The Mission

The engineer Vester says, "I'll order the engine room to give us propulsion. You decide where are we going, ja?" He takes the telephony receiver and calls up to the auxiliary bridge.

(In German)<"All ahead full. There are Americans fighting below and we will take the Huginn out of the valley. It must not fall into the hands of the westerner swine!">

"We’re going as far away from here as we can manage!"

Irish groans, though he wonders how they’d stop the thing once they arrive where they are going…

Dan smiles at Vester. He's convincing at least.

To Irish he says,"The boss said to find out what the enemy was doing in the mine, then disable the zeppelin or destroy it, or best case, bring it back. We've done most of that. What we do next is up to us. I say we bring it back home. Irish you still got those papers, right? Could be a goldmine in those not to mention bringing..." he nods at the German engineer ..."him."

Vester is nervous at this turn of events. "The crew will become suspicious if we fly west that long. What do I tell them? If they suspect treason, they might sabotage the Huginn rather than let it fall into enemy hands."

"Can we make it without them? Tell them we're heading for Berlin, but will crash if we're in danger of capture. Have them get us moving and then abandon ship. "

Vester has an uneasy feeling. In for a Reichspfennig, in for a Reichsmark, as they always say.

"Yes, they could leap to safety with parachutes and the escape plane. Then we would need someone to go up and man the engines, but it's possible."

"If it’s possible, then that’s what we’ll do!" Irish grunts. They had done much of what they’d set out to do, but everyone knew that the big balloon was the real prize.

"No time like the present!" he says, thinking of both the Romanians and their foes. One would be quickly returning to camp at the sound of grenades exploding. The other would be holding out hope that Irish and the others could get them out of here, or at least help them get themselves out of here.

But no way to know which side had come out on top in these conditions…

Sabine had reluctantly lowered her gun when the German inventor and the two airmen had surrendered. She didn't trust them -- any of them.

Listening to the various ideas and plans being bandied about, she finally says, "We should kill all the Germans in the engine room. They will sabotage the vessel, or find a way to communicate with the ground once they realize what is 'appening." Still brandishing her automatic, she adds, "Until we figure out 'ow to do that, tell them we are making for France."

"It's what I was thinking. It's the only way. They won't sit back idly and watch us commandeer the ship." His eyes glance at the papers if they are still in Irish's hands and then at Vester.

"What in all those drawings? Plans for this ship and maybe others? What else? Mining reports. Notes on the crystals? I don't suppose directions on how to drive this thing. There are too many to go through at the moment."

The firefight in the superstructure would be a legendary affair, full of possible aerial shenanigans, if you were less clever, or there were more crewmen.

Tying up the captain and the two crewmen from the bridge, you find clean uniforms, and arm yourselves with German weaponry. Then, leaving Vester also tied and gagged, you leave Sabine in charge of the bridge with Irish guarding her, while Dan and James make their way to the auxiliary bridge. Dan's mechanical expertise will best be used there, once you secure the superstructure.

There, you find a single crewman, operating the mechanical controls. Expecting no ambush, you take him down before he's even aware enough to go for a weapon. Again, you tie him up to deal with as you will.

The engines are managed by three engineering crew, who are not soldiers although they would fight if you didn't get the drop on them too. Again, you tie them all up, possibly to toss them all over the side later, or drop them off, or keep them as prisoners to return to Britain.

Aftermath

Vester himself is pragmatic. Having surrendered himself and the ship into the team’s custody he is even cooperative in assisting you to fly the vessel back to Britain. His work and research are far more important than the war, and in any case, he realizes that his life would probably be forfeit if he returned having lost a valuable war machine on an unauthorized mission.

The agents manage to return to Britain at the helm of a stolen Nachtwölfe Zeppelin filled with recovered Blauer Kristall and the notes of Johannes Vester. The mission is an outstanding success. Although Hunter may grumble at the difficulty of keeping such an outrageous result from the newspapers there can be no doubt that the team have achieved something truly remarkable. Section M will be particularly interested in the Bluestone Flamberge; examining the strange alloy from which it is made could lead to valuable breakthroughs in the development of weapons effective against Mythos threats.

Further, Vester's genius design is partially based on the Blauer Kristall enhancer electricity generator running off blau gas, which provides large amounts of electricity to power the guns, communications and control systems, and the shock field generators that provide stability (the glowing blue pads you saw from a distance).

---

THE END