DRAGONSBANE, A SHADOWRUN PBEM

MEETING JOHNSON - (Wildcat bar, Seattle, 16 August 2057)

     Everyone was shocked a week ago by Dunklezhan's assassination, broadcast live on worldwide trid. These last few days, people have been expecting the great blue beast to return, alas, it never happened, now though, the Shadow work is starting to swell, people want to claim their inheritance--without the taxes and personal risk, some want to claim the more mysterious parts of it, and others just want to grab something that isn't theirs.  It will be a long time before the easier runs start reaching the shadows though, and now, a simple one should do.

     You have been called to a bar known as the Wildcat for a meet with a Johnson. Apparently there is some high ranking officer that a certain Corp wants removed from the UCAS army. Simple extraction, no problem, right?

     Slowly the group assembles, everyone arriving 15 minutes to an hour early, to get a look at the group and each other...

     A lone figure, a human male, sits at the bar quietly nursing a drink.  His eyes glance at the mirror behind the bar as newcomers enter the Wildcat. The man is lightly tanned, tall and wiry.  His clothes are as black as his short hair and his body bulked out by a heavy trenchcoat. "Name's Drake" the man says with a courteous nod of the head.

    Capra casually plunks himself down on a free stool near Drake, adjust his indigo leather jacket (making sure the skeletal Goat's head patch on his breast is free of dust) and finally ruffles his chestnut hair into a semblance of order. The athletic young man salutes those already present with a tilt of the head, a good-natured twinkle in his brown eyes. "Hello, Capra Hibex here, how do you do, nice to meet you, how's the family." Not waiting for an answer he raises a fingerless glove matched to his jacket and flags down a waiter. "A root beer, please." He then settles down to wait, occasionally tilting his head to and fro, his bright eyes flitting about, multiple jacks twinkling behind his ear.

    As Capra sits in the bar waiting for the Johnson to show, a man in his early thirties walks in. He's wearing a set of badly faded jeans and a bulky leather jacket. His dirty blonde hair is trimmed short and he has a gotee that looks more like five-day old beard stubble. Standing around 6ft in height he doesn't exactly appear imposing but you're still not sure that you'd want to find yourself on his bad side in the middle of a dark alley. You figure to most people he would be the kind of person that you'd seen in a crowd and forget the millisecond he passed you by. But to your trained eye there's something about him that puts you on edge. Nothing that would be an obvious threat of course just something about the way he moves. He doesn't walk as would most people, but more accurately flows into the bar. Almost like liquid in motion, with every move calculated a thousand years in advance and executed with inhuman perfection.

    As he enters, you see him scan the bar. As his eyes settle on your little group they stop. He considers for a moment and then begins moving in your direction. When he arrives at your table he once again glances around at the assembled members then occupies a seat. With one final look around the room he settles his eyes on the front door and begins to wait : Meet Sidewinder.

     Bruno walks over from the bar with a pitcher of beer in his hand. He is huge, a Minotaur of legend, large  black horns with silver caps. His eyes reflect in the poor light, an alien mix of cyber and beast. He wears a light grey duster which goes to his ankles, it is open at the front revealing a black leather vest, faded blue jeans and spiked jackboots. No weaponry is seen but hell ! does a monolith like this need weapons to exist ? He flops onto the bench seat and it groans. He stares out at the assembled group, projecting a chill demeanour. "Bruno as requested" is grunted.

     The door of the bar opens and through the smoky air an enormous troll walks in. Around 9 feet tall, not including the horn, his thick, wide frame is imposing even to other trolls. His black leather jacket is almost totally covered in patches. On one arm is a UCAS Special Forces patch, on the back is Lone Star, and still another is Aztechnology Security among others. His blue jeans and dark green, collarless shirt must be at least XXXXXL. His weightlifters physique is almost comical...if he weren't so big. His torso is long and V-shaped, with long arms hanging down the side. His legs, though, are short with his knees at about the same level as his hands. The circumference of his arms is probably the same as the sewer line outside. Taking a toothpick out of his mouth, he spies the appropriate table and heads over. Nodding to the various professionals around the table he takes a seat. Up close his dark skin is obviously tough and warty. His teeth, by contrast, are white and one of his tusks has a gold ring piercing it. His eyes are completely black. No iris, no whites, no pupil. Just black. Obviously
cyber. The only other very obvious cyberware is the datajack at his temple, but that is covered by a small, plastic plug to keep it free of dust. As he takes a seat at the table he slowly reaches into his jacket and pulls out a small device that he puts in the center of the table. Flicking a switch on the side produces a low staticy sound which should thwart any attempt at eavesdropping. 

    Merlin enters the room just a few minutes before the Johnson, and looks around at everyone, his eyes seeming surprisingly sharp and penetrating. He is dressed in a blue silken shirt and a pair of black pants. He wears an long overcoat, died a deep purple and dotted with the twinkling light and gold of the night sky, which could easily conceal small weapons, but his posture indicates he is unarmed but confident.

     "Hey, we match !" Exclaims Capra. "Though yours is more flashy... Who's your tailor, stranger ?"

     There is no time to talk though. 10 minutes before the meet, a stunning amerind woman, with long black hair, tied back into a loose ponytail at the nape of her neck walks in. A glance reveals elven heritage, especially as you note her height, easily 6"2' or 6"3, She wears a simple, conservative black dress, with a black overcoat over that. She moves gracefully, too gracefully to be all meat. She takes a seat at the head of the table, and passes out folders to everyone.  

     "Her name, is Kitty Spirit. She's one of the Army's top strategists and best hand to hand fighters, She teaches many courses in melee combat, and is much stronger than she looks. She is magicly active, perhaps a physical adept, though not much is known about this. She wants to come to us. It's your job to get her out. She's so valuable to them, she's not allowed to leave a small area of the compound." She says, as you look over the file, you come over a picture of a woman with short black hair. There is a Griffin at her side, sitting obediantly, like a well trained dog. She's wearing very loose, almost gothic style black robes, flowing around her. She has sky blue eyes and a very pale completion. In one picture, she's grinning broadly, too broadly, like maybe she's slotted one to many chips. "You people were selected because of your experience and reliability, we must have her, alive, and can't risk this mission failing. I am authorized to offer you 50K. Half in advance, of course, half upon delivery which is to be no more than two weeks from now." She looks around to see if anyone has any questions....

    Sidewinder considers the photos and speaks up in a clear but quiet voice, "You're certainly going to a lot of trouble to get yourself a Hand-to-Hand instructor. Even a masterful tactician is limited in their use, unless of course you're planning to go to war." Winder pauses to pick up the photo with the Griffin and stares at it.

     "As I said, she is well more than just an instructor, that is merely one of her many talents, which is why we want her." She looks around at the rest of the group, waiting for any more questions...

     Capra gestures to the many... people assembled around the table. "Expecting some sort of resistance are you ?" He smiles brightly. "I wouldn't want one of the beautiful people such as yourself to think I'm overly lazy, but would you happen to know something... concrete on our future playmates and their playpen ? or is that also included in this fine document ?" He thumps the file in front of him.

     "She is housed in Fort Howard, just outside of town. The base itself is huge. she is in a maximum secured section that is marked on that document. She is limited to a training room, quarters, and a gym unsupervised. Supervised she may roam a good deal of the compound, inside, she is not allowed outside at all. She is a virtual prisoner in there..."

    "You must be more clear in your statements, lady." Merlin says, "50K each would be sufficient. Enough that little negotation would be required, though I would expect ammo and expenses to be covered, but 50K for the group isn't sufficient when devided this many ways.  5000¥ is not sufficient to convince me I should risk my life going against the UCAS millitary.  Then there are the matters of information we shall need to complete this run, and how much of it you can provide.  Before we take serious action, we shall need to know where she is, more details on the security that is on her, and how willing she is.  I will not sell a woman into servitude, but if she wishes to come to you, then we must know who we should say sent us when we approach her."  Merlins voice is unusual.  It is calm and controlled.  His grammar and pronunciation are formal, like one who has learned the language long after childhood, and it has a slightly harsh tone and an accent that can not easily be connected to any prominent country or region.

     "Yeah, yeah... Thought I already asked most of that, but it sounds better when you say it." Capra smiles in Merlin's general direction.

     "Everyone else seemed to understand it was 50K each, and that is more than sufficient to cover any weapons and supplies you should need. I've given you details on where she is and her security if you care to read the file. She wishes to come, but the tight security keeps her from communicating more than that to us, as a result, we can't arrange a callsign or code."

    "When negotiating, I have learned that what one seems to understand is meaningless, even what was meant can be meaningless under certain circumstances.  It is the precise meaning of the words that is important. In any event, I will concede that 50K will be sufficient and should cover equipment provided there is nothing horribly unexpected... I do not ask for a callsign, though one would be nice, but if she wishes to come, she should know where she is coming too, and her destination will be sufficient to identify us to her, unless of course it is that she wishes to be anywhere but where she is now..." With that, Merlin, skims over the dossier he was given.

     Looking up from the photo, Winder continues as if no one had talked. "Fifty grand you say." a small smirk crosses his face and immediatly vanishes "Fair enough, you've got yourself a runner."

     Bruno takes a short sniff through his nose <sniff>. He asks the obvious questions of "when do you want her by, is there a penalty for damaged goods, and is there a bonus for an early completion ?"

     "Get her in the next week, there's an extra 15K in it for you, the absolute limit, 2 weeks from today. Don't worry about damaged goods, but don't even think of bringing us a corpse."

     The very tall elf in the corner speaks up, his voice soft and whispery. "Sounds interesting, Ms. Johnson. Interesting and difficult. What are your views on collateral damage?" he asks, his brilliant blue eyes glittering. He runs a hand through his shining silver-gold hair and smiles at the woman, matching her beauty with his perfect good looks. "With security as tight as you say it is, for some reason I doubt this mission will be completely bloodless." Oddly enough, the prospect doesn't seem to displease him at all. "Now I have a couple of questions of my own. Firstly, of the three areas she has unsupervised access to, which is closest to an exterior wall, or to the main gate? Secondly, what is the area closest to a wall or the main gate that she can visit when supervised? Finally, what is the most secluded area she can reach, supervised or unsupervised?" The elf glances around the room. "By secluded, I mean hidden from official view. For those of you who aren't so quick on the uptake." His smile became almost unbearably bright. "By the way, I'm Haze. Pleased to meet you."

     "Collateral damage is part of the biz, thats the risk you run in this line of work, and if you're here, we feel your good enough to avoid it. She cannot reach any secluded area. All of them have guards and cameras on them at all times." And she's smack in the middle of the base. There is nowhere 'closest'."

     Haze shrugged. "Ah well, I had to ask. Oh, and does that mean you don't mind if we blow up the base?" he asked, winking. "As I see it, we have three options when snatching her. First, is slow and sneaky. We try to get into the base as absolutely quietly as possible. We meet Spirit in her room or another area where she is unsupervised. That should give her a bit of time to get ready." He shrugs. "Sounds boring, though. The second option is my favourite - shock tactics. Hit 'em hard and fast. We wait outside and as soon as she's as close to the outside as she can get we swoop in and grab her, then run as fast as we can. I can just see it now...big guns blazing everywhere, spells popping off left and right..." Haze's eyes glaze over for a moment as a beatific smile comes across his face. Then he shakes his head. "Anyway, the third is a bit of a compromise. Get her and her guards into an area where no one else can see them, then take the guards down and head out as fast as we can."

     Haze scratched his chin. "For the last two we'd need to be able to get a message to her. She'd have to be in a specific place at a specific time and she'd have to have anything she wants to bring on her. We don't need to contact her for the first option, but it would still help." He paused thoughtfully. "Tell me, what's astral security like there? If I can get in quietly and manifest my astral form without being spotted that would make getting messages to her and coordinating the extraction infinitely easier."

     Bruno looks hard at the Johnson to assess her one more time and then grunts "Sure 50K each, I am in." After a pause, he adds. "Do we get a Decker and rigger support? or do we have to hire them ourselves? Have you commissioned anyone else with this job? Do you have a special phrase to tell the "Kitty" we are to help her? Where is this army encampment? is it fully detailed in the folder? I assume you have left a telecom number, for further questions if warranted."

     Capra looks at the hulking minotaur, his face scrunched-up in a puzzled expression. "If you don't mind my saying so - I certainly wouldn't want to anger someone with your... credentials but - is there some reason you blurt out all those questions in one go ? Oxygen economy ?... Some sort of memory clearance procedure ?" He raises a questioning eyebrow.

     Bruno turns his head slightly, staring at Capra "Hold yer tongue son." is grunted, "You don't want me angry, anywhere near yer, cause I play with my food." Bruno then returns his attention to the Johnson.

    "Not quite as informative as I had hoped... Oh well." He makes a 'never mind' gesture and follows Bruno's example.

      Drake smiles as he listens to Haze's options. Drake puts his open folder back on the table, and knocking back his drink says : "I see there aren't any reconaissance maps of Fort Howard in this dossier - guess that's something we will have to scope out ourselves.  As the target, Kitty Spirit, is limited to a small area of the compound we at least don't have to suss out her schedule.  To get her out we might want to use a combination of Haze's tactics - a heavy hitting diversion on one side of the camp, whilst we carry out a quite extraction from the other side. Either way I'm in, and since that bonus sounds mighty tasty I suggest that the sooner we scope out the target site the better."  

     Haze smiles at Drake. "Thank you for that vote of confidence," he says in his soft, whispery voice. Obviously an elf, Haze is a huge specimen, easily topping seven feet in height. He is built slightly more solidly than the average elf. His hair is light, a metallic silver-gold in colour. It flows down to his shoulders in silky waves. His eyes are a deep, sapphire blue. His face is slim and virtually perfect, not a blemish or imperfection to be seen - perfectly symmetrical and very handsome, almost beautiful in a fashion. He is clad in an ensemble of blue and gold. His shimmering golden pants are baggy and hang around him in large folds. His azure shirt is tight and high-collared, showing off an impressively muscular chest. Over the shirt he wears a long, flowing deep blue coat, set off by wide, golden shoulder plates.

     "Anyone able to or know of anyone able to hack a UCAS system?" Drake puts his open folder back on the table, and knocks back his drink.

     "Not I." Says Capra waving his hand in denial. "I think we're boring the lady with down to earth details anyway... The last few tidbits of any importance that I can see are the location of the drop... and the pretty lady's com code." He looks to the Johnson but is interrupted by the chime of a voice comming from everywhere around them.

     "I can hack those systems quite well thank you." A telecom screen brightens, revealing a metalic woman in the matrix.

     Haze raises an eyebrow in surprise, then smiles and bows his head to the telecom screen. "May I introduce myself, dear lady? My name is Haze and I am quite pleased to meet you. And you are...?"

    "This is Nightshade, she'll be your decker." Johnson says, gesturing to the now live telecom unit. "As for the rigger, hire one yourself if you wish, I was under the impression that your combined skills should be able to drive a van."

    "Being able to do something and being able to do something well are very different things.  One requires anyone given training, the other requires an artist.  But I do consent we shall be able to aquire one if needed." Replies Merlin.

     "I'm also your rescue party apparently." Says nightshade to Haze. "If your planning a frontal assault at least. I scoped this place out, major security. Arrested if you get within 60 feet of the fence! Inside its worse. Its got a drekload of magic to. That little lady must mean a lot to them to put her there...."

     Haze smiles. "You should have more confidence in me, my dear. But your point is taken. I suppose a quiet operation would be more appropriate in this situation." Scratching at his chin again, he comments, "A diversion might be a good idea - but again we have two options. This is a military base, remember? They're hardly likely to panic if it's just four or five people with small arms attacking. But still, that's the first option. Who knows? It may work. At the very least, it'll draw off some troops - I doubt that Spirit's guards will leave her, however. The second option gets a little nastier - that's a serious diversion. I'm talking mortars, missiles, rockets, assault cannons and maybe some vehicles as well. That ought to be enough to panic anyone, but do we really want to bring that much attention down on us?" He glances at Johnson. "For some reason, I don't think the second option would appeal to you, my dear." He sighs and leans forward. "Still, there's a problem with any kind of diversion. It virtually makes a quiet extraction impossible. Think about it - as soon as the guns start going off, what's the base going to do? It's going to go into high alert, don't you think? Spirit will get hustled back into her rooms at the very least and there will be a security clampdown on all sections, most likely. Also, there's no chance that any security riggers or deckers are going to let any marginal contacts to the system go unchecked, so we'd have to move like the wind to pull off an quiet extraction. I'd say that if we're going to stage a diversion, we still need to go in hard and fast for the actual extraction."

    Sidewinder shakes his head in disbelief "Before we continue let me point a few things out, and please if I'm wrong on any of these points someone please correct me. First of all we were informed that the facility we're hitting is a large military base. That likely means that there will be anywhere between 300 and 500 people on the base at any given time. Now considering that this is a military facility we can probably assume that roughly 70-80% of those people have at least some degree of combat training. Of those 70-80% another 30-40% will likely be professional soldiers. Now if we look at those numbers it means that we will be outnumbered by a ratio of anywhere between 15-33 professional soldiers to each one of us. Most of them will likely be using assault rifles and wearing heavy armor. Then of course there is building security to deal with, on top of the (meta)human opposition. Anyone planning a frontal assault or intending on using any diversionary tactic that resembles one is suicidal and/or insane. And frankly I will not work with people who are either of those, let alone both... If we're intending on doing this we have to do it quietly, there is no other option. If we use a diversion it should be set up before hand and only used if we need to draw attention away from ourselves once we're inside the complex. Triggering it before we go in will simply draw attention to us and put the building on alert. Also the diversion shouldn't involve any of our group, a few packs of simple explosives with a remote detonators will be more than sufficient... If possible and it's not asking too much I'd appreciate it if one of the mage-capable members of the team could cast an improved invisibility spell on the entire extraction team before they go in. It gives them an edge and any edge they can get could be that little bit extra that keeps them alive. Other than that we need to plan our way in and our way out. The escape route should be trapped to discourage pursuit and having a few people set up as snipers couldn't hurt either. In any case, that's my opinion on our best course of action, comments, suggestions, I'm listening." says Sidewinder as he looks around the table.

    Merlin relaxed noticably when one of the team members proved he could think and was not a mindless killing machine out for blood for the sake of blood.  "I agree.  A diversion should be set up, but it should be something to call in to cover our escape if things go wrong, not a major element of the plan.  The actual strike should consist of 3 parts.  First we should survey the area from a distance without allowing them to know we are there, then we should swoop in silently and swiftly, and recover our target without giving them the time or warning for a fight, and fly out before they can strike at us as we flee.  Like an owl catching a mouse, we should be able to have what we want and be gone before the mouse's family even knows something is wrong... Further, I would volunteer myself as a mage to cast the improved invisibility spells, but be warned that if I must support that many spells, I will be incapable of doing anything else effectively.  Perhaps other more mundane means of hiding or even of disguise to hide in plain sight could be used as our primary method with the invisibility held in back up...."

      Capra looks a bit peeved. He leans over the table toward Drake and Merlin but most particularly Haze and speaks in a harsh whisper. "Where have you two been raised ? Since you failed to pick up on my previous hint, I'll have to make it crystal clear : a meet is NOT the place to discuss the run's tactics. The less the client knows about the specifics, the better - no offense Miss, it gives you deniability - and we haven't got enough data on the place to discuss it right now anyway !" He shakes his head sadly. "This can't be your first run, act like it... Ahem." Capra falls back into his chair and shakes the tension loose with a series of mild stretching exercises. "Ah, better. So what were we discussing ? Oh yes, drop location..."

     Merlin agrees. "I do admit that our dear employer is likely going to have little interest in how we accomplish the objective as long as we accomplish, so perhaps we should allow her to leave before we proceed on to strategy."

     The johnson sighs and nods. "I'm not here to help you plan, thats YOUR job, I'm here to see if you take the job, since you appear to have." She puts a credstick on the table (certified with sufficiant bands to contain 250K, notes Capra), starting to rise to leave....

     "The drop location..." Reminds Capra.

     The lady lays down a card, starting to leave.

     Capra lays his gloved palm on the card. "Thank you, Miss..." He smiles crookedly. "Would you happen to have a... handle of your own ? So I can put a name above your shrine, you understand." Drake tries not to laugh. Capra catches the motion out of the corner of his eye and his crooked smile straitens into a real one, like he's sharing a joke. It hardly flickers at the lady's answer a curt : "No."

     "Ah too bad ! You don't look like a Ms. Johnson to me...  Alright, I'll put 'Belladonna' above that shrine then. Matches with your companion, you understand." This last with a tilt of the head in Nightshade's direction.

     The newly named Belladonna leaves without speaking further and the conversation gets back on its previopus track as Drake chuckles, "Capra, I believe Haze was just sounding out some ideas whilst people decide if they are up to infiltrating a military base, and what additional information or resources they would need." Drake gestures towards the screen showing Nightshade to emphasise his point, "and now we have a decker as a result. "I can also confirm that this isn't my first run", and with a quick glance towards Bruno, "and let's hope this won't be your last".

     Capra waves his hands in an appeasing gesture. "Now, now, let's give credit where credit is due. I believe it was Bruno's 'all in one go' questions that first mentioned a decker... although you were the one that convinced lady Nightshade to pop out of her hat... I think."

      Glancing over at Capra, Haze comments, "Tell me, sir, do you think that it would be a good idea, then, to completely conceal our intentions from our employer - and then go off and create an uncomfortable degree of public scrutiny? There is plausible deniability and then there is plausible deniability. I hardly think that Ms. Johnson can distance herself from us any further merely by not knowing how we intend to approach the situation." He shakes his head. "Even in the shadows you should keep your employer informed to a certain degree. It helps to avoid... misunderstandings."

     "And here I was thinking Ms. Johnson knew her job." Capra spreads his arms, taking the world as his witness. "You also missed point two totally... unless YOU can formulate any kind of a plan from what we know now; without consulting the floor plan, guard routines, possible escape routes, available talents etc. in which case, my hat's off to you, Haze my boy, for you see all and know all." He tips an imaginary hat. "Barring that, discussing it now makes us look foolish and gun-ho in front of a pretty lady... I'd rather avoid that if I can." The lithe young man smiles and makes a dismissive gesture. "Anyway, we can argue philosophies of contact after the meet... over a nice cold beer if you want. My treat."

     Haze smiles appreciatively and bows his head. "You do it your way, sir, I'll do it mine. And I believe I will take you up on your offer. Make it an orange juice for me, though. I've never had a head for alcohol."

     Bruno goes to pick the card which still lays beneath Capra's palm and read it. Seeing the motion, Capra raises a finger. "One second please." He carefully grabs the card by a tiny corner and shows it to the Minotaur in a playfull gesture. It simply has a telecom number on it and an Email drop box. 'Prints' he mouthes. after showing the card to Bruno, Capra carefully inserts it into his soft case, making a mental note to get himself a better place for it ASAP.

     The troll leans forward and picks up his white noise generator, "Genlmin...I tink we oughta move dis bachelor party ta somewhere eltse more 'ppropriate. Le's pay de tab an' make ar way out. Whatcha all tink?" As the gravely voice stops, he slides the generator back into his jacket, pulls out a few crumpled paper nuyen and sticks them under a glass on the table. Looking up at the crew he says, "I'm Sherman. Yer idears sound good to me. I like de quiet idear. I don't tink a big stink'd be a good idear fer us, 'cause der ain't too many a us. I'm mostly muscle. I ain't too good wit' de idears. Le's go somwhere eltse where you idear guys can tink, huh?  If ain't no one eltse got a place t'go, I tink I got a good place." He looks around, waiting for confirmation or a veto. As he looks around for any suggestions as to where to go he offers, "Well. Since it looks like no one eltse is gonna volunteer, I got a place we c'n go t'do biz. I's just downtown. Called Crusher 495. I c'n get us a back room to use, if dat's awright wit' da rest a you."     

     Capra takes on an exagerated english accent "Capital idea my good man !" Back to normal, "Your place will do nicely for me... Perhaps Bruno should hang on to this in the meantime." He rolls the credstick in the minotaur's direction. "We're hardly likely to misplace HIM so we'll know we're it is at all times... What do you say, people ?"

     "Sounds cool to me." grunts Bruno "Probably have proper chairs too" and nods to the troll.

     "Agreed." Merlin said simply.

     Bruno pops the credit stick into his pocket and places the folder inside his coat, he stands, glances at the table to make sure nothing is left behind and walks for the door. "I'll follow, on me Hog"

     Haze shrugs expressively. "I can't say that I have any place better to suggest. Why don't we get moving?" 

     "By the way" Sidewinder says "I still need directions to this place."

     As everyone is concurring with his suggestion, Sherman sketches out directions from here.  Assuming Nightshade is listening to the directions Sherman turns to the vidscreen, "You know what LTG de Crush's at? It's local...4951-3584. Dat should get you dere. I'll turn on de telecom in de back room so's you can join us.  Shouldn' be too harda fin'. An' anyone whose follow me, jes' make sure y'c'n see me as we're goin'. I don' drive direct down dere. I go aroun'. Make it easier t'spy tails." 

     Haze Stands and shakes his head. "Although what you all have against going in, all guns blazing, is beyond me."

     "Nothing against it." Nightshade says. "I only got a problem with internal
ventilation."

     "Sorry about ruining the frontal assault idea, but I have a terminal allergy to flying lead. Oh, that reminds me. If anyone needs a ride I've got plenty of space left in the van." Sidewinder says with a bit of a grin.

     "Damn, boy, don't you know? Flying lead is nearly as exciting as a fast car!" Then Haze smiles. "Oh, and I won't need a lift. Think I'll fly." He pauses. "On second thoughts, that might scare the natives. Sure, I'll take that lift. After all, I was smart enough to leave my SAAB at home."

     Capra raises his hand enthusiasticly "I'll take you up on that, Winder."

     "Your van sounds safer in this unwholesome place then my normal form of
transportation, so I shall join you too if you don't mind." Merlin says.

     "Just out of curiousity (I'm a capra by the way, not a cat. <smile>), are you refering to this bar, the city or just the planet in general ?" asks Capra, mildly curious.

     "This wretched city and this cramped bar.  My preferred means of transport would indeed be safer over a hostile military base, and is quite perfect for lightly wooded areas."

     "I like the city myself." says Capra rather distractedly. "More buildings..."

     As Sherman gets up, watching everyone vacate the bar, he looks at Capra and gives a slightly confused look, "An' you talk too much. Too flashy. I dunno'f I like dat." 

     The young man in question looks somewhat downcast at this comment. "Yeah, I sometimes dislike myself... but then I remember that I am me and it goes away." The smiling Capra tags alongside Sherman, almost bouncing off the street with every step. He begins a convoluted speech where he expounds the values of talking without actually saying anything, running in unprepared and, of course, imported beer. He concludes, "... so you can basicaly ignore everything I've said and be a happier man... except for the part about imported beer, THAT is crucial to your continued survival..."

     Sherman continues on out into the street letting Capra's comeback fall off his back. Climbing into a beat up, two year old Ford Americar (with the front seat ALL the way back), he starts the car and, looking out for traffic, heads downtown with whomever in tow.

     Capra runs back to Winder's van and climbs aboard just as the doors are closing. (The 'Van' is a GMC Bulldog Stepvan he notes, Bonded Courier Version. Basically a mid-sized cargo hauler with some halfway decent armor. It seats a maximum of five people but has a good sized cargo area which could concievably hold another 4 people. Nothing too fancy but it blends in well with the landscape and isn't likely to attract attention.) He goes to sit but stops in mid-motion, a worried expression on his face. "Did someone remember to bring Nightshade's residence ?... Oh and we should stop at a 7/11 for munchies... and Haze's fruity concoction... not to mention some beer for us civilized folks as well." He plunks himself down, rubbing his hands in anticipated satisfaction.

