Logs for ShadowRN and Associated Mailing Lists

From:	Paul J. Adam Shadowtk@********.demon.co.uk
Subject:	Aftermath
Date:	Tue, 22 Jun 1999 23:01:52 +0100

Message no. 1 *****PRIVATE: Vincenzo
>>>>>[Vinny, this is what we saw. File it.

And put some extra guys out on the streets. We could have about three
new sets of problems.

How's Beverly doing?

+++++begin video
The car swings around a corner: humanoid shapes scatter away from the
Westwind's powerful headlights. Other forms lie motionless in the light,
some of them glistening wetly.

"Ghouls." Mani mutters.

"Already? That's not good." Easy climbs out of the car, reaching back for
her _katana_ and attaching it to her coat. Mani unfolds the stock of her
AK, bracing it into her shoulder as she sweeps the night.

The garage either didn't burn, or long since burned out. The old concrete
building is dark and unlit, the steel roller door that served as main
entrance hanging in tatters. Easy probes the darkness with the flashlight
clamped under her CAR-15, counting bodies.

"I make it eight or nine uptowners, maybe twice that many local gangers.
Renegades and Stud Monkeys, a couple of Brass Necks. No vehicles, no
weapons."

"This is Hell's Kitchen, my lady. The bodies will have been picked clean. I
am surprised they are still clothed."

"Ripping off weapons, watches, credsticks is one thing. Do _you_ want to
stay and argue with the ghouls long enough to strip a dead guy of some
shot-up clothing?" Easy examines one dead man, one of the uptowners: hit
in the face and neck by shotgun fire, blood drying across his face. His
shoes are missing, and the back of one thigh has been gnawed almost
down to bone.

"Miiine..." whines a voice from the edge of the shadows. "Myyy food!"

"You can have them in a few minutes. We're just looking." Easy replies to
the form huddling just out of sight.

"Hungryyy. Good meat. Want _eat_!" the ghoul hisses.

Easy shrugs. "Go ahead, then. This one first." On that cue, three or four
ghouls scuttle out of the darkness, warily avoiding the two Elves, and
begin noisily feeding on the dead man.

"They are surprisingly intelligent." Mani comments, wrinkling her nose at
the stench.

"Round here, sure. Harley used to bountyhunt the feral ones, but this nest
are mostly fairly smart." Easy checks a couple more of the corpses. "Looks
like the gangers were badly outclassed. Some of them were shot in the
back, running."

"What of this one?" Mani nudges one corpse, rather well-chewed. Oddly,
this one has a set of socket wrenches by one outflung hand.

"We kill." one of the ghouls helpfully says. It's talking with its mouth full of
raw human flesh, which doesn't help its diction. "He come to sssteal, we
tell him go, he not go. We kill. We eat. Isss fair, we tell him go first, he
not go, he not good enough to fiiight.." The ghoul offers a grimace that
might be a smile, its blood-smeared lips pulling back from the jagged
teeth.

"Can't say fairer than that." Easy agrees. Out in Hell's Kitchen, it seems
ghouls are people too... or at least worthy of talking to. "Did any of you
see what happened?"

"Not see. Hear." The ghoul seems to think that's funny. "Many people
come. Outlanders, not from here, from Clean Town. Four cars. Large
cars. Perhapsss... more than ten?" The ghoul pauses for a few more
mouthfuls, hissing at a rival that had tried to get to the dead man's bicep.
"Loud bad noise. Cats run away from bad noise. Make our heads hurt.
Then, much shootings. Much noise. Explosions, loud noise fly overhead,
then just silent a while, just hurt ones crying. Other people come, kill the
hurt ones and steal. We wait for they finish, then come eat, then you
come. Then, now." The ghoul shrugs, goes back to its meal.

"She might well have escaped." Mani muses.

"Sounds like she did. Let's check the place anyway. Are there more
bodies?" Easy presses. One thing you can be sure of with ghouls, they're a
great help at sniffing out fresh corpses.

"Three, in building. Smell bad in there. You bring out?" The ghoul looks
hopeful.

"Sure, since you helped us..." Easy nods to Mani, and the two Elves move
into the ruined garage.

"Sounds like Harley had this planned." Easy ducks through the door, her
carbine looking for targers. The inside of Harley's garage is now a ruin of
twisted metal and scorched paint, nothing moving.

"The 'bad noise'. Ultrasound to drive the cats out?" Mani suggests.

"Yeah. She wasn't soft, but she liked the cats, wouldn't want them killed if
she could help it. So, a screamer to make them bolt, before either she or
the hit squad started shooting." Easy looks at the scattered debris: the
garage is thoroughly wrecked. "My guess is this was Harley, not them. She
saw she was outclassed and blew the place."

"The 'bad smell'. What do you think it might be?" Mani cautiously sniffs.
"My nostrils are still full of ghoul stench."

"Ammonia?" Easy suggests. "The place reeks of it. Seems Harley went with
ANFO for her demolitions." The narrow beam of the tactical light sweeps,
pausing on one shattered corpse: an uptowner, blown across the garage
and smashed against the wall. "There's one."

"I shall attend to it." Mani grabs the dead man, hauls him briskly outside
(the body leaves a glistening trail of blood, and lolls bonelessly).

Easy finds a second dead woman, sprawled against the supports for a car-
lift: another out-of-towner. The third body is in two pieces, cut in half by
a flying chunk of... something unidentifiable, large, heavy and sharp. It
looks male, and too tall to be Harley.

As Mani finishes matter-of-factly hauling the corpses out of the fume-
filled ruin, Easy tries the living quarters upstairs. The four rooms have a
curiously... vacant look, like a movie set left unattended a while. Dust has
settled on most surfaces.

"She wasn't here. Not living here. This was a decoy." Easy says to herself.

"My suspicion also. She laid a trap for her enemies." Mani replies, making
Easy jump: the Sufi might be tall and strongly built, but she's as light on
her feet as a cat. "Her motorcycle is missing, and I do not believe she left
upon it. Or that it would be easily stolen."

"Yeah. She set this place up as a trap, in case the Mafia decided to act on
their suspicions. The Mob ran straight into it, guns blazing, and Harley
blew them away and ran. Where does this leave us?"

"I would assume Harley has her own plans for escape. She did not speak to
me of such."

"Yeah. And she won't want to drop any of us in the drek. Right now, she's
got an entirely legitimate excuse for running, she could becompletely
innocent and the Mafia don't _know_ she was involved with Vegas. They
might guess but they don't know."

"And thus they must decide whether to risk pursuing her, perhaps to no
end and at some cost, or start their search anew."

"My guess is, they'll keep after her. How many other leads do they have?"
Easy asks.

"Few or none. They'll chase her because they lost a dozen heavy hitters.
Can't back down from that."

"What should we do?"

"Hope for the best, prepare for the worst." Easy sighs. "I thought life
would be easier once I was done working for the Feds."
+++++end video]<<<<<
-- Easy <22:56:43/06-22-60>

*****PRIVATE: Easy
>>>>>[Interesting stuff. I got a squatter swears he saw a Lobo LAV make
an emergency landing at Yeager Field. If that was Harley she's fairly safe.
Didn't know she _had_ the Lobo, if it was, but then I guess the whole
point of aces in the hole is that they're in a hole...

Oh, crap, that's how you got out of Vegas, isn't it? Yeah, it's nice and neat
when you look at it. If any of the Mob remembered that Harley was a
jammer, then that plus her limp might give her away.

You should be okay... so far. I'd prep for the worst anyway.

The gangs are pissed as hell. Powder keg time. They just lost the only
reliable repair shop in Hell's Kitchen, and whoever trashed it just made
some serious enemies.

Meanwhile, Descabiere just fired one of his _consigliores_ and had a bar-
and-brothel shot up in Lewis. Messy.

As for the fine Ms. May - she's in place, all set, ready to roll anytime. She
says she's okay for a while, but more than a month and she's likely to claw
someone's face off, which wouldn't help the Plan... so don't stop to sniff
the roses, 'kay?]<<<<<
-- Vincenzo <23:01:48/06-22-60>

From:	Paul J. Adam Shadowtk@********.demon.co.uk
Subject:	Aftermath
Date:	Tue, 22 Jun 1999 23:01:52 +0100

Message no. 2 *****PRIVATE: Vincenzo
>>>>>[Vinny, this is what we saw. File it.

And put some extra guys out on the streets. We could have about three
new sets of problems.

How's Beverly doing?

+++++begin video
The car swings around a corner: humanoid shapes scatter away from the
Westwind's powerful headlights. Other forms lie motionless in the light,
some of them glistening wetly.

"Ghouls." Mani mutters.

"Already? That's not good." Easy climbs out of the car, reaching back for
her _katana_ and attaching it to her coat. Mani unfolds the stock of her
AK, bracing it into her shoulder as she sweeps the night.

The garage either didn't burn, or long since burned out. The old concrete
building is dark and unlit, the steel roller door that served as main
entrance hanging in tatters. Easy probes the darkness with the flashlight
clamped under her CAR-15, counting bodies.

"I make it eight or nine uptowners, maybe twice that many local gangers.
Renegades and Stud Monkeys, a couple of Brass Necks. No vehicles, no
weapons."

"This is Hell's Kitchen, my lady. The bodies will have been picked clean. I
am surprised they are still clothed."

"Ripping off weapons, watches, credsticks is one thing. Do _you_ want to
stay and argue with the ghouls long enough to strip a dead guy of some
shot-up clothing?" Easy examines one dead man, one of the uptowners: hit
in the face and neck by shotgun fire, blood drying across his face. His
shoes are missing, and the back of one thigh has been gnawed almost
down to bone.

"Miiine..." whines a voice from the edge of the shadows. "Myyy food!"

"You can have them in a few minutes. We're just looking." Easy replies to
the form huddling just out of sight.

"Hungryyy. Good meat. Want _eat_!" the ghoul hisses.

Easy shrugs. "Go ahead, then. This one first." On that cue, three or four
ghouls scuttle out of the darkness, warily avoiding the two Elves, and
begin noisily feeding on the dead man.

"They are surprisingly intelligent." Mani comments, wrinkling her nose at
the stench.

"Round here, sure. Harley used to bountyhunt the feral ones, but this nest
are mostly fairly smart." Easy checks a couple more of the corpses. "Looks
like the gangers were badly outclassed. Some of them were shot in the
back, running."

"What of this one?" Mani nudges one corpse, rather well-chewed. Oddly,
this one has a set of socket wrenches by one outflung hand.

"We kill." one of the ghouls helpfully says. It's talking with its mouth full of
raw human flesh, which doesn't help its diction. "He come to sssteal, we
tell him go, he not go. We kill. We eat. Isss fair, we tell him go first, he
not go, he not good enough to fiiight.." The ghoul offers a grimace that
might be a smile, its blood-smeared lips pulling back from the jagged
teeth.

"Can't say fairer than that." Easy agrees. Out in Hell's Kitchen, it seems
ghouls are people too... or at least worthy of talking to. "Did any of you
see what happened?"

"Not see. Hear." The ghoul seems to think that's funny. "Many people
come. Outlanders, not from here, from Clean Town. Four cars. Large
cars. Perhapsss... more than ten?" The ghoul pauses for a few more
mouthfuls, hissing at a rival that had tried to get to the dead man's bicep.
"Loud bad noise. Cats run away from bad noise. Make our heads hurt.
Then, much shootings. Much noise. Explosions, loud noise fly overhead,
then just silent a while, just hurt ones crying. Other people come, kill the
hurt ones and steal. We wait for they finish, then come eat, then you
come. Then, now." The ghoul shrugs, goes back to its meal.

"She might well have escaped." Mani muses.

"Sounds like she did. Let's check the place anyway. Are there more
bodies?" Easy presses. One thing you can be sure of with ghouls, they're a
great help at sniffing out fresh corpses.

"Three, in building. Smell bad in there. You bring out?" The ghoul looks
hopeful.

"Sure, since you helped us..." Easy nods to Mani, and the two Elves move
into the ruined garage.

"Sounds like Harley had this planned." Easy ducks through the door, her
carbine looking for targers. The inside of Harley's garage is now a ruin of
twisted metal and scorched paint, nothing moving.

"The 'bad noise'. Ultrasound to drive the cats out?" Mani suggests.

"Yeah. She wasn't soft, but she liked the cats, wouldn't want them killed if
she could help it. So, a screamer to make them bolt, before either she or
the hit squad started shooting." Easy looks at the scattered debris: the
garage is thoroughly wrecked. "My guess is this was Harley, not them. She
saw she was outclassed and blew the place."

"The 'bad smell'. What do you think it might be?" Mani cautiously sniffs.
"My nostrils are still full of ghoul stench."

"Ammonia?" Easy suggests. "The place reeks of it. Seems Harley went with
ANFO for her demolitions." The narrow beam of the tactical light sweeps,
pausing on one shattered corpse: an uptowner, blown across the garage
and smashed against the wall. "There's one."

"I shall attend to it." Mani grabs the dead man, hauls him briskly outside
(the body leaves a glistening trail of blood, and lolls bonelessly).

Easy finds a second dead woman, sprawled against the supports for a car-
lift: another out-of-towner. The third body is in two pieces, cut in half by
a flying chunk of... something unidentifiable, large, heavy and sharp. It
looks male, and too tall to be Harley.

As Mani finishes matter-of-factly hauling the corpses out of the fume-
filled ruin, Easy tries the living quarters upstairs. The four rooms have a
curiously... vacant look, like a movie set left unattended a while. Dust has
settled on most surfaces.

"She wasn't here. Not living here. This was a decoy." Easy says to herself.

"My suspicion also. She laid a trap for her enemies." Mani replies, making
Easy jump: the Sufi might be tall and strongly built, but she's as light on
her feet as a cat. "Her motorcycle is missing, and I do not believe she left
upon it. Or that it would be easily stolen."

"Yeah. She set this place up as a trap, in case the Mafia decided to act on
their suspicions. The Mob ran straight into it, guns blazing, and Harley
blew them away and ran. Where does this leave us?"

"I would assume Harley has her own plans for escape. She did not speak to
me of such."

"Yeah. And she won't want to drop any of us in the drek. Right now, she's
got an entirely legitimate excuse for running, she could becompletely
innocent and the Mafia don't _know_ she was involved with Vegas. They
might guess but they don't know."

"And thus they must decide whether to risk pursuing her, perhaps to no
end and at some cost, or start their search anew."

"My guess is, they'll keep after her. How many other leads do they have?"
Easy asks.

"Few or none. They'll chase her because they lost a dozen heavy hitters.
Can't back down from that."

"What should we do?"

"Hope for the best, prepare for the worst." Easy sighs. "I thought life
would be easier once I was done working for the Feds."
+++++end video]<<<<<
-- Easy <22:56:43/06-22-60>

*****PRIVATE: Easy
>>>>>[Interesting stuff. I got a squatter swears he saw a Lobo LAV make
an emergency landing at Yeager Field. If that was Harley she's fairly safe.
Didn't know she _had_ the Lobo, if it was, but then I guess the whole
point of aces in the hole is that they're in a hole...

Oh, crap, that's how you got out of Vegas, isn't it? Yeah, it's nice and neat
when you look at it. If any of the Mob remembered that Harley was a
jammer, then that plus her limp might give her away.

You should be okay... so far. I'd prep for the worst anyway.

The gangs are pissed as hell. Powder keg time. They just lost the only
reliable repair shop in Hell's Kitchen, and whoever trashed it just made
some serious enemies.

Meanwhile, Descabiere just fired one of his _consigliores_ and had a bar-
and-brothel shot up in Lewis. Messy.

As for the fine Ms. May - she's in place, all set, ready to roll anytime. She
says she's okay for a while, but more than a month and she's likely to claw
someone's face off, which wouldn't help the Plan... so don't stop to sniff
the roses, 'kay?]<<<<<
-- Vincenzo <23:01:48/06-22-60>

From:	Paul J. Adam Shadowtk@********.demon.co.uk
Subject:	Aftermath
Date:	Mon, 21 Feb 2000 22:08:27 +0000

Message no. 3 *****INTERNAL: Dogpatch Archive
>>>>>[+++++begin video
Lynch flips back the lid of the flat box, inhales the steam that rises.
"Ahhh..." He quickly cuts the pizza (an 18" deep-pan special with, it
seems, just about every Meat(TM)-based topping that Luigi's Delivery
Company offer.

"I hope you clean that." Lilith emerges from the bathroom, drying her
hair: even in jeans and a T-shirt she's striking. She's referring to the
heavy, clip-pointed handblade that her husband is using to slice the pizza
with.

"Of course. Wouldn't want to be accused of chemical warfare, if I inject
someone with... artificial mycoprotein-based cheese-flavoured processed
foodstuffs." He laughs, but he does carefully wipe the blade's edge before
folding it back into his wrist. Lilith sits beside him on the motel room's
double bed, and pops the foil top off a carafe of red wine.

"Good mission." Lynch muses, after they've both made some of the pizza
disappear. "Almost too easy."

"Because we had the right tools for the job. The right people, too." Lilith
sips her wine. "So, we sign and seal the plan?"

"That when Mitchell finishes his tour with Small Boat Unit Twelve, he gets
to be Bughunter-General for the Seattle 'plex? Yep. After all, the
flamethrower tank was his idea." Lynch nods. "I just wanted to take him
out on a check ride first."

"Think you'll miss it?"

"Bughunting? Not on your life!" He shakes his head so vigorously he nearly
spills his wine. "One of the jobs I'm happy to pass the baton on. Same goes
for being Aunt Sally for the Bad Guys. I did my tour, someone else can
handle it."

"Which brings me to the other matter at hand. Malone."

Lynch sighs. "Yeah, our pal Seamus. Well, once we finish interrogating
Cesare and Regan, we turn them over to the Feds for due legal process.
Cesare will either get life plus twenty, or he'll cut a deal. Regan will get
five to ten, out in three if he behaves. His men... a lot will walk or get
suspended sentences, just weapons charges. Some of them killed a bunch
of Federal officers, but prove that in court."

"And Malone himself?" Lilith presses. "What's the plan there? Or do we have
one?"

"_We_ don't. We're not going anywhere near Vegas. They made Easy, Mani
and Harley out of our team. You have to figure they backtracked enough
to finger all of us. Okay, they couldn't track down Innocenta and Serpent,
but if we show a thumbprint or a retina or a DNA sample there..."

"True. They'd be all over us before we were out of the airport. Before we
made it to the baggage carousel, even." Lilith concedes. "So, do we call it
a day at that? Malone still free, but out of pocket and out of the UCAS?"

"As far as you and I are concerned, yes." Lynch says after some thought.
"We've got enough other issues to deal with. We closed EMERALD PAYBACK
down: if Jane or anyone else on high wants Malone dragged back to the
UCAS in chains, they can put together a mission and a plan and a budget
and _then_ invite us."

"Budgets! Jason, you're turning into a suit."

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in why don't you?" The Marine laughs ruefully. "I
preferred being a lieutenant. Someone else handled all the paperwork. As
an O-2 I wasn't expected to know any better. But now I'm a Major and I'm
_still_ filing paperwork about when we caught Cesare."

"Oh, that FAA puke Waggans?" Lilith sighs. "Toad used to handle his
whining. Wish we still had him."

