<<<17 Jan 2057, 13:17—Super Tuesday>>>

Another run finished and successful, but that was by no means certain for awhile.

It ended up that Joe was closer to the truth than I was-- seemed that our favourite draconian presidential candidate was having a bit of sport with us, running us unknowingly through some sort of VR simulation to see how we'd react. Bloody good job, too--they didn't get the astral right, but that doesn't surprise me, given the complexity of attempting to mate magic with technology. Comforting to know that there are things that even someone like Dunkelzahn can't get right yet.

The run was rather straightforward, really; it was what happened after that was more problematic. There are few things more disturbing in life than to wake up in a hospital gown whilst armoured and extremely well-armed assailants are doing their best to make us into memories. Fortunately, they didn't reckon with 'Wraith's speed, my magic, Ocelot's cybertoe, or Joe's strength, and we made short work of them (obtaining some valuable armour and weapons in the process).

We managed to fight our way out (oh--did I mention that we were at Dunkelzahn's Vision Quest facility, apparently somewhere in Iowa, though I never found out exactly where?) with minimal casualties on our side--we even managed to save all but one of the technicians, thanks in no small part to the quick-witted efforts of one of VQ's security mages (if that man isn't up for a promotion after this, there's no justice in the world).

In retrospect it was rather amusing to be hanging upside down in elevator shafts tossing balls of neurotoxin at unseen assailants, but nonetheless it's a performance I wouldn't care to repeat. Note to myself: don't ask Wraith to drop me down any more elevator shafts to avoid getting shot by chaps with assault rifles. Nice of Ocelot to catch me, though.

Second note to myself: thank Joe for diving in front of that grenade. That was quite a brave (if foolhardy) thing to do, especially since he wasn't wearing any armour at the time.

I hope that Ms. Brooks is able to devise a way to keep our Dragon Security cover going. I nearly laughed my head off when she asked us whether we had some kind of company identity we could use on the run--we'd set up Dragon so long ago that I'd almost forgotten about it. Coincidences. Sometimes they're worth a good laugh.

Well, I'm off to England again for a well-deserved rest. Ocelot has once again volunteered to teach me to shoot more effectively, and this time I think I'll take him up on his offer. Looking forward to some restful time to work on spells, catch up on my reading, and spend a few days plinking shots at targets out on the grounds somewhere. I hope we're finally finished with this election business.