      Stepping outside Bruno deactivates the alarm and straddles the Hog. Waiting for the rest to leave, he follows them down the street to the club. 


BRAINSTORMING - (Crusher 495, Seattle, 16 August 2057)

     After the drive downtown, taking several turns and heading in all cardinal directions to spot or throw off any tails, Sherman pull up to the parking lot on the side of Crusher 495.  Pulling himself free of the car he heads inside typing something into a pocket secretary. Sherman waits just inside the door until everyone comes in. 

     Once there, Bruno reactivates the Hog's antitheft devices, and follows Sherman into the club. Drake parks his rapier in the garage and sets the anti-tamper alarms. He then followes the hulking forms of Bruno and Sherman into the bar.

     About fifteen minutes later the GMC stepvan pulls into the parking lot. Sidewinder steps out of the driver's door mumbling something about alcoholic orangejuice, Stuffer Shack munchies and indigestion. He then reaches inside his jacket and pulls out a small container of antacid tablets. He opens the lid, looks in, shakes it around a little to make sure there's still something in it then closes it up and puts it back in his jacket. He approches the door where Sherman is waiting, turns to him and says "Sorry, Capra just couldn't be dissuaded." As if on cue, Capra steps out of the van carrying a case of expensive imported beer, a bottle of real orange juice and a couple of bags bearing the Stuffer Shack logo. Sidewinder turns to Sherman after glancing back at Capra and gives him a helpless shrug before continuing into the bar.

    Capra enters after him, arguing his case to Sidewinder's back all the while. "Essential for survival I tell you ! You haven't lived till you tasted this ambrosia, Winder my man. Bartles and James themselves, demigods of drunken stupor everywhere, stand on their pink cloud, up there, and sip this stuff..." 

     When everyone is in, Sherman points them toward the back of the bar, "You guys go back dere. Dere's a hallway back dere. Just wait in de hall until I come'n get ya. I'll be dere in jes' a nano." Walking up to the bar Sherman flashes a big toothy grin at the bartender.  He leans on the bar and starts talking amiably to the bartender. After a while Sherman and the bartender look over at the rest of the group. The bartender nods and reaches under the bar quickly. Sherman smiles, pats the guy on the shoulder and puts a handful of something on the bar which quickly disappears in the bartenders hands. Sherman walks over to the group, "Okay guys, it's all chill.  Le's go." He heads on down the hallway and up a set of stairs. At the top of the stairs is another hallway with a few doors leading to rooms. Sherman heads into the second door on the left which leads to a large room with a couch, card table with five or six chairs, two really big barcaloungers and a telecom unit against the wall. Sherman once again pull out his white noise generator and turns it on, placing it on the table, "We should be chill here. De guy who owns dis place is a good chummer. We won't get boddered. Now...le's get down t'biz." He plops down in one of the barcaloungers (obviously reinforced for someone his size), pulls out his pocket secretary ready to take notes, and turns on the telecom : Nightshade is already there and waiting. "I thought you'd never come."

     Drake sits quietly to one side, supping a beer, and listened to the team's concerns and plans.

     Capra throws his bagage on the card table, snatching a beer in the proccess. "Help yourselves uh... what is the consacrated term again ? Ah yes ! Chummers." He grabs a chair and immediatly proceeds to balance himself on two legs... with amazing success actually.

     Sidewinder drops himself down into one of the chairs around the card table and helps himself to one of Capra's expensive import beers. He also pulls out a pocket secretary and sets it down on the table. He then waits for the rest of the group to settle in.

     Haze slumps into one of the lounges, taking up most of the room by himself, apparently oblivious to anyone else's seating needs. "Well, you already know my thoughts on the matter. Though why you don't want to take them head on is beyond me." Once again he shakes his head. "Ah well, I suppose I'm outvoted on the matter. I'd have to agree that a full-out diversion would best be saved for getting us out. However," he pauses, stroking his chin. "Perhaps a smaller diversion may be somewhat appropriate. Say, a drunken troll, perhaps?" He throws a quick grin in Sherman's direction. "Or at least the illusion of one? Something small and not likely to set off a big alert at the fort, but enought to distract the guards. On the other hand, if our dear Nightshade is agreeable, perhaps some false alarms in the sensor systems throughout the night before we make our move might make the guards reluctant to check out what they believe to be false alarms when we do break in. Just a precaution, of course. I'm sure that all of you are completely professional sneaks. Unlike myself." Haze looks around with a languid smile. "I'd appreciate further input, my friends."

     "Well, Perhaps we should test the waters of the talent pool before we plunge into the nitty-gritty stuff ?" Capra waves his left arm a bit to regain a temporarily compromised equilibrium. "I myself am your trusty 'unusual entry' vehicle. Want a fence jumped, a building climbed, a pipe crawled ? I'm your bot... My Kung fu (Hapkido actually) is not that bad either. I still can't master that damnable Flower of Death move, but I'm getting there... No broken bones the last time !"

     Haze shrugs. "Fair enough. I'm not bad with a combat spell or a spirit - and I love guns, especially my Vindicator." He sighs happily at the thought. "Oh - and I'm also somewhat handy in a pinch."

     "Uhu, uhu... Are you apt to start dancing in the streets or is a good book more your style ?" asks Capra. There is a short silence. "Well ? Seems a simple enough question  : are you hermeticly sealed or not ?"

     Haze favours Capra with a gimlet eye. "I don't see where that's any of your business, my friend. You know, I get the feeling that your curiousity may be even more of a curse than my love of adrenaline." Rubbing his chin, he sighed. "Let me put it this way. If I summoned elementals, I would have said elementals, wouldn't I ?" He shakes his head and mutters quietly to himself, evidently bemoaning the stupidity of the magically ignorant.

    "Not really. Sir high-faluting of the many thesis (I forget his name) said anything living in the astral is a spirit... Wether nature, elemental or off running on its own. And so says my magic ID soft. So there..." Capra nods his head decisively, evidently bemoaning the stupidity of the magically ignorant.

     Haze sighs. "You don't talk to many mages, do you? Maybe it says that in your theory books, but that's not magic. An elemental is an elemental. A spirit is a spirit. They're both astral beings, yes, but they aren't the same."

     "A banana is not an orange yet both are fruits... Whoa ! Did I say that ? Getting a bit off track here, I believe. Let's get back to the matter at hand." Capra turns away from haze and concentrates on whoever is speaking at the moment.

     Bruno lounging in a real chair drinking one of the imported beers puts the beer down and speaks. "I have certain skills which are primarily for violence. I do have special forces training and can be quiet if needed... If you need a bullet or grenade put somewhere I can probably do it... As for surveillance skills I have little to help, except active watching from a distance." Bruno slurps more beer.

     Capra brings his chair down. "Which brings up the gray cat in the night issue : Who among us CAN'T see in the dark." He taps his right eye, clearly showing that it's been cybered. "Finest money can buy... short of a zombie factory of course."

     Sherman sits the barcalounger up from its reclining position and leans forward on his knees.  Poking a thumb into his chest he says, "I'm de tank. I shrug de lead some joka's spittin' at me, den I squish his head when I get t'im.  My sifu says I'm pretty quiet and limburger? Libner? Limber? Yeah...limber. He says I'm limber for my size.  My sifu is my Kung Fu teacher.  I used t'be in de UCAS Army, also, so I can spit lead myself real good." He then holds up his right hand and pulls the sleeve of his leather jacket back and says with a chuckle, "I've also got a few tricks up my sleeve, hehehe, I love dat one." He proceeds to
remove a couple of his fingertips revealing a monowire and what looks to be a bunch of sereted needles (if you're close enough, they're lockpicks).  "Dis here's my cyberhand, and I got anudder I c'n put on dere if I need it."  Replacing his fingertips and rolling down his sleeve he clears his throat and grabs his pocket computer, "Okay...on de way over here I called one'a my chummers I know in de army. I ask 'im about de Kitty lady, and anyting about where de Johnson tol' us she is. He said dat anyting in dat parta de base is double classified. He knows some folks and he can't get nuttn'.  I also ask 'im if he seen aour Johnson, but he said no. I ask 'im 'cause de Johnson mighta been some udder faction in de army tryin' ta get an upper hand in supm'." He taps on his pocket secretary some more, "Umm...I guess dat's all I got fer now, but dat's only one'a my chummers. I c'n still ask aroun'. Anyone eltse ?" He starts to lean back in his chair but suddenly reconsiders, "I also got de Super Deluxe CyberEye package, and just de Deluxe CyberEar package.  I also got a Oflct...Olific...I got a Nose Booster too, so's I c'n pretty much hear, see and smell ya com'n a klick away. Den I jes line up my sights on ya.............and pchew, pull de trigger." THEN he leans back in his chair.

     Sidewinder glances around then after apparently considering his options he begins to speak "I'm former black ops. My specialty was recon and sniper work. I have plenty of hand-to-hand experience and I've got some skill with demolitions as well. As for getting into places, I'm not experienced with security systems, my specialty is more outdoors oriented. Also if anyone is looking for specialized gear I've got a couple of chummers who can get you just about any thing you want, just so long as it's mundane supplies you're looking for. Neither of them deal in arcane gear. My cyber and bio is pretty standard stuff. Low-light, rangefinder, op-mag, basic wires, some bone lacing, muscle augs, and of course orthoskin."

     "Haven't heard from Drake yet in the what's-your-talent contest... or Merlin for that matter. Care to share with the group, gentlemen ?" Capra looks to the two in question.

     Turning to Capra Drake addressed the fighter's questions "With my low-lights I should be fine for a night operation, and I have a few spells that should be able to help us out, whether it be to remain undetected, to protect us or to heal us if things hit the fan."

     Merlin doesn't seem inclined to share.

     Winder says, "Getting back to what Haze originaly said... In any situation where it is possible to not alert their security to our presence until after we are gone, it is wise to do that.  Any form of diversion that does not look completely natural will attract attention.  An illusion would be spotted by their mages, false alarms would likely put them on alert.  Even if they do believe that it is really a malfunction and not a decker, they would, if wise, take the system down to repair it, and double the guards.  If they think its a decker, they'll increase the guards in both the physical and matrix planes and go on alert. No, it would be wisest to try to make the run with complete stealth and deception, with automated diversions ready to be called into play to distract them if it becomes necessary."

     Bruno grunts "Is our cyberjockey here? We need some plans of the compound, guard routines, defence listings as too the fence type through to the types and number of troops on active guard... Delay time for a full alert, and the special forces reaction time for this compound... The army site was it something else before being converted to an army base, if so any old plans for sewers etc... We also need to know if the cyberjock can override enough systems, so we can gain entry... Could the cyberjock start looking for this information ?" 

     "first and foremost, I am not, nor have I ever been, a cyberjock. I am a decker of the highest skills." Nightshade says. "And for your information in the eternity it took you slabs of meat to get here, I went and checked again,and already have the information you desire." She says, seeming to glare at Bruno. "The fences are at all times watched, either by spirits, motion detectors, meat guards, or some combination of the three. I could easily override all these defenses, and most of the internal ones, though some you will have to deal with yourself. And the Sewers have double reinforced metal grates at all entrances and exits, you can cut through them, but it would be noisy, smelly, and take time."

     "Anyone can do almost anything, but it takes an artist in their own field to do anything worth doing.  In any event, the first thing we need is more reckon.  Nightshade has given us a great deal to go on, but not enought to formulate a full plan, and it is always wise to double check even what is believed to be known.  I propose that we begin by taken 12 hours for preparation and information gathering.  We will go our separate ways, get some rest, and use whatever means are best for us.  I would make one request.  For the first 4 hours of it, leave the base alone.  I want to get a nap, and then I shall use my methods, but I would prefer the base not be on alert at the time." Merlin said evenly, his accent revealing itself to those who listen as a mixture of british and something unearthly.

     Capra's own over-exagerated accent is back. "Capital idea, my good chap ! Rara, Taliho and all that rot. "...As for the sewers, I'm not in any hurry and I'm sure one of our esteemed magicians can quiet down the process somewhat. Something to think about anyway... Could you also get us a plan of the internals, lady Nightshade ? You know : pipes big enough to crawl through, air vents, that sort of thing. (I'm sure my partner meant no disrespect, did you Bruno ?)" He scratches his hairless chin, pondering. "Finding out if they let any deliveries or delivery people in would be nice as well. Everyone need to drink, those toilet paper rolls need constant replacing if mine is any indication, etc. Life goes on !... even in the military."

     "Already got it, but this base was designed for security, there are no pipes, ducts, tubes, or sewers big enough for everyone to effectively get through. Those that are, which are only 3 in number, and don't lead to where we want to get, have grating every few hundred meters. Again, you could get through it, but it would take time and be loud. The only way in or out is through the halls and guard posts. Might I suggest fake ID's ?"

    "You ARE fast. Very impressive. Ummmm.... That's why I asked about delivery people, you know. The little people are usually easier to impersonate than the big wigs."

     Bruno asks Nightshade "Can you make us those fake ID's, or find out where we could?... We would then only need some uniforms,  military weapons, and a military vehicle to look Khossah... We would also need a set of good transfer papers, to make it work and a telecom hook at the site so to answer any outgoing confirmation calls..." Bruno thinks back to when he worked similar details to make sure he missed nothing. "Any other bits I forgot lads ?"

     "Wouldn't surprise me." Nightshade remarks innocently.

     Sherman scratches his chin and nods after Bruno's suggestion, "Y'know mouf... dat jes might work. I was in de army fer tree years. I pulled de guard duty shift alot. Dat's all dey do is lookit yer ID an' yer papers. 'Specially if dey're bored.. which is allatime dey ain't on alert. If dey're tol' t'be on alert, den dey search fer stuff... but since I don' tink dey will be, all dey'll do is give us de once over an' let us tru. Dat's as long as we ain't goin' no place dat's secured or anyting. Once we're in de gate we jes drive de truck over close to de
place dey's hold'n Kitty. We unload, get to Kitty ASAP and get her on de truck. If we c'n do dat fast enuf, we c'n get outta de base b'fore dere's any kinda alert. Long as we use silenced weapons, an' worked fast, I tink we could pull dat off." 

     "Likely, but not certainly, the best idea.  Nightshade may wish to begin creating those IDs, but do not create one for me.  Rather, ensure that one of the ideas you create is for a trained bird handler...While you are doing that, if the others take my earlier suggestion, we can go about gathering equipment and information through other than computer sources.  There are things that are not found on the matrix anywhere, afterall, and I suspect we will wish to know them." Suggests Merlin.

     Capra smiles. "Of course, if you can get us a convincing ultra red clearance code with all the bells on, enough to bodily hoal the little lady out of there on its own merits, that would be best. I'm not holding my breath though (very addicted to oxygen, you understand. I try to quit but...)."

    "That would be difficult at best, however I could do something that would get you past a few of the guardposts at least, to the less manned ones further in, where they don't expect anyone to get, you understand..... So they have fewer guards, until you get to her rooms. When you get there, well, lets just say I'm glad I won't be physical. Use silencers and take them out before they notice you is the only chance."

     "Um. So that'd point to a multi-method entry : fake our way past the outside and then a mad dash with blood up to our ankles at the hub... and then there's the exit with the very visible Kitty cat. All in all, rather chancy looking I must say. The exit part in particular." Capra thinks about it and shakes his head. "Not going to be able to use the same way going out as going in, too many ways it could go wrong."

     "Get on the roof and arrange a copter?" Suggests Nightshade.

     Capra's eyes go wide. "Are you serious ? You could get us permission to land a copter on that roof and maintain it there ? That would solve all our problems in one go... Get the copter down, fake our way past the perimeter and shoot it out to the prize and then the roof and then... off we go ! Nightshade, I could kiss you... in fact I shall." He blows a kiss to the screen.

     Sherman says "If Nightshade really *could* get us dat helo on de roof, dat'd be even better 'cause we could dodge de gate totally. Christo..I might even be able to hook us up wit' a deuce'n'a half t'get us inside de gate. Whaddya'll say?" Sherman sticks a meaty forefinger into his ear and jacks it around a bit. Pulling it out he glances at it, then wipes it off onto the side of the barcalounger. Looking around expectantly, he waits for an answer from the team.

    "Umm, correct me if I'm wrong here but even if we could get a helo in, doesn't the UCAS military usually have those nasty EFA Variants sitting by ready to scramble if someone tries to take the airbourne route through one of their designated private play areas ? If that's the case then we'd need one hell of a chopper to get past them." Sidewinder asks.

     Sherman shakes his head, "Naw, mano. Not if dey're expectin' anytting. If a helo flyin' overhead is in de books, den dey don't do nut'n. As long as Nightshade c'n get a log of de helo, den we're gold'n."

     During this exchange, Nightshade has been trying to get a wors in edgewise. She looks disgusted "No, lamebrains! I meant, when you get the prize, a copter comes in and picks you up, so they don't have time to destroy it while you're jumping off and attacking!..." She turns to Sidewinder. "and there are _3_ of those attack choppers you mentionned on this roof." 

     Capra bends his head, rather deflated. "Knew it was too good to be true." His head snaps back up. "Oh well ! Better luck next time... and my brain is perfectly healthy thank you. Though, in all honesty, it's been a while since I saw it do aerobics. Um..."

     Sherman faces Nightshade, "But if dere's helo's dere, like you said... den we should jes grab one an' go." Sherman looks around for anyone who'd volunteer to fly the helicopter. 

     "Unfortunetly I can only glide, rotating wings are beyond my mortal grasp." answers Capra. Nobody else answers Sherman's question, so apparently that is one skill not in the common pool...

     Merlin asks : "Are any of our magicians capable of masking a vehicle that large?  I can make the entire group invisible if need be, though that would drain me a lot, but I can not affect a vehicle yet. An invisible vehicule would not require much piloting skill."

     "I'm afraid not," Haze murmurs. "My talents don't exactly run in the 'quiet' direction."

     "Shame." Says Merlin.

     Haze snorts loudly. "You won't be saying that when we're in a bad situation."

     All in the room fall silent, thinking it over. Bruno finaly decides to broach another subject. "Some background on Kitty may be to our benefit also, does she have a public history in martial arts tourmaments, a brother or family, something which will make her trust us when we bust in."

     Capra answers, "As for that, I think the best course is for the contact to carry a strong tranq patch and use it. We can hardly stop in the middle of a run if she's unwilling. Far better to drop her off at their doorstep afterwards should that prove to be the case. What say you people ?"

    Merlin speaks emphaticly, "No.  If she is unwilling, I am out, and if she is willing, we need only make sure we are not overheard when we tell her why we are there."

    Capra stares at him in puzzlment. "Listen to what is said, Merlin my man. We won't find THAT out until we're actually staring her in the face. You know ? Actually IN the compound, unfriendly people with big guns just a shout away ? Ring any bells ?... If the cat is unwilling, she is unlikely to lick our faces and show us the safest exit, you understand."

    "Fully understood, but it changes nothing.  If she does not wish to come, I will leave without trying to take her.  I will kill for money, I will take from those who are weaker, but if I kill, it will be clean and honorable.  I will not inflict unnecessary suffering, I will not destroy someone's home, though I would take their property, and I will not sell another into slavery.  Understood ?"

     Capra smiles, amused. "Fascinating list, very moral and all that... I personnaly will not kill for money but what the heck, to each his own !" He shugs dramaticly. "Though leaving her in the arms of morphein, unable to call her bosom budies still seem a better idea then letting her decide if she likes our friendly faces enough to let us go about our noble retreat. Don't you think ?"

    "I said nothing about not rendering her unconscious, or even about not killing her if she doesn't wish to come and proves herself to be a threat, but I will not take her against her will."

    The athletic young man chuckles. "Alright, no more beer for you. <chuckle> Your moral senses are muddled enough as it is, I think... Let's make a note to bring necessary sleepy time equipment just in case, shall we ? Anything else on the agenda ?"

     Bruno again. "For a more physical presence we should buz the compound and see what defences it has. Does anyone have a drone or such, maybe a contact we can pay a small fee to do some surveillance work."

     "I hardly think we need get that involved. The cat never leaves the craddle, or so we've been told. I think we need only acertain the physical defenses... and those are unlickely to take a stroll at odd hours of the night... though this IS a military instalation, maybe they do !" Capra shakes that idea loose. "A couple of us should be up to the challenge of a first recon, I imagine... with video equipment of course."

     "No.  I will handle the physical reconnaisance.  I doubt they will think much of my presence if I don't want them to." Merlin answered.

     "Care to share your plan of attack, Oh decisive one ? I hardly see how your more qualified to stand around and look at the place from afar then anybody else here... or maybe your planning on actually venturing into the kitty's mouth ? Bad move from what we heard... and if you can do it now with no prep, an impressive feat I agree, you can do it later with us there. Yes ?" That said, Capra resumes his balancing act... with the addition of a 'Hot & chunky' bag of chips.

    "No, your presence would complicate things somewhat.  My plan is to simply assume my natural form and fly over the place.  They wouldn't be likely to notice me at all, and wouldn't think me hostile if they did see me.  As for what makes me more qualified, there is the fact they would pay no attention to me.  Then there is also the fact that I could survey the place with astral and natural means simaltaneously with no degredation, and my vision is well suited to seeing fine details at a great distance in low light.  If I am to do it my way though, I do it alone." Merlin answered decisively.

     While Merlin and Capra are sparring verbally, Sherman is looking at them like he's watching a tennis match. Back and forth, back and forth. Finally finished, Sherman dons his confused look again, "Uhh...what de drek are you talkin' about 'natural form'? An' how you gonna fly over d'fraggin' base widdout dem hearin' you. Helos and planes make lotsa noise usually."  

    "A little birdie taught me." Merlin answers with a slight grin.  "I assure you, I shall make no noise that they can hear, and they probably won't think anything of it if they see me."

     "Uh... right. I do tink are decker should get t'work on findin' out anyting on de base or on de Kitty.  I got a couple chummers I c'n call an' see if dey know anyting.  I c'n also just take a stroll down dere tomorrow.  I got all sortsa drek in my eyes lettin' me see everyting.  I c'n also mebbe use my ol' military ID t'get in. Mebbe say I'm vist'n a chummer o' mine what just got stationed dere or sump'n. Good idear or bad idear? Like I said, I ain't d'idear guy." He looks around with a slight wince on his face, ready for the negative reaction he always gets.

     Sidewinder, who seems similarly engrosed in the conversation between Merlin and Capra, turns to Sherman shaking his head "I wouldn't try to get into the base, the security seems too tight for that but a walk-by might not be a bad idea. Just so long as you don't get withing the 60m of the fence where they arrest you on sight." he then turns to the two the verbal sparring match "Yo, s'enough already! Drek you'd think that the two of you had never seen the inside of the shadows before or somethin. We worry about morals later. S'far as we've been told she wants to leave so the argument is stupid and pointless. If that changes then we deal with it when it happens, until then give it a rest and start working on something useful." He turns back to Sherman "You want to go'n rent a Trid-Recorder and do a drive-by of the base. There doesn't seem to be any intelligent conversation going on here and currently everything we're talking about is speculation. Me, I want some hard facts before I start planning anything, you in?" 

     Capra wears a dubitative frown. "A seat of the pants kind of a guy eh ? A bit of planning rarely hurts, you know... Except maybe having to listen to it, I agree with you there." The young man smiles crookedly. "... and the refusal of the pretty lady to accompany her princes is hardly what I'd call cloud building conversation... Neither is a first recon. Uh. Empty conversation indeed !" He huffs and pouts, not looking very convincing at all.

     Sherman listens to Sidewinder and nods appreciatively, "Yeah, yeah. Dat sounds good t'me. We c'n go whenever. I don' wanna rent no vid stuff. I got whatever we need up here. I got a camera in my eyes, and some headware memory. Dat'll be more easy to dodge de guards 'r anybody." Sherman scribbles down an LTG number on the card table, "Dis here's my phone," he says tapping his head, "Leddus know if dere's anyting we need t'know. Les go 'Winder."

     Winder nods. "Alright, I'm going to get some trid-recordings of the base, give us an idea of what's going on. Here's the LTG of my wrist phone if you need to get in contact with me. I should be back in a few hours, say 4 or 5, should I just come back here or should I meet you somewhere else?"

     "No...I can gather a lot of information, but I should do it alone, no one nearby.  After that, if your not satisified, other survelance can be done.  I can do mine tonight after I've gotten a little rest." says Merlin.  

     Bruno resumes, "So tomorrow we will go out near the base and get Merlin to do a surveillance run so we can make a suitable plan. Between now and then we should get our cyberjocky to download some background information. Otherwise we should get some sleep and resume first light tomorrow." Bruno then asks "How do you wish to take your 25K ? I still have the 'stick." 

     Sherman leans over to Bruno and says, "Hey chummer...y'c'n download my creds onto my secretary here. Jes' slot it for me." He holds out his pocket secretary so Bruno can load the credstick into the slot and trasfer the 25K nuyen into his account.

     "Transfer my part of the upfront payment to my stick." Merlin brings out his credstick.

     "I think I'll just grab the stick after everyones done." says Capra.

     After everyones taken their share, Sherman quietly raises his hand. Once everyone has quieted down so he can say something he opens up with, "Well, it seems dat de decker has a pretty good run uh de place. She says she c'n down any sec systems, I tink she c'n down 'em. What I says we do is go in wit de fake 'sticks, one o' you guys with de mouf c'n fast talk us by anyting dat gives a hoot, den jes mosey on down to where de Kitty is at an' take out de sec boys dere. I sling de Kitty over my shoulder, if I gotta, and we make a break for de closest fence. 'Shade takes out de fence's 'lectricity and I make us a hole tru it so we c'n all run tru. Den we jes lay low a couple hours 'til it quiets down and give de Johnson de handoff. De only hard part I see is gettin' de ID's and gettin' in de first few gates. I says les do it."

     "With you there on the first part, big guy. I somehow doubt we can just run out of a high sec compound with the prize, though. We'll be in the middle of a building whose itself in the middle of a perimeter, you understand. Maybe we could handle the run to the gate, but I wouldn't bet on our chances to outrun pursuit... and probably mucho helos on our backs to boot. Not the ideal solution, I say." Capra stretches and scratches his neck. "The entry itself might be a prob as well. Do we know what kind of scanners they got on those sec checks, lady Nightshade ? Nothing magical I hope ?"

     "They have random astral scans, but other than that, just of your IDs"

     "Uhuh Good. By the way, how many checks between the point our fakes won't work and the Kitty ?... and what's the layout of those things anyway ? Sliding metal walls ? A guy with a notepad and a pop gun ? what ?"

     "I never said your fakes wouldn't work, I meant if they got pierced you were on your own.  As you go in, the computers scans your ids more and more you see, and only a limited number of people are allowed inside, so I'd have to copy one of theirs for each of you..... If something happened, i.e, the person one of your ids is patterened after just walked by..... See what I mean ?"

     "Think I do. Just checking though, we ARE still talking about point checks, right ? Not a sensor system that checks ID by itself all the time, all over the place... I really HATE those." Capra makes a face like he's just bitten into a lemon... or something equaly foul. "If that's the case (hopefully it is), my previous questions about number and type still exist somewhere in the continuum, just waiting to be answered."

