Four Kings(IC)

[Supercape]

GM

"INfrared, lock on, too heat signatures. In this background, we are, exposed. Clever. Using them, at night..."

Ford nodded again to the three men they were with.

"No, need for you, to be distraction, you are, high valuable, those men, disposable, allow us to escape. "

Ford kept a stony face whilst he said this, although he continued to sweat profusely in his own alien way, and Marceau noticed that he never blinked.

[Ari]

"Ford, no, that isn't how it goes here. Not how it's supposed to, anyway. People like me who wear the mask" he was as quiet as he could manage under the circumstances "do not send others to do our jobs. While I'm here, trying to take care of this business falls to me. I know of several other unpowered powers who might be alright with sacrificing others for their goals, but I'm not. Besides, we need to keep them away from the wreck as much as we can. Tell me what I need to do to distract those things and I'll do it"

He looked much less sure of himself than he sounded, he was deeply thankful for the dark of the night. Even so, he readied a razor card all the same, just in case one of the drones happened to start wandering over to them.

He was immensely irritated by the enveloping dark of the night.

[Supercape]

GM

Ford looked at Marceau carefully. "Interesting, view, not tactically, sound" he said, looking a little exasperated.

"The drones track, by heat sources, we need an alternative source of, heat such as, yourself, to draw them, away or at, least confuse them. A fire would, do of course. Or, we could conceal our, heat signature, somehow..."

He gazed around.

"I don't know, how to do, that, I confess..." he added.

He gazed again at his mobile phone and the strange readouts.

"It won't be long before, they are, back..." he noted.

[Ari]

Upon hearing that, Marceau nodded and slung off a flash/bang at a dune due east of their position, figuring the heat(and noise) would at least slightly serve to assist them. If that failed to work they could always just throw more, or at the very least he could make up a special explosive compound that would look under UV light like a bonfire from the slightly nastier regions of hell.

Turning to Ford he muttered "Sorry for the posturing just now, I'll keep from making any more principled speeches until at least this issue with you and the Khan is resolved"]

[Supercape]

GM

The flash bangs illuminated the landscape. For a fleeting moment, Marceau could see a hovering ball, about a foot in diameter, in the distance, lit up for a second by the tossed grenades.

"It should, distract them" commented Ford. "But, for how, long?"

They were still a good few miles from any sign of civilisation, and ten from their planned destination.

[Ari]

His eyes gleaming with an idea, Marceau turned to Ford and whispered "I'll try and lead them away from our position here with repeated shots in similar locations. When the drones investigate, you and I will strike at the drones while the other three continue on course. What weaknesses do the drones have, structurally speaking?" he was busily readying more flash/bangs as he spoke, his eyes seeming to be trying to pull themselves from their sockets as he focused on the dune where the ball had floated.

He wondered why this was happening, and what it was that the Khan was trying to prove by expending such resources to locate one being on an out-of-the-way planet at the edge of the galaxy. "Why is the Star Khan so invested in your capture, Ford?" he breathed, "What's the point of this?"

[Supercape]

"Why is the Star Khan so invested in your capture, Ford?" he breathed, "What's the point of this?"

Ford sighed, a wheezing gasp that lasted just a little too long to be human.

"Punishment for, failure, is severe. Too much Morthenian spice wine and, gambling. Unit I, commanded, was completly wiped out by, resistance fighters. My reputation was in tatters, and I went on the, run. "

He looked scared, although reading his odd alien movements and mannerisms was not easy.

"The Star Kahn wishes to make an, example of me. Hanging my, head, at the front of his, battle cruiser".

He gulped. "So I came here, to hide. Seemed like the best, policy at the time..."

[Ari]

Keeping from his mind the question of how anyone could see Ford's decapitated head should it become attached to a space-going vessel, Marceau focused instead on trying to figure out if there were any loopholes in this situation they could exploit. Unfortunately, the place the attack was in kept the most obvious solution(contacting the Freedom League) from being viable, and the only other he could conceive as something he could do that would make an effect(rallying the Cercle) was rather out of his reach at the moment.

