The Vanguard Volunteer

Join the Vanguard

I am glad that you have come to talk to me, Red Tomax. I am Levantera, and I am part of the Vanguard. We are the only defense our world has against the Rikti, and we are looking for others with great power to assist us in this, regardless of which side of the law they may be from. We have heard of your power, and thus, on behalf of the Lady Grey, I would like to offer you membership to the Vanguard.

Vanguard membership will provide you with many opportunities. In fact, we think you'll find action with the Vanguard very rewarding.

Very good. Then let me welcome you to the ranks of the Vanguard. This is a great honor, and a great day. I will now send you to speak with several others, so that you may understand a bit about how the Vanguard works. But first, a word of note. Here, we fight the Rikti, not each other. The Vanguard has no care for where you came from, and no time to waste on internal strife. Hero or Villain, we are all here to defend our Earth.

Now, Borea will wish to speak to you. You can find her just on the other side of this column behind me.

The Lady Grey

It is our distinct pleasure to welcome you into the Vanguard, Red Tomax. We have studied your prior adventures, and know that you shall prove yourself admirably against the Invader's forces. When you are ready, We may have a great undertaking for you, but put it out of mind for the moment. Instead, We suggest you now return to Miss Levantera, so that she can provide you with your first real task against our foe.

Member of Vanguard
Awarded once you have spoken to the Lady Grey

Well done, Red Tomax. As you complete missions for us you will have a chance to receive Vanguard salvage. You can use salvage to make Vanguard items and costume pieces from our salvage machines located in the base.

I've just received a report... Urgent business upstairs... Looks like you picked the right time to sign up.

Fend off Rikti Raid

We've gotten reports that the Rikti are about to raid one of our bunkers. I've already sent two of our heroes, but they're both young and inexperienced. I would like you to be there as well.

The main thing you must do is link up with the other heroes. That should be enough of a threat to draw out the Raid's leader. Once he shows himself, or herself I suppose, I can't tell with the Rikti... Anyway, once the Leader pops up, crush him.

Oh, and there's one other thing. Keep a look out for any intelligence. Shortly after you returned from your last mission, we received a tip about the upcoming attack. We don't know who sent it, but the Rikti might.

When you emerge from the ready-room, you find that the fort is already under attack!

Objective: You defeated the Raid leader, and found some intelligence!

Rikti documents

These documents were on the Raid Leader. The language is indecipherable, but it seems to be about a specific Rikti soldier.

Mission Complete: You fought off the Rikti Raid!

Looks like you signed up just in time, Red Tomax. I'd like to say that Bunker raids were uncommon, but here in the War Zone anything's possible.

Rescue captured Longbow soldiers

As you know, the Vanguard is in charge of containing the Rikti threat. Some are not happy with this. Chief among them is Ms. Liberty and her Longbow Troops.

They interfere, they act on their own authority, and cause us no end of problems. But still, we fight for the same end. So, when some of them get in trouble, we take it on ourselves to help them.

Such a situation has happened, and I'd like you to take care of it.

I've had my problems with Longbow in the past, but as a member of the Vanguard, that is behind me.

Even though their current operation is a slap in our faces, they are still allies, and should be helped. A number of their soldiers have gone missing after a scouting expedition. We think we've located them, but they appear to have been captured by the Rikti. Your job is to help them out.

Well, I know you'll do your best.

The War Zone is riddled with caves like this. The Rikti have been using them to move their troops around.

Mission Complete: You rescued the Longbow P.O.W.s!

Lt. Tendaji's Information

After you rescued him, Lt. Sefu Tendaji thanked you and offered a tip:

'My thanks to you, friend. I see you are a member of the Vanguard. Despite what some think, I do not see a reason for the rivalry between out groups, as we are all fighting to protect out world. In fact, there was some information we recently gained that could be of use to you, but our resources are too thin to handle it. We have word of a Rikti assault group that has managed to sneak past our defenses. I will give you their last known location.

Oh, and do not mention this to Captain Dietrich. She is an excellent and dedicated leader, but she does not see things between our agencies as I do.'