     Sherman scratches his bald head, right at the base of his horn, "Look, chummer, I dunno any kinda scanner what checks ID's allatime ferever. Mebbe in de corpers building's...but not out onna military base. Dat kinda drek's too much nuyen. Dey got some uh de best ID checkers aroun'.... privates. An' dere de cheapest, too. Like I said...I was in de army fer a few years and de only kinda ID checks dey really do, 'sept aroun' really secure places, are quick spot checks. Dey look atcher ID tag, mebbe run it tru a hand held card reader, an' letchoo on yer way. So..dat'll get us tru de outter gates'n stuff. Once we get close to de Kitty's house.... dat's anudder story.  Dey'll still probly use de card readers, but dey'll probly ax you a few questions about it, too. Like what's yer SIN, what's yer birfday, dat kinda drek. Doze're de guys we need to worry about an' take down quick and quiet. Den, once we got de Cat, we scram outta de building, an' grab a helo an' beat feet." At this point Sherman stands up and tosses his pocket secretary on his chair, "Don' nobody take my seat. I gotta drek. Be back in a nano." He then opens the door and heads down the hall. 

     "That sounds like a good plan to start with, but it shall require revision, and we shall require more information before we know what revisions it shall require.  Thus, I again propose my initial suggestion that we reconvene in 12 hours after we have all gotten some rest and gethered what information we can in our disparate ways.  I also again request that the base itself be left alone for four hours so that my efforts are not made more difficult." Says Merlin sagely.

     "I just have one suggestion, then you may leave," Haze comments, waving a hand languidly. His mischievous smile belies the pomposity inherent in his words. "Seeing as how you're all so set on avoiding a bloodbath, this might be something to think about. Perhaps, if we have a legitimate reason to bring something into the base, we may also have a legitimate reason to take something off. If, for example, we posed as delivery people - military, of course - we may be able to bring some toys on base without too much hassle." He glances around. "I don't have a lot of experience with the military, so correct me if I'm wrong on this, but if our papers are in order, and if our delivery is noted in their computer so that they're expecting us, then they won't bother searching us or our vehicle? If so, I'm sure Nightshade could handle placement of that record as well as the appropriate papers. We could then smuggle Ms. Spirit out in a sealed box, which would be impervious to casual astral scans. Only if one projected inside would they find her. Now, I'm open to elaborations on this plan, but if we keep it quiet enough, would it not make sense for delivery men to leave the base?" Haze takes a long drink of his orange juice as he waits for any answers.

     Capra frowns, rather puzzled. "You've been sleeping haven't you ? Rather unprofessional if you ask me. But then, nobody asked me." He smiles. "Anyway... we've already had this discussion, asked lady Nightshade to search for deliveries that get in the complex and everything. She answered that she could get us past the outer perimeter but the inside was our problem. Memory refreshed ?"

     "IF your diguises were good enough drekhead it could work." says Nightshade.

     "That goes without saying. A wolf in sheep's clothing has to have the clothing... else he's just a wolf. Probably a dead one too..."

     Sherman comes back in and retakes his chair with a contented sigh.

     "You really are a moron, aren't you, boy?" Haze asks with a sympathetic shake of his head. "I was suggesting a specific course of action, based on your up till now airy theories. Tell me this - if you're all so set on a quiet insertion, why are you also all hellbent on blowing
everything out in the open by taking off in a high-speed helicopter once we're finished? If Ms. Nightshade can provide us with a valid reason for having a helicopter land on the roof at that particular time, that's all well and good. Otherwise, such a course of action is completely drek-headed and you can count me out. I know what Nightshade has said - but she can't make any guarantees. Oh, and if we're going on and off base in a legitimate fashion, I really suggest we go in during the day." Haze grins tightly. "I know that offends all your shadowrunner sensibilities, but don't most deliveries and arrival and departure of military personnel take place during the day? Except for your top-secret ones, of course. I get the feeling that the guards may be suspicious of, say, a laundry delivery during the night. Okay, maybe that's a bad example - they probably do deal with their laundry during the night. What I'm saying, though, is that once we settle on an appropriate form of entry and exit, we also need to pick an appropriate time to make our attempt. Of course, that is all conditional on the fact that we're set on a legal insertion."

     Capra sights "I thought I was joking but you really HAVE been asleep... I only got interrested in the helo idea when I though lady Nightshade could swing the permits. But she WON'T. Said so clear as day... and I am FOR the daylight attack idea, no matter what you may have heard about 'us shadowrunners'."

     Haze ignores Capra's retort, instead he swivels in his seat to look at Nightshade. "What can you tell us about the sewer system beneath the base, my dear?" Capra raises both his arms and eyes to the skies and brings them down in a "I give up" gesture.

     "I'm not going to repeat again something I've said three times, someone please fill him in ?!"

     Sherman holds out a hand between Haze and Capra, "Calm down you guys." Turning back to the rest of the group, sighing and shaking his head.

    "Y'know something, I agree with Sherman here. We're all supposed to be professionals here so why don't we actually try to act like professionals. Now the first step to achieving that goal is to give up on the childish and immature insults and name calling. You people should have outgrown that sometime around third grade, assuming of course you were unlucky enough to attend third grade. For the rest of you it should have ended somewhere around age 7 or 8. Now please, unless something directly relates to the job, I'd rather not hear about it. That means I don't care about the brain capacity of the person next to you and I don't care about your opinion of someone else's skills or credentials. We were all hired for a reason, so for argument's sake let's give our Johnson some credit and say we all have a right to be here because she believed our skills, whatever they may be, were worth investing 50K in. We have a difficult job in front of us, and these little debates that keep appearing aren't helping the situation. To pull this off we need to be able to trust one another and believe me, fighting amongst ourselves is not the way to start... Now enough about that, back to the matter at hand. There are some matters that need clarifying. First when Nightshade mentioned helicopters on the roof I believe she meant that there are three UCAS Military Helos already on the roof. If it comes down to it, and  of course one of us is able to pilot a helo, we could concievably steal one of their helicopters and escape in it. Finally Ms. Nightshade has made a point of mentioning how neigh impossible it would be to enter or exit though the sewers so why don't we just let that line of inquiry drop. I appologize if I happen to be offending one or more of you but the arguing was really starting to give me a headache." Sidewinder says before he stops talking and starts rubbing at his temples. Then, remembering something reaches into his right breast pocket and pulls out a container of extra strengh Pain-Away Headache Medicine and dry swallows a tablet.

     Haze sighs. "Sorry, guys, I believe you're right. I did miss Nightshade's comment on the sewers." He rubs his eyes tiredly. "Late year," he mumbles. "And I apologise to you, Capra. That insult wasn't called for and I'd guess your magic-soft was written by some stuffed-shirt hermetic," he says, casting a quick grin in Drake's direction. 

     "Yeah... Sorry about the sleepy thing. I could've put it a better way I suppose... bygones" Capra bows slightly in Haze's direction.

     Haze continues, "At any rate, I believe Sidewinder and Drake are both correct. A delivery may not allow us all to get. inside However, that still throws up a few other alternatives. A team of scientists may have some other business on the base, which would allow us to get close to Kitty. We'd have to talk to our contacts about that - or Ms. Nightshade may be able to find that out herself... On the other hand, rather than one large group of people going in at once, perhaps a few different avenues of insertion may prove more effective. A delivery, perhaps, plus a couple of soldiers being transferred in, plus an observational team from a corporation or something similar." He glances at Merlin. "I get the feeling you could just fly in without alerting security." Then he shrugged. "However, that would necessitate some people waiting around on base for a while. Maybe that would just be making things a bit too complicated and risky." Haze continues, "Personally, I'm still rather uneasy with the idea of flying out of a military base - but I'm not the expert in that department. However..." Haze's voice trails off and he rubs his chin. "It might actually be a good idea to adapt that plan of action. Perhaps one or two of us could enter the base itself some time before the rest. They could then case it, but without doing anything to arouse suspicions. That goes a bit beyond your plan, Merlin. I don't just mean a flyover here - I mean actually walking around through the base. Scientists or observers could be a good cover there. Then we could either wait until our friends leave and can brief us, or we move in while they're still on base. They can then fill us in on anything pertinent and we can take the appropriate actions." He shrugs. "Just a thought - but you have to admit, it would be useful to get some first hand, eyes on the ground data, rather than just what's been pulled from their computer. No offense intended, Ms. Nightshade."

     "None taken, Why not inspectors? Someone from high up, only two or three could get in, plus their bodyguards. Shapechange spells for the more...errr, noticeable, go in, take a look, blow your way out, take them by surprise?"

     Haze raises his eyebrows. "Inspectors? That certainly sounds like a good idea. Why didn't I think of that?" Haze glowers around the room, his expression dangerous. "Don't even think it," he growls. Turning his attention back to Nightshade he asks, "Do you think you could arrange clearance for us to Miss Kitty's area? 

     "Fairly easily..." interups Nightshade.

     "It would be easier if we had a legitimate reason to be there, before we started blowing things up - as it were. I'd say that two or three inspectors, plus their bodyguards, would certainly be enough to cover the whole group. Can anyone give lessons in appropriate military behaviour? I don't mean to brag, but I suspect I might be able to pass as an inspector. I don't think I'm very military, though."

     Bruno asks "Does a shapechange spell include a uniform?, like military police... The inspectors should be at least a major in rank too so to help secure the bluff..."

     "I don't think the magic way is the right way to go if we want it quiet." Capra points to the screen in a lazy fashion. "Lady Nightshade did say that there were random astral checks. I may not be a magical genius, but I do know we'd glow like a city at night under one of those... Unless our magicly gifted can do something about that unfortunate state of affairs ?"

     Haze shakes his head. "I'm afraid I can't help you there - but then, I don't know any shapechange spells anyway. Capra is probably right, though. Magical disguises would tend to stand out. I don't think it'd be that hard to procure military uniforms at any rate, which brings us to the question of getting the more unusual teammembers on site. Now I'm sure there are quite a number of trolls in the military, so Sherman probably won't stand out. In fact, he'd be quite believable as a bodyguard." Haze smiles up at the big troll. "Care to take a  bullet for me? I think that just leaves us with Bruno, then. Tell me, Nightshade, does any kind of research go on at the base?" 

     "What? Research? You have to be kidding! Think of all those labs there! All the times I've mentioned the labs around her room devoted to research! No, there is no research, they just have more than 250 thousand square feet devoted to it for no reason whatsoever! The 200+ personel are just there twiddling their thumbs, of course! Sheez!"

     Haze just lets the insults flow off his back. "If so, perhaps we could explain Bruno as an...experimental subject. No offense intended, my friend. Otherwise..." He looks at Bruno speculatively, then breaks out in a wide grin. "Have you ever considered electrolysis, Bruno?" he asks facetiously.

     Bruno looks round to Haze and grunts a reply "No, I haven't, but I am considering giving you an attitude adjustment." Bruno grins menacingly. Turning back to the group "I worked special forces in Italy, I don't see any problem some high class inspectors wouldn't have a similar detail especially if visiting Kitty... After all Kitty is a dangerous person, locked up in such confines, a few special forces personnel as guards would make sense."

     Haze holds up his hands apologetically. "It was a joke, my large friend. As for the reason she's locked up, I suspect it has more to do with a suspect loyalty than how dangerous she is - unless she's psychotic. Do you have any information in that respect, Nightshade? If she is locked up because she's a raving loony, that could throw this entire mission off - it certainly won't make making contact or keeping things quiet easy."

     "I only know what the files say, and the files don't mention any insanity, so I'd assume not."

     Taking another swig of his beer, Drake waits for Haze to finish speaking. "How about we pose as a group of scientists or some such group who have been brought in to train with Kitty.  We could then potentially come in at night, after all secrecy could be important... In addition, posing as a group scheduled to meet with Kitty would give us an excuse to visit Kitty's area in the compound - after all we would need to setup our equipment. I guess the success of that option would however depend on being able to insert a scheduled visit into the UCAS computers.  Laundry or some other delivery may work, but it would limit the number of people who could enter the base - to two I would guess."

     Bruno grunts "Drake has a good thought, I like it, is it a possibility Nightshade we could get the identities and such he mentioned done ?... It would explain the variety of people entrying at the same time, get us real close to Kitty, then we can do the biz."

     At first theres no answer, then when you look over, her icon is filing its nails. "Oh, I'm sorry, your talking to me?! Oh,. well, I can do pretty much anything, but you drekheads need to get off those cans you call butts and get on the ball! We gotta take action, not sit and talk about it!"

     Sidewinder replies, "Please explain why a group of scientists would be getting lessons from a hand-to-hand instructor. Most scientists that I know would have very little use for the high-level of expertise that Kitty apparently has in that field." Haze agrees, as do the rest, so the scientists idea is dropped.

     "Right. So we've got the entrance pretty much nailed down... in principle at least. The problem is STILL the exit. We only got the 'steal an helo' plan so far in that category... and the 'jump from the roof into a waiting truck' scenario." Capra grimaces, not at all convinced those are the right way to go. "What does the layout around the base look like, lady Nightshade ? Flat ground ? Some tall buildings within 100 meters ? Forest ?"

     "Flat ground for miles."

     "Just peachy..." Capra scratches behind his ears while twirling an empty beer bottle at the end of his finger, apparently deep in thought. "That would render a ground base escape all the more chancy... Things get better and better, don't they ?... I see two options at this point, either we take up two weeks to pierce those annoying sewer grates or... we steal the bloody copter... which nobody can drive (though I could manage it on auto-pilot I suppose.)" He points to his jack. "So and all quiet extraction would be best... of course." Capra smiles wrily. "Which of her three locales has the least number of checks to get to ? The gym I would imagine... and do we know WHEN the cat is in any one location or do we have to check each one in turn ?"

     "According to the file, she seems to wander between them, it's all the room she has, so she tends to take full advantage."

    "I don't think that her location will be too much an issue. After all she has access to all of three rooms. If she isn't in one we look through the two other doors and she's in one of those. Locating her shouldn't be a problem especially if we manage to go in quietly. That way we have all the time we need to go looking for her. Just one thing though, we've given all sorts of though to getting in quietly but, as Capra mentionned, leaving quietly is an entirely different matter. Don't you think the military security would be just a little suspicious if a group of four people went into the restricted area and a group of five people came out?" comments Sidewinder.

     "Um." Capra looks at his copy of the floor plans. He can see that the three rooms the cat has access to are indeed connected to each other. 2 doors in each room lead to the other. The only room connected to the "outside world" is the gym. One door, heavily guarded, leads into the corridor with 3 more guardstations down it before you get to the first of the labs, then there are another 5 before you reach normal security. VERY tight corridors...

     "We haven't discussed a quiet exit because lady Nightshade doesn't seem to believe there will be one... but I'm game. How do you see it Winder ? Invisibility, stuffing her in a big crate, throwing her from the roof to Bruno's waiting embrace ? What ?"

     "That depends entirely on how we plan on getting into the place." answers the man in question. "Which cover we use will decide how we're getting her out. The investigator cover would probably work best with a good invisibility spell. If we went in posing as the laundry service we could take her out in a large laundry sack. Like I said, it all depends on how we want to get in. If it comes down to it though we might just have to make the exit noisy. Just so long as it's noisy enough to keep people's attention directed away from the excaping extraction team. The way I figure it two people with a pair of Great Dragon Rocket Launchers and 5 or 10 shots each could create some serious havoc. Plus those things have a great range so you'd be far enough away from the base that you should have time to make good your escape before they get to you. That way the extraction team could escape while the people with the rocket launchers covered their escape with a barrage of rocket fire. Maybe a sniper or two just for good measure as well. I don't know, however we do it we have to make sure that we've got a back-up plan in case the first one goes awry."

     "Many things is best." agrees Capra. "Here's the way I see it at this point, however (entirely theoretical, you understand.). We send in three brave souls to try out the all quiet approach (Less chance of ID screw-ups with three and doesn't seem TOO threatening to the men in charge.), meanwhile two others and a chopper pilot (I think I can possibly swing a sports jock... drop you off on top of a mountain or other, you dig ? No promises at this point though.) uh... await signal. If team numero uno falls under the scrutiny of an entirely too perceptive guard, it's the roof exit with the helo while the rest of you gentlemen create Winder's diversion... though I'd stick with one hocus-pocus type (send a fruit... or maybe a banana against our enemies.) and maybe one dragon thingamagiger to start." The young man leans back and surveys the room. "What say you people ?"

     Haze rubs his chin. "I was about to suggest something similar. I think, however, a second infiltration team would make things unnecessarily complicated - unless, of course, we stick our stealthiest people in that team - which would preclude me," he says with a smile. "Now, I also think that our primary means of escape should be a quiet one, with or without taking a helicopter. If we can swing that, then we're home free. If not, then by all means, go out hard. Considering what Ms. Nightshade said, I don't think a diversionary assault is really a good idea, even if it's just a few missiles. The diversionary team is just too likely to be swarmed under, either by our pursuers or by whomever they're diverting. On the other hand, if we can arrange another aircraft with dogfighting capabilities that would be peachy. On the other hand, we could land outside the base for a very short time to pick up whomever we left outside - people who would be armed with air-to-air missiles or the like. Those could be very efficient deterrents of pursuit. Or, if we picked a 'copter with combat capabilities, we could blow the hell out of any other aircraft while they're still on the ground. I don't think we can rely on such an occurrence, however. Remember, all we need to do is get back to the city. We don't want to get into a major air battle. Once we hit the city we can ditch the 'copter and lose ourselves. If they can't find us, they can't shoot us, hmmm?"

     Merlin sighs, "All these plans have potential, but we are talking about them with insufficient information.  I propose again that we split up for 12 hours and gather information, then meet at the Inferno where we can talk in privacy and create a plan once we have full information."

     Haze sighs as well. "I beg to differ, Merlin. We have to have at least a rough idea of how we're going to be operating - otherwise, we may not find all the information we need. That's not to say that we can't change our plans if some important piece of info comes our way, but it will help to focus things and save time. After all, if we just go out asking about anything and everything to do with the base, word is going to leak out somewhere - no question about it - and we might just end up walking into an ambush... So can we at least agree on a provisional plan? As I said before, my suggestion would be a quick and quiet in and out posing as inspectors, with a backup plan of stealing a 'copter if and only if things go bad. Can we agree on that? Or does anyone else have anything to add?"

     "I think you nodded off again... However briefly." Capra thinks back to what he said. "...or maybe it was me... Anyway, the copter I was referring to is ours with our pilot and two others onboard, ready to clear the roof of hostiles and pick up the prize. The diversion is meant to distract from our guys inside AND cover the copters approach, wakari-masu ? We're already cooked at that point so a little more heat shouldn't make a diff. Ummm... The helo approach does pose some problems if they have GA missiles on base." He turns to the metalic woman. "Do they ?"

     "Ummm, actually, you didn't make the distinction between bringing a 'copter and stealing one. Sorry if I misunderstood you. And what do you mean if? If they have EFA variants, of course they're going to have ground-to-air missiles - unless this world is totally screwed." Haze grins. "At any rate, that means either Ms. Nightshade has to clear our 'copter so they don't toast it on the way in, or we steal one and try to get away fast enough to avoid any ground-based fire. Or, on the other hand, we could attempt to take out their ground-to-air defenses - but I don't think we'd have much chance of that succeeding." Haze paused for a moment. "What if the inspectors came in aboard a 'copter? That isn't particularly far-fetched - plus it would mean we would have a bird on the ground for a quick escape. On the other hand, if the alarms went, they'd know about the 'copter. As for a ground-based diversion - I have no problem with that. It's just that that team must be able to get away, and quickly... So, as a preliminary plan then, we're looking to acquire a helo, a pilot and some ground-to-ground, ground-to-air and air-to-air missiles. Is that a fair enough summary of things? If so, I believe we can accomodate Merlin and reconvene here later."

     Capra waves his hands around, "Wait a minute... wait I say. If they have G-A stuff sprouting out of their ears, we'd be nuts to rely on our ride not being shot down... IF there is any _stuff_. (I DO think the world is completly screwed, by the way.) Is there any stuff, lady Nightshade ?... and I never heard of any copters being already there on the roof, just those EFing fighters... Did I fall asleep too ?" He blinks a few times, suddenly bleary eyed and trying to look awake.

     "You fell asleep. There are 3 helicopters on the roof, They aren't mentioned anywhere, I caught sight of them through some video cameras that I managed to point that way."

     Capra's eyes widen in astonishment. "Well I'll be darned... Still no word on the arial defenses though; or are you dodging the issue, my dear ? I can be quite persistent when I have to... and my bacon is the one that's going to be in the frier."

     "It's been accurately enough determined that it isn't worth my thought patterns. They got it all, including anti-aircraft missiles and plane to plane, chopper to chopper, you name it."

     "OOOkay... Can your thought patterns twiddle with those missiles ? Say, misleed them or even better, stop them from firing on us at all ?"

     "It depends on the systems around it and who's running it and what they know. Nobody can do everything. I'd like to see you try to run the matrix."

     Capra spreads his arms in a peaceful gesture. "You'll get no arguments from me there... I can access the library, legaly and not very well at that. So, since you're our resident big-brain matrix madona, could you perhaps check into that whole shooting down the poor helicopter deal while we do our personnal thang ?"

     She rolls her eyes. "My point, laserbrain, is that they are equipped to bring down much more than that little chopper. They are equipped to defend the coast against an air invasion!"

     Capra smiles. "A worthy challenge for your considerable talents then... or at the very least, something to keep you busy for the next few hours."

     Winder pipes up "Hey, we could sabotage the security stations that control the missiles. If we can do that and do something to scrag up their communications then the helicopter escape route might actually be possible. So I'll meet you in what, 12 hours. Until then I'll see about aquiring some Grand Dragon launchers. Does anybody else need something ? I can get just about anything on a good day."

     "OK, try this, you--Are--A--Idiot. I'm not a pilot, don't fly, won't fly, nor do I know someone who does. I'm a decker, and a good one! I can tell you without a single thought though, and without a doubt in my mind, that that base, CAN shoot down one chopper. This is no longer worth my time." The screen blinks black, save for a scrolling marquee telecome number and email drop box scrolling across the screen.

     "Well... That was rude." Capra shakes his head, filled with new misgivings about their decker. "Lady Nighshade seems remarkably apt at misinterpreting requests : ask her to see about feeding false info to missile control systems and she goes off about not being a pilot... Most peculiar." He grimaces, rather perplexed. "That STILL leaves us with no exit plan AT ALL... Sherman, could you check on those missile system ? See if they're jinxeable... and does anybody have access to city blueprints ? To check on the sewers and those loveable, loveable grates." 

     Sherman frowns slowly in puzzlement and a little frustration, "Okay chummer. Dat's it. I's tellin' you right now. We. Ain't. Doin'. Dem. Sewers. Period. Scan? Dat's de'enda dat. I'll see what I c'n do about dem missles. I ain't no decker...but I'll try'n get some info about 'em. An' jes' so alla you guys know. I ain't gonna expect no hund'rd percent quiet 'run. We're runnin' a *mil-i-tary base*. Okay? Dis ain't gonna be quiet. Gaaronteed. We probly get in quiet jes' fine. But once dey find out what happend, dey gonna be in an uproar. I says we jes' fin'de quickest way out. If dat means runnin' out de door and me makin' a hole in de fence, den I say dat's what we do. De quicker we get out...de quicker we c'n lay low. Now...le's quit dis jawjackin' drek and go talk t'some people." With that Sherman looks around with brows furrowed expecting an affirmative response, as well as bodies moving toward the door. Before anybody moves, however, Sherman jumps in again quickly, "Oh! An' les' jes' meet on de street outside de Alabaster Maiden."

     Capra shrugs. "It seems worthwhile to verify what info we do have on said sewers. Are there REALLY grates every 100 meters ? and the cleanup/inspection crews have a way to open them without cutting those beauties down, I'm pretty sure. Can we acquire said means ?... Escaping down the drain could solve the whole air-defense problem... Just a thought, mister Sherman... I'm sure Merlin would insert something profound sounding here, but I can't think of anything right now. Oh well." He shrugs again.

     Sherman sighs and puts his forehead in his hand, "Okay, breeder. Howsabout dis. I can't *fit* inside dem grates. All military instalations are pretty much de same, 'cept for little variations.  De sewer system in doze instalations have mucho choke points...'zactly for de purpose yer tinkin'. I'm sure you breeders, 'n dwarves, 'n elfs c'n fit in dere. But me'n Bruno here? No way, chummer. If yer really hot t'trot about leavin' by dem sewers, den I guess yer jes' gonna hafta count us out." He shrugs and sits back, waiting for a decision by the rest of the team.

     "There's still the diversion team, you know. You wouldn't go idle, I'm pretty sure. If the sewers are the best way to go, I say we take the sewers even if you don't fit... Anyway, that's rather theoretical at this point, isn't it ? Let us all take the resolution to check on it as we can during our time apart." Capra gets a wistfull look. "As for my breeding habits, they are woefully too far apart for my taste at the moment... but it's nice of you to give me the benifit of the doubt. Thanks !"

     Haze sighed. "Yes yes yes. I'm starting to agree with Merlin. Let's get out of here before our brains atrophy, shall we? Here's the deal - don't leave anything out for now. Shall we go?"

     Winder excuses himself for a moment and steps out of the room.

     Bruno then asks "So are we going to disable the helicopters if we don't use them ? It would be nice to escape without being hunted by them."

     Haze smiles. "I believe that's the idea, Bruno. And, Merlin, I do have to agree with something Capra said. I don't think we can rely on being able to...appropriate...one of the military helicopters. So getting access to one ourselves beforehand may prove useful."

    Merlin says "I never disagreed that we can rely on aquiring one of millitary helicopters, but neither do I propose that we shall need to.  Of course I don't suggest that it might not potentially be the best plan either, assuming we have someone amoungst our ranks able to pilot one.  that is to be determined later.  All I say now, is that under ideal conditions, we should be able to walk on and off without any sort of engagement, and that we need more information before we begin planning for continengincies."

     Sherman listens to all the suggestions thrown out hapazardly and shakes his massive head. He sighs and says to himself, "Why for all these different things? Jes go in, get her, and go out. Simple." 

     "Sherman is right, this is getting us nowhere.  Can I again suggest we break it off for a few hours now and gather our information and resources before proceeding on to make a real plan?" Suggests Merlin.

     "Alright, alright. Since Merlin is so decided that we have to dive into the info gathering phase, let's do. No skin off my back... Anybody need a map soft of the place besides me ?" Capra scratches behind his ear, right next to his map port.

     Haze asks. "For myself, I actually need a hardcopy. Is that possible?"

     "Uh... you already have a hard copy... in the folder Belladonna gave us." Capra points to his own. "I suppose we could always go to a copy place if you misplaced yours..." as Haze finds his copy once more, that doesn't seem to be necessary.

     A few moments later Winder returns "Ok guys, I've got some basic info from a few friends of mine. From what I gather there have been a few runs made against this place. And, well let me put it this way, if we pull this off we'll be the first. The last groups all ended up dead or raving looney. One serious threat we'll probably have to deal with is a guard named Wildcat. He's a pro with some molten hot experimental cybertech in him... 

     Capra gives Winder a thumbs up. "Good angle ! Could you get the download on how the other guys got their faces smashed in ? By the next meeting, that is." He holds a restraining hand in Merlin's direction. "Uh... I know this one, don't tell me... Those who don't know the past are uh doomed to repeat it. Right ?"

     "From what I gather they either died from a terminal case of lead poisoning or dismemberment at the hands of one Wildcat. There was only one person who made it back out and he's still locked up in a sanitorium somewhere. Apparently the only semi-coherent thing he said when they found him was continually repeating the word 'Wildcat' over and over. Not a pretty sight chummer. I don't think he's made any significant improvement either so we'd probably be better of spending our time on other pursuits... As for Nightshade, other than her slitch of an attitude problem she seems clean. She's got a good rep on the streets and apparently is a supermodel in her off hours. Last thing I can offer is the Grand Dragon Missile Launchers. The best possible man portable anti-armor weapon available. I can get a launcher and three shots for 15k. A hit from one of them has a damn good chance of crippling a GMC Banshee and will demolish anything lighter. That's all the info I got right now, does anybody want one of the launchers? You're gonna have to let me know before I leave, they're going to take a little time to aquire." says Winder. He'll wait until he gets a response on the launchers and makes sure that no other relavent information is being presented then he'll leave and work on getting some Plastique Compound XII and get working on the 'surprises'.

