Futuristic ParaCom: Adversary Uncertain

[DerUbermensch]

Prologue:


December 31st, Year 2020 was the start of the war between the normal and the paranormal. Just as the western world was celebrating the eve of the New Year, they attacked. During Times Square's annual ball drop and while shouts of “Happy New Year” echoed the area, the attacks commenced! The civilians of New York City were absolutely in shock and awe, due to the holiday letting the guard down. Unbeknownst to the supernatural forces, humanity would retaliate after a reeling assault. The armed forces across the world defended their nations from the attacks happening across the globe. However, despite dealing some damage to the enemy forces, they kept coming. Not even nuclear weapons stopped the otherworldly enemies in their tracks.


Nobody truly knew where they came from. Not even their intentions were able to be determined from out of the blue. This was an enemy that humanity struggled not just to combat, but also to comprehend. As an adversary, the paranormal forces were uncertain.


After grueling defeats in the name of species preservation, the UN realized that alone the nations cannot stop the threat. On August 1st, 2021, humanity formed a new line of defense. The elite, multinational, paramilitary team known as ParaCom was formed to act as the specialized line of defense against this threat. Thanks to heavy investments from the UN and all monetary sources, ParaCom has access to the top notch technology, science, engineers, and soldiers. The fate of mankind rests in their hands.


August 7th, 2021: Operation Autumn Net


About a week after the Paranormal Combat project has been founded, the surveillance across the world has been eerily silent. Cameras, provided by satellites, blanketed the urban and rural population zones. From Western hemisphere to the Eastern hemisphere, satellites provided coverage for the organization to collaborate with local forces. A perk between the deals made is that the best of the world's military forces get recommended to ParaCom. Even they knew that ParaCom was the last hope.


With their position in between West and East, they can divert their services to both. Suddenly, a dragon was getting close to the satellite not far from base. Center immediately called a strike on the dragon, using experimental fighters designed to take on the aerial paranormals. This was one of the first deployment outside of testing grounds. With fire and forget missiles and armor piercing cannon rounds, this was some of the best conventional weaponry provided to the Paranormal Combat project.


While the dragon was a tricky opponent for the two plane squad, it was taken down rather quickly as both fighters double-teamed on both missiles and rounds. The experience proved it was for now an adequate solution, there was always more room for improvement. Center then commanded a closer look. "Still in one piece. Suspicious..."


The Little Lady was ready to accept volunteers from the barracks. They were to investigate the crash site. "The paranormals are willing to defend to the death if they are present. Handle this with utmost caution!" Like most in the base, Center felt that humanity was flying blind with this new threat. Samples need to be recovered, potentially to turn the tables against the invaders. It was hoped that the team going for the crash site would handle it well. The armory was open for the recruits, with weapons and attachments provided.

 

[Splat]

Aero

​

Aero was in the hangar bay, sitting on top of the Little Lady. Swaying his legs off the edge, he couldn't wait to depart. He had been assigned the duty of pilot, since he had the best understanding of the craft (compared to other available pilots) and had the experience to make any needed emergency repairs in the field. This particular craft had been designed by his father before his death. This craft was the product of days of endless thought, sketching away at a piece of paper. There had been stacks upon stacks of calculations and failed blueprints. Now, all of his fathers hard work would finally get to see the battle field, and Aero would be the one to fly it.

Lance

​

Silently, Lance sat in his room polishing the prototype AD-MKi (Air-Defense Mk I) sniper rifle, learning its workings from the inside out. He memorized interior design of the barrel, and how it affected the trajectory of the bullet depending on the weather. Notches into the interior were designed to absorb humidity, keeping the water in the air from affecting the bullet as it left the barrel. According to the engineers who designed it, this gun should be able to shoot through two feet of solid concrete. It had been offered to all of the other available Snipers assigned to this ParaCom mission as well. Today would be Lance's first day in action, and if he could feel excited about something, this was it.

 

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Pedro Matos

Pedro was the first person into the hangar. Well, the second, but that person seemed to be the pilot. And not even out of his teens. Pedro cocked an eyebrow at the kid, but didn't say anything. Instead, he stood near the unopened Little Lady door, ready to file into it when all the volunteers assembled. While he waited, he reached into one of the pouches on his belt and produced a grenade. He wasn't exactly sure why he felt the need to hold a grenade, but it just felt like the thing he should be doing right now.

