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Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: Mike Goldberg <m_goldberg@**.COLORADO.EDU>
Subject: Creeping light...
Date: Thu, 10 Nov 1994 15:03:50 MST
>>>>>[ Well, I figured you should all learn the truth of what HAMMER has
been
up to. Since we have captured him, we have put him on an intense schedual
designed to make him lose all concept of time. Today he finally cracked while
I was interrogating him. At that point, Nightmare took over the questioning.
This broke our policy of only having one interrogator per session. This one
was two sessions back to back. Nightmare's reaction was equally impressive to
the information gathered. Hope you find this enlightening.

+++++ Video start? y

The image you are greeted with is that of a small room. Unlike what you
expected, it is a plain room. HAMMER is sitting at a chair. He is effectively
tied down to the chair, and the chair looks like it is bolted to the floor.
About five feet away from him is a plain desk with a chair behind it.
---
You hear voices, but don't see anyone. (You have a hunch that HAMMER doesn't
hear the voices though by the fact that his ragged face doesn't seem to
register anything,)
Nightmare: Well done Guston. It appears that he is finally cracking.
Guston: No problem, mon. His mind is for our taking. He'll never be the same
after this.
Nightmare: Very well. Should we save the final breaking for another day, or
complete his downfall now?
Guston: My employer sent word that the sooner that we decided on his fate,
the better. As such, I would strongly recommend that the course of action be
to conclude this business so I can go back home.
Nightmare: Miss the home cooking, eh?
Guston: Yeah mon. You guys have great beer, but your food isn't quite spiced
right.

Nightmare laughs.

Nightmare: Very well, let me change and then I'll see if I can put the final
few nails in HAMMER's coffin.
---
Slowly as time passes by during this conversation, you can see HAMMER looking
around the room. As the seconds crawl by, he becomes more nervous. (You can
see the past few days have played havoc with HAMMER's sense of time.) As the
door opens slowly, he sighs. And almost immediately jumps as he realizes it
isn't who he expected and is Herr Nightmare instead.

+++ Editor's note: The following conversation happens completely in German.
For your convience, we have added English subtitles.

Nightmare: Good afternoon, HAMMER.

HAMMER looks for a way out. Seeing none, he just watches the floor. Nightmare
smiles calmly, and takes a seat at the desk. You note that he is wearing a
fine pin-stripe suit, that looks of very fine quality. Taking his time, he
gets comfortable in the chair.

Nightmare: Do you mind if I smoke?
HAMMER: Go frag yourself!
Nightmare: Why, Herr HAMMER! How could you suggest such a thing? After all,
I'm the only reason that you are alive, and not a snack for Herr Action
Jackson.

HAMMER looks sullenly at the floor. Nightmare, taking his time, lights a
cigarette. Taking a leisurely puffs from the cigarette.

Nightmare: So do you have anything new to add yesterday's discussion?

++++ Editor's note: "Yesterday's discussion" happened 6 hours ago.

HAMMER: I've told you all I know about that.
Nightmare: I don't think so. You told me that your government thought it was
in their best interest to go down to the dark continent. Why did they think
it?
HAMMER: I don't know.
Nightmare: You know, I still can make you a snack for Action Jackson. I
imagine after a few nights of not eating, that he . . . well, you're bright,
I'll let you draw your own conclusions. (Nightmare starts filing his nails.)

HAMMER swallows hard, but doesn't start to talk.

Nightmare looks at his watch and says: You must be hungry too, I bet. I know
I am. Why don't you think it over, while I get something for us to eat.

Nightmare gets up, and stretches. Taking his time to finish off the cigarette,
he slowly wanders to the door that isn't but 7 feet away. He then exits the
room. You don't know how much time passes, but you can tell the wait is
gnawing at HAMMER. Nightmare then reenters the room, with one tray of food.
On the tray is a decent meal that would satisfy a troll, let alone two humans.
With great care, Nightmare places it down on the desk.

Nightmare: Oh drat. It's such a bother that I have to keep you tied up.
Otherwise, I could let you eat now. I guess I'll have to wait for a guard to
come to watch. I can't break my host's rules about when you are allowed to do
things like eating. Oh well, I can wait a while.

