July 1st, 2009
Dreams and Nightmares
Farmer and I kept the Mexican standoff for a few moments as my mind processed the bombshell Farmer just laid on me. Elizabeth was alive! I looked into Farmer’s eyes, needing to see if there was any deception, and terrified that there might be. He didn’t flinch away. It was almost as if he knew what I was searching for, and he opened himself up to my inspection. There was no deception. Elizabeth was alive! All of the emotions I had so carefully packed away flooded my mind. It took most of my reserve to carefully holster my pistol. As soon as the weapon was put away, my legs let go and I dropped to the floor. The lycanthrope I just captured rushed to try and catch me. Vanessa and Farmer just watched me crumple down. All of that deep, dark fear that tormented me had crystallized into a relief and joy so strong my mind just could not cope. I had seen others overcome by emotion, but I never truly understood what was happening to them. Now I did. Read the rest of this entry »
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May 16th, 2009
Chapter 18
Operations That Go According to Plan Are Some of My Favorite Fantasies
One of the oddest sensations when doing a job – or in this case, an operation – is the strange combination of excitement and boredom. The actual drive down to the hotel was dull. Florida can be a pretty state, but Interstate 75 doesn’t always go through the most spectacular parts of the state. Mostly its sparse grasslands, farms, and then the edges of the Tampa sprawl. I looked across the cab of the truck. Vanessa spent the entire drive from Tallahassee immersed in the data on her laptop. Barely audible pop music drifted over from her headphones as she drowned out the outside noise. She didn’t speak to me the entire trip. Her body language was oddly neutral. I couldn’t tell if she was just immersed in her studies, or if she was making a concerted effort to ignore me. Hangman casually mentioned to me that my plan was costing Vanessa a good portion of her savings. He made it perfectly clear that her outlay wasn’t something to be taken for granted. I knew he was right, but I didn’t know how to talk to Vanessa about it – so I didn’t say anything. Read the rest of this entry »
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March 14th, 2009
Chapter 17
Laying the Groundwork
“What the fuck do you mean it’s in Tampa?” I asked, straining to keep from stammering out my words.
“According to these tracking documents, the emissary’s report was part of a batch of documents that was sent to the holding facility at the University of South Florida,” Vanessa explained, motioning to the display on her laptop, “From the address, the university is in Tampa.”
“Yeah, it is,” I confirmed, “I’ve operated near the school plenty of times.” My mind was racing in several different directions at once, and I couldn’t keep focused on any of them. I closed my eyes to pull my thoughts together. Elizabeth just haunted the sudden darkness. I pushed her aside – I needed to concentrate on the task at hand. “Do you know where exactly the records are? That campus is huge.” Read the rest of this entry »
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December 16th, 2008
“What the devil are you doing in my crime scene?” hollered a voice from behind me. I didn’t need my abilities to know the woman was very upset. I didn’t blame her. I would be angry in her place. The problem was that I was busy examining the body, and I didn’t need the distraction. From what my stepfather told me, if I didn’t get this problem solved, the aborigines living in New Town would either be exiled – or worse, hunted down and killed. As much as my stepfather hated to admit it, he liked having the Stone Walkers in the city. They had proven themselves far beyond any normal trouble they caused. This case was a different matter. This was murder. Read the rest of this entry »
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December 2nd, 2008
Chapter 16
Just Because No One Else Survived It….
During my first week in the Society of the Claw and the Fang, I didn’t see or hear from Blackhawk. It was just as well. I was busy as hell getting myself settled into my house and working with Vanessa to get her ready for field operations. I couldn’t bring myself to call whatever the Society wanted me to do jobs. That term was reserved for hunters, and I wasn’t working for the Guild anymore. I liked Vanessa, but my instincts were telling me that something was wrong with the Society. It wasn’t anything that I could put my finger on, but I definitely felt an ill-ease with the Society. Blackhawk’s sudden reappearance did nothing to lessen my suspicions.
