OOC: Although I enjoy a good frying as much as the next person, SS has a point about not being known around the base. With the Kaitlin thing, I was a little skeptical at first but it's ok. As for the next chapter, I'll be starting it off when we hit around 100 posts here.

BIC: The guard Monk had taken out had fallen close enough to the cell so that Jade could reach out and take his standard issue PDA. She dialed up Wolf's number while the guard stirred a bit. "Shit, Wold I don't have a lot of time for this message. I managed to create a little diversion and switch my body back with Monk, so this is the real me. I managed to collect a little information on the trial while hacking into the security system. Everyone who is testifying is doing so voluntarily. I know the General is testifying against me, but I'm not sure who else is. After my trial they're going to have an open forum over whether the entire team should be disbanded and replace, so they'll probably question you too. I know the General is itching to Court Marshall you, so I wanted to give you a heads up beforehand." The guard groaned and stirred some more. "I gotta go, but the trial is taking place in a couple of days so I'll see you soon." As the guard got up, Jade put back his PDA. "What happened?" "You fell asleep." "Oh no! Please don't tell the General." "*sigh* Don't worry about it, why would the general believe me anyways?"

Wolf listened to Jade's message, and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief that things had gotten back to some semblance of normalcy. He was also glad to know that he and Kaitlin had been right about the general wanting Wolf out of the way as well.

Wolf set the PDAP back down. "Well...at least things will be less confusing at trial."

"You're not worried about the fate of the team?"

"Well...the general can try all he wants, but at the end of the day results tend to beat politics. Besides, if the team is disbanded...I've still got an open position at FLAG; Although I really hope the team stays active."

"Well, Cyber Force has given Mastermind no end of trouble. So far the team has resulted in the most casualties among Masterminds forces, plus the highest casualty rate among his Agents."

Wolf grinned "Which is exactly why we need to keep doing what it is we're doing...and not be hampered by the rules of 'the system'. Politics have no place in an unconventional war like this."

"True...I mean, isn't that why they recruited unconventional soldiers like you and the others?"

"Well, we definetly are unconventional..." Wolf subconsciously rubbed at the spot on his head where Smith's bullet had grazed him earlier. "Changing the subject...where were we before Angel scared the hell out of me?"

"You were going to tell me what your childhood was like."

"Oh yeah, right." Wolf answered as he thought hard about his early life. "I was born Jason Liam MacKenzie on November 25, 2001. I was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of an Irish-Scottish man named William MacKenzie, and an Irish-Canadian Woman named Caroline DuBois-MacKenzie who originally came from Toronto. My father was a Lieutenant in the US Army, and through him I became acquainted with firearms, as well as cyber world combat. We were an upper-middle class family, so I was pretty much well-priveliged. Growing up I had somewhat of a temper...chalk it up to genetics if you will...and I was prone to rather violent mood swings. Needless to say, I spend much of high school seeing a psychologist. My temper also made it difficult for me to make friends, but I did make a few, and we would occasionally play CT and Battlefield simulators in the Cyber World against other groups of teenagers across the globe. I developed a hell of a rep as a marksman. Also in high school, one of my friends taught me the basics of hacking. I have since improved my skills somewhat, but I'm nowhere near the level of expertise Jade is at. Anyway, in my senior year, I was slated to finish the year at 1st in the class, and things were going pretty well. Then tragedy struck. My parents were killed in a terrorist bombing in, of all places, Vancouver. They had been there on a trip across Canada...one they never finished because of a group of French Separatist ALA tangoes."

Wolf wiped a few tears away, then continued.

"With no family to return to, I managed to get into West Point with the help of a few of my father's army buddies. I signed up for the Dual Front program...and the rest as they say, is history."

"I'm really starting to understand why you hate to lose people so much. You lost your family, your ROTC unit, and now you stand to lose more..." Katlin said putting a hand on Wolf's shoulder.

Wolf looked up, a determined look in his eyes. "Like I've said before...not if I can help it."

