000604 -- Bring 'Em Back Alive -- part I ======================================== AUTHOR: dsweet ORIGINAL TITLE: Bring 'Em Back Alive COMPOSED: 6/6/00 UPDATED: 6/7/00 STORY: After sucessfully completing their last adventure the will be band of heroes find themselves in front another reality portal. They see sand, rocks, dry vegetation. They are obviously going to a warm clime so two of their number go back for as many full canteens as they can carry. While the two are gone the rest see that Dolares Gifthorse is in the ether between worlds. While Jake threatens Dolares with litigation, The Black Scorpion and Jay walk to right before the new world and view it from one edge of the portal to to the other. They can see Ocean or a large body of water to the right and dense greenery far off to the left. Amber cooler head prevail and a discussion about Other World's Travel is begun in earnest. Dolares explains that she and her compatriots (she motions to her unseen people to her right) exist in Universal time. Their group work to right wrongs in all the realities created by time travel. Another group which she only refers to as their opposition attempts skews all the realities they touch towards evil thereby diluting the total good that exists in the multi-verse. When asked why they couldn't get equipment and clothing that would be more appropriate to the world they are entering Dolares gives them an answer but not the whole answer. She explains that their opposition hit Other World's Travel base of operations in Universal Time a while back. Since then the OWT has been on the run until they finally found a good hiding place in the Rocky Beach Mall. Later when OWT's is back on their feet such equipment will be made available. When asked how the OWT envisions their group would continue to travel from worlds to world, she said as long as each of them was willing. The longer they travel between worlds each individual's Reality Identication would become harder and harder to discern from the reality ID of universal time. The band could join OWT in universal time eventually but it is a hard life. Eventually the questions become geared towards the situation at hand. Dolares can only tell them that they are on a small South American island called El Honduragua and it is 1935. The opposition's recent tamperings allow for the sucessfully assination of Adolph Hitler in the latter part of World War II. Which leads to Germany winning the war and the world's population assimulated into the Furer's vision. Since the interferance is being done by individual's with Reality IDs the same as universal time the trouble makers can not be pin pointed but the effects of their tampering can be. The location of the orginal skewing is somewhere near by. By now eveyone has entered into the new world but since Dolares is still with the band they are not able to interact with the environment. The conversation eventually ends and fortunately none of the band want to go home so Dolares leaves as if passing through an unseen doorway. The smells of the sea attacks eveyone's nostrils and the oppresive heat attacks everyone's face as if you opened a pre-heated oven. Jake says that citys always spring up around river's and the greenery up the coast is probably a river outlet. The band considers this a moment before heading in that directions. The band stops at a farm house at the edge of a town that has sprung up at the river's outlet. They discover that at least the Mother and her children that reside at the farmhouse only speak spanish. To their surprise no one in the band speaks it. After some ammusing pantomiming the band wanders toward the town's only hotel. It turns out the town is named "Contra Rica". The hotel manager speaks english and is a fount of information since it looks like American Dollars will soon be entering his pocketbook, but alas the these tourists only carry novelty currency. Luckily the band learn of a small base of U.S. Marines up the coast at San Remo. They know they will not make it tonight but they resolve to walk as far as they can before making camp. Afterall, they have plenty of water and rations to make it. As they walk in that general direction they cross paths with a priest exiting a medium boat with a motor that is obviously on its last leg. The priest calls out "Brave men, brave men with guns may I speak with you?" He continues, "Please, my people are in trouble. Banditos from the jungle have been raiding San Remo for several weeks, stealing the village's food and animals and threatening to kidnap our women and children." Some of the band are interested in payment, but the priest can only offer room and board. When it is obvious this is not enough the priest produces a wanted poster that reads as follows: Reward Offered: $25,000 For the capture of British subject and infamous criminal Lord Benjamin Pimsley. Wanted for sundry crimes against the British Empire, including the bloody Christmas Day train wreck in Glasgow in September of last year. Scotland Yard wants him ALIVE to stand trial before the Crown. Please deliver him to the nearest British consulate or government agent for verification and collection of reward. He is over 6' tall, dark-haired, and often wears a cricket uniform with a Swastika armband. Beware: Pimsley frequently uses disguises