New PRIMUS teams

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

FBI agents, in fanfiction and gaming and on television, sometimes have the attitude Agent Masters has. Fortunately, not all of them are like this. Of course, he also has a major problem with PRIMUS itself and has disliked PRIMUS Pittsburgh since he was assigned to the Pittsburgh FBI office. Now, on with the story.

 

"I'll need reports from each of you," Terry said as they walked to the conference room.

 

"You'll find it interesting," Christine said.

 

"Yeah," April added, pulling out her digital camera. "We even have pictures."

 

"Nice," Beth said. "Mariko?"

 

"No problem," the team's computer expert said as they entered the room. "I can hook it into the computer."

 

"Nice," April said, handing her the camera. Mariko hooked into the system while April and Christine unmasked and pulled their black gloves off.

 

When they finished the report, Denise said, "Although scrubs are comfortable, It might be fun to try on a classic white uniform and cap."

 

"You'll get your chance," Terry said. "We'll all go there and look around."

 

"Good," Christine said. "I'll dress like a lady from that era. It'll be different."

 

"Yeah," April said. "We can wear gloves and not have some people stare at us."

 

"True," Christine said. "Until my senior year in college, I was a normal co-ed theatre major who didn't stay gloved all the time. Then, I has cast as a fashionably-dressed woman in a play set in 1902 Boston. Since my character wore gloves all the time, I had to. Fortunately, my mother, who had been a model before becoming a hair stylist and opening her own salon, knew how to handle things with gloves on and taught me. By the time she'd finished, I became so comfortable with them on that I didn't want to take them off, so I didn't. They've been part of my wardrobe since then."

 

"Any problems with going back tomorrow?" Terry asked.

 

"Yes," April replied. "I'm drag racing our Sports Car Club of America's Ford Mustang GT pace car against the Lamborghini that's set to pace the upcoming Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. Since it has a six-speed manual transmission and a 750-horsepower V-12 power plant and the 17-year old guy I'm racing rides a motorcycle with a sequential dransmission and drives a Toyota with an automatic transmission, I'm sure to win."

 

"Is he qualified to drive a pace car?" Beth asked.

 

"No," April replied. "You have to have a national competition licence, which he doesn't have. However, his father, who's providing the pace car, managed to talk the race committee into letting him drive it." She paused, then added, "Anyone want to ride with me and my big teddy bear that'll be straped into one of the back seats?"

 

"Teddy bear?" Christine asked.

 

"Yeah. He even rides in the Lamborghini Diablo I drive in competition."

 

"I'll do it," Terry laughed. "Any problem with me notifying PRIMUS PR? Kitty Cochrane herself might even come to watch."

 

"Fine. Make sure you wear a crash helmet. Regulations require it."

 

"No problem. Will the standard-issue PRIMUS one do?"

 

"Yes."

[Guest Major Tom]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

Just out of curiousity, is this set in the same CU that you described some time

ago in your "My take on the CU" thread? If it is, there's an idea related to part

of that earlier thread that I'd like to bounce off you, If you wouldn't mind.

 

Major Tom

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

Just out of curiousity, is this set in the same CU that you described some time

ago in your "My take on the CU" thread? If it is, there's an idea related to part

of that earlier thread that I'd like to bounce off you, If you wouldn't mind.

 

Major Tom

It is. Bounce away

[Guest Major Tom]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

It is. Bounce away

 

OK, here it is:

 

Recently, it was revealed in the international news media that Britain's Royal

Navy, working in conjunction with the Nelson Institute and the U.S. Navy,

had constructed their own super-sub -- the H.M.S. Vulcan. Officially,

the Vulcan was built for the same purpose as the Seaview, that

of oceanographic research. Unofficially, it also serves as a counterintelligence

and espionage platform for Britain's intelligence services.

 

What has remained unknown to the world at large is that both navies have

constructed "boomer" (SSBN) versions of both subs: the U.S.S. Neptune

(U.S. Navy), and H.M.S. Vanquish (Royal Navy). These subs, like their

research counterparts, are capable at operating at greater depths than subs

of conventional manufacture.

