toddKirby

[Hi everyone. I apologize profusely for my absence over these many, many weeks. I had some RL issues to come up that have kept me away from the game on a regular basis. The situation has, unfortunately, resulted in me not being able to participate with the group any longer. I wish that you all continue having fun and enjoying this really great concept. As for Drew, let's just say that Marisol, his Warshade girlfriend, rescued him after he suffered much at the hands of his Praetorian kidnappers. He is on a long road of recovery. Thanks for all the fun times.]

Gleaming Sentinel, a.k.a. Captain Drew Hill was flying towards the police station that served as the headquarters for The Blue Shield. He was looking forward to their patrol after a week of special assignments with other members of the Awakened Division.

Suddenly, Drew feels a sharp pain throughout his body. His concentration is completely disrupted and he plummets from the sky. He lands in an empty lot causing a small crater to form. He slowly rises in pain and looks around to find himself surrounded by Praetorian Clockwork. He tries to call for backup, but, he notices that his signal is blocked.

A beam of energy slices through his communicator destroying it. He thinks to take to the air to escape, but, another wave of intense pain passes through his body and he falls to his knees. After a few moments, he looks up to find a man clad in the uniform of the Praetorian Imperial Defense Force walking towards him flanked by two Seers.

“Ah, Mr. Hill. It is a pleasure to finally meet you,” the man says politely. “I am Commander Benjamin Carter.”

Drew eyes the man for a moment before responding in an equally polite manner. “Indeed…? Then… I must say… that your introduction technique… leaves much to be desired.”
“Ah. I must apologize for all this,” Commander Carter says waving his hands vaguely at his entourage. “But, I did not think that you would come along quietly.”
“And where would I be ‘coming along’ to?” Drew asks.

“Praetoria”, Carter says. “You see, we do not have Kheldians on our world and I became very curious about them after our initial encounters with you Primals. I have made it my life’s work you could say. I believe that your unique state could serve to increase our power thereby making it more feasible to subdue this world once and for all. My studies have advanced to the point that a live specimen is required for experimentation. And given your status among the Primal version of our P.P.D., I thought you would be perfect.”

“I… am. I am flattered that you… have singled me out for… such an honor,” Drew responds. “But, you are quite correct… that I will not… be coming along… quietly.”

“I thought not,” Carter says. “You Primals are a very noisy lot. I will go ahead and state the obvious in the hopes that you may be more cooperative. Your signal to your comrades is being blocked. You are outnumbered. The Seers are monitoring your thoughts and they are the reason you are experiencing the great amount of pain you have. Simply surrender and things will go smoothly.”

“I think not,” Drew says glancing at the Seers. Before the psychic troopers can react, Drew unleashes a blast knocking the Clockwork and Seers to the ground. Commander Carter is unaffected and he simply draws a weapon and fires it.

Drew screams in agony as he is hit with the energies of Carter’s Quantum Array gun. Drew falls to the ground writhing in pain.

“Crude, but, effective,” Carters says as he holsters the gun. “I am disappointed in you Mr. Hill. I had expected you to be far more reasonable. Well, it doesn’t matter.”

Drew slowly rises to his feet. “I… must… apologize… for being so… difficult. But I do not plan… on spending the rest of… my life as an experiment that will give you… the ability to place my world… under the control… of your emperor.”

“An indomitable spirit,” Carter says. “I can appreciate that. But, you really have no choice. I am almost sad about this. Take him.”

Drew screams as the Seers tear at his mind and the Clockwork fire their weapons. The pain is excruciating until oblivion finally takes hold.

[I have been busy because of work and other RL adventures. I hope to create an AE for next week that will complete this story line.]

[Don't think I'm gonna make it today. I'm getting off work a little late and then I'm going to dive into the Freedom Beta. See you all next week.]

[I'd be fine with an AE mission. It would be a nice change of pace.]

Sorry, guys. I won't be able to make it tonight.

I should be good to go next week. See you then.

Hello everyone. I just wanted to let you know I will be out today and next Tuesday because of work and being on vacation next week. I hope that you all have a great Indepedence Day.

[I apologize everyone, but, I will miss another week. I know that there are some stories going on and while I want to be there for them, I don't want to hold the rest of you up. So, proceed with them if you can. Hopefully, I will be able to join you all again next week.]

[Ok, I'll see you all next week.]

From: hilldre@pcpd.gov
To: mccawil@pcpd.gov, callsha@pcpd.gov, hillmag@pcpd.gov
Date: 05-12-11
Subject: Re:Blue Shield Initiative

Hello everyone.

I regret that I have been unable to join you as you have dealt with recent issues. It is my hope that with power restored to about nintey-two percent of the northern Alabama region, I will soon be able to return to Paragon City and resume my duties on the team.

