As the last memeber of the team gives their assent, the Johnson nods in satisfaction. "Very well, then."

As Hellcow begins to bargain with the Johnson he seems somewhat reluctant to do so. "I may be able to go as high as 22,000 for startup, but nothing more. Ammunition and gear mainteance is something that will have to come out of the back end, if it is so extravagant as to exceed the seed money."

After a few seconds of dickering, Hellcow gets the distinct impression that the Johnson has already spent considerable resources in getting the required gear together and that justifying additional expenses will be tough.

That concluded, the Johnson nods to his assistant who pulls a rolled up vid screen from beneath the table and rolls it out over the middle of the two tables where the runners are seated. The Johnson places his pocket computer on the table and hands his assistant a cord which he then inserts into the vid screen. The screen flares to life, showing a standard UMS sceme of the contents of a chip. There appear to be several files, but the Johnson selects one of the middle files.

The vidscreen flickers and a satellite image comes into perspective, showing much of the Salish-Sidhe Council. "This is the target area." He does something and the map zooms again, showing an area north and west of Seattle by a small distance. Those with any knowledge of the area know it as Vancouver Island.

"Some thirty years ago, the mining operation at Myra Falls was halted when the cost of extracting metals from the earth became prohibitive. The mine itself was located at the very heart of the island and environmental concerns were raised as well. The mine has since been shut down, though it is still in the hands of a small corporation and not in the hands of someone who will likely have to be convinced to sell."

The map zooms in again to show the very interior of the island and the vast green belts of the area.

"The resources are expected to be mineral, though exactly what is not known. I will provide a driller and the necessary software to run it, along with the survey drones and their controller. Most of the process is automated, but the sample will need to be taken from inside the mine itself. It is highly unlikely that anything of value will be visible from the surface."

The map zooms back a little and is replaced by a political map with distinct areas outlined. "As you can see, while this tract of land is outside of the public coffers, much of the surrounding land is not. Recently, some light logging efforts have been occuring in order to feed Vancouver's industrial complex, such as it is. There has been eco-terrorist resistance to this, of course, there may be terrorists or traps in the area. There are also the Masuru's lands to consider. Fortunately, they are on the far northern section of the island, but they likely serve as a base for these terrorist activities. Alerting the dragon's agents to your presence or intent is likely to be a bad idea."

"You mean you don't know what they were mining there thirty years ago? Shouldn't that be a matter of public record?"

"It is. Copper, zinc, tin, and some gold and silver. My information is that something is there now of great value... I place very high trust in my information or I would not be going through all of this trouble. It is possible that it is some mineral which was not of value at the time but now is. That is one reason I need the samples."

"I see. Is your company capable of issuing a SIN, even if temporary, for those of us who might need one to get across the border? Also, if things do take a turn for the worse, how discreet do we need to be?"

He shakes his head. "The extend of my involvement has already reached the greatest extent that it may. For SINs, your fixer may be able to help. I am told that this building," he waves his hand in the general direction of the upper floor, "is owned by smugglers. As for discression... if there is something of value in the location, I must have at least 12 hours notice and the output from the survey drones before any other corporate entity. If someone else discovers our interest faster, there is a chance that someone might pounce upon the resources."

Belfast flashes a polite, if somewhat chagrinned, smile. "It never hurts to ask, eh?" At that the lean, athletically-built human leans back in his chair and waits to see how his new teammates proceed now that he has all the answers he was interested in.

"How thick is the forest?" Thor asks.

"The woodlands are being thinned toward the edges, though, by all accounts, it is a very responsible harvesting effort. There have been a few forest fires in recent years which have thinned out parts of the interior, but the damage has been spotty. It is fairly heavy in most places," the Johnson says.

Looks like we're going camping, Brand thinks to herself as the Johnson brings up the vid of Vancouver Island. She reaches up one hand to scratch idly behind one ear, but the hand freezes as she hears the word "dragon".

Great. We're all gonna die.

Border patrols, eco-terrorists, and a dragon. This’ll be a milk run. We're all gonna fraggin die.

Raven listen absently as the Irishman rattled off his list of questions, combined with enquires from the others. She was trying to think of something to say, but the questions that normally came easy to her eluded her tongue.

Her mind started to wander, trying to solve the tactical problem of crossing the border. She could, of course, use her legitimate SIN to go skiing. And if she happened to get off the beaten track, well, she was legal.

Last resort, though, no need to frell away my life more than I already have.

