a Shadowrun escort service

Black Cat laid there for a few more moments, just enjoying the brief quietness. The thought tickled the back of his mind that this was only temporary and that he shouldn't get himself too attached to her. After all, this was only a job and it was probably only going to last a few days at most.

"Let's get cleaned up and head. Blossom is probably wondering where we are. Though we didn't exactly give her a time."

He gave a weak smirk for a moment as Boom Boom slowly sat up. He could tell she probably didn't want to get up, but they did have a job to do. He made his way into the bathroom, getting a quick shower. He soon came out, toweling his body off.

"It's all yours. After you get ready, I suggest we head back and pick up your vehicle before we head. You do have a ride of some sort, don't you? Or do you just run around in a gridcab everywhere?""

Name: Raksha
Age: Unknown. Claims to have been born before the US Civil War. Claims to have participated in the Ghost Dance in 1890. Based on looks Mid to late 20's
Personality: Untamed Wolf. Alpha of her pack.
Hair:Blood Red. Is it her natural color or is it stained with the blood of her prey?
Eyes: Left is Ice Blue, Right is Kelly Green
Other Traits: Shaman of the Wolf Pack, and Shapeshifter. Can "talk" to all wild wolfs and dogs. They will always do her bidding. Domesticated dogs act unpredictably to her presence.

She has minimal contact with humans. She lives with a large wolf pack and is the leader of the pack. She often goes naked or wears the skin of a recent prey animal she killed to feed her pack. No one knows where she came from but everyone has heard of her power.

Some believe that she is the mother to the first wolf shapeshifters after the Awakening in 2011 ...that is unconfirmed rumor.

Chaotic Good.


Raksha is sitting at the top of the hill watching over her beloved pack. Grrung walks up beside her and whines lightly.

"Yes." She replies in English. "It is time. They are coming as I foretold. You will need to take my place as I go help the humans in this time of trouble. All will be well. Listen for my call, for when it comes I will need the pack by my side." She scratches him behind his ears as he nuzzles her face and licks her forehead. Soon they join the rest of the pack in the den and are soon asleep.

Rakshas sleep is troubled as she sees many things she does not understand but knows they will be part of her future...

“I don’t own a car. Sorry. Maybe Blossom Trevils has wheels” Boom Boom replied.

This answer caused a puzzled look to appear on Black Cat’s face, then he added disparagingly “Good planning… not thinking about transportation. Never tried that before.”

Boom Boom was still naked and walked past Black Cat, a smirk on her face as her incredible naked breasts swayed side to side. “Hey, I can always rent something. So ease up” She answered him as the bathroom door closed.

Black Cat and Boom Boom made to the “Perks” coffee shop just before 0900. Blossom Trevils was sitting at one of the dirty tables sipping a coffee. She still had her antique looking goggles pushed up on her forehead. Her rainbow-colored hair was tied into a ponytail. Even this early in the day she was smoking another thin cigar.

“Hey Chummers, you made it” She commented as Black Cat and Boom Boom sat down with her. Two coffees were delivered to the table within a minute of them sitting down. Boom Boom gave Blossom an update on what happened after they left Club Envy. Blossom only comment on Boom Boom’s bruised face was “Drek, you two are bad-asses to pick a fight with Trolls!”

“Well, not bad-ass enough based on how my face got slapped.” Boom Boom replied. Then she got more serious. “I have arranged to meet a guide once we are into The Salish-Shidhe Council territory. You have transport to get us there?” Boom Boom asked Blossom.

“Drek… I guess I have to do everything!” Blossom grunted as she took a suck on her cigar. “I have SUV parked across the street. I can get us there.”

“Good!” Boom Boom answered as she looked at Black Cat with a smile on her face. “Let get moving”

Two hours later

Judging by the first hour inside The Salish-Shidhe Council territory was dreary and depressing place. It was a heavy gray overcast day. The cold rain coming down in a slow drizzle. The sign on the customs office at the border stated in friendly letters “Welcome to The Salish-Shidhe Council territory, go in peace”.

Boom Boom had said quietly at the time “Peace… yeah, right… liars”

The road they took was the old hwy 410. The road was in pretty good condition as they got closer to Mt Rainier. The wet conditions made Blossom drive a bit slower than usual as she avoided the potholes in the road. The road hugged the side of a steep river valley, the White River, as they climb up in altitude. They across a bridge spanning the valley and drove into the parking lot of a small pub/store, The Iron Goat Bar.

“The guide should be inside.” Boom Boom stated then she added “I have never met her before. No clue what she looks like. Been told she has talent… and is strange”

“Strange?” Blossom asked. “Like how is she strange?”

“No idea” Boom Boom answered.

The Iron Goat Bar was filled with smoke, had torn vinyl seats and scarred plastic tabletops. The hard-nosed patrons glared at Boom Boom, Black Cat and Blossom Trevils as they entered. Boom Boom ignored the unwelcome welcome and took a seat at a side table. Black Cat and Blossom joining her. The people in the place went back to their conversations and food.

“what happens now?” Blossom asked

“We wait” Boom Boom answered.

"A young wonan, no more than 15 or so walks up to the newcomers. "Does paleface want firewater?" she asked in a thick accent. Without waiting for an answer, she put two dirty glasses on the table and poured a clear liquid from a clay jug into the glasses. Without another word she turned and waked away.

Entering the back room, the teen looked at her older brother, "Damn white folk always want the old time injun drek. I'm getting sick of it. I speak better than English and Japanese than they do." Then she stomped away to refill the now empty jug with the moonshine they brewed for outsiders. "Only one more year and I can get my decker implant, then I can get the frag out of this drekhole and into the city. Then finally I can be a real shadowrunner."she muttered to herself.

Suddenly the door burst open and a dozen wolves burst into the room! Each wolf was larger than average and had magical symbols painted on their coats. The wolves spreadout around the room ech one watching two or three people, growling at them in warning. Several hands reached for guns, but they were held still by an invisible force.

"A soft but strong voice floated in from the outside "Peace will be met with peace, blood will be met with blood." When the voice ended, all eyes were fixed on the door. A woman of average height but skinny entered. She was very obviously naked under the buffalo hide she was wearing, and she made no effort to conceal that fact.

Joining the two outsiders, at their table, she looked at the moonshine and threw the glasses into the fire which roared from embers to an inferno, raising the rooms temperature by 15 or 20 degrees.

"I hear you need a guide." She says simply. A simple wave of her hand and the wolves sat down. They were very attentive to the people in the room. but no longer actively threatening anyone. "I am Raksha."

The rest of the crowd uneasily returned to their drinking, but their movements were much slower and more deliberate than before as every patron kept at least one eye, and most two, on the large wolves and their sharp teeth.

Boom Boom had a smile on her face as the strange woman walked into the Iron Goat Bar. “You had to ask what happens next. Satisfied!” Boom Boom told Blossom Trevils. Blossom was too shocked to reply as the strange woman arrived at their table. Then she grabbed their moonshine glasses and threw them into the fireplace. Luckily Black Cat’s glass/jug was too far away and the elf quickly grabbed his glass and held on.

“Hey, we were drinking those!” Blossom protested.

The woman ignored Blossom’s comment and stated "I hear you need a guide. I am Raksha."

Boom Boom was back in her more familiar outfit, a mix between WWII combat fatigues, a steel pot Army helmet, modern cargo pants with lots of pockets, and tough steel toed hiking boots. Inside her many pockets were her anti-area detection sensors, small hand mines, and clearing explosives. On her combat belt was her two combat knives. In her thigh pockets, concealed, were her two hand guns. Her favorite weapon, a 50 cal sniper rifle with attached grenade launcher, was inside her backpack that was inside the SUV. Boom Boom stood up.

“Well Raksha that was quite an entrance. I’m Boom Boom… I’m the one who hired you via Brownhand Hellbelly. One day, you will need to tell me how he got that name! This is Black Cat” Boom Boom explained pointing the male elf “And Blossom Trevils” She continued pointing to the Tarot Card reader.

“Shall we talk in here with all your wolves? Or would you prefer we move outside?” Boom Boom asked Raksha

"You will need your wits before this night is over." She replies calmly staring deep into Blossoms eyes. "That firewater may be the difference between seeing another sunrise and going to the happy hunting ground."

The teen girl walks back in and runs over to Raksha "Mother Wolf!" she squeals in delight. "Are you going on a run? Can I help? Please?" She asks ignoring the other three at the table. "I can be your decker. You know I'm wizzer, even without Bio-ware."

Raksha looks at the others "She is adept in the unreal world of light, and she has earned my trust completing more than one drek run. She is a powerful wizard in the matrix."

She looks over the team her face unchanging, the waitress looks at the professional runners her eyes filled with eagerness. Drawing herself to her full 5'0" height she looks at the three runners. "Whatever the job, every team needs a netrunner to be their ghost in the machine. Whacha think?"

Unnoticed to all but Raksha, an Elf stands up slowly and silently leaves the bar. Grrung stands up to follow, and Raksha signals him to stay. All the wolves ears perk up to a noise only they can hear. Grrung whines softly and walks over to Raksha. He takes her hand in his mouth and tugs at it.

"Be still Grrung," she tells her wolf-mate. "The time is not yet upon us." As she listens to the muted sound of a Yellow Jacket land and take off in the parking lot outside. Grrung whines once more and licks her hand, and puts his head in her lap.

"Those who oppose us are aware of our location. We must leave soon." Shes tells the others.

Black Cat did his best to hide a little smirk when Blossom complained about having to do everything. It wasn't the first time he had been in a group that no one had decided to take the leading role in things. Happy that he didn't have to lug his gear on his back the entire time, he stashed the large duffal bag in the back of Blossom's SUV.

He followed behind the two ladies on his bike, taking in their surroundings as they went. He didn't want to get caught in an ambush, but things went smoothly the entire way. He parked his bike beside the SUV before following Boom Boom inside. The unwelcome atmosphere didn't bother him, since this was just another dive bar to him.

Taking a seat at the table, he took a few moments to take in everything he could. He raised an eyebrow at the sudden appearance of the wolves piling in, smirking a little. He didn't move towards his weapon, only held onto his glass when the stranger deciding to throw Boom Boom and Blossom's cup away.

