Maytag front load gas dryer
Install Air Lift Performance 3H on Rear Only
2023.06.04 00:26 EponymousEponym Install Air Lift Performance 3H on Rear Only
Title. Has anyone tried it? I can't find anything in their FAQ or the online manual. I'm mostly looking for a bit of load leveling for when I take my 2022 Accord on camping trips. I intend to get the front struts one day, should I just save up until I can get everything together?
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2023.06.04 00:11 BigBoudinLink Moving to B.R. for job I landed. Need help making it there from San Antonio. Selling original paintings on canvas and digital prints on canvas.
| Hey ladies and gentledudes, My name is Haley. And I am a mid 20s, college graduate with a passion for the arts. I just landed a job with a Real Estate Legal Advisory group out of B.R. and I start Monday. Im traveling to Baton Rouge from San Antonio today in a 12' Budget Rentals truck which I currently have loaded and am ready to go. Im making this trip alone, so Im trying to get moving as I would prefer not having to stop for gas too late. Some context as to why im asking for a little assistance here today by selling some artwork... A few weeks ago, I was a caretaker for a nice gentleman who is no longer with us. My living situation was also where I was employed, so when he went on, my job ended and I lost the roof over my head all of a sudden. So ive been homeless the last few weeks and its been hard. However I took a risk this past week and went to B.R. to pursue a very great opportunity with the job I just landed. This job will get me back on my feet very quickly and im really looking forward to learning more and pursuing a career with this company. I was able to get a Budget truck and grab everything out of my storage and loaded up. And now im having to drive to B.R. The cost of the truck killed the rest of the funds I had available to my name and Im trying to sell some of my artwork to be able to afford to fuel it up and make the trip. I did the math on the fuel cost and it seems like it would run close to $125. Would be about 41 gallons at 11 miles to the gallon. If anyone would like to see what art I have available, Id be happy to send you some more photos and work something out with you. But im really needing the help asap, and if you purchase a piece of art from me, id happily deliver it to you or meet up somewhere public to have you pick it up. I can also do custom commisioned pieces. I paint, draw, sketch, and use a wide variety of digital tools as well as pretty versed in usin an array of AI Art tools. Thanks for reading. I appreciate your time and consideration. TLDR: Im moving to B.R. for a job. Ive been homeless the last few weeks and desperately need this job to get back on my feet. I cant afford the gas to travel to B.R. in moving truck I rented and im trying to sell some artwork to earn the money I need. submitted by BigBoudinLink to batonrouge [link] [comments] |
2023.06.04 00:07 FerchogtX Replacing Stock Cooler for Ryzen 5 5600G - Options?
Hello there fellas!
Recently I built a system for an artist friend, and we went for a Ryzen 5 5600G, with a RX 6600 XT MSI Mech 2x OC (if you need more specs I'll leave them below.) and after using Prime95 for a little while to stress his system, using the stock Wraith cooler, he's reaching around 70C - 88C. Supposedly the limit is 95C, but I kinda feel that pretty high, so, I'm looking for cooler options.
The place he lives is pretty hot (around 40C ambience tops) and he's afraid to fry his CPU if this trend continues. I've seen a Cooler Master Hyper H412R, which not so big, but also seems good for get less temps, but he's aiming for a bit of aesthetics, meaning he would like to avoid a bulky cooler IF possible (Artists... you and your aesthetics lol), so I'm trying to look for a low profile cooler that would be able to take care of this baby and hopefully reducing temps.
Full Specs: - AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9 - 4.4 Ghz
- 16 GB (2x8) Kingston Fury 3200 Mhz
- AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (MSI Mech 2x OC)
- MSI B550M-Pro-VDH-WiFi ver 1.4
- Case: Gaming Naceb Hydra 0602 (Link: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B086VQYC4T?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details)
- He's got the 3 frontal fans, all working, and a Naceb Orpheus to extract air from the back, basically air flow is front to the back and upwards.
His GPU is running pretty decently with some stress tests too (Around 60C max), and he's using a fan curve due to his climatic conditions (No Zero RPM config, or else he gets 50C+ on idle, currently max temp on idle is 34C / 38C), but he has some fears about his CPU. I've also configured a fan curve for the CPU in hopes to keep it cooler, but max load temps remain the same, obviously.
If there is not a low profile cooler that might do the trick, i'll just go for the Cooler Master whether he likes it or not lol... but I wanna exhaust possibilities.
Any recommendation will be much appreciated guys. :)
Thanks!
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2023.06.04 00:03 fruitytrollroll [WTS] 11.5” A2 upper, JPC cumberbund, P07 night sights
Timestamp:
https://imgur.com/a/qf7T9Ih PP F&F or Venmo only. No G&S! No Notes!
Retro 11.5” upper. Parts: —RRA complete A2 upper—Non-F-Marked front sight base with sling swivel and shaved bayonet lug (clone correct)—6 hole handguard with heat shield (clone correct)—Griffin Armament 11.5” HEDP barrel, 223 Wylde, 1/8 twist, 416R steel, 5R button rifling, hand lapped, suppressor-optimized gas port—Trajectory arms did the FSB install and polished feed ramps—No muzzle device, bcg, or ch—Less than 200 rounds. A few tiny scuffs on the delta ring and receiver, otherwise like new. Functions flawlessly with or without suppressor, gassing is perfect. ($550)
Crye JPC 2 cumberbund multicam SM/MD. Never worn. Missing the shock cord. Comes with 2 bands with hook and loop ends. ($25)
CZ P07 night sights. JagerWerks took them off when my slide was milled. Manufactured 2019. ($20)
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2023.06.03 23:58 Sorry_Blackberry_RIP We need a washing machine and dryer - Is this a good BIFL combo?
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2023.06.03 23:57 Caulibflower Defending the Draft: Seattle Seahawks
Seattle’s 2023 class represents the second half of a draft-based reload which began last year, after the Seahawks finally admitted they were suffocating Russell Wilson and traded him to Denver so that he could fulfill his destiny. We were left with an unevenly-talented but surprisingly feisty roster which outperformed expectations all the way into the playoffs.
Our front office has been candid about some of its past mistakes in the draft, the most glaring of which have come when the team goes for need over talent. Last year, with the first half of our extra draft picks, we focused on acquiring as much talent as possible, rather than trying to address specific holes. The 2023 draft is very similar in that regard. In free agency, the team was restrained but practical, and added a few mid-range players to ensure a baseline of competency at the most problematic positions. This allowed them even more flexibility and leeway to be aggressive about drafting for talent.
What Seattle wants to be in 2023: I believe that Seattle would have loved to take Anthony Richardson, but the price to trade up was clearly too high. BUT - this is also a testament to the faith that they have in Geno Smith. They were not going to give up multiple first round picks when they think that Geno’s ceiling includes the potential for a Super Bowl run. I believe that is how the front office is looking at this team: They have a boatload of high draft picks over the last two years, which means an unusual number of blue chip prospects on cheap contracts. They also have a QB who has far outplayed his expectations, and if he can continue playing to even a
similar level in 2023, will be outplaying his updated contract as well. I do think that Seattle has tried to take the burden off of Geno with the way that they drafted - but again,
this has always been Pete Carroll’s philosophy. Pete Carroll
doesn’t want the team to live or die on the arm of the quarterback. So, Seattle drafted to make every other part of the roster stronger and more competitive.
THE DRAFT 1.05) Devon Witherspoon - CB, Illinois While I haven’t made much of Seattle’s needs, it’s obvious to anyone who watches the Seahawks that the defense needs dramatic improvement for this team to reach the next level. Tariq Woolen was a huge surprise as a rookie and a breakout star at right cornerback, but Seattle lacked an obvious answer on the opposite side. Devon Witherspoon is a true tone-setter for the defense as well as the perfect complement to Tariq at left cornerback. Where Tariq is supremely long, fast and fluid, Devon Witherspoon is smaller but more in-your-face. He’s
violent, which is an unusual as well as a very exciting trait to list among the first attributes of a cornerback. The speed at which he triggers and the force with which he strikes ballcarriers are special for the position, and that physicality is especially welcome on the left side where he’ll be playing. But he’s also an adept cover man who posted great ball production in college (3 picks and 14 passes broken up in 2022), and for as much as his hitting pops off the screen, it’s actually his mental game which is most exciting of all.
He is one of those players who always seems to know what is happening before anyone else does - it looks like he’s guessing, but when he’s consistently right, over and over, it becomes apparent that he has a truly unusual aptitude for reading the game. That’s not just my own opinion, either - in Pete Carroll’s own words:
“His make-up … how he approaches the game, the way he sees his opportunities and stuff. I’ve always held Troy in high regard in that. (Devon Witherspoon) is the closest I’ve come to that, someone talking and acting and performing like that … We’ve not seen a guy like this.” 1.20) Jaxon Smith-Njigba - WR, Ohio State Tyler Lockett is 30, and going into his age-31 season. People talk about his upcoming cap hit, but he’s still nearly un-cuttable until 2025 due to dead money. Is a trade possible? Maybe, but that somehow feels unlikely. Does the team know that Tyler plans to retire relatively soon? It’s plausible - he does already have a fairly successful side gig going as a realtor. But where I’m actually going with this is … Seattle really needed a 3rd wide receiver even if the whole gang stays together. Dee Eskridge was meant to be that guy a couple of years ago, and it just hasn’t happened. JSN is on another level as a prospect, and by taking over the slot, allows DK and Tyler more freedom to attack the deep third of the field. I think we’ll see all three of them lined up in every position over the course of the season, but the way that JSN is able to attack the short and middle areas with body positioning and quick separation will potentially change the way our whole passing game works - even if he only logs, say, 50 or 60 catches. I’d be really happy with that from him in year 1.
It’s worth mentioning as well - our current OC (who some speculate could be our HC-in-waiting) is Shane Waldron, who was with the Rams as they unlocked the 90+ catch potential of Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp. JSN has the exact attributes to thrive in that kind of scheme - lots of digs, crosses, and pop routes off of play action - probably even more so than DK or Tyler. So even if he doesn’t go huge in year 1, this feels like a slam dunk pick for the future of this offense.
2.37) Derick Hall - EDGE, Auburn Similar to Devon Witherspoon, Derick Hall is violent. The Seahawks defense has distinctly lacked a certain intimidation factor over the last few years, and Hall is another attempt to rectify that. There were some split opinions on Hall, but
there are some indications that the Seahawks had Hall rated as a first-round talent on their big board. He’s not a refined rusher, but he’s very well-built and physical, and meets blockers with speed, aggression, and power.
Oftentimes we see elite athletes at the EDGE position we assume that they’ll be finesse players, but Hall is the opposite: while he’s squatty (a shade under 6’3” and 255) and very long (34” arms), he also boasts a 93rd percentile broad and 94th percentile 40 yard dash: he’s not trying to beat you around the corner, he’s a freight train with a dragster’s throttle and he’s going to hit you at full speed. He joins an already-young and talented group of EDGE defenders that includes stud free agent signing Uchenna Nwosu and two other recent 2nd-rounders in Darrell Taylor and Boye Mafe. Especially with EDGE rushers, it’s great to have a rotation. You love having a deep group that keeps each other fresh and allows you the flexibility to adapt to situations or matchups. Taylor and Mafe bring more of the typical bend and burst you expect from athletic EDGE players, and Hall’s power and violence is a welcome addition to the mix.
2.52) Zach Charbonnet - RB, UCLA While fantasy football nerds everywhere donned black to mourn the wasted futures of both Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet,
I chuckled to myself. There’s quite a lot of detail on this situation in that link, but the basic upshot is this: Seattle’s front office had Zach Charbonnet very high on their draft board.
