03:45:39 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque entrance - Tehran

Peering around the corner electronically, Kliko got a good look at the figure. He was dressed in ratty torn clothes, obviously a local. He squatted over a fallen body, which he seemed to be growling at.

Kliko slowly edged around the corner, rifle starting to take aim on the local man when he instantly looked up. He moved so fast, Kliko felt everything else was in slow motion. The mans eyes were black, completely black. It let out a yell as it quickly bounded toward the shadowrunner.

03:45:42 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque entrance - Tehran

The smartlink II's comforting diamond-shape moved over the crazy local man. Drek, was he really a man at all?

'point and click, point and click, chummer'

The first bursts filled the mosque's silent interior echoing back and forth between its sturdy walls as the armor-piercing sabbots found their mark.
First aiming for the body mass itself, but as the lightining fats man charged forward, Kliko shifted aim towards the man's head.

'DIE!'

03:45:42 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Inside IUST Mosque - Tehran

The local was lifted from his feet by the first burst, twisting in the air, when the second burst blew his head wide open, spinning the body on another axis. Blood, brain and various gore streamed in several directions as the corpse tumbled through the air, before it landed with a splattering thud, where it rolled toward Kliko, before finally flopping over to a stop about 15 meters away.


03:45:43 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Outside IUST Mosque - Tehran

The silence of the desert night is broken once again by gun fire. Two quick burst fires echo in succession, shortly followed by a voice echoing, "Frag yeah fragger!"

03:45:44 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Across the street from IUST Mosque - Tehran

The echoing chatter of weapons fire snaps Felix's head up form where he was fiddling with his com unit. Things would get fragged up after Bubba goes running the other way.

With a grunt, Felix heaves himself back to his feet and sprints across the street, heading for the south side of the entrance. He pushed all he can into astral protection for Kliko despite knowing that his aura just dimmed abit more. I sure hope we can get out of here before we all become to paranoid and kill happy.

03:45:52 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque Entrance (Outside) - Tehran

Up the stairs Felix dashes, and though Kliko has already disappeared inside the dark depths of religious structure, the shaman still felt safer taking position at the south side of the entrance, where the ork had previously stood. On the other side of the large opening Duster had taken position, his taser at the ready.


03:45:52 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque Main Foyer - Tehran

Kliko's eyes quickly adjusted to the complete darkness of the mosque. At his feet stood the remains of the black-eyed man, the blood pool still quickly expanding. There isn't much to look at. A three-round burst of APDS ammo to an unarmed chest, and then again to the side of the head, will do that to a body.

Nearby he spots a long curve-bladed knife, but other than that, the man appears to be unarmed and unarmored. It suddenly dawns on the ork, that he is all alone, in a dark religious ruin, and there might still be another runner around, or religious extremists.

03:45:58 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque Main Foyer - Tehran

'Here's a bastard who didn't get the memo: Never bring a knife to a gun fight'

Looking about the desolate interior, Kliko looks around the main foyer. 'Felix mentioned another body...' Before proceeding to the Mosques inner sanctum. 'Back to work chummer. You have a job to do, comms check.'

"Report in team"

03:46:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque Main Foyer - Tehran

Looking around the corner Felix could see the silhouette of Kliko in the middle of the room, standing triumphantly over his kill, rifle resting on his shoulder with the barrel straight in the air. The only thing missing from the action trid poster was him putting one foot up on the corpse.


Kliko listened for a reply, to his message, but only got static.

03:46:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque Main Foyer - Tehran

Ludmila began her descent down the stairs. Her previous feeling of dread had vanished; only to be replaced with something darker and much more dangerous. She felt... excited. It wasn't the usual kind of rush she got when things got heavy and bullets flew around. It was something else entirely. It felt primal. It felt older.

On the ball of her feet, she went down a few flights, stopping every now and then to listen to her surroundings. The night was still quiet. The air tasted stale.

As she neared the first floor, she heard the distant rattle of automatic fire. She froze on the spot, her optical camouflage suit cloaking her with shades of blasted concrete and forgotten Arabic graffitis. Two quick burst. Six bullets. Five-five-six. Kliko was carrying 5.56...

A few more steps and Ludi was on the ground floor. She pulled herself to the side, sliding into one of the long shadows that crowded the entryway. Ever so carefully, she inched forward to get a peek of the outside street.