OOC: Not to be irritating, but we really need to figure out what year this takes place in, since it's getting hard to deal with dates and time periods. I personally suggest somewhere between 2020-2030. This is based off of the fact the technology in the RP exceeds that of the technology in Tom Clancy's Net Force, which takes place in 2010-2015.

OOC: If there are no objections, how does 2025 sound? I never really set myself on a date so it sounds good to me. In other news, I'll be starting the next chapter up tomorrow night so wrap up any character stuff and decide how you're gonna testify.

OOC: 2025 sounds perfect.

BIC:
"Hm. It's really getting late. I think I'm going to turn in for the night." Kaitlin said suddenly.

Wolf looked at the clock; it was almost midnight.

"Where are you going in order to get some rest?" Wolf asked. " I don't know if there are any empty rooms..."

"And there are armed guards stationed at your door now anyway." Beowulf said.

"Well...I guess I'm staying here tonight." Kaitlin responded. She leaned over and kissed Wolf directly on the lips. On impulse, Wolf leaned into the kiss, which lasted for about 10 seconds before Katlin broke it off and settled into the chair at Wolf's bedside. "Thanks again for saving me."

"Your welcome...see you tomorrow." Wolf said as he settled back in bed and drifted off to sleep. Despite all that had happened that day, in spite of his wounds, and the fact that he may end up court-martialed, Wolf felt the happiest he had ever been in his entire life.

Bring it on, General...

Monk snuck into his room without a hitch at all. It helped that he had learned a thing or two from Mastermind, even though he didn't want to admit it. He was probably the only person to wear bright colors, and sneak around in light to an area. Sure it was midnight already, and the trail would be coming soon. Getting into his room, he locked the door behind him and walked to his bed, feeling tired all of a sudden. His head was dropped, so that he could get a good look at the floor under his feet. Too bad that wasn't what he wanted to see. He wanted to see Jade's face right now, or at least the walls she was facing. She told him to run. He never did like to run, he hated the idea even.

A lot was running through his mind. The fate of Jade mostly, but also of the others. The team was most likely to be disbanded, or Jade might be demoted, or even worse. Monk tried to keep the idea far back in his head. Taking a breath, he also thought of his own fate. The general probably knew of his past, so now there was a black letter on his name. Monk would be questioned most likely, suffer the same fate as her, or worse than that. He might be tried for crimes against humanity, and they had every reason for that. He thought of trying the insanity defense, but he was doubtful they would go for it. As Wolf had said long ago, It was doubtful that a master of mind and body would lose it all those years ago. He hid his face in his hands. It was almost obvious that the team would be seperated, that he would not see Jade anymore. If the team did stick, he would be tossed out on the street, and no matter where we would go, people would turn from him, a sign around his neck telling all of his past. He would be forced to go north and fend for himself in the wilds. Maybe he would make it easier for the entire system by just leaving now. He stood up and started to pack up from his trip north.

I'm gonna need... some warm things... Too bad I'm not allowed to feel warm ever again.

Since Beowulf was still able to move freely about the base's network, he had viewing access to all the security tapes. When the camera just outside Monk's room reactivated following Jade's hacking attack, he activated the heat scan option. Beowulf noticed that Monk...now back in his own body, was packing up his belongings.

Oh...swell he thought. Spotting the PDA on the end table, he dialed into it.

"Running away won't change anything, you know." Beowulf said to Monk once he was on the PDA screen.

The medley turns from classic 80's heavy metal hits to nu metal and back again, from Paradise City and Shout at the Devil, to Drivin' Rain and Tush. Somewhere in the mix he'd gotten tired of wearing his shirt and shoes and taken them off, and now was in just his pants, barefoot and wearing his guitar on a wireless strap, so he doesn't have to worry about the cord. The riffs flow smoothly from one song to the next as his media box randomizes the tracklist, but no matter which song it lands on, he's able to keep in time and hit the solos with crystal clear accuracy, swinging his head and dreads to the beat on more than one good measure. His fingers dance all over the fretboard, and time seems to melt away for him as minutes turn to hours and a half dozen hours.

"One last time your medicine -- swallow hard and take it in~, yea~h...
Lucy's in the sky again, trippin' on~ her diamonds~, oh~..."

