quickly and flew off towards the Talos underpass.
"Hey Terri, what are you doing after your breakfast rush? Mars just got called in"
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Post by Xaddak on Oct 7, 2019 12:07:04 GMT -5
Dawn Patrol headquarters in London, R&D department
In a workshop buried deep within the Dawn Patrol headquarters complex, a lone engineer was burning the midnight oil.
The workshop, though relatively small, was fully equipped, with tool chests, workbenches, and the usual machining equipment neatly organized around the walls, leaving the center of the room occupied only by a still humanoid robot.
Sergeant Hall was sitting at one of the workbenches, engrossed in his work. He didn’t notice Leftenant Williams standing in the doorway and sipping her tea, until she politely cleared her throat.
Quickly but carefully putting down the hot soldering iron that he’d been working with, Hall leapt to his feet and snapped off a salute, which Williams returned.
“At ease. How’s your pet project coming along, Hall?”
“Just about finished, ma’am - putting on the finishing touches. The robot’s chassis is completed, the combat software is installed, tested, and approved by command, and I’ve just finished tuning the energy fields on the sword and shield. It should be ready to ship to Paragon before the end of the week.”
Williams nodded, again sipping her tea while looking at the armored, bulky form standing silently under a single work light. For just a moment, the sharp angles of the armor and the deep shadows made it appear vaguely sinister. Blinking and shaking her head, she looked down at her tea and back at the robot, which again looked as innocuous - or at least, as innocuous as a self-contained, armored, and self-aware combat robot could look.
She smiled at Hall and tried to ignore her sense of unease. “Good work. I’m sure our comrades across the pond will appreciate the gift. Don’t stay up too late - remember we have a staff meeting first thing tomorrow.”
Hall saluted again. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll be done for the evening shortly.” Williams nodded again and strolled off, and Hall returned to his work.
Dawn Patrol Paragon City, R&D department
Leftenant Aion Arcturus was inventorying supplies in the R&D department. A knock at the open doorway caused him to look up to see a towering wooden crate on a pallet jack, next to a Dawn Patrol courier, who saluted, and then offered a small tablet to Aion.
“Delivery for R&D, sir. Just need you to sign here and put your fingerprint here, sir.”
Aion looked up and down at the crate. “Any idea what this is?”
“No, sir, sorry. All I know is that it came from HQ.”
With a frown and a glance at the crate, Aion took the proffered tablet, signed and pressed his finger against the scanner. The tablet beeped and flashed a green check mark, and he handed it back to the courier, who placed it on his hip. The two of them shifted the crate off of the pallet jack, and the courier left.
Aion walked around the crate and then stepped closer to inspect the shipping label on the crate, confirming that it did indeed come from HQ in London. After a moment’s contemplation, he pressed a button on his belt. With a dim glow, his combat equipment phased back from its pocket dimension and snapped into place on his body. While double-checking his gear, he spoke to the air, “DOGMA - please place security on standby, and lock down this room.”
“Identify.”
“Leftenant Arcturus, Aion. Codename Event Horizon. Lancelot 02; Echo 93 Gamma Delta 0986.”
A heavy blast door slid down to seal off the room as DOGMA replied, “Authorized - security team is on standby.”
Snaps echoed around the small room as Aion undid the heavy steel latches securing the front panel of the crate. He pulled the panel off, and used a gentle gravitic field to lower it to the floor without taking his eyes off of interior. The room was silent for a few moments as he stood still, inspecting the contents.
“Huh... I don’t know what I expected. Definitely not... whatever this is,” he muttered to himself.
Inside the crate was a tall humanoid robot, clearly powered down, and painted with a Dawn Patrol uniform. The arms were crossed, one gauntleted fist holding a strange-looking sword, and the other, a cross-shaped shield. Taped to the inside wall of the crate was a note. Aion reached inside and pulled the note out.
“Greetings from London.
