Diplomacy
-Find a new translator- with the accidental death of Professor Lucas, progress into translating the tablet has been halted. If you want know what the rest of the tablet says, you need to find a new translator; but this time, this person must be 100% trustworthy since you are literally giving that person direct access to a dangerous weapon that would be catastrophic in the wrong hands.
-Attempt to make friends- if there is one thing you learn while working for the CIA is that having political friends to cover your ass is always a good thing to have. So, if Blackwatch's influence is to grow, it will need political capital to make it work. The problem is finding people who can keep their mouths shut after learning of Blackwatch's existence.
-Intrigue
-Searching for a head spook: One of the most important rules in running a black op is to make sure that said ops stays hidden. So maybe getting someone to cover your tracks and look for other groups' tracks sounds like a good idea.
-Stewardship
-Hartford Investment Opportunities: You could consider spending some money to invest in the town of Hartford. There are multiple reasons and facets to this idea: you could increase the chances of other businesses coming to setup shop in town, increase the amount of leisurely activities for your troops when they are on weekend pass in Hartford, perhaps encourage home development for any trooper who decides to raise a family here, or just to buy the loyalty of the towns folk. There are many ways to go about doing this.
-Upgrade Barracks- you have multiple buildings in your base and it's best to make them better to support BW, at least those that don't fall under the purview of the military or R sections. (Look up the list of base composition for options)
-Learning
-We need more nerds: While you may have Marcus working for you; it would be best to acquire more scientists to help around and increase the number of any potential research projects instead of just trying to focus on one at the time. (Can be double down)
-We need more nerds: While you may have Marcus working for you; it would be best to acquire more scientists to help around and increase the number of any potential research projects instead of just trying to focus on one at the time. (Can be double down)
-Martial
-Gain more troops- While you have enough forces for both simple offense and defense ops, it would be better to acquire more troops to help just in case.
-Gain personal help- Joy oversees BW's military affairs and has done a good job so far. But maybe it would be best to see if possible, to recruit someone to help her oversee the military arm.
-Personal
-Train new body- while you might have recovered the ability to walk normally again, because of your new body, you will need to train again how to fight. And while at it, maybe find a way to control the BL. Joy has agreed to be your teacher.
-Possible tablet origin location- you discovered a possible lead as to where the tablet was possibly located in Tønsberg, Norway. Because of your current situation, you can't go to examine the city but maybe you can send a squad of your men to look for clues regarding the tablet's origins. That would mean showing a squad the secrets of the tablet and the PSs but you trust your soldiers to keep the secret. (Send Alpha Squad.)
- [Free] Try my luck at the lottery- You got some spare change from the budget, maybe you will get lucky in winning the lottery.
-Oversee searching for a head spook.
September has finally arrived. Good news, BW not only acquired a computer but also an expert to run it that has close ties with Joy; a possible location on where the tablet was originally located in Norway and your current training has progressed well for now, especially upon finding out that you are now bulletproof. Now all that was left was to master your BL.
Bad news, you still don't have a translator. And in regular news, still no spook. You actually heard around HQ that the no spook situation is getting to the point that if one were to found, it would constitute a sign of the apocalypse.
The next batch of the newly named Philosopher Stones will finally be ready at in the middle of the month. Though you still wonder why Joy wanted to torture you when you told the staff the stone's name was going to be Philosopher Stone.
Oh, and some weird things have been occurring around HQ that feel like you were in the beginning of a ghost story.
Diplomacy:
] Find a new translator-
Roll: 97 5(Walter)= 102
CRIT: 19 2(Overflow)= 21
This time, Walter went the extra mile in order to find a translator that was trustworthy. After reviewing several candidates, he finally managed to find one that fit the profile that was being looked for.
Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Junior; more commonly known as Indiana Jones. A renowned archaeologist, a decorated veteran from both WWs and his clearance level was in the level of top secret, which did not surprise you due to the amount of black ink in his file during WW2.
When you asked Joy if she knew Jones, she said that while she has not meet him, she has heard of him and that he has done good work and while unorthodox, gets the job done.