     Haze starts to quiver as Winder asks if anyone wants a Grand Dragon launcher, but visibly brings himself under control. "No," he says, "I don't think you want me getting my hands on one of those. Not right now, at least."

     Bruno speaks up, "So Patton, this Wildcat dude could be nice piece to dance with. I just had some insurance come in yesterday for him assuming we can take it in a nice new Panther assault cannon should change the taste of his Soya Crispey's in the morning" <BWG> "So from the talk we have a few options which you can clarify for me :
No helos: Cause of no pilot
No sewers: lots of grates and they are too small for a troll.
Delivery van : Possible option though only allows a few in to do the grab
A Research team with Guards: This a possibility
No heavy magic: lots of Astral scans done.
Direct outside incursion : Suicide
Sorry guys, just trying to clarify things after all the social chitchat I have heard the last few hours."

     "Pretty good resume there." Comments Capra. "Although 1 and 2 are still in the air and 6 depends on the influence we can have on those missiles, that pretty much wraps up the question portion of this meet, I think."

     Sherman blinks his eyes several times and shakes his head as if he were just waking up, "Uhh...I got anudder question fer alla you. Umm...who's gonna be de temp'ry leader fer dis 'run? I know it ain't gonna be me. I jes want somebody who knows what dere doin'.  Anybody here been some kinda team leader before dis?" Sherman then nods his head toward Merlin, "I also kinda like 'is suj'estion of meetin' back here in a few hours. I dunno if we should wait long 's 12 hours...but probly 6 or 8. I kinda wanna get dat bonus de Johnson was makin' noises 'bout. And I kinda figre dat de sooner we do dis, de less people gonna hear someone's gonna do a 'run against de base. I say we vote a leader, an' den take a break, 'cause I gotta drek."

     Merlin shrugs, "I don't think we particularly need a leader.  We seem to have had enough success in coming to consensus, but I would be willing to take the roll, and would be willing to follow the lead of anyone who was not unduly out for blood, which excludes certain people, but leaves most."

     "Oh swell ! The battle leader discussion again." Capra massages the crook of his nose tiredly. "Let's make it quick this time, shall we ? These things can last DAYS... I suggest a random roll on one of the pocket secretaries; alphabetical name order; chosen can refuse. Fast and simple. How bout it ?"

     "That is the most ludicrous way of deciding on a leader I can imagine." Merlin merely shakes his head.  "I still say that we shall not need one at all, but if we insist on having one, let those who wish the roll announce it now, and then let us have a simple vote."

     "Why thank you ! I try my best... and, to simplify things, I want the roll but not the role." Strangely, that cryptic remark seems to conclude the discussion on that perticular subject.

     Bruno arrives at the end of his topic list, "AND finally for the paranoid, should we do a search on our lovely Miss Johnson and see who we are in fact working for?"

     Capra quickly says, "Not at all. We'll bother about that if and when it looks like there's foul play involved. We have more important things to do right now." All the while looking in Nightshade's direction without a blink. 

     Sherman clears his throat noisily and hocks a lugy out the window, "I tink I uhgree wit' de magicker. Les' take a break, call some chummers, and meet somewhere. I like his pre-plan too. Real simple. Dat's de way it should be done. I 'member I's on a job one time an' hadda get some info from some guy. Turned out he was bein' held as a suspect at a Lone Star office in de 'burbs. 'Dis was de only guy what knew what I needed t'know. So's all I did was buy a fake badge, a clipboard and paper. I walked in wit' my tie loose and lookin' all mean, like de boss jes' gimme some drek. So den I jes' wave de clipboard at anybody asked me what's up and walked right up to where dey's held dis guy an' asked him a few questions. Den I jes' walked back out de same way. Real simple. I tink I like de idea of purtendin' ta be de scientiststs an' drek. All we gotta do is jes' look like we know what we're doin' an' where we're goin'. An' yes...if de scientiststs looked like dey's got a high rank, it oughta be easier t'walk aroun'." He scratches his head, "So...where's we gonna meet in twelve hours, anyway's?"

     Drake nods, and with a gloved hand takes the cred stick from the table and downloads his share into his account. "I don't think an aerial escape will be an option, but someone should go purchase a heli skillsoft just incase."

     "Uh ? Did somebody fork out the dough for one of those Skillwire deals ? I only got the wetware..." Capra lifts his hair to show the four sockets in his skull. "... and I somehow doubt the 'Guide to safe helicopter piloting in 3 lessons' is going to be much help in an airfight..."

     "Having the copters set to blow to cause a diversion, and prevent aerial pursuit does sound like a good move tho... Scientists or Inspectors with fake IDs does also sounds like a good cover.  Inspectors tend to be able to go everywhere, but they do tend to be escorted, so we will need to allow for something to neutralise our escorts quietly.  As for whether the Scientists would train with Kitty, I didn't mean they would all be sparring with her - just some test subjects whilst the others studied her responses - perhaps for some new military skill soft... I suggest that a couple of people go and scope out the facility tomorrow.  Any more would seem suspicious, after all its supposed to be in the middle of open ground in the middle of nowhere.  Perhaps Capra for ground reconaissance, with Merlin providing backup information from his aerial/astral view.  I suppose more could go if they are inconspicuous."

     "Well, I hadn't planned to do more than squat a few miles from the place and look at its pretty demeanor from afar (through binoculars, you know.). I haven't got a camera either so maybe Sherman would be more the guy for a close-up look." Capra turns a questionning eye in Sherman's direction.

     Bruno looks over to Sherman "I think we could do a little survey work before next meeting.
Between the two of us we should be able to cover most bases, so to speak."<G> Bruno also comments "I have no space or time for skillwires... Maybe we need to hire a air-jockey for the run, afterall we have some spare room for one." Bruno waves the creditstick which still has
enough funds for 2 runners.<G>

     "We then meet back here at Sherman's, and pursue two of our options further, and Nightshade can be tasked with fabricating  some of our cover." Drake looks round to see if there are any more last minute ideas, and if not leaves. "See 7.00 pm tomorrow night folks, and good luck"

     Capra shakes himself and resumes. "Well, let's split up and reconvene in 12 hours on this very spot. (OK with you, Sherman ? No problem with the room ?) Give us some time to ponder, study the dossier and see El contactos... Here's my code for those who would need it." He points to his wrist phone. "... and please try not to wander too close to the base..." Capra gets up, snatches any remaining beer or snacks (Except for the juice which he trusts in Haze's hands. "Drink it in memory of me.") and strides out.

     Merlin shakes his head at Capra's abrupt exit, "If there is nothing further, I shall go take my rest and then gather the knowledge we shall need for victory.  Do remember that in this as in all else, Voluntas vincit omnia."

     Sherman notes the address and drop box Nightshade left on the telecom screen, then switches it off. Stuffing the pocket secretary back into his jacket he says, "Okay chummers. Twelve hours, right? Where we gonna meet again? Here, the Alabaster Maiden? How 'bout de Space Needle? I tink we should jes' meet whereever den head someplace eltse." He shrugs, "It's jes' a suggestion. Anyway..umm...I'm gonna go ahead and say yeah...get me wuna dem rocket launchers. I pay ya back fer it if we don't use it. I'd jes' like t'have it in case we do need it. I already been trained on doze tings anyway, so.... I guess dat's meeting adjourned, huh? Les' go." Once everyone makes their final comments, and possibly exchanges LTG numbers quickly, and moves to leave Sherman leans back and plugs his pocket secretary into the telecom to start making some calls.

     Winder nods "Null sheen chummer, I'll try and have it by the time we re-group. I'm gonna have to ask you for 7k up front though. My friend requires a downpayment before she'll get them and most of my capital from this run's initial payment is going into other things."  Winder waits for the money from Sherman then gives the group one final glance and says "I'll see you people at the base of the Space Needle in 12 hours. If you need to contact me then you've got the LTG number for my wristphone. Other than that I'll see you later."

     Everybody else but Sherman walks out. Out in the hallway however, Capra begins the paranoia discussion again. He lays a hand on his heart and raises the other to the ceiling. "Ah paranoia, how do I love thee ? Let me count the ways. I love thee for my survival, for my life but mostly, for my continued existance. Ah paranoia !...  Anyone has a contact that can trace a print ?... or somebody with an eye-camera that took a shot of the pretty weed ?... Though, in all fairness, I don't know if Belladonna IS a weed... Oh well, it shall be decided by her actions like the rest of us, I suppose."

     Bruno answers that he has indeed taken a photo with his cybercam and that he'll see someone about possibly tracing its owner. No one appears to be able to trace a print however so they all break up and scatter accross the city, each doing, as Capra put it, his own thang.

     Bruno nods when the group breaks up, "See ya at the next meeting <G>"

     Winder drives off in his van.


PERSONAL TIME - (about town, Seattle, 16&17 August 2057)

     Capra walks out of the Crusher 495 and looks around at the scenery, cracking his neck to get the kinks out. 'Well, that was interesting.' he thinks. 'Now all we need is a plan and the means to apply it.' The young man smiles derisively to himself. "Oh well ! Part of the fun I guess." He takes off, leisurely jogging his way to a nearby bus stop. 

     After changing buses several times to foil any tailing attempt, he finally gets off at the Clone Zone Mall in Auburn. He buys a card case and carefully inserts Belladonna's card into it, trying hard not to smudge it in any way. While he's at it, he also purchases a "junior detective : your first fingerprint kit" at the local Toys & Things. 'Now if only I knew somebody to run it through the system... Maybe Middleman would know someone. It'll probably cost me mucho bucks though...'

     Shrugging it off for now, Capra takes the stairs to the second floor and enters "JLT Sporting Goods". He waves to the clerk "Hey Mike ! Is Jamey in the back ?" Not waiting for an answer, the athletic lad pushes through a door marked "employees only" and slaps the back of an equally athletic Salish Indian. 

- "Lawn Turtle, my man. Hard at work I see... We should go climb something someday. If you stay grounded all the time, you turn into an old man, you know."

- "I already AM an old man. Birthday was yesterday. 32."

- "Ouch ! Totally forgot about that. My apologies..." Capra smiles. "...OLD man. Tell you what, I'll buy that ludicrously overprized 'History of sports' soft I saw hanging on your hallowed walls (2K, I believe. Right ?) as a down payment on my undying debt... and I own you one. Deal ?"

- "Deal, been trying to get rid of it for ages."

- Capra wears a wry smile. "Happy to hear it... Speaking of climbing (debts in my case.), you wouldn't happen to know of a helo pilot that would be willing to, shall we say, fly over the legal line ? I got me this building see, big ugly monster. But it happens to be surrounded by non-sporting people, very attached to little things like private property and such. I'd need someone to fly me out if the shit should hit the fan... Hazard pay of course."

- "I don't know anyone what can fly a chopper at all. know someone who might though...."

- "Friend of a friend of your late cousin's wife by marriage, eh ? Well, beggars can't take their pick of the cream of the crop, I suppose... How might I contact this talented fellow ?"

He slips you a card. "He's a rigger I know, he's got friends though."

- "The joys of friendship are many." Says Capra, trying to look wise while he pockets the card and failing uterly. "Anyway, got some small business for you first." Capra extracts the floor plans from his jacket and waves them like a fan. "Need these in soft format. No need to trouble your august self. Just point me in the scanner's direction and leave it to yours truly." 

     Lawn Turtle points to a scanner sitting right nearby. "Help yourself. Shredder's right next to it if you want." 

- Capra taps his nose wisely. "Ever the foreseeing one, Kimosabi. No wonder you're a respected storeowner while I still muddle through the morass of short-term employment. You the man !" He plunks himself down and starts running the sheets through the machine, humming a merry tune.

     While he scans, Capra takes the time to catch-up. "So, have your heard about this one..." Earth-shattering topics such as the prospects for this year's Urban brawl matches, the merits of Safety Cord(tm) versus other models and the fate of family members are discussed in details. The friendly discussion timely concludes as the young man is scribbling the title on his new soft.

- "That's all well and nice, compadre, but I've got to get going. That bread doesn't jump on my table all by itself, you know." He gets up and shakes Jamey's hand. "Call me. I was serious about that climb... even just the old one at the corner of 5th and sunset would do you some good."

     He exits the storeroon/office, snatches the History soft and pays for it. "Add one soft burn to that Mike, if you please." Capra pockets his acquisitions and looks around. 'That looks quiet enough.' He thinks as he walks to a recluse corner of the store. Capra calmly inserts his Sicilian soft in to a free socket and places a call to Middlemen Scarpashi, his loanshark. 'Damnably traditional of him, just because he's a Mafioso. Oh well.'

- "Yes ?" says a faceless voice over the wristphone's speakers.

     In Sicilian and in a much more serious tone than is his wont : "Capra here. I got some of your money... the interests at least. Possibly a chance to sucker more of my hard earned nuyens off of me as well... interested ?"

- "Indeed...." He waits...

- "Talkative as ever... I would need a certain individual matched to his prints... and where you want me to deposit your money this time, of course."

- "The usual mailbox, and tell me more about this individual you want matched..."

- "A possibly bothersome elf who neglected to mention his name. A favor for a friend of mine... No more details forthcoming, I'm afraid. If I knew all, I would not need your services. Are you adverse to a cash transfer ? I should also mention that the prints are not in my possession right now. I should have delivery sometimes this afternoon."

- "Send them and the cash when you have them. 8K."

- Capra twitches when he hears the price. "8K for the search ?" There is a rather long pose. "I guess I'm willing if you find the info. Say 4 now and 4 when you have it. Not that I don't trust you, of course." A shadow of a smile creeps into that last sentence.

- "Of course. You know how to get it to me, And I'll find who it is--IF his prints are on file, remember, your wanting me to look through every single print in every single database in the world. Could take time, lots of it."

- "I would wager that this person has at least one high cred stick. May be fake but that'll get my friend started. I'll get it all to you (with 10K off my debt) ASAP. Goodbye."

- <click>

     Capra looks at his wristphone for some time. Then, suddenly, he shakes himself. 'Ugh. Talking to that guy always gives me the creeps.' He walks out of "JLT Sporting Goods" with a wave to Mike and heads for his bus stop. 'I knew he wouldn't GIVE it to me, but 8K still is damneably steep... of course he may run into enough difficulty with this one to justify his pay... IF I can get the print.' He unexpectedly turns right and enters a candy store. "The most expensive box you've got." 

     Sitting down in the bus, he opens the box and pops a few chocolates.'Ummmm... This is the life... Should be doing some kind of work, I suppose.' As the bus begins its long journey to Wilderness lake, Capra extracts the map of Seattle from its socket and inserts his newly burned plan of the compound. 'Let's see...'

     Everythings seems sharp and easy when looking at the map images behind his eyelids. 'Not true, but conforting none the less... Now what about that gym's roof ?' With but a thought, the view changes and Capra comtemplates air conditioners, support ladders and ventilation units. 'The gym is no doubt directly connected to one of those AC unit... Possibly a way in... Drat ! The air vents are smaller then a bloody elf. We'll have to burn our way through if at all.'

     'But how would I get up on that roof anyway...' He switches to a global view of the compound. 'Right on the Shalish-Shide border.' He notes. 'Don't see how that would matter, but let's make a note of it. Ah, here we are.' Capra is hovering above the complexes many buildings. 'Ummm... About 20m from roof to roof. Close enough for jumping. A possible way out... or in. I'll have to ask Nighshade what those buildings are for. Probably easier to get into than the holy of holies... Yikes ! The only legal way to that bloody roof is via that OUTSIDE stairwell. Whoever designed this building sure didn't want anybody dropping in unannounced. Major problem there.' The rest of the trip is spent muling over that perticular bit of info. Without significant results, unfortunetly.

     Once home, Capra settles down with a beer (and a pair of gloves) and takes out the junior detective kit. 'Better pratice a bit before the main event. I'll only get maybe one shot at the big one.' He picks up a sheet of printer paper and gets to work lifting his own prints. After a few trial and error (and finaly reading the instructions that came with the kit.), he carefully takes out Belladonna's card from its protective sheet and goes to work...

     Nothing... Nothing at all except his own prints in the corner. "For the love of... She must've sprayed beforehand !" Capra hits the table in frustration but quickly shakes it off. 'Must remember to pick up some of that stuff before my own sortie.' He leans back into his chair and thoughtfully chews on the last of his chocolates. 'Dore, dore... Alright ! That's enough of that !' The peeved young man removes his japanese soft from its socket. 'Starting to think in it too... Well, let's do the unpleasant thing first.'

     After memorizing the codes on the offending card, Capra sits at his telecom, slots the certified credstick and transfers 10K to Midleman's drop box along with a short messsage. : 

          Dear Midleman,
	    Delivery man had problem on the delivery. 
          Seems the target is extra carefull. 
          Will have to postpone use of your services in that area indefinetly.
                                                                  Capra Hibex.

     That done, he composes the number Jamey gave him on his wristphone with the screen deployed. 'Wonder what THIS guy looks like.' Apparently an older guy, about 50, overweight, thinning hair, coarse features, a face that looks sunburned. 'Hope that's not our rigger. He looks rather over the hill...'

- "Capra Hibex here. Am I speaking to Leonard Story ?"

- "Yeah."

- "My friend Lawn Turtle informs me that YOU have a friend who's into the joys of helo piloting... A really UNCONSTRAINED type of guy, I hear ?"

- "Yeah, what of it?"

- Capra sights inwardly. 'Another short & sweet guy. Just great !' Out loud : "Someone I know would be interrested in this fellow's services. I'm calling to inquire about crass materialistic things such as availability and well... cost. Are you an autorized dealer for your 'friend' ?"

- "Nah, you'd have to talk to him. My son flies Helos some. He ain't here now."

- "Too bad. When will... this person, be back ? His com code would be nice as well..."

- "He ain't got a personal number, he's only 18, He'll get it when he goes to college."

- "Not to be overly curious (Capra smiles inwardly), but what is your son's handle anyway ?"

- "Stephen Saural. He'll be back in a couple of hours if ya wanna call back."

- "That would be best. Have a nice day, sir." and he hangs up.

     'Well, time for a well earned rest period.' Capra bounces up in the air, skirts the ceiling a bit and lands on his mattress with a WOOMF. 'Should buy a new bed... Shouldn't have sold the hold one the first place... Gotta pay my debts first...' His sleepy thoughts fade and he sleeps...

     "UH ?" Capra jerks awake with a start, blinks a few times then suddenly relaxes. He sits up and scratches his head muzzily. 'Whasup on the agenda today ?' Nothing seems to come to mind right then and there, so he dresses and does his morning things, thinking it over. 'Maybe I should check on those grates on the public database ? Naaah, no chance it's on there... on the other hand, why would that be classified ? Worth a try, I suppose... Send a few questions to our irritable lady Nightshade while we're at it. Sounds like a plan.'

     He pads over to his telecom unit with a juice in hand and plunks himself down on the floor in front of it. 'Selling the chairs was a mistake too, I'd wager...' He inserts the plug into his jack as the unit turns itself on. 'Good thing I had that guy remove that tracer chip thingy. That way I don't have to go all the way over to the mall district...'

     Matrix land. Capra is now a skeleton dressed in ancient Egyptian garb, a goat's head sitting on his shoulders, floating above the glittering lights of information. 'Pretty good imaging I suppose...' The goat pulls out an ancient scroll from thin air, unfurls it and hieroglyphs start to form on its surface.

          Dear Nightshade,
          Hope your disposition is sunnier today. Yesterday, I was inquiring if those nasty missiles were connected to the Matrix and if you could therefor influence them or their targeting systems. Nothing to do with piloting, I assure you. Sorry for the misunderstanding. (Here he inserts a little Japanese figure that turns red and bows apologetically.)
          I am also curious as to the purpose and, most importantly, security level of the buildings immediately surrounding our target. They would make a dandy escape and/or entrance route (with only 20m to bridge). I'm particularly interested in (Capra takes the general map from his map soft and draws arrows on the buildings he thinks are the best for that purpose.). Thank you in advance.
                                                                  Capra Hibex.

     The skeletal goat drops the scroll into the flowing lights and off it goes, streaking toward its target. 'One down, one to go... Now where did I put that address ? Ah here it is.' The persona's bones crumble into a pile of dust that disappears with a burst of blue light... only to reappear in front of the SeaSource icon where the process reverses. 'Good old SeaSource.' Thinks Capra as he looks up the simulated Space Needle. 'Maybe... Naaah.' He walks into the entrance hall, with its pictures of an ideal Seattle life, impossibly big compared to the outside. 

- "Excuse me miss." He says to a clerk. "My name is Jonathan Hammel, I wonder if you could help me ? I'm a student researching sewer construction through the ages (Perhaps you've read my monograph on grate decorations in medieval Paris ? No ?). Anyway, Seattle has such an interesting system, what with the melding of numerous cities (Not as interesting as any OLDER systems, mind you, but I must do something on the modern age to satisfy my requirements. Quite a pain I know.) Anyway, I prattle on and on, but a map of the present sewer system would be nice. Of course, I would really rather like details of your gratings. (My speciality you know.) Are you sure you haven't read my monograph ?"

- "No, I'm afraid I haven't, and if you want public records, try the public library. I know they have maps like that." She says. 

- "Thank you. I shall."

     As Capra walks out and start to head that way, he notices an obstacle in his path. As he stops and looks, he see a very well endowed woman, gorgeous in all respects, her dress is made of some kind of natural looking leaf, and looking again, you realize the leaves are nightshade leaves. In her hand, she holds a fan that is made of the same material, her fingernails are long, chromed claws though. "Thy didst request the services of a lady?" At your appreciative nod, she snorts "You came to the wrong place then, I'm no lady. But I wanted to ask you a question, Can you read ?" At your further nod, she pulls out the map you sent her with the arrows. "Red means high security, yellow means middle, and green means next to none, alright?" She pauses.

- "Better than alright. Actually good... and might I say your imaging looks lovely today. You LOOK the part of a lady, at the very least." Capra flashes his own patented self-mocking smile ('Wonder how that looks on a goat's head...') as he stores the revised plan in memory.

- "No, I look like a Woman, I look nothing like a lady, nor do I act the part."

- The young man shrugs. "Beauty in the eyes of the beholder and all that... First time I see someone take 'lady' as an insult though. The proverbial first time for everything I suppose..."

- "As for the missiles, no they aren't connected to the matrix, in any way, shape or form. No weapons system is, you know why? They want to keep people like me out of them. No logic in connecting them, nothing to gain, a lot to loose. Now mister Mountain Goat, have you got anymore hairbrained questions ?"

- Capra smiles, "Quite a few actually. Fortunately for humanity as a whole, only the least harebrained ever make their way past my ruby lips." He reveals his goaty teeth in a sneer. "Such as : What is the composition of the gym's roof ? How easy is it to pierce ? (or are there easier ways to get in I don't know about ?)" The goat icon scratches its chin in a pensive manner. "While on the subject, is our cat the only one to have access to that gym or is it a gathering place for all the higher ups on the premises ?... Harebrained enough for you ?"

- "Let's put it this way: It supports 4 helicopters, equipment loading and crews. Put it together... As for the gym, only the Cat, the scientists in charge, and the class she teaches has access."

- Capra blinks, "Class ? What class ? Who's in it and where do they come from ? (Inside the building, out, outside the complex ?)"

- "The class that the Johnson mentioned she teaches... Fighting and Strategy in hand to hand combat? She teaches the security forces."

- "And I suppose these fellows all know each other ? So that we couldn't pretend to be them ?... Internal sec forces or out of base ones as well ?"

- She shrugs. "How would I know. I'm a decker, not a telepath."

- "Alright, let me rephrase that : are all the members of her class from the same sec unit ?"

- "No."

- "Good, good... As for the roof, there are more than one way to build a structure, you know. As well, that structure can later be reinforced beyond what is needed to simply support it (Metal sheeting and whatnots). I'd need something... concrete and rather detailed beyond "it supports 4 helos" (Wasn't it 3, last time ?) to ask an engineer about breeching it. Surely such plans are not well guarded... No more than the personnal ID store, at the very least. Might even find a relatively 'free' copy at the contractor's place."

- "It's 5 feet thick durasteel, plasticrete and concrete. Piercing it won't happen."

- "Well why didn't you say, if you had the detailed list of materials ?" He shakes his hand quickly, dismissing the matter. "Never mind. Looks like the up AND the down way are out... Which, unfortunetly, seems to leave only through. Not my favorite, but Haze should be pleased..." Capra looks to Nightshade. "What do the ground defenses look like ? Mines, barbed wire, van stopping ditches except on the road I bet."

- "A really big electric fence and an army."

- "I'm having flashbacks of trips to the dentist for some reason... I'll get the details from the ground recon unit, I suppose. So... Have YOU had any ground breaking ideas during this period of reflection ?"

- "Hardy harr harr. I think Merlin will have already thought of all of mine."

- "Possibly. Possibly not... If you get anything on the idea meter, please let us know." Capra thinks for a bit then resumes. "I think that about wraps it up for me. I've got a couple more things to do, then I'll meet you at the meet. See you !" The Goat skeleton calmly runs to his entrance pyramid and jumps through into the real world.     

     Capra unplugs himself from the Matrix and sights. 'More and more I wonder why Belladonna would need the services of one who can leap tall buildings in a single bound for a purely ground based run... At least the pay is good. Right ! Got to call back that rigger fellow.' Which he does.

- "Is Stephen Saural there ? This may seem like a strange question, but do you drive ground as well as winged crafts ? It appears the job in which I was envisionning to apply your services has taken some unexpected turns."

- "No, I only fly as a hobby, I have my drivers license though." The 14 years old seems pleased.

- Capra does a double-take. "Uh <cough> That's OK. I think we'll need a pro ground driver for this one... Sorry to have bothered you." He hangs up.

     'What is Lawn Turtle thinking ? This ain't no stinking playground...' He looks at the time, winces, puts on his shoes and is out the door. After a quick trip to a surplus store for print spray, he makes the meeting just in time.


AT THE NEEDLE (Space needle park, Seattle, 17 August 2057)

     Driving to the Space Needle doesn't take all that much time, since Sherman's already downtown, but the evening traffic isn't exactly helpful. Honking and yelling out his window to all the idiots (read- everyone else behind a wheel) he finaly makes it to the Needle 12 minutes before he's supposed to be there. He uses this time to stake out the place. Looking for any wierd looking vans, or anyone on nearby roofs he tries to find anyone that might be spying on him.  He also looks for anyone on the ground that might be following or watching him. Once he feels a little less paranoid, he starts looking for the other guys who are supposed to meet him here.

    Shunning what the humanoids call progress in transportation, Merlin takes his natural form of transportation to a spot a short distance from the meeting place after his reconaisance, and then walks the rest of the way, looking rather concerned...

     Drake spent the time between the meets relaxing, who knows when he would next get some decent sleep.  As the meeting hour drew closer he checked his spell reagents and hardware, and satisfied that he didn't need to place any emergency orders,  headed out.  He paused at the entrance to his building, and considered taking the rapier, but thought the better of it.  Walking the two short blocks to the monorail station, he boarded the old clanky monorail car.  The car, a dinosaur from a bygone era, bounced along the concrete rail, past brownstone tenaments and other run down buildings.
     
     Drake gazed out the window and watched Seattle's night life evolve with detached interest.  Five short minutes later the monorail pulled up at the Needle's stop, and Drake  disembarked.
     
