>>>>>[I'm telling, you, it's MONICA, or some other AI: now Fuchi's
Matrix Pres has been wasted, by the same "men in black."  It seems
obvious that some sort of Matrix entity is lurking around, using
androids to do his/her's dirty work, and running some sort of
vengence campaign against Fuchi, especially their computer
division.  Anyone have a better idea?  Please?]<<<<< 
        -- Highlander (17:09:10/5-7-54)

>>>>>[ I said we could hold it on board my boss's yacht, as I got the
OK from her.  As to the time, well, I have no ideer, you got any
suggestions? And, to everyone else, you are all invited, at least,
the ppl who were invited to the wedding (I think that that's fair),
bring any anime you have, I can handle any format you could ever get
it on (all the standards they had over the ages), and the yacht is
fairly good size, and could hold twice the ppl who showed up at the
batchelor's party, and then some.  ]<<<<<
        -CoHort <18:05:50/05-06-54>

>>>>>[Now, Morrison, I may be too late to catch you before you run of
into the great beyond, but I'd really like to say that we're going to
miss you. . . . NOT!!!!  Your belly-aching has been to no end of
entertainment.  You seem to take great pleasure in criticizing
everyone else about talk without action, yet for all your whining, we
have yet to see anything from you either.  Haven't you got the point
yet?  You're beneath our action.  Going after you and your breed
wouldn't be worth the effort or time involved.  I have a couple of
sorcery adepts who just love making new spells, and though it always
costs three times as much as I think it should, they always deliver.
If I were to fund them for a couple of months (my credstick screams
RAPE!!)  I'm sure that we could come up with something *quite*
capable of screwing your world.  But you're so petty, it's a shame to
waste the money, when there are toxic insect spirits on this plane.
They are much more of a bother, and a concern, then you could ever
aspire to be.  And before you start getting arrogant again, let me
quote you something from my last T'ai Chi sensei: "There is *always*
someone who is better than you are."  If you keep it up, he might
find you by the sounds of your squeals.  Sayonara, chummer.]<<<<<
        -Blinder <21:47:49 CST/05-07-54>

>>>>>[  Had a great time at Dante's last night.  My old teammates
were their usual rowdy selves, but luckily no fights broke out.  It
was good to see Grimjaw again, he and I went through many a run
together back when I was living in Seattle full time.  No one was
foolish enough to mention the Atlanta fiasco where most of my current
team met the old team for the first time, so Jake didn't try to throw
anybody out the window.  The hangovers were big all around this
morning too, we'll be sufficently awake for the wedding though!
Nothing really interesting happened. ]<<<<< 
           -- Dark Elf <16:44:06/05-07-54>

>>>>>[ Nothing really interesting happened???  What were you smoking
last night DE??  While I was comparing notes on bullet caliber versus
powder loads in heavy handguns with Ripcord, this orc came up to us
and started to give us dirty looks.  We naturally ignored him and
moved on to discussing Ripcord's favorite topic, monowhips, when the
Orc walked into us and practically poured a glass of this stuff
called "a wierd shade of green" on me and said "sorry stuntie!".  I
gave Ripcord a look and broke a tequila bottle over the guy's head
(OK, so I did have to jump a little).  The drek head didn't know he
was outclassed so he tried to punt me.  Before his kick connected
Ripcord tripped him and he fell on his face in front of me.  Then I
stepped on his back and touched the tip of my spurs to his neck and
began to tell him the error of his ways.  After lecturing him, the
bouncers told me that they were supposed to hand le this kind of
thing and escorted him out. 

While you were off dancing with that woman you said you knew years
ago, I made a call to nature.  While I was in the can, three of the
Orc's friends came in and started talking about the short guy who
beat up "Jerry" (too bad they forgot to check the stalls before
loudmouthing about "short people".  I came out of the stall fuming
mad and they seemed to recognize me.  The two humans and a second
orc decided that they had me outnumbered, so tried to give me a
beating.  Well, they were outclassed, and while the two humans were
trying to figure out how an old dwarf could move so fast, I
introduced the orc's face to the bottom of the toilet bowl.  That's
when Ripcord and Grimjaw came busting in.  We never drew a weapon,
I swear it.  And Grimjaw was holding back so nobody would get
killed.  Between the three of us, the boneheads were stuffed
through the bathroom window and out into the alley in about a
minute.  They never knew what hit them.  ]<<<<< 
           -- Big Jake <17:03:16/05-07-54>

>>>>>[  Yeah DE, you must have been asleep or something, Whip and me
watched the first fight from a distance.  I laughed real hard when I
saw Ripcord and Grimjaw run into the bathroom after Jake and the
goons.  Hell, Jake even interrupted our conversation about rig
control configuration and motor oil to tell us the whole story. 
Me, Whip, Jake, Grimjaw, and Ripcord had a huge laugh over it! 
Didn't you see those four guys eyeing us when we left, you know,
the ones with the bruises... ]<<<<< 
           -- OddBall <17:08:43/05-07-54>

>>>>>[ Yeah, I saw them, but they looked like a bunch of rejects
from a gang rumble.  I just didn't notice anything odd about
them.]<<<<< 
           -- Dark Elf <17:10:12/05-07-54>

>>>>>[  Hmm, I was busy trying to make some new contacts, I missed
all the fun.  It's probably better that way, the owner probably
wouldn't like me throwing spells in the club.

Anyway, I met a few minor corp types from MCT there.  I gave them
the idea that I was an independant magical researcher in town for a
conference.  They'll probably give up some useful info in the
future.  I also found out that there's a new go-gang called the
"Angst Riders" in redmond.  They seem to be interested in knocking
out a few of their competitors and claim to have some "secret
weapon" to do it with.  It sounds like a bluff to me, but they'll
probably be the cause of some trouble in the barrens in either
case.  I'd reccomend that anyone operating in Redmond keep an eye
out for these guys.  ]<<<<< 
           -- Napalm <17:17:31/05-07-54>

>>>>>[  Always the detective, eh pardner.  Well ah jus sat at the
bar with a few drinks when this Johnson type comes up and asks me
ta do a job fer him in a few days.  He said he was gettin' a team
together and ah looked like I'd fit the bill.  Ah told the hombre
that ah was busy but he wouldn't leave it alone.  Ah finally said
yes when he gave me an estimate.  He said he heard that some out of
town talent was around here an figgred tha ah was one of 'em.  He
musta heard that we were in town, but really didn't know who we
were. Well, it souds like an easy job, so ah'll be takin' tomorrow
off ta do it. ]<<<<< 
           -- Cowboy <17:23:24/05-07-54>

>>>>>[  You know how to handle yourself and you've been working on
your own long before you met up with us, so I guess it's OK. 
Besides, we'll have an excuse to stay in Seattle a little longer. 
You know our portable phone numbers so you can call if you need
backup or get into trouble.  Just make sure that the deal's clean
and it's not one of our old enemies trying to bait us.  If you
suspect something's wrong, call us in for cleanup.  ]<<<<< 
           -- Dark Elf <17:26:47/05-07-54>

>>>>>[  You got it pardner.  Ah'll be in touch the whole way
tomorrow. ]<<<<< 
           -- Cowboy <17:28:48/05-07-54>

>>>>>[ Well, that takes care of business.  Let's get dressed, we've
got a wedding to go to!   The old team said that they had a job to do
today, so don't be suprised if I get a phone call during the wedding
to listen to my old friends brag about their run...let's get ready to
have some fun! ]<<<<< 
           -- Dark Elf <17:30:43/05-07-54>

>>>>>[ Hmm, i forgot, the yacht is infested with benign creatures,
they are really cute, and try to stay out of everyone's way, but, a
word of warning, don't bring any pets, and no shiny objects.  They
are fairly small, like about the size of a cocker spaniel, pink,
semi-sentient, and tend to steal small shiny objects. ]<<<<<
        -CoHort <23:56:00/05-07-54>

>>>>>[Me and my co-pilot, The Ragman, just hit the White river and
we're heading east. Chummer, if the free-fire zones don't get ya the
traffic will. Somebody remind me to restock on kevlar paint, I'm
gonna need it. It's been awhile since I had someone fly astral
shotgun; sure hope nobody wants to ground 'im out while he's up and
around.]<<<<< 
        -- Chains <13:08:11/5-8-54>

>>>>>[You ain't kidding about the traffic, muchacho. Bunker here
just wasted some go-ganger and I barely felt a thing. This hummer
is built like Ayer's rock! (A fine site for a tan, I might add!) I
can hear the go-ganger's jacket draggin' and flappin' undeneath, so
when we stop I'll see which gang we pissed off. Oops, there goes
one of the guy's arms in the rear-view mirror. What the Hell do you
got under this thing that would have mutilated him, Bunker?]<<<<<
        -- Prophet <13:10:44/5-8-54>

>>>>>[Industrial strength cheese grater. Self cleaning, too!]<<<<<
        -- Bunker <13:11:32/5-8-54>

>>>>>[OK, I think we got 'im. Good thing, too, cuz we're almost to
the damn border control point. The Ragman just woke up and said
he's just up the road a bit. Says that his aura is pretty relaxed
if not a little dazed and confused. He says that Legion definitely
has a magical aura about 'im, too.]<<<<<
        -- Chains <13:17:56/5-8-54>

>>>>>[Best be careful what you say up there, Chains. Those Sidhe
guys haven't exactly been real happy with people playin' around
near the border as of late. Just don't rub 'em the wrong way if ya
gotta talk to 'em.]<<<<< 
        -- Prophet <13:18:32/5-8-54>

>>>>>[Who, me? I don't know what you're talkin' 'bout, old
timer.]<<<<< 
        -- Chains <13:20:01/5-8-54>

>>>>>[Alright, I got 'im. He's standing just off the road about 10
meters from the control point. He's just standin' there starin'
down the border guards. Looks like they're gettin' a little itchy,
too. OK, I'm on 'im. Back in a few...]<<<<<
        -- Chains <13:21:15/5-8-54>

>>>>>[If those guys start itching I'm gonna start scratchin'. Hey
Prophet, would you mind terribly gettin' that backscratcher outta
the back there? In that big crate. Thanks.]<<<<<
        -- Bunker <13:22:48/5-8-54>

>>>>>[Holy frag, Bunker! That's a fraggin' Vanquisher Minigun! I
knew you liked your Vindicator, but this thing is beautiful!]<<<<<
        -- Prophet <13:24:12/5-8-54>

>>>>>[Shit, Chains was right, the natives are lookin' a little
restless. I hope he can get Legion into the Bulldog before this place
becomes a bad place to be in. Bunker, nose into the ditch inbetween
those guys and the Bulldog. If things start to get loud, I might owe
you a door or a window at least. This flat black beast of a truck'll
confuse 'em for a sec. Uh oh, one of the guards is comin' over this
way. Back me up, compadre.]<<<<< 
        -- Prophet <13:26:22/5-8-54>

>>>>>[Thanks for the quick cover, Bunkster. I got Legion into the back
of the Bulldog, strapped 'im in and I'm ready to go. Y'all havin' a
damn tea party over there or what? I'm waitin' on you, so's I can
turn around and vamoose.]<<<<<
        -- Chains <13:28:59/5-8-54>

>>>>>[Did you get him alright, Chains? Is he OK? C'mon, talk to
me!]<<<<< 
        -- Nitro <13:29:12/5-8-54>

>>>>>[{Oops!}Sorry, Nitro. He looks like he went through more than
one meat grinder, but I think he's OK. The Ragman is checkin' 'im
out in the back. We're kinda in a hurry, cuz these here guards are
lookin' a mite tense. We'll get back to the your AO ASAP. Right
after I pick up some paint.]<<<<<
        -- Chains <13:31:01/5-8-54>

>>>>>[YOU WILL BRING HIM *HERE* *IMMEDIATELY!* DO YOU
UNDERSTAND?!]<<<<< 
        -- Nitro <quite/pissed>

>>>>>[Hey, just kiddin', chica! Don't get your leathers in a
bunch.]<<<<< 
        -- Chains <13:32:32/5-8-54>

>>>>>[Shit, roll now, Chains! Prophet just geeked the two Sidhe
guards, and the other two sec guards are callin somebody! Roll
now!]<<<<< 
        -- Bunker <13:34:02/5-8-54>

>>>>>[YeeHa! Let's kick some ass!]<<<<<
        -- Chains <13:34:58/5-8-54>

>>>>>[__D.S.__?!?!! WHERE th' FRAG ya' been keepin' yerself, lass?!
TRUE...I __DO__still owe ya' a drink! So...when would ya' like ta'
collect? (DON'T be worryin', Rox...she's jus' an' old friend-albeit,
a fairly GOOD one! :) We've been thru a LOT, t'gether....such as
F5er's....VIXEN......frag, __BUZZ__! =) I've been missin' ya',
kylie.....CHIP-TRUTH! I'd _really_ like ta' see ya', sometime soon.
We've gotta' LOT of catchin' up ta' do! How 'bout hittin' th'
AMUSEMENT PARK again, sometime!?! =) Th' bistro's still there, too.
Hope ta' hear from ya', REAL soon.....an', ya' __KNOW__ I MEAN
tha'!]<<<<< 
        --THE Nexus(WHOAH! A real "blast from th' past", huh?)


