[Zweiblumen]

<<@Team [Doc] Ace's ideal plan sounds very good to me, though I agree we probably don't have the meta-power to spare.  I've got my satalite uplink here.  I can try and sniff some of that out, but it'll take a while.  Anyone have some longhaul handy?  Would be nice if we had 3 or 4 more people to stake out.... oh and another week or so to gather all of the intel.  Guess I agree with Ace on going with the Spirit as well.  Ohanzee, you confident in your allies getting this done?  Anyway to confirm it?>>

[Tecumseh]

Chino eyes Bear darkly as the tattoos around his eyes glow.

<<@Team [Chino] I dunno, chummers. Spirits are for CRUSHING, not for couriers.>>

He activates the tattoos on his arms, a qi focus that produces powerful astral weapons for his hands and feet. They take the form of hand wraps covered in broken glass, and shitkickers with nails sticking out of them in every direction. He throws an axe kick, then a back kick, then a crescent kick, either in a display of martial prowess or in an attempt to intimidate Bear. The spirit eyes Chino warily, lest Chino get too feisty.

<<But if we go that route I know how to get across the border, no problemo. That drek's tough when you're walking but easier than a trip chip hen you're flying. They just be like DA DADADDA DA DA DDA DAAAAA DAAAA!!!>>

He breaks into an air guitar riff, shredding some sweet chords while intimating how simple it would be for a flying spirit to slalom through the forested mountainsides that represent much of the Denver border with the PCC.

<<Here, see for yourself.>> He forwards an ARO to Ohanzee with at least a dozen spots he has used to cross the border in the past. Many of them are in deep valleys or other inaccessible locations. <<Almost impossible to keep a sensor net up in terrain like that. At some point you're more worried about getting fragged by some bored lava spirit or some other slitch that's looking for tickles and giggles.>>

He juts his chin out at Bear again, checking to see if Bear might be interested in a tickling match.

[Malevolence]

 Ohanzee heads back to the van while the rest of the group discusses the options for getting the astral photograph to the DIMR. The consensus thus far seems to be heading toward sending a spirit to carry the message.


<< @Team [Ohanzee] A spirit could make the trip. It has some issues - the more powerful it is, the more it stands out; and it has to be materialized in order to carry the package, limiting its speed and making it more vulnerable to detection. But, like Chino says, they aren't bound by gravity, so they can cross at the most difficult to access points with ease and above or below detection altitudes as needed. And they can move at the speed of a fast car while materialized, so it should be able to arrive there within a few hours. The question becomes where we want to drop it off.

<< I will have a constant link to the spirit, so I will know if it is able to successfully complete the task, and I can always double check by traveling there in the astral, so long as the place we chose to place it is not under observation where I might risk getting tracked back here. >>


Bear makes his opinion on the matter clear through the spirit-summoner link - he intends to be here when Sam awakens and will not perform such a task, something Bear feels more suitable for an ancestral spirit like Torchbearer. Ohanzee thinks a moment, not wanting to upset the spirit.


<< @Team [Ohanzee] If we decide to go with a spirit messenger, we should wait until after daybreak when there will be more traffic for the spirit to get lost amongst, hopefully reducing its chance of being detected by the authorities at the borders. >>

[Tecumseh]

Katsina finishes her sewing project. After getting some help from the others, she disrobes Sam then quickly inserts the new BoBEP lining into his clothes. Katsina takes the lead on stuff Sam back into his outfit, as her skin will heal from the contact with his acidic secretions. It's a tremendous amount of effort, even with her magically boosted strength, and she's panting by the end of it.

Exhausted from exertion and drain, the vampire drags herself off to the van once she's satisfied that Sam won't immediately wake up and go after Chino again. She crashes hard; Ohanzee notices that her sustained spell drops away from Sam the moment that she loses concentration.

If Ohanzee's busy brain didn't keep him awake, the cold winter night would. He sits close to Katsina's bonfire, grateful for heavy insulation in his armor clothes. Sam is slumped nearby in his new outfit. Although relatively exposed to the elements, the BoBEP lining doubles as a source of insulation, reflecting Sam's body heat back to him. It also challenges Ohanzee's thermographic vision and his efforts to monitor Sam's condition, but assensing helps Ohanzee keep tabs. Bear curls up next to Sam and acts as a bit of a windbreak.