HAMMER just sighs. It's not a long sigh, or even rather loud one at that.
Nightmare calmly lights a cigarette and starts to smoke it.

Nightmare: Would you like one HAMMER?

Hammer shrugs as best he can with his hands tied behind him. Nightmare lights
another cigarette and puts it in Hammer's mouth. Nightmare unties HAMMER's
left hand to hold the cigarette. In a way, you are surprised at the fact that
HAMMER doesn't even strike out at Nightmare. Nightmare calmly walks back to
the desk and makes himself comfortable. He then pours himself a drink. And
takes a sip of it. HAMMER finishes the cigarette quietly. Nightmare
noticing, offers him a drink, which HAMMER promptly refuses. Nightmare shrugs,
and finishes off his drink.

Nightmare: So where were we?
HAMMER: I don't remember . . . (icily) I think you were stroking your ego.
Nightmare: Hmmm. I'll return the favor. What did it feel like capturing the
terrorist Doomsday?
HAMMER: It didn't feel like much. I was on painkillers because Doomsday broke
my forearm.

Nightmare laughs: Yes. Well, why was Drake there?
HAMMER: He was there because he had the resources necessary to capture
Doomsday.
Nightmare: Oh come now. You're telling me that as head of operations at BIS,
you had _no_ resources at your disposal. Come on. If you are going to lie, at
least be creative.
HAMMER mutters a curse.
Nightmare: Well, why was Drake there?
HAMMER: Because I knew Drake would be willing to return the favor in the
future to me.
Nightmare: I see. What made you become aware of Doomsday's arrival in
Germany?
HAMMER: I was aware of his departure from Africa.
Nightmare: I thought you said yesterday, that you weren't aware of who was
down in Africa.
HAMMER: Shut up.

Nightmare shrugs and finishes off his cigarette, and lights another one.

Nightmare: Well, why was MET2000 down there?
HAMMER: I believe they thought it was of importance to restore order for image
sake.
Nightmare: Who thought that?
HAMMER: MET --- (sighs.)
Nightmare: Well?
HAMMER: Erik did.
Nightmare: And let me guess you planned all the tactical side, right?
HAMMER: Well alongside with MET2000.
Nightmare: Right. Why did Erik follow that course of action? I know of his
policies. Africa --
HAMMER: Isn't crucial to his plans. Yes, I know.
Nightmare: But of course. But why?
HAMMER: A little birdie told him you would be there.
Nightmare: Was this birdie cute?
HAMMER: But of course.
Nightmare (in a comical voice): I DID!!! I DID SEE A LITTLE BIRDIE!!! (in a
monotone voice) It went splat right about the same time AJ came into town, eh?
Tell me the truth.
HAMMER: Frag off.
Nightmare: Come now. Where is the birdie now? In Heaven or Hell?
HAMMER looks around for a way to get out. Sighing he responds: Hell I should
think. We paid well for the information. We killed the sap.
Nightmare: Really, how intruiging? Who was the sap?
HAMMER: The same as "a Collector."

Nightmare roars with laughter.
Nightmare: That is a good one. "a Collector".... A collector of what pray
tell?
HAMMER: A collector of moths I guess.
Nightmare makes a buzzing sound: Try again.
HAMMER: A member of BIS operations branch told me. I relocated him afterwards
so he wouldn't get himself into to much hot water with you, Shadowfox and
Doomsday all in the neighborhood.
Nightmare: I see. Where is this agent now?
HAMMER: I should think on vacation from his last assignment. He told me it
was going to be somewhere warm. I just told him not to go finding more
trouble.
Nightmare: You awarding vacations. That is a change. Last time I worked with
you, the only thing you awarded was deaths.

Hammer doesn't respond.

Nightmare: Anyway. What was your tactic down there?
HAMMER: Simple. Get in the way.
Nightmare: You always do that. Tell me something new.
HAMMER: Nope nothing new to tell.
Nightmare: How about this for starters? How come MET2000 managed to capture
over half the people down there (which was why I was there), and not stop the
mining with slaves operation?
HAMMER: Who gives a frag about a bunch of dwarves? It's not like the world
isn't better off with a few less of them anyway.
Nightmare: Well? How did you pull of the scam? Curiosity's got me. It was a
beautiful operation.
HAMMER: Thank you. Quite easily, we fragmented your leadership structure.
With your reputation from when you became a traitor, it was really easy to
start.