Scowling into the night, he realized that there was another option: getting the device that had teleported the beings in black away, and using it to gain an audience with the Star Khan, and perhaps even convince the powerful creature to cease the hunt.

But that lay rather far into the future, and the drones had to be dealt with.

"Ford, if we don't get you to safety it won't be for lack of trying. Coming here might turn out for the best, as you were in the employ of the Star Khan, and must have knowledge of his tactics and stratagems and technology that few others on Earth could so much as guess at. If you chose to turn that knowledge against your old master you could hardly have come to a better place than here. But that's in the future, and the present consists of us needing to find a way to lure the drones away from the main party so they can get to civilization, if it can be got to. Can your mob-" he checked himself and corrected the question "Can that device be used to find energy sources at long ranges? It might useful to point the main team in the right direction" he handed Ford a few flash/bang cards as he spoke, just in case.

[Supercape]

GM

"Clever!" mumbled Ford, with some enthusiasm. "I count two drones, only, at least in, the immediate vicinity..." he said, consulting his phone.

"Flash bangs will, lure them out, disorientate them, whilst we make, getaway...."

Later...

With the remaining flash-bang grenades used as bait, and Ford's mobile to direct them, it had been a relatively simple matter to evade the seeker drones. The five men had quick marched to their destination. It was cold, and dark, and exhausting. However, just after midnight they hit a small village - probably no more than 30 or 40 small rudimentary buildings. A few lights were on, they could see. And one building appeared to be a bar of some sort, with its lights still on and the faint sound of music being played.

[Ari]

Deeply relieved at the relative ease that marked their escape from the deadly(or so he presumed) searchers, Marceau had changed out of his heroing garb when it became plain that the danger was past. For the moment.

There was still a great deal to do what with making sure the team spared the water and food, keeping the others warm in the icy cold of the desert night, and keeping their course straight with the help of Ford's device. When they had sighted the lights of the village he had felt an ill-advised sense of accomplishment and success.

Marching briskly into the bar and beckoning the others to follow, he walked up to the tender with his brightest smile and asked for directions to nearest city and "<Some drinks for me and my friends>"

[Supercape]

GM

The bar had a couple of drunk locals in, and one equally drunk bartender.

"

"" he explained, as helpfully as he could. the three other men nodded, expressing concern.

[Ari]

"<Could I do both? To call ahead and let the local authorities know about the crash and the survivors, and go into town to make arrangements for the retrieval of the survivors?>" he sipped his glass, barely noticing the aftertaste "<If you need one or the other to be left unused by us I quite understand, but I really don't see why we can't use both>" in his heart, he wondered nervously if there was an energy shortage in the village that necessitated the choice.

Despite his inward unease he kept up a picture of pleasant concern, hoping his feelings didn't show too much, which he gathered was a required practice in his line of work for some reason.

[Supercape]

GM

"" replied the Bartender, handing Marceau the telephone. He drew himself up "" he asked, but looked at Ford and Marceau directly.

He didn't look in the best of shape to go driving, but on the other hand at this time in Morrocco, it would be hard to even find another car on the dusty streets, let alone crash into one.

The barman walked off, slightly clumsily, to the back of the bar and could soon be heard firing up the vehicle - which, by the sounded of it, was not in the best of shape.

[Ari]

Nodding to the barman with an unchanged smile, Marceau put the phone to his ear.

Then he heard the rumble of the vehicle outside. Thought about the fact that it was highly unusual for a barman to just up and leave his place like this, no matter how short a diversion it might be.

There was also the fact that something seemed very wrong with the barman's behavior.

In a moment Marceau had the phone back to his ear and called up the operator, requesting a line to the city the Cercle were visiting, which he gauged to be probably the closest to their present location. He explained the situation(minus the aliens in black suits and the refugee from the wrath of some sort of Khan) and made all needed arrangements to help the survivors to town.

While doing so he conveyed the following message to the other four with quick, simple movements: "Something is wrong here, be on your guard and don't follow the barman"

[Supercape]

GM

The Barman came back, smelling slightly of oil and with appropriately oily hands.

"" he laughed, uneasily.

He beckoned Ford and MArceau to the back door.

"" he laughed again, and again it was uneasy.

