🚀 go-pugleaf

(continued from part one...)

MAYAT:  the Red Middle Manager of the In-Between Greyness, who absorbed the
     Red Lord and the power of the Red Serf (Retired Grand Admiral Kyson
     Lochar, who died in the final battle against the Blue Lord).  Parts of
     him were manifested in Spammeister, and were retrieved during the
     course of events leading up to the battle.  He has journeyed into the
     infinite grey with the other four friends.

MONOPULSE:  (Real name unknown).  Sublieutenant in the Earthguard.
     Monopulse possesses Electrical Vision, which allows her to take
     command of cybernetic and electronic devices (even ones as complex as
     ALEXIS).  She can also discharge electrical energy.  Monopulse was
     apparently brainwashed earlier as an agent of the Nin Conglomerate, to
     reprogram ALEXIS to cover up various activities.  Later, the T-Robot
     attacked her on the same frequency as her electrical vision, and
     programmed her into an Assassin.  The Dark drained her of her
     controlling influences, leaving a very scared Monopulse.  She has
     entered into an emotional and sexual relationship with Shockwave.  She
     feels used, and has some of the earmarks of a classic rape case
     (which, truth be told, she is).  Though restored to active duty, she
     is distrusted by many.  Monopulse likes Sheen (and is hurt by her
     suspicion) and Ambassador Dumont, dislikes Kid Nuclear, and hates
     Digulio (after he interrogated her several times regarding her
     involvement with the plot).  After assisting in repairing ALEXIS, she
     accompanied Shockwave on the Iskandar mission.

MORPH:  (Real name unknown).  Ensign in the Fringe Corps.  Morph is a
     shapechanger, who can assume a variety of shapes, sizes and masses, as
     well as mimic the appearances of a number of alien races.  Morph's
     gender fluctuated at random, causing her to be avoided by most.  Morph
     is the only survivor of the massacre of the Oma Thalon colony.  For a
     while, following an attack by a T-Series robot, she was locked into a
     male gender form.  Subsequent events involving lethera enabled her to
     repair her body, and the Blue Lord informed Morph that Morph was his
     child.  She was taken over as a host for the Blue Lord, whose godlike
     mind enabled her body to function on a level far above what she could
     normally accomplish.  The Blue Lord left her body when he was able to
     claim Robin of Biggibastion IV, fixing her gender as female in the
     process.  Following the battle, she and Random's friendship blossomed
     into love.

MECHANIZED AUTO-RECONNAISSANCE AND INTERVENTION OPERATIVE (MARIO):
     A robot made in the image of a fat Italian, for reasons unknown.  One
     such robot was created and controlled by the Nin Conglomerate to
     assassinate seven people on Round Robin.

NICHET: Captain of the Nin Conglomerate agents taken aboard Round Robin
     station.  Now on her way to Earth to stand trial.

NINATH: the homeworld of the Ninites, one of the five "seedworlds."

NIXAEN: The Black Serf, Nixaen, arrived on Round Robin station by apparent
     accident, having been among the Nin agents captured by Round Robin
     personnel.  He assisted the Black Lord in his plans, and although
     Orthano subsequently reclaimed the essence of the Black Serf, Nixaen
     still carries the Black Seed.  He escapes from Wavelength's ship and
     takes a small craft to the only destination it can reach -- Iskandar.

ORTHANO: the Black Middle Manager of the In-Between Greyness.  He reclaimed
     the Black Lord and the Black Serf essence from Nixaen, as well as the
     energy the Black Lord had imparted to his Pawn, Excalibur.  He now
     journeys with the other Friends through the infinite grey.

PENDAR: one of the five "seedworlds."  Little else has been yet revealed
     about this world.

QUKUK: one of the agents of the Nin Conglomerate taken aboard Round Robin,
     now heading to Earth to stand trial.