With Joy's confirmation and Jones' file, you sent Walter to recruit him at his current workplace at Marshall College since you could not leave HQ due to still training to control your BL.
Imagine your surprise when a few days later, Walter not only returned to HQ but also with him was Professor Jones with bags. When you asked, apparently Walter arrived at the college during a somewhat scandal regarding a fake artifact and Jones, in his own words, was made the patsy; leading him to being fired. Luckily for him, Walter came with the translator job and upon some negotiations, Professor Jones accepted the job, deciding to move to HQ to work from there.
After meeting Jones you began to show him what he would be working with and showing him your BL to demonstrate that what the tablet said was not fake.
He found it interesting that not only you transformed into 10 feet tall muscular being but also able to use blue lightning. He was even more fascinated on the tablet itself, wondering from what possible ancient civilization could it have come from, especially one that used numbers as a form of language.
Thought, you could have sworn you heard him mutter 'great, blasted Nazis had more stuff hidden then I thought' after being told where you got the tablet in the first place.
When asked what happen to the first translator, you told him what happened to the old professor, but he did not believe you until you showed him the crime scene photos. He could not believe that the previous professor died like that.
Either way, you finally got a translator for the tablet and maybe for anything Alpha Squad finds in their location.
Reward- Professor Indiana Jones as the new translator and member of BW (2 Diplomacy actions, 10 Archaeological/Translations actions) (*1)
] Attempt to make friends-
FAIL
Because you had Walter concentrate on finding a trustworthy translator, he did not have time to make connections with any group.
Reward- Fail, no connections made this turn.
Intrigue:
] Searching for a head spook
Roll- 13 5(Oversee)= 18 FAIL
ReRoll- 185(Oversee)= 23 FAIL
You were too busy dealing with your own personal duties and welcoming your new BW members that finding a spook was not possible.
Same old, same old.
Reward- Fail, no spook this turn.
Stewardship:
] Hartford Investment Opportunities-
Roll- 205(Hayden)= 25 FAIL
Because of his other job in making sure the barracks in HQ were properly upgraded, Hayden did not have time to set up a meeting with Hartford's leaders.
Reward- Fail, no investment this turn.
] Upgrade Barracks-
Roll- 335(Hayden)= 38
You ordered Hayden to increase the size of HQ's barracks, in preparation to any future squads being inducted to BW and thus
Thanks to Hayden's personal oversight and the contracted construction company, the barracks were finished in time, which was made easier since Alpha Squad was out of the country on the mission you assigned them thus, there were less people in the building to bother.
The upgraded building was now a bit bigger and could house one more squad of soldiers.
Reward- Barracks Lvl. 1 (capable of housing 6 squads of soldiers)
Learning:
] We need more nerds:
] We need more nerds:
Roll 1: 425(Marcus)5(Robert)2(Strangelove)= 54 FAIL
Roll 2: 895(Marcus)5(Robert)2(Strangelove)= 101
CRIT: 591(Overflow)= 60
Even though you had an extensive staff of scientists under your payroll, it would not hurt to hire more, especially one that can specialize in building machines since looking at your staff list, you are missing one in that specialization. You asked your nerds if they knew anybody who fit that bill.
Robert told you about a scientist he recruited for the Manhattan Project that was an expert in building things but was a recluse, while Strangelove told you of a scientist she knew from an old project in NASA that could also build things. You told both to see if they could get any of the two for an interview.
A few days later, Robert came to you and told you that he could not find the scientist in his last known address nor his current whereabouts. Strangelove on the other hand, told you she managed to get her old acquaintance and said that he was interested in the job offer. You told her to tell him to travel to Hartford for an interview.
A few days later, you and Strangelove were in the town's bar interviewing your newest potential nerd. During the last few days you got a hold of his file and read his details.
The scientist's name was Dr. Christopher Emmerich, who was only 17 years old and yet he had already graduated with top grades in MIT and was currently working with NASA.
One important detail you noticed both in his file and upon meeting him was that he was paraplegic, unable to walk because his spine was abnormally shaped, and thus confined to a wheelchair.