My biggest worry at the moment is the Browns Ferry nuclear facility. It sustained damage from a powerful tornado which caused it to shutdown. The facility has remained stable thus far. The plan from the Tennessee Valley Authority is to complete repairs to the damaged areas of the facility and bring it fully online in the next few days. I and the Awakened Division detachment sent here have been asked to remain during that time as a precaution. If all goes well, the power distribution infrastructure will be once again at one hundred percent capacity.

I must admit that some of the devastation that I have seen here is quite remarkable. We have been able to rescue many of the residents of the various cities and counties here. I am grateful that we were able to help so many, but, I am also saddened by the many deaths that have resulted from the storm. What I have seen here serves as a stark reminder of our role as protectors. It renews my resolve to be a part of the Blue Shield and to help those who need it most.

I hope that you all remain well and I look forward to seeing you all upon my return.

Sincerely,
Drew Hill

[Hi. I was disappointed to find the servers down during our normal game time. I had hoped to join you all. Anyway, life is back to normal for the most part here. I'm pretty busy at work because of the unforeseen layoff, but, I should get caught up soon. So, I'll see you all next week unless gremlins get loose among the servers again.]

[Thanks for the good wishes. I appreciate it. Things are still a little off around the region. I haven't been able to work since last week as power restoration has been slow. The tornadoes actually cut our main line of power from TVA and they're having to rebuild the infrastructure to get us back to full availibility. So, that's going to take some time. I would appreciate you waiting until next week before starting Mags' storyline as I would very much like to be there for it. I'm confident that I should be back in game for next Tuesday's session.]

[Hey everyone. You may have heard about the disaster that struck Alabama last week; tornadic activity and everything. I live in North Alabama, Madison/Huntsville area and it was affected by the storms. Thankfully, no one was hurt or worse. My home was spared any damage. The only lasting problem was the last 5 days without power. I am happy to report that power was restored today, however, recovery is still ongoing. As a consequence, I will not be joining you all for our regular session this Tuesday. I think I'll be around next Tuesday as everything should be stable and regular routines return to normal.]

[Thanks for the complement. I was sorely tempted to make the big reveal be Shannon. With a "Gotcha!" at the end. Now, I wish I had, lol]

Captain Drew Hill found himself filling out his report on the Blue Shield’s excursion into Praetoria. He was troubled by the sights of the psychic mind readers on nearly every street corner. He was also troubled by the seemingly thuggish tactics used by many of the Praetorian police force. It was as though they were using their position of authority for personal power. It was as though that was somehow expected among them.

Drew began going through the data downloaded by the team’s leader, Shannon Callahan. From the information he found, it was clear that the Praetorian people were being carefully and completely oppressed. Emperor Cole has created a society that he rules by any means that he thinks is necessary. Resistance is met with brutality and brainwashing. The information also spoke about the psychics and how each one is pressed into service for the empire. They are all reduced to the level of a node in a large network, transferring information, sensing trouble and notifying the authorities of potential dangers. There was also a mention of the ongoing threat from people more dangerous than The Resistance, more dangerous than the Hamidon itself. Drew reasonably assumed that it was a reference to those of this world, called Primal Earth.

He hoped the information he was putting into the report would be enough to impress upon everyone that reads it that the Praetorian people, on the whole are not bad people. They are simply unaware of what’s going on with their leaders. Also, that Emperor Cole’s attacks are meant to garner him the same control over this world as he has on his. Drew summed up his thoughts by saying he felt that Emperor Cole’s campaign could potentially involve other dimensions as well. Cole may seek to gain limitless power. The results of such an outcome would be an unprecedented catastrophe.

As Drew put the finishing touches on his report, a woman cozies up behind him and places her arms around his shoulder. In a low, husky voice she whispers in his ear.
“How much longer do you plan on working on that report? Surely, there is something far more interesting you could be working on.”

She proceeds to nibble on the ear she whispered into.

Drew stops typing and takes his left hand and runs it through the woman’s silky, raven hair.
“You distract me, Marisol,” Drew says with some amusement. “And I must complete this report before… I can work on anything else. The longer you distract me, the longer it will take me to get to my other… duties.”

The woman continues to nibble for a moment and, then, sighs with mock suffering.

“Alright, Drew. But don’t take too long. Your other duties will take some time to complete.”
Drew turns to the dark haired woman and smiles.

“Of that, I have no doubt.”

Drew leans in and begins to kiss the woman ever so lightly on the lips. She returns the kiss while hugging him tighter. Soon, the kiss increases in intensity and Drew guides Marisol into his lap to embrace her more passionately.

After several moments, the kiss ends leaving the couple breathless.

“That was… just a little incentive to urge you to hurry things along,” Marisol says. She stands up and moves off towards the bedroom.

Drew smiles broadly and returns to finishing up his report.

I can't make it tonight. Stuck at work.