"Yeah, well, three years with us was a long tour, and he's only got so many
flying years ahead of him, so you couldn't expect him to turn down a
TACAIR assignment on the _Hutchisson_. Meanwhile, with the mission
closed, so's the money tap."

The stunning shapeshifter nods. "So, Malone crawls into a hole and we slap
his nose any time he sticks it our way. Mitchell takes on the bughunter
duty. I do believe we're making ourselves dispensible."

"We always were. We were just high-profile. That, we can fix." Lynch
finishes his wine. "Get back to the training and instruction mission, for
SOCOM."

"And for ourselves...?" Lilith sounds warily expectant.

"You told me, a while ago, that the Conjunction was going to be a bigger
problem than we originally thought, and that Nar'moh'ach was just one
part of it. Still true?"

"More than ever. General Diennes was part of a cult. Kryzdanovich tripped
over, and managed to take out, a group of Cthuga-worshipping
pyromaniacs. Quinn and her friends found those cultists in Britain. We're
facing a surge. It would be... useful if we had more time spare, to work
on it." Lilith shivers, dappled fur rippling over her exposed skin for a
second.

"So, we work on that. Should keep us busy, and out of the spotlight."
Lynch grins. "Not exactly safe, but better than the last few years."

"Too true." His wife nods. Where she's leaning forwards, Lynch suddenly
slaps a hand down on top of hers: she reacts at once, whipping her hand
out from under his fingers and clapping down onto his digits. He retaliates
in like vein, and for a few seconds they're frantically batting and slapping
at each other's hand before Lilith seizes her husband's wrist in both hands
and _bites_ - then freezes, and turns her huge dark-blue eyes on him,
then apologetically licks his hand a few times.
+++++end video

Let's hope we picked a better time to retire.]<<<<<
-- Lynch <22:08:47/02-21-61>

From:	James Dening james@************.force9.co.uk
Subject:	Aftermath
Date:	Wed, 8 Mar 2000 12:32:36 -0000

Message no. 4 *****INTERNAL: Diary,
>>>>>[+++++begin recording

Christ, I'm still buzzed from that....It's been barely an hour since I wiped
out most of the senior Capos in the town and JESUS I feel good!

Hang on, I know.....

<fx: A tearing of paper, followed by a snort, another one and a gasp>

Fuck, that's better...Nice of Don Seamus to leave his stash here...

Right, diary, listen up...gotta keep this momentum going - at the moment
my boy's are cementing my place here - none of this softly softly shit - just
kill any fragger who gets in the way.

And then onto business - I'm not making the same mistake my predecessor
did.

There's a problem in my life, and I want it gone. And what I want, from now on,
I get.

Time get on the phone, I think.
+++++end Autorecord]<<<<<
-- Don Joey "Bang Bang" Cibarolo <11:22:13/03-08-60>

*****PRIVATE: Felipe Gutierrez
>>>>>[Felipe, your new boss here.

Right, you've got 24 hours to get resettled and then I need some information.

Who?

The Lynches. Jason Running-Wolf and Lilith.

They're going down, and I'm gonna make sure it's for real, this time.]<<<<<
-- Joey "Bang Bang" Cibarolo <11:23:31/03-08-60>

From:	shadowtk@*********.com (Paul J. Adam)
Subject:	Aftermath
Date:	Mon Oct 8 17:15:01 2001

Message no. 5 *****INTERNAL: Special Operations Command
>>>>>[Get busy analysing the tapes.

I want to know what happened, what Ernang was trying to do, what we
near-missed, and how the hell we stop it sooner next time.

+++++begin video
Admiral Kowalski is leafing through a red-bordered Incident Report
describing a determined attack on a US military facility just outside
Annapolis, as there is the sound of an altercation outside. Someone
appears to be trying to repulse an intruder, and failing dismally.

The Admiral calmly reaches into her desk drawer, coming out with a
well-used M11 automatic and a magazine of ammunition. Loading the pistol
and chambering the first round, she has it aimed at the door-

The first person through the door is a young (for his rank)
lieutenant-commander in dress whites, falling sideways and still
yammering that the Admiral is not to be disturbed.

The second visitor is a strikingly beautiful woman, with waist-length
auburn hair, perfect bones, deep blue eyes, and her well-worn A2 leather
jacket is dropping back to hide at least one huge pistol in a shoulder
holster. Kowalski decocks the SIG-Sauer and puts it on her crowded
blotter. "Belston, thank you, but this is an authorised visitor. Please
get the Lieutenant-Colonel some coffee. Black, very strong, five
sugars."

The lieutenant-commander picks himself up from the floor. "But... yes,
Admiral."

Lilith settles into the chair facing the Admiral. "Good morning, Jane.
How's life treating you?"

"Better than you for the last few months, it seems. I'm glad to see you
up and moving."

The disturbingly beautiful woman shrugs one powerful shoulder.
"Neurochemically induced coma, I slept through most of it. Annoying, but
it sounds like I missed a little action and a lot of waiting."

"They let you out that fast? Or did your shapeshifter metabolism just
handle it?"

"I seem to have survived intact." Lilith reaches back as the door opens,
and LCdr Belston enters with a tray of coffee: picking one mug off it
while he's still coming in, and startling the poor aide badly yet again.

Kowalski clears and safes her pistol, puts it back in her desk, to clear
a space for the tray. "Thanks, Belston. Tell the Appropriations
Subcommittee I'll be a little delayed, please. Lilith? How's Lynch?"

"Three gunshot wounds, multiple contusions and lacerations, a broken
collarbone, two broken fingers, a bullet still lodged behind one scapula
that they'll have to go digging for, severe bruising, significant
exsanguination. Nothing that's going to slow him down much. He'll
discharge himself by the end of tomorrow and be hobbling around
cursing." Lilith smiles a secret, feline smirk to himself.

"You just keep the rest of that to yourself, I don't want to know about
your carnal habits. How much of that did Ernang manage to do?"

"Not a thing. Well, not personally."

Kowalski sips her coffee. "I can't say I'm surprised. How much help did
he have with the FRAG base?"

"A vanful of explosives and drones, that an acquaintance of his put in
place. And Zach showed up in time to secure the scene." Lilith's smirk
widens, showing slightly-too-pointed teeth. "How well did that work?"

"Nine dead, thirty-six wounded or unconscious and seventeen captured or
surrendered unhurt. Only twelve were UCAS military, the rest were
assorted hired help. Shadowrunners, mercenaries, criminals, just like we
thought. A nice clean sweep." Kowalski presses the loose cartridge into
the pistol magazine, puts it beside the M11 and closes the drawer again.
"Some probably got out. Think they'll rally?"

"To what?" asks Lilith. "No Ernang, no McNally. They could always gather
around the third-in-command, who's still at large."

"Jason missed one?" Kowalski is suddenly alert.

"The FRAG's S-2. A Marine Corps Reserve colonel, and a real renegade.
Dangerous guy." Lilith confirms. "Long list of cautions and warnings,
and a long habit of surviving. A scary sonofabitch, in other words, and
still loose."

"So let's get their name out to the cops and the _federales_ so we can
round'em up and-"

"No need. He's in hospital in Bethesda. Why, did I forget to mention he
was my husband?" Lilith's smirk splits into a wide, happy smile.

Kowalski buries her head in her hands. "I forgot what fun having a
playful pussycat in the office was. Any more good news?"

"That's enough for now. But there is the problem of Representative
Gowne."

There's a distinct chill in the air, all of a sudden.

Kowalski sighs. "Yes, Gowne. He's got a right and proper desire to see
intelligence operations brought under adequate oversight."

"Which is why he seems hell-bent on convicting my husband for doing what
Gowne was too scared to do?" Lilith enquires in silky tones.

"Oh, Gowne will carve great bleeding slices out of the FRAG and everyone
connected with it. He's on a cleanup crusade now the problem's in the
open. But Jason..."

"Didn't wait a decade for 'proper channels' to get off their asses and
fixed the problem."

"Yeah." The Admiral admits. "And that's bad for Gowne's ambitions,
because someone might ask 'why didn't Gowne get off his ass when he was
told about the problem?'. I'm working on it. So's Motors, so is
Coppinger. Jason's going to come out of this in one piece. Take that to
the bank. It might be a rough ride..."

"I'll hold you to that, Admiral." Lilith nods. "Meanwhile... Jason had
something for you."

"Let me guess-"

"Dogtags and datachips." Lilith nods. She drops a handful of identity
discs onto the desk, adds four memory chips. "The ones who didn't make
it... and the story from the ones who did."

"And what am I meant to do with them?" Kowalski asks.

"The tags? Up to you. Those guys died fighting to defend the UCAS.
Against itself." Lilith shrugs. "The chips? Your call."

Kowalski lifts the tags out, one at a time, studying the names. "Jason
had them wear these?" Lilith just nods. The Admiral holds all four,
looking at them: then she tightens her fist around them and drops them
back into the bag. "I think, quietly, we can arrange some sort of
official recognition."

"Official, unofficial, doesn't matter. Some of them had families."
Lilith does, finally, look tired. "And they did what the Great White
Father wouldn't, couldn't or was too scared to."

"Keep rubbing it in, why don't you?" Kowalski asks.

"Why, don't we deserve it? It was our job to keep Ernang on a short
leash and housebroken. We didn't. We had to subcontract cleaning up his
mess to the Mafia and mercenaries. Now we're going to punish the
cleaners for doing what we were too chickenshit to do." Lilith finishes
her coffee. "Tell me again, what we should be proud of, Jane."

Kowalski sits quietly for a while, then carefully puts the ID tags in
her desk next to the pistol. "I'll take care of the fallen. And I'll
fight Gowne over Jason. He going after you?"

"For being unconscious for a year? Hardly. No, it's Jason's scalp he
seems to want."

"He won't get it. Some clippings, maybe, but that's all." Kowalski
reaches for her phone. "Trust me. I need you guys."
+++++end video]<<<<<
-- VAdm J Kowalski <22:11:34/10-08-62>
Special Operations Command

From:	"Shawn P. Williams" <sw2z+@******.CMU.EDU>
Subject:	Aftermath
Date:	Sat, 7 Aug 1993 16:23:31 -0400

Message no. 6 >>>>>[Well chummeros, Eyestalk and I spent the morning cleaning up after
the bash. The place was a total disaster (in hindsight, we decided it
might have been easier to torch the place than to clean it), but I must
say that it wouldn't be worth throwing a feista if it wasn't done proper
(and one of the requisites of a proper bash is that it generally
destroys/wrecks the bash-site). Personally, I had a blast. I'd like to
thank y'all for coming (and for all of the food/beverages/handguns that
you brought along).

I'm not certain if we resolved the best-heavy-pistol question, but Gawk
certainly deserves the prize for largest handgun. SpotOn, I agree,
there are definite advantages to a sniper rifle (but you can't very well
tuck one under your pillow or anything short of a trench-coat for that
matter). Nightshade, thanks for the flowers (I'd say that you were
sweet, but such statements could damage your rep as a lim-vicious
shadowrunner). And Swift, my chum, fresh apple pie IS truly a wonder
(esp. in this day and age), thanks!

Well, chums, I'll see you in the shadows! Again thanks to all! Buzz
babies!]<<<<<
-- Flittermouse <13:23:19PST/08-07-54>

From:	Joshua James Harrison <harrij4@***.EDU>
Subject:	Aftermath...
Date:	Sat, 22 Jan 1994 14:49:48 -0500

Message no. 7 >>>>>[All right guys, sorry it took me so fraggin' long to get this update
to
ya, but after all that mess last night, I just crashed and didn't wake up
until about an hour ago...

I'll tell you what happened after we jumped the fraggin' truck and headed out.
We were drivin along, just tryin to look inconspicuous, which can be tough if
you're drivin something like a garbage truck... anyhow, I figured that the
other guys were probably looking for us. I had no idea what the frag had
happened, aside from the fact that I had awakened in this janitor's closet...
my guess is that there was another team makin' a run that night, and they took
us out so that we wouldn't give them away. That's why our radios were missing,
and nothin else...

Anyhow, we were driving along, when all of a sudden, from out of this alley,
this chick comes runnin, followed by a bunch of punks in an Americar - all
beat up and everything... the guys were shooting at her, but really weren't
trying to hit her, just having some fun... Lauri gets all ticked off and pulls
out her gun... "Come on Wid, let's help her out..." I was a little worried, I
mean, we were still kinda feelin' the effects of that stuff we had been hit
with, and I wasn't too sure if we could shoot straight. But hell, I wanted rto
help too. Nothing worse than watching some innocent kid get beat up and killed
by a bunch of scuzzbal gangers...

So I gunned the motor, and pulled up next to these guys... I slammed into
them, and they lost control and skidded off to the side, barely avoiding a
nasty accident... we pulled over, and Lauri jumps out, her gun ready... I call
out to the girl, who's stopped and is watching us dazedly... "Come on! Get in!
We're friends!" She hesitates, and then sees the punks getting out of the car,
really teed off... and she jumps in next to me...

The punks have their guns out, but then Lauri opens up with the LMG she had
picked up from the Ares guard... the recoil nearly lands her on her butt, but
she manages to send a few rounds towards the punks, who take cover behind
their car... "Lauri! Get in here!" I yell, and Lauri hops in next to me and
this new girl... I put the truck in gear and take off...

The hoods jump in their car and start chasing us, shooting and screaming all
the way... I hand Lauri my Predator, and she strarts shooting back... I
concentrate on driving, so that we don't crash into anything.

So we have this chase, the three of us in this beat up old maintenance-type
truck, the hoods behind in this souped up Americar... bullets wizzing around,
etc etc, you get the idea... This goes on for a good fifteen minutes or so,
and I'm getting lost, I have no idea where I am, when all of a sudden, I
glance down at the gas gauge... its hovering very close to empty...

I swear, and Lauri glances at me. Apparently, she readwhat was wrong in my
eyes or something and looked away. I start looking for a place where we can
take a stand, a well defended type of spot, and then, what the hell do I see
coming down the street the other way but Rox's step van. I give a shout, and
keep driving. They swing around and join in the chase.

Needless to say, things didn't last much longer after that... Rox opened up
with his guns, and the punks went careening off and slammed into a
streetlight. We just kept going... when we got to a safer spot, we all got out
and had a big happy reunion type of thing... it would have been nice, had
Lauri and I not smelled like we had decided to do research on the city's waste
disposal... but everything seemed to have come out allright. Nobody was
seriously hurt (Lauri had taken a bullet wound while shooting at the punks,
and Chance had a big fraggin' headache, but that was about it), and everything
was cool.

We headed back to the doss to find Coyote on the couch, clutching his head and
muttering about toasters... told us what had happened, and said that he had no
idea what was going on anymore... he would've been able to handle the thing,
but it took him totally by suprise, and he also underestimated the damage it
could do. He was allright though, fortuantely...

Then we turn to this new girl, who hasn't said anythng the whole time, and I
notice, for the first time, that she's an elf. We start askin her what's been
going on... she answers with this french-like accent... her name was Danielle,
and she had been visiting her brother here in Seattle. His name was Ro-bear or
something like that... anyhow, a day or two ago, they had been attacked and
captured by a group of 'bad men' as she put it... her english isn't very good,
so she had trouble putting it into words... but judging by the way she
described them, they were probably gangers or something equally stupid... but
she had no idea why they wanted her and her brother...

Her brother, it turns out, is still being held. She knows where (roughly...
she gave a description of the area to us), and we're gonna scout the area out,
to see if we can find the meeting house where her brother's being held. Then
we'll see what we're gonna do...

That's all for now... I'm getting another headache... talk to you later.
Danielle is all right, everyone. She's shaken up, but she'll be allright after
she gets some rest... I need some more myself... *yawn* catch you later,
guys...]<<<<<
-- Widow (14:49:45/01-22-55)

From:	Can I play with madness <MKNABUSCH@******.BITNET>
Subject:	aftermath
Date:	Thu, 21 Apr 1994 16:30:04 -0400

Message no. 8 >>>>>[Currently H is in a coma. We need a healer. STAT, please.
T.C., Styx, and Lucinda aren't able to help. In fact, they are
almost passing out from trying.]<<<<<
- Cyberpunk <16:40:09/04-21-55>

From:	A cohort's CoHort <cohort@******.CONNECTED.COM>
Subject:	Re: aftermath
Date:	Thu, 21 Apr 1994 18:14:39 -0700

Message no. 9 >>>>>[ Well, Jasmine, this one looks like it was made for you.
]<<<<<
-- CoHort <18:15:54/04-21-55>

From:	Nightfox <DJWA@******.UCC.NAU.EDU>
Subject:	Re: aftermath
Date:	Thu, 21 Apr 1994 21:12:30 -0700

Message no. 10 >>>>>[ Fox is in town, so Ah'll send him right over, ya better be at the
house. And make sure he gets back in time for the babies ta be born :)
]<<<<<
-- Circuit Breaker <all went ta drek>

From:	Basilisk <prier@***.UNIBAS.CH>
Subject:	aftermath
Date:	Fri, 22 Apr 1994 13:55:42 +0200

Message no. 11 >>>>>[Mr, caberpunk, I am a shamanic healer. I saw you r message today
htat you hneed a healer for "H". If you still need one, call me at
567-8735. I wil come immdiatly. PLease don't give my number to anyone
lse, I plefer my privacy. I will wait for your call.]<<<<<
-- Cobra <03:55:40/04-22-55>

From:	Jeffrey Mach <mach@****.CALTECH.EDU>
Subject:	Aftermath...
Date:	Tue, 14 Jan 1997 16:43:54 -0800

Message no. 12 *****PRIVATE: Lilith
>>>>>[I felt so damn sorry about that reporter-chopper getting toasted,
but after listening to the crap that Willis fellow was spewing, I'm not
sure Thunda wasn't planning on that to happen. It was tough enough
helping to shield the Stallion, I couldn't look out for everybody.

Glad I could help on backup, but next time I hope you can find something
more interesting than a Bison and some sentry-guns. Yes I did get a few
of those between keeping the anti-aircraft ordnance busy. Would have been
easier to use FFAR, but I didn't want any of the good guys caught in the
blast radius.

So, follow me on this: I heard about the reporter who had to get himself
tased when he broke in on the bomb-bot in the middle of taking apart the
big one under city hall, then this Willis and his helo. Sounds like
Thunda's style to have someone yell "nuke" in the middle of a crowded
city. The reporters were so in a bind about the bomb they didn't get to
yelling about the car pile-ups and everything else until much later. It
must have been hell downtown. I got the impression that Thunda was a major
glory-hound. What better way to celebrate than to tip off a reporter and
get the whole city to watch what you've done (and generate enough chaos to
hide a getaway or two). So I'm no Miss Marple (thank God...) but has
anybody checked the sources for those reporters?

BTW, good authority has the bomb made of C-6, so why isn't that being
reported?

Anyway...so when are we getting together to drink to Thunda's demise?
With what's been hitting Shadowland in recent weeks, Jenny's gone from
having nightmares about Easy, to just being scared of her, so if there
happens to be a tall bookish blond hiding behind a small asian pilot when
a certain elf happens to want to say hello to you, you'll know why.