We know you’ve been out of action for a while, and thought you could use a helping hand. This is Dawn Knight, an autonomous combat robot. He’s self-aware, although lacking in personality, and loaded with heuristic combat software that will allow him to learn, adapt, and improve as time passes.
He can be activated by your base AI, and can also integrate into the base’s defenses, should the need arise.
Welcome home, Paragon.
Dawn Patrol R&D, London”
“DOGMA - please confirm that this is from headquarters.”
“Working... connecting to London... confirmed. Dawn Knight, combat unit, built by Sergeant Hall, R&D department, headquarters.”
Aion took several steps back. “Very well. DOGMA - activate it.”
“Connecting...”
The robot’s visor lit up in white as the head raised to face forward. The arms relaxed, and the robot stepped out of the crate. It sheathed the sword and put away the shield, then froze into a salute.
“Dawn Knight online. Reporting for duty.”
Aion stared at the robot for several seconds, waiting for something more to transpire, before finally saying, “DOGMA - please lift the lock down and tell security to stand down.”
“Authorize.”
Aion sighed and rattled off his security code again. The blast door lifted back up, and DOGMA replied, “Authorized. Security team stood down.”
“Thank you, DOGMA. Dawn Knight - please power down in the corner, there.” Aion watched the robot comply while he pressed a few buttons on his communicator to leave a non-urgent message.
“Commander Lockemont - Leftenant Arcturus here. We seem to have... well, a new recruit, I suppose. Please visit R&D at your convenience.”
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Post by Pheonyx on Oct 18, 2019 22:48:34 GMT -5
Detroit, Michigan
Anna Grant slowly lifted herself up from the ground, and tasted copper in her mouth. Her blue eyes shifted between the three goons in front of her, as she eyed up her remaining opponents. There were initially eight, but she whittled the group down, with a lot of difficulty. In her heyday, back in Paragon City and later as part of the DPMC, she would have been done with them all rather quickly. The years, between the bottle and loneliness after she and Jade drifted apart due to her Orion partner's new job in Washington DC as Ambassador for the Orion Federation, had taken a toll on her body. Even fitting back into her original fighting attire on the rare nights she did vigilante work out of sheer boredom or some sort of odd death wish had been a chore, the leather bustier and pants was tighter around her form than before. The black leather trench coat shifted around her body as her right hand reached up and wiped the blood that trickled from the side of her mouth.
The goon in the center, seemingly the leader of the group, grinned and told her, "Just give it up, bitch."
Anna's irises shifted from their normal blue to gold and her pupils feline slits and she growled out, "Don't think so... I like playing with my prey." She then launched herself at the three remaining goons, and hit the leader with a palm strike that stunned him from the hard impact. She then leaped forward at the second, connecting with a spinning kick that knocked the man out. Anna then saw the third one rushing towards her. She leaped into the air and wrapped her legs around the charging goon's neck, then spun her torso around him to perform a hurricarana which slammed the man's head into the concrete in the alley where this encounter took place. Anna then saw the leader start to shake off the effects of her strike and performed a high snap kick which sent him flying into a metal dumpster and the leader slumped to the ground unconscious. As she performed the kick, she heard a ripping sound as her too tight leather pants finally gave loose at the seam in the back of her pants. She brought her leg back down and almost stumbled from the damage she took from the fight, while she panted heavily as her eyes shifted back to their normal color and shape. Once she caught her breath, she jumped upwards and parkour jumped off of the railings of fire escapes to reach a rooftop. Once she was on the roof and safe from any more attacks, she sighed and said, "I'm starting to get too old for this." After a pause, she muttered to herself, "I need a drink... or twenty. And new pants."
