Mission Briefing Ep1

April 25th, 2007

Mission Summary

• The Naos Group has pinpointed two newly-Visited Scions. The Special Projects Group is assigned to approach them, and offer them employ with the Naos Group.

Mission Details

• There are two Scions: one in Seattle, Washington, USA, and another in Braunfels, Germany. Sambethe will make the offer; the Agents are along primarily to get some field experience, though experience has shown that newly Visited Scions are often the epicenter of violence and strange events, so they may be necessary in other capacities.
  • Sarah Kingston: A young woman based out of Seattle who works as a fetish model. As far as they have been able to research, her divine parent is most likely Hel, of the Aesir. She’s been severely bipolar for years, and she was verified as being at an outbreak of hungry dead in the area recently. Several eyewitnesses can verify that she fought them off. She has also been seen by her friends in the graveyard near her house, supposedly speaking to no one.
  • Brandt Hammerich: A young officer in the Bundeswehr, Germany’s Federal Defense Force, Brandt’s divine parentage is unknown. There have been signs of his possessing divine strength, however — most recently he was arrested for a bar fight in which he nearly killed several men barehanded while drunk. They don’t really expect any trouble, but would definitely like the Scions to help keep things peaceful.

Agents Assigned

• Sambethe, Assistant Director
• Claude Madden, Transportation Specialist
• Aiden Connor, Messiah
• Jonathan Davies, Agent
• Chiyoko, Agent
• Lora Brovik, Agent
• Vladimir Norstrov, Agent
• Riley Bannon, Agent

Aiden Connor

Initial Impressions

Please describe your initial impressions upon receiving this assignment

My initial main thought when we first got this assignment was that it would be nice to get to know some other Scions outside of our small group here. Granted, I didn't think that Sarah seemed much like the NAOS group sort, but then again, I wouldn't have pegged Chiyoko or Riley for the NAOS group sort, so I was hoping to be surprised. I figured Brandt could probably be counted on to join more than Sarah, due to his military background. From what I've seen, guys like that tend to want to be on the side of good, and where things stand right now in this place of confusion he's bound to be in so shortly after his visitation, we'd be those working for the greater good who he'd want to join with. The one thing I foresaw as a possible problem was the lack of speechcraft within the group. I mean sure, we'd have Sambethe with us (we thought) but if the Scions within the group look green then that's not going to win over as many others as we could otherwise.

Events

Please describe the events in this mission, to the best of your recollection

We arrived in Seattle and started doing some scouting. Based on the infomation we had on Sarah, we figured that Chiyoko would be the best to go and talk with Sarah, maybe see more eye to eye with her. Chiyoko and Vlad stayed with the vehicle at Sarah's place as the rest of us surveyed the area to make sure there weren't any immediate threats, then went on our way around Seattle to kill time until Sambethe and Chiyoko were done talking to Sarah. We figured that having us all walk in as one huge group would be more than a little intimidating. Sarah turned out not to even be at home, and hadn't been there in days apparently. Her roommate was helpful enough, though. While I was out, I found a missing persons poster that had Sarah on it, as well as the person they suspected to be her abductor. We were all a little off-put to find out that her abductor looked like the same person that was tailing Riley and Lora earlier. At that point, we decided that there was definite trouble afoot, somewhere along the lines.

Jonathon tried tracking Sarah from her home, which lead us on a bit of a wild goose chase. We drove around for a bit, found a warehouse where she had stayed with some other people. We thoroughly searched the area and couldn't see any indications of a struggle or danger. From there, the trail lead to the airport where we lost her. She'd left days ago.