     Across the concourse a large figure kept stealing surreptious glances at passers by.  Whoever it was, they were obviously feeling a little paranoid. Drake studied the figure, and sure that he wasn't about to make a very bad mistake, wandered up to him. "Heya chummer, whassup, you're acting like a wanted troll"

BREAK

     Merlin walks into the meeting, looking concerned, but reserved.

     Bruno returns after 12 hours to the meeting spot and sits again to listen, his suggestions so far have been two minutes behind the rest of the group so he will just sit and watch, till the right time. During his time away he has downloaded his 25Kof Ny from the stick, some people still haven't taken there share yet. 

<MODIFY
OK, I think I finished all the moves, so you all meet up at the agreed upon
place. Merlins pocket secretary beepos, and when he answers it, Nightshade is
there.... Meeting convened.>

     Bruno asks "So what is new?"

     Merlin looks to Capra, confident the ever talkative one will be glad to initiate the conversation and regale them all with tales of his exploits...

     "Uh ? Why are you looking at me like that ? Something on my face ?" Capra crosses his eyes trying to look at the tip of his nose. Not finding anything, he settles back down and begins. "Right, let's get to bussiness." 

     He grimaces with annoyance. "The luck of the Magi sure wasn't with me on this one... or maybe I should say 'us'. Many promissing leads that encounter durasteel walls just when they hit that fatal speed limit... Did manage to burn my map soft and contact a helo pilot, so it's not a total loss, but heck ! I've spent more productive days doing nothing but eating chips in front of the trid !"

     Merlin says, "What are the details of the situation with this helo pilot?  It may be worth using him, but that will depend upon his charge, and I am inclined to think it will be more than his services would be worth to us." 

     "Actually... I didn't ask." Capra's smile is rather embarrassed. "He wasn't there the first time I called and by the second occasion, I really didn't see us going the air way (the UCAS air defense grid combined with that rather longuish detour to get there, you know.) I'll contact him again should we decide to use his service, as unlikely as that looks right now..."

     "On to specifics. I don't know if you've noticed, but that gym's ceiling reaches all the way up to the roof. So I thought it was a dandy escape/way in. Plenty of cover on it and a mere 20m from other, low sec, buildings. Can't get to it from the inside (the only stairway is on the bloody outside of the whole ugly mess.) and AC conduits smaller than an elf, but I figured we could pierce it (laser drill and whatnot). FIVE feet of bonded durasteel and plasticreet, ladies and gentlemen ! We ain't going that way..."

     Merlin nods.  "If we do not bring the base to red alert while we are on it, we can walk right out of the compound.  There is no security checks on a millitary base going out unless the base is on alert.  If the base does go on alert, it may be worth going up the stairway on the outside to get the helicopters, or it may not, depending on the security situation at that moment."

     "I really liked the helo idea, but as I said, I don't think we can do much of anything with those GA batteries and open ground all around. Even with the best military pilot, which my guy is not, and shaft flying out our rear in miraculous quantity, I'd say our odds are on the wrong side of dead... On the miscaleneous side, I confirmed that the missiles are in no way within Nightshade's grasp, didn't get the time to confirm the sewer story, confirmed that Belladonna HAS something to hide (though I don't know what) and that the cat has a HtoH class with sec people (we could either use that as a way in or at the very least, avoid scheduling the run when her place is packed.) As I said, I should've stayed in bed... What about you guys ?"

     Bruno says, "My investigations also turned up zip, Belladonna from my contacts, don't exist, as for something useful." Toss photos of the perimeter and buildings seen through telephoto lens, on to the table. "I did a careful perimeter surveillance and I brought these in for a look." "I did have an idea though as another possible in, does this base have interbase sport competitions at all, we could go in as support staff to a team... Otherwise I have nothing else at the moment to put forward."

     Sherman nods to Capra when he finishes, then scratches his butt while bruno speaks and then says, "Well, I din't really get anyting useful. All I really got was dat folks go in, but dey don't get out. Sounds kinda like wunna dem terror-trids.  Hope y'all got sometin better. I kinda like d'idear of goin' in as dat sec force for hand to hand trainin'. We might tink about dat." With that he sits down and listens to the others.

     "Different sec units too, so there's less chance of the old 'Hey, I don't know you !' gag." mentions Capra.

     Haze slowly stretched as Capra spoke, then plunges in after Sherman's bit. "Hmmm...I've also heard tales about runners going on base and never coming out again. There's one survivor that I know of - totally insane. If you really want, it may be possible to arrange to see him. If nothing else, an astral scan of his aura may give us some clues. Supposedly, the reason he's insane has something to do with magic. I don't know what, though. That brings me to my second point, however - I may be able to shed some light on Belladonna's motives.

     "Now, I don't know if anyone else has heard this story, but it's been confirmed by my media and magical contacts. Apparently, there was an explosion a few years ago that left an astral rift in its wake for months afterwards. An astral rift that bears striking similarities in description to the one that appeared at the scene of the demise of our late, lamented president, including sucking in astral presences who get too close. Seems that after it closed the military clamped down on the base - that's probably when it got so deadly for infiltrators.

     "Does anyone else find it odd that we get this job from Ms. Belladonna to get into this base so soon after another similar astral rift has appeared?"

     "Uh... Where was this rift located exactly ? Within Kitty-cat's quarters ? That could explain that humongoid gym in the middle of a high sec zone. Not a common feature of your more trendy bases..." Capra looks to Haze and Merlin, thinking that might be the explanation for the later's grim expression.

     "Yes, the birds in the area informed me that they had been feeling and seeing rather strange things in the area of the base, though being simple birds they were incapable of ellucidating.  It is interesting to note that while there are no wards around the entire base, there are wards around selected areas.  This is to be expected, but all of the areas our dear target are allowed in are among the warded areas.  I should further point out that they have a number of elementals bound to the base.  This could in some ways provide us with a small advantage as there is a chance that skilled mages can take control of those elementals at little cost, but this would likely be more than outweighed by the inconvinience the elementals could present, especially when it is considered that there are more elementals there than we could capture." With that, Merlin tosses down a chip and a hard copy, copies of the base maps the johnson had supplied, now annotated with all the interesting things he had learned, including the location and strength of the wards and elementals. "Incidentally, those wards will prevent me and any other dual natured individual we have in this group from entering kitty's area..."

     Bruno asks "What do these rifts do? Are they dangerous or problematic to our mission?"

     Haze shrugged helplessly. "My contacts have no idea - although if any of our mages got too close to one of them, it would likely prove very hazardous. However, as far as we know, the base rift is no longer open. I would recommend caution, however. No one seems to know anything in particular about them. And no, I can't tell you anything about where the rift was located exactly, either."

     Haze scratched his chin. "At any rate, a thought occurred to me while we were apart. If we really need to make a diversion, why put ourselves at risk? And why put anyone at increased risk by actually attacking the base? My contacts assure me that there are a number of go-gangs who would be willing to 'buzz' the base, as it were, or stage a rumble outside it." He grinned. "Does a gang war strike you as the kind of thing that might distract the guards?"

     Capra smiles. "Certainly does. Less controlable than a troll with a dragon launcher, but effective... We're going to have to drive through that mob on our way out though, since the up and the down ways are apparently out. Drive through the gate as well, I wager. Um..." 

     Haze smiles. "The idea, Capra, was not to activate the rumble unless it was needed. In that case, we wouldn't be going out through the front gates, anyway."

     Drake says, "Don't you think the whole world would know we were trying to infiltrate the base if we hired a biker gang to sit outside it?  It _might_ work if we were in the middle of the City, but from all accounts this place in way out in the sticks."

     "Well, to Haze's defense, a go-gang does have the advantage of speedy transportation to the scene of the crime (if they don't carry it with them, of course.). Discipline = zéro, speed = quite a lot." Capra turns to haze. "That's what I meant about control, you know. Can your thugs be switched on and off at will ? Won't they get impatient, waiting out there twirling their thumbs in unison ?"

     "You have a point there. It wouldn't be easy. Timing would be everything. Maybe that one should be a fallback plan if we can't think of anything else."

     Capra shifts through the stack of photographs and picks one with the gate. '3m high fence, retractable spikes all the way down the road and a fence that bounces back when you hit it, he notes. Chainlink, but reinforced with some sort of rubber alloy. You kick it, it kicks you.' "Notice anything special about the place, Bruno ?"

     Bruno looks to Capra "Nope I reckon they be standard looking gates."

     "I was refering to the base as a whole... and the ground approach in perticular, now that I think of it. The way things look now, we'll have to crawl our way in and out of the 'Compound Of Doom'... Maybe Drake and/or Winder could add something to the proceedings as well ? You're not keeping quiet on account of bad news, I hope ?" Inquires Capra.

     "No", Drake replied pensively, "I haven't got any other information, good or bad, my contacts have little to do with the military, and I didn't see any point in risking the operation by asking the wrong people the wrong questions.  I was however thinking about a few of the variables we touched on earlier, and would like to revisit them if you don't mind... Firstly, has anyone been able to find out anymore about this Wildcat character?" Silence... Apparently not.
     
     "Secondly, someone mentioned that no runs against this facility have been successful, and all have been near fatal. How recent were these runs, did they involve Kitty and what method of intrusion did they use?  This may explain the elevated level of security our scouts have described, and maybe we can learn something from the other runners' mistakes. Finally, I note from the photo of Ms Kitty Spirit that she seems to have some sort of pet or guardian, a Griffin I believe.  Does anyone think this creature will figure in our bid to rescue her, either as a threat or as something we have smuggle out as well?"

    Merlin has the answer to this one, "The griffin should be of little consequence.  If it is kitty's pet, we may have to find a way to take it with us, but if whatever means of egress we choose is large enough, that should be no more difficult than taking kitty, and the beast could be an asset if well trained. If it is a threat, it should likely be an easy one to deal with.  A simple narcoject should do it, especially if we encounter it inside.  The confinements of the room would not be amicable to their preferred method of fighting." 

      "Furthermore, I do not understand why we need elaborate means of entrance or egress. If our dear decker can provide what she claims, and I believe she can, we will be able to walk into the compound by whispering a few words and waving a few cards.  If we do not bring the base onto alert, our egress is even simpler, we simply drive past the gaurd and wave with our only needed precaution being making kitty invisible, and if possible, having someone mask her aura.  We shall of course need more elaborate means of making our exit prepared, along with all such diversions and decoys as would be useful, but it is possible that we shan't need them, and when considering such contingencies, we should not prepare one plan such as "get a helicopter" or crawl out, but rather several, and then use whichever best suits the situation."

     Capra looks cross-eyed at the carefree magician. "Sure, a lot of ways out would be nice... The problem however is that we haven't found A SINGLE ONE that has any chance actually working." He counts on his fingers. "The helo WILL be shot down, the sewers are blocked, blowing our way out through the roof is out... All that's left is the ground approach (Nothing to do with crawling, just a figure of speech.). Of course, if all goes well, we go in and out like armor piercing shells through butter walls, but even Nightshade doesn't think her papers will hold through repeated checks in the inner circle, so..."

     Nightshade says, "Well that depends on how close they look, but you gotta realize, the higher up, the closer they look. It will take nearly a week for me to do them all though, as inspectors, and that story is shaky. If I wanted to post you to a project NEAR, but not quite on her, it would be simple, and then its just a matter of getting a litttle lost, and entering the wrong door, or one guardpost, at most....."

    "First, the helicopters are not necassiraly out as an option.  All we would need to do is destroy their ground air missiles and other helicopters before we take off.  I doubt the pilot's services would be worth the fees, so unless someone has a skillsoft hardware and cares to purchase the appropriate software, then it is viable... But a better arial escape would be to simply fly away as birds...They are not equipped or ready to deal with birds, even if they think to look for us there...  I know the spell to change anyone willing into a bird.  I could not change the whole group with my own power, but if one of our other magicians new the right spell, that would simplify things.  Even without that, a sufficient investment in fetish foci would give me enough power outside myself to change everyone in the group into a bird.  The concentration would be torture afterwards, but an elemental or two could help me sustain the spells."

     Capra smiles wide."A bird eh ? I think I'd like that... Taking out all their missiles before take off is a pipe dream (this IS the base that's charged with defending the coast, you know.), but that bird idea has potential. Would we be able to have carry-ons on this flight or are bagages a big nono ? and how much time would you need to do the deed ? Aren't those juju implements expensive as hell ?... (Umm... Bruno is rubbing off on me, I think...)"

     "I could allow minor equipment to be taken, but it would have to be something that you could wear directly or that would fit in a pocket.  Large packages and such would be beyond my ability, but if there is something valuable, we can stash it and hire someone to get it later.  That one would definitely be an in and out operation requiring nothing more than a faked id to get it... The fetish foci are extremely expensive I fear, but could be well worth it.  The elementals to help me sustain the spells would also be very expensive, but those would reusuable.."

     Sherman shakes his head after hearing the 'bird' idea and grumbles, "Birds? Birds ain't carry no guns. How we gonna protec ahrselves wit no guns? Sounds too risky t'me. I still says we jes' go in actin' like de research guys, 'cause den we'll have passcards. We jes' go in, fin' de Kitty and stuff her inta a box 'r a bag er sump'n. Den we jes' walk out again. Dat way if de cards fail at one a de checkpoints, we jes' say 'Sorry' an' walk out again. If we can't fin' de Kitty, we jes' walk out again. If we find 'er an' de guards stop us, den we jes' break fer de closest exit we can....wedder dat's de front gate, de fence, or a helo to jes' jump over de fence. Dat kinda plan leaves us a lotta options t'use. Dat's what I says."

     Says Winder : "I've got one problem with that, we're thinking way too short sighted here. Getting out of the base is the minor problem, the massive stretch of flat land around the base is what bothers me. We need some sort of really fast transport to pick us up once we clear the base. My best suggestion is hire a group of smugglers or otherwise who have access to a T-Bird to pick us up once we clear the base and give a signal of some sort. That way instead of dodging fire on a really long run across a flat plain we just get a little way's from the base, hop into the T-Bird that we hired to pick us up and run like hell before they manage to get an organized force together to hunt us down. That is probably going to be expensive but we might be able to get Nightshade to re-direct some funds to a temporary acount to bankroll this little venture."

     "Excellent idea, though if Nightshade was able to so easily redirect such large amounts of money, she would be living by doing that, not helping us in other ways... I agree with Sherman here. Those ideas he voiced are exactly what I have been proposing we do, if things go perfect, except that I would take a car rather than walking.  I hate walking.  Simply breaking for the closest exit if things go wrong won't work though.  Not when considering, as Winder reminds us, there is a rather flat area around the base for several miles, and the base, being a millitary installation, quite literally has an arsenal to use against us... The shapechange idea was one of our backup escape plans, not something I wish to go with if it can be avoided, but a good option to get out if we don't.  It only takes a few seconds for each spell, so if we can get somewhere secluded for even a minute after we find we can't just walk off, everyone can be turned into a bird and they probably won't even think to look for us in that area.  If they do think to fire, they would have a hard time hitting.  Neither pistols, nor machine guns, and most definitely not missiles or tanks are good against birds, as I know from experience.  They would have to use rifles, which they normally don't.  When fighting against men and machines rifles make no sense at all, so they would likely have few on the base, and by the time they mobilize their few, we would be thoroughly scattered amidst the local native birds..."

     "No offense, Merlin, but I think this would have to be a really desperate fallback plan," Haze murmurs. "Are we forgetting the fact that magical security around the base is rather awesome? Maybe the security guards wouldn't be able to pick us out from other birds - but you can bet your life the elementals and security mages would. Not to denigrate your abilities, but I don't think you could mask us effectively enough to make a whole group of us look like birds in the astral as well as in the physical plane."

     "I think you're right Haze," says Drake. "but its nice to have a lot of fallback plans.  I know you would only want to do it as a last resort Merlin, but I must say that I prefer this idea to the escape in the helo one. Is there any limitation as to what you can shapechange Merlin?"

     The man in question answers : "I can only change someone into a mundane animal, and while the version of the spell I've chosen allows equipment to be incorporated, it must be something small that can be either worn or carried in pockets.  Pistols and foci can be saved, large guns or other large equipment can not.  Also, my target must be willing to recieve the spell and must be alive."

     Merlin is forced to roll his eyes at the first sentence of Haze's comment, "I have been
proposing it as a desperate fall back plan.  Just as the go gang is a desperate fall back plan, and the stealing of a helicopter was a desperate fall back plan.  If things go well at all, we can walk in, and walk out. Never using force at all, never touching magic, just convincing them that we should be there when we go in, and that Kitty is not with us when we go out should be quite sufficient if things work well. I'm not even suggesting that this be our primary back up plan, in fact I hate the idea as it would wear me out and cut into all of our profits."

    Merlin pauses, and looks over at the troll that had been speaking earlier of carrying kitty out in a sack, "I would prefer to take a van and put kitty in the trunk then carry her out in a sack.  We could make much better speed that way, but otherwise I believe your suggestion of getting in as perhaps a cleaning crew or scientific researchers and then just walking out with her after very quietly taking down anyone who questions us too much is excellent.  I also might suggest that it would be better to try to let me convince them magically that we should be there before we go around shooting people, but the end result is more or less the same."

    He then turns back to face the entire group, particularly Haze, "The problem is that that plan mandates we do not put the base on alert or that something else does not put the base on alert.  If the base is not on alert, we can walk off without going through any security at all.  If it is on alert, security will be only very slightly looser going off then it was coming on.

REPOSITION
    That is why we need other fall back plans.  This was one of them, and one that has merit in the fact that it requires for success only 1 minute of time in hiding and that we come prepared for it.  We must be prepared or else this is impossible, since I can not weave the manna well enough to do this without outside help.  That means one of our other magicians must either learn the spells as well, or I must have the necessary tools, namely either fetish foci or, more expensive but more durable, a specific spell foci for the shapechange spell I use.
    The magical security would be a problem regardless of how we escape. They would be most likely to spot kitty despite our attempts to hide her, and don't forget that elementals and mages can take down vehicles as easily as people.  I've often found it effective to just look through the window of a car to see my target, and I suspect they would think of that.  It's not as bad as you propose though, since they would have to think to look in the astral to tell we weren't birds.  Also remember that the elementals bound to the site can not leave the site.  They won't be able to follow us off base. Elementals bound to a person could follow us, but their controlling mage would also have to follow us to direct it...etc.  Its hardly a perfect
escape, but none of the others we've proposed as backups are either, and we could use this in tandem with a distraction.
    To your question, I have learn to mask my own aura, but my powers are not yet great enough to extend that."

     Then on to other escapes.  Why must we steal a helicopter?  This is a millitary base, why not consider taking a tank or other such hardware?

     "Because running away in a tank is like trying to outrun a police car on skateboard while wearing your prom dress : slower than the next guy and spoteable a mile away ! We either need something fast (like a helo) or we bring our own stuff in. Another reason the repair idea is not a bad one..."

     "For once, you have a real point." grants Merlin.

     "Why thank you ! I do apologise for my many fictuous points, but who can tell them apart nowadays ?" Capra shakes his head with mock sadness. "Sad world. Sad, sad world..."

     "We should have a diversion.  For that, I propose a remote controlled man portable mortar, or two.  With our deckers help, we could make it look like the base was under assault not by a group of shadowrunners, but by a full corporate or governmental war division.  That would at least divert attention from our campaign.  I've yet to see a rabbit take notice of the bite of a flea when a bird of prey was descending upon it..."

     Using the back of the chair to scratch his back, Sherman says, "Okay...so all's we need is wunna us t'play like he's mixed up in de head. Dat'll be de guy in charge'a de reasearch team. Me'n Bruno'll be de 'bodyguards' and de resta ya'll be de udder reasearch guys. We got a job t'do over near Kitty's building, so's we gotta get dere. We go over dere and de 'head research guy' gets all confused an' says we gotta go in Kitty's building. If de guards stop us, at first we c'n say dat we're s'posed ta be in dere. If dey get really drekky 'bout it, den we take 'em out quiet. Prefrably Bruno er me should do dat, 'cause den we got some... uhh...what's it....deniability. After dat we jes keep walkin' 'til we get ta Kitty. Den we make ahr break outta dere. Lessay dat de job we gotta do needs some heavy equipment dat maybe de udder 'research guys' are carryin'. Dat way, we can stash Kitty in dere when we beat feet. If we really need ta run, me'n Bruno'll carry de fem. I don' tink we need ta get too particaler about de details, 'cause if we do and de fit hits de shan, den all our plans are gonna go down de drekker 'cause de bad guys won't play by our rules, y'know. Les' leave it simple so dat we c'n do what we need ta do if de situation comes up. I dunno....'s jes a suggestion." Sherman, having attacked his back with the chair to no avail, picks up the chair by the legs and scratches up and down his back trying to relieve himself of the itch.

     Winder sits in his chair looking like he's having misgivings about something "Y'know, the more we look at this job, the more it looks like a suicide mission. Am I the only person who is bothered by that fact?" He pauses to rub at his eyes and takes a sip from a cup of soycafe that he brought in with him. "Sorry about that, I've just got this nasty feeling that I haven't been able to shake. Personally I think that Nightshades idea of getting us near the area but not
actually into it probably has the best chance of working. Once we're inside the base things get significantly simpler. Still, that leaves us with a problem of how to get out . . . unless of course we had a legit reason for leaving...

    Merlin remarks, "You seem to forget that unless a base is on alert, no legit reason for leaving is needed, and once a base is on alert, no legit reason for leaving that does not directly involve the bases mission is sufficient."

     Nightshade, is there any chance you could get us on the base looking like members of a unit that was transferred across from another base? That way we'll probably attract less attention if we end up spending a lot of time hanging around near each other. Then, maybe a day or two after we get settled in send in an e-mail saying that one of the former members of the unit was killed and say that the rest of us are required to attend a memorial service in his/her honor. That way a little while before we're actually scheduled to leave we grab kitty and if we did it quietly enough we should just be able to hop on the transport that's taking us to the supposed service and leave without causing any trouble. We then hi-jack the transport once we're clear of the bases defences, land and disappear into the city. I know it would require some serious acting but if we're careful if might actually work."

     "I suppose I could" Says Nightshade, "but why would you be there? I'd need details..."

     Capra scratches his head, "I don't know about you, but I sure couldn't fool my 'collegues' for more than 30 seconds, much less 2 days... I think Nightshade meant we could get access to the labs in the cat's building (as a tech/repair unit, perhaps. It'd give us an excuse to lug things around.). That would leave 3 of the 8 guard stations to bypass : much improvement on our odds, I say."

     "One other thing though," Winder stops talking for a moment as he reaches behind his chair and pulls out a largish rectangular crate clearly marked with the warning label 'Keep out of reach of small children.', turns to Sherman "One Grand Dragon Armor Piercing Rocket Laucher with three rounds of ammo." and hands if to the massive troll. Also, if anyone is interested, I've made up 5 4kg packages of Compound XII plastic explosive. Three are rigged up with timers and two have radio detonators, maybe those could be used as diversions if things go awry?"

     "Agreed, those could be excellent diversions, though to be effective we would have to place them while we were on the base but before they were needed." says Merlin.

     "I wanted to wait untill all reports where in before starting this discussion, but OK. Does any of you see any other way to exit then through the gate or a section of the fence ?"

     Haze shrugs. "Big spell blow hole in fence? If worst comes to worst, of course. I can't help there - I'm a tad more subtle - but maybe Merlin could."

     "Direct combat spells are not my forte..." Merlin replies.

     "Damn," Haze mutters. "Drake? What about you? Anyway, if worst comes to worser," he grins, "I'm sure we could get our hands on a grenade or two or some high explosives or the like in a military base."

     "I'm sure one of those Dragon thingamagiger will blow a nice, BIG hole in the fence." Capra looks at the crate dubitatively. "Doesn't look too concealable though... Buying a couple of grenades shouldn't be too much of a problem... Even I can swing that."

     Side winder speaks up, "Actually because they're designed to be as man portable as possible they're about as concealable as a large heavy pistol. If you wore a Securetech Longcoat and had a custom shoulder rig put together you could actually have a decent chance of sneaking it in. Especially if it's a troll who's concealing it. No offence, but they tend to have odd bulges and bumps all over them in the form of bone depostits that have broken though the skin."

     "Limited usefullness when the farthest wall is right in front of your face though." Remarks Capra.

     "The idea is not to bring them onto the base," Haze says. "I think they'd probably be a bit leery about us packing anything more than a pistol or two. Hey, if it's going to take that much power, someone can blow a Dragon through the wall from outside!"

     Capra looks surprised. "Hadn't thought of that. The blowing-up-the-fence-from-outside I mean, as for the pistols... if we're to be good little repairmen, we shouldn't pack ANYTHING. Visibly, of course. Pistols and maybe a couple of subs in toolkits and up various openings are a must." There's a wicked grin on his face. 

     "I still support aquiring a remote controlled man portable mortar, or if we feel like going into higher priced options, a combat drone could be good, but I don't believe we have a rigger..." Merlin says with a shrug.

     Capra continues, "While we're on the subject, anybody here can fix-up a tool tray with a false bottom or know someone that can ?" Silence. "Um... We do seem to be lacking in the fundamental, down to earth, this is a grease stain kind of skills..." He stretches out his hand and takes on the tone of an orator. "Befriend a mechanic NOW, my friends ! The survival of your country depends on it !" Back to a normal voice. "and, more importantly, maybe ours as well..."

     Ignoring Capra's antics, Merlin pushes on. "Someone in the group should openly bear a narcoject.  They are legal without permits, and any smart guard would question anyone outside of a corporate enclave who bore no weapons, and it would be useful as a nonlethal quiet way of taking down the guards and the griffin if needed.  I would also still appreciate it if we could have someone posing as a paranormal animal trainer so I could take my natural form.  I suppose I could just fly in and no one would question it, but they wouldn't let me in the buildings that way..."

     Haze sighed. "Look, why? You come up with a decent reason why a trainer would be bringing a paranormal bird on base and one of us will pose as one. Fair enough?"

     "Take your pick.  We would make excellent special ops agents.  Who would suspect the bird?  You could be bringing me in as a speciment to study the magus factor in non metahumans.  Perhaps I joined the UCAS army and the person I'm with isn't my trainer but my assistant.  My kind are registered as sentient species, and though I am under the impression I am the first to interact so directly with humans, we can technically request citizenship, and once we have that we have the same rights as do metahumans in the UCAS...Perhaps I am a representative from the Tir Na Nog millitary coming to learn more about the UCAS on an exchange program... I would grant that it wouldn't make a lot of sense for me to be with a bunch of repairmen though, and that is where I have difficulty.  If one of you can manage an explanation of that, I advise that it be done, for my performance is better in that form, if not, I shall assume human form, and my masking is sufficient to get me through even an astral glance, but won't stand up to someone studying my aura... Please do not act as if following my tactical advice that I am most useful to the group in my avian form is a personal favor though."

     Winder looks at Merlin in an odd way, "I don't want to pry or anything but you keep mentioning your 'natural form' uh, just what is your natural form? If I might be so bold to ask."

     "I am a Merlin Hawk."

     Capra's eyes bulge, a suppressed guffaw escapes his pressed lips and then he collapses into gales of laughter. "Hahah ! A Merlin Hawk ! Hihihi ! Good one !" He rolls around in his chair, barely avoiding falling off then gradually calms. "Ahhhhh..." He sights, wiping tears from the corner of his eyes. "Bet you've been waiting to spring that one on us from the beginning, eh Merlin ?"

     Merlin just looks at Capra, and arches an eyebrow, "I do not understand..."

     Capra suddenly sits straight and serious. "Warning. The humour of Capra Hibex can only be fully understood by a mentally deranged dwarf in Billoxy (Bill to his friends.) Do NOT consume internaly." He smiles. "But seriously folks, it's as if Bruno's name was 'Minautor' and mine 'Mister Human'..." In his phony sofisticated accent. "I find that the thought tickles my ribs in the most entertaining fashion... You know ?"