[Ari]

"<If something's likely to go wrong with the truck, I'd be happy to check it over and try to make sure it won't trouble us on our way to town>" replied Marceau with an unmoved smile "<But I think there's something that will try and keep us from reaching town, and I also think I know what it is>".

Getting up suddenly he walked directly up to the barman and stared down at him from his relatively superior vantage point. "<Sir, while I may have just arrived here, I am not a child. Don't think me easy prey, and especially don't try to plan for harm to befall me while I'm in the same room as you!>"

He straightened back up, still glaring coldly at the barman but giving him a bit more room. He guessed that the barman's tipsiness might lead to him to try something anyway, but he didn't want to make the man feel like he was under threat himself. At least, not before Marceau knew that the man actually intended to do something.

[Supercape]

GM

"" blurted out the bartender.

"<...they threatened me! don't hurt me! paid me gold! and told me they would burn down the village if I didn't help! I'm sorry! I had to help them! when I saw him...>" he pointed at Ford "<...I was meant to tell them, they gave me a number....>"

The man looked genuinely upset and shamefaced.

""

Ford gave Marceau and the Barman a look.

"We have, to go now take, him" (he pointed back at the Barman) "with, us as hostage come, not a moment, to lose use the, vehicle..."

[Ari]

Taken aback by the fact that the barman was in league with the aliens(though really, I should have expected that he thought to himself), Marceau's tone softened greatly "<This can still be salvaged, don't worry. I've fought them before and won, so there is still hope. What we need to do is->"

Ford wrote:

"We have, to go now take, him" (he pointed back at the Barman) "with, us as hostage come, not a moment, to lose use the, vehicle..."

Turning to face the alien Marceau said flatly "What? Why would the Khan's soldiers care about the fate of their accomplice? They cared nothing for the lives of the passengers aboard the plane, why would they care about this man's fate?"

Turning slightly back to the barman Marceau resumed smoothly "<-we need to get in that truck and set off for the closest town at once>" to one of the other scouts he said "If you can drive, we'll need you to take the wheel on the guy's truck. He can guide us to the closest city, I and Ford here will make sure he takes there and not into the arms of the local bandits. Sound good?"

[Supercape]

GM

"What? Why would the Khan's soldiers care about the fate of their accomplice? They cared nothing for the lives of the passengers aboard the plane, why would they care about this man's fate?"

"Distraction" answered Ford, simply, under his breath.

But he agreed with the rest of the plan. The three other men jumped into the pick up truck, along with the Bartender and Ford. The truck was, it seemed, not in the best of working order, its engine cranking out unpleasant noises, and unpleasant fumes. For all that, however, it worked perfectly well, and actually had a good speed to it.

[Ari]

"Distraction" answered Ford, simply, under his breath.

"Oh"

It was all he could think to say at the moment.

Settling himself into the driver's seat with only a little trepidation(it's just a car, I managed to help land a plane not too long ago he told himself) he did what he had seen just about everyone else do when they started up a car: turn the key in the lock, put the lever into the lowest number up from the 'park' setting.

The three other humans from the plane were in the back, while Ford rode shotgun. The barman was seated between them in order to guide them to their destination.

As the rumbling thing sped off over the sand, Marceau desperately hoped the barman wouldn't lead them into a trap. It would really be be too much trouble in this case. He was glad for the quiet and star-filled sky, however, as it meant that if all else was lost he could just guide them all by the stars.

[Supercape]

GM

The road was dusty and the it was the middle of night. Fortunately, the sky was clear and starlight shone brightly. The blow-heater in the truck was noisy but warm, and there were blankets in the back.

One of the marines found an old shotgun in the back of the pick up, and automatically started servicing.

"Hey, it works!" he yelled, his voice a mixture of concern that the Barman had been armed, and confidence that he was now in possession of the weapon.

As for Ford, he patted the blaster pistol he was still in possession of, and have Marceau a nod. If they were going to have a fight, he would be ready.

[Ari]

Returning the nod, by sheer chance Marceau spotted lights in one of the rear-view mirrors. A closer inspection revealed them to be alien space-bikes!