 

So, what do you think of this idea?

 

Major Tom

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

OK, here it is:

 

Recently, it was revealed in the international news media that Britain's Royal

Navy, working in conjunction with the Nelson Institute and the U.S. Navy,

had constructed their own super-sub -- the H.M.S. Vulcan. Officially,

the Vulcan was built for the same purpose as the Seaview, that

of oceanographic research. Unofficially, it also serves as a counterintelligence

and espionage platform for Britain's intelligence services.

 

What has remained unknown to the world at large is that both navies have

constructed "boomer" (SSBN) versions of both subs: the U.S.S. Neptune

(U.S. Navy), and H.M.S. Vanquish (Royal Navy). These subs, like their

research counterparts, are capable at operating at greater depths than subs

of conventional manufacture.

 

So, what do you think of this idea?

 

Major Tom

Actually the Seaview had ballistic missiles

 

Now that I think about it, the Nelson Institute of Marine Research was in my "IST world" thread, not my "CU" one.

 

The idea, however, is a good one. Think I'll drop it in.

[Guest Major Tom]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

Actually the Seaview had ballistic missiles

Now that I think about it, the Nelson Institute of Marine Research was in my "IST world" thread, not my "CU" one.

The idea, however, is a good one. Think I'll drop it in.

 

Actually, you mentioned the Nelson Institute in both threads. If you'll

take a look at the CU thread, it was mentioned in the 8th post.

 

BTW, the idea about the Seaview's sister subs was inspired by a visit

to the Rebellion Creations website. RC is a model company that specializes

in model kits of TV and movie subjects -- the TV Batmobile and the Seaview,

for example. It also produces modification kits which allow modelers to build

variants of the primary kit; in the case of the Seaview kit, depending

on what modification kit was purchased, the modeler could build either the

Vulcan, the Vanquish, or the Neptune. If you visit the RC

website, one of the picture collection pages has a .jpg image of all three

subs in it.

 

Another, but different idea popped into my head while I was getting this stuff

typed in:

 

What are the chances of the PCs in your version encountering Gary Seven and

Roberta Lincoln?

 

Major Tom

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

You're right, Major Tom. It is on that thread also. I was looking at "My Take on the CU" instead.

 

Something we never think about when talking about how many Slayers there are in a post season seven Buffy the Vampire Slayer universe is how The Powers That Be will react to that many Slayers. The Story Destiny Up For Grabs at http://www.fanfiction.net talks about that.

 

As far as Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln showing up go, we'll see in time.

 

Oh, I'm definately going to have to redesign the gateway world. There are too many bodies there for rapid cremation. It will, in all probably take over one month for two creamators going 24/7 to cremate the bodies.

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

A few random thoughts.

 

With their skills, April and Christine would make great cat burglars. Of course, Christine was one for the CIA.

 

Christine's casting call: Meredith Baxter from She Knows Too Much, a made for TV movie.

 

April's casting call: Marvel's Black Widow with short hair.

 

The story continues soon.

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

Intelligence Agent James Thompson, a VIPER expert who also had a funeral director's license, entered the team's conference room and said, "I just heard from the Pittsburgh Police. Agent Masters of the FBI was in an automotive accident. A flock of pigeons landed on his windshield. He lost control and hit a light pole. They tried to talk to him, but he refused to cooperate. Once he took a swing at one officer, they took him into custody."

 

"What happened to the pigeons?" Terry asked.

 

"According to the police, a .50 heavy machine gun round passed through them," Agent Thompson replied. "The police think the birds got in the way of an assassin's bullet."

 

"Okey," Terry said. "They'll call us if they need help. Jim, the ladies were in another reality that we can use to spread out. There are bodies in there and cremation is possible. How long will it take to burn them?"

 

"Actually, cremation isn't burning, it's boiling. The bodies are in contact with an 1800-degree flame. The heat boils the water that's in the human body away and all that's left is about five pounds of chemicals."