03:46:02 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Doorway of building at 82nd and Heydarkhani- Tehran

She took another deep breath of that stagnant yet refreshing air. The air on the top floor had been pungent, sour like raw untreated fuel gas. Why had I not noticed that before? Was it like that the whole time? she pondered. Ludi remembered the room being rather free of foul odors until the dark figure had appeared. Or was it when it spoke? If that were the case, she would never bother Bubba about brushing his teeth again. Do spirits smell? Maybe Felix would know... she thought it over for a split second, I am not going to ask that slinging fragger.

The air on the street was cool and fresh, the charred remains of the city not withstanding. A few blocks away she was elated, and amused, to see Bubba running toward her, if you could call that uncoordinated movement he was doing running. Tongue flapping in the wind, weapons and gear swinging wildly and clanking noisily, the giant, or oaf, was moving at a high rate of speed, even in that unorthodox manner.

"Me's comin for yous Ludi ! Holds on!!!" he unstealthfully bellowed.

Yes, she smiled, Bubba I can trust.

03:46:04 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque Main Foyer - Tehran

Felix watched as Kliko moved deeper into the darkness of the mosque, the ork's rifle again shouldered, searching for another target. Looking to the left he saw Duster's wide eyes with a look of, "I ain't goin' in there."

03:46:20 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque Main Foyer - Tehran

Skulking across the Mosque's broken tile floor of the mosque interior Kliko found himself back on his game.

'Null sheen chummer, you're bringing back the veil, save the team, save the day!'

His Ares Alpha shouldered Kliko scanned the mosque's inner sanctum, the Veil's presumed location blinking nervously in his image link. As the orientation system mapped the immediate surroundings Kliko got down to business.

03:46:38 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque Main Foyer - Tehran

Kliko heard nothing but the wind sweeping through the ruins. Scanning the room, nothing stood out as an obvious hiding place for the veil. The only prominent feature amongst the rubble was a crumbled pulpit or alter of some sort that lay on the raised far end of the room. That is where his search would begin.

03:46:50 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque Main Foyer - Tehran

Digging through the crumbled wood uncovered nothing. Kliko pushed the fallen alter to the side, cleared the broken tile and fallen ceiling until the ground was flat. He searched for a hidden compartment, but found nothing.

03:47:02 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Doorway of building at 82nd and Heydarkhani- Tehran

Bubba watched as his dot on the battletac screen closed in to Ludi's position. He looked up as he sprinted, clumsily avoiding a pole, and saw Ludi standing in the doorway watching him. He was glad to see her standing, and seemingly ok. As he got to her he placed his large hands on her shoulders. While heavy panting and some spittle coming from his mouth Bubba stared into Ludi's eyes with a concerned look.

"Are yous oks?"

03:47:19 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque Main Foyer - Tehran

He was getting increasingly anxious as he realized there was nothing there, no veil, no treasure, no nothing.

Moving away from the altar, Kliko inspected the other remains in the room.

03:47:04 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Doorway of building at 82nd and Heydarkhani- Tehran

Ludi had to catch her breath, which she just now realized it needed to be caught. Bubba had sprung on her almost as quickly as the dark figure.

"I am okay, Bubba." She paused, then added, "Thank you." To which Bubba cocked his head to the side like a confused or curious canine.



03:47:21 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque Main Foyer - Tehran

Kliko began digging through the piles of crumbled stone, rotted drywall and wood. Duster finally joined to help dig through the debris.

03:47:22 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Doorway of building at 82nd and Heydarkhani- Tehran

Ludi put her hand on Bubba's large forearm, "Lets go, big guy."

She continued to confuse him. For once he didn't see confidence in her eyes. For once she did not appear to be completely in control. For once she displayed emotion other than contempt. Bubba scanned the area. Something was amiss.

"Lets go," she repeated. This time the command was back in her voice.

"Go Ludis. Me gots yer back," he responded with a toothy grin.

With the sniper rifle slung across her back, Ludi led the way with her AKS. She didn't ask Bubba how the team was, it really wasn't important. She would move to the mosque and figure that out when she got there.

Bubba looked inside the doorway Ludi had been standing in. He didn't see any signs of recent combat. What had spooked the unwavering shadowrunner? He shuddered as he saw two large rats scurrying along the floor, remembering Starling's disturbing demise. He turned away from the building and followed Ludi, who was moving at a light jog.

