02:24:31 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Train Tunnel running west from Baqeri Station, Tehran

Felix floated in the air above Ludi in the pitch black tunnel, muttering under his breath about crappy technology as he strained to peer through the darkness with his thermographic cybereyes. With a moment of concentration, Feilx pushed his mental presence into the astral while staying in his body, looking down the tunnel unobstructed by the darkness, seeing the astral forms of the living and the swirling mana of the spell.

02:24:32 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Train Tunnel running west from Baqeri Station, Tehran

Through the swirling mana of the area spell surrounding the rest of the team, Felix spots a magic sphere fleeing deeper into the tunnels. Whatever it was, it seems to have some sort of barrier spell and even then, Bubba's machine gun scared it off.

Felix is deciding whether to help Ludi and his teammates, finish off the rats, or give chase to the fleeing magician. While doing so, the mass spell starts fading. Off in the distance, Felix sees a spirit fly up out of the tunnel, and out of his sight.


02:24:35 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Train Tunnel running west from Baqeri Station, Tehran

The distractions fade away that had affected the forward team. "Oh, me is gettin' you sheman now!" Bubba threatens the Shaman with his machine gun, who he cannot see.

02:24:38 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Train Tunnel running west from Baqeri Station, Tehran

'Where dids he goes? Drek! Frag! I hates him.'

Bubba keys his mic...

"Foxtrots or V can you finds his mojo trail Ims going afters him... on mes!"

Bubba charged towards the last known direction of the fleeing shaman.

02:24:38 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Train Tunnel running west from Baqeri Station, Tehran

"I don't see where he went, but he didn't go straight ahead, or I would think I would see him," V answers.

Bubba scans the darkness as it comes back into focus. The rat river is quickly thinning as he approaches his teammates who failed on their rush. As the rats scurry back into the sewers or into the further depths of the tunnel, Bubba notices one area where the rats continue to gather. They are squeaking loudly, and only a few run off at his approach.

02:24:39 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Train Tunnel running west from Baqeri Station, Tehran

"He's running down the tunnel Bravo but Lima's down back here. I'll highlight him with some electricity, try to nail him when I do." Felix calls back to Bubba.

Felix reaches out to the mana around him and sends a streak of lightning from his fingertips at the rapidly retreating figure of the Shaman, pinpointing his location without exhausting himself before floating down to land next to Ludi's body.

02:24:39 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Train Tunnel running west from Baqeri Station, Tehran

Bubba watches a lightning bolt flash past him through the tunnel an burst burst into an explosion of sparks far off in the distance.

02:24:33 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Train Tunnel running west from Baqeri Station, Tehran

The world spinned as Kliko moved step by step spewing out a constant and deadly hail of flechette darts across the tunnel floor.
‘What the frag is going on!’ Magic was going on and getting its ass handed over by Bubba’s machinegun fire while they were at it.

The magazine capacity was rapidly coming down in Kliko’s field of vision as he fired in the general direction of whatever threat lurked in his team’s immediate vicinity.
Sooner then later the ammo indicator blinked alarmingly before reaching zero and Kliko found himself frantically grabbing for the shotgun ammo-pouch on his chest.

“Team forward!” ‘In case of doubt charge’ Kliko would not let any Persian punk-ass mojo slinger get the better of him and his team. "Kilo covers you"

02:24:34 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Train Tunnel running west from Baqeri Station, Tehran

Stepping forward, Kliko found the plague of rats lifting, as he could once again see the tunnel floor. The rats continued to scurry away, in all directions, no longer attacking him.

The rats scatter in every direction, except for one mound of them, in which they seem to be in a frenzy. Climbing, crawling, hissing and biting.

02:24:39 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Train Tunnel running west from Baqeri Station, Tehran

Bubba pointed the HMG this way and that way scanning for the Shaman. 'Where da frags are yous, yous fragging fragger!' When Felix Let out the burst of electricty into the dark distant tunnel Bubba knew the shaman was trying to kite. The shaman was so far ahead Bubba couldnt get a clear shot. Bubba charged towards the blast of electricty and mass of writhing rats leading him deeper into the darkness of the tunnel.

