Operation Vanguard: Begin Operations

[Captainguy42]

"Indeed, that's a pertinent question, why us?" Sterling asked, before continuing with, " It's because we're the only ones who can get the job one. They shall fear us, because they know that we, are the only ones capable of foiling their victory. We will not be fighting un-opposed, you can bet that the Third Reich shall pull from it's most extreme resources to stop us. But they will fail. They must fail. For if they succeed, then the consequences will be nothing short of a Nazi world dominion.

"I have seen their intentions, the Nazi government wishes to tap into forces that maintain the very fiber of the universe. Under no circumstances can they be allowed to even attempt this. To that end you all have been selected not only for your extra-ordinary abilities but also because I believe you have the drive to stop them. So I have gathered you here, to create The Vanguards, to fight back against Axis powers.

"We have one month to prepare. One month to equip you with everything you need to fight against he German menace. So here we are, at the former laboratory of Dr. Petrov. Here we have prepared facilities to assist you in your preparations, workshops, test courses, firing ranges, labs, libraries, and munitions. Use this precious time to learn about the people you will be fighting with, you'll find that may well be the difference between life and death out there.

"But enough of the dramatics, let's get to some more relevant matters, housing, you will all be sleeping in what was Petrov's house it's on the south side of..." And so on Sway went explaining the most basics aspects of the camp.

Spoiler: IMPORTANT

Now, how the rest of Boot Camp goes by really depends on how you guys want it to. The entire point is that it would be logical to give your characters some time to prepare for war as a group before plunging them in. This would be a logical time for your character to gain a basic knowledge of skills necessary for combat or operating behind enemy lines. For the purpose of discussing this and other issues, I've created a user-group that you all join.

It's at this URL: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/Operation-Vanguard

 

[Broken Orange]

Over the course of the next month, Art and thr other Vanguards perfected their current and learned some new ones. On the night following their arrival in Russia, Mr. Sterling recuited Art to instruct the other recruits on.the art of hand to hand combat due to Arhur's extensive Boxing career. For every other day at four in the morning, Art taught the Vanguards the basics on how to kill a man with their bare hands.

When ever he wasn't coaching, Art was getting his own lessons. In addition to Mr. Sterling's teaching and the other recruits advice, Arthur became a master of the Browning Automatic Rifle. In his years working for the local criminal syndicate of Chicago, he became fimiliar with the BAR to intimiate shop owners, he never got comfortable with it. In addition to the BAR, he can handle the Thompson and M1 Garand with ease.

By the second day, Art hired a egghead scientist to design a special suit for him. A suit that can keep his body tempature from reaching lethal level. By the near the end of the month, the scientist showed off the finished product. A bodysuit filled with pockets of circulating coolant that can keep him in Flight or Fight longer.

 

[blaze96]

Brian had taken to training the others in the survival skills the RAF had taught him. Having copies made of his own handbook copied by a few typists and distributed to the group to keep on them. He had proven himself already by being dropped into the Russian wilderness and being expected to make it back to base in a day. The hardest part had simply been the walk itself for Brian. After some other tests he was told what he would need to teach the others and was allowed to set to work.

When he wasn't teaching them how to navigate and survive in the wilderness and behind enemy lines, he was improving his own skills. He had been pouring over vehicle manuals for tanks, German planes, and ships. He was also studying enough German to understand the various names for instrumentation and enough to not get caught while reaching the vehicles. Brian also spent a considerable amount of time on the firing range practicing his rifle marksmanship and continuing it to the point he was an expert marksmen.

He hoped that by the time the month was over he would at least be on his way to being to drive the team's way out of any situation they might get themselves into while not simply needing to be behind the wheel or stick all the time.

 

[N_of_the_dead]

Claude spent the beginning of the month using himself as a target to test his invulnerability whether it was testing small arms fire against his skin or seeing if he could hold a grenade in his hands and stop the explosion.

After that he spent his time working on his fire arms practice he found the Browning HP to be simpler to put repair and more accurate than his father's M1911 pistol but lacked that extra punch. Claude found the first aid and navigation training to be very intriguing but lacked the survival skills beyond tracking.

His remaining week revolved around more dangerous power testing mostly involving Claude seeing whether or not he could take a tank round without falling down, it took him the better part of the week but eventually he got the hang of it.

Claude's last two days were spent learning military strategies commonly employed by the Germans.

 

[Avashka]

Learning quickly was a survival mechanism where Danse came from-- whether it be learning new songs and dance routines to please the club's Manager, or how to use--and hide--his powers, he proved to have an adept background for rapid training.

Field survival skills, something with which the urban Danse was highly unfamiliar, were absorbed, as were more traditional skills such as Claude's marksmanship and Brian's vehicle use, survival, and parachute training. Hicks taught boxing. Danse shared some of the subtleties of infiltration and social manipulation--anything to help this motley crew of superior individuals get in with minimal mess before starting to make a mess.

Sterling had something special in mind for Danse in particular, though. Something about a certain form of CQC...