03:48:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque Main Foyer - Tehran

Ludi pulled up at the Mosque entrance and peeked around the corner. Inside she saw Duster, Felix and Kliko digging through the rubble in the main foyer.

Bubba reached the top of the stairs, and caught up to Ludi. Standing in the middle of the doorway, he cocked his head watching the other three moving fallen debris around.

"Ludis? Why is dey cleanin? Donts we needs to be smashin an lookin for da veal?"

03:47:30 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque Main Foyer - Tehran

'WHERE THE FRAG IS IT!' Their search thourgh the debris left them empty handed, Kliko paced across the room weighting his options. He stopped dead in front of what seemed like another body in the room.

03:47:31 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque Main Foyer - Tehran

There lied the remains of a geared up street sam. His face a bloody mess, his rifle still on safe, left unfired at his side.

03:48:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque Main Foyer - Tehran

The team turned over every piece rubble in the main foyer without finding anything resembling an artifact, unless you consider mummified rats corpses artifacts.

03:48:10 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque Main Foyer - Tehran

Bubba kept looking at Ludi hoping to make conversation. Something seemed strange, one minute the comms were compromised and it seemed she was in distress and then the next moment all was fine. Bubba understood the team had been through a lot of stress given the loss of two teammates and that thing about women and their fickle emotions, but there seemed to be something more. He couldn’t get the scurrying rats from his mind either as they left the sniper roost.

"Ludis, ares our comms still compromiseds? ...What happened back deres, for a moment it seems you was in da troubles and when I gots to yous, yous was fine?"

04:08:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque Main Foyer - Tehran

After the main lobby was cleared, the team worked their way through the rest of the building. Kliko and Duster searched the back room, while Bubba, Felix and Ludi covered the second floor. Twenty minutes later, Felix was pulling something from the rubble that looked important.

He slowly slid the lid off the small, battered wooden box. Inside is a black cloth with silver stitches. The veil! He reaches removes it from the box and the silky sheer material begins to unfold, revealing silvery threads that sparkle as they catch what little light there is. Serenity washes over Felix as he examines the ultra thin, yet ultra sturdy sheet. Amazed by its physical appearance and feel, he almost forgets to astrally inspect the artifact. The veil radiates magical energy.


On the other side of the second level, Ludi hears that sinister whisper in her ear, "He has it... He will destroy you all..." She spins to find the same black figure. She backs away as uncontrollable emotions of fear and dread wash over him. She is only able to manage one word, "Bubba...?"

04:08:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque 2nd Floor - Tehran

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it's now time to get the frag outta this town" Felix calls out to the team as he examines the veil in his hands before heading for the stairs down to the first floor. "Bravo, Lima, let's go. We've got about two hours to get out of town for our pick up, then back to civilization and an ice cold beer... or a fresh donut for you Bravo"

04:08:02 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque 2nd Floor - Tehran

"Bubba...?" said Ludi.

Bubba cocked his head towards the sound of Ludi's voice. Something wasn't right and he could feel it. 'She heard voices that's why she jammed the comms.'

Bubba placed the HMG on his shoulder and started walking towards the room where Ludi was.

Felix's voice echoed through the hallway. "Ladies and Gentlemen, it's now time to get the frag outta this town"

Bubba entered the room.

"Good timings... come Ludis lets get da frags outta dis crap hole!"

04:30:02 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque 2nd Floor - Tehran

Bubba could see the panic in Ludi's eyes. She managed to lift her hand and point at the dark figure.

"Holy Frags!" Bubba dropped his HMG and readied his Laser Cresent Axe. The axe emitted a slight buzzing sound as a shimmering red laser formed around the blade. Bubba charged full bore towards the dark figure. "Die Fragger!" His war cry echoed through the building.

04:30:06 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque 2nd Floor - Tehran

Bubba was about to sink his laser-crescent axe into the black-mist-figure when came to realize the figure was there to protect him. Felix was the threat!

04:30:13 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque 2nd Floor - Tehran

Bubba stared at the shadowy figure while clutching his axe high above his head. He wanted to cut the shadowy figure in half, but something inside him seized up. A bead of sweat rolled off his forehead as he continued to contemplate the action he wanted to take. The more he stared at the shadowy figure the more he felt it was there to help. Bubba lowered his axe. He nodded at the shadowy figure and turned towards the doorway.