"Well, I wasn't thirsty at the moment."

He swirled the liquid around for a moment before flinging it towards the fire. He gave a little chuckle at the eagerness of the young teenager who came over demanding/begging to go on the run with them. He didn't mind more runners, but he just hoped that things didn't get too much trouble for him.

"I will take your words as our cue to leave. Besides, I was getting bored of this place."

He pulled his chair back and stood up, motioning for the ladies to lead the way.

Boom Boom could not believe it. She hated working with other people. They always messed things up. This run had started off wrong, when she was forced to work with Black Cat and just kept getting worse and worse. The frustration in her was building and when the young girl came running up and offered to assist on the mission she just lost it.

“WHAT… Not another partner!” Boom Boom said to everyone. She did not care if she hurt the young girl’s feelings. “This is total crap! I work alone!”

Blossom Trevils started to laugh. “I can see that, Boom Boom.” As Blossom looked around to the four people standing at the table and the young girl wanting to join them.

“Normally, I work alone!” Boom Boom clarified getting more irate.

“Alone, you can only do so much, together as a team we can do so much more. We can be unstoppable!" Blossom argued. “Now let’s get going”

“You are not the leader. I’m the leader.” Boom Boom said to Blossom. Boom Boom was so pissed off she did not notice Black Cat’s eyebrows raising slightly at her comment about being the leader. Hoss, their fixer, had actually given both of them the assignment. Boom Boom just continued on her rant, she turned to Raksha. “You are just a guide! You want to bring this inexperienced chummer along… FINE. Just get us to Goldendale. That is it. NO TEAM!” Boom Boom stated firmly. Then she stormed out of the Iron Goat Bar got into the SUV driver’s seat and slammed the car door closed.

Everyone was silent around the table for a second. Then Blossom face lit up with a smile. “Team formation usually follows easily recognizable stages, known as forming, storming, norming, and performing. Boom Boom is in the storming phase. She’ll get over it. Shall we follow our “great” leader?” She asked everyone else.

Raksha made a subtle gesture and the wolves silently headed for the door. "Stay with me little one. I will keep you safe in the meat."

The teen nods "I can go? Really? That's wiz. I just gotta go get my gear." She starts to run off, and turns back and hugs Raksha then runs into the back.

Raksha stands up and moves to the door when the teen rejoins her. Looking at teh remaining members of the team, she says "My handles..." she pauses for a second and looks around the room "...moonshine."

When they leave Raksha looks at her new team members. "Follow me I will take you to place of safety." She then shifts into her wolf form and joins her pack.

"I never get tired of watching that" moonshine says staring at Raksha who stands a good meter taller than the rest of her pack, as she climbs into the truck.

When they got outside, Black Cat went to his bike. As he waited for the rest to get into Blossom's car, he decided they needed to check the comms. He put his earpiece on before pulling his helmet on.

"Alright, anyone who can hear me, just let me know."

Blossom's voice was the first to come over the air.

"I hear you loud and clear cutie. Boom Boom still fuming. Need done thing passed on?"

He smirked for a moment.

"Tell her to get her ass in gear or I'll see she get a spanking. No, she might enjoy that too much. Just get her straightened out so we can get this show on the road."

Raksha looks at Black Cat and nods her wolf head to indicate she can hear him with her wolf ears. She starts waking down the road knowing her den would be safe witht eh enchantments and wards she put in place, not to mention the 30+ adult wolves guarding it from intruders.

At 13,500 feet, Mt. Rainier was less imposing then during her glory days of 14,410 feet before The Great Ghost Dance. The powerful magic ritual, that had been led by Daniel Howling Coyote, caused Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Adams to erupt simultaneously. It had been the magical equivalent of nuclear war. After the Great Ghost Dance, the United States admitted defeat and drew up the Treaty of Denver.

Boom Boom was not thinking about the history of the massive mountain, but she was thinking about where the guide she had hired, Raksha, was taking them. The drive up the dirt road was amazing, with wonderful wildflower meadows, beautiful waterfalls and vistas that re-define spectacular. But Boom Boom didn't let the scenic beauty of Mt. Rainier divert her from asking Blossom and Moonshine “Where the DREK is this shapeshifter taking us! We are supposed to be heading to Goldendale.”

Moonshine was too young and unsure of herself to answer Boom Boom’s repeated question. Blossom tried but with little success. “We need to avoid Chief Gillian Morningsong. You know how he feels about cars and damage to the environment. He is super eco-conscious.”

“We can’t get to Goldendale on foot! Can’t we cut a deal with Chief Morningsong? This is bullshit??” Boom Boom replied.

“Well, you hired her.” Blossom replied.

“Shapeshifters… why do I never learn… unreliable… weird… freaks” Boom Boom said under her breath.

Luckily for everyone in the SUV, they reached the “place of safety” as they entered a beautiful and secluded clearing among the tall fur trees and Raksha stopped trotting and looked back at her fellow shadow runners waiting for them to get out of their vehicles

Black Cat was silent as he pulled the bike up beside the SUV before turning it off. He had enjoyed the ride and scenic view, but he was eager to get a move on with things. He dropped his helmet on the seat of the bike as he looked at the others.

