A little something to haunt Special Affairs' nightmares...Incidentally,
Joe, please contact me as I can no longer reach you by email from this
address.  I'll try again from college but if not, here's my college
snail-mail address:

------------------

AND ALL MY OWN WORK TOO!  

All the best mate

Al
"Fear is the little death, the mindkiller which leads to total oblivion."
   Peter Puppy, EARTHWORM JIM

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
Special Affairs Division
Security Clearance Roosevelt

The "Thief of Form"  Murders
File Number 901

Investigating Agents
Special Agent Catherine Maria Shenko
Special Agent Daniel Philip Hanrahan

SUMMARY OF EVENTS
   Between May 15th, 1986 and May 15th 1996, a series of Homicides
occurred.  In each one, fingerprints and a DNA sample were removed, with
death being caused by a puncture wound to the head(Agent's Note:  This case
is entirely separate from the so-called PEACEKEEPER Killings detailed in
X904, although the similarities have been noted).  
   The victims were racially and chronologically diverse, and, most
importantly, each victim was sighted and talked to by close friends and
family AFTER they had been murdered and indeed continued their lives for a
month after their death.

SUMMARY OF INVESTIGATION
   This case came to my attention during a routine search through Special
Affairs Archives and, to my mind, it immediately presented a number of
unusual possibilities.  The theories I formulated on reading Agent Lucius
and Agent Bubbs' report were as follows:

A)WRAITH INVOLVEMENT:  The sighting of the victims AFTER death and their
apparent tranquillity suggested the possibility of Wraith sightings. 
However, few Wraiths have appeared content, suggesting in turn that these
Wraiths were on the verge of "Transcendence".
B)FERAL HUMAN:  The removal of set parts of the body was suggestive of
ritualistic murder or sacrifice, perhaps a more elaborate version of the
lengths(Quite literally)that the subject of X101-The "Squeeze" Murders went
to.  Alternately, an Evolutionary revenant may have been involved.
C)MAGI INVOLVEMENT:  The use of body parts by some of the more unseemly
Magi factions is well known.  Similarly, the sightings of each victim would
indicate an assumption of the Victim's form. a documented occurrence in
several of the early Magi Files.
D)SKINWALKER:  This mythical creature has been seen only irregularly in
modern times.  Taken from Native American legend, a Skinwalker is a
creature which removes the finger and toeprints and wears them, assuming
the identity of the victim in doing so.
E)ABDUCTION:  The precision with which the body parts was removed was
suggestive to me of some of the Brazilian Abduction Victims I studied
during my time with the Central Intelligence Agency.  