Meeting him, Christopher was somewhat nervous meeting you, especially due to your bodies' size.
During the interview, you noticed how Christopher behaved around Strangelove and you could with 100% certainty that the poor kid had a crush on Strangelove and that she was not noticing him in that way.
At the end of the interview, you could safely say that while Christopher was timid and very young, he knew his stuff regarding his field of expertise. You formally welcomed him to Blackwatch.
It took a few days to get Christopher transferred from NASA into BW and for him to move to HQ. Upon arrival he met with the rest of the main staff.
Though one interesting sight you saw was that Christopher upon meeting Robert, instead of acting like a fanboy, something that all your nerds have done upon meeting him, he actually just said hello to him professionally, but you could actually see some anger in his eyes when speaking to Robert. You found that an interesting reaction to see but from the looks of it, it seemed personal, so you did not dare ask Chris about it.
Next thing you did was briefed him on the existence of the stones and their results. Seeing his reaction upon the reveal, you could see that he was both intrigue on how the stones worked and somewhat jealous, which you could understand given his condition.
Christopher immediately got to work.
Reward- New helper, Christopher Emmerich recruited (2 to Learning actions, 10 mechanical building actions) (*2)
Martial:
] Gain more troops:
Roll- 1310(Joy)= 23 FAIL
Because Joy went on her mission to find someone to help her in her duties, she did not have time request more troops for BW.
Reward- Fail, no new troops recruited
] Gain personal help:
Roll- 9310(Joy)= 103
CRIT- 733(overflow)= 76
You found that while Joy was having no problems managing her duties as military head of BW, you felt that it would maybe ease her workload if she had her own 2IC to help her out, especially if in the future the number of soldiers under your control increases. You told her and after some discussion, she said she would look for someone to help and asked for a few days off to look through her old contacts. You told her to take her time. She left the following day.
Joy comes back to HQ with someone new a few days later. Walking over to Joy and her guest, you could see the person was a Russian and apparently had gold reptilian eyes, which to be honest was not that weird, compared to your eyes who throw out BL. Though one interesting detail you noticed walking toward them was that Joy seemed to be less on her guard then normal while talking to the man.
You were shocked when Joy introduced the man as The Fear, one of the soldiers from her Cobra Unit. Though the man was shocked also upon seeing you.
After a long discussion between the three, during which you found out that Fear was currently working as a freelance mercenary; you formally welcomed Fear into BW, working under Joy's orders. He formally accepted his new job.
Once that was done, since he was going to be Joy's trusted 2IC, you read him in on the Stones and all the works. He admitted he was intrigued and was satisfied that there was an explanation regarding your body's new form.
Obviously, the remaining soldiers in HQ upon finding out that the newest member of BW was a member of Cobra were ecstatic to meet someone who served under Joy. Fear was both annoyed and impress with the men since while it was annoying to receive their wordship, he was also impressed since Joy told him that all the soldiers managed to survive one of her extreme training methods, something that not every soldier could withstand.
In the end, you were to glad to have a second member of Cobra under your banner.
Reward- New helper recruited, The Fear (5 martial rolls)
Personal:
] Train new body-
Roll- 692(training)= 71
Let it be known that whoever said that gaining superpowers and learning how to use them came easily was an idiot of the highest order.
While training your body came to you easy, learning how to control your BL was a nightmare.
At first trying to summon your BL willing did not work. Only when you became angry did the BL came out, and unfortunately it came out at random locations, which meant that sometimes Joy and other soldiers in the training area had to learn how to dodge quickly, while leaving behind a trail of destruction. Sufficing to say that Walter got on your face regarding the potential bill in repairing the training field.
Joy drilled into you to take up meditation and ways to calm down in order to find a way to control your BL. You really struggle with meditating and calming down but in the end, you managed it; mostly thanks to Joy and Fear helping.
By the end of the month-long training, the best you could do regarding your BL was to control it without getting angry and launch them in the form of a blue baseball and launching them in front of you like bullets. At best, you could create and control three balls at the same time. You decided to call them Bolts.
When testing out the bolts on non-living things, at contact it caused an explosion that destroyed the target.
