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B-Movie plot summary:
The Cybele Empire has been at war with the Grells for several generations. The war has pervaded their culture at all levels.
Victory, above, is a low-ranking member of the nobility. She is technically, if not realistically, an heir to the throne of Cybele. But rather than wait for the few hundred people between her and the big chair to die, she’s joined the Fleet. A good war record would guarantee advancement, possibly even to governor, warden or seneschal. Her assignment to captain a scout ship is the Fleet equivalent of a tour in the mail room.
Ace is from the other end of the social spectrum, born to serfdom, raised to obedience and drafted to service. She’s the scout ship’s technical complement. In Fleet terms, she’s like furniture with the ability to perform interesting tasks of repair and operation.
Triumph is a celebrated veteran of the Grell conflict, assigned as the tactical specialist to the scout ship. Her social status is that of a Fleet Professional, one of the few on Cybele that one can’t be born to. It denotes the successful accomplishment of a wide range of missions and duties. Her assignment to a small patrol craft is more of a rest tour between close combat duties.
The scout craft, named merely SC-34261, was part of a Fleet exercise to test the Grell perimeter near a colony world.
They encountered a physicsbabble anomaly, leading to a massive (and random) spatial displacement and a near-crash landing on Earth. Both engine and communications of the ship are damaged by loss of the technobabble. No one knows where they are. Rescue, resupply and reinforcements are impossible.
The immediate plan was to conquer the planet, then get the Earthers to fix the spaceship so they could contact Cybele for a garrison force.
The first human they encountered, though, turned out to be a giant. Triumph’s attack got a bag of groceries dropped on her. While she was dazed and bruised, Tony swept her up into a bag. Victory and Ace’s attempt to rescue got them individual bags.
Tony is a single male. His unspecified job allows him an inordinate amout of time at home, with plenty of unmotivated entrances to and exits from the immediate area of the Cybelian invaders.
He can’t decide what to do with his prisoners so he does nothing. Nothing official or permanent, anyway.
He knows their intended goal is the subjugation of the Earth so he can’t let them run free. He also knows that the government would do just about anything to get the technology, if they only knew about it. As he doesn’t really trust the current government, he won’t turn them over to any authorities. They're his secret.
The strip begins shortly after the movie credits roll. The Cybelians are restricted to the den in Tony’s basement with TV and limited internet access. In the storeroom are boxes of Tony and his sister’s GI Joe and Barbie toys for furniture. Their suits and some food supplies are all he’s left them from their ship, which he has hidden someplace.
Victory tries to convince Tony to take her to his leader. Triumph tries to escape or at least get access to the scout ship. Ace is…well, Ace is actually treated better here than any place she’s ever been.
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