RANDOM:  (Keith Random).  Random has the power to manipulate coincidence,
     making `random occurrences' work out to his advantage.  Furthermore,
     he seems to be the only mortal who has any inkling of what is *really*
     going on.  Consequently, everyone thinks he's nuts.  Random is known
     for conspiracy theories -- most often centering around the number 5.
     He was close with Morph, and is a regular at the Saturday Night Poker
     Games in Topside.  Random was badly injured by the T-Robot, and (while
     in a coma) had an Out-of-Body experience where he was made Free by the
     Lords of the Outer Darkness, which gave him great knowledge as to what
     was going on and made him seem insane to everyone else (well, moreso
     than before).  The Lords discounted him to a certain degree, since no
     one will believe him unless the Lords' pawns given them reason to.
     But it was Random who realized the key to defeating the Blue Lord,
     thereby saving all of existence.  As a reward, he was promoted to
     sublieutenant.  Random has recently entered a romantic relationship
     with Morph.

RED LORD:  (see Mayat).

RED MIDDLE MANAGER:  (see Mayat).

RED SERF:  (see Lochair, Kyson, and Kid Nuclear).

RIPOSTE:  Free Trader on Iskandar with some knowledge of arisite.

ROBIN OF BIGGIBASTION IV (deceased):  Robin was a member of the Earthguard,
     Rank unknown, and was also Gold Serf of the Inner Light.  Robin was
     the most intelligent Earthguard member, and the designer and creator
     of Round Robin.  Robin made a deal with the Nin Conglomerate, to get
     their assistance in taking back his station.  The motivations he gave
     them were false - his true motivation was to become a Lord of the
     Outer Darkness.  To this end he conspired with the Blue Lord, only to
     be betrayed and taken over by his ally at the end.  His position as
     Gold Serf was passed on to Genevieve Tombolo before being reabsorbed
     by the Gold Middle Manager, Tombolo.

SHEEN:  (Michelle Logan).  Captain in the Fringe Corps, former member of
     the Earthguard, Commanding officer of Round Robin.  Sheen possesses a
     Mirror Force, which allows her to absorb and reflect attacks at other
     targets.  This power makes her nearly invulnerable, but also isolates
     her from casual contact (as she can apparently not deactivate it all
     the way).  She can also use it to make herself or other objects
     frictionless.  Sheen met and entered into a relationship with Kid
     Nuclear while both were young Earthguard members.  They married,
     though Kid Nuclear was apparently extremely overbearing to the point
     of emotional abuse.  Kid Nuclear made Sheen his Ko'velt, without
     realizing her lack of a Rialto upbringing would leave her scarred.
     The two separated after Sheen confided in Dynamo.  Sheen cares for
     Dynamo a great deal, though any physical relationship they could have
     is limited.  The domestic tension between Kid Nuclear and Sheen had
     manifested itself in dominance games and subtle digs between the two.
     Sheen was close to Grey before his `death,' and is also close to
     Impulse, and Excalibur, feeling the Stuart Clan to be a sort of foster
     family, being an orphan Sheen.  Kid Nuclear granted Sheen a divorce,
     at Gypsy's orders.  Following the battle against the Blue Lord (during
     which her joining those opposing the Middle Managers desire to destroy
     the Blue Lord proved critical in convincing Graisoul not to attack),
     she and Kid Nuclear managed to repair some bridges, before he left
     with her lookalike, Genevieve Tombolo.

SHOCKWAVE:  (Dirk _________).  Sublieutenant in the Fringe Corps.
     Shockwave possesses Sonic Powers, which may (or may not) be tied to
     his listening to extremely loud music from the latter part of the
     twentieth century.  Shockwave normally comes across as a brain-dead
     individual, but apparently has more depth than that.  A woman in his
     past died.  Shockwave seems to be good friends with Granite, and has
     started a relationship with Monopulse, who he genuinely cares for.
     Apparently, Shockwave is always rebuffed by women the first time he
     asks, and accepted the second time.  Shockwave attends the Saturday
     Night Poker Games in Topside.  Recently, he accompanied the mission to
     Iskandar.

SINGULARITY:  A commander in the Fringe Corps, and one of the most
     brilliant and powerful paranorms that organization has.  He has been
     assigned to Round Robin as the new Chief Engineer, and will be
     replacing the spam-based systems with a new Microstar plant.

SUTAI: the Green Middle Manager of the In-Between Greyness.  In a previous
     incarnation, she was Rialto Sun-Tei, who co-invented hyperspatial
     travel with Genges Tombolo and founded the Rialto colony on principles
     of domination and submission.  After the battle with the Blue Lord,
     she reabsorbed the Green Lord, the power he had imparted to his Pawn,
     Ice, and the Green Serf essence from Wavelength, and joined the
     Friends in resuming their journey through the infinite grey.

