From:	Justin Fang <justinf@****.CALTECH.EDU>
Subject:	Flying the Friendly Skies, Take Two
Date:	Thu, 1 May 1997 14:08:56 -0700

*****INTERNAL: Personal log
>>>>>[All went as expected, if not as planned.

+++++begin video

The video is medium grade but a bit jittery, the sort one would get from
a small, high-quality camera being carried or worn. The time is
displayed in one corner. It begins with a view of an hanger, wide main
doors about half open, seen from somewhere above the ground. The hanger
has the Hayashi logo prominently displayed on it, as does the Learjet
inside. It's raining lightly and the sky is darkened with clouds. A
technician is working on the plane and a uniformed security guard is
standing inside the doors, looking out.

"Watcher just went by," says a female voice with the flat, tinny quality
caused by heavy compression.

A few seconds pass.

"Truck coming." A male voice, of the same quality. "Looks like them."

The camera swivels around to show a gate in a high chain-link fence
topped with razor wire. A guard sits in the tiny booth next to the gate.
A delivery truck pulls up, and the driver rolls down the window to talk
with the guard. The driver hands over something--the camera is too far
away and on the wrong side of the truck to see what. After a few
moments, the guard hands it back and opens the gate.

The truck drives in and continues behind the Hayashi hanger and around
the opposite side, stopping out of view of both the hanger and the gate
guards. The driver gets out and opens the back of the truck. Five
people wearing face masks and carrying various weapons jump out. One of
them hands a pistol to the driver, who has also pulled on a mask. Two of
them quickly and quietly move to the near corner of the hanger, one
crouching into a low position. The driver and another one rapidly and
stealthily head back along the building to what must be a man-sized side
door. The last one, empty-handed, casts a spell and vanishes.

Meanwhile, the only visible security guard looks down, stamps his feet in
the cold dampness and seems to be cursing his luck. Suddenly, and
without visible cause, he and the technician slump over. As this
happens, the two attackers at the corner start moving. The crouching one
covers the standing one as he enters the hanger, firing a single silent
shot into the guard as he passes.

The view wildly skews.

"Kyle! Get down. Resume your watch. You will not interfere." The new
man's voice is cold and stern despite the distortion.

Now stabilized, the camera returns to looking towards the hanger, where
the action has moved inside, out of view. The man continues: "Look at
them closely. Is there any blood? Look with your better eyes."

"So they're not dead. How long is that going to last?" This voice is
clear and undistorted, very probably, given the slight motion induced by
speaking, the cameraman.

"With all due fortune, perhaps indefinitely. In all likelihood, not for
very long. However, they knew the risk in working for the corporation,
and they are not the reason we are here. If you were to move now, you
would jeopardize this mission and I will not allow that. Understood?"

The other man and woman in near unison: "Understood, sir."

The woman adds, "Mage used standard sleep spell."

"Gate guard is down; sniper with narcoject rifle," reports the man.

The point of view returns to a low crouch. With his movement it has
become clear that his vantage point is the rooftop of a nearby low
outbuilding.

The driver reemerges from inside the hanger, gets into the van, drives it
up to the hanger doors and waits. A couple of attackers drag the guard
inside the hanger. Two more people jog into view from the direction of
the gate, carrying the gate guard between them and rifles slung over
their backs. They go inside as well.

+++++deleted: 6.5 minutes

The view is nearly unchanged. The attackers reappear, dressed in the
clothing of their victims, except for the van driver and the mage, who
haven't changed. The victims--6 in all--are loaded into the back of the
truck, which the driver drives away. The one in technician's clothes
resumes work on the plane. Two imitate the gate and hanger guards. The
remaining three are wearing what look like flight crew uniforms; one of
them joins the tech in working on the plane and the other two go back out
of sight inside the hanger.

After watching the pilot and the technician work on the plane for several
minutes, Kyle comments, "Looks like they're preparing the plane for
takeoff. Riker?"