Catch you later.]<<<<<
-- Arashi <16:44:21/01-14-58>

From:	"Paul J. Adam" <shadowtk@********.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath...
Date:	Wed, 15 Jan 1997 19:47:17 +0000

Message no. 13 *****PRIVATE: Arashi
>>>>>[Don't be too sorry. You warned him to stay back because he was
dangerous. He didn't, he died, and he soaked up two SAMs meant for our
people. His choice, his risk, my only real regret is that he took a
pilot down with him.

I saw the results of your shooting: nice work. And while the sentryguns
might not have been the most glamorous of targets, until they were taken
out we were cut off with no backup and no retreat, so I personally
considered them moderately important.

I take your hint on the reporters and we'll take a look, but the problem
is all you need is the right pirate station. Willis followed everything
the Oliver Stone Foundation produces, and was notorious for racing in
anywhere a "Government atrocity against the people" was in progress. Tip
him off and stand back, no need to buy. I'd guess the City Hall guy was
the same.

I didn't have much to do with the City Hall bomb, but I'd guess a reason
it was C-6 isn't being reported was that it's a filter. Most of his
previous bombs were C-12 or better, but his supplies dried up: so he had
to downgrade. Not many people know that. Those who come to us with
information about the "big Composition Twelve bomb" don't get such a
high credibility rating.

We're getting together at >>encrypted<< fairly soon. Low profile,
neutral ground (not that either of you have too much to worry about
there, methinks), should be safe. Tell Jenny not to worry about Easy,
just not to make any sudden movements and under no circumstances to show
any fear <evil smile>

Oh, and the Feds are quietly paying for help received. If you cost up
that sortie, we should be able to reimburse you and your
employers.]<<<<<
-- Lilith <19:46:56/01-15-58>

From:	"Paul J. Adam" <shadowtk@********.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject:	Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 20 Apr 1997 21:16:49 +0100

Message no. 14 *****PRIVATE: Black Helicopter Squad
>>>>>[Well, we did take the time to get everyone - dead, alive, not sure
- we could find off the ship before letting her go, and I have good,
mixed and bad news.

Good news: we have two distinct groups. About seventy men, all hired by
the shipyard boss - known to them as "Dwayne Jasper", we're running a
go-to on what we've got there - armed with the weapons they got from
Maxim. Some bush-league mercs, some construction workers, some
shipfitters from Seattle even. Most alive, most scared as hell.

Wonder what we ought to do with them? Going to be tricky charging them,
on trial or free they might blow one of those rare coverups that's
actually _working_, and I don't feel like digging seventy unmarked
graves. Anyone got any bright ideas?

The other group were the black-fatigue cavalry, who at a first glance
and from their equipment are Aztlan special forces, but from the autopsy
results were actually shadowrunners. Good decking work setting them up
with IDs to look like Jaguar Guards, but they aren't. Probably an
insurance policy in case any of the crew got second thoughts, and there
to mislead if worst came to worst.

Bad news: none of the bodies we recovered were Emma's. I was kind of
busy at the time and didn't think to put a few more into her to make
sure: I need to warm up to executions. Either someone whisked her corpse
away, or she wasn't a corpse. With a .357 in the chest she won't be a
happy puppy for a while, but I have a nasty feeling she's alive and out
there somewhere: might be worth keeping our eyes open for her.]<<<<<
-- Lynch <21:16:53/04-20-58>

From:	Mark Imbriaco <mark@******.NET>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 20 Apr 1997 23:06:23 -0400

Message no. 15 ***** PRIVATE: Black Helicopter Squad
>>>>>[ Two routes we can go with the prisoners. In either route, the
first thing you do is tell them that they're all guilty of treason, and
remind them what the penalty for that is. Second, we can either (a) let
them go and threaten to prosecute (execute) if they breathe a word to
anyone about this, or (b) we could lock them all up, get a friendly judge
to convict them, and put them in the deepest hole of a federal prison
that we can find. Other than that, there's not a whole lot we can do.

Sorry, I'm kind of thinking out loud here .. bear with me. It think
I'm on to something. Got it. We start circulating vicious rumors about
the whole thing, to get the sharks (ie: journalists) circling and looking
to sting the government. Now, all but one of these should be just a load
of ridiculous conspiracy theories, but for one of them we create a chain
of events that seems plausible, and do some creative background creation
so that it will seem to check out. As soon as the media drops the story,
we jump all over them with proof that their info is bogus, and generally
embarass the hell out of them. Once one news service has gotten burned
by us on the story, the rest will avoid it like the plague, and we'll get
the added benefit of embarassing the reporters for a change. Kind of
poetic, don't you think?

As far as Emma is concerned, I'll do some more digging and see what if
there is anything that I can dig up. At least we have a face to work
with this time, so if we strike fast on this one, we might be able to
find some leads before she manages to get rid of all traces. ]<<<<<
-- Flux <**:**:**/**-**-**>

From:	"Paul J. Adam" <shadowtk@********.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Mon, 21 Apr 1997 22:22:58 +0100

Message no. 16 *****PRIVATE: Black Helicopter Squad
>>>>>[Okay, Alex, thanks. So, blood samples and heavy-duty threats for
them, and a little message that if this leaks, they all get snuffed. Not
that we could actually achieve that... but we could make the odds pretty
bad for them and they should realise that. Especially if we check in
with them once in a while. Get past the next few months and your other
plan and it's old news anyway.

Locking them up... needs a trial, and that means they have a right to
speak in their own defence, and that means seventy-two ex-camera trials,
which even the dimmest conspiracy hack would pick up on. Not really an
option. It's let them go or drop them down a mineshaft, and call me
squeamish but I'd rather let them go.

As for the rumours deal... gotcha. Leak something really juicy and then
blow it right out of the water, pardon the pun. And you're absolutely
right, making the conspiracy flacks look stupid would be really
pleasant.

Question is now, what do we run with? Wish we had Quinn for this, it's
her favourite game. I'm open to ideas.

Emma... go for it. She's either dead or sick, this is a good time to dig
hard. Be odd if we didn't, actually.]<<<<<
-- Lynch <22:17:42/04-21-58>

From:	"Mark A. Imbriaco" <mark@******.NET>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Wed, 23 Apr 1997 09:37:45 -0400

Message no. 17 ***** INTERNAL: SIGAnet
>>>>>[ To: All

I got paydata on our mysterious "Emma" .. the plot is definitely starting to
thicken.

Real Name: Esmeralda Diaz
Known Aliases: Emma
Affiliation: Captain -- Aztlan Intelligence Service

Thanks to some very seriously code-word secret files (hence the reason I didn't
send this to Blade and our friends at the FBI .. I wasn't sure what they're
cleared for at this point) and a discussion with one of our 'civilian
consultants' on the Aztlan military I was able to get a lot more data than I
was expecting.

Turns out that our 'Emma' was formerly the 2IC to, you guessed it boys and
girls, our old friend Jose Zicahuata. Apparently she did not approve with
his methods and requested a transfer, was assigned her own company with which
she was more successful than Zicahuata. Our consultant indicates that she was
very skillful at recruiting informants, which fits in with what we've seen of
her track record thus far.

The rest of this information is highly speculative. Your mileage may vary.

It's possible Diaz may have been tied to Project Manchu. It was also believed
at one point that she may be working for Tir Tairngire due to several of her
agents showing signs of mindwipe, false memory and other Tir trademarks. This
theory fell through when a Tir Taingire assassination squad hit Diaz' unit in
Detroit in 2053, leaving three of the Tir force and five of Diaz's men dead.
The Tir still have a sizeable bounty on her head, for reasons they will not
state.

Well, that's about it, but it gives us a helluva lot more info than we had
before -- it raises just about as many, if not more questions than it answers
though. ]<<<<<
-- Alexander Monroe <**:**:**/**-**-**>
Matrix Scrounger
Strategic Intelligence Gathering Agency

From:	"Paul J. Adam" <shadowtk@********.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Wed, 23 Apr 1997 23:42:33 +0100

Message no. 18 *****INTERNAL: SIGANet
>>>>>[TO: All
CC: Blade <include forwarded_previous_message.txt>

Matt, Alex played it cautious and didn't cut you in on this at first.

Alex, Matt's on the inside and to be trusted. The Feds... they're
keeping something big from us, and I'm not sure telling them this would
do any good anyway.

She used to be with Zicky-boy? That's bad news. According to the former
Colonel Tepanohoutec, she was the best asset Zicahuata had, and
considered one of AIS's fliers.

Didn't see her on Manchu. Doesn't mean much, she might have been part of
the home-team end, covering it from the main Aztlan hierarchy. It looks
like we're dealing with a powerful rogue faction in Aztlan as well as
the UCAS: I guess these guys hang together.

As for the Tir involvement... this is _highly_ classified stuff, but for
a few years Lilith was in a similar situation. Memory-wiped, programmed,
conditioned, working here in DC to help plant a network of sleepers.
That was for the old Agency, though, not the Tir.

She and I met, I noticed some behavioural quirks and I recalled being
part of an Ares experiment into that sort of technology: she recovered
from the mindwipes and the Ladder (being a shapeshifter probably saved
her sanity, if not her life) and she and I and a few friends took on
SIGA. Yeah, well, I was young and dumb instead of old and dumb.

Thanks to some inside help, we survived, and Bartlett didn't.

Coppinger was put in charge of the cleanup and salvaged the Agency as a
useful force, recruited a lot of the crusaders who'd torn it apart to
help rebuild it. Very German, a "never again" sort of thing.

I'm rambling, aren't I? The short version is, just because the Tir are
the best in the mindfragging field, doesn't mean they're the only
players. Bartlett was backed by a renegade Tir Taingire specialist, who
turned out to be the brains behind Manchu, who now turns out to maybe
have been linked to Operation Wild Rose.

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my.]<<<<<
-- Lynch <23:45:43/04-23-58>

From:	"Paul J. Adam" <shadowtk@********.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject:	Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 9 Nov 1997 21:37:54 +0000

Message no. 19 *****PRIVATE: Easy Eight staff, Serenity Security
>>>>>[Good news and bad news.

The good news: last night, we got hit by somewhere between a hundred and
two hundred assorted thugs armed with assorted assault weapons. We
killed or captured over sixty, the club is in good shape, our casualties
were light: we were buttoned up expecting it and rode it out.

The bad news. While we were shooting it out with the rentamob, a small
and very professional force reached the farm, and activated a series of
charges that - as far as we can tell - were built into the irrigation
piping. The short version is, the fields are flooded, which is bad: and
they're flooded with a nasty cocktail of toxic material, again that must
have been built into the pipe system from the start. No way could an
eight-man team have carried all that in: they just had to open the
pipes, turn on the pumps, and blow the charges. Guess they didn't want
to rely on an insider.

The team got away clean: they were only spotted on the way out. Eight-
man, very slick, very professional.

End result: that land is fine to walk on, build on, live on. But nothing
we grow there will be passed for human or animal consumption.

We're out of the farming business, people.]<<<<<
-- Vincenzo <21:33:26/11-09-58>

*****PRIVATE: Vincenzo
>>>>>[Get yourself, Dwayne, and someone who understands figures, in my
office ASAP. We need an alternative enterprise.

We also need to decide who to kill for this.]<<<<<
-- Easy <21:46:40/11-09058>

From:	Karl Low <kwil@*********.COM>
Subject:	Aftermath
Date:	Thu, 30 Apr 1998 19:04:32 -0600

Message no. 20 >>>>>[GKJ, I wouldn't worry so much. There's no way that they'll let an ork
keep the position. After all, we know Japan has a policy of shipping out it's
garbage. Not much of a way he can run the company if he's not in Japan, right?
The biggest surprise in my eyes is how relaxed everybody is by the stuff going
on at Haven.

Think about it. They had a group of mages raise some kind of weird magical
shield over the whole place. Think about the kind of power that is and what
kind of a threat they'd pose if they decided that say.. politician A was doing
things in a way that didn't please them. Who's t'say that magic killing field
thing wasn't part of Haven too. Testing out some kinda new theories or
offensive magic. Hopefully the guvmint'll wake up now and slap these
mojo-slingin' bastards with some serious restrictions/watching.

Don't buy all that "We help everybody" crap from Haven either. That's what the
corps would like us to believe too, and we know how far *their* drek flies.
Everybody's got an angle. Just cause they haven't let theirs slip out yet
doesn't mean it ain't there.

'Course, some people didn't do too badly by all the drek that went down. In
fact, I stand to be gettin' a promotion right quick here as one of my bosses
happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and a few of my nearest
competition are on grieving leave right now. Me, I got smart, soon as it
showed that Abbadon meant what he was talkin' about, I took myself and my
family into our little bolt-hole and just waited out.]<<<<<
-- Centsible <18:47:07/04-30-59>

From:	Brian Angliss <angliss@*****.COLORADO.EDU>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Fri, 1 May 1998 11:45:56 -0600

Message no. 21 >>>>>[Haven itself is immune to government restrictions so long as they
keep=
whatever it is within that white picket fence. Haven is extraterritorial=
and a non-profit corp and has been since right after Patrick pleaded guilty=
to harboring known fugitives and that drek a couple of years ago. He did=
it so that people like you and I, plus gangers with the cops on thier=
tails, could have a safe place to heal up and lay low for a while without=
InterPol and Lone Star, or the FBI coming in and arresting someone who=
might have a change of heart and want to better themselves.

Of course, they're only a small part of Redmond, and the feds could shut=
Haven down quickly by cutting off power, sewer, and food transports if they=
really wanted to, but the feds would be in for a public-relations nightmare=
if they did. So most people wait for us shadowrunners to leave Haven again=
before commencing pursuit.

And Haven does have "an angle". Thier is that you have to follow thier=
rules, and you have to sign some serious documents if you want to stay=
there that basically say that if you break those rules too many times,=
you're kicked out. Frag, the CoT who attacked Pat a while back were people=
he'd either refused access to Haven and/or kicked out of Haven for breaking=
the rules. But if you can handle the rules, which boil down to no violence=
or weapons and help out the school somehow for those of us who are visitors=
or want to become "temporary residents" while Lone Star gets tired of=
sitting outside Haven's main gate, then they do help everyone.]<<<<<
-- Foxey Roxey <11:47:51/05-01-59>

From:	Karl Low <kwil@*********.COM>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Fri, 1 May 1998 16:32:52 -0600

Message no. 22 >>>>>[Sounds like Foxey's one of their PR people. Either that or just
another
mind-slave who swallowed their line, hook, sinker and all.

Okay folks, for those of you who like the obvious pointed out:

Haven is extraterritorial, and has been since their head honcho pleaded
guilty. We all know how readily the UCAS likes to give up real-estate,
especially to convicted felons, and double that for felons convicted of
harboring other felons. Of course, that's not even something that happened in
the past. It's something they do now, supposedly. You're runnin' with the law
hot on your heels and their going to pull up short cause you duck into Haven
and sign a contract sayin' you'll be good now? And not only does Lonestar go
with this, but the FBI and fraggin' Interpol as well?

And all the cops are quite happy with this. Yeah right. Let the guy who popped
Lynch try and hide in Haven and see how long it is before he's taken out.

Either it's a mile-high pile of bull, or we have proof that they're using
mind-control magic on our elected politico's.. but then again, we knew that
anyway, didn't we folks?

Whaddya think I am, Foxey, a mushroom?]<<<<<
-- Centsible <16:25:32/05-01-59>

From:	Avenger <Avenger@*******.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sat, 2 May 1998 15:14:54 +0100

Message no. 23 >>>>>[Hey, if Haven is so peace loving, and is a Haven (what a
coincidence) for killers, murderers, drug dealers, gangers, busters,
rapists and other assorted scum. Who's to say that Haven is allowing
the CoT bastard Abbadon and his cronies to reside under it's Oh so
perfect atmosphere.

I figure it's about time that somebody really did something about
fucking Haven.

I mean, look at it this way. You're driving home after a hard day on
the line, you arrive to find your apartment trashed, your
relatives/girlfriend/wife killed, raped, splattered all over the damn
rug. You head out looking for the slitch that did it. And hey presto,
there the fucker is, grinnin' at ya over the fence of Haven.

Pop question. What ya gonna do? Me, Blow the fucker away. But, Haven
has this 'peace' thing don't it. It's got this barrier that slams down
stopping you from doing that. You can't enter with a weapon, your
cyberware is de-activated. Come on people, there's something
fundamentally fucked up with this picture. When a supposed pacifist
like Valentine (I'd like to know his history) can harbour known felons,
criminals and all the other scum in the barrens opposed to their lawful
arrest, and thumb his nose at the security providers. You gotta ask the
question ain't ya?

Is it time that Valentine joined the real world, and offered protection
to the innocents outside of Haven, instead of the murderers and psycho's
inside.]<<<<<
-- Goliath <15:12:22/05-02-59>

From:	Avenger <Avenger@*******.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sat, 2 May 1998 15:22:15 +0100

Message no. 24 >>>>>[I know Japan has at least got it's stuff straight about those
filthy meta's but the simple fact is, some brain dead dork left his
goddamn company to one. Now was that guy a Jap? If so, was he in full
control of his mind? I'd say not, which means the appointment is null
and void. Can't give things to people if your insane, at least that's
what the law says. So, how come this tusker is still sittin' there
then? Why ain't the Japs shifted the shite out the top storey window
without a rope?

And I don't even wanna think about Haven. That fraggin' shield scared
the living crap outta me. I hadta change my underwear once I saw that
slam down. Jeez I mean, Everyone figured the Azzie pyramid for bein'
some kinda centralised package for magic loons, but Haven as well. Hey,
how come the Azzies ain't gone and taken the goddamn place then. Last
time I saw something magical happen down where I live, the Azzies were
in there throwing money around like water trying to find the guy that
done it. Most aggressive employment techniques I ever seen.

Nope, I don't wanna think about Haven. Looking at that damn pyramid
scares me when I drive past it, but thinking that it's got an equal
sitting out in the barrens, festering, filling up with criminal and
metahuman scum, that just makes my blood run cold.

It's time something was done about the damn place. And that Foxey PR
slitch had better watch her trap, afore some respectable citizen shoves
something down her throat and pulls out her gizzard.]<<<<<
-- GKJ <15:21:22/05-02-59>

From:	Avenger <Avenger@*******.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sat, 2 May 1998 15:06:31 +0100

Message no. 25 >>>>>[You gotta love that haven't you. Haven is extra terri' because
it's run by a crook, for harbouring crooks, in the middle of a city that
has just been savaged by crooks.

Fuckin' A. I LOVE this city. It's more fucked up that I am.]<<<<<
-- Doofus <15:05:13/05-02-59>

From:	Brian Angliss <angliss@*****.COLORADO.EDU>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sat, 2 May 1998 16:14:46 -0600

Message no. 26 >>>>>[No, Foxey Roxey is a mother who has enrolled her daughter here. I'm
the official PR person, and vice-principle as well.

Valentine was given over 5 years of community service as punishments for
his "crimes" of allowing people like you a place they can heal and for
giving gangers a second chance that the police wouldn't. Ask most of the
gangers in Seattle who they'd go to to mediate a dispute if they didn't
want to kill each other off, and they'll say "Valentine." He's earned
thier trust over 30 years in Seattle, and InterPol repaid him with an
arrest warrant.

And if you look up, you'll find Roxey has a good reason to support Val -
he was arrested when he refused to turn her daughter over to InterPol as a
bargaining chip to drag Roxey in.