SPAMMEISTER:  (deceased).  Lieutenant Commander in the Fringe Corps, Chief
     Engineer of Round Robin.  Spammeister was a large man who possesses
     Spam-based powers (Spam is a three-dimensional representation of a
     fourth dimensional vector, and therefore is capable of great Space/
     Time manipulation).  He could open up dimensional gateways.
     Furthermore, Spammeister was in contact with dimensional counterparts
     in other Altiverses. Spammeister was a Pawn of the Blue Lord, and was
     preparing to assist the Blue Lord in his takeover of the Round Robin
     Altiverse.  He was promised a chance to become a Lord of Outer
     Darkness, though it is not known if such an apotheosis was possible.
     Like all Pawns of the Lords, he had a Pentacle tattoo on his left
     shoulder, the color of which revealed his Lord's identity.  Despite
     the Blue Lord's best efforts, the piece of the Red Middle Manager that
     was in Spammeister was drawn out, and Spammeister died, as did his
     selves across the altiverses.

STATION LAZARUS:  The closest UCP space station to Nin-controlled space.

STUART, EDWARD:  Vice-President for New Consumer Diplomacy, for the Nin
     Conglomerate.   Edward Stuart is the brother of Impulse, Excalibur and
     Dynamo, though he is unpowered.  Why he is a Vice President of the Nin
     Conglomerate is not known.  He apparently still cares for his family a
     great deal.  However, he greatly dislikes Ambassador Dumont, his
     sister-in-law, and apparently she is a point of contention between
     Edward, Impulse and Delphi.  He is on Iskandar, intent on negotiating
     Iskandar's entry into the Nin Conglomerate.

THRESHER (Macadam P. Harrison):  An ensign in the Fringe Corps and the
     greenest of the paranorms on Round Robin.  He projects Mirror Force,
     much like Sheen does, except that he projects it in monomolecular
     planes capable of cutting through anything, and he is on the mission
     to Iskandar.

TOBIAS, ADM.: The UCP admiral who made the decision to phase out spam-based
     energy systems on Round Robin, in favor of a Microstar plant to be
     operated by Commander Singularity.

TOMBOLO:  The Middle Manager of In-Between Greyness, representing Creation.
     He was responsible for the creation of the Bless'd Thing and the Damn
     Thing, millennia ago, and has appeared in a number of incarnations
     since, including that of Gerald Tombolo, the founder of Megacorp, and
     Gaylord Tombolo, an artist of some renown.  Recently he reclaimed his
     essence as a manager, and forced Wavelength to conceive Genevive
     Tombolo, whom he sent to Round Robin station.  He then joined the
     other Middle Managers on Gyrass, and initiated the first step of the
     Endgame by blowing that planet up.  After the battle against the Blue
     Lord, he reabsorbed the Gold Lord, and the essence of the Gold Serf,
     which had passed to Genevieve Tombolo after Robin's death.  He is
     journeying with the Friends through the infinite grey.

T-SERIES DRONE:  A robot made in the image of a *really* short Oscar award,
     and with the same function as the MARIO robot, though with less
     sophistication.

WAVELENGTH:  (Antonia Wells, formerly Magnetic Girl).  Commodore and Leader
     of the Earthguard.  Wavelength possesses magnetic powers of some kind.
     She was the Green Serf of the Inner Light, devoted to finding harmony
     through inner order, and leading others to it though example.  She is
     stern, willing to test her subordinates through emotionally tortuous
     tests (such as sending Kid Nuclear as the head of a team to Sheen's
     command).  She is very close to Delphi and Impulse, having co-founded
     the Earthguard with them and being their lover.  On the way to Round
     Robin station, Tombolo forced her to conceive a child, Genevive
     Tombolo, who later became the host of the Gold Seed, much as
     Wavelength is now the host of the Green Seed, following the absorption
     of the essence of the Green Serf by Sutai.  She is returning to Earth
     with Impulse, Delphi, and Excalibur.

VORTEX: (Lieutenant, real name unknown):  one of the original Earthguard
     members, chose not to rise above lieutenant.  Not much else is known
     about him.