 

[Hanzax]

Brian William

Brian stepped out into the hanger bay and headed towards the Little Lady. Brian spotted a lone soldier standing ready at the Little Lady's door. There was another, much younger fellow sitting untop of the bird swinging his legs nonchalantly. Brian gave the kid a slight wave as he went to join the man by the door. Brian stood opposite the man and gave him a nod, it was first now he had notice that the man was holding a grenade.


"Guess we'll be testing the waters." Brian proclaimed in an attempt to keep an eerie silence from smothering them.


"Don't suppose you've got any tips for dispatching the fucks." Brian continued after a short pause.

 

[DerUbermensch]

Alina Ivanova arrived. "Some heavy ordinance should blow them to bits." Her short reply was a response to Brian's question. Taking a ParaCom proprietary light machine gun and a rocket launcher in tow, she was to provide heavy fire and compromising enemy cover. Center did not give the signal to depart as the Little Lady could host up to eight operatives comfortably. Center announced to the pilot, "Let's give a little bit more time. So far we'll wait and see for a little bit."


So far, it seems that the paranormal were disoriented. That meant no rush on ParaCom's part. Still, who knows what could be going on? Would there be any civilians in the area? Those questions will be answered as soon as a solid team gets there. The science and engineering team were also informed that samples may be brought back into the base.

 

[General Deth Glitch]

The Duo of Danger

Red and Arrow soon volunteered. "Aye, I didn't join this to sit around all day." said Arrow. His brother was also in the hanger watching them with a faded smile. Daniel, Arrows brother, was no soldier. He had never so much as hit anyone, being protected all his life by his brother who was about to disappear again to save the world. He raised a hand in greeting and took a deep breath thinking 'Good luck bro, keep those freaks away from the innocent!' as his brother and his brothers closest friend, Red, stood relaxed on the door of the little lady.


Someone said "Don't suppose you've got any tips for dispatching the fucks." He smiled grimly "If its got a head shoot it. If you don't got time to aim at that small a target, fill it with lead." he said, sliding his blade across his palm and then turning his attention to some gunk under a nail, using the blade to scrape that out as well. On his back was slung his new sniper the AD-Mk1, It had about the same stopping power as his old one and a bunch of fancy gadgets that meant nothing to him. He didn't care about all its everything proofing he still wrapped it up in a leather case with a nice rigid bar across his back to stop the straps warping the gun. His waist held the pistol in its holster, it was nothing fancy. He had managed to swipe one of their better scopes, basically it had better range and non of the fancy shit that just took up space he felt confident it would help him get just that little smidge better accuracy. Red, on the other hand, was grinning like a fool and clutching his bayoneted Shotgun like it was the love of his life. "So who's da bastard who I gotta take orders from on this one then? The Reid Family aint called that for naught. I wanna make sum'ting bleed!" he said in his rich scottish accent as James (Arrow) stifled a chuckle, to him there was no one who was more of a liability then Damon but at the same time he knew that bugger was worth his weight in gold and if this was the battle that would finally end that mad Scotsman's reign of victory, though he doubted it would be, then he knew the man would go down surrounded by those freaks and surrounded by their blood.

 

[Yang Xiao Long]

Harold Nastda

Harold Nastda walked slowly into the Hanger. He had his helmet in his left hand braced against his hip, and his C9A2 light machine gun slung to hang right beside his right hip. "Dammit, I'm late aren't I?" He said scratching his beard and observing the gathered crowd. His first thoughts of them went something like this.


"Damn, lady has a bigger gun than me, talk about emasculation."


"The kid is obviously the pilot, how old could he be 17, 18?"


"Big guy seems like the brute force type, looks like he's about to blow up the plane with that Grenade."


"The Aussie seems normal, and he has a decent beard, probably shake hands with em first."


He walked over to the bird and sat down on a supply cart. "Best to learn who they are first rather than start talking." He brought his light machine gun onto his lap and started looking it over, turning it over then checking the ammo belt. He then pulled the folding stock into firing postion, and put it back. Checking to sights something distracted him. It sounded like someone dropping metal on metal rhythmically. "What, the, actual, fuck?" Was all he could say as he saw the metal man walk in carrying what looked to be an actual minigun.