She could always use her bike, or maybe score a dirt bike for a week or two. Zoe could probably line one up for her. A dirt bike could come in handy where they were going, especially if it was equipped with a thermal baffler and some noise reduction, maybe a suncell and a portable solar collector.

She smiled when the negotiations concluded. Hellcow did a good enough job at getting the Johnson to come up in price. She doubted anyone else could have done better.

“Maybe I missed this, but you said this was time critical. How long do we have to complete the job?”

"The job should be completed within five days of tonight. My best estimate on time is that it will take approximately three days to reach the site and do the necessary work. With travel the way it is, however, you may wish to depart immediately."

"Hello, 'scuse me." Evans half-raises his hand before resting his elbows on the table. "Do you happen to have any casualty index for us?"

The Johnson blinks and on the astral it is obvious (to anyone looking on that plane) that he is more than a little surprised at the question. "Well... provided you don't do anything to tip off the ecoterrorists or the dragon and successfully run the border, I wouldn't expect any casualties."

"I figured as much." Evans smiles, rubbing his chin. "Well, just wanted to be clear. Always better to ask first."

Skeeter's attention started to wane until he heard 'dragon'. He might get to see a dragon! Oh, this was going to be great. Hiking and camping out. He wondered if he should mention he brought a tent, sleeping bag, frying pan, baseball, bat and mitt. Nah. He'd probably only get dirty looks from these guys. Hardly any of them looked like they new how to have fun.

Belfast sees the flurry of questions coming to an ebb, so he decides to take a bit of initiative rather than continuing to sit with this thumb up his arse. He leans forward a bit before addressing the Johnson a second time while doing his best to keep his heavy accent in check.

"Right, it looks like most everyone's asked what they needed to ask, so I think that about covers everything. I assume we only need to get in touch with Frederick upon our return with the samples and data you need, so unless there's anything else you think we should know..." Bel pauses long enough to give him the opportunity "...I believe it's time we get started with a preliminary plan of attack on how this is going to go down. Is it cool if we use this room for that or do we need to hunt down some other pad?"

Evans leaned back in his chair and decided to just sit back and listen. He's never done a run outside of Seattle, so better let the others handle this.

As a plan was hammered out, Evans relaxed and went through the routines of a run again in his memory. Partly because he had nothing to do and partly because it needed refreshing. He hadn't wrapped his hands around the Alpha for nearly a month and his fingers felt stiff. Now was a good chance to get back into shape.

Then something occured to him.

"Hey, uh, sorry to interrupt fellas, but is anyone...how do you mages say it? Pulling overwatch? Sorry, I'm just a little paranoid." He grins softly.

Belfast lifts a brow in Evans' direction. He leans in his direction just long enough to whisper out, "it's covered."

"Right, if you say so. Sorry to disturb you." Evans whispers back.

After another five minutes or so, the Johnson seems to feel that all questions have been answered. He nods to his bodyguard who places a briefcase on the table, collects his noise generator and takes his leave. Just before he does, he drops a chip on the table. "This should have copies of the relevant maps, as well as a manual on the survey equipment. You will find the location of the survey equipment notated, as well. It is hidden in a ravine a few miles from the main road about five miles on the other side of the Salish-Sidhe border."

He pauses for a moment. "Good luck. I am sure I will hear from you in three or four days." And with that, he takes his leave.

After watching and waiting for the Johnson to leave, Belfast turns his full attention on the motley crew of runners gathered before him.

"I think before we begin, we should each introduce ourselves and let everyone know what we're bringing to the table. From there, we can move on to figuring out how we're going to get across the bay and otherwise get this party started."

He pauses just long enough for that to sink in and long enough to determine if anyone else has anything to say before he begins his own introduction. He pulls off his matt black Oakleys as he starts.

"Right then, I suppose since it was my suggestion I should be the one to go first. The name's Belfast, but most of my associates in the biz just call be Bel. Feel free to use either. I'm a practioner of the thaumaturgical arts and I have some experience in dealing with the procurement of rare metals. This," he takes another pause just in time to proceed the materialization of a one-foot tall leprechaun on his shoulder who then proceeds to tip his bright green derby politely, "is my friend and ally, 'Red Tom' O'Malley. He'll be providing most of our astral overwatch on the run, I'm sure, as well as a few other useful tasks. Beyond that, I can pretty much hold my own if things get dirty." He unfastens his peacoat just long enough to reveal a FN Five-seveN tucked into a concealed holster underneath.

"So... unless there's any questions, who's next?"