After that, we decided to check into our hotel for the night. After checking in Chiyoko, Riley, and Vlad decided to go explore Seattle a bit and see what the town had to offer as Lora, Jonathon, Sambethe, Claude, and Myself decided to stay at the hotel. Jonathon and I were up late talking in my room when we heard a loud thud and a scream from Lora and Sambethe's room next door. I told Jonathon to take the hallway and that I'd fly around to the balcony to flank whatever trouble there might be, and to cut off as many exits as possible. To say that I was shocked when I saw what was transpiring one room over would be a vast understatement. Inside the room, There was a big wolf creature and Nazis. Now, with coming in to the world of legend, I can understand the existence of the werewolf in the room, but period World War II Nazis in full uniforms with period weapons was more surprising, honestly. I quickly assessed the situation. Jonathon was stuck in the hallway fighting his way through Nazis and wouldn't be any immediate help. The Nazis fired, but couldn't manage to hit me with a single bullet. The beast got a grab on Lora, and I tried to impale him with my spear but just as I was throwing, he threw Lora out the window. I caught her in mid-air, and threw her to the balcony next door so she could make a getaway, but she proceeded to jump back across and get back in battle. The beast then struck Lora and made a lunge to try and bite me.

Once I evaded his bite, I saw that we were on losing grounds. Lora summoned her Wolf who distracted the beast while I flew in and got Sambethe and Lora out of the hotel room. I flew down to the ground and set them away from danger just as Riley, Chiyoko, and Vlad showed up. I told Vlad to start tending to the wounded as Riley and Chiyoko jumped up to the room to finish off the beast and Nazis up there. I flew back up to Claude's room to get him out of danger, and I think I saw Chiyoko throw Vlad's giant jackal at someone. I flew Claude back down to the ground, told him to go get the van, and went back up to help the others. As I looked up, I saw Chiyoko throw Riley up in the air, chasing after our Werewolf. I was about halfway up to the roof when I saw Riley go flying off of the roof by what seemed like something delivering a massive blow. Again, what seems like old hat at this point, I caught him in mid-air so he didn't go plummeting to the ground. Chiyoko and Jonathon got down to the ground safely, Lora blew her horn to get her dog back to her, and we drove off to the airport.

We had a quick stop in Berlin where we had a rather awkward visit with Shannon Donnelley, due to the unprofessionalism of quite a number of the other Scions present.

Thank you for noting that, Mr. Connor.
--Shannon Donnelley, Belfast Fanum

Ms. Donnelley had a quick word with Claude, and came back out and held out the cup of St. Brigid. She asked if any of us had any alcohol, which is when I pulled out my flask and she immediately identified it. She had me say a prayer to Brigid after I poured the alcohol, and had me hold the cup from Lora to drink from, which healed her up quite nicely, quite quickly. Almost as soon as she'd drank, Lora was back asleep. Ms. Donnelley said we could keep the cup, of which I was very surprised and thought it was a very generous action. I thanked her, and she was on her way.

In the interests of honesty, I do feel compelled to
point out that the Board of Directors had decided that
Special Projects should be allowed to retain the Cup
in the wake of the attack in Seattle.
--Shannon Donnelley, Belfast Fanum

We arrived in Germany, and found a nice little bed and breakfast. We started talking to the proprietor there, and found out that she knew a bit about Brandt's family. I posed as a Hammerich family member, and she very quickly opened up to me, and was quite warm. She told me all sorts about the family history, even to the point of knowing indiscretions of Brandt's mother resulting in his conception.

After that, we went down to the bar where we knew Brandt and his mother to be. We showed up, bought some drinks, and found the difficulty that not all of us speak German. I saw Brandt in the corner with some friends and approached him. They were playing some darts, and I figured even if I didn't speak the language, I might be able to form some sort of rapport. After a while, Jonathon walked up and bought everyone a round. We tried to broach the subject of why we were there, however with me not speaking the language this made things a bit difficult. Jonathon was moving his way towards getting Brandt off by himself to talk to him when Rikert showed up, who we knew to be the werewolf from the previous night. I tried to talk to him and distract him to give Jonathon some room and some time with Brandt. I was quickly joined by Riley. Some terse words were exchanged, and I asked Rikert to leave because I knew he would try to start some sort of physical conflict, if the events of the previous night were any sort of indicator. He refused, which wasn't unexpected.

