Missions of the Retrieval Team - Kilts in a Cage

[Pleater]

SSSSHHHHHHUUSSSHHH!!!

You'll have people turning up looking for the good stuff.

Those glittery greenhouses on sunny southern slopes are hard enough to disguise as a solar panel experiment as it is.

All products of the herbal essences wing of the MHICE are entirely organic and totally natural in origin.

[davedove]

SSSSHHHHHHUUSSSHHH!!!

You'll have people turning up looking for the good stuff.

Those glittery greenhouses on sunny southern slopes are hard enough to disguise as a solar panel experiment as it is.

All products of the herbal essences wing of the MHICE are entirely organic and totally natural in origin.

Don't worry, this is one of your more widely known formulas, specifically toned down and made available to the public. Simply a method to raise funds, of course.

[davedove]

Scene 1

Port of Miami

Ms. Stork and I arrived at the Port of Miami. We were attending the first ever Kilted Kruise aboard the cruise ship Ceilidh. Although it was a smaller ship, the attendees of the Kilted Kruise would only make up a small portion of the passengers.

The rest of my associates would not be on board with me. They were all enjoying a well-deserved vacation, and that meant getting away from the boss. Ms. Falcon had flown us to Miami in our jet and Ms. Raven was along as well, but after letting us off they were off to the Bahamas for some fun of their own.

Ms. Wren was spending time with her husband. After his recent recovery from his mistreatment at the hands of Ivana Rulital, they needed some time together. And if the rumors were true, she would be asking for maternity leave before long.

The rest of my associates had scattered in different directions, each pursuing their own diversions. Ms Stork had decided to accompany me, so I had reserved one of the larger suites available. From the stack of books she had brought along, I suspected her idea of a vacation involved finding a quiet spot and reading for hours.

As our bags were being unloaded from the taxi, I spotted another kilted gentleman approaching, accompanied by a flame haired woman and two small children.

“Mr. Dove,” he exclaimed as he approached. “So glad you could make it.”

“Likewise,” I replied, shaking the hand he offered. “But please, I’m on vacation. Just call me Dave.”

“Of course, and feel free to call me Jaime. You remember my wife?”

“How could I possibly forget her?” I took the hand she offered and kissed it lightly.

“And these are our children, Sinbad and Xena,” he said, introducing the children with him.

“Very pleased to meet you both,” I said, greeting the two. “Jaime, you remember Ms. Stork?”

“Please,” she said, offering her hand to him, “It’s Rebecca, or just Becca if you prefer. But not Becky, if you don’t mind. That has always seemed so childish to me.”

Ms. Stork greeted the rest of the Panache family and we gathered our bags and made our way into the terminal.

Inside we noticed only a few more kilted men. One immediately noticed us and approached. Along with his casual kilted outfit, he also wore a pith helmet. “Mr. Dove, Mr. Panache,” he said in a deep voice with a thick British accent. “So bloody good to see you. I was afraid I wouldn’t see anyone I knew.”

“Coemgen, Glad you’re on board,” said Jaime.

After he greeted us all, Coemgen moved back to his place in line to continue checking in.

I asked Panache, “I didn’t think he was British.”

“He's not,” he replied, obviously as confused as I was. “He’s from California.”

As we stood waiting, another kilted man approached us. From the way he carried himself, we could tell that he had spent considerable time in the military.

“Excuse me,” he said addressing me. “Aren’t you Mr. Dove?”

“Yes I am,” I replied. “And you are?”

“You probably know me as Macdoc. I’m pretty new to your group and I thought this trip would be a great opportunity to meet some other members.”

“Indeed it will be. Allow me to introduce one of our Moderators, Panache.”

The two men exchanged greetings until we were again forced to move in the line.

This continued as we made our way to the front of the line. Several members of the forum introduced themselves, then were forced to return to the line.

After Ms. Stork and I received our room keys, we made our way onto the ship. Like everyone else, we stopped to get our pictures taken as we boarded. Once on board the ship, we made our way to our suite.