   With all these possibilities in my mind(And with Agent Hanrahan on
temporary assignment to Violent Crimes)I began my investigation at the site
of the first Homicide.  John F.Kennedy International Airport, New York.
   The victim was Captain Michael Torrence, a British Airways Pilot who had
been killed in the toilet at 3.45am May 15th, 1986.  He served BRITISH
AIRWAYS for a further month before his body was discovered in a freight
locker.  Security camera footage and cockpit recordings of both Torrence
and the being impersonating him form Appendix A of this report.  I also
gained access to the records of JFK Arrivals and Departures for that night.
 Four hours prior to Torrence's death, one of the most famous UFO incidents
since the Roswell crash occurred 200 miles up the coast.
   The "Kamikaze Encounter" began at midnight that night, when two Apache
helicopters were scrambled from the Fenris , a Special Ops Vessel on
manoeuvres.  They tracked and gained visual sighting of a tiny(3m wide),
UFO travelling at over 300 miles an hour towards New York.  Both gunships
suffered sensor and weapon malfunctions during the pursuit, and despite
repeated attempts to lock on to and shoot down the UFO, were unsuccessful. 
With one turning back due to lack of fuel, the second gunship scored a
manual hit, and the UFO turned and rammed it, killing both pilots
instantly.  The UFO itself was destroyed in the crash, and the explosion
was explained as a weapon detonation on the pylon.  
   It is my belief that this UFO was a delivery method of some kind,
carrying a single creature to Earth, in a manner similar to the X992/993
creature.  However, I believe that this alien was very different.
   From JFK I proceeded along the route the murderer took.  He killed and
assumed the form of a male Hispanic prostitute in Brooklyn, killed a
Stockbroker in Wall Street and accessed every financial database in the
world wearing his form.  Then, a black cop called to investigate the work
the Stockbroker was doing at 6am.  From the cop, he moved through a female
Detective, the perpetrator of a Domestic Violence case and so on.  All this
took place over a year, during which time the murderer lived the life of
the victim, COMPLETELY.  This was not someone impersonating someone else,
or a near-perfect simulacrum(See 993-The Fort Banowski Incident).  These
people's lives had been taken over.
   I managed to secure an interview with Detective Robert Marinski, partner
to Cathleen Muldoon, the fifth victim of the "Thief of Form".  The full
transcript of the interview forms Appendix B of this report, although the
basis of what he said was simple.  For six months, someone else became his
partner.  Muldoon was happier, more at ease and a better cop than she'd
ever been before.  Marinski described it as a "Lust for life", leading his
partner to become one of the most popular and well-liked officers in the
Precinct.  During that month, Detective Cathleen Muldoon was decorated no
less than four times for uncommon valour.
   Marinski's story would become familiar to me over the next two weeks. 
At the end of the six months, the victim vanishes from sight(In Muldoon's
case she simply failed to report to work)and the body was discovered.
   I followed the trail of victims out of New York State and found myself
led in a direct line through the country on a near straight line through
New York State, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Montana, Wyoming,
Colorado and finally New Mexico.  The final two towns on the
Murderer(Herein referred to as The Probe)'s route were Portales and
Roswell.  I arrived at Portales in the final week of the month the killer
spent there and, as expected, was called four days later to a body
discovered buried in the desert.  Eugene Cutter had been the Gas Station
Attendant.  He was 16.
   I called in a favour from a friend of mine in the area, Dominic Santini,
and hitched a ride with him to Roswell, arriving scant hours before the
Probe.  My calculations had led me to believe that the Probe had one group
left to sample, Parapsychologists.  The Probe had experienced men, women
and children of all ages, races and occupations with one notable exception.
 I believed that a Parapsychologist would be the final piece in it's
genetic "jigsaw" of American humanity.  As a result, I headed straight for
the trailer park on the edge of town, where it's constantly revolving
population of Parapsychologists and UFOlogists resides.  With the aid of
the Sherriff's men, I staked out the trailer park and, at 3.34am was
rewarded for my patience.  A report from one of the Sherriff's men that
someone answering Eugene Cutter's description had entered the trailer park
led me straight to the being.  
   It had achieved a partial absorption of a Parapsychologist, Dr. Julius
Maryland by the time we arrived, killing three of the Sherriff's men as it
did so.  Five of us emptied our weapons into the Probe at near pointblank
range, putting no less than sixty-five rounds(Hollow-point Glaser in my
case, capable of immobilising or killing most Awakened creatures)into it. 
This immobilised the creature long enough for us to pull Dr.Maryland free. 
It then smashed through the rear most wall of the trailer and straight into
the trailer next to it, attacking the occupant.  Again, it succeeded in a
partial drain, despite the efforts of the Sherriff, myself and eight men to
shoot it and physically remove it.  In the struggle, I suffered a broken
collarbone as I was hurled across the trailer, allowing the Probe to finish
it's drain.  As it did so, assuming it's true shape for the first time in
ten years, it looked directly at me.  The creature was humanoid, 6'0 and,
at a guess, 140 ilbs.  It looked like nothing more than a mobile, sentient
clothing dummy.  It's voice however, was deep and resonant.  I managed to
activate my pocket tape recorder, and the recording forms Appendix D of the
report.  The transcript follows:

