Starve.Org White Noise Usenet Archive: "SG: Adventures of Force Ten #6 ‘Setting the Stage'"

"Nice place, Floyd..." Shannon observed, looking over the plush
furnishings of Floyd's house in Durham.
Floyd grinned. "I just finished setting up all the new furniture and
gear..."
"*New* furni-..." Shannon trailed off. "Floyd, you didn't charge all
this to the team account, did you?"
Floyd whistled innocently.
"Sigh." Shannon sighed. "Anyway, what'd you find out?"
Behind them, Prizm and Fractalman labored up the stairs, carrying
the luggage and gear that Shannon had brought along. Being the "team"s
youngest members did have disadvantages.
"Argh..." Fractalman groaned, trying to keep a box of reference CD-
ROMs and a package of spell components balanced on his left arm, while
carrying a jumbo-size suitcase in his left hand, and two more in his
right. "Why didn't she just teleport these to the *top* floor when we
'ported in?!"
"Because..." Prizm grunted, hauling on a truly massive foot-locker
loaded with weapons and spare costumes. "Hard work... *hrrrrrrng!*
builds... *character*!"
"I thought our Author was supposed to be the one worried about
characterization..." Fractalman queried, before Prizm shushed him.

THE ADVENTURES OF FORCE TEN
EPISODE SIX
AKA FORCE TEN EPISODE FIFTY
Tornado Knights, part Two
"Setting the Stage"

"What've we got for technical staff?" Shana Shannon asked, as TONN
staff scurried around inside the warehouse that was serving as her
temporary base. "I'm barely qualified to repair a toaster over, much less
a battlesuit, y'know..."
"Well..." Cameraman said, peering at his clipboard. "We found
someone, but, er, you're not going to like her..."
"Oh?" Shana queried, glancing at the reporter. "Why not?"
"Because she, er..." Cameraman started.
"...has a habit of betraying people... is that what you want to
say?" came an annoyed voice from nearby. Shana turned to see a brown-
haired woman with a black and red jumpsuit on looking over one of the
just-unpacked Tornado suits.
"Tris..." Shana growled.
"'lo!" the former henchwoman of Admiral Morgan exclaimed,
cheerlessly. "Don't worry... the amount of money your boss, Garbled, put
down is enough to keep me reasonably loyal... for now."
"Couldn't you find anyone else?" Shana asked Cameraman, who
shrugged.
"Nobody who is both competent with high-tech gear *and* willing to
keep your little paramilitary operation a secret..." Tris chuckled,
reaching out and running a hand over the olive-drab exterior of the
Tornado suit. "Nice armor, but you really need to do something about the
color scheme... Green is really out, y'know."
Shana glared at Tris for a moment, before continuing on. "We've got
three suits, but I'm the only qualified pilot... Who else've you turned
up?"
"Well..." Cameraman flipped through his clipboard some more. "One
suit is a backup, of course... And we do have another qualified pilot --
Lori Tamos."
"The survivor from the raiding party?" Shana pondered for a while.
"Where is she?"
"The residential portion of the base..." Cameraman indicated a
walled-off portion of the warehouse. "Hardly the Plaza Hotel, I admit,
but adequate for the short-term."
"Lori?" Shana tapped the door marked with Lori's name. "Hello?"
"Hrm." Cameraman remarked when it became apparent no response was
forthcoming. "Hang on, lemme see what's up..." He concentrated and placed
his palm to the door for a moment. "Aha. She's asleep."
Shana sighed. "Ah well, she'll wait, I suppose. That your
clairvoyance power? Gurgle told me a bit about that... Seems appropriate,
I guess, for a reporter."
Cameraman shrugged. "It's not *that* useful. Yeah, I can see through
walls, but I have to touch them first..." He looked at his clipboard
again. "We'd better go on and check the rest of the facilities... such as
they are."
"Right." Shana nodded. "How'd you get that power, anyway?"
"Well... it all started when me 'n Bland Tv-Reporter got assigned to
report on the Odd Science Convention in Springfield..."