Scarecrow

Scarecrow registered profanity on one of it's multiple microphones as it entered the Hanger bay. He maintained the pace of 5.0KPH as he walked forward in order not to intimidate the humans that had gathered in the hanger bay. He moved his "head" scanning the gathered crowd of Paracom personal. Approaching the almost confused Canadian he answered the soldier's query. "I am Autonomous Infantry Unit-001, and am supplementing the human forces during this operation. I am the first humanoid combat robot created with an experimental A.I-"


The man cut off the robot. "Is there anything we can call you that is less of a mouthful?"


"Negative"


"Well then I'll call you scarecrow given the fact that you are such an ugly mother fucker."


"New designation 'Scarecrow' acknowledged."


Scarecrow now stood to the side and went ridged beside the pile of supplies. "Do you have to do that right beside me?" Harold asked the robot. "It is the optimal position to do an internal systems check in order to insure that I do not get in the way of any normal Hanger operations. Unlike your current postion which could impede-" He cut it off again "Forget I asked..." "Deleting relevant files."

 

[DerUbermensch]

Now that the Little Lady was getting comfortably full, Center radioed to Aero. "Eight is the limit for comfy seating. Any more and the Little Lady would have to fit them like a clown-car." Up to 16 maximum operatives were possible though, albeit in a cramped position. Comfort though was a luxury in ParaCom vehicles, meaning function was placed over form in priority.


Center would predict a perfectly armed fighting squad within the hour. With heavy ordinance at the ready, resistance would be squashed. It was not a good time for the paranormals at the crash site. It would get even worse when human forces approach the area. Center internally felt bad for the paranormals there to a degree. The African heat must be frying them. Might as well put them out of their misery.

 

[Splat]

Aero

​

(sent from phone so no color or font)


Aero jumped down from the plane and landed clumsily. "Phew! Nearly missed that landing. Alright guys!" he turned to the group gathered. "My name is Aero D. Wolfe. Your pilot and engineer in charge of keeping this bad girl healthy on our outing." He patted the craft and walked around to the entrance, pressing a button and the loading dick opened. "Allllll aboooooard! Be careful, she's brand new."


(leaving Lance out of this one because we have a Sniper already)

 

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Pedro Matos

Pedro was normally a calm and collected person, and it took a lot to faze him. That... thing that walked into the hangar was nothing like anything he'd ever seen before. It was all he could do to not let his jaw drop at it. He almost didn't register the child announcing that he was the pilot, because of course he was, and that it was time to enter. He was first aboard, having been the closest to the door, and he immediately took the first seat on the left. In his previous unit, he was always the vanguard, first into the fight.


As he sat down, he put the grenade away and started going over his rifle. They'd let him use the rifle he'd been trained with, the G36, and it felt comfortable in his hands. The actions felt natural, like he'd been born to do them. Heh. That phrasing reminded him of Alberto, the tall one. That man seemed to believe very strongly in fate. Well, if fate was a thing, then he was fated to be the first in the squad to die, run through by the spine on the tail of some creature. His slight smile vanished, replaced by a grimace, and he clutched his rifle a little tighter for a moment.


To ease himself up, he decided on making some conversation. English was his second language, and he was fairly fluent, so he reckoned he could do it. Whoever sat next to him would get asked some questions. Unless it was that damned walking trash can.

 

[Yang Xiao Long]

Harold Nastda

Even though he was the last to the Hanger he was the second onto the VTOL. He decided to sit on the seat nearest to the door and right beside the other man. Placing his helmet on his lap he looked at the man beside him. He seemed Porturican (not sure I spelt that right...) and the flag on his uniform confirmed it. He took his light machine gun., unslung it, and placed it between his legs. It bumped his prosthetic with a metal clang. He held out his hand to the man. "Harold Nastda, looks like I'm not the only metal man here, eh?" He said jokingly. He servaed the back of the craft. It looked similar to the back of a C-130 plus nice seats and smaller interior. It brought up both good and bad memories, including the drop over Afghanistan where he lost his leg. "Brings back mixed memories this interior, I was a paratrooper before joining Paracom."


Scarecrow

Scarecrow acknowledged the orders silently and followed the Canadian into the VTOL. Moving as silently as the whiring servomotors in his joints let him he stood in the row between the seats and grabbed one of the over head rails for stability. He did the fifth internal systems check since entering the Hanger and acknowledge a ping from the science lab. It appeared that the scientist had to remind him of his data gathering directives.