When it came time to test out how strong are the bolts on flesh, Brandon made a deal with the morgue in Hartford for some of their John Does that were going to be disposed off and acquired them. As for the reason, Brandon and the rest of the nerds wanted to see what would happen if the Bolts came in contact with human flesh. And nobody wanted to see what would happen to actual living flesh.
When the bolt touched the human body in the chest, it exploded in a shower of blood. The only thing left was the feet.
Sufficing to say that using this on future human targets was going to be messy.
Though you felt that what you done with your BL is just the tip of the iceberg. Also, maybe you should come up with a nickname for the BL.
Reward= Training new body completed; new physical body limitations discovered, basic control of BL achieved
Acquired:
Lvl 1 Bolts (create a floating ball shape projectile of BL, create and control at the same time- 3)
] Possible tablet origin location- (Send Alpha Squad.)
Cost- 1000, 1 combat squad; Time- one month; CoS- ???
Roll- 100
CRIT- 19
With the possible location of the origin of tablet in Tønsberg, Norway; you need to confirm this as fast as possible. Because of your duties and new body, you could not do it yourself and since you did not have a spook, you would need to trust one of your squads to perform this mission.
You selected Alpha Squad to handle the mission and because you trusted them, you brief them on the Stones, their capabilities and the fact that they were heading toward the possible location of where the tablet was taken from the Nazis. The squad took the reveal very well, especially the fact they now the real origin of their boss' body; which they still are waiting for the chance to get a similar body and powers.
They left the next day to Europe. Their orders to look through out the entire town for possible evidence of anything related to the tablet fully undercover and be careful about any detection from opposition, especially the Soviets.
A problem arose two weeks later when they sent a message saying that they found something unique but need to go dark since there was a possibility that they were being followed.
You hope the squad can contact BW and/or reach home safely. This is one of those times where having a spook would have been useful.
WILL BE COMPLETED NEXT TURN
[FREE] Try my luck at the lottery
Roll- 29 FAIL
You were bored one day in Hartford and decided to buy a lottery ticket. You did not win anything.
Fail, no winning ticket.
Philosopher's Stones (PS) Status:
Roll d50= 3
Three stones created in this batch.
Random Roll Event:
Roll- 6
Transformation roll:
1. Indiana Jones
Roll- 70
Pain- 45 (you) vs. 21 (oppose)
Basic V2 Tank-men
2. Fear
Roll- 74
MicroBomb-
49 (you) vs. 2(oppose)= bomb destroyed, Fear lives
Pain- 78 (you) vs. 79 (oppose)= falls unconscious
Basic V2 Tank-men
3. Christopher
Roll- 83
d2- 1
Pain- 82 (you) vs. 29 (oppose)
Heavy Tank-Men
You could not believe what just transpired only about two hours ago.
Day started out normal, well as closest as a black ops group considers normal. Today was the day the second batch of PS were finally going to be unveiled.
For this occasion, not only were you and Marcus in the lab, but also Joy, Christopher, Strangelove, Hayden, Robert, Walter, Fear, Brandon, Marcus, and Indy.
Just before Marcus took of the lid, Marcus told everyone to not touch any of the stones, cause while the best-case scenario would be turning into you, there was also the possible worst case scenario of something bad happening since it was still unknown if your case was the norm or a special case regarding the PSs.
Opening the lid, it showed that there were three stones, each the size of the palm of a normal human hand. Still a small number but at least a bigger number then the first attempt.
While you and the rest of the group were congratulating Marcus on his success, that's when it happened.
One moment, everything was fine but then a form of chill was sensed in the lab for a few moments when after that a nearby shelf that stored some books for some reason fell forward, landing on top of the table, causing the objects on the table to go flying around the room, including the newly unveiled stones. Said stones flying toward the group.
While some of the group were fast to move out of the way of the stones, some were not lucky.
One stone landed on Indy, him being too old to move fast like the others; Fear jumped in front of Joy to protect her from the second stone heading her way while Christopher jumped out of his wheelchair to tackle Strangelove out of the way, getting hit with the third stone.