Haven itself was purchased by Val. The land around it was purchased by
Ryaka Science and Technology from Renraku, and then sold, completely
legally, to Valentine. Then he created Haven Incorporated, a
not-for-profit corporation that provides medical care based on your
ability to pay, schooling for underprivilaged children and teens, and an
orphanage. Since then Haven has been extraterritorial, yes. Officially,
since Val was inside Haven when it became extraterritorial, he didn't have
to serve out his sentence. Yet he obeys the courts and checks into his
community service officer every week. He was nearly killed by the
Children of Thunda following one of those meetings.

Officially, there was nothing that the UCAS government could do. They
tried very hard, as the court records of UCAS vs. Haven Inc. show.
However, with the support of several federal organizations, and an
extended legal brief produced by Haven's lawyers, Haven's status was
declared legal.

Would Abbadon be allowed into Haven? No. Have people with the police on
thier tails been denied entry? Yes, and they have been arrested. If you
are truly so paranoid, look into the records, and you'll see that Haven
often turns over criminals. All of the injured Children of Thunda that
were involved in the attack on Haven were healed, but then released into
InterPol and Lone Star custody when they were healthy enough that travel
was not life-threatening.

And Haven does kick people out. Not everyone is allowed in. Generally,
only those individuals who are known here or are in need of medical
attention are allowed in without careful consideration. Roxey has herself
been turned away, as have many shadowrunners, when all they wanted was a
bolt hole, because Haven is not a hiding place. However, Roxey would not
be turned away if she were wounded and required help, nor would anyone.

Ultimately, if you are in need of care, you will be allowed into Haven and
protected until you no longer require that care, at which point you will
be asked to leave. If you are not in need of care but have proven
yourself to be trustworthy and responsible, you will most likely be
allowed into Haven for a short period. If you are being pursued by
legitimate legal authority, ie Lone Star, the FBI, and InterPol as a few
examples, your admission to Haven will be determined on a case-by-case
basis. If you have been shown to be dishonorable, dishonest, or have
broken the rules by which Haven exists, then you will not be allowed in,
almost without exception.

We at Haven are aware of the difficulties in laying down absolutes, so we
do try to judge people as individuals and make individual decisions
whenever possible.]<<<<<
-- Mozart <16:16:34/05-02-59>

From:	Avenger <Avenger@*******.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sat, 2 May 1998 23:52:38 +0100

Message no. 27 >>>>>[Well Mozart, that had to be the most fluid case of pseudo
political hogwash I've ever read. Not only does it half way contradict
what Roxey said, but it's patently garbage.

Haven is a haven all right. But not for anything that decent people
want on their doorstep. People who are in need are allowed to stay
until they are no longer in need. OK, in that case Abbadon is perfectly
safe within your walls. His head is fucked up, his brain damaged, he
needs healing and psychological support. He needs to be made better.
By your own comments you must allow him entry provided he does nothing
violent inside. But then, harbouring an international felon wanted for
acts of terrorism against the UCAS you'd lose that precious extra-
territoriality wouldn't you?

Nah, Haven withholds sanctuary and offers sanctuary to any who fit the
profile, provided the ruling council say it's ok, and provided it's
possible for them to brainwash you into the kind of hogwash you and
Roxey have been spouting.

Extraterritorial sanctuary my ass. It's a goddamn hidey hole for scum,
and for those whom are seen as potentials. Potentials for what? I have
no idea, but it sounds more and more like the goddamn Brotherhood all
the time.]<<<<<
-- GKJ <23:51:07/05-02-59>

From:	"Paul J. Adam" <shadowtk@********.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 3 May 1998 00:21:24 +0100

Message no. 28 >>>>>[Yeah, GKJ, Abbadon's brain damaged and sick and ill, and if we
hold his hand and help him "manage his anger" and be nice to him from
now until forever, maybe we can persuade him to stop blowing shit up and
killing people all over the place?

Real convincing. You go try it, and tell us how it works out.

What a dumbass.]<<<<<
-- Zinger <00:21:43/05-03-59>

From:	Karl Low <kwil@*********.COM>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sat, 2 May 1998 19:28:29 -0600

Message no. 29 >>>>>[Mozart, one of the great composers. Composer of the corp's line of
bull
if you ask me.

Let's take a look here.

This Valentine person is trusted by most of the gangs in Seattle.
He keeps the lawful authorities from seizing some brat of a wanted criminal,
and need I wonder just what kinda upbringing that kid's gonna have from a
crook?

And this guy wonders why Interpol wanted him arrested? Hell, if I was known to
be trusted by most of the gangs in Seattle, I'd be willin' to bet that
Lonestar and the feds would be keepin' a damn close eye on me too.

As for the land, it was bought by this Ryaka S&T, and sold to this Valentine,
who *then* formed Haven Incorporated, God's Gift to the homeless and the
lawless. So it was sold to an individual and somehow managed to maintain it's
non UCAS status.

The UCAS then goes and justifiably challenges this, but somehow, this Val
manages to get help from "several federal organizations" to fund his lawyers
after just buying this land from the corp.

The rest of it goes on to say exactly what GKJ said. Haven lets you in if you
follow their orders and toe their line. Who's t'say toeing the line doesn't
involve going out and doing a "little favor" for the the guys who own Haven?

Hell. It makes damn good sense now. I even see how they're funding the place.

How'd they get their funding for the court battle? If you believe Mr. Mozart,
why, the feds paid for it. Of course, the feds are also the ones who were
trying to get their land back in the first place. Which means that the feds
were paying the defense against their own suit. It all makes perfect sense.
Yeah right.

You'll have to come up with a better line than that if you want me to swallow
it, Mozart. I mean, I'll be the first to admit our guvmint ain't always on the
ball, but c'mon. Try and keep the bull to only a small herds' worth.

Nah. The ones who funded the court battle was none other than Ryaka S&T.
After all, they needed the place extra-territorial so that they had somethin'
to offer for their own little stable of runners.

S'actually a damn good set-up. Prob'ly cheaper just maintainin' the damn place
than actually goin' to the bother of hirin' runners once in a while. Explains
why this Valentine person kept Roxey's bunde o'joy too. What better leverage
than a mom's daughter? And she knows if she says anything against Haven, the
kid's toast.

The more I think, the sweeter deal it is, got the gangs in for yer street
informants, got yer stable of runners who know if they don't jump when the
boss says jump they're tossed to whoever wants 'em, never mind that cause yer
runners originally go in for medical, who knows what kinda ritual samples
they've taken, Ryaka's paws are kept squeaky clean, and hell, because anybody
in there who ain't a runner contributes to maintainin' the place, the cost
ain't even that high.

Any enterprisin' deckers dig deep enough in Ryaka, I'd bet they find some
kinda link to Haven, and I'd be willin' to bet that any o' Ryaka's competitors
would pay nice for that kinda stuff.

That even explains the weird fraggin' mojo they're slingin' around. We all
know runner teams are heavy in that drek.

Makes sense t'me anyways.]<<<<<
-- Centsible <19:21:32/05-01-59>

]<<<<<
> -- Mozart <16:16:34/05-02-59>
>

From:	Avenger <Avenger@*******.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 3 May 1998 02:41:42 +0100

Message no. 30 >>>>>[Fuckin' A Centsible, you tell 'em how it is pal. 'Bout time these
sicko mutha's in here got their heads screwed on straight about the
wierdo enclave they've got in the middle of their operatin' turf.]<<<<<
-- Shuck <02:41:09/05-03-59>

From:	Avenger <Avenger@*******.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 3 May 1998 02:38:08 +0100

Message no. 31 >>>>>[Well Zinger, you might be getting all sarcastic there, but you
tell me. What else is it that Haven does. If anybody deserves their
treatment it's him. And when he comes out all mended and friendly like,
he can help sort out the world's problems can't he.

And I'm damned if I'm going near that coven of witches in Haven. No way
bud. Not now, not tomorrow, not next century. Toooo creepy. Like I
walk in there, some spell chucker dandy chomper puts a hex on me. Frag
that.]<<<<<
-- GKJ <02:37:11/05-03-59>

From:	Brian Angliss <angliss@*****.COLORADO.EDU>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 3 May 1998 00:22:11 -0600

Message no. 32 >>>>>[The Azzies have tried before, and failed. They imported an
anti-metahuman gang from Berlin at one point to lower the property values
around Haven and to make Haven unappealing to those who it was created to
protect. The gang was commanded by a conveniently ex-Jaguar Guard, and as
a good half of the gang was paramilitary, "commanded" is the appropriate
word. The attempt, after it failed, was linked to, but denied by,
Aztechnology.

Any decent forensic magician or expert in spell signatures will tell you
that magic leaves permanent traces, especially when practiced in a single
place for an extended period of time. If Haven had been forced to
relocate, the traces would have remained for whomever purchased the land,
even if Haven had been razed to bedrock, and those traces would be
sufficient to provide an excellent starting point for magical research
into our combined druidic/hermetic/shamanic rituals

However, Aztechnology simply doesn't have enough money to purchase Haven.
At last I checked, one of our faculty left them to return to Haven as an
instructor.

As for removing Roxey's gizzard, you might wish to know that she's a
highly tempermental and powerful combat magician, and thus few respectable
citizens will be cause for her concern.]<<<<<
-- Mozart <00:24:09/05-03-59>

From:	Brian Angliss <angliss@*****.COLORADO.EDU>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 3 May 1998 00:38:35 -0600

Message no. 33 >>>>>[An individual in the situation you described would not likely be
allowed into Haven in the first place, Goliath. If he was, he would be
unarmed and openly followed by several spirits who had orders to remove
him from Haven as soon as he broke any of the rules. And you'll find that
the barrier around Haven is down at this point. It collapsed yesterday.

Mr Goliath, if you "blow the fucker away", are you any better than he or
she is? In my eyes, you are as much a murderer as they are, and just as
deserving of a prison sentence. Yet Haven would offer you temporary
protection if you were injured regardless.

If you would like to know Valentine's history, please feel free to ask
him. I doubt he'd mind.

Haven was not created to protect those with homes, but rather those in the
barrens without homes, or food, or medical care, or an opportunity for an
education. Occasionally we offer protection to others as well, but the
people that Valentine truly cares for are the children, his wards, as they
are the future. And Valentine truly believes in the opportunity for
second chances.

Look at Haven's public records - at any given moment, our computer systems
keep track of who is enrolled in classes, who is teaching in the school,
and who is here temporarily. During the recent terrorist attacks, we
accepted assistance from a variety of people, including Dr. Jackson, a
well known cybersurgeon and ex-arms dealer, and several of Dr. Jackson's
cyberclinic surgeons. We did not attempt to hide that they were here, nor
did they. But they saved dozens of lives, even if all of them are wanted
criminals. Would you have us turn them away when they can provide healing
to those in need? Perhaps you would, but we feel that the lives that they
saved were far more important than the crimes they committed in the past,
or the crime of illegal cybersurgery they will commit in the future.]<<<<<
-- Mozart <00:40:29/05-03-59>

From:	Brian Angliss <angliss@*****.COLORADO.EDU>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 3 May 1998 00:58:20 -0600

Message no. 34 >>>>>[Abbadon would never be allowed within Haven, GKJ. His stated
purpose is diametrically opposed to our own.

Decent people, as you call them, don't need Haven. They have cars,
income, enough food, medical care, and jobs. They've never been so hungry
thier stomachs bloat. They've never had to worry about dying while
delivering a child. They've never had to put a bullet in a friend's brain
because it was kinder than allowing that friend die from gangrene, and
then be chased by Lone Star for murder. They've never had to break into a
pharmacy or rob medicine from a supermarket to save thier child because
they couldn't afford to pay the thousands of nuyen it costs for that
medicine.

The same decent people you're talking about are part of the reason that
the barrens exist in the first place. Those decent people are the same
ones who beat thier children and drive them into the gangs, where those
children are forced to prostitute themselves. Those decent people are the
ones who spit on the homeless who have tried to find jobs but are
"unemployable."

No, Mr. GKJ, you're right, Haven isn't a haven for anything that decent
people would want on thier doorstep. Haven is for those people that your
decent people spit on, kick, beat into a pulp, and throw into jail. Haven
exists to heal the barrens of the effects of your decent people.]<<<<<
-- Mozart <01:00:18/05-03-59>

From:	Brian Angliss <angliss@*****.COLORADO.EDU>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 3 May 1998 01:30:47 -0600

Message no. 35 >>>>>[First, sir, I am a woman.

That brat may have mugged a man to get money for food to eat, and I refuse
to judge a person guilty for stealing in order to survive, especially when
a street kid will never have an opportunity to do anything but steal to
survive. And what kind of an education would a child of the streets or of
the gangs get? How to steal and kill to survive. Regardless of his
criminal record, no-one can deny that the children of Haven receive middle
school and high school educations equal to or better than the Seattle
public schools. They are introduced to thamaturgy, science, philosophy,
psychology, music, art, history, mathematics, english, various foriegn
languages. The children are given a well-rounded education, and if they
are so inclined, they may take the placement exams for various
universities. Corporations regularly recruit Haven graduates for thier
educational programs. Regardless of Val's history, these facts are a
matter of public record.

Valentine was arrested because of his refusing to turn over a child to be
used as a pawn by InterPol. He is trusted as a mediator of disputes, a
neutral party who has nothing to lose or gain by ruling in favor of one
gang or another. He has a reputation for fairness, and he is
uncorruptable. That's why he is trusted by the gangs of Seattle.

Haven was officially formed about 20 years ago, but it was only
incorporated 2 years ago. Haven was "God's Gift to the homeless" for
nearly 2 decades prior to becoming extraterritorial. And the
organizations who assisted Haven included various UCAS Marines, InterPol
itself, and people within the Stratigic Information Gathering Agency. I
hardly think these groups would qualify as unbiased, nor do I feel that
they would have recommended that Haven retain its extraterritorial status
if they felt we were a threat. Finally, it's quite impossible for Haven
to have manipulated their minds, as the InterPol officers who supported
Haven are required to undergo magical scans regularly to ensure that thier
minds are unaltered, and I suspect that the SIGA agents are required to
undergo similar checks.

Yes, you're absolutely correct on one thing, though. You are only allowed
into Haven if you agree to certain restrictions, and you are asked to
leave if you violate those restrictions. Of course, that's no different
than any set of laws, including those of Seattle. If you want to live in
Seattle, you agree to thier rules, and you are removed from Seattle to a
prison if you do not. If you want to live in Haven, you agree to our
rules, and if you do not, you are sent back to Seattle. I don't see why
this is unreasonable.

The federal government had nothing to do with funding the court battle. I
said that certain federal organizations supported Haven, but you assumed
that support was monetary. It was not. Haven's defense was paid for
completely out of Haven's general operating fund, which is composed of
corporate, private, governmental, and anonymous donations, and those
donations are a matter of public record. Feel free to investigate them as
you see fit.

Roxey voluntarily placed her daughter into our care because Roxey was
concerned for her safety. Roxey is, after all, a shadowrunner herself,
and runners are notorious for being killed unexpectedly. Of course, I
seriously doubt you belive that. As for saying anything against Haven, I
can personally attest to the philosophical arguments between Roxey and Val
on issues of violence and pacifism, yet I suspect that Roxey still
considers Val a friend.]<<<<<
-- Mozart <01:32:45/05-03-59>

From:	Brian Angliss <angliss@*****.COLORADO.EDU>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 3 May 1998 01:42:53 -0600

Message no. 36 >>>>>[GKJ, there are no witches in Haven. There are several druids,
numerous shamans and hermetics, and a germanic or two, but no Wiccans.

I doubt you'll believe this, but we consider casting any magic besides
healing spells on a person to be as violating as a mugging. We consider
mind control magics to be violations as abhorrent as a rape. Combat
magics are not taught at Haven, ever, but protection magics, such as
physical barriers, are. Valentine personally feels that looking at an
aura without permission is an invasion of privacy, although most others do
not feel this way.

In our world, your paranoia and distrust is regrettable, but
understandable. The world is a paranoid, hateful, violent place. Is it
so wrong to teach that the world doesn't have to be this way? That
paranoia doesn't have to be a way of life? That violence isn't the best,
or the only, way of expressing differences? That races can coexist
peacefully without hatred? We at Haven have devoted our lives to teaching
this, often after experienceing what the world is like. I personally used
to work for Saeder-Krupp as a magical researcher. I left when I discoverd
that my work was being used to produce magical weapons, and I haven't
looked back since.

The world can be so much more than it is now. People don't have to live
this way. We won't live to see it change, to improve, but perhaps our
grandchildren will. And that potential is something that all of us at
Haven are willing to give our lives for.]<<<<<
-- Mozart <01-44-46/05-03-59>

From:	Avenger <Avenger@*******.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 3 May 1998 15:36:46 +0100

Message no. 37 >>>>>[In the statements you've made Mozart, you claim that Haven allows
gangers, street punks, etc. entrance. Basically violent criminals whose
only interest in life thus far has been one of violence, where the only
family they know and accept is that of the gang. These gangs specialise
in extortion, kidnapping, mugging, and assorted other violent crimes.
Yet you also claim that people wanted for violent crimes won't be
allowed entrance, or if they are, are escorted by creatures most of the
world can't see or understand, and these people are evicted on the first
sign of a "rules breach". Fair enough. But why allow them access in
the first place? Why not hand them over to the authorities and allow
the penal institutions to rehabilitate and teach these people the error
of their ways. Let them pay for their crimes against the people.

As for children. I have no problem with that at all. Children are
beyond the crimes they sometimes commit, for a wide variety of reasons.
But beyond a certain age, say 12, they are more than aware of what it is
they do, and in the act of committing a crime they are more than capable
of deciding the severity of that crime, and understanding the
consequences of that action, whether it be theft or a murder or a
beating.

Whether or not I am any better for blowing someone away for a crime they
have committed against me is immaterial. The point is that if a place
such as yours offers sanctuary to people guilty of such crimes, then
your institution is no better than a harbour for street crime, and as
such should be closed down, or at the very least it is time to review
your policies. There are limits to the kind of ignorance of law that
people are prepared to tolerate.

When I have more time, I will no doubt request a history of Valentine,
but rest assured that I will not be asking him. I will do the research
necessary on my own. Thank you for the offer though.

As regards believing in giving people a second chance. Did you give the
terrorists that attacked you a second chance to reform and make amends
for their crimes, or did you simply throw them to the wolves? At which
point do you people decide who can have a second chance and who can't?
What crimes are outlawed at haven regarding sanctuary? What crimes are
so severe that entry would not even be considered. Who in this world
made you and yours judge and jury?

You arbitrarily announce that Valentine himself is a wanted felon. That
Dr. Jackson and his team are wanted felons. They assisted in healing
the injured during the recent incidents, fine, that's all well and good,
but what effort have they made to atone for their crimes? There are
laws in this country, laws that have been designed to protect the
people. Laws that you are blatantly flaunting, and that Mr. Mozart is
unacceptable. I don't give a monkey's armpit that Haven was somehow,
against the odds awarded extra territoriality. Haven resides in the
country known as the United Canadian and American States, inside the
city of Seattle, in what used to be the State of Washington. That means,
by all intents and purposes you are admitting to and creating
international incidents by allowing known criminals to cross what is
essentially an international border, thereby creating a criminal who is
know only a felon in his own country, but has suddenly become an
international felon, wanted nit just by Lone Star now, but by the FRBI
and Interpol - crossing state borders or international boundries is
automatic involvement for the FBI. Do you really wish to compound the
errors and crimes of these so called "reformed" persons by allowing them
international crimes?