(You notice that Nightmare is keeping utterly calm).
Nightmare: If you were just attacking me, and causing me to look like a
security risk, it wouldn't explain what happened...
HAMMER grinning triumphantly: We did the same to Shadowfox. The beauty of it,
was that we were able to make you think that Doomsday and Shadowfox were the
source of problems, and to make them think you were the problem. To boot,
Doomsday was supposed to think that both of you caused it. I didn't dare try
and make Shadowfox think Doomsday was a part of the problem, because I knew HE
was capable enough to see through that.

Nightmare takes a long puff of the cigarette. Flinging it toward the door, he
adds quite calmly yet distinctly coldly: Really? How impressive. My
compliments to your scheming side of you yet again. But that could have been
worked out over a little bit of time.

HAMMER: While you were distracted with who was causing the problems we struck.
We managed to actually catch Shadowfox. As a gesture of goodwill MET2000
turned him over to the Wildcats. We missed catching you by the slimest of
margins. Doomsday we tracked right back to our front doors. And then
captured.

Nightmare nods. (You are extremely impressed with his control. You cannot
detect any sort of emotion aside from very faint amusement.): Is there
anything else you care to add before I end this session so you can eat some
food?

HAMMER: Might as well say it now. It isn't going to change the fact that by
tomorrow, you will probably kill me. I have this to add, but I'll add it in
the manner of a question. Why do you think that the Universal Brotherhood gave
so much attention to DragonEyes, Scarface, and Blitzkrieg?
Nightmare: Roughly speaking, I would have just assumed, someone got wise that
DragonEyes stumbled upon something in Doc Grizzle's house that was something
they didn't want out. By the sounds of it . . .
HAMMER: I had something to do with it. DragonEyes was studiously avoiding Doc
Grizzle's former residence. I had an agent go in, with a break-in specialist,
retrieve the info, and then put it back. Doc Grizzle had more than enough to
give me a clue as to how to cause undo trouble for DragonEyes.
Nightmare: Oh?
HAMMER: I just told the Universal Brotherhood, through a contact in Doc Wagon,
that I had heard that DragonEyes was threatening to release some information
that they never wanted to see the light of day. They took it hook line and
sinker. After killing the contact and checking his story out, that is.
Nightmare (voice sounds deadly quiet): Do you have anything else to add, Herr
HAMMER?
HAMMER: Just one small thing... you shouldn't keep your emotions so tightly
controlled. You'll give yourself a stroke.
Nightmare: Like you should talk. Considering, that I hold your life. Think
well before you respond to that.

Nightmare calmly picks something off the tray. HAMMER smiles calmly. (You
realize that Nightmare is picking up a gun.) Nightmare with a steady hand
fires the gun. It is an Ares squirt gun. The liquid connects with HAMMER.
HAMMER screams.

Nightmare (icily): Don't you just love Hyper rounds.

And walks up and slaps him across the face. He promptly marches out.
The image follows him out. He walks down the hall into a room on the left.
The person in the room is the very ork that jumped AJ from behind.

Nightmare: Did you get that?
Guston: Yeah mon. My boss ain't gonna be happy, mon.
Nightmare (angrily): Like I'm pleased you fragging idiot. Send it to your
boss.

Nightmare turns and storms out of the room. You follow behind him as he enters
into a small room. It is a kitchen. You watch as he turns toward the camera
and literally rips it out of the wall.

+++ video ends

Well, mon, there ya have it. We now have to chalk one room up to being totally
wrecked. It took five people to calm Nightmare down. Remind me never to piss
him off. I think sometime soon, Nightmare will probably be deciding HAMMER's
fate. Doesn't look like it will be a kind one, eh? And something tells me,
my boss ain't gonna be happy with the decision. Nope. Not at all. ]<<<<<
-- Rebar <14:05:45/11-10-55>

Further Reading

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Disclaimer

These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.