02:24:42 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Train Tunnel running west from Baqeri Station, Tehran

The rats continue to rapidly thin out, save for the mound that Bubba passes as he trounces down the tunnel, deeper into the darkness. He passes, Duster, who turns to follow, and V, who stands still, staring at the rat pile.

02:24:35 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Train Tunnel running west from Baqeri Station, Tehran

'Die you vermin scum' Unleashing the deadly hail one more time in the slithering mass of rats for good measure, Kliko called out for an all clear

"Kilo Clear, report in chummers" as the final rats slipped of what appeared to be the acidified remains of one of his team mates, Kliko grapsed an 'Oh drek, I'll get hell to pay from Ludi'

02:25:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Train Tunnel running west from Baqeri Station, Tehran

Kliko dumped half a clip into the pile of rats, blasting several into little rat chunks, while the rest scurried for cover. Below he spotted a dark mound, but could not make out what it was.

Drek. I sure hope that is Larry the bum...

He slowly stepped closer.

Head count... Bubba is off running after the shaman. V, Felix and Ludi are behind me...

Duster? Starling? ...

02:25:01 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Train Tunnel running west from Baqeri Station, Tehran

Felix reaches down to trigger his radio, "Foxtrot here, I'm in the back with Lima who appears unconscious."

Felix looks down at Ludi and thinks about having to carry her body through these tunnels for a fraction of a second before smirking to himself and levitating the magic fearing person with a twist of his wrist.

02:25:03 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Train Tunnel running west from Baqeri Station, Tehran

"Duster, here. Still."

Kliko realized Starling is lying in front of him, her body partially devoured by rats, partially devoured by APDS rounds.



02:25:08 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Train Tunnel running west from Baqeri Station, Tehran

Ludi jerks, her eyes flutter open, but she is unable to see anything but darkness. I am dreaming? she tried to think, but the thoughts were jumbled. Everything was dark, but still spinning. Her stomach turned with a feeling of weightlessness. Am I dead? she thought for a second. The hangover was coming on heavy, like she hadn't felt since her early military days. Where am I? Why is it so dark? She tried to open her eyes, realizing they were open, but it was still black. Her stomach turned again as she tried to stand, but there was no ground. Am I on a plane? Did we finish the mission?

02:30:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Train Tunnel running west from Baqeri Station, Tehran

Distraught, V is able to gather herself enough to heal the teams physical wounds. However, there is nothing she can do for Starling.

Awake now, Ludi is able to keep up with the team, but her mind still aches from the aftermath of multiple magical attacks.

Though rest is needed, they decide this is probably not the best place, and they continue their course. When they reach the Resalat Square Station, they follow the tunnel leading northeast toward Hengam/Daneshgah. It is another hike, down another pitch black tunnel, but they finally reach the next station, virtually unharmed, save for a few turned ankles from their trek.


03:05:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Train Tunnel Hengam/Daneshgah Station, Tehran

"Here we are team," Kliko informs the team. "Time to return topside."

He and Bubba, climb out rail trench and move toward the stairs. Small pillars of moon light shine through through the stairwell openings from above, a striking contrast against the darkness of the tunnels. Guns ready, Kliko and Bubba stop at the bottom of the stairs as they wait for the their team to emerge from the darkness.

V and Felix, climb the platform next, followed a half a minute later by Ludi and Duster. They wait for a second longer, before remembering, Starling will not be emerging from the tunnels.

03:06:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Train Tunnel Hengam/Daneshgah Station, Tehran

The team huddled at the bottom of the stairs, while Kliko briefly went over the plan.

"Same as before, me and Bubba leading the way, you mojos follow 10 to 15 meters behind, Duster and Ludi 10 to 15 behind them."

