It's springtime and the strangeness has already started. To begin with Theresa Laman is no longer the editor of ADQ, making her the shortest-lived editor of ADQ with only five months and one ADQ issue under her belt. Our reaction was of utter disbelief. What happened? Will we ever know? Then the news of more staff changes had come about. What are we to do? The new guy on the block at SJG is Chris McCubbin. We wish him luck.

Yes, we know that the last two newsletters have been out late due to various reasons. Hopefully we'll get back on schedule with this issue and the following one.

With Aeroduel on the horizon and winter ending here's a few items to spruce up the duelling. Whatever happened to Uncle What's-His-Name anyway?

Snowblower: $1,000, 300 lbs., 2 spaces. Can be front or rear mounted. Cannot be mounted on hovercraft, boats, helicopters, and miro/airplanes. Snowblowers can be mounted in front of a ramplate, but not a snow blade. This device can throw snow up to three inches away. The resulting snowpile, or snowline if the mounting vehicle is moving, is a D3 hazard to a vehicle driving through it. A vehicle attempting to drive through a snow line will slow down by 5 mph per phase. This continues until the vehicle stops or maneuvers out of the snow line.

A snowblower can be used as a weapon. They can fire to the left, right, and front (or rear) arcs. It has a base to-hit of 11 and does 1D6-2 damage to vehicles, 1D6 to pedestrians. A vehicle hit by snow will suffer the same effects of a paint spray. A pedestrian will be buried until dug out. Ram damage doing at least one point will always destroy a snowblower.

Folding Wings: $1,000, 20 lbs. This item allows an airplane or microplane to be stowed in a smaller area. It takes two turns to fold wings up, down, or out and counts as a firing action. This accessory can be used with extra wings.

Electrical Outlet: $800. Maximum of one outlet for every two crew stations in a vehicle, round up. This option allows powered handweapons to use electricity from a vehicular power plant. Includes 15 feet of cord so that weapons may be used while outside the vehicle.

For the Laser VLAW/LAW there is a 1-in-6 chance that it may explode if fired every turn after the first, starting with the second turn. For every turn above the second the roll increase by 1 (third turn is 2-in-6, fourth is 3-in-6, etc). Of course, the seventh consecutive use will automatically cause the weapon to explode. An exploding Laser VLAW/LAW will do 2D6-2 damage to everything in a 2 ?" radius.

NOVA is currently gearing up for the Central Regional (formally called the Midwest and Great Plains Regional). It's looking like to just be the local duellists and no out of towners. Due to recent developments the Colorado chapters will be forming their own region called the Mountain West. To top it off the Illinois chapters aren't coming either. Of course, MADD will not be coming due to a lack of money and membership in the chapter.

As mentioned earlier SJG has gone through yet another shake up. Does anyone want to bet on the length for the latest editor? I wouldn't want to either. One lucky thing about having Chris McCubbin is that our Tim Jacques went to college with him.

There's a new group of free-lance assassins in town calling themselves "The Phantom Plague". They have been connected with several assassinations, including police commissioners. They are wanted by virtually every police department in the country and several nations. Bounty hunters, police and federal agents are coming out of the wood work to track them down. A 15 million dollar award is out for their capture. The New Omaha Police in particular want them for themselves after a recent incident in the western part of the city attributed to the Plague. See the 10 O'Clock News for more details.

Locally we have two news items of note. First, the Ground Zero RADS have gone inactive due to a lack of leadership and attendance. The were the second chapter in the New Omaha area. Secondly, one of our members was violently killed during a duel. He had no clones to carry on. We mourn the passing of Mike "Bullseye" Hirtes. We'll miss him, sorta. He never really was a good and consistent duellist. His fame came mainly from vehicles with loads of metal armor (including component armor), oil guns with flaming oil loads, and ramplates. Sorry to say but he made way too many enemies on the autoduelling circuit and elsewhere. He was not even that well-liked in NOVA. Enough with this gas; on with the issue!