"I'm not too familiar with this area, but let's get a move on. What's our next step?"

As Boom Boom got out of the SUV her eyes and Raksha eyes locked on to each other. Blossom Trevils and Moonshine also got out of the SUV. Blossom whispered a warning to the young women “Watch out, this might get ugly”

Raksha transformed back into her human form and stood her ground as Boom Boom advanced. Black Cat was coming up fast from behind Boom Boom trying to get between the two women, but he was not going to make it.

Boom Boom got right into Raksha's face “Why are we here? You were supposed to take us to Goldendale!” She snarled and was tensed up and ready to punch Raksha right in the face.

Raksha did not blink and stared right back at Boom Boom “I don’t know what your problem is… but for your information Chief Gillian Morningsong has half his tribe out looking for you. He does not take kindly to someone who is planning to dump nuclear waste into the Columbia river.”

Black Cat had reached the two women now and said in surprise “What?”

“You have been set up. Someone told Chief Gillian Morningsong that bogus story.” Raksha turning to face Black Cat. “That is why you are here. We’ll need to take an alternate route through the Chief’s Territory.”

Boom Boom relax a little as the information Raksha told her sank in. “Ah so what is your fucked up idea?” Boom Boom said derisively, still hostile towards the shape shifter.

“Hey… watch your attitude, I’m trying to help” Raksha replied.

Black Cat punched Boom Boom in arm like he was her kid brother “Knock it off” He warned her.

Boom Boom took a deep breath and calmed down “Ok, so what is your idea?”

Raksha smiled “Follow me” she said as she walked over to a bunch of bushes. She pulled some of them away revealing a hot air balloon. “We float over Chief Morningsong tribe”

Black Cat smirked for a moment seeing the hot air balloon. He didn't quite expect that to be their next mode of transportation, but he was fine with it.

"Well, I hope you know how to fly that thing. And it looks like it will be tight with all of us, so I would only pack absolutely only what we will need."

He watched the ladies go to work, hauling their stuff out and trying to go through it. He went to his stuff as well, hmming as he tried to decided what he would need. He luckily had a small backpack for just such occasion. It took him a few minutes to fill it with the bare essentials of tools before pulling it on his back.

Since it looked like Raksha didn't have much, she was the one who got the balloon up and ready. Black Cat waited on his turn to get into the basket, letting the ladies go first.

The balloon was launched without incidence. They floated on the wind and made good progress toward the eastern part of the mountain range. The clouds and rain had gone and the sky was now clear. The sunset of this late-afternoon day was amazing. Full of color as if the sky was on fire. The sunset was even better with the gentle giant of a balloon over their heads.

After lift off the team had been quiet as the tension between Boom Boom and Raksha was still just below the surface. But as the balloon ride continued, the uniqueness of the experience, breathtaking views, and majestic mountains all seemed to reduce the ill will. The two had been talking and sharing knowledge and experiences about the forest. To everyone surprise, Boom Boom knowledge was vast and detailed on every plant and forest animal.

“You really know your stuff Boom Boom! I’m surprised you have not joined The Salish-Shidhe Council. You would fit right in” Moonshine injected into their conversation.

Boom Boom bristled at the comment. “I hate them!! And don’t be fooled by their eco-bullshit. They have their own agenda and it is as cruel as a dragon’s, or one of the mega-corps!”

Black Cat had been quiet the whole time. He was just watching Boom Boom. She had been so loving in bed and her soul seemed to ache for a friend. But for some reason she also pushed people away. He had helped her. He had saved her life. But he still had not gained her trust. Now she was doing it again.

Black Cat decided to say something but Raksha spoke first. “Boom Boom, have you had a run in with the Salish-Shidhe?”

“You can say that. They are prejudice assholes. They treated me like shit. And they…” Boom Boom paused for a moment, staring off in the distance. The next words out of her mouth were difficult for her “And they killed my mother.”

Everyone in the balloon was quiet.

“I’m sorry to hear that Boom Boom.” Blossom Trevils console her.

“I don’t need your pity!” Boom Boom snapped. “I just need you to know why I hate them so much.” Then to everyone’s surprise Boom Boom reached down, unzipped her backpack and pulled out her 50 cal sniper rifle. She chambered a round.

“What are you doing?” Blossom asked Boom Boom, getting a bit worried she had set the busty blonde Shadow runner off. The sun had set and in the twilight, Blossom could not read Boom Boom’s facial expressions.

“I think we have company coming… get ready” Boom Boom said coldly as she aimed the gun over the side of the basket. Everyone looked where she was pointing the gun. The distance and low light made it impossible for a human to see what was coming. But Black Cat’s being elvish and Raksha being a shape shifter could see a flock of winged humanoids, almost 2 meters tall with squat, bulky bodies and rough, dull gray skin, like they were made of living stone flying towards the balloon.

“Gargoyles!” Raksha gasped.

“Yep…” Boom Boom agreed flippantly. Suddenly, her gun went off and one of the black specks fell from the sky. Boom Boom chambered another round.