Bubba felt like he was now a passenger in his own body. Something inside him told him there was something wrong, but he couldnt stop what he was about to do. He felt anger and hostility towards Felix. 'Da shaman betrayed us! He took da veil and left already! He stoles da PRECIOUS!' Bubba tried to fight the feelings, but they were too strong. Maybe there was a way he could fight what he was feeling without fighting? Being a "dumb" troll had its advantages...

Bubba errupted into a fit of rage! "I'll killz da Betrayer! FOXTROT YOUS COME BACK HERES NOW! BRING MR. DA SHADOWS DA VEIL OR I GOTS TO KILLZ YOU!"

04:30:14 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque 2nd Floor - Tehran

Hearing Bubba's war cry, Feilx stuck his head around the corner to see a sight he never wanted to see, a large angry troll charging, Ludi standing behind with her gun his way, and a malevolent shadow behind both of them gloating. Grabbing for a fetish hanging off his coat he screamed "We got problems Kilo" before dumping every erg of magical energy he can draw on into knocking out everyone in the room... hopefully without hurting himself too badly in the process.

04:30:15 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque 2nd Floor - Tehran

Ludi crumbles to the floor instantly. Bubba gets another two steps toward Felix before the spell takes hold and he stumbles to the floor. The shadow however, appears to fend off the attack. Though its features are hard to see, the figure seems to stare Felix down for a second before quickly vanishing into a cloud of black smoke.

04:30:45 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque 2nd Floor - Tehran

Kliko reached the second floor, followed by Duster shortly after. Seeing the exhausted look on Felix's face, and the unconscious bodies of Ludi and Bubba, Kliko asked, "What the frag happened?"

"That fraggin black spirit came back. I poured everything into a spell and hardly fazed the damn thing."

"Is that it?" Kliko asked, referring to the black silk cloth in Felix's hand. It was.

"Hand me that box Miss J gave us."

Felix quickly folded the veil and replaced it in the battered wooden box, then placed the box in the warded case.

They worked out the logistics of moving their sleeping comrades. Duster would carry Ludi, Felix would levitate Bubba, leaving Kliko free to lead the way with his hands free to operate his assault rifle.

04:34:10 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Mosque 2nd Floor - Tehran

Kliko posted at the entry to the mosque and scanned the abandoned city ahead. It was eerily quiet, as it had been all night, except when they were in fire fights with shadowrunners, devil rats and spirits off all kinds. He let Duster and Felix rest for a second. Once they were ready, he turned on his transponder that should signal Miss Johnson's helicopter. He would much rather use Ludi's source, but with her unconscious, he would rather just get the hell out of Tehran.

Looking at his maps, Kliko located a clearing less than 15 minutes away, east of their location. The college football stadium.

The runners left the cover of the mosque and cut through the campus, heading straight for the stadium. Kliko darted from tree to tree, then to building, then back to tree to tree. Duster and Felix followed several meters behind, with Ludi over Duster's shoulder, and Bubba under Felix's levitation spell.

04:45:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, west of the stadium - Tehran

Ahead in the moonlit night Kliko could make our the towering wall of the soccer stadium through the trees and rubble. It was only one more block over past the last crumbling building. So far the trip was uneventful, no spirits, rats or dogs, just the thunderous pounding of his own heart thumping in his ears.

04:50:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, south of the stadium - Tehran

The team worked their way around to the south end of the stadium to the main entrance. It was blocked with a heavy metal rod gate, but Kliko easily pushed it down. The crash echoed through the tunnels into the stadium.

The team took up defensive positions, fearful that they woke another dangerous night crawler. Something in the air wasn't right. After their nerves settled a bit, they prepared to move out.

04:55:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, inside of the stadium - Tehran

"Where the frag is the Johnson's chopper?" Kliko said to himself, but out loud, as he was overlooking the field from the top of the first deck.
"I don't recall her ever saying how long it would take from the time we set off our transponders," Felix answered.
"I don't like it. It shouldn't take that long. Maybe Ludi can still arrange something. Can you wake them up?"
"You're the one with slap patches-"
Kliko cut him off, "What the fuck was that?"
"What was what?" he asked, looking around. He had felt something, possibly a disturbance on the astral plane, but it had been that way since entering the city. He couldn't trust his sixth sense.
"I thought a shadow just crossed the east stands, but I didn't hear a chopper."