The next Car Wars supplement is Aeroduel. NOVA had a chance to play test it and found it riddled with errors. We were impressed at the spectrum of air vehicles covered in it, though. It was written by Craig Sheeley, who also wrote the State of the Art and Cybernetics in Car Wars articles in ADQ. Enough said.

The first submarine in a duel: NOVA's third anniversary duel at the Oceans of Blood arena on April 15, 2038. The crew consisted of Delmar Jones (pilot), Xan Tripper, and Dooley and George Mitchell (gunners). The sub was called the Radius Sea Wraith and is in full production for Coast Guard use.

The first boat-helicopter (Duck) used in a duel: Also at NOVA's third anniversary duel. Robojed used a Duck called the Waterskipper. It used an experimental holographic invisibility system during this duel.

The first duellist to win the Central Regional Championship twice: Tim Jacques, in 2038 and 2040.

The first arena duel won in a hand-to-hand fight: June 30, 2038. No-Gun won a Division 10 duel at the New Boston Autoduel Arena by knocking out John Generic.

We got many letters and phone calls in the last few months. This is partially because of an add in ADQ advertising old ADQ issues and miniatures. Mail came in from all over the U.S. inquiring about miniatures. Thanks to the following people for taking the miniatures, ADQs, and modules off my hands: David Autzen - Springfield, Illinois, John Neahr - Buckley, Michigan, Carlos McReynolds - Miami, Florida, Damian Stumpf - Albany, California, TJ Gates - Pentwater, Michigan, Todd Smith - Olympia, Washington, Michael Thomas - Richland, Washington, and Bert Roberts III - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In addition each received a complementary copy of the Nightmessenger.

One of our regular correspondence, Matt Schuler, had some ideas on the Hawk gear created by Norman McMullen. Matt's suggestions were too detailed for my liking. Please remember the KIS rule (Keep It Simple) for gadgets. If it isn't easy to use then forget it. Don't take personal, Matt. Anyone wanting copies of both Hawk gear descriptions just write NOVA.

Another of our regulars is Craig Sheeley of MADD; who is best ignored. Our best advice is not to write or talk to him. He recently sent us a card calling us "my favorite playtesters". Sorry, that's backward. We're his worst critics.

Michael Garrity of Rhode Island has been corresponding with Tim Jacques lately. Mike sent us some of his gadgets for our consideration. On the whole they were pretty good. His reactions to our adventures and other events was that we were crazier than he was. We can live with that compliment.

We also got a call from Curt Turner of the Illinois Legion of the Lethal, informing us that they wouldn't be attending the regional. Other topics covered was the mess up of rechartering dates of our respective clubs, the Compendium and it's second edition. Everyone on the line agreed it wasn't right to ask the duelling public to plop down another $20 less than a year after the initial release. Most of the Compendium's rules have been revised or chucked during that year. Either a recall, trade, or discount should be done to clear up the situation. We recently found out that the second edition changes will be printed in ADQ 8-2, similar to the third edition changes printed in ADQ 1-2 way back when.

A new regular correspondent is Matt Tackett of Illinois. Back in December he inquired about our newsletter and club organization. Recently he got a chapter together under the provisional name of Gladiators, Eliminators, Autoduellists and Recreational Speeders (GEARS) with Matt as vice-president. We congratulate him and wish his chapter good luck. He did regret missing the Midwest (a.k.a Central) Regional. We're sorry he wasn't informed of it; it was our oversight.

December 23, 2039: Two terminators called Hans and Frans attacked the Break-Neck Sallon and killed a local doctor. The terminators were destroyed after they stole a rig and rammed into a hospital. The terminators were destroyed in the hospital after a prolonged fire-fight. The duellist Crazy was the hero of the day. John Generic ended up in the psycho ward after he killed several patients and staff, looking for terminators. John may be released in four weeks.

January 6, 2040: In KC-1 Doc was arrested for misuse of state funds and income tax evasion.

January 15, 2040: Doc's tax trial started today. Both sides called up to the witness stand some of New Omaha's most renown duellists.