Once the Johnson and his bodyguard leave, Sedryk reaches out and takes the map chip, slotting it. Slowly he begins picking out routes he's taken on previous trips to Vancouver.

After hearing Belfast, "The name Sedryk. Most of my friends call me Sed. I tend to handle some of the damper situations our line of work offers."

"I have a friend who trades in valuable merchandise from Seattle to New Orleans. He might know of a few border patrol guards who could use some extra money. Or at the least a good spot to slip the border.

"Even though Mr. Johnson says it should take only three days, I expect Senor Murphy will have other plans."

Raven’s eyes perked up as the mage revealed his fire-arm of choice.

Nice gun, maybe he isn’t a typical mage. Might as well get this out of the way.

Without standing, or otherwise drawing attention to herself, she speaks.

“Raven. I’m not the subtlest person so I prefer the direct approach. Pistols and Rifles are my thing. I am very, very good with them. I can also effect minor repairs on most firearms,” she says the last while drawing her own Five-seveN, spinning it around, and handing it butt first to Belfast.

“I did the custom grips on this, as well as the modified barrel.” She says in a slightly quieter voice. “Don’t worry, smart linked safety, only I can fire it.”

She smiles as he takes the gun to examine it.

“I am pretty good in the wilderness too. I grew up in the forest, and I have a fair knowledge of critters, both magical and mundane.”

Not sure what to do next she leans back against the wall, brushes the dark hair out of her eyes, and waits for Belfast to hand her gun back.

Brand lowers her big black boots off the table and raises a hand to call attention to her corner of the room. The slender woman is beautiful, even among her kind, but unadorned and simply dressed in a white tshirt, jeans, and a black trench. She has straight, dark red hair that falls to the middle of her back. You're not sure, but she might be wearing lip gloss.

"Brand. Demolitions. I blow stuff up."

Without saying a word, Belfast gives Raven a curious look before taking her pistol. He ejects the clip and makes sure the chamber is empty before giving it the once over. He twirls it around in his hand a few times, apparently testing its balance, before bringing it to aim at the light over the table.

"Bloody hell," he thought to himself while checking the alignment of its iron sights. "She would have a good taste in sidearms, too."

He shoves the clip back in and spins it around so the barrel is in his hand as he returns it to the lithe elf while flashing a polite smile.

"Nice piece."

He then proceeds to fold his arms and returns to listening to the others as they make their introductions. His mind wanders off a bit, however, as he ponders quietly to himself. Amongst the myriad thoughts running though his mind, he thinks, "Now if she ends up having a fetish for explosives, well, I have a feeling dear ol' mum's gonna be having a heart attack when she finds out I'm bringing a fookin' elf home with me for Christmas..."

At that, Red Tom can't help but interject into Bel's thought bubble. "Pshah! She'll be rollin' o'er in her grave is more like it! 'Cause she'll have died long before that if she finds out she's not Catholic."

"Well, it's not like I'm Catholic either."

"Details, feckin' details."

He had finally gotten the thoughts out of his head when the redheaded elf piped up with her intro. Bel's jaw just about dropped in response. "Oh begorra. I'm a dead man."

Raven chuckles slightly.

Well this is interesting. Looks like my name is already taken. Perhaps I should try to make the group call her "other Raven" for the rest of the trip. No... another is needed I suppose? Hmm... Morlorg, Destroyer of Worlds He chuckles lightly again, then his face returns to its usual nuetral demenor.

"Well" he says "it's a pleasure to meet you, Belfast. Sedryk, Raven, Brand. I am also called Raven." He grins a moment at the other of his name, a lopsided grin that belies his normally serious demeanor. "But I suppose that would lead to some confusion, yes? Call me Paris for the rest of this run. A much older Nom de Guere, but it will have to do." He nods a bit, thoughtfully. "I too specialize in rifles and pistols, though more sniper rifles. I am also proficient with an assault rifle. I am well versed in Special Ops actions... tactics, stealth, etc. I am also a proficient accountant." He says the last matter of factly, though it's a subtle joke.

"I believe our Johnson said knowsofts would be provided. Does that chip double as a knowsoft with relevent information?"

Paris, now what made me remember that old name? No matter, it will have to do on the fly.

"My name is Thor, says the surly dwarf with the black tubble all over his face. "I'm a rigger, so I'll be the one getting us there and back. I have several drones which can be used for both reconaissance, guarding, and fire support, and a large van. The van may or may not be enough to carry all of us and our gear, but it can at least carry all the really important an/or illegal gear. It has sophisticated electronic systems for evading detection, and it's submersible, with 50 man-hours of oxygen storage, meaning we could just drive along the bottom of the bay to the island if we have to."