Ludi rolled her eyes. Oh great team leader, who do we leave behind next? But then, she wasn't really upset about the loss of Starling, but leaving her body in the catacombs of Tehran didn't feel right, and it reminded her of having left Sugar behind in French Guinea. Sugar... Why did he stir up such emotions in her?

Kliko didn't notice Ludi's insubordination, and continued, "The target should lay about 600 meters ahead down the road running east. The road ends at the university entrance, and the mosque is just south of that."


03:08:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Hengam/Daneshgah Station, Tehran

Kliko reached the top of the stairs, scanned the area, then jogged over to the left side of Daneshkadeh Road, taking a knee, waiting for his team to take position behind him. Bubba followed suit, taking the right side of the road.

03:08:30 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Hengam/Daneshgah Station, Tehran

Kliko made a half-hearted attemt at rallying his crew.

'I got them in this drekhole, now its time to get what we came for and get the frag out'

Gathering the crew up under the moonlit sky he drew a map 1x1m of the area. "Now listen up, our target is some 600 meters east of here. We made it ahead of schedule thanks to Foxtrots magical backup 'Ludi is going to love this...' "We take a 10 minutes rest, hop the last leg and set up a stake out here" pointing to a building on a heap of dirt on the ground. "We take a half an hour break there, we do a bit of recon and make our move" 'Simple plan, minimal complications' "Any questions?"

03:10:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Hengam/Daneshgah Station, Tehran

Kliko and Bubba made their way up the stairs, scanning the empty streets when their eyes broke the surface. Kliko made some hand gestures to Bubba to signify the coast was clear, but the big troll was already trotting his way south down the street.

"Wrong way, Bravo!"

He turned and followed Kliko north on Hengam, then stopped at the first intersection.

"Clear." Kliko waved the magicians forward, then directed Bubba to take the right side, as they turned down Daneshkadeh Road, toward the university.

Felix and V followed about 25 meters behind, Felix on the left, V on the right. Behind them, Duster and Ludi were just taking position 15 or so meters back, Duster on the left, Ludi on the right.

03:12:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

In formation the shadowrunners worked their way down Daneshkadeh. Kliko scanned ahead and across the road to his right through the sights of his Ares Alpha with military precision. Bubba did the same, covering the left, but without the discipline, relying instead on the fact that the M107 would make up for quickness and accuracy with overwhelming firepower.

Still, 25 meters behind, Felix levitated behind Kliko, ready to manipulate the energies of the world to banish whatever obstacles arose, attempting to impede him or his team from his goal. V is across the street from him, uncharacteristically quiet since the death of Starling. Felix can feel her darkening aura somewhere on the metaphysical plane.

Ludi knew now that her bell was wrung. It took all her energy to keep her 74 shouldered, and her vision focused down the sights. It didn't ease her nerves any, having Duster covering the rear with her. A physad was just as unnatural as any other magic user, and he has proved not so proficient with firearms, and out the open like this, the SPAS-22 he was now carrying was not going to be too effective.

03:12:30 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

Everything was quiet, the team, the night, there was an eerie feeling of dread and aloneness that seemed to permeate the whole team. We lost a man, an annoying one at that, but a man nonetheless. And to think her body was left to feed the rats. Bubba shivered as he thought about the rats feasting on his fallen comrade. The part that bothered Bubba the most is nothing was said in her behalf, he didnt even know that she would not be joining the group until after they emerged from the tunnels and Kliko shook his head as Bubba waited for her to come up. Then came the silence, nobody talked about what happened, sure it was obvious the Mojo fragger got her. But still leaving her body down like that? A lump formed in Bubba's stomach as he felt alone with his team. Maybe this all was just a job? Do I really have friends here? Sure this was Starling's first and last run with the group, but did Bubba mean anything different to them than a means to a paycheck?

Bubba was kidding himself, thinking he had friends, it was a false hope, but one he understood. If he was going to get out of this mess he had to stay focused and rely on himself. What was the point of caring? Who would care for him? He continued to battle with his emotions as the team moved toward the target.