“Nice shot!” Black cat commented as the difficulty of Boom Boom’s shot was very high. The distance was very impressive but add the low light and it was almost an impossible shot!

“Get ready…” Boom Boom warned as she fired another shot at the flock and another black speck fell.

The gargoyles closed the distance to the balloon. They were now close enough so Blossom and Moonshine could see the winged humanoid shape, the single short horn coming out of their forehead, the pronounced canine teeth and wicked claws on their hands and feet. A pair of bat-like wings sprout from the creature’s shoulders as their barbed tails swished about.

Black Cat sighed at the approach of the gargoyles, not liking the thought of fighting in the hot air balloon. After all, one stray shot or claw could puncture the thin fabric. None the less, he drew out his submachine gun before leaning against the side of the basket. The basket was hard to move in, so the two shapeshifters stayed down since they could reach the gargoyles.

He opened with a burst of fire on the nearest one, shredding through it's wing. It screeched in pain and anger as it began falling towards the ground, flapping it's wings uselessly. Blossom was chanting softly beside him before launching a fireball at another one. She frowned as that one seemed to just brush the magic off.

It screamed and dove towards the basket, but a deafening boom was heard as Boom Boom blasted it away. Black Cat grimaced, wishing he had some ear plugs. There was one left, but it didn't attack them. Instead, it went upwards along the curve of the balloon. It reached out and ran one claw along the fabric's surface, tearing a hole before diving back down and away from the basket.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbHvjxy6kj8

"Blackcat watch your SIX!!... more gargoyles arriving" Boom Boom yelled.

As Blackcat turned he realized there was another, larger wave of Gargoyles flying in. He opened fire on them.

That was when bedlam broke out! “Bedlam” is an old word derived from a hospital in London that served as a lunatic asylum circa 1400. The scene around the balloon basket was pure bedlam. There were suddenly gargoyles everywhere, swooping here and there. Everyone was trying to defend the straw basket they were in. But it was taking a beating.

Boom Boom threw Blossom with one of her hand guns. "Guns not fireballs... they are too tough for fireballs!" Boom Boom yelled. The tarot card reader had done a few sensible things prior to the gargoyle attack. She had pulled her antique looking goggles down from her forehead to over her eyes. And most importantly, she had lit up another thin cigar.

“Moonshine, just keep your head down” She warned the young girl as she puffed on the cigar. “This is one of those fire fights where you might lose it… i.e. get it blown off”

Blossom was in the center of the basket using the hot gas jets to make the balloon go up and the vent system to make the balloon go down to prevent the gargoyles an easy target. While doing all this she was also shooting at Gargoyles.

The bad news was the rip the one Gargoyle had already made in the balloon.

“I’m on it” Boom Boom yelled and jump off the basket and onto a nearby gargoyle’s back! It was totally insane. She was riding it like she was on a surfboard. It was pure madness. She should have died… but she did it as casually as if she was walking down the street. She aimed her gun at the back of its head and squeezed the trigger. As the creature died and turned to stone, Boom Boom leaped to the side of the balloon and grabbed one of the ropes that wrapped around the balloon. She pulled out one of her knives and cut a holding rope and she swung down and then back up around to the new hole. She released and did a nice single spin and grabbed the side of the balloon. She fired once into the chest of the gargoyle that had produced the hole. The dead creature turned to stone and fell to the ground. But the hole it had created could not be sealed. The balloon was dropping from the sky.

Boom Boom grabbed the two sides of the hole and pulled it as closed as she could.

“Can’t seal the hole… get ready for a rough landing!” Boom Boom warned everyone as the ground approached fast!

Raksha needed to do something. She stood up and moved to the edge of the basket firing ice spells at the monsters around them. Gargoyle are somewhat resistant to magic. Raksha knew this, but being magic resistance does not help a creature from all magical attacks. Raksha was using an ice blast to freeze the creature’s wings. This slowed them down and after a second or third blast there was enough ice on them to prevented them from flying. That is bad... when a Gargoyle is at 6,000 ft!

In the end, it was Blackcat who beat back the attack. He put his machine guns in full automatic and just unloaded on the creatures. It was bedlam, pure bedlam. Anything that got near the balloon was killed and turned to stone. One gargoyle got past Blossom, Raksha, and close to Blackcat. But the elf ducked as a Gargoyle tried to rip off his head. Then he emptied his machine gun right into the monster's face. It tumbled from the balloon basket's side, and Blackcat watched it fall away from the balloon to the ground. Where he heard a nice crunch and cracking noise as the stone statue broke into a million pieces.

The shadowrunners tactics made a difference. The gargoyles were all gone. But the balloon could not be saved. It crashed into the forest and the basket smashed into the ground and broke up. The bodies of the four shadowrunners sprayed out over the forest floor.

Black Cat groaned softly as he lay on the ground with the others, but he didn't try to move yet. Blossom was the first one to get up, stretching as she remained on her knees for a few moments.

"That was most interesting. I would say I was glad I came along."

Black Cat groaned once more, but more in disbelief. He shifted to his side and propped himself as he looked at Blossom.

"These types of things don't usually happen, so try not to get too much fun out of things."

Blossom giggled before she helped Boom Boom up and then Raksha. Raksha looked around for a moment, frowning.