04:56:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, inside of the stadium - Tehran

Kliko slapped a stim patch on Ludi's and Bubba's respective chests. The stirred shortly after, Bubba slowly waking, confused, Ludi suddenly springing to life, Savalette Guardian in Kliko's face.

Hands up, Kliko stands, "Easy there, Ludi. Just waking you from a sleep spell."
"Fraggin mages," she lowers her gun, staring down Felix. "Aren't you supposed to be protecting us from that kind of drek?"
"Sometimes."

04:57:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, inside of the stadium - Tehran

Ludi's stare hardened, though Felix had previously thought that impossible, "What the frag do you mean, 'sometimes'?"
"Sometimes I stop mass sleep spells, and other times I cast mass sleep spells." He emphasized his explanation with a simple shrug.
"I will frag your sparkly hoop-"
"You two can discuss this later," Kliko interrupted. "Let's catch this bird."

He strode down the tunnel leading to the first deck. Duster followed, leaving Ludi and Felix staring each other down, and Bubba still sitting on the ground holding his head with mutterings of doughnuts.

04:58:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, inside of the stadium - Tehran

Kliko reached the wall separating the field from the fans. He looked up at the top of the stadium for signs of an approaching bird over the upper deck, then turned slowly getting a 360-view of the stadium.

Duster joins his side. "What do you think? Should they be here by now?"
"Not sure. Ms. Johnson said they would be on standby in the area, but I didn't think to ask how far away the staging area was. I thought Ludi was planning an alternate extraction plan, but with the way things are going, I just want -"

Kliko saw a shadow cross the field, but again no sound of helicopters, and this time he knew he saw it. He turned to see where the rest of the team was, but they were still in the tunnel at the top of the stairs. He could hear Ludi and Felix arguing, and no signs of Bubba. Kliko's gut was wrenching, his heart pounding in his throat, he just knew something wasn't right. He pulled his rifle butt to his shoulder, and aimed toward what he was expecting to be an open soccer field, but instead sees an extremely large and even more extremely frightening sight, as a sand-colored great eastern dragon, at least 30 meters long from nose to tail, lands a meter in front of them. His tail slowly slithers up the seats to Kliko's left.

04:59:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, inside of the stadium - Tehran

"I believe you have something that belongs to me," the great dragon says in a thunderous whisper, as his 15 meter long tail wraps around, surrounding Duster and Kliko.

04:59:10 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, inside of the stadium - Tehran

Kliko stands immobilized in fear. Staring into the gaping jaws of a great dragon will have that affect.

Knuckle Duster on the other hand gains a sudden surge of bravado. He swings the Franchi Spas-22 and laughs, manically. "Frag you dragon! I am bad ass!"

He fires the shotgun in the great dragon's face, but in a flash, Duster is hanging out of its jaws flailing wildly, five meters off the ground. Kliko didn't even see him strike, or if Duster's shot even hit. The large beast bites down, and the poor physad screams a wretched scream as he is ripped in two with a revolting crunching of breaking bones. Duster's legs fallseparately, about six meters to Kliko's left, and the upper torso lands directly in front of him, spilling blood and innards onto the cement stairs. The two runners make eye contact, but the mutilated man's screams are now silent. His eyes are wide, but the light inside slowly fades, as Kliko watches him die. It is the most horrific detail of the scene unfolding in front of the ork.

"Mmmm... Never had Amerindian before."

04:59:30 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, inside of the stadium - Tehran

Upon hearing the shotgun blast and muffled conversations Bubba jumped to his feet and staggered his way towards the sound.

'Oh Frag!!!' Bubba just stood staring in fear as Duster's body fell in halves to the ground and there before him stood a magnificent and very deadly beast.


Bubba sheepishly spoke as he slowly began backing up the way he came, "I tinks ill just leaves you threes... uh" his eyes glanced down at Duster and back up to the dragon, "yous twos to your business."

04:59:40 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, inside of the stadium - Tehran

Kliko looks up from Duster's ghastly face to find himself now nose to nose with the giant wyrm.

"I am Aden," his deep voice vibrates the cement stands. "You have taken something that once belonged to another of my kind. You will return it, or you will be destroyed."