and is extremely dangerous. The band is curious if they would receive the reward if they accidentally killed Pimsley. Father Jose Cuervo suggests they ask Contra Rica's British Consulate since that is where he found the poster. Everyone walks to the Consulate's office en mass. The british agent present reads the poster for himself and makes a judgement call. If they try to keep him alive and there is no doubt that the person brought back was Pimlsey then the reward would be paid. The agent is curious if these Americans with all the questions might know where Pimsley is so he asks. The reply of "just curious" seems to satisfy him. Once everyone is back on the street a deal is forged. The priest will provide room and board that night at his friend's rooming house and they will all leave the next evening at 6pm since Father Jose will be busy with church business until them. Jay and some others offer to help Father Jose unload and then load his boat. The father is very grateful. Thanks to all the additional help the band, the father and Jimme the boat pilot are ready to go hours early. Unfortunately Father Jose is waiting for some church papers so every waits at the dock beside the docked "Queen of San Remo". Jay takes the opportunity to have a look at the boats engine. He is able to get it back into peak operation. So not only do they leave as soon as the papers arrive but they make it back in record time. The sun is still in the sky when San Remo is in sight. Alas, as they are approaching San Remo the band hears gunshots coming from the village. A worried Father Jose' says the peasants have no guns -- it must be the banditos raiding the village! Most of the band sees a half dozen figures running away from the village huts and and Mission building. Simultaneously, automatic gunfire spews out from a sandbagged position west of the village across the river mouth. It is obvious the fire from the sandbagged position is wildly inaccurate, missing the bandits by a wide margin. Many of the band ready their weapons. The Black Scorpion asks who are in the sand bagged position. Father Jose Cuervo attempts to answer with undisguised contempt, "Uncle Sam." Jake and others fire at the fleeing banditos. Two banditos are hit. One falls, but another bandito helps the wounded one into the woods. As soon as the Queen makes land fall most of the band follow the banditos into the jungle. Unfortunately none of the motivated band members have tracking skills. When they come back to the village Father Jose informs everyone that the banditos have probably gone back to there camp at the local Mayan ruins. The band insists that the father and Jimme boat them to the ruins. The band head up stream as the local villagers emerge from hiding to put out their enflamed huts. The sun sets while in route. Jimme refuses to bring the Queen any closer then 500 yards from the ruins. It is completely dark by the time the band reaches the perimeter of the camp. Fortunately these banditos go to bed early. Only one guard is awake as he patrols around a parked air plane. Unfornutely, one of the band has not yet mastered the art of walking quietly in the jungle. There is no time to deal out blame though, the alerted bandito fires in the general direction to the distrubance and take cover behind the plane. The camp begins to walk up but each individual at his own pace. Jay bursts into action and sprints towards the plane. Amber and the Black Scorpion fire at the man in cover. Jake tries to light and lush green jungle on fire with his blaster since he is not a very good shot in the dark. When the man behind the plane is taken out and the machine gunner on a nearby rock exposes himself with tracks of bullets aim at Jay, Jay streaks towards the rock. In the first few seconds of combat, Amber and Black make short work of the few men that pop out of the blanket covered ruin portals. When a women is heard screaming as she wakes in a nearby ruin Jake and Black race toward the building. Amber takes out the machine gunner just as Jay reaches the top of the rock. Jay familarizes himself with the machine gun and aims at the portal to a nearby ruin. Black wins the race. He takes out a bandito in the portal of the women's ruin. Jake sails in behind him and releases the women from her bonds. A grateful Maria hugs Black as he ruggedly readies himself for more combat. Jake mutters something about getting there almost as fast and being realy good at cutting ropes. Jay is impressed by the destructive power of the machine gun. He mows down a bandito. The bandito is obviously dead. Most of the other banditos are merely unconsious but many are bleeding to death. A quick survey of the dead and dieing reveal that none of the banditos are tall enough to be Pimsley. There are a few tense moments are many banditos emerge from separate portals at once but the steady nerves of the emerging heroes prevail. Finally only two banditos remain and when peace is petitioned for by those in the superior position it is accepted by a bandito with an English accent. When these two emerge one is wearing a white cricket uniform and a swastika on his arm. Handcuffs are produced from two of the Gamma team utility belts being worn and are slapped on the last banditos. The victorious band takes a moment to figure out their next move.