"It's getting dark, so it's not wise to wander the forest as night. We need to get a camp setup."

The four soon went to work, using the remains of the basket and balloon to setup a makeshift tent for the four of them. Black Cat went through the few supplies they had.

"You really didn't give us much to work with Raksha. We have maybe three days worth of food and water. I'm out of ammo, and I'm not sure about Boom Boom. I'll take first watch."

"I’ll stand watch with Blackcat” Boom Boom volunteered as she handed him one of her hand guns. She still had lots of ammo for her 50 cal sniper rifle, but only a little bit left for her handguns. “Try not to use it all” she warned him in a joking way about the handgun ammo.

Moonshine, who they had found later in a tree thirty feet above the ground, Raksha, and Blossom went to sleep almost right away. It had been a long day and they were exhausted. Blackcat and Boom Boom talked in low whispers around the small camp fire so as not to awake them.

“What the hell were you doing during that fire fight?” Blackcat asked Boom Boom sternly.

“What do you mean?” Boom Boom answered coyly.

“You know exactly what I mean” The elf said not letting Boom Boom get away with her evasion tactics.

“I take risks. It is who I am” Boom Boom replied quietly.

“Jumping out of a balloon on to the back of a Gargoyle and then blowing its head off, is an insane risk!” Blackcat commented.

Boom Boom sighed “They say life is tough. But I guess I like to make it tougher. I do that all the time, on purpose. That is because I believe in disrupting my comfort zone.”

Blackcat looked in Boom Boom’s eyes. This was a deep heart felt, core value of the beautiful, very busty human.

“You could have died.” Blackcat warned her.

“Disrupting my comfort zone. Bombarding myself with challenges, physical, mental, magical, all the things many people spend their time and energy to avoid is how I grow. And if you are not growing you are dying. So I don’t look at it the same way as most people.” Boom Boom confided.

Boom Boom looked human, but she had shown some abilities that were either metahuman, magical, or tech-enhanced. “The twilight shots you made. You must have optical enhancements or you used magic?” He asked.

Boom Boom giggled “A girl never tells her secrets”

Her answer was friendly and joking, but Blackcat knew she was never going to explain her abilities. She was hiding something. For his safety and the others in the party he needed to figure her out. He would ask Moonshine, their decker, to enter the Matrix and run a search on her or maybe her abilities. It might come up with a match.

Blackcat question would be answered sooner than he thought. As the two stood watch, both got the feeling something was approaching their camp site.

Boom Boom looked over to Blackcat concern in her eyes. “I feel it too” Blackcat said and both of them stood up and faced the darkness around them. Both had their guns out as twenty Salish-Shidhe soldiers came out of the forest. The soldiers were well armed with the best weapons and there was a shaman with them. The shadowrunners were surrounded.

Black Cat wasn't shy about his cybernetics, but he also wasn't one to go and announce to everyone what he had. His eyes and ears was alpha ware, average quality but they served the purpose for him. His ears were built with an ear recording unit, sound link, audio enhancement, select sound filter, spatial recognizer and a balance augmenter. His cyber eyes had an eye recording unit, image link for his weapons, flare compensation, low-light vision, smart link, vision enhancement, thermographic vision, vision magnification, and an eye laser system. He also had reaction enhancers and a small smuggling compartment built into his inner right thigh. He had also paid a little extra to make sure his cybernetics were made to look like the real deal.

As Black Cat and Boom Boom had been talking, he was also listening to the forest sounds for anything out of the ordinary. He had heard the usual calls of the wildlife until Boom Boom spoke of feeling something coming. He heard the rustling of leaves as he went for his pistols before the twenty soldiers came out.

His eyes widened a little at the sight of their Onotari Urban Rifles, military grade battle rifles on a few of the soldiers. He grinned a little at the thought of acquiring one of those babies for himself, on the way out of whatever place of hospitality they would be taken to of course. His eyes darted around in the trees before he noticed a couple of snipers with a Shiwase Arms Tactical Model 69, a rather powerful military version of an anti-material sniper rifle that he was sure that Boom Boom would probably want to acquire as well. He grinned for a moment to the closet soldier.

"Easy there fella. Just keep that finger on that trigger and everything will be fine. Here, I'll even give you my weapons....Boom Boom..."

He could see her up as if she was ready to fight. However she slowly laid her rifle down as he held his machine pistols out grips first towards another solider. Their weapons were taken as two more soldiers went about waking up the rest of the group, who looked very confused at the muzzles in their faces.

After a few moments, the five were lined up with their hands zip-tied behind their backs in the middle of five soldiers. Other soldiers moved in, gathering up their belongs into duffel bags. Black Cat chuckled for a moment.

"Mind loosening these up a bit?"

This earned him a butt stroke to the back of the head and a stern command to stay quiet. They were marched for nearly an hour through the forest till them came to a very large clearing. It was filled with a large tent city built with drab green large canvas tents. The camp was very busy, though only a few actually watched them being lead to one of the largest tents in the center of the tent city.

