Blue Sheild: PPD Themed RP Static Team recruiting, You'll love it

To: w.mccauley@ppd.gov, d.hill@ppd.gov, m.hiller@ppd.gov
From: s.callahan@ppd.gov
Date: 04-19-11
Subject: Operation Disco

First of all, guys, you have Chief Bochco to thank for the name of this operation, not me. Second of all, we’re to rendezvous in Pocket D at 19:00. The mission is supposed to be reconnaissance only, but let’s face it, they wouldn’t be sending us if they didn’t expect trouble, so bring your side-arms. But make sure they are concealed. At 19:10, I’m supposed to get a call letting us know who our contact is and where to meet him, or her.

See you then,

Shannon



"I can already see tomorrow's headline: 'Broken Ankle Leads to Officer's Death.'" Shannon thought as she considered the 4" stiletto heel in her hand.

"Arrrggh, Buntz! Bad cat! Get off my new clothes, you freak!" she yelled, shooing the corpulant feline off the designer jacket lying on her bed.

"Creepio, see if you can clean the cat hair off this jacket before I have to leave tonight," she called to the little Mekman robot watching Oprah in the living room, "And do NOT destroy it like you did those pants my sister lent me. When you're done with that, figure out how to get my guns and gun belt into this clutch purse..."

Edit: Scratch that.

Also, I've started working on an AE arc for Mags, but the only issue is that Mags won't be available for it or the follow up arc, so I'll be bringing someone else for the duration.

((That was fun last night. Thanks for organizing that, Mousedroid! Now to think of what to write about from Gismo's view.))

((BTW, I wasn't implying that we needed to get together on Friday for anything. That talk about debriefing our superiors was strickly "off-camera" story development stuff. I'm guessing you all got that, but I wanted to make sure.))

((That's what I thought.))

Will sat in front of his laptop putting the finishing touches on his report. The tech the team got from their Praetorian excursion was intriguing. It was designed to be non-lethal but it could kill or severely injure if used in particular circumstances. Cole's IDF forces'equipment used the same basic design but it emits a different effect. The PPD tech used a soft force effect that could stun an opponent but the IDF tech emits a plasma-based energy field that was far more lethal.
He sat back and yawned. Will had to admit that the mission to Praetoria caused alot of internal mental conflicts. He disliked going against a rival police department that was just trying to keep the peace but the officers the team faced seemed more like thugs then cops. Of course, the SWAT teams he worked with were often called the same thing, especially after what happened with the Talos Island-stationed teams.
Will smiled. His memories drifting to post-mission events. Yeah, he was happy.
He emailed to his report to Chief Bochco and Shan, then brought up a Google search engine. He typed in "florist King's Row".
Yeah, he was the happiest he's beeen in along time.

Captain Drew Hill found himself filling out his report on the Blue Shield’s excursion into Praetoria. He was troubled by the sights of the psychic mind readers on nearly every street corner. He was also troubled by the seemingly thuggish tactics used by many of the Praetorian police force. It was as though they were using their position of authority for personal power. It was as though that was somehow expected among them.

Drew began going through the data downloaded by the team’s leader, Shannon Callahan. From the information he found, it was clear that the Praetorian people were being carefully and completely oppressed. Emperor Cole has created a society that he rules by any means that he thinks is necessary. Resistance is met with brutality and brainwashing. The information also spoke about the psychics and how each one is pressed into service for the empire. They are all reduced to the level of a node in a large network, transferring information, sensing trouble and notifying the authorities of potential dangers. There was also a mention of the ongoing threat from people more dangerous than The Resistance, more dangerous than the Hamidon itself. Drew reasonably assumed that it was a reference to those of this world, called Primal Earth.

He hoped the information he was putting into the report would be enough to impress upon everyone that reads it that the Praetorian people, on the whole are not bad people. They are simply unaware of what’s going on with their leaders. Also, that Emperor Cole’s attacks are meant to garner him the same control over this world as he has on his. Drew summed up his thoughts by saying he felt that Emperor Cole’s campaign could potentially involve other dimensions as well. Cole may seek to gain limitless power. The results of such an outcome would be an unprecedented catastrophe.

As Drew put the finishing touches on his report, a woman cozies up behind him and places her arms around his shoulder. In a low, husky voice she whispers in his ear.
“How much longer do you plan on working on that report? Surely, there is something far more interesting you could be working on.”

She proceeds to nibble on the ear she whispered into.

Drew stops typing and takes his left hand and runs it through the woman’s silky, raven hair.
“You distract me, Marisol,” Drew says with some amusement. “And I must complete this report before… I can work on anything else. The longer you distract me, the longer it will take me to get to my other… duties.”

The woman continues to nibble for a moment and, then, sighs with mock suffering.

“Alright, Drew. But don’t take too long. Your other duties will take some time to complete.”
Drew turns to the dark haired woman and smiles.

“Of that, I have no doubt.”

Drew leans in and begins to kiss the woman ever so lightly on the lips. She returns the kiss while hugging him tighter. Soon, the kiss increases in intensity and Drew guides Marisol into his lap to embrace her more passionately.