The night gets progressively colder. At least it isn't snowing, although the wind blowing snow off the surrounding trees often makes it seem like there are fresh flurries falling. Chino chugs six or twelve beers and then goes off to "mark his territory". Ohanzee has to chase him away from peeing in the fire at one point. The ork finally staggers off with a belch and a curse about the low alcohol content of the beer. Doc knows that it's the nanites removing the toxins before they can give Chino the buzz he's after, but Chino doesn't look like he's in the listening mood.

The situations is unsettling. Sam's reaction can hardly be taken a surprise, but it's still a challenge. Chino's moods are unpredictable; is he an asset or a liability? Oh, and your'e in a mountain valley surrounded by spirits, carnivorous parcritters, and explosive charges designed to trigger avalanches. Precarious would be a fair description.

The wind shakes the trees and whistles through Ohanzee's eardrums. It's a long, cold stretch until Katsina emerges from the van, looking a bit better.

She's still in the guise of a Hopi rancher, a young Amerind woman with a black braid down her back. Her clothes look like a flannel shirt and a pair of jeans under a long rancher's coat over, even if Ohanzee can see through the spell to her true form on the astral. She grabs a blanket from the van and wraps it around herself as she moves to the fire.

"I can take it from here," she says. Bear looks at her, then at Ohanzee with what he imagines is a raised eyebrow. I will keep watch with... the witch, Bear assures Ohanzee.

Ohanzee retires for the evening, leaving Katsina in charge of camp. The hours pass. Katsina keeps the fire fed and checks on Sam's vitals periodically.

The spell really tore him up, she thinks with regret. But what was the alternative? Still, the internal damage she sees eats away at her.

Finally, a crack in the darkness. A glow begins to form in the east, providing the slightest of silhouettes to the mountains in that direction. Bear rises, then perches over Sam just as he is waking up.

Cub. Rozhki. My time here is up. It is now your time to be on watch, and to guard your den. When a bear awakes from hibernation, it is hungry. This much you know. But a bear never feeds on its sleuth. They are your kin, and must be protected. You are here to defend them; they should not have to defend themselves from you. You must contain your hunger and control it. It serves you; you do not serve it. Learn this well.

Katsina makes sure Sam has a plate of pancakes, a cup of coffee, and some raw bacon waiting for him as soon as he wakes up.

"Good morning," she says with a trace of guilt lingering about his condition. "Do you remember what happened?"

[rednblack]

Ace checks on Katsina few minutes after she crashes, and sees that she hasn't even bothered to cover herself.  Part of this is vaguely familiar to him, the caretaker always forgetting to take care of herself.  He opens a sleeping bag and works her in feet first as best he can before setting the rest on top of her like a blanket.  The disguise is unsettling as he goes to push the hair back on the Amerindian and his fingers come to the physical reality underneath.  With a low sigh, Ace leaves the van to check on check on Sam and keep watch.

The rest of the night passes without incidence, and Ace doesn't even really consider geeking Sam for a second time.  He's got to snap out of this, right?  He'll be fine.  Different old Sam, but still Sam.  It's gotta be.

[Tecumseh]

Katsina cooks breakfast, scrambling eggs while taking care to leave some of the bacon raw for Sam.

"Let's not pretend that freezing our tits off in the snow is what any of us want to be doing with our lives right now," she says as she puts some bread in the pan to toast.

"Doc, you'll have to clue us in to what you can and cannot do remotely. I presume that we don't want to make contact with DIMR while sitting right here? If not, then we'll need to go into town. I think people were wanting additional supplies too.

"Ohanzee, are we agreed to send Torchbearer to DIMR with the package? We can leave it at a dead drop, then ping Jäger with the photo of a photo. Hopefully that's intriguing enough to get her to send someone to fetch the package. Then they call us on Sam's burner, negotiations commence, and with luck we're free of the obelisk within the next 48 hours.