"I've seen the ashes generated by cremation," Beth said. "They look uniform."

 

"They are," Jim said. "Once the cremator has cooled to room temperature, we sweep the remains into a bin. Any metal in the remains is separated out, then the rest is ground, in a mechanical processor, to a uniform consistency." He paused, then said, "Folks, as I understand it, this place was in stasis until April and Christine entered. Right?"

 

"Yes," Terry replied.

 

"I'll need to know everything they can tell me about the bodies," Jim said.

 

"No problem," April said, joining Mariko at the computer. "I'll draw maps of the area on this and put them up on the big monitor."

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

As April worked at the computer, Christine asked, "Why weren't the pigeons blown apart by the bullet?"

 

"Because of their distance from the rifle and the fact that they offerred little resistance to the round," Paul replied. "The killer probably used a Barrett M-82A1 rifle, which has an effective range of 1830 meters,"

 

"Oh," Christine said.

 

"Done," April finally said. She transferred the map to the big monitor and said, "This is the area we explored. (A/N: What April will describe is the revised version of the gateway area.) "The area is two blocks long and two deep. For convenience, the top of the map is north. The northwest block has a church and a funeral home with three cremators. The northeast block has an apartment building with twelve units. The southwest block is a university gymnasium. The southeast block has an auditorium.

 

"Counting the cremated remains in one cremator, there were 14 bodies in the funeral home, 6 of which, were dead before the attack. There were 30 bodies in the church, 8 of which were staff. The rest were there either for the wellness fair or blood drive."

 

She paused, then continued, "There were 10 in the apartment building, 25 in the gymnasium, 10 in the auditorium. By my count, that's 89 bodies."

 

"It will take almost 4 days to cremate all the bodies, if we follow normal proceedures," Jim stated.

 

"Would it help if we drained the blood out of all of them and refrigerated the bodies?" Rhonda asked.

 

"It wouldn't hurt," Jim replied.

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

"Let's do it," Terry said.

 

"Rhonda, Denise, since we're cremating all the bodies, you should make sure there is nothing in them that could explode in the cremators," Jim said. He then told them what to look for.

 

"That will require opening the bodies up," Rhonda said. "We'll do that after we drain the blood."

 

"Should we all dress in black?" Beth asked.

 

"It's not necessary," April replied. "However, we should have disposable gloves on when we move the bodies."

 

"Let's go," Terry said. "April, Christine, lead the way." The two black-clad agents pocketed their black gloves and led the team through the gateway. They arrived in a basement, near a flight of stairs.

 

"We're in the church basement," Christine said. They climbed the stairs, exited the building and walked to the funeral house's crematory. Jim scanned the manuals for the cremators and processor and nodded. Then, he, Rhonda and Denise pulled on disposable gowns, gloves and fase masks and began to work.

 

"You three looke you're going to operate on someone," Beth said.

 

"In a sense, we are," Jim said.

 

"Can we help?" Terry asked.

 

"Not yet," Jim replied. "I'll let you know when."

 

"Understood," Terry said.

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

Finally the team started working. April, Beth, Christine and Mariko brought bodies to the prep room. Paul and Annie brought wooden coffins and cardboard cremation containers from the display and storage rooms. Denise, James and Rhonda undressed the bodies, then preped and cremated them.

 

"It'll be 9:30 tomorrow morning before all the bodies from this building are cremated. What building do we do next?"

 

"The church," April suggested. "We can be here by 8:00 tomorrow and start bringing them here."

 

"You should also start cremating more that one at a time," Terry said. "I know the law requires only one body in each chamber at a time, but that applies only in our universe. Also, we have to keep the bodies from decomposing and attracting insects."

 

"Agreed," Beth said. The others agreed, too.

 

"Fine. We'll start putting two bodies in each coffin or container tomorrow morning."

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

April, Beth, Christine and Mariko, all in black, returned to the church basement at 7:55 am. "We look like cat burglars," Beth commented.