     "Yes, it is, isn't it?  But at the time I was still learning your language, and I doubt you could pronounce my real name, so Merlin seems best."

     "'Merlin' you shall stay then." Smiles Capra. "(Skawks and twirls are not my forte, I'm afraid.)"

     Sherman listens to the doubting Thomas' who point out the *slight* technicality in his rather well thought out plan (as far as he thought). "Awright den," he growls, "what do you smarthoops tink we should do? Hire all dis drek, turn ourselves inta lil' birdies, but a T-bird and hope dat de guy we hired won't turn our hoops in, or jes' not show up?! What de frag? If de Johnson wanted a rigger, she'da hired a rigger. An' anudder ting..." He trails off for a second, looking thoughtful again, "Hey...wait a nano. Hey, Drake...if youse c'n turn us inta birdies ta fly.....can you turn us inta rats? Not like Devil Rats 'er nuttin'. But like regal'r rats? If ya can...den all we gotta do is get in dere like we're de research guys an' den fin' de Kitty. Once we find her, we tell her what's up. If she agrees t'come wit' us den Drake turns us all inta rats, or sump'n eltse small, and we crawl away tru dem sewers! We c'n jes' crawl tru dem gates like dey wasn't dere. If she don't wanna come wit us, well...den...we're in de drekker anyway. How's dat sound t'you high-n-mighty, planners of everyting down ta de last detail?" He crosses his arms and looks at the non-troggies smugly.

     "I'm much more comfortable with birds, for obvious reasons, but if you prefer sewer rats, I am willing to go with that." Merlin says with a nod.

     Haze raises an eyebrow. "Hmmm...sewer rats. That might not be a bad idea. As Sherman pointed out, the grates wouldn't stop us if we were all 'dressed' as rats, and we're less likely to draw magical or other attention going through the sewers, you'd think. After all, they'd assume that the grates would take care of things down there, wouldn't they?" He shrugs. "As for the operation of elementals, I'd have to defer to your judgement there. I don't have a lot of experience with them."

     "I just had a really horrible thought. The image of a 1kg rat touching a leathaly electrified sewer grate just passed though my mind. Now I can't be sure if they'd actually be that sadistic but being careful never hurts." Winder says with a barely noticable shiver.

     Sherman shakes his head again, "Okay..if you guys are gonna be DAT paranoid about Every Fraggin' Ting, den we might as well not even do dis ting. Dat's de way it's soundin' t'me. I understand bein' carefull, but....sheesh."

    "The paranoid have a tendency of surviving longer than those who aren't paranoid." says Merlin.

    "Less enjoyably so, though... I'm told. Anyway, let's put the crispy critter on the boiling plate and see if we have dinner. Nightshade, dear lad uh... woman of silicon, what treacherous paths would we have to travel to get from the Kitty to the dank recesses of the sewers ?"

     "There are some manholes outside her building, fairly nearby, or there's always the bathroom floor."

    "And, once there, would our tiny bodies end up roasted on a stick or pureed through too tiny grate openings ? (Delicious choices we have for you tonight, ladies and gentlemen !)" As Nighshade doesn't answer, Capra goes to ask again but decides against it for some obscure reason.

     Bruno shakes his head to clear all the miscellaneous crap which is flying about. "Ok so to make it clear, so far these are the possible entrance/exit plans."
"1: we use a van, cleaning or research scientist, to get in and out no fuss, no security alert."
"2: We get in and an alert is sounded we can either -turn to birds if we buy a spell focus or train a mage in the spell
                                                                      
     - steal a helicopter (suicide)
                                                                      
     - try to run the blockade in the van
"3: We toss the towel in now."
Few points we still need are a nacrojet for the griffin. A van and disguises/uniforms. Someone capable of driving the van. To find out about the missions which went bust, and Wildcat. Have I missed anything ?"

     "I was thinking or running the fence rather than the actual gate (less fortified, you understand.) but other than that, pretty much complete... What say you, Nightshade ? Could you get us rock solid repairmen IDs and maybe break something for us to go fix ? (Don't know if there any equipment that's connected to the Matrix... or connected to something that's connected to the Matrix... or... You get the idea.) At the very least enter a work order as if something WAS broken ?"

     "Easily, just say the word."

     Bruno rumbles "Or a delivery of barrels of something, we could have the team bar two hidden in barrels, for delivery and on the way out use the same exit, ie back in the barrels." Maybe on a semitrailer or lorryvan type truck. "Then we would only need a pass for the inner areas as research people."

    Winder says, "Actually that might not be a bad idea. The EuroFighter Variants tend to burn fuel like it was water and it's likely that they'd be shipping in fuel or regular occasions. Maybe not barrels though, a tanker truck would probably be more convincing. We could steal one of those and give it a quick paint job to make it look like a military tanker. Drive it in, unload some fuel into one of their storage tanks and then sneak back out in the empty truck. Whatever, it's an idea."

     "I can do either or both...take your pick."

     Capra takes the world has his witness. "Isn't it wonderful when things finaly go your way ?" Back to what passes for serious for him. "So, repairmen past the first five checks to the lab area then uh... then what ? Do we get another set of IDs for the inner three (Research people I think Bruno said.) or do we go silencer in hand ?"

     Merlin says, "I believe that repairmen should get us all the way in.  Remember most scientist and even millitary technicians don't know or don't have the time to repair things like xerox machines...  In my readings in history while researching you humans, I found a reference to a time when the United States slipped people into the most classified areas of the Russian KGB as Xerox repair men, and no one questioned it, or expected them to have security clearance or anything.  They were just repair men.  As long as they didn't leave the marked off paths, no one cared."  

     Capra says "Ummm... If the ID's are NOT checked in the outer five guard posts (maybe, I don't know.), you can bet that they will be in the inner three leading directly to those rooms..." He suddenly smiles and a metaphorical bulb is seen above his head. "We could do double duty though ! Have a repair job in the lab section and THEN one in the sanctum itself. That way, we're pretty certain of getting to the labs with a rock solid work order and any sec stations bypassed with the more iffy one is just icing on this illegal cake !"

     "I like the way you think..." Merlin continues, "I would still like a paranormal animal trainer amoungst the group though.  It seems in all of our best interests to have me in the building with you, and it is much easier for me to work if I don't have to concentrate on keeping up my altered form... Having weapons to deal with any unexpected resistance would be good though." No one seems overly enthused by the idea so Capra continues.

     "As for the exit... Plan one : blow a hole in the fence and drive the van through it (perhaps stopping over a grate when in town and dropping through that. (to avoid the helo pursuit, you know.)) Plan two (if we're pinned inside the building) : Change into filthy little animals and exit via the underground railway. Plan three : haven't thought of it yet, but it'll come to me..." 

    Merlin shakes his head, "You seem to have a clear grasp of the situation, though you did neglect the bird plan, which could have some advantages over turning into birds, depending on where we are and what the layout is, but the preparation for the rat and bird plans are the same, so at this stage it makes little practical difference.  If we are to maintain either as viable alternatives, one of three situations must be met.  Either I must aquire a specific spell foci for the improved shapechange spell, or I must have assistance, or I must have sufficient fetish foci.  I lack the resources by myself to currently implement the first or third of those, so I would require some financial help if we are to maintain that as an option... I still believe nice clean birds would do quite well, but if you insist on being filthy little animals, so be it." says Merlin.

     "So how much are we talking here ?" Capra looks to his already much depleted stick, then back up at Merlin "I can fork over 5K max at the moment. Would 35K be enough for this perticular capital venture ?" He addresses the rest of the group. "I do think it adds quite a lot to our options so 5K is not that big a deal when compared to the 6 of the average funeral (in good taste, of course.)"

     "At standard prices, that would purchase far more than enough fetish foci for the need, and they are versatile enough that any magician could use them... If 90K could be gathered, it would be sufficient to purchase a specific spell foci of the second level, and I would repay it in short order.  Either one would keep the changing into an animal escape open..."

     Capra gulps dramaticly. "Ugh ! Count me out for the big stuff. 5K is my max !" If there are no objections, Capra transfers his share to Merlin's stick with the others.

     "As I said, 5K will be more than sufficient for the fetish foci."

     Haze says. "I think we could all probably chip in towards buying Merlin a specific spell focus - much cheaper than buying locks."

     "In the short term, the fetish foci would be far cheaper, but in the long term the specific spell foci would be far cheaper, which is why I'm quite willing to repay any loans made to me for a specific spell foci." says Merlin.

     "Which leaves the diversion... I don't think we can safely place those explosive charges beforehand so that's out. The bikers are, well... bikers. Which leaves us one troll (and perhaps another) with The Big Guns. Take out the copters while they're still on the roof and eradicate any other small problems that would rear their ugly heads... If we're agreed on the above, we can start working on the specifics." Capra looks around at the group for any comments.

     Bruno nods "couldn't we strap the explosives to a model aircraft or such and just drive them up to the fence and leave them till we needed to blow the diversion."

     "Yes...far from ideal, but it does have a certain elegance and would be far cheaper than the mortar I suggested, though that still isn't a bad idea, I think." Merlin said after thinking.

     Capra smiles wide, "Now we're cooking ! Crazy ideas comming out our ears ! A plane is too noisy though, I suggest an RC dunebuggy (Already cammo painted !)" The athletic young man gigles softly to himself.

     "I thought the point of everything along this line was to make noise and attract attention." Merlin pointed.

     Capra giggles louder. "Say, you got a good point there ! The drive over COULD be part of the diversion. Rig them up to blow if they're hit and it's much more effective that way... I like it !"

     Haze says quietly, "while I think a remote controlled device filled with explosives would probably make a good diversion, we can't just 'park it by the fence'. I think it's just too risky - chances are that some patrolling guard is going to see it and raise an alarm. If it was flown in when needed - that would make a good diversion. Most guards would probably just watch it and wonder what's going on, rather than try to shoot it down."

     Capra looks to the tall elf. "Uh... Sounds suspiciously like what Merlin and I just said... but at least we agree on that one."

    Merlin again, "More or less.  Let us find out about the annoying little individual that seems to cause so many missions against this base to fail, and then I believe we need only wait for the IDs to act."

     "For the intrusion plan my vote would be for a scientists + military guards assigned to meet/study Kitty first, team of inspectors second, delivery van with crew hidden in barrels third, and repairmen fourth since that would limit our numbers again.  Scientists with guards meeting Kitty is my first choice as we would have an excuse to be with her, would explain our diverse natures, and may allow us not to have an escort at all times.

     Capra sights, "Alright, by the numbers : Scientist and/or inspectors would require high level clearance into a very high sec zone which would be shaky at best (Quoth the Nightshade). Low level clearances are more solid and will take less then a week to manufacture (Bonus people, bonus !). Inspectors and scientists with 3m tall bodyguards would most definatly be accompanied in their tours of sensitive regions (We're not inspecting a landfill here.) Uh... You mentionned that, I think. On to the next one : the barrel idea has some merits but it doesn't get us past ANY sec checks (You don't deliver oil to Labs... Would've been a good cover to get to the roof though. Oh well...). Which leaves the grease monkey plan. We COULD explain Bruno and Sherman as coming from a sister moving company to handle the heavy equipment or haul out whatever we're replacing (I'm fishing here.). That leaves five others to explain away. Four would've been more to my liking, but what the heck ! a five person repair teem isn't that big of a shock, now ist it ?... We could also combine the two and hide some of our members in the equipment we bring in, but I think carrying many bulky implements will arouse suspicion and a strip search..."

     Bruno suggests "How about we are plumbers come onsite to replace hotwater heaters, the heaters are massive suckers, so you have trolls move them." <G> "We could be 'Don't Panic, Joe's Plumbing service is Here."

     "Pretty good, pretty good." Capra turns to Merlin's secretary. "Do we have anything like that in the area that concerns us, Nightshade ? Big, bulky, officialy broken things for our non-sapiens-sapiens to lug around ?"

     "Hang on. I'll check." She buzzes off.

     "Capra, I must confess you seem to be developping during your work on this project.  Yet again you've come up with facts I can agree with." Merlin admits.

     Returning 3.67 minutes later, Nightshade says : "Nope, sorry, not so lucky.... but I can make them think there are pretty easily."

     Capra thinks about it, then says : "Something to think about... but we should bend reality as little as we can, you know. The more we bend, the more likely the poor thing will snap and toss us right into the freezer... If we're lucky. I mean, SOMEBODY in there is bound to know that there's nothing where we say there's a three ton piece of equipment. What if we meet that somebody ?..."

     Sidewinder says, "I've got a better idea. Instead of bringing the entire group in together why not split it into two separate teams. One team is in charge of securing a way out and preparing a distraction while the second team goes after Kitty. The first team should probably be around four people and arrive a few hours before the second so that they can have everything ready by the time the second team arrives. Once they have everything ready team two arrives and pulls the extraction on Kitty. After second team has Kitty, they make a break for it while team one covers them. Now that could be as simple as team one walking out or having to use every diversion we've cooked up to keep them alive. It all depends on how things go. Once team two reaches the sewers (That is the current escape plan isn't it?) team one will go and meet them there. Then after the two teams have (Hopefully) escaped though the sewers team two sets off all the diversionary measures to discourage pursuit and keep the base occupied with other  things than tracking us down. Team one could use the rock solid worker ID's because they're likely going to be in there the longest, while team two uses the inspector/researcher ID's because those ID's are shakey at best but hopefully team two won't be in there long enough for it to make a difference. In addition, any ID, even a shakey one, would be better than trying to con our way past the last three checkpoints empty handed. Plus if the inspector/researcher ID's are done well enough they should get team two past the first five checkpoints without any trouble. Team two should probably consist of one of the magical types, escorted but Sherman and Bruno who would be acting as bodyguards. That way we can get those two into the base without undue suspision and give team two the firepower it'll need if things turn sour." Winder then stops and takes a deep breath before continuing. "So how does that sound to the rest of you?"

     Capra raises a hand. "I don't know if I'm part of that rest, but I do have a question. I'm all in favor of a smoke-screen and mirrors crew, but what can they accomplish from inside that they can't do from outside ? RC placement, Dragon handling, mortar positionning, all of those are better if done in the great wide open. What more can they do in the compound except get caught ?"

     "I am again forced to agree with Capra on this matter, and should point out the sewer plan is contingent on everyone turning into rats or other small creatures, and unless someone has failed to mention it this long, I'm the only one who knows the spell. Considering we're working together, I would be happy to waive my normal instructing fees for anyone who wants to learn it, but that normally takes more than a week and would loose the bonus..."

     "Merlin, I would like to learn the spell obviously," Says Drake. "but I don't think we should lose out on the bonus so there probably isn't time before this run. I also reckon you should go for the focus rather than the fetish.  Have we got enough nuyen together for it yet?" asked the mage as he proferred his chip.

     "Certainly."

     "Now I'm not god or the CEO of Fushi so I don't know everything. The scientist gig might work, while the repairmen one doesn't. Still, I vote for the repair crew as the more likely prospect."

     Sherman's head swings back and forth between everyone tossing out ideas. Finally he blinks and shakes his head, "Hey chummers," he says while sitting down, "y'all jes' wake me up when ya gots a plan t'do dis ting. I gonna be right here." With that he settles his back against a bench, snorts noisily, hocks a large, wet loogy and closes his eyes.
     
     For extraction I would vote first for scientists as we could leave again with Kitty (and the Griffin if need be) shapechanged, or Hawk shapechanged and Kitty escorted out with a spare fake ID. As an alternate she could be smuggled out the   sewers via her bathroom floor, in rat form if need be.
     
     For fall back plans and diversions if required, a remote control mortar is a must, explosives set on helicopters possible, mass shape change difficult, and use of combat drones, escape by helicopters, dragon missiles and biker gangs a bust.
     
     I think Bruno has also identified what we need, Nightshade's assistance at setting up a meet with Kitty as scientists or other, fake IDs to support that (with spare for Kitty), remote control mortar, explosive charges, scientist clothing/ equipment and guard uniforms, vehicle and narcojet for quiet take down if required.
     
     Hawk, exactly what kind of assistance do you need for this mass shape change spell - would I as a mage be able to help - I am not familiar with the spell?"

     "I do not know of a mass shape change spell.  I was simply going to cast it once on everyone who needed it.  The problem with this is that it would be rather draining, which is why I need either foci or assistance to prevent myself from being too drained.  I am willing to teach you my spell, but unless you are a very fast learner, that would likely take long enough we would loose the bonus if nothing else." Merlin said.

     Haze says, "On the question of entry. I think that going in as repairmen is probably our best bet. Scientists would be second and smuggling us on in barrels would be dead last." With a grin, he looked at Drake and Bruno. "How many times do I have to say this - astral patrols! Maybe it wouldn't be standard procedure for an astral mage to check out each and every barrel coming on base - but if it's as tight as it sounds, it'd probably be a good bet that they would. It's just too risky... However, if we do go as repairmen, there are a few things we need to consider. First, I think someone needs to get in there first and actually break whatever we're supposed to be fixing. It doesn't matter if it's recorded as broken in the computer. All it takes is one nosy guard who knows it isn't broken and we're screwed. Either our cover is blown, or at the very least, we're escorted directly off base. 

     Merlin intervenes, "I believe the person sent to break something would cause more problems then it being discovered that nothing is broken.  Consider, we would have to have a valid excuse to get that person on the base, leading us to a recursive problem of getting people on the base without something broken... Second, even if they do discover our little matrix charade, they will likely not accuse us, but rather simply tell us that our services are not needed and escort us off, in which case we can take them down quietly..."

     "... and a guard that knows what lab equipment is working or not is a rare fellow indeed..." Remarks Capra.

     Sherman, leaning against the park bench, peeks open one eye at the re-mention of repairmen. Heaving his bulk forward into a sitting position he queries the bunch, "Hey, dere, chummers. I tink I like d'idear of de repairmen. But yer right...we gotta all get in dere, udderwise it'll do us no good. How 'bout we do dis, den. We have Nightshade put a small note in dere files sayin' dat some little ting's wrong wit dere air conditionin'. Just a little chip or sumpn'. Den we see who de base calls and uses as regular repairmen. Den once dere done wit dat, Nightshade puts a note in sayin' dat a whole huge A/C unit is down fer de count. Den we have Nightshade intercept de call an' we go in lookin' like de repairmen. We got me'n Bruno to carry de big A/C unit t'de gym, an' when we get dere, jes' look like we's doin' ahr job an' grab de Kitty. Dat way we got a rock solid way t'get in dere. How's dat soun'?" While talking his way through his idea, Sherman squints and looks up into space every once in a while, looking like a grade school child talking about what he did that summer. When finished, Sherman crosses his meaty arms across his chest and nods once, as if making a proclamation.

     "Sounds pretty good Sherman" replies Drake. "I guess we 'd take extra kit and ID to disguise her also as a repairwoman for the extraction, although there would of course be the risk of recognition or someone may spot the extra repairwoman, but I guess transformation or invisibility could take care of that."

     "Yeah, it's a smashing idea to go as a mockup of the regular guys. Might be simpler to check the Matrix and see if our compadres have a service contract though... Nightshade ?"

     "We seem to be sending our dear decker flying off everywhere, constantly.  For some reason, your culture would seem to indicate a joke about tired arms is appropriate now." says Merlin.

     "How about a virus unleashed in their systems, all of them...and they need computer repair people in?"

     "No, they would expect us all to have datajacks for that..." Merlin says.

     "So? You never heard of makeup? Stickers on the side of the head.. They've become all the rage for those who want to look like they have jacks when they haven't the money..."

     Capra shakes his head. "The main problem with that, I think, is that if the whole shebang is down, they're going to be running around screaming at the top of their lungs and peeking in on the 'repairs' every microsecond... Yelling things like 'Have you fixed it yet ?' and 'Say, aren't you Shadowrunners come to abscond with Kitty ?'. We'd want something that won't bring quite so much attention. A small piece that would be anoying enough to repair but not stop work altogether, you know..."

    "Actually, I never have heard of make up...." says Merlin.

    "You know... What you're wearing now." Capra waves his hand in circles in Merlins direction. "What you wear over your feathers, dude. Human versions are rather more primitive, but hell ! we're only human."

     Merlin simaltaneously arches one eyebrow as many humans would, and tilts his head to the right, in a distinctly avian gesture.

     "Not clear enough for you eh ?" Capra massages his chin thoughfully. "Alright, how about this : make up is what thruth wears when he (or she. Thruth is an equal opportunity employer.) wants to be a lie." The blue clad lad smiles wide, obviously enjoying the exchange.

     Capra perks up all of a sudden, then hits the palm of his hand with a closed fist. He turns to Merlin. "Heh... Didn't you say that the whole Kitty area was off-limits to you ? How are you going to transform us into rats from the door ? and isn't the drain in KITTY's bathroom ?"

     "No...If it had been a standard ward, I would have been unable to pass it without destroying the ward.  As it is, I believe that I can pass through easily without it ever being noticed that I am dual natured.  I can also pass a cursory astral exam as human, but any initiate studying my aura for any time will notice that I am not."  Suddenly curious, merlin glances around at the auras of all of his teammates, especially winder, curious about what it will reveal.

     Ignoring the gesture, Capra responds. "You're the expert, O wise one. The rat brigade rides again !"

     Winder questions, "Merlin, have we resolved the problem of getting you in the area,  I seem to remember you were concerned about your nature and that you wanted one of us as a paranormal handler?"

     "I've come to agree that it would be best for me to assume a human form for entry onto the base.  It will distract me somewhat, but the simplifications in our cover story are more than worth that, and I can manage an invisibility spell or a transformation spell on Kitty Spirit, but I have not yet learned a mask spell."

     Haze continues. "Next, the issue of multiple teams. I really don't like the idea of anyone hanging around on the base for 'hours'. MUCH too risky, if you ask me. Also, if there is a...long-term team and they're on base as repairmen,  then they aren't going to be able to just hang around for hours - they're actually going to have to be fixing something! Which means that, first, something has to be broken and second, that team has to know how to fix it, or at least pretend they do and make it look good. Have you considered that?"

     Capra raises a hand. "I have ! When we've decided exactly what we are (Aaaaany minute now...), this little piggy is planning to buy a soft on the subject. Won't be able to do much, but the conversation side of it is covered. I don't think anyone jived to Winder's idea anyway so it'll just serve for the posted troopers of the glorious UCAS... and any scientist that should bar our own glorious way in. (No daddling kiddies, _straight_ to the goal.)."

     "Now, maybe I've missed something, but let me try to get a handle on things as far as escape plans go. Best option - we just walk out, no one the wiser. Next best - we sneak out somehow? Either as rats or birds or some other way? Worst case scenario - we use a diversion and blow our way out. Is that right? Or have I missed something?"

     "I believe that is all of our escape options at this time..." Declares Merlin.

     Drake speaks up, "Did anyone notice any tanker trucks on the base ?  Blowing one of them up would make a huge diversion if need be, and if its one for refueling the choppers it would take out three birds with one stone so to speak."

    "Very wise, and very good, though personally I am against taking down any birds with any stone." says Merlin.

     "So now that we've more or less decided to have a S&M team (Smoke and mirrors, let's stay decent.), who's going to be on it ?" Capra looks around. "Sherman seems likely. Bruno too (Less conspicuous). Who knows demolition, I forget ? Merlin is out, we need him for the tiny critters bit, and so am I since apparently I'm going to be the only one able to talk shop... Suggestions ? Volunteers ?"

     "I'm willing to go where you need me," Haze said. "I probably wouldn't be much use on the inside unless things went to drek."

     "I thought we had more or less decided against having a second team because it would be difficult to extract both teams if things went wrong, and we wouldn't need a second team if things went well." argues Merlin.

     Winder corrects him. "Actually, I think we decided that there was going to be a second team, they just wouldn't be the people going into the base. Instead they would be the ones covering the extraction team's escape with distractions, explosions and other such drek. As for demolitions, I have a reasonable level of skill working with explosives."

     Merlin rebukes "I believe we could automate all such distractions, but it never hurts to have intelligent individuals directly controlling the automaton..." Merlin agrees.

     Capra raises both shoulders and spreads his hands in an interogative gesture. "And who would do this wonderful automation ? The people here, myself included unfortunetly, appear unable to weld a false bottom to a tool tray, much less do the hardware necessary to automate the path of flying bombs, mortars and whatnots. It's going to have to be a hands on experience, I'm afraid..."

    "That work, as it does not involve any danger, could be contracted for rather cheaply, and even I have flown a radio controlled plane.  But then I have no objection to using a smaller insertion team and having the remainder of the group control the diversion."

     "Don't know your contacts, of course, but you need specialists for this kind of thing, I imagine. The local Trid repair guy just won't do... So anyway, I say Haze and Sherman are in charge of that part of it with our dear Winder as tech adviser." He turns to the man in question. "You do the wiring but you come with the rest of us... Hy hoe hy hoe it's off to death we go !"

     Haze nods. "That's fine by me. If worst comes to worst I'm sure Sherman and I can handle ourselves when the army comes after us," he said with a grin. "I like the idea of flying in some high explosives. If Winder can slap our flying bombs together we should be in business. How would we coordinate this? A radio message if you need a diversion?"

    "That's the plan." Says Capra. "Oh, right... I hardly need mention this with a bunch of professionnal such as our august selves, but who has a radio ? Preferably with some ECCM and a bit of crypto on the side, of course. I must admit I find myself lacking in that department. (Lone goat kind of a guy, you understand.)"

     "I'm afraid I'm in the same boat as Capra there." says Haze.

     Bruno coughs "I have a radio." and taps his head, "Sherman can speak to me anytime."

     Sherman opens his mouth to say something a split second after Bruno says he has a radio. Sherman then nods when Bruno says they can communicate, "Yeah...I gotta radio too up here," he says pointing to his temple. 

     "We're in business then !" exclaims Capra enthusiasticly. "Caller, you're on the air..."

     "I assume by crypto you are referring to cryptography, but I do not know what ECCM is or why we would want it." Merlin says, tilting his head to the side as he tries to figure out the bizzare abbreviations and terms...

     "Have I turned into Mister Definition or what ?" Asks Capra feigning puzzlement. "The term you are refering to, sir, qualifies the activity of an emmiter/receiver combination (Also called a radio by the non-initiated.) when trying to undo the evil deeds (namely screwing up emission/reception (Usualy during the urban brawl finals. Bastards !!)) done to it by others using ECM. I trust this explaination brings it all in sharp focus...? If not, try this one :  ECCM insures the other guy doesn't fool around with your communication. That simple !"

     Haze turns to Sherman. "Sherm, ol' buddy. Maybe we should put our heads together and decide what would be involved in our little 'distractions' and then we can put that to the team."

     Bruno says, "The diversion aspect is the easy part, a couple of radio controlled aircraft with some explosive on it, hell it could take out a guard house if flown well enough, through a window... I also have an assault cannon which would certainly have the troops ducking for cover. <G>"

     "The S&M part is taken care of, so on to the entrance side of things : Nightshade cooks a nice batch of IDs for those of us who're going in and two work orders (one in the lab section, the other at Kitty's proper.) Yum Yum ! Merlin takes care of his rat Juju which leaves the uniforms (Any word on that service contract, Nightshade ? If not, what's the company name you're going to put on the work order ? That'll do as well.) and the van (Painted in the appropriate colors for this season, of course.). Who's got contacts in the automotive world ? and high fashion... Anyone ?"

     Bruno asks "So have we decided who is going inside and who is the diversion ? I am prepared to go inside as a repair man carrying the heavy gear. I don't need a weapon as I am the weapon, and shield at the same time... So lets stop jawing and make some hard decisions. What type of repairs are we going to do? Is the van we need easy to procure and same with the clothes, a set of Overalls with a  company logo and a name sewn on isn't hard to do." Bruno looks to see if his words have sunk in. 