"Do I have all of that right? If so, let's select an away team. I think Chino should go into town, if only to keep Sam's temptations at bay. I'll stay here with Sam. Ohanzee should go to lead negotiations, and I presume it would be better for Doc to be there to provide security and overwatch. Ace can either stay here with me and Sam or he can go into town if we want him to take the lead on shopping, since he has the sturdiest SIN."

She glances at Sam, then back to the group. "No need to take too much guff from anyone, so ka?"

[Malevolence]

Ohanzee glances through his notes and the maps that Doc provided and quickly composes a message to send to their contact. He solicits some comments from the team and then hands the completed message of to Doc to send. It reads as follows:


Jäger,

Attached to this message you will find some images of an ancient artifact of unknown provenance. This was discovered near Ogllala Peak by archaeologists working for the Atlantean Foundation. While I believe that the organization as a whole may be true of purpose, the researchers assigned to this artifact were corrupted by unknown outside parties.

After some consideration, we have decided that your organization would provide the safest and most productive home for the item, and so offer you first right of refusal. The attached photos should pique your interest, but images can be forged. To that end, we have also taken a spectral photograph of the object. The material content alone is worth millions, but the raw magical power of the item apparent in the quicksilver image makes the item priceless.

The quicksilver plate is at Sand Creek park, near the third mile marker. The location is public so as to ensure this is not a trap and to reduce the risk to both parties - it costs you little to verify my claim. Once you have been satisfied that my offer is legitimate, please contact this commlink. Please respond personally as we will not deal via proxy. We will arrange a time and location for the exchange as well as the terms. As the item is wanted by a number of powerful organizations, you can understand our need for caution and urgency, and we are prepared to negotiate an offer to achieve those ends.

If we do not hear from you by 1700 tomorrow, we will be forced to assume a lack of interest and we will shop our offer elsewhere.


Doc takes the message but does not send it yet - they have to get all of the physical items in place first. Toward that end, Ohanzee calls upon Torchbearer, who arrives in his usual flippant mood. "Need a jogging buddy?" the spirit teases.


"After a fashion, I guess," Ohanzee replies, somewhat taken aback by the accidental accuracy of the spirit's jest. As Ohnazee intended to travel with the spirit on its errand, it would mostly take the form of checking in on the astral as the spirit progressed, scouting ahead and otherwise helping the spirit find a clear path. He mentally indicated to the spirit where the package was to be left and once the spirit had materialized into a physical body, he handed him the envelope containing the astral photograph. The spirit took to the sky, its legs and arms moving as if it were running, and with a slight hesitation as it focused, the spirit took off, moving many times faster than normal. Ohanzee excused himself and retired to the van where he could project safely, and began his escort.


He came to every few minutes to catch up on the conversations, and when some of the others went in to town, Ohanzee accompanied them, remaining in the van to continue his work.

[Tecumseh]

Torchbearer arrives on the physical plane as a handsome Amerind male in peak physical condition. He wears a deep red warm-up track suit with a depiction of the Sioux flag on the back. He has an elastic headband around his head, holding his black hair out of his face. He looks proud, his aquiline nose upturned slightly.

"What you ask, I can do," he says confidently. "Faster than anyone else. I will smash the record and everyone will know the name of Torchbearer."

A torch of flame erupts from his hand. He holds it, burning brightly, like a baton. You sense he could throw it with destructive force if he so chose.

Katsina raises an eyebrow at Ohanzee. "Not one for subtlety, is he."

"If you do not want me to carry the torch, then do not summon Torchbearer," he responds with affront.

The world of spirits is not Katsina's world. She trusts Ohanzee to manage the situation, mostly for lack of better options.

Katsina checks Ohanzee's message. "Looks good, but I think we should shorten the response timeframe. It's close to 0800 now. Torchbearer can make the run in three hours or so, correct? He'll plant the package around 1100. Let's give them until 1700 this afternoon, not tomorrow. Six hours should be enough time to get to the park, retrieve the package, verify its contents, and decide on a course of action. They don't need to think on it overnight."

She turns to Doc.

"Do you need to be in town when they call? If so, that would be another reason to set the deadline for this afternoon, so that you don't have to stay in town all night."

She pulls out three throwing knifes and begins to turn them into alchemical preparations.