 

[Athol]

With Mr. Sterling guidance, JR set himself up as a rifle instructor for his fellow Vanguards. Owing to his extensive combat experience during the Great War, and various smaller conflicts during the inter-war period, he was able to impart much of what he'd learned about long range shooting to the others. While it was gratifying to see his 'students' take his lesson to heart, some of them proved far more capable than others.

During his own training he found, with Art's instruction, how to be a better fighter when things got up close. While JR always tried to keep his fist fights to the barroom, more often than not he got the stuffing beat out of him, now he could hold his own against most people.

 

[2ndblackjedi]

Darryl had never had any firearm training, so he figured now was better than never. The engineer inside him was curious about the weapon's inner working and soon he found his skill increasing with most of the types of guns he used. He had assumed that between his gauntlets and the guns he wouldn't be spending too much time in close combat, but he figured that any CQC might be helped by the metal gloves on his hands. Darryl also put some effort in learning some German and other languages he might come across, just in case he had to navigate, or caught any important conversation. His speech in these language wasn't great, but he could understand and read them well enough.

Spoiler: OOC

Mehhh, I don't really like this post. I wasn't feeling well all day, but I didn't want to not post anything. I guess it's kinda alright

 

[Captainguy42]

 August 15th, 1940

Over the next month Sway over saw the training of each recruit, as well as final arrangements for their mission. Some of the recruits helped take the burden of training off of him by lending their expertise. This left Sway enough time to brush up his studies on the German language, the central European landscape, and German mythology. Munitions arrived for the team, while codes where finalized, and final orders were sent. And finally the dead-line approached for their deployment.

On a brisk morning he gathered all the recruits in the same courtyard they had gathered in a month ago. The six recruits stood in a line, dress for the cold, but also wearing their Browning HP hoslters at their side. Across from them, Sway and Bolshevik stood with a brazier, a basin, and anvil in between them. In the brazier a hammer-head with a V-shaped stamp became white hot. Behind them, there where two more men. One was thin and tall, with pale skin that had a waxy sheen under the light of the brazier's heat. The second was shorter, but had a muscular build, a thick navy blue great-coat wrapped around him. His face was wrapped in black bandages, except for his eyes, which were covered with dark goggles.

" You had little time but you've made the most of it to prepare," Sway began, " It will be your ability to improve yourself on demand that may prove the difference between life and death in the field. Now for our mission, intelligence from the British has located a facility where the Nazi's appear to be using the fundamental matter of existence to create weapons of tremendous power. We cannot allow the Nazi's to continue this research, and must secure it. In three days we will be dropped into Northern Germany under cover of night, and from there we will have ten days to get to Berlin.

" We simply have one last matter of business. Until now we have only been recruits, now we will make you full fledged members of Operation Vanguard." Sway stepped forward, he took out his own Browning HP. He removed the cartridge, and the chamber round before grasping the the gun with a pair of steel tongs. He then lifted the white hot hammer from the fire, and raised it high. On the handle of this gun, along with all of the other ones there was a silver slug embedded. It was exactly onto this slug that he brought the hammer down on, and stamped the silver with a

V

. He then put the hammer back into the brazier before cooling the silver in the water basin. Finally he put the pistol back into its holster, then turned to face the recruits. "Claude Glass, Codename: Quarry," He called, " step forward." Claude walked to the brazier. "Unload your sidearm, and placed it on the anvil." Once it was there Sway stamped as he had done before with the hammer and tongs. He then called up the rest of the recruits in a similar fashion and stamped their pistols.

" The Vanguard is an organization created with the belief that a small, highly mobile, elite force with grand resources, can take on critical missions that would be impossible otherwise. Your pistols signify your new rank as a Lieutenant in the Vanguard. You now have all the resources of the Vanguard at your disposal. I am your Brigadier, and your commanding officer. Bolshevik is your Colonel. We will leave camp tomorrow at noon, so relax until then, you have the entire facility at your disposal, you are dismissed."

 

[blaze96]

Brian took his pistol with the marking on it and decided he may as well relax a bit. He had been working hard over the past month, and a part of him wanted to get back in the sky. It had always been a more comfortable setting for him, he guessed it was related to his powers.

"So anyone have any ideas on how to spend the day?" He asked to anyone around.

 

[Broken Orange]

With his newly stamped pistol holstered, Art was wondering who the two strangers were. He didn't remember them introducing themselves. Art figured they're part of the first mission and will make proper introductions soon enough.

"Want to play Blackjack?"

What Art meant by Blackjack is something he taught to the Vanguards. His verson is where a pair of shooters take three shots at playing cards, faced away, and the person closest to 21 wins.

Spoiler: ooc

I'm on my mobile, so I'm sorry for any mistakes and the such.

 

[N_of_the_dead]

Claude stared at the stamped Browning before drawing his father's M1911 he began thinking of the differences in the guns and eventually the differences in their purpose beyond killing. He continued to drift until he heard Art's offer for a game of Blackjack.

"You can count me in Art"

With that he holstered his father's gun and pushed a fresh clip into his Browning HP.