     "We were just discussing who to send, Bruno. As you say, Horned one, the tasks seem simple enough if we can avoid being tracked afterwards... If there are no volunteers...? I'll handle the smoking jackets and you can do the tricycle, OK ? Let's not forget to paint the van, people, maybe add a few racks in the back and wear & tear to the whole thing to make it look real." 

     Bruno asks "What van do you want, I assume a cold one and where shall I deliver it once I have it? I was thinking a plain ford transit, perhaps white in colour, does this sound right?"

     Capra nods wisely, "Internal heating is entirely optional, but a plate the Star isn't looking for at the moment would definatly be a plus (In my humble opinion, of course.). As for location, bring the chariot over at the next meeting so we can admire the paintwork and see if it need at little something more in the way of camouflage, maybe a pair of fuzzy dice or a nightglow madona...." Capra turns to Nightshade. "Still need that Logo, dear woman. If you don't care, how about 'Johnson & Shade Repairs' ?"

     "Logo? What are you talking about?"

     Capra looks quizically at Nightshade. "Umm... You know... The Company that has a service contract with the base or, baring that happy event, the made up company name you will put on the work orders and or fake IDs ? We can hardly show up with 'Johnson & Shade' in big red letters on our shirts when the name on the papers says something like 'Matsuhiro Inorganics', you know."

     "Great, so now I'm a graphic designer? Why don't I get you the name and logo of a REAL company, and a job there and papers to prove it?"

     Having no comprehension of sarcasm, Merlin nods, "That wouldn't be a bad idea, if you would be so kind." Nightshade doesn't respond to the overgrown bird.

     Haze laughs. "I think that was his original idea if I'm not mistaken, Nightshade."

     "Oh, well thats easy! There are lots of companies with contracts, But we have to know first what your going to be repairing..."

     "I was hoping you could tell us." Capra makes a short fanciful bow from his sitting position. "Certainly you know more than us what's in that den of iniquity. Selecting something proper both in the labs and in the cat's boudoir should be no problem for one with your considerable intellect." The happy young man raises an interogative eyebrow.

     "It'll take a  minute, anything else before I go?"

     Sidewinder says, "Just one thing and I hope I'm not asking too much. Can you pull the personel record on the guard who goes by the alias 'Wild Cat' and works at the compound we're supposed to hit ? He's still a big unknown and I'd like to have at least some info on him before we head in."

     "You got it Chummer!" She says, and buzzes off.

     After that has been settled, Capra moves on to the next phase. "OK, so now the crown of thorns, the cesspit of doubt and confusion : the exit... If all goes well (and who believes that part of it ?) I thought that instead of turning the bait <He smiles to Sherman.> invisible or plunking her into an unconvincing uniform, we'd turn her into a rat and store the wee beasty at the bottom of a toolkit." The talkative young man snaps his fingers. "Toolkits ! Forgot about those. Drake my man, why don't you handle the hardware ? Big, multitray toolkits and their contents... Maybe some spare parts to fill up the van too. Make it look good." 

     "Turning her invisible will be less draining and have no disadvantages turning her into a rat won't have.  Her aura wouldn't change when her body did, so any mage would see her head sticking out of the toolkit..." Merlin points out.

     "Wasn't aware of that... So what else have we got in the sneaking her out category umh ? Invisible, sure. Bit of a problem if we're hit with one of those random astral recons, but workable. Don't like the uniform bit (These guys may be bored but I'm pretty sure that even if they can't count to five, they'll at least notice an extra female in the group.) Which leaves stuffing her into something big. Maybe invisible too so even a spot check won't spoil our merry feast. I like it... and the job of finding the container goes to the hardware guy. (An A/C unit was sugested, I believe.)"

     Bruno asks the dumb question "Can't you just shapechange her to a mouse and place her in the tool kit?... Seems simple enough."

     "Easily," says Merlin. "but making her invisible is less tiring and making her a mouse has no advantages worth the extra effort.  Remember her astral image will remain human sized regardless of the size of her physical body..."

     Drake speaks up "This repair gear is dependant on what Nightshade "breaks" for us, but I would guess some tool belts & boxes, spanners, screwdrivers, drills and general DIY gear would be in order.  This container you mentioned - you mean a tool box with a hidden compartment, or something bigger?" Whilst waiting for some guidance on what any self respecting repairman would carry, Drake grinned at the thought of fitting Sherman and Bruno out with bandsaws and nail guns. More Power!

     Seeing the others are occupying themselves with mundanity, Merlin glides over to his friendly neighborhood talismonger, the ever lovely Anima Magi, to see if she can supply him with the specific spell foci he requires, or refer him to someone who can do it on short notice...

     "One of those would be a nice place to stash a little, baby machinegun (They're so CUTE !), but we were talking something big enough to fit our esteemed prize/bait/target into without wrinkling her spine too much. Entirely at the idea stage at this point, so see what you can find."

BREAK

     Capra snaps his fingers again. "Narcojets ! Forgot about those as well. <Sigh> Don't seem to have much luck with these calls for volunteers, but here I go again : Anyone have sufficiant sleep equipment right now (I figure we need about four pistol types.) or can get it within the hour or our money back ?"

     Winder looks up having apparently come to grips with whatever was bothering him "I can get you the narcojet pistols and plenty of ammo in minimal time. I'm not sure about the hour or less thing but soon enough for our purposes. One thing though, money up front is the only way my fixer deals so I'll need operating capital before I go anywhere."

     Capra's brown eyes open wide. "You mean you already blew the 25K !?" He turns pensive. "Heck, that's some serious outpouring of moula... Going to have to do better next time or I'll loose my title of 'Most Irresponsable Spender in the Downtown Metropolitain Area'... Anyway, don't look at me for any loans. I have less then 10K to my name right now, you know, and only because I can run faster than my creditors, IF you know what I mean... I'll pay for the thread out of my portion so let's say we're even. <snap> Speaking of which." Capra gets up and proceeds to take everybodies measurements. "Hell of an inseem you got there, Bruno..."

     Bruno looks at Capra "I take it, you are jealous, or is it envy."<G>

     "Never could tell the difference between the two, so I'll settle for both..." Smiles Capra before moving on to the next victim in his tailoring safari.

     "Hey Capra, you do realize the kind of expense we're talking about here? Narcojet rounds, $200 A Shot! Now I can't remember how many shots a pistol holds but for arguments sake let's say 5 shots a clip. You want a gun and two clips for each of the four members heading into the compound. Now let's say the gun costs an even $200 as well, if my math is correct here that totals at $8,800, and that's being concervative. Now I'm not sure about you but I bet I could get one hell of a tailored suit for that kind of capital. For some reason the idea that picking up four sets tailor made coveralls with company logos on them will cost almost nine grand seems rather ludicrous to me. I'm willing to cover some of the additional expenses but I'd like a donation of at least two grand per weapon that I'm going to be picking up. That means I'll still be covering at least $200 per weapon which I consider a reasonable expense. That's the best offer I can make because I am not throwing out 9 grand for group equipment. I can live with a common donation that the entire group will be making but I have living expenses too and I'd like people to consider that before they make the assumption that I've got a limitless expense budget. As it stands I'm already supplying the explosives for any distractions that need to be made and that  cost me no less that 2-3 grand. In addition I'm still going to be kicking in the 5 grand that the group agreed on for magical supplies and now you want me to spend another 9 grand on group equipment? I don't know about the rest of you but that seems excessive."

     Sherman nods as Haze speaks, "Hey fellas, we don' really need no narcojet's. I c'n put anybody out real quick-like wit' dis" he says, raising his very large, very meaty fist, with what looks like a lot of hardened callouses or something on the knuckles.

     Merlin speaks. "To begin with, do not get me a narcoject, I haven't the foggiest idea how to use one well.  I have seen them before, and the ammo doesn't cost 200 a shot if I remember right, which I might not be.  I believe it costs about 200¥ for a full clip of narcoject darts, but I've never looked into it beyond just browsing the stores. I also believe that we took the brunt of the money for the foci from the funds left behind by those who left the group, and I shall repay any loans made to me by individuals." Merlin comments, trying to work out the math and memmories.

     "I'm pretty sure it's 200 a clip as well. Else there would be far less pacifists than there are today." Capra smiles. "Furthermore, my boy, I hardly see why I should pay for ALL those guns. Only mine... Seeing the price though, let's say two Narcojets with one clip each (If whatever it is doesn't go down after that, it's probably time to switch to armor piercing anyway.). So, let's see... 700 nuyen for me. Heck ! take a whole K, I don't mind." In a flash, the transfer is done.

     "I hardly expected anybody to pay for all the pistols. I was simply hoping for a donation of 1 or 2 grand a person. Still Sherman makes a very valid point, and I would be more than glad to purchase two of those pistols. I'm pretty sure that I can get you two clips for each as well." A small smile passes across Winder's face "Wouldn't want to go into that place empty handed now would we. Now for a question I was meaning to ask, would it be unreasonable for a repair crew to be carrying personal defence weapons? Say a heavy pistol each or some such weapon."

     Capra grins, then chuckles lightly. "You live in a tough neighborhood if you have to carry a heavy pistol for defense, dude. As I said before, we can't leave anything exposed to the outside air. Besides those nasty rust spots, exposure is sure to attract sec's attention and later confiscation of all our beautiful toys. Probably a cavity search following the event. No, we're harmless repair persons, shocked at the mere thought of violence... As for what we'll actually carry, I think we should wait to have the uniforms and gear in hand to see what fits..."

     Winder replies. "You want narcojets you've got them. Does anybody want theirs done up special, smartlink, laser sight or otherwise? I should have them by the time we re-group."

     Bruno "I would like one with a smartlink." <G> "I'll pay for it next meeting, tell me the extra cost for the addition."

    Winder "Also I've been meaning to ask a magically oriented person this for some time. Would a concealed weapon show up on an astral scan?"

     "Only if that concealed weapon were either magical or alive.  A weapons focus would glow like a beacon in the night, while dead steal would be even hard to see in the astral than it would be normally."

     Winder nods, satisfied. "Glad to hear it. That could avoid some complications"

     Haze looked slightly puzzled by all this. "I guess Merlin isn't the only one who doesn't understand everything." He pulled out his credstick and touched it to Winder's. "I just gave you 8,000 nuyen, Winder. Hopefully that should help with buying our explosive toys and the narcojects or whatever. If you have any change I want it back, though," he said with a grin. "Look, guys, just one question. Is there anything you need me to get? Winder's taking care of the explosives as I understand it, and we're set as far as radio communications goes. If you want, I guess I can always pick up a couple of flare guns. But is there anything else we
need?"... Apparently not.

     "I think it will behoove us all to have more information...." She says, and buzzes off, returning a few minutes later and displaying a video of the outer peremiter, taken from a survellence camera, you notice. "The fences are electrified, but other than that, normal chainlink, 8ft tall, topped with a crown of razor wire. About every 5 minutes (though that time varies) its patrolled by an elemental, para-animal, or mundane physical guard, or any combination of those. Other than that, its an easy 50 foot sprint to the clump of buildings. Kitties is the tall one in the center you see there.... now, as for the guard posts..." a video flashes up, showing two very bored looking guards glancing at a computer when people slot credsticks.... "Not a problem... If the ID's show, Narcoject real fast. Now, we'll have to follow this corridor down, since there is no other... there are the labs there" Nightshade says, as you see a door. "2 more guardposts to go... these have 2 people...equally bored as you can see... now in the back of the photo is the door to Kitties room.... going inside.. THis is the Gym." She says, showing an empty room the size of a small aircraft hangar. "This is the entrance...and that little second off room." She says, showing a door, then going through it into a room with a big table in the middle and weight benches all around it...One of the benches is moving, Nightshade scrolls over there... "Ladies and Gents, and others.... our target." She says, as it flashes a closeup of a gorgeous woman...bench pressing 300 without breaking a sweat. She has a huge mass of golden blonde hair, surrounding a fair face, so pale and light its almost pink. it looks like she's never seen the sun. . . . Winder looks shocked for a moment.... Then the camera moves from her to the griffon sitting at her side... doing its best to pretend its a statue... "And for the final room." Nightshade says, and shows you to a nice, if small, bedroom/bath arrangement....about the size of the smaller bedrooms in a normal sized house, with a normal bathroom attached.... Any questions?" Nightshade asks.

     Sherman looks interestedly at the video of his target. Turning to the others he says, "See? I tol' you guys dat we din't hafta go tru alla dat complcated stuff. Jes' walk in, and take de bait...err....target." He chuckles, "Jes' kidd'n' 'bout de bait ting. We should be able to get pas' mosta dem guards wit' fakes and a lil' fast talkin' by wunna you moufs. Pop de curious one's on de head, an' we're in an' out. No prob, really." He smiles widely.

    "Certainly ! We'll just take that plan as a base, tack-on a diversion and a couple of emergency plans. Other than that, we simply go in, take the baity target and we're out, as you say. Great minds do think alike, don't they ?" Capra's smile shows his teeth as well. 

     He looks at Winder out of the corner of his eye. "Ulcers acting up ?"

     Winder turns on Capra with a savage glare that looks like it could melt metal. He then shakes his head, "Bad timing kid." Then looking back at the rest of the group he says "I'm going in with the infiltration team. I have business I need to take care of." For some reason you feel that disagreeing with him right now would be a very bad idea.

     Merlin wonders why everyone else's aura suddenly indicate they think disagreeing with winder would be a bad idea right now.  Merlin never thought it was a bad idea to disagree with anyone, but doesn't particularly have any reason to disagree with this one, so he just cocked his head to one side as he tried to understand the mammals...

     Having already agreed before he knew he needed to agree, Capra stands mute (for once).

     Winder stares at the screen showing Kitty, and seems lost in thought... She just seems to be putting up her equipment, toweling off, and walking out. She does pet the griffont hough, and it seems very faithful to her.... Then a look of puzzlement crosses his face (And to those always astral, his Aura registers unbridled shock and concern...and love.)

     Merlin cocks his head to the side again, only for a moment.  Mamals have such strange emotions, about which Merlin was always curious, but he only pried when it affected him.  This time, perhaps it did affect him, but he would wait until the meeting was over and discuss it with Winder in private, he decided.  Mammals also had funny ideas about privacy and modesty.  Birds never worried about clothes...

     Winder sits there staring at the screen for a few moments then takes a deep breath and turns to the assembled group "Out of professional courtesy I feel I have to notify the rest of you that I might know this person." Winder says tapping the screen to indicate Kitty "Last I had heard she was dead, . . . now I'm not so sure any more. This might be her but certain things don't match." Winder pauses at this moment to reach into his jacket and pull out a badly worn, folded paper photograph. He unfolds it with the kind of care a person would handle a priceless artifact. Then after looking at it for a while he passes it among the rest of the group. Looking at the old color photo you see a group of men and women, 10 in all, standing around together dressed in military fatigues and carrying assorted military weapons. All of the group are smiling and appear to be best of friends, looking more closely you pick out two in particular that catch your attention. One looks like Winder, although obviously at a much younger age and the second, you pause to rub your eyes or blink just in case you're seeing things, but yes as you look at the photo you see someone who looks almost exactly like the person you were hired to extract. There are a few minor details that are different like hair and eye color but all in all the resemblance is amazing.

    Eventually once everyone has looked at the picture and it's made its way back to Winder he continues. "I want you people to know some details because you could be getting in over your heads. The team's name was the Sidewinders, we did black ops for the UCAS back when there was no such thing as shadowrunners. We were among the best there was, not at the top, but close to it. We had committed all manner of crimes all in the name of national security. Problem was, after a few years the UCAS apparently decided we knew way too much. They set us up and managed to kill off the better part of the group. Truth is until now I thought I was the only person who had survived. Hell, the only reason I'm still sucking breath is because they're convinced I'm not. I had a friend check into that after a while, my file listed me as RETIRED." Winder stops and glances at Merlin "They thought they had killed me." Then turns back and begins addressing the group as a whole. "If the person we're extracting is the same one I worked with and knows the same things I do then the UCAS won't stop looking for her just because we go and hide underground for a while. She could have the kind of information that would ruin the lives of some very powerful people. I'm willing to bet that they'd move heaven and earth itself if they found out she was loose. I wasn't part of the command in the Sidewinders, I just did recon and sniper work. Kitty, well, she was definitely 'in the loop' as they say. Last point of note about the Kitty I knew. She was a mundane, no magic whatsoever. Some expertise in Hand-to-Hand but I don't think she was at the level of a physical adept. That's basically all there is to know. Now before you go and get on my case about not telling you this before I haven't been anywhere near the UCAS military for almost a decade and as for Kitty, until the video Nightshade got for us I hadn't recognised her... Now I can understand if you don't want to work with me because there's no question about it my history with the UCAS Military isn't what you'd call friendly. So tell you what, I'd appreciate it if the group just made a decision now so that if you don't want me along I can get on with other business ventures. Otherwise I've need to get something from the van so either way, make up your minds on the matter and I'll be right back." With that Winder stands up and heads off to his van. 

     A couple of minutes later he returns carrying 5 atache cases stacked on top of one another. He then places the collection on the floor next to Haze. Opening the top case reveals 4kg of Compound XII with a timer already placed in it. "Just set the timer and you're good to go. Guaranteed to open just about any door and cripple any vehicle that doesn't classify as a Main Battle Tank. There's another one with a timer, but the last three have radio detonators." Having said that Winder pulls out a device that looks like an over complicated walkie talkie and hands that over to Haze as well. With a grin he says "Have fun.. " and turns back to the group "So tell me, what's the verdict?"

     Bruno looks at Winder, remembering the crap he had to do to retire from his employer. "Winder, I understand your hassle, I too had similar problems with my employer, but that half a world away now... As long as you do your bit and not get us smoked, you will have no problems from me."

     Listening to 'Winder's explanation with his scruntched-up confused/listening-to-every-detail look, Sherman glances at the picture and passes it on. Scratching under his armpit he says, "Well...de way I see's it...at leastcha tol' us what was goin' on. You gotta hist'ry wit' dis chica, an' you leddus know dat dere might be some backblast from dis. 'Long as you ain't gonna turn on us in de middle uh de run, i's all chill wit' me. If yer inta gettin' her hoop outta de joint, den we're gold'n. I jes' wantcha t'know...if she gets inta trubble...an' we can't git her out...she's on her own. If you go back for her...yer on yer own. I ain't gonna risk my hoop dat much fer a paycheck. Udder den dat...i's all good." Sherman smiles.

     Winder and Capra speak at the same time, neither apparently bothering to hear what the other is saying. Winder says, "I would never ask you for anything else."

     While Capra says, "Well said !" nods capra, rather impressed. "That sums up my feelings as well. He rubs his hands and continues apparently without. "This might even turn out to be advantageous to our little adventure. Surely I won't have to club the poor lady over the head now... Unless she's an evil clone, the devil incarnate or a vengeful spirit made flesh by the otherwordly powers of the vortex. Nah ! probably not... Barring that, and since we won't be keeping the little lady for very long (Belladonna seemed rather anxious to get her by the look of that bonus.), everything is peechy-keen." The  athletic runner jumps to his feet, lays a hand on one of Winder's shoulders and addresses the group. "How about a group hug to celebrate our newfound unity, people ?" He grins wide.

     Haze nods. "I concur about everything - except the group hug," he said, shooting Capra an amused look. 

     Capra snaps his fingers with an angry expression. "Curses ! Foiled again ! One day I shall succeed in my group-hug master plan and all of the little people shall tremble before ME ! MUHAHAHAHA !" He smiles, pats Winder on the shoulder and calmly walks back to his chair where he sits down demurly. "Anything else on the evening's agenda ?"

     Haze continues, "Just one MORE thing. Does anyone have any model aeroplane expertise, or will Sherman and I have to go check out some hobby stores? I mean, four kilos sounds like too heavy a load for a model aeroplane to carry - at least to me."

     Sidewinder shakes the mood off. "Now back to the job... As for a model airplane carrying 4kg of explosives, yeah it's possible you just need a large enough plane. Some so-called model airplanes have a wingspan of over 10ft and could easily haul double the load we want to carry. But as for aquiring a plane, yeah a hobby store would be your best bet. You could probably get a pre-assembled plane with remote for under 2 grand. Then all you'd have to do is learn to fly the thing. Oh, one other thing. Any of you ever heard of Rutheium Polymers? I've got a full-body suit made of the stuff. It's human sized of course but anyone using it is all but invisible. It has a couple of problems, like it doesn't affect anything other than visual spotting, you'll still stick out on thermo and all that but other than those few details it works really well for what it was designed. I'm not going to have any use for it when I head in with the infiltration team but if one of the others want to use it, it's available."

     Sherman nods in agreement with some of the suggestions bandied about and finally says, "Uhh...guys. When're we fin'ly gonna do dis ting. I says les' roll wit what we got now, and git de job done. Whatcha say?" Sherman looks around waiting for answers.

     "Quite, quite. Nobody hates yakkin' quite has much as I." Capra's smile is somewhat predatory on that last comment. "One little detail first though. If we take the van escape and blow ourselves a nice little hole in the grid, we'll need somewhere to go after that, won't we ? Somewhere that those pretty copters won't be able to follow (A sewer grate once in the city or something.)... Since you already did the recon, Sherman, how 'bout securing that magical location for us ?"

     "Yeah...I can find us a coupla places we c'n lay low fer a while. You guys wanna stay on de surface? Or head Underground? Eidder way, I c'n git us a place t'chill. I'm tinkin' de Underground is de place t'go 'cause de Army pukes don' really have a lotta folks dey know down dere. It'a make it kinda hard t'find us, even if dey *did* send troopers down dere. Dat a good plan?" Sherman makes a few notes on his pocket secretary, then sets it in his lap.

     "No plan is a bad plan if you can walk away from it." Quotes Capra. "On the minutia side, how far is it to your entrance to the underdark ? Wouldn't want to drag those poor, hard working UCAS soldier for too long. They get so annoyed..."

     "Um... Sherman ? The distance...?"

BREAK

     "I believe the plan is completed now, we just have to acquire the needed items.  I shall get the focus.  I believe Capra said he would deal with the clothing.  Radios were suggested, and they do sound like a good idea, but a flare gun may work just as well and be less jammable." Merlin paused, wondering if he was using the bizarre technological words properly, but just went on, "and since we won't need to communicate with the outside unless we're discovered anyway, it seems that may have no real disadvantages."  He paused again, considering, "Unless we were inside, so maybe one flair gun, and one radio for each group would be sufficient?  In any event, we need to get that, and at least one narcoject sounds good."

     "So how much time until the next meet ?... Would 24 glorious hours be enough ? And where would we meet ? Next time, I think we'd need something wide and private to pratice taking down reluctant guards in a quiet and coordinated fashion. All very gentil and proper, you understand."

      Merlin agrees, "24 hours should be more than sufficient, and I'm up to meeting anywhere, though I do prefer places with high ceilings."

      "Well, I can probably rent a small gym or something." Capra considers. "Yeah, I can do it. Need everyones code to notify you guys thought. So far I have Sherman's, Winder's and Nightshade's, that's it !"

      Bruno tells Capra and the group his code to call him, Haze does likewise. Drake then passes on a contact phone number to the group. Like many others he doesn't have the benefit of radio comms, head mounted or otherwise.

      After receiving enough info to contact everyone, Capra gets up and streches. "Haaaa... A productive evening if I do say so myself. Just think people, in two days we shall ride forth against the castle of the evil sorcerer and free Winder's princess from his (or her, I really don't know. Who's in charge of the UCAS military nowadays ?) Uh... his/her evil clutches. Tahio, giddyup, On prancer. On dasher... You know the rest. Have a nice evening gentlemen... and woman." With that, Capra effortlessly jumps over the nearest hedge (A distance of roughly 10m). The last vision you have of him is his receiding blue coat as it gradually melts into the park's shadows.

REMOVE ?
     Sherman shrugs, "Soun's chill t'me, chummers. Le's get a move on... And just to remind everyone... t'is kinda weird that 'Shade hasn't come back yet. Mmmmmm......."

     Winder says "Could I get the LTG for Nightshade off whoever has it. I'm going to check in on her every so often, see if she made it back safely and all that." 

BREAK

     Winder pauses to glance off in the direction that Capra bounded of in "Hmm, on last thing though. You people never answered my question, does anyone want to make use of the Rutheium Polymer suit? Other than that, anyone who wants to haul along with me is more than welcome but we're taking my car, paranoid contacts and all that drek. One last thing though, wanted to clarify exactly how many of those narcojet pistols I'm picking up. Last count was 4 pistols with two clips each. Do I have the right figure there?"

     "It's actually 2/2." Calls a voice. A quiet chuckle is heard and then Capra is truly gone.

     Drake then turns to Winder "I have no real need for a narcojet, if need be I could cast a sleep spell.  Polymer suits could be useful for those staying outside the compound, or if we needed to disappear visually I could cast invisibility just as well." and then addressing all "Speaking of which who is going into the base?"  Drake waits for some consensus and then continues "I also seem to be hearing some options on smuggling Kitty out. I don't know how recognisable she is to the guards, I seem to remember it being said that she doesnt leave her area at all, but is there any reason we can't have a fake ID made for her, and Merlin to transform and fly away so that the guards aren't tipped off by the differing numbers.  Failing that I guess its the mouse plan, astral risk and all."


SHOPPING TRIP (about town, Seattle, 17&18 August 2057)

      'That really WAS better than the last time.' Thinks Capra has he makes his way to the monorail station, skipping from time to time. 'Nearly there in the planning phase and no fratricide kills this time around... Who could ask for anything more ?' He smiles happily. His smile only grows wider when a cab presents itself the minute he sets foot on the platform. 'Lucky day, lucky day.'

     The cab races along its track, piercing the Seattle night with a rush of air and a steady hum. Blankly watching the blurry city lights below, Capra leans back in his seat and looks at his watch. 'Wonder if the Gym's reception is open at this hour...? Nothing to lose in trying, I suposse.'

- <Beeeep, Beeeep> "Golden Quad Gym. How may I help you." says a young masculine voice. (No image.)

- "Greetings, dear fellow, I'd like to rent a room for tomorrow evening, if possible. You know, one of the smallish ones where they give aerobics classes and such. Can this be conceivably accomplished ? I'd much appreciate it."

- "For the night or by the hour?"

- "You have hourly rates ? Good, good." Capra nods to himself. "Well then, I believe I'll take three of those 60 minutes. Say from 7 to 10 ?" The young man suddenly frowns 'Wonder why I didn't do this back at the meeting ? It would've saved me the trouble of calling up everyone... Ah the curse of a lively conversation...' He sketches a smile... and almost misses the clerk's answer.

- "At'll be 150 nuyen, payable when you arrive."

- "You've got yourself a deal. Put down the reservation in the my name. Goldman, you know. G-O-L-D-M-A-N. Me and my friends will be there promptly at 1900 hours on the dot. Over and out."

     Capra toggles his phone to the off position with a casual flick. Shortly thereafter, the humming surrounding him gradualy changes as the car comes to a graceful stop at the Renraku arcology station. 'Now I have to phone every one of those individual, separate and wholy un-together persons. Uhg. My poor fingers...' Then, he smiles. Stepping off the embarkment, the bouncy athlete skips down the stairs and exits the mamoth complex without even truly getting in. 'Thought I'd use the old Net for shopping, but digital technology shall come to the rescue of my poor digits... Of course I got to find the soft first...' He waves it off. "Some shareware or other."