Captain Dietrich's Opinion

After you rescued her, Captain Wilhelmina Dietrich was quite willing to share her opinion of the Vanguard:

'I suppose I should thank you for not bungling this attempted rescue too badly. Other than barging in like a horde of vandals and alerting all Rikti to our investigation, I am certain that you meant well. No more could be expected from undisciplined amateurs. Now, let us see what we can recover from this mess.'

You've done an excellent job protecting our interests and putting Longbow in their place. I'll have the Helm examine the intelligence from Lt. Tendaji. This could be quite a windfall.

Oh, and don't mind anything Captain Dietrich may have said. She's very vocal in her criticism of us. I'd say many here have a story about W. M. Dietrich.

Take out Rikti assault group

The Helm have confirmed the information Lt. Tendaji gave you. We've located a Rikti assault group. It seems they snuck past our defenses. This is an excellent chance to surprise them before they attack us. Your mission will be to take out the assault group as well as its leader.

We have a helicopter ready for you up top. It will take you to the area, then you will proceed to the site on your own. There will no doubt be other Rikti around, but your main objective is to take out the Rikti Assult group and its leader. Good hunting!

This looks like a good place for a pleasant stroll, not for a battle with alien invaders. Too bad.

Objective: You found what look like important documents on the leader.

Rikti documents

These strange clear documents were in a sealed container carried by the leader of the Rikti assault group. They look important. Levantera will want to see them.

Mission Complete: You took care of the Rikti assault group.

So that intelligence from Tendaji was correct? Interesting. What's more interesting are these documents. Those look like an attack plan. We'll get this to the Helm, they should be able to decipher it. In the meantime, something's come up.

Stop Rikti Bombing

The Rikti have performed a mass-transport into a section of the Rogue Isles. We don't know why, but we suspect that they're planting explosive devices. Your mission will be to destroy their bombs, and to evacuate any civilians still trapped in the area.

I know the Rogue Isles doesn't seem like a place worth saving, but it is, if only for the fact that the Rikti want to attack it.

The Vanguard's mission is to stop the Rikti anywhere, any time. So, if you thought you signed up for something else, I'm sorry. You should have joined Longbow instead.

You'll have 2 different things to do here. First off, there's the bombs. You need to destroy those. More importantly, there are a number of civilians trapped in the area. Rescuing them will help to make us look good. Or be the right thing to do, I suppose.

This normally bustling section of the city is now over-run by alien invaders.

Objective: You have destroyed the Rikti bomb!

Mission Complete: You have rescued the hostages and defused the bombs.

Arnold Decker's Strange Story

One of the civilians you rescued, a young man name Arnold Decker, had a strange story to tell:

'It was the weirdest thing. They were rounding us up, I think to keep us away from those things they brought. Never can tell what people can do in this town, you know? Anyway, one of them saw me, and just stopped in his tracks. He pulled me out of the crowd, just lifted me up, and he was looking at me real intense. I thought I was dead for sure, but he set me down again, took off his helmet, and kneeled down to look me in the eye. The, he said my name.

I could barely understand it, their voices are so weird, but he was trying to tell me something. He said, 'Arnold, take care of Mom.' Then he tried to help me run away, but one of the commanders froze him in his tracks with one of those mind-bolts.

I don't know what it all means. How could he have known about my Mom? She's been in a bad way ever since my older brother Ben was lost in the Rikti War.

You handled that situation well. Which is good. Because we've translated the information you've captured. And there's trouble coming our way.

Defend the Base!

The Rikti are assaulting the base. We need your help now.

There's no time to waste. You've got to get up there and defend the Vanguard base. Others are joining in the fight as well, but we really need your help on this one.

Once again, you do not disappoint.

The information you recovered should prove valuable, if my theory is correct. You see, that warning about the raid? It was sent to us by someone who identified themself as a man who's been missing in action since the Rikti War. An American soldier named Benjamin A. Decker. Now isn't that interesting?

Serpent Drummer would like to speak with you.