January 16, 2040: DJ Battle placed Battle, Nebraska up for sale. Rumored buyers include Los Disneys.

January 17, 2040: Joseph "Joe Rat" Ratner was killed along with nine FBI agents by the assassins of the Phantom Plague organization. The NOPD and FBI are investigating the killings. It was not known at this time if Joe's clone was activated. The Weasel has assumed temporary control of NOVA.

January 18, 2040: A Ratner Taxi blew up at Eppley Airfield. The driver and passenger survived uninjured.

January 19, 2040: A number of people were killed by an unknown assailant at Dull, Inc. in Chicago. A high-speed chase ensued, ending after the camper the assailant was driving ran right into a plane that was barely flying above the ground. Anyone with information about this strange incident please contact the Chicago Police Department.

January 20, 2040: After announcing that he was holding members of Varean Investigations and the Phantom Plague hostage Professor Starshine let loose a robot tank in the New Industrial Park. The tank was stopped by NOVA and some building code inspectors. N.A. Palmer and John Generic shot and killed Phantom Plague member Mark Fairborne after he tried to kill the NOVA members. NOVA then proceeded to Starshine's airship outside of Battle, Nebraska and rescued the hostages. The airship was demolished in mid-air and crashed. Starshine managed to escape in a rocket-powered plane.

Later in the day Joe Ratner gave a press conference. He said that the FBI kept the news of his clone activation secret so that they had a chance to catch to assassins.

February 3, 2040: Doc's tax trial ended. After some late evidence was introduced by the defense the sentencing was announced. He was fined $500,000, audited for the last 10 years, 2 years probation and perform 200 hours of community service.

February 7, 2040: In an abandoned warehouse over 20 bodies of mob members were found. A person identifying himself as the Black Avenger claimed responsibility.

February 12, 2040: Reports of clown-driven car came in during this day. Identity of this four-wheeled fool is unknown.

February 14, 2040: The Batman made his return known as he stopped several robberies and other minor crimes. Ambush vowed not to outdone.

February 15, 2040: Ambush was found tied up on the steps of Police Headquarters. Ambush said it was the work of the Black Avenger. A pile of dead gang members was found in a nearby alley. A card with the worlds Black Avenger was found on top of the pile.

February 17, 2040: Ambush stopped a robbery in progress. He claimed "it was nothing". Batman was also busy as he handed over several gang members to the police. The Black Avenger stopped a boatload of smugglers on the Missouri River. The Police say they're tried of these vigilantes messing up their undercover sting operations.

February 23, 2040: Phantom Plague members Kurt Kruse, Jill Kruse, Mark Fairborne, Shannon Spray and David Crane turned themselves in to police, ending the international manhunt for them.

February 26, 2040: The Phantom Plague trial was started.

March 3, 2040: Tim "Weasel" Jacques won the Central Regional Championship at Hammer Downs, Detroit.

March 16, 2040: The Phantom Plague trail ended with the jury bringing back guilty verdicts on all charges.

March 19, 2040: The judge in the Phantom Plague trail announced the sentence of death for the convicted Phantom Plague members.

March 21, 2040: The execution of the convicted Phantom Plague members was televised across the nation. This event scored the highest ratings for it's time slot that day.

This year's Central Regional was plagued by a lack of duellists. In the first round only two duellists showed up at the Double Drum Arena to battle it out. They were Don Jacques and Norman McMullen. After several turns of maneuver Norman won by a slim margin (if only HEAT blast cannon rounds were arena-legal - editor).

The final round was held at Hammer Downs. The duellists competing were Don Jacques, Cliff Christiansen (last year's champion), Tim Jacques (NOVA's champ) and Norman McMullen. Don drove a variant of his famous Cannon Ranger, Cliff a Grandslam Firebug (see The Showroom for this vehicle's stats), Norman a Blastfighter variant, and Tim a modified Navigator (it had no passenger).