He was in consideration as early as pick 37, where they took Derick Hall. Our running game didn’t work very well last year when KWIII was injured, and they want to make sure that doesn’t happen again. But furthermore, even while KWIII was one of the most explosive running backs in the league as a rookie, he was also inconsistent. He ripped off a bunch of big runs, but there were a lot of others where he left meat on the bone.
I’m not suggesting that the rookie version of KWIII is his ceiling, but there was more room for improvement than I think is appreciated by a lot of people who don’t watch the Seahawks. Charbonnet doesn’t have the same breakaway ability, but on a run-to-run basis, he appears to be more consistent at getting 3 or 4 yards in the kinds of spots where KWIII was getting 1 or 2. Pete Carroll
really wants a consistent run game, and if KWIII isn’t delivering that, he might just turn out to be the most exciting 1B in the league. Or maybe he’ll really take ownership of the 1A role and this situation looks a bit like the best of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt for the next 3 years. Bottom line: Charbonnet provides high-end depth to a position that has really struggled with injuries in recent years while also offering more potential as a pass blocker, more skill as a receiver, and more consistency and physicality as a ballcarrier. It’ll be really interesting to see how that shakes out in the touch ratios, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Charbonnet comes in and takes the priority spot on the depth chart.
Pete Carroll indicates that he and Ken Walker will just have to battle it out. 4.108) Anthony Bradford - OG, LSU While Seattle managed to nab not one but
two starting offensive tackles in last year’s draft, the interior offensive line continued to be a mixed bag. Damien Lewis is entering the 4th year of his rookie contract and has been a little up-and-down since moving from RG to LG after a very good rookie season, and RG Gabe Jackson is currently a free agent. One of Seattle’s only notable FA signings was Detroit’s OC/G Evan Brown, whose 1-year deal gave us a veteran baseline at both C and G going into the draft. Anthony Bradford will be expected to push Brown for the RG spot in 2023 and hopefully be ready to take over by 2024.
Bradford is another tone-setter. His agility is average, but
his combination of bulk and power is high-end - he’s 330 pounds and put up 34 bench reps while still testing in the top 25% of all interior linemen for his jumps and sprints. This pick is another demonstration of Seattle’s priorities: they want to play a physical brand of football on both sides of the ball. There’s a simplicity to this pick, summarized neatly by an anonymous offensive line coach at the bottom of of his NFL.com prospect profile:
“I’ll take size and power all day over finesse guards who can move but don’t have any pop to them.” It’s worth noting that Seattle picked here because Denver gave up their 2024 3rd round pick to swap 4.108 for pick 3.83. It seems relatively likely that 2024 pick is higher than 3.83, which in turn sort of makes this feel like a free 4th rounder. (Why does Denver want us to have so much of their draft capital?)
4.123) Cameron Young - DT, Mississippi State One of Seattle’s biggest needs was interior defensive line, and this feels like one of the most obvious ‘need’ picks of the draft - though it’s telling that it doesn’t feel like Seattle specifically targeted a need until the middle rounds.
Cam Young isn’t a dynamic pass rusher, but he’s well-built for the interior and has very, very long arms (34.5”). He’s got a good anchor and combined with that length, gives us a viable player at nose tackle. He doesn’t
have to be flashy to be an early contributor on the interior rotation, and by day 3 any consistent contribution feels like great value for any pick.
5.151) Mike Morris - DL, Michigan Mike Morris is an interesting pick because he’s likely to play a different position for us than he played at Michigan, where he often played from a 2-point stance. He’s most likely going to be a 5-tech for us (a base end in 3-4/hybrid looks), because while he’s
athletic - in the sense that he moves very well, shows decent balance, and has good hand-eye coordination - he’s not really explosive or twitchy enough to drop back into coverage or challenge offensive tackles with speed.
But he’s also huge. He’s over 6’5”, weighed 275 at the combine and will play around 290 for Seattle.
Pete Carroll has indicated that he’ll play a similar role to Dre’Mont Jones and Jarran Reed, who are both 300-lb defensive ends in our scheme. Similarly to Young, a lack of depth in the rotation opens the possibility for early snaps.
5.154) Olusegun Oluwatimi - OC, Michigan Now, he’s a pick that got a number of people pretty excited. I was personally a little bit surprised that they took Mike Morris ahead of “Olu Olu,” as center was both a bigger need than 5-tech, and Olu Olu was also widely regarded as a better prospect. But not only was Olu Olu regarded as a better prospect - many people thought that he could go as early as the 3rd or 4th round. PFF loves him, the Senior Bowl’s Jim Nagy loves him, and so did CFB’s awards - in 2022 he won both the Rimington Award as the nations best center as well as the Outland Trophy as the nation’s best interior lineman.
How did he slip to the 5th round? When you look at his scouting reports, you see terms like ‘functional athleticism’ and ‘adequate agility.’ We don’t have agility numbers for him, so it may well be that he simply knows his strengths - and that said, he
does have some physical advantages. He’s about 310, which is on the larger side for a center, pretty good length, and also shows some legitimate explosiveness and power with his jumps and bench. But beyond that, he was a 4-year starter at Michigan who has loads of experience against top competition and a wide variety of defensive schemes. He’s smart. He can make all the calls, he knows where to be, and a center play goes a long way when a guy is in the right place at the right time while bringing plenty of power with him. Like Anthony Bradford, Olu will be challenging Evan Brown for an immediate role on the interior line. There’s guarantee, but there is a real chance this is our starting center for the next several years - and for a 5th round pick, just the legitimacy of that possibility represents a tremendous value.
6.198) Jerrick Reed II - S/DB, New Mexico Not many people know who Jerrick Reed is, and that’s ok - he’s used to it. An undersized defensive back at 5’9” 196, Reed has done nothing but produce from high school, to community college, and eventually to a D-I scholarship to New Mexico State where he started for all 4 years. This continues a trend: the Seahawks again have taken a smart, tough player with lots of starting experience, who is a very hard worker, and who loves and understands the game. That will be important for a late-round pick trying to make the team, but the path to playing time might be shorter than you’d think.
When Seattle signed Julian Love in free agency, there were questions about what that meant for Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams.
Apparently, per Pete Carroll, it doesn’t mean anything - they intend to play a lot of 3-safety looks. It’s worth noting that this is something they were already doing at the beginning of last year, before Jamal Adams got injured (again). If this defense is playing with 3 safeties much of the time - which is made even more likely by the lack of depth and talent at off-ball linebacker - then a 4th or 5th safety is much closer than usual to being an immediate backup. Reed’s not going to get any looks on the outside, but he can legitimately back up the free safety, strong safety, and nickel positions. He also has a ton of experience on special teams, and the ability to fill 4 or more different roles on a squad is exactly the kind of thing that makes depth guys stick to final rosters.
7.237) Kenny McIntosh - RB, Georgia Similar to Olu Olu, Kenny McIntosh is a player who many people thought could go much earlier than he did. The problem with Kenny McIntosh - in my opinion - is simply that he had a very worrying series of predraft measurements. He seemingly dropped weight to run at the combine,
but only managed a 4.63 at 204 lbs. He was back up to 216 for Georgia’s pro day, but again only managed a 4.66 along with some other mediocre-to-poor numbers. Teams seemed more interested in other more-explosive backs, or runners with better resumes as pure ballcarriers.
But at this point in the draft, that lack of interest became Seattle’s gain. Because in Seattle, Kenny McIntosh is not only going to be allowed to play to his strengths - he’s going to be
expected to, because there’s a specific role on this team for a player exactly like him. One of the Seahawks most underrated losses this offseason was running back Travis Homer. It wouldn’t surprise me if most people don’t know who he is, but he had a definite role as a third-down back in addition to special teams duties. Like Jerrick Reed, it will definitely help McIntosh’s case for a roster spot if he can prove his worth on special teams.
But he may not have to. Travis Homer was not a particularly good ballcarrier. He was small - also around 205 - wasn’t creative, wasn’t powerful, wasn’t especially fast or twitchy. But he was a tremendous pass blocker and a serviceable receiver, and those two things earned him about a quarter of all offensive snaps (484) in games he played in over the last 3 seasons. If that seems high, that’s because it is - especially for a running back who only touched the ball 106 times in that span. Compare that to DeeJay Dallas, who had about half-again as many touches on a similar number of snaps.
While Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet are going to be the running backs who the offense specifically tries to feed the ball, Kenny McIntosh could easily be the running back that the team wants on the field in the most obvious passing situations. Zach Charbonnet was
also one of the most productive receivers among college running backs, but Kenny McIntosh is probably smoother and more refined as both a route runner and a receiver.
McIntosh registered zero drops on 90 targets, posted a PFF grade over 90 as a receiver, and is also already a very reliable pass blocker. That means there’s already a role for him on the Seahawks, and KWIII and Charbs aren’t necessarily in his way - if anything, those guys might be battling for the 3rd-down snaps that Seattle’s coaches assume will go to McIntosh. Again, as with several of these other day three picks - this 7th rounder enters training camp with a great shot to take hold of an important role early on. He may only log 20 carries and 20 catches in the stat book over the course of the season, but it might also be on 150-200 snaps, and in important game situations. And if he’s able to keep KWIII and Charbs that much fresher, and especially if he’s just
the best for those situations, once again that’s tremendous value for the back end of the draft.
I’m really excited for this draft class.
Go Hawks.
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2023.06.03 23:56 Moncurs_rightboot Season Review 22/23
| Wow wow wow wow wow. Somebody pinch me, I must be dreaming. Ow ow ow ow ow, stop pinching me, OK, I'm obviously not dreaming. We actually did it. We managed to get promoted through the playoffs. It's absolute madness. I had watched us compete in 6 playoffs, and who would have thought that 7th time is the charm! Before I start you can read the 21/22 season review here from our season where we finished 6th and got dumped out the playoffs by Huddersfield. You can also read the 22/23 season preview here where I predicted a very optimistic top 8 finish. No one could have predicted the season we were about to have. I'm not going to discuss promotion in depth, because it was only a week ago and probably won't sink in until the fixtures are released on June 15th. In case you didn't know, this is what our away end looks like Overview and Pre season thoughts As mentioned above, I knew we would manage to keep the momentum going into this season. I just didn't expect us to gain this much momentum. Having finished 6th and on 75 points in the 21/22 season. Everything was kept steady in the off season, we recruited well, and only lost one significant player (discussed below). Throughout the off season though social media was awash with speculation that Luton Town would do a Barnsley (meaning losing in the playoffs and then battling relegation/getting relegated the following season, which Barnsley did in the 21/22 season), this was speculation was further fuelled by the signing of two of Barnsley's relegated front three (more on that later). However, one bright spark in the off season was the lads from the Second Tier Pod who went bold and predicted a solid season for Luton Town, with Ryan predicting 2nd and Justin predicting 3rd. These guys know ball. Nathan Jones was keen to kick on with the squad, and was 110% committed to the cause... Who left, and who did we sign? The most significant outgoing was that of Kal Naismith, who was the fans player of the season in 21/22. The manner in which he joined Bristol City left a sour taste in the mouth of the Hatters, with the club not knowing he had agreed terms, with the Welsh wannabes announcing him a whole 24 hours before Luton Town. Also the fact that he was chatting some boilerplate shite in his introduction interview, about being excited about getting to work with "the best manager in the league". A truly absurd statement that even Stevie Wonder could see was the dumbest thing that anyone could ever say in the history of mankind. Regardless, Hatters were annoyed and concerned, mostly because Kal was a good player, he made that LCB role his own, and was a vital cog in our 21/22 playoff machine, and scored a significant and wonderful goal against Bournemouth that pretty much kickstarted our playoff push after the long covid/midseason break - hey guys, remember covid? Less significant outgoings on the pitch were Peter "I should be starting every game" Kioso (to Rotherham) and Danny Hylton (to Northampton). With Kioso leaving, we were losing depth in the defensive unit, whereas with Danny Hylton, we were losing part of the furniture at the Kenny. Sure Danny had never hit the heights of his League 2 bagsman days after his nasty injury in League 1, but he scored some vital goals in 21/22 - grabbed the point at Bristol City and sealed the win against Derby with a wonderful strike. Also his head of hair is one of the greatest come back stories in modern times. We brought in some numbers in the off season, although as discussed on social media, these players seemed to be "for the future": - Alfie Doughty (undisclosed) - From Stoke, he hadn't hit the heights expected following his transfer from Charlton, having spent the season on loan at Cardiff in 21/22 (along with Cody Drameh - more on him later). Regardless he was one Nathan Jones was tracking for a long time.