>>>>>[An', keep tha' DAMNED FRAGGIN' FURBALL FROM HELL
___AWAY___from me!]<<<<<  
              --THE Nexus(May th' "furs" be w' ya'.....*snicker*)

>>>>>{Hey, uplink....THANX, chummer! Buzz took care a' tha', fer
me...an', they sound GREAT!  NOW...did ya' say somethin' 'bout
THUROGOOD?! I have a full collection of BonJovi, a large selection of
Aerosmith, an' MOST of Def Leppard's, G N' R's, Dokken's, Van Halen's
an' alla' Journey's...lemme know if yer in'trested in anythin'...ka?
See ya' at th' party..._IF_ I'm _coherent_ enough ta' notice anyone!
=)}<<<<< 
                --THE Nexus(No. 1, w/an EXPLOSIVE round)

>>>>>[Hey...uh, guys?  Uhm...don't bother lookin' fer me, fer a
_while_! Roxey n' I'll be....outta' town, fer a lil' bit.  I talked
ta' Tracy White Elk, earlier, an' she offered ta' set up some
"precationary measures", 'round tha' wiz lil' spot on her
beach....fer 'as long as I need 'em'"! *GRIN*
SO........]*********TRANSMISSION INTERUPTED********** 

>>>>>[_Sean Cullen_, let's __GO-O__!]<<<<<
                --Foxey Roxey(18:07:20/05-08-54)

>>>>>[A'right....A'RIGHT1 I'm comin'...jus'....leggo' a' th' tie!
It's SILK! WHA'.....?  UH.....yeah! uh-hhmmm....yeah...I, uh,
uh-huh?  Yer gonna' WHAT? Uh...Chummers....I'm fraggin' OUTTA'
HERE! Catch ya' on th' flip side!*grin* We'll be
back.....(uuhhhmmmm....uh-hum!).....hell...WHEN-EVER! 'Rauko, heel!
NAMARI'E! **GRIN** I'm _sure_ ___I___ will!]<<<<< 
                --THE Nexus(...ah...uuuhhhmmmm....yeah!)

>>>>>[NEX! The dog can come!  But, _LEAVE_ the __SNAKE__!!!!
THANK-you!]<<<<< 
                --Foxey Roxey(18:09:00/05-08-54)

>>>>>>[Good boy! DON'T POUT! You'll get a nice lil' "reward", for
such willing "obedience"......**grin, chuckle**]<<<<<
                --Foxey Roxey(18:09:11/05-08-54)

>>>>>[____YE-ES____!!!!!!!!!!     *_GRIN_* ]<<<<<
                --THE Nexus(Out to ..."Lunch"  *sneer*)

*****ENCRYPT CHARLIE-DELTA-ZEBRA*****
>>>>>[Hey, guys, BTW...uh-hummm....look, I dunno' exactly WHAT
happened, las' night! I was FAR too outta' it! Rox didnna' catch m'
here, w' Trixxie...she doesna' know about HER....an', I plan ta'
KEEP it tha' way! KA?! Jus'...make _SURE_ Trixxie's GONE! Safe,
sates?  I REALLY want this ta' work...ya' know! An', I DON'T wanna'
hurt Roxey! I __MEAN__ tha'! She's kinda' special, ta' me! Tha's
all I can--n', WILL--say, right now! Jus'...help me out, ka,
chummers! I KNOW I ken trust ya' guys! I donna' think I could take
it, if I fragged this up! Tha's happened FAR t' many times fer THIS
lil' Elf ta' handle...n' I don't need ta' go causin' m'self any
MORE grief ta' deal w'! I've been dealt 'bout all I ken take, fer
ONE lifetime...frag! An', I'm only 22! ACK! But,
any-ol'-way...THANX! See ya', when I get back...should be w'in th'
next day... 'r THREE! *GRIN*  We'll be takin' the _Tara_ across th'
Sound...i's been a while, since I las' had 'er out. 

OH....BTW...would one a' ya' guys feed m' deathrattles fer me? 
THANX!]<<<<< 
                --THE Nexus(this jus' HAS ta' work out, guys!)

>>>>>[ Meine Damen und Herren!  I have a most important announcement
to make! 

However, previous to that proclamation, a small amount of background
is necessary:

Some of you may be familiar with the ShadowLand nightclub known as
Valhalla. For those of you who are not, it is known for its its
extensive Teutonic/Nordic motifs, veteran clientele, and exclusive
memberships.  Within the virtual structure is the Hall of Honor
(the only section open to the public), where tri-dimensional
computer generated depictions of famous (and infamous) and adroit
technomancers are housed.  Among this illustrious host are
likenesses of the members of Echo Mirage, those who halted of the
Crash of 2029, the ubiquitous FastJack (his most common form,
anyway...his appearance is susceptible to constant alteration),
Flair, Zapper Weisman, and many others. Some day, I feel, many
present upon this BBS shall possess a likeness among these worthy
occupants. 

As of today, there shall be a new statue in this hallowed place...

The RUFUS Memorial shall be unveiled this evening with a certain
amount of ceremony.  For those of you impatient to know its
appearance, as designer, I shall enlighten you.

Obviously, there is the depiction of RUFUS, called by some an
Artificial Intelligence, by others a new form of life.  Either way,
he was a programming construct who merely sought to be human and in
the end displayed the peculiar traits of humanity such as a
willingness to fight for his beliefs and sacrifice himself for his
comrades.  His arms are outstretched, similar to the stance he
adopted when he closed with MONICA during that final battle. 

What shall doubtless interest the participants in the Crash of 2054
is the small constellation of smaller images surrounding the larger
image.  They are the Matrix Icons (with their Matrix personae handle
beneath it) of the various technomancers who participated in the War
with MONICA, and as such, were deemed appropriate to honor as well.
They are arranged in order of participation and importance to the war
effort.  The breakdown is as follows:

Hovering above RUFUS's head is the image of Dark Elf, flanked by
dear DOA and the deceased Splut, both of which willingly risked
their lives and gave of themselves for the others.

Moving slightly further down are the other leaders, Highlander,
Nightstalker, Ramierez, Wolf 359, and myself with little
Goetterdaemmerung, the inclusion of which I feel is valid.  If Dark
Elf was the Marshal, then these men were the Generals in the battle
that ensued, going above and beyond the call of duty and fighting
until the very end, where they witnessed the final conflagration as
MONICA and RUFUS merged. 

Lowering the altitude and interspersed up and down the sides of
RUFUS are the warriors, those who battled gallantly in pursuit of
the continued security of the Matrix, whose ranks include, in
alphabetical order, Big Kahuna, Crossfire, Cypher, G.G. Megabyte,
Glitter Boy, Hangtime, Harlequin, I.B.A., Indigo, Jaez, Raven, Rom
(Deceased), Short Circuit, Sparcs, Spirit, Splitter, Upload, and
White Knight. 

Also, there is a plaque on the base of the statue whose inscription
reads: 

                                   RUFUS

        This memorial is dedicated in fond memory to not only to our
        fallen comrade, but also the others who gave their lives in
        noble effort to prevent the pestilence MONICA from infecting
        the Matrix, and to those individuals who fought in the 2054
        Matrix War, as they, too, strove valiantly in the pursuit of
        the ideals of protecting the Grid from those people who, due
        to foolish pride and blind ambition, would control it for
        their own selfish means.


        Dark Elf                   DOA                         Splut
        ------------------------------------------------------------
        Doctor Doom             Highlander              Nightstalker
        Ramierez                                            Wolf 359
        ------------------------------------------------------------
        Big Kahuna               Crossfire                    Cypher
        G.G. Megabyte           Glitter Boy                 Hangtime
        Harlequin                 I.B.A.                      Indigo
        Jaez                      Raven                          Rom
        Short Circuit             Sparcs                      Spirit
        Splitter                  Upload                White Knight


                "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
                 For he to-day who sheds his blood with me
                 Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
                 This day shall gentle his condition:  And
                 Gentlemen in England now a-bed shall think
                 Themselves accurs'd they were not here, and
                 Hold their manhoods cheap while any speaks
                 That fought with us upon St. Crispin's day."
                  -- Shakespeare, Henry V, Act IV, Scene III


It is my hope that this memorial shall stand to mark the occasion
when so many differing individuals joined together in a common
cause, that furthered the interests of all.  Putting aside personal
differences and interests, we banded together.  This statue shall
stand as testament to the selflessness of those who fought that
day, an example for ourselves, and our posterity. ]<<<<< 
                -- Doctor Doom <20:35:59/8-MAY-54>

>>>>>[ Whoever has Anime they would like to show at the fest, let me
know, so that I can schedule the fest around what we got.  So far,
the entire Robotech series, a few Dirty Pair, MegaZone 23, Akira, and
the Battle of the Planets series.  Also, let me know what the
recording format is, so that I can set the machines up, and I'll
have a list of the rooms holding the various videos ready.  ]<<<<<
        -CoHort <19:19:19/05-08-54>

>>>>>[  Hi folks!!!  This is Kichanski.  I am here to tell all of you
who missed the blessed event what some of what happened since Lister
has too much of a hangover to enter the matrix.  Sorry this is taking
so long but with hangovers tired bodies and cleaning up I haven't had
much time to do this.  I'll try to do the ceremony now but then I
have to get back to work. 

We all got there at 9 to finish with the setting up that we ahd done
last night. The cooks where already started on the snacks for before
the wedding and on the wedding feast.  The florist was doing some
last minute preps on the arch and the surrounding flowers that we
placed near the benches that were scattered around the field. 
Nightfox was taking care of a few people with hangovers while CRUSH
was cutting down trees for the bonfire at night.  It rather strange
to see a tree to go down in one swipe.  Claw was busy summoning a
great nature spirit to take care of the weather if we had any
problems.  Sheena was checking on sound system while Spirit and CB
were putting on last minute touches while getting ready 

Well first of all all of the members in the cerimony started to show
up around 11 like they were supposed to.  Nexus showed first up with
Roxy, that girls is simply beautiful there is no way to get around
that.  No wonder Nexus likes her so much.  She had brought her new
firebird that Nexus had given her.  The first thing that happened
when they got out of the car was the Bird flew right towards Seraphy
who was basking on a rock at the far end of the field.  When the bird
got there he released a huge burst of flame at it.  The bird just
loved it, they went off into to air to play for a while and weren't
seen for about an hour. 

Sharice, Spirit's cousin, showed up next with her father and mother
and Spirit's father.  She also had in tow Tommy and Brittany, her
little twin brother and sister, who were going to be the ring bearer
and flower girl.  It was rather amusing to see her hurry right over
to where Nightfox was ridding Nex of a very large hangover.  Nighftox
groaned, Nex smirked and Roxy smiled. 

"Hi Nightie!!  Who yah with!?!" - Sharice
"Good Morning Flower,  The large elven gentleman is THE NEXUS and
the beautiful elven lady is Roxy.  Nexus, Roxy this is Spirit's
cousin Sharice." - Nightfox 

A round of hello's

"If you will excuse me, I have more work that needs to be done. 
Sharice, Spirit will need to see you about your brides maid
dresses, if the sizings are not totally right she will be sending
you to get me to change the them.  Goodbye" - Nightfox

Sharice took a long look at the retreating mage and sighed.  Then
she took a look at the handsome Nexus, then another at Roxy and
left sighing.  The poor girl she wants so much to belong yet she is
still young. 

Jaez arrived soon after and was greeted with hugs from Spirit and
CB.  They soon wisked her off to see if her gown was right. 
Nightstalker arrived next with Raven and Cerise.  Cerise would not
quit picking on Raven about wearing a cloak on such a beautiful. 
She kept on saying that no one else was wearing one.  The
appearance of Nightfox and his long black cloak quickly quieted
her.  Highlander was a tad bit late and soon declared Nightfox a
very good friend after Nightfox got rid of his hangover.  Norm was
the last of the wedding party to arrive.  He said that because of
some problems his father would not be able to arrive until later. 

The wedding dresses fit well, accept for Raven since she we didn't
know her size.  But since she knew what to do, so Nightfox wasn't
needed to change it. 

With all of the wedding party there CB quickly got everyone together
to start going over what little needed to be done during the
ceremony.  It was rather amusing to see both Raven and Nightfox
togther in cloaks.  The strange sight was that Highlander was the
only male not towering over the female next to him.  In fact, with
the high heels on, Jaez wa his size.  Of course Lister is that much
taller than me now that I think of it, I just never noticed that he
also didn't tower over me. 

After this was over the wedding guests started to show up in force.
Nightfox was rather amazed at the number of people who had
hangovers, he started to look tired after the 15th person.  Spirit
was really surprised ove the number of people that showed up,
though Circuit Breaker assured her that there was more than
adequate food even if a 10 of them ate like CRUSH.  She also seemed
to have somehow gotten hold of the chef from Nightstalkers party to
make a specail dish. 

The actual ceremony was simply beautiful.  Spirit might not have
been the most beautiful woman, but the glow of happiness that
surrounded her made her just simply stunning to behold.  CRUSH
didn't look bad either, decked up as he was in his tux.  CB had
picked out the best shade of blue for the brides mades and herself
that could be found for the number of red-heads in the procession. 
The ceremony didn't take very long, unlike one or two that I have
been to.  It was short and sweet, just like Spirit wanted it. 

The most touching part was how everyone cheered when they kissed to
seal the marriage.  It was so loud I couldn't even hear myself
cheering!! 