Everyone exited out of their assigned gates. Cliff and Norman turned towards each other. Cliff fired five of his laser- guided HRs at Norman, doing very little damage. Norman fired his blast cannon in reply, doing major damage to Cliff's front armor. Cliff fired his remaining rockets in front of Norman's car, creating a crater. Norman next shot nearly destroyed the remaining armor on Cliff's front. Tim fired a grenade from his hand-held launcher towards these two combatants.

Don fired a shot at Cliff but missed. Cliff, Don, and Tim went up the corner ramps. The grenade went off, blinding Norman for a few phases and forcing him to drive straight. On the upper level Cliff laid down a trail of burning oil and Don deployed some spikes, partially blocking off the upper level. Don and Tim fired and hit Cliff with blast cannons and rockets. Cliff turned onto one of the upper jump ramps. Don hit Cliff on the side. Cliff started to drop burning oil and was hit again by Don. Cliff's driver was killed, becoming the first kill in the arena and placing Don in the lead. Cliff's wreck came to stop and became a white-hot molten wreck.

Tim came back down to engage Norman. The traded hits against their front armors; Tim had average damage while Norman had minor. Don entered the fray, and Tim and Norman fired on his front, doing heavy damage. Tim then turned and took out Norman's left front tire. Norman swerved out of the way, and Tim went after Don. The resulting head-on collision Don's car was destroyed and Tim lost 25% of his front armor.

Tim and Norman, seeing that they were the only ones left, agreed to a restart without cleaning up the arena and no repairs to the vehicles. After removing the dead from the field the duel recommenced. Tim took out Norman's right front tire and suffered heavy damage to his front in return. Norman's car came to halt. Tim radioed for Norman's surrender, but Norman challenged him to a handweapon showdown. Tim agreed and set the range at 75 feet. The first shots missed; Tim had an anti-vehicular rifle, Norman a machine pistol. On the second round Norman's driver was hit and fell. Tim's driver rushed over and applied first aid until the paramedics arrived. Tim Jacques won the event.

And now more duelling slang for those frustrated duellists out there.

Undead: Any vehicle that gets back into a duel after surrendering. An unhonorable duellist.

Crackle, Crackle: The sound of burning cars and drivers.

Ramhead: A duellists who loves ramplates and ram tactics.

Squash: What's left after a monster truck gets tired of sitting in a traffic jam.

Dime-A-Dozen: Pedestrian kills in a mall.

Frisbee: Bouncing a hovercraft between two or more large objects.

Sore-Winner: A duellist who resorts to sabotage to win.

Deadbrain: An individual who kibbitz the rules until the other players want to kill him. Also known as a Ruleslawyer.

USO: Unidentified Squished Object.

Fizzle: The sound that a flamethrower makes when its filled with the wrong kind of fuel.

Ohmygod: A statement of surprise made by a duellist as he sees a vehicle or event that's going to kill him. Examples include a monster car, tank, or helicopter attack.

Hortamobile: A vehicle with tons of metal and component armor. Usually armed with an oil gun or other obscure weapon. A vehicle built on the mistaken belief of the "invulnerable" concept.

Beer Grenade: Beer cans or bottles thrown at another vehicle. This usually happens when a duellist runs out of ammo and has an armored beer refrigerator.

The following vehicles didn't get in the latest Midwest Encounter Guide. Showcased here are two Grandslam variants. Few vehicles can withstand the full volley of a Grandslam. One design is able to do so head-on: The Blastfighter.

Grandslam Firebug: Van, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, super power plant, 6 PR tires, driver, 10 APHRs front, TL front, LGL for all rockets, HDFOJ left linked to HDFOJ right, SWC. Armor: F30, L30, R30, B30, T11, U11, 2 5-point wheelguards rear. Accel. 5, top speed 97.5/95 fully load, HC 2; 6,908 lbs., $23,160. Cargo Capacity: 6 spaces, 292 lbs.

