Advertising Supplement/Sports/Mort Hockey League

Mort Hockey League

Type: Professional Hockey Organization

Location: Stadiums in Central, Uptown, Upper and Lower Downtown

Description: The Mort Hockey League (MHL) maintains four divisions of three teams each. The Divisions break down as follows:

Mort Central Division

Camden Sector Sanguines

Pegram Sector Rainfall

Carver Sector Fusion

Uptown Division

Runyon Sector Legionnaires

Striplin Sector Ennui

Rascette Sector Infernos

Suburbia Division

Maxwell Sector Ice Clowns

Freedman Sector Reapers

Macklin Sector Highlanders

Downtown Division

Lowell Sector Sewer Rats

Lower Hambelton Pest Control

Upper Hambelton Smoking Octopi

Each team has its own arena which is used for other events (concerts, conventions, other sports and Contract Circuit events) when the team is at an away game and during the off-season. It comes as a surprise to many people that the Downtown arenas are kept in very good repair and have their own Shiver Station attached.

Shivers have a special connection to the MHL, as the Lower Hambelton Pest Control began its life as an all Shiver hockey club. It is a matter of pride that the Shivers have had at least one of their ranks playing for each team in the MHL since the inception of the league. Each Shiver department in a league sector works hard to get a player on the local team. Shivers who go pro are excused from active duty during their time in the league, though they can be called to active duty in times of emergency. Shivers playing in the MHL are permitted to draw their regular Shiver salaries on top of league pay. Pay in the MHL is based on time and talent. Rookies can expect to make around 2,000c per season while veteran stars command 20,000c and up. Production and post season bonuses add to the pay and endorsement money can also sweeten the deal. Ennui star Jacques Forlaine brings in upwards of 50,000c per season with endorsements and bonuses. Not bad for a Shiver Sergeant.

The MHL is co-ed, with most teams having one or two women on the roster. On interesting side-note, over 65% of the women in the MHL play goalie. The MHL is exempt from the Racial Equality Program; Shaktars and Stormers are not permitted to play (even if they wanted to). Ebons and Brain Wasters, while not strictly prohibited, show no interest in playing the sport, let alone watching it. Wraith Raiders have become huge MHL fans, likely due to the ice and cold of the venues. Wraiths are permitted in the MHL; their speed and grace make them natural players, and several Wraiths have found fame in the ranks of the MHL. Frothers are permitted to play; the Macklin Highlanders is actually an all Frother team. The incredibly strict anti-drug policies tend to keep more Frothers out of the MHL, regardless of how much they enjoy the fighting and hitting people with sticks.

Drug screening in the MHL is regular and stringent, and no biogenetic enhancements are permitted. There is a zero tolerance policy for both, with a lifetime ban for the first offense. No explanations or excuses are accepted. There is no appeals process. Since the league began in 826SD, only eight players have been ejected for violating the drug and biogenetic policies. Players know better and respect the MHL far too much to risk it.

The MHL has worked to keep game tickets affordable, considering that a quarter of the teams in the league operate in low-income sectors. Ticket prices start at 5u for a standing room only pass to 125u for a seat on the glass at center ice at a marquee game. Each stadium can hold around 20,000 fans, so there are plenty of tickets in all price ranges. All games are televised, so fans who can't afford to get tickets can still follow their favorite teams.

Dining choices at games vary from stadium to stadium, with companies annually bidding on vending rights. Expect to see choices like BacBurger or Paramour Pizza in Suburbia/Downtown arenas, while Uptown/Central arenas offer selections from establishments such as Chez Bummin' or Hey! Fondue! Private boxes are often catered by fine restaurants like Martindale's.

An MHL season is 82 games, half played at home and half on the road. The playoffs is an elimination tournament consisting of four rounds of best-of-seven series. The first three rounds determine which team from each conference will advance to the final round. The grand prize in the MHL is the Progress Cup, a large platinum trophy etched with the champion roster for each year. Despite using small print, the Cup has grown to over five feet tall; when space runs out on the cup, another level is added.