The man: "Agreed."

The commanding voice: "Ah. A hijacking, then. We planned for this
contingency. Riker, you and Kyle will infiltrate the plane at the most
opportune moment, Sands, you are astral overwatch and backup."

Kyle: "Yes, Mr. Rutherford."

+++++deleted: 25.4 minutes

The attackers seem to have finished preparations on the plane and have
moved it outside, ready to taxi to the runway.

"The VIP is due in 10 minutes," notes Rutherford. There is a last flurry
of activity from the would-be hijackers.

The camera is now focused on the plane, which has a short covered
stairway rolled up to its open door.

Kyle: "Looks like the mage is heading inside. Probably doesn't want to
be caught in the open when the VIP gets here. I'll go first. Stay low
and move quick. With this drizzle we may be easier to spot than we might
think."

The woman: "Astral is clear. Move out."

Kyle moves to a different side of the building, mutters something
incomprehensible and jumps off the edge of the roof, landing smoothly on
the ground. He looks down at his reflection in a puddle, and whispers
again. The reflection vanishes, and he moves carefully towards the
plane. Noone seems to notice him, and quickly he slips up the stairway
and into the plane.

Inside Kyle pauses to survey the confined surroundings. He's in a small
space between the cabin and the closed door to the cockpit. The cabin is
luxuriously appointed. On both sides of the central aisle, large (for an
airplane) seats provide comfortable accommodations for eight. At the
back is the restroom and a tiny galley.

"Problem," Sands says as Kyle looks around, "mage has the same
concealment spell we're using. Lost sight of her inside hanger."

"We can't do anything about it now," Kyle replies moving towards the back
of the plane and crouching behind the last chair. "I'm in. On the
right, in the back. Don't walk into me."

Riker: "Got it."

Moments later, close inspection reveals the faint impressions of feet
walking across the jet's plush carpet. The view turns to the left
towards open space and nods.

Shortly thereafter, two of the false security personnel--the uniforms
they're wearing are different, more formal, than those worn by the
hapless hanger guards--climb into the plane, one of them removing and
shaking water off his Hayashi-logoed cap. The mage climbs up behind them
and has to tap one of them on the shoulder, twice, before they notice her
and move aside to let her pass. She sits back in one of the comfortable
seats.

Rutherford: "Ah. I've found the missing mage. She's on the plane."

Kyle (whispered): "Where? I can't--"

Rutherford: "Second seat, on your left, currently."

A minute or so later, the other man's voice, similarly hushed: "Copter
inbound?"

The female voice: "Confirmed. Astral mage, scouting. Spells are
holding, hasn't seen us."

Kyle turns and stands up a bit to look out the window. The camera has
part of its view blocked by the frame, but he doesn't seem to notice. The
image takes a instant to adjust focus and contrast, before showing a
stretch of tarmac marked with a circled H.

Soon a helicopter lands. It's a Hughes Airstar, a luxury executive
transport. The passenger door opens. Two guards in light security armor
get out, followed by a man in a business suit, followed by two more
individuals in raincoats holding large, bright red umbrellas over their
and the executive's heads. Something seems odd about the last two, but
it's hard to tell what at this range.

The group walks towards the plane, quickly moving out of the camera's
limited field of view. Turning, it can see the false security personnel
waiting to greet them with the same impersonal politeness as the genuine
article.

The executive and his two companions are escorted onto the jet. As the
umbrellas are folded away and the companions turn back their hoods, it
becomes quite obvious why they looked unusual at a distance: they've been
altered to look like cats. Fur covers their exposed skin, and their eyes
and ears look like those of a cat. The tips of tails can be seen below
the hems of their raincoats. The two would-be hijackers are visibly
surprised, though they are just as visibly trying not to show it too
much. The mage--currently standing out of the way of the boarding
party--doesn't bother hiding her reaction.

The voice of the man in charge: "Seems that more than one executive has
unusual tastes."

The two "unusual tastes" in question are curiously examining their
surroundings, chattering cheerfully to each other. Judging by their
conversation, their names are Anri and Sylvie.

Anri pauses, sniffs the air and looks curiously at the feet of the mage,
then at the ceiling above the mage's head. "Water drops? Hey, is--"
The sentence is cut off as she turns quickly towards one of the "guards"
and is thrown back by a stun baton to the face.

The mage looks out the nearest window and casts a spell.

"Sylvie!" the other cries and draws a long dagger from beneath her coat
fast enough that she can stab the closer hijacker in the belly before he
can fire his pistol. "Trap!" she screams.

Shots can be heard from outside.

Anri crumples as the other hijacker stun-batons her in the neck. The
wounded man fires a dart into her shoulder and a second into Sylvie,
sprawled across one of the jet's chairs. The executive barely can finish
his shocked "Nani?!?" before a third round leaves him flat out on the
floor.

The mage slumps heavily into a seat. The unwounded hijacker, stun baton
exchanged for a pistol, crouches in the doorway, firing outside.

The gunfire from outside is interrupted by the sound of louder automatic
gun fire. Kyle turns back toward the window. The copter's blades are
spinning up, and it's popped a turret with a machine gun, firing long
bursts at targets out of sight. A security mage casts a spell out the
still-open passenger door, using the frame as cover. The cockpit is
suddenly filled with dense mist, and the machine gun falls silent. Flames
envelop the security mage, who falls.

A strangled scream yanks Kyle's attention back to the mage, who jerks
once then lies limp.

"--port! Kyle, Sands, Riker, report!" Rutherford's voice, beginning
abruptly in mid-word, breaks the silence. The violence outside seems to
have stopped.

"Fight's over, status ok," replies Riker, simultaneously with Kyle's,
"I'm fine." A moment later, Sands responds, "Was astral, got the
mage."

"I lost signal from the three of you when the fight began. Possibly that
new radio silence spell," Rutherford explains.

The two hijackers appear to be having an highly agitated conversation
with their comrades over comlinks, in which casualty reports figure
prominently. The wounded one wobbles and is grabbed by the other, who
quickly lowers him and props him up against the cockpit's rear wall.

"Shit man...she really stuck me. I can't fuckin' believe it. A psycho
exotic stuck me." He pulls his hand away from his wound, revealing a
remarkable amount of blood.

"Johnson said they were really bodyguards," his partner replies, yanking
open cabinets, "Shoulda been more careful." She finds a medkit, and
slaps a biomonitor patch on the mage. "Shit," she mutters after a
moment, "total flatline. Mages must've fragged each other." She tries a
trauma patch, without effect, then gives up and turns her attentions to
the wounded man.

The cockpit door bangs open and the pilot rushes out, yelling, "Gotta use
the chopper radio!" over his shoulder as he pelts out the door and down
the stairs. Kyle glances out the window to see him climbing into the
cockpit of the helicopter.

The technician arrives at a run, and is greeted with, "Here, gimme a hand
with him," by the unwounded hijacker. Together they lift the wounded man
("Ahhgh! Watch it!" "Sorry!") and carry him outside. Then, much less
gently, they remove the mage's body.

The pilot returns: "I bought us some time. Said everything's fine but
the Airstar'd be late returning."

"Damn, what a fraggin' mess this is. Half of us dead or badly wounded,"
the technician mutters. "Well, at least we can still get paid." Turning
to the third hijacker: "Hey, you want some backup on the flight?"

"Nah," she replies, looking at the unconscious passengers, "I don't think
they'll give me any trouble."

"Right. Better get moving then." The technician leaves, the pilot gets
back in the cockpit, and the hijacker shuts the door.

The plane jolts as it begins a hurried taxi away from the hanger.

The hijacker frisks Anri and Sylvie, coming up with another knife and a
pistol, then zips plastic restraints on them and buckles them into seats.

Kyle braces himself against the wall as the plane takes off.

+++++deleted: 14.7 minutes

A quick look out the window shows that the plane is mostly leveled off
and already well out to sea.

The voice of Rutherford, degraded a bit more than before but still
comprehensible: "Kyle, take out the remaining resistance. Riker, find
out their plan. If possible, divert to Seattle."

Kyle stands and moves toward the hijacker. She is sitting in the chair
nearest to the cockpit, pivoted rearward to watch the others, her stun
baton resting at her side. Kyle continues his slow careful progress
until he is a few feet away and to the side of her. Then he whispers a
short sharp phrase. The hijacker doubles over, letting out a stunned
gasp. She lurches to her feet, lashing out randomly with the stun baton.
Her arm stops abruptly, jerks out in front of her, then down, and the
baton is knocked spinning away. Her head snaps back from an invisible
blow, and she falls down. Kyle watches the woman for several moments,
but she makes no further move. Kyle becomes visible again, shock-gloved
hands dropping to his sides.

Rutherford, again: "Very nice. I admire your restraint. She'll be
useful in questioning."

Kyle, sounding defeated, as he secures the hijacker to a chair: "In
other words, I should have killed her."

"You know how gentle my methods usually are... Riker will take care of
the pilot."

There's a pause, and Riker reports, "He's rigged in. Doubt he'll notice
me until too late." The cockpit door opens slowly, silently, and for no
visible reason. Abruptly a man in special ops type fatigues appears,
holding something like a palm-sized caduceus in one raised hand. With
his other hand he makes a complicated gesture. He holds that pose for a
long moment and then relaxes, resting his back against the door frame.
Not looking back he waves Kyle up. He seems to be talking to the pilot,
but background noise is sufficient to muffle it. Putting away the
caduceus, he takes a small plastic bottle from a chest pocket and
swallows two caplets from it.

Kyle taps the man on his shoulder when he is close enough to do so.
Looking back, Riker is having mild trouble focusing on Kyle. "I had him
put the plane on autopilot, for now. He thinks we're part of the team
and shouldn't be any problem."

Riker heads into the cockpit and takes the empty copilot's chair while
Kyle takes up a position with a clear view of the hijacker rigger.

Riker: "Tell us your complete plan regarding this plane."

The rigger's voice is slightly slurred with a drowsy quality: "I'm going
ta fly the plane outside the coastal radar net, then ax the transponder
and their homing transmitter and turn on ma baby." He dreamily pats a
black box on his other side. "So we go out Hayashi N284OL, SF to
Honolulu to Kobe and come back in ForestAir N264CL, Honolulu to Denver.
Where we can safely drop them off to the Johnson waiting at the airport
and get our cred. By the time Hayashi learns something is wrong, it will
be too late, cause the deckers made sure ATC thinks we are who we say we
are, just another blip on the screen." The rigger seems almost confident
now.

Riker: "There has been a slight change in plan. You will carry out your
plan as you have described, but your destination is Seattle. When they
contact you, you will claim, as you planned, to be ForestAir, but state
that you are experiencing engine problems. Your Johnson is waiting for
you in Seattle, and you will be well rewarded. Do you understand?"

The rigger: "Right...change in plan, everything like we planned, but
we're going to Seattle. If they ask, we have engine trouble. Johnson's
waiting, and I get paid. No problem."

The rigger is nodding slowly and goes back to piloting the plane.

Rutherford: "I am going to alert security that you will be arriving.
Riker, do something about your face. I want them to think you two are
both independent contractors."

Riker: "Understood, sir."

+++++end video

Customized "bodyguards"? A new high in decadence even for Hayashi,
though I had not thought that particular executive rated so highly in the
eyes of top management. I'm sure Yamaguchi will shed more light on the
matter.
]<<<<<
-- Terrance Rutherford <12:56:31/05-01-58>
Astral Security
Hayashi Seattle