Anna leaned against the brick portion of the roof access structure from the building she stood, next to the metal door that allowed entry into the stairwell of the building, and felt every ache and bruise on her body from the beating she took from the eight goons. She brushed some of her black, cropped hair from her forehead as she started hearing a chirping near her, which startled her. She concentrated through her pain to figure out the position of the chirping, which seemed to come from one of the inner pockets of her leather trench coat. Anna reached into the pocket and pulled out her old Dawn Patrol comm unit, muttering, "What the?" She activated it and heard the message come through the device.
Dawn Patrol, this is Lady Britannia. Arthur 01-Rising Dawn; Paragon City
Anna let out a dark chuckle and commented, "Not like anything's keeping me here, and it's been a while since I went to Mom's grave. Guess I'll start packing up and see what the hell is going on with this."
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Post by Xaddak on Nov 26, 2019 1:01:48 GMT -5
PPD Station, Independence Port, Paragon City
The noise of the station rang in her ears, but Sarah tuned it out to focus on her writing. It wasn’t anything special - a report about one of the many, many crimes that happened on a day-to-day basis in Paragon City - but she took pride in her work, in being thorough, in doing things the right way.
Therefore, she was annoyed when her concentration was broken by Detective Hutchinson swaggering up to her desk. With a sigh, she rolled her eyes, pushed her chair back, and swiveled around to face that blond p-
- police officer’s grinning face.
“What is it, Hutchinson?”
His grin grew wider. “I hear your time’s up, Knight. Captain wants to talk to you right away.”
Trying not to glare actual lasers at him, Sarah tapped a button on her keyboard to lock the computer, and proceeded down the hall to Captain Flores’ office. Knocking politely on the frame, she stepped into the open doorway and stood at attention. “You wanted to see me, Captain?”
“Yes, Sarah, I did. Please, sit down.”
“Sir, I-”
“Please… just sit down.”
Sarah pursed her lips and sat primly in one of the chairs.
Captain Flores ran a hand through his hair. Delivering bad news was hardly alien to him, but this situation was unusual.
“As I’m sure you know, Sarah, around nine months ago, City Hall reactivated the superpowers program in response to the rise in superpowered crime. Many of the prominent supergroups have since reactivated their bases in Paragon City. We have largely kept to ourselves, waiting to see if this would blow over, but it seems they are once again here to stay.”
Flores sighed. “This means we have to liaise with them. They’re arresting criminals, and then turning them over to our custody. We have to be kept abreast of what they’re doing, when, and why, so we can allocate personnel and equipment as needed to support their activities. We can’t have two hundred Freakshow suddenly dumped on our doorstep without notice.”
Sarah nodded grimly, no longer nervous. None of this was new information, and now she knew where this was headed.
Flores was quiet for a few moments, staring at a list of names on his desk. When he spoke again, he did so without looking her in the eyes.
“Sarah, you’ve been assigned to liaise with the Dawn Patrol, Paragon City chapter. If I recall, this is the same liaison assignment you had before the shutdown of the superpowers program.” Flores looked back up, a faint smile on his lips. “Perhaps you’ll have a chance to reacquaint with some old friends?”
In the most unenthusiastic monotone she could muster, Sarah replied, “Possibly, sir. When does my assignment begin, sir?”
“Immediately, Lieutenant. It’s the same as last time - you’re to be given the rank of Sergeant within the Dawn Patrol, as a full member of the group. Your current assignments here will be redistributed before the end of the day.”
“Yes, sir.”
Flores frowned. “Look, Sarah - I know how you feel about the supergroups and heroes. You know that I hate to lose you here. But if we’re going to be working with them, out in the field with these people - well, our Awakened Division officers are the only ones who can keep up, frankly. You know this.”
“Yes, sir.”
Flores closed his eyes briefly, before standing and saluting. “You have your orders. Dismissed, Lieutenant.”
“Yes, sir.”
Lieutenant Sarah Knight, PPD, Awakened Division, stood and returned the salute, before stalking out of Flores’ office and the building, ignoring Hutchinson’s stupid grin all the way out.
