Variant Earth 13 E Mail Game Archive Number 4

Subject: Re: [v13] Jinx's Vacation
Date:    Sun, 10 Jan 1999 00:54:06 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

William Lockwood wrote:

> Natasha took a long, hard look at the Colonel, then shrugged.
 
> "Um. Sure. Nebraska? What the hell is in Nebraska?" she spouted, but
> thought for a moment.
 
> "Oooooh. Absolutely nothing. Riiiiiight. Sounds fine, Colonel. When do
> we leave?" she questioned, already planning a completely boring next 
> few weeks.

He smiles at you.  "Right away.  I've got a plane ready for you and
everything.  You should be snug as a bug in your new, surrogate home in
about ten hours, Jinx.  I guess go ahead and pack up your vitals, and
I'll meet you in a car outside in ten."

> After getting his response, she made sure there was nothing else and
> headed back to her room.
 
> ~Maybe Nebraska might be boring enough to resist my bad luck...Yeah,
> right. Well, it has a damn good chance I suppose...~ Natasha mused to
> herself as she headed to her room to prepare her things.

It indeed took you only about ten to throw all your necessary things
together.  Furthermore, there was even a spare disguise case for you to
pack your pieces in waiting for you, a case that would give off a false
reading to x-ray scanners and metal detectors at the airport.

Nice of them to anticipate shipping you off like this.

At any rate, you fly out on a private plane within the hour, making your
way for the great nothing the midwest represents at all possible speed.
The trip itself is uneventful, so you manage to get in a good long nap
on the way, since there's no onboard flight; heck, there's no T.V.!

Once you're approaching the city, however, the co-pilot shakes you awake
... rather violently.  "Wake up, Jinx!  You've got to bail out - now!" 
He throws you a parachute and barks at you to strap it on.  "We've got
two F-16's tailing us, so you've got to split before we land!!"

You look out the window, seeing that it is dark and cloudy out, with a
significant snowfall currently in progress.  As such, you hopping out
the secret door in the bottom of the plane shouldn't be detected...
unless these jerks are expecting that sort of thing.

If you dive long enough before opening your 'chute, they definitely
won't see you.  Of course, that then opens you up for one heck of a bad
day if you open the thing up too late.  Of course, even if the jerks DO
see you, they're in airplanes; they won't be able to get'cha...

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Ronin)
Date:    Sun, 10 Jan 1999 03:14:56 EST
From:    "Peter Chamers" <lil_blk_duck@hotmail.com>

Roll: 4+3=7 for initiative (curse the dice!)  By the by, FB...I 
assume you will roll and let me know when Ronin's tactical fighting 
bonus kicks in?  I figured logically that he hadn't started to 
actually 'fight' Mike yet, so no way for him to analyse Mike's style.
But you will handle that role, neh?

Ronin, seeing as he's fighting against an automatic gun, will feint left 
while actually diving right and hoping not to get cut down.

Roll: 84 for the dodge (thank you, ohh fickle dice)

Subject: Re: [v13] Jinx's Vacation
Date:    Sun, 10 Jan 1999 03:30:05 -0600
From:    "Christopher W. Acers" <cwacers@home.com>

> Of course, even if the jerks DO see you, they're in airplanes; they won't be 
> able to get'cha...

Unless they ram ya!

Subject: Re: [v13] Jinx's Vacation
Date:    Sun, 10 Jan 1999 14:18:44 -0600
From:    William Lockwood <albedo1@home.com>

Natasha woke with a jump, and blearily cussed up a storm. Taking a look
out the window, she realized she was successful in calling up some
inclement weather and thus started her tirade all over again.

"Damnit! Where are my guns!?" she let loose while digging through her
bags. Quickly finding them, she holstered them while pulling on the
parachute.

Popping the hatch, I make sure Time-Out and Bruno are following me, and
then leap for the earth. The moment I clear the plane, I pull in my
probability field, hoping that the gray field would help mask me from
the pursuing planes.

~And maybe it'll help if I screw this up and hit too hard!~ she grumbled
to herself as she hurtled toward the earth, waiting to the last moment
to pop the 'chute.

[Whoo! I rolled a 90 and spent 10 Karma for a total of 100!]

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Ronin)
Date:    Sun, 10 Jan 1999 14:27:02 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

Peter Chamers wrote:

> Roll: 4+3=7 for initiative (curse the dice!)  By the by, FB...I
> assume you will roll and let me know when Ronin's tactical fighting
> bonus kicks in?  I figured logically that he hadn't started to
> actually 'fight' Mike yet, so no way for him to analyse Mike's style.
> But you will handle that role, neh?

True.  As far as the fighing logistics thingie goes, i guess just roll a
d10 for yourself, and send in the result of that with your next post. 
If the fight lasts that many rounds, well, you'll get the bouns then; if
not, well, we'll go from there.  :)

> Ronin, seeing as he's fighting against an automatic gun, will feint 
> left while actually diving right and hoping not to get cut down.
 
> Roll: 84 for the dodge (thank you, ohh fickle dice)

Seeing you start to make your move, Mike fires upon you with his triple
barrelled gun-arm, but you successfully make your feint, and instead of
blasting you, he nails a wall in the corridor behind you.  It's surface
explodes in a shower of drywall as you move to counter attack.

"Damnit -- stand still!", he cries as you flit about; apparently, he
isn't as hyper-agile as he let on before.  So, how do you begin to deal
with this bozo?  (I should've probably asked you your intensions before,
as well, but I forgot... heh heh, sorry!)

Subject: Re: [v13] Jinx's Vacation
Date:    Sun, 10 Jan 1999 15:36:53 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

William Lockwood wrote:
  
> Popping the hatch, I make sure Time-Out and Bruno are following me, 
> and then leap for the earth. The moment I clear the plane, I pull in 
> my probability field, hoping that the gray field would help mask me 
> from the pursuing planes.

Oh.  (As a technical note, Bil, those two aren't with you right now. 
Time Out's still recovering somewhat, and was shipped off to a safehouse
with an on-staff doctor, and Bruno, well, you don't know WHAT the D.A.A.
did with him.  Maybe he got shipped off to Argentina or something).

> ~And maybe it'll help if I screw this up and hit too hard!~ she 
> grumbled to herself as she hurtled toward the earth, waiting to the 
> last moment to pop the 'chute.

> [Whoo! I rolled a 90 and spent 10 Karma for a total of 100!]

You indeed pull your 'chute at the last possible minute, and you see the
two assault aircraft streaking away after the D.A.A.'s private plane,
which was landing in the local airport anyway.  Once they pass on, the
incredible quiet in the air wraps around you like a shroud.

It takes you about three minutes to finally touch down, and you do so in
some unwitting local's back yard.  As you land, you see a couple of cats
hanging out in this yard, who suddenly stop whatever shenanigans they
were up to and stare at you intently.

They OBVIOUSLY know people can't fly, so they're quite interested in
this.  At any rate, since burying your 'chute isn't practical (being
that you have no shovel and the ground is partly frozen), you simply
ditch it in a local drainage sewer on your way out of this yard.

You emerge onto the streets of Omaha in what appears to be a snowed-in
neighborhood; you don't know how people can get out of this area, since
you're having a hard time maneuvering in the unplowed street - and
that's just on foot!

Anyhow, you pull out a compact map of the city the Colonel gave you,
with the address of the safehouse clearly written on it.  Since you seem
to be near a secondary, more private airfield in town, it would seem
that you've got a ways to walk before you get there.

It's about ten miles, so you either need to catch a cab, stick your
thumb out, or hoof it all the way.  Of course, with the slow chill in
the air around you starting to make things unpleasant (unless you walk
all the way through town with your p-field contracted...).

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] Ruckus at Club Invertebrate!
Date:    Sun, 10 Jan 1999 22:06:56 -0600
From:    Andy Hicks <ahix@mail.utexas.edu>

>"Ger yer hands off of the lady, pal.  And, if you can't tell, I don't
>see anything on her, much less anything stolen, so back off."  In her
>own defense, the disco bunny says "Yeah - what he said."  You can tell
>it's definitely going to be one of THOSE days.

"I don't like the looks of this at all," I think, "I don't have any
obligation to watch Hazzard's back-- but I'm not too crazy about bullies,
either.  Maybe I should go on over and even up the odds a little bit."

I head briskly to where Hazzard is facing off with the thugs, pulling my
gloves snugly onto my fingers.  As I arrive, I take a place standing
shoulder to shoulder with Hazzard, staring down the thug with the hardware.

"You got a problem, big man?"

...

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Mr. Bailes) - A repost.
Date:    Sun, 10 Jan 1999 22:02:28 -0800 (PST)
From:    bob malooga bobmalo@yahoo.com

> Your lady friend goes on to hand you several photographs, all of a man
> that'd been slain with this knife - her late husband, you find out. 
> "I don't know what your fee is, but I want you to find this madman.  The
> police haven't been able to, and you're the only other person that
> can."
 
Reachs over and opens his bottom desk draw and pulls out "The Cannon"
and grabs the Ammo from his desk draw...."Lady you just hired a PI."

Gimme any info on the way.

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Ronin)
Date:    Mon, 11 Jan 1999 06:44:40 EST
From:    "Peter Chamers" <lil_blk_duck@hotmail.com>

> By the by, FB...I assume you will roll and let me know when Ronin's
> tactical fighting bonus kicks in?  I figured logically that he 
> hadn't started to actually 'fight' Mike yet, so no way for him to 
> analyze Mike's style.  But you will handle that role, neh?

> True.  As far as the fighting logistics thingie goes, I guess just
> roll a d10 for yourself, and send in the result of that with your 
> next post. If the fight lasts that many rounds, well, you'll get 
> the bonus then; if not, well, we'll go from there.

Okay...I roll 5 (drat!)

> So, how do you begin to deal with this bozo?  (I should've 
> probably asked you your intentions before, as well, but I forgot... 
> heh heh, sorry!)

(eh...probably should have told you before.  No worries.)

> Ronin, seeing as he's fighting against an automatic gun, will feint 
> left while actually diving right and hoping not to get cut down.

> Seeing you start to make your move, Mike fires upon you with his 
> triple barrelled gun-arm, but you successfully make your feint, 
> and instead of blasting you, he nails a wall in the corridor behind 
> you.  It's surface explodes in a shower of drywall as you move to 
> counter attack.

> "Damnit -- stand still!", he cries as you flit about; apparently, 
> he isn't as hyper-agile as he let on before.  

Ronin frowns that serious I'm-about-to-kick-your-butt frown that is all 
too common in martial arts movies.  With fluid like motion, he wields 
the sword in front of him, a constant flurry of motion.

"I do not wish to harm you, but you leave me very little choice."

Ronin attempts again to throw Mike's attack of by feints and dodges 
in an attempt to get close enough to Mike where upon he will strike 
with Thunder Cutter.  Going for a savagely percise move, he will 
attempt to sever Mike's not-so-human arm.

I roll 8+3 for initiative, 82 for the dodge, 95 for the aimed attack 
and 38 for the damage.  Holy mackrel! I'm rolling 'em like there's no 
tomorrow.

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Ronin)
Date:    Mon, 11 Jan 1999 14:14:12 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

Peter Chamers wrote:

> I roll 8+3 for initiative, 82 for the dodge, 95 for the aimed attack
> and 38 for the damage.  Holy mackrel! I'm rolling 'em like there's no
> tomorrow.

Okay... you totally beat Mike to the punch, diving inside his range and
thrusting your Thunder Cutter right into the shoulder ball-joint of his
robotic arm; you didn't know there was one, but as soon as you stab it,
the suit jacket he was wearing burns off in a sparky lightshow.

"Crap!!", Mike says, pulling the remains of the jacket off and stomping
on it, his shoulder still emitting sparks and some sort of gray, oily
ooze.  You didn't quite manage to sever the arm, but you do seem to have
disabled it some, as it's just sort of jerking uncontrollably right now.

"You bastard.  You broke my ARM!"  He swings the thing at you all club
like, but you manage to easily step aside from the arcing, leaking wreck
that is his robotic arm implant.  "I'm gonna kill you, you bastard!  Oh,
how I'm gonna kill you..."

He hits a panel on his arm, and a small keyboard and monitor are
revealed.  He looks at it for a second, curses under his breath, and
retracts the thing back into its casing.  "I may have to wait for a bit,
but I never forget a face that's ticked me off..."

You get the impression that he was about to flee, when suddenly there's
an explosion to your left.  A big one.  There's no fire, per se, but a
definitey large booming sound, followed by a concussive force potent
enough to knock even you off your feet.  And Mike, of course.

Recovering from the temporary disorientation of it all, you shake the
cobwebs out of your head only to see a blue spiral of glowing lights has
appeared directly to the left of where the two of you were battling, and
a powerful wind is issuing forth from it.

Suddenly, three individuals step out of the light, so to speak, and look
about as if they were soaking in every possible detail around them.  One
of them speaks, though in a language that you've never heard before.  He
looks at the others, and then waves his hands around in the air.

A lattice-work of energy is formed on his fingers, and suddenly, the one
who was speaking in strange tongues says "This is definitely not the
interdimensional vortex I was aiming for."  He's an odd man, wearing a
white cloak, along with a white body suit, and has pale blonde hair.

He looks sterile; not in a clinical sense, but in the aspect of being
very, very clean.  Another, a bizarre man wearing nothing but stretch
fabric pants and  two golden bracers, who has his long hair moussed up
about eighteen inches, simply coughs and sputters in response.

He then pulls something out of his mouth.  It looks like a shot glass of
some sort.  The man simply studies it for a moment, as if he hadn't
expected it to be there.  He then puts it in a pocket in his pants,
saying "Club Invertebrate?  What the heck is that?"

The third man, the one in the center of them all, is wearing a large,
flowing black cape, and what look like sweat pants.  He's also wearing
black boots.  His bald head is nice and buffed, reflecting a lot of the
florescent lighting above.

He then says "No matter... we are close enough, from what this sensor is
telling me.  So this is... negative space, then.  It appears that I was
correct, in that it feels the same as ours."  He smells the air, as if
tasting such for the very first time.

The man in white, then, speaks up.  "Of course, the negative value of
the space we are in is only relative, your eminence.  It is purely a
mathematical -"   He is abruptly silenced by the 'man' in the cape, who
seems to finally have noticed the fact that you are here.

"What's all this, then?"

(?!)

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Ronin)
Date:    Mon, 11 Jan 1999 16:02:22 EST
From:    "Peter Chamers" <lil_blk_duck@hotmail.com>

> "You bastard.  You broke my ARM!"  He swings the thing at you all 
> club like, but you manage to easily step aside from the arcing, 
> leaking wreck that is his robotic arm implant.  "I'm gonna kill 
> you, you bastard!  Oh, how I'm gonna kill you..."

Ronin's eyes narrow menacingly.  "So you have said..."

> (snippity snip snip)

> The man in white, then, speaks up.  "Of course, the negative value 
> of the space we are in is only relative, your eminence.  It is 
> purely a mathematical -"   He is abruptly silenced by the 'man' in 
> the cape, who seems to finally have noticed the fact that you are 
> here.

> "What's all this, then?"

Ronin raises another eyebrow at this new and very strange sight. He 
turns to Mike.  "Friends of yours?"

Ronin regardes the 'vistors' warily.

Subject: Re: [v13] Ruckus at Club Invertebrate!
Date:    Mon, 11 Jan 1999 15:34:42 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

Andy Hicks wrote:
 
> "You got a problem, big man?"

He looks as though he was about to just shoot Hazzard, but with you
there, he stops for a second.  "Yeah, I do.  Your boyfriend here is in
the way of me and my pals.  We gots to take this thief home with us. 
And now, you're in our way, too."

He levels the gun at the three of you, while the two aluminum
bat-wielding goons sort of circle around, though they dont' get too far,
since the three of you have your backs to the bar.  "So, I'm gonna
git'cha out of the way.  It wasn't nice knowing you..."

You hear this high-pitched whine come from his gun, and you can just
guess what he's about to do with it.  I guess you ought to roll up yet
another initiative roll, and decide just what'cha want to do... and, if
you're not spending Karma, go ahead and make your rolls, too.

As far as your compatriots, Mark has rolled up a six for his initiative,
and is leering at one of those bat guys.  The tangerine haired disco
mama, on the other hand, has rolled an eight, and looks like she's
actually going to punch the man with the gun.  Andy?

Subject: Re: [v13] Ruckus at Club Invertebrate!
Date:    Mon, 11 Jan 1999 15:55:51 -0600
From:    Andy Hicks <ahix@mail.utexas.edu>

(I rolled a 6+3=9 for initiative and 13 for extra attacks this round.  Now
let's see if I can work all of this out.  This first move is a combination
dodge/attack.)

Using my nifty sticky boots and my acrobatic abilities, I quickly turn and
'run' two steps up the vertical face of the bar, then launch myself through
the air towards the second bat-wielding goon, swinging my leg at his head.
 Upon landing, I ready myself to dodge any (counter?) attacks, either from
my goon or the one with the big gun, and grab for the canes on my back.