A knock at my door woke me up before sunrise – a situation that didn’t make me all that happy to begin with. I was half-expecting Vanessa, but found Blackhawk standing impatiently on my front porch. Blackhawk was adjusting his grip on two brown bags. One bore the logo of a local pastry shop, which explained the smells emanating from it. The other was completely blank, and it piqued my interest. Blackhawk didn’t wait for me to invite him in and pushed past me. My mind was still trying to clear the haze of semi-consciousness, so instead of grabbing my interloping new boss and throwing him out, my hand just sailed past his rushing body. He set down both bags on my table. Before I could get my mouth and mind working together, Blackhawk whirled back to me and ordered, “Call Vanessa and get her over here, now.” Read the rest of this entry »
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October 10th, 2008
Chapter 15
This Is Why I Hate Job Interviews
At the Guildmaster’s suggestion I showered and changed into a more respectable looking outfit. My jeans were replaced by black slacks. A borrowed oxford blue button-up shirt and a tie were also his doing. I kept my boots, mostly so that I could easily carry my new back-up piece, a Glock 30, but I did shine them a little so that they didn’t look quite so rugged. My trusty USP was still in a small of the back holster, covered by a simple black leather jacket that Hangman had let me borrow for the meeting. My protégé seemed much better after he woke up. From what I gathered, Hangman managed to impress the state trainer, and Hangman was going to be hazed into the State Guild that afternoon. There was pride in his eyes, but the sorrow of what we lost still haunted him. I didn’t push it and slipped out as soon as Hangman left. Read the rest of this entry »
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September 15th, 2008
TRADE PARK BATTLE
A Story Of Ranger Eric Stahl
There are some days that change a person. Then there are some days that can change the course of the Empire. Then, there are the days that do both. Mine started on what should have been a day of peace. The Empire had been basking in the glory of its triumphant Red Lake Campaign for the past ten years. The Imperial Armed Forces had taken what had been a normal border battle between Imperial Army forces and a large force of Dark Towers creaturs and had begun a five-year campaign that had ended with the Human Empire seizing the vital Red Lake. The Red Lake was the largest body of fresh water on the continent and fed three major rivers, one of which flowed into the heart of the Dark Towers’ territory. Control of the Red Lake meant control of the majority of the water ways. With the Imperial Navy’s “brown water” section as strong as it was, the Human Empire could project its force deep into the Dark Towers’ territory. It had been a costly campaign, though. Nearly four hundred thousand human and elven soldiers as well as hundreds of aborigines were killed in the brutal campaign, and several times more were injured. It was generally believed that casualties on the other side must have been severe also because no Dark Towers’ forces started up the familiar violent cycle since the establishing of the ten-kilometer perimeter around the lake. Usually, one of the Towers would have mobilized a large enough army to put constant pressure on the border. They hadn’t this time. There had only been sporadic raids along the border and into the northern territories. It was as peaceful as it had been on the continent since humanity had first encountered the Dark Towers and their minions. The Empire was pleased. Everyone knew it was going to take time to incorporate the hundreds of square kilometers that had been just added to our territory, but that was expected, and quite frankly, heavily anticipated. Over the past decade enterprising people started their way north to claim homesteads and to start up businesses near the forts and magrails that had helped push our armies forward. It would take time before all of the territory was formed into sectors. In the meantime, our new territories had been divided into four governorships. It was rough for people in those areas. I knew. I had just finished an eighteen-month stint with the third governorship that stretched the southern border of the new territory– what had been the Human Empire’s northern border just fifteen years ago. Read the rest of this entry »
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September 15th, 2008
Chapter 14
The Only Constant In Life Is Change
Two days of cautious travel later, Nick pulled the Suburban up to a travel information center outside of Tallahassee. Nick got out of the truck and made his way to a pay telephone bank as Hangman and I checked the hard drives and all of our information that we had on our conspiracy, if that was what it was. After we were satisfied that everything was intact, Hangman cleared a green metal park bench while I hit the vending machines for snack foods and soda. As I walked back to the bench where Hangman was sitting, I reflected on the past couple of days. Read the rest of this entry »
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August 19th, 2008
Chapter 13
Things Keep Sliding Downward
The ride under the stars was refreshing. Hell, getting out of the Manor was refreshing. It wasn’t the carnage that bothered me. It was trying to get a grasp of something completely new to me. The more I looked back on the few interactions between Elizabeth – I couldn’t believe how natural it was to call her by her packname instead of the Lady-Apparent – the more I saw, or hoped to see, the early flickers of infatuation between the two of us. At the same time, my mind was also busily slapping down those lofty aspirations with reality. Completely out of character, I reached out to another lycanthrope in need and probably got what was a normal response that I was blowing completely out of proportion. To make matters worse, the two lycanthropes I normally went to for these sort of things weren’t available. The Guildmaster was far too busy helping Elizabeth – the Lady-Apparent, dammit – gather the packs and restore some order to the chaos that the witch-hunters’ attacked wreaked upon our society. Nick, on the other hand, was being far too amused by my blubbering to do anything but give me an almost malicious smile. So, when Sneller asked us to check on the Guildmaster’s wife, I jumped at the job. Almost literally. Read the rest of this entry »
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August 9th, 2008
The Human Empire uses a series of weapons based on propellant-accelerated projectiles, essentially the same type of bullets used in the early 21st century reality. The propellant is a fictional compound, called Cordite III, which allows for more velocity of large rounds which generates more kinetic dump (hitting power) and range. Following the Red Lake Campaign, the Ministry of Defense conducted an exhaustive study to improve the overall effectiveness of the weaponry of the military. The result new rifle and pistol cartridges, as well as changes to doctrine involving the use of heavy arms. One big difference between Human Empire weapons and those used in contemporary Earth is the use of wood in the weapon stocks. Wood is used for two reasons. First, the wood used by the Human Empire is a native wood called “Lightwood,” that is remarkable resilient and durable during close-quarters combat with Dark Towers’ weaponry. Secondly, the use of wood instead of polymers adds heft to the weapons when they need to be wielded as melee weapons. The discussion of small arms will be broken into two categories: 1) the primary small arms used by the military, and 2) common weapons used by civilians, including local law enforcement. Read the rest of this entry »
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