"My name is Swift Eagle, says the Amerind orc. "I'm skilled in archery, swordsmanship, stealth, reconaissance, and wilderness survival. I'll be our scout and survival expert for this camping trip. I also speak Salish, and have some familiarity with the council lands."

Skeeter looked at the first map displayed and the cold, icy colors. It almost looked 3D. Then he saw the other map. It looked like someone had built a golf course in the middle of a desert. He should have brought some golf clubs, and balls, and tees, and those funny little pencils they had at the putter-putt course. All I brought was my baseball stuff. Maybe they rented golf equipment at the course. He wondered if it was a public course or if he would have to sneak in, hit his ball, and keep out of sight. That always made it harder.

Then that leprechaun appeared! Dragons and leprechauns? This is going to be great! Skeeter started to jump for the leprechaun, then halted as everyone hardly seemed to notice. Didn't they want to catch it? Didn't they see it? Skeeter looked around to see if anyone was looking at it. Then he rubbed his eyes and when he blinked them open it was gone. He looked under the magic table, but no leprechaun. It had been there, right?

He listened to Bell, and saw him show off his gun, then heard Sed-reek talk about damp work and port towns. He must drive a boat. wait a sec, whose Murphy? Who is Murphy? Whatever. Maybe Murphy knows the ferry schedule.

Then the mean lady, Raven, talked. You old crow. But she didn't really look that old. Oh! She's letting people play with her gun! Then she put it away without letting Skeeter see it. She is mean, probably just trying to impress her new boyfriend.

Now Brand, she was pretty. And she wasn't mean either, like crow-face. She didn't even try to impress people with a bunch of fancy clothes and ten layers of make-up. Skeeter suppressed a blush as he thought of those wet lips giving him a kiss on the cheek. And she liked to blow stuff up. Skeeter liked breaking stuff, too.

He listened as another Raven introduces himself. Maybe he'll beat the other Raven up for using his name. I wonder if they have last names he thought as he remembered the two Toms he knew. But no, he said call him On-nicks so there wasn't going to be a fight over names. Maybe I should say my name is Raven, too. No, Fred-rick already told mean lady his name. As he thought about this, he somehow got On-nicks confused with Paris. Yep, I'm calling him Paris.

Was it the smile that crossed his face that made everyone look at him? Better say something or they'll think you're stupid. "Sammy calls me Skeeter and so do a lot of other people. Uh, I'm real good at hitting things, and I can carry stuff. I'm good at climbing and running and jumping and sneaking."

Hearing Thor brag about his car, he adds, "I have a motorcycle. WITH a Sidecaaar." Skeeter brags, himself. Maybe Brandie will go for a ride with me.

ALL RIGHT! The other ork IS taking us camping. Should I tell him I brought a frying pan?

"And, uhm, I like to play baseball," spurts out of his mouth. Well, he is good at it. So good, Sammy says if they let his kind play, he'd have it made.

Skeeter goes quiet as he sees peoples reactions.

Paris considers the big Ork.

Baseball? Is this guy for real? Or is he just trying to get us to underestimate him? There's no way he could be... hmm. He must be DAMN good at something to be hired for this run.

"I haven't got any decent transportation, personally. I'll need to come along with someone. And I'd rather not have my bag here searched, if you don't mind." He nudges the olive green duffle bag on the floor next to him.

"Sedryk, what all is on that chip?"

Belfast simply stares blankly at the idiotic ork on the other side of the table. "Who knew first impressions could be so accurate? And more importantly, what kind of a fixer did Boggs hook me up with that would hire a dimwitted imbecile in this line of work? I knew I never should have left Boston..."

Brand regards Skeeter mildly during his outpouring, what might have been a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She props her boots back up on the table and surveys the rest of the room.

This ought to be good.

Thinking about what Swift Eagle said, Skeeter proudly adds, "I speak some Polish."

Thaat would be a good excuse to send him off to Poland, Swift Eagle thinks.

"If we need someone to speak Sperenthiel, I can do that. And I can use knowsofts. Oh, by the way, who all here is military trained?" Asks Paris.

Evans simply smiles throughout the introduction, a calm sort of smile, taking in carefully what everyone has said. What an interesting, colourful crew Fredrick has rounded up. This should be a fun one. Well, better introduce himself too.