<----->

"Is this the best you can do?"
The Doctors Science, not normally known for being easily cowed, were
nonetheless somewhat nervous before the imposing presence of Chairman
Qui-Bell of G.E.N.U.H.M.
"Well..." Dr. Pseudo Science began, clearing his throat. "It has to
do with the added armor you requested... While we *have* been able to
increase the strength of the Zoomers by almost 300%, the resulting weight
causes a heavy drain on the power systems... So it is going to be
necessary to upgrade *that*, as well..."
Dr. Weird Science now spoke up, as his brother trailed off. "It can
be done, of course!" he enthused. "Just give us a bit more time, and
we'll have the problem beaten! After all, are we not two men with
Bachelors--"
"Master's Degrees." Pseudo Science corrected.
"--Master's Degrees... in... SCIENCE?!"
"Tomorrow night." Qui-Bell said in a deep, somewhat gravelly voice.
He took a sip of mineral water from the wine glass he carried.
"WHAT?!" the brothers Science gaped. "TOMORROW NIGHT?!"
"In order to bolster his failing fortunes, Sir Gargle of TONN is
going to attempt to get a contract with the Defense Department to sell
them Type II-B Tornado power armor. Failing that, he will probably sell
to foreign governments and private sources. The II-B will be demonstrated
tomorrow night." Qui-Bell took another sip of mineral water. "That
contract would be better filled by the new Z-7G Zoomers that are nearing
production. You will see to it that the Tornado power armor... fails to
survive the demonstration."
Weird and Pseudo Science watched Qui-Bell as he left their lab.
"Great..." Weird muttered. "Another all-nighter... If it weren't for the
fact that this job pays well..."
"I thought we were mad scientists and didn't need the money?" Pseudo
wondered.
"Well... er... I sort of, er, went overboard with ordering stuff
from the Mad Scientist's catalog last month and... ehhh..." Weird looked
rather embarassed. "Well, I charged well over two million dollars worth
of gear to my Villain's Express card..."
"Wow.. When they say 'no credit limit', they *really* mean *no*
credit limit!" Pseudo enthused. Weird glared at him.

<----->

"So... what've you found out?" Shannon asked Floyd, as the four
Force Tenners sat around in the living room of Floyd's latest house,
munching on take-out oriental food from the local Wok Stop and Grease
Shop.
"Well..." Floyd munched on some grease & sour chicken and composed
his thoughts. "I talked Shana into letting me look into some of TONN's
files, and I found out that there's some guy who has been opposing the
Big, International Corporation for quite a while."
"How long is 'quite a while'?" Fractalman asked.
"The earliest reports go back... ten years. And Shana hinted that
there may have been incidents earlier than that."
"Hm. Then this guy would know a lot about BIC..." Shannon hrmed. "Do
you know this guy's name?"
Floyd paused, took a swig of tea. Paused again. "You... sure you
want to know?"
"Yes, I'm sure!" Shannon grumbled. "What's wrong with the guy's
name?"
"It's silly."
"Oh, like 'Denim Warrior' isn't?" Fractalman pointed out.
"Touche'..." Floyd muttered. "Oh, very well. He went by the nickname
of... Spatula Man."
Shannon blinked. "*Spatula* Man?" she wondered.
"He's pretty obscure, I'll admit." Floyd sighed. "He seemed to only
go after BIC, and since they always attempted to cover up what happened,
he wasn't very well-known. Also, in the last two years, there's been a
lot less new data, and it also seems to be a different person, since the
MO has changed..."
"Spatula Man..." Shannon mused. "Weird."
"I've tracked down someone I think is either Spatula Man himself, or
someone who knows about him." Floyd continued. "I, er, screwed up while
tailing him, and he got away, but I think I can find him again..."
"Hm. Why don't you and Fractalman work on that one, while Prizm and
I go talk to this police guy." Shannon decided. "Uh, Prizm? Helloooo?"
"Hm?" Prizm looked around for a moment, confused. "Oh. Right. Sure."
"You look distracted..." Fractalman, ever master of stating the
obvious, observed.
"Oh, just thinking..." Prizm sighed. "I'm not sure how my parents
will react if I show up, now... I mean, I *did* dissappear on them..."
"That wasn't your fault." Fractalman said, "Drakkor was on the
loose, and TONN was bigtime pissed at us, and if they'd made the
connection between us and our parents, who knows what might've happened?"
"Yeah... I guess..." Prizm sighed again. "Well, I'll just have to
find out."
"Let's get done with our work here, first." Shannon insisted. "I
doubt anything major will happen here, so you should have plenty of free
time..."

<----->

The man known as Agent 4 approached the holographic image sending
room with the same feeling of unease that all employees of BIC felt when
about to encounter their leader. The fact that the CEO considered him
essential enough to hold their talks face-to-face was somewhat calming...
But also a big responsibility.
"Clone Unit Alpha 004, codename 'Agent 4'." he said to the security
scanner outside the room. "Password: Delta-Rho-Alpha-Kappa-Seven-Sixer.
Verify."
"Voiceprint, codename and password verified." the perfectly
modulated computer voice whispered. "Enter."
The door whooshed open and he stepped into the sending room. The air
inside had a metallic tang, and it was kept utterly clean of all
particles and impurities. The door closed with the same whoosh, and
locked shut with a dull thud. Eight holographic scanners slid silently up
from the floor and bathed him in taupe light.
"Uplink established." came the computer voice from somewhere.
"Holoprojector active."
"Director." Agent 4 said, bowing deeply before the image of the CEO
of BIC.
"I have read your report." came the reply. "Well done."
"Thank you, sir." Agent 4 said, straightening himself up and trying
to keep the smirk off his face. For some reason, the speakers on the
holoprojection units made the person on the other end sound like Kermit
the Frog on helium. "I have given the two samples of Dr. Pop's formula to
two different groups... One of them, at least, should make it."
"Good." the CEO nodded. "And what of the new test clones at our
Durham site."
"Er... about them..." Agent 4 began. "What purpose can attacking
Force Ten at this stage possibly serve?"
"Test data." the CEO explained, patiently. "I must know if the
clones we can generate using this formula will be effective in battle..."
he, or, more accurately, his hologram, stepped up to Agent 4. "This is a
whole new realm of biogenetic engineering! Early-model clones, such as
yourself, are wonders of superscience, true. Our early experiments with
magically active animal life were incredible, and allowed us to engineer
the symbiotes that give you your partial magic-immunity... But this... to
be able to mass-produce super-powered beings..."
"Er, I know all that stuff..." Agent 4 began.
"Silence! I'm expositing for the readers..." the CEO grumbled.
"Anyway, Dr. Pop's super-powering formula finally gives us the power we
will need to complete our Plan..." he turned to Agent 4. "But it must be
tested."
"Very well." Agent 4 said, bowing again. "But I think that
confronting Force Ten in such a way so soon will just give them more of
an excuse to investigate us..."
The CEO just smiled. "Of course. That is, after all, what we *want*
them to do..."