04:59:50 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, inside of the stadium - Tehran

When the great dragon materialized in front of him, Kliko's first instinct was he must have been hallucinating. 'This shit can't be real, catch up sleep off the job chummer'

Not until Duster charged and was chomped into wyrmfood Kliko regained his senses. 'Drek! not me chummer'

'Never ever deal with a dragon'

"And you will let us go, in peace from this place and won't seek retribution after me and my crew?"

Kliko surprised himself by his perceived tact.

05:00:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, inside of the stadium - Tehran

"Put it back where you found it, and be gone," Aden commanded.

With that the dragon leaped backward into the air, his tail uncoiling around them as he flew to the opposite side of the stadium, where he perched at the top, the first hint of daylight catching his scales.

05:02:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, inside of the stadium - Tehran

Kliko stared at the great dragon as it had leapt into the air and flew to the opposite end of the stadium. Even after the dragon landed on the top rim of the upper deck, Kliko could not pull his eyes away, especially now that Aden was staring back.

05:02:15 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, inside of the stadium - Tehran

The great dragon shook as he repositioned himself high above. That was enough to startle Kliko into action. "Frag this drek," he said softly, but defiantly.

He pulled the small wooden box from his sack, looking at it carefully. It fit easily in his large hand, but due to its rectangular shape, it was not the greatest grip, but he would make due.

"You want this fraggin thing!? Go and fraggin get it!"

He brought it up to his chest with both hands, then with a shuffle forward, he brought the box back with one hand, then his arm rocketed forward releasing the box in a perfect arc. The box flew high in the air, catching the light of the morning sun.

"What da frags you did!?" cried Bubba from the top of the stairs. At the same time, Ludi and Felix said something along lines of not dealing with dragons, and were already at full speed in the opposite direction.

Felix quickly went invisible, though that wasn't going to hide him from a great dragon. It did however piss off Ludi, who now found herself running down the tunnel, alone, panting, "Fragging mages. Fragging trogs. And fragging dragons. Frag all of them." She powered up her ruthenium covered suit, going invisible as well.

Felix headed south, toward the extraction point. Ludi headed south east up the main road, for the outskirts of the city.


When Bubba turned around, Ludi and Felix were already running. He looked back at Kliko, then at Ludi. Who could he trust? He only had a second to decide. Kliko was the leader, but Ludi seemed to always look out for him. Ludi was a loner, but Kliko is taunting a great dragon, and the first and most important thing Bubba had learned as a shadowrunner was don't deal with dragons. Bubba wasn't very smart, but he knew that taunting dragons was as bad as dealing with dragons.

The giant turned to chase after Ludi and Felix, but they were already turning down the tunnel. Bubba gave chase, but when reached the tunnel, they were gone. His heart sank. He was alone. His team did what they had promised not to. They abandoned him. He began running as fast as his giant legs would take him. "Ludi!" his voice echoed down the cement tunnel. "Don't leave me!"

Sunlight blinded him when he exited. Bubba scanned the campus. There was no sight of Felix or Ludi. He fell to his knees and began to weep.

05:03:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, inside of the stadium - Tehran

Kliko gathered his senses and headed up the stairs quickly, keeping his eyes trained on Aden, but cautiously keeping his gun barrel pointed toward the ground. He reached cover at the top of the stair to find his team missing. What the frag? His gun came quickly to the ready as he scanned the large empty hallways for enemies. There weren't any large pools of blood...

"Foxtrot? Lima?" They could have been cloaked. "Bravo??" A wave of fear washed over him, and he unknowingly knew how Bubba always felt.

"Drek. Drek. Drek. Drek. Drek." He moved around quickly, accomplishing nothing, just going back and forth.

"Looking for someone?" that deep rumbling voice said behind him.

Kliko swung around to find Aden perched on the seats just outside the hallway, his head slithering through the doorway. He again froze. He knew that his life was at the whim of the great wyrm.

Aden's head came to a stop a foot away, one great eye staring into the eyes of the statuesque ork. "You have a lot of guts, little ork. Not a lot of brains, but a lot of guts. I may have use for you... I mean other than food."


05:03:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, outside of the stadium - Tehran

Bubba stood up, and looked around. The fear of being alone and abandoned was intensified by the fear of the unknown. He had already faced so many frightening things last night. Spirit balls, rabid dogs, devil rats, Starling getting eaten by said rats, a toxic shaman, V's head exploding from a sniper round, the black spirit, a great dragon, and now, being abandoned. The worst part was watching Duster, a longtime member of the team, cut in half in the blink of an eye.

