Download Blues

"Hello, yourself," Jake said, staring at an elaborate control center, most of which appeared to have been seriously remodeled after the plant had been abandoned. "Care showing yourself?"
"Over here," the voice called. Jake turned.
He was flanked by two particularly massive slugg troopers, fully armed and ready. Not that he needed them. Jake could feel the power the figure emanated. "Who are you?" he asked. "Are you... are you... Cyrebrax?"
The figure chuckled softly. "You flatter me," he said in a gin-and-whisky voice. He then stepped forward, out of the shadows. Jake could see the glint of steel plating mixed with black leather on him. His skin was mongoloid in color, but it was impossible to tell which country of origin because his eyes were covered with pitch-black sunglasses. There was something immediately tragic and dangerous about him.
"I am *not* Cyrebrax," he said. "No more than *you* are. You may call me ...Beowulf."

Episodes: 3 (January 1990)

Major Characters:

Jake Hawthorne, the Annihilator
Beowulf
HAL

Jake Hawthorne, the Annihilator, travels to a nuclear plant in North Dakota, believing he can gain some clues as to the identity of Cyrebrax from whatever has taken over the computer system that runs the plant. What, or who, he finds is Beowulf, one of Cyrebrax's enforcers and a cyborg like Jake. Will Jake learn more about Cyrebrax, or will he be too busy trying to avoid getting cleaved into luncheon meat?

Gary says: "At the time this was written, all that existed was the two Annihilator episodes written by Evan Pongress and a short file on the characters that Evan had written and given to Echo, who in turn gave it to me. I tried to write it semi-funny/semi-serious, and it didn't really fly. Soon after, Evan started writing Wings of the Archangel, and the rest was history. Download Blues' only claim to fame is that it is where both HAL and Beowulf first appeared."

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