The sight of all three transforming was both interesting and disturbing.
After their transformations, puking of blood and discharge of their own BL, which wrecked part of the lab again; were over, you ordered all three to be moved to the Infirmary. While Fear and Indy were carried in gurneys, you had to carry Christopher on your own since his transformation made him bigger than yourself.
Two hours later, you are standing in the infirmary looking over your three newest PS users, while the rest of your nerds were trying to figure out this new predicament.
Christopher and Indy were getting feed with Tacpur to help their bodies adjust to their new changes, which Marcus says will take half a month to stabilized if they follow your own body's functions. Fear was getting his nutrients through an IV for the time being.
On Fear's bed, he was still unconscious but at least the nurses washed his blood of his body. Sitting by his bed was Joy, who for once had a face of being really worried at what was happening to her friend. Though you saw that every few minutes she kept checking his neck for something with an expression of confusing and fear in her face.
Though while he was unconscious, you could see the small light of BL under his eyes sometimes. Regarding when he would wake up, Marcus and Brandon don't know when he would wake up.
On Indy's bed, you could see him holding a small mirror looking at his face, still in shocked, which you could understand since not only did he gain superpowers and a new body, but his face had changed in age, looking younger then he was. You saw that sometimes his eyes turned blue, sign that his BL was activating but he seemed to hold it in when he could.
You knew that the fact that the PS can somehow restore youth now makes it more valuable, especially since you knew several old soldiers that would really enjoy this treatment. Though more tests are going to be needed in order to see if what happened to Jones is temporary or permanent.
On the final bed was one crying but happy Christopher, who kept telling Strangelove to keep poking his legs with a pen, happily saying that he could feel the tiny sensations, as well moving his legs as best he could in his small bed. The happiness was understandable because for the first time in his life he could not only feel his legs but also move them. You can honestly say that of the three, Christopher has the best outcome of the situation.
Meanwhile, your nerds were discussing several things that were noticed regarding the changes the three underwent that was different to your own.
In terms of size, both Indy and Fear grew to the same size and were now standing at 7 feet tall and sported an increase in muscles but not like your own.
But Christopher, his change was more noticeable. He now stood about 2 feet taller than you and was more noticeable musculature. Another noticeable thing was that excluding the moment he went his transformation, he has not shown a single instance of BL occurring to him, not like Fear and Indy.
One thing is sure, BW just changed again. You made a note to have Hayden get new clothes for your newest 'brothers'.
But the one thing that kept running around your head was why did that shelf fall forward in the first place and what was that chill he sensed before the shelf moved forward.
Well, September has currently been an interesting month for now. You finally finished training your new body and have a basic control of your BL. You also acquired thee new members for your staff; a translator named Professor Indiana Jones, a retired old soldier/archaeologist; Christopher Emmerich, a 17-year-old graduate from MIT who was paraplegic; and finally, one of Joy's former comrades, the soldier code name Fear.
But unfortunately, bad things happened as well.
A weird occurrence, which has been affecting HQ for the last few weeks, caused your three new members went through the same thing you went through, leaving them in similar but different bodies to your own transformation.
In the case of Fear, he is currently in a coma, which none of your nerds known when he will wake from it. Though in the case of Indy and Chris, the changes appear to be a good thing since Indy has reverted to his youth years while Chris is able to move his legs for the first time in his life.
You just need to wait for the results of the examination of all three members to see how different they are to you. And find out what the hell is this weird thing occurring around HQ.
Maybe you should come up with a name for those that have undergone the PSs' transformations. And maybe a nickname for your BL ability since 'Blue Lighting' feels like a mouthful and a nickname for the PSs.
Also, on a side note, you admit that the speech that President Kennedy gave regarding about reaching the Moon was inspiring. Though the expressions on Joy and Strangelove's faces while hearing the speech was interesting, like something deep for the both.
Intrigue:
-[X] Searching for a head spook
Cost 50, COS - 70/50/30/10%, Reward- Intrigue Adviser, 1 Intrigue action
Roll- 19 5(Intrigue Oversee)= 24 FAIL
ReRoll- 14 5(Intrigue Oversee)= 19 FAIL
You are really, really starting to get tired of doing this. Instead of doing something more productive, you decided to try to find a spook but even with the extra focus, nobody good was found.