- Cauley Woodrow (undisclosed) - From relegated Barnsley, it was a little homecoming for Cauley having come through our academy and left us for Fulham as a fresh faced 16 year old.
- Matt Macey (undisclosed) - From Hibernian, the former loanee raised eyebrows amongst the fan base. People said, well he's shit, and then others said, nah that was Stuart Moore, Matt Macey was the decent one. Spoiler alert - they are both shit.
- Louie Watson (undisclosed compensation) - From Derby, we capitalised on the financial straits at Derby and came out with one of their prized academy assets. He was seen as one for the future.
- Luke Freeman (free) - From Sheffield United, he was seen as a broken thing, with injuries having caught up with him during his time at Sheffield United, again one that Nathan Jones was very keen to work with, having played together at Yoevil.
- Carlton Morris (fee in region of £1.5m) - From relegated Barnsley, we didn't know what to expect from him considering he was a striker that had never scored more than 10 goals in a season. Also he had just been relegated with Barnsley. However, he added much needed depth and support up top for Elijah. At this point we knew him as the player that scored that wonderful goal in our 2-1 victory over Barnsley in 21/22, where he skinned Naismith, and sat Osho down before dinking it over Shea.
- Ethan Horvath (loan) - From Nottingham Forest, fresh from having won promotion through the playoffs with Forest last season, he was seen as a good keeper to have in the team, and he was desperate for first team football. Rumours were that there was an option to make the loan permanent. After last season where we went through 6 keepers, we needed consistency between the sticks.
- Then we had some strictly developmental signings; Tobias Braney (who looks a proper player and has been bagging goals out on loan), Daniel Idiakhoa (who has since been released in the retained list), Jayden Luker (who remains under contract at the club), John McCatee (who was immediately loaned back out to Grimsby) and Aribim Pepple (who was loaned to Grimsby, but they sent him back, regardless, he's been good in our development squads).
How did we do? I write this with a big smirk on my face. Because it still hasn't sunk in. Like the 21/22 season, it was a season of two halves (and two managers), unlike last season whereby there was a covid break, this season we had a conveniently placed World Cup. I always thought Winter World Cups were the greatest idea, and certainly never ever criticised FIFA, The Qatar WC bidding buddies, or the countless executives that have become incredibly wealthy from the previous World Cup who effortlessly and repeatedly moved not only the goal posts but mountains in order to give us what we all wanted, the first World Cup in the Middle East - in the middle of fucking winter. Anyway, I'm veering off topic. I'm not doing a monthly breakdown by the way, you can get that off wikipedia. I'm sure the 10 people who read this will be wildly disappointed. We can break the season down in two ways - Luton under Nathan Jones and Luton under Rob Edwards. I'll do the stats after this overview. Nathan Jones took us almost the whole way to the World Cup break, but he was just itching to move. Our start to the season was mediocre, we were struggling to win games. In fact we didn't win a game until our 5th game of the season against Swansea, with 2 draws and 2 losses to start the season, including the second worst performance of the season against Bristol City, leaving us 23rd in the table. After that we had a mini purple patch, completing the welsh double beating Cardiff and drawing with Sheffield United. Which took us up to 9th in the table. Before throwing the game away against Wigan "prompt wage payment" Athletic. Fortunately we then hit a 7 game unbeaten run, which shot us up to 4th in the table. Which took us into the match against them lot down the road. We were in great form, they were already on their second manager (more on that first manager in a bit), everything was aligned for us to go there and turn them over. But disaster struck, we were utter shit and lost 4 - 0. On the bright side it gave them a high point for the season. Post match, Nathan Jones had plenty of excuses, mentioning stomach bugs, he couldn't fill the bench etc, but the eventual reality was more concerning. We only picked up 1 win from the next 4 games, culminating in an abject display against his former side Stoke, where it all but confirmed that Jones would be leaving the club. This would take us to the end of Nathan Jones' tenure. Jones moved (amicably and with massive compensation) to Southampton - where he wouldn't stay for long, but reports surfaced after his move that Southampton had been in negotiations with him for 5 weeks prior. No surprise he didn't give a shit post match against Watford. Regardless, he moved in in better faith than when he did against Stoke, He left the club in 9th place, and paved the way for Mick Harford to coach for the last game before the World Cup break, a 1 - 1 draw against Rotherham. We entered the World Cup break in 10th place, and it gave us time to pick our manager properly. Nathan Jones stats P20 - W7 - D8 - L5 - GF 22 - GA 21 - Pts 29 - WinP 35% - PpG 1.45 Mick Harford stats P1 - W0 - D1 - L0 - GF 1 - GA 1 - Pts 1 - WinP 0% - PpG 1.0 At the end of last season (I know this narrative has been done to death, but keep with me here). Watford appointed Rob Edwards from Forest Green Rovers, a young up and coming manager, to take over from Roy Hodgson, a legend who got Watford relegated at Selhurst Park, and then had the balls to clap the Crystal Palace fans (as his last season there was behind closed doors), whilst ignoring the Watford fans who had travelled to South London, because they were too far away. This is made even funnier due to the fact that he returned to Palace, and absolutely turned their season around. Anyway, Rob Edwards was the man to replace the Hodge. Scott Duxbury, Watford CEO stated "Rob will be backed through hell and high water". It turned out that translated to 10 league matches, of which he had only lost 2, this included beating Burnley, who would go on to leave the Championship quivering in their wake. During the winter break, the Luton board were very impressed with Rob Edwards as a candidate, and made the bold decision to employ him. In addition to this our January window included the loss of James Bree, who moved to Southampton to join up with Nathan Jones and Harry Cornick to Bristol City, fair play to them, they signed our best striker. Cameron Jerome also left by mutual termination, as he wanted to move back up North to his family. We replaced Bree with Cody Drameh on loan from Leeds and replaced Cornick with Joe Taylor, an unproven striker who was yet to break into the first team at Peterborough. However, Big Mick swore by him, and has been tracking him for years. We also brought in Marvelous Nakamba on loan from Aston Villa (who would turn out to be the difference maker, more on him later). Although, the general consensus was that we were too threadbare at the back, and up top, as injury could expose our lack of depth. But in Rob we trust, and we haven't looked back since. Since his appointment, we have only lost 3 matches in the league, one of which was his first game in charge, and even in that game we played sensational stuff for the first 35 minutes against Middlesbrough, our eventual opponents in the playoff final. After that loss we had a great Christmas period with 3 wins against QPR, Norwich and Huddersfield. Before a loss against WBA who were in phenomenal form. They managed to overturn a 2 nil deficit in the second half, and fair play to them. We then won another 3 in a row, drew 2 in a row before a hard to take defeat against Burnley, where the fair result would have been a draw. But then we didn't look back, finishing the season with a 14 game unbeaten run, which led us to our highest finish in the Football pyramid since, well, last season. Which was our highest finish in the football pyramid since the 1981/82 season where we also got promoted to the top tier. This was made all the more sweeter by getting some payback against Watford, sure it wasn't 4 - 0, but it was a significant moment for the fans and Rob Edwards, as that was when a lot of us felt, we would be making the playoffs. We eventually finished 3rd, thus making it 8 successive seasons where we have finished higher than the previous season. To cap off a totally wizard season, we then had the playoffs, and the rest as they say, is history. Rob Edwards stats P25 - W14 - D8 - L3 - GF 34 - GA 16 - Pts 50 - WinP 56% - PpG 2.0 *Excluding playoff results Time for some RAPID STATS - Luton Town lost 18 points from winning positions under Nathan Jones
- Luton Town lost 9 points from winning positions under Rob Edwards
- James Bree still leads the team for chances created (60), he left in January. Next highest is Alfie Doughty with 54.
- Luton Town had the second best away record in the league (41 points), only behind Burnley (47 points).
- Carlton Morris is the first Luton player to score 20 or more goals in the second tier since Brian Stein (1981/82 season).
- Luton Town were joint second in clean sheets with Coventry, our eventual playoff final opponents, with 20 apiece.
- Luton Town had the second lowest xG conceded (44.6), behind Burnley 39.1. Meaning we didn't give away many chances to the opposition.