ALIEN PROBE:  You are Special Agent Catherine Marie Shenko, born Gdansk,
3rd October 1966, moved with parents to New York at age eight.  You have
served in FBI Special Affairs for twelve years.  Your favourite colour is
white.  Your partner is Special Agent Daniel Hanrahan.  He is a genetically
engineered construct.
   To this day, I have no idea how the creature knew these things.  I have
also requested eighteen times, and been denied eighteen times, access to
Agent Hanrahan's files.
   As the creature finished speaking, a brilliant white light panned across
the trailer.  When it passed the creature had gone.  Later the following
day, from hospital, I checked Roswell Air Traffic reports.  A UFO had been
reported, it's track leading directly across the trailer.  No sign of the
Probe was ever found.

CONCLUSION
   It is my belief that the Probe I encountered was an Information
Gathering Device, exhibiting a level of Nanotechnology never before seen. 
I believe this Probe worked it's way across America, experiencing as many
different lifestyles as possible.  I believe it did this to gather as much
information on us as possible, possibly as a prelude to Armed Invasion.  
   As a side note, there is one highly disturbing dimension to this case. 
The Probe has had an active sex life for the decade it's been on Earth. 
The possibility of the creature breeding, possibly Human/Alien hybrids,
possibly mini-Probes is highly disturbing, and I recommend the Probe's
Victims' families be placed under surveillance.  In short, I believe this
proves that Humanity is in great danger.
 
Special Agent Catherine M. Shenko   


Playing The Thief of Form in the World of Darkness

General
   Shenko may be right, she may be wrong.  The Thieves are just as likely
to be a Technocracy Information Gathering Tool as an Alien Probe.  Whoever
you decide runs them, the Thieves are being unleashed across Earth, and
have already encountered the Awakened.  Think of them like mobile
computers.  They have one object in life:  To learn.  As a result, they
move through life very cautiously, keeping to the background, and, for the
moment, being careful to remain in the background.  However, sooner or
later, a Thief will absorb a Changeling or an Angel or another powerful
being.  And when it does, the Thieves will truly begin to learn...

Other Races' Views
Camarilla:  Be careful who you feed off, they may have more fight in them
they look...
Sabbat:  Yeah right.  And the UFO that picked him up was actually Santa Claus.  

Garou:  Find them and kill them.  They present a threat to everything we
hold dear.  

Magi:  Fascinating technology!  If we could only communicate with them...

Wraiths:  They have sent too many across early.  Where possible, we aid in
hunting them down.

Changelings:  Fascinating.  So clear, so direct, so absolutely deadly.  A
piece with it's own agenda.

Immortals:  Worse than the Predators.  Kill these whenever you find a hint
of them, and call for help before going after them.  The thought of one
absorbing one of us is horrifying.


The Thief of Form

Nature:  Student                Demeanour:  Observer    

PHYSICAL                        SOCIAL                  MENTAL
Strength ******                 Charisma *              Perception *****
Dexterity ******                Manipulation *          Intelligence *****
Stamina *******                 Appearance *            Wits *****

TALENTS                         SKILLS                  KNOWLEDGES
Alertness *****                 Firearms ******         Computer ******
Awareness *****                 Research ****           Medicine ******
Intuition ******                Stealth ******                  
Intuition ***/*****             Melee *****                     
Athletics *******               Survival *****          
                                                                
                                                                
                                                                
                                ADVANTAGES
WEAPONS                                                         
Name                    Acc             Damage  
Cerebal Ramscoop        4               If successful, weapon erases and
copies                                                                     
                                                                           
                       
                                        mind of victim in three rounds.
Claws(Retractable)      4               4
Electrostatic discharge 1               10(Only effective against targets
in proximity.

HEALTH
Bruised         -0
Hurt            -0
Injured         -0
Wounded         -1
Crippled        -2              
Incapacitated   

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
   In native form, an unformed, vague humanoid shape.  Gleaming chrome, it
moves at incredible speed and with terrifying, near-surgical precision. 
Think the T-1000 before assuming a shape.



-- End --