FAIL
Martial-
-[X] Gain more troops
Cost- 200, Upkeep- 30, CoS- 70/50/30/10%, Reward- one squad of troops (rank depends on roll)
Roll- 11 10(Joy Bonus)= 21 FAIL
Because of worrying about Fear's status and upgrading the training ground, Joy forgot about requesting new soldiers to join Blackwatch.
FAIL
-[X] Upgrade Training Ground Lvl. 1
Cost- 250, Upkeep- 20, Time- 1 month (1 turn), CoS- 45%, Reward- Training Ground lvl. 1 upgraded
Roll- 94 10(Joy Bonus)= 104
CRIT- 71 4(overflow)= 75
With the stress of worrying about Fear's status, Joy threw herself into upgrading the current training ground with a frenzy, taking command of the construction crew to build everything she wanted at her specifications.
By the end of the month, you and every soldier in the base could honestly say that Joy just turned the field into a small piece of Hell on Earth.
You were just glad that you had the infirmary upgraded as well, which might come into use if the new field is any indication.
Reward- Training Ground upgraded from Lvl. 1 to Lvl. 3 (8 to any training rolls)
Stewardship-
-[X] Upgrade basic command center
Cost- 150, Upkeep- 50, Time- 1 month (1 turn), CoS- 70,30,10%, Reward- Basic Command Center upgraded
Roll- 26 5(Hayden Bonus)= 31
You ordered Hayden to find a way to upgrade the current C .
Because of several delays that occurred during the upgrade, the best Hayden could do to the C was make sure that communication across the entire base was operational, especially if the base came under attack. This was done by adding more telephone lines that worked across the base, as well speakers.
At best, in the event of a situation occurring in HQ, communicating across the base was easier.
Reward- HQ's Command Center upgraded Lvl 1 (3 to base defenses)
-[X] Hartford Investment Opportunities
Cost- 500, Upkeep- 100; Time- 1 turn, CoS- 40/20/5%
Roll- 31 5(Hayden Bonus)= 36 FAIL
With the whole issues in making sure HQ's Command Center was upgraded without problems, Hayden did not have time to discuss with the town's people to discuss any investment plans.
FAIL
Learning-
-[X] Upgrade Infirmary 2
Cost- 70, Upkeep- 10, CoS- 45%, Reward- Upgraded Infirmary 2
Roll- 97 5(Marcus Bonus) 5(Robert Bonus) 2(Strangelove bonus)= 109
CRIT- 689(OVERFLOW) = 77
With the addition of three new changed people, Marcus wanted to make sure the infirmary was upgraded but also reinforced just in case, especially since he feared that it would mean more damage from uncontrolled BLs from Indy and Fear.
Though looking at the result, you feel like Marcus may have gone a bit overboard.
By the end of the month, the infirmary was not only upgraded to the point it could be considered more as a hospital then an infirmary but was also expanded in size that could house all the current personnel in the base at the same time.
You just had the feeling that those who use Joy's newest training field are going to be grateful for the new infirmary.
Reward- Infirmary upgraded from Lvl. 1 to Lvl. 3 (8 to medical emergencies)
-[X] Examine Fear, Christopher and Indy
Cost- 750, CoS- Variable, Reward- More knowledge regarding the trio's changed bodies
Roll- 53 10(Marcus Biological Bonus) 5(Brandon biological bonus) 5(Robert Bonus) 2(Strangelove Bonus) 5(Laboratory Bonus)= 80
Using yourself as an example, all your nerds began to examine Fear, Christopher and Indy in regards how different were they to you.
After weeks of tests, they finally got some answers.
In the case of Indy and Fear, both were now exactly like you in terms of having a perfect body, increase in muscles and access to BL but at a lower form. It was in fact noticeable that Indy's accidental BL attacks were actually lower in output but at the same time it seemed that he could control it better than you could before your training.