     He crosses the street, enters a smaller building, climbs to the third story and finaly enters what a flashing, old-style neon sign proclaims to be the "Early Lizard. 24h Matrix, no dinosaurs." With but the flashing of electronic currency for the purchase of 5h ('Forgot my pass, damn it all !') and the insertion of a chromed implement in a certain cranial chamber, the virtual Capra (Now a great green lizard with a shiny "No place like the Early Lizard." emblazonned on his chest in glowing scales.) stands before the great white cube of the global directory tm (Downtown Seattle LTG edition.).

     'What to search for first... Ummmm....' He wonders, gazing at his reflection on the silvery-white surface. 'The scale pattern isn't bad. Nice texture... If it weren't for those blasted advertisments.' Capra sights as the text on his chest changes to a small off-scale map of Downtown with a towering lizard pointing the way to his current location. 'There ought to be a law... ANYWAY. Let's go for uniforms first.' The words "Uniforms", "working men", "catalogue" and "Seattle" form in smoldering letters on the surface before him before the green lizard waves them on their way. He then waits for the result of his query.

     Several addresses (about a dozen) quickly appear but before Capra can start sorting them, he's interrupted by an insistant beeping. 'What the...? System crash ? Bank robbery ?... Wait, I know that beep !' He opens his eyes and answers his wrist phone : "You have reached my considerable presence. How may I help you ?" 

     It's Bruno and by the tiny arrows in the corners, a conference call to booth. "So where do you want the van lads? My doss isn't a safe location to leave a set of wheels. By the way lads, this chariot cost 20k, we get 75% back if undamaged in 4 days. So lets make sure the job is nice and quiet."

     As Bruno is speaking, a small icon appears at the bottom of everyones window... an  elven woman, very well endowed and dressed in a gown made of leaves of some sort. She folds up a fan made of some kind of woody material and tucks it into her tiny purse. "Hola Ladies, Gentlemen, and other... I come bearing the info you all seek, sorry it took so long, ran into some old friends. First off, the uniforms are ordered and should be delivered right about.... now." She says, as Capra's doorbell rings. "Damn I'm good."

     Not being home at the moment, Capra is somewhat less impressed than he could be. Instead of fainting from excessive adulation, he snaps his fingers as if he suddenly remembered something. "Say ! You didn't come back after that last info run, did you ? Sorry, plain forgot about it... Fascinating conversationnists we got in our little group, you know, made me forget even your considerable, if pixelated, beauty... For a time. Being uncaring cads helped a lot too, of course." A look of puzzlement flits across his face as he briefly wonders just how he was planning to purchase those uniforms without knowing the company they were impersonnating. "Ahem... So where did you say those uniforms were ?"

     "They are at your doorstep."

     "Convenient." Smiles Capra. "Hope it doesn't rain."

     She continues. "The company is called Feben inc. They are based out of the east, somewhere in old Virginia. Anyway, I used some of my hard earned cred to get the uniforms out of the kindness of my heart... . since I was already there and all. Also, Wildcat... My friends, he doesn't exist. This one is what took me so long. I had to run searches through all the sec guards files, no one had that alias. Just for good measure I went through Special ops. Still nil. The closest I can gather is that they have some catlike creatures that patrol.... Lets see, is there anything I'm forgetting to tell you, or any questions you meats have?" She says, looking pointedly at Capra, also in the matrix as she says meats...

     "Always a question have I, for I am curious... and cute too."

     "Debateable." interrups Nightshade. 

     Capra arches an eyebrow at this slur on his legendary cudliness but magnamously decides to let it pass... "Uh... What are we repairing ?" There's a short pause. "By the by, and while I have the rapt attention of all you busy captains of industry, I gots the gym. The Golden Quad by name, it's lost somewhere on the third block of Mapple in Tacoma. Ample parking for vans and other soon to be scraped vehicles." He smiles at Bruno's tiny image. "1900 hours people. Under the illustrious monicker of Goldman... Amen"

     "Anything you want. Feben repairs just about everything on the base the military doesn't have people to repair for them... Trids, AC's, refrigerators...."

     Winder says, "I say we go with the fridge repairmen. Chances are that those things are everywhere including in the target's somewhat limited dwelling space. In addition it will give us a chance to bring in a replacement which we could easily store extra equipment in. Hell if we really felt creative we could even get one of those things filled with FAT bacteria instead of standard insulation and smuggle someone out inside of it. The bacteria being alive would shield the contents from an astral scan but might draw unnecessary attention. Plus the stuff is expensive. Still something to think on."

     "I'm all for smuggling her OUT in it (Making her transparent first, of course.), but I don't think we should bother lugging one in. First of all, how many repairman do you know that bring replacement fridges on a job ? Then, there's the fact that at least one guard person is sure to poke his ugly little head into it : 'Just checking. It's my job.' and all that. No, me laddies, we just have to take HER fridge and explain to all the guards on the way in that Bruno is there in case we need to take one of the offending item to the Shop (Two work orders, you remember.). Wraps it all in a neat little package, I think." Capra nods to himself contently, glad it's all coming together so nicely."

     Bruno asks "So now we just need to boost a fridge full of fat bacteria, and a trolley huh"

     "Uh... No. At least not in my version of it. My magical knowledge is not what it once was and certainly no match for our dedicated top-hat wearers." Capra bows to the magic-users' images. "But FAT won't help us a bit here. It'll only stop prying heads from sticking themselves into our cold storage device. By then, wether they hit a wall or actually see what's inside comes out to pretty much the same result for us, don't you think ? I'll give you a hint : it rhymes with 'head'... then again, if were lucky it could rhyme with 'Hail'. I'm no fortuneteller, you understand."

     "As for the trolley..." He looks up and down Bruno's considerable frame. "Why do you need one exactly ?"

     Bruno looks at Capra, "If I start lifting fidges like that I will do me back, and me chiropractor has enough trouble resetting the vertebrae without me doing sumpin crazy like that."

     "Alrighty then, how about straps ? Easier to carry in and gives us more mobility on un-even ground. Oh by the way, Drake." Capra fiddles with his controls until he's isolated the image of the man in question. "Since we're apparently going with the fudgesickle plan, looks like you no longer need to find us a cat container of the appropriate size. Good news uh ?"

     "For a crate that size sure is -  all I'd thought of so far was a coffin, top of the range of course.  I will however still look around for an alternative, even if its only a huge tool bag.  I'd hate to see us foiled at the last moment 'cause the only fridges the base has are cold storage rooms or the like.  I gotta admit that I do like the fridge idea though, and so as not to put Bruno's back out, I'll get one of those two wheel trolleys as well..."

     Bruno asks "Where you able to get there logo of Feben Inc so we can put it on the side of the van, one of magnetic signs each side would do the trick. That way we can whip them off when we get into the suburbs"

     "Of course my large.....teammate."

     Drake says, "Temporary adhesive signs will tear off just as quick as magnetic.  Hell, we could even go the whole hog and use a plastic based paint on the van, and water blast it off to throw pursuit, although if it comes to that they'd probably recognise the van from all the holes in it." Caprra chuckles a bit at that remark.

     "Hmm, I'm not sure about the rest of the arangements but I've obtained the Narcoject Pistols, 4 to be exact. 1 with standard Smartlink hardware, a second with Smartlink II installed in it. Both internal for that matter. The last two are outfitted with standard laser sights. I also picked up 4 concealable shoulder holsters and 3 clips for each of the pistols. Hope that satifies all the requirements. If you need anything else let me know now because I'm going to get some sleep and I'll be damned if I want you people waking me up in one of the few chances I get for rest." Winder.

     "Certainly... Just make sure Sherman & Haze inc don't blow themselves skyhigh before the next meeting and all will be well." Says Capra with a smile.

     Haze grins. "We'll be careful, Capra. I don't relish the idea anymore than you do."

     After having not tossed in his two yen for a while, Sherman scratches his armpit and says, "So when do we do dis ting, den, huh? I's ready t'go if y'all are. Le's go."

     "Right ! One general rehearsal to go and we're making the big leap. (So to speak.) If there's nothing else... ?" The small pictures all look at the each other, but no one speaks. "See you tomorrow gang." The tiny screen goes blank and retract into its lodging with a minuscule <snap>.

     'Ummm....' Capra distractedly looks at the rather loud interior decor of the Early Lizard as he ponders his next move. 'Don't need the Matrix no more... I think. Let's see : uniforms, check; contacting others, check; talking to Nightshade, double check. No, nothing to do there. So... next I... <snap> Buy  a fridge repair soft, of course.' The blue clad young man casually flicks off the frozen presence of his green matrix conterpart and heads for the door... only to stop abruptly just before reaching it. 'Wait a sec... The Arc is known for its security. Rather unlikely they'll frisk me of all people, but what if I get caught with my (very) little arsenal ? Don't need that at this point, I'm pretty sure.' He turns back to the counter. 

- "Say my good man, you wouldn't happen to know of a local storage facility available to one and all, would you ? Storage lockers of minimal width and height (say yay high and about yon wide.) and like things."

- The orc behind the counter gives it some thought... "Well, theres the gym nearby... I go there and they have lockers.... the school... don't know of no special place thiough, but there are lots of mini-warehousaes...." He grumbles out.

- "Much appreciated." Capra waves to the helpful biped as he again heads for the door, not stopping this time.

     The detour to the local gym is made without any gliches and, for a very modest sum, a Walter PB-120 plus an accompanying smoke grenade are safely encased in metal. Worry free (at least in the armement department.), Capra climbs back up the stairs he came down just 30 minutes ago and re-enter the shopping levels of the the Renraku Arcologie. A quick consult of the local floor plan yields the location of "Cranium Softs". 'Nice name. <he smiles> I think I'll start with them. As a discerning customer, it's my duty to reward good taste, you know... So how do I get there anyway... Huhumm, yes.'

     Once there, Capra approaches a conservativly dressed sales person and starts his spiel :

- "Um... Hello. I uh... Just got a job representing a small fridge repair company and I want to appear to know what's going on when I talk to customers, you understand ? Something about brand names, repair procedures and such... Under three thousand, if at all possible."

- "Refrigerator repair? Thats pretty.....specialized. I don't have anyting like that, haven't heard of it either... I have some general electrical repair and appliance repair."

- "Well..." He pretends to think about it. "If I get more than I want, I suppose that's ok. Could you show me what you have in... appliance repair ? I think that would include cooling devices, right ?"

- "Certainly, sir."

- "Can I try them out in-store ?" He tilts his head and deftly remove one of his slotted softs ('Elf speak.' he notes.) while throwing and interogative look the salesman's way.

- "You may try a 5 minute demo. They are copy-protected... What rating would you like?"

- "Well... I'm no expert, (Though I do dable a bit.)" He runs a fingertip over his softlink. "so let's begin with say.. a rating three soft. OK ?"

<MODIFY
      Once the soft is inserted, Capra will try to evaluate if it meets his needs. Specificly, does it offer suficient info on fridge repair to answer likely questions by neofites and explain what went wrong with the unit they're going to repair, what they shall do about it and such ? Also, if it contains enough general info on the topic : name brands and their advantages and disadvantages.

     Nothing on name brands, but lots on fridge repair, plenty to impress someone.

     After sifting through the new knowledge swirling in his brain, Capra opens his eyes and turns back to the salesman. "Rather comprehensive on the repair side of things, but I don't see much about specific makes & models. Sure, I could memorize all those inventory items, but why bother ? You wouldn't happen to have a chip that can correlate to an attached datasoft, would you now ?"

- "We do have a commercial chip that advertises several different name brands, but nothing on specific brand repair."

- "Let's see that then..." He slots the soft in place, rocking it into its socket. "How much are we talking about here ? This things not too expensive, is it ?"

- "The commercial chip? Free. The other, 1.5K."

- "I'll take those two." The young man takes out Belladonna's credstick. "Cash. So to speak... No need for a bag : I'll wear them home. See how they feel and such..."

     Capra exits Cranium Softs, his new aquisitions slotted in their proper place. 'Now it's home to the wife and kids... and dirty laundry too. Ummm...' His smile becomes thoughful. 'Might be prudent to buy a few things first.' With that thought, he makes a small detour to buy motor oil and some machine lubricant. 'That should do it.'

			*
		     * *

     The uniforms are waiting on the doorstep, just like Nightshade said. 'I guess sending her that e-mail from my own terminal was a mistake... Well, if I get killed in my own bed, I'll know who to blame...' He smiles, shruges and enters carrying their futur threads. 

     The uniforms are reddish, and have various nametags matching the SINS she got apparently. They are sewn onto the uniforms, as well as some certification patches here and there....'Nightshade's good.'  they have a few scraps and tears, but look like someone was TRYING to keep them up...

IF THEY ARE NEW AND CLEAN :

     'Ha ah ! Knew I did good to buy those lubricants !' After grabbing a Fizzy-Pop from the fridge, Capra walks over to the laundry room and dumps his cargo in the washing machine. 'Glad I didn't sell you guys.' He thinks as he pats the off-white finish of the appliances. 'Now for that "used" look : a little oil <squirt, squirt.> a soupscon of grease <splosh> and, to top it all off, various junk to roughen up the edges <clang, cling, clonk>. Perfect ! Power ON!'

    Over the next few hours, Capra busies himself around the house, occationnaly removing one uniform from his homemade torture chamber. 'So they don't all look the same, you know.' When the varous parts look about right to him, he cleans out the mess and washes the uniforms again. The traditional way, this time.



BREAK

LAST MEETING 

     Bruno collects the van, pushes the drivers seat way back and squeezes in, and drives over to the nominated meeting point. He parks in the carpark at the back of the gym. Seeing a few street kids, he calls them over, "Hey you two, want some biz?"

- They amble over, trying to look tough," What yer want?"

- "I want yer to keep an eye on that van, if anything disappears including a hubcap I wanta know... I will be back in an hour, 100Ny if yer keep it watch."

- "110Ny now and we do it."

- Bruno glares at them "100ny and a bonus if I think yer deserve it."

- "done" they amble over and sit on a burnt out wreck, and toss stones at a garbage bin. Bruno turns and enters the gym and waits for the others to arrive.

     After a while, the familiar sight of Winder's van pulls into the parking lot. Stepping out of the driver's seat he walks around to the trunk and removes a small unmarked crate. Then glancing around the lot he walks into the gym. Upon entering he locates Bruno and puts the crate down. 

     Capra turns a nearby corner and jogs to the entrance below the glowing yellow sign that announces to the world "Golden Quad Gym". A large garbage bag bounces on his shoulder making him look like a bargain basement Santa... or some mad sanitation engineer on the prowl.

- "Hey there, attendant person. I'm here with the Goldman party... Already arrived you say ? Good, good. Here's the ammount we agreed to. Have a nice day." an he's off to the room in question.

     Said room is apparently usualy used for aerobics or such activity. It sports a simily-wood floor and a large window on one wall (The rather ugly yellow and green curtain is curently drawn.) As for furnishings, there's a few weights scattered about in the corners and a pile of folding chairs. 

     "Not a Five star Hotel by any streach of the imagination, but it'll do. Won't it guys ?" Capra grabs a chair, unfolds it with a snap and plunks himself down with a smile. 

WINDER
     Opening it he hands Bruno a Narcoject Pistol (w/Smartlink) and three clips of ammo (5 shots each) along with a concealable shoulder holster. He then sits down without saying a word and begins to wait.

     A little while later a rapier pulls up outside and the long coated rider dismounts, sets the alarm and enters the gym.  Seeing that Bruno and Winder are already there the mage Drake greets them and catches up on the latest news.

     "Managed to get the work tools we wanted, as well as a trolley, some big cutters and flame torches.  They've been delivered and stashed back at a lock up along with some crates full of air conditioning sheet metal.  Had no luck getting a toolbox with a reasonable conceable bottom, so instead I figure it we can always hide some stuff amongst the air conditioning plate, and it should be able to shield the gear from scans equally well.  Anyhows I only got the bike so we'll have to go pick up the stuff a bit later in someone's van."

     Drake idly tries to lift one of the weights resting on the floor.  It seems to be welded to the floor.  Drake gives up.

     Haze smiles. "As for Sherman and I, we've acquired the model aeroplanes and we've been practising flying our little bombs around. We're ready to go. Unless anyone has any other ideas we need to take care of, of course."

     Bruno asks "can someone go over the plan step by step including the contingencies, so I can memorise it all... Once that is done, and the van packed we are ready to rock and rock... By the way who wishes to drive the van, cause my driving skills are crap, if the whole thing goes to hell, I would be better in the back tossing the metal out at pursuers. Also the less scratches the better on the van, I need to recoup some money, when I return it."

WHEN EVERYONES THERE (INCLUDING NIGHTSHADE) :

     "Alright, down to businness. I like Bruno's idea of a chronological recap, so let's do that." Capra smiles brightly all of a sudden. "That sounded pretty professional, you got to admit... Anyway... The first thing is out ETA at the mansion of horrors. We prettty much agreed on a day raid, early morning. Say 9, 10ish. The only requirement being that Miss Target NOT be conducting one of her martial arts training session at that very momment." He raises an eyebrow in Nightshade's direction. "Any idea when our perfect window of opportunity will yawn open that critical fraction of an inch ?" No answer from Nightshade. "I guess ten oh oh is the time then." Capra turns to Haze and Sherman. "How much of a delay will you guys need to set up the artillery prior to that ? And what exactly did you cook up for us ?"

     Haze shrugs. "Well, I'm not sure how long it would take. I'd like to transport the planes assembled if at all possible. I'm not exactly sanguine about putting them back together again if we take them apart. I think ten or fifteen minutes to get set up once we hit the target area would be sufficient. I'd say it would take no more than two minutes for things to start blowing up once you call for the diversion, depending on how far away we are - but don't quote me on that. I can actually make some other, more immediate, diversions myself once you call." He grinned rather nastily. "With the aid of some spirit friends, I can confuse or scare the crap out of anyone who's not actually inside a building in the base. Won't help you directly, but it could keep some of them off your backs. And we'll also be sending our flying bombs in as well." He sits back and crosses his arms. "How does that sound?"

     Capra smiles and nods. "As long as they don't look our way, I'm happy... Speaking of which, wouldn't that computer crash thing Nightshade was talking about earlier fit in nicely right about then ? Certainly get the little people off our backs... What say you, you tall drink of water you ?" The crooked grin makes a special, one-night-only re-appearence.

     Haze slowly nodded. "It might. Chances are, though, they aren't going to be too worried about a computer crash if the base is under attack by flying bombs and an infiltration team and the like." He paused for a moment. "On the other hand...Nightshade, would it be possible for you to set off alarms all over the base EXCEPT where our team is? If you can, that could be another part of our 'distraction'."

      Winder says, "Hey, Capra consider this. If alarms are going off all over the base except where we are wouldn't it draw attention to us rather than divert it away? It would be simpler to set off every alarm, sprinkler system, buzzer, and other warning device in the entire place. If we can cause an all out panic nobody is going to give a damn about a group of repairmen who just happened to get caught in the middle of the mess."

     Haze frowned for a second, then grinned. "Much as it pains me to admit it, 'Winder might just have a point there. I was thinking more along the lines of attack alarms, though - air raid sirens and the like. Fire alarms and other such things may not have the desired effect - they aren't going to bring the soldiers running, and they might get suspicious about an attack, fires, computer crashes and all sorts of other emergencies all at once. If we could simulate an attack in an area where you currently aren't at, that might draw the soldiers off for a while."

BREAK

     "So we mossee on over in our van... <snap> Status report on that Bruno, if you please..."

     "Uh... Bruno." Capra waves a hand in front of the big minotaur's face. "Seattle metroplex to Bruno... I know you got the van, but are the stickers on ? Who's it registered to ? If its new, we want to hide that <sniff> Ahhhh ! 'new car' smell and maybe drive it around a bit to dirty up the outside... Any comment, Mr. B ?"

     Bruno glares at Capra, "It is an older van second, third, maybe 10th hand, it works, it has no stickers on it, just plain panels, waiting for the company logo... It basically cost me 20K Ny and I wish to return it in one piece minimal damage, so I can get some cash back... I was hoping Nightshade could check its history and alter to suit our needs... AS to the stickers, I was asked to get a van, not do stickers... Has that all downloaded into yer brain Capra?"

BREAK

     Sherman smiles, "I c'n dirty up de van for ya." He chuckles a little. "I'm ready whenever you guys are. I don' need dis liddle pass..but I guess iddle come in handy, maybe." He stuff the badge into a pocket. "So Haze'n I jes' wait outside 'til you come out, or...hopefully 'til you guys call an' say y'need us t'blow de drek outta ever'thing, right?" He smiles again.

BREAK

    "... Wearing genuine, accept no imitations, this is the real deal workers uniforms !" Capra reaches down and empties the big plastic bag at his feet. The content is of course the aformentionned uniforms. Reddish in color, they consist of a pair of overall and matching shirt & cap. Various patches adorn the whole things and they look pretty well worn. "I suggest we get into costume (Nice job on that, Oh poisonous one.). See how they fit and, more importantly, where we can stash stuff." The happy young man picks a suit at random, reads the nametag and then realizes he has no idea who it belongs to. "Uh... Maybe this would also be a good time to fill us in on our identities... ? Nightshade, the floor is yours... You can also take a couple of barbells. I don't like them." 

     Nightshade, this time looking like a woman made of pure water, held together who knows how... the surface ripples beutifully, and as she talks, the ripples seem to move with it.

"Bruno, you are a Minotaur named Henrey Ickle... heres your file." 
"Oh Goat one, you are a fellow named Dick..sorry, dear goat, I just couldn't
resist, Dick A. Hibex...." Nightshade supresses a chuckle.
"Drake, you are Mr. Stanley W. Drake..."
"Winder, I have given you the name of James Smith."
"Merlin, your Micheal Bird."
"Sherman... Or should I say, Mr, William speechman...Your file is enclosed.
"Haze. Your Mr Timothy Dragon."

     I know, I know, not everyone wanted them, but I had some spare time so made all of you one. Here are all the files. I've matched them to each of your physical descriptions and xpcies...except you Haze and Merlin.... your both human. Are there any questions?" She asks...

     Drake scans his file, and nods appreciatively, "nicely mundane, thanks Nightshade. Stanley W. Drake, at your service, no job to small, no project too big."

     "Not on my end." The blue clad runner distributes the uniforms and put on his own, revealing a small pistol in a shoulder holster in the process. He waits for the others to do the same (Except Haze and Sherman.), then thoughtfully walks around everyone, searching for anything amiss.

<Does capra notice anything ? (Bad fit. Clashing hair style, shoes, body posture. Unsightly bulges.)>

     "Alright. Sporting our new threads, we present ourselves at the gate. Show our new fangled IDs and work orders... Are those ready as well ?"

BREAK

     "... and step on up to the place proper. Let me do the talking, people. I've got the softs..." He taps the back of his ear. "... so I'll be your friendly neighborhood foreman. Ain't that grand ?... Now what if we encounter turbulence on our way past the guard stations ? I suppose that crate contains our sleepy time apparatus... ses but who among us is a qualified anesthetist ? I mean, I can hold a gun but I ain't no Davy Crocket... We need sharpshooters here ! Any volunteers ?"

     Bruno smiles, match in his teeth  "Henrey Ickle, might be able to 'elp yer there... But yer drivin' the van, 'cause yer got the gift of the gab."

     "Henry Ickle ? Who's...Oh ! right. Sorry... Still one more free seat on the sandman express. Any takers ? How 'bout you Winder-sama ? You look like you've handled a gun before... Or is my imagination running away with me again ?"

     "Most of us can shoot a pistol well enough. The narcojects operate off the same principle so we shouldn't have a problem. Especially considering the fact that any shooting we do with them will likely be in close quarters with almost no distance between us and the target. By the way, that reminds me, here's your gear." Winder opens up the crate once again and hands Capra a laser-sighted narcoject pistol with three clips of ammo and a concealable shoulder rig. Turning to Merlin he distributes a similar set of equipment. Before finally getting out a pistol and holster for himself, again with three clips of ammo.

     Capra shrugs. "Well I wasn't aware that there would be enough candy for everybody... So anyway, I present our work order to the gentleman in charge while Bruno looks impressive to my left (ready to take out the one I'm talking to) and Winder stands ready to shove the other one into fairy land on my right. Don't expect to see more then two at any one guard post, but if so, the rest are yours." He waves to the remaining members of the intro team. "I should point out that we DON'T call in the cavalry until after an ACTUAL alert has been called, now do we ?"


---------------------------------------------------------------------

cargo hauler with some halfway decent armor. It seats a maximum of five people (I had the mechanic add an extra bucket seat and another folding bench seat) but has a good sized cargo area which could concievably hold another 4 people. Nothing too fancy but it blends in well with the landscape and isn't likely to attract attention. (Demolition)

Bruno, Minotaur fighter			 <sirfinn@ozemail.com.au>
     Bruno walks over from the bar with a pitcher of beer in his hand. He is huge, a Minotaur of legend, large  black horns with silver caps. His eyes reflect in the poor light, an alien mix of cyber and beast. He wears a light grey duster which goes to his ankles, it is open at the front revealing a black leather vest, faded blue jeans and spiked jackboots. No weaponry is seen but hell ! does a monolith like this need weapons to exist ? He flops onto the bench seat and it groans. He stares out at the assembled group, projecting a chill demeanour. "Bruno as requested" is grunted.

Merlin, Hawk Magicker			Wiseman <MagisterMortis@geocities.com >
    Merlin enters the room just a few minutes before the Johnson, and looks around at everyone, his eyes seeming surprisingly sharp and penetrating. He is dressed in a blue silken shirt and a pair of black pants. He wears an long overcoat, died a deep purple and dotted with the twinkling light and gold of the night sky, which could easily conceal small weapons, but his posture indicates he is unarmed but confident.

Drake						<WINDLING@DIAL.PIPEX.COM>
     The man is lightly tanned, tall and wiry.  His clothes are as black as his short hair and his body bulked out by a heavy trenchcoat.

Haze, dracoform Shaman			Andrew Taylor <RRatinac@arcbs.redcross.org.au>
     Obviously an elf, Haze is a huge specimen, easily topping seven feet in height. He is built slightly more solidly than the average elf. His hair is light, a metallic silver-gold in colour. It flows down to his shoulders in silky waves. His eyes are a deep, sapphire blue. His face is slim and virtually perfect, not a blemish or imperfection to be seen - perfectly symmetrical and very handsome, almost beautiful in a fashion. He is clad in an ensemble of blue and gold. His shimmering golden pants are baggy and hang around him in large folds. His azure shirt is tight and high-collared, showing off an impressively muscular chest. Over the shirt he wears a long, flowing deep blue coat, set off by wide, golden shoulder plates.

Sherman Tun, Troll fighter		Steve Hentz <shentz@msecorp.com>
    The door of the bar opens and through the smoky air an enormous troll walks in. Around 9 feet tall, not including the horn, his thick, wide frame is imposing even to other trolls. His black leather jacket is almost totally covered in patches. On one arm is a UCAS Special Forces patch, on the back is Lone Star, and still another is Aztechnology Security among others. His blue jeans and dark green, collarless shirt must be at least XXXXXL. His weightlifters physique is almost comical...if he weren't so big. His torso is long and V-shaped, with long arms hanging down the side. His legs, though, are short with his knees at about the same level as his hands. The circumference of his arms is probably the same as the sewer line outside. Up close his dark skin is obviously tough and warty. His teeth, by contrast, are white and one of his tusks has a gold ring piercing it. His eyes are completely black. No iris, no whites, no pupil. Just black. Obviously cyber. The only other very obvious cyberware is the datajack at his temple, but that is covered by a small, plastic plug to keep it free of dust. (Cyver hand with monowire and lockpicks, nose mod.)
     He drives a beat up, two year old Ford Americar (with the front seat ALL the way back).