A man emerged from the large tent. He was dressed in the traditional Northwest Coast ceremonial garments. It included a hat made of soften cedar bark, a blanket with northwest animal art icons on it draped over his shoulders, woven wool pants, and buckskin shoes. He had a large walking stick of gnarled bench wood in one hand.

He looked over the group of prisoners before him. He was silent and his face showed nothing.

Boom Boom remained quiet for a while but then could not stand it any longer.

“I think we deserve something more than Sinsearach tribe’s Chief Magician. You sent your gargoyles after us, and most of your special forces” Boom Boom commented in disgust and dissatisfaction as she looked at the elite combat soldiers around them.

“Laura Cannon, the forest loves you, Sinsearach tribe loves you. You should return to us.” The older man said.

“Lord Ryan Highbrow, with all due respect, GO FUCK YOURSELF!” Boom Boom said, clearly pissed off at his suggestion.

“Such a disappointment, a hooker, shadow runner, living in the city, this is not in your nature. You fight what you are” Lord Ryan Highbrow stated, with no emotion in his voice.

“What I am” Boom Boom said her voice breaking with emotion “is abhorrent! YOU fucked with nature! You made me! My own mother left me… and that killed her.”

Lord Ryan Highbrow just shook his head slowly, knowing nothing he said would change Boom Boom’s mind.

“Don’t try anything Laura, we have soldiers with guns in the trees outside the range of your magic.” Lord Highbrow warned Boom Boom. His eyes turned to Raksha.

“What are you doing here? Another person of nature. You have always been kind to the forest” Lord Highbrow asked the wolf shapeshifter.

The shapeshifter nodded “And I still am. Lord Highbrow, you have been deceived. No one in this group is planning to dump nuclear waste into the Columbia river. Whoever told you that, is using you to stop us.” This comment made the Chief Magician pause to consider what Raksha was suggesting.

“Dumb ass! You are probably working for some big polluting Megacorp and don't even know it!” Boom Boom added.

Lord Highbrow ignored Boom Boom. He directed his question back as Raksha “What are you doing? Why would a megacorp be trying to stop you?” He asked Raksha. Raksha just shrugged her shoulders.

“She doesn’t know. She was hired to take us to Goldendale. That is all she knows. I out foxed you again... LOSER” Boom Boom interrupted again with a lot of smugness. The Lord Highbrow did not get upset, he just waited for Boom Boom to answer his question.

Boom Boom really had no choice. She needed to tell him something. So finally, she sighed and said “Ok, a student has unearthed a magical artifact. The dig site is near Goldendale. We were asked to find the student, protect him and the artifact, and escort them back to Seattle.” Boom Boom explained.

“What is the artifact?” Lord Highbrow asked.

“No clue” Boom Boom answered.

Lord Highbrow turned to one of his men. “Have you detected any radiation, along the balloon’s path, at the crash site, or on them?” He asked. A soldier near him answered “No, Chief Magician” Lord Highbrow looked at the two people who had remained silent so far. The young woman, Moonshine, and the elf, Black Cat. The young woman clearly knew nothing, but the older elf was another story.

“Another person of nature. Do you know what this artifact is?” He asked Black Cat.

“Not directly, but if you give me access to the matrix, I’ll call a friend who will know.” Black Cat said in a helpful way. Lord Highbrow waved over a computer access terminal. Black Cat smiled at the computer but then frowned when he looked at his hands bound in a zip-tie.

“Remove his restraint” The Lord directed.

Black Cat waited patiently as his restraints were uncut from his wrists. He took a few moments to rub his wrists so that the feeling was recovered once more, even though he hadn't been tied up for very long.

He moved to the offered computer terminal, taking a seat in front of it. He looked towards Boom Boom for a moment, though his face gave away nothing. This was going to be tricky, since he had dealt with artifacts before. He knew they were not something to be taken lightly and everyone was willing to do anything to get their hands on one. He had a feeling this Ryan Highbrow would be no different.

"It's going to take a few minutes to see if I can get what you need. My friend is kinda private, so don't interrupt me."

Black Cat almost chuckled at Ryan's scowl, although Ryan nodded as he waved the soldier away from the elf. Black Cat pulled out the connector cable before plugging the jack into the dataport on the back of his neck. He closed his eyes as he entered into his own private virtual room.

He didn't do anything for a few moments as he attempted to process everything that was going on. The whole comment about the dumping of nuclear waste had caught him off guard, but he recovered quick enough. Rakesha obvious knew something he didn't, and he would get to the bottom of things.

The first person he contacted was Hoss. The orc seemed to be a little perturbed about getting called, but calmed down once Black Cat explained the situation.

"Well, it sounds like I wasn't the only to get word about the artifact. I'm not sure what this whole nuclear waste thing is about, but I'll see what I can dig up. Sounds like you got a rival team trying to get to the artifact as well....As far as it's use, I got squat. Maybe there's some one else who knows more than me."

Black Cat nodded.

"Thanks Hoss. I have an idea, but I'll catch you later."

The orc laughed and gave a toothy grin before the line was cut. Black Cat entered in a complicated sequence of number on a floating keypad. Nothing happened for a moment until a black cat suddenly appeared in his lap. The cat looked up at the elf for a moment before pretending to clean himself.