After several moments, the kiss ends leaving the couple breathless.

“That was… just a little incentive to urge you to hurry things along,” Marisol says. She stands up and moves off towards the bedroom.

Drew smiles broadly and returns to finishing up his report.

Tripping over her boots and stubbing her toe as she ran to the door, Shannon called out, "Who is it?"

"Delivery for a Mrs. Shannon Callahan," came the muffled respose from the hallway.

Wrapped in nothing but a fluffy pink towel, her hair still dripping from the shower, Shannon considered running back to the bedroom to put on some clothes, but when she looked though the peephole, she saw the delivery person was a young woman about her age, so she opened the door and peeked around it. "Yes?"

"Flowers for a Mrs. Shannon Callahan?" the girl half asked.

"Miss, but yes, that's me," Shannon replied.

"Could you sign here, Miss Callahan?"

"Sure," Shannon said, taking the proffered clipboard and pen and scribbling her name on the line indicated. "Sorry about dripping water on your paperwork."

"No problem," the girl smiled taking the clipboard back in exchange for the flowers in her left hand. "You have a nice day, Miss Callahan."

"Thanks, you too!"

Shannon closed the door, and took a deep breath of the bouquet. "Gerber daisies," she thought, "How the heck did he know that?"

Placing the flowers in a quickly scrounged vase (her only one), she plucked the card from its holder and smiled as she read the sweet, but slightly cheesy poem written on it. She replaced the card and stood looking at the flowers lost in thought for a moment.

Shaking her head to snap herself out of her reverie, her hair flung water on Buntz who complained loudly from his sun-drenched spot on the rug. This caused Shannon to burst into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. When she recovered her composure she made her way back to the bathroom quietly humming an indiscernible tune.

Smiling, she thought to herself, "You really know how to make a girl feel special, Chief Bochco."

((Just kidding with that last line. ))

"Sergeant McCauley, would you please come in?" Chief Bochco asked from his office door.
Will stepped into the opulent office and came to an uneasy parade rest.

"What I have to say won't be easy, Will, but it has to be done."

"Sir?"

Sergeant McCauley, effective immediately, all links you have to the emergency teleport grid, other than your standard-issue emergency beacon, are to be severed. Sorry, son. Since the Talos affair, the regulating offices of our government are cracking down on all unauthorized use. I know this will cut your effectiveness in helping the team but there is not much I can do. I just wanted to tell you in person, you deserve that much. I have made Commander Callahan aware of the fact."

"Ummm...thank you, sir, for your candor." Will stammered.

"You do good work out there, Will. We need the team more than ever. Keep them safe."

"I'll try my best, sir."

"I know you will, son. You best be moving, you have work to do." the chief dismissed him.

[Thanks for the complement. I was sorely tempted to make the big reveal be Shannon. With a "Gotcha!" at the end. Now, I wish I had, lol]

((I have been thinking lately that thematically, I should have made Gismo an AR. He being in SWAT it makes more sense to me than DP. So, I'm planning to make one to level up quickly to replace him, but I just had a thought to make him a corruptor instead of a defender. Would that hurt the team too much? What are your thoughts, guys?))

((I don't really know what the differences are between a Traps/X Defender and a X/Traps Corruptor, but I would think the added damage from the offensive set becoming your primary, and the addition of scourge would offset any drawbacks related to the buff/debuff set becoming your secondary. I say go for it as long as you enjoy AR. I tried it a couple of times and just couldn't get into it.))

((I've got a AR/Traps corr at 25, Zero for Hire. It's good fun, especially Flamethrower. Numbers for a few powers will be lower (FFG, Acid Mortar, and Seekers) but the mines will be higher (yay?). Once you get used to the cones, the aoe from AR is quite good.))

(( I made a corruptor. I 'm going to level him fast. Unfortunately, the numbers will probably hurt Shan the most, losing a little over 3% defence from FFG. But the increase in damage should offset the lower numbers in Acid mortar and seekers, I hope. I'm not going to make the switch until he gets a lot higher in level, like the 40s. So, the original Giz will be sticking around. I'll ask for an invite to the SG once I get him heroside. I should have made the switch when I first thought about it in the high 30s, but I was so used to the slowness of levelling from the past. Thanks for the advice, guys.))

"Chief, I need to know what's going on with Mags," Shannon said as she stormed into Chief Conrad Bochco's office.

"First of all, have you never heard of knocking?" Bochco asked as he looked up from the reports he was reading.

"Your door was open," Shannon said, glancing over her shoulder to make sure.

"That's not an invitation for you to just come storming in here," Bochco scolded.

"Storming? I didn't storm, I... just... I have to take longer steps... because I'm short," Shannon retorted.

"You absolutely did storm - it says so in the first sentence."

"The... it... what?"

"Nevermind. Now that you're here, what do you want?"

"Mags, I need to know what's going on with him?"

"Who?" the Chief asked, clearly confused.

"Mags...," Shannon said, and then realizing she was using one of the nicknames her team had for each other she amended, "I mean, Hiller. Officer Hiller."