(At least that's what I PLAN to do.  Sometimes these things just don't work
out the way you intended.  At any rate, I roll a 45 for the dodge, and a 38
for the kick.  My second dodge is rolled at another 45.  

Not sure how you want to handle pulling the canes...  If it counts as an
attack, I'll just count it against one of my attacks next round.  If not,
then would it be proper of me to assume that they will be ready for use
when I can strike again?

Finally, the computer is in my apartment after all, so I have regular
access to my e-mail, in case you were wondering.  

Use all of that info however you see fit.  Thanks.)

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Mr. Bailes)
Date:    Mon, 11 Jan 1999 16:04:35 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

bob malooga wrote:

> Reachs over and opens his bottom desk draw and pulls out "The Cannon"
> and grabs the Ammo from his desk draw...."Lady you just hired a PI."
 
> Gimme any info on the way.
 
Now that you've armed yourself with the Cannon, that lovely instrument
of destruction your Grandpa Jack used against evil during the second
World War, you're ready to deal with one of his legacies.  If it is, in
fact, the same Bones that Jack dealt with.

Considering that the man would have to be in his late eighties in order
to be pulling his murder spree anew.  As far as you can tell, it's just
more likely that the man doing these heinous deeds is, in fact, a
copycat, or just some wacko that's picking up where Bones left off.

At any rate, the woman then introduces herself, at last.  "By the by,
Mr. Bailes, my name is Tammie.  Tammie Bismark.  So you know, these
killings have been taking place in Davenport, Iowa, so far, so that's
where we're going to need to start."

"So far, there's been three killings in as many days, and the police
just don't know what to do about it.  That's why I came to you,
considering your... family expertise in these matters.  So, are you
going to drive, or should we fly?  I've got plane tickets..."

(response or something)

As you make your arrangements, you take a look at the police reports and
photos that Tammie's gotten ahold of, somehow, and reference them
against old Jack's journals.  This new crime does seem incredibly
similar to the old McCullan slayings, down to that knife.

Not that the photos are a nice thing to look at.  Tammie's late husband
went out in a really, really bad way; his internal organs were all cut
out and reassembled next to the rest of his body, in a sort of perverted
attempt at a joke or some such.

Nobody knew why McCullan was doing this, other than the natural excuse
of irreparable insanity.  Now that you're on the case, however, you may
get down to the source of this mystery at long last.  Or, this might
just be somebody pulling a fast one.  A really deadly fast one...

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Ronin)
Date:    Mon, 11 Jan 1999 16:20:50 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

Peter Chamers wrote:
 
> Ronin regardes the 'vistors' warily.
 
Mike, the broken cyborg you've been fighting with for the last few
moments, says "Not that I know of."  He pulls himself together, finally
stopping that disturbing arcing sound coming from his shoulder.  And the
hydraulic fluid leakage.  "Never heard of 'em."

The three newcomers are now giving you intent attentions, taking a long
gander at the two of you, as well as the unconscious fellow on the
floor.  Which is when you notice that the 'doctor' they were after has
since woken up from the cold-cock Mike gave him, and fled.

The man in the white robes looks around the service areas, noting with
some annoyance the airport security guards rushing this way; between
Mike's gunfire and their entry, people have begun to notice that bad
things are going on down here.

The caped individual looks back at them, and then his cloaked minion. 
"Deal with that annoyance, would you, Shade?  I intend to explore this
new frontier of ours... in greater detail."  With that, the man flies up
into the air (!), and rockets clean out a nearby wall!!

"With pleasure", Shade says, waving his fingers about in impossible and
eye-watering ways, making them seemingly pass through each other, and
apparently causing a water pipe to burst in the floor under the guards,
spraying them with scalding hot water.

They keep screaming for quite a while, too.

Meanwhile, the man with the tall, tall hair has come up to you.  "And
who might you be, little man?"  It's easy for a body that's seven foot
tall to call ANYBODY 'little man'.  "Just curious what kind of peoples
we'll be dealing with once we settle in here..."

Mike, not liking this at all, has pulled out a cel phone from a pocket
that wasn't ruined when his arm blew up, and makes a call.  "Um, base? 
Got a problem here.  *pause*  Um, people from nowhere, actually.  Yeah,
I'm still at - hello?  Damn phone went dead!"

You see Shade looking at him, a big, evil grin on his face.  He's waving
his right index finger back and forth, in an 'ah-ah-ah' fashion.  You're
not sure what you've gotten yourself into, but things are degenerating
rapidly.  What do you do?!

- Firebomb

'ruining it for everybody'

Subject: Re: [v13] Ruckus at Club Invertebrate!
Date:    Mon, 11 Jan 1999 16:48:14 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

Andy Hicks wrote:

> (At least that's what I PLAN to do.  Sometimes these things just don't 
> work out the way you intended.  At any rate, I roll a 45 for the 
> dodge, and a 38 for the kick.  My second dodge is rolled at another 
> 45.

True enough... at any rate, the gun-toting thug beats you all to the
punch, firing a round right into poor Mark.  After the blast hits him,
Mark makes a 'pwoomph' sound as the force of the impact shoves him clean
through the bar itself.  You can faintly hear him say "Ugh."

Meanwhile, you hop up into the air, and actually do manage to connect
with 'your' thug (despite failing that extra attack roll), bopping him
in the face and really ticking him off.  I guess you can go ahead and
roll for how much damage you did to the poor goon.

Since you're not strong enough to have leveled him here with just one
kick, though, you do see him come after you with the baseball bat, and
he's just as lucky as you, beaning you in the side as you attempt to
dodge, and inflicting Good (10) Blunt Attack damage to your torso.

On the other hand, the disco lady throws a punch at the lone gunman
there, and when she connects, you see her silvery, fingerles glove glow
for a second, and make a "BLAMM!" sound.  The goon finds himself flung
across the bar, landing on those weird twins' table.

They didn't like that very much, of course.  While he's trying to get
up, they start kicking his head in... a lot.  Finally, that last thug
(having rolled a 1 for initative) finally takes his shot, swinging his
bat at the girl with the deadly gloves... and hits.

He pounds her in the leg, knocking her to the floor, and it looks like
he's gonna try and stomp on her face.  If, of course, he can get her
before she recovers from his dirty little move.  Hm.  Guess that's it. 
One easy round o' mayhem, no?

I guess go ahead and roll everything up again, once you've decided what
you want to do.  If Hazzard can pull himself together, he can go on a
seven, while the disco lady (you still don't know what the heck her name
is) is up on a nine...

> Not sure how you want to handle pulling the canes...  If it counts as 
> an attack, I'll just count it against one of my attacks next round.  
> If not, then would it be proper of me to assume that they will be 
> ready for use when I can strike again?

That's fine.  As long as it's not really an attack, I don't mind if you
pull a minor move like drawing weapons and the like; those won't really
cost you an action.  Unless, of course, special circumstances would
dictate it.  And these don't...  =)

> Finally, the computer is in my apartment after all, so I have regular
> access to my e-mail, in case you were wondering.

Schweet...

Subject: Re: [v13] Ruckus at Club Invertebrate!
Date:    Mon, 11 Jan 1999 17:03:51 -0600
From:    Andy Hicks <ahix@mail.utexas.edu>

>Meanwhile, you hop up into the air, and actually do manage to connect
>with 'your' thug (despite failing that extra attack roll), bopping him
>in the face and really ticking him off.  I guess you can go ahead and
>roll for how much damage you did to the poor goon.

Oh, yeah.  Oops.  I roll a 1 for damage!  I gotta get new dice.

> (snippity snip snip)
 
>I guess go ahead and roll everything up again, once you've decided what
>you want to do.  If Hazzard can pull himself together, he can go on a
>seven, while the disco lady (you still don't know what the heck her name
>is) is up on a nine...

(I roll a 5+3=8 for initiative, 54 for extra dodges, and 7 for extra attacks.)

"Not so fast, asshole!" I shout to the thug attacking the disco woman, as I
whip my canes over my shoulders from off my back. 

In the same motion, I swing one cane down in the direction of the thug
above the disco girl, then attempt to dodge any blows from either of the
nearby attackers while moving to a position equidistant from each of the
thugs with the bats.

(I roll a 40 to hit and a 52 for damage on the attack, an 85 for the first
dodge, and a 56 for the second.)

When the opportunity presents itself, I take a cut with my other cane at
the thug that just slugged me with his baseball bat, and also try to duck
away from any other attacks coming at me, whether it be from the two
assailants with bats standing nearby, or the recovering thug with the gun
on the other side of the club.

(I roll a 47 to hit and a 22 for damage for the attack, and a 59 for the
dodge, if necessary.)

???

Subject: Re: [v13] Ruckus at Club Invertebrate!
Date:    Mon, 11 Jan 1999 17:53:37 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

Andy Hicks wrote:

>> I guess go ahead and roll everything up again, once you've decided 
>> what you want to do.  If Hazzard can pull himself together, he can go 
>> on a seven, while the disco lady (you still don't know what the heck 
>> her name is) is up on a nine...

> (I roll a 5+3=8 for initiative, 54 for extra dodges, and 7 for extra 
> attacks.)

> "Not so fast, asshole!" I shout to the thug attacking the disco woman, 
> as I whip my canes over my shoulders from off my back.

> In the same motion, I swing one cane down in the direction of the thug
> above the disco girl, then attempt to dodge any blows from either of 
> the nearby attackers while moving to a position equidistant from each 
> of the thugs with the bats.

Right.  You manage to inflict Excellent (20) Blunt Attack damage on the
thug standing over the girl, making him stop in mid-stomp, at which
point she pounds him in the family jewels with that weird glove of hers,
from down below.  It makes another "BLAMM!" sound.

> (I roll a 40 to hit and a 52 for damage on the attack, an 85 for the 
> first dodge, and a 56 for the second.)

> When the opportunity presents itself, I take a cut with my other cane 
> at the thug that just slugged me with his baseball bat, and also try 
> to duck away from any other attacks coming at me, whether it be from 
> the two assailants with bats standing nearby, or the recovering thug 
> with the gun on the other side of the club.

> (I roll a 47 to hit and a 22 for damage for the attack, and a 59 for 
> the dodge, if necessary.)

Of course, the force of the impact threw the man up into the ceiling,
and halfway into the floor of the Steakhouse above.  He's cursing and
trying to pry himself loose when the guy you kicked in the head tries to
pop you again with that bat.  He misses hitting you in the nose.

If barely.  You definitely felt that thing nick the very, very tip of
your noodle as it flew past.  He's winding up for a second swing by the
time you're ready to make your own, and you pop him while the jerk's in
mid-swing, though once again, you only inflict Poor (4) damage to him.

(you need new damage dice, methinks...)  =)

Disoriented, he takes his swing at you again.  "Haw haw!  You hit like a
girl, little man!  Your little girlie-friend's better at this than you!"
Of course, he misses this time, which doesn't do much for his competence
rating at this point.  He yells at you.  "Aargh!"

By this time, however, the lead thug has gotten away from those
troublesome 'twins', and yells "Good bye, you pricks!"  You hear his gun
revving up again, and can tell that he's more than ready to spatter you
guys against the wall with it.

And, since Hazzard still seems to be down for the count, all of a
sudden, maybe getting hit with that thing doesn't seem like such a good
idea...

(Wow... yet another round o' fun and surprises has gone by... woo!  I
guess we should do it yet again... roll up your various things, such as
initiative, and any rolls you don't plan on spending Karma for, i guess.
Hazzard's got a five, and the girl's got an eight for initative...)

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] Ruckus at Club Invertebrate!
Date:    Mon, 11 Jan 1999 18:06:02 -0600
From:    Andy Hicks <ahix@mail.utexas.edu>

>(Wow... yet another round o' fun and surprises has gone by... woo!  I
>guess we should do it yet again... roll up your various things, such as
>initiative, and any rolls you don't plan on spending Karma for, i guess.
>Hazzard's got a five, and the girl's got an eight for initative...)

(I roll an 8+3=11 for initiative, a 54 for extra dodges, and a 4 for extra
attacks.)

"Dammit!  Gotta get to the boss before that cannon he's carryin' gets
warmed up!" I think to myself, as I divert my attention from the thug next
to me and start after the head goon as fast as I can, making sure to try
and stay away from any baseball bats that might be coming my way.  

When I judge I'm within range to make my attack, I jump onto a table in
front of the gunman in an angle I think will avoid any shots that might be
coming-- even if there are still people at that chosen table-- then spring
from the table, descending at him hard with both canes.

(I roll a 13 for the dodge from the guy with the baseball bat, a 70 to
dodge the gun if it goes off, a 61 to hit the gunman, and a 95 for damage.
*It's about time!*  I think it would be wise to wait and see how all of
this works before I finish up.  That seems like a pretty tall order, but
hey, Hardcore's an ambitious guy. Denny?)  

Subject: Re: [v13] Jinx's Vacation
Date:    Mon, 11 Jan 1999 18:29:29 -0600
From:    William Lockwood <albedo1@home.com>

Natasha looked at the cats before stuffing the parachute in the drainage
pipe, "What?!"

"Damn cats..." she muttered to herself as she trudged down the
snow-filled streets, trying to find a main road, and possibly a
convenience store of some such.

"I hate the cold. I hate the cold. I hate the cold!" she chanted to
herself as she made her way down the road, no longer having the
protection of her probability field to stave off the effects of the
weather.

After a mile or two, she finally made it to a QuikShop (TM!) and found a
pay phone. After thumbing through the phone book, she found a taxi
service and called for a cab to come drag her ass off to the D.A.A.
safehouse.

Looking about the place, she pulled a few dollars out of the wallet she
kept in one of the inner pockets and grabbed a donut and a cup of
coffee, hoping that it helped warm her up a bit.

~They better have the heat on in this place or somebody's going to die!~
she thought to herself, trying to envision central heating and a nice
warm bath, as she waited for her ride.

Subject: Re: [v13] Ruckus at Club Invertebrate!
Date:    Mon, 11 Jan 1999 18:55:22 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

Andy Hicks wrote:

> "Dammit!  Gotta get to the boss before that cannon he's carryin' gets
> warmed up!" I think to myself, as I divert my attention from the thug 
> next to me and start after the head goon as fast as I can, making sure 
> to try and stay away from any baseball bats that might be coming my 
> way.

Just in time, too.  For the lead thugs opens fire with a whole burst of
shots from that slinky, high-tech gun of his, making a sort of
'vuhvuhvuhvuhvorp' sound as it puts holes in the bar, the walls, the
juke box, Eddie, and the thug with the bat next to you.

He falls to the floor before he even gets the chance to say 'ouch' or
something, sliding a good fifteen feet across the floor before his head
gets buried in the broken juke box.  He's still twitching, but doesn't
seem likely to be getting up anytime soon.

> When I judge I'm within range to make my attack, I jump onto a table 
> in front of the gunman in an angle I think will avoid any shots that 
> might be coming-- even if there are still people at that chosen 
> table-- then spring from the table, descending at him hard with both 
> canes.

> (I roll a 13 for the dodge from the guy with the baseball bat, a 70 to
> dodge the gun if it goes off, a 61 to hit the gunman, and a 95 for 
> damage.  *It's about time!*  I think it would be wise to wait and see 
> how all of this works before I finish up.  That seems like a pretty 
> tall order, but hey, Hardcore's an ambitious guy. Denny?

No problem.  You leap into the air, smashing the gunman right in the
chest, inflicting Incredible (40) Blunt Attack damage to his torso, a
blow that makes him drop his gun, and when it hits the floor, it goes
off again.  It makes another 'vorp' sound as it nails somebody else.

This time, it was the lady at the bar with the crimson spandex suit and
the sharp-looking pincers.  "You FUCK!", she screams, and it almost
looks like everybody's going to get into this one, when the Bartender
hops on what's left of the bar.

"I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to leave the bar, pal."  That's
when you notice the shotgun in the Bartender's hands, and he shoots the
lead thug dead in the diaphram, making him go 'whoogh' as he falls down,
all bloody-like.

At about this time, the last thug, the one stuck in the ceiling, falls
down, having finally freed himself from his wooden prison.  When he
hits, the girl goes and pounds him another one, making yet another
"BLAMM!" sound as she pummels him senseless.

Looking at the devastation, you can see the Bartender's not happy with
this course of events.  "All right, that's enough.  I think we've had
just about enough fun for one evening, wouldn't you all say?  Now,", he
says, pointing to you and the girl "help me throw these boobs out."

With that, the Bartender manifests two other selves to help accomplish
this, and he starts dragging them into the empty lounge you visited here
earlier.  "When I open the cage into the vortex, you throw them in,
right?"  He then opens the vortex's cage.  What do you do?

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] Ruckus at Club Invertebrate!
Date:    Mon, 11 Jan 1999 18:58:09 -0600
From:    Andy Hicks <ahix@mail.utexas.edu>

>With that, the Bartender manifests two other selves to help accomplish
>this, and he starts dragging them into the empty lounge you visited here
>earlier.  "When I open the cage into the vortex, you throw them in,

>right?"  He then opens the vortex's cage.  What do you do?