Thinking fast, Marceau's left hand reached inside his coveralls to grab a flash/bang card, which on second thought he grabbed two, to fling into the path of the oncoming motorists.

Sadly, the expected 'flash!' and resulting 'bang!' failed to materialize. What did result was a cloud of smoke from the two smoke bombs he had mistaken for flash/bangs. Luckily for him, that would still slow them down at least a little, allowing him time to do some hurried adjustments to seating arrangements. Hurtling to a stop, he yelled sharply "Alright everyone! We're under attack! Ford, get ready for a fight, sir" he said, turning slightly to the Olympic sharpshooter "I need you to take the spot our friendly barman is vacating, keep an eye on him" turning to the barman as he got out of his seat and began getting into the back he said simply "<Take the wheel, get us to town, drive quickly>"

Getting into the back he turned to the two marines "Alright, here's the situation: four aliens on space bikes-" he stopped for a moment and began again "Four people with intent to harm Mr. Fector are coming this way fast. They aim to make an example of him to the brutish warlord Mr. Fector used to serve, and I aim to protect him. By my thinking their transports will be too tough for our weapons to do much good, something I don't believe can be said for the occupants. By my reckoning we're best off keeping them from getting too close to us. The smoke bombs, razor cards, boomerangs and bolos I have will do well with that. Any suggestions or questions? "

[Supercape]

(GM)

One marine put up his hand, but was interrupted by his friend cocking the shotgun.

"Too late for questions, marines" he smiled "here they come!" he said, pointing at the smoke.

Out of the haze flew four silent machines, at high velocity. It was hard to say how fast they were travelling, but it was clear they flew much faster than the old pick up. They hovered a few metres above the ground, without a sound or visible means of propulsion. They were small, smaller than a motorcycle, and did not looked either armed or amoured, but they were fast and nimble. And atop them where the four men that had attacked Ford earlier.

This time, they were not wearing suits, but armoured plastic suits of pure white - Marceau could just make out some black or red insignia on their chest, but they were travelling a little to fast for him to make out the shape fully.

It couldn't be - could it? Card Suits???

And each was carrying a metre long staff, two of them red, two of them black, matching their chest insignia.

"We've come to get you, Torr!" laughed the King of Spades, pointing his black sceptre infront of the Truck and lifting up a large boulder that lay in the desert in front of them.

"And this, time, there is no escape!" shouted the King of Hearts, pointing his red sceptre at the Marine carrying the Shotgum, who promptly dropped the weapon, clutched his head, and collapsed to the truck floor, unconscious.

"For you, or your friend!" added the King of Diamonds, as a pencil thin beam of red light emitted from his sceptre, flashing at the King of Suits eyes.

"Behold" menaced the King of Clubs, waving his angry black mace.

"We are...the four Kings!!!"

[Ari]

Where the heck did those aliens get the idea to use those symbols...? wondered Marceau as the silent bikes came closer and closer to the aged truck. He was jarred out of his reverie by the sound of the shotgun-wielding marine crying out in pain. A quick glance told him that the one holding the red sceptre and bearing the suit of Hearts had done something to the man.

Whipping out a boomerang he slung it expertly at the alien's head, hitting it dead-on. He turned to the other man and called above the noise of the truck "Here, these'll come in handy!" handing the other marine some of his arsenal to use in the battle.

Returning his attention to the foemen before him he saw the alien he'd struck lose his(?) balance and slip from the bike, crashing to the sand in a way that argued serious harm. The empty bike began to form an embryonic plan in Marceau's mind, as greater mobility would give a welcome tactical edge in the fight.

[Supercape]

GM

The three remaining Kings kept pace with the truck along the dusty road, the lights on their silent grav bikes now bright in the starry night light.

As the Kingof Spades zoomed ahead, the Boulder he had been holding whipped forward, crushing into the front of the truck and bouncing off down the road and into the desert.

The King of Clubs drew level with the front of the truck, and hefted his might weapon, bringing it down on the bonnet, causing a massive indentation. Steam started to escape from the engine.

The king of DIamonds again tried to lock on to the King of Suits with his blinding laser.

"And who do you think you are?" he called out "in that costume? Who are you to think you can escape the Four Kings?"