"I want you to have these before you go," she says to Doc, Chino, and Ohanzee. "They'll warn you of danger, and keep you out of harm's way." She scribbles geometric figures on them using the ash from the fire. "All you have to do is rub the ash off, and it will trigger."

[Zweiblumen]

Doc saves the message that Ohanzee and Katsina have come up with on the burner, and then turns it back off.

She turns to Doc.

"Do you need to be in town when they call? If so, that would be another reason to set the deadline for this afternoon, so that you don't have to stay in town all night."

"Need to go into town?  No, we can use the uplink to get signal to all of our devices.  It is easier however, and if they manage to trace us, they won't find this location.  I'd like to keep recording what's going on with Sam.  This could lead to some very valuable research down the road."

He starts rambling on a bit about how the virus has moved through Sam's body and thoughts on what it's done to his psyche.  He seems particularly interested in the effect it had on the nanites.

She pulls out three throwing knifes and begins to turn them into alchemical preparations.

"I want you to have these before you go," she says to Doc, Chino, and Ohanzee. "They'll warn you of danger, and keep you out of harm's way." She scribbles geometric figures on them using the ash from the fire. "All you have to do is rub the ash off, and it will trigger."

"Thank you!  The safer the better" he says with a smile.

He begins gathering a few things to take with him into town.  Joking with Chino about nearly getting eaten by Sam as they load into the van.

<<<@Team [Doc]  I still think doing the inital meet in VR would probably be our safest initial contact.  If Chino doesn't mind, Ohanzee can just use the SIM module in his comm and I can keep an eye on him and keep up safe.  This will expose us all the least, while allowing our Negotiator the most freedom to interact with our counterparts from DIMR.  It's also the fastest to set up.  We can simply pick a public host to meet in and exchange data before exchaning goods.>>>

[Tecumseh]

Torchbearer goes through his warm-up calisthenics, stretching out his quadriceps, then his hamstrings, then his piriformis, gastroc, and soleus muscles. Then he does some high knee raises and some jumping jacks. Once he is sufficiently limber, he accepts the tightly wrapped quicksilver photograph from Ohanzee and sets off a sprint.

He charges through the forest, slaloming through the trees, gliding weightlessly across the snow. There are little puffs of flakes where his feet pitter patter along the snowpack, but no footprints remain. He dashes up the steep valley sides to the east, then continues on at the same angle after the ground gives way and drops off down the other side of the mountain. His legs chug along rhythmically in midair, the package tucked securely under his left arm while the torch stays upright in his right hand.

Ohanzee tracks him. On the astral, it's a terribly boring pace, but in the physical realm Torchbearer is racing along at highway speeds. This continues for a couple hours until Torchbearer approaches the border. Following instructions from Ohanzee (provided by Chino), Torchbearer descends to the ground. He and Ohanzee find a ragged valley right where Chino indicated it would be, a perfect chute for t-birds and torchbearers. The terrain probably bedeviled the poor engineer who was responsible for fencing off the sector. Ohanzee can barely see the shadow of the fence on the astral but he gets a sense of what it looks like from Torchbearer. The fence is in disrepair, worn down by weather, rock, ice, and neglect. Torchbearer sprints at it gamely, then leaps over it as if it were a shallow hurdle, landing on the other side and continuing his run.

On the astral, the landscape is beautiful. It's also so full of life that it is punishingly bright. Ohanzee is not accustomed to long stretches in the astral like this. He trusts Katsina not to move his body for a practical joke but he is less confident about Chino.

The next part is tricky. Running through rural areas undetected is a breeze, but Torchbearer needs to cross half of Denver - the PCC's sector, specifically - before he can descend to the designated drop-off point. Ohanzee is acutely aware that the torch is not subtle, but perhaps it will be little more than a speck in the blue winter sky to observers from below. Ohanzee thanks the rain shadow created by the mountains for keeping Denver sunny more often than not.

After crossing the border into the UCAS sector, Torchbearer picks up his pace. He sprints for the ground, kicking high for the finish. He grudgingly accepts Ohanzee's request to avoid people - "but nobody will know what kind of record I just set!" he whines - before finishing strong and leaping across Sand Creek to celebrate. He launches his torch into the river, which sizzles and steams, then allows himself a single whoop. He stops his wristwatch, puts his fists on his hips, and paces around to cool down.

