| From: | "Paul J. Adam" <shadowtk@********.DEMON.CO.UK> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | A New City |
| Date: | Mon, 11 May 1998 20:36:03 +0100 |
>>>>>[Once again my life is turned upside down. As Red Shift ground to a
halt, the survivors of our campaign exhausted, I found myself called
north by Stephanie.
Not to help her avenge her father's death: she is convinced he is alive,
and I almost share her naive faith. No, she has invited me on what she
knows will be an intensely personal quest for me. Where I shared a
little of what I knew of the Doctor with her, she has somehow turned
those scraps of information into a mission, with a target, and Narmohach
at its bullseye. She knew I could not resist such a quest.
And so I left Red Shift. Slipping away from my only friends like a
guilty thief, afraid to tell them where I am going and why. Would they
have come with me, if they knew where my path led? And how would they -
wounded, exhausted, nerves frayed to breaking point - have coped with
the mad green heart of the Amazonian jungle? Even my short stay with
them has left me glad of this chance to recover and retrain, here among
the Rebels. They have been fighting much harder, much longer, than I. I
quail at the prospect of the journey, let alone what I may find at the
end: how many of these broken heroes would die in the name of my
vendetta?
No. I was right, though I wonder if they will forgive me. I could not
repay their friendship by sacrificing them on the altar of my hatred.
Meanwhile, our team grows. Myself, Stephanie, another shapeshifter and
magician named Griffyn (a name of some power in the shadows), and a
supposedly dead man called Ronin, already. We are evaluating volunteers
from the Rebels, as we seek other candidates: but carefully, and with
discretion. Stephanie has explained that, now, we cannot even be totally
sure of SIGA, and so this operation is known only to Coppinger and
Lilith. Small as the risk might be - I know from bitter experience the
impossibility of slipping an agent into the Boy Scout's organisation -
it means certain failure if we are caught.
Another gift from Red Shift: now we know the area better. Passing as
civilians would be an invitation to trouble: the lower reaches of the
Amazon, at least, teem with armed men, either protecting or preying on
the river's traffic. Another group of such should not be conspicuous,
and while it offers little less risk of conflict, it allows us to travel
much better armed.
We know what will and will not attract attention: Rusanov's men will
have to leave their Alphas behind, and we will use an assortment of
weapons typical of those to be found. Stephanie tried to persuade me to
take something more potent, but I have yet to find a threat that the old
H&K MP-9 cannot resolve, and I am unsure of my ability to become
properly proficient with another weapon in the time available. As for
the fixed stock and the flashlight... I am comfortable with them, and
would miss their absence.
She, of course, is trying to choose between some fearsome assault
shotgun, an equally destructive machinegun, and an assault rifle beset
with lethal accessories: the shotgun is losing favour as we try to limit
the number of calibres we will use, and I believe she will settle on the
RPK-97 she refers to most: Stephanie likes automatic weapons and
sustained fire, and 5.45mm is the most common calibre available there.
So, we lay our plans, we gather our troops, and we wait. The vessel we
will use is already being prepared, our cover being established, our
entry to the area will be as subtle as possible.
And I find myself afraid.]<<<<<
-- Emma <20:35:43/05-11-59>