Dept. Employment Record #3211/2a

OPERATIVE STATUS CHANGE:
Name: Craig Ferguson
Race: Human
Training Package: Strike Squad
SCL: 9B.5CK
Status:
- Dropped from Squad "Team Spartan"
- Entered as Contract Killer on Contract Circuit
Effective: 9.03.03
Agent/Handler: Carter Burke
CK Callsign: Apathy

Dept. of Psychology & Psychoses/Employment Record #3211/2a/Operative Status

Date: 8.18.903
From: Dr. Kirstin Randolph, Department of Psychology and Psychoses
To: Department of Employment
Re: Operative Craig Ferguson, Strike Squad, Team Spartan (Record #3211/2a), SCL: 9B.5

UPDATE OF CONDITION:
Ferguson continues to be a problem with the staff. He seems to revel in his situation now. On request of his Financier, Carter Burke, Ferguson will be issued a Medical Exemption Certificate and allowed to enter the Contract Circuit. It is hoped that SLA Industries can get some use of this Employee before his mental situation completely degrades.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
Operative Ferguson will receive his Psychological Examination and Evaluation Exemption Certificate as requested.

TREATMENT:
Operative Ferguson will continue to receive a full spectrum of antidepressants when released to the Contract Circuit. At this time, this Dr. and department absolve themselves of any responsibility for the care and actions of the subject in question

BPN Resolution: DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS: GREY

Issuing Department: Internal Affairs
Color Code:GREY
BPN #: IA/111623/SN
Surveillance: Station Analysis
Squad/Operative Undertaking: Team Spartan
Date Issued/Date Completed: 8/14/903, 8/15/903

Summary:

• Squad dispatched to [D-NOTICE] to neutralize [D-NOTICE]

• Operatives Fiddich and Obsession infiltrated facility covertly.

• Target successfully neutralized.

• All witnesses neutralized.

• Target facility destroyed.

• Operatives escaped facility without detection.

Collateral Damage to SLA Property:HEAVY Nature of BPN mitigates all damage caused to SLA property.

Squad Fatalities:None.

Conclusion:BPN satisfactorily completed. Squad payout: 500c/Operative. SCL +0.5/Operative.

ADDENDUM: Given Operative Fiddich's willingness to complete a BPN of this nature, this Operative and Squad should be considered for further BPNs of "sensitive" nature.

Advertising Supplement/Gentlemen's Clubs/Slatterns

Type: Exclusive gentlemen's club

Location: Mort Central

Description: Located in the heart of Mort Central, Slatterns is one of, if not the most exclusive gentleman’s clubs on Mort. One does not simply walk into Slatterns. Once must be invited. Invitees are carefully screened before a formal invitation is made. Only those with a surplus of money, power or fame are called on for membership. Invitations are always elaborate and intended as a major spectacle. Traditionally, invitations are delivered by an impossibly beautiful woman flanked by two impossibly huge men. They will arrive in an impossibly huge Augustus limousine. The invitee will be brought into the limo where they will be wined and dined on the finest food and drink before the offer is made. No expense is spared on the presentation. The terms of the membership are financially dear and utterly non-negotiable. The initial membership fee is 5,000c payable immediately, with monthly dues of 1,500c. These fees cover all food and drink at club. Only gratuity and “other expenses” need to be covered.

Despite its name, Slatterns is an extremely opulent and upscale establishment. Members are expected to dress appropriately. While coat and tie or formal gown is not strictly required, showing up in tatty dungarees could eventually get your membership revoked. The building and décor are classic Head Office. Glass, steel, marble and leather are the mainstays. Subtle colored neon tubing trims the interior, suffusing the club with a warm, exotic glow. Seating can be found at the bars, tables, semi-private booths, or one of the many raised platforms on which the famed women of Slatterns perform.

The women of Slatterns are legendary throughout the World of Progress. While the regular bartenders and waitresses are all stunningly attractive, the dancers’ grace and beauty almost defies description. Twenty-four hours a day the finest women in the Known Universe are on display. Though the club invites members of all races (though admittedly few Shaktars and Wraiths accept), Slatterns only employs female humans as wait-staff and female humans and ebons as dancers.

The dancers are all available for personal and private performances as well as a cornucopia of carnal delights. A patron need only ask a waitress for “The Menu.” Requesting “a menu” will produce an actual listing of the drinks and foods available. Requesting “The Menu” will produce a leather-bound, gold-leafed folio with bios and photos of all available dancers on that shift. Along with the photos and bios is a detailed listing of all the “activities” available. These range from as traditional as a lap dance to as exotic as a full-blown (pardon the pun) orgy. The dancers are highly skilled in almost any carnal activity one could dream of. No prices are listed on The Menu; if you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it, and those who can’t afford it would never have been invited in the first place. Accounts are simply discreetly billed for any “activities.”

