| Leader | Kazimir Volken |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Eagle Electric |
| Staff Contact | Manhattan |
The idea of the Vanguard began in the mid 1940's, a seed planted in the mind of Kazimir Volken by his confidant and fellow Nazi sympathizer Adam Monroe. While the Vanguard itself would not come to see fruition for decades beyond this, it remained an ideal and agenda in Kazimir's solitary actions of violence and genocide against the Evolved, in secret, during the 40's and on through to the early 1990s.
By the time Kazimir Volken had made the acquaintance of Amato Salucci he had already extended his fingers into many small para-military organizations around the world. While his operation was not entirely knit together, there were the beginnings of an operational organization forming. It was with the advent of Amato's unique talent, and his special guidance, that the Vanguard were truly born.
Existing as an organization in everything but name for a handful of years, Kazimir Volken began to pull together the threads that tied his once disparate connections around the globe together, forming a group of like-minded and violent individuals with the sole goal of exterminating the Evolved from the face of the world. Careful and delicate manipulations by Kazimir allowed him to feed specific information to specific individuals, with only Amato Salucci knowing the full length and breadth of his plan, which Amato had dubbed The Work.
Upon the destruction of Manhattan in 2006, Kazimir set his sights on America and began to accelerate his plan for global genocide. With his most loyal and dangerous followers given the call to join his side in New York, a multi-phase plan began to be set into motion. Each phase of the plan was a self-contained operation, each headed by a separate member of the Vanguard in order to maintain compartmentality and cell-like independence, while remaining to be operated on a loose time-table.
The Vanguard operated out of the Eagle-Electric facility in Queens, purchased quietly through a dummy corporation based out of Sweden. The facility retained the appearance of abandonment, though remained a private and closed facility on government records. It served as a meeting place and armory for the ordnance brought in by Ethan from Europe through Kazimir's smuggling lines.
Following the death of its leader and most of his his upper echelon in January of 2009, its current status is unknown.
The Work
Phase One (Kazimir Volken)
Phase One was put into motion by Kazimir himself, the undisputed leader of the Vanguard. By circulating through New York, utilizing the Registry of the Evolved as a road-map, Kazimir executed a series of high-profile murders in the Empire State, debilitating the confidence of the populace and baffling the New York police department and their FBI accomplices. Reaching a climax in a series of violent and highly publicized killings, Kazimir used this phase to stir up the resentment and hatred of the Evolved across the city and beyond as news spread, destabilizing the people's faith in law enforcement to protect themselves, hoping to spur on violence.
Phase Two (Ethan Holden)
Phase Two involves the actions of Ethan Holden, military mastermind for the European front. Brought to New York, Ethan has been given instructions to sow discord among the various factions of Evolved and Non-Evolved in the city, masquerading as the freedom-fighting terrorist organization PARIAH as well as several fictitious government agencies. Ethan's heartless and skillful manipulations are only further accelerated by the arrival of other military-minded individuals from across Europe and Asia, such as Wu-Long. The ultimate goal of Phase Two is to set the city upon itself, shaking the populace to its foundations with fear and suspicion until violence breaks out in the streets on an untold scale.
Phase Three (Odessa Knutson)
Requisition and testing of a biological agent capable of decimating if not outright eliminating the Evolved population. An anti-virus is to be developed to ensure the survival of Vanguard leadership until the End Phase. Combatant members of the Vanguard must ensure the safety of the virus development, preventing any individuals who have become wise to the Vanguard's aim from circumventing their operations.
Phase Four (Hans Kazakova) Secret
Prepare for the isolation of the Island of Manhattan and confrontation with Military and local security/law enforcement following the virus attack. Surviving members of the original Vanguard force are to be eliminated, save for select cases.
End Phase (Unknown)
Averted.
Membership (1940 - January, 2009)
| Leader | |||
| Name | Codename | Info | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kazimir Volken † | Odin | ||
| Cell Leaders | |||
| Name | Codename | Info | |
| Edmund Rasoul † | Fafnir | General Edmond Rasoul was a military leader and dictator of the nation of Madagascar, revealed to be a Vanguard operative. | |
| Ethan Holden | Fenrir | ||
| Grigori Zhukovsky † | Regin | ||
| Iago Ramirez † | Thor | ||
| Jensen Raith | Vithar | ||
| Mikhail Wagner † | Vidar | Mikhail Wagner was the son of Nazi scientist Heinrich Wagner, lead scientist of the Ubermensch Project. Before it was raided by the United Nations, he was also the leader of the organization's Berlin cell. | |
| Rico Velasquez † | Surtur | Rico Velasquez was a demolitions expert among the Vanguard operating in secret in Jersey City who ultimately turned on Kazimir Volken and the Vanguard to save the world. Hunted by Feng Daiyu, Rico was saved from the jaws of death by Feng's superiors for their own machinations only to die months later during the siege at Amundsen-Scott. | |
| Operatives | |||
| Name | Codename | Info | |
| Abdul-Aziz "King" Nwabueze † | Garm | The man known only as "King" was a Vanguard soldier working for Hans in Jersey City, operating in secret to the other Vanguard members. | |
| Amato Salucci | Tyr | ||
| Dina Murphy † | Geri | ||
| Drake Leeds † | Sigurd | Drake Leeds was a member of the Vanguard working in secret in New York City, unbeknownst to the other members of the organization. | |
| Eileen Ruskin | Munin | ||
| Elias de Luca | Loki | ||
| Dolukhanov † | Frey | Ellinka Dolukhanov was a sniper in service to ten Vanguard, operating covertly out of Jersey City. | |
| Feng Daiyu | Nidhogg | ||
| Hans Kazakova † | Heimdall | Hans Kazakova was the leader of a group of Vanguard operatives working in secret in Jersey City outside of the knowledge of other members of the Vanguard at Kazimir Volken's request. | |
| Hector Steel | Volundr | ||
| Lucrezia Bennati | Freyja | ||
| Doctor Odessa Knutson | N/A | ||
| Sasha Kozlow | Skoll | A former medical officer with the Russian military, Aleksandr "Sasha" Kozlow participated in the Second Chechen War at Grozny where committed vicious human rights violations, using his ability to torture enemy combatants and civilians alike — something that eventually drew the attention of Kazimir Volken's Vanguard. When given a choice to either join the organization or be shot in the back of the head and disposed of in a ditch, he took up the codename Skoll and agreed to use his military connections to help Volken acquire the nuclear warheads Hugin and Munin. | |
| Sierra Heart † | Freki | ||
| Sylar | N/A | ||
| Wu-Long Zhang † | Baldr | A former soldier of the People's Liberation Army and Blackwater Worldwide operative, Wu-Long was recruited to the Vanguard's monstrous cause when his abilities caused a headline-worthy event. For several years, he found good sport in directed violence, and though his loyalty to was originally bought by his sick wife's benefactors, it ultimately transcended those mercenary beginnings and several grievous losses. He died as he had lived: by the sword. | |
| Yvette Volken | Hel | Known only as "Yvette", this mysterious member of the Vanguard is one of a handful of Evolved members of the organization. This young Russian woman has been kept from much of the Vanguard's operations, however, working only with Kazimir Volken on her assignments, and answering to none. Her official level of authority within the Vanguard is unknown. | |
Important Locations
Covert Locations
- Jersey City Facility
- The Invierno