 

"True," April said. "Don't worry. We'll roll our ski masks up before we start bringing bodies to the funeral home."

 

"Yeah," Christine said. "We'll look like normal ladies in black draging bodies instead of commandos."

 

After rolling their masks up, they went to the top floor. After a quick look around the apartment used by the husband and wife custodian team's apartment, Mariko said, "She dresses like a working cowgirl and loves country music. This lady has style."

 

"How do you know the country music's hers?" Beth asked.

 

I saw some western clothes in the closet that country stars wear while performing," Mariko replied. "I may be a computer expert and a former Hackensack High School Comets and USC Trojans cheerleader, but I'm a cowgirl at heart." Everyone laughed and they began moving bodies.

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

After moving the custodians, they returned for the pastor and the parish nurse. When they brought her into the prep room, Denise, noting the nurse's uniform, a long sleeve white dress, white shoes and stockings, a white cap, and navy-blue, red-lined cape, said, "I like. Think I'll try her uniform, cape and cap on later."

 

"I'll have my camera ready when you do," Rhonda said, trying to suppress her laughter. April, Beth, Christine and Mariko went back to retreving bodies. By 5:00 pm, the church was empty.

 

"I have to get ready for my race," April said, looking at her watch.

 

As it turned out, April's prediction was right. The man driving the Lamborghini stalled it at the line. When April asked permission to drive it, the dealer said, "No. You're a woman. Women can't handle race cars."

 

"You're wrong," April stated. "I have a national competition license and have driven a Lamborghini Diablo in SCCA-sanctioned races for six years. As far as your car goes, your son stalled it. He probably tried to start out in sixth gear instead of first." The dealer made an impolite comment, then left after making sure the new Lamborghini was on its trailer.

 

"Did he stall the engine, April?" PRIMUS PR chief Kitty Cochrane asked from where they could see Terry Kestler greet people and sign autographs.

 

"Yeah, that engine was running perfectly," April replied.

 

"I see." With a twinkle in her eyes, Kitty asked, "Any reason why you're wearing a racing suit?"

 

"I always wear it when I'm racing or driving a pace car," April replied. "Since CART's pace car drivers wear fire suits and helmets when they pace races, why shouldn't I?"

 

"I see your point," Kitty said.

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

The next morning, they assembled in the conference room. Denise and Rhonda had scrubs on. April, Beth, Christine and Mariko had on black combat-cloth jumpsuits, combat boots, webbing, lightweight jackets, ski masks and gloves. The four intelligence agents also carries PRIMUS blasters, hideout pistols, reloads for both weapons, two-way radion, flashlights and spiders and their control panels. April and Christine also wore utility belts. Except for lockpicks, April's carried ninja weapons. Christine's had gear from her former profession.

 

"Here's something you need to see," April said," moving her gloved fingers. Suddenly claws apperared from her fingertips.

 

"Nice," Beth said. "What are they used for?"

 

"Scratching and cutting a foe," April replied. "It's a version of the Nekode, a ninja weapon consisting of claws that strap to the fingers."

 

"I like," Terry said as she entered the room.

 

Suddenly, the radio squacked, "Thompson to Gateway Teams, we have new buildings here in the same block as the auditorium. Please advise. Over."

 

"Enjoy yourselves," Terry said as she left. "I have paperwork."

 

Beth grabbed the microphone and said, "We're on our way. Over."

 

"Copy. Out." April retracted her claws and the six women went through the gateway.

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

"Here's our stop," Rhonda said as they arrived at the funeral home's loading dock. "Enjoy your exploration of the new buildings."

 

"We will." As they walked, Beth said, "I have an idea that could help with training. Four cat burglars, us actually, are going to attack the heroes."

 

"Won't work," Christine said as they continued on to the new buildings. "I'm the only one of us the CIA trained as a cat burglar. Beth, Mariko, you two don't have the same skills."

 

"What about April?" Mariko asked.