"Didn't one of you say that everything that goes in there ends up someplace
else?  Well, don't you worry a little about where these three are going to
end up?  They won't be causin' anybody any trouble anytime soon, but sooner
or later they're gonna be at full strength.  They're gonna end up bein' a
handfull for somebody wherever they end up, with or without that gun.  You
sure you want your somebody else havin' to pick up after your garbage?"

"Of course, it ain't my place.  Whatever you say goes 'round here.  But I
don't want any part of makin' anybody else have to deal with these dirty
sons of bitches."

I turn to the disco girl.

"As far as I'm concerned, you've got some explainin' to do.  You sure were
havin' yerself a helluva time earlier, but now there's a bunch of people
lyin' around here near death, all 'cause we were standin' up for you.  It'd
be a damn shame to find out that we were fightin' the wrong battle.

"So what's your story, lady?" 

... 

Subject: Re: [v13] Jinx's Vacation
Date:    Mon, 11 Jan 1999 22:50:47 -0600
From:    William Lockwood <albedo1@home.com>

Natasha sighed as she soaked in the heat of the shop.

"Damn, what the hell were they thinking when they set up this front? I'm
going to definitely have to talk to the Col. about th - hey wait! This
is kind of cute...Ack! What the hell am I saying?!" she shook her head,
and drug herself up to the first level apartment.

"A bath sounds damn good..." she mumbled to herself as she wandered into
the bathroom, started running the water, filling the small room with
steam. As she let the steam soak into her skin, she stripped down,
making sure her guns were close to the tub, and slipped in. As an
afterthought, she pulled her knife in with her, slipping it under the
bubble-covered surface of the water.

~You can never be too sure, but damn, I'm going to have to spend a lot
of time re-oiling it later! Oh well, gives me something to do..." she
drifted off as she felt the heat seep into her tender flesh and aching
bones.

Subject: Re: [v13] Jinx's Vacation
Date:    Mon, 11 Jan 1999 22:55:10 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

William Lockwood wrote:
 
> ~They better have the heat on in this place or somebody's going to 
> die!~ she thought to herself, trying to envision central heating and a 
> nice warm bath, as she waited for her ride.

It takes about twenty minutes, but the cab finally arrives.  The man, as
opposed to most of the cab drivers you're accustomed to, actually drives
rather competently, and isn't such a rude wiseass.  He gets you real
close to your final destination, near some sort of fast-food deli.

Having him drop you off about a half-mile from your final destination,
you walk the rest of the way to the safehouse, which (once you get
there) you see is actually a small shop called HornDog's Erotic Wear
(and Tear), currently closed for renovations.

The building itself is a four-story affair, nestled in-between several
other buildings in what the map you're holding quaintly labels the "Old
Market".  How nice.  Pulling the key the Colonel gave you out of your
pocket, you unlock the building and enter the darkened shop.

Turning on the lights, you see that the place indeed has all manner of,
well, erotic wear about.  Things you would never DREAM of wearing, since
it mostly involves not really wearing very much to begin with... 
Further, and this is a bonus, the windows are heavily tinted.

Also, you see a small box nestled in the corner, slowly humming away,
and though it's disguised as a space heater, you can clearly recognize a
D.A.A. Electromagnetic static generator; this beauty issues forth a
broadband scrambling field to foil electronic surveillance.

And, the thing IS making a whole lot of heat.  The place is nice and
warm inside, as a direct counterpart to the slow chill setting in
outside.  Once you've taken in the surroundings, you find that there's
several apartments in the upper floors, so you head up to settle in.

There's also a bathroom and kitchen area on each floor; each floor, in
fact, is a separate living apartment.  You get the impression that this
safe-house is used somewhat often.  Luckily, though, nobody's here at
the moment, since you're not in a mood for humans right now...

So, what'cha gonna do, Jinx?

Subject: Re: [v13] Ruckus at Club Invertebrate!
Date:    Mon, 11 Jan 1999 23:12:22 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

Andy Hicks wrote:

> "Of course, it ain't my place.  Whatever you say goes 'round here.  
> But I don't want any part of makin' anybody else have to deal with 
> these dirty sons of bitches."

The Bartender looks at you.  "Don't worry about it.  These losers aren't
from 'here' anyway, and besides, they can get themselves home as soon as
they wake up... that big guys' blinky belt doo-hickey allows him and his
goons to move about real quick-like."

"Besides, they DID trash up my bar."  He heaves one into the vortex, and
he disappears with a quaint 'vip' sound.  The girl also heaves one up
into the hole in space.  Vip.  "Go ahead, Pal, throw 'im in", the
Bartender says, "he won't hurt nobody when he gets up."

> I turn to the disco girl.
 
> "As far as I'm concerned, you've got some explainin' to do.  You sure 
> were havin' yerself a helluva time earlier, but now there's a bunch of 
> people lyin' around here near death, all 'cause we were standin' up 
> for you.  It'd be a damn shame to find out that we were fightin' the 
> wrong battle.

> "So what's your story, lady?"
 
She looks at you, and gives you one of those pouty-eye bits.  She's
particularly good at it, in fact, what with her sparkling green eyes and
all that.  But, seeing that you aren't budging any, she says "Fine." 
After you all return to the main lounge, she gets a shot.

Downing it in a flash, she continues.  "My name's Tangerine.  Tangerine
Lovechild.  I'm from... somewhere else, from your perspective.  Just
imagine a world where disco never died, and that's it.  But anyway, when
I was just a kid, I found these neat-o boots."

She indicates the holographic, rainbow-colored boots she's got on. 
"These thingies let me go anywhere, just about, as long as I know where
I'm headed.  So, with 'em, I decided to take a long, long vacation,
wandering around the weirdo planes of existence."

"But, to make a long story short, on one of my trips I got... involved
with this guy, see, but it didn't last.  And those guys work for him. 
Worked."  She gets another shot.  And drinks it.  "See, the man gave me
these cool gloves, GAVE them to me."

"And now that I left him, he wants 'em back.  And, like, he wants to
hurt me in the process, too.  Which is why he keeps sending these bozos
after me.  So that's my story, whatever your name is."  She tries for a
third shot, drinks it, and makes a funny face.  "Gack", she says.

"That answer your questions, buddy?  I hope you're happy, 'cause now I'm
like, all down."  She just stares off into space, waiting for your
reply, as the Bartender pulls Hazzard out of the, well, bar.  He looks
mostly all right, as if the gun just hit him with a lot of impact.

The blood you see's mostly from scratches he got when he smashed through
the bar.  "Ugh, gimme another beer, already... my head hurts!  And
where's the ass hole that did this to me?!  I want to put his head inna
vise and smash it all up!"

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] Ruckus at Club Invertebrate!
Date:    Tue, 12 Jan 1999 00:14:33 -0600
From:    Andy Hicks <ahix@mail.utexas.edu>

>"That answer your questions, buddy?  I hope you're happy, 'cause now I'm
>like, all down."  She just stares off into space, waiting for your
>reply, as the Bartender pulls Hazzard out of the, well, bar.  He looks
>mostly all right, as if the gun just hit him with a lot of impact.

"I go by the name Hardcore, if ya really wanna know," I reply to Ms.
Lovechild, "And as far as your bein' "down" is concerned, well, I guess
that's just tough shit, sweetheart.  Life ain't just fun and games 24-7.
For most people it ain't ever fun and games, I reckon.  Of course, maybe
somebody stuck in the disco era wouldn't know that.  Then again, some
people in this world would call bein' stuck in the 70's anything but fun.

"The way I see it, you're just as responsible for all of this crap as those
three that just got tossed outta here.  I'm sure those gloves WERE a gift,
and by the looks of it I can see why you wouldn't wanna give 'em up.  But
as long as you're gonna run around from place to place with 'em, you're
gonna keep attractin' the same sorts of trouble that you got here tonight,
and not just for yerself.  Look at all the people down here that took a
bullet for ya.

"I learned a little somethin' about takin' responsibility for my own
actions a while ago.  Maybe instead of feelin' sorry for yerself, you
should think about what you're doin' to everybody around ya..."  

>The blood you see's mostly from scratches he got when he smashed through
>the bar.  "Ugh, gimme another beer, already... my head hurts!  And
>where's the ass hole that did this to me?!  I want to put his head inna
>vise and smash it all up!"

"It's already been taken care of.  We didn't have enough time to wait on ya
to peel yerself from off the floor before we took 'em out.  And I know it
ain't fun when ya never get a chance to get even.  Whaddya say I join ya
for that beer, though?"

I motion to the bartender for another beer, and sit down next to Hazzard.

"Nothin' like a cold one after bein' thrown through a damn wall.  Let me
tell ya somethin' Hazzard, that girl there may be a lotta trouble, but she
sure is a feisty one..."

???

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Ronin)
Date:    Tue, 12 Jan 1999 10:20:25 EST
From:    "Peter Chamers" <lil_blk_duck@hotmail.com>

> Meanwhile, the man with the tall, tall hair has come up to you.  
> "And who might you be, little man?"  It's easy for a body that's 
> seven foot tall to call ANYBODY 'little man'.  "Just curious what 
> kind of peoples we'll be dealing with once we settle in here..."

Ronin eyes Mr Ponytail.  His tone is matter-of-fact.
"I am...Ronin.  Who...or...what might you be?"

> Mike, not liking this at all, has pulled out a cel phone from a 
> pocket that wasn't ruined when his arm blew up, and makes a call.  
> "Um, base? Got a problem here.  *pause*  Um, people from nowhere, 
> actually.  Yeah, I'm still at - hello?  Damn phone went dead!"

> You see Shade looking at him, a big, evil grin on his face.  He's 
> waving his right index finger back and forth, in an 'ah-ah-ah' 
> fashion.  You're not sure what you've gotten yourself into, but 
> things are degenerating rapidly.  What do you do?!

Ronin holds Thunder Cutter before him.  He turns to Mike.
"I believe a truce is in order, neh?"

occ - sorry for the late reply. missed this msg.

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Stone Cold)
Date:    Tue, 12 Jan 1999 10:23:07 PST
From:    "Charlie Clay Jr." <cclayjr@hotmail.com>

"If you or whomever knows so much about me, why bother why not find 
someone else?  Besides, I don't even know who you are, what you are even 
about, you smell like slime.  What is in it for me?  In short what is 
your game, Mister.  And if you snow me, I all make the woman that is 
after you now seem like a pesky fly, do you dig."

Subject: Re: [v13] Ruckus at Club Invertebrate!
Date:    Tue, 12 Jan 1999 18:10:54 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

Andy Hicks wrote:

> "I go by the name Hardcore, if ya really wanna know," I reply to Ms.
> Lovechild, "And as far as your bein' "down" is concerned, well, I 
> guess that's just tough shit, sweetheart.  Life ain't just fun and 
> games 24-7.  For most people it ain't ever fun and games, I reckon.  
> Of course, maybe somebody stuck in the disco era wouldn't know that.  
> Then again, some people in this world would call bein' stuck in the 
> 70's anything but fun.

Tangerine just looks at you with one of those vague, total lack of
comprehension looks on her face.  Not a 'stupid' look, per se, but a
look that you'd have on your face if somebody told you something like
'you'd look good if you had a sock for a head'.

"But I'm not stuck in the '70's..."

> "The way I see it, you're just as responsible for all of this crap as 
> those three that just got tossed outta here.  I'm sure those gloves 
> WERE a gift, and by the looks of it I can see why you wouldn't wanna 
> give 'em up.  But as long as you're gonna run around from place to 
> place with 'em, you're gonna keep attractin' the same sorts of trouble 
> that you got here tonight, and not just for yerself.  Look at all the 
> people down here that took a bullet for ya.

> "I learned a little somethin' about takin' responsibility for my own
> actions a while ago.  Maybe instead of feelin' sorry for yerself, you
> should think about what you're doin' to everybody around ya..."

"But... but it's not just the gloves, though.  I could still lose the
things tomorrow, and these jerks would still be coming after me.  My ex
wants to get me as much as get these stupid things back.  That's not my
fault, is it?"
 
>> The blood you see's mostly from scratches he got when he smashed 
>> through the bar.  "Ugh, gimme another beer, already... my head hurts! 
>> And where's the ass hole that did this to me?!  I want to put his 
>> head inna vise and smash it all up!"

> "It's already been taken care of.  We didn't have enough time to wait 
> on ya to peel yerself from off the floor before we took 'em out.  And 
> I know it ain't fun when ya never get a chance to get even.  Whaddya 
> say I join ya for that beer, though?"

> I motion to the bartender for another beer, and sit down next to 
> Hazzard.

"Um," is about all you get out of him, after telling him that the folks
he really, really wanted to pound up are gone.  Of course, he still
takes that beer.  "This is definitely the single weirdest day of my
life, let me tell YOU."  And he drinks the thing down.

> "Nothin' like a cold one after bein' thrown through a damn wall.  Let 
> me tell ya somethin' Hazzard, that girl there may be a lotta trouble, 
> but she sure is a feisty one..."

"Mm," he grunts.  "Yeah, she's a neat one, but heck, I don't think I've
got the ordinance to keep her around.  Unless, of course, I was to carry
that stupid gun of theirs around with me.  But wouldn't THAT be all
conspicuous-like.  Stupid thing."

He glances over to where it's sitting on the floor, as if he was trying
to decide whether or not to claim the bloody thing...  Nobody else has
bothered, since they're mostly pulling themselves back together or
griping about the disruption still.

Like Eddie.  He's still out cold from getting hit by that weirdo gun. 
He's still breathing, but definitely out cold.  And cold.  Looks like
his precious heat lamp got broke in all the chaos.  And nobody bothered
to scrape him up off the floor.  Too bad for him...

Subject: Re: [v13] Jinx's Vacation
Date:    Tue, 12 Jan 1999 18:15:43 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

William Lockwood wrote:
 
> ~You can never be too sure, but damn, I'm going to have to spend a lot
> of time re-oiling it later! Oh well, gives me something to do..." she
> drifted off as she felt the heat seep into her tender flesh and aching
> bones.

You lay in the relaxing, hot water for a good half hour, and almost pass
out from the sheer goodness of it all, when you suddenly hear something. 
Thump.  Sounded like somebody closing a... kitchen cabinet.  Then the
glassy tinkle of cereal being poured into a bowl.  Tinkle tinkle.

Somebody's in this apartment with you...

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Ronin)
Date:    Tue, 12 Jan 1999 18:30:45 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>


Peter Chamers wrote:
 
>> Meanwhile, the man with the tall, tall hair has come up to you.  "And 
>> who might you be, little man?"  It's easy for a body that's seven 
>> foot tall to call ANYBODY 'little man'.  "Just curious what kind of 
>> peoples we'll be dealing with once we settle in here..."
 
> Ronin eyes Mr Ponytail.  His tone is matter-of-fact.
> "I am...Ronin.  Who...or...what might you be?"

(Just a quick note, in case I didn't note this right... the guy with the
bracers, the man you're talking to, doesn't have a ponytail, really.  He
does have 18" long hair, but it's all moussed up into this giant,
cylindrical flat top...)

>> Mike, not liking this at all, has pulled out a cel phone from a
>> pocket that wasn't ruined when his arm blew up, and makes a call.
>> "Um, base? Got a problem here.  *pause*  Um, people from nowhere,
>> actually.  Yeah, I'm still at - hello?  Damn phone went dead!"
 
>> You see Shade looking at him, a big, evil grin on his face.  He's
>> waving his right index finger back and forth, in an 'ah-ah-ah'
>> fashion.  You're not sure what you've gotten yourself into, but
>> things are degenerating rapidly.  What do you do?!
 
> Ronin holds Thunder Cutter before him.  He turns to Mike.
> "I believe a truce is in order, neh?"

> Ronin

He looks at you after you say that, and you can feel the raw malice in
his voice.  "Oh, nice try.  Totally disable my arm, make me lose my gun,
and then ask to team up with me... you're funny."  He pulls a gun out of
his partner's suit coat, so at least he's armed... so to speak.

"I don't trust you any more than these bozos, but I'll tell you what.  I
won't kill you until they're gone.  Deal?"  With that, he trains the gun
on the man with the really tall hair.  Sensing the sudden danger, the
man activates those bracers on his arms.

One of them emits a golden lance of energy, about three and a half feet
long, and the other produces a shield, about three feet in diameter,
centered on the jeweled device generating it.  Having done that, the
tall man says "Ooh, we got us a live one, here!"

It looks like those two are gonna spar.  Meanwhile the other guy, that
Shade fellow, looks angry.  "Oh, I see how you are, Flathead.  Take the
cyborg, when you KNOW my magic works best against technology.  I'm
getting tired of your garbage!"

"We may need specimens of the local animals, but that doesn't mean that
I always have to do all the hard work."  The pale man looks at you,
then, and you get the sudden impression that he's about to attack.  Good
thing, then, that you have no 'technology' on you.

That'll make it harder for his magic to affect you.... eh?