Hope to see you all next week.

Thank you. It's been a great day.

Just wanted to let you know that I won't be joining you all today. I will be out celebrating my birthday. I'll be back next week.

Welcome to the group, cat.

It would be nice if we could work our way up to a consistent group of 8 so we can do all the fun TFs out there.

Lt. Drew Hill finds himself sitting across from PPD Chief Conrad Bochco. The chief stares at Drew intently before he finally breaks the silence.

“Lt. Hill, I have been very impressed with your accomplishments with The Blue Shield,” the police chief says. “Especially, in light of your earlier reluctance to join the team.”

“I understand and appreciate your praise, sir,” Lt. Hill responds. “I am grateful that you and Sunstorm persuaded me to reconsider my choices. At the time, I did not realize just how much I could help all of the people of Paragon City, not just the ones in Downside. It has been my honor to serve with my fellow teammates.”

“That’s good to hear. As you know, I have used you as a face, if you will, for the Awakened Division. Thanks to your good example, the city has been more comfortable interacting with members of this division.”

“I am sure it is the members of the division who have increased their popularity among the citizenry,” Lt. Hill says. “I accept that I may have helped to some degree, but, I believe the men and women of the Awakened Division deserve all the credit.”

Chief Bochco nods slowly. “That’s a very admirable point of view. That’s why I have invited you here. I want to increase your profile in the department. A gesture illustrating the trust we have in the Awakened Division. So, I am giving you a promotion.”

“Indeed?” Drew says raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, indeed,” the chief says. “Lt. Drew Hill, I confer upon you the rank of captain. Your position on The Blue Shield will remain the same and you will continue to report to Commander Callahan. Next week, you will attend a ceremony where I will make an announcement of your promotion and, of course, feature the Awakened Division.”

“I see. I am honored by your decision, sir, but, I wonder if it is necessary to do so much to promote this division to the exclusion of all others,” Drew says. “It seems it might cause some disharmony within the ranks.”

“Spoken like a true leader. You let me worry about any disharmony. You just keep being a shining example. Speaking of shining…” Chief Bochco hands Drew a folder. “I want you to… revamp your look a bit.”

Drew opens the folder and finds an illustration of a model wearing a different variation of his PPD Awakened uniform. At the top of the page, he reads the words ‘Gleaming Sentinel’.

“You wish to give me a code name and a new uniform?” Drew asks looking up from the folder.

“Exactly. The uniform change was a given because of your promotion. I just thought a few alterations would be in order because of your stature on The Blue Shield. The name shows that you’re comfortable with becoming a Kheldian and serving with the PPD. I hope it will encourage others to follow your example. We could use a few more like you on the force.”

Drew looks at the designs again and returns his gaze back to the police chief. “I am uncomfortable being thrust in the spotlight as this will undoubtedly do, sir, but, I believe in the greater good. I wish to support your efforts to make the city and its citizens safe. If this will accomplish that, I will do it.”

“I appreciate your cooperation, Captain Hill. Oh, one other thing. There is a cocktail party I am giving tonight. I have invited a number of high-ranking law enforcement officials to attend as they are here for a few days to take a look at PPD operations. I have asked Commander Callahan to attend as leader of The Blue Shield. I want you there as well so that you will serve as our shining example of the Awakened Division. The reception is being held at McDuffie’s and starts at 6:30 sharp.”

“Yes, sir,” Drew says.

“Good. That’s all I have. See you tonight.”

As Drew walks out of Chief Bochco’s office, his phone rings. He checks the caller ID and sees, with some delight, that it is Shannon Callahan, Task Force Commander and leader of The Blue Shield.

“Hello, Shannon. How are you?”

“Drew, I need your help,” Shannon says. “There’s a cocktail party going on tonight. Chief Bochco has pretty much commanded me to go.”

“Yes, Chief Bochco expects me to attend this gathering as well,” Drew says.
There is a momentary pause before Drew hears Shannon’s response. “Well, crap.”

Hey, everyone. I just wanted to let you know that I will be unable to join you tonight. Have fun and I should be able to join you next week.

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I hope you all had a good one.

Well, here is the idea I had when I thought up the proposal.

On the last Tuesday of the month, we each would play the Praetorian version of our characters.

I would be OK with playing another character, but, my preference would be to play the Praetorian version of Drew.

I am trying to get in. My computer is having issues. And there's a patch apparently. *sigh*

Sorry to miss last week. Real Life (TM) got in the way. I will be missing next Tuesday as well to participate in Tanker Tuesday. But, I'll be back the week after. In the meantime, I'll be working on Drew to get him a few levels. He's falling quite a bit behind.

I like the Leadership Pool idea. I may have to respec a few things, but, I will try to work it in.

Still here. Sorry about this week. Life has been hectic lately. I will definitely be checking in for next week.