Business's & Departments within the World of Progress

General Armaments:

General Armaments have had a rather chequered success rate with their products over the years and are finding it hard to maintain their hold in the market place. Their products are sound enough with a good robust design and long life expectancy of parts, which should be ample requirements for success but against such manufacturing giants like FEN, GA is David against Goliath without the stone. GA are slowly losing their sponsorship deals due to a drop in sales. This should spell the end of GA's weapons design team unless they can work miracles or acquire funding from outside sources. The rather unfortunate crossing of swords with FEN may hinder greatly the chances of GA contracting funding from any source. After financial collapse, a buy-out attempt by FEN is inevitable.

FEN

"Two FEN 603s double slung at the base of my spine, two Gunheads holster slung on my thighs and, of course, this Power Reaper for those special occasions. Oh this? This is one Phil Corrten, DarkNight insurgent operative. Yes, he is a bit of a mess but that's down to the Reaper. The 10mm that this guy ate, it was enough to drop two Stormers. Take a look at the grouping on these shots in the chest, look real dose. That's one of his lungs, well, what/s left of it. Hey! Don't puke on the guns man! Hey! Watch the logos, boy, you did eat a lot for breakfast, didn't you?"

'Slander', Contract Killer, Being interviewed by a new Third Eye reporter, Downtown 900 SD.

Klip Killer

"You see this, boy? This is the KK30 Ripper close assault system. I remember I had this big ugly mother' of a Carriens come tearing out of a trash can, right on top of me. Well, before I could bring my Blitzer to bear on the creature, it had knocked me flat and was doing a good impression of a food blender on my chest plate. The KK trigger flipped into my hand and one squeeze of the trigger later, the Carriens' head was doing its own impression, of an exploding watermelon. Some people laugh at the Klip Killer stuff. Set a rabid Carriens on their guts and see how much they laugh then."

L. Hannigan, Operative, Giving a pep talk to new member of his squad.

Berenyl Light Arms (BLA)

BLA have had an unblemished track record since their creation 85 years ago. Although they only produce one product, the BLA 046M Blitzer 12.7mm. The standard of workmanship is unparalleled even by the mighty FEN who may make the best mass produced weapons. BLA designs have an air of artistry, a feel, a look which makes these expensive handguns more of a status symbol rather than a weapon. A look at their sales figures would indicate that people are more than willing to pay for these hand-crafted firearms. The two week waiting list for the Blitzer does not seem to have put any buyers off either. The order books are full and it would appear they will remain so for some time to come.

GAK

"We were down in the Beacon district when DarkNight ambushed. The odds looked like 3 to 1 in their favour. The two Ebons gave it what for with some Force Ebb Kinetics but their FLUX wasn't up to a continuous assault I let rip with the odd blast here and there. The humans died quite quickly. The scout, well, I couldn't see her but the exploding heads of the DarkNight hoods let me know she was still around. The Ebons pulled back, out of FLUX and shot to hell. That's when I pulled out the 'big guns' and showed the Ebons that there's more to Kinetics than Force Ebb. The GAK 19 felt light in my hands as it rattled out 12.7 across the street wasting any DarkNight that got in the way of my line of sight. Yeah, power comes in two forms, Ebb and 12.7."

Fracture, Brain Waster, Third Eye Interview, Mort 839 SD.

Kramer Production Syndicate (KPS)

KPS have had a great deal of success with their solo product, the 'Mangier'. This can be placed firmly at the feet of Alloycius Kramer, the head of my division. He has had no trouble with funding as his personal assets seem to be inexhaustible. The 'Mangier' itself is a very popular weapon and sales are at a record high. KPS would appear to be here to stay.

Assessment: B. Thompson, Division: Corporate

"Woah! Third Eye News? -out of the way, Jordan- I just gave a Carriens an enema with a KPS Mangier. Great gun but the guy who runs the company is a Sh... Hey! Come back with that Goddamned camera..."

J. Moreau, Cloak Division.

Military Assault Laminates (MAL)

Dear Sirs,

What can I say? I thank you. This must be the most destructive weapon I have seen. The assault rifle is in a class of it's own. The look and the feel is excellent, not just a very effective weapon but also a piece of art, a perfectly formed killing machine. The kick-back is minimal and the calibre (12.7mm rifle) is extremely good for armour penetration. My favourite load at the moment is a HESH/HEAP cocktail which is very effective at both armour penetration and tissue damage. Once more, I thank you. I have everything I have ever wanted from a rifle in MAL.