That, although simplified is essentially what you are doing. On top of
which you are thumbing your nose at the laws of the country who allows
you to reside in it's territory. Is this really the image you want for
Haven? Or is this part of the whole scheme. Is Centsible more on the
ball that some of the rest of us, in that these people are "useful" to
Haven, and when their usefulness subsides into liability you surrender
these people to lawful prosecution just to keep the UCAS government and
federal law enforcement agencies sweet?

I do not accept your arguments in their entirety Mozart, not because I
do not agree with a safe location for children to learn, but because I
object most strongly to you harbouring criminals of any type in what is
an admirable educational establishment.]<<<<<
-- Goliath <15:36:22/05-03-59>

From:	Avenger <Avenger@*******.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 3 May 1998 15:43:16 +0100

Message no. 38 >>>>>[You better watch your mouth Mozart. And before you open it to
swap feet, I strongly recommend you define your definition of "decent".
I know a heck of a lot of decent people in the barrens. Or is it
because they all live in the Barrens that you consider them scum and
unworthy of the label decent?]<<<<<
-- GKJ <15:42:00/05-03-59>

From:	Avenger <Avenger@*******.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 3 May 1998 15:40:53 +0100

Message no. 39 >>>>>[Hey Mozart, what's the difference then? Witches, druids, shaman,
tricksters, illusionists, hermetics... What /is/ the difference. They
use magic, they can control peoples minds without effort, they can level
city blocks, they can kill with a simple gesture, they can summon demons
and fire breathing ghosts and shit, they can vaporise a person with a
thought, they can... Shit, you know damn well what they can do.

I know of a person who was controlled by a mage, she was raped by the
bastard, and made to enjoy it by mind control... So, what again is the
damn difference. Haven - Coven - Witches by any other name.

I won't even bother with the rest of your rhetoric, it's obvious your
reading it from some PR release document.]<<<<<
-- GKJ <15:39:12/05-03-59>

From:	Avenger <Avenger@*******.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 3 May 1998 15:50:59 +0100

Message no. 40 >>>>>[Hah! There you have it. More secrets unleashed. One of the top
8 megacorps couldn't afford to buy or take over Haven. Jesus fucking H
on a bicycle. They tried with a crack team of commandos to kill the
place and failed. Roxey is a powerful COMBAT (note the word here folks)
COMBAT mage and doesn't fear anybody - no what was the word, oh yes,
respectable citizens. Now what does that say to you all, huh? Roxey
could give a flying fuck at a rolling donut about respectable citizens -
Well, I'd say that's an admission of terrorism if ever I heard it. A
_Combat_ mage.

Haven is a peaceful place all sweet and sugary and nice, and cuddly, and
it teaches little children to be COMBAT MAGES, deadly dealers in arcane
death and destruction. Haven is not a sanctuary for the needy. In
mozarts own words he only accepts the scum of the city - note he said
"no decent people". He has combat mages on call, druids, shamans, and
all sorts of death dealing arcana. yet claims peace, but in that peace
they make their own laws that they break when they feel like it.

Be afraid people, be very very afraid. We have something that even the
witches of Tairngire should fear on our very doorsteps.]<<<<<
-- GKJ <15:48:23/05-03-59>

From:	Karl Low <kwil@*********.COM>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 3 May 1998 09:38:53 -0600

Message no. 41 >>>>>[This gets better n' better.

Now we got Interpol and the feds helping to maintain extra-territoriality on a
place that harbor the guys wanted by Interpol and the feds. Sure. And my dad's
Dunkelzahn's ghost.

I'm thinkin' Haven shoulda taken that s'posed offer by Aztech. Least then they
could afford a PR flack who's lies wouldn't be quite so obvious. 'Course, that
offer's probably just 'nother line of bull, either that or them not sellin'
is.

Who knows. Maybe I was wrong about Ryaka runnin' the place. Make even more
sense if Aztech was, they're the heavy hitters in the mojo department.

And didn't y'say earlier one of the Aztech researchers returned to Haven? Yah,
like they'd allow that to happen in a million years if y'wasn't affiliated.

Hey GKJ, guess you gotta start worryin' about another pyramid, right in yer
own backyard.]<<<<<
-- Centsible <09:31:22/05-03-59>

From:	Avenger <Avenger@*******.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 3 May 1998 16:49:25 +0100

Message no. 42 >>>>>[It ain't the Pyramid I'm worried about Centsible, it's the fact
that Haven is a home to criminals, international felons, witches, and
mysteries beyond the understanding of normal people. No counting the
fact that they've got massive teams of magic people training the kids to
do the same. Remember my earlier claims about mind control and shit.
Well, Mozart has all but admitted it. Now /that/ scares me. If it was
an Aztech pyramid at least I'd have some background for my fears, Haven
just scares me stupid, but there's no focus for it.]<<<<<
-- GKJ <16:48:33/05-03-59>

From:	Jeffrey Mach <mach@****.CALTECH.EDU>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 3 May 1998 15:32:31 -0700

Message no. 43 >>>>>[Wow.... Magic that can control minds without effort, level city
blocks, and vaporize a person with a though. Sign me up. I mean, if
there is some way to toss that kind of mana without breaking a sweat, I'd
love to know, seeing as I nearly passed out the last time I tried to heal
a guy's broken leg.

Unfortunately, there is _none_.

Heck, to do half of what you described would be more leathal to all the
mages I know than the effect you are so worried about. So Haven threw up
a protective bubble strong enough to stop the attack. At what cost? A
few dozen mages being knocked unconscious by the attempt, some even being
physically wounded for trying to wield that much magic. Woohoo...big
threat. Or there was that footage with maybe six high level initiates, or
more likely a few dozen mages working in concert and the six you saw were
just for targeting the ritual blow up a building (note: not one mage and
not the whole city block). Whereas, one idiot with enough high explosive
in his underwear, or a single plane with a bomb could have done the same
thing. If only psychos that shot people with guns had to experience the
type of pain we do just to pull that trigger, I think we'd have a lot less
idiots shooting at each other.

That you overlook the obvious I guess doesn't surprise me that much: If
Haven had the power to anihilate all the attackers and are such a
dangerous and maelevolent force, WHY DIDN'T THEY? Really, if we mages are
so damn powerful, and Haven is some cabal of sinister mages out to take
over the world (insert maniacal laughter here), why didn't they, as you
say vaporize the attackers with a thought. No bodies, no evidence, and
given the fact that they were trying to slaughter everyone inside Haven, I
doubt the people on Haven's side would have been complaining too loudly.

Shit, I know damn well what they can do [to use GKJ's phrasing]. I should
because I am one of them. And it isn't the kind of overblown crap that
you are trying to spew. Christ, get your head out of the tridbox...the
kind of stuff you are talking about only happens in the movies. Summoning
demons? That's pure bull. As much as it would be nice to get
confirmation of the hereafter, Elementals and Nature spirits have about as
much to do with demons and angels as you or I.

Just because what I can do falls outside of your understanding, doesn't
make me omnipotent. Just because I don't really understand the workings
of a fusion plant doesn't mean a Shiawase engineer can blow newborn stars
out of his butt. It is this kind of fear-mongering, to make people like
me out to be a bigger threat than we possibly could be that keeps us from
being accepted in society. You wonder why there are places that only
cater to "my kind"? You already answered that question. I mean, I have a
watcher who couldn't hurt a fly if it tried pop up to remind me I left the
iron on, and people like you look at me as though I'm a walking Tac-nuke,
then barely nod when some cretin comes in whose had his body butchered in
some cyberclinic so that he can rip people in half for the fun of it. Go
figure. People fear that which they do not understand, even if what they
do understand should be cause for greater fear.

I am sorry that your friend was hurt by a mage. But I fail to see why you
should hate all who are magically active. I am as sorry as if she was
forced to have something like that happen at the hands of a mundane with a
knife to her throat. If that was the case, would you hate all humanity,
then? And I would hope that the mage who was responsible for raping your
friend was captured and prosecuted to the full extent of the law,
including, if deemed necessary, having his magical ability destroyed so
that he could no longer commit a crime of so heinous a nature ever again.

There's another thing that people tend to forget unless it is convenient.
Some slot with a knife or a gun commits a crime and you can take that
weapon away, and if they get out, they can always pick up another. By
law, for many crimes involving magic the sentence includes the destruction
of the mages capacity for magic in a way that I have heard is most
excruciating. They will never be able to pick up that weapon again. You
might as well cut a mundane's hands off and fry their nerves so they can't
get replacements.

Finally, as a niggling point about differences, sure there are plenty.
Rather than bore the rest of the people I'll point you to these books,
which you can get on chip and have them read to you some time: >>reference
list<<. I mean, try not to show off your ignorance that badly by saying
illusionist in one breath, and then "they can level city blocks" in the
next. By definition, an illusionist creates illusions. Sure, he can
create the image of Dunkelzahn dancing an Irish jig, but it will be about
as dangerous as a trid picture of the same. And what is your problem with
witches? Some traumatic memory of a Halloween haunted house terrorizing
you to this day?]<<<<<
-- Michael <15:45:48/05-03-59 PDT>

From:	"Mark A. Imbriaco" <perlhacker@*********.NET>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 3 May 1998 22:18:43 -0400

Message no. 44 >>>>>[ GKJ, you amaze me. You are almost as ignorant as you are
offensive, and that is quite an accomplishment. Speaking as a
former student of Haven, if you believe half of the nonsense that
you are spouting, you should seriously seek help. Anyone who knows
ANYTHING about Val knows how strict he is when it comes to violence
inside Haven. While I find the notion of a pacifist training a
combat mage somewhat amusing, that doesn't change the fact that
not a single thing you've said has any grounding in reality at
all.

Haven is one of the very few places left that are SAFE for young
people who are in need. Val and everyone at Haven was there for
me when I needed it, and I could never repay that debt. The
mindless insults you are flinging that direction are beginning
to annoy me. ]<<<<<
-- Nomad <22:18:34/05-03-59>

From:	Brian Angliss <angliss@*****.COLORADO.EDU>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 3 May 1998 21:46:42 -0600

Message no. 45 >>>>>[There are always those gang members who want to change thier lives
for=
the better, Goliath. They are the ones who are dragged along with the rest=
of the gang, or those who joined only because they wanted to belong. They=
are often children who are guilty by association, or who committed crimes=
because they were given no choice or even physically forced to do so. =
Some, especially those who are "employed" as joyboys and girls, are forced=
to commit the illegal act of prostitution, and are thus criminals=
regardless of whether they became prostitutes of thier own free will or=
not. A great many gang members want to leave the gangs they are in, but=
fear the recriminations to themselves, thier families, or thier friends. =
Others have had a change of heart and truly desire to better themselves,=
but are unwilling to face the intolerance of the juvenile courtes. Gang=
member such as these are still wanted criminals, yet Haven protects them. =
Others profess to have had a change of heart, and are allowed in. Yet=
unless that change of heart is genuine, they always revert to thier old=
behavior, and are asked to leave Haven and not return. The truly hard-core=
and violent gang members are never given a second chance.

Most of the faculty here at Haven have heard horror stories of the juvenile=
detention centers from children who fled to Haven after being released from=
those centers after being ostensibly "rehabilitated." The centers are=
rarely able to truly rehabilitate gang members, and many leave them worse=
off and more violent than they entered. And with the rumors of Lone Star=
utilizing virtual reality incarceration and advanced psychotropic drugs to=
effectively brainwash people, I personally find it difficult to consign a=
child, even one who knows that he has committed a heinous crime, to such=
potential treatment by the corporation who is supposed to protect the=
rights of everyone, including the criminals in thier care.

Haven's policies are not perfect, nor do they work all the time. But our=
policies have produced a safe environment for education of the people that=
society has written off. Did we give the attacking terrorists a second=
chance? I suppose that depends on your definition. There are those who=
would have killed them without thought. We at Haven don't believe in such=
violent solutions. However, they made thier choice to continue fighting=
the police much as a violent ganger makes his or her choice to break the=
laws of Haven, and as such they suffered the consequences. I'm afraid that=
I have less tolerance of such unthinking, fanatical behavior than Valentine=
does, and I don't apologize for doing what we had to do. However, Val did=
apologize to the terrorists, saying that he did not wish them ill.

Good luck in your search for information about Valentine's history. Be sure=
to look him up under Patrick O'Kennedy, his real name, and should you have=
unanswered questions, please feel free to ask him, or me, anytime.

What crimes are outlawed completely at Haven, and thus so severe we wouldn't=
allow someone in? Unrepentant terrorism and attempted genocide. Many of=
the Children of Thunda were allowed into Haven following the riots, but=
were turned immediately over to Lone Star or InterPol when they were fit=
enough to travel. Most of them will never be allowed back into Haven. =
However, if one was truly repentant, and was willing to prove themselves as=
such, then Haven might accept such a person. However, that person would be=
extraordinary. Practicioners of corrupting magics, especially blood=
magics, are never allowed into Haven. Luckily, they are usually simple=
enough to identify. Those individuals responsible for causing massive pain=
and destruction are not allowed into Haven either. Dr. Jackson, for=
example, has openly stated that he is attempting to attone for his past by=
saving lives now, and so he is allowed temporary entry to save those lives.=
However, were he to return to selling arms, he would likely be banned from=
Haven, even in those situations when his skills could be used.

As a not-for-profit corporation, Haven is not within InterPol's jurisdiction=
- no extraterritorial corporation has ever signed the international=
agreement by which InterPol is given jurisdiction in cases of criminals=
crossing international borders, and Haven is no exception. Highly wanted=
criminals are rarely allowed into Haven, and Haven often turns over those=
who are to the proper authorities, so this is generally not an issue. In=
the case of Dr. Jackson, for example, he only ever enters Haven for our=
public fund-raisers or for situations when his medical expertise is=
required or requested. In such circumstances, most local and federal=
authorties are willing to wait until he attempts to leave Haven, as he is=
not doing harm by healing people. In other cases, heavily wanted criminals=
are allowed into Haven to be medically treated. And occasionally, they are=
given temporary sanctuary simply because we are not aware of thier crimes. =
We are morally and ethically opposed to the use of mind control or probing=
to determine the level of crime or guilt of a particular person entering=
Haven, and detect truth spells have only limited utility. I suppose you=
could say that we at Haven presume innocence until guilt has been proven,=
and based on that presumed innocence, we allow a great many people into Hav=
en.

Haven cannot exist without the permission of the UCAS, and we are all too=
aware of this. Even our substantial magical defenses could not withstand a=
protracted seige or assault, nor could our food supply. Thus we cannot=
openly thumb our noses at the UCAS government. Our rules are generally=
stricter than the laws of the UCAS, but we are willing to allow a second=
chance to those who have already been condemned by the UCAS. Most of those=
permanent residents of Haven eventually approach the juvenile courts and=
admit wrongdoing, as one of the more important teachings here at Haven is=
personal responsibility. Many of those who admit wrongdoing are given a=
sentence of prolonged community service, others are granted immunity from=
prosecution for providing information on the career criminals from whom=
they fled to Haven in the first place, and others are given suspended=
sentences to be fully reinstated should they commit further crimes. If you=
care to verify my statements, the juvenile courts contain all the records. =
Our agreements with the UCAS and Seattle governments provide for both our=
needs and thiers, and with few exceptions, those agreements work quite=
well. There are always exceptions, but they are thankfully rare and, for=
the most part, quickly resolved.

Crime is an inherent aspect to our current society. We at Haven hope to=
change that, but without somehow improving the lives of those people who=
commit the majority if crimes - the SINless who need to survive somehow, or=
the innocents forced into situations beyond thier control - then crime will=
always be an inherent aspect to our society. The records shows that over=
95% of the graduates from Haven go on to be productive, legal members of=
society, even those who were serious childhood offenders. Haven works,=
Goliath, even through all the daunting moral ambiguities we face.]<<<<<
-- Mozart <21:48:36/05-03-59>

From:	Brian Angliss <angliss@*****.COLORADO.EDU>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 3 May 1998 21:54:37 -0600

Message no. 46 >>>>>[GKJ, I know a great number of decent people here in Redmond as well.
=
If I felt that only people living in outside the barrens were deserving of=
the term decent, would I have devoted the past five years to helping=
residents of the barrens? I personally feel that everyone is fundamentally=
decent, and I have to in order to do my job. Your statements indicated=
that you felt that only those people who are "productive" members of=
society, such as shop owners, farmers, corporate employees, etc. were=
decent. And you've as much as stated that you don't consider metahumans to=
be decent people. In my eyes, everyone, regardless of how many tusks,=
horns, pointed ears, or how long of a beard, has the potential to be a=
decent person. Unfortunately, you do not seem to share that opinion, for=
which I find you woefully uninformed and intolerant. I hope you someday=
allow yourself to learn that your current views are inaccurate.]<<<<<
-- Mozart <21:56:35/05-03-59>

From:	Brian Angliss <angliss@*****.COLORADO.EDU>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 3 May 1998 22:01:16 -0600

Message no. 47 >>>>>[Ahh, you are a magiphobe, then. I begin to see your perspective,=
especially as you had a friend who was defiled by a magician. I'm sorry=
that it happened, but would you blame all humans for the acts of Abbadon? =
Would you blame all soldiers for the act of a single soldier going insane=
and killing several fellow soldiers with an assault rifle? Do you blame=
all for the crimes of a few insane and power-hungry people? Of course not.=
Yet you blame all magicians for the act of one. Can you not see the=
logical error in that belief?]<<<<<
-- Mozart <22:03:12/05-03-59>

From:	Brian Angliss <angliss@*****.COLORADO.EDU>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 3 May 1998 23:11:27 -0600

Message no. 48 >>>>>[Foxey Roxey was never a member of Haven. Her combat magic is purely
a=
product of the streets. She learned her violent magics from the streets,=
not from Haven. Perhaps if she had been helped by Haven she wouldn't be a=
criminal now. Haven has never once been protected by Roxey, nor are the=
combat magics taught in our few magical classes. If you were willing to=
come to Haven and observe the classes, or you were willing to trust what=
your eyes tell you in our published schedule of classes, you would see=
this. And if you looked into the public records of our faculty, you'd see=
that many of them hold advanced degrees in medicine, psychology,=
thaumaturgy, biology, physics, mathematics, and so on, and that not a=
single one has less than a bachealor's degree from an accredited university=
.

If you choose to remain ignorant of the truth about Haven, GKJ, that is your=
buisness. If you choose to attempt to convince others to agree with you,=
that is also your right, and no-one here at Haven will force you to stop in=
any manner, although we reserve the right to disprove your paranoid=
ramblings with all the hundreds of available public documents on Haven.]<<<=
<<
-- Mozart <23:13:21/05-03-59>

From:	Brian Angliss <angliss@*****.COLORADO.EDU>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Sun, 3 May 1998 23:26:42 -0600

Message no. 49 >>>>>[As I said in another response, Centsible, InterPol has no
jurisdiction=
over Haven. Check the public record of the case if you don't believe me. =
And just so you don't think we mentally manipulated anyone, be aware that=
the case was tried in FDC, and that none of the magical faculty were=
present, not even Val himself, only our completely mundane lawyers. In=
addition, the case was heard in a magically insulated building and normal=
magical precautions against magical influences were taken as per any=
federal case.