Well I have to get back to work - they really do need me.  Its more
work for us without the shoulders of CRUSH to use for the big
stuff.]<<<<< 
        -- Kichanski <22:28:40/05-08-54>

>>>>>[What the frag, man?! Those guys'll have backup! Oh geez, he
just popped the two Metroplex guards too. You're not exactly doin'
mah blood pressure a whole lotta good! Let's get the frag outta
here!]<<<<< 
        -- Bunker <13:35:20/5-9-54>

>>>>>[Shut up and plow that Saab comin' through the gate. That'll
have'm thinking for a couple. Chains, head south into Puyallup.
We're gonna need to lay low for a while. There's a whole slew of
old power-plants down in Hell's Kitchen. Pick one.]<<<<<
        -- Prophet <13:36:00/5-9-54>

>>>>>[Chains, head for that old plant we holed up in 7 months ago.  I
remember it being a pretty good place to hide in. I'll meet you
there. And you'd better not make any detours. I know how you
think.]<<<<< 
        -- Nitro <13:36:24/5-9-54>

>>>>>[OK, ok, ok! Sheesh! Uh, hey guys, looks like company's already
showin' up. I got a couple'a GP Cops up here. Yep, there go their
lights! Bunker, parrallel me and let's plow these sorry
bastiches!]<<<<< 
        -- Chains <13:36:58/5-9-54>

>>>>>[Hey, Proph, wanna give'm some suppressive fire? Just don't get
too carried away, I ain't got a million rounds fer that baby.  Ok,
lets try out the new turbo-charger!]<<<<<
        -- Bunker <13:37:22/5-9-54>

>>>>>[Ya know, Bunk, I suspected those GP Cops were a little too
lightly armored, but that was kind of pitiful, dont'cha think? I
mean, I barely slowed down! Ok, heading south across the river now.
Should be into the Kitchen in approx 4 minutes.]<<<<<
        -- Chains <13:38:00/5-9-54>

>>>>>[Good, let's get gone. Alright, Proph, What the Hell!?]<<<<<
        -- Bunker <13:38:10/5-9-54>

>>>>>[ Hello again folks well I have more time now to tell those of
you who weren't there what happened at the wedding.  I'll start off
right were I left off at the cerimony.

After the kiss the bridal party made their exit through the center
of the throng of people to give greetings to all the people they
had missed while they were getting ready.  Spirit was very happy
when she finally saw the uniformed form Dr. Doom accompanied by his
beautiful wife.  She had been unable to greet them when they came. 
Standing along the doctor was the decker extrodinare Dark Elf and
the rest of the Delta Epsilon team.  It was then that Sheena pulled
Nex away to help sing a wonderful wedding song.  Seraphy help out a
little too when he created a brilliant rainbow that streched from
one end of the field to the other.  The congradulations went on for
atleast a half hour.  There were so many people they were to
numerous to count. 

Finally Circuit Breaker took over the Mic to announce that dinner
would be served.  Thanks to Nightstalker she had hired the Chef
that he had had at his party.  She said that he had helped in the
making of many dishes and had created that wonderful desert that
Sheena had loved so much.  Spirit as the bride was first in line
while CRUSH and Nexus where a quick second.  Between those two a
hearty hunk had been cut out of the food on the table but more was
on its way. The food was simply wonderful, I even got I.B.A and
Lister away from their Vindaloo and Curey to try some.  The chefs
had a hard time keeping up with the number of hungry runners who
were consuming all the food. 

When everyone had been through the line atleast once, or twice for
Nexus, CRUSH and a few others.  Claw, the best man, went up to the
mic. 

"Ahem"
"Could I have your Attention please.  Would you all please get a
glass and some Champagne so that you may join me in my Best Man's
toast to the bride and groom."

It was then that the three pyramids of champagne glasses were
revealed and brought forward through the magic of Claw and
Nightfox.  After it looked like everyone had gotten their glass
Claw continued. 

"Though Lister has the honor of knowning Spirit for the longest
time, I can claim that I have known them since they became a
couple.  It all started when I helped rid Wendy of an annoyance of
drunken frat men.  Come to find out she and Craig were taking the
same boring history class that I was.  I am happy to say that we
soon became fast friends, because friends were something that I
didn't have many of at college.  We both helped Craig cope with the
death of his father who had died two nights before I met Wendy. 
When Craig went under goblinization, it was Wendy who was by his
side giving all the moral support and love that she could while I
did what little I could with my magic." 

"When the pain finally went away, it took all the convincing that I
could give for me to get Wendy away from his bedside and to get some
rest.  It was doctors orders that he be left alone for a day
atleast.  The next day while Wendy was out talking to professors
whose classes she had missed was when we met the young and innocent
Nightfox.  She took an instant like to him, like the little brother
that she never had.  That day she showed him what Seattle was
really like and all the fun things you could do in the city." 

"When we met again the next day, Wendy introduced me to the mage who
would be compatriot in magic for many years to come, while I
introduced her to trina, the decker with whom she would cause so
much havok.  That night was when Trina and I took them to the back
entrance of Penumbra and we met the dancing warrior Sheena."

"It was strange to have so many different people become so fast of
friends. We had our differences, as all friends will, but through
the level headness and bright cheer of our beloved Spirit and Crush
that we stayed together.  We have often risked our lives for each
other, I for one have often had my behind saved by the bulk of
large friend CRUSH.  No matter how hard things got though we could
always count on the love Wendy and Craig held for each other to
lighten up the mood and bring us all closer." 

"So it is with extreme pleasure that on this glorious day I may
celebrate with you my fellows the joining of the two most wonderful
people I know, Spirit and CRUSH.

"So let us raise a toast to their health and to a very happy
marriage that will be filled not only with the love they hold for
each other but for the love we hold for the both of them.  Long
life of love my friends." 

There was a great cheer from the multitude of guest in attendance,
many of whom had been brought to small tears through the loving
sentiments of Dorn "Claw" Quilshran  the Best Man of Craig "CRUSH"
Morgan.  I believe I even saw a small tear of blood, which was
quickly wiped away, come from Action Jackson. 

CB gave a small toast to the bride and groom wishing them a full
life and saying there was no way she could top Claw's toast or that
she would even try. 

Well I am sorry, but I have to go again, there is somemore work to
do.  I'll be back in a few hours with the rest of the reception
including the cake cutting and the throughing of the bouquet.]<<<<<
        -- Kichanski <02:12:47/05-09-54>

>>>>>[ Yes I am back again with more to tell for those who are dying
(literally) to hear what happened at the wedding.

Well once the toasting was done and a few people went back for
thirds, fourths and CRUSH size courses, we got ready for the cake. 
It was a huge cake, and from what Lister says by some twist of fate
it looked alot like the cake served at the bachelor party.  On the
top of the cake was a minature fountain with two beautiful
sculptures of Spirit in her wedding gown and CRUSH in his tuxedo
standing undernieth the water falling from the four spouts of the
fountain. 

CRUSH and Spirit each cut out a piece of cake for the other.  CRUSH
slow got down on his knees so that Spirit could reach up to him.
They both started to move the cake to each others mouth.  When she
was close enough,Spirit instead of putting the cake in his mouth, put
it in his face then gave him a big kiss. CRUSH promptly returned the
favor by smearing his cake on Spirit's face; this will definatelty
turn out to be an interesting marriage.  There was of course the
usual flashing of cameras as the cake giving made its way into the
wedding album as many others had before it - with a very messy bride
and groom. 

As the bride and groom went to clean up everyone was able to go
about socializing.  The first thing I noticed was that Sharice had
lost track of Nightfox and had settled on following after the tall
Scot - Highlander. Circuit Breaker was finally able to take a break
from making sure that everything at the wedding was ok and was
having a fun time going around to meet everyone with Jaez and
Sheena.  Lister and I.B.A were exchanging anecdotes over mugs of
Lager. 

Wondering where our illustrous mage, Nightfox, had gotten off to, I
went to look for him.  I found him with a large group of elves
including Dark Elf, Nex and Raven.  By his side was what looked to
be a small floating wine keg.  The others where all filling up
there glasses with a clear sparkling liquid that looked
supisciously like water.  He was saying. 

"My fellows it is a tradition, and a very ancient one at, that on
very special occasions a drought of Tamerolin should be had.  What
I have here is a vintage of that blessed beverage that is over 5000
years old.  So know ye well that what you are about to drink will
probably be one of the finest things you shall ever taste, let
alone the fact that each glass of it is in itself priceless." 

"So let us wish well the marriage of Spirit and CRUSH, may they
forever find that special happiness in each other."......

They drank and each person seemed a little more remorseful yet
happier and lighter.  Nightfox had told me only one thing about
Tamerolin, that it was a magical drought from a plant that was ages
gone.  He said that it also tasted like water to any but Elves.

When everyone was done from the effects of the elixir, Nightfox
continued. 
 
"I would also like to raise another toast.  This one goes out to the
people of Omega Island, may they ever be free, and to Dark El and
his band of people that helped to free those people from the rule of
the likes of Tirandor and Quention.  May they all meet with success
and freedom."

Again there was silence as each person seemed to be more affect this
time thann the last.  Each person looked to have gained new strenth
and life, yet they all seemed to reach a small inner peace.  It was
just beautiful to watch.  They then went their ways back to the
wedding, each seeming to walk a little lighter than before.

Everyone kept on mingleing until Circuit Breaker announced that it
was time for the throwing of the bouquet and the garter.  All of
the women were first told to gather beniether the small arch like
bridge that had been brought out.  Spirit slowly went to the top of
the bridge a looked out over the gathered women. Since almost
everyone in attendence was not married, there were a good many
beautiful and dangerous women gathered to catch the bouquet. 

Spirit spoke "It is costom that all elligable women gather together
at this time to TRY and catch the bouquet that will signify that it
is they who is to be married next.  The men are to also gather to
catch the garter that was taken from the bride.  The lucky man who
does catch it will be the next man to get married.  Of course just
because they do catch them does not mean that the man and woman must
marry each other." 

With this Spirt turned around.  After small bit of looking over her
shoulder and weighing the Bouquet, she released it behind her into
the milling crowd of women.  Up it went, twirling in the air and
loosing a few flowers.  In the crowd women could be seen moving to
and away from the now falling bouquet.  Because of the sun behind it
the bouquet was hard to see.  All I knew was that it was going to
land far from me.  Then I saw Sharice, Spirit's cousin moving towards
the place where it would mostly likely land.  The women around thay
area where holding up their hands both to try (some very half
heartedly) and catch the bouquet and to shield their eyes from the
sun.  Sharice got close enough to accidently move Roxy's hands out of
the way and causing the Bouquet to fall into the much lower hands of
Raven who seems to be very surprised at what lands in her hands.  The
women then cheer for her, many of them in congradultions others in
thanks for being the one to catch it.

CRUSH then came up to the bridge with a nice wooden chair for Spirit
to sit in while he removed the garter.  The men then started very
slowly and reluctantly replace the women benieth the bridge.  Many
having to be forced by the women to go there.  CRUSH, when seeing
that everyone was there, went about gently removing the garter from
the leg of his new bride.  When he done he raised his huge form over
the gathered men.  On top the tall bridge CRUSH's head had to be
atleast 15 feet above the next tallest man, I believe it was Norm.
With great extravance CRUSH showed the gathered men the garter, many
of them visibly cringed.  Then he turned around, and looked back at
the men to judge the distance to them.  Turning his head back around
he brought his hand up to his head and flicked the garter out to the
crowd.  It promptly caught of his right side horn much to his dismay.
After a small while of laughter and apologizing CRUSH again readied
himself.  Again his hand flicked to throw the garter, this time
taking care not catch his horn, it sailed out and to the left side of
the gathered men.  At this point it took a dramatic and obvious turn
away from the gathered magicians and headed towards the center of the
crowd.  Not having magic to keep it away from them, the gentlemen
(and I use this term extremely loosely) tried to move away from it.
Seeing that they where trying to escape, the men at the edges pushed
back towards the center causing more then a few men to fall over each
other.  The garter landed softly on the stunned fallen form of
Lister. When he realized what had happened he gave a rather abrupt
scream of surprise. There was much accompanying laughter to his
cry. 

Spirit then took the to the edge of the bridge and said, "oh there
is something I forgot to mention, it is custom in both mine and
Craig's family for the man who caught the garter to place it on the
leg ABOVE the knee of woman who caught the bouquet as far as he may
dare to go!!!" 

With this there was a great cheer from the men, there was also a
large commotion as Jaez and CB helped Sheena who was carrying the
protesting form of Raven on her shoulder.  It was rather amusing to
see Sheena carry someone so easily who was easily a foot taller
than her.  Sheena continued to carry the protesting Raven up the
bridge to the top a place her in the chair. 

There were yells to how lucky a man Lister was to see Raven leg up
close.  There were others reminding him that she was a mage.  At
this Lister looked at Nightfox who smiled cruelly and shook his
head NO.  Lister would be getting no magical support from
Nightfox.  Nightstalker could be seen not very far away scowling at
the now fearful rigger.  Lister approached the seated mage who
promptly glared at him.  The cringing Lister then looked at Claw
who also refuse, Lister would be getting no magical support. 
I.B.A. then spoke up and said - Remember, Above the knee!!  Which
promptly got him glares from Lister, Raven and Nightstalker.  Raven
then stuck out her right foot infront of Lister. How slowly and
fearfully removed her shoe.  Then proceeded to place the garter
around her foot and tentively move it up her leg. 