Yours faithfully,

J. Allen, Operative

Advanced Gunnery, Berenyl

For a small sub-company, AGB are making a strong stand alongside the well established names. Perhaps this has something to do with the parent company, BLA, but AGB can only ride on the back of BLA for so long before they find their own feet. Whatever happens, it will be interesting to say the least. If AGB fold, BLA will have to carry the rather expensive can but if AGB turn out to have a viable and profitable product they could quite easily find themselves being ahead of BLA. A buy-out could well be on the cards. As far as the first project, the Chopper, is concerned, it is refreshing to see new perspective on weapons design. This may well serve as the major defensive factor in AGB projects.

Assessment: A. Kramer Division: Corporate

To: Head Office Date: 4/1/900 SD.

Scott Pelling Group (SP)

"Stop squirming, I'm trying to heal you."

"They shot me apart... my fingers... my arms."

"What did they use? Looks like a Vibro blade."

"I think it was a Vibro Disc... aaargh!"

"Yup, sure was, just found one embedded in your leg."

"Oh God..."

"Hey, I wasted a good part of my medical bag on you, don't die on me."

"They cut me apart... I can't feel my left foot."

"You don't have a left foot. One of the discs must have cut it clean off. The bleeding is stopping..."

"Can you fix my arm? What do you mean, 'cut it clean off? Where's my foot... where's my god damn leg... aaargh!"

"Stop screaming! You'll give away our position to the..."

"Aaaaaaaargh!"

"This is Pete Formychar, Downtown, four DarkNight in the bag. Send down some more 70mm discs with the Shiver clean-up guys, the Vibro Disc just ran out."

Pete Formychar, Human Scout, Downtown 900 SD.

DarkNight conversation recorded by Pete Formychar. All rights copyright Third Eye News, video footage available.

SLA Industries:

"It's about time we had some more shotguns around here. No more of this 10mm HEAP and 12.7mm HESH rubbish. Some good, old fashioned 10 gauge never did anybody any harm. It does them a great deal of harm. That was a joke, you can all laugh now."

J. Bullsowe, Hardware Consultant for Nitro Legion troops stationed on Dante, Mort 842 SD.

Consolidated Arms Fabrication:

CAF will be in production for a very long time. With the civilian market crying out for home defense weapons and personal hand guns, CAF have rather a large market which will always be there. Sales and profits for these cheap, easily manufactured weapons will steadily increase as long as the population expands at its current rate.

Assessment: A. Kramer Division: Corporate

To: Head Office Date: 4/1/900 SD.

"Look, I don't give a damn what that high and mighty goddamned namby-pamby corporate weed says. CAF are crap."

Jeff Moreau, Contract Killer, GBH Squad.

CAF Range: For Home and Personal Defence

A gun for everyone from Granny to little Mary Sue. Solid Cast 5mm pistols, rifles and SMGs. Cheap and easy to clean. Solid ceramic, steel blue finish box magazine, double action and compact.

Commercial Mechanics Corporation.

Calaharvey Motorcycles

Augustus Luxury Automobiles

Power Projects Powerpacks & Stealth Power Armor Suits.

There is no comparison for Power Projects on the armour market. The only threat, which at the moment is a small one, is MAL with their Shock Armour. Power Projects make a huge profit each year and will continue to do so as long as they can maintain their strangle hold on the market. With such a wide range of very good quality products, this hold may well last forever. The other armour producer, MAL, are trying to expand to stem the flow of Power Projects products with funding to CAF to market a very inexpensive Flak Vest. This is a mere drop in Power Project's ocean and should give them no cause for concern.

Sigerson Streetwear, Armored Clothing.

Killers & Vices KAV Armored Fashion Ranges.

Third Eye News Cameras, TVs & Photography/Cinematography equipment

## Fast Food Lines:

McSlaughter & Burger Queen, Eternal rivals in the Fast Food Wars.

Onna-Stick Brand Quick Food Carts serving anything & everything - especially in Downtown...