Ohanzee watches furtively from the bushes like a peeping Tom while Torchbearer finds an undisturbed piece of ground underneath a tree not far from the footpath which crosses the freeway leading toward DIMR headquarters. Torchbearer kneels, then scoops up a few handfuls of dirt to create a shallow indentation in the ground. He carefully places the package in it, then covers it with the loose soil he just scooped up. Satisfied that the package is concealed to casual observers but not unduly hidden from a dedicated search, Torchbearer stands and nods proudly at a job well done.

"So are you my Shadow are am I yours?" he asks Ohanzees through the spirit-summoner link. "For the record, that was a new personal best for me.

"Our time draws to a close, just as the race. Tókhi wániphika ní, ečháŋni aníčisni kte ní!"

[rednblack]

<<<@Team [Doc]  I still think doing the inital meet in VR would probably be our safest initial contact.  If Chino doesn't mind, Ohanzee can just use the SIM module in his comm and I can keep an eye on him and keep up safe.  This will expose us all the least, while allowing our Negotiator the most freedom to interact with our counterparts from DIMR.  It's also the fastest to set up.  We can simply pick a public host to meet in and exchange data before exchaning goods.>>>

Chino, finishing loading up the van replies,

<<@ Team [Chino] You're welcome to it.  Just keep my baby safe.>>

While the pair gets ready, Ace checks on Sam's equipment, and puts the finishing touches on the shopping list.  "Sounds like you chummers got it," he says approaching Doc and Chino.  "I'm going to stay at camp.  You guys be safe, and don't go getting into it with any of the locals."

With that, he sends off the shopping list, and joins Katsina in her watch on Sam.  "So, you told me that you think that I knew before, about you, I mean.  What kind of things would I have known?  I mean, after the crash and all, this infection stuff is just Greek to me.  Can you fill in some of the gaps?"

[Tecumseh]

Katsina sits watching Sam. She seems glad of the distraction when Ace comes and sits next to her. She nods at his question, understanding his curiosity.

"The Infected are metahumans and paranormal fauna transformed by one of the many Awakened retroviruses of the Group XIII genus ghilani, popularly referred to as the Human-Metahuman Vampiric Virus," she begins. "Like other retroviruses, each species of HMHVV transcribes its RNA into DNA, which is integrated into the host’s genome—unlike other retroviruses, this apparently triggers multiple Awakened genetic structures resulting in a rapid bodily transformation reminiscent of Goblinization or SURGE. A 2070 research paper on the subject (Minase and deMolay, Shiawase) suggests that the exact genes activated by HMHVV are actually pseudogenes (so-called “junk DNA”) theorized to have been left by other retroviruses which worked their way into the germ line thousands of years ago and which comprise up to 8% of metahuman DNA..." She blathers on, completely oblivious to the glazed-over look which is rapidly spreading across Ace's face.


Having emptied the van of camping equipment, and having secured the obelisk, Chino, Doc, and Ohanzee are ready for their trip into town. The van has been extracted from its overnight igloo so that it can test Chino's propensity to crash on the icy roads. Rifle is the closest piece of civilization and should have gear marketed toward ranchers than could be easily repurposed for your non-ranching objectives.

"Shake a leg!" Chino calls out the driver's window Ohanzee. "Shake it twice because they're only half the right length!"

Before Ohanzee can even seatbelt himself in, Chino slams on the gas and peels out, sending up huge rooster tails of snow. He spins the wheel, trying to shoot a column of snow at Ace and Katsina, before straightening out and flying downhill at breakneck pace. Without the weight of Sam or the obelisk, the van fishtails wildly to Chino's apparent delight. He turns around to grin psychotically at Doc in the back seat while Ohanzee stares wide-eyed at the giant tree that Chino is inadvertantly aiming for. Ohanzee is conflicted whether he should secure his seatbelt or open the door and dive for safety. Doc can see the approaching danger; his biomonitor fires off a message:

>> Biomonitor
>> [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
>> Warning: Elevated heart rate and adrenaline detected. Please seek immediate safety.