(Well, I guess now's a good time to roll up your initiative, as well as
any rolls you don't intend on spending Karma for (like a first attack,
or a dodge).  If you intend on making extra attack rolls or the like,
now would be a good time to do it).

(Once you've decided just WHAT you're going to do...)

> occ - sorry for the late reply. missed this msg.

Heck, don't worry about it.  All I really care for is that I can get
from you, like, ONE reply a day.  More or less.  And you did more than
that, there, earlier yesterday... so it's cool...)  =)

Subject: Re: [v13] Jinx's Vacation
Date:    Tue, 12 Jan 1999 18:35:47 -0600
From:    William Lockwood <albedo1@home.com>

Natasha perked up her ears at the sound of kitchen noise, blearily
opening one of her iceberg eyes.

"Huh? Wha-?! Who?! Damnit..." she mumbled to herself as she sloshed out
of the tub and grabbed a couple towels, wrapping one around her head,
the other around her torso, barely covering her feminine wiles. 

After grabbing her guns and making sure they were loaded, she kicked on
her probability field and did her best to sneak down the stairs to peek
into the kitchen and see who the hell was going to have to lose their
brains in their cornflakes.

Subject: Re: [v13] Jinx's Vacation
Date:    Tue, 12 Jan 1999 19:18:34 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

William Lockwood wrote:

> After grabbing her guns and making sure they were loaded, she kicked 
> on her probability field and did her best to sneak down the stairs to 
> peek into the kitchen and see who the hell was going to have to lose 
> their brains in their cornflakes.
 
You round the bend into the kitchen, where you see a man sitting at
what's supposed to be your table, most likely eating your Kellogg's
Frosted Flakes (TM).  That bastard.  He's an average-sized man, about 5'
9", with a stubbly growth of facial hair.

But that's not the most interesting part.  He's wearing Army greens, a
big ol' green helmet, and has a shoulder holster for his pistol - which,
by the way, is sitting there on the table, next to his tasty looking
bowl of cereal.

But he's not menacing you with it... not yet.  Upon seeing you walk in,
totally armed but almost nekked (your field isn't totally opaque, of
course), he smiles.  "Hey, sweet cheeks, didn't I see you on T.V. a
couple days ago?!"

(Bil...?)

- Firebomb

'ruining it for everybody'

Subject: Re: [v13] Jinx's Vacation
Date:    Tue, 12 Jan 1999 19:07:26 -0600
From:    William Lockwood <albedo1@home.com>

Jinx lowered her guns on the "intruder," and grinned.

"Keep on talking that way and you'll get to be on a home appliance, too.
Or _in_ a few, at least, Mr. G.I. Joe." she countered.

"So, who the hell are you? And please answer quickly as I don't feel
like mopping up your brains off the kitchen floor. As you can see, I
just got out of a good hot bath." she gestured down to her still
dripping body, but keeping a gun on her "guest" the whole time.

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Stone Cold)
Date:    Tue, 12 Jan 1999 19:11:44 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

Charlie Clay Jr. wrote:
 
> "If you or whomever knows so much about me, why bother why not find
> someone else?  Besides, I don't even know who you are, what you are 
> even about, you smell like slime.  What is in it for me?  In short 
> what is your game, Mister.  And if you snow me, I all make the woman 
> that is after you now seem like a pesky fly, do you dig."

The man looks at you for a couple of seconds, and sighs.  "Slime?"  He
takes another puff off of that cigar of his, and suddenly looks rather
disappointed.  "Very well... I was hoping you could help to save what's
left of my family business, but... I'll just find someone else."

"Thanks for your time, sir."

The car's window winds up, and the limo begins to drive off, leaving you
there in the cold, so to speak.  The thing gets about sixty feet away,
when it suddenly stops, raising up about six inches off the ground, and
begins to compress, as if it were a slice of paper being balled up.

The driver and the fat man with the cigar leap from the car, just before
it is compacted to about the size of a, well, compact car.  Once they
hit the pavement, it continues its crushing motion, halting when it's
merely the size of a basketball.

Which is when you notice her.  You were so busy watching the car get all
crushed up, you didn't see the pretty lady in the black leotards jogging
this way until now.  She looks at the spectacle, then the two fellows on
the road, and says "Isn't that a shame...?"

"I wonder why somebody ruined that perfectly good limo?"

As she continues on, you see the large man wave his fists at the lady. 
"You... you... You!   This isn't over, you!  I'll eventually find
someone that can stop you from destroying my business!!!"  You can hear
her laugh as she jogs around the corner.

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] Ruckus at Club Invertebrate!
Date:    Tue, 12 Jan 1999 19:31:38 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

Andy Hicks wrote:
 
> "Never had much use for firearms myself.  Too many problems.  Messy, 
> too easy to trace.  Even though I doubt that gun's registered with the 
> local authorities.

"You got that right.  I'll bet they haven't seen anything like it.  It's
like it almost... punches you, from far away... like an air cannon.  But
without the air, you know what I mean?  At least that's what it felt
like.  Still hurts, too... rgh."

> (snippity snip snip)

> Providing it's nothing too serious, I pick him up and prop him against 
> the bar, trying to wake him up with a few gentle backhanded slaps to 
> his cheeks.

> "Wake up, Eddie.  We're all done here, pal."

He wakes up, and it looked like he was going to reflexively hit you or
something, but stopped suddenly, as if what was going on finally caught
up to him.  It almost makes you mad, but then, you'd probably be out of
sorts, too, you'd been knocked out by that thing.

"Eh... thanks."  The... man... seems to be okay.  Like Hazzard, he just
looks like somebody hit him really, really hard with a bat... or a
truck.  He just sits there against the bar, trying to catch his breath
and totally recover from the surprise impact.

> I then place the remains of his heat lamp back next to him, and make a
> half-hearted attempt at getting it running again, before I decide to 
> head back and grab the gun from off the floor so I can bring it back 
> to Hazzard at the bar for us to inspect.

You sit down at the bar, and Hazzard pulls a little toolkit out of one
of his shirt pocket.  Noting you looking at it, he says "Tool kit for
guns and stuff.  In my line of work, you never know when you'll need it.
Too bad I didn't bring my piece with me here today..."

He looks the thing over, and eventually manages to pull the outer shell
off.  You look inside, and the two of you see that the thing's all
battery pack, gold-plated copper coils, and electronic gizmos.  "Phooey!
I ain't never, ever seen a gun like this!"

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Ronin)
Date:    Tue, 12 Jan 1999 20:32:21 EST
From:    "Peter Chamers" <lil_blk_duck@hotmail.com>

(Just a quick note, in case I didn't note this right... the guy with the 
bracers, the man you're talking to, doesn't have a ponytail, really.  He 
does have 18" long hair, but it's all moussed up into this giant, 
cylindrical flat top...)

> Ronin holds Thunder Cutter before him.  He turns to Mike.
> "I believe a truce is in order, neh?"

> He looks at you after you say that, and you can feel the raw malice 
> in his voice.  "Oh, nice try.  Totally disable my arm, make me lose 
> my gun, and then ask to team up with me... you're funny."  He pulls 
> a gun out of his partner's suit coat, so at least he's armed... so 
> to speak.

Ronin gives Mike a 'whaddya-talking-about-willis' sort of look.

"Funny?!?"

> "I don't trust you any more than these bozos, but I'll tell you 
> what.  I won't kill you until they're gone.  Deal?"  With that, he 

"Better the enemy you know, metal man."

> trains the gun on the man with the really tall hair.  Sensing the 
> sudden danger, the man activates those bracers on his arms.

> One of them emits a golden lance of energy, about three and a half 
> feet long, and the other produces a shield, about three feet in 
> diameter, centered on the jeweled device generating it.  Having done 
> that, the tall man says "Ooh, we got us a live one, here!"

> It looks like those two are gonna spar.  Meanwhile the other guy, 
> that Shade fellow, looks angry.  "Oh, I see how you are, Flathead.  
> Take the cyborg, when you KNOW my magic works best against 
> technology.  I'm getting tired of your garbage!"

> "We may need specimens of the local animals, but that doesn't mean 
> that I always have to do all the hard work."  The pale man looks at 
> you, then, and you get the sudden impression that he's about to 
> attack.  Good thing, then, that you have no 'technology' on you.

> That'll make it harder for his magic to affect you.... eh?

Ronin looks from 'Flathead' to 'Shade'.  He does not like what he sees.  
A flash of light on metal and Thunder Cutter is held and ready for 
action.  Ronin watches his opponent carefully.  Having heard talk of 
'magic' he is not sure what to expect.

He decides to throw caution to the wind and strike quickly and deadly.
All this talk of 'animals' and 'zoos' lets him know that whatever these 
men are, they are not the negotiating kind.

Ronin inhales sharply as prepares to burst into a flurry of action.  
Hoping to throw 'Shade' off with a few quick shuffles, he will move 
in and try for a dual flat-blade strike to the head, hoping to knock the 
'person' out (one can hope).

> (Well, I guess now's a good time to roll up your initiative, as well 
> as any rolls you don't intend on spending Karma for (like a first 
> attack, or a dodge).  If you intend on making extra attack rolls or 
> the like, now would be a good time to do it).
>
>(Once you've decided just WHAT you're going to do...)

(Okay...let's see here.  6+3 for initiative.  51 on the dodge.  93 on 
the dual fighting action (yahoo!).  44 on the first strike and 92 on the 
second (yes!).  Both these are BA since I don't want to chop off 
anyone's head....yet.)

Subject: Re: [v13] Jinx's Vacation
Date:    Tue, 12 Jan 1999 19:44:35 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

William Lockwood wrote:
 
> Jinx lowered her guns on the "intruder," and grinned.
 
> "Keep on talking that way and you'll get to be on a home appliance, 
> too.  Or _in_ a few, at least, Mr. G.I. Joe." she countered.

> "So, who the hell are you? And please answer quickly as I don't feel
> like mopping up your brains off the kitchen floor. As you can see, I
> just got out of a good hot bath." she gestured down to her still
> dripping body, but keeping a gun on her "guest" the whole time.
 
He smiles even more.  "Hey, how'd you know who we were?!  I mean, c'mon,
our outfit's only been around for what, seven months, and here we are,
being all recognized and stuff.  Wow... you'd think we were heroes down
in Special Counter-Terrorist Group Delta..."

"As for who 'I' am, the name's Clutch.  Knowing that I'm the charmer in
the group, they sent me in to check you out.  Well, to check the place
out, you see.  See, the thing is, Uncle Sugar wants to talk to you about
your little... incident, there, a couple of days ago in Jersey."

"And I'm here because I know how to ask nice-like.  Now, them other
jerks on the team, well, they don't know how to talk to, you know,
women, right?  So what do you say, you want to come with us and clear up
a few things for your good ol' Uncle?"

You don't know if this guy's full of it or on the money, but he's got
guts, if anything else.  The only thing you're not liking, here, is that
he keeps referring to a 'team' and 'them'.  That's definitely not a good
thing.  Could be trouble...

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Ronin)
Date:    Tue, 12 Jan 1999 20:00:10 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

Peter Chamers wrote:

> (Okay...let's see here.  6+3 for initiative.  51 on the dodge.  93 on
> the dual fighting action (yahoo!).  44 on the first strike and 92 on 
> the second (yes!).  Both these are BA since I don't want to chop off
> anyone's head....yet.)

Word.

You charge Shade in a flurry of action, overbearing him before he could
finish that quirky little motion he was attempting with his fingers. 
You manage to hit him twice with the Cutter, once in the hand and again
upside his pale little head.

(I guezz roll for your Blunt Attack damage on those two hits).

You seem to have disoriented him some, and definitely spoiled whatever
it was he had in mind for you.  "Damnit!  You ruined my spell!!  Now
I'll have to do this the hard way..."  He makes yet another impossible
dance with his fingers, and the floor explodes before him.

You see him draw electrical wires from the floor, and shorting them
together, he creates an impressive electrical arc, which he forms into a
sort of energetic shield focused on a point at the very tip of his hand.
After a few seconds, it gels into a semi-solid state.

"Now, why don't you try that again...?"  This man seems to be a rather
recalcitrant foeman, and he's more than eager to mix it up with you, who
is a rather competent swordsman, as he's already seen... (I guess do all
your necessary stuff for the next round... and so quickly, already!)

Meanwhile, your pal Mike isn't doing so well against his foe.  He takes
a shot at the tall man, who easily deflects the shell off of his golden
energy shield.  Laughing, he lunges at Mike, and finishes the job you
started with that robotic arm, sending it flying to the floor.

Or rather, what's left of it.  He's not happy about that; in fact, he
picks his arm up after holstering his pal's gun, and it looks like he's
going to use it as a club against this Flathead...  He may be over his
head in this one, but he's definitely not giving up that easy...

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] Bad Things. Definitely Bad Things.
Date:    Tue, 12 Jan 1999 20:34:42 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

With that, Senor Barnett exits the room full of dead things, though he
does make one recommendation on the way out.  "You might want to cut
those bodies up before you leave, guys, because if that punk could make
nine of 'em wake up and attack, what's stopping these jerks?"

"Incidentally, I'll be in that bizarre church, if any of you need me. 
I'm pretty sure that's where this amulet came from, so I'm going to get
to the bottom of this, even if being in there drives me crazy.  Have a
good one, kids!"

Och grumbles as the man exits.  "Harrumph.  Investigating people, spying
on them, I say bah.  If he's worried about folks, he ought to just talk
to them, I say.  Nice, straight-forward, and keeps you from getting into
trouble in the long run."

Something about Och says 'not Private Eye material.

He indeed takes Barnett's advice, and proceeds to cut up all the bodies,
especially those that were taken out with wooden implements, as opposed
to being teleported to the light side of the moon, or locked away in a
mausoleum.  (I wouldn't forget that, if'n I were you...).

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] Ruckus at Club Invertebrate!
Date:    Tue, 12 Jan 1999 20:39:48 -0600
From:    Andy Hicks <ahix@mail.utexas.edu>

>He looks the thing over, and eventually manages to pull the outer shell
>off.  You look inside, and the two of you see that the thing's all
>battery pack, gold-plated copper coils, and electronic gizmos.  "Phooey!
>I ain't never, ever seen a gun like this!"

"I sure can't make heads or tails out of it.  Maybe the girl can tell us
how  this thing works," I say, then motion over to Tangerine.

"Hey, Lovechild!  Can ya help us with somethin' over here real quick?"

"What's the deal with your friend's gun?"  

Subject: Re: [v13] Ruckus at Club Invertebrate!
Date:    Tue, 12 Jan 1999 21:01:18 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

Andy Hicks wrote:

> "Hey, Lovechild!  Can ya help us with somethin' over here real quick?"
 
> "What's the deal with your friend's gun?"

She looks at it for about a minute.  "Not any friend of mine's gun," she
says.  "Hmmph.  Told you I broke up with that loser.  But it looks like
one of his concussion cannons.  It emits a compressed pulse of kinetic
energy... like these gloves do, but mine are contact-activated only."

"This one's got a hundred yard range.  And, if I remember right, it's
got a boobytrap function on the trigger mechanism; you put an uncoded
fingerprint on it, and it just blows up.  I wouldn't mess with that
thing if I were you."

She stops with that, noticing that Hazzard's looking at her... as if
he'd just caught it... and bad.  Apparently, he's into gun nuts like
himself.  And this one's a regular electronics whiz, too, if a spacey
disco electronics whiz.

"Um, I took some classes in school...?  What're you lookin' at?!"

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] Ruckus at Club Invertebrate!
Date:    Tue, 12 Jan 1999 21:41:07 -0600
From:    Andy Hicks <ahix@mail.utexas.edu>

>"Um, I took some classes in school...?  What're you lookin' at?!"

I ignore the suddenly smitten Hazzard.

"Now if what she was just sayin' is true, then the first person that tries
to use this gun is gonna get blown straight to kingdom come.  Can't be
havin' that, I don't figger.

"So if y'all don't mind, I'm gonna toss the pieces we got here through that
"vortex" in there."

I turn to the bartender.

"Would it be too much trouble if you could open up that cage again, so I
can toss this gun outta here?  You'd probably be savin' somebody a whole
lotta trouble... if not a life."

I go to carefully pick up the gun, asking Tangerine, "Say I yanked a chunk
of this thing outta the insides?  D'Ya think that would set off any
self-destruct device?"

???

Subject: Re: [v13] Ruckus at Club Invertebrate!
Date:    Tue, 12 Jan 1999 22:49:27 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

> "Would it be too much trouble if you could open up that cage again, so 
> I can toss this gun outta here?  You'd probably be savin' somebody a 
> whole lotta trouble... if not a life."

He looks up from the glass he was buffing into nonexistence, and says
"Sure thing, pal.  Just head on in, and I'll be there waiting for you."
With that, he returns to his polishing.  The crappy part is that you
know he's probably already in there, just waiting for you.

> I go to carefully pick up the gun, asking Tangerine, "Say I yanked a 
> chunk of this thing outta the insides?  D'Ya think that would set off 
> any self-destruct device?"