"I'll be damned if I'm outdone by a friggen robot." Harold thought as he pulled his Balaclava up and put his helmet on. Swiftly he stood up, stood in the row between the seats, and attached his repel line. "Hey fly boy, I'm assuming it will be a hotdrop?"

 

[General Deth Glitch]

Reid - Red

Red followed the other guy in, taking the first seat on the right. He wanted to be right in the thick of it as usual. We liked to see his enemy when he killed it. Not for the satisfaction of the kill but to be certain it was one. He had lost friends to his foes using the last of their breath to fire one last shot before they bled out because they he just assumed the shot to be immediately fatal. He looked across the plane to the other guy and gave him a nod and a grin. Implying a greeting and excitement. He was looking forward to this, an opportunity to get out of the base and prove himself while also showing those freaks why they don't mess with the scottish.


James - Arrow

James just got in the seat closest to him, which was the last seat on the left. He didn't need to be in there quick and could pull a pistol should they close on him, but he was the over-watch, the support. Keeps his distance and picks off the baddies the vanguard miss. I damn well hope this is a clean op he thought as he slung his rifle back onto his lap as he sat down. He then took the knife back out and turned his attention to some thick skin on his palm.

 

[Hanzax]

Brian William

Brian entered the aircraft alongside the others and picked out the seat that would result in him being the last out. This turned out to be the last seat on the right, as the VTOL had quickly filled up and the seat on the left had been occupied by british accented fellow. Brian chose the most rear seat, not out of fear, but to keep tabs on the position of his comrades. In case of a hot landing, he'd have to quickly find cover and be secure in the fact that everyone else did aswell.


Brian sat down silently, placing his M4A1 Carbine(M4A5) across his lap and took his time to study his surroundings. The small size of the VTOL and the cramped seatings if it were overly manned weren't of any concern. The conditions weren't dissimilar to a more covert HALO operation, the only difference being the lack of a parachute and oxygen for the drop filling any room to move. The unit he would be deployed with looked like they could their own in a firefight. He'd be lieing to say he wasn't slightly unnerved by "Scarecrow" however it was nice to know it was on their side.

 

[DerUbermensch]

Center radioed Aero once more. "Once your ship is ready to go and a good amount of operatives have boarded, you may head to the AO at your discretion." Alina boarded the ship along everyone else who volunteered. Her heart of stone was apparent when she wasn't unnerved even in the slightest bit by "Scarecrow" and was more bored or mildly irritated by the reactions of her colleagues in arms.


"Let's kick this off. I believe we have some monsters to killl." She was loaded for bear, even though intelligence reveals minor enemies abound. Nonetheless, it was good to be prepared. Whether or not there will be surprises would all be certain once the group reaches the crash site.

 

[Splat]

Aero

​

"Alrightie, we're off to see the wizard!" Aero cracked the joke referencing to an old famous movie, but there was silent agreement that they all hoped there would be no Wizards at their destination. He mashed a few buttons and in seconds the dock was closed and the Little Lady was floating silently above the ground. Aero carefully maneuvered out of the Hangar and into the air. As soon as he was cleared, he slammed the speed pedal into the ground and out on autopilot, the jet taking off toward their destination at near the speed of sound. (or faster?) After the craft steadied Aero leaned back in his pilot's seat and smiles. "Good job dad, you did good. She's perfect." He then hopped up and walked back into the dock area and bowed. "We're on our way, you may now roam about the cabin~"

 

[DerUbermensch]

Approximately half an hour later, the squad arrived. While there was no in-person leader, Center acted as squad leader and mission control. "Get ready for action. Expect heavy resistance." The body of the dragon was visible from the distance. It was out cold and inert. But it didn't say the same for the potential occupants. The forces would most likely be dazed and confused. Another possibility was that they were surveying the area to scout.


The desert offered dunes and cacti. They offered plenty of cover and avenues of ambush. Soldier camouflage helped too. The enemy is vulnerable to ambush during the broad daylight. Alina smirked as her group had the advantages. "Play this right and none of our blood will be shed."