Chino turns around and notices the approaching danger in time to spin the wheel. The van swings to the left and Ohanzee gets a great view of the tree flying at the passenger side window as the van skids in the snow. Chino downshifts and the van finds purchase at the last possible moments, lurching forward just enough to have the tree pass behind the van instead of clipping it. "YEAH, HAHAHAHA!" Chino laughs sadistically as Ohanzee tries to extract his fingernails from the dashboard and the arm rest.

Something in Chino seems to recognize the close call, and rest of the trip down the hill is comparatively responsible and uneventful. Ohanzee and Doc feel their heartrates returning to normal by the time they drive into town.

Rifle is full of ranchers running errands. Most ranchers calve in the winter, so the cows need to be checked on daily. During extreme cold, the ranchers need increase the amount of feed that cattle receive in order to boost their metabolism and help produce body heat. The town is bustling with men driving around in trucks. Drones do a lot of the work to monitor the herds, but someone still needs to go buy hay and fix fences and tend to the newborns.

Looking around, the away team notices that almost all of the faces in town are Amerind. While the PCC might have the highest concentration of Anglos of all the NAN countries, it's only because of the annexation of Los Angeles and the popularity of corporate enclaves like Aspen. Out here in the rural areas, there are few Caucasian faces to be found. Also, almost everyone is openly carrying a firearm. Hunting rifles or shotguns over the shoulder are the most common, living up to the town's name. Handguns in holsters are not uncommon and seem to be more likely on townsfolk (as opposed to ranchers).

"Lots of Remingtons," Chino says. "950s and 990s. 990 is a natural - classic rugged boomstick. Bolt-action 950 takes some extra work in the winter. The trick is you gotta clean the action of all fluids and lubricants, otherwise they'll freeze up harder than dried Dikote bubble gum. The cold temperatures will moderate heat within the firearm so friction ain't an issue. The wear incurred by the lack of lubrication over shorter time spans is generally negligible, and easily managed by action smoothing." Doc nods to himself; he knows how to do that, given the right equipment.

"Lessee, we got Hy-Way Feed & Ranch Supply or we got Timberline Sporting Goods," he says. He eyeballs a couple of troll ranch hands pulling into the ranch supply place. "Let's start with the sporting goods store." The prudence is surprising.

He pulls into the parking lot and gets out. The trio head into the store, which is just as ethnically native as the town outside. It looks like they'll have most of what you need, if you can get them to sell it to you.

A man (who is either a huge human or a human-looking ork) steps forward, eyeing Doc and Chino narrowly. It's not entirely apparent if he is suspicious of their race or the lack of broadcasted SINs or both. Finally his gaze falls on Ohanzee, whom he addresses coldy, "Can I help you boys?"

[Zweiblumen]

Doc is sitting in the back of the van when Chino jumps into the driver seat and just tears out of the camp.  As Chino screams through the mountain pass, the decker is glued to his seat.  Wishing he had a 5-point harness instead of the standard 3-point restraint system the rental has, he stares wide-eyed at the ork as he maniacally slaloms down the mountain.
Once Chino calms down some, Doc and Ohanzee begin to relax a little.  And then they get to the highway, and Chino is blending into the limited traffic on the way into Rifle.
With his usual dry wit Doc says, "Welp, looks like Sam got at least one of his wishes.  Becoming infected got rid of his nanite issues.  Traded one invasion for another."  Which gets Doc thinking about his and Chino's situation.  Chino is displaying classic signs of MPD, while Doc himself has stayed relatively calm.  He begins to think that it's posisble his current consciousness is actually that of an AI that has finished over-writing the former organic personality, but whatever happened in the accident managed to wipe even the AI's memories?  Did everything get erased?  The former organic host as well as all of the competing personality fragments that were fighting for supremecy in this brain, and all that's left is a completely blank slate that gets to start from scratch.  Seems like a decent theory to start working with.  He begins to wonder if he could find more subjects to study.  Chino is the only one avilable now, and of course there's the influence the artifact had on the situation.

They get into town and Doc is half out of it while doing AR research on the topic now that he has access to the local grid.  Finding surprisingly little out there he wonders how that could possibly be.  This seems like it would be something there'd be a lot of research on.  He keeps digging in AR while they get out of the van and walk up the store.  Not really thinking about the fact that he's SINless and trying to walk into a respectible establishment until the meta-human infront of him blocks the way and starts talking to Ohanzee.