Bubba pulled another donut from his pocket and munched away as he felt his anxiety of being lost in the woods as a child. 'Pulls it together Bubba's, dey wonts leave yous, yous got to stays focuseds and killz dat mojo bastards. Klikos' wonts leaves you, Felix can levitates yous fat ass if yous falls. Better plans, just kicks somes ass and finish da missions. Forgets about thems, forgets about the wee wittle girl...'

He took another bite of donut. The crumbs spilling from his mouth as he struggled to get over the plaguing feeling of being lost in the woods left by his parents as a child. He halted his march and keyed his mic,
"We shouldnts have left her Kilos, at leasts not down theres, it's not rights, Imsa going backs and getting her corpse withs or whichout yous guys!"

Bubba turned around and started back toward the tunnel...

03:12:36 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

Bubba felt the hand on its shoulder looking down upon the grizzled ork in blood-soaked desert camo fatigues.

"Look at me chummer, I don't like leaving somebody behind either... but given the circumstances, lugging around with a corpse will get us all killed... Do you want to get us all killed?"
'Mental note to self, next time bring bodybags'

"Best case Foxtrot can send a spirit to retrieve the body, but that's the best we can do... it will be light in a few more hours and in the meantime, we have a veil to find."

03:12:52 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

Bubba's brow furled as he stared into the eyes of his leader. He was searching for something, something that told him he was worth more than just a warm body on the team. Would Kliko have made the same call if his body was down there? Or would Kliko have done more? at least some kind of speech that said he was worth something to somebody. Kliko was good at keeping the team on task and completing missions, but this was the first time we lost a teammate. Sugar, at least got hospital care and Kliko had paid his bills forward. But Starling? yes she was fodder from the day Bubba laid eyes on her. How the hell did she get on this team anyway? Regardless the kid was dead, and nobody cared, and nobody will know where her body lies except the rats. 'Eeeewwww....' Bubba shuddered as the image of rats picking Starling's bones dry flashed through his mind.

Bubba opened his mouth his words were soft and direct.

"What if dat was mes down deres Klikos?"

03:13:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

... "What if that was me down there Kliko?"...

'Drek'

"I'd leave you behind and make sure your loved ones got your cut ...."

"... the donut guy, that's the one, right..."

03:13:18 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

"Dats, what I was afraids of." Bubba pushed Klikos hand away from his shoulder and walked about 10 feet only to sit on the curb holding his head between his arms. Kliko stood still watching the giant troll. It was a sad spectacle and very untimely for the sake of the mission. Just a big kid he thought. It was true Bubba missed most of his childhood and never really had the chance to grow up. Never learned to cope with the feeling of aloneness and it just hit him over the head like a ton of bricks.

Bubba continued to look down at the street and shouted, "I aints got nobodies DAMNIT!!!"

Bubba wanted to cry, but he felt more angry then anything which helped keep the tears at bay. He just stared at the ground while the years of resentment and abandonment from his childhood festered.

03:13:29 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

Bubba sat dejected on the curb, which crumbled even more under his weight. Kliko stood nearby, unsure if he should put a hand on his shoulder in a fatherly way, or just lay into him with a football coach style motivational speech, which he did not have prepared.

Felix slowly approached, ready to lend a hand in the reassurance of Bubba. Kliko seemed to have it handled, for now, and Kliko had an... odd relationship with the big troll, that Felix did not want to get in the middle of. No, he could wait out the giant as long as it took.

V watched from afar, coming to the same conclusion as Felix, though less patient. I am sure a simple health spell will solve this, she thought, tapping her foot. If anyone should be upset over the loss of Starling, it should be her. Why is this big oaf acting like he gives a drek? V walked past Felix, to give the troll a what-for.

Ludi and Duster held position. No reason to get involved, and both needed the rest.

03:13:36 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

The gravel crackled underneath his boots as he stood on the Daneshkadeh main roadside.

'He got nobody but us' Kliko's memories drifted back towards his childhood with the typical abusive father, alcoholic mother but also charity-sponsored summer camps and sense of identity or self-worth originating somewhere in there.

"The truth hurts Bravo, I can't change that" ...

"Only you can ... with a little help perhaps."

03:13:52 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

"What da hells does dat means? Yous gonna helps me finds my parents?" Bubba paused his conversation, feeling a rash of rage as he thought of his father's image in the tunnel.

"Dat fragging Mojo Mixers how dids hes makes my dad appears? I wants to kill him... I feel like shits Klikos and I feel likes nobody cares! Nobody cared about Starlings so nobody cares about mes."

03:14:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

V stood a few feet away and interrupted, "Bubba, don't you think I care? Starling was my friend, but there was nothing left to bring with us. Look at your chest, and see what those rats did to your armor. What do you think they do to skin?"

V's eyes were beginning to tear up, as her voice quivered.

"Here, Bubba, I can give you a little 'mojo' to get you through the mission and make you feel a little better."

03:14:15 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

Bubba protested with watery-eyed stare, but nothing more. Kliko only watched as V put her hand out to rejuvenate the pouting troll.

A high pitched zipping noise broke the silence of the night, followed by a sickening splattering sound as the right side of V's head exploded, followed by her body crumpling to the ground.

"SNIPER! TAKE COVER!" Kliko's voice echoed through the concrete valley.

03:14:20 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

Kliko and Bubba both darted down 47th street, and behind the corner building for cover as a second round crashed into the west side of the building, exploding chunks of concrete into the air behind them. Bubba tried to do the math in his head of what the bullet trajectory must be, but soon realized that his instincts had already took him in the right direction. Kliko was doing the same, but already preparing the team to take out the sniper's nest, where ever it may be. Somewhere down on the east end of Daneshkadeh obviously, but where?

Felix had already found cover behind one of the few abandoned cars left on the road. Smoke was quickly pouring out of the grenade he left spinning in the middle of the first lane nearby. Geek the mage. The first rule of shadowrunning. Felix knew he was lucky that the sniper had not seen him levitating, and took V out instead of him.

Duster knew he was in deep drek. He only had partial cover in the corner of the building's design. He was not sure what was going on, but V had suddenly dropped to the ground, and everyone was running for cover. Kliko had called out a warning for snipers, but where were they? He saw Kliko and Bubba run for cover on the opposite side of the road than he was standing, and Duster was not sure if that was good or bad news.

Drek! Ludi was snapped to as Kliko's warning echoed down the street to her. She watched as Bubba and Kliko ran for cover down the side street, and she followed suit about a block away. Unfortunately, she only had cover toward the rest of the team, but behind her was uncovered. At least the small courtyard of trees offered some concealment, but they would have offered more if their leaves had not fallen away long ago.

03:14:26 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

Kliko bounced into cover at a moments notice. You'd be amazed how flying lead could motivate grizzled people to move really really fast.
As the initial confusion subsised Kliko found himself frantically gesturing at Duster to get out of the open and into cover.

03:14:31 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

The exploding flesh and the dropping of Vs body seemed to hover as the move-by-wire system seemed to slow everything down for the big troll to process. By the time Vs body hit the ground Bubba had already bounced to his feet. Then with lightning speed he darted around the corner of the nearest building for cover. His moment of self-loathing was over. Another teamate down and another threat exposed. Whether he had anybody or not, he still had himself and his childhood vengeance that motivated him to live to perhaps one day satisfy.

Bubba threw his pack to the ground and dug out a mirror and fastened it to his stun baton. He gave Kliko a nod and angled the mirror to peer around the corner of the building giving him a reflected view of the street and buildings where the siper fire had come from. He carefully studied the reflection in the mirrior hoping the sniper would shoot again so he could pin point the flash of the Sniper's rifle fire.

03:14:36 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

Felix scans the roof tops down the road, but nothing is standing out. The night is cold and quiet, the sniper should be easy to spot. He looks again, where he saw some heat, about 150 meters away. It was small, probably just a rat, he shivers at the thought.

Duster hunkers down behind the wall of the buildings entry way. There is nothing he can do for his team in front of him, but at least he can watch the team's back. He readies the shotgun looking back toward the subway tunnel from which they emerged a few minutes ago.

Ludi pokes her AKS around the corner, looking for the sniper. Zzzzzzip - THUMP!!! She is pulled away from the wall and to the ground by her left shoulder. Catching her breath and realizing she isn't dead, Ludi rolls back into cover where she can check her injuries.

Bubba hears the large caliber round slam into something behind him, but he did not spot any muzzle flashes.

Felix didn't see the shot fired at Ludi, but he didn't need to. On the metaplane, he was able to locate the sniper on a rooftop, his side of the street, two blocks away. He felt the urge to pounce.

Seeing Ludi drop, and Duster still moving, Kliko took his chance to peer around Bubba, and around the corner. There was nothing obvious, until something hit him, taking Kliko to the ground. A second shot zipped by over his head and put another dent in the wall behind them.

03:14:45 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

Almost as soon as Kliko peered around the wall two shots wrung out and Bubba watched as Kliko fell to the ground and debris splattered from the building behind them. Bubba reached out to grab Kliko's feet when two more shots wrang out.

The first shot punched a hole right through Bubba's bicep, the force of the round pulled Bubba's body forward when the second shot slammed into Bubba's balistic chest plate forcing the giant to the ground. Bubba laid there grasping his bicep and seemingly unable to breath.

Bubba was sucking wind as that second blast hit him hard enough to knock the wind out of him. He mustered what strength he could to force his body into a log roll towards the rear part of the wall of the east building.

03:14:41 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

The hydrostatic shock wave ripped across Kliko's chest knocking him clear of his feet and on the ground.

... Silence...

opening his eyes he suddenly realized 'I'm alive!'

Opening the biomonitor in his image link all kinds of red lights started blinking indicating shock trauma to some of his organs, but little to no internal bleeding.
By the time he felt Bubba fumbling for his boots another two shots rang in the far distance.

03:14:46 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

The sniper found his mark again as two .416 398-grain rounds slammed into Bubba's ballisitc plate completely shattering the high grade alloy plate.
The giant fell as in slow motion as the sheer impuls of the sniper rounds knocked him off his feet and flat out on the ground.

With biomonitor indicators blinking orange and Bubba down, Kliko had to think and he'd better think fast!
Instinctively grabbing his last smoke grenade Kliko put down a smoke screen to cover Bubba and him while belly crawling for safety.

03:14:49 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

As a cloud of smoke quickly surrounded Bubba and Kliko, waiting the next volley of sniper fire, they heard Felix over the coms, "Sniper down. I don't see anything else on the astral plane."

03:14:54 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

Bubba grunted in agony as he pushed himself up to sit against the building wall. His shallow breathing slowly got deeper. The pain is his bicep made it unbearable to move his arm. His bicep throbbed and any vibration or movement shot sparks of intense pain through his body.

He keyed his mic,"We's been hit, Cough*, send medicals helps. We's by da building looks for da smoke."

03:14:57 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

Felix pauses for a second longer after the sniper went down to check for anything else before he darts through the smoke and up against the building where Kliko and Bubba are. A quick glance at the two showed Kliko pulling out his own medkit and tending to his wound, while Bubba had rather more blood pouring from his arm.

"The sniper should be unconcious on the roof of the third building past the corner, keep anybody else off us while I patch these two up"

Felix pulls his own medkit out of his bag and sets to work on the troll's arm, trusting Ludi and Duster to keep things quiet while he got these two patched up. Some Quick-clot and Codeine got the worst of it cleared up, allowing Felix to recenter himself and reach out with magic to try and heal the injuries of the two cybered up teammates.

03:15:03 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

Overlooking the blood-stained dirt of Eastern Daneshkadeh roadside, Kliko leaned down against the side of the building.

"Copy that Foxtrot. Delta, Lima acknowledge ... get the motherfragger I want him ready for some medieval mind-raping"

Shifting from left to right he initiated the quick release on the military rugsack. Retrieving the basic medkit took about the same time. Looking up he could already see Felix rushing for Bubba crawling up to Kliko's position. Kliko popped up a 5 minute timer in his tactical overview counting down. "We got about 5 min before OPFOR can initiate a reaction team. Let's bring the running back in shadowrun."

Pushing the med plugs in his wounds stopped the bleeding, but it wasn't until Felix' healing spell before his biomonitor turned back in the 'green'.

03:15:13 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

The troll half smiled as Felix appeared from the smoke. Bubba didn’t need to say a thing as Felix stood and began applying first aid to the big troll. The movement of his arm being wrapped in bandages and the pressure being applied to his wound was painful but a welcomed relief.

Felix grabbed Bubba's good hand, "Put pressure on the wound, I'll be back in a moment after I take care of Kliko."

Bubba just nodded as he applied pressure to his bandaged bicep. He tilted the back of his head against the wall and watched Felix out of the corner of his eye go to work with his magic on Kliko. 'Wheres would we be withouts Felixs?' This was the worst injury Bubba had endured in his limited time of being a shadowrunner. There was the encounter with a panther cannon, but by sheer dumb luck the only damage to Bubba was a missing left horn which only aided the trolls faulty belief of invincibility. He learned today he is as soft as anybody else. It was damaging to the giants pride, where most men would cry to their mothers about broken pride and life threatening injuries, Bubba replaced it with gratitude for the team shaman.

Felix approached Bubba... "Relax donut guy, you'll be feeling much better in a moment."

'Did he says donuts? Oh, yesh Donuts!! What a goods time for dem!' As Felix began his chanting Bubba closed his eyes and reached into his pocket and pulled out a chocolaty donut. The troll munched away as the throbbing pain in his bicep disappeared.

"How are you feeling?" Felix asked.

"Much betters, thanks yous..." Bubba placed his hands on Felixs shoulders and looked him in the eyes, "I owes you..."

Bubba rose to his feet and made eye contact with Kliko.

"Nows lets go bash dis fraggers face in and get dis mission done cause I wants to get da hells out of dis place!"

03:21:33 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

Duster called down from the sniper's perch over the coms, "He is out cold and bound. We were going through his gear and it looks like he has a BattleTac as well. And looks like he was communicating through text messages."

Ludi translates the shorthand texts and what she knew of BattleTac systems into bad news. "We need to move. Got two moving in from the corner of 38th and 47th. That is the end of your block Kilo."

03:21:39 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

"Copy that Lima"

Overlooking the scene Kliko found the body of V was cooling down rapidly in the middle of Daneshkadeh road. 'VENGEANCE' a streak of viciousness overcame him as he keyed in his mic. "Lima, see if you can booby trap the sniper. If you can't, execute the motherfragger"

"Bravo, get up, get in position and cover the street."

"Foxtrot, we need to get Victor out of there and retrieve critical kit, come with me"

Sprinting up the middle of Daneshkadeh road, Felix and Kliko both hauled back V's body into the nearest house and into cover. Removing comms and their own tactical system took another 18 seconds. A large blood-stain formed on the local dress as they covered their dead teammie for better or worse... In all likely hood, Kliko would have probably booby-trapped their lost team mate too... if only he had a grenade to do so.

"Lima, what's the current ETA for our boogies?"

03:21:41 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

"I would say less than 60 seconds."

03:22:12 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

Looking back outside Kliko could already see the first boogie taking up position to cover his teams advance as they leap-frogged their way across 47th street.
Readying the Ares Alpha, electronic signals bounced back and forth as the top-mounted range finder interfaced with the airburst grenadelink accesoire.

'Payback time'

03:22:20 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Daneshkadeh Road, Tehran

"Watch him, Duster," Ludi directed, pointing at the unconscious sniper.

She ejected the magazine from the Barret Model 121, smiling as she noted the APDS rounds. It felt only half full, so she loaded a fresh magazine Ludi had gathered from the sniper's gear. Ludi reentered the building and set up position on the top floor where she could cover Daneshkadeh Road, while remaining hidden in the darkness of the building underneath her ruthenium suit.