<----->

"So, why'd you call us here, anyway?" Shannon asked the DPD (Durham
Police Department) officer who had contacted them last episode. She
peered as his badge. "Mister... Lee?"
"Nicholas Lee. Call me Nick. Anyway..." He paused, thinking. "I was
off-duty and driving home two nights ago, when I noticed something really
weird..."
"How weird was it?" Prizm and Shannon chorused.
"Real weird."
"Weirder than Radian & Ramrod in love?" Prizm asked, pointing at the
latest issue of the Weekly World Schmooze.
"Uhm, not *that* weird..." Lee cleared his throat and continued.
"Anyway, I was driving on I-40, near the G.E.N.U.H.M. complex, and I
noticed this... *big* robot lying there. It looked pretty shot up, and
there were some technicians or something all around it, trying to load it
onto a cart. I called this in immediately, but the Cheif told me not to
mess with them... I asked to be allowed to investigate, but got turned
down..." He paused for emphasis. "Whatever's going on at the G.E.N.U.H.M.
place, they've paid off the Chief and probably other local government
officials to keep their paws off that area."
"Got any proof of this?" Shannon asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Well..."
"You of all people should know that we can't just wander onto
G.E.N.U.H.M. property... we'd be trespassing! Just because we *think*
something's going on there doesn't give us the right to bust in..." she
sighed. "We'll look into it while we're in the area, though."
Lee nodded. "That's all I'm asking. Well, almost everything..." he
grinned in a predatory manner. "Uhm, what's your phone number... You
stayin' around here?"
"Don't push your luck." Shannon said in a perfectly neutral voice.
"We'll contact you if we find anything."
"How about you?" Lee grinned, turning to Prizm.
"Out." she and Shannon chorused.

<----->

"That was rather abrupt." Shana commented, as she and Cameraman
walked around the outside of the temporary base.
"What, the end of my story?" Cameraman wondered.
"No, the way that last scene just sort of stopped..." Shana sighed
and stopped walking, leaning back against the wall of the building.
"D'you ever get the feeling you're being watched?"
"Most of the time, yeah. Why?" Cameraman asked.
"I've got that feeling really bad..." Shana said, quietly. She and
Cameraman were totally silent for a minute.
"False alarm?" Cameraman wondered. Shana shrugged.
"Just because you're not paranoid doesn't mean they *aren't* out to
get you..." she quipped, then headed back to the entrance, Cameraman
tagging along behind.
From the shadows, hidden behind a shrubbery, a man in a jet black
costume glanced back and forth between the departing Shana and a small,
wrinkled color printout.
"It could be her..." he whispered, thoughtfully. "But how to make
sure... Hrm. This will take some work..." Soundlessly, he got to his
feet, keeping in the shadows, leaving behind only the drips that fell
free from the squeegee that hung at his belt...

WILL THE DOCTORS SCIENCE CRASH GERBRE'S DEMONSTRATION WITH THEIR
ZOOMERS???
WHO THE #*%$ _IS_ THAT GUY WITH THE SQUEEGEE, ANYWAY?!
WILL SHANNON AND PRIZM INVESTIGATE GENUHM???
WHAT WILL FLOYD AND FRACTALMAN FIND OUT???
WHERE DID CROSSBOW GO???

FIND OUT A FEW OF THESE ANSWERS IN THE NEXT EPISODE OF FORCE TEN, ONLY
FINDABLE ON... SUPERGUY!

Jesse Taylor / taylorjb@vuse.vanderbilt.edu / Rec.Games.Mecha Archivist
<"There. The UY boxed LD. $3,900. For a Lum fan, it is the Holy Grail."
Otaku Lad knelt. "It will be mine. Oh yes, it *will* be mine.">
My heroes: Superguy, Nene-chan, Darkwing Duck, and Cancelmoose[tm]!!
WWW Homepage -- http://www.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/~taylorjb/taylorjb.htm