 

[Yang Xiao Long]

Harold Nastda

He worked almost autonomously as the VTOL hovered over the drop point. He checked his repel line then jumped from the back of the bird. As he defended he surveyed the area, rocks, sand, cacti, more sand. They blended in well but they might have issues finding cover. As his feet touched down he went into a crouch, and lifted his machine gun scanning quitely for hostiles on the horizon. He detached his line and then moved forwards a bit looking for cover. A couple meters ahead was a dune, he decided to move up to in and go prone, on top. Looking around he didn't very much liked what he saw, open ground, and sands. Something moved right infront of his face in the sand. "God Dammit!" He jumped back and almost called out an ambush when a desert rodent most like buried by the sand kicked up by the VTOL crawled out of the dune and skampered off. "Fuck me, and fuck this..." He said under his breath as something landed right beside him kicking up a good amount of sand.


Scarecrow

As the craft hovered the Autonomous Infantry Unit waited for the Canadian to jump out. Then it followed suite not using a repel line. Landing beside the heavy Scarecrow scanned the environment. "God Dammit, don't do that again!" Exclaimed the Bearded who had just visibly jumped back from the metal man's sudden arrival. "See anything?" He hesitantly asked not sure if he wanted the anwser. "Negative, though my optical cameras pick up movement ahead." "smart ass..." The soldier acknowledged under his breath. They both shifted to overwatch positions.

 

[General Deth Glitch]

Arrow

James spins on his heels as he stands up and in one smooth movement clips himself in and jumps from the bird on the line. Lightly stepping on the ground just behind the pair he immidiately took a defensive position and begins scanning the distance through his scope for potential targets.


Reid

Damon grabs at the line and slides down with a cheesy grin immediately setting off toward the beast once his boots hit the ground, just about managing to be stealthy as he leaves the squad behind him. "Lets start feeding our friends some lead lads!" he shouted... quietly.

 

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Pedro Matos

Pedro looked out over the landscape, giving himself a quick mental map of the terrain. As he did this, his hands clipped in almost automatically. When enough was enough, he pushed off and slid smoothly down to the ground, his feet touching down almost silently.


On the ground, he immediately made for the top of a dune, several metres away from the Canadian and Scarecrow and a little out ahead of them. The area seemed clear for now, but they hadn't gotten to the... well shit, it actually was a dragon. He chuckled lightly to himself, but otherwise held his tongue. Now was not the time for needless radio chatter to clutter the air. Instead, he bit off the laughter and made a gesture for quiet. Especially to that man who decided that now was the time for a one-liner. If they were going to have any surprise at all, it wouldn't do to be chatting everyone's heads off. Even with the Little Lady in the air, that didn't abandon the notion of stealth. And he'd seen first-hand what these scum could do if you didn't get the drop on them.

 

[DerUbermensch]

P A R A N O R M A L A C T I O N


Scarecrow and Harold would sense an enemy patrol. Said patrol was a trio of ghouls. They were carrying what appeared to be automatic crossbows as their primary weapon. The ghouls were not aware of the operatives' presence and can be either become victims of a sneak attack or assaulted directly. Lastly, these paranormal beings looked hideous; like walking corpses with rotting flesh.


The patrol did not sense the ParaCom operatives. They patrolled alongside a dune in an attempt to examine their surroundings. One of them spoke in some sort of language. The language sounded rather guttural and alien. No body language was used when the ghoul said something.

 

[Splat]

Aero

​

"Alright, the rest of you, out!" Aero shooed the remaining operatives out and closed off the ship. The Little Lady rose silently into the sky, taking covered in a desert cloud making it nearly invisible to anyone who didn't know it was there. The craft was also camo'd to be nearly invisible against a normal sky, anyway. He would stay up there unless Air Support was called upon. Aero's dad had packed this bad girl with three missile dispatchers, and two .50 cal auto-locking turrets on the front end. Aero spoke into his mic a little too loudly, nearly shouting. "Allllllrightie! This is your captain speaking (pilot captain, joke.), The Little Lady is now safely cruising at a comfortable thousand feet above you, making friends with this here desert cloud. Hello? Test, test!~" He laughed after clicking off his mic, he was sure he had annoyed the guys on the ground enough. Time to be serious.





(I can't find colors I like. ._.)

 

[DerUbermensch]

Alina knew what a tight group of paranormals meant. Vulnerability to explosions. She was ready to sneak and throw a grenade. Alina whispered: "Ready to throw a grenade. Killing them all at once." Alina also hoped that the assault doesn't blow away her opportunity. Alina was now in position to throw the grenade, hiding behind a tall cactus.