Felix left the ground, levitating to the rooftop of the building on the northwest corner of 47th. He landed behind the half-wall that lined the roof, taking cover, readying a spell to drop anyone who comes down the road.


Bubba dashed across Daneshkadeh Road to a building looking straight down 47th Street. The door was closed, but that didn't stop Bubba. Slamming his shoulder into the barrier smashed it to splinters and did not seem to slow the giant down but a half step. He climbed to the third floor and began setting up his Stoner Ares in the window, smiling the entire time.


Kliko ran to V's body, grabbed her by the webbing of her gear, and dragged her across the street. He kicked down the door of the building two doors west of Bubba's location. He dragged V into the shadows of the structure and began stripping her of her gear.

At some point in the past, the room must have been some sort of bedroom. It might even have been nice. Some had thrown a ton of junk just past the door, as if in a hurry. The bed frame still defiantly held it's ground, half leaning towards one of its corner where a leg had gone missing. One dresser had been smashed to bits, probably for firewood. A cold breeze was coming through the already smashed windows, who looked particularly naked without any sort of curtains or shades.

The heavy rifle slung across her shoulder, Ludmila took a hold of a small table and pushed it as close to the window as she could without exposing herself. She unfolded the bipod, put the rifle to rest partly on the table and wrapped one of her arm under the receiver. The last time she had actually held a scoped rifle had been on a hunting trip with one of her uncles, well over 20 years ago. This... This was going to be a far cry from her usual CQB comfort zone.

With a flick of the mind, the ruthenium camo flickered back on, leaving only a barely discernible Barret rifle apparently hovering all by it's lonesome. The line of sight as wide as she would've hoped, but she could see down Daneshkadeh road perfectly.

She keyed in her comm system her transduced and accentless voice filling the airwave

“I've got Daneshkadeh covered.”

03:22:51 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Abandoned building along Daneshkadeh Road, third floor - Tehran

Shortly after Bubba has set his machine gun on the remains of the window ledge, he spotted someone rounding the corner. He had just lined up the target through the open sights when he spotted the heat signature of a second target. The first one was moving with a large rifle at his shoulder, the second one had an SMG at his side, while he appeared to scan the area.

Felix spotted the two enemies as they rounded the corner, about 5-10 meters apart. The first was moving like he had seen Kliko move; Rifle shouldered, scanning the road over the top of his weapon. The second seemed a little less... military, but was also seemed to be scanning the area proficiently.

03:23:15 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Abandoned building along Daneshkadeh Road, third floor - Tehran

Looking down the open sights of his HMG Bubba followed the silhouette of the steady and tactical movement of the rifle carrying enemy. Bubba was about to squeeze the trigger when he noticed a second target emerge into his view that appeared less threatening on the physical plane, but that didn’t mean the second target was any less dangerous. The distance between the two enemies was far enough that it would be hard for Bubba to get both of them in a full auto burst so he decided he better take out the more dangerous target. 'Geek the mage' if this group had a mage Bubba thought it was more than likely the second target.

Bubba fixed his open sights on the second target and grinned. 'It's me turns for a surprises fragger!!'

He squeezed the trigger of the HMG...

03:23:15 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – 47th Street - Tehran

The thunderous rattle of Bubba's machine gun, nor the echos of his laugh, were enough able to break Felix's concentration. The Jaguar roared as a black cloud on the astral plane encompassing the two men at the far end of the road.

Dragon Slayer never had a chance. Before he could react to first sound of gunfire, everything started to go black, then nothing, as his body was exploded by a tight group of 7.62 APDS rounds. His partner, Wasteland, was heading for cover, when his vision suddenly went black. He fired his Ares Alpha impotently as he dove for cover where he remembered the remains of a car being. After slamming into the side of it, he fell to the ground with a raspy, "frag it" and crawled behind the vehicle.