 

"She's a ninja," Christine replied. "She's probably my equal in stealth, climbing and fighting. While she can't open a lock or safe as fast as I can, she can handle an alarm system better than me."

 

"I see," Beth said. "I'll think about it. Since we're going to be masked, I need to know how long you can keep your ski masks on."

 

"Thirty minutes," Mariko said.

 

"Three hours," April said.

 

"Four hours once," Christine said. "Beth?"

 

"Thirty minutes. Mariko, we need practice. April, Christine, you two will have to help us."

 

"No problem," Christine said. "Ladies, we're staying masked here. We'll even eat with them on."

 

"Cool," April said.

 

"You're kidding," Beth said.

 

"No way," Mariko said.

 

They finally arrived at the new buildings and looked them over. The first housed a coffee shop. A cook, 4 waitresses, and 10 customers were there. The second was a medical clinic. A physician, 3 nurses, 2 receptionists and 9 patients there. The last was a bar. A bartender, two barmaids and 5 patrons were inside.

 

After looking around, they returned to the funeral home. Beth and Mariko unfolded their ski masks. April and Christine didn't. All four pulled off and pocketed their black gloves before putting latex gloves on.

 

"Where to, now?" Beth asked.

 

"The gymnasium," April replied. "It's USC's from 1969. Let's go."

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

"One moment," Christine said. "Beth, you said that you and Mariko needed to practice staying masked, right?"

 

"No," Beth replied. "I meant practicing our cat burglar skills."

 

"Staying masked is something you have to know," Christine said. "You two should mask yourselves now and stay masked for eight hours."

 

"What?" Mariko gasped.

 

"I'm willing to stay masked that long," Christine replied. "What about you, April?"

 

"Sounds like fun," the redheaded ninja said.

 

"Fine," Beth mumbled as she and Mariko masked.

 

They removed bodies from the gymnasium and apartment building, then removed their latex gloves before putting the black ones on and returning to PRIMUS Pittsburgh. At Christine's suggestion, they unmasked while eating, visiting the restroom and going through paperwork and mail.

 

Once that was done, they masked again and returned to the gateway.

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

"Where do we go this afternoon?" Beth asked"

 

"The coffee shop, medical clinic, bar and theatre," Christine replied.

 

"What do we do with the clothes?" Mariko asked.

 

"Clean them, then place them, sorted by size, in a room somewhere. If you want something, you take it and are responsible for keeping it clean."

 

"Good idea," April said.

 

After removing the bodies, they picked up the clothing from the apartments and cheerleader uniforms. These were set with the other clothes for cleaning The choir robes, however, stayed on their rack.

 

"How did a cat burglar for the CIA end up in PRIMUS, Christine," Beth asked.

 

"It's an interesting story," Christine admitted. "I'll tell everyone later."

 

"I'd like to hear more about you, April," Mariko said. "I'd like to know how you became a ninja."

 

"Later," April said. "After Christine tells her story."

 

Next, the start of Christine's story.

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

(A/N, by this time, the group's in street clothes.) The group gathered around the conference room table, waiting to hear Christine's story.

 

After graduating college, I joined the CIA as a spy. After training, I was assigned to a special unit and, due to my acting skills, became one of their swallows, that's a female agent used in a honey trap."

"What?" Mariko asked.

 

"Seduction," April replied.

 

"Oh," Mariko said. "Sorry, Christine. Please continue."

 

"No problem. I'd be working with two other agents, one a lookout the other an expert in black bag jobs. One week before our first job, the black bag jobs goes sking and breaks his hip. They assign me to replace him. While I was in training, they recruited a new swallow, unfortunately. she wasn't convincing enough for our first mission. Oh, he didn't hurt her. He just left her. After being notified, I decided to make him think I was a real cat burglar. He fell for it. We got out of the country with our score and hides intact. After more training, the swollow proved good at her job."

 

"Did you work only for the CIA?" Beth asked.