YIN AND YANG:  The concept of duality given form.  They are Anima and
     Animus, male and female, and all dualities.  They were implicit in
     each of the Lords, Serfs and Middle-Managers, and later in the Five
     Friends, once they were re-united.


              WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE ORGANIZATIONS
                    WE'RE DEALING WITH, HERE

CLAN MACLEOD:  A family of considerable resources and influence, sometimes
     allied with MegaCorp and sometimes opposed.  It is believed that they
     have some interest in the outcome of the Iskandar negotiations.

EARTHGUARD:  Founded by Wavelength, Delphi and Impulse, when they were all
     thirteen to fourteen, the Earthguard began as a Paranorm team
     independent of governments, acting to protect the United Compact of
     Planets, Inc. from attack and internal villains.  In actuality,
     according to Excalibur, MegaCorp already controlled them without their
     knowledge.  Thirty plus members have joined, most of them teenagers.
     The Earthguard was founded circa 2195.  A few years ago, when what
     Military there was for the UCP, Inc was overrun, the Earthguard
     stepped in.  This has caused it to be reworked into a military
     institution, with Commodore Wavelength at its head.  At this point,
     most of the Earthguard members felt the change in the group's identity
     meant a break with the past, and they changed their own names as well
     (the fact that the names before were such pleasant things as Magnetic
     Girl, Reflective Lass, Cybernetic Girl, Kid Electron and the like,
     when the Earthguard members were now mostly in their late 20's, may
     have had something to do with it).  A noticeable critic of the change
     of group *and* name was Kid Nuclear.  He went along with the shift,
     but retained his old code-name.

FRINGE CORPS:  A branch of the older Earth Military which patrolled and
     expanded the fringe of known space.  Their mission is to spread the
     virtues of Capitalistic Democracy to new worlds, preparing them to
     become part of the vast Economic Empire called the United Compact of
     Planets, Incorporated.  As there are rivals to this, the Fringe Corps
     recruit young Paranorms to be trained to help protect the UCP and
     spread its influence.  The Fringe Corps are controlled by the MegaCorp
     Council, and seem to have close ties to the Earthguard.  There is some
     evidence that the Fringe Corps didn't start recruiting Paranorms until
     the success of the Earthguard highlighted their advantages.  The truth
     is unknown.

MEGACORP:  MegaCorp, founded by a man named Gerald Tombolo, who was one of
     the aspects of Tombolo, the Gold Middle Manager of the In-Between
     Greyness, is a huge corporation, which apparently dominates the
     financial world of the United Compact of Planets, Incorporated.  As
     the entire society of the UCP, Inc. is predicated on its financial
     holdings, MegaCorp's power is incredible.  There is evidence
     suggesting that MegaCorp performed bioengineering and mutagenic
     experiments centuries before the events of Round Robin, which lead to
     the existence of Paranorms, now.  There is also rumor suggesting
     MegaCorp manipulated the creation of the Earthguard, having always
     controlled it behind the scenes.

MEGACORP COUNCIL:  The ruling body of the UCP, Inc.  The ties between the
     MegaCorp Council and MegaCorp itself are not known.  Chances are
     likely the ties are very close, but not officially total, since the
     United Compact of Planets, Inc. is officially a Capitalistic
     Democracy.

NIN CONGLOMERATE:  A rival to the United Compact of Planets.  Not much is
     known about it.

UNITED COMPACT OF PLANETS, INCORPORATED:  A galactic federation, guarded by
     the Earthguard and explored by the Fringe Corps.  It is ruled by the
     MegaCorp Council.  Details of member planets and the system of
     government is not known, though it is apparently a Capitalistic
     Democracy, at least in name.


                    ROUND ROBIN EPISODE SYNOPSIS:

#1: "A New Beginning!!!" by Eric Alfred Burns
(presented by Authorial Productions, in association with Mademoiselle Muse,
Inc, which are co-presenters of all the Round Robin episodes)

Grey arrives, bringing Amb. Dumont.  Shockwave is distracted listening to
his music, so ALEXIS impersonates a duty officer and welcomes Grey to Round
Robin station, and informs Capt. Sheen that Grey's shuttle, the LUX, has
arrived.  Corpse, after getting splattered by Shockwave, tells him that
he's been ordered to the docking bay, along with Digulio and Granite.  On
the LUX, Monopulse deduces that they were answered by a computer, through
her electrical powers.  Kid Nuclear nurses a grudge against Sheen, feeling
RR station should have been his, which Amb. Dumont notices.  It is learned
that Wavelength sent Dynamo on a mission to Gyrass three days ago.
Spammeister, working in engineering on his spam-powered projects, pulls the
Damn Thing through to the RR altiverse, and wonders what it is.  A cloaked
ship 20k from RR gets into position.  A stowaway on the shuttle gets onto
RR station.

