YOUR MISSION, SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT...
Remember how the Twitcher said it would be best not to change anything in the past? As CHRONOS decelerates, the arrival announcement is in German and the players arrive to be met by an armed IMF team in red, wearing masks, protective clothing and alarmingly swastika-like versions of the IMF logo. They have travelled to an alternate 1969.
The Timeshock hits them hard and while they are out, the new IMF team swiftly disarm them, split them up and take the diamond and container, and crucially their Clicker. Some of the more psychic members of the team are badly affected by this journey, claiming they could hear the howling and snuffling of dogs and becoming worried about things lurking in the angles and corners of the room. As soon as the team have been secured, the German IMF immediately put down their weapons and rush in to offer medical, psych care and lunch as their Commandant arrives to welcome the team.
Against all expectations, they seem friendly – and cannot emphasise strongly enough that they are Thule, not Nazis – the war was over a long time ago, Hitler is long dead, everyone in this timeline is friendly now, it is simply that they are the ruling group in most of Europe. Is it not the same in your time? Commandant Laubdecke is most anxious to help them back their timeline as soon as they can work out how to do it, so it is essential they stay where they are and try not to affect anything.
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Gradually, the players interact with the Thule team, learning that their CHRONOS – a Mark 8 – is able to do things their own can’t, such as potentially travel to the future. It seems that because our team took the diamond from KEEPSAKE, the Germans won the war and so developed CHRONOS from Professor Mortenson's notes and the work carried out by the Iron Phoenix teleportation team. Their version is, of course, more technically advanced, and was built by the Hungarian Lazlo Kovács, who speaks very warmly of his old friend Mr Jacobs, sadly killed in the war in this timeline.
While the Commandant continues to attempt to convince them of how much better England is under Thule control, and the medical team appear very concerned at readings taken from the players, Lazlo manages to covertly make contact, slipping notes to the technical team to meet him, where he tells them the truth – that the Carcosa Diamond is an item of terrible power and could be used by the Thule to merge and collapse dimensions and take over everything. They’ve been searching for it for years – he’s working for them unwillingly – they absolutely must get away and take him with them to their timeline! He can’t explain everything now, but there is much more to this than Stepanov, he thinks their whole theory is wrong. He insists the only way they can return is by going first to 1942 and replacing the diamond and then back to their own 1969, where he will explain more.
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Somehow without making their new German 'friends' suspicious, our team must work out a way to cause a distraction, overpower the Thule, take back their weapons, the diamond, their clicker and anything else they can get their hands on, and then somehow operate CHRONOS with Lazlo’s help to go back to 1942 and replace the
diamond and then back to their own 1969.
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A recce around finds a collection of cleaning products that could be used to make high explosive triacetone triperoxide if they can rig up need a timer and battery or ignition source. Sandy and Frank feel confident they can run CHRONOS with Lazlo's help, but their attempt to hypnotise a Thule technician backfires horribly and leads to the arrival of a terrifyingly sinister SS officer who takes Frank and Marie-Anne to be interrogated...
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While screams echo from the locked office, the rest of the team frantically kick the plan up a gear and manage to disarm enough Thule technicians to get CHRONOS running, use their bomb to blow open the door to the office, overpower the SS Officer, get what they need from the safe and make a run for it, grabbing every piece of paperwork and chemical they can find.
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Alarms are sounding as more Thule security arrive in waves, engaging the team in a firefight as CHRONOS accelerates, the team scream, Lazlo takes a bullet and they hurtle back to what they very much hope will be 1942!
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Yes, we really did rebadge CHRONOS and swap out every single IMF prop to a red Thule version. And it was worth it. And then swapped it all back again.
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THE BLACK SUN
On Midsummer’s Day June 1942 the Thule Society raised a Black Sun, and the war was over in a day. Without the Carcosa Diamond, Britain were unable to stop them. The Thule promptly removed Hitler, accepted the surrender or withdrawal of all other countries and concentrated on the consolidation of the United Reich. The concentration camps were ended – the Thule believe firmly in the superiority of the Ayran race but see no need to commit genocide. All can work and serve the Reich.
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Most of Europe, including the UK has been part of the United Reich since that time. It has been a time of prosperity without the huge cost of the war. Japan/China/Asia have withdrawn into themselves, America has collapsed back into
a collection of disunited States. In political opposition to the Reich is the Commonwealth and there is an ongoing land war in Africa. It is implied summoning a Black Sun requires a deep connection to your land. Russia attempted to do something similar and something awful happened. No-one goes there.
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In our word Lazlo and Mr Jacobs were friend and colleagues before the war, working on the theory behind CHRONOS. In the late 30s Mr Jacobs pleaded with Lazlo to come over the the UK, but he didn’t feel he needed to as his worth to the Reich would keep him safe, despite his homosexuality. In the early days of the war the two were still in contact and Mr Jacobs tried everything he could to get Kovacs out, to no avail. His letters became increasingly bleak until all contact stopped. After the war Jacobs was able to find our Lazlo had died in Buchenwald in 1944. He never forgave himself and contined working on CHRONOS to honour his friend.
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In Alternate '69, Lazlo was never sent to a camp and has been considered useful enough to the Thule that they are happy to disregard his Hungarian ancestry and homosexuality in favour of his genius in etheric theory. Lazlo had theorised the existence of the Carcosa Diamond – although he calls it the Entropic Prism – and immediately recognises what the team are carrying. He had always thought that at some point another team from another dimension might appear.
He is determined that the Thule and the United Reich *must* not have the diamond – it would enable them to take full control of this world and then begin attacks on all the other dimensions. This is also his opportunity to finally get free –all I ask is that you take me with you!
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Lazlo was always certain time travel forwards should be possible, and so he has continued working towards this, and has solved the technical issues but kept this a secret from his German masters. His CHRONOS wiring always contained
modules that would be needed for this and so although Mr Jacobs has not used them, with the right knowledge our team's CHRONOS can also be made to do this.