"What do you mean? What happened?" Bochco said his voice tinged with concern as he rose from his chair.

"What? Nothing happened. What do you mean?" Shannon asked, her brow now furrowed with concern too.

"You said there was a problem, so what's the problem?" Bochco said, backtracking.

"I didn't say there was a problem, I said I wanted to know what's going on with him."

"Alright, have a seat and explain what you mean," Chief Bochco said. He gestured for Shannon to pull over a chair and sat back down.

"Well, he's been... off lately. I'm not sure how to explain it, he's just been quiet, distant. He almost seems... depressed. I've asked him about it a couple of times, but he always plays it off saying he's tired, or hungry, or something."

"Maybe he is."

"No, that's not it. I've worked with my team for over a year now, and I know when something's off with one of them. And something's off with him. Level with me... what are they doing to him at that compound you keep him locked up in?"

"Nothing. Running tests... studying him."

"Bull! If that's all they were doing he'd be free to come and go as he pleased. Chief, this man is an integral part of my team. If something's wrong that's causing him to be less than his best, I need to know, otherwise someone could get hurt... or killed."

Sighing in resignation, the Chief got up from his desk and closed the door to his office. When he sat back down, he looked Shannon in the eye and said, "OK, I'll tell you as much as I can..."



Over to you, Starflier...

Moonlight drifted through the window, lighting the room in a hazy blue as Will sighed happily. It had been along time since he was this happy. Going to the Cape radio station's anniversary party was the best idea he had ever had. It was fun and the company was even better. The petite body beside him shifted closer in an attempt to get warmer. He pulled the covers up over the lithe form and tenderly bushed a lock of hair from her face.
Yeah, there are going to be difficulties surrounding this relationship but he didn't care. The Department didn't have to know right away but the Team deserved to know. He would have to tell Drew and Mags. Will sighed again, letting his breath out slowly. He would tell Drew over coffee tomorrow and hopefully, swear him to secrecy.
"Drew is a good guy, although he did warn me to be careful that first night." Will thought, " He will be okay with this. He'll probably be happy for us."
Will pulled the diminutive red-head closer and lightly kissed her forehead. Shannon moaned softly in her sleep. He smiled and closed his eyes.
Yeah, he was very happy.

[Hey everyone. You may have heard about the disaster that struck Alabama last week; tornadic activity and everything. I live in North Alabama, Madison/Huntsville area and it was affected by the storms. Thankfully, no one was hurt or worse. My home was spared any damage. The only lasting problem was the last 5 days without power. I am happy to report that power was restored today, however, recovery is still ongoing. As a consequence, I will not be joining you all for our regular session this Tuesday. I think I'll be around next Tuesday as everything should be stable and regular routines return to normal.]

Good to hear you're okay todd. That's some crazy stuff going on down there; been catching it on the news. See you next week, and hope everything works out for you.

As for Mag's story progression, I've got a writeup done that'll pick up where mouse's left off and lead in to the first of Mag's story arcs. Dunno if you want me to throw that down, or wait for next week when we're all back. Let me know.

((I'm glad your alright, Todd and we'll see you next week. I think we should wait for Todd to get back before we start on Mags' arc. It only seems right that we have most of the core group around for it. On a side note, the corruptor version of Giz is at lvl 26 and a rogue right now. Trying to decide whether to keep him a rogue until I unlock Epic Pools or not. Black Scorpian's Pool Shield looks pretty darn good right now. I'm hoping to run him through some of the heroside TFs throughout the week and weekend.))

I didn't realize you were in Alabama, Todd. I'm glad to hear you weren't more seriously affected by the storms. Take care and we'll see you when real life is a little more normalized for you.

[Thanks for the good wishes. I appreciate it. Things are still a little off around the region. I haven't been able to work since last week as power restoration has been slow. The tornadoes actually cut our main line of power from TVA and they're having to rebuild the infrastructure to get us back to full availibility. So, that's going to take some time. I would appreciate you waiting until next week before starting Mags' storyline as I would very much like to be there for it. I'm confident that I should be back in game for next Tuesday's session.]

((We'll hold off running Mags' arc until you're back Todd, even if circumstances prevent your return this week.))

Meanwhile...


Shannon sets her bag down at her desk and looks at the stack of reports in her in-box. "Great. Another day of papercuts and Wite-Out highs," she thinks to herself. She presses the power button on her computer, and while she waits for it to boot up, she fishes her cell phone out of her purse. Pulling up her speed dial list, she presses 5 and waits.

"...leave me a message after the beep."

"Hi, Will, it's Shannon. I know it's your day off, but I'd really like you to come down to HQ tonight. I'm working a 3-to-11, and I overhead one of the IA boys mention Mags is coming in tonight for a meeting. I'm going to try to get you and I into that meeting as well; it's a shame Drew isn't back yet. My lunch break's at seven, so stop by around then and we can get something to eat before the meeting. Gimme a call back if you get this, 'k? I lo... uh... ...ook forward to seeing you then."

Hanging up and dropping the phone onto her desk, Shannon lowers her head and smacks her palm against her forehead.