How did our players do? As per my writer idol Mister PDW, these ratings were picked on a whim, don't shoot the messenger. This shows appearances (sub appearances), minutes played, goals, assists and WhoScored rating. I'm using a letter grade system for the squad, this is down to a whim and may contain some bias, take the ratings with a pinch of salt. Stats from WhoScored - League stats only (including playoffs). Sorted by most minutes played. Ethan Horvath 47 appearances/4261 minutes 19 clean sheets - 6.48 B It was a steady enough season from the US Stopper. He did make some absolute howlers at some points during the season, but never went full 19/20 Sluga (look it up, his howlers were legendary). Although he finished with 19 clean sheets, a lot of his shortcomings were covered up by how the team defended as a whole, shown by our very low xG conceded. I appreciate his time at the club, but I wouldn't take him back here permanently. Amari'i Bell 46(1) appearances/4167 minutes 1G/1A - 6.78 A+ Amari'i is quite literally the unsung hero of the playoff winning campaign. Having played at left wing back last season, and filling in for Alfie Doughty when he was unavailable this season. He played the majority of the season at left centre back, the position vacated by Kal Naismith. He was spectacular and offered so much more from that position than Kal did. He could carry the ball infield, he had the athleticism to make penetrating underlaps into the box and after all the stick he got from Blackburn fans, he can now stick two fingers up at them, and show off his medal. Carlton Morris 44(3) appearances/3693 minutes 20G/7A - 7.21 A+ It was a slow start for Carlton as he bedded into the Luton lineup. He didn't make an impact until he scored his first goal of the season against Swansea, which was also our first win. But, after that goal he didn't look back. He also managed to kick on further under Rob Edwards. He is simply a player that has a bit of everything in his locker, able to score from 3 yards or 30 yards. Tom Lockyer 42 appearances/3638 minutes 4G/1A - 7.13 A+ Considering Locks couldn't buy a game at the beginning of the season, having only come in to the squad for the Carabao Cup game against Newport, where we lost. Swansea was also a watershed moment for him, just like Carlton. This season Hatters saw the finest defensive displays courtesy of Locks, and absolute colossus at the back. It was very concerning when he collapsed during the playoff final. However, we have been told that he is absolutely fine, and will be ready for pre season. Hopefully meaning we will tie him down with a longer contract. Elijah Adebayo 42(3) appearances/3523 minutes 8G/4A - 6.72 A Sure Elijah didn't hit the heights (goalwise) that he did last season. However, he formed a solid partnership up top with Morris. Fortunately it meant that the heavy burden didn't all sit on Elijah's shoulders. If anyone doubts what Elijah brings to the team, just watch his assist for Jordan Clark's goal in the playoff final. His run, his feet, his turning Kyle McFadzean inside out before his pass to find Clark, shows you what he brings to the team. Even playing a three at the back system, any defenders are going to have a shit day trying to stop Elijah and Carlton from executing their movement. Also, it was great to see him get a stab at the playoffs this season after cruelly missing out last season. Jordan Clark 37(4) appearances/3390 minutes 3G/4A - 6.83 A This season, we all saw what Clicker was about, his movement, intelligence and passing were fully on display. It's remarkable that he was signed as a right winger and has been reboxed as an attacking midfielders, he brings the attributes and movement of a winger and takes it between the lines, making him nigh on impossible to pick up for the opposition. Having a similar trajectory to Luton, having been playing for Hyde against Luton in our final conference match. He deserves a shot at the Premier League, and his journey is also remarkable. Just like Luton making it from conference to Premier League in 9 seasons. Allan Campbell 38(5) appearances/3273 minutes 3G/2A - 6.52 B+ I'm being incredibly tight with these scores. Sorry Wee Al. He had a good season, not as stellar as last season, but he brought the same attitude on the pitch, he runs and presses like he has 5 lungs. He also has an eye for goal from midfield with some spectacular hits, most importantly putting the cherry on top of the Watford game, and forever writing himself into Hatters folklore. Unfortunately, with Nakamba entering the fray in January, he was the unfortunate one to miss out on those two remaining midfield spots. Alfie Doughty 28(3) appearances/2438 minutes 2G/5A - 7.14 A+ What a player we have on our hands with Alfie, he will seamlessly move up to the Premier League like he's easing himself into a nice warm bath. Pace, trickery and a delivery to match, he has been a joy to watch play this season. Fans were concerned about the speed at which he was being eased in at the start of the season, but I guess when you have had the injury record that Alfie has, it just makes sense. Also, that goal against QPR was just spectacular. James Bree 27 appearances/2430 minutes 0G/4A - 6.99 A Football can be a cruel game, it can also be incredibly ironic, and that irony can be absolutely hilarious. James Bree was both promoted and relegated this season. He did well for the first half of the season, needing to fill in right centre back, which he did well, whilst also contributing many key passes to the Hatters cause. However, the simple fact is, when Osho came in to the right centre back role, we looked a lot better defensively, and that showed with our climb up the table. I'm still disgruntled about the fee being £750k, what with his contract expiring. But sometimes the grass isn't always greener, is it, James!? Well, at least he's getting a promotion medal. Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu 27(6) appearances/2394 minutes 3G/1A - 6.62 A This man is a modern Luton Legend. He gets better every season, and he has been worth every penny of the £50,000 that John Still paid for him as a 19 year old back in the Conference. Did you know if plays one minute in the Premier League, he would be the first player in history to have played in the top 5 levels of the English Pyramid for one club? Of course you did, it's been all over the news. He deserves everything he gets, and I'm delighted the club have offered him new terms, Pelly deserves the world. Gabe Osho 25(5) appearances/2273 minutes 3G/0A - 6.64 A The only reason this isn't an A+ is because of his first half of the season. He is the biggest beneficiary of Rob Edwards coming in at Luton. Under Nathan Jones he looked edgy and shit scared to make a mistake, however, under Edwards he was calmness personified with his big runs out of defence with the ball seemingly glued to his foot. He also scored some vital goals, the first against Watford, and then the goal against Sunderland in the away playoff leg to get us up and running. He is another that his currently being negotiated with for a new deal, and he deserves it. Dan Potts 24(2) appearances/2020 minutes 1G/0A - 6.84 B Another player who has been on a spectacular journey with Luton after being signed by John Still in League 2. He started as a left back, but with our formation change over the last two seasons has been re-engineered as a left centre back, which in my opinion is a much better position for him. He doesn't give you the athleticism that Bell gives, but if a ball comes into the box, he will get his absolutely beautiful head onto that ball. He had solid performances this season, however, the emergence of Bell as well as a pesky back injury kept him out for a good chunk of the season. He also scored what turned out to be the winning penalty in the playoff final. Marvelous Nakamba 19(1) appearances/1726 minutes 0G/0A - 6.93 A+ I remember saying on the Oak Road Hatter podcast when Marv came in, he was the difference between getting into the playoffs and not getting into the playoffs. How wrong I was. He was an instrumental cog in the machine that got us promoted. I hope Villa are sensible with their valuation for a player that they simply don't want, so we don't have to shoot our transfer load prematurely on a player that wants to be at Luton. Marv also stepped up in the playoff final shootout and cooly slotted away his pen, which was remarkable considering during games he would always pass the ball rather than shoot. Cody Drameh 19 appearances/1581 minutes 0G/2A - 7.19 A We were all very nervous when Bree left, because were losing a solid option at right wing back. However, enter Cody Drameh. Another bitten by the cruel irony of football, with Leeds being relegated as he makes the step up to Premier League. However, Cody will be alright, with Luton attempting to re-sign him as well as Burnley having a go too, he's got a Premier League move lined up. As he started with Luton you could see he had not played a lot of football, but he found his feet very quickly. Reece Burke 15(7) appearances/1417 minutes 2G/0A - 6.71 B+ At the start of the season, if you had asked me who our best centre back was, it would have been Reece Burke. However, he seemingly has hamstring issues that have prevented him from being a top defender. Remember Hull signed him for £2m as a highly rated 21 year old. Regardless, this season he has scored 2 sensational goals; the piledriver against Blackburn, and then the intricate passing play against Huddersfield where he was instrumental throughout the build up. It would have been a B, if it had not been for his display in the playoff final, where he came on much earlier than expected for Tom Lockyer. If we can stay injury free, we have a Premier League quality defender on our hands. Sonny Bradley 14(5) appearances/1219 minutes 0G/0A - 6.56 B- Sonny is leaving Luton Town at the end of his contract, and he has been a stellar figure for Luton Town. We won promotion to the Championship in his first season at the club, he was key in stabilising the club in the Championship, before pushing on up the league, and eventually winning this second promotion. However, it is known the personal issues he has been experiencing off the field, with his father Ray passing, suffering from long covid and issues with his child's health. No matter who you are, if you are hit with that many gut punches, you will stay down. But Bradley didn't because he's a hard bastard. The cherry on this cake was, a disgusting aerial challenge from Yakou Meite, from which Bradley landed horrendously, and it looked like a season ending injury. But Bradley being the hard bastard he is, he recovered, and plugged gaps in our defence towards the end of the season. Regardless, Sonny was getting exposed by some of the better strikers in the league, Gyokeres and then Archer had a lot of luck running beyond him, but in all fairness, they are both exceptional players. I'm delighted he's leaving us on a high, as he deserves it, and I hope he stays in the Championship and gets a move that works for him. Luke Freeman 10(16) appearances/988 minutes 2G/1A - 6.41 C+ I wasn't expecting Luke Freeman to pull up trees this season, we all know about his injury history that restricting his appearances at Sheffield United. He showed glimpses of what he could do, the goal against QPR was a highlight for me. However, a troublesome groin kept him out for the majority of the season. He does a good job of looking busy on the pitch, without he had a flurry of creating chances at the beginning of the season, but went off the boil fast as his groin caught up with him. The + is purely because he managed to bag some goals and an assist. Cauley Woodrow 5(22) appearances/741 minutes 2G/1A - 6.35 C+ I was expecting a lot from Cauley this season. Certainly more rotation with the front two, who ended up playing a tonne of games, because Cauley was picking up niggling injuries, with the last one keeping him out of the playoffs completely, he couldn't get any momentum during the season. He offers something completely different to our attack and his special touches can be seen at times. Regarding Nathan Jones deciding to play him as a 10, no. Just no. He is not a 10. Look at the goal against Norwich, what a strike. I hope he stays fit next season, because he has unfinished business in the Premier League. Harry Cornick 7(12) appearances/740 minutes 1G/3A - 6.31 C- After his barnstormer of 21/22 I thought maybe Harry would kick on, but unfortunately not. He has always been very streaky in front of goal, but his finishing looked to have gone up a notch. Regardless, he wasn't getting enough first team minutes here and Bristol City needed a striker. So they signed Harry. Allegedly he went for more money than James Bree, which is absolutely criminal, considering they both had 6 months remaining on their contracts. Regardless Bristol City got a good, honest, hard working lad, and I hope he has a good season next year. Fortunately we sold him for more than we bought him, which is a great return on investment. Fred Onyedinma 6(13) appearances/696 minutes 0G/2A - 6.35 C There is most certainly a player in there. Unfortunately with Fred, he is such an athlete he is prone to many injures. When he sets off one on of his sprints you just worry that he's going to pull a hamstring. If he can get through an entire season without injuries he would be flying. Perhaps his best role is as an impact sub, because currently he is unable to string back to back 90 minutes together. Luke Berry 4(19) appearances/695 minutes 3G/0A - 6.43 B We know that Luke Berry is now mostly an impact player, who will happily step into the starting lineup when required. He is yet another that has been on a fantastic journey with us from League 2, and for him it's even more impressive because like Clark and Pelly he has made it from Conference football too. He is a scorer of vital goals, his three vital goals this season were; the late levellers against Rotherham and Millwall, as well as the winer against Blackpool. Love Bezza. Henri Lansbury 6(4) appearances/458 minutes 1G/0A - 6.65 B When required Henri did a job, however, it is clear to see that he has lost his legs and maybe his passion for football, considering he has a new passion, mowing lawns. Although, he will be remembered this season for his absolute shitpinger against Hull City. He's now leaving the club, I don't see him joining another team, I reckon he's going full time lawn lad now. Cameron Jerome 0(21) appearances/333 minutes 1G/1A - 6.22 C+ Considering his extremely limited role purely as an impact sub, Cammy J was an exceptional professional. Unfortunately the distance between his family up north was too much, therefore we agreed to mutually terminate his agreement. Shame he missed out on promotion with Bolton. I feel he would have continued to be a great depth option for us in the second half of the season. His legs have most certainly not gone, he is still a supreme athlete at 36 years old. Louie Watson 3(2) appearances/220 minutes 0G/0A - 6.51 B- Most definitely one for the future, but in his little flurry of starts around the time of Rob Edwards first games was a great indicator of the tidy passing he could bring. However, the signing of Nakamba pretty much put a ceiling on his minutes with the first team, also I think the Grimsby FA cup replay might have given Rob Edwards second thoughts about playing him, I don't know, I'm not part of the Luton coaching staff! He can still continue to develop, and I would like to see him get first team minutes next season in the Championship. Joe Taylor 1(5) appearances/130 minutes 0G/0A - 6.02 B- Definitely the best beneficiary of Cornick and Jerome leaving in January and Cauley's injury issues, as it immediately propelled him to third choice striker. However, Edwards was very reluctant to chuck him on the pitch. He was highly spoken of by Mick Harford and Darren MacAnthony, I don't put stock in what DMac says (although he does have an eye for attacking talent), but Mick knows recruitment and had been tracking him for years prior to the move. Joe was unfortunate to have his strike ruled out in the playoff final, but he showed great big balls to step up and take the second penalty. I reckon a championship/league 1 loan is in the pipeline for next season. Admiral Muskwe 1(1) appearances/105 minutes 0G/0A - 6.51 F I'm at a loss with Muskwe, considering he is more senior than Joe Taylor and was recalled from Fleetwood on the same day we signed Joe, why wasn't he anywhere near the squad? He's most definitely one that we will be looking to cut our losses on next season. He had one flurry of good form, prior to AFCON last season, and since then, he has not hit the heights expected. His loan spell at Fleetwood consisted of 14 games, 3 goals (2 of those being pens). I wouldn't expect to see him here next season. Harry Isted 1 appearance/90 minutes - 5.78 D I like Harry, but his only match this season was the 2-0 loss against Stoke, sure the rest of the team didn't do him any favours, by letting Stoke score two unmarked strikes from two crosses that were allowed to be sent in. I feel the club have done him a disservice, he has obvious talent, reflexes and shot stopping ability, he has shown that at Barnsley, and against Chelsea last season in the FA Cup. However, we opted to bring in emergency loans instead of giving him a chance (I know it was risky considering in 21/22 we were going through keepers like Spinal Tap go through drummers). He's left the club now, and I hope he gets a chance with a Championship club, he could do it. James Shea 1 appearance/90 minutes - 6.54 C Shea got a chance with the final game of the season against Hull and managed to keep a clean sheet. He did really well to come back from an awful injury. However, I do not see him being first choice next season. Potentially second or third choice depending on how good Jack Walton is... Elliot Thorpe 0(3) appearances/68 minutes - 6.19 C His season got off to a shit start, being loaned to Burton and not played. However, I don't know what we do with Elliot Thorpe, he was brought in with high expectations from Tottenham, he dropped down so he could stand a better chance of playing first team football, and he's ended up getting shunted out to the right wing back position. He look great in his cameo against Hull, but I thought we were getting a box to box midfielder. We've triggered an extension in his contract, I don't know if that means we are looking to get a fee by selling him, or whether we want to keep him about for further development. Joe Johnson 0(2) appearances/38 minutes - 6.28 B I'm very excited about JJ, he's 17 and managed to not only break onto the bench, but get some vital first team minutes, with his first minutes coming in a high pressure game against eventual playoff winners Middlesbrough. Lots more to see of him, and possibly the start of the academy assembly line roaring back into gear. What next? One thing that is guaranteed is that we will be finishing higher than we did this season, Even if we finish 20th. You know what, I'm sure we are going to give it a good go. I don't think we will try and sign proven Premier League talent, but we are more likely to hoover up some of the hot talent in the Championship and League 1/League 2 for further development. I expect quite a big clearout with lots of the players who haven't gotten near our squad to be moved on; Glen Rea is all but gone (well done to him for recovering from his horrendous injury too), Aribim Pepple needs a loan and Dion Pereira, who Bradford were begging to rejoin has barely played this season. Carlos Mendes Gomes is one I would like to see around the first team squad next season. Lots of headaches for Rob Edwards, Richie Kyle and Paul Trollope. Exiting news to look forward to, the renovations are under way at the Kenny to welcome Premier League cameras and media teams, and ground will be broken at Power Court on 19th December 2023. These are amazing times to be a Hatter. Bold early early early pre pre season prediction. Luton Town are finishing 17th next season! I hope you enjoyed reading this. COYH submitted by Moncurs_rightboot to COYH [link] [comments] |
2023.06.03 23:52 EvolvingAmoeba Iron Sol- Prolouge
In the beginning,
u/SpacePaladin15 created the Nature of Predators. The Nature of Predators was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the screen; and the Spirit of Spacepaladin15 was moving over the face of the paragraphs. And Spacepaladin15 said, "Let there be carnivores"; and there were carnivores. And Spacepaladin15 saw that the carnivores were good; and Spacepaladin15 separated the carnivores from the herbivores. Spacepaladin called the carnivores Predators, and the herbivores he called Prey. And there were packs and there were herds, one chapter.