Whereas most Operatives and Contract Killers would scoff at the idea of paying for sex, there is no such stigma attached to paying for pleasure at Slatterns. Members feel they are paying for quality and public image. They feel paying for the delights of a Slatterns dancer is no different than spending 50,000 on a top of the line Highjoule Masari instead of taking the bus. Both get you where you need to go, but one looks and feels so much nicer and nobody ever looked with envious eyes at some schmuck riding the bus.

Many of the members of Slatterns are there only for social and business reasons. Anyone who is anyone is a member of Slatterns. Being seen going in or out of the club is an automatic boost to the reputation. Business deals are often made inside. Business executives, financiers, and agents do everything in their power to obtain a membership to Slatterns. The large cost of membership often pays for itself after a couple of well planned deals. In an average night, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of credits could change hands under the neon glow.

Slatterns also has the distinction of being one of the few places Intruder frequents of his own volition. He always comes alone and has a private room in the back. Nobody, including management, knows what goes on in there; the less they know the better. Two Dark Finders guard the door to prevent snoopers. Intruder is quite sociable on his way to or from his room, stopping to talk with just about anyone who asks. He is very polite and seems genuinely regretful when he says he must be going.

While Slatterns is not a gambling establishment, accommodations can be made for guests, with the house taking 10% of every pot. Generally a room can be set aside and a dancer provided to run the game. Possibly as a bad intended pun, the only game permitted in Slatterns is poker.

BPN Resolution: THIRD EYE NEWS: RED

Issuing Department: Third Eye News
Color Code:RED.
BPN #: TEt4892544/CS
Surveillance: Third Eye News
Squad/Operative Undertaking: Team Spartan
Date Issued/Date Completed: 3/10/903, 3/10/903

Summary:

• Squad dispatched to Cannibal Sector 5 to diffuse a hostage situation.

• Dante Veteran K'thrr shot down Third Eye News helicopter and captured reporter Rita Hurley, a camera operator, control operator, pilot and co-pilot.
• K'thrr demanded return to her squad on Dante in trade for lives of hostages.
  
• Operatives airlifted to area of situation along with Third Eye Reporter Jackie Turnbull.
• Operative K'dgh attempted to engage K'thrr in negotiations while Operatives Obsession and Tawna flanked the structure. Operative Fiddich was directed to hold his position until situation became hostile.
• During negotiations, Co-pilot was executed by K'thrr to prove resolve.
  
• Reaching a position where she could see the situation clearly, Operative Obsession Reality Folded in behind K'thrr and executed the assailant with a single 12.7mm HEAP pistol round to the back of the head.
  
• Remaining hostages rescued with no further casualties.
• Squad and hostages safely airlifted back to CS5 Wall.

Collateral Damage to SLA Property:MINIMAL. Hostage killed during the rescue operation. Mitigated by employee expendability and safe return of popular media personality

Squad Fatalities:None.

Conclusion: BPN satisfactorily completed. Squad payout+recovery bonus: 3000c/Operative. SCL +0.3/Operative.

BPN Resolution: DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH: JADE

Issuing Department: Research
Color Code:JADE
BPN #: CD/41163288/DL
Surveillance: Station Analysis
Squad/Operative Undertaking: Team Spartan
Date Issued/Date Completed:3/9/903, 3/10/903
Summary:

• Squad dispatched to Cannibal Sector 1 to investigate an Ebb-sensitive artifact of indeterminate origin. If possible, Squad was to retrieve item; video footage acceptable if artifact unable to be transported back to Sector Wall.
  

• Squad rendezvoused with Sector Ranger base on the river and assisted in repelling a Cannibal assault.

• Squad continued on past river to approximate location of Ebb source.
  

• Squad located source of Ebb inside cave.

• [D-NOTICE]

• [D-NOTICE]

Collateral Damage to SLA Property:NONE. Operation took place in Cannibal Sector 1.

Squad Fatalities:None.

Conclusion:BPN satisfactorily completed. Squad payout+Retrieval Bonuses: 7000c. SCL +0.5/Operative.