"Well, fellas, I'm Evans. I'm one of the best field medics in the business. I'm also a great shot with assault rifles, handguns and a few, more unorthodox spray weapons."

Then he turned to face Thor.

"Speaking of which, I've got loads of gear that I could potentially bring over. How much space will we have for that?"

Sedryk pops the chip out of his jack, sliding it across the table. "Not much on the chip in the way of sea charts. But it does have basic road layout from here to Vancouver. It also show rest stops, tourists sites, and an ad for six months free of the Atlantian Network. On the plus side we're only about two hundred miles from the target."

"Skeeter, I like baseball too."

Raven nods to Paris.

"Well, haven't had that happen before, thanks for changing your handle”

She turned to Thor, “if Mjolnir has the room, I could accompany you. I’ve got a dirt bike that I could ride most of the way. Run point for you. It’s good on most any terrain, including water. It runs on suncell so it stays charged pretty much no matter the weather.”

She looked up for a moment accessing her internal GPS and the stock maps of the northwest.

“Freddie said come ready so I have all the gear I need. I would just need to trade my car for my bike. Take maybe a half hour.”

Hellcow stood up and leaned against his chair. He casually placed his right thumb in his belt, in the process exposing the fine lines of the custom Hammerli pistol tucked behind his suit coat.

"They call me Hellcow. You may have heard of me. I uh, well I do a little of everything. Interrogation, infiltration, assassination." Not that i've ever done any of that stuff, but I do have the extended warranty on those softs. "For the right price I can do anything. Er. Wait, that didn't come out right. I mean literally, not in the mercenary sense. Though I guess that's what we do in essence. So, yeah, I did mean that. The mercenary thing."

OK, stumbled a little there, now skip past that with a dazzling smile. Hellcow smiles dazzlingly. Aaaaaand changing the subject...

"I feel I must apologize for the 'deal' I worked out with the Johnson. I dunno, he must be on a tight budget. Regarding transport, I have a fast bike. Seats only 1 i'm afraid. If we're looking at an amphibious landing, i've captained the odd yacht, rather well if I may say so. Languages. Um, English, Sperethial rather badly, and French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Chinese, Sign Language, and Sioux. Like a native, you might say." Hellcow smiles at a private joke. "I'm also near-expert in most modern hand-held weapons, unarmed too of course. I posess doctorate-level study in chemistry, forensic medicine and paranormal zoology. I'm also well innundated with the motivations, goals and methods of elven, tribal and organized crime groups. Evening's i'm pursuing a double degree in Finance and Sociopolitics, with a minor in cybertech theory and how it relates to both. Crap that reminds me. I hope we get paid before tuition is due.

The elf frowns, staring at a point on the corner of the room, lost in his own thoughts....

"Well, better than nothing" says Paris. "Toss me the chip, Sed? And sure thing... Raven."

That's going to take a moment to get used to. She's Raven, I'm Paris. Right.

"I think I've got everything I'm going to need. Basic survival kit, nothing special there, but it should be enough. Does everybody here have appropriate communications gear? And who all would understand military sign language in a pinch?"

Snapping out of his revire, the elf looks about sharply. "Has this place been swept for bugs?"

ASSUMING I RECIEVE AN AFFIRMATION:

"Frankly, the lack of banter on the fee worries me. From the estimated amounts we've been given, another 100% should have been nothing. To me this indicates we might not even be dealing with a megacorp, who could easily afford a larger downpayment. Maybe a smaller corp, or a......" The elf scratches his head. Who was it in 'Yakuza Deathtrap'? Great tri-vid. Ah yes, how did McBain put it? "...splinter group of managers. Normally I respect the clients privacy, but this just slots wrong."

Hellcow looks around at the large group.

"I think we have plenty of manpower to do some stealth mining. Since time is an issue i'm going to suggest we do something a little unconventional. Lets leave a small team of information gatherers here in Seattle, to find the flaw in the chip, as it were. We can maintain contact, and maybe outflank a nasty surprise."

"Rule number one of shadowrunning: Do not taunt the employer. He gave us no solid reason to suspect anything foul was afoot, and I'm not about to assume it just so a few of you can lounge around here while the rest of us our out earning the cash. If you think something's fishy about it, feel free to step out but I'm not going to let you jeopardize our reputations or our fee on a weak hunch.

"That said, it's a pleasure meeting all of you..." Bel faulters a bit as he catches Skeeter out of the corner of his eye "...well, most of you anyway."