The track changes, and he switches to the right effects without thought.

"YOU! (you~) You're my mask! You're my cover, my shelter.
YOU! (you~) You're my mask! You're the one who's blamed.
DO! (do~) Do my work, do my dirty work scapegoat!
DO! (do~) Do my deeds, for you're the one who's shamed.
I'm your dream, make you real.
I'm your eyes when you must steal, I'm your pain when you can't feel.
Sad but true~.
I'm your dream, mind astray.
I'm your eyes while you're away! I'm your pain while you repay...
You - know - it's - sad but true~!

Sad but true~!"

The solo flows flawlessly from his hands as he closes his eyes and simply feels the music flow from him.

"Head like a hole - black as your soul - I'd rather die - than give you control!"

By now too absorbed in the music to notice anything going on around him, or with him, he ignores the pain in his hands and switches effects for the next one.

"Light up another representation -
of my -
OF MY - insecurities...
When I stumble, don't follow my small rebellion! Don't follow my small rebellion, don't follow!"

He closes his eyes again and falls into the solo once more, feeling goose bumps come up on the back of his neck and ignoring the blood coming through his fingers onto the fretboard.

"You see us comin' and you all together run for cover, we're takin over this town!"

The solo comes and he takes liberty with banging his head as hard as he can, yet somehow he never skips a beat. And then, another change of pace...

"Dig through the ditches n' burn through the witches n' in the back of my -- dragula!
Dig through the ditches n' burn through the witches n' in the back of my -- dragula!"

And then it switches back a few years...

"E~xit~ light... -- En~ter~ night~!
Ta~ke my hand... - we're off to never-never land..."

A classic follows, with lighter distortion and more just plain groovin'.

"'Cause the walls start shaking, the earth was quaking, my mind was aching - and we were making it and you -
Shook me all night long!
Yeah you... shook me all night long!"

And then fast-forwarded a few years to a less heard-of groover...

"Wake up late, n' honey, put on your clothes an' take your credit card~ to the liquor store
Well, that's one for you - and two for me, by tonight~
I'll be loaded like a freight train, flyin' like an aeroplane, feelin' like a space brain one more time tonight~
I'm on the nightrain, Bottoms up
I'm on the nightrain, fill my cup
I'm on the nightrain, ready to crash and burn - I never learn
I'm on the nightrain, I love that stuff!
I'm on the nightrain, an' I can never get enough!
I'm on the nightrain, never to return~ no!"

Instead of going on with the next song, however, he reaches over and pauses the player, then goes on about playing a freeform solo that lasts well over a few minutes, simply flying over the guitar, hitting every possible fret and chord he can. A long series of pulloffs and hammers is intermingled with one-and-two-finger tapping, plucking, harmonics, and strumming for a very fast-paced solo that Hammet could be proud of. The blues-on-speed riffs continue for what seems to be an eternity of sheer bliss for him, while his fingers coat the board in a layer of blood that's barely visible in the dim lighting. Forever finally passes on, however, and he ends the session with another long series of taps and pulloffs and slides that find him sitting at the bottom of the fretboard holding a low chord, and swaying back and forth on his feet, feeling lightheaded. It rings out for nearly a half minute, dimming slowly away while he decides what to do in slow motion.

At length, he reaches back over and presses a few buttons while switching his pedals back over to another setting.

And then, he hits the riff, hanging pace along with the greatest guitar master the world's ever known, playing Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) with all the soul he can gather.

And five minutes later, when the song finally ends, he shuts the player off and stands in place for a long time, swaying again. It's been well over sixteen hours since he first started playing, and the heroin's long since worn off. Feeling numb all over, especially in his arms, he finally unplugs his guitar and turns off his equipment, powering down every last pedal and amp before letting himself go over to his bed.

He sits down on the edge and hangs his hands in his lap, looking past them at the floor and feeling drained. Fatigue soon takes him and he falls straight backwards, his head slumping down on the mattress last and his legs hanging over the opposite edge, fast asleep. The clock next to him reads "3:12 am".

OOC: New chapter is up