CW: Literally Space Hitler + xeno slavery
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Memory transcription subject: Führer Erik Von Koch of the Menschenreich
Date [standardized human time]: May 6, 2142
I opened my eyes as the definitive clacking of heels grew ever closer to the threshold of my dressing room. Looking straight ahead, I silently observed the
untertier-servants in the mirror while they prepared me for the long day ahead of me. The declawed gojid filing my right hand dedicated itself to its work, most likely to intentionally avoid eye contact. To my left, a violet-colored krakotl with a liberally clipped beak brushed the tangles out of my long golden hair while shivering slightly upon noticing my gaze in the reflection. Below me crouched in front of my seat underneath the table was my servant-pet, Jeko, shining my boots. The young little venlil noticed me looking down at him and began beaming with obvious enjoyment, his tail wagging and ears twitching adorably. Unlike the others, this animal did not fear me, for I had been raising him since he was just a little mewling pup.
"Am I doing a good job, master? Are your boots shiny enough?" he asked with an innocent head tilt.
Looking down at my boots, I could see a glint in the glossy surface, even whilst concealed by the poor lighting. I couldn't help but respond with a slight smile and reach down with my free hand to stroke his creamy fur. he pushed his head back against the touch with his bestial eyes closed.
"You've done such a great job, my little lamb-chop! You're already becoming such a good little helper, aren't you?"
Reko merely giggled, as the other servants continued their work with what seemed to be a newfound sense of morbid awkwardness. It was obvious that the other
untertiere found the concept of pets to be quite disturbing. Why this is, exactly, very few knew the truth. Some like to theorize it stems from some form of contempt for the beasts who willingly fawn to their superiors, resulting in some crude sense of pride being wounded in the process of watching one of their own gleefully lower themself to such a level. But I personally think that gives them a bit too much credit and pertain to a different explanation; that it is a sense of envy rather than contempt that jars them so. Perhaps they look upon those blissfully ignorant eyes and wish they too could experience such shameless joy. Or perhaps they simply notice the obvious preferential treatment given to them by their masters and feel envious. Either way, I've always found it quite amusing, which is why I had begun letting Jeko chip in during my morning routine.
"My Führer, you've been personally requested at your office in the Volkshalle with due haste... It's the hotline," my secretary informed me at the door.
I looked up at the short-haired woman with a momentary surprise. "Already? But I haven't even had breakfast yet. Shit... Alright, alright... I'll be out in a second... Wrap it up, you animals!"
I should've expected this much. After what I had..
ahem,
failed to notice what Jägermeister Wilson just did in this latest campaign on the spur-distal front, I knew it was only a matter of time before I had Chief President Calamari Killjoy crawling up my ass. swivelling my chair around I promptly stood up, taking one last peak in the mirror to adjust my uniform and inspect the work of my servants. Seeing that it was adequate enough for the rushed job, I shooed the creatures away to their other tasks while bounding towards the hall. Reaching the end of my living quarters, two guards on the other side of the double doors greeted me in salute as I pushed the doors open. Continuing past them, I marched through the dark cryptoporticus lined with even more saluting guards until the hallway opened up into the ever-impressive dome of the Volkshalle, a sight that never grew old. I couldn't help but stop and stare at and admire the massive hall yet again for a few seconds of my valuable time before I continued on my way. A flight of beautifully detailed marbled stairs and a couple more turns later and I found myself pushing past the guards of the Führer's office before they could even properly salute me. Quickly closing the door behind me and locking it shut, I scanned the perimeter of the office, and noticing I was entirely alone and there was nothing out of place, I took a deep breath and calmly walked over to the holo screen waiting for me at the end of the massive table. Sitting myself down at the head of the table, the iconic crimson insignia of the Menschenreich and two golden statues of the great eagle clutching its talons upon the globe stood gloriously behind my visage. Steeling myself, I let out a sigh and pushed the "accept" button on the video chat. The screen lit up and momentarily flashed with white before a fuzzy image of an all too familiar hideous blue beast buffered and cleared up.
"Von Koch? Von Koch? There you are!" Gurgled out the oversized amphibian-mollusk thing. Her bulbous protruding eyes squinted with irritation and her generous width was hugged by crossed tentacles. "Have you any idea how long I've been waiting for you to stalk your way out of your lair!?"
Instead of yelling back, I politely bore my teeth at her, being sure to show off my slightly larger than average canines. "And a good morning to you too, Miss Universe. Or is it evening on your hemisphere of Aafa? Anyway, long time no see! Tell me, how have things been faring on the.. fairer side of space?"
Chief Lellaete scoffed at my nonchalant demeanor and begin rapidly flicking through her screen with a tendril. "You tell me."
Eventually, video footage of the glorious fall of the dossur homeworld, the triumphant victory of mankind over the foul krakotl-led defense fleet that tried to vainly defend it, and finally live feed of the beginning stages of the glassing of the planet all appeared before me.
"What's the problem? Just looks like business as usual to me..." I smirked.
Gritting her teeth, her blue face seemed to take a hue of purple, which was both impressive and horrifying as I never realized kolshians could do that. "The problem is that you've overextended by tens of lightyears more than we agreed to! You said this campaign would just be a 'little expansion of necessity.' This does not look very 'little' to me!"
"Oh come on, thirty light-years can't be that big. Not for you guys, at least. Our territory is still nowhere near a single core world. I think you're blowing this a bit out of proportion. What value did the dossur ever offer to the Federation, anyways?"
"One of your hunter misers or whatever the hell you call them just bombed four more homeworlds into shambles within the last eight months! You predators are out of line! This wasn't part of the agreement! Back off now or you will face the wrath of Aafa in full strength!"
Wincing and sucking in air between my teeth, I held out my arms and presented my palms in a surrendering manner. "Alright, alright... Listen, you know how human nature is. We sometimes get a bit ahead of ourselves. Moreover, keeping up morale is very important for us, and out of all my Jägermeisters, Wilson knows this best. That's just how he is. Always going for the moral victory and whatnot..."
I trailed off as I noticed Lellaete's face was somehow an even more violet shade of purple than it was before. Seeking to defuse the situation before she blew her gasket, I continued just before she could open her wide mouth.
"That being said, I realize he has been perhaps a bit.. too zealous in his duties. So all you have to do is send an extermination fleet or two to the other side of the front and I'll have the perfect reason to pull him off and tell him to defend. Now isn't that awfully convenient for the little rodents? Then, we can allll take a deep breath and settle down for some more casual cattle raiding and predator exterminations for the next few years with our campaign declared a partial success and your extermination fleets celebrating another sobering pyrrhic victory to put the fear of predators into them. How does that sound to you, Chief?"
The kolshian bowed her head and squinted her eyes at me in tense silence before straightening back up with a sudden calm that was a bit unnerving even to me. "Very well. But we will also be taking back the Sethmokin homeworld."
dammit, that was the one I wanted to keep! The unusually low gravity of the Sethmokin homeworld Ithilus combined with its mild temperature and mineral-rich crust made it an ideal place for a space elevator supported industrial megacenter. The kolshians clearly knew this too, as evidenced by Chief Lellaete singling it out and prying it from my hands with no hint of subtly whatsoever. Unfortunately, they seem to be slowly catching on to my gradual ramping up of industry. Not wanting to push my luck any further, I had no choice but to concede with what I had already gotten, lest the "predator-prey agreement" falls apart.
"Excellent!" I beamed at the frowning slimy herbivore as the pads of my digits pressed together. "I'm glad we could settle this issue peacefully."
"Stay in line, Von Koch. We never had to use the hotline with your predecessors nearly as much as with
you. We can't have things looking too dire, or too relaxed. The Federation needs a predator, just as you need prey."
"Yes, yes, I understand, the
Ewigkeitskrieg must continue forever and all that..."
"
Hmph! Good to know even a beast as unruly as yourself can see reason."
I bite my tongue, instead shutting my eyes and spotting a closed-mouth smile in an exaggeratedly polite manner before reaching over to terminate the call. If I had to spend one more moment speaking to this detestable thing I might just pop a cyanide pill into my mouth. At the very least, nothing too problematic or convoluted happened to complicate future plans.
"Well, if that will be all then, don't hesitate to call again, Chief! After all, I know how you herd animals can get rather needy after all soo.." I chirped at my greatest adversary and accomplice.
"Wait. There is one more thing I need to tell you."
My finger which hovered over the "end" button strained and slowly curled into a white-knuckled fist.
Now what could it possibly be, my ectolan friend?" I answered, still smiling with my clenched fist above the holo pad surface.
"You humans are no longer alone. There's another predator race in the galaxy."
The awkward smile slowly dissipated from my face and my eyes opened up to gaze at the kolshian. I had to be sure I was hearing things right.
"
What?"
"You heard me. We believe there is now a second predator race in the galaxy. One that is even more carnivorous than you, in fact, and they have just developed faster-than-light travel."
"
How?" Was all I could croak out of my slacked jaw.
"My, such a prey-like look on your face!" snickered Chief Lellaete. "But if you must know, it was... Well, we are equally shocked, really. The farsul discovered them and spent decades observing them, as they usually do with primitives. They told us they destroyed themselves in their world's fourth world war after developing the atomic bomb about three hundred years ago. But it seems they either somehow survived nuclear armageddon or the armageddon part never happened in the first place. And before you ask, yes, that is all the Farsul States will tell us. A simple, careless error on their part for failing to confirm their extinction..."
I sat there completely stunned into silence.
Is it really true? After all these years of being alone, there is finally a second race of predators? Of people? Of
übertiere?
The kolshian took my silence as an invitation to continue elaborating. "They call themselves the arxur, and their existence has already begun muddying up the waters."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"What I mean is that they have only been spacefaring for two months, and already they have allied with the thafki and convinced them to seemingly betray the Federation.
"Th-they allied with the prey!?"
"It's disgusting, I know, but it seems to be the truth. Our kinds are meant to be in eternal opposition. No one was around to give them the memo, apparently." Lellaete answered monotonously.
Bringing a palm to my temple and resting the elbow on the armrest, my mind began racing before a far more pressing matter revealed itself. "And why are you telling me all this, exactly?" My eyes narrowed.
"Because I don't trust a single cube in your icebox, Von Koch. I'm telling you right now so that when your kind inevitably encounters them, you can't pull anything funny and try to feign ignorance, as you already seem to be in the habit of doing. All I'm asking is that you let the Federation handle this for now. We will get them to the right way of thinking after we get them under control.
Then you can finally have your first official ally once you 'save' them from us. Or eat them. Or throw them into gas chambers. We don't really care at that point; you can do whatever you want with them. Congratulations to mankind for finally finding a species as corrupted and ghastly as yourself."
I simply stared at the kolshian unabated. "And what will happen if they do not come to see '
our way', exactly?"
The Federation leader leaned in, and a strange glint seemed to catch in her large, horizontally pupiled eyes that made me want to shutter. "I think you know very well the answer to that question,
Führer."
I scoffed. "What an awfully predatory look on your face... Fine, I can see you already have the reins on the situation then, but the same goes for you as well; mess things up and it will ruin everything!"
The kolshian narrowed her eyes with conceit. "
Heh. Perhaps we aren't so different from each other after all."
Terminating the call before I could rebuke that heinous conjecture, I finally let my arms slump down into my sides. This is why I despised the herbivores so much, and the kolshians seventy seven fold.
"
Filthy untertier..."
Getting up from my chair, I slowly meandered over to the Wall of Führers, and starting from my own portrait, I gazed at each and every one, mostly lost in my own thoughts, until finally I rested my eyes directly upon the first and stopped.
Surely this isn't what he wanted the Reich to become. Although it was true that I along with every other previous Führer after the Founder was a willing accomplice to the
Ewigkeitskrieg between the Federation and the Menschenreich, deep down, it truly made me sick to my stomach working with those squid-frogs. Supposedly, the Founder despised the xenos and their intervention of Earth from the moment they made first contact, purely on principle, and this was rightfully so. For the sapient herbivore is nothing more than a husk, a mindless creature that can act only upon instinct. Their so-called 'higher intelligence' is nothing more than a mere slave to these impulses, and thus does the herbivore-folk seek to do nothing but destroy and defile the ecosystem that gave life to them by burning away any trace of predation or aggression in sight. Feeling safe at last from the natural order they so despise, they begin to scour their planets like a ravenous locust swarm. They proceed to breed profusely until their numbers swell into innumerable hordes and then, upon reaching and overshooting the carrying capacity of their planet, the herd moves on to new worlds, so that they might do the same there. Even beasts who wallow in the mud at the very least know how to live in harmony with nature and the universe at large, but the herbivore xeno is incapable of this. This is why they are less than animals. This is why they are the
untertier. And out of all the hideously vile and contemptible
untertiere which corrupt this galaxy like a foulest cancer, none are so hypocritical, deceitful, and subversive as the kolshian scum. Chillingly intelligent and calculating, they ofttimes liken themselves to true persons, perhaps to the point of deceiving even themselves. But truly, one needs only to look upon their 'works' to see that in the end, they too are nothing but slaves to the urges of the untertier. Chief Lellaete, she, no,
it is but a puppet master of the lesser
untertiere with it itself gleefully serving the master that is fear and cowardice.
But these new predators, if things are true as the kolshians say, are different. They may finally be the second known race of
übertiere in the entire galaxy. And here are the ectolan scum, already conspiring against them. They have always been meddling in everything, long before they irrevocably ruined the Earth with their tampering, and if something is not done about it, they will continue to do so long after we are gone. That is why I want more for the Menschenreich than this eternal conspiracy. Why I want an end to the
Ewigkeitskrieg. My predecessors were wise, and knowing that directly going against the will of the Federation was suicide, began the
Ewigkeitskrieg with them. But sometime during this war without an end, they grew weak. Cowardly. Complacent. But I hunger for more! For what is the meaning behind a thousand-year Reich if nothing is ever accomplished in that millennium? How can mankind ever call itself the
übertier if it does nothing but sit in eternal stagnation? No, the eternity we have is but a farce. But one day, this will change, for I will bring about the end of eternity, and in its wake, I shall construct a true eternity, one of prosperity, glory, and pride for all of humanity forever! And this advent of a second race of predators may yet prove an opportunity! This could be the stir in the pot I've been waiting for! The universe has presented me with a grand question concerning the kolshian-puppeted Federation, and
I have the final solution! Do you hear that, Chief Lellaete? I will continue to play your little "
predator and prey" game for the time being... But soon, very soon, with the help of these "arxur", I shall finally bring about the
Viecherdämmerung! And just as the Founding Führer once united the Earth and cleansed it of all the degenerate, savage, and subversive
untermensch, so too will I cleanse the galaxy of the
untertier, so that the glory of the Menschenreich shall spread to every star, shining like a beacon in the darkness of the void of space for ten thousand years!
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2023.06.03 23:47 OneBoredMan02 Time to be a Hero Volume 24
Serious Issues - Time to be a Hero - Volume 24
Sunday 24th June 2017
WARNING: THIS VOLUME CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE!
It's been ten days since Natsuki got kidnapped and held hostage by the recently arrived agents from Coomer. We beat them and promptly moved base to this little cabin like structure just at the outskirts of town, it's run down in places but it's nothing we can't fix up! Since last week nobody has reported any sightings of any Coomer agents which is expected, but I know it's just part of how they work. They look for a trial and follow it, until they find you. But when they do, they don't attack, they hang back for awhile and watch, waiting for a moment to take you by surprise. Stalking you. Assessing your strengths and weaknesses. Waiting for an opportunity. When they do make their move, they are quick. They are precise. They are calculating. They do not make mistakes. They do not get cocky. They do not let up for a second. That's why we all need to be on high alert and wide eyed. Hell, normal patrol is more dangerous now than ever! We just need to get permission and recognition from everybody else if we want to patrol for the night! Thankfully we came up with a secret code for the group chat, just in case that anybody that hacks into our group chat will not recognise what we are talking about right away. Basically we use emojis to let the others know about certain things, it's a code and it confuses me at the best of times. But Sayori did put this together on a whim so we should be just that little bit safer now. Right now I'm sitting in my apartment watching tv as I wait for Monika to come back from visiting her parents. She asked me if I wanted to come along but I declined her offer, I just want to rest a little bit from working hard to make the base for us. I had Sayori on my back telling me the various things she wanted, it was like her telling Santa what she wanted for Christmas! It was a ridiculous amount of things I had to make and it really took the wind out of my sails! So here I am, just relaxing I guess... I look at the tv show I was watching, it's some random programme about a teacher making drugs or something? I don't know about it, it's kinda funny I suppose, yet I can't really sit down and just enjoy it. In the back of my mind, I'm worried sick about Monika! She's been away for an hour now and I feel like it's been far too long for her to be out and not at least send me a text or whatever! But I shouldn't think too much of this, I'm just stressed out of my mind and very tired. I rub my eyes as I try to return back to the programme, but I just can't. Now that I've acknowledged the worry I can't get it out of my head! Fuck it! I toss away the remote and grab my phone, I'll just give her a text. Ask her how she's getting on with her parents. I shoot Monika a text in our chat reading:
'hey honey! just checking up on u and ur parents, how is it all going??' I set down my phone and wait for a reply...
one minute passes...
She still hasn't seen my text! Argh! Botan, give her time to pull out the phone and have a look at her notifications! She's with her parents for goodness sake, she can't just focus on me all the time! I need to settle down more! Maybe if I do some chores? I stand up and look around the apartment? What could I do? Maybe give the carpet a vacuum? Yeah! I head over to the closet, pull out the vacuum and bring it over to the centre of the living room. I turn it on and start the routine of clearing up the floor. I move the couch and get under it as I make my way around the room. Reaching into little corners and below the tv stand as I make sure everything's clean! I smile as I turn the vacuum off and see that the carpet is now much cleaner! I smile as I put the vacuum back into the closet. I then head back over to the couch and pick up my phone, Monika still hasn't seen my message? I'm getting concerned now, it's been unread for seven minutes, maybe I should phone her?? I go to select the call option but I stop myself, I am just....overreacting. Give her time. Maybe she left her phone in another room? She's at her parents' house after all? Or maybe she still hasn't gotten a chance to? Right, well what now?
…
Guess some dinner wouldn't hurt? I walk into the kitchen and have a look around the fridge for something to eat? Hmmm, maybe Monika would like something for when she gets back? I grab my phone and give her another text. 'would u like something 4 dinner?' I put my phone back into my pocket as I have another look. Guess I'll have some pizza with some chips! I take out a bag of frozen chips and a pepperoni and cheese pizza, setting them both onto the kitchen counter. I grab a tray for both pizza and fries and set them both out. I head over to the cooker and pre-heat the oven as I give it a minute or so. I then put my chips in first, followed by the pizza and close the oven door. Time to let them cook! I head back over to the living room and sit down. Got to give them time to cook, so what now? I look at the time, it's just coming up to eight? Hmmm, Monika did say she'll be back at around eight so....where is she? Botan! Stop it! I slap myself in the face! I really need to get a grip of myself! Maybe I can destress with a nice bath? Yeah, that will help! I walk into the kitchen and set a timer on the electronic clock for my food to be taken out. I then head into the bathroom and start running the bath. After a few minutes the bath is filled up and has plenty of bubbles going as I take off my clothes, here we go! I step in as the warm water quickly makes me jump in surprise at the heat! I then quickly get in as I relax. Oh yeah, this is much better! I smile, it's almost like I wasn't panicking about my girlfriend potentially going missing when she's out right now! ….urgh! I cover my face in water and take a deep breath. I just need to calm down. That's all. Monika can handle herself. The worse thing that could happen is that she gets killed and I never see her again...rgh! That temper I have, I almost forgot! Jeez, no more thoughts like that! Jesus, why did I even think of that?? Am I really wanting to push myself to burst out there and go looking for her? She's fine! As soon as I think that I hear my phone vibrate in the pocket of my shorts! Oh! That's probably her! I reach over to my towel, drying my hands before grabbing my phone. I take look at the message I just got, it's from Yuri?