#2: "Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About The First Episode But Were
     Afraid to Ask" by Evan Pongress
(co-presented by The Alternative Reality Contracting Guild (ARC))

Yin & Yang observe the Lords of Outer Darkness creating the world-
construct.  Only the Gold and Red Lords are so far present.  Random notices
odd concentrations of fives around him, and ALEXIS hesitates before noting
that 4 got off the LUX.  Kid Nuclear orders Monopulse to accompany him to
the meeting after Monopulse uses her powers on the computer for an
unexplained purpose.  The robot stowaway kills Lt. Grey while he shaves,
and recycles him out into space.  The controller of the robot, on the
cloaked ship, notes the first objective has been accomplished.  Amb. Dumont
briefs the RR personnel on policy matters.  The rogue Lord checks on
Spammeister, his pawn, and Spammeister mentions he is expecting a shipment
of spam from the SfStory altiverse, so no one will notice any missing Spam
on the ship.

#3: "I'm a Robin, He's a Robin, She's a Robin, They're a Robin, Wouldn't
     You Like to Be a Robin Too..." or "Black is Beautiful" by Bill Paul
(co-presented by Silver Screen Partners 42,489,051,374,925,666 and 1/2)

The Black Lord sends a remote in his place to add his powers to the growing
Worldsphere, as Yin and Yang show growing disgust.  The Black Lord hangs
out around Serenity, near RR station, and intercepts the pieces of Grey,
molding them back together and making the reconstituted figure his pawn.
Random wins much while playing evening poker with Digulio, Corpse, and
Shockwave.  Kid Nuclear and Sheen face off in poker, and Sheen loses, due
to her reflective skin.  Amb. Dumont preps for the evening's party, and
falls on the robot drone, crunching it.  On the cloaked ship, it is noted
that objective two has not been reached, and that another member of
Earthguard is on his way to the station.  At the party, Sheen orders
Digulio to go see what is holding Amb. Dumont up.  Shockwave hits on
Monopulse, who rejects his advances.  The Dark arrives, telling them that
he was sent by his master to help them combat a great evil.  Digulio and
Amb. Dumont arrive, bringing the disabled MARIO drone.

#4: "The Sauce Thickens..." by John Bankert
(co-presented by Authorial Light and Magic, Incorporated)

The Green Lord arrives, joining the Gold, Red, and Black Lords, his belches
inspiring Yin & Yang to leave.  Sheen orders Shockwave Monopulse and
Granite to investigate Grey's disappearance, provoking a minor
confrontation with Kid Nuclear.  They determine that ALEXIS must have been
tampered with by Monopulse.  On the cloaked ship, they muse about how to
accomplish objectives 2-7, ponder about contacting their agent on the ship,
and plan to send an activation signal to the drone on Excalibur's shuttle.
Kid Nuclear questions Monopulse upon her return, telling her she's the
prime suspect in Grey's disappearance.  Amb. Dumont deduces that something
must be blocking her memories.  Shockwave and Granite follow Monopulse to
Topside, where Shockwave strikes up a conversation with her, doing better
this time.  The rogue Lord warns Spammeister not to let the spam come into
contact with the Damn Thing.  On shuttle Tripoli, Excalibur muses that his
brother Dynamo should not have been sent to Gyrass in his place, and the
drone on the shuttle is activated as the Tripoli passes through a neutrino
field.  Amb. Dumont asks Sheen why she and Kid Nuclear make life hard for
each other, a question Sheen refuses to answer.  On the cloaked ship, they
wait for the shuttle to come within range to establish interactive control,
and plot to get their agent to hide the drones presence from ALEXIS.

(concluded in part three...)
--
Gary W. Olson    swede@shell.sojourn.com    swede@drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu
                      http://www.sojourn.com/~swede