A chant rose up in the crowd "All the way up " "All the way up".  To
this Lister motioned for them to shut up and proceeded to move it
even more tentively up her calf.  When when he finally reached her
knee after what must have been a full minute there were a few
whistles of appriciation.  Raven glared at the crowd and then at
Lister who quickly pushed the garter JUST ABOVE her knee and
quickly stepped away. 

After this came the normal posing for pictures of the bride and
groom then each of the brides maids and ushers.  A few of the whole
wedding party accompanied by ones of the women of the wedding party
and the men.  While this was being done more food was brought out
and the table with the presents was brought forward. 

Well I have to go eat now, I'll be back later to tell you what the
newly weds got and also cover the dance afterwords.]<<<<<
        -- Kichanksi <21:17:45/05-09-54>

>>>>>[Ok, heres what happened. When we nosed into the ditch in front
of the Bulldog and Legion, one of the border goons walked over to see
what we were doing and check our Passports and visas. As he was
walking up to my side of the Hummer I noticed that he had a Wildcat
flash under his unit patch. You know, the guys who're supposed to be
hot shit? So I asked him what a stud like him was doing stuck on some
backwater border post. Then, before he could say anything I kept his
attention by telling him how a squad of Texas Rangers could take on
both the Wildcats and the Salish-Shidhe Rangers and come out on top.
Well, he turned about twenty different shades of red, lemme tell ya.
Then he kind of smirked and started to turn to yell at his buddy.
Wrong answer I thought. So I busted some caps on 'im and his pal. The
two Metroplex guards who were there (looked like they were detailed
to help guard the post, cause there were only the two S-S guards)
looked like they wanted a piece of the action too, so I decided to
oblige 'em popped their caps too, before they could call for backup.
I'm just glad that this is a less traveled crossing so there wasn't
the normal heavy goons. Let's hear it for 12mm AP rounds!]<<<<<
        -- Prophet <13:45:22/5-10-54>

>>>>>[That's real nice, old-timer. Why don'tcha try your Ruger out
on that Wasp that just got on our tail? I'd like to see
that...]<<<<< 
        -- Chains <13:47:21/5-10-54>

>>>>>[I got 'im. Lemme try out one of these SAMs I got last week.
Hey Proph, ya might wanna close the 'sunroof' for a sec.]<<<<<
        -- Bunker <13:47:58/5-10-54>

>>>>>[Oooh, nice shot, muchacho. Right between the proverbial
eyes!]<<<<< 
        -- Chains <13:48:32/5-10-54>

>>>>>[Ok, I saw the explosion, I'm only a few minutes north of you
guys. I'm right behind you.]<<<<<
        -- Nitro <13:48:59/5-10-54>

>>>>>[Shit, the damn exhaust melted the release mechanism. I hope we
don't have anymore company real soon. Hey, Proph. Wanna manhandle
that Vanquisher up onto the ringmount? Careful, it's a little
heavy.]<<<<< 
        -- Bunker <13:50:02/5-10-54>

>>>>>[Hey, you didn't miss any bumps back there, didya Bunker? This
thing is *REAL* heavy! 'Bout cut ma damn hand off gettin' it up
here.]<<<<< 
        -- Prophet <13:53:54/5-10-54>

>>>>>[Ok, comin' up on the hidey-hole, ETA 2 min.]<<<<<
        -- Chains <13:54:32/5-10-54>

>>>>>[Right behind you, guys!]<<<<<
        -- Nitro <13:55:10/5-10-54>

>>>>>[  Howdy pards!  Cowboy here and in one piece after one hell of
a wedding and probably the strangest run ah've ever been on.

The mornin' after the wedding, while the rest of Delta Epsilon was
busy with the hair of the dog that bit 'em, ah went to meet with
the Johnson tha' talked ta me at Dante's the other night.  The meet
was in one of the back rooms at Dante's, and I got to meet the
people tha' the hombre assembled.  There were five other 'runners
in the room when ah got there along with the Johnson. After a few
introductions, I got to know a combat mage named Red, a Samurai
named "Mack", a wolf adept named "Zyter", this freak of a rigger
named "Foreigner", and a decker named "Moebius".   It was clear ta
me tha' this bunch was a real "bratpack" who had managed to get far
on easy runs with good pay. Ah got the feelin' tha' they were no
where near the professional level of the people ah'm used ta
workin' with.  Ah decided ta play along an see wha' would happen. 

The job was ta collect four people fer Fuchi.  Apparently these four
people had been implanted with some new cyber gear that is meant to
automatically inject certain chemicals into the bloodstream under
certain conditions.  Johnson implied tha' they'd be usin' combat
drugs.  He gave us files on each of the targets and told us he
wantedem, preferably dead, with little of no damage to the head.  Ah
said ah'd rather take 'em alive an leave the rest to the lab boys but
the Johnson told me it didn't matter because the lab rats were going
to rip apart their skulls to get the implants anyway.

After decidin' on a price and pumpin' the johnson fer more info, we
piled into Foreigner's bison an headed out ta do some legwork.  The
bison was nothin' like OddBall's battlevan, the inside had all these
indian (ah mean as in from India) trappin's, and ah listened as
Foreigner bragged about the weapons the bison had in his thick
indian accent.  As he went on ah began ta get nervous, it was like
sitting on a pile of ammo with a lit match!  Ah was afraid that
Lone Star would pick up on the weapon systems an give us the riot
treatment. 

Anyway, we started at the top of the list, a librarian named
Jeannette Thompson who worked at some library in redmond.  The
second was a chipped bouncer at the Eye of the Needle named George
Sanders.  The fourth was named Grunge, a chef from the Big Rhino. 
The last made little sense.  The description was an Elf physical
adept with a rap sheet a country mile long, and a longer list of
aliases.  There was a note on the file saying "high level
initiate".  The guy's file screamed "I'm a shadowrunner".   Ah got
ta check out the bouncer while the others looked up the rest.  Ah
made a few calls and found out that he was hired about a year ago,
and went on two "vacations" since then, each time coming back
packing more chrome.  His latest vacation was around the time he
was supposedly implanted by Fuchi. 

Ah decided ta see fer myself what kinda opposition he'd be, so ah
made a stop back at DE's old place fer a change of clothes and a
bottle of Jake's Tequila. Ah put on muh worst, and took a few slugs
of tequila as ah headed fer the eye. About a block away, ah dumped
the bottle over my head an rubbed in some dirt. Ah went into the
lobby an started shoutin' at the matre'd tha "ah heard you hombre's
make some mean ribs!, Wha'' ah don' need a reservation, ah jus'
need some food...."  sure enough, our friend George showed up an
suggested tha' ah leave.  He grabbed muh arm an started ta pull me
outside.  He was strong but not too strong, an not quite as fast as
me.  Still ah let him drag me out an throw me in the gutter.  
After a shower and a change ah met back with the group an told them
what ah knew.  They found out a few interestin' things about some
of our targets.  The chef was friends with a really big chromed
troll bouncer at the Rhino, and the physad's girlfriend worked at
the same library as the librarian.  We found out that the physad
had a place out on council island, and that his current alias was
"Slammer".  Other than that, he was a dead end so far.  Armed with
the info, we started ta make our pickups. 

The librarian was first, she didn't put up a fight, in fact she
fainted when Mack an me came through her window an put a gun ta her
head.  We put her in the Bison an moved on ta the Rhino.  We waited
there until the Chef's shift was over, and started tailin' him
home.  A few blocks later we pulled up next ta him, opened the side
door, an Mack nailed him with a net gun.  Ah dragged him in an
lumped him on the head an knocked him out.  We tried the same
gambit on the bouncer and got him too.  We had three of the four
alive, and still no leads on Slammer. 

We checked the first three for evidence of the cyber that the
Johnson described and couldn't find any.  Red took an astral look
at 'em and said that except fer the bouncer they didn't have any
cyber at all.  The others started ta freak. Zyter jus up an left,
sayin' he didn't want anythin' ta do with this.  The others started
arguin' about the job sayin either we got the wrong people, or the
Johnson is tryin' ta set us up.  Tha's when ah said "maybe the
johnson want's 'em, but fer some other reason...".  Red agreed with
me an said "Let's just kill them, get the elf an make the drop, let
the corpers worry about the morality."  He pulled his Ultra-Power
and put it ta the librarian's head.  Ah was a little faster though,
an ah got muh shotgun level with his head first. AH told him
"First, they don't want the heads damaged, Second, it wouldn't be
polite ta kill 'em without knowin' if the run's on the level..." 

Red didn't want ta hear it.  He mumbled some words an ah began
seein' double. Muh sense of direction was a little screwed up too. 
Red musta thrown some kinda spell at me.  Ah saw another blur move
towards him.  Looked like Mack tried ta knock him out but failed. 
Ah saw one image of Red, the middle one ah think, lift his pistol
an point it at me.  Ah pointed muh shotgun at the middle image,
closed muh eyes an pulled the trigger.  Muh vision cleared by the
time the sound of the gunshot stopped ringing through the bison, an
Red was lyin' in the mess of blood tha used ta be his head.  Mack
came up ta me an said, "You did the right thing, he was going to
kill you".  We decided that it was time we found out what the real
job was supposed to be, especially now that our shaman had flown
the coop, and our mage was pushing up daisies. We started by askin'
around town about Mr. Johnson. 

It soon became clear that somethin' was wrong.  Nobody had ever
heard of a guy meeting that description working fer Fuchi.  A
little more probing put us in touch with a corp exec who knew both
Slammer and our Johnson friend.  We went to meet him.  The exec
told us that the Johnson who contacted us was a long time operative
for Aztechnology, and did in fact have nothin' ta do with Fuchi at
all.  We were all surprised, me less than the others after the
whole mess about Omega... 

What really suprised us was when Slammer himself walked in the
office.  He asked if any of us wanted to take a try at him, an ah
jus laughed.  Ah said there's no way in hell we could take him down
an walk away.  Ah also made a mental not ta give DE a file on him
in case he was trouble later.  Ah'm not the type ta go toe ta toe
with a high ranking initiate, but ah've got friends who can make
his life miserable without even seeing him. 

We explained the situation to him, after deciding that the run was
hosed. Slammer mentioned something about trouble with Aztech, but
nothing big enough fer a hit.  Ah said "maybe we're supposed ta be
smoke ta cover somthin' else, it's kinda funny how one of our
targets works with yer girlfriend."  He corrected me, it was his
wife.  He turned to the exec and asked him ta call up a file.  Sure
enough, Slammer's wife had done a run on Aztech, one that cost them
a lot of money.  Slammer grabbed the phone and started babbling to
someone.  He said that it seemed like Aztech sent us as a
distraction while their team went after Mrs. Slammer.  He thanked
us fer settin' the record straight, tossed us a few certified
credsticks and left.  We left a little richer and a little more
confused, and split up our seperate ways. 

Ah'm jus glad ah've got a more professional team ta work with!  Ah
don't think ah could stand havin' ta watch muh teamates shoot each
other every time somethin' doesn't seem right.  Ah've got a few
more files fer DE ta check up on.  Maybe Delta Epsilon as a whole
can figure out who screwed who and leave a little thorn in
someone's side... ]<<<<< 
           -- Cowboy <13:24:13/05-10-54>

>>>>>[  Well, Cowboy, it's good to have you back.  Sound's like you
had an interesting day.  I'd run a followup to your run, but we can
only stay in Seattle for another day or two before heading back, we
have a pair of swords to track down in New York, and possibly another
conspiracy to break.  But first I want to find out what happened to
Dr. Fung.  I need to know if he's still active or not.  I've heard
some rumors that he's heree in Seattle again, maybe we can clear
things up now. 

I hope that all of the people I "talked" with at the wedding are
enjoying their "sticks".  After all, you earned them.

Doom: Thanks for the description of the statue in Valhalla.  I have
to say that it's a true honor to have my likeness appear in the same
place as legends such as fastjack, and I'm glad that likenesses of
some of my most esteemed collegues are there too.  As for whoever
arranged that statue, I thank you on behalf of us all.

Hmm...has anybody noticed that an awful lot of people have been
smoking Alpaca Cigarettes lately.... it seems like many people long
devoted to other brands have switched.  Is it just a coincidence or
is there something about Alpaca's that makes people want to
switch?  I think the answer will be interesting, to say the
least... ]<<<<< 
           -- Dark Elf <13:35:13/05-10-54>

>>>>>[I've been trying to think of a way to track down these black
guys that kidnapped Yoshida and killed the Fuchi VP.  Unfortunately,
we don't have any leads to speak of except for a black helicopter
with no ID numbers on it.]<<<<<
        --  Ramirez <>

>>>>>[Waitaminute!  What about the guy who beat the shit out of Joe
Yoshida in the Chicago warehouse?]<<<<<
        --  Wolf 359 <13:17:18 / 05-10-54>

>>>>>[I'll send Norman a message and ask him.  He might have
something.]<<<<< 
        --  Ramirez <>

>>>>>[  In case anyone missed it, after enjoying a round of
Nightfox's elixir, which was quite exceptional, I got togther with
the team and a few others, including Doom, Nightstalker, and others
to drink a toast to friends we had lost in the course of our
mission.  A hush fell over the group when I mentioned the name
Tommy Harada.  We can only hope that he's still alive... 