Y: 'Hi Botan, I know this may seem a little short notice but can you please come down to the shop? I require your assistance with something' …sigh, fuck off man! I shake my head and chuck my phone away! Fucking Yuri! Why does she have to ask me of all people?! Why not her fucking boy toy?! sigh...calm down man. I'm losing it. Having no Monika around is really bad for me. She's the only thing keeping me from floating away from reason. With Coomer now here too, I guess it's all starting to pile up somewhat? Sigh...right. I pick my phone back up and send Yuri a text.
B: 'kk Yuri, give me 5 mins' I sigh as I sit up, so much for this bath? I quickly get out and dry myself off with a towel. I then walk out of the bathroom after pulling the plug on the bath, my phone vibrates again? I check it, another message from Yuri.
Y: 'thank you very much, please bring your best suit too!' ...oh right! I quickly dry off my hair and get in costume before running to the window-wait! I check on the timer in the kitchen, there's still around fifteen minutes to go? I turn the heat down to the minimum and make the adjust on the time, I just to be sure I don't want to burn down my new home. Monika would kill me. I leap out of the window into the dying light of the day! Okay, to the store! I don't know what's going on with Yuri but she might need my help! Although her texts were quite casual there? No matter! I swing into the air and land on a roof as I see the shop in the distance! Right, be ready for anything! I jump across a gap and leap off of a roof to see Yuri in front of the store? She looks....glum? I land not too far away from her as she looks at me, she doesn't look happy that's for sure? "Thanks for coming Sparrow." She's using my hero name?
B: "Of course citizen? What do you need?" I walk up to her as she looks around herself?
Y: "Uhm, well... there's a person in the store who's...well..." Yuri looks into the store and shivers? "I don't think he's mentally well at all..."
B: "What do you mean?" I look into the store as I spot a man? He's throwing things about in a crazed like fashion?
Y: "I would deal with this myself but..." Yuri whispers as she eyes one of the numerous cameras in the store. "I can't really run off and just come back you know?"
B: "I understand, well what do you think is wrong with him?" She shrugs?
Y: "He came in normal at first, he smiled and even said hello. Next thing I knew he started screaming all of sudden?" We look at the man as he climbs on top of the counter? "I've never seen anything like this before?"
B: "Calm down Yuri, I'll take care of it...did you call for police and an ambulance? This might be a drug related issue."
Y: "I have Sparrow don't worry. All the doors are locked so it will only be you and him in there. Just try not to make too much of a mess please?"
B: "Got it." I walk into the store slowly as most of the lights are off? I look back at Yuri who only locks the front door behind me and gives me an encouraging smile. I think she's a little scared to be in this type of situation. After all...it is very dark, and I'm not too fond of this situation already. I grab a torch from my pouch and get moving, the store just frozen in silence it seems? Okay, come on Botan. You got this. You've dealt with much worse things than just a potential drugged up man. This should be a piece of cake...hopefully? "Hello??" I call out rather nervously, but the silence I get in return just makes my spine shudder. "I'm here to help, please make yourself known!"
…
?: "YAH!!" A sudden scream comes from my left as I see the man on all fours quickly moving about between the stalls?! What the hell has gotten into him?! I look around before getting the good idea of zipping myself up to the roof to get a birds eye view of the whole store. I do just that and shine my torch downwards, quickly spotting the man huddled over some flowers as he eats them?? Jeez, this man's not right at all! He looks at me with a crazed look before slowly turning. "Ah! baga to yos!" He stares at me as he talks gibberish. "Joka in plot bin!" I just feel sorry as he stares at me, he needs serious help. "Ah! Yoga bob!" He picks up a candle and throws it at me! I'm able to get out the way but it lands me back onto the store floor and out of sight of the man. I can hear him moving about as I try to keep quiet, I need to get the jump on him. I don't want to hurt him of course, this could be some sort of episode he's suffering from? I spawn in some sleeping gas as I look around for him, just going to put to him to sleep so that I can start to look him over. This must be some- "Yawh!" The man jumps on my back as I stagger for a second! He hits me or rather slaps me in the head a few times before I grab his arm and throw him off of me! I'm not too hard as I only pull him off and get in front of me as he tries to scramble to his feet, but sadly for him I'm too quick as I hook his head and apply the gas to his mouth and nose. The man struggles at first but starts to slow down as he eyes close and then he's out. I set him down into the recovery position as I look at him. Poor guy, what was the cause of this? I look at his face as...hold on? I know this guy? That's....Nick! The guy who I saved on my first night here! What's he doing back here?! Nick looks a little worse for ware, his beard is a lot longer as is his hair. He looks like a wild man if anything. His clothes are rather nice though? I get a closer look at him as he breaths gently. I told him not to come back! Or...did he choose to come back? Maybe he was found by some of the big mans' guys? I look at Nick for any sign of some drug use, he couldn't have a mental condition like that? Soon I find two needle marks in both his neck and right arm? Two marks? Hmm, why did he get injected twice? What is this stuff? I take a capsule and a blood sample for later. Sayori and Yuri can take a look at that. If the drug runs in the blood then that will be where our answers lie. The room then gets lit up in blues and reds as the police arrive first! I pick up Nick and carry him to the door as Yuri sees me coming. She unlocks the door as she looks at me.
Y: "Thank you Sparrow! What was wrong with him?"
B: "Drug." I say to her and she subtly nods. The police come over and start talking to Yuri as the ambulance arrives shortly after. I give them the run down of Nicks' actions as well as another sample of blood for them to test, the authorities could do with a heads up about what this drug actually is. Nick gets carted away as things get rapped up rather quickly as the ambulance goes off to take Nick to hospital and the police leave after they take our statements and have a general look around. Soon it's only me and Yuri again, she looks at me.
Y: "Thank you again with your help Botan, I just didn't really know what to do...that was so sudden."
B: "Don't mention it...here..." I hand her the sample as she looks at it.
Y: "Is that from the man?" She asks wearing a serious expression.
B: "Yeah, you and Sayori can look it over. You two are the brains after all..."
Y: "Very well then..." She pockets it as she looks at me again. "What's wrong? You look...rather sombre?"
B: "I knew that guy...Nick."
Y: "Were you friends or...?"
B: "Well, do you remember my first night in town?" Yuri thinks before she puts the pieces together.
Y: "Was that the man you helped?"
B: "It was. I told him to leave Yuri, and never come back. But..."
Y: "Did you think he was brought back here against his will?"
B: "He had two clear injection marks Yuri, one on his arm and another on his neck."
Y: "Hmmm...maybe he was jumped with that drug and let loose....like a guinea pig?"
B: "Maybe...or perhaps this was a message?"
Y: "What do you mean?"
B: "...the big man knows a lot Yuri, a whole lot more than we think he does." Yuri swallows as I sigh. "I need to get going, I have somewhere to be."
Y: "Oh okay, have a nice night! Thank you again!"
B: "Of course, see you later!" I swing away back home as I'm left feeling rather down. Poor Nick, I didn't wish to see him again but...to see him reduced to that? Is just sad... I arrive back home as I quickly head into the kitchen. I hope the food wasn't burnt! I check the food and see that it's...okay? It's fine I guess? I pull it out and look at it... you know what? I think that-
Knock! Knock!
There's two quick knocks at the door and then shortly a giggle?
M: "Guess who's back~" ….oh fuck! I throw the food into the bin quickly and spawn in some replacement food as Monika comes into the kitchen! "Hey honey, why are you in gear?"
B: "Oh? I was just helping Yuri is all!" She nods as she looks at the food.
M: "Awww, you really made some dinner for us~?" I just nod as I take off my mask.
B: "I guess..." Monika smiles as she sniffs the air?
M: "hmm? Funny?" She then checks the bin... "....ohoho! Did it not go right the first time?"
B: "Uhhhh...no comment?"
M: "ehehe! It's fine Botan! Don't worry about it!" She sits down as she rubs her head. "aww, what a day. What did Yuri want with you?" Monika looks a little....jealous? Is it? I can't really tell. "I'm not jealous Botan." ...oh...
B: "Sorry! I just...it's been a pretty rough night." I sit beside her as she rubs my back.
M: "How'd you mean? You look pretty upset?"
B: "I just...I went to the shop because a man was...well for a lack for a better word, crazy." Monika nods for me to continue. "Yuri didn't want to run off to get changed so she called upon me."
M: "Why you?" Monika asks rather sternly?
B: "I don't know? Maybe she thought I was best suited to deal with this? I went in there and well..."
M: "Well?"
B: "It's...it was the guy who I helped on my first night. He was drugged Monika. Probably dragged back here in this mess, taken away from the chance I gave him! I just...don't think that's fair at all..." Monika nods slowly.
M: "Well...was he okay or...?"
B: "He was crazy. Acting like a wild man. A primate. He was eating flowers Monika!" Monika sighs.
M: "Poor guy...what was his name?"
B: "Nick."
M: "Sigh...well? Did you get a sample of his blood or something else?"
B: "I did, it's just...I thought I really helped him Monika. I thought I gave him a way out but...it wasn't enough..." Monika rests her head against my shoulder.
M: "You tried Botan. You tried, and that's good enough for me."
B: "It's not good enough for me though. Nick deserved a life! He didn't deserve that! To be someone's guinea pig!"
M: "Just relax darling...just...it's okay..." I sigh as Monika smiles sadly. "Hey? How about we go lie down and eat this food okay? Let's just snuggle together while eating pizza huh?" She smiles as I nod.
B: "Okay..."
M: "Good boy..." She helps me up and takes the pizza as we go through to the other room to rest.
- Yuri's perspective -
Look at this mess! Was it too much for me to ask Botan to at least help me tidy this up? Sigh...I'm going to be here forever! As I'm sweeping the floor the lights suddenly come back on?
Y: "Huh?" I look at the lights as someone enters the store? "Hello?" …
A: "Boo!" I jump as I see Alex behind me?!
Y: "What?!"
S: "ehehe!" I see Sayori also come skipping in as I relax.
Y: "oh, guys don't do that!"
A: "Sorry Yuri! It was too good to let this pass! What's going on by the way? Why was the place dark, and why is it a mess?"
S: "Are you okay Yuri?"
Y: "I'm fine, it's just...well a man came in with some sort of drug in him." I show Sayori the sample Botan gave me.
S: "Huh? Is this his blood?"
Y: "Yes." Sayori takes it and has a look.
S: "hmmm, if it's a drug I'll find out what drug it is!"
Y: "Thank you."
A: "Did you hurt yourself at all?"
Y: "No I'm fine! I just got Botan to help me is all!"
A: "...I see?"
Y: "I didn't want to disturb your night out guys, after all...I know you two really want to build bridges again after that whole duplicate incident."
S: "Yeah, we're getting better. Slowly but getting there!"
A: "Yeah! Just a few more nights out and we're golden!"
Y: "Just don't try anything together..."
S: "ohoho! I wouldn't worry about it Yuri! I'm not about to steal your man away from you~"
Y: "What?! No! We're just friends!"
A: "Sayori, really??"
S: "Man you two are just hopeless...ah well! You want our help Yuri?"
A: "Yeah! We can help tidy up!"
Y: "That would be grand, thank you!" Alex heads off as does Sayori as I continue sweeping. The three of us focus on cleaning up for awhile as the shop looks a little better! A few minutes have passed and we've managed to pick up most of the destroyed products as well as mop up the floor. Sayori is busy re-arranging the flower display as I finish up collecting the rest of the ruined flowers. I smile as I dump the rest of them into the bin and turn around to see Alex moving a few boxes. I glance over to Sayori, she seems to have this faraway look in her eye? She seems sad? uuu, I want to say something to her but I don't want to say the wrong thing! I walk up to Alex as he looks at me.