 

"Yes, but they occassionally loaned us out to the DEA," Christine replied. "One night, we hit the motherlode, $4,000,000 in cash, $3,000,000 in drugs, illegal weapons, records and video tapes. We took them in, but didn't arrest them. That way, they couldn't make telephone calls and alert their associates. A judge looked at the documents, issued more warrants and we began to hit their network. One place was a brothel frequented by high-level bureaucrats and owned, through dummy corporations, by an influential senator with ties to the mob."

 

She paused, looked around, and said, "After that raid, the **** hit the fan."

 

Next, the story continues.

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

Hopefully, I've corrected all my typos. Now, on with Christine's story.

 

"Since many members of Congress were affected by the raids, they decided to hold hearings into the DEA's conduct. Somebody finally admitted that the CIA had loaned them agents. The committee members were angered. One claimed that we'd violated our charter. Doirector Glenn of PRIMUS told them that this wasn't so and that the DEA had the right to call on whatever agency it wanted to for assistance. He added that loaning agents out was a common practice in the intelligence community and that PRIMUS Human Resources, having examined the loaned agent's file, had concluded that, if Congress lost its mind and forced the CIA to fire the agent, PRIMUS would hire said agent."

 

"Did Congress know who you were?" Beth asked.

 

"No," Christine replied.

 

"Were you in Washington?" Beth asked.

 

"My team and I were in Europe," Christine replied. The arguements continued. I ended up leaving the CIA and joining PRIMUS. Officially, I was required to turn in all my tools. Unofficially, I was told to keep them."

 

"Were you ever in disquise?" Mariko asked.

 

"Yes," Christine replied. "Before 9/11, I sometimes disguised myself as a Muslim woman. After 9/11, I only wore that disguise in Muslim countries."

 

"Impressive," Terry said. "Any more stories before April tells hers?"

 

"Me," Mariko replied.

 

Next, Mariko's story.

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

"I grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey and spent summers on my uncle's horse ranch," Mariko said. "Naturally, I learned to ride Western-style and always dressed like a working cowgirl.

 

"In high school, we had Western Festival Days each year. They were, of course, scheduled so they wouldn't interfere with sports events. On those days, we had to dress in Western clothes. Gloves, masks and toy weapons were permitted. After the bandana I'd been using as a mask started bothering me, I pulled it down and stayed masked only between classes."

 

"Being masked takes getting used to," Christine said. "It took me six months to get used to wearing a ski mask for longer than 40-minutes at a time."

 

"Same here,' April said. "Don't worry, You'll eventually get used to wearing one for long periods of time."

 

"Thanks," Mariko said. "After high school, I went to USC on a scolarship. There I studied computer science and was a cheerleader. While there, I saw the tea ceremony for the first time and agreed to participate in one as a guest. Fortunately, our teacher, who acted as hostess, had kimonos and taught us how to wear them."

 

"The tea ceremony is beautiful," April said with a twinkle in her eyes. I've been in several and even acted as hostess once."

 

"You're more Japanese than I am, April," Mariko said. "I definately want to hear your story."

 

"Any other stories before we hear April's?" Beth asked. When nobody responded, she said, "You're up."

 

April's story begins next.

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

More typos fixed.

 

"I was born into a wealthy local family," April said. "My father was a businessman who had met my mother, a stewardess, when he was traveling on British Caledonian Airlines.

 

"By the time I was three, I was very active. My parents went to Three Rivers Gymnastics and decided to enrole me there. Fujiko Nakamura, the owner and head coach, told my parents that I had great potential and they agreed to leave me with her. I started learning gymnastics immediately and was in competition by the time I was five. At age six, after Fujiko's daughter, and my best friend, Keiko, and I became blood sisters, she began teaching me ninjitsu. That's also when I began studying the Japanese language and culture.

 

"At age 10, when I started competing internationally, I began picking up ninja magic. I started with the Kuji-Kiri, or nine ways of cutting, a system of focusing your concentration to do specific tasks."

"Did your parents ever visit you?" Beth asked.