Grandslam II: Van w/CA frame, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, super power plant, 6 PR tires, driver, 3 linked VFRPs front w/AP ammo, TL front, LGL for all rockets, FOJ left linked to FOJ right, overdrive, hi-res computer. Sloped armor: F45, L40, R40, B45, T14, U14. Accel. 5/2.5 w/overdrive, top speed 100/95 full load, 120/115 full load w/overdrive, HC 2; 6,807 lbs., $56,009. Cargo Capacity: 5 spaces, 393 lbs.

Elf Dancer: Luxury w/CA frame, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, large power plant w/SC, 4 plasticore tires, driver, gunner, 2 linked GGs w/dual magazine front, FOJ w/HT ammo rear, spoiler, airdam, HD shocks, extra driver controls, 2 HRSWC, overdrive, HD brakes, anti-lock brakes, LDR, radar, velvet glove interior. Sloped FP armor: F60, L40, R40, B60, T14, U20, 2 10-point FP wheelhubs front and 2 10-point FP wheelguards rear. Accel. 5/2.5 w/overdrive, Top speed 90/110 w/overdrive, HC 3; 6,525 lbs., $77,646.

Goliath XR Tractor: Sleeper Longnose, x-hvy. chassis, super power plant w/PC and SC, 10 plasticore tires, driver, gunner, pulse XL in universal turret, laser battery, HRSWC, radar, LDR, radar detector linked to radar jammer, extra drive controls, HD shocks, tinted no-paint windows. LR metal/LR plastic armor: F20/10, L16/10, R16/10, B10/10, T16/7, U10/7 with 10 points of CA each for crew and power plant, 6 2-point polished metal wheelguards, 6 2-point polished metal wheelhubs. 4 point polished metal fifth wheel guard. Accel. 2.5/5, top speed 170/130 full load, HC 0/1 w/trailer; 16,200 lbs., $175,351. Can tow up to 75,800 lbs.

Goliath XR Trailer: 40 foot van trailer, quick-release kingpin, 12 plasticore tires, 2 linked pulse infrared lasers in universal turrets TF and TB, 16 laser batteries, 2 linked pulse HXLs located LF, LR, RF, RR. 2 linked pulse HXLs rear, 11 smart links, 5 gunners, 3 cyberlinks (turrets and rear lasers), 2 HRSWCs, 2 computer gunners w/software packages, 2 IFEs, HD shocks. LR metal/LR plastic armor: 37/50 in all locations, 6 2-point polished metal wheelhubs, 6 2-point polished metal wheelguards. 54,665 lbs., $417,310.

A little over a year ago the National Aerial Refueling, Recharging, and Repair Company (NARRRCO) was started by Ion Storm and is headquartered in the New Omaha Boneyards. In a posh office in a refurbished four-story building I had the following interview with him.

Nightmessenger (NM): How's business?

Ion Storm (IS): Very good. We have over 75,000 refueling and recharges daily throughout our national chain. NARRRCO will probably go international in a few years.

NM: Sounds great. Where were you born and raised?

IS: I was born across the river in Council Bluffs, Iowa and lived there until the Food Riots in 2014. I was four years old at the time. The family didn't get food because the Indian Affairs people were gone. In the Riots my parents were always at the center of them. We got our food by breaking into warehouses. Then the mayor called out the National Guard and my parents were jailed for their involvement in the Riots. I took to the streets and lived by begging and stealing. The police will attest that I was arrested several times during that period. I joined a street gang and stolen several cars. After a police raid I escaped through the city wall and meet other kids like me. After my sixth birthday the group was "adopted" by a cycle gang. The leader chose me because he thought it would be fun to have an Indian as a son.

In 2026, for my rite-of-passage, I fought my adopted dad in a fist fight and won. We didn't talk to each other after that. I got to thinking that me and my friends could take over the whole gang. Dad and I fought again and he died by my knife. After several other of the older gang members died I was declared leader. I renamed the gang the Thunderbolts. We slapped together several fast cycles and went after convoys. That's where the legend began. We attacked so fast that many people never got off a shot before they were all over the highway. We sometimes salvaged entire rigs.