I felt sorry afterwards, as a wedding is an inappropriate place to
lay the memory of a friend to rest, but I think he would be pleased
to know that he'll be missed. ]<<<<<
           -- Dark Elf <16:22:40/05-10-54>

>>>>>[ Did you mention somthing about cigarettes before?  I thought
you had quit smoking years ago. ]<<<<<
           -- Big Jake <16:24:46/05-10-54>

>>>>>[ I did.  It just struck me as odd when I saw it. ]<<<<<
           -- Dark Elf <16:25:58/05-10-54>

>>>>>[ That's what you said when the MagnaTech building blew up...
are you holding out on us again? ]<<<<<
           -- OddBall <16:26:50/05-10-54>

>>>>>[ OK. so maybe one of the messages that were waiting for me
after Omega said something like:   Check out Alpaca Cigarettes,
call LTG: 358-9072 if you notice anything strange. ]<<<<<
           -- Dark Elf <16:30:36/05-10-54>

>>>>>[ Hmm, investigate alpaca, and go on a little hunt for Akaru,
sounds like we're gonna have a busy summer. ]<<<<<
           -- Napalm <16:31:39/05-10-54>

>>>>>[ Well, I haven't officially accepted the alpaca job.  I just
said that I'd see if it was worth investigating, nothing
more.]<<<<< 
           -- Dark Elf <16:32:41/05-10-54>

>>>>>[ Well at least you told us about this one! ]<<<<<
           -- Big Jake <16:33:18/05-10-54>

>>>>>[I just got a message asking for some more information about the
guy that beat up dad when he was kidnapped.  Unfortunately, we do not
have any photographs or anything.  The best I can give you in terms
of a visual description is the sketch the police artist and dad
worked up.  It's not much, and we haven't really had any luck getting
a match (a drawing isn't exact enough to do a computer search, and a
manual one is far too intensive). 

***** INCLUDED FILE:  kidnapper.gif

I just hope this proves helpful, we don't need any more kidnappings
or murders. I'm at a loss to explain the connection between these
events (sorry Highlander, I just can't buy your MONICA theory).]<<<<<
        --  Norman Yoshida <15:43:50 / 05-10-54>

>>>>>[That's okay, laddie, I hope it's just my own demented ravings,
brought on by too much Scotch...I have an idea for a better picture,
though it's kind of complicated, and a little invasive: Would your
father permit a mage or shaman to mind probe him, and get the data?
That might provide a better picture.  Ideally (and I KNOW this is
overly complicated), the mage could dump the memory to a sketch
artist with a mnemonic (sp?) enhancer, who could draw a VERY
accurate portrait.  Just some thoughts.  How is your father,
anyway?]<<<<< 
        -- Highlander (13:53:31/5-10-54)

>>>>>[I know this guy!]<<<<<
        -- Wolf 359 <16:04:30 / 05-10-54>

>>>>>[Where from?]<<<<<
        -- Ramirez <>

>>>>>[Let me think for a minute.  I remember reading about him in a
trade magazine somewhere . . . . give me a second . . . uh . . .  .
Leo? . . . no . . . Leon . . . . Meyers?  Yea!  Leon Meyers!

Let's see what I have on him.  Here it is.  He graduated two years
ago from some piddly community college with a degree in Robotics. 
He published one paper not long after his graduation discussing the
concept of integrating AI with Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM)
to develop a program that could build things and then make
refinements to the design as flaws are detected.  He then
disappeared, assumably snatched up by some large corporation. 
Hasn't published since. 

Whoops, here's a death certificate dated April 1st.  Died in a car
accident; seems his car went off the road and exploded.  He was
identified with dental records.

Known relatives:  his mother, Lisa.  She lives in a L.A. nursing
home. 

At the time of his death, he had no outstanding debt, no arrest
warrants, nothing.  Seems he was a quiet little nerd.

No other information is available.

Here is a copy of the picture included with his publish paper.

*****  INCLUDED FILE:  Leon_Meyers.gif

Is this the guy, Norm?]<<<<<
        --  Wolf 359 <16:19:40 / 05-10-54>

>>>>>[Jesus, Wolf!  Is there anything you can't get information
on?]<<<<< 
        --  Ramirez <>

>>>>>[No.]<<<<<
        --  Wolf 359 <16:20:10 / 05-10-54>

>>>>>[  By the way, I have it on authority that Dr. Fung may try to
contact the people he used to work for at Fujikawa.  He may be
trying to find work now that his last employer(s) are either under
investigation or dead/MIA. 

Also:  Check out the news nets.  Zurich Orbital court released their
decision on the DDI/Tirandor case today.  If you ask me the dragon
got off lucky. 

ZOC has found Tirandor guilty of using his position as a member of
the Omega government to advance his personal business interests. 
They also ruled that there is insufficient evidence to prove
Tirandor's involvement with the infamous "Tirandor Square
Massacre". 
 
The ZOC also announced sentencing for the case.  Tirandor has to pay
a hefty fine on all DDI profits since the formation of the old Omega
government, somthing like 25%!  They have also ruled that a full
audit of all holdings, both by Tirandor and DDI is called for.  The
audit will extend back three years.  The ZOC will also audit DDI for
the next three years. 

I guess it's safe to say that DDI will have to stick to legitimate
business for a while.  I'm sure that Tirandor is very upset, losing
his lair, his place in Quention and Trevor's grand scheme, and a
good deal of money.  I'm sure that ZOC will find that he's been lax
in his taxes, even if I have to manufacture something.  I wish they
had thrown the book at him, but I guess I'll have to take what I
can get! ]<<<<< 
           -- Dark Elf <16:54:21/05-10-54>

>>>>>[Don't worry, Dark Elf.  I'm sure Tirandor will appeal.  In the
end, I expect he'll get a slap on the wrist and a fine, but all this
business of audits and stuff will be dropped.  Tirandor had a legal
contract with the legitimate government of Omega.  He might have done
a few things greedy and unethical, but really not much worse than
most corporations. 

Good or bad, that is the way it is.]<<<<<
        --  Wolf 359 <17:08:02 / 05-10-54>

>>>>>[Dark Elf:  Your comment about "manufacturing" something for the
DDI tax investigation disturbs me.  Dispite our friendship, I would
be forced to encourage sanction against you for those kinds of
actions.  If you are so confident of Tirandor's guilt, then let him
trap himself.  Fabricating evidence encourages a witch-hunt mentality
and is something I find deplorable.  Let the wheels of justice turn
how they will.]<<<<< 
        --  Joseph Yoshida <17:13:35 / 05-10-54>
            President
            Yoshida Technologies

>>>>>[Wolf 359:  I cannot be positive, but I believe that the
picture of Leon Meyers is the person who assaulted me during my
kidnapping.]<<<<< 
        --  Joseph Yoshida <17:15:49 / 05-10-54>
            President
            Yoshida Technologies

>>>>>[ Hello, I am back again. The reason I didn't complete the
telling of the wedding was that I needed a rest.  So Lister, the
others and myself watched a few movies and short anime last night.
We back to reporting, now where was I? 

The table with the presents was mostly from family, the runners
wanting to give theirs personally.  Mind you this was no ordinary
table - it was a beautifully laquered dinning room table made of
oak with a large piece of fine hardened glasson top to keep itfrom
being damaged.  This was a present from Spirits father.  From
Sharice and her parents came a set of six Mahogany chairs with
quilted seat cushions for the table.  From the estate of Spirits
grandparents they recieve two Black Walnut end tables and a long
coffee table. 

Everyone from the group gave them something also.  The gift from
Nightfox was a book of anciet Speretheil poetry, a truely priceless
gift.  From Sheena they received a brandnew Sony/Panasonic fully
intergrated home entertainment center with one hundred trideo chips
and one hundred audio chips.  Lister and myself worked on a nice
comfy boat with all the fun fixings so that they can relax on the
water whenever they want.  From Claw they received two pieces of
art from the aclaimed street artist Pier Headshot, an old friend of
his.  CB presented them with trideo recording and editing equipment
to use to record everything important event in their marriage, like
(hopefully) the birth of children.  Seraphy presented a truely
beautiful and magical gift, a set of crystal like scultptures of
varies "mythical" beasts that moved throughout a woodland setting. 
It is amazing, they also most look like real. 

After these gifts were given a great deal of hugs received, the
newly weds were ready to receive the giftsof the other guests. 
Steel Stringer and Dancer brought a gift "to help ensure domestic
tranquility", in other words, a complete kitchen and dining set
(pots, pans, dishes, silverware, spatulas, whisks, cutting boards,
knives, the whole nine yards) engraved with the newlyweds names on
almost every piece.  ZERO and DIRTY ANGEL brought a very specially
made Eurocar Westwind with all the fixings, a credited acount for
repairs and "Just Married" writen on the backwindow.  NEIL, the
Ork, apologized that Zee couldn't make it but he's taking care of
Swipe who's still in ICU.  He also have three presents; two bottles
of Rothschilde '45 (that's 1945!) (a present from Zee), a case of
APDS ammo from Neil, and two datachips from Scrape and Swipe that
contained what little information that was left on Spirit and CRUSH
from the LoneStar and other corp files.  Spirit was rather happy
about the last gift since it was a wonderful labor saving device;
she didn't have to go and get them herself. 

Joseph and Norman stepped up next with a large oddly shaped package.
Upon opening it CRUSH jumped up and swept them both into a huge bear
hug, I think that they both will bruised for a day.  I heard Spirit
give a little sigh, and looked over her shoulder.  The object in the
package was an odd toaster with a plaque that read

                MagnaTech Toaster number 17

                 with love and affection to

                  Criag William Morgan III
                            and
                  Wendy Hope Belmount Morgan

                from  Joseph and Norman Yoshida

        May your marriage be long, happy and prosperous
            and may your breakfasts be entertaining.

Doctor Doom and his elegant wife were the next to present themselves
and their gifts.  The first was a case of Champagne, 1999 Don
Perignon.  The next was one the honourable Doctor had had on from CB
in the form of a few pictures of the newlyweds.  With noble grace he
was proud to unvail an oil painting of CRUSH and Spirit done in a
Victorian style of painting with am engraved golden plaque and a
frame of Rose Wood.  Everyone exclaimedthat it was truly a
masterpiece. Jaez was next with a gift to almost riveled that of Herr
Doom, it was an animated holo-picture of Spirit and CRUSH depicted as
Beauty & the Beast. 

The Delta Epsilon squad brought with them a relic from the Omega
Island campaign, a real Espresso Machine with a month of supplies
(1 week for CRUSH). Moonwalker and friends sent CRUSH two
beautifully new miniguns for use when times get fun.   Cerise's
gift was an eight piece set of attractive crystal goblets. 
Nightstalker and Raven presented the newlyweds with a handmade
dai-sho from Japan.  From Highlander they recieved a case of scotch
from 1984. 

Powerhouse and his buds presented a multitude of gifts.  From
Powerhouse there was a crystal decanter set made specially for
trolls and humans. The troll sized glasses having been diokted so
as to resist accidental breakage.  I.B.A. presented them with a
selection of Indian cook books, some written in Hindi and Urdu, a
Hindi / Urdu translator and reservations for two at the Eastern
Taste Tandoori.  Punisher gave them a set of bowling balls in hopes
that they would sometime join him in his favorite sport.  Polish
had gotten a zulu fertility necklace for Spirit and a zulu necklace
of luck for CRUSH.  Blade gave them a bottle of vintage cognac. 
Noname made a small hand carven totem of Coyote. While Speed had
created a small household drone to help clean their house. 

Action Jackson, who was looking very happy to be at the wedding and
out in the sun, came forward with his associates.  Along with Slash
he had purchased a set of Waterford Crystal(from Tir Nan Og), a Saki
set from Chiba, and a set of 12 places of fine china(hand made) from
France, for the bride and groom. Diana gave a set of 4 polished
silver and iron voodoo symbols.  She said that they were spirit foci
which she hopes that will help protect them from the black bokor, or
evil voodoo priests.  Roxey and Maximillion were another of the many
to  give the couple a gift of alcohol.  It was best they could find,
and Max agreed that the vintage of 1945 Rothschilde Rose, Red, and
White were really good years.  With the Rothschilde that they
received from ZEE, I believe Spirit and CRUSH will own many of the
last remaining bottles of the fine vintage. 

Again, when Buzz came forward, the couple recieved more alcohol,
this time in the form of Scotch made by Buzz'es grandfather.  I
believe that everyone is trying to get CRUSH drunk again so that
they can see him with a lamp on his head.  Dragon presented the
couple with a the gift of a matched pair of finely crafted Katanas,
with a Silver Dragon on the scabbard of each.  Shadow (grinning
broadly ) gave Spirit a baseball bat so that she would be able to
beat some more sense into Crush.  To CRUSH he gave a set of
keyboards (so that he wouldn't have to lug his around if he came
over, according to Buzz).  Bloodtooth gave a bracelet that his
mother once wore to Spirit and to Crush the matching necklace that
belonged to his father; he said that they needed to be worn again
by wondeful loving people.  We could all see the look of pain on
his face as he presented the gifts to the couple.  The gift of the
Nexus was equally touching when he presented the couple with two
charms from his mother while trying to keep from crying.  Spirit
and CRUSH so touched that they got up to hug the two wondeful men. 

Well I have to go eat again, yes I actually am doing something
besides writing this up for you, but not much.]<<<<<
        -- Kichanski <20:51:09/05-10-54>

>>>>>[ FZZZZZZTello? Okay, gentlemen, the coast is clear.  You can
come out now. ]<<<<<
        --Blindside (18:24:36/05-10-54)

>>>>>[ Um, hello? This is Moonwalker; I suppose you've been
wondering where we've been, er.