She looks at it for a minute more.  "Most likely.  The fingerprint read
circuit is tied into several main anti-tamper sensors, so if you pull
the guts out of that thing, it'll prob'ly blow... though I think it's
got a three second delay... just enough time."

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] Bad Things. Definitely Bad Things.
Date:    Tue, 12 Jan 1999 22:59:25 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

Lady Arakne wrote:

> She then, for the sheer perversity of it, teleports a hand, sans
> body, into Rob's office--placing one of his sketch pencils in it's
> hand with the help of an animated shadow, where he will find it
> the next morning...

Och sits down for a breather once you've completed the grisly work of
getting rid of the vampire bits.  You don't think they'll be any danger
up there, on the dark side of the moon; if they try to fly back home,
re-entry'll kill 'em if the sun doesn't.

And it's not like they'll have anything to actually eat up there, unless
some sort of moon colonization kick really heats up in the near future,
and you really, really doubt that.  So, that's one mess all done.  Now,
what do you do?

Masque hasn't gotten back from his little detour (he DID say he'd be
right back), and Och simply looks beat, though you can tell he's more
durable than he's letting on.  And, on top of all that, the man with
inanimate objects problems went into the freaky weird church over there.

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] Ruckus at Club Invertebrate!
Date:    Tue, 12 Jan 1999 23:03:32 -0600
From:    Andy Hicks <ahix@mail.utexas.edu>

>She looks at it for a minute more.  "Most likely.  The fingerprint read
>circuit is tied into several main anti-tamper sensors, so if you pull
>the guts out of that thing, it'll prob'ly blow... though I think it's
>got a three second delay... just enough time."

"Thanks for the tip," I say, carrying the gun to the other lounge.  "Don't
wanna keep our friend the bartender waiting."

On my way, I think to myself, "Got two choices here: yank somethin' out of
it, so nobody can use it, but then somebody standin' on the other side of
that vortex might get one helluva surprise, or toss this bad boy into the
vortex intact, and risk somebody blowin' themselves up tryin' to use it.
Then again, what kinda person is gonna be in a hurry to use this thing?
Maybe they deserve to get blown up..."

When I reach the lounge, I lay the opened-up gun on the table and wait for
the bartender to open the gate.

"You may wanna stand back, bub.  Here goes nothin'."

With that, I rip a vital looking piece of the gun out, and hurl the rest
into the vortex.

"Heads up out there!"

???  


Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Stone Cold)
Date:    Wed, 13 Jan 1999 09:59:42 PST
From:    "Charlie Clay Jr." <cclayjr@hotmail.com>

"Hey gorgeous slow down. If you don't mind I would like to know what the 
heck is going on.  What is this all about?  And before I stop, for 
goodness sake what is your name?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Ruckus at Club Invertebrate!
Date:    Wed, 13 Jan 1999 18:10:35 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

> With that, I rip a vital looking piece of the gun out, and hurl the 
> rest into the vortex.

> "Heads up out there!"

You throw the concussion cannon into the Club Invertebrate Vortex, and
like everything else that's been dumped in there, you hear a soft 'vip'
sound as it vanishes from sight.  The weird thing is, you hear a soft
'kaboom' sound, as if from a distance, three seconds later.

But the bizarre part is that it didn't sound like it came from the
vortex, or anywhere around it.  Must've been that thing's weirdo
acoustic properties or something.  After all, it doesn't open up
anywhere around here, from what you understand about it.

With that done, you exit the vortex area only to see Hazzard and
Lovechild getting ready to leave; seeing you come around the corner,
Hazzard says "I've had enough weirdness for one day.  I'm goin' to get
dinner- in a REAL restaurant -and then a hotel room."

"I'm sure I won't be able to get a flight until tomorrow anyway..." 
Tangerine, on the other hand, just shrugs.  "And I don't have anything
else to go, so I'm goin' with.  You game, Hardcore?"  

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Stone Cold)
Date:    Wed, 13 Jan 1999 18:43:46 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

Charlie Clay Jr. wrote:

> "Hey gorgeous slow down. If you don't mind I would like to know what 
> the heck is going on.  What is this all about?  And before I stop, for
> goodness sake what is your name?"

> Stone Cold

She does indeed slow down, though she's got a crusty look on her face. 
You don't know if it was the 'gorgeous' comment or the simple fact that
you were with that guy that just got his car crumpled up.  Odds are even
for either possibility.

"Like you don't know.  Running up to that pig's limo like you did, I
know you're one of his cronies.  So, what's your story?  Drugs? 
Extortion?  The occasional hit for profit?  And I don't give my name out
to criminal thugs... or anybody that associates with 'em."

She continues to jog on.  Do you follow?

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] Ruckus at Club Invertebrate!
Date:    Wed, 13 Jan 1999 18:47:04 -0600
From:    Andy Hicks <ahix@mail.utexas.edu>

>"I'm sure I won't be able to get a flight until tomorrow anyway..." 
>Tangerine, on the other hand, just shrugs.  "And I don't have anything
>else to go, so I'm goin' with.  You game, Hardcore?"  

"I've probably way too much shit today myself," I think, "But I don't have
time to do any more socializin' today.  I gotta keep after the Terran
Directorate, 'cause I know they'll be after me again soon enough.  Gotta
keep movin'."

I go to follow Hazzard and Tangerine out.

"I'm afraid I can't make it out with the two of ya.  I've gotta get a move
on.  Hazzard, I'm sure you understand, considering the circumstances we met
under.

"I will see the two of ya out to the street, though."

"Oh, yeah.  Did either of you two hear somethin' like an explosion a minute
ago?  It may have just been that gun blowin' up on the other side of the
vortex, but it sure didn't sound like that was where it was comin' from.  

"Either of you notice anything funny?" 

Subject: Re: [v13] Jinx's Vacation
Date:    Wed, 13 Jan 1999 18:50:44 -0600
From:    William Lockwood <albedo1@home.com>

"You belong to some group named G.I. Joe?!" she questioned in an
unbelieving manner, shaking her towel-covered head.

"Uncle Sugar? What kind of name is that?! Never mind...I don't want to
know...Anyway, what do you guys want with me? If you're looking to start
a fight and call me a terrorist against the American Way then we've got
a problem. If you've got some dirt on that bastard Roy Shijitzu then we
might have something to talk about..." she shot his way, trying to judge
his reaction.

"Anyway, I need to get dressed if I'm going to meet these friends of
yours..." she threw over her shoulder if his response was agreeable.

Subject: [v13] Midwest Mayhem!
Date:    Wed, 13 Jan 1999 19:44:42 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

> "I'm afraid I can't make it out with the two of ya.  I've gotta get a 
> move on.  Hazzard, I'm sure you understand, considering the 
> circumstances we met under.

> "I will see the two of ya out to the street, though."

He looks at you and offers you his hand.  "I understand, man.  But I
tell you what, if you ever wind up my way, up in New York, look me up. 
If you ever need to hit those jokers up my way, I'd be more than happy
to lend a hand.  Since it IS their fault I'm involved with ya..."
 
> "Oh, yeah.  Did either of you two hear somethin' like an explosion a 
> minute ago?  It may have just been that gun blowin' up on the other 
> side of the vortex, but it sure didn't sound like that was where it 
> was comin' from.

> "Either of you notice anything funny?"

Hazzard looks around.  So does Tangerine.  She speaks up first.  "Well
... there IS that huge column of smoke coming from that-a-way..."  She
points to the, well, huge column of smoke you see to the northeast of
you.  Hazzard spits.

"There goes my ride.  That's the airport that-a-way."  He continues to
spy the area.  "Good thing we got rid of that gun, I don't think Uncle
Sam's boys over there'd appreciate us walkin' around with the thing." 
He motions down the street.

You see three military types parked outside some sort of adult clothing
store.  One's this big blond, surfer-type sitting on an Army motorcyle
with a gatling cannon side car, and the other two are sitting in this
sort of off-road vehicle.

It's got these huge 50 caliber cannons mounted on the rear, which just
make your fingers itch.  Considering that here you are, in the snowing
night of Omaha, Nebraska, and there's two military vehicles staking some
shop out.  Something's afoot.

Especially now that you hear the sirens.  Looking behind you, you see
two fire trucks speed past on the road to your left, racing towards that
previously mentioned column of smoke that-a-way.  You don't know what
the deal is, but things are just gettin stranger and stranger here.

And here you thought you were gonna finally get some sleep...

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] Jinx's Vacation
Date:    Wed, 13 Jan 1999 20:04:56 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

William Lockwood wrote:

> "You belong to some group named G.I. Joe?!" she questioned in an
> unbelieving manner, shaking her towel-covered head.

He looks sheepish all of a sudden.  "Well... yeah.  I thought you'd
actually heard of us.  You know, the Burkhardt rescue?  All that jazz?"
He gives up, noting the blank stare on your face.  "Well, that's who we
are.  Sheesh, some people."

> "Uncle Sugar? What kind of name is that?! Never mind...I don't want to
> know...Anyway, what do you guys want with me? If you're looking to 
> start a fight and call me a terrorist against the American Way then 
> we've got a problem. If you've got some dirt on that bastard Roy 
> Shijitzu then we might have something to talk about..." she shot his 
> way, trying to judge his reaction.

"Roy, eh?  Well, we DO know that he faked that surveillance tape, though
lots and lots of circumstantial evidence indicates that you were there.
The fact that Roy identified you by name is what made us suspicious. 
But the trick is, the news is calling it terrorism."

"So, that's why we're involved.  Now, I've read your dossier, and I know
you're not into that sort of thing."  He pulls it up from under the
table, leafing through it.  "Now, this is a much better picture of you
than that rendered fake Shijitzu released to the media."

"That's why we want to talk to you, just to figure out what the heck the
D.A.A. sent you there for.  I mean, we both really want the same thing,
it's just the methods we're worrying about, hey?  Now, if your story's
good enough, we don't have a problem with you."

"The ordinary authorities might, still, but we wont..."

> "Anyway, I need to get dressed if I'm going to meet these friends of
> yours..." she threw over her shoulder if his response was agreeable.

He laughs.  Hey, go right ahead.  It IS kinda cold outside.  Need any
help?"

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] Jinx's Vacation
Date:    Wed, 13 Jan 1999 20:45:29 -0600
From:    William Lockwood <albedo1@home.com>

"Right. That makes sense. I made that little visit to the Ariel-Shijitzu
Building to take a look at the neural processor he's developing. The
D.A.A. thinks he's got something up his sleeve in regards to AI tech.
And from what I saw of the damn robotic monster he had up and running
I'd say they were right to worry!" she explained quickly.

"I don't care if you watch, it's not like you'll get any. I'll be right
back down." she called over her shoulder as she vaulted the stairs to
her room, pulling on a change of clothes.

After a few minutes she came down stairs, her guns holstered and her
knife back at her thigh.

"Right. So, are you going to be so kind as to provide
transportation...Clutch?" she inquired as she pulled on her boots.

[If she doesn't have any changes of clothes here then she will use the
jumpsuit she wore earlier.]

Subject: Re: [v13] Midwest Mayhem!
Date:    Wed, 13 Jan 1999 21:10:05 -0600
From:    Andy Hicks <ahix@mail.utexas.edu>

>And here you thought you were gonna finally get some sleep...

"What the hell is goin' on in this goddam town?" I mutter before thinking
to myself, "Well, ya stuck yer nose into enough trouble already tonight.
You might as well make a clean sweep of it.  The question is, should I see
what's goin' on across the street, or find out what's causin' all that
smoke out at the airport.  There's bound to be plenty of law-enforcement
types down at the airport, so maybe I should steer clear of there.  I ain't
sure about this crew across the street, though."

I take my right glove off and shake Hazzard's hand.

"I guess I'll see you guys later.  I think I'm gonna stick around awhile
and see what the boys across the street are up to."

I wait to see if Hazzard and Tangerine leave.  If so, and if Kwan's
Steakhouse is in a building short enough to climb without much trouble, I
duck to the side of the building, and scale to the roof where I can keep an
eye on the soldier-types.

Subject: Re: [v13] Jinx's Vacation
Date:    Thu, 14 Jan 1999 00:37:15 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

William Lockwood wrote:
 
> "Right. That makes sense. I made that little visit to the Ariel- 
> Shijitzu Building to take a look at the neural processor he's 
> developing. The D.A.A. thinks he's got something up his sleeve in 
> regards to AI tech. And from what I saw of the damn robotic monster he 
> had up and running I'd say they were right to worry!" she explained 
> quickly.

He visibly shudders at that.  "Okay, I can buy that.  After all, I had a
nasty little turn with a robot myself here, a few months ago.  But
that's classified, so I can't tell you about it.  I'm sure it was just
the same though; I HATE robots!"

> "I don't care if you watch, it's not like you'll get any. I'll be 
> right back down." she called over her shoulder as she vaulted the 
> stairs to her room, pulling on a change of clothes.

He gets all smiley again.  "I can watch?!  I'm there, lady!"  He starts
to follow (unless you push him back, of course)...

> After a few minutes she came down stairs, her guns holstered and her
> knife back at her thigh.
 
> "Right. So, are you going to be so kind as to provide
> transportation...Clutch?" she inquired as she pulled on her boots.
 
> [If she doesn't have any changes of clothes here then she will use the
> jumpsuit she wore earlier.]
 
Well... your luggage IS still in your airplane, so that's about all
you've got.  Unless, of course, you want to try on some of HornDog's
erotic wear (or tear).  And, considering the circumstances, that's
prob'ly not a good idea.

Coming down the stairs, the man admires your suit (unless you let him
watch, in which case he's BEEN admiring it), and he replies to your
query.  "But of course, the best Uncle Sam has to offer.  He pulls out a
walkie-talkie and sends a message.  "Pull up the bus, guys!"

Outside, you hear the hydraulic brakes of a bus hiss, which apparently
means that your transport has arrived.  "After you, my lady," Clutch
says as he motions with both hands towards the stairs.  Once you get
outside, you see the bus is, in fact, one of those luxury land liners.

A very, very nice bus, indeed.  Complete with tinted windows and a
Greyhound (TM) logo.  The door opens up, at which point all hell breaks
loose.  As you're minding your own business, you and Clutch get
blindsided by a mad-woman.

Rocketing in on some sort of jet pack, she slices Clutch's pistol in two
before he can even point it at her all the way.  She looks at you, grins
madly, and proclaims that "You, lady, are now in MY custody.  Since, of
course, you're worth five... MILLION... dollars!"

You can hear the shudder of ecstasy in her voice as she says 'million'.
For your information, she's wearing a blue jumpsuit, with two large
sword holsters on the back.  She's also got two pistols holstered on her
legs, but she seems to be menacing you with her arm, instead...

You say some four letter words.  A LOT of them.

* to be continued in the next Midwest Mayhem post *

Subject: Re: [v13] Midwest Mayhem!
Date:    Thu, 14 Jan 1999 00:52:43 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

> I wait to see if Hazzard and Tangerine leave.  If so, and if Kwan's
> Steakhouse is in a building short enough to climb without much 
> trouble, I duck to the side of the building, and scale to the roof 
> where I can keep an eye on the soldier-types.

They do, but you can tell that Hazzard's walking real slow-like, so's he
can keep an eye on things until they're over, as well.  Not that it's
easy to be inconspicuous when he's walking around with Tangerine, there.
So you climb up on top of the Steakhouse.

It's a real easy climb, and it's full of convenient little nooks and
crannies from which you can watch invisibly.  Which is when you see the
flying man.  Skittering about over the rooftops, you see this bald man,
wearing black sweat pants, boots, and a cape, just looking around.

He then sees another flier in the skies, and ducks down so he isn't seen
by her, though he already has been by you.  She lands up on top of that
erotic wear shop, the one those Army ya-hoos are scoping out, if oh-so
conspicuously.  Then, a bus pulls up to the place.

Just then, two folks come out of the shop, one more Army guy and this
generally angry looking woman.  As they become visible, the lady on the
roof pops down with that jet-pack she's wearing, and pulling a sword off
her back, slices the grunt's gun in half before he can use it.

She then starts yelling at somebody, you think the woman in the
skin-suit, and those guys in the combat vehicles start pulling up to the
bus... fast.  Looks like there's gonna be a scuffle there, and how!  So,
what, if anything, are you gonna do about it?

(?)

Subject: [v13] Back in the saddle again....
Date:    Thu, 14 Jan 1999 01:58:12 -0600
From:    "Christopher W. Acers" <cwacers@home.com>

"Hmm, well i'll have to think about that, but in the meantime I'll eat"

Scratching his head, Masque retracts his statement and says...

"Errrr...not eat but i'll think on it. Although eating seems to be a
pretty good idea...I mean cheese and rangoons can only go so far on a
stomach. I know what yer thinking, the intestinal tract is really
long....well some people have shortcuts, or so I've been told....stick
with the food groups and tie yer shoes..."

*Oh right, I told them I'd be right back...*

"Just give me a holler if ya need anything Old faceless....I'll
be...around?! Working the old salt mines as they say...well not really,
A body could dehydrate in those places....."

