Operation: Pacifica, Interlude in San Francisco
by Malaclypse the Seeker, Evil Geniuses for a Better Tomorrow


"There are some things you just don't have quotes for." --Pearson
  Mui

SAN FRANCISCO WATERFRONT

#"Sittin on the Dock of the Bay" Otis Redding


 "Groan. Always have to be in a hurry, don't I? Geez, should've
  slowed down at one point or another. 'Meet you there!' I said. Aigh."


 It looked like I'd been a little generous with the accelerator on
  my trip out. I was sitting on the hood of Hell's Used Car reading a Sandman
  anthology I'd fished out of the Duffle. To my left was the fleet which was
  to take us to Pacifica. To my right, the hustle and bustle of the city
  proper.


 Fortunately, I didn't have to wait for the rest of the convoy too
  long. About a half-hour or so after I got into town, the first TARAVs
  started to trickle in, pulling in alongside the docks. As people piled out
  of their transports, a few did some wonderful double-takes when they saw the
  car. Bet they never expected to see anything remotely like it. A few others
  just ignored it, having seen, done, or *been* odder things than that.


 I waved to them. "Hi, guys! Anybody seen CP or Sam around?  Figured
  they'd be around here by now..."


 "Oh, nevermind, that must be them," I said as the V-1 fishtailed
  around a corner at somewhere approaching Mach 1, knocking a tourist
  concession cart halfway across the bay. Jihaddi scattered as the car slewed
  wildly in an attempt to brake before hitting the TARAVs. "Hmm, must've taken
  the senic route."


 Two people got out of the V-1. Samhain went over to attempt to
  coordinate the disembarking Jihaddi. CyberPyro, however, stared at the side
  of the car, whether in facination or horror, I don't know. "'Lo CP," I said
  with a grin. "Can I help you with something."


 "Mal," he said slowly, never taking his eyes off the car.


 "Yeeeessss?"


 "You scare me. A lot."


 I jumped down from the hood, switched to full Shit-Eating Grin Mode
  and replied. "Why, thank you! I never thought I'd get that kind of reaction
  out of the unflappable CyberPyro! I can die happy now."


 I looked at the people pulling packs out of their vehicles.
  "Weell, now that the gang's almost all here, I'm going to head into to town
  for a little while. Beep me when we're ready to get out of here."  I
  clambered back up the side of the Citation. "See ya in a few!" I feathered
  the accelerator and took off down the road.


...


THE RUINS OF YENRAB BIOTECHNOLOGIES, INC.


 When I told CP that I was heading back into town, I wasn't entirely
  truthful. I *did* want to see more of San Francisco, since it had been a few
  years since my last real visit. However, a proper sightseeing tour could
  wait until after the mission. Where I was going was a little more important
  to me...


 I pulled into the drive of an office park. Or at least, what had
  been an office park about two months earlier. Now, it was piles of scorched
  rubble scattered randomly about. The sign at the entrance, partly smashed
  and blackened, read: "YENRAB BIOTECHNOLOGIES, INC."


 Yenrab Biotechnologies. These were the people who had picked me off
  the streets and held me prisoner while their leader, The Hellbeast Usually
  Known as B'hii J'haa tried to pull me apart so he could harness the "vast
  amount of power" that he thought I posessed.  Fortunatley for my continued
  existence, I threw an industurial-sized monkey wrench into his plans,
  causing not only his operation, but the entire complex, to go "boom" in a
  big way.


 So what was I doing back here? Truthfully, I wasn't sure. All I had
  to go on was my souped-up intuition (I had dubbed it my "Spidey-Sense"),
  which was telling me that there was something important lying in the ruins.
  So, having nothing better to do, I poked about.


 "This is dumb," I muttered to myself as I climbed through the
  rubble. "Why the hell am I here? The place was toasted by a fusion reaction,
  fer chrissakes. It's not like anything's going to be left lying around."
  Still, posessed with the need to Do Something, I continued my tour.


 After an hour of wandering through piles of masonry and cheap
  office carpet, I came across what must've been Workstation Heaven.  Piles of
  splintered monitors and disk drives as far as the eye could see. Quite
  impressive, really. The Spidey-Sense was going competely nutzoid at that
  point, so I wandered through the remains of Workstation Heaven. That's when
  I found the disk.


 "Hello, what's this...?"


 I didn't see it at first. It was just sitting there, untouched by
  the mayhem that had destroyed the building. One perfectly intact optical
  disk, unmarked and unlabled. I had no idea what was on it, but it must have
  been what I was looking for. I picked it up, admired it's durability and
  weight, then dropped it in the Duffel. Just about then, my watch began to
  beep like crazy. Time to go.


 On the way back in, I noticed several police cars blocking off an
  area of town. Inside the blockade I could see wreckage that indicated a
  high-speed chase.


 "Heh, looks like somebody managed to have a little fun."


...


BACK AT THE DOCKS


 I pulled up as people were starting to file aboard the troop
  transports, carrying their gear up with them. I jumped down and joined the
  line with the Duffel slung over my shoulder.


 "Oi!" Somebody was yelling at me. I looked up the ramp.  Somebody I
  didn't know (not all that surprising, since I didn't fraternize much with
  other Jihaddi), with TRES Lieutenant bars, was pointing at Hell's Used Car.
  "You gonna just leave that thing there?"


 I blinked. I'd competlely forgotten to park my car! How silly.
  "Just a sec!" I hollered back. I fished a small gizmo out of my pocket,
  pointed it at the car, and pressed the button. The Used Car from Hell
  shimmered and then vanished, leaving behind only empty space. "Yep yep yep,"
  I said, pocketing the gizmo and continuing to move up the ramp, "just gotta
  love hyperspace parking. No fees, no tickets, and it's always there when you
  really need it."


 I took a quick sacn of the transport's deck. "What?" I said, "no
  shuffleboard?"


 This was going to be a *long* trip....



TO BE CONTINUED