NM: Is that where the famous blitzkrieg attacks came from?

IS: Yup. That lasted for about four years. Then we ambushed before we could do the same to a convoy. Not a pretty sight; police, cycles and trucks all over the place. I was captured.

NM: That was in 2030, right?

IS: Yes. After spending two years in prison I qualified for the pen duelling team. Then I won a chance at the Duel-For- Freedom at War Arena in Council Bluffs.

NM: Is that the arena you flew out of? What kind of cycle did you use?

IS: Yes, it was. In the arena I used a prototype Radius design called the Roadrunner. It had a solid rocket engine in the rear along with a standard power plant. It was a hell of a ride! Pity that the cycle was wrecked, but Radius did gave me another one.

NM: After that you worked for Ratner Taxi, then became part-owner of Lightning Transport?

IS: Yes. I'm grateful for Joe and Teri for hiring me and having faith in me. Without them I'd never be at where I am today. Thanks to them I got my HSE diploma and I'm currently attending college.

NM: Any closing comments?

IS: There's some parts of my life I regret and others that I would liked to have done differently. To the young duellists out there I would like to say be careful on where you go; your the one who's going to have to live with it.

Ion Storm is a full Apache Indian; he stands six foot five and has black hair and eyes. He's a confirmed ace and has the following skills: Running +1, Cyclist +3, Gunner +4, Handgunner +2, Pilot +2, Hang glider and Driver. He captured two Apache Warlords while on a BLUD hunt and Skycycle from who-knows-where. His colors are black and yellow. To date he has set three world records: fastest coast-to-coast flight in a helicopter, going coast-to-coast on one charge, and flying the fastest electric helicopter.

NOVA has heard of it's reputation of being "the most aggressively obnoxious chapter in the nation". We wish to change our ways. No more poison pens.

Dead Subjects:

1. Oines - Dead and buried.

2. Sheeley - We are willing to let bygones by bygones if he promises to keep his mentions of SDI in the correct context.

3. River City ADA - We have no real beef with them, just frustration at not being able to attend the World Championships as much as they do.

The above list we will not cover again. If we do, they will be stated straight out and only once without insults. We apologize for any bad blood with anyone else in the AADA. Obviously, our editorials went further than we thought.

Well our next issue will feature our encounters with the terminators and Professor Starshine. Nova Works will feature Aeroduel items. The Local Hero is still up in the air. Of course all of our other regular features will return.

Expect The Midwest Encounter Guide 2 is just being finished and will be out soon, about six months off schedule (the same for some gaming companies). The NOVA Works 2040 Catalog should be out soon also.

NOVA will be hosting a tournament at Omacon 10, August 3-5, 1990. The gaming guest of honor is going to be Chris McCubbin, the current ADQ editor.

On April 15, 2040 NOVA will be celebrating it's fifth anniversary and start it's sixth year in the AADA.

Drive, Fly, Pilot and Boat Offensively!

Norman McMullen, President

Don Jacques, Secretary

Re-editing of Nightmessenger Vol. 4, No. 1 completed on 06/05/97 by Donald Jacques.

Editors: Norman McMullen, John Schuncke, Tim Jacques, and Don Jacques.

NOVA Works: Snowblower by Cliff Christiansen, Folding Wings by Norman McMullen, and Electrical Outlet by Matt Schuler.

In the Arena, Local Hero: Norman McMullen.

The Showroom: Grandslam Firebug by Cliff Christiansen, Grandslam II by Norman McMullen, Elf Dancer by Matt Schuler and Goliath XR Tractor and Trailer by Michael Garrity.

On the Soap Box: Norman McMullen

Duelslang: Norman McMullen, Cliff Christansen and Jay Chladek.

All other sections done by Norman McMullen.

Typesetting: Norman McMullen.

This time around the issue was originally typed out (yes, a typewriter). It was reentered as a WordPerfect 5.1 document, turned into a HTML document by KEYview 5.1, and edited again in Netscape Navigator Gold 3.0.

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