"You still have four days till I wipe things for you. What did you call me for?"

Black Cat shook his head for a moment, but reached out and petted the cat with his hand.

"I got a little problem you might head with Drake. Do you have any information about the artifact that I'm heading after?"

The cat lifted his head for a moment to look at the elf before going back to cleaning himself.

"Was that all you were needing? I figured it would be something harder, like asking for the winning lottery numbers."

Black Cat smirked and shook his head.

"Just please tell me what you know."

"Fine. The artifact you seek is called Merlin's Cup of Life, a magical chalice blessed by many years of powerful sorcery. If water is drunk from the Cup, the drinker will survive death. However another life must be given in return in order for the balance of the world be restored. The Cup of Life has another use: it can give any person the gift of immortality. This can be done by placing a drop of a person's blood into the cup. As with the Rowan Staff, when close to the Cup those with magic can feel its power. The Cup of Life is so powerful that it cannot be destroyed. Its magic lasts forever and cannot be bound by time or place. Or so I've been able to gather."

“One more question” Black Cat said to Drake, the cat on his lap. But the AI just shook his cat head. “Nooo” he meowed “You said only one question. Bye” and the cat was gone.

“MMM” Black Cat said in frustration. “Must remember not to limit myself with Drake.” He grabbed the floating keyboard and typed in a few search parameters. “I can do this the old fashion way” He said to himself. He knew searching on Boom Boom's name would produce no usable results. But the abilities she had shown and some of the history he just learned might be enough to provide a clue to her nature. After he entered the data, a very beautiful and naked image of a woman was floating in front of him. Scrolling in the air next to the model of a woman was glow white letters “Half Nymph”

A voice described what he was looking at.

“in very very rare cases, woodland nymphs can fall in love with those who live in their woods, men or elves, people who treat the land and animals with the reverence and awe. These relationships almost never last, as nymphs are fickle creatures and become bored with mortals. However, on rare occasions, such liaisons lead to a child, always female, who mixes the best traits of the nymph with those of her lover. Many nymphs are so overjoyed by the beauty of their children that they raise them as their own daughters, teaching them the ways of the trees and wilderness, while others find the mixing of their fey blood with mortal baseness abhorrent, and they leave the child in care of the father and fade away, never to be seen again.

Half-nymphs are always beautiful, vibrant, and sexual. They inherit their mothers' natural loveliness, and their near-perfect appearance tends to make them stand out in any society in which they are raised.

Special Attacks:
Awesome Beauty: This ability affects all humanoids within 30 feet of a half-nymph. Those who look directly at the nymph are stunned for 1 minute. A creature that remains in range and continues to look at the half-nymph will remain stunned unless a strong will is involved. A half-nymph can suppress or resume this ability at anytime.

Fey Bloodline: Half-nymphs are considered creatures of the fey type when enchantment magic is directed against them. For example, the charm person spell does not affect a half-nymph. Half-nymphs can also activate magical items restricted to fey creatures.

Low-Light Vision (Ex): A half-nymph can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. The half-nymph retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.

Black Cat shut down the search information. “Interesting” He added and left the matrix to return to the Sinsearach camp. He unplugged the computer connection.

"The artifact is called "the scroll of herb growth" it documents plant growing techniques of ancient druids." Black Cat explained.

The mage "mmmmm" said for a second. "That makes sense. A drug company like Aztechnology megacorp would want that technology to make better magic potions."

"Oh Derk! You trusted those shitheads!" Boom Boom gasped.

Black Cat figured that Boom Boom would get upset, thinking he was telling the truth about what the artifact did. Judging by her reaction, he could tell she had no clue about the thing either. He couldn't tell her the truth now because well, he didn't really trust her yet. After they were clear of this place, he could probably tell them all what the artifact really did. Till then, he was going to leave things as they were.

"Well, I found the information you wanted, so what are you going to do with us now? If you are going to execute us, please, just get it over with. Otherwise, give us a place to rest and we'll be on our way."

Black Cat gave a little smirk at the mage's raised eyebrow at the elf's little demand. The shadow runner didn't really feel like just sitting here to shoot the breeze while he could figure other ways out, as he could tell the others were uncomfortable as well. The mage was silent for a moment before he made a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Take them to a tent, but leave a guard. Laura, you are staying here for the time being. We need to talk."

Boom Boom scowled as she dropped into an empty seat, watching the others get lead/pushed out of the tent. This was not going well for her.

The tent they were led to was a small six man tent. It already had six cots arranged in a cube, along with some duffel bags filled with belongs from some of the soldiers. The group's stuff was left in a pile for them, minus their weapons. Blossom was the first to speak after they were left alone, pulling her belongings out of the pile.

"So what shall our next move be, fearless leader?"

She gave a little grin for a moment to Black Cat, who blinked for a moment.

"Who? Me? I just wanted to get out of there. It was getting stuffy."

She laughed and sat on a cot.

"True, but you did take charge."

The elf sighed for a moment before laying back on a cot, his hands behind his head. The other two were quiet, checking their things as they sat on a cot themselves.

"I just want to get out of here and on with the mission. Plus grab a couple of those sweet weapons on the way out as well."