Mission Briefing - The Story So Far...

"Two times captured, three times lost, Destiny's spear again in evil's grip. Only upon capture a third time shall its story come to conclusion. The task falls to the same as before. One against many to save all! The fires of Hell shall host the battle that preludes the End of Destiny..."

March 1946: With the war over for almost a year, a group of fanatical nazis headed by the imposing Baron von Schmitt had established a base of operations in an old castle located in the Spanish countryside. Having recaptured the Spear of Destiny from a British military storage facility, they'd hoped to use the artefact to resurrect Adolf Hitler and a number of other prominent nazis killed during the war, and, in doing so, bring about a rebirth of the Third Reich itself. All had been going according to plan until the intervention of one B.J. Blazkowicz. After a gruelling battle, B.J. had managed to take on one and all to regain possession of the Spear, and after succeeding, had thrown the thing into the depths of the ocean off the Spanish coast to ensure it could never be found and fall into the wrong hands again. But B.J. Blazkowicz had not been as thorough as he'd thought! Baron von Schmitt, though defeated in combat by Blazkowicz, had outsmarted the Allied one man army. He'd been cunning enough to have a small tracking device inserted into the shaft of the Spear. And the backup plan he had in place should things not go as originally planned was in motion. The battle for the End of Destiny would soon begin... Late March 1946: A tall dark figure, silhouetted by the setting sun, stood looking over the remains of the once imposing Spanish castle. The flames had died down, but thick smoke still belched forth from the crumbling ruins that, until just the day before, had been host to Baron von Schmitt and his loyal followers. Intent on using the "Spear of Destiny" to resurrect Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich, their dream had been shattered by none other than their Allied nemesis, B. J. Blazkowicz. The lone figure stepped forward and moved slowly amongst the broken stone formations that once formed the foundations of the western side of the castle. As he turned around, closely examining the destruction before him, the sunlight brushed across his face momentarily. It was the face of Heinrich Haufmann. He'd hoped it would never come to this, but things had not gone as planned, and his time to take action had arrived. His visit to the site was to ensure there was no obvious evidence of the activities that had taken place here. Normally, local authorities would have been swarming over the site investigating the cause of the blaze. But a little stolen nazi gold directed at a few corrupt officials did wonders for keeping the authorities away for a day or so. As he explored further into the ruins, Herr Haufmann encountered smouldering corpses littered among the charred ruins. Obviously, he would have to dig a little deeper into the reserves of nazi wealth than he'd anticipated to have all this covered up. Thankfully, there would still be enough wealth left in reserve to fund the new operation. Turning to leave, he stopped momentarily. He'd heard something! A groan? Turning toward where the sound had originated, he saw an arm reaching out from a nearby pile of rubble! A survivor! Running over to help the unfortunate soul, he quickly cleared the debris from around the face of the person. The smell of charred flesh almost made him recoil! So badly burnt was the face that he could hardly recognise it. But, it was somehow vaguely familiar. Only when the person spoke did Herr Haufmann realise just who it was... The voice was that of Baron von Schmitt! "Herr Baron!" gasped Haufmann. "You're alive!!!" Baron von Schmitt's eyes stared up at Haufmann. "Haufmann!" gasped von Schmitt. "We... failed...!" Heinrich Haufmann could see that the Baron was close to death. That he'd survived this long was testament to the man's physical strength. Haufmann replied... "Herr Baron, we have not failed. That is why you had a backup plan. And I have set that plan in motion! I swear to you, I will finish this matter. I know the Spear's location, and my men are retrieving it as we speak. The Reich will be reborn!" Baron von Schmitt somehow managed a tortured smile in response to Haufmann's promise. Struggling to speak, he raised his free arm and clutched Haufmann's collar. "Haufmann," spoke von Schmitt. "You know what to do. Good luck!" Haufmann cradled the Baron's head in his hands. "Herr Baron, I will see to it that the Allied dog that did this pays with his life!" The Baron smiled his last smile, and, pausing momentarily to cough up blood, gazed at Haufmann and said, "Tell the dog that if he dares to interfere again, I'll be waiting for him in the fires of Hell! And that... is my... dying promise!!!" With that, Baron von Schmitt drew his final breath. Haufmann rose to his feet. So close had they been to success! As he looked down at the Baron's corpse, he determined to make certain the same fate did not await himself. After a brief pause, he hauled the Baron's corpse out from the ruins and over into the edge of the adjoining forest. He felt that the least he could do before departing was to give the Baron a reasonable burial. Far out, riding the ocean waves in the light of dusk, a fishing trawler made its way steadily back towards the Spanish coast. The German divers on board were happy with their evening's work. The tracking device had made their task easy... January 1947: It had been almost a year since you, B.J. Blazkowicz, had captured the Spear of Destiny from the grasps of Baron von Schmitt and his henchmen. Time had healed the wounds you'd suffered in that battle, but the memories would scar your mind forever. Twice you'd rescued the Spear from the clutches of evil. And each time you'd encountered the forces of an ungodly "otherworld". You'd survived, but only by the skin of your teeth. Lady Luck had been generous to you! Having gradually grown accustomed to the leisurely pursuits of peacetime, you'd strived to put the past behind you. You'd done your bit for King and country. The time had