In regards to Indy's case, based on all the tests run on him, his return to a youthful body, which he has repeatedly said he is grateful for; is permanent and no sign of him reverting back has been spotted.
In Christopher's case, he seems to have gotten a bigger muscular body, which it was checked that all his previous medical problems were completely cured; but does not appear to have the ability to generate BL. It was like in exchange for not having the ability to use BL, he gained a much bigger body.
Until a training session could be done, it was unknown if Christopher was either physically stronger or weaker than you. The same would be needed to find out Indy and Fear's case.
At the end of the month, both Christopher and Indy were able to move on their power, though Christopher had to take it easy since he needed to learn how to walk for the first time in his life. And Fear was unfortunately still in a coma.
Fear Coma- 48 (you) vs. 70 (oppose)= Fear still in coma. 5 for next turn
Special Votes:
[X] BL=Bolts
[X] Super-Soldiers=Watchmen
[X] Stones=Catalysts
After a long discussion between you and your staff, several things were decided. First, while officially the stones were still to be called Philosopher's Stone, they would be nicknamed catalysts. Second, the BL would now be called Bolts to shorten the name. And lastly any person who has undergone the catalyst transformation will be officially called Watchmen.
Reward- Comparison of different Watchmen bodies established. New terms established for stones, BL and users. Indy and Christopher back in active duty, will require a training turn to use fully recover the use of their bodies and use their new powers.
Diplomacy-
-[X] Get a diplomatic 'aide'
Cost- 250, Upkeep- 150; CoS- 50/10%, Reward- New Helper/ 1 Diplomacy Action
Roll- 87 5(Walter Bonus)= 92
Realizing that maybe if had someone to help him out in his duties, he asked you if he could get a secretary. You told him he was authorized to do it, if the person was qualified and could be trusted.
It took him the rest of the month of searching, and finally he found an old friend of his from his translator days.
Reward- Helper Carol Clayton (5 Diplomacy actions and 1 Diplomacy Action)
-[X] Attempt to make friends
Cost- 40, CoS- 50/40/20/10%, Reward- Connection established with a group
Roll- 28 5(Walter Bonus)= 33 FAIL
Because of Walter needing to find a secretary and teaching you how to be more diplomatic, he did not have the time to make any new connections.
FAIL
Personal-
-[X] Train your (trait)
--[X] Diplomacy
CoS-???, Time- one month, Reward- 1d3 (adviser) or 1d2 (no adviser) for chosen attribute
Roll- 89
Roll 1d3- 3
While you were already considered an expert in diplomacy, it never hurt to get more experience when dealing with others. So, you asked Walter if he could teach you some of his tricks.
He began to teach you his techniques, which sometimes ended in discussions between the two of you. He even brought Carol sometimes to help you out, which you will admit that she knew her stuff when dealing with arguments regarding politics.
This was going to be a long month training.
FINISHED NEXT TURN
-[X] Oversee an action- Personally oversee an action and help carry it out.
--[X] searching for a head spook
FAIL
-[X] [FREE] Investigate weird occurrence
CoS- 50/20/5%, Time- 1 Turn, Reward- ???
Roll- 49 FAIL, 5 for next turn
Due to all the responsibilities you currently had, you did not have time to investigate what was happening around HQ but it also helped that nothing strange happened either.
FAIL
-[X] [FREE] Try my luck at the lottery
CoS- NAT 100; Cost- 3, Reward- 900,000 income
Roll- 70 FAIL
Went to town, bough a ticket, nothing.
FAIL
-[x] Possible tablet origin location
Roll- 85 (you) vs. 42= Success
You were starting to really worry about the status of Alpha Squad after not hearing anything from them for two weeks when on the final day of September, you get a huge shock when Alpha Squad enters HQ.
When the debriefing began, the squad reported that they managed to enter the country safely and after establishing a safe house they began to look for clues regarding the general's route while in the city.
It took some time but after scouring records and asking people, they found that besides being in the Berg concentration camp and government buildings in Tønsberg, Sankt seemed to go around cultural places to 'collect' things. After getting a list of all the places in Tønsberg he visited, the squad decided to visit them.