Once Jonathon had talked to Brandt for a bit, Rikert demanded the same rights and we complied. Chiyoko was sitting at one side of the pub, Vlad at the bar talking to Brandt's mother, Lora at a table by herself. Riley and I sat at a table together, trying to come up with a game plan if things here went sour. To our surprise, Rikert seemed to make friends with Brandt (I couldn't understand what was being said) and they went to leave. Lora approached them both and informed Brandt of Rikert attacking her in her hotel room just the night prior, and yet still, Brandt left with Rikert. As soon as he had done so, other folks in the establishment blocked the exits. I believe Riley left before those men were in place and continued to follow Rikert.

I tried to get up and leave, posing as just a regular out-of-town fellow at the establishment, and the person blocking the door kept doing things to persuade me to stay. First he offered to buy me a drink. When I said I was borderline already (which, I assure you was very much not the case) he said that it was illegal to be drunk in public in Germany. I was about to call his bluff on this when Vlad jumped up from his position at the bar and did some sort of flying kick into the sternum of the man blocking the back exit. After that happened, and the men who were blocking our way turned into werewolves themselves, the people inside the pub started panicking and trying to get out. Lora and Jonathon at that point were able to make her way out of the pub as well while Chiyoko, Vlad, and I dealt with the problems inside the pub. We dispatched several of the werewolves there and Chiyoko and Vlad afterwards went after Jonathon, Riley, and Lora. Apparently in all of this, Riley and Rikert had gotten into a bit of a conflict where they ended up knocking one another out. I'm told Lora was the one to deliver the final blow, which I'm still kind of surprised by. I stayed behind, assessing damage done and checked in with the NAOS group to see if there was anything that needed to be taken care of or anything to be gathered. After that, I got into the car (Claude had been in there the entire time) and we drove up the hill to pick up the rest of the group, where they were talking with Reginleif. They finished their conversation, and we were off again towards home.

Complications

Please describe any unforeseen difficulties that arose, and how the resources of the Naos Group might have better served to prevent or navigate such difficulties

Werewolves, Nazis, and a Valkyrie, simply put would be the unforeseen difficulties, not to mention the lack of knowledge on Sarah's whereabouts. Honestly, I don't see how we would've been able to put the NAOS group's resources to better use than we had. The one thing I could possibly see is that the NAOS group seems to have some pretty heavy surveillance. Now, I don't know the full extent of the resources there yet, but I think that perhaps using that, we could have had a better idea on the fact that Sarah had been out of Seattle for days by the time we got there, and could have maybe tracked her down.

Final Thoughts

Please place any final thoughts, including commentary on your co-workers' actions (positive or negative) here

I'm not quite sure what to think of my Scion co-workers at this point, honestly. It seems sometimes that they lose focus on what or objective is and get wrapped up in other things. Other times, their actions seem absolutely intolerable. I was appalled by the lack of respect shown to Ms. Donnelley in our brief visit. Chiyoko and Riley seem to not understand the concept of basic courtesy in a civilized human interaction, and Vlad started hurling accusations at her that were completely uncalled for. As far as the actual mission objective, I don't know what we really could have done differently. I would have preferred to not start something in the middle of the pub in Germany with all of those innocents around, but that didn't seem destined to happen. I would prefer Riley to not immediately resort to physical action before talking things through. Overall with this group, I think we're in for a wild ride, and I'm really at a loss because I feel things are very much out of my control when it comes to the wellbeing of those around me. I can protect and save and do the right thing for those around me, but it feels like no matter what good I try to do, it's going to be counteracted by the actions of those around me, and I don't know what to do.

Chiyoko

Initial Impressions

Please describe your initial impressions upon receiving this assignment

X

Events

Please describe the events in this mission, to the best of your recollection

X

Complications

Please describe any unforeseen difficulties that arose, and how the resources of the Naos Group might have better served to prevent or navigate such difficulties

X

Final Thoughts

Please place any final thoughts, including commentary on your co-workers' actions (positive or negative) here

X

Jonathan Davies

Initial Impressions

Please describe your initial impressions upon receiving this assignment

I was of two minds for this. Surely another scion would be the best person to talk to when dealing with such an issue as this. But, we're babes in the woods ourselves, not even two weeks old in some cases. What experience could we possibly use to gain an advantage?