 

"Mother often visited, but father never did. Mom and I sometimes spent the day together. Before I forget, mother posed for us in her old stewardess uniform. Here's a picture." She took it from her purse and tossed it onto the table."

 

"She's wearing white gloves with her uniform," Terry commented.

 

"They were part of the uniform in the 1960s," April said.

 

Next, April's story continues.

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

"Over the next few years, I mastered The Path Of The Shadow's Companion, a method of manipulating shadows and darkness. I can create a sword of darkness that can be blocked, but not removed, make myself devoid of sound, operate in total darkness, gathrer shadows around me, plung my target into darkness and make an attack penatrate armor."

 

"Nice," Christine said.

 

"True. During my junior year of high school, we got a new principal. He ruled that nobody could cover their heads for any reason. Our school nurses, who still wore caps, were exempt, because their caps didn't cover their entire heads, leaving only their faces visible. We protested, but he didn't change his mind. Hardest hit were four Muslim girls who, under Islamic law, had to cover their hair. He threatened to expell them if they followed their beliefs. I managed to talk a number of female students and teachers into defying him. Most did what the four Moslim students did, but a few, including me, covered everything. We even wore gloves and anjusted the screens of our veils so that our eyes were covered."

 

"What did your priest say?" Beth asked.

 

"Actually, I'm Jewish," April replied. "My rabbi said that I was doing my part to insure religious tolerance. He even managed to get the man condemned by most of the city's religious leaders and the school board. The principal relented. After that, a few of us, including me, stayed in Islamic garb, while in school, for the rest of the year."

 

"I'm glad you stuck to your guns," Terry laughed.

 

(A/N: April's clawed gloves and the utility belts are from Gadgets and Gear. The nine ways cutting is from The Ultimate Martial Artist. Both books were written by Steven S. Long and are highly recomended. The Path of the Shadow's Companion is from FU SCHTICKS FOR CHAMPIONS: Wild Martial Arts Powers Derived From the Pages of Feng Shui on Michael Surbrook's site. It is also highly recomended.)

 

Next, April's story concludes.

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

"Also during my junior year, mother and I went shoping for formal wear. Although I wanted only one evening gown, a white one, she talked me into getting several gowns, in different styles and colors. She also bought me ten pairs of long gloves, in various colors. Although most were cloth, two pair, one white and one black were leather."

 

"Nice to have wealthy parents," Mariko commented.

 

"Yeah." April said. "During my senior year, I was a finalist for the honor of Homecoming Queen. Our high school's activities director met with us in her office and informed us that we had to either bow our heads or curtsey to the queen. Then, the big night came. I was first runner up to an airhead who was our head cheerleader. Most of the girls bowed. I curtseyed deeply."

 

"Your being raised by a Japanese family must've had something to do with that," Christine said.

 

"Agreed," April said. "In between high school and the University of Pittsburgh, I bought two cars, a Ford Mustang GT, for daily travel, and a Lamborghini Diablo, to race in. My parents gifted me with a used motorhome and trailer to tow my race car. After eight years at Pitt, I joined PRIMUS with a Masters in Electronic Engineering and never looked back."

 

"How involved were you in gymnastics while you were in school?" Terry, a gymnast while at Stanford, asked.

 

"I was on Pitt's team, but, since the PIAA, or Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, didn't consider me an amateur, I couldn't compete for my high school. No matter. I competed in the Olympics three and won gold each time."

 

Next, more conversation and Beth presents her plan. Comments are invited.

[Mark Rand]

Re: New PRIMUS teams

 

A quick thought. I was considering setting the campaign in Millennium City with my version of the Champions as an on-call PRIMUS team.

 

One member would be a mage. Their headquarters found be in her house, which is, at most, two blocks from the PRIMUS base.Terry is the city's new Silver Avenger. Denise Dumont works for PRIMUS, not DOSPA. Beth is her supervisor. Other names and positions could change, too.

 

Think I'll start a new thread for this idea. Look for it, soon.