Masque Continues to babble while he traverses the Mists and back into
that alleyway.....

(are they still there?)

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Ronin)
Date:    Thu, 14 Jan 1999 08:42:08 EST
From:    "Peter Chamers" <lil_blk_duck@hotmail.com>

Sorry for the slow reply...Got snowed in.  Let's do this.

> (I guezz roll for your Blunt Attack damage on those two hits).

(Okay...de bones read: 75 & 97)

You seem to have disoriented him some, and definitely spoiled whatever
it was he had in mind for you.  "Damnit!  You ruined my spell!!  Now
I'll have to do this the hard way..."  He makes yet another impossible
dance with his fingers, and the floor explodes before him.

You see him draw electrical wires from the floor, and shorting them
together, he creates an impressive electrical arc, which he forms into a 
sort of energetic shield focused on a point at the very tip of his hand.  
After a few seconds, it gels into a semi-solid state.

<Insert suitable Japanese exclamation of surprise and shock>

"Now, why don't you try that again...?"  This man seems to be a rather
recalcitrant foeman, and he's more than eager to mix it up with you, who 
is a rather competent swordsman, as he's already seen... (I guess do all 
your necessary stuff for the next round... and so quickly, already!)

"I gladly accept your invitation" replies the grim swordsman.

Ronin rushes in, hefting Thunder Cutter for a mighty slash.  He's never 
tried to slash a shield made of solidified electricity...but there's a 
first time for everything, neh?

(Okay...roll dem bones.  Init roll = 9; Dodge roll = 77; 
 Attack roll + karma = 65 + 20 fer 85 total)

Meanwhile, your pal Mike isn't doing so well against his foe.  He takes 
a shot at the tall man, who easily deflects the shell off of his golden 
energy shield.  Laughing, he lunges at Mike, and finishes the job you 
started with that robotic arm, sending it flying to the floor.

Or rather, what's left of it.  He's not happy about that; in fact, he
picks his arm up after holstering his pal's gun, and it looks like he's 
going to use it as a club against this Flathead...  He may be over his 
head in this one, but he's definitely not giving up that easy...

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Stone Cold)
Date:    Thu, 14 Jan 1999 13:46:01 PST
From:    "Charlie Clay Jr." <cclayjr@hotmail.com>

To answer you without blinking twice, I follow.  "Hey, listen I know 
that you are all hellfired bent on smoking ol' dude.  If you answer one 
question for me I might leave you alone.  Why was he trying to hire me 
to waste you!  What exactly is fat man involved in?  Besides that I 
probably need to hang out with you to find out and get rid of all of the 
information that he has on me.  Would you like some company?  I have a 
weapon and I know how to use it."

Subject: Re: [v13] Midwest Mayhem!
Date:    Thu, 14 Jan 1999 16:12:45 -0600
From:    Andy Hicks <ahix@mail.utexas.edu>

>It's a real easy climb, and it's full of convenient little nooks and
>crannies from which you can watch invisibly.  Which is when you see the
>flying man.  Skittering about over the rooftops, you see this bald man,
>wearing black sweat pants, boots, and a cape, just looking around.

"Bald man in sweat pants, flyin' around.  Looks like Club Invertebrate's
got another customer," I say, shaking my head.  "What a friggin' nightmare..."

>He then sees another flier in the skies, and ducks down so he isn't seen
>by her, though he already has been by you.  She lands up on top of that
>erotic wear shop, the one those Army ya-hoos are scoping out, if oh-so
>conspicuously.  Then, a bus pulls up to the place.

>Just then, two folks come out of the shop, one more Army guy and this
>generally angry looking woman.  As they become visible, the lady on the
>roof pops down with that jet-pack she's wearing, and pulling a sword off
>her back, slices the grunt's gun in half before he can use it.

>She then starts yelling at somebody, you think the woman in the
>skin-suit, and those guys in the combat vehicles start pulling up to the
>bus... fast.  Looks like there's gonna be a scuffle there, and how!  So,
>what, if anything, are you gonna do about it?

"Looks like business is pickin' up again!" I think to myself, scrambling
down the face of the building and making my way to the bus across the
street.  

When I reach the bus, I quickly climb up the side opposite from the
developing skirmish, then shuffle low to the ground across the roof to the
edge of the bus overlooking the combatants, trying to get a read on the
situation.

Which is?

Subject: Re: [v13] Jinx's Vacation
Date:    Thu, 14 Jan 1999 19:07:42 -0600
From:    William Lockwood <albedo1@home.com>

[I roll an 8 + 2 = 10 for Initiative, a 70 for any necessary Dodge, a 97
on my first shot at the woman's jetpack with 88 for Damage, and a 95 to
shoot her sword wielding hand with 89 Damage! (oh my God what a fucking
mess!)]

Jinx did indeed curse magnificently, then immediately drew her guns and
prepared to open fire on the attacking woman.

Her first shot was quickly aimed for the woman's jetpack in the hope
that grounding her would make her a bit less dangerous. The second shot
was aimed at the hand wielding the sword as it just sliced through
Clutch's gun and she didn't want that thing being used on any of her
equipment!

"Hey, bitch! I don't think dollars are the appropriate currency of
exchange. Let's try bullets!" she hollered as she threw up her
probability field and dove for cover to avoid any return fire.

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Ronin)
Date:    Thu, 14 Jan 1999 21:37:04 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

Peter Chamers wrote:

> (Okay...roll dem bones.  Init roll = 9; Dodge roll = 77;
>  Attack roll + karma = 65 + 20 fer 85 total)

All right.  You throw down the gauntlet, making ready to slice and dice
this guy but good, when he actually beats you to the punch, speaking
several words in a truly alien language, pulling this thingie out of his
pocket, and throwing it at you.

It was, when he flung it, a simple metal square, but in mid-air, it
crackles with energy and transforms into this writhing, robotic tentacle
that manages to enwrap your legs.  Though this limits your mobility
some, it doesn't stop you from attacking him in turn.

You slice at him, and do manage to hit his shield, though you're not
sure exactly how much harm you've managed to inflict upon it (or the
mage).  Feel free to determine the damage your sword has inflicted
(that'll show us where he'll go from there).

Though it might not matter.

You see, Mike and this Flathead character are really going to town
against each other.  Moving with surprising speed, Mike cut into
Flathead's vulnerable area and clonked him in the head with his severed
arm, which made him all loopy for a second.

So, Mike hit him in the head again.  This made the tall-haired one real
angry-like, and he reached out with that energy blade and chopped Mike's
leg off - but it wasn't a robotic replacement or anything... Mike just
lost one of his real, fleshy organic bits!!

This, naturally, makes him fall down to the ground, but he's only
getting angrier by the moment.  He growls "I'm not done with you, yet!",
at which point something behind Flathead makes a 'vip' noise, and then
hits him in the back of his noggin.

The second noise is more akin to a metallic 'paaaaaang....'

Before throttling the last bit of life from Mike, Flathead turns around
and looks at what just gave him a minor concussion in the back of the
head.  "A gun... what the he-".   You could've sworn that he was going
to say 'hell', but he never got the chance.

The gun he was holding, this weird chrome-ish affair that looks as if
somebody'd just taken it apart, just blew up in his sorry face.  And the
blast, being exceptionally potent, knocks you (and everybody else here
in the vicinity) for a loop.  A big hairy one.

When you come to, you see that this entire area of the airport has been
devastated, with big hunks of concrete all over the bloody place.  And
you see signs of folks buried here and there, and from what's left of
their clothings, it looks like the people involved in that scrap.

You're the first to recover, however, and nobody else seems to be moving
at all, save for labored breathing motions.  However, the place seems to
be on fire in places, and though there is now an opening to the outside
world (that gun blew the place clean open), there's smoke everywhere.

What do you do now?!

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Stone Cold)
Date:    Thu, 14 Jan 1999 22:05:52 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

"Ha!", she says, upon hearing that.  "So, the fat bastard was gonna hide
behind you this time, eh?  And for your information, I don't want to
kill him, I want to destroy him!  That scumbag totally wiped out my
family while I was in China these last few years..."

"The slimebag is a murdering bastard, and I'm going to make people
realize it.  I have the power..."  You notice, while she clenches her
fist, a nearby lamp-post curls up like a bizarre party favor.  "So, you
didn't actually agree to work with him, eh?"

(response or some such)

"But no, he's no public servant.  That corrupt bastard has his hands
into every single little dirty thing going on in town, every since he
moved here six years ago.  My family didn't want to do business with
him, so they just got 'disappeared' while I was out of town."

"But, if you want to hang out with me, fine.  I don't have anybody else
to talk to right now, what with his goons liable to take out any of my
friends I'm seen with these days.  And by the way, the name's Clarice. 
You were..."

(another potential response area)

She smiles.  "So, where's this weapon of yours hiding at?"

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] Midwest Mayhem!
Date:    Thu, 14 Jan 1999 22:26:27 -0600
From:    William Lockwood <albedo1@home.com>

[Initiative total of 8, Dodge of 68, 64 to shoot the right strap of the
jetpack with 54 for Damage, 88 to shoot the left strap and 72 for
damage.]

Jinx cursed even more when she saw that her guns didn't do crap to the
swiss-army bitch.

~What the hell?! Adamantium?! Where the hell did this woman get her
armament?!?!?!?!~ Jinx wildly thought to herself as she tried to adjust
her aim to the hopefully weaker straps of the jetpack.

~If I can take the straps off, hopefully she'll lose the jetpack and
we'll be able to cut her mobility down!~ she silently prayed as she
steeled herself for even more gunfire.

As she dove for cover from any return fire, she looked about for any
high tension wires, hoping that some might be running along some poles
near their attacker.

Subject: Re: [v13] Midwest Mayhem!
Date:    Thu, 14 Jan 1999 22:42:40 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

> "Hey, bitch! I don't think dollars are the appropriate currency of
> exchange. Let's try bullets!" she hollered as she threw up her
> probability field and dove for cover to avoid any return fire.
 
Your first shot nails the high tech head hunter dead in the jet pack,
though you note with significant dismay that it doesn't look scratched;
sure, the impact of the blast totally threw her off balance, but the
strap-on flight pack looks intact still.

Your second shot is just as much on the money, nailing her hand and
causing her sword to go flying through the air, and you note with some
more dismay that the thing just scythes through that luxury liner as if
it were rice paper.  Inside, you hear an 'Ack!' of pain or surprise.

You're not sure which.

"You whore!  You painted Jezebel!  That was one of my special swords! 
My goddamned Adamantium 25 swords!!  Do you know how damned expensive
those things are?!  And now, now, NOW, I'm gonna have to dig it out of
that bus!  I'll KILL you!"

With that, she pulls her twin pistols out of her leg holsters, and fires
at you... a lot.  You hear the crisp crackle of vaporized air molecules
as two red laser beams fire at you; you manage the first dodge, but the
second one hits you in the p-field, luckily ricocheting off.

(didn't feel like mekkin' you send in another dodge now, lucky you.)

Hiding behind that dumpster for cover, you see those two Joe vehicles
pull up to her, and one of them hits the vehicle's P.A. system. "You
with the jet pack and the swords!  You are interfering with a delicate
government operation.  Desist or we'll open fire!!"

In response, she just smirks, making a 'come get some' motion with her
beckoning right hand.  At which point yet another dismaying fact becomes
apparent:  her right hand, the one you shot, looks... metally, under
that skin of hers.  In fact, the metal looks just fine, like her jets!

So, of course, those boobs in the jeep start shooting at her with those
computer-linked, swivel-mounted, dual 50 caliber cannons.  They make the
sounds of mechanized thunder as they fire upon her, but by the time
they've done so, she's made a shield out of her left arm!!

She deflects the bullets, though their raw force of impact is pushing
her back a bit.  Noting the effect of the ricochets all over this
neighborhood, the jeep driver stops shooting, which is a patently bad
idea for him.  That's because he can't see it.

Miss Swiss army knife here, while that shield's covering the outer part
of her left arm, manifests a sort of gun-thingie on the inside, and
she's got this evil grin... one that makes you think she's about to
shoot that jeep... a whole lot.

                 * See next post, being sent imminently *

Subject: Re: [v13] Midwest Mayhem!
Date:    Thu, 14 Jan 1999 22:43:03 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

> When I reach the bus, I quickly climb up the side opposite from the
> developing skirmish, then shuffle low to the ground across the roof to 
> the edge of the bus overlooking the combatants, trying to get a read 
> on the situation.

> Which is?

Well, by the time you've gotten there, the bout of chaos that I just
detailed in the previous Mayhem post is just taking place.  Luckily,
that sword that went through the bus didn't come your way, since the
damn thing looked like it would've gone through you just as easily.

Behind you, you can hear Hazzard and Lovechild running up to the bus, as
if to intervene, or simply cover your crazy self.  Of course, once he
gets there, and sees that multi-function lady in the blue body suit, he
looks stupefied, mouthing the word "Lisa...?!"

Subject: Re: [v13] Back in the saddle again....
Date:    Thu, 14 Jan 1999 22:50:11 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>
 
> "Just give me a holler if ya need anything Old faceless....i'll
> be...around?! Working the old salt mines as they say...well not 
> really, A body could dehydrate in those places....."

As usual, your long and generally incoherent speech has had a confusing,
disorienting effect on Old Faceless; your mystic master just stares at
you for a few seconds, scratches some age spots on his arm, and says
"Yes, yes you can." once his mind catches up to your odd words.
 
> Masque Continues to babble while he traverses the Mists and back into
> that alleyway.....
 
> (are they still there?)

Yes.  You see that Och and Silhouette are still here, though all traces
of those dead folk (even the dried up blood stains) have vanished.  The
person that cleaned up this mess was good... real good.  Silhouette is
just standing there, while Och is sitting on the ground, looking tired.

"Masque!  You're back so soon!  I figured that it would've taken longer
for you to get rid of that accursed, evil artifact.  But no matter, at
least we are together again.  I say that we stalwart companions should
get a drink or ten to celebrate our victory over these evil creatures!"

"Battle always makes me thirsty, evil undead creature ramming its
gaseous self down my throat notwithstanding."  He clears his throat with
a, well, a throaty 'achem'.  "As far as Senor Barnett goes, I say we
leave him to this 'investigation' of his, and call on him later."

"After all, he told us who he works for, now, didn't he?"

(Masque or Silhouette?)

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Ronin)
Date:    Fri, 15 Jan 1999 06:05:51 EST
From:    "Peter Chamers" <lil_blk_duck@hotmail.com>

All right.  You throw down the gauntlet, making ready to slice and dice 
this guy but good, when he actually beats you to the punch, speaking 
several words in a truly alien language, pulling this 
thingie out of his pocket, and throwing it at you.

It was, when he flung it, a simple metal square, but in mid-air, it
crackles with energy and transforms into this writhing, robotic tentacle 
that manages to enwrap your legs.  Though this limits your mobility 
some, it doesn't stop you from attacking him in turn.

You slice at him, and do manage to hit his shield, though you're not
sure exactly how much harm you've managed to inflict upon it (or the
mage).  Feel free to determine the damage your sword has inflicted
(that'll show us where he'll go from there).

Though it might not matter.

(Guess it doesn't.  67 & 75 regardless....)

<snip>

You're the first to recover, however, and nobody else seems to be moving 
at all, save for labored breathing motions.  However, the place seems to 
be on fire in places, and though there is now an opening to the outside 
world (that gun blew the place clean open), there's smoke everywhere.

Ronin gets to his feet, looking around in horror and shock.
He will try to help any casualties that he can (within reason of 
course...ain't Superman or nuttin).  If he can find any extinguishers, 
etc...he'll try to put out the worst of the fire, else he will just try 
to free folks from the rubble.  Yes....that includes Mike, his partner 
and the doctor who led him down this weird path in the first place and 
whom he should of ignored from the get-go.  *sigh*


Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

Subject: Re: [v13] Midwest Mayhem!
Date:    Fri, 15 Jan 1999 12:34:16 -0600
From:    Andy Hicks <ahix@mail.utexas.edu>

"Still ain't sure what's goin' on here, but that one in the jet pack seems
like she's doin' the attackin'," I think.  "Maybe I can help put a stop to
this bullshit!"

Trying to time my attack to avoid any crossfire, I pounce towards the woman
wearing the jet pack, swiping at her with a cane.

(I roll a 7 for initiative, a 12 for my first dodge, a 5 for the second,
and a 24 to hit with 65 for damage on the attack.  Quite an entrance.  Pffft.)

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Ronin)
Date:    Fri, 15 Jan 1999 12:59:45 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

> Though it might not matter.
 
> (Guess it doesn't.  67 & 75 regardless....)

(Well, if it does make you feel better... you DID break through the
man's magical shield, actually cutting him some up before the blast. 
This may have in fact saved your life, as he'd have likely been
conscious after that explosion, still...)

> You're the first to recover, however, and nobody else seems to be 
> moving at all, save for labored breathing motions.  However, the place 
> seems to be on fire in places, and though there is now an opening to 
> the outside world (that gun blew the place clean open), there's smoke 
> everywhere.

> Ronin gets to his feet, looking around in horror and shock.
> He will try to help any casualties that he can (within reason of
> course...ain't Superman or nuttin).  If he can find any extinguishers,
> etc...he'll try to put out the worst of the fire, else he will just 
> try to free folks from the rubble.  Yes....that includes Mike, his 
> partner and the doctor who led him down this weird path in the first 
> place and whom he should of ignored from the get-go.  *sigh*

Okay, you grab an ambient fire extinguisher and start spraying out the
small, isolated flames.  Once that's done, you do manage to pull Mike
and his partner, as well as those two flunkies, out of the rubble; it
would seem, however, that the Doctor isn't even here anymore.

Of course, Mike isn't breathing anymore.  It looks like the extreme
blood loss he suffered as a result of losing that leg rather abruptly
must've done him in; his corpse is really, really pale.  Those other
three do seem alive, if barely.

Furthermore, you don't find any other folks buried in the rubble.  As
this particular area of the airport was empty at the time of the
explosion, nobody but you guys got caught in the blast.  And that, in
the end, is a good thing.

After sorting this mess out, you can hear people digging their way in
from the outside hallways, apparently not knowing that there's a clear
opening to the airport exterior here, just yet.  Before any rescue
workers can get there, however, that caped man returns.

"Ah... so I see that you have defeated my servants... excellent.  If
only half of the warriors from this negative spatial plane are as
competent in battle as you are, my conquest here will be that much more
satisfying.  For now, however, I bid you farewell!"

With that, he turns, pulls some rubble up, and unearths the vortex from
which he came, giving you a curt wave as he walks through; unless you
try to prevent him from leaving; if you do, I guess roll up your
initiatives and the like.

That is, of course, if you still think fighting is useful at this point.
One thing you do notice, though, is that he's not making any attempt to
retrieve those two boobs you were scrapping with; he's apparently
leaving them for dead...

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] Midwest Mayhem!
Date:    Fri, 15 Jan 1999 13:32:35 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

All right...  one thing the both of you notice is that this woman is
fast.  Before either of you can make your move, she swings around and
nails that jeep-thing with the gun sticking out of her left arm; it
emits this ear-piercing wail as it fires a white-hot beam of power.

Those two Joes hop out as the vehicle melts some, and you note a
distinct hole burnt through the jeep (and the building directly behind
it).  "Ha!  Didn't know I had a built-in particle beam, did'ya?  Huh? 
Huh?"  And then she turns on you, Jinx.

Of course, that's when you get your two shots off.  You hit both dead
on, causing the pack to swing off her back and land on the ground, and
you see this small cable pop off her head with it; she makes a face like
you would if somebody'd just cut your finger off.

Suddenly de-jet packed and with smoking holes in her suit (you do see
some blood this time), you're about to get shot at again, when you see
this man with two canes leap off the bus and clip her with one of his
blunt instruments.

Hardcore, you notice when you make contact with her (or, more correctly,
when you get within about two inches), that it suddenly feels like
you're hitting a layer of syrup or something, and your cane actually
slows down a bit before it tags her in the leg.

You definitely made contact, but you're not sure just how much of that
Excellent (20) Blunt Attack damage went through to hit her.  As you back
up into a defensive stance, she rushes you, lifting you off the ground
with almost unnatural speed and grace, and throws you.

"Silly boy, sticks are for kids!"  Jinx, you see the stick-wielding man
flying right at you, but don't get out of the way in time; the both of
you come tumbling down on the sidewalk in a heap, taking Good (10) Blunt
Attack damage each from the impacts.

Meanwhile, that blond fellow on the motorcycle wheels the thing up
behind her, while Tangerine runs up to make her acquaintance.  "Hey, you
rag - Hardcore's my friend!"  Looks like she's going to take a swing at
her... though she's not yet close enough.

And Hazzard, well, he looks real confused.  "Hey, Lisa, what're you
doing?!  Hey -- oh Crap!!  Everybody, run -- she's slipping into her
action trance!!!"  Neither of you know what Hazzard's talking about
until you look back at Lisa.

Who's smiling.  You see her eyes roll back into her head for about 1/3
of a second, and then you see this total calm wash over her face.  She
looks like she's one with the world, and you get the sinking feeling
that she's even more trouble than she was when she was mad at you all...

(?)

(Of course, now would be a good time to make any sorts of new initiative
rolls and the like, as well as those rolls you'll want for when shooting
at Lisa, dodging Lisa's shots, and generally running away from Lisa (if
that's what you do)).

(Unless any Karma's getting into this mix.  If so, well, we'll take it
from there, no?  And no, Bil, you didn't see any high-tension wires
hereabout; at least, not in the immediate vicinity of this cyborg head
hunter... for your information).

- Firebomb

'ruining it for everybody'

Subject: Re: [v13] Midwest Mayhem!
Date:    Fri, 15 Jan 1999 14:41:43 -0600
From:    Andy Hicks <ahix@mail.utexas.edu>

>"Silly boy, sticks are for kids!"  Jinx, you see the stick-wielding man
>flying right at you, but don't get out of the way in time; the both of
>you come tumbling down on the sidewalk in a heap, taking Good (10) Blunt
>Attack damage each from the impacts.

"Mother fucker!  That bitch has got a damn force field on her!  And she's
kickin' our asses!" I shout as I pick myself off of Jinx.

> (snippity snip snip)

(I roll an 11 for initiative, a 13 for extra dodges, and a 32 for extra
attacks (giving me three this round).)

"Good Lord...  Might've picked the wrong side on this one," I think to
myself, then shout, "Hazzard get yer ass over here!  We're gettin' the shit
kicked outta us, and from the looks of it, it's about to get a helluva lot
worse real quick!"

I charge the woman with canes flying, taking a swing at her with each hand,
then feinting away, preparing to take one more cut.

(I roll a 37 to hit and 35 for damage with the first swing, and a 64 to hit
with 53 for damage on the second.  My dodge rolls are 93 and 68.  I'll roll
the next attack at the end of this round.)

???  

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Ronin)
Date:    Fri, 15 Jan 1999 17:17:51 EST
From:    "Peter Chamers" lil_blk_duck@hotmail.com

> Ronin gets to his feet, looking around in horror and shock.  He will try to 
> help any casualties that he can (within reason of course).  If he can find any 
> extinguishers, etc...he'll try to put out the worst of the fire, else he will 
> just try to free folks from the rubble.  Yes....that includes Mike, his 
> partner and the doctor who led him down this weird path in the first place and 
> whom he should of ignored from the get-go.  *sigh*

Okay, you grab an ambient fire extinguisher and start spraying out the
small, isolated flames.  Once that's done, you do manage to pull Mike
and his partner, as well as those two flunkies, out of the rubble; it
would seem, however, that the Doctor isn't even here anymore.

Of course, Mike isn't breathing anymore.  It looks like the extreme
blood loss he suffered as a result of losing that leg rather abruptly
must've done him in; his corpse is really, really pale.  Those other
three do seem alive, if barely.

After sorting this mess out, you can hear people digging their way in
from the outside hallways, apparently not knowing that there's a clear
opening to the airport exterior here, just yet.  Before any rescue
workers can get there, however, that caped man returns.

"Ah... so I see that you have defeated my servants... excellent.  If
only half of the warriors from this negative spatial plane are as
competent in battle as you are, my conquest here will be that much more 
satisfying.  For now, however, I bid you farewell!"

With that, he turns, pulls some rubble up, and unearths the vortex from 
which he came, giving you a curt wave as he walks through; unless you 
try to prevent him from leaving; if you do, I guess roll up your
initiatives and the like.

That is, of course, if you still think fighting is useful at this point. 
One thing you do notice, though, is that he's not making any attempt to 
retrieve those two boobs you were scrapping with; he's apparently 
leaving them for dead...

Ronin watches as the Caped man disappears into the weird vortex. He 
grimaces as the man leaves, realizing that it is foolish to fight an 
enemy one knows nothing about.

"There will be a time of reckoning" he vows angrily.

Turning to those who are alive and remain, Ronin searches best he can 
for anything that can be used as restraints and ties the two 'boobs' up.  
He then tends to the wounds of Mikes human partner.  

This done, he buries Mike's remains best he can.  Then, with fluid, 
graceful motion, he unsheaths Thunder Cutter and performs a quick 
succession of feints, parries and stabs.  The moves are dramatic yet 
poetic at the same time.  Coming to rest on one knee before Mike's 
grave, he says a silent prayer over the departed soul.

He then turns to his 'captives'.  Sheathing his blade, he slaps the 
'mage' thrice, trying to rouse him.

"Wake up!"

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Ronin)
Date:    Fri, 15 Jan 1999 18:02:18 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

> He then turns to his 'captives'.  Sheathing his blade, he slaps the
> 'mage' thrice, trying to rouse him.

> "Wake up!"

"Nrg..."  The man sort of comes back into focus, though you can tell
that, through the big lump on his head, the force of the explosion, and
those cuts you gave him, he's not in very good shape.  "...what...?!" 
Just then, a pile of rubble near you collapses.

It reveals several rescue workers who, after congratulating themselves
for digging through all the rubble, notice the hole in the airport wall
for the first time.  After a few four-letter comments, they come up to
you and check if you're all right.

They also noticed that you've done their jobs for them, which doesn't
make them mad, of course, because nobody likes digging through concrete.
At any rate, they give you the first aid once-over, and see to the folks
you've tied up, and that dead guy on the floor.

"Hey!  Why've you got these jokers tied up?!"

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] Midwest Mayhem!
Date:    Fri, 15 Jan 1999 18:15:06 -0600
From:    William Lockwood <albedo1@home.com>

[Denny, sorry about this, but Jinx just went apeshit!]

[Hey, so I didn't take any from Hard Core hitting me since my
probability field took the brunt of it, right? 12 total for Initiative,
I rolled a 97 on my extra attacks so I get one extra! 70 + 25 Karma for
a total 95 on my first Dodge, 62 + 25 Karma for my first shot and 75 +
20 Karma for Damage (full auto), & 57 + 40 Karma for the second shot and
50 + 40 for Damage (full auto), 91 to hit on the knife strike and 78 +
15 Karma for Damage. Comes out to a total of 165 Karma (yes, I know, I
should only have 56 total left). If I need to make any other Dodges, I
will use that Karma to get a Red Dodge if possible as well.]

Jinx rolled with the impact of the man who was just flung at her, and
rolled up to a kneeling, three-point stance, using her attacker's moment
of centering to take the chance to aim at her bleeding wounds and switch
to full automatic fire.

Releasing the extent of each clip into the matching wounds, she dropped
her guns and dove at the woman, attempting to drive her combat knife
into the shoulder of the arm that sprouted the particle accelerator.

"Go down, woman! No fucking combat trances when my ass is on the line!"
she screamed as she made her flurry of attacks.

[OK, now of course these attacks will be taken during the appropriate
time frame and any dodges necessary as well must be taken into account,
but that's the jist of what I want to do. *chuckles*]

Subject: Re: [v13] Midwest Mayhem!
Date:        Fri, 15 Jan 1999 19:34:42 -0600
From:        Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

Very well, then.  Tangerine is menacing the roboticized mercenary with
her concussion gloves, when Lisa stomps on her holographic-colored left
boot, making her go "aiow!", and jumping into the air from that foot,
Lisa gives the disco-mama a backhanded punch that moves her.

Moves her right through the front window of Horn-Dog's Erotic Wear (and
tear).  Tangerine don't get up right away, either.  Especially since,
when she got punched, her head made that sort of 'whock' sound that
sounded like she got a broken head upon impact...

Right after the hot-panted diversion got itself moved, you open fire
with your Mag Cannons on full auto, Jinx.  You nail her with both guns,
full auto, right in her torso, seriously throwing her off-balance
(because the things chewed her up real good).

Right after, Hardcore, you come in swinging, and nail this Lisa woman
with both canes, in about the same spots that she got shot in; of
course, since that suit of her's is riddled with bullet holes, that
ain't saying a lot.

When the two of you back up, again prepared to hide from what she's
likely to throw at you, she retracts her shield, and pops this long
blade out of her right arm.  She puts her particle beam thingie away,
and pulls her other sword out of it's back holster.

"I do believe that it'll be worth the five million to just chop the two
of you up into teensy, tiny, bouillon cubes of joy."  She advances, but
then somebody smacks her in the back of the head with the butt of his
M-60 machine gun.  She falls down.

"Ain't that a kick in the head?"  Of course, you KNOW it wasn't because
of him, because the two of you just cut her up real bad-like.  The tall,
blonde, bearded man smiles as she lays there, face down, on the snowy
concrete, making it all red'n dirty.  He nudges her in the butt.

"Yeah, she's down for the count, all right.  Anybody got some cuffs?" 
The woman is indeed out cold, so them there 'extra' extra attacks of
yours are totally unnecessary (for the both of you).  Of course, now
that this little bit of excitement is over...

Somebody comes out of the bus, some Army-type (duh).  He's holding one
of those swords of Lisa's, and he's got a neato gash on his arm.  "Does
this belong to one of you?!"  That just leaves you with two things to
resolve.  First aid, for one.  And second, what do you do with Lisa?

(?)

Andy Hicks wrote:
 
> (I roll an 11 for initiative, a 13 for extra dodges, and a 32 for 
> extra attacks (giving me three this round).)

> "Good Lord...  Might've picked the wrong side on this one," I think to
> myself, then shout, "Hazzard get yer ass over here!  We're gettin' the 
> shit kicked outta us, and from the looks of it, it's about to get a 
> helluva lot worse real quick!"

> I charge the woman with canes flying, taking a swing at her with each 
> hand, then feinting away, preparing to take one more cut.
 
> (I roll a 37 to hit and 35 for damage with the first swing, and a 64 
> to hit with 53 for damage on the second.  My dodge rolls are 93 and 
> 68.  I'll roll the next attack at the end of this round.)

And then, Bil Lockwood wrote:

> [Denny, sorry about this, but Jinx just went apeshit!]

> [Hey, so I didn't take any from Hard Core hitting me since my
> probability field took the brunt of it, right? 12 total for 
> Initiative,I rolled a 97 on my extra attacks so I get one extra! 70 + 
> 25 Karma for a total 95 on my first Dodge, 62 + 25 Karma for my first 
> shot and 75 + 20 Karma for Damage (full auto), & 57 + 40 Karma for the 
> second shot and 50 + 40 for Damage (full auto), 91 to hit on the knife 
> strike and 78 + 15 Karma for Damage. Comes out to a total of 165 Karma 
> (yes, I know, I should only have 56 total left). If I need to make any 
> other Dodges, I will use that Karma to get a Red Dodge if possible as 
> well.]

> Jinx rolled with the impact of the man who was just flung at her, and
> rolled up to a kneeling, three-point stance, using her attacker's 
> moment of centering to take the chance to aim at her bleeding wounds 
> and switch to full automatic fire.

> Releasing the extent of each clip into the matching wounds, she 
> dropped her guns and dove at the woman, attempting to drive her combat 
> knife into the shoulder of the arm that sprouted the partical 
> accelerator.

> "Go down, woman! No fucking combat trances when my ass is on the 
> line!", she screamed as she made her flurry of attacks.

> [OK, now of course these attacks will be taken during the appropriate
> time frame and any dodges necessary as well must be taken into 
> account, but that's the jist of what I want to do. *chuckles*]

Subject: Re: [v13] Midwest Mayhem!
Date:    Fri, 15 Jan 1999 19:42:37 -0600
From:    William Lockwood <albedo1@home.com>

Natasha hesitantly lowered her field before going inside and finding
some bondage gear in the erotic clothing shop. She came out with an evil
grin on her face and started cinching her unconscious attacker up in a
tight black bustier, leather retaining harness, leather zipper mask, and
hog-tied with leather cuffs around her ankles and wrists that also
linked to the base of the back of the neck of the mask.

"There. Now she's not going anywhere!" she said looking at her work.

"Hmmm...oh yeah, who the hell are you, stick-boy?" she said, getting in
the face of Hard Core.

"I had everything under control before you jumped in and got used as a
bludgeoning weapon...not even a very good one at that!" she sneared as
she checked out her equipment, reloading her guns and holstering them.

[Heh, sorry man, but she's a bitch!]

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Ronin)
Date:    Sat, 16 Jan 1999 00:58:21 EST
From:    "Peter Chambers" <lil_blk_duck@hotmail.com>

> "Hey!  Why've you got these jokers tied up?!"

"Because they are very dangerous.  They have already killed and will do 
so again given the opportunity.  I suggest you leave them to be dealt 
with by the proper authorities."

Turning to my magic fingers, Ronin continues his interrogation.

"I suggest you tell me who you are and what it is that your master 
has planned.  As you have seen....I am not one to be trifled with."

Ronin flashes the mage a feral smile.

Subject: Re: [v13] Midwest Mayhem!
Date:    Sat, 16 Jan 1999 03:19:13 -0600
From:    Andy Hicks <ahix@mail.utexas.edu>

>"Hmmm...oh yeah, who the hell are you, stick-boy?" she said, getting in
>the face of Hard Core.