Bubba did not know where to go, but he did know how to be found. He had a transmitter, and he had smoke grenades. All he had to do was find an open area. He headed west, where there was an empty lot, where some building was once due for construction. He took refuge between some construction equipment where he could watch for the dragon to leave, or for his rescue chopper to arrive. He would throw the smoke grenade when the latter happened. He wiped the tears from his eyes, and watched the sky the stadium.

05:04:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, outside of the stadium - Tehran

Bubba now safely in cover, looked for his friends on the BattleTach that was strapped to his wrist. There he was! Kliko was still inside the stadium, but what was he doing? He was just standing there... Then he realized there was a giant blinking light showing up on the system's radar right next to Kliko.

"Oh nos! Klikos gonna be dragon foods, too!"


05:04:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, inside of the stadium - Tehran

Aden continued, "Put the Veil back where you found it, and I may find some other use for you. Or you can leave it, and I will dine on slow roasted ork tonight."

05:04:30 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, outside of the stadium - Tehran

Bubba looked for his other teammates markers. There was a flashing red one, for Duster, which Bubba quickly acknowledged and tried to move on. There was a dot for Felix, which wasn't moving, but wasn't blinking. Then Ludi's was gone. No light. She must have turned hers off.


05:04:30 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, inside of the stadium - Tehran

Aden again lifted off, and perched on the stadium. Kliko weighed his options. Neither one was promising, but getting eaten by the great dragon was probably worse. He worked his way down the stairs toward the field.


05:05:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – Eastbound Farjam, west of Baqeri Expressway - Tehran

Ludi was running near full speed. That itch had crawled back in her skull. Someone was after her. Ahead she saw the freeway. Behind, nobody? Or was it that black shadow again. It had warned her, but was it a warning, or some sort of threat? It didn't matter. Ludi would find a car, hot wire it, and be out of the city in mere minutes. Then this night would finally be done. Her "friends" could not hurt her if she could not be found.

In addition to switching off the BattleTach, she had dropped all of the Miss Johnson provided equipment, in case anything else had transponders. She continued running, free from her enemies.


05:06:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, inside of the stadium - Tehran

Kliko reached the barrier separating the stands from the once grassy field below. Looking up he could see the dragon still watching him. From behind he heard a booming, but shaky voice, "Klikos?"

At the top of the stairs Bubba was standing with his machine gun trained across the field. Kliko smiled as he still had one man he could count on.

"Whats ya doin' Klikos? Lets get outta heres!" Bubba pleaded.

"Can't do it. Got to put the Veil back in the mosque so we don't become dragon food."

Kliko threw his leg over the cement barrier, slid across, then dropped down the three feet to the dying grass and dirt field. Bubba slowly followed, working his way down the stairs, but stopped short at the wall. He didn't like the idea of being out in the open with a hungry great dragon flying overhead. Kliko had slowly worked his way about 10 meters away from the wall, when suddenly Aden lifted into the air. "Frag me," Kliko muttered.

05:06:30 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, inside of the stadium - Tehran

The chopper was almost on top of them before they heard it. It was a suppressed whooshing, and a quiet whistle from the stealth military utility helicopter. Miss Johnson's helicopter.

It streaked passed the stadium faster than any rotor-craft Kliko had seen or heard of. The question now was how did it match up against a great dragon. Probably not too well.

A minute later it had returned and slowed to a hover over midfield. The helo then quickly descended, coming to rest with its nose pointed east. Aden suddenly reappeared, landing between Kliko and the helicopter, with his back to the shadowrunners. The box containing the Veil laid on the field between Kliko and the great dragon.

05:08:00 Thursday, 12 October 2062 – IUST Campus, inside of the stadium - Tehran

Bubba and Kliko froze. What the hell was going on?

The side door slid open and Miss Johnson exited the helicopter. She walked confidently toward the great dragon Aden, who's head lowered, in what Kliko read as some sort of defeat.

"Hello, Aden," Miss Johnson said confidently.
Aden snorted in reply.
"I am here to pick up an unclaimed package, along with a group of couriers. Unless you have something to say..."
"Nicely played, 'Abby'," he growled.

Aden turned toward Kliko and slowly walked over to the Veil, picking it up in his front claw. He turned back to Miss "Abby" Johnson, saying, "Nicely done," before he flew off heading northwest.