After making sure that she would not be interrupted, Alina primed and threw the grenade. "Throwing grenade!" She threw the fragmentation grenade right in the middle of the ghoul patrol. BOOM! All three ghouls were instantly killed. However, it was then observed that the weapons of the paranormal self-destruct when the operator dies. The science team would have a field day with weapon fragments, if not an intact weapon. A good chunk of the paranormals were downed. Alina had her first bloods.


Though the paranormals heard the grenade land to them, it was too late for them to react. They didn't even have a chance to fire back in the ambush. However, the rest of the paranormals may wise up and be more careful than their scouts.

 

[Yang Xiao Long]

Harold

"Booyah! Alright let's boogie!" He exclaimed as some Ghoul blood splattered against his face shield. He was lucky that he had it, the dune he was perched on was right above the now late patrol of fugly monster dudes. He stood up and scanned the horizon quickly, then he moved quickly towards the right. He really wasn't used to this kind of combat, sneaking around and using cacti to hide behind like a cartoon character.


He ducked behind a high cactus using it as cover and looked ahead, he decided to switch to overwatch position in order to unload on any unfortunate enemy to enter his line of sight. Just as he got into postion two unfortunate Ghouls walked into his killzone. "Hopefully this'll improve that ugly mug of yours!" He shouted opening up on the first very surprised ghoul.


Scarecrow

Scarecrow moved up to the patrol of Ghouls who just got their asses obliterated. Scanning the area around him he knelt and extended a probe from his wrist taking samples of the paranormals' tissue and blood. Then he went into over watch to ensure the squad wasn't out flanked.

 

[Floodwater31]

Ben

​

Alone in the desert, a jeep sped steadily towards what seemed to be the middle of nowhere, both of it's inhabitants knew exactly where they where heading. One was in a rather sour mood and had bags under his eyes, he was known for his grumpiness and driving for the last several hours hadn't helped his mood. Beside him sat a man who was drawing faces onto shotgun shells with a sharpie marker, he was not known for grumpiness, quite the the opposite infact. Capping his marker, he replaced the shell (with it's new elated expression) back into the gun which rested across his lap. Taking in his surroundings, the less surly of two individuals noted nothing but dunes, the cloud of dust rising behind them, and a dome like hill. He assumed that was the hanger.


"Is that it?"


"No"


"What is it then?"


"The Queen"


"The Queen sure got fat..."


"F*** you"


The rookie, noting the English flag on the grumpy man's arm decided not to pursue the conversation any further. The rest of the trip to "The Queen" was taken in silence. Some people just couldn't take sarcasm.

 

[DerUbermensch]

Ben

​

Alone in the desert, a jeep sped steadily towards what seemed to be the middle of nowhere, both of it's inhabitants knew exactly where they where heading. One was in a rather sour mood and had bags under his eyes, he was known for his grumpiness and driving for the last several hours hadn't helped his mood. Beside him sat a man who was drawing faces onto shotgun shells with a sharpie marker, he was not known for grumpiness, quite the the opposite infact. Capping his marker, he replaced the shell (with it's new elated expression) back into the gun which rested across his lap. Taking in his surroundings, the less surly of two individuals noted nothing but dunes, the cloud of dust rising behind them, and a dome like hill. He assumed that was the hanger.


"Is that it?"


"No"


"What is it then?"


"The Queen"


"The Queen sure got fat..."


"F*** you"


The rookie, noting the English flag on the grumpy man's arm decided not to pursue the conversation any further. The rest of the trip to "The Queen" was taken in silence. Some people just couldn't take sarcasm.

"Took your sweet time?" A security guard recognized that Ben was a new recruit to ParaCom. He then directly guided the rookie to the barracks. "Here is the barracks. Consider it your home away from home. They are the living quarters for the troops. Just next to it is the armory on the left, a gym on the right, and a recreational area just below." The security guard was a lot more courteous than the driver.


"It's a lot for you to take in. I know. But we'll turn the tide in this war." This was time for the new recruit to see to his bunk and locker assigned to him. It contained all the information needed and explained what was going on. The chain of command, procedures, and even a PDA that acted as his ID. The PDA had a note on it, saying, "Don't lose this!"