"Just somebody worried about dumb broads firin' their guns off in next ta
nothing, for god knows what reason-- but if yer concerned with
introductions the name's Hardcore."

>"I had everything under control before you jumped in and got used as a
>bludgeoning weapon...not even a very good one at that!" she sneered as
>she checked out her equipment, reloading her guns and holstering them.

"I guess it's too bad I helped ya then, ya dumb cunt.  If ya think yer so
goddam capable, then go ahead n' do somethin', if ya got the guts.
Otherwise, ya can be grateful that I helped save yer ass... not to mention
the grunts yer hangin' 'round with."

>[Heh, sorry man, but she's a bitch!]

Well, he's an asshole... They'll make a fun pair!

Subject: Re: [v13] Midwest Mayhem!
Date:    Sat, 16 Jan 1999 03:38:39 -0600
From:    William Lockwood <albedo1@home.com>

[Actually, she's wearing a black jumpsuit and a leather jacket.
*chuckles*]

Natasha's hands went to her guns, looking Hard Core right in the eyes.

"Please, ask me to do that again. Give me an excuse to punch nice big,
messy holes in your body with magnetically accelerated rounds. Or better
yet, just hang around me long enough and you'll be struck by lightning
twice, crushed by a piano, and assaulted by an amorous bull...just this
week! They don't call me Jinx for nothing!" she rattled off, her fingers
twitching over the grips of her hand cannons.

"And who the hell are you calling a stupid cunt?! You better mean the
miniskirt wearing bimbo who ran into a fight with a cyborg with her bare
hands...well, gloved hands, that is! What the hell was she thinking?!"
she continued, turning just enough to gesture at the prone Tangerine.

[Insert comments here! *8)]

"Damnit, I need a drink! Hey, Clutch, do you have anything to drink in
that bus of yours? Something strong? Perhaps flammable? Tell me you have
grog and I might even dance for ya..." she asked the soldier, a wicked
grin crossing over her lips for a moment.

Subject: [v13] The Peanut gallery.
Date:    Sat, 16 Jan 1999 12:28:33 -0600
From:    "Christopher W. Acers" <cwacers@home.com>

Spank that bitch and whip the asshole...or is it the other way around..?

>>[Heh, sorry man, but she's a bitch!]
>>
 
> Well, he's an asshole... They'll make a fun pair!

Subject: Re: [v13] Midwest Mayhem!
Date:    Sat, 16 Jan 1999 12:39:10 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

Andy Hicks wrote:

> "I guess it's too bad I helped ya then, ya dumb cunt.  If ya think yer 
> so goddamn capable, then go ahead n' do somethin', if ya got the guts.
> Otherwise, ya can be grateful that I helped save yer ass... not to 
> mention the grunts yer hangin' 'round with."

William Lockwood wrote:
 
> Natasha's hands went to her guns, looking Hard Core right in the eyes.
 
> "Please, ask me to do that again. Give me an excuse to punch nice big,
> messy holes in your body with magnetically accelerated rounds. Or 
> better yet, just hang around me long enough and you'll be struck by 
> lightning twice, crushed by a piano, and assaulted by an amorous 
> bull...just this week! They don't call me Jinx for nothing!" she 
> rattled off, her fingers twitching over the grips of her hand cannons.

> "And who the hell are you calling a stupid cunt?! You better mean the
> miniskirt wearing bimbo who ran into a fight with a cyborg with her 
> bare hands...well, gloved hands, that is! What the hell was she 
> thinking?!" she continued, turning just enough to gesture at the prone 
> Tangerine.

"Oh, get off your high horse, you stupid cunt!", says Hazzard, who's
busy trying to carefully subtract Tangerine from the large pile of
glass, metal, and of course, erotic wear (and tear).  "And besides,
they're hot pants, not a miniskirt."

He managed to get the unconscious disco queen out of the wreckage
without barely another scratch or scrape, and continues on his rant. 
"So, are you gonna sit there threatening people with your all-mighty,
magic guns or are you gonna give us a hand cleaning up?!"
 
> "Damnit, I need a drink! Hey, Clutch, do you have anything to drink in
> that bus of yours? Something strong? Perhaps flammable? Tell me you 
> have grog and I might even dance for ya..." she asked the soldier, a 
> wicked grin crossing over her lips for a moment.

Clutch looks at you, and you can see the drool in his eyes.  "Let's put
it this way, Lady.  I can MAKE it for you.  After me!  He then walks
inside the bus, moving around that fellow with the sword and cut arm,
who's directing the cleanup.

That guy opens the rear of the bus, revealing a small bay for the two
vehicles (even if one has to be pushed up the ramp).  The man then
carefully collects all of Lisa's ordinance (the swords, the guns), and
has that big blond fellow pick up Lisa herself, and gets in as well.

Meanwhile, Hazzard asks one of the guys if they do, in fact, have any
first aid materials inside.  Once he gets an answer, the merc carries
the orange-haired casualty inside, also.  That just leaves the two of
you, Jinx and Hardcore.  What do y'all do?!

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Stone Cold)
Date:    Sat, 16 Jan 1999 12:20:42 PST
From:    "Charlie Clay Jr." <cclayjr@hotmail.com>

>"The slimebag is a murdering bastard, and I'm going to make people
>realize it.  I have the power..."  You notice, while she clenches her
>fist, a nearby lamp-post curls up like a bizarre party favor.  "So, you
>didn't actually agree to work with him, eh?"

"Not exactly!?!  I was trying to find out his angle, what was going on 
and why he sent one of his goons for me."

>"But no, he's no public servant.  That corrupt bastard has his hands
>into every single little dirty thing going on in town, every since he
>moved here six years ago.  My family didn't want to do business with
>him, so they just got 'disappeared' while I was out of town."

>"But, if you want to hang out with me, fine.  I don't have anybody else
>to talk to right now, what with his goons liable to take out any of my
>friends I'm seen with these days.  And by the way, the name's Clarice. 
>You were..."

"My name is Jeremy, but most of my former friends nicknamed me: Stone 
Cold.  I think it fits."

>She smiles.  "So, where's this weapon of yours hiding at?"

"I have about six throwing stars that I keep in my wrist bands.  If that 
is not enough.  I have more at home."

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Stone Cold)
Date:    Sun, 17 Jan 1999 13:33:01 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

> "Not exactly!?!  I was trying to find out his angle, what was going on
> and why he sent one of his goons for me."

"Harrumph.  He most likely just wanted you to get rid of me.  And then,
to get his claws into you so you could do the same thing to anybody else
that gets in his way, the dirty slime."

> "My name is Jeremy, but most of my former friends nicknamed me: Stone
> Cold.  I think it fits."

"Ah...  Well, I haven't made up any nifty nick name (or been given one
by any friends), but I'm Tammy.  Tammy Jones.  So... you never met this
slug until today, then?"
 
>> She smiles.  "So, where's this weapon of yours hiding at?

> "I have about six throwing stars that I keep in my wrist bands.  If 
> that is not enough.  I have more at home."

She just looks at you for a second, and then says "Um... okay.  So, is
this the secret weapon you've got that made that toad try'n hire you, or
what?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Bad Things. Definitely Bad Things.
Date:    Sun, 17 Jan 1999 16:31:35 -0700
From:    "Lady Arakne" <araknesweb@darkspiral.com>

> Masque hasn't gotten back from his little detour (he DID say he'd be
> right back), and Och simply looks beat, though you can tell he's more
> durable than he's letting on.  And, on top of all that, the man with
> inanimate objects problems went into the freaky weird church over there.
 
She's been keeping telepathic tabs on that cyberpath... what's he 
up to? (rolled a 53)

She looked at Och, <<Don't you think we should catch up to your 
cyberpathic 'friend'?  Somebody's gotta keep him out of trouble 
before it finds him... Shall we?>>

(resp)

And with that, she'll head over toward the church (95 rolled) to find 
out what's going on inside and if it's safe to enter...

tbc..

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Mr. Bailes)...sorry for the delay.
Date:    Sun, 17 Jan 1999 22:22:59 -0800 (PST)
From:    bob malooga <bobmalo@yahoo.com>

> Nobody knew why McCullan was doing this, other than the natural excuse of 
> irreperable insanity.  Now that you're on the case, however, you may get down 
> to the source of this mystery at long last.  Or, this might just be somebody 
> pulling a fast one.  A really deadly fast one...

::Damn how can this be....well I guess I have to clean up Ol' jacks
mess....:: smiles inwardly. as he drives to his house. 

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Stone Cold)
Date:    Mon, 18 Jan 1999 12:42:59 PST
From:    "Charlie Clay Jr." <cclayjr@hotmail.com>

"No, I never me the slime before today.

Tammy hunh?  With that costume you may need a little more than Tammy.  
But we will work on that."  (As I say that I wrap my arm around her a 
couple of times.)    "Not real effective on cars, but I can put the 
squeeze on in a pinch.  Anything else you would like to know?"

Subject: [v13] the PsychoAnimists' Enclave
Date:    Mon, 18 Jan 1999 15:20:21 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

Lady Arakne wrote:

>> Masque hasn't gotten back from his little detour (he DID say he'd be
>> right back), and Och simply looks beat, though you can tell he's more
>> durable than he's letting on.  And, on top of all that, the man with
>> inanimate objects problems went into the freaky weird church over 
>> there.
 
> She's been keeping telepathic tabs on that cyberpath... what's he 
> up to? (rolled a 53)

Well actually, he's made his way into the church proper.  By taking a
sneak peek at his recent memory, you see that Senor Barnett didn't have
any trouble slipping into the church, as the front door is open, though
there was one minder watching over things.

He's just creeping around in the church entryway, making fine note of
the specific details of the place; in other words, he's casing it, hard
core.  Nobody's questioned him or anything, so he just goes about his
business, walking into the main worship area, when...

You lose contact with Barnett's mind.  You don't know what happened, but
your telepathic link with him just... slipped off, all of a sudden, as
if his brain were a wet duck to your watery telepathy.  Or it'd just
suddenly gotten water-proofed...

> She looked at Och, <<Don't you think we should catch up to your 
> cyberpathic 'friend'?  Somebody's gotta keep him out of trouble before 
> it finds him... Shall we?>>

Och looks at you, though you can see the weary in his eyes.  "Aye, I
suppose we should, at that.  Drinks can wait for just a little bit
later, I suppose.  Shall we?"  Having said that, the diminutive Och
heads out of this abandoned office, heading towards the church front.

> And with that, she'll head over toward the church (95 rolled) to find 
> out what's going on inside and if it's safe to enter...

(Masque?)

Well, you're not sure if it's totally safe, exactly, but nobody stopped
Barnett from entering, and nobody's stopping you.  There's a very, very
large man with golden brown skin minding the door, but he doesn't stop
you from entering as you approach.  Just the opposite, in fact.

"Welcome to the PsychoAnimists' Enclave.  Enjoy your stay, friends, and
don't forget to open your minds to that which you normally ignore..."  A
rather nice welcome, of course, but that still doesn't explain what
happened to the good Senor when he went inside...

- Firebomb

'ruining it for everybody'

Subject: Re: [v13] Midwest Mayhem!
Date:    Mon, 18 Jan 1999 16:08:45 -0600
From:    Andy Hicks <ahix@mail.utexas.edu>

>Meanwhile, Hazzard asks one of the guys if they do, in fact, have any
>first aid materials inside.  Once he gets an answer, the merc carries
>the orange-haired casualty inside, also.  That just leaves the two of
>you, Jinx and Hardcore.  What do y'all do?!

"I don't know about you, lady, but I'd feel a whole lot better when the
authorities show up if I was hidin' out with 'America's Finest', instead of
standin' around out here.  I'm gonna head inside that big S.O.B. before
somebody gets the chance to point the finger at me fer all this crap.
Especially since it seems like yer the one in the middle of all this
trouble.  Robo-broad made it sound like somebody wants you taken care of in
a major way.

"Now I ain't involved in the bounty huntin' racket no more, unless ya count
bein' on the other side of the chase.  But I happen to know that the old
fella that just went inside IS.  So you might not wanna mention the hefty
price tag you got attached to that giant chip on yer shoulder.

"You can trust ME not to take ya down for the money.  But if ya don't watch
yer damn mouth, I might just have to beat your ass on principle..."

With that I turn to go inside the Joes' cruiser.

???

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Stone Cold)
Date:    Mon, 18 Jan 1999 18:44:55 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

> Tammy hunh?  With that costume you may need a little more than Tammy.
> But we will work on that."  (As I say that I wrap my arm around her a
> couple of times.)    "Not real effective on cars, but I can put the
> squeeze on in a pinch.  Anything else you would like to know?"

She looks at your rubbery arm with just a little bit of disdain, though
you don't know if it's because of the stretchy effect or because of the
fact that you put your arm around her... that's a hard one.  "Hm.  Nice
trick, Jeremy.  Or, Stone Cold."

"And this isn't a costume, I was just out jogging.  I love the snow.  I
just managed to catch that dirt bag at just the right time, so I did
something about him."  She looked like she was about to say something
else, but she just trailed off all of a sudden...

You see why soon enough.  About thirty feet in front of you, you see a
weird shimmer in the air, which starts to resolve itself into a nifty
light show, and finally, a man.  He's a somewhat short guy, about five
foot six, and he's wearing a suspicious outfit.

For one thing, it includes a cape.  A big, billowy green cape.  And a
black spandex suit, capped off with green boots and gloves.  The man
puts one glove through his slightly long, blond hair, and smiles at you.
"Ah!  Stone Cold and Mindgame!  Just the people I was looking for!"

Tammy looks at you, and says with some modicum of confusion, "Mindgame?"

(?)

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Ronin)
Date:    Mon, 18 Jan 1999 21:21:27 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

> Ronin flashes the mage a feral smile.

The man looks at you, and then at the rescue workers, and lunges at you
with all his strength.  Of course, being tied up like he is, that means
he isn't getting very far.  He just sort of undulates for a bit, and
then comes to a stop after he exhausts himself.

"You can't do this to me - you're not in charge, here!  When the lord
Faltius hears of this, he'll have your head on a pike!  Let me go!  Let
me go or I'll destroy so much more than this primitive little building!
I have Power!  I will Kill you!!!"

Meanwhile, Shade's tall-haired pal is also waking up, and he joins in on
the rant.  "Yeah!  I killed your pathetic robotic friend, so what's to
stop me from taking you out, pal!  If I could cut these ropes with my
light blade, you'd be in trouble!!"

Of course, the rescue workers oversee all of this, and putting two and
two together, you see that they're summoning the proper authorities. 
Luckily for you, these idiots have managed to admit to what happened
here (sort of) in front of witnesses, so at least you won't get blamed.

(Any other questions you want to try for before the Man arrives?)

Subject: Re: [v13] Midwest Mayhem!
Date:    Mon, 18 Jan 1999 21:30:05 -0600
From:    William Lockwood <albedo1@home.com>

Natasha looked back at the mess of the clothing store window and just
shrugged, figuring the D.A.A. would clean up the loose ends.

"What the hell...Besides, Clutch is getting me a drink!" she spouted in
an off-handed manner.

With a shrug she wandered into the back of the carrier, taking a look
around.

"Anyway, Hardcore, you said something about not being in the bounty
hunting business anymore. Might have even implied that some people have
their eyes on you, too. What're you wanted for?" she tossed out as she
poked around at the furnishings.

"I supposedly committed an act of terrorism on American soil." she idly
commented, trying to act nonchalantly.

"Hey Clutch! Where the hell's that drink?! I'm really getting...
thirsty." she drawled off, slumping into the nearest seat.

Subject: Re: [v13] A beginning... (Mr. Bailes)...sorry for the delay.
Date:    Mon, 18 Jan 1999 21:35:16 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@darkspiral.com>

bob malooga wrote:

> Considering the distance....Lets take the plane....Give me 2 hours
> to stop by my place and let my wife know whats going on and gets some
> clothes.

"Okay.  I'll meet you at the airport in two..."

>> (snippity snip snip)

> ::Damn how can this be....well I guess I have to clean up Ol' jacks
> mess....:: smiles inwardly. as he drives to his house

Making your way home, you note a curious lack of traffic present to
impede your progress; weird, but no big thing.  With the exception of
that jerk in the red Escort that flipped you off for some unknowable
reason, you make it to the house without incident.

After clearing things with the wife, you collect all of your pertinent
materials and equipment, and make for the airport.  Again, another light
traffic episode, but nothing too freaky about that; maybe you just
missed rush hour or something.

On the radio, you hear about some sort of... trouble going down in some
other midwestern city.  Sounds like there was some sort of explosion in
the downtown Omaha airport, as well as a pitched gunfight in the
downtown area.  Funny, that.

You wouldn't expect that sort of mayhem coming from a sleepy little town
like Omaha.  At any rate, you get to the airport and find Tammy waiting
for you, with the tickets.  Once your ride is ready, and your baggage is
loaded, you rocket off to Davenport, Iowa.  

You don't know why, but you just don't like the sound of that...