[Malevolence]

The trip to town is a blur. First, heart stopping terror as Chino nearly kills them all on a tree, then - once Ohanzee feels that the Ork won't drive them into oblivion - constantly drifting in and out of the physical world as he helps guide Torchbearer to the drop spot they had chosen.


Finally, the package is delivered, and Ohanzee returns to his body to find the van in a parking lot of a sporting goods store. Doc and Chino are waiting - patiently in the case of Doc, the opposite of that in the case of Chino - for Ohanzee to return from his Astral sojourn. "It's delivered" Ohanzee says by way of acknowledgement that he is ready to go.


The three shuffle quickly across the parking lot, trying to minimize the time in the cold, and no sooner have they shaken the snow from their boots then they are rudely greeted by one of the employees. The difference in stature is not lost on Ohanzee, but as a dwarf he'd been shorter than most of the people he met for his entire life. He stares calmly up at the man and smiles warmly. "I sure would appreciate that," he says, glossing over his companion's lacking SINs. So long as the other man didn't bring it up, it seemed prudent to continue on as if everything was kosher. "I have a small list of items we'd like to purchase," Ohanzee sends an ARO to the salesman with the items they are interested in, "any help would be much appreciated."

[Tecumseh]

The man reviews the ARO sent by Ohanzee. It's a fairly substantial list and would earn a nice commission, or make for a good day if this guy is actually the proprietor. The prospect of a sale seems to be keep him from kicking you out immediately, but evidently he figures you're a captive customer because his chilly demeanor persists.

"Right this way," he says frigidly, leading you further back in the store. He keeps a wary eye on Chino and Doc. "Don't touch that!" he barks at Chino, who had been starting to toy with a sports helmet. "You break it, you buy it," he warns, although why he thinks Chino could break a sports helmet is beside the point. (The irony, of course, is that Chino could shatter the helmet like an eggshell.)

Getting further into the store, you see that "sporting goods" largely means "guns guns guns!" in this town. There is a tremendous amount of hunting equipment, including armor and apparel.

"I'm out at Coulter Lake Guest Ranch," Ohanzee explains. "Some guests need supplemental gear."

The salesman pauses for a step, considers this, then nods. His mood visibly softens. The fact that he can work with Ohanzee makes the current situation palatable, and the notion that Chino and Doc might be rich tourists (as opposed to new neighbors or residents) means that he can make some good money off the Anglos and not worry about long-term repercussions. If anything, he should at least be temperate so that Ohanzee brings other whales here in the future. That doesn't

"We got hockey masks over there if you want a mask," he says, pointing to a forlorn selection of hockey equipment tucked away in a corner. "Won't help with heat retention like a helmet though. If you want helmets, this is a good candidate. It's for hunting, or off-road and ATV enthusiasts looking for half-helmet coverage without compromising safety." The helmet doesn't have a mask or faceplate to it but it does have a winter camouflage design.

Presuming that you're rich tourists, he leads the procession to the high-end armor. "We carry Ares products. The Ares Survivalist is one of our more popular options. We also carry the Victory line: Globetrotter, Wild Hunt, and Big Game Hunter. I personally recommend the Big Game Hunter line; I own a suit myself." Doc notes that it's by far the most expensive option available. "All of them are available off-the-shelf with cold-weather insulation. If you want to special order customized protection, such as fire retardant, we'll have to special order it. Should take two days."

He leads you over to another display.

"We also carry SecureTech PPP for those who take their protection seriously. Accidents happen; also good for additional support for pre-existing injuries. The arms and legs kit aren't compatible with some of the full-body options like the Big Game Hunter, but could be worn with the Globetrotter jacket or vest. The vitals kit could be layered over the Victory clothing."

Chino looks for something loose and flexible. He tries on the Globetrotter vest, which is comfortable but clearly inadequate for the current weather conditions without additional insulation underneath. He frowns at the heft of the Globetrotter jacket - "can't hardly move my arms," he says, although this is clearly an exaggeration - but can't deny the advantageous of the additional armor and the camouflage.