Missions of the Retrieval Team - Land of the Kilts

[Jack Daw]

Ah, the chicks are birds!

[davedove]

Scene 2

Media Room, Great Hall of X Marks the Scot

As we landed at Charleston International Airport, Dee was waiting for us with transportation to the Great Hall. We quickly got into the car and he drove us to the mountain.

Once at the Great Hall, Dee directed us to the Media Room for a briefing. Bradley was waiting for us there, along with a few other people.

“Oh good, you’re here,” he said, as we walked into the room. “Please, grab a drink and be seated.”

My associates and I all grabbed a glass of sweet tea from the table and took our seats. When we had all settled, Bradley stood at the front of the room.

“First of all,” he said, “I would like to thank everyone here for coming on such short notice. We were very short-handed and your offer to help is greatly appreciated.”

“Now,” he continued, “our reason for calling you here. Three weeks ago, an expedition was organized here at the Great Hall to explore a section of the Amazon jungle in search of a legend. Todd had been doing some research on the story of the MacGregor Expedition when he uncovered some clues.”

“Excuse me,” someone interrupted. Looking over I saw that it was Clockwork John. “What is the MacGregor Expedition?”

“Of course,” Bradley answered. “I’m sorry John, and the rest of you who weren’t aware of the expedition. In 1832, shortly after the establishment of British Guiana, what is now the country of Guyana; the British Crown ordered an exploration of the colony. They called upon a Colonel James MacGregor, a highly decorated officer of the42nd Royal Highland Regiment of Foot. Colonel MacGregor’s mission was to set out from the Capitol of Georgetown and move south, traveling until he reached the waters of the Amazon River. Once he reached the river, he was to explore its banks downstream to the Atlantic Ocean. He and his party were never seen again.”

“And where do Todd and the others come in?” someone else asked, this time Livingston.

“Well Greg,” Bradley addressed him. “For several months, Todd was doing research on the expedition, with the help of Ms. Stork. Between the two of them, they assembled several stories that later explorers had gathered from the natives, stories of a tribe of natives that wore kilt-like clothing. This tribe supposedly lived atop one of the tepuis the region is known for.”

“Uh, tepuis?” Greg asked.

“Yes, a tepui is a table-top mountain, or mesa, found only in the Guyana highlands of South America, primarily in Venezuela, but also in Guyana and Brazil. They are typically composed of sheer blocks of Precambrian sandstone or quartzite rocks rising abruptly from the jungle. Because of their height and the sheer rock walls, the plateaus of the mesas are completely isolated from the ground forest. They are ecological islands, with an ecosystem vastly different from the surrounding jungle. One such tepui, Mount Roraima, inspired the Scottish author, Arthur Conan Doyle, to write his novel The Lost World.”

“So Todd went looking for this mountain?” John asked.

“Yes and Ms. Stork went with him. Two other members went along, Standard as a wilderness expert and Coemgen went, well, he went so he could wear his pith helmet. They picked up Wompet for extra security. Jamie went along as well, probably for the adventure.”

“When did you lose contact with them?” I asked.

“Their last contact was three days ago. They were just entering the highlands.”

“What about their tracking signals?”

“Their signals disappeared yesterday afternoon. So far as we can tell from here, they’ve disappeared from the face of the earth."

[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:

[davedove]

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.

[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!

[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.

[Wompet]

They picked up Wompet for extra security.

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



Eww - just had a thought: large shaggy dog + tropical rainforest
I hope no one minds the smell of wet dog ...

[starbkjrus]

snip...

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

...snip

ith: ith: