Ambrose - Agent's Report 10

Recent Duties: It's inconceivable that John McGuire not only got transferred, but also promoted while you are still forced to remain mired in barbarism on the very edge of civilization. McGuire's policing would not even merit a pass from your high society course, let alone a promotion to the CIA. To be perfectly honest, he's not even in your class, what with the way he ended up bleeding all over his garments. Admittedly, it was no great loss; his clothes weren't even worth wearing in the first place. Regardless, it's been five days since you concluded the case against Carmen Sandiego, and you've spent most of that time debating how to expedite your transfer back to Coursair.

Classified Information: (As a police agent, you are privy to sensitive information regarding past and ongoing investigations. Any information involving current police operations is not to be discussed with the media or the public.)

-The raid on Sin City is being hailed as a major victory for the police. Not only did it allow for the recovery of the stolen Krypto, but it also led to the arrests of supervillain Carmen Sandiego and most of her VILE gang. Inspector Rambo was also able to subdue and arrest many of the unsavoury residents of the district who tried to discourage the police incursion through random gunfire. Furthermore, the raid unearthed corruption within the police force itself. Officer Jack Rafferty was identified assisting VILE, although he apparently escaped capture. Precinct 8's Policia has removed him from their roster, and prepared a warrant for his arrest. It's believed he may still be in the city; officers are advised to approach him only with extreme caution, as he's considered to be armed, dangerous and desperate.

High Society News: (The latest gossip from high society sources, ranging from rumours of indiscretion to the content of the many glossy magazines on the subject.)

-Aside from the return of the Krypto, the art community is buzzing about an exclusive auction being held at Sotheby's this evening. Artwork from many different styles and eras is expected to go up on the block, ranging from the classics to modern art.

Collectors of all stripes are expected to attend. Experts speculate that some of the works being offered could fetch prices in excess of 10,000 marks.

-The J. Peterman fashion magazine is viewed by many as fashion gospel. Rumours are circulating that the newest issue will feature an amazing new accessory referred to in whispers only as the urban sombrero. You can hardly wait to get a look at this heavily hyped item.

Personal Notes:

-Aside from all the administrivia and the lack of a decent expense account, the worst part of being a faculty member seems to be weathering complaints from whiny students. You've received several calls on your personal line from Fatty Bolger in just that vein. The fellow seems to blame you for his inability to graduate, and claims that it would only take an extra 5% to get him through. Despite his lobbying, you've refused to grant any sort of mercy pass. High society wouldn't count for much if you allowed this lowlife to unjustifiably receive passing credit. After all, society is nothing without standards.

-Until you arrived, Cormus didn't really have much in the way of fashion police. And it showed. You might not have cleaned up the streets like McGuire, but you have cleaned up the people on the streets. Crimes against fashion can be just as dire as any other kind of indiscretion. At the very least, you've given your colleagues at Precinct 13 some much needed class.

-Your transfer back to Coursair is well overdue. It's hard to believe, but perhaps your fellow officers require yet more demonstrations of your unique skills. With your blend of haut couture and public relations skills, you should easily be able to make a strong case for your transfer. Of course, your departure from the Precinct would be quite the blow to the Cormus law enforcement community. Especially since your top student, Dr. John Watson, wasn't able to secure employment with the force. In order to avoid leaving the city in a state of piteous disarray, you've taken it upon yourself to groom a successor. Since there's not much time, you'll need to find someone who learns fast. With your tutoring, they should hopefully be able to pick up at least some measure of your class and sophistication.

Mini-Objective:

-End your exodus to the edge of civilization by securing a transfer back to Coursair.

-Groom a replacement to serve as your Cormus counterpart.

-Insist your High Society marks were completely justified.

Wheatie – Legal Assistant's Report 11

Recent Duties: It's been five days since the arrest of master criminal Carmen Sandiego. Even her geography degree couldn't save her from one of your schoolings! Well, actually, she sort of schooled you into unconsciousness, and the rest is all a blur. But apparently it worked out well in the end, and you were able to declare the case closed. You were also able to help book a bunch of criminals, including most members of VILE. You've spent most of the past five days excitedly processing the paperwork for all the arrests. Unfortunately, Inspector Reeves' snipers weren't quite able to catch all the bad guys. As far as you know, the mysterious Mr. Malnas is still on the loose, as is 'Iron' Jack Rafferty. And that crazy Warchon woman disappeared before she could be arrested.

Book Report:

-At his request, you've been reading one of Dr. John Watson's most recent manuscripts. You had no idea that he was a writer, let alone the pen behind the famed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Anyway, this new book is all about a murder that takes place at a Police Academy and is solved almost exclusively by the Crime Doctor. To say that it seems based on real life events would be a massive understatement. Furthermore, the book doesn't mention anything about your exploits at the Academy, like your award-winning poster or your graduation awards! Surely this oversight can be corrected in the editing phase.

Notes from Home:

-Come to think of it, you're almost positive that you've never met your Uncle Moose. Your parents claim he was around when you were younger, but you don't remember him at all. Apparently he found the country life on Denchul too slow and boring, and thus he immigrated to Deksiil. That attitude is at least something he has in common with you, even if it's likely the only thing.

Legal Report:

-The deal you negotiated with Papa Dimitrio was your first experience in the world of plea bargains. Drawing up all the complicated documents was actually kind of fun, and you were able to serve a good cause. Dimitrio will spend the next twelve months performing community service at the Cormus City Library. He claims to have a new sorting method for the books that can be done in n-log(n) time, although you have no idea what that means. Even Miss Vayl was impressed, although she thinks you might have let him off a bit too easy. She suggests you try for more next time.

-The case against Bomb Voyage was blown wide open by testimony from Kurando, that retired police officer who was always hassling Caesar. Turns out the Fenixan supervillain's had a grudge against the family since one of his bank jobs went off badly some five years ago. With all this compelling evidence, Bomb Voyage was swiftly sentenced to a 50 year prison term at Guantanimo prison.

Personal Notes:

-In the continuing efforts to promote the Academy and the police in general, Headmistress Millernia is putting together a flashy promotional catalogue. She's asked for your help, no doubt due to the amazing pop-out poster you put together during Social Skills. You'll be working with J. Peterman, the owner of an eminent fashion magazine who has agreed to lend his resources to the task for a minimal cost. It sounds like it will be a fun assignment, with lots of paper!

-That Sin City was like something right out of a detective novel. You never imagined that such a seedy place could really exist! Actually, you would rather visit a fictional Sin City than the real one any day of the week. Black and white suits the pages of a book really well, but it doesn't really do justice to your flannel or your amber energy. Besides, your experiences there were really painful, even though you were wearing the amazing command badge.

Mini-Objective:

-Assist Millernia in putting together a wicked police catalogue.

-Be bitter about having received the silly Spirit graduation award instead of the more appropriate one for Social Skills.

Jackie - Agent's Report 3

Recent Duties: It's been five days since you captured master criminal Carmen Sandiego and recovered the Krypto painting that everyone else seems to think is art. In so doing, you managed to incur some massive injuries, many of which were captured in the outtakes at the end of the adventure. In particular, you ran repeatedly into a sheet of bullet-proof glass and then almost got crunched by crushing walls. Of course, it's not like these sorts of injuries are anything new for you. You know way more about pain than anyone, including that Devlin guy. Anyway, you've spent the last few days recovering from your exploits.

Walking the Streets:

-You've learned a bit more about Miho, that Warchon woman you fought in the junkyard. She's reputed among the residents of Sin City as one of the most deadly assassins around. Considering where she must have gotten her training, that's hardly surprising. What is surprising is that she showed no hesitation in attacking you. Sy-Keel are often sent out into the galaxy to train among foreigners, but they're not expected to turn against one another. It seems she might have given up her allegiance to Warchor, which might explain why those darts didn't end up killing you.

Classified Information: (As a police agent, you are privy to sensitive information regarding past and ongoing investigations. Any information involving current police operations is not to be discussed with the media or the public.)

-The raid on Sin City is being hailed as a major victory for the police. Not only did it allow for the recovery of the stolen Krypto, but it also led to the arrests of supervillain Carmen Sandiego and most of her VILE gang. Inspector Rambo was also able to subdue and arrest many of the unsavoury residents of the district who tried to discourage the police incursion through random gunfire. Furthermore, the raid unearthed corruption within the police force itself. Officer Jack Rafferty was identified assisting VILE, although he apparently escaped capture. Precinct 8's Policia has removed him from their roster, and prepared a warrant for his arrest. It's believed he may still be in the city; officers are advised to approach him only with extreme caution, as he's considered to be armed, dangerous and desperate.

Personal Notes:

-You're still not impressed by the racial sensitivity demonstrated by the police on this planet. Precinct 13 does seem to have some good affirmative action policies to bring in different ethnicities, but it's still far from enough to promote real tolerance throughout the force.

-The Electran embassy finally got back to you with that list of agents who defected in connection with Carmen Sandiego. It's mostly recruits who had yet to receive their IBI badges, but there were a couple fully trained members who went rogue to help found VILE. This includes the Countess you fought in Sin City, who was formerly known as Countess Illyvere, a minor Electran noble and ex-IBI. Another agent who went over is a master of subterfuge by the name of Vic. As far as you're aware, he remains at large. Jane Reaction, one of the IBI's science specialists, also quit shortly after Carmen left the service.

-A friend of yours once proposed a method of investigation that can be summarized as following the rich white guy. This seems to work surprisingly well, so maybe it can give you a lead in any cases that come up.

Mini-Objective:

-Ensure that the police continue to promote ethnic diversity, especially where it concerns your woefully under-represented race.

Deciding that the fare at Monk's is too pedestrian, Ambrose takes Wheatie over to one of the better restaurants in the district, a faux-Denchuli western-style restaurant. Wheatie, in an attempt to impress the waiter, attempts to invoke his social skills, but fails miserably. The waiter looks at him oddly, and informs Ambrose that he and "his nephew" will be seated shortly. When they are seated half an hour later, Ambrose orders the prime rib for Wheatie, and the house wine for himself. The waiter assures them that the cows are specially selected by the Denchuli ranchhands, and that only the best cows make it to their plates. Wheatie has a flashback of his family shoving all the cows, including the lame and five-legged ones, into the slaughterhouse indiscriminately.

The food soon arrives, and they find that there is only the tiniest amount of prime rib. Ambrose is satisfied, confident that this tiny amount means that the quality is great. Wheatie is quite happy because of all the vegetables surrounding the beef.

After the meal, Wheatie is anxious to get back to the station, but Ambrose is insistent that Wheatie get a more professional outfit. Sneakily setting his watch back by half an hour, Ambrose assures Wheatie that they are in fact on time. The two then head over to Atch and Co., where Wheatie gets a double-breasted suit, loafers, and a pretentious argyle sweater.

Heading back to the station, they, along with Jackie, are summoned to the Chief's office. They are told that Inspector Millernia is working on a catalogue to help the police recruitment effort, and that she has secured the famous catalogue magnate J. Peterman. Ambrose is immediately intrigued; hoping to get more information on the urban sombrero that has been so whispered about in high-society circles, he instantly grabs Wheatie and the two take a cab to Peterman's office.

Arriving there, they take the elevator to the top of the building, where they meet with the charismatic, white-haired J. Peterman. He outlines the specifics of the catalogue: it is to be six pages long, and they will have a thousand-marque budget for its design. Looking over what is available, the three officers see that they have such options available as fancy text, mugshots, headshots, fancy poses, action poses, and panoramic shots. The three decide on what they want on each page, and once Millernia arrives, they set about actually creating the catalogue. Wheatie handles all the writing, Jackie the layout, and Ambrose directs the photography. In the end, the catalogue comes out slightly over budget, with Wheatie dipping into his wallet to pay the remainder.

The job is set up so that there will be one person going in undercover, and the other two, along with a specialist to be determined, will be in the "Mobile Command Centre", which appears to be a generic white van. The group decides on getting a fake moustache and shiny lapel pin (the undercover equivalent of the badge) for Ambrose, who will be the undercover agent. He also buys a flak vest, perhaps anticipating trouble, and Wheatie gets a medkit. Ambrose decides that his persona will be one Mr. Uppity Byce, a wealthy Arsan oilman and speculator. His cover will be his "nephew", Lowery Byce, played by Wheatie, who will answer his cellphone as Lowery. The group decides on getting a computer specialist, Jacques, recently assigned to precinct 13 from the Surete.

As evening comes, the group makes their way to Sotheby's auction house. The van parks several blocks away, leaving Ambrose, in his flakvest and fat-suit, to huff and puff all the way to the door. As Sotheby's is in precinct 4, the KGB works the security at the door. Uppity Byce tries to bluster his way in, but fails miserably, and so the security detail, headed by the burly Viacheslav, run their metal-detection wands over him, and come across his weapons. The KGB demands to know what the weapons are for, and Uppity angrily shouts out that they're "for whenever I demand satisfaction!" They buy this explanation, but hold the weapons for the duration of the evening. Ambrose-as-Uppity makes his way in to the main part of the auction room.

Once in, Uppity starts talking loudly to a number of people, trying to figure out who's fencing the stolen art. He first talks to Inspector Norg, who says he's in the market for a Rousseau piece called "The Garden" which will be auctioned later. Uppity then moves on to Holmes, then quickly goes elsewhere, sensing the total uselessness of the man. He moves on to Thomas Griffin, the Electran ambassador surrounded by IBI agents, whose guns now match their suits. But Uppity fails to glean much information out of Griffin, and sits down in the main auction area as the auctions begin.

The first piece up is Rousseau's "The Garden". Uppity opens the bidding at 600 marques; Norg, throwing around his money like no other, counters with 601 marques. The penny-bidding continues until Uppity goes past the amount alloted to him by the Chief. A number of other classical and modern pieces go up, fetching 1000-3000 marques. Then, Sotheby's auctions a Yoko. Sensing his opportunity, Uppity bids 500 immediately, blustering that he loves modern art, and doesn't care what it looks like. Sadly, he has forgotten that nobody likes Yoko, and his bid goes unchallenged, leaving the police force with a Yoko. But after the bidding, Uppity is met at the buffet table by a greasy-looking man, named Vic, who says that he has quite the collection of modern art, and wonders if Uppity would be interested. They agree to meet at Amigo's, in the Spanish precinct.

Finally, Vic shows up, and meets Uppity at the corner table. He shows Uppity photos of his collection. Jackie and Jacques see this in the van, through Uppity's camera-glasses, and cross-reference the list with the stolen paintings, finding nothing. Vic suggests that they head over to his place, and Uppity agrees, following the greasy man into the alley. Vic opens the car door, and tells Uppity to get in. Ambrose, not much liking the suggestion, blusters that Vic should go first. Then, there is the sound of a hammer cocking, and Ambrose looks up at the roof to see the poisonous Jack Rafferty pointing his PK-97 squarely at Jackie, who has his hands handcuffed behind his back. As well, arriving at the rooftop is none other than Fatty Bolgar, who seems intent on getting revenge on Ambrose for making him take yet another semester at the academy.

Ambrose, once he fully realizes that the jig is up, takes off his Uppity Byce outfit, revealing his bullet-proof flak jacket underneath his nouveau gothique black vest. For maximum drama, Ambrose pulls out the thunder sabre he took from the Countess a week earlier, and lights up the blade.

Once he does this, Jackie makes a break for the chimney of Amigo's, and gets shot before he shimmies his way down. Making it to the bottom, he comically burns his feet, and then runs to find Wheatie. Meanwhile, Ambrose finds himself facing off against Vic, the awesomely-named chemist Jane Reaction, as well as two generic VILE agents. Dodging an uppercut and taking another, Ambrose drops his thunder sabre and switches to the weapons he actually knows how to use. He continues in his COMPLETE AND UTTER FUTILITY by missing with his one chance, ever, to use psi-strike, by rolling 02. This isn't terribly surprising. Still, he connects with his main gauche, stabbing Jane Reaction in the stomach. The next round, Wheatie and Jackie rush out of Amigo's, providing Ambrose with some much-needed aid. Wheatie psi-fires the two goons and Jane Reaction. He attempts to school them, but fails. As well, he finds himself unable to attack Jane because she has a prestigious chemistry award!. However, he realizes soon after that the award was his, HIS, and his rage translates into extra damage. Ambrose's flak vest is soon rendered useless by Vic's PK-43 and Jack's PK-97, and he takes significant damage, messing up his hair considerably.

The three quickly take down the two vile agents, and Jane Reaction follows. Fatty, meanwhile, has been hoarding cards, and seems ready to make his move. As soon as Ambrose is taken down by Rafferty, Fatty jumps down from the building, causing all sorts of seismic shocks. He slowly moves towards Ambrose's unconscious form, his hobbit dagger drawn. Meanwhile, Jackie fights Rafferty, luckily dodging his shots, and using the handcuffs as a deadly weapon. Wheatie concentrates on Vic, throwing psi-globes at him, and attempting to school him. Then, sensing that Ambrose might be a goner without help, Wheatie medkits him for 4 HP, bringing him to 1 HP. Ambrose then takes a knife in the dark from Fatty, and goes down, (valiantly?) saving Wheatie from the blow. Rafferty, not liking his chances versus the incredibly lucky Jackie and the now-book-wielding Wheatie, decides to run, but not before Jackie improvises even more weapons, and takes him down.

Ambrose, in his climactic last fight, failed to connect with either psi-strikes or duo-strikes, despite a near-max Agility of 25 for a level 4 Deksiilan. It would appear that with the absence of Chins, unlucky rolling afflicts Ambrose instead. The heroes of the force will soon find out who it will afflict in the absence of both.

Ambrose, for his part, seems more interested in the fact that, once again, he'll have a high-capacity expense account in the cultural centre of the universe.

Note: Special thanks to Ambrose for writing this summary.

J. Peterman
Race: Deksiilan
Affiliation: Owner of a self-titled fashion catalogue.
The name of J. Peterman is well known in the galactic fashion community. That's because it's branded in a large font on the cover of Deksiil's most influential chain of fashion magazines. Peterman himself is known as something of a dashing eccentric with a flare for strange, yet oddly boring stories of exotic travel. He's also said to have rather unique tastes. In addition, he has a reputation among his employees for making strange and whimsical business decisions without any notice whatsoever. Somehow, all of this has done little to alienate the mainstream of the fashion world, wherein Peterman products seem guaranteed to find a wide and appreciative audience. In person, Peterman can be described as a tall, sharply dressed man with styled white hair. In fact, his outfit of choice, which includes dockers, a dress shirt and a shiny vest of some sort, may well be smarter than its wearer. Peterman is almost never seen without a coffee mug in hand.

Inspector Vladislav
Race: Deksiilan
Affiliation: Precinct 4's KGB
While not always observing all the niceties generally associated with maintaining good public relations, Precinct 4's KGB is seen as a model of policing efficiency. In that regard, Inspector Vladislav represents his district well. He's a giant man with a thick accent and an even thicker black shaggy beard. His uniform of choice includes a black suit, minus a tie that would distance him from the working class, a red shirt and a black furry hat. Vladislav has a long history on the force, and consequently helped to develop the KGB's controversial methods, which eschew subtlety in favor of a direct, overwhelming approach.

Vic the Slick
Race: Electran
Affiliation: VILE Agent
Vic the Slick is one of the IBI Agents who joined Carmen Sandiego in defecting from the agency and forming VILE (Villains' International League of Evil). Covert ops are Vic's area of expertise. To this end, he often goes under the clever pseudonym of Victor. Former colleagues often compare him unfavorably to a used car salesman, which actually describes Vic the Slick fairly accurately. His dark hair is poofy and greasy, and the only thing more oily than his mustache would have to be his smile. He typically wears extremely loud plaid suits, usually accompanied by a polka-dot tie. In combat, Vic wields a PK-43 with the skill of an amateur. His more powerful abilities include the creation of oil slicks and the fact that he's one slippery customer. This allows him to cut deals with anyone about to strike him.

Jane Reaction
Race: Electran
Affiliation: VILE Scientist
Jane Reaction served in the IBI's science division before quitting in the wake of Carmen Sandiego's departure from the service. Now she uses her science for evil, as part of VILE. Her field of choice is chemistry, and her knowledge in that area allows her to use both explosive and acidic chemicals during combat. She is also capable of manipulating high tech equipment such as healing syringes. Jane Reaction's only defense against aggression is the fact that she won the chemistry graduation award back in high school. This certificate alone is enough to cancel one attack launched from any character played by Garrett Richards. However, subsequent attacks from those characters are fueled by bitter rage that make them only more powerful. Jane appears to be a rather typical, unassuming scientist. This includes brown hair in a ponytail, safety glasses and a white labcoat. She carries many bubbling beakers with her, ready to be tossed at a moment's notice.

Thomas Griffin
Race: Electran
Affiliation: Electran Ambassador
Thomas Griffin is the Electran Ambassador to Deksiil. Although he makes his home in Cormus, he often commutes to Coursair for important affairs of the state. Griffin is a rather smarmy fellow, with a slight and often forgotten British accent. He's got a terrible poker face and brown hair that has begun to gray at the temples. Most of the time, Griffin can be seen wearing a civilized Electran suit. When not attending to his duties as an ambassador, he seems to have a taste for perusing cultural artifacts, especially from his home empire. He seems to consider such pieces as integral parts of Electra's history.