Yes, I did say that one of the permanent faculty was an ex-Aztechnology=
researcher. I personally am an ex-Saeder-Krupp warding researcher, so I=
guess that Saeder-Krupp owns us too. Two of our shamans were affiliated=
with the Souix government, working in nationally funded military hospitals=
as healers, so I guess the Souix nation controls us surreptitiously and=
illegally. But no, wait a moment, another faculty member used to be a=
magical security consultant for the city governments of Seattle and=
Detroit, so I guess Ares and the UCAS government have stakes in Haven too. =
Oh, and that also explains the extraterritoriality issue too, doesn't it? =
And then there's the ex-German soldier, so I guess Germany has thier greedy=
little fingers into Haven, along with Britain, Tir n'an Og (Val has Irish=
ancestry but was born in London, after all), Tir Taingire, France,=
Mitsuhama, Yamatetsu, etc. With so many faculty from so many diverse=
backgrounds, the number of factions vying for "ownership" of Haven should=
have turned it into a battleground years ago. After all, Saeder-Krupp is=
owned by a dragon, so it can't be too shabby in the "major mojo" department=
either....

No-one can purchase what is not for sale, Centsible, and Haven has never=
been and never will be for sale, at any price, to anyone.]<<<<<
-- Mozart <23:28:39/05-03-59>

From:	Brion Wauters <stu2204@****.COCO.CC.AZ.US>
Subject:	Re: Aftermath
Date:	Mon, 4 May 1998 11:11:10 -0700

Message no. 50 >>>>>[The pot is calling the kettle black. The simple fact that you post
to this board, GKJ, means that you either _are_ a shadowrunner or
consort with one. Being a 'runner means that you preform illegal and
quasileagl actions for pay. You put the mental & physical well being of
others, as well as their property, standing and future at risk. Since
you do this, you are wanted by one or more law enforcement agencies.
You also thumb your nose at the laws and conventions of the country in
which you live. I.E. you _are_ a criminal. A fugitive from justice.
You are _not_ a respectable citizen or what is commonly refered to as
decent people. Where do you (or any of the other folks who have bitched
about this) get off damning Haven for giving aid and temporary shelter
to people who are no different from you?]<<<<<
-- Irish <11:10:50/04-05-58>

Message no. 51 >>>>>[Okay Mozart, you've got my vote. If that's how things /really/
are at Haven, then in my opinion it may continue to operate. However,
if at any time I notice that you are not doing what you claim, you'll
excuse me if I get real noisy about it. Good luck and good
fortune.]<<<<<
-- Goliath <01:06:42/05-05-59>

Message no. 52 >>>>>[Yeah, so says you Nomad, so says you. Been in there have you?
Huh? That might explain your defence of what is patently something to
be worried about. Whatever Valentine is now, is not what I'm told he
was. Mozart says he was a criminal, others have hinted that he's some
sort of despotic mass murderer. So he's a pacifist now. Big deal.
He's still a criminal using the extra territorial status of Haven to
protect himself and other criminals. He's also sitting on top of some
of the most powerful mojo since the godamn Ghost Dance. And we all know
what happened as a result of that don't we? Yeah, 40 million bloody
Indians fell out of the woodwork somehow, and took over 60 percent of
this fine nation. That's what. Who's to say old Valerntine isn't up to
the same bullshit. Well? Can you guarantee beyond doubt? I didn't
think so.

As another prat in this forum said. It ain't that kids are being taught
in there. it's /what/ they're taught. They are sitting inside a so
called pacifist camp - hey I saw the trid reports. Them fraggin' spooks
hurtling around flinging bombs and people around weren't no pacifists.
And the guys standing at the gates weren't no pacifists neither. And
now you tell me I'm ignorant as well as stupid? Well Mr. I'm so
bleeding perfect Nomad. I suggest you are just another member of the
Haven PR brigade, and are part of the cover up. What makes Haven safer
than any other place then? I see three buses shot up, I see kids laying
dead and injured. That ain't safe by my figuring, not by a long chalk.
I see magic, powerful magic that ain't been done in this city afore. i
see it slam down around Haven like a fraggin anvil. Oh yeah, big deal a
couple of mages got knocked out. KNOCKED OUT! I saw a guy fry his
brains on the trid doin' something less than that. That ain't no
peaceful place for kiddies. It's a goddamn enclave for assassins,
murderers, thieves and monsters.]<<<<<
-- GKJ <01:16:13/05-05-59>

Message no. 53 >>>>>[Well Irish, in a way you are right, but everything I've done is
legal. I have not, and will not be involved in what I classify as
illegal activities, if I do, and get caught then I expect to pay the
price for my actions, not get away with it hiding in some wierdo enclave
thumbing my nose at the authorities. And it is a free world, where
speech is a freely shared thing. Therefore, if I want to damn Haven for
performing what I class as illegal acts then I damn well will continue
to do so, and there's nothing you can do about it. Unless of course
you'd rather this was a fascist state where speech is carefully
regulated? Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, regardless of
what those opinions may be. Deal with that Irish, or kill file those
you object to.]<<<<<
-- GKJ <01:04:33/05-05-59>

Message no. 54 >>>>>[Well Michael. You're wrong. Simple as that. OK, so some mages
admit that magic drains them, that sometimes they feel wasted after a
particularly heavy blat at something. But the simple fact is Mages can
control minds, they can make people do things, see things that ain't
there, vaporise them, turn their brains to mush, make 'em look like
summat else. There ain't nuthin' a mage cain't do. Ghost Dance pal.
Made a bunch of volcanoes erupt. Hell Puyallup's still covered in the
damn ash if you don't believe me. And then there's the other things.
Like that shield over Crater Lake that's been pissing off UCAS
intelligence for so long, and them funny critters that keep wandering
around the TIR border, and the massive regrowth of the NAN forests and
all the other shit that's going on. And 40 million bloody Indians from
thin air. Now we not only got all that to worry about around Seattle,
and the blasted Aztech pyramid inside it, with all the wierdo things
around that damn place - including my mate tells me some of the nastiest
biggest meanest bloody demons/spirits/beasties/whatever flyin' around
the place. Now we got Haven. A place that Aztech can't get at, buy,
crush, or invade, that brings down hacking great domes that no-one can
see or get through. And you want me to believe that mages are harmless.
You have got to be kiddin pal. Nah, I agree with that bunch that want
mages registered and tagged. Bloody good idea if you ask me. Tag the
bastards so that everyone knows where they are and what they're doing.
Make 'em get a licence as a lethal weapon as well while they're at it,
and register their bloody spells, if ya gotta register a gun, it's only
right that mages gotta register their spells. That way if they do
something, at least the court has a reference. Oh, but Mr,. Mage you
didn't register your immolate apartment building spell. 50 years in the
slammer for illegal casting of deadly spells, and all of that with them
really neat plugs and things that Lone Star use when they have to deal
with one of you spell chuckers. It's about time something was done
about all this bloody magic that's being flung around like there's no
tomorrow. It's time that someone put a flipping stop on this bullshit
that mages are free people. Anyone that can control someone else's mind
shouldn't be bloody free, he should be carefully monitored to make sure
he ain't doing it for the fun, or personal gratification or some other
nasty bloody reason.

Ain't nothin' harmless about a bloody mage. And I ain't got a problem
with Witches, it's just easier to stuff all them different spell
chuckers into the same bag. A witch is a spell chucker, everyone knows
that. Witches can be men or women, that's it. Simple. Mages, Shamans,
and Christ knows what. Nah, Witches the lot of 'em. Why, do you have a
problem with the label Michael?]<<<<<
-- GKJ <01:15:22/05-05-59>

Message no. 55 >>>>>[But that ain't what you said Mozart. You said that decent people
wouldn't live in the barrens, that decent people... well hell, you know
damn well what you said. Now that you've been challenged on your
comments all of a sudden you change your tune, and hey presto, there's
decent people in the barrens.

Simple fact of life Mozart - you are full of shit.

Next time you decide to gob off in a public forum at least have the
decency to have your rhetoric practised and pre-written. There's
nothing worse than a PR agent who keeps changing their minds, direction,
reinterpreting and redefining their own remarks. If I knew how to reach
him, I would strongly recommend to the head honcho of Haven, whomever
that may be, that they sack you on the spot, or at least have the
decency to send you on the same training course those PR wizards at Lone
Star attend. You need it.]<<<<<
-- GKJ <01:11:31/05-05-59>

Message no. 56 >>>>>[ Full'a shit... hm. Lesse. Someone who talks about correctional
facilities when he means a place to throw criminals in. Each bunk
occupied by two people at least. Yeah, A bet GKJ knows what he's
talkin'bout.

Lesse. Mr Bigmout here wants decent people inna warzone. Yells when
someone tells 'im there's underdogs in the zones no longer patrolled by
law enforcement. GKJ, get real: Dere may be OK guys here in da Barrens,
but A guess we all forget which side offa plate ta put the fork at. Some
may not even know what a fucking fork _is_. Not what A'd call decent.

Listen, scumbag, A've never been to this Haven thingy, as A'd guess it's
way too screened by what ya might call 'de cops' so A steer well away from
dere. ]<<<<<
-- Ein_Schusz <20:25:45/05-04-59>

Message no. 57 >>>>>[That is the biggest load of bull I've heard since the elections.
You can access this board, GKJ. That means A:your a runner, and
therefor a criminal according to the law and most of the public, B:you
got a friend who's a
runner, in which case your guilty of harboring a fugitive, since you
ain't turned him in, or C:you managed to wander onto here by accident,
in which case you are guilty of withholding data on criminal activites
from the police.

Second, it's a free _country_ not world (and the country ain't all that
free either).

Third, this is _not_ a "public board". If it where, it wouldn't exist.

You got problems with metas, mages and indians. Fine. Go over to
Paranoid.Net. We've got other problems.]<<<<<
-- Irish <11:31:20/05-05-58>

Message no. 58 >>>>>[Thank you, Goliath. It's individuals such as yourself who force
Haven to reevaluate from time to time. If you have further questions, please feel free to
ask or to visit our Matrix connections at >>>LTG
#<<<.]<<<<<
-- Mozart <13:27:35/05-05-59>

Message no. 59 >>>>>[Well there's a great moment in the history of modern debate:

I logically refute some of GKJ's wild and inaccurate claims, and he
responds: "You're wrong. Simple as that."

Sometimes it really makes me wonder why I try at all....

But to the point:

Yes, it is possible for someone with magical capability to harm other
people in ways that someone without can't. You've got me there.

It is also true that science as yet has found many more powerful (and,
dare I say creative?) ways of harming people. Minds can be controlled by
drugs and conditioning, brains can be mushed by chemicals or cybernetic
fists, bodies can be torn apart by bullets or vaporized by bombs with very
little effort on the part of the agressor. Point-and-click. At least a
mage has to wield that kind of power through himself, and pay the price
for it. We aren't allowed to blithy obscure the destruction of a life
as a twitch of a finger. I have to agree with the law on the books, if we
do anything, we have to know what we are doing and consciously decide to
do it. And that's what keeps the vast majority of mages, whom the
fearmongers like to ignore and despite their vast arcane power
(oooh...scary) well on the right side of tha law.

Yeah, we see things you can't. Like the fact that all life glows with its
own inner light. Kinda makes it hard to depersonalize people as things.
We interact with spirits. Beings that are so alien to you that you have
to give them the name "demon" but we try to understand.

You like to talk about the Great Ghost Dance. Frankly, a handful of
tactical nuclear weapons could have wreaked far more havok than the Ghost
Dance ever did. And even you must admit that it was the greatest public
relations stunt this millenium when a few volcanoes blowing up can win a
people a sizable portion of a continent. Unfortunately they did so by
making those they saw as oppressors fear their magic, a legacy all mages
will not be able to live down any time soon. Amusing in ironic way, is
that there is a considerable amount of conjecture now that it would have
been impossible for the survivors of the Ghost Dance to repeat their
performance in short order, and that if the military had chosen to wipe
them out, there would have not been sufficient resistance to stop them.
Note that I say survivors, since it is well documented that there was a
significant number of shamans that died in trying to create that ritual. I
wonder, GKJ, is there something you value enough to willingly give your
life for?

There is plenty that a mage can't do. I for one love to teleport, but
due to the Law of Astral-Physical Repercussion, I can't. For me
to catalog the number of things that a mage can't do would take pages that
I am not willing to sit here and fill. Yes, we have found a few loopholes
around the physical laws most people tend to take for granted, but the
holes are not that big.

Haven erects a barrier to prevent a mob bent on slaughter, and half of
Seattle freaks out. All they had to do was scare them (and I guess in
this way it _is_ similar to the Ghost Dance) and make them _think_ that
Haven was impregnible. I was there. And, while good enough to keep the
maniacs out, it hardly would have stood up to a concerted effort by even a
small military force chosen to breach it. And, if half of the rampant
speculations as to Aztechnologies financial, military, or magical assets
are true, it would be a small matter for them to "get at, crush, or
invade" Haven either. (Purchase would be up to Valentine, but he doesn't
seem to be wanting to sell.) However, why would they bother? It isn't
worth what it would cost for them to take it, which is all that matters.

I would rather not speak on behalf of Aztech though. I have heard things
that bother me and give me pause. But it is about as much pause as I had
when I heard Ares had developed their wonderful little anti-bug-spirit
spray for the CZ, and at least for that there is some hard proof. Who's
to say that they don't have a few GKZ's in their product development
sector who are working on how to remix the compound into an anti-mage
spray, or anti-metahuman spray, or some other similar insanity.

Humph. You bring up the old chestnut: "Let's register all the mages!"
Tagging, that's a new one. If you are going to clip a bit fat number to
my ear, I'll have to take off some of my jewelry. Heck, why not
dehumanize us further and brand a barcode on our foreheads. Better yet,
just make us wear hexagrams or paint them on our clothes, it will go
better with my accessories. Only problem is that it was tried before, 130
years ago in Germany for a different, but similar reason, and we already
know how that turned out. Fat lot of good registration is going to do
anyway. The only people that are going to comply are the ones you'ld have
never have to worry about. And what makes you think that the courts will
treat a mage any harsher if he murders someone with an unregistered,
rather than a registered fireball? Either way, he gets to have his magic
burned out before they put him away for a very long time.

By the way...most "witches" I know (prefferencially called wiccan (wicca
or wicce) and not to be confused with "warlocks") aren't good "spell
chuckers" but are pretty well versed in ritual magic and enchanting. My
only problem in being lumped with them, is that their typical faith-center
from which they have derived their tradition is pretty far removed, and
some might say, at cross purposes from mine. Which is not to say I don't
have a friend or two in the community, just that we really don't
understand each other. Funny, but for some reason that doesn't make me
hate them.

For the most part, your ramblings are all about how scared you are of
things you don't understand and how much you want to lash out at a few
individuals that have harmed you or those you care about, but since you
can't you're willing to take a swing at the rest of us. How childish,
yet sadly, how common.

I never claimed mages and magic were harmless. But if we are a danger,
how dangerous are we compared to the dangers humanity already does
understand? And if we are such beings of miraculous power, can you dare
to recognize that mages are easily capable of as much good as we are of
evil? I have the impression that if your friend had not been raped by a
mage, but saved by one who was the only person powerful enough to protect
her against her attackers, or perhaps was healed by some trauma team mage
after being in a terrible and otherwise terminal accident, that we would
be hearing something very different from you today.]<<<<<
-- Michael <16:58:12/05-05-59 PDT>

Message no. 60 >>>>>[GKJ, if we're all so damn powerful and evil, then why do we put up
with the level of crap you mundanes like to hand out?

And listen to this (talkback radio):

+++++Begin soundfile

Announcer: Hello, Janet?

Janet: Hoi.

Announcer: What's your opinion.

Janet: I didn't care before, but a mage saved my child three months ago, so
I've been thinking about it alot.

Announcer: Tell us about it.

Janet: I was walking my dog on a leash, and my son was holding my other
hand, and we were about to cross a street. This cycle courier flashed by
real close, and scared my dog, so the dog struggles to chase him, and in
trying to haul the dog back, I lost hold of my son. He started running
across the street, thought he could make it, I guess... I screamed at him,
and he looked back at me, and tripped, and fell... he was lying there
crying, and one of those remote piloted buses was about to run him over,
then out of nowhere this woman comes flying across the street, it was like
on Son of Superman... she grabbed him up just in time, and flew up out of
the way... I think the bus must have tapped her leg, she sort of spun
out... she saved my son.

Announcer: Okay, but anyone could have...

Janet: Sure, any mage... any licensed mage anyway. And I hear they're
thinking of making any public use of magic illegal, because it's supposed
to scare the rest of us. She would have been arrested for saving my son's
life.

Announcer: Hardly fair, and I'm sure the judge would have agreed that there
were extenuating circumstances.

Janet: Maybe. When she brought my son back to me I snatched him from her,
and I think she thought I was scared... the look on her face... then she
flew away, and I never got to apologise. These people need acceptance, or
they'll become what we fear.

Announcer: What are you saying, that society is to blame for magical crime?

Janet: We tell them that they're freaks, do we have any right to be
surprised when some of them want us to pay for their alienation? We fear
them, can we not expect some of them to use that fear to exploit us? We
envy them, so is it surprising that some of them think they are better than
us? We hate them, is it any surprise that some of them hate us?

Announcer: A bit dramatic, don't you think?

Janet: No, I don't.

+++++End soundfile

]<<<<<
-- ThunderStone <18:23:00/05-05-59>

Message no. 61 >>>>>[Hey, GKT? You cast any spells recently? No? Then shut the fuck up.

You want to kill someone with magic? It _hurts_. Why do you think I
carry a 1970s-vintage Smith and Wesson revolver around with me? Because
it's some sort of fashion accessory? No, because 240-grain .44 Remington
Magnums do a better job of killing people than magic does. I want
someone dead, it's easier and less painful (for me) to shoot them than
to wave my fingers and mutter eldritch chants.

You want to grab someone's mind? Sure, yeah, I can do that. But _damn_
does it hurt. During, and afterwards. Not fun. Not something I do
casually.

Some magicians get a kick out of it, well, hey, some people with guns
get a kick out of armed robbery or aggravated rape or murder. Do we
outlaw guns, or the criminal use thereof?

Sure, get a few hundred magicians together, wind them up so they don't
mind dying, kill a few dozen of them, and whay-hey! The Great Ghost
Dance! Of course, a lot of those magicians are _dead_ at the end of the
spell... but that's the price of persuading tornadoes to just happen, or
volcanoes to erupt. You want a big payoff, you pay a big price.

There's nothing a magician can't do... as long as they pay the price.
And there's always a price. And it always comes back to you.

As for me? Hell with any UCAS system, I'm tagged, registered, sampled
and on file with the Lord Protector Himself, and anyone who says _that_
doesn't give them nightmares is a poor liar.

Magic's as big a power now as gunpowder was six centuries ago. Guess
what? It couldn't be stamped out or exterminated or destroyed. It had to
be dealt with. Same with magic. It's a fact. Deal with it. I'm a
magician. Deal with _me_. You want me as ally or enemy?

Either get those of us who can use magic, but actually give a fuck about
its results, to help control it and watch it and channel it into
beneficial uses: or go the way of the Mameluke janissaries or the Zulu
impis or the Chinese bannermen, slaughtered and conquered by a superior
foe who used technology they rejected.]<<<<<
-- The Mighty Quinn <01:48:41/05-06-59>

Message no. 62 >>>>>[Thank you, Thunderstone. I'd missed some of the wilder legislative
proposals, and hadn't understood the implications.

Let me get this straight.

Someone is dying in front of my eyes. I can stand back and watch them
die, or I can use magic to heal them and save their life.

If I use magic to save them, I'm using magic in public. Sure, so I'm
licenced, will that stop the vigilantes from opening fire? 'The only
good mage is a dead mage', right? And they will claim "I saw a magician,
so I shot her!" Quod erat demonstratum.

So, I should stand by and let someone who could be saved, die. Because
saving someone's life might 'give offence' to some undefined person who
would rather men, women and children died in screaming agony than that
they were saved, so long as they 'died pure' from 'magical corruption'.

That is unacceptable. I _will_ heal the wounded that are in my power to
save. Bear expects no less. Their fate after they are healed is less of
my concern: if they have committed crimes, then they should answer for
those crimes, and should not hide behind Death's cloak. If I save a
criminal, who then is slain in the gas chamber, then so be it: his death
was an act of judgement, not an accident of his body's exsanguination.

But I _will_ heal the sick and the wounded that are presented to me: and
I call the damnation of Bear down upon any man or woman, of any race or
creed, who says I should turn my aid away from a suffering human being
that seeks my help.]<<<<<
-- June Rains-At-Sunset <02:00:42/05-06-59>

Message no. 63 >>>>>[Listen scumbag? Hey, ES. Define scumbag? I'm a scumbag because
I don't believe in magic riddled power-plants of potential corruption,
object when some PR dork claims no decent people live in the barrens,
and you call /me/ scumbag? What side of the fucking fence did you get
your arse sliced then?

Look dickhead. You're definition of decent may be people who eat all
pretty with a knife and fork, and pat their lips with a fraggin' cloth
after each mouthful. But I tend to object when someone arbitrarily
labels everyone single person who lives in the barrens as beneath
decent. Now the last time I checked anything beneath decent was scum.
That's a couple of million people who are worthless, and couldn't be
decent if they tried - according to high and mighty scag Mozart anyway.
So, damn right I get a bit upset about it. Who the hell does a
protected enclave of mages think the hell they are by labelling a couple
of million people as scum? Now, if you are also of the opinion that the
Barrens are filled to overflowing with scum, and not one of them could
possibly show a glimmer of decency - other than your oh so fine example
of the fork of course, which really is terribly simplistic as an example
don't you think? I would suggest that you do not visit the barrens.
The first hint of that particular attitude and you might find yourself
having your nice cute little fork surgically removed from a certain
orifice.]<<<<<
-- GKJ <01:14:32/05-06-59>

Message no. 64 >>>>>[So, Irish, you're saying that Lynch was a runner and not a Fed
huh? How about some of the other geeks in this node then? I've seen
deckers from Serenity Securities, from SIGA, from the fucking FBI for
crying out loud. Everyone who accesses this node is a runner? You are
so deluded it's almost hysterically laughable. Go away and grow up
Irish. When you can finally realise that your terribly stylised view of
this world may be slightly screwed up, then you might be able to come
back with an opinion that means something.]<<<<<
-- GKJ <01:03:44/05-06-59>

Message no. 65 >>>>>[I would like to take umbrage with only one part of your post
Michael, if you'll excuse me. Please do not label Witches and
Wicca/Wicce in the same pot, thank you. Wicca is a pagan religion,
Witches, although not separate to that religion or opposed to it, are
not Wicca. There are a large number of sources that will best describe
this to you, most of which you are probably aware of. But if one was to
make such comparisons in the UK or Europe, one would find a Hex placed
rather quickly. Witchcraft is closely associated with the ancient
Celtic religious practices that modern day Wicca resembles, as are the
Druids. But they are an entity within that religion, rather than a
recognisable or definable portion of it. I know a few Wicca priests who
would take great offence to being called Witches, and more than one
Witch who would be very upset over being called Wicca. As far as he
rest of your post goes, that was aimed at another whom I do not even
consider worthy of such indulgence. Your patience is far greater than
mine.]<<<<<
-- Monolith <02:57:22/05-06-59>

Message no. 66 >>>>>[You people are just so sickly sweet it's worse than swallowing
twelve pounds of saccharine.

So, according to Thunderstone and June, all mages are sweet dandy goody
two shoes who walk around looking for good deeds, and have happy happy
thoughts all day long. All mages are such do gooders in fact, that they
can't help themselves but to help the sick and heal the injured. Yeah
right, that's why so many people die in mortal agony every day. That's
why the hospitals are overflowing with sick and wounded. That's why
people die of malnutrition and disease in the barrens - because of these
civic minded nicey nicey mages who look after them all so selflessly.

Hey June, ever hear of Jehovah Witnesses? Huh? Ever think you might be
fragging with someone's religion?

Oh, but of course not. The poor recipient would understand perfectly
that God's intervention came in the form of a nice sweet, pretty little
mage, all glowing with goodness and honesty, and happy happy thoughts
overflowing with her oh so perfect intentions.

Hey Thunderstone, if life is so wonderful, then why is it millions of
people across the world are terrified of magic and mages? Why is it
that the majority of anti mage movements are because of that fear, in
exactly the same form as the anti gun lobby? Why is it that the
government forces and Lone Star, and Police departments take such
extreme measures to protect themselves when arresting a mage that _has_
committed a crime? Because they're all so sweet and only helping the
sick, and the little starving kiddies. Or because they are the most
lethal weapon ever realised on the face of this planet bar nothing.

Is it possible for mages working in concert to affect the very strata of
the continent we live on?

Answer: Yes.

Is it possible for mages to change a person's or their own appearance?

Answer: Yes

Is it possible for a mage to control someone's mind without others being
aware?

Answer: Yes

Is it possible for mages to create fancy little illusions that fuck with
people's heads?

Answer: Yes

Is it possible that nearly 47% of the deaths experienced by Security
teams protecting corporate property is as a result of mage activity?

Answer: Yes

Is it possible for thousands of acres of woodland to spring from the
ground over a decade instead of centuries?

Answer: Yes Example, NAN territory, Amazonia

Is it possible to prevent electronic surveillance of an area by magic?

Answer: Yes. Example, Crater Lake, Ohio - sorry Tairngire.

Is it possible for mages to kill without leaving obivous sign of their
presence?

Answer: Yes

Is it possible for a mundane officer in the execution of his duty to
notice a spell casting mage?

Answer: No

Does it take another mage, being present, aware, checking and looking in
the right direction to notice a mage?

Answer: Yes

Can another mage simply notice another mage?

Answer: No

Why? Because they can hide what they are.

I could go on and on. There are thousands of examples. You are worse
than any other walk of life. Car drivers wield a potentially lethal
instrument, yet do not complain about passing competency exams and
becoming licensed. Gun owners do not complain about having to register
their firearms, and possess a carry permit. Mages whine endlessly when
they are asked to acknowledge what they are. What's wrong with this
picture? Are they all ashamed of something perhaps? Ashamed that they
are potential killing machines. Or is it that they don't WANT to be
responsible for their powers?

Has disease, illness, suffering, starvation, death, been over come by
the employment of magic?

Answer: No

So, what is it again that mages do? Oh yes, they cast spells that are
undetectable to ordinary people, under cover of secrecy and for reasons
of personal gain or opportunity. Because if mages really were the
picture of perfection that Thunderstone, June, Mozart would have you all
believe they would have no objection to registration.]<<<<<
-- GKJ <03:38:22/05-06-59>

Message no. 67 >>>>>[And so speaketh the person who not less than a few weeks ago
claimed to have walked unsuited, unsupported on the surface of the moon.
Now she whines how magic hurts after allegedly achieving what no normal
man/woman could possibly ever do in their wildest imaginings. And I'm
supposed to believe that?

Hey, Quinn. Next time you try to convince someone magic is painful and
difficult, make sure it isn't so soon after your claims of strolling in
the astral form on the fragging moon. I don't know. NASA spend
billions of dollars to get a man on the moon, and Quinn just strolls up
there. But as soon as someone puts it together and makes people aware
of how powerful mages really are - she whines and complains, and whinges
about how it hurts. Does it hurt? Ahhhhh. Poor little diddums.
Should've thought about that before you started making other claims
shouldn't you? "I can walk on the moon without a space suit but casting
spells hurts a lot." Quinn, you're more full of shit than
Mozart]<<<<<
-- GKJ <03:01:11/05-06-59>

Message no. 68 >>>>>[Oh please. Thunderstone, get a grip. That was one isolated
example, against the hundreds of deaths, murders and incidents caused by
rampaging mages every bloody year. Ask a corp sec team how many of
their mates have been killed by a spell chucker. Ask the poor saps who
sit in the mental home having had their brain mushed by some fuckwit
with a mana bolt. Talk to the millions made homeless and evicted from
Ohio when fucking Tairngire walked in with their magic and dragons and
shit. Tell the thousands of people out there who see mages every week
on trid achieving what is essentially impossible for normal people that
mages are cute and cudly and all sugary sweet.

If you're all so innocent, then you won't mind registering will you. I
carry a gun. In order to carry that gun I own a licence. I paid for
that licence, I am on a federal database as a registered owner of a
personal defence weapon. Because of my line of work I have a concealed
carry permit. What the fuck do you have asshole. A FREE LICENCE TO DO
WHAT YOU GODDAMN WELL WANT. It's wrong. Mages are dangerous weapons.
They are fucking lethal weapons in fact. That much is proved every damn
week in the papers, on the news, in federal reports from the Justice
Department. By historical fact. Such as Tairngire, NanOg, Ghost Dance,
etc etc, blah blah ad infinitum. Don't come the hard done by fraggin
innocent with me. Or is it that you have /never/ /ever/ employed magic
to kill, maim, wound or control.

The other comparisons here are ridiculous. If a mage wishes to kill me,
it is with a simple gesture. If I want to kill someone, I have to pull
a very obvious weapon out of a not so obvious position, it makes a very
obvious noise when it goes off, and leaves a very very obvious sign when
it hits the target. What the hell do mages do? Lean against a lampost
whistling, watching the girls go by, and vape some poor schmuck target.
Don't lie about, I've seen it bloody done, and we never caught the
fucker. Mage can't do the work, fine employ a godamn elemental or
spirit to do it for you. Oh yeah, mages are so sweet and innocent. If
you've got nothing to hide, and nothing to fear then you won't mind
registering. If you object to registration then you are obviously
hiding the fact that you have used your gifts for illegal and probably
lethal purposes.

Car drivers have to be licensed, they have to pass a competency test.
Gun owners have to be licensed, and usually pass a competency test. That
doesn't apply to all of them of course, there are as we all know illegal
weapons. But. The simple fact is, that those who are honest in this
world are licensed. Mages are incredibly dangerous, and as all people
unpredictable. If they have to undergo registration, plus the
registering of spells, they will think twice about killing a cop over a
fucking parking ticket. What's so hard about explaining to a federal
organisation about the spells you have to hand. If someone dies from
fireball overdose in your area - they will have your particular spell
signature to hand and will be able to determine guilt that way. Oh, by
the way, I am reliably informed by a couple of mages that each mage does
have a unique spell signature. Something to do with the way they
interpret the mathematical formulae that make up spell casting. Same
applies to them funky shamans.

Registration and legalisation of magic. That's the way of the future,
and not before time. Anyone who isn't registered as a mage, is
obviously doing so because of their criminal intentions. That's as good
a sign as any that they don't deserve to keep their abilities. And I
tell you now, without worry about the accusations that will come flying
at me. If I personally meet someone who is a mage doing something with
their abilities that is illegal, I will personally put a lead pill in
their braincase. If you have nothing to hide. Register. If you do,
watch out. Some people don't like mages - that's why occasionally one
dies from lead poisoning.]<<<<<
-- GKJ <03:19:22/05-06-59>

Message no. 69 >>>>>[GKJ...dude, you need a serious breather. You're getting your BP up
to the flash point so bad you're starting to confuse and argue with
yourself.

Mozart was first refering to what you said, and I quote:

"Haven is a haven all right. But not for anything that decent people
want on their doorstep."

She just turned your choice of the word "decent people" against you. Most
"decent people" by your definition don't want what's in Haven. Well that
then precludes all the people in the Barrens who turn to Haven for help
when they are in need, medicine when they are sick, and education to
better their lives. "Decent people" it usually a term that the middle and
upper classes like to reserve for themselves and deny to those further
down the ladder that would consider doing things "decent people" wouldn't
imagine just to survive. And they probably would have to do those
"indecent" things if not for the care and support Haven provides to the
community. You might as well let this end of your rant drop...you're
starting to look more foolish than when you started, or in the immortal
words of a friend of mine:

Beware slinging drek, lest dreky you become.]<<<<<
-- Michael <19:54:52/05-05-59 PDT>

Message no. 70 >>>>>[ Yo, scumbag. Ya even unable ta read what A wrote, so why dontcha
just shut up? Mages are big evils - my, if ya like ta, ya can believe
dad. Me, A tells ya, every fucking mage A hit went down on the second
bullet latest, even if da fucker had one of those oh-so-glorified bullet
barriers. And A mean 'hit' when A say so.

A says dere are good people in da barrens - hah, A live in da Barrens, so
_dad's_ proven *grin* - but most probably none who normally be tagged
"decent" by people who use such strange words. Now ya get down on ya
stinking arese and try ta understand "not decent" is somethin' other then
"under decent". Me, I worked on both sides of more fences and walls then
ya'll ever see, cuze dere's one fucking large wall right before what ya
call a brain.

Hey - where did that chick get her name from? Hey, Mozart, ya a music
lady? A like the power of old man's music - great ta hear onna hit!
]<<<<<
-- Ein_Schuss <20:56:16/05-06-59>

Message no. 71 *****Private: Monolith
>>>>>[You learn something new every day. I didn't much know of anyone
calling themselves witches, except a few Wiccans that used the word only
to say that though some people call them witches (since the term is
derived from the word "wicce") they don't like to use it. I stand
corrected.

As for GKJ, I've been too high strung after the mess at Haven, so I
guess I let the jerk get to me. Frankly, he sounds like just one
more trawler for Abbadon & Co.]<<<<<
-- Michael <21:20:24/05-05-59 PDT>

Message no. 72 >>>>>[ What? Anyone actually believed that joke about the moon? Oh, my.
So many fools, and no time. ]<<<<<
-- Canis <21:08:29/05-06-59>

Message no. 73 >>>>>[You know, GKJ, you just committed a crime? Making threats to kill
is illegal, didn't you know that? It also easily constitutes grounds for
revocation of a firearms permit, if you say you're going to wander
around randomly capping strangers because "they wuz casting spells!"

A legit cit with a CCP, spouting off how you're going off on a mage-
killing rampage... you ought to know a damn sight better than that. Just
a friendly warning.

Agree about registering the magicians, though.]<<<<<
-- Marlowe <18:03:23/05-06-59>

Message no. 74 >>>>>[Walked naked on the moon? What _have_ you been smoking, GKJ? I've
never been EVA, and if I did I'd be in a pressure suit, I _like_ having
my internal organs staying internal. Astral, yes, physical, no.

And magic _isn't_ difficult? Fine, go on, cast a spell.

I'm waiting...

Oh, it's _not_ easy? Yeahright. You can't do it, so don't try telling
those who can what it's like.

Besides, you ought to _like_ me. I'm a paid-up signed-off registered
magician, authorised and licenced and all the rest of that stuff. Don't
you just feel _so_ much safer now?]<<<<<
-- The Mighty Quinn <17:55:32/05-06-59>

Message no. 75 >>>>>[Hey Marlowe, I didn't say I was going on a rampage. I said that
if I see a mage indulging in what I interpret as illegal activities.
That's not a declaration of war, it's the act of a concerned
citizen.]<<<<<
GKJ <00:46:33/05-07-59>

Message no. 76 *****PRIVATE: Michael
>>>>>[Witch is such a generic term really, in the past it has indicated
a haggard old crone who casts evil spells and steals little children,
later under certain Christian teachings it came to mean something far
more evil, something that centred around devil worship and Satanism. In
this the accusers were terribly mistaken, but as is the way of man, some
chose to adopt the methods created during the "Hunts" and Satanism was
born. True witches, those who were affiliated with the original covens
were driven into hiding. I first encountered a true Witch in Germany.
He took me completely by surprise. A more generic term for them would
be Shaman, as their magic is primarily oriented around nature -
utilising herbs, stones and other similar items for their powers. But
they are as versatile and powerful as any mage, shaman I have met.

One other thing that I noticed in your message was the mention of
Warlocks. Were you perhaps not aware that in Witchcraft there is no
such thing as a Warlock? Male and female members of the tradition are
in fact Witches. A Warlock was originally an invention to explain male
presence as the word Witch was associated with women, and in those days
the people who opposed Witchcraft like everything nicely sewn into
bundles. A Warlock was in fact an outcast. A man or woman who bore the
brand of a liar and traitor upon their forehead - and named warlock. I
can let you have more details if you are interested, but I think a
mention might suffice.

As regards Witches, if you are ever in the UK, you may consider ignoring
the tourist advisory and travel out into the countryside where some of
the smaller hamlets are once again serviced by Witches, and the pagan
religions appear to be taking a deeper hold on the populace to (I
suspect) replace the neglect of the UK government, health services and
general ignorance of these lesser caste people.

Whether GKJ is another of Abbadon's accusers or simply a sadly misguided
individual is irrelevant. The man is obviously ignorant and pre-judges
that which he doesn't understand, doing what he accuses others of being
guilty of. Labelling all under one banner. It is sometimes best not to
engage such fools in conversation as they simply wind themselves up into
a frenzy of ludicrous statements, accusations and threats. That's
partly why I didn't bother trying to correct the idiot.]<<<<<
-- Monolith <00:41:32/05-07-59

Message no. 77 >>>>>[You might not believe me Ms Quinn. But yes I do. That at least
one person has the courage to stand up and take such steps is, well,
admirable. I apologise to you for any insult, you did not deserve it.

I hope that your example will be taken by others and followed. You have
my admiration and respect madam.]<<<<<
-- GKJ <00:44:32/05-07-59>

Message no. 78 >>>>>[A few wrong answers there, GKJ...

Is it possible for mages to kill without leaving obivous sign of their presence?

No.

Is it possible for a mundane officer in the execution of his duty to notice
a spell casting mage?

Yes.

Does it take another mage, being present, aware, checking and looking in
the right direction to notice a mage?

Not necessarily.

Can another mage simply notice another mage?

Occasionally.

Why? Because they can hide what they are.

Some can, some can't.

We don't whine about being _registered_, we already _have_ to be
registered. It's in our SIN files, and we have to pay 25,000 nuyen to
LoneStar corporation if we want to do anything more than the magical
equivalent of crawling. It's being regulated that we resent.

Has disease, illness, suffering, starvation, death, been over come by the
employment of magic?