Let's just say that we found out a little too much about the people
behind the Razorheads than was healthy, and had to go to the
mattresses for a while. By the way, does anyone know what to do
with a force-18 insect spirit focus? We'd gladly pay for disposal,
just to get Ralph out of the corner. He just barks; he hasn't
spoken a word since we...I think he needs some serious help...

I'll post some more later. Right now we're just totally exhausted
from the paranoia; maybe things'll settle down now that we're back
in town. ]<<<<< 
        --Moonwalker (18:34:30/05-10-54)

>>>>>[ ObsERVatIon: tHat's ThE fIRst tiME I've seEn MooN-bOotS
wiThoUt a CustOm tImeDaTE sTAmp. ]<<<<<
        --tiCktOcK (StiLLsliGhTly/frAggED$@*&*$%!!)

>>>>>[  Hmm, while I'm still in Seattle, I think I'll do another scan
of the MagnaTech site where MONICA "died".  I'm sure Highlander is
wrong about MONICA but you can never be too sure...  ]<<<<<
           -- Dark Elf <14:24:38/05-11-54>

>>>>>[Jose' (Ramirez) and I spent a good portion of last night
dancing through the ether looking for information on this Leon
Meyers character. 

As I suspected, he was snatched up by a corporation after he
published his paper.  He worked for almost two years at Vulcan
Robotics in Engineering. We could find no sign of his work,
though.  All record of his job and activities seem to have been
purged.  The only way we could actually verify that he worked for
Vulcan was through an obscure request to accounting for expense
reimbursment after a business trip to Japan. 

We could find no other sign of him in any of Vulcan's records.

I then contacted Vulcan directly.  After some creative bullshit, I
was able to talk to someone with half a brain; an unnamable person
in engineering. She had a wealth of information on Meyers and his
projects. 

Meyers was continuing his initial research into the concepts of
combining AI with CAM.  Most of his work was in theoretical
applications as AIs of any kind aren't really available.  He was
working with several large expert systems to simulate many AI
activites. 

Now, prior to his death on April 1, Meyers was spending almost all
of his time in his lab working on his project, sometime 48hours
straight before he'd go home for a few hours sleep, only to be
right back at it again. 

When I asked the person why all of her files were blank regarding
Meyers, she stated that she was not aware of it, but that also, as
a matter of routine, the databases Meyers was working on were
sealed for the police investigation.

I talked her into giving us access to those databases in an attempt
to learn exactly what Leon was working on after hours, but when we
examined the files, we found them to be all purged.

What does this mean?  Not much in itself, except that someone went
through an awful lot of effort to see to it that all record of
Leon's activities at Vulcan were destroyed.  That, coupled with his
sudden late shifts and secrecy makes me a little suspicious.

THEORY:  Meyers was contacted by someone and began working on a
project using Vulcan's equipment.  This was follwed by his death
(which seems highly suspect, actually) and a purging of that
project. 

I believe that Meyers is still alive, living under a different name
(or maybe SINless).  Yoshida's identification coupled with these
pieces of circumstantial evidence lead me to believe that he is
somehow involved with these 'men-in-black'.

Comments welcome.]<<<<<
        --  Wolf 359 <14:42:10 / 05-11-54>

>>>>>[Great, another bloody genius working on an AI.  And this one
had the added bonus of designing remote "bodies" for his programs.
Wonderful. I agree about the possibility of the death being faked,
though deliberately doing it on April Fool's day is a bit much.  My
one question is: why would this man bother with a personal attack on
Mr. Yoshida?  Why not have his 'droids work him over for him?  Could
someone check Fuchi's and Mr. Yoshida's records, and see if they had
any interaction with this Meyers beforehand? Maybe they turned him
down for a job, or maybe he considers them competition to be taken
down. Or maybe the people who got him out of Vulcan have their own
hidden agenda/vendetta.  What do Fuchi & Yoshida have in
common?]<<<<< 
        -- Highlander (12:52:32/5-11-54)

>>>>>[From what I can see, Meyers was working on something that he
thought was pretty big. And I would have to agree that Meyers is most
probably alive, living under an assumed name, and if you want to find
Meyers, or what has happened to Meyers, looking into Yoshida and
these 'men-in-black' would be a positive step.]<<<<<
        --  Myzer <9:21:50 / 05-12-54>

>>>>>[Hey ho, chummers, 'tsappinnen in the Sprawl? I'm just back L.A.
While I was down there got a look at some newtech comming offthe
line. Get this all you sammi's. Got a Smartgun Link, thermo eye, and
a few MP of headware mem - then check out WSA's AnatomStrike. This
little software package uses the hardware just described to
differentiate different human organs and joints from the ther mo
image, then after a nansec of processing it will outline each
individual org an in different colors - according to the lethality of
a strike/hit on that organ. Over 53 individual organs and joints will
be tagged. Red outlines represent the deadliest locales, green the
ones that will stun the most, etc...  Total software package price -
Y850. Anybody know what word on the street is about 'raku selling off
all its geosynchronous orbital real estate over Atlanta is all about?
Kinda strange.]<<<<< 
    --KHANx(16:43:27/!!!-2054)

>>>>>[Drek !  The Net is dead today. Anybody hear about new biocorp
that set up shop in the Sprawl lately called OrganFinder Ltd. ?
Supposedly new outfit that finds organs for rich corpers - for a
price. Yah, you know what that means - body jackals. Well anyways
lately OrganFinder has been showin' up before DocWagon to pick up
some choice bodies. Strangely enough, some perfectly healthy people
have been dying ---- and OrganFinder is always just a second away ---
Coincidence? I thinx not. So I need some info - and I'm willing to
pay Y. I'm sure DocWagon and MedAlert would pitch in some xpense yen
too!!]<<<<< 
   -- KHANx (20:12:16/5.12.54)

>>>>>[KNANx, don't know anything about OrganFinder, but have a few
reliable (if there is such a word!) contact in the medical word. And
shall discretely have a look. If I find anything, I'll get back to
you.]<<<<< 
        -- Myzer <15:58:00 / 05-12-54>

>>>>>[Hmm, what disturbs me a little is the fact that Yoshida wasn't
killed, while the Fuchi VP was.  Why was it that Joe get special
treatment?  Why was it that Fuchi didn't?]<<<<<
        --  Ramirez <>

>>>>>>[
***** Include:  Return of Intrepid to New York

This is Jessica Farbane, for International Network News, reporting
from New York.  There has been a flurry of activity here with the
return of the _Intrepid_ by the Imperial German Fleet.  Early this
morning, the _Intrepid_ was towed into the harbor by the SMS
_Preussen_, a German dreadnought, flanked by two frigates, the
_Moltke_ and _Bismarck_.  This is the first time in several decades
such an impressive array of warships have visited New York, and as
such, there was much fanfare involved in its arrival.  Crowds of
tourists and sightseers lined the shore, fireboats shot tall
geysers of water into the air, pleasure yachts and other small
craft dotted the harbor, although making sure not to get in the
path of the imposing warships.  A military band on board the
_Preussen_ played "The Star Spangled Banner" and "O Canada" in
deference to their hosts, followed by "Preussens Gloria" and
"Deutschland Ueber Alles". 

Presently at the dock it used previous to its departure for Omega
Island earlier this year, the _Intrepid_ has been marked by battle
scars and a fire which started towards the end of the confrontation
with the Imperial Fleet. Much of its once gray hull has been
blacked, and there are several visible holes, souvenirs of the
devastating effects of naval artillery, no doubt. The flightdeck is
completely ruined, the largest intact patch is just barely large
enough for a civilian-sized helicopter.  A noticeable difference
from our previous broadcast is the carrier has stopped what came to
be rather dramatic listing to the starboard, the German engineers
apparently removing the water from the flooded sections before
getting underway. 

Due to the ejection of the _Intrepid's_ reactor core because of
damage received during the battle where the Fleet actually located
the wayward carrier, it was unable to complete the journey under
its own power.  Limited to a speed of approximately fifteen knots,
the crippled carrier was carefully escorted through the Caribbean
and along the North American coast. 

The crowd's reaction to the _Intrepid's_ return was for the most
part positive, but there was an undercurrent of dissatisfaction.

---
"It's soo cool...I haven't seen stuff like that in the harbor for
some time!" 
---
"Well, I mean, it's great the Germans brought her back, but it would
have been nice if she were all in one piece." 
---
"The symbolism is all wrong.  The Germans are acting like they've
brought back a hunting trophy, or something.  They aren't really
acting like they're returning stolen property."
---
"Yeah, sure it's all shot up.  But at least they returned it and
prevented it from sinking.  They didn't have to do that." 
---
"I don't know...like, they were really cool to return it and all,
but it's all burned and black...it clashes with everything."
---

When it was successfully docked, Admiral Zollikofer officially
turned over custody of the _Intrepid_ to representatives of
Dragon's Den International, who were waiting at the pier.  Although
no DDI personnel chose to comment, all displayed considerable
dismay at witnessing the state of the carrier first hand, some
barely able to compose themselves during the crucial meeting where
control was transferred.  Despite such undertones, the meeting
seemed cordial enough, although we have no information about what
words were exchanged. 

Tirandor, CEO of DDI, could not be reached for comment.  He is still
residing in the Yoshida Technologies building, under terms of
corporate asylum as granted by Joseph Yoshida.  It is expected that
his return to his former residence shall be delayed until
considerable repairs may be performed on the crippled carrier.

Soon after the short, impromptu ceremony, the _Preussen_, _Moltke_,
and _Bismarck_ headed out to the open sea, where the rest of the
Fleet was waiting, and immediately set sail for Kiel, the chief
Imperial Naval Base in Northern Germany.  What is not known
presently is whether or not the Imperial representatives requested
the reward alluded to when Dragon's Den International announced the
theft of the _Intrepid_, and as neither side has proven reachable
for comment, we expect an update later. 

This is Jessica Farbane, reporting for International Network News,
from New York Harbor.

<End of File>  ]<<<<<
                -- Doctor Doom <14:30:13/12-MAY-54>

>>>>>[ Good God, the _Intrepid's_ been all shot to Hell.  The
earlier news report didn't have any close-up shots, but these make
it look like it was pretty well gutted. ]<<<<<
                -- Sonic Boom <14:30:21/05-12-54>

>>>>>[ It looks like the Germans finally found something to vent
their wrath upon after the _Hamburg_ went down, I figured
destroying Delgado's forces wouldn't be enough. ]<<<<<
                -- Hangtime <14:30:47/05-12-54>

>>>>>[ Yeah, but Tirandor's still around.  They didn't get
him.]<<<<< 
                -- Mr. Fantastic <14:31:01/05-12-54>

>>>>>[ True, but there's more than one way to "get" someone. 
Tirandor is a dragon, and has lived a loooong time, but he can
still feel frustration. Crippling the _Intrepid_ is just one way to
get at him indirectly, and you do have to admit, the Germans did a
good job of it. 

Also, knowing Doom, he might decide to rub it in a bit. ]<<<<<
                -- Jack Hack <14:31:13/05-12-54>

>>>>>[  Hmm, when I first heard that the VP of Fuchi was killed, and
someone posting "Perfection never dies" I thought it might be Kurgen
returned from the dead to extract vengance on Fuchi for firing him.
However, upon reviewing the logs, it is pretty clear that he is dead
DEAD *DEAD*.  The postings stating "Perfection Never Dies" were
disconcerting.  I thought it may be Quention or one of his
associates, but there is no supporting evidence for that, nor is
there any evidence confirming that Quention is even alive.  My mind
began to reel with possibilities, most of them unlikely.  That's when
I decided to check out a certain node where most of us met at a
certain time...the node where MONICA "died".  I had been there
before, and noted nothing that would indicate that MONICA could have
escaped the self-destructive conflict of directives that were
activated upon her merger with RUFUS and Splut(aka CEROK).  I wanted
to check again...

I slid in with no difficulty.  I made a phone call to Mr. Yoshida
for permission this time, and had to promise to jack out rather
than attack any IC if I were made.  I considered it a contract, and
went in.  The GNU-sleaze worked like a charm, so I sent another 1Y
liscencing fee to Mr. Yoshida's account.  I enetered the CPU where
the battle occurred that fateful day, and proceeded to run a series
of diagnostic checks.  I insisted that I do it myself rather than
ask Yoshida's people to do it, I had to know for myself.  The
process scan was clean, no rogue self-altering processes were
hiding in the system.  I began to propagate the search to adjoining
nodes, and managed to slip a trace through the direct link to
Precision arts, and still came up negative.  I was about to leave
satisfied when I noticed something strange, a single data port on
the CPU was left open.  That was not the strange part. What caught
my attention was the time stamp on the open ports table.  Now
data/message ports usually open for short periods of time, close,
and are soon opened again for a new job.  Sometimes a remote
terminal session will keep one open for a few hours on the same
job, but the majority are simply quick data transfers and message
dispatches.  This port had been opened considerably longer for a
single job.  The time/date stamp exactly matched the time that
MONICA crashed... 

