Missions of the Retrieval Team - Land of the Kilts

[starbkjrus]

snip...

and Coemgen went, well, he went so he could wear his pith helmet.

...snip

ith: ith:

[davedove]

Oh boy oh boy oh boy - I'm going for a romp in the woods, I'm going for a romp in the woods!!

Now I know what happened to the expedition. Wompet ran off and the rest got lost looking for him.

[Splash_4]

Inventory time.....kevlar kilt - check, kevlar shirt - check, kevlar kilt hose - check, extra large first aid kit - check, kevlar pith helmet - check. I THINK I'm ready for this. ith:

You forgot something even better than kevlar... A kevlar coated, xmarks approved, security detail!

[Wompet]

Now I know what happened to the expedition. Wompet ran off and the rest got lost looking for him.

But there was this giant Amazonian hare, see? And I thought to myself "Picture the sporran Turpin could make out of that." So I had to chase it, didn't I? But there was this rabbit hole ...


Glad I could help the story along.

[Standard]

Oh man... this won't look good on my resume; getting a whole research team lost in the Amazon jungle. Well, now that I think about it I've never been lost, but I was mighty turned around for 3 days once. Now, if we can just find that darn Wompet and keep him from chasing those mammoth sized rabbits.

[Livingston]

Inventory time.....kevlar kilt - check, kevlar shirt - check, kevlar kilt hose - check, extra large first aid kit - check, kevlar pith helmet - check. I THINK I'm ready for this. ith:

Don't forget, there are lots of wild animals in the jungle.

You forgot something even better than kevlar... A kevlar coated, xmarks approved, security detail!

Did I forget to mention my kevlar coated, xmarks approved, security detail and their animal control division? along with LOADS of bug repellant.




Yes Dear, I'm still packing. Could you have the men bring the 4th steamer trunk please?

[davedove]

Scene 3

Media Room, Great Hall of X Marks the Scot

“We know the tracking signals don’t just shut off,” I said. “They have to be turned off in the proper facilities, or they could possibly be damaged. They even transmit for a time after the person dies, usually for a few weeks until the internal charge wears down. It is possible that something is interfering with the signal.”

“What could do that?” Bradley asked.

“The same types of things that block all signals: heavy cover, such as several feet of rock; a layer of metal; or possibly some sort of magnetic anomaly.”

“There is another possibility,” Bradley reminded me.

“Yes, inter-dimensional travel would cause a disruption of the signal,” I replied, remembering my own mission to an alternate earth. “However, I doubt that is the cause of the disruption. If you will remember, that particular case was a chance occurrence.”

“Whatever the cause,” Bradley continued, “We need to find our people. That’s why I put out the call that you people answered.” He again turned to me. “What about the rest of your team, Dave?”

I shook my head. “Ms. Starling has the others away on another mission. They won’t be able to respond.”

“Okay,” he said. “Then it’s good I called in these other people.” He turned and addressed the room. “I want to thank you all for that.”

“What exactly do you need us to do?” asked a big man with a Highland accent.

“Jock, I’m going to leave that to Dave; he’s the team leader for this.”

Jock turned to me. “Well, Dave?” he asked.

“First, we need to get to Guyana. We will take our jet to Georgetown. Our first step once we are in country is to find out any information we can about our friends. An expedition into the jungle should have left behind many records in town from the purchase of supplies. Once we have what we can get, I will have to play it from there. Since we don’t know what happened to our people, we will have to make our decisions as we get more information.”

“Is there anything else we can do here?” Bradley asked.

“We will maintain communications with you as much as possible; you need to be here when we call. We are also going to need a guide familiar with the local area.”

“We don’t have anyone like that. Standard was our most knowledgeable person and he went with the first team.”

“That’s what I figured. Don’t worry; get me a phone. I know someone who should be able to help us.”

[davedove]

Scene 4

Charleston International Airport

We were loading the equipment for our mission into my team’s jet when my cell phone rang. Glancing at the Caller ID, I noticed that it was Bradley.

“Yeah, Bradley,” I answered. “What is it?”

“Dave,” he said, “Dee is on his way to you right now. He picked up a couple more volunteers there at the airport. They were late arriving and he is delivering them to you. I hope that’s okay.”

“We do have a small team for a wilderness rescue expedition.”

“Then these two should help round out your team. Dee should be there at any time.”

Just at that moment, I noticed the van that the Great Hall keeps in the garage approaching our hangar.

“I see them now Brad.”

“Good, keep me informed on your progress. Go find our people and bring them home.”

“Will do,” I answered and then hung up.

I walked over to where the van was parking.

“Hi Dee,” I said, as the man exited the vehicle. “I understand you have some more recruits for me.”

“I sure do,” he said. “Let me introduce you.”

We walked around to the passenger side and he opened the sliding door on the side. Inside were the two people I was told to expect, a man and a woman, and also five dogs.

“Well,” I said. “I wasn’t expecting this.”

“I hope it’s okay,” the man said. “We were told you were trying to find some lost people and we thought some dogs might help in the tracking.”

“They might at that, especially since a dog was included in the original team we’re trying to find.”

“Dave,” Dee said, “let me introduce you to Kevin, or Birddog.”

“Kevin,” I said as I shook the man’s hand. Kevin was a man in his thirties, with a distinct military bearing.

“Glad to be aboard,” Kevin answered.

“And this is Victoria, or Vmac,” Dee said indicating the woman.

“Vmac,” I said, shaking the woman’s hand. Vmac was an older woman, but still had a youthful gleam in her eye. “And who are your companions?” I nodded to the two Golden Retrievers at her side.

“This is Molly and Hector, my guard dogs,” Vmac explained. “They’re hardworking and loyal, although Hector is a bit of an eating machine. You wouldn’t believe some of the things he has devoured.”

“I’ll remember that.” I turned to Kevin and motioned towards the three Labs at his side. “And who are your friends?”

“More than friends, these are my kids,” Kevin answered. “This is Mack, Ceili, and Finnegan,” he said as he patted the yellow dog, the black one, and the chocolate one in turn.

“Well, get them out of the van and onto the jet. Ms. Falcon will show you where to put them. We’re about ready to go, so I’ll brief you during the flight.”

The two people took the leashes of their dogs and led them towards the jet.

“Thanks for bringing them, Dee,” I said.

“No problem, I just wish I was going too. I’d like to help, but right now Brad and I are the only ones at the Great Hall.”

“Hey, we need someone here in case we need you to pull up some info for us. Thanks again.”

“Good luck,” he said as he shook my hand goodbye.

[Arlen]

Dogs too?!!! This one is going to be fantastic!!!

[Rob Wright]

Okay, since we are waiting so long for the other stories (hint, hint) I will slowly reveal my next tale. It will take a while as I am taking my time writing it.

Rob raises his head from behind the piles of books gathered for his research assignments. "You talkin' to me?" then sinks back down into the dusty world of academic writing.

Rob