 

[2ndblackjedi]

Darryl gave the new pistol a thorough looking over before holstering it. He thought of taking Art up on his offer, but part of him just wanted to relax for now and probably sketch for a bit. Not for the first time, he wished he had brought his trumpet along for downtime.

"Maybe later," he answered.

 

[Athol]

JR smiled at his newly marked pistol. He'd forgotten how much fun it was to shoot real ammo, and the Browning felt good in his hand. Just gotta make a little change. He thought. Though the live ammo had been fun, running out wasn't something he wanted to have to think about, especially when he didn't have to.

Concentrating on the pistol for a bit it began to glow. After a moment of that, runes like the ones on his rifle scrolled across the metal work of the gun. That done, he gave the pistol a gunfighter's twirl before holstering it. "As fun as a game of 21 sounds Art, I think I'll pass. I'm gonna go get liquored up and beat on some Russkis at the NCO's mess." He said with a wicked grin.

 

[Captainguy42]

Sway stepped forward to the recruits, " The newest vehicles arrived, these are the ones that we shall be using personally, I was planning on taking a look, and maybe take a drive. You're all welcome to join, Brian, I thought you in particular would like to check out some of them. If I recall we've got aeroplanes, tanks, automobiles, motor bikes, and I think a boat, you're all welcome to take them out for a spin, they're all at the air-strip. I've got my eye on the motor-bikes we got shipped in from America."

 

[Broken Orange]

"Alright, Quarry. Meet me at the firing range and be sure to bring $5 for me to take off your hands."

As the Vanguards were dismissed to do their own thing before the first mission, headed to the Barracks to get the deck of cards from his bunk. With a pair of decks filled with holy cards, Art set foot in the firing range. Letting the Range Supervisor know his intents, Art pinned a series of cards onto a target and waited for anyone wanting to lose five dollars.

 

[blaze96]

"You said the magic words sir. I'll gladly go with you now." Brian said as he walked out onto the airfield to look over the vehicles gathered on the sight.

"Cutting edge and beautiful to boot. Hopefully stealing from the jerries will be as fruitful as what we already have."

 

[Captainguy42]

And so the new Vanguards went about spending the their last remaining bit of free time.

 August 16th, 1940; 1100 Hours

In a C-47 Skytrain that was a mile above Northern Germany, the Vanguards made their way to their destination. Under cover of night they had flown into Germany. The plane was being piloted by the teams Canadian support pilot, Christopher Levens, copiloting was Brian AKA Storm Shaper, who was also manipulating the clouds to cover their approach. In the body of the plane sat Sway and the rest of the recruits, who were awaiting the drop time. With them was a modified Jeep, that was outfitted with a Browning Machine gun, armored body, and enhanced shocks. It was currently rigged to a chute which would allow it to ride down to Earth with occupants.

Sway checked his watch, then he got up from his seat and headed to the cockpit. "Christopher we should be getting close shouldn't we?" He asked as he entered.

"You are correct, less than twenty minutes, I'm starting our approach now," Christopher angled the plane downward to get to a level they could jump from.

"Brian continue giving us cover for a few more minutes then I want you to drop with the Jeep. Listen in on the intercom." With that Sway went back into the planes cabin. He put on his parachute then addressed everyone, " In less than 20 minutes we will be dropping into Germany, and our war will begin. You should not be afraid, this is what you were chosen for, what you wanted, and what you trained for. To re-brief: We will be dropped into Northern Germany and our goal is to get to Berlin by August 25th. Along the way we're to cause chaos for the Germans.

"Right now we will be dropping into a clearing, we will be going in three teams, A, B, and C. Group A will consist of all those who can survive a fall and fight, without a chute, your mission will be to disable the quickest responders, the Machine gunners. Group B will be those with parachutes, our mission will be to drop and begin pushing for the tree line. Group C will drop in the Jeep, your mission is to provide cover against other vehicles. Once we clear the tree-line we can spring a trap to lose the Nazi's and make it to a safe-house.

"Essentially, it's a 500 meter mad dash to the tree-line. Any questions?"

Spoiler: OOC

The group your character in depends on your idea of his abilities, if he knows how to parachute put him in B, if no he'll ride down with the Jeep. So of the stronger guys can be in Group A. We won't be dropping in turns, rather everyone will be dropping at the same time, with different tasks.

 

[2ndblackjedi]

Darryl took a quick glance out the window and thought about how high they were and how little he knew about parachuting.

"Yep, definitely taking the Jeep down," he thought.

 

[Athol]

Standing to make his way to the cockpit JR stopped beside Darryl, clapping him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it my boy." He yelled over the noise of the plane. "Falling has never killed a single person...that sudden stop at the end though is another story."

Laughing at his own joke he stuck his head between the pilot/co-pilot seats and tapped Brian. "So Stormy, I got two questions for you." He shouted. "How fast are we going, and how high are we? I need accurate numbers...you know, so I survive the jump."

 

[2ndblackjedi]

"Heh, right, okay," Darryl said, not noticing his expression was showing his feelings. "That really didn't make me feel any better," he thought.