"Now that the obligatory introductions have been taken care of, let's get cracking on what we need to get this job done. Transportation seems to be covered for the most part, and the specialty equipment we need for the acquisition process is waiting for us. Food and water won't be an issue as I can supply that on demand, so is there anything else we need?"

Raven listened intently as her eye’s swept the room. She wasn’t to worried about camera’s or listening devices. But it never hurt to take a look. Then her eyes roamed across the desk.

Briefcase.

The Johnson left his briefcase.

She was up in an instant and behind the desk in an eye blink. She examined it closely, but did not touch it. Once she was sure it wasn't a trap, she opened it.

She turned her head to Belfast.

"Sounds good to me, splitting up the team is rarely a good idea." She gave a sympathetic smile to Hellcow with her last statement.

Inside the briefcase is the advance cash, mostly in UCAS dollars and Salish-Sidhe Council hard currency. There are also a couple of certified credsticks to make up the balance.

A small hard case is also included which holds three chips. They are labeled:

• Manual
• Survey KS
• Survey AS

"Cash?" Swift Eagle muses. "Are we dealing with a banker here? Perhaps he merely intends to buy the land, prove that it has mineral resources, and then resell it? That would explain how he can know how much money he'll get for it so quickly."

"..." Bel is left speachless by not-so-Swift Eagle's last comment, especially since the Johnson already explained how they acquried the initial estimate and that we were simply going in to confirm its existance. "I'm definitely going to have to hook up with a more competent fixer if I'm going to work this city."

Sliding the briefcase over from Raven, Belfast proceeds to count out the money and split it ten ways. Before too long, he has it all sorted out and starts handing out bundles equalling 2,200¥ in either cash or credsticks as requested. His own personal share consists of 2,000¥ UCAS and 200¥ Salish. When he's done, he picks up the case containing the skillsofts. "Which one of you had the 'wires again?" After receiving comformation, he slides the case in their direction.

Bel then proceeds to place his bundle of cash into his peacoat and resumes a comfortable position in his chair. "So again, is there anything else that needs to be taken care of before we get started?"

Brand accepts her cash and slides it into the pocket of her trench, right next to the lump that was her pistol. She then leans forward in her chair toward Belfast.

"A couple things. First, despite the much talking, I didn't hear a consensus on how we're crossing the border. Are we traveling together? If so, whose rig are we taking?

"Also, how quickly are we getting underway? I could use a couple of hours to pull together a few necessary items. I've got a shotgun and a toothbrush, which I'd usually say is all you need, but I wouldn't mind rounding up a sleeping bag."

"Good points, Brand," Bel begins. "Before we figure out how much time we have to score the equipment we need, we need to find out how long it's going to take to get whatever we need to get across the border. Thor, Sedryk, you two hash out how we're going to do that since you seem to be the most experienced in that field. Once you have a plan of attack, feel free to interupt the rest of us.

"Everyone else, let's start putting a list of equipment we're going to need. Then we can let... Hellcow was it?... go about securing it. I have a feeling we can get most of it through the smugglers operating upstairs and in the building across the street.

"While he's busy doing that, the rest of us can get started on either setting up whatever it is we need to get on and off the island or plan how we want to go about acquiring the survey equipment and getting those core samples while keeping a low profile.

"Unless anyone else has anything else to add, let's get started..." At that, Belfast pulls out a notepad and a mechanical pencil and looks ready to start jotting down a list of equipment.

Paris takes the various chips and downloads any knowsoft information from them, as well as data, into memory. He then takes his share of the starting cash.

"Well the first thing is going to be to make sure we've got appropriate communications gear. I don't want to be running around out there not knowing what everybody's doing and not able to find out. This includes you Skeeter... have you got a radio or something? Because we're going to all need some.

Personally, I wouldn't mind getting a decent sleeping bag, a one man tent, a pair of canteens, some trail rations, a mess kit, and a good pair of binoculars. Actually, a pair of one meter squares of camoflague netting wouldn't hurt either, in case sniping becomes required... plus I could throw it over the tent at night. Hellcow, if you'll be doing the shopping, just let me know how much you'll need for those."

Skeeter pulls a microtransceiver from his cot pocket. "Sammy says it has 'cryption for. I don't really know for what.

"And I've got Strawberry tasting ration bars. And a sleeping bag and tent. And water jug, a frying pan, my baseball stuff. I wish I'd brought golf stuff after looking at the map though."

He looks at Belfast with a look that says I came ready to camp out, did you?

"Oh, and I brought a few cans of bug repellant."