After days of searching all the places, while posing as tourists during the day, it was on the last place they found something. The last place on the list was an old church that worshiped the Norse gods that was burned down during the final days of the Nazi occupation. The remains of the church were some stone walls and a little bit of the roof, the rest was gone.
The squad entered the ruins during the night to avoid being spotted. It was while looking through the wreckage that one member found a damaged wall that had what looked like ancient Norse runes, which was obvious that a church dedicated to the Norse gods would have; but what was shocking was that near the end of the wall.
There were two symbols near the runes, the same symbols on the tablet you showed the squad. Realizing that they finally found the place where the tablet came from, the squad began to look thoroughly across the ruin for anything. They did not find anything until the end when one squad member found a wall that had a sculptured mural of what looked like a large tree (later Indy told you that it was probably depicting the Yggdrasil, the Norse World Tree).
One of the squad members was tired and put his back against the wall, which by pure luck, touched something on the wall that caused a box to come out of the wall, falling on to the floor.
Quickly inspecting the box, they found that it was a stone box that had the design of a snake on one side. It was upon opening the box that everything changed.
Unfortunately, before they could do anything else, they heard noise coming from the outside coming toward the church. The squad immediately left the area, but not before noticing that the people entering at first thought to be civilians, but they looked Russian and were packing weapons that KGB operatives would normally carry.
After escaping, they reported back they found something but that they had to go dark to escape. They had to go dark and find a way out of Europa and back to the US, especially with their package.
It took them 2 weeks of non-stop running, managing to avoid getting into any fights; but they managed to reach Sweden and book a flight out of there. And thus, they finally arrived home safely.
After congratulating them on escaping and making back without causing an international incident, you asked to show them what they found that was so important.
Thus, they showed you the object and after briefly examining the box, which you will admit was very detailed, you opened the box, and the room was suddenly bathed in blue light.
Your newest employee name was Carol Clayton, who served as the Second Secretary for the same ambassador that Walter used to work for. Just like Walter, when the ambassador was fired, she was also out of a job and for the last few months she's been working any jobs she could find. When Walter got in contact with her and told her there was a job available for her, she jumped on the opportunity.
Reading her file, you read that she was described as someone who just lived for doing her job and little to no social life. What is interesting is that for some reason, even though she was fired, her clearance was still active, which was at the level of Confidential.
Once she officially inducted into BW, she was read in on the existence of Watchmen, which she told must be kept a secret. She agreed after a few minutes of discussing some of the terms of her new employment.
The look on your face, heck, the look of all your staff's faces, especially your nerds upon seeing the cube was one of shock. And you could not blame them.
You did not know what exactly this blue cube was, only that whatever it was it was not normal, and the fact that the cube was glowing in the same color as the Bolts, well, there was no way that it was a coincidence. At the very least, one important detail was discovered that somehow the tablet was somehow related to the Norse Mythology.
If anything, it made Indy come up with the possible theory that what if all the tales of the Norse Gods and their powers were actually normal people that had touched the catalysts and transformed into what you were. This theory actually hits closer to home since you remembered that the first thing on the tablet after it was translated was that if the person who touched the stone was worthy, the person would get the powers of a god.
You just hope that Robert and the rest of the nerds can find something about this cube, safely.
One thing is sure, you are not touching this cube with your bare hands. Last time you touched a weird thing, you got a new body; who knows what a glowing blue cube would do to you or anybody else.
Reward- Unknown artifact discovered, new actions opened
Random Roll Event- 92
BW's R staff get together to discuss potential ways to work together and find new ways maybe incorporate their respective capabilities into other's work if only to help accelerate any project's development.
If their report is right, they say they could take on more projects without problems due to their current numbers and resources.
Reward- Nerds organized themselves to be more efficient, 1 Learning Action
Final Cost Result:
New Upkeep- 1,635 230 (new turn upkeep) = 1,865
Final Income- 526,137 – 1,865 (upkeep) – 2,263 (turn cost)= 522,009
And thus, Walter finally acquired a dedicated secretary that can help him with his workload.