Events

Please describe the events in this mission, to the best of your recollection

We were able to speak to Sarah's roommate. She gave us some clues but nothing really solid. I was able to find Sarah's cell phone number. I left her a message but have not heard back. We were able to track her down to an abandoned building where she and some friends(?) spent the night. From there though, her tracks literally vanished into the Eastern winds.

Upon reaching the hotel we were set upon by Nazis and a werewolf. Half of the team was out at first but arrived later in the battle. Teamwork seemed natural but communication was a bit lacking. I really like my teammates but it's hard after so many years of being the head honcho in the boardroom to really treat them as equals (and in many cases, especially combat, as superiors). The battle ended with what we've now come to realize was a Valkyrie named Reginleif saving her werewolf companion Richert and beating a hasty retreat.

We have updated Reginleif's profile in the Vajra Archive, 
and made that profile available to the Special Projects Team. 
We have also added Rikert to the Known Werewolves profile in the 
Archive as well.
--Dr. McMurtry, San Francisco Fanum

East from Seattle is a pretty vague point of reference but I'm not used to seeing nothing for hard work and I want to prove myself to the team (as well as push my own limits to know what I'm capable of now) so I spoke with the injured Sambethe (now destined to return to San Francisco). She loaned me her laptop which has access to something called the Adamantium Archives. I was looking for any kind of related relic or reason Sarah might travel to the roots of Hel's mythology. I was and still am, unsuccessful at finding Sarah.

A note: They're called the Adamant Archives. 
Adamantium is what Wolverine's claws are made of.
--Kelly Rollinson, NY Fanum

We continued on to Germany.

Shortly after arriving and learning about Brandt's family and a bit of the town's history we found him in the local pub. Vladimir approached his mother to speak to her. Laura performed reconnaissance while Aiden and myself went to speak to Brandt. Chiyoko and Riley secured the perimeter and also performed recon.

Trying to find a way to discretely say "Wow, you're a scion?! I'm one too!" is quite difficult. Our flailing attempts at talking to Brandt were cut short by the appearance of Richert.

I quickly managed to pull Brandt aside and simply and directly say .. well, that. He was a bit taken aback by my abruptness I think but I wanted to be as "un hostile" (is that a word?) as possible. Richert, as well as certain .. short tempered party members were not about to back down however.

The mounting feeling of frustration I was dealing with (being that of how to deal with my team mates, not finding Sarah, Sambethe being near fatally wounded, et cetera) became a bit too much for me and now I had to face the distinct possibility we were going to lose Brandt because of our inexperience and (frankly) ineptitude at being ourselves... or, more succinctly, what we are.

Now, I'm no stranger to science fiction and fantasy. It's a great deal of what I do for a living. But it blew my mind when we began fighting werewolves IN BROAD DAYLIGHT in the MIDDLE OF THE STREET. Doesn't that like, break the Camarilla or something? Isn't there a code here?

By the time I could think of anything to do, the situation was under control by my far better teammates. Richert was dead. I ran after Brandt, now heading up to the Schloss. It appeared we were making headway with him (especially Laura) but Reginleif appeared and commanded attention.

It always seems like the right thing to do, you're on the right side, if you back down and give the focal person the time to think things through. Truth and justice and light and the goddamned American way are on your side, right? Well. I haven't heard from Brandt either.

At the risk of coming across as overly sensitive to American jingoism,
perhaps it is this very adherence to "the American way" that drove the
young German man into the arms of someone who sang the glories of their
Fatherland. An observation, rather than a criticism.
-- Sajid Makram Sulimani, Makkah Fanum

Complications

Please describe any unforeseen difficulties that arose, and how the resources of the Naos Group might have better served to prevent or navigate such difficulties

Well, the entire presence of Reginleif and her cohorts were completely surprising and unexpected. I suppose though that it was our naiveté not to expect opposition. Maybe we were just expecting "Scions vs. Titanspawn" and not an all out WWE brawl of thirty "cage match of doom".