Dawn Patrol Headquarters, Paragon City
After the Morgan Division personnel had confirmed Sarah’s identity, one of the security guards issued her her new DL-XP25 NavComm. She stared at the unit bleakly for a moment, then nodded at the guard and stepped into the base proper.
A mix of disgust and awe ran through her. For the love of… this place was better outfitted than any ten PPD stations she’d ever seen, all put together.
First things first: she saw to her uniform (Icon staff, on the premises!), walked through the base twice to familiarize herself with the layout (On site housing! That cafeteria! A huge lounge with a bar, and a nightclub?!), and then made her way to the officer’s level.
Checking the calendar on her NavComm, she saw that her appointment with Countess Lockemont wasn’t for another thirty minutes. Perfect. She didn’t want the job, but she had it, and she wanted to do things the right way - starting by making a good first impression on her new boss.
She settled into a chair (that absurd fountain!), and waited patiently.
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Post by Lady Britannia on Mar 22, 2020 21:14:02 GMT -5
Twenty-four hours ago; DPPC base, Paragon City.
Tania Lockemont finished up emptying all of her personal items out of her office, thanking the two security officers who offered to take them to her home. She looks up at the ceiling and says “DOGMA.”
The smooth voice of the base AI comes out of the speakers and says, “Yes Director Lockemont?” “DOGMA transfer all Field Commander functions and privileges to Captain Jennifer Ashton; Code name One Hit Wonder. Authorization: Britannia 867 Whiskey Tango 5309.”
“All functions transferred. Field Commander Ashton now in command of DPPC.”
Tania smiles as Elena walks into the office carrying Gabriella and says “Mother, we’re ready to go now.”
Tania walks over and takes Gabriella from her oldest and says “I’m ready too. Lets head to the airport.” The new Director of Dawn Patrol: Homeland walks out of the office with her daughters and leaves the base.
Present day; Dawn Patrol: Homeland, London
Tania enters the Homeland base and makes her way through security to find the Security Chief waiting for her. He snaps off a perfect salute and says, “Welcome home Director Lockemont.”
Tania smiles and returns the salute before giving the man a hug “Justus, good to see you. Its been too long.” Justus Watson; former SAS officer and Chief of Security for DPPC for several years returns the hug. Tania says, “Walk with me to my office.” They start to head down the hall and she asks, “Status on the fugitive?” Watson hands a pad over to her as he says “Last known on Lady Jane was in France. Unfortunately, our agents lost track of her there. No clue where she is now.”
Tania nods and says “Well, have them continue the search and coordinate with MI6. I want that traitor back in custody. I worked too hard to get the charges she so richly deserved put against her to have her slip through out fingers now.”
“Copy that Director. Anything else?”
“Lets make it a light day today. Please gather all the Department heads and have them meet in assembly in an hour for a briefing. Let them know that this will start being a daily occurrence.” They reach her new office and she looks around and sees the boxes from her old office tucked against the side of her desk. Smiling, she goes over to start emptying them. “I think that will be all for now Justus, thank you.”
“Absolutely Director. I’ll see you at the briefing.” He starts to leave but turns back around “I almost forgot, the Duke of Cambridge said he would be stopping in to see you later this afternoon.”
Tania smiles at the mention of her cousin stopping by. “Thank you Justus. That is all.” The security chief leaves and Tania opens the first box, taking out a picture of her daughters, she says “BULLDOG.”
A deep male voice comes out of the speaker in the office. “Please verify identity with voiceprint and Passcode.”
“Director Tania Lockemont; Codename Lady Britannia. Authorization Britannia 867 Whiskey Tango 5309.”
“Identity verified. Welcome Director Lockemont. How may I assist you?”
Tania sets the picture of her daughters in one corner of the desk and pulls out one of her and her late husband. As a few tears slip from her eyes, she says “Transfer all command functions to me, effective now.”
“Working… All command functions transferred to Director Tania Lockemont.”
“Thank you BULLDOG.”
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