No, but it could be. Thing is, no-one trusts us, so few people will accept
what we can offer.]<<<<<
-- ThunderStone <18:53:18/05-06-59>

Message no. 79 >>>>>[And what the frag is a Shadowrunner anyway? The word is stupid, I
>>>>>never use it, no-one I know uses it, and what sort of person uses it
>>>>>to describe themselves? Wannabes? Those guys you see in bars polishing
>>>>>their razros and grinning at everyone? Only idiots, I
suspect.]<<<<<
-- Lightning <18:18:22/05-06-59>

Message no. 80 >>>>>[The media, the newszines and trid programs. Movies, novels, other
works of fiction. Citizens, to describe that which has no other name
than criminal.

Many different people use it Lightning. It may be an inaccurate
description considering how many of these so called Shadowrunners live
in the limelight. But it is a popular phrase amongst the less informed.
And that trid program showing the wonderfully excessive behaviour of the
Armalites and Team Baker does use it almost every five minutes.

You may not agree with the word, or the description inherent in it's
use, but unfortunately the general public has accepted it, and thus a
new word is born to describe those who earn a living on the edge.]<<<<<
-- Marathon <04:30:33/05-07-59>

Message no. 81 *****PRIVATE: Thunderstone
>>>>>[Small observation that may prolong your life. GKJ is, as far as I
can tell a researcher for a group of CoT cells in the area surrounding
Haven.

+++++Include GKJ.dat_fle

That'll give you what little I've found out about him, He has been seen
regularly with this man.

+++++Include: Barman.pic

I think he's been indulging in a little research, and already this node
has given him way too much information. That Haven's shield is not
impregnable, that the mages in there have suffered from it's casting.
That there are other mages who sympathise. I suspect he has been trying
to put faces to names. Public records are not that well encrypted and
it may be possible that your mention of registered and sinned mages has
given him a clue to identifying some of you.

I do not know how many people he is able to call on, but it would be
dangerous to continue engaging him in this conversation. If you know of
anyone who is hunting in that area, you may wish to send them this
information. I think it would be a good idea to deal with this man,
before he mobilises some sort of effort to breach Haven again. They
have learned much from the last attack, and even more now.

As they used to say in the last century. Loose lips sink ships.
Misdirection has always been the greatest source of information
gathering. Disarm your opponents and it is surprising how much useful
data can be attained.]<<<<<
-- Goliath <03:58:33/05-07-59>

Message no. 82 >>>>>[Sorry, GKJ, but you fail again. Lynch _was_ a runner. He simply
was working for the goverment. Same basic job (well, alot less
stealing, proabably), he's was just "legitamate". SIGA is a goverment
black bag outfit. They're a group of (no offense) spys, leg-breakers,
data-thieves, assassins, and "trouble-shooters". Same deal as with
regualr 'runners. Only difference is they work for the goverment rather
than themselves. As for the Serenity and FBI deckers, technicaly they
are breaking the law.

As for your "Mage's can do this" rant, science can do all the same
things.

Makeup can change a persons appearance dramaticaly (ever hear of Lon
Chanely, man of a thousand faces?).

Drugs, hypnosis and psychology can control somone's mind, and make the
subject forget that it happened.

The proper use of chemicals can kill without being traceable (and no
astral "fingerprints" for the investigator mages to find).

Sec teams losing people to mages? Yes, it happens. But not nearly as
often as they lose them to folks with guns.

Brain fried hospital patients? A dose or two of hyper has the same
effect.

Level cities? Sure. Get fourty or so mages together. Hope none of
them gets killed while the spell is being cast. And about half of them
_will_ die once the spell is finished. And about half of whoevers left
will be unconcious. Its much easier to buy a small nucleuar device (the
russian mob had them back in the twentieth, I'd bet they still have a
few on hand). Stick it in an airport or train terminal locker. Use a
remote detonater or a timer and blow it an hour latter when your three
states away. Lets see...fourty men, half of whom _will_ die, and who
are in tremendous danger if their casting gets interrupted vs. one guy
with the right contacts and alot of money.

Receiving end of combat magcis? Been there several times. It was no
different than being on the receiving end of an assult rifle, gernade,
landmine or electro grid (actualy, it wasn't as bad as the electro
grid).

As for registering all mages, two problems. If you have a SIN and
magical talent, the you _are_ registered. Period. But what about the
mages in the barrens? The law abiding ones who have never used their
power to hurt a soul (well the occasional Devil Rat or mugger)? The
ones who aren't registered because they had the misfortune to be born
without a SIN?]<<<<<
-- Irish <13:14:30/07-05-59>

Message no. 83 >>>>>[GKJ, in one post you go into detail about the invisibly insidious
nature of magic, how you can't see someone casting a spell, how you
can't identify a magician, how they can make you see whatever they want
you to see, et cetera et cetera.

Then you brag about how if you see someone doing something you consider
to be illegal, you'll shoot them in the head.

Now, isn't something wrong with this picture? How will you know
someone's a magician engaged in "what you interpret as illegal
activities"?

And what happens when you "pop a lead pill" in an entirely innocent
bystander, because some magician messed with your head or you just
screwed up?

You're not safe with that CCP, pal. Magicians are dangerous, but so are
triggerhappy citizens with guns.]<<<<<
-- Marlowe <23:59:43/05-07-59>

Message no. 84 *****NOT TO: GKJ
>>>>>[Now why does that instant switch from ranting maniac to polite
gentleman make me uneasy, I wonder?]<<<<<
-- The Mighty Quinn <23:52:34/05-07-59>

Message no. 85 *****NOT TO: GKJ
>>>>>>[The pill lady must've made a visit.]<<<<<
-- Blade <16:48:34/05-07-59>

Message no. 86 *****PRIVATE: Faerie, Lightning
>>>>>[Here's another lead...

+++++Include message goliath.txt

+++++Include GKJ.dat_fle

+++++Include Barman.pic

I say we give it a look, at least until we can get word from
Kristling.]<<<<<
-- ThunderStone <18:02:20/05-07-59>

*****PRIVATE: ThunderStone, Faerie
>>>>>[Yeah, sure, why not. Let's go for it. I'll pass the pic around to
>>>>>some trustworthy individuals here (the ones as haven't shot me yet),
>>>>>and get them looking for him. With the data in that dat, it shouldn't
>>>>>be too hard to pick him up. Either of you two available for astral
>>>>>tracking?

Also, results from the check on Kristling's LTG: No system there anymore,
it used to be registered to Spinners Inc., a marketing business. The
building the system was in is for sale, and currently standing empty, or so
the records say. Might be another camp there. Who's up for a look around?
Meet me at CLHQ tonight, I've got Carlos and Terminal ready to go, and a
new addition, chick called Chastity... you'll love her. BTW, we'll need at
least one of you for a preliminary astral scan, we don't really want to go
in blind.]<<<<<
-- Lightning <19:32:06/05-07-59>

Message no. 87 *****NOT TO: GKJ
>>>>>[Because Ms. Quinn it's a tactic used before I suspect. It's not
the first time they've tried disarming people by being nice.]<<<<<
-- Goliath <04:30:22/05-08-59>

Message no. 88 *****INTERNAL: Mitchell's Diary
>>>>>[I walk into the apartment. Cat charges at me, and climbs halfway
up my leg, hanging from my slacks just above my knee so I can scratch
his ears for him; when I do, he closes his eyes and purrs like a diesel
generator, before dropping off and walking over to inspect his food dish
accusingly.

"You little monstrosity." He relents enough to arch his back as I stroke
it, and he purrs even louder as I nudge his head aside with the Whiskas
box so I can pour kibble into his dish. For such a small cat, he makes
_big_ noise, crunching the biscuits with gusto, still purring loudly
enough to shake the walls.

That duty attended to, I slip the duster off, hang it by the front door
- yet again it's survived intact - and take the P226 from the small of
my back. Some day I'll get a proper holster, but for now my belt's
sufficient. A few minutes suffices to clean it, and to change the
barrel: now any ballistics tests will come up cold, unless they find the
original barrel Easy gave me. And if they've done that hard a search of
my apartment, I'm in deep shit anyway.

I've got half-a-dozen H&K P27s stashed away, I shouldn't be using this
seventy-year-old antique... but it feels right in my hand, and it's the
first illegal handgun I ever owned, and I like it for its solid
reliability. We used to use these, back in the old United States days:
the SEALs used the P226 as their handgun of choice. Maybe that's
something to do with it.

Ask the question. "What would Lynch do?"

No-brainer. Use the antique. He hauled some ancient revolver around, an
old cylinder-fed six-shooter, and he got results with it. I guess I can
do okay with a 9mm high-capacity semi-auto. Amateurs argue over a few
foot-pounds of muzzle energy, professionals concentrate on shot
placement. If I'd been coldly rational I'd have been using a Hockler for
the job: but with a submachinegun, you have more wild rounds, more
chance of maiming some bystander.

Keep it neat, keep it tidy, let it be written off as a mob fight, and
Lone Star will drag their feet. Put a bullet in an honest taxpayer and
it becomes their problem, and you have a war on your hands. And I can't
win a war with the cops.

Stick to pistols, stick to accurate Mozambique drills, don't make it
worth the Star's while to get involved. And be glad you worked those
weeks of slogging small-time SWAT ops with them, and you know their
drills and their mindset and their attitudes.

I finish hiding the SIG's 'dirty' barrel and changing ammo, and
reassemble the weapon. Now it's just my father's old service automatic
that I carry because I've got a toolbox full of microtronics parts and I
can't afford to be mugged. The fact that it's old counts _for_ me
there... until they run a check on types and want lists. But then, when
I'm not working I load XTP 101-grain flechettes, because the subsonic
JHPs I like for assassinations live in the same space under a floorboard
as the dirty barrel. Ammo doesn't match, rifling doesn't match, not many
juries will convict on that. SIG-Sauer made a _lot_ of P226es.

That takes care of work. I check the newswires: Kuo's dead in all of
them. Good. Job over. Hopefully, Bartolo will pay without complaint. He
seemed like an okay guy, I'd hate to have to kill him.

Kill him? Shit. If he doesn't pay, what else can I do? I can't let word
get out that the Serpent can be ripped off.

I hadn't thought of that angle before. What if he decides to kill me
instead of paying me? Sure, I'm not so stupid I wouldn't consider it,
but what if he's foolish enough to try? I'd have to face him down. Hurt
his honour guard, maybe kill some. Maybe hurt or kill him.

This shadowrunning crap's harder than it looks. The work's just work.
It's the getting paid that really stings.

Why didn't I figure that out before?

Because I was a salaried Federal employee, Christian, you dope. You got
your money every month, for Kathleen to take her bite out of, win, lose
or draw. Fighting to get what you earned... never really entered the
equation.

Okay. For now, we can afford to lose. So play it cautious. We can also
take out Bartolo if we have to. So play hardball. And most of all, hope
he pays without a fight.

This isn't as easy as I thought it would be.]<<<<<
-- Mitchell <01:21:46/09-02-59>

Message no. 89 *****INTERNAL: SIGANet
>>>>>[TO: Cpt L R W Lynch
CC: Archive

I think Mr Van Holde remains useful. He's aware of his flaws, at least.

+++++begin transcript
R: "Ronin" aka Matthew Van Holde
C: Director D J H Coppinger, SIGA

Ronin: So, what now?

Coppinger: You tell me.

R: You're telling me, and expecting me to believe, that I can just walk
out and no worries Matty, off you go, have a blast?

C: That was the deal we made, and you kept your side of it.

R: What the hell has that got to do with it?

C: Excuse me? <coldly>

R: Since when does a government johnson like you _not_ screw his
operatives?

C: <laughs> My predecessor was fond of that gambit. Until one of his
operatives led a team that levelled his headquarters and killed him
in his office. I believe the pathologist counted a conservative
minimum of forty bullet wounds in Bartlett's corpse...

I do learn from mistakes, Matthew. Not just mine, either.

R: Nice point. <hesitates>. So, would you be interested in engaging me
in the future?

C: Are you suggesting I might be a part of a conspiracy to commit
felonious offences within or without the UCAS, Mr Van Van Holde? That
would be grossly illegal...

R: <Ronin realises he's being sarcastic> Bite me, Coppinger.

C: I've had _Lilith_ insult me, you're going to have to do a lot better
than that.

R: Anyway, can I do any business in the UCAS still? And if I can, can I
assist you in any way? From what I recall of talking to Stephanie,
you're big on second chances, and making it right.

C: That tiger has cost me more secrets than the Farmer... to those
inside the circle, at least.

R: Actually, I made that up based on what I guessed and had seen in the
past.

C: That's what I meant. Well done, though.

R: So it's true then.

C: Yes, it's true. A lot of our staff have their own secrets. The
question is, Matthew, is this what _you_ want? Do you really want to
be a SIGA agent? Either hunted and hated by the enemy, or else
anonymous, faceless, rarely able to claim credit for your good work
while endlessly falsely damned?

R: Like the way Renraku corpsec get seen in the UCAS, you mean?

C: Touche.

R: You know, maybe I _like_ being the good guy sometimes. If it's good
guy but no money, versus bad guy with money, then I'll take the bad
guy-money combination... but it'd be nice if I could make some money
and do the right thing simultaneously... damn, I'm starting to sound
like Mitchell.

C: Actually, Matthew, you'd be very useful to us in a matter involving
Mitchell.

R: I would? How? Where did he go, anyway? I get back, read the logs, one
minute he's taking on all of Shadowland singlehanded and the next
he's just gone.

C: Mitchell's a most unfortunate case, Matthew. Commander Mitchell was a
very skilled, dedicated soldier. Unfortunately, he was captured on
one of those raids into the Yucatan that the UCAS has nothing to do
with. He fell into the Doctor's hands.

R: Oh, _drek_...

C: Yes. He believed that he escaped. He did not. He was programmed and
conditioned, then released in a carefully-staged piece of theatre. We
were meant to take him to our bosom, and we pretended to, but our
plans were already laid.

R: I don't get it.

C: No, you've been out of touch a while, and this didn't make the news.
Watch. Enjoy.

<pause>

R: That's... an impressive disinformation operation. Mr Director Sir.

C: Impressive my ass. Most of it we came up with on the fly. Especially
when Haze came within an ace of killing Lilith, even if that did give
us the opportunity to inject her as Rosselini. But the key point is,
Mitchell still doesn't know a damn thing about it.

R: Which is important why?

C: Look at his abilities and his talents. Between Lilith's attack on the
Planners, and your raid on his Amazonia facility, the Doctor is now
desperate for skilled help. Mitchell is out there, and available.

Narmohach might be persuaded to recruit Mitchell. And that would give
us the lead we need. Unless we can find him, we can't attack with
enough force to destroy him. We stumble across him now and then in
unexpected locales, we never find him where we can harm him.

I was _so_ sure we would have our chance in the Yemen... instead, we
were dancing to his tune for that whole campaign. That mission you
lived through? If we'd known Narmohach would be there, it would have
looked _very_ different. Every time we get close, he slithers away
into another dark crevice.

<pause>

If he hires Mitchell, then that problem is solved. We can find
Mitchell, any time, any place. He won't recruit Mitchell until he's
sure the ex-Commander is beyond redemption in the UCAS. Mitchell,
meanwhile, wants to know who damned him and why. He, pity the man,
believes he's an innocent wronged. Almost true.

To take on SIGA needs money. Much money. Mitchell intends to raise it
by robbing a Vegas casino complex.

R: Holy...

C: Precisely. Doing so would forever isolate him from any lawful office
in North America, if only because the Mob would be so ruthless and
extravagant in their pursuit of the criminal behind such a theft.

R: Meaning, he can't ever go home. But if someone - someone he was
conditioned to believe was a friend - came to him at that point and
offered to help... he'd run right to the Doctor and like it.

C: You understand precisely, then. He has to succeed. I'd like you to
join his crew.

R: Sounds like a blast. Do I get to keep my share of the heist?

C: You get half. A quarter goes to your backup team... surveillance,
astral cover, Matrix jockeys, the guys who increase the odds of your
getting out of this alive. The other 25% kicks back to Agency
operating funds.

R: That's a hard bargain. Why don't I just screw you over and take it
all?

C: Because we'd hunt you down like a dog, find you, blow your brains
out, and bury you in a dark field in Buttfuque, Iowa, right next door
to Jimmy Hoffa.

R: Couldn't I have Marilyn Monroe as a neighbour? Oh. Okay. I do see
your point.

C: Oh, and in order that we can run the astral cover our way, you'll
need to recruit the team's mage. Mitchell's light on magical talent.
I understand you know a few people in Seattle? Well, you'd better
find one fast.

R: Goddamn, you don't ask much, do you?

C: You're meant to be good. Excuse us for acting as if you were.

To contact Mitchell, I can arrange a meet for you... call this
number. <hands Ronin a chip>. You heard through the Slotback that the
Serpent was hiring, and the Slotback will vouch for you. Full cover
story's on the chip. He's busy at the moment, but this will get you
on his crew in plenty of time.

Get to National, there's a VC-41 leaving for Seattle in two hours.
You can use this for expenses <passes credstick>. There's a hundred K
certified nuyen on there. It all comes out of your share at the end,
so don't waste it.

R: Clean credit?

C: Crystal.

R: _Sweet_. <pause> How were you so sure I'd accept?

C: I could say intuition. I could say my sterling judgement. But, to be
honest, I just figured you didn't see yourself as a bad guy.

R: I'm just a greedy guy.

C: That's not illegal.

R: Whatever... Okay. How much cover do I get on this?

C: At the time? Zero. You get caught, you go down. You get out? We can
confuse, deny, obfusticate and cover until your dying day. We'd
rather not, though. Try not to get caught.

R: I'll bear that in mind.
+++++end transcript

Not an angel, but at least fairly honest, and aware of his weaknesses.
And an extremely skilled operator.

Think you can work with him?]<<<<<
-- D J H Coppinger <10:54:23/10-31-59>
Director
Strategic Intelligence Gathering Agency

Message no. 90 >>>>>[We hope that Shadowland access in the Redmond area has not been
disrupted. If your local access to the Matrix has been disconnected
due to power outages, explosions, fires, unnatural disasters, or
other such drek, please do not panic, as UCAS-West Bell is restoring
voice connections throughout the area. They estimate that most connections
will be reinstated within the next 24 to 48 hours.

This message will be repeated every 20 minutes, and broadcast on
your local pirate stations, Anarchnet 666, Radio Free Orkia, and
Public Access Channel 12.]<<<<<
--Moonwalker <Beat/It>

Message no. 91 *****PRIVATE: Plough Breakers
>>>>>[Nice work, everyone. Almost got her, brought the bodies of two of
her guards out (Easy had one alive until the cortex bomb blew), made a
mess of her operation.

We could do with more magical backup next time, though. The Rat said
that was how she got away. Squatter, great work slowing the cop down and
misdirecting him, my Star contacts say they bought it.

What's going to be interesting is seeing what feedback comes out of
this. The less official she was, the less heat we're going to take on
it.]<<<<<
-- Lynch <Purple:Haze:All/Through-My-Veins>

*****INTERNAL: SIGANet
>>>>>[TO: Sgt J S Karlsbruhn
Jake, lay off the Jolt Cola, lie down and sleep. Please.]<<<<<
-- Jason R W Lynch <Jimi:Hendrix:The/Great-Guitar-God>
Strategic Intelligence Gathering Agency

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