Sorry. I'm exaggerating.

I honestly believe, given the failure of our recruitment, that on future missions of this type the Scions presence are definitely needed to protect the more experienced NAOS group member who will then engage the newly developed scion. Therefore, I believe Sambethe (as well as all NAOS group members) should be fitted with kevlar vests (which I'd be happy to look in to funding if needed) and our focus should be simply to protect her and use our abilities to assist the field agent as best as possible.

At this point, I should probably annotate our purposes here.
My goal with this assignment was to give our Agents some measure
of field experience. You did not fail, Jonathan. You were not
the only Scions we approached. Sometimes, they're interested
in our offers. In our experience, most are not. Furthermore,
each and every one of you were unaccustomed to the sort of
strange demands that these sorts of missions can bring, and
you even carried through with the second half of the mission
without the guidance of Sambethe - who was the one doing the
actual recruiting. I would say that given all of this, you have
nothing to be ashamed of, and quite a lot to be proud of.
--Alfonso de Valencia, Special Projects Team Director

Final Thoughts

Please place any final thoughts, including commentary on your co-workers' actions (positive or negative) here

Looking back over the case notes we might still be able to search for Sarah. One distinctly overlooked point is that of the graveyard. Whose grave was she visiting (and possibly talking to) and does that person have any connection with a destination that might be east of the city.

Honestly I am impressed with almost every single one of my teammates. They show extraordinary skill at what they do. I am though, worried, about Riley and Vladimir. Riley tends to get himself into an extreme amount of physical danger and Vladimir seems to do the same but with his mouth. But who am I to judge? Maybe I'm still coming to grips with my ..im?.. mortality? and exactly what I can do. These are guys who probably have FAR different life experiences and can therefore better judge what they can and cannot back up what they purport to do. Maybe I wish they'd just be a little more tactful.

I can vouch for this assessment of Riley's character. I have similar concerns.
-- Dr. McMurtry, San Francisco Fanum

I don't think I'm very well liked by the group. I'm probably not the easiest guy to understand. I know I'm still having problems understanding what I'm supposed to be now. I don't want to be another lame comic book superhero dealing with some bullshit angst but at the same time "To thine own self be true" is a statement I firmly believe in. I don't think there are many more ways I could possibly be different from who I was a month ago than what's happened now.

See? I'm getting all angsty again.

Point blank my co-workers are my role models now. They are the ideals I created when developing my life's work and now seeing them in the flesh I can't help but be awed by them.

Lora Brovik

Initial Impressions

Please describe your initial impressions upon receiving this assignment

X

Events

Please describe the events in this mission, to the best of your recollection

X

Complications

Please describe any unforeseen difficulties that arose, and how the resources of the Naos Group might have better served to prevent or navigate such difficulties

X

Final Thoughts

Please place any final thoughts, including commentary on your co-workers' actions (positive or negative) here

X

Vladimir Norstrov

Initial Impressions

Please describe your initial impressions upon receiving this assignment

X

Events

Please describe the events in this mission, to the best of your recollection

X

Complications

Please describe any unforeseen difficulties that arose, and how the resources of the Naos Group might have better served to prevent or navigate such difficulties

X

Final Thoughts

Please place any final thoughts, including commentary on your co-workers' actions (positive or negative) here

X

Riley Bannon

Initial Impressions

Please describe your initial impressions upon receiving this assignment

X

Events

Please describe the events in this mission, to the best of your recollection

X

Complications

Please describe any unforeseen difficulties that arose, and how the resources of the Naos Group might have better served to prevent or navigate such difficulties

X

Final Thoughts

Please place any final thoughts, including commentary on your co-workers' actions (positive or negative) here

X