I did the only thing I could at that point, I downloaded copies of
the system accounting files containing this data, sent a smartframe
armed with a trace routine through the port to locate a
destination, then closed the port. At this very moment, copies of
the data are being sent to Mr. Yoshida's office, Wolf 359,
Rameriez, and Norm Yoshida.  If the trace frame is succesful, it
will send it's report to the same destinations as well.  While I
seriously doubt that MONICA lives, it may be that someone pirated
some fragment of her code for analysis, similar to what we did to
develop the GNU utilities. I suspect that the trace will lead to
some dark corner of the Vulcan system, if anywhere at all.  This
may be how the gentleman that assaulted Mr. Yoshida managed to get
anywhere in the AI business... ]<<<<< 
           -- Dark Elf <16:23:36/05-12-54>

>>>>>[Sorry to have been away so long, but I've been on assignment.
In fact, I believe that I may have some leads on the Yoshida
kidnapping/AI droid conspiracy, and my investigation assignment over
the next few months may unravel even more of it.  Here's what I've
learned: 
        
Meyers has been monitored by the FBI for some time. His high
position in corporate R&D made him a potential objective of a
Shadowrun on American soil. Meyers was known to associate with
Japanese corpskids who hung out in various coffeehouses, karaoke
bars, and laundromats all over Seattle. Some of these people were
later discovered to be members of the Yakuza. I suspect that Meyers
may have either deliberately told or let his tongue slip about his
theories on robotics and drone control. 
     
I rather doubt that Meyers was able to use the lab and resources on a
personal project; there was simply too much security and supervision
for him to risk such a high-profile task. Rather, I believe that the
Yakuza, suspecting what he was up to, kidnapped him and his
equipment, possibly with inside help. How does Yoshida fit into this?
I believe I have a lead. 
     
One of the Yak contacts Meyers had was Kinziru Asai, an
up-and-coming junior Suit in Renraku. His uncle is Ikaru Tokugawa,
a high-level oyabun in the Ginsu clan. While no evidence of
criminal activity exists on Asai, the FBI, Interpol, and Lone Star
have monitored the activities of him and his minions for years.
Tokugawa and Yoshida were once business partners; Yoshida had the
vision while Tokugawa had the financial backing of the clan. It is
unknown as to whether or not Yoshida was aware of Tokugawa's Yakuza
connections, or if Tokugawa was aware that Yoshida was an Eagle
shaman. It is likely that one or both facts were unknown, because
it seems that Yoshida made a sudden break with Tokugawa and started
Yoshida Tech some years later without Tokugawa's raid. Contacts of
mine in Interpol say that the break coincides nicely with what
could be called a 'lull' in Tokugawa's criminal career, in which he
lost a hand (which has not since been replaced). 
     
My investigation over the next few months is to find Tokugawa. We are
currently attempting to trap him for supplying arms to that bizaare
policlub in Texas that activated a sub-kiloton range nuclear device
when Federal agents moved in. More information is pending.]<<<<<
     -- Cooper <15:50:20/5-12-54>

>>>>>[ Speaking of militaries and navies. Have any of you noticed
that the St. Petersburg ArmEx is way up. C14, standard ammo, and
small arms purchses are way up. So is Ares and Aztechnology stock --
but strangely not ant Japanese arm s companies. Well a friend of mine
says he checked out who was clearing the nuy en for these purchases
and apparently alot of the scrip is going through Jamar Commerzbank -
a small north indian bank that handles special accounts - most no
tably anti-japanese businessmen and organizations. I think that the
Japanese are looking at another (and better armed) SouthEast Asia
rebellion. The Beijing Economic Zone has long wanted total
independence. --- And heres the best part, if the Imperial Japanese
Armed Forces are stuck putting out fires in SE Asia, the California
Free State is wide open. We all know that the Japanese marine
garrison down there could not withstand a serious assault, and we
know that Californians are itching to be rid of the Japanese, I think
the UCAS will take any opportunity to get back California - as a
Reintergrationist I'm all for this.  "Go put another star back on
the ole flag, Mrs. Ross"]<<<<< 
       -- KHANx(18:07:03/5.12.54)

>>>>>[This OrganFinder case is getting away from me. After dodging an
'mbush, and paying exorbinant rates to a freindly decker, I found out
some pretty inten se stuff. First, all the "unexpectedy" dead people
were artists - musicians, writers, painters, etc... also they were
being escorted by women from an exclu- sive club called Lady
Maddonna's Inn. Yes it is a high priced brothel, and its clients are
extremely exclusive (as the Club Fee is Y50,000 per year for member
ship only). Lady Maddonna is a known associate of Vincenzo Curaozos
the famous south american hitman - now major crime boss. Moreover,
OrganFinder has records recording receivership of bodies . . . but no
sale or dismemberment files. According to the Medical Salvage Act of
2044 they have to keep genotype records and tests. Strangely enough,
Sony seems to be a majority owner of OrganFinder and they owned the
contract to market most of these guys Multimedia Creations. I don't
know, all this really smells. Anybody have an idea ? That last guy
that dropped dead was a BioPharmaceutical Artiste. Gotta do some more
digging]<<<<< 
       -- KHANx(18:17:21/5.12.54)

>>>>>[ Sorry I have been away for so long but things came up that
called me away for a while.  Now that I am back I can finish telling
you about what happened at the wedding.

With the giving and receiving of the gifts, most of the major
wedding things had been done.  All there was left to do was for the
bride and groom to lead of the first dance to get the true wedding
reception going. 

Since Sheena was a member of the wedding party (meaning she wasn't
allowed to do the first dance) we had decided to go with Nexus's
idea and have the band BloodRun, who would be opening on the tour
for Sheena, do the honours of entertaining our guests.  They
started out with a beautiful rendition of "unchained melodies". 
CRUSH led Spirit out on the dance floor.  It was unbelievable just
how graceful he did it to.  I was amazed at how they both just
seemed to glide across, I had never seen CRUSH so smooth.  About
half way through the song the rest of the wedding party began to
join them starting with join them starting with Claw and CB.  It
was very comical watching the twins Tommy and Brittany dance
togther, they did fairly well for 2 years olds. Lister was even a
gentleman when he took me out on the floor.  When they song ended,
the band struck up another song, but this time it was for everyone.
Nightfox and Sheena started dancing together so that Raven could
dance with Nightstalker and Nexus with Roxy.  The good doctor Doom
gracefully took the floor with his beautiful wife.  Even Slash and
Diana took the floor.  With the party now entering full swing the
tired bride and groom went to take a small break away from the
spotlight. 

The party progressed nicely, and as we though, soon the the good
Doctor was receiving many requests for waltzes.  Even Spirit came
back after a while to share a dance with her fellow decker.  I must
say that the Doctor is just a wonder to waltz with, he gives of
such an arua of nobility it practically sweeps you of your feet. 
Not to be left out, his lady was asked to dance by  Nightfox, Dark
Elf and a host of other gentlemen. 

Some of the interesting sites on the floor during the night would
have had to have been Nexus and Roxy who just never seemed to be
seperated and Sharice and Norm.  It seems that the girl took a
liking to the young executive who had a hard getting away from her
to dance with his old friend DOA.  I personally was rather
surprised at how much CB and Buzz danced, he just seems so aloof.
Nightfox, our resident stick in the mud, even danced alot with
various people like Cerise, DOA, Jaez, Dancer and myself; he seemed
rather determined to stay away from both Sharice and Dirty Angel. 

As the night went on many people got up to join the band and help
entertain the party.  Both Sheena and Nexus joined BloodRun on
differemt occasions and once theny did a great rock and roll
duet.   Buzz even went up to the mic with his friend Shadow to do
some Don Henley and some Simon and Garfunkle.  Nightfox surprised
everyone when he decided (after much shoving) to sing two ancient
Speretheil, he must have one of the most beautifully clear voices I
have ever heard.  He could never sing Rock and Roll, but the music
he does sing seems so pure and beautiful it can almost break your
heart.  After about an hour Spirit and CRUSH returned to the party,
they had finally slipped out of their wedding cloths and into ones
much more suited to dancing.  With Spirit back, we had our group of
hopping women back in action and ready to do some serious dancing.
Having the old friends Spirit, CB and Sheena along with the new
ones namely myself and Jaez was exillerating, we even mananged to
drag Raven around with us as we ransacked the dance floor. 

The reception lasted well into the wee hours of the morning.  At
first the guest seemed to be getting tired but when CRUSH drug out
his new Espresso Machine everyone perked right back up again.

Well I believe that that is about all to tell about the wedding from
my point of view.  I hope that its a pretty good overview for those
of you who could not attend.  No one else will really be posting much
if anything about the wedding since we have to get ready for Sheena's
tour and Spirit and CRUSH are on their honeymoon to some unspecified
place.  In fact all I believe they did was for Spirit to deck into a
travel agency and schedule them on some type of week long vacation to
a little hide away in the Caribean.  We will all be on the road by
Monday next week, along with BloodRun and the likes of Slash, Buzz
and Diana. Nexus and Roxy will also be joining us after they get back
from their little trip, they said they would be back before we left.

So I guess this is bye until late this summer or early coming fall
when we our done with the tour and vacation.  Bye all.]<<<<<
        -- Kichanski <2:58:23/05-12-54>

>>>>>[ It's so sad to see you guys go.  Bye Crush, Spirit, Nightfox,
Lister, Sheena, Kickanski, Circuit Breaker and Claw.  Have lots and
lots of fun on the tour.  I hope its a great success.  ]<<<<<
        -- Raven the Mage <20:57:55/05-12-54>

>>>>>[ Don't get yourself all worked up, Raven.  If you really start
to miss them we can snatch a plane to their next concert and
fabricate some tickets or maybe they'll give us back stage passes
(they better). ]<<<<< 
        -- Nightstalker <20:59:40/05-12-54>

>>>>>[ You two have been pretty quite lately.  What have you been up
to?  (Wink, Wink, Nudge, Nudge) ]<<<<<
        -- Cerise <9:00:00/05-12-54>

>>>>>[ It's a secret.  We will let you know in a day or two. ]<<<<<
        -- Raven the Mage >9:01:25/05-12-54>

>>>>>[ Ah, yes, the wonderful world of organlegging.  Sorry, KHANx,
but someone's been feeding you a line: The people that OrganFinders
serves already have vatgrown organs waiting for them, accroding to
OF's client file cross-referenced with Doc Wagon and UCAS Medical. So
they aren't going out and finding organs for people who can afford to
have them vatgrown.

What are they doing?  I checked into their research files and it
seems they've been digging into the RNA-skill-learning biosystem. 
Couldn't get too far because I was Traced not soon after.  Heh. 
Let's find out what happens when they find out their Trace is
official UCAS Federal line.  God, I love having a security
clearance. ]<<<<< 
        -- uplink <01:44:36/05-13-54>

>>>>>[ Congratulations, Uplink, you just managed to blow the entire
operation. ]<<<<<
        -- Morley <black/blacker>

>>>>>[You were right. After a little digging I came up with the same
essential stuff. Phew! think 'bout it - being able to recreate
skill-learning and creativ ity processes. I still don't know exactly
how. The Biotech and CyberInfo stuff is a little above my usual.
Still theres something missing - I found out Sony was looking for
their artists as much as me. More Importantly, where are these
people. Also I found a connection to the Brotherhood of the Black
Lotus, appare ntly they have connections to OrganFinder, and
especially the Admin. there. Now everybody knows that the Black
Lotus gang works guns and cyber - not Entertainm ent. Why are they
in on this. Also while staking out Lady Maddonna's I noticed a pair
of night blue Chevy Thunders (one out back, one in front) doing a
simila r stakeout - they didn't see me. So O.K. who uses night blue
Chevy Thunders as company cars - not the Black Lotus, not Sony, not
OrganFinder - so who is the new player ??? And whats he up to???
Anybody got an idea ???]<<<<< 
       -- KHANx(9:02:07/5.13.54)

>>>>>[Marriage, who gets married in the Shadows?!?! I've skimming the
Shadows for a while now. My chummers and I have made serious money.
Got it invested in more ventures than I have digits.  One of the best
Fixer/Deckers is the Sprawl is doing the investing - good returns and
all that. But marriage ?! You gotta be pretty cocky to do that. Ever
notice that your pals tend to get leaked - its the business we're in.
Since the Countess got fragged by a corp combat mage I've realized
that love is a damn luxury - much less marriage. This is only the
second time I've heard anybody in the Shadows get married - The first
is Lord Jeff and Sleek - and everybody knows there outta the business
for good. A Border Barony in the Tir allows you to do that. Good
Luck, I wish you guys the best, but man - you sure your going to be
around all that long.  Kinda stinks when survival has narrowed your
field of vision down to what I got. Powerful Enemies can do that
(even if you have Powerful Friends). Guess maybe some peopl e are
lucky enough to get happy endings. A fireball killed mine.]<<<<<
     -- KHANx(09:16:11/5.13.54)

>>>>>[  Hey DE, when did you start smoking again???? ]<<<<<
           -- Big Jake <13:42:31/05-13-54>

>>>>>[  I didn't, I needed to get some more data on Alpaca
cigarettes, so I bought a pack.  I'm sending tobacco, paper, and
filter samples to a good chemist I know.  I told him that a friend
of mine thinks that someone has been lacing his smokes with drugs. 
I told him to look for anything unusal. I've also started examining
the packaging.  They have a rather elaborate logo of some kind of
furry quadruped with a cigarette on the front of the pack.  On the
back is an "Alpaca bonus coupon" that has an inverted eye in the
pyramid logo, similar to that found on old pre-awakening dollar
bills. 

It's a catchy logo, just like their ads, but I don't see anything
strange yet. 

