"God, this is really embarrassing to admit, but my first impression of Armstrong was that he was, ahem, this really cute Silver Avenger. I was in high school when he was chosen to be an Avenger. I remember we all had the Avenger team poster in our rooms."

What was your reaction when you realized that the VF-2 Commander was former Silver Avenger Kevin Armstrong?  

" When the Golden Avenger trounced VF-2's commander I was ecstatic. I have no love for VIPER - what with what they had done to my father and all - and I was busy whacking a couple of VIPER agents on the head when the whole incident took place at Berkley Stadium. But then the helmet came off and I stared at the face of Kevin Armstrong and all I could think was - Pulitzer Prize! I couldn't believe it and I knew the public was going to be as shocked as I was.

"It was at that moment that I knew I was going to have to get an interview with Armstrong. It was the story of a lifetime! I mean how did he go from being this dedicated PRIMUS Silver Avenger to the commander of a VIPER team? There had to be a really good reason. Something had happened and I was going to find out what that something was."

How did you react to seeing Kevin Armstrong and Darin Falswell escape from  Stronghold on CNN?  

"I was there in person when the whole thing happened and let me tell you, I was pissed! I mean, here I was, giving Armstrong a chance to tell his side of the story. There were people out their already calling for the death penalty. I knew there had to be a reason for his defection and I wanted to give him the chance to share that reason with the world.

"I was a little suspicious when Jim - my regular cameraman - called in sick. But to be honest, I never suspected that his replacement was Darin Falswell. But then when he hit me with that entangle on live television. Well, I just lost it. No one walks out in the middle of an interview. Hell, I didn't even get the chance to ask my first question! I was infuriated. It didn't help that I was the butt of every media joke for the next 6 months. And then to see him practically waltz out of what was supposed to be a maximum security facility. Sheesh! But I swore that I'd finish that interview. "

How did you go about tracking Armstrong down?  When did you see him next?  

"I didn't track Armstrong down. He found me. Shortly after the whole interview mess I quit my job at CNN to go freelance. My first job was a series of interviews with a bunch of superheroes. One of those paranormals turned out to be Armstrong in disguise. I don't know why he did it, maybe he was feeling a little suicidal. The Golden Avenger, Orion and Olympian were right in the same room! Here he was talking about how you couldn't trust PRIMUS and sometimes to do the right thing you had to step on people's toes. After the interview I wanted to talk to him about some of the accusations he had made. I was interested in investigating them. He challenged me to investigate them and suggested that I wouldn't be able to do it. That got my hackles up. Then he slips me this piece of paper and rides off into the sunset. I look down at it and it says, "This interview is now over." Well then I pieced it all together. Which just made me even more mad."

"The next time I saw him, well, things had changed a lot. By then I had started investigating PRIMUS and had uncovered some pretty bad things. I won't go into it here, but let me just say that what I found out made me disgusted with those who had been running things in Washington. I mean to know that they would even do these atrocities - it was unbelievable. Due to something I had overheard, I had a good idea of where Armstrong was hiding. But by then I understood at least why he had faked his death. I don't think I've ever really understood why he went to VIPER. BUT I know why he left PRIMUS. "

"I was torn. I mean I knew Armstrong was wanted. But I also knew that because of what he had uncovered, there would be those in PRIMUS who would rather see him dead. I didn't think he would get a fair trial. I didn't think the truth would come out. By then I had been in contact with someone I loved and trusted with my life and I felt that exposing Armstrong would be betraying that person as well. Both Armstrong and this person were members of the WIld Geese and I just couldn't do it. But before I could really do anything, Orion and Olympian took matters into their own hands."

What did you think when you saw that Armstrong and his wife and daughter had been captured by PRIMUS and your former teammates?

"I was just sick. I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. I knew it was my fault. While I didn't tell Orion and Olympian what I knew - I had spoken to a mutual acquaintance trying to sort out what I should do. I knew that acquaintance had betrayed my trust and told Olympian and Orion. It was my fault. I was so worried about Moira Rennie Armstrong and Ellen Rennie. I knew they were in danger. I wasn't sure that the trustworthy and good people in PRIMUS would be able to stop the black plague of corruption that had seeped into the organization. I was afraid that a certain faction in PRIMUS would use Moira and Ellen to get to Kevin. Besides, Moira had never done anything wrong. It was an abridgement of her civil liberties to keep her locked up with no charges. And to take her child away from her. That was the worst. Do you know that they wouldn't even release Ellen to Moira's family? They said it was for the child's protection. Since when is it the child's best interest to be torn away from her mother and locked up with people she doesn't even know!"

How did you feel when the Serpent Syndicate allegedly captured Moira Rennie Armstrong and Ellen Rennie from PRIMUS?   When did you find out otherwise?  

"I didn't hear about this until much later. Before I could do anything, I was captured by VIPER agents and somehow transported to an alternate dimension. No, I'm not making this up. It's a long story. But by the time I had gotten back, Moira and Ellen had been taken out of PRIMUS' facility. I was immediately told that she had not been kidnapped by the Serpent Syndicate but instead had been rescued by the Wild Geese.

"I was relieved to hear it. I know it's hard for people in the public to understand this, but if you have met Moira you'll know. She's the most upstanding individual. She'd never do anything wrong. To be just thrown under lock and key with no trial, no representation, not even bail. It was completely wrong. And to take away her child, that was the last straw. I know Orion and Olympian. They are good people. The only thing I can figure is they just didn't know what was going on with Moira and her child."

What are your plans now that Armstrong is again at large?   

"Hopefully, now that he, Moira and Ellen are now safe, I can sit back and relax. Getting him out of that Orbital Stronghold facility was a pain in the butt.

"Eventually, I want to deliver the proof of the terrible things that some in PRIMUS have done to people who can take action. It's really quite sad. There are an awful lot of good people in PRIMUS, like the Golden Avenger and Stephen Hawkins. But a few corrupt people in positions of power are doing terrible things. Things that need to be stopped. I think the American public needs to know about this so that they can take action."

The character of Kevin Armstrong was created by Scott Bennie for the VIPER Sourcebook, published by ICE in 1993, and Hero Games retains the rights to said character. The version of Kevin Armstrong which was utilized in my game and in these (and other) pages was adapted by Shelley Chrystal Mactyre.  The blue image of Armstrong comes from the VIPER book and was modified by SCM; the Wild Geese image of Armstrong is copyright 1995 by Dale McKee. Do not use any of the resources contained in these pages for anything other than private use, thanks.