come for you to finally enjoy life - let others worry about the future for once. But, on opening an envelope you'd just received in the mail, you wondered if heroes would ever be allowed to rest! The letter inside the envelope was from an old British agent colleague of yours. Requesting you travel to Spain as soon as possible to meet with him, you wondered what in blazes he wanted. This fellow never seemed to be a bearer of good news, having been responsible for alerting you to the location of the Spear after it had fallen into the clutches of Baron von Schmitt. Hopefully this time he was just wanting to meet to chat about the "good old days"... And so your journey began… Spain. You hadn't returned here since your battle last year to recapture the Spear of Destiny. Returning here brought back memories you'd tried to suppress. It was a beautiful country, no doubt, but that same countryside had been home to an old Spanish castle that you'd prefer to forget. That castle lay in ruins now, so you shook off those thoughts as your train pulled into the station where your colleague had arranged to meet you. A few hours later, after some friendly banter and a hearty meal, your colleague made the reason for your visit clear. Although a large number of nazis had fled to Spain from Germany at the end of the war, not all of them had been recruited by Baron von Schmitt to help in his plans. Many of them had instead been instructed to just mingle with the general population, finding work and supporting themselves, until such time that their services were required. Initially, according to your colleague, Baron von Schmitt had planned to bring these "sleepers" back into service once his original plans of resurrecting Hitler and other prominent nazis had been successfully carried out. But, should the plan fail, which it had, then these "sleepers" would be called upon to assist with a backup plan. Your colleague had only learnt of this arrangement just recently... Anxious to determine if anything was taking place that may indicate renewed nazi activities, his investigations had uncovered some documents signed by a character named "Heinrich Haufmann". Subsequent digging uncovered further documents dating back to almost a year ago. Of particular interest was the date marked on the documents - late March of 1946, just after you had recaptured the Spear of Destiny from Baron von Schmitt's clutches. These documents referred to the failure of "the intended plan", and subsequent activation of a "Plan B". It appeared that instructions had been issued by Haufmann ordering all "loyalists" to report immediately to a particular location in a remote regional area of the Spanish countryside. Fortunately, your colleague had recently been able to pinpoint the exact location of this new "base of operations" for the nazis. The site was a substantial mansion situated on a large estate. Bought by the Germans before the war had even started, this estate was originally intended for use as a holiday retreat for high ranking members of the German hierarchy. As the war's end drew close, bribes of stolen nazi gold were made to corrupt Spanish officials to ensure the property remained under nazi control, and the site was used as a stopover point for nazis fleeing the crumbling Reich. "And so you see, B.J.," your colleague concluded, "when Baron von Schmitt's original plan to resurrect the Reich failed, Heinrich Haufmann put this fallback plan into action. All non active loyalists were ordered to report at the rural location in order to help with the new plan. All this happened just under a year ago, so they've had plenty of time to get things in motion." Your friend paused, then added "It's a pity I hadn't discovered this earlier..." But, you didn't see a huge problem. "I wouldn't worry too much," you said. "Easily dealt with. I can't see that they'd be able to achieve a great deal. Last time, they had the Spear of Destiny in their possession. That provided more than just a psychological advantage, let me assure you!" Your colleague frowned. "I'm afraid I have some bad news, B.J. From what I discovered from a source last week, they DO have the Spear..." A sense of disbelief engulfed you. Surely they couldn't have the Spear of Destiny! You'd disposed of it yourself; it was at the bottom of the ocean, and finding it would have been harder than finding a needle in a dozen haystacks! But, after your colleague informed you of his suspicion that Baron von Schmitt had apparently inserted some kind of tracking device in the shaft of the Spear, you felt like kicking yourself. How could you have been so stupid?!! You should have destroyed the Spear, not hidden the thing! It seemed that, despite your having defeated Baron von Schmitt in battle, he'd been one step ahead of you all along. And now, because of your oversight, you found yourself in the same situation as just over a year ago. The Allies, as before, wouldn't be interested in helping. They were now too preoccupied with their former Soviet "comrades". Besides, they'd never considered the stories surrounding the Spear of Destiny to be any more than superstitious nonsense. Once again, it would be up to you, B.J. Blazkowicz, to set things right. Looking your colleague in the eye with a steely gaze, you commented "Looks like B.J. Blazkowicz has a job to do..." Your colleague nodded in agreement. "I'll take you to the outskirts of the mansion's estate" he said. "From there, you'll be on your own. Remember, the estate is huge, and no doubt well guarded. But I have faith you'll find a way in." And so you found yourself at the edge of the property now acting as home to the nazis activities. Light snow fell gently to the icy ground as you felt a chill embrace your body. But you knew the chill you felt was not due to the cold... This would be the third time you'd embarked on a mission to capture the Spear of Destiny from the nazis. You'd faced the Angel of Death. You'd faced Hitler's ghost. And now you feared you'd face Hell itself. Gritting your teeth, you unsheathe your knife, and make your way slowly along the estate's perimeter looking for an easy access point. Destiny awaited...

- Nostradamus: The Lost Quatrains