Right now I'm more worried about Meyers, there's no telling what a
renegade psycho lab rat with Yakuza connections could do if he had
a substantial piece of MONICA code...I think we'll be staying in
Seattle until we have a better idea of what he's up to. ]<<<<<
          --Dark Elf <13:48:53/05-13-54>

>>>>>[ Well, at least you're not smoking them, putting up with
Cowboy's hand rolled cigs is bad enough!  Those things stink!]<<<<< 
          -- Big Jake <13:49:50/05-13-54>

>>>>>[ Ah heard that pardner!  And ah resent that.  Muh hand rolled
smokes smell much better than those dang machine packaged things.

An interestin' thing happened ta me today.  Ah was down at one of
the local waterin' holes an hour ago fer some lunch an firewater. 
After a few soyburgers ah rolled muhself a smoke an lit up, when
this elf comes up ta me an asks me fer a smoke.  Ah pulled out muh
papers and muh tobbaco pouch, an he said "forget it, it ain't an
alpaca."  Ah thought it was interestin, especially after that
message showed up in yer emailbox DE...]<<<<< 
          -- Cowboy <13:54:32/05-13-54>

>>>>>[  Hey man, if we're gonna be stuck in Seattle for a while,
does anyone mind if I have the Battlevan flown over?  I mean, we do
have the NuYen for it, and if this Meyers guy keeps this up, we may
need it. ]<<<<< 
          -- OddBall <13:55:59/05-13-54>

>>>>>[  I suppose you trust your friend Jamie with the keys long
enough to drive it to the airport???  Well, it's your van, but
don't complain if Jamie manages to wreck it, or do something stupid
like fire the MMG with the back ramp still up.  I'm sure that we
can find something acceptable around here for you to drive.  It may
take a few days if you want any guns mounted though. How about a
nice rigged station wagon, or a limo... ]<<<<< 
           -- Napalm <14:00:27/05-13-54>

>>>>>[ OK OK, I'll get another car!!!!!  I'll need a rigged Bison
with a 12 cylinder high performance engine, a 6 speed transmission
with a tall 3rd and 6th gear, computer regulated Nitrous feed, a
drop down front chassis mounted LMG with plenty of ammo, hmm, I'll
need extended shocks and a jacked up wheel base to clear the LMG
from the road, a bottom rear spike dropper, a drop down rear troop
ramp instead of the normal rear doors, a rear mounted MMG in the
cargo bay, aimed at the ramp, an active/passive radar and ECM
suite, a set of coolant wraps to reduce heat signature, an extra
pair of high power halogen lamps, both front and rear, and a top
mounted retractable turret with a mounted AVM launcher.  OH! and
don't forget a really good stereo with six high imaging alpine
speakers! ]<<<<< 
           -- OddBall <14:11:11/05-13-54>

>>>>>[  You've got to be kidding!!!! The other van doesn't even have
half that stuff!!!  You always used to say "Keep it simple, and let
your skill do the rest"!!!!  The only reason you added a second MG to
the old van was because you were getting tired of running people
over!  Get real, we'll get you what we can and you can play with it
later! ]<<<<< 
           -- Big Jake <14:13:47/05-13-54>

>>>>>[ Well...Dare to dream ]<<<<<
           -- OddBall <14:14:18/05-13-54>

***** Well my friends I do believe that this shall be farewell not
only for myself but also for my compatriots.  We shall be much to
busy after this to write to shadowland.  We shall miss hearing from
you people while we on the tour so if any of you stop by while we are
in a different city give us a call. I do believe that you are all
runners the skill needed to get us a message. Also we should
recognize many of you on sight, so getting back stage should not be
hard. 

Dark Elf, one of the shows will be in New York City, though I do not
know the date, nor do I know where to look for it in this mess here
at Sheena's.  When we do come into town, we will try and find you to
give you free tickets and backstage passes.

To all of you in Seattle, it shall be our first block on the tour
and the concert is Sunday.  Sheena says that invites should be
reaching all of you with addresses or boxes that she knows,
everyone else will have to look for one of us.  CRUSH will be at
the back door for a lot of the time before the show. We think that
he shall be very effective, no one ever seems to bother him. I will
be doing a lot of the running around since I cannot handle the loud
noises of concerts very well. 

We will miss all of you so if you happen to be in a city were Sheena
is playing please come to see us.*****
        -- Nightfox < Aluve, My friends, good life to you >

>>>>>[ Dark Elf, et. al., 
For future reference, I'd be more than willing to offer my services
as a chemist (among other skills) should need further help on the
Alpaca query. I'm new to town, and short on nuyen. You know the
story. Let me know if your corp chem geek doesn't come through.
        -- Gryphon k'Shay <14:31:18/05-13-54>

>>>>>[ Oddball: I think we could work out some arrangement whereby
you could rent one of mine (lord knows, I couldn't possibly use them
all at once) for a bit.  I think that we could come to some sort of
agreement. I don't think that I should have many worries about
someone like you using my equipment, seeing how well you handled the
Omega thing. ]<<<<< 
        -CoHort <18:30:45/05-13-54>

>>>>>[ Hi y'all.  Well, it's a week after the party and the weddin'
and I still hain't posted the transcript yet.  Now, you can all yell
at me, and I deserve it, too.  But things happening around here have
kinda limited my time toward the Matrix and all.  What with the
weddin', Dancer's giving me little hints about having our own little
ceremony.  Myself, I think she was impressed by all the gifts CRUSH &
Spirit got, and wants to get some of the action.  But I don't think
she's one for marriage.  Too much of a free spirit, that gal.  But
enough there, I also got RL troubles that keep me busy too, so my
access time is limited.  But I should have the transcript on the
bachelor party back to me soon; I gave it to a friend of mine to
"tidy up" so it looks real pretty for y'all.  Well, I gotta run,
Dancer's wanting me for something. ]<<<<< 
        -- Steel Stringer <Riding that/buckin' bronc>

>>>>>[Well, everyone, this is Jaez. I'm logged on remotely from a
train bound for Kansas. I'm looking for job opportunities there. I
log on from there as soon as I can, but for now I must bid thee
farewell. Keep in touch, Raven, and good luck with your new beau :)
and Circuit  Breaker, I'll meet you in Tiffany's as soon as you're
back. Bye for now.]<<<<< 
        -- Jaez <21:27:23/5-13-54>

>>>>>[ Activity has been decreasing considerably during the last few
days, perhaps it is the coming summer season that is the cause;  so
many seem to be departing for vacation or other endeavors which take
them from Seattle.  Still, there are topics to comment upon:

Herr KHANx, you raise a valid point.  Love and marriage can prove to
be liabilities to those who operate within the shadows;  however,
discourage not those who do decide to engage in such activity.  Many
feel, as do I, that the benefits of love are such that it is a risk
worth undertaking.  Although it is considerably rarer among
shadowrunners than in the "normal" populace.  Most fear the
obligations that marriage, much less love, entails.  Others view it
as a disadvantage, an avenue by which one may be injured indirectly.
Nevertheless, such perilous possibilities aside, it is always quite
heartening when two individuals have been able to share so noble a
emotion as love, and chose to consummate it in the act of marriage.

Admittedly, I awaited a time when the intensity of my career allowed
for such commitments.  I have retired from truly active, intense
shadowrunning, as I have other obligations to fulfill, not the least
of which is time with my soulmate.

Dark Elf, you offer your sincere thanks to the designer of the
memorial?  As I believe I mentioned in the description, I served as
actual designer;  your words of praise are well appreciated.  As I
believe Hangtime pointed out following its presentation, it was
obvious I was behind its construction it considering the quote from
Henry V upon the plaque;  nevertheless, I feel it an expression of
appropriate and valid sentiment. 

Kichansky:  It is my hope you shall read this previous to embarking
upon your journey, however, I wish to point out, and I feel it was
not made sufficiently clear, that I was the artist who painted the
portrait of the newlyweds, Spirit & CRUSH.  Basically, such ability
can only be ascribed to my mother, who, when I was quite young,
insisted that I be instructed in the various forms of artistic
expression. 

My compliments to the host and organizers of the wedding, 'twas
truly a first-rate celebration and ceremony.  And my thanks to my
MANY dance partners, with particular emphasis on Jaez (to her
considerable credit, she did NOT forget her lessons).  Also, my
wife expressed her wish that I thank the gracious gentlemen who
danced with her...although the names elude me at the moment. ]<<<<<
                -- Doctor Doom <01:49:29/14-MAY-54>

>>>>>[ Got word back from the chemist I know.  According to him, some
compounds that are normally just traces in most cigarettes are in
slightly higher concentrations in Alpacas, but nothing really
unusual.  I think I'm going to investigate the packaging better
next.]<<<<< 
           -- Dark Elf <13:14:13/05-14-54>

>>>>>[ snif, What's that smell???  DE, you didn't actually smoke one
of those things, did you???? ]<<<<<
           -- Big Jake <13:15:00/05-14-54>

>>>>>[ Well, just one. ]<<<<<
           -- Dark Elf <13:15:26/05-14-54>

>>>>>[ Heh!  Need a light???  It is my specialty... ]<<<<<
           -- Napalm <13:17:24/05-14-54>

>>>>>[ Hmm, CoHort offering me a car to use, hmmm.  Well CoHort,
give me another day to look around then I'll get back to you.  Jake
kinda threatened to rip my arms out if I picked up a high profile
urban combat vehicle, so I need something that seats about 5 or six
comfortably, with some cargo room. I'd prefer something with a
concealed mounted MMG, just one for close encounters.  What I need
should be more inconspicuous than in the combat gumby class. 
Something like a station wagon or a lower profile limo that doesn't
stick out in traffic too much, but handles well enough for most
minor chases. Thanks for the offer.  If I can't find anything by
tomorrow, you may have yourself a deal chummer! ]<<<<< 
           -- OddBall <13:23:18/05-14-54>

>>>>>[ I wonder if I can put off the Alpaca investigation until we
can find Meyers, I'd feel kinda responsible if he really did have a
piece of MONICA code.  After all, I am on the crash of '54 memorial
statue, it wouldn't be in good taste to leave a loose end like that
lying around. ]<<<<< 
           -- Dark Elf <13:26:20/05-14-54>

>>>>>[ Mr. Yoshida, I could use a little bit of business advice.  I
admit that when I return to New York I intend to purchase a few
shares of Yoshida Tech, but that has nothing to do with what I have
in mind.  I'll be sending you a bonded courier message with the
pertinent information.  Basically I have a few questions concerning
laws governing the formation of small businesses...

The Trace frame I sent out a few days ago just reported back.  It
was able to narrow the search down to a portion of the Seattle grid
then got caught in an infinite reference loop between two BBS
servers.  The subgrid in question does include a system belonging
to the R&D department of Vulcan.  Meyers may be responsible for the
open port, but I have no way of confirming at this time. You have
the record of the open port already, and the trace report.  the
evidence does not rule out Meyer's involvement, but does not
confirm it either. Someone is going to have to locate Mr. Meyers to
get anything conclusive. ]<<<< 
           --Dark Elf <13:43:52/05-14-54>

>>>>>[ Hi, everybody!  Sorry we haven't been around much lately, but
Raven and I have been a little busy.  I'll let her give you the
details, then I'll tell you a little info I picked up about
Vulcan.]<<<<< 
        -- Nightstalker <11:37:19/05-14-54>

>>>>>[ Snif... Jaez is gone.  I hope her acting career picks up. 
She really loved the idea of being a star.  I'm going to miss
having her around.  Still things are picking up for me.

On monday my private investigators licence came through!  I've been
working on getting one for months.  That's what Nightstalker and
myself have been working on, setting up my detective agency.  It's
called Nightwing Restorations.  It should keep us pretty busy for now
on.  But don't worry, we're not going to fall off the net totally.
We'll just have to check in less often. ]<<<<< 
        -- Raven the Mage <11:42:48/05-14-54>

>>>>>[ Isn't this just grand?  I've got a real paying job.  But lets
get to the important stuff, Meyers and Vulcan.  While Dark Elf was
tracing that open I/O port, I decided to go straight to Vulcan and
check up on what Meyers was doing. Guess what I found?  Almost
nothing.  In fact, I scanned almost the entire system before I
found out anything at all.  There were records about Meyers working
late and everything, but not the least bit of incrimidating
evidence until I looked into the security files. 

It happens to be that two days after Meyers apparent death, his
supervisor filed a report that a large quanitity of robotics parts
along with all of Meyers' personal notes and items had been
stolen.  This surprised the hell out of security since there had
been no security breeches.  And inventory was done and it said that
nothing was missing!  The supervisor was told to be more careful
and the matter was dropped.  Reading this I decided to go look at
the inventory and camera logs of that period. 

The inventory looked fine so I when on to the camera records.  I
copied the records and ran a high powered graphics anaylizer on
them and found something that is just amazing.  There was a slight
inconsistency in sections of the recording.  Certain areas of
sections had incorrect lighting or were missing little things.  By
analyzing this inconsistencies, I get what could only have been a
small team of runners penetrating the building. Somebody had
altered the camera files to remove people who were in plain view! 
I don't know how it was done or who did it, but it was a top notch
job.  If I hadn't been so supicious and ran that graphics
anaylizer, I never would have noticed it.  Now I've heard that
movie makers do very similar things, but they do them after the
film is made.  The only way security couldn't have noticed this was
if it was done in real time. 

Who ever Meyers is working with, they must have a superfast
mainframe and a kick ass decker.  Either that or..... I don't want
to think about that. ]<<<<< 
        -- Nightstalker <12:01:39/05-14-54>