A: "Hey Yuri, what's up?"
Y: "Um, it might be just me but.... have you noticed Sayori has been quiet for the past ten minutes or so?" We glance at her as she's smiling while looking at a few flowers.
A: "Well... yeah. I didn't want to say this in front of her but, tonight was one of her quiet nights." I look at him as Alex looks generally worried. "She was... you know?" I nod.
Y: "I see... her rainclouds must of came in again..."
A: "Yeah... I didn't want to provoke her in some way so I just let her be."
Y: "That's probably the right move, she might just be having one of her down days..." We look on in silence as Sayori suddenly turns around and smiles at us.
S: "Okay! I'm done here, what about you guys? Is there anything else to do??"
A: "Uh...Yuri?" I look around... everything seems to be in order? If not, I'll just sort it out for tomorrow.
Y: "It's fine! I think we've done everything we could! Thank you for your help guys~"
A: "Of course!"
S: "You're welcome!" Sayori smiles as she skips to the front door. "I'm going to go ahead a little early if that's okay, I'm rather tired..."
A: "Are you sure? We should go together, that way Coomer can't pick you off Sayori."
S: "It's okay! I'll get the bus! Thanks for your concern~"
A: "...right."
Y: "Well if you're sure, then goodnight Sayori~"
S: "Goodnight guys!" Sayori leaves and skips down the street.
A: "Well... we should think about leaving too."
Y: "Yeah... let me get my bag."
A: "Sure!" I head into the office to grab my things, only to notice the face in the corner of my eye! I turn to see nothing...uh? I could've sworn there was a face peaking into the shop? It might just be me, I've been very paranoid lately... Well, I'm sure it was nothing to worry about...
S: "sigh... so they both noticed me... I'm so fucking worthless..."
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2023.06.03 23:44 young_effy How the person in front of me loaded their groceries onto the belt (spoiler: all the items on the belt belong to the same person)
| The checkout was just reopening so the belt was still stopped. The lady in front unloaded her trolley starting at the end of the belt. Left zero room for me to start unloading mine until the belt started moving and the top half of her shopping had been scanned. She didn’t put up a divider either. I get that it’s annoying when people start unloading when you haven’t finished yet but this was a mildly irritating waste of everyone’s time queueing behind her. submitted by young_effy to mildlyinfuriating [link] [comments] |
2023.06.03 23:44 Administrative_Toe96 To the Last Man.....
This story is related to my previous one here:
https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/13xxyz8/a\_pile\_of\_spent\_plasma\_cartridges\_and\_a\_red\_cross/ I sat on my bunk nursing a nasty looking black eye given to me by our “Gracious host”. It’s funny how humanity has sprung forth from its homeworld, and the best remedy for a black eye is still a frozen bag of peas. This is bullshit, I don’t want to be here anymore then they want me to be here. This whole idea of cooperating for the “good of all” isn’t panning out. I need to put—— my train of thought is interrupted by the sound of klaxons. I put down the mostly frozen bag of peas and reach for my gear. Having drilled for this thousands of times in my 4 years since being drafted. It took my less than 30 seconds to dawn my armor. As I lifted my helmet and activated the display I saw red text scrolling across. “HOSTILE FORCES IN SYSTEM, FLEET ATTEMPTING TO REPELL. CONFIDENCE LOW. PLACING ALL TERRAN FORCES UNDER THE TEMPORARY COMMAND OF LOCAL FORCES” Fuck, this couldn’t get any worse. I just got into a bar fight with these lizards and now I have to take orders from them? What is command thinking? A new text message scrolled across my display. “ATTENTION ALL TERRAN FORCES, UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE YOUR ORDERS ARE TO GARRISON THE CIVILIAN SHELTERS IN THE F’RIX DISTRICT. DIRECTIONS ARE BEING FORWARDED TO YOUR COMMAND.” Great, that didn’t take long. Bet the— my thought was interrupted by Captain Armstrong. “Alright D Company, Lets stow the attitude and get to work. Our assignment is approximately 10 kilometers deep in the city. Hurry up and mount up and let’s get rolling. We’ll decide all the details when we get there” I grabbed my rifle and medical kit and heaved up from my bunk. “Jesus St. John, you look like I feel” Corporal Blankenship said with mirth in his voice “Fuck you, let’s just get this over with.” He’s easily the most annoying member of my team. Being a Navy Corpsman in the Terran Republic Marines isn’t all it’s made out to be. On one hand, you become family to them. They treat you as a brother even if you aren’t “one of them”. On the other hand, you might as well be in the Marines. “ Hey corpsman, do you think the fleet is going to be able to prevent a landing?” PFC Thompson yelled over the sound of shuffling gear “ Oh jeez PFC, I Don’t know. Let me call up the Admiral and check. Right after I do that I think I’ll also wish the enemy away as hard as I can.” “Dick” he shot back I set towards the door with my rifle in hand. As I approached the threshold an APC skidded to a stop. Several tons of steel, the APC wouldn’t have been out of place in any old war movie. The best way to move troops on the ground was still a fast and lightly armored box with wheels. The loading ramp defended and I proceeded to stow my rifle in the racks by the entrance. I took my seat at the back of the APC. I hate riding in these steel coffins. Although if we get hit the chances of me making it aren’t any better if I’m here or sitting in the driver's lap.The tires skidded as the last troops loaded in and took their places. Limited conversations were taking place. With time to think about the situation we were in everything became so much more real. Marines are still Marines though. It didn’t take long for jokes to start flying and ease the tension. A new message scrolled across my vision. “FLEET FORCES HAVE FAILED TO PREVENT THE ENEMY FROM GAINING ORBITAL SUPREMACY. RETREATING TO FORWARD OPERATING BASE LINCON TO RENDEZVOUS WITH OTHER FLEET ELEMENTS.” Fucking great. The APC skidded to a stop in front of the main entrance of the emergency shelter.“Everybody out!” Yelled Sgt. Newman He is the saltiest Marine I’ve ever had the pleasure of serving with. Straight to the point and no time for bullshit.I Exited the APC to find controlled chaos. Everywhere seemed like it was filled with figures in armor running to some location. Sgt. Newman was instantly called to the small Command post immediately forward of the Shelter Entrance. After a short exchange, he jogged back to us.“ Alright folks, We have been tasked with taking up position in the outer defensive line. This means we will get all of the action if there is any to be had today. Lets hoof it up there like a couple of Marines on leave in a whore house” Everyone chuckled, even me. I’ve been around Marines to long. We jogged to our new position and set up. My job was essentially to sit back and wait until someone got hurt after I helped set up the squad's plasma gun emplacement. “ORBITAL LANDING PODS DETECTED IN UPPER ATMOSPHERE. APPROXIMATE LANDING LOCATION UNKNOWN. PREPARE FOR DEFENSE OF THE PLANET” Here we go.“They won’t land here right Sgt. I mean we are just protecting the civilians” said PFC Thompson said with a clear quiver in his voice.“Stow that shit Thompson, if they do we’ll handle it” Sgt. Newman fired back. He didn’t look so sure. I’d never seen him actually look nervous. “KLAXION FORCES HAVE ENGAGED THE ENEMY———“ The rest was cut off. What was that? I’ve never seen the tactical net go down before. “LOCAL COMMAND NET OVERRIDE: DROP PODS DETECTED WITH TRAJECTORY CORRESPONDING TO OUR LOCATION” The silence of my squad was heavy and thick. We all knew what that meant. We were cut off from joint command and on our own. No backup. “ LOCAL COMMAND NET OVERRIDE: KINETIC BOMBARDMENT INCOMING TAKE COVER “ I threw myself to the ground and tried to bury myself behind the thick concrete barriers originally intended to prevent vehicles from leaving the roadway. A sound lack thunder followed me there. The ground shook, glass broke in the buildings above and heat washed over me. A wall of dust and dirt moved through our position obscuring everything. As my hearing returned I raised my head to see that most of the squad had recovered and was preparing to repel the enemy attack that was surely going to accompany this. “CONTACT!” Screamed our plasma gunner. The world became a place filled with bright lights and sizzling bolts. I looked around to see if my services were needed anywhere. “CORPSMAN!” The sound that all corpsman dread hearing because it means that one of our charges is hurt. Possibly fatally. I rushed over to the huddled mass of marines.“Move over dammit” I yelled as I pushed past the two marines who called me over.“He took a piece of falling debris ”What I saw in front of me was a mangled mess. I looked up at the wounded marine. From what I could see it looked like whatever hit him shattered his chest.“ Alright, We need to get him back to the aid station in the shelter I can’t do anything for him here. I need someone to come with me because I can’t carry the stretcher on my own. “Sgt. Newman “ Take Thompson, radio before you come back” The look he gave me was one of resignation. It was bad, really bad. He knew it, and he didn’t expect there to be a position for me to return to.Thompson and I grabbed the stretcher from my aid bag and assembled it. Carefully we rolled the wounded marine onto it. “ Suppressing fire “ shouted Sgt. Newman. We launched to our feet and took off running as carefully as possible. Plasma bolts sizzled past us as we approached the second and then final defensive line. We hurried into the entrance of the emergency shelter alongside several other wounded. We placed our charge down on the floor in the hallway. At this point, our job was done and we were to return back to our post. As I turned to go back another Sgt. Blocked my way. “The first defensive line is gone. Corpsman, Stay here. We are trying to consolidate at the second line but it’s not looking good. PFC Stay here as well. I’m attaching you to the Final line of defense. I need more marines if they break through the second line” I glanced at Thompson who was already moving to obey orders. The shock of what we had just been told hadn’t had time to set in. The training was what kept us both moving.I rushed into the field hospital to see what I could do. What greeted me was horror. Men bleeding, screaming, and dying. A field surgeon grabbed me.“I need you to hold pressure on this wound so I can go prep a the Emergency OR”I stared at him in confusion. OR? What do you mean OR? We’ve been here maybe 30 minutes. How the hell did one get set up here so quickly? I obeyed regardless of my disbelief. The Marine screamed out in pain as I applied pressure. There was blood everywhere. The next couple of hours were a flash of gore and death. We were caught in the middle trying to fight back the Grim Reaper as well as this new foe. By nightfall, the enemy had broken through the second defensive line and had drawn back before taking on the final line.It was quiet, so damn quiet. I wandered around the shelter. I couldn’t sleep. A tail as old as time. I came to A large room with bunks and voices. Inside were the people we are here to protect. Lizards, that's what most of us described the Klaxions as. They were basically bipedal reptiles. However, I found something in my heart while watching them clutch their children to their scaled faces. This is the first time I’d seen any civilians. They looked, and acted like us. Yes, they appeared different but they still clutched their young to their chest. Still comforted the old. My entire worldview that I thought was stable as a concrete high-rise came crashing down on my head. I thought these people were vicious killers of men. All of them, but they just aren’t. They are afraid just like us. One Motioned me over and held up a device. “What is your name Terran” the device spat out at me “St. John” “St. John, will you join me for tea?” “I uh—“ “ Please, it's the least we can do”I sat as a cup was placed in my hand, the tea was warm and steaming. After the Klaxion was done pouring my cup I lifted it to take a sip. It was full of flavor causing my sharp features to scrunch up with surprise. “First time having traditional Klaxion Tea?” “ Yes, it’s uh. Really good *chuckle* “ “ I’m glad you like it, do you have any news from outside the shel——“ Three thunderclaps shook the shelter. Screams rang out in the crowd.“Everybody down!” I yelled as I ran back to the adjoining hallway I didn’t get far before I ran into retreating elements of the final defense line. “Corpsman, take up position in the doorway and prepare to repel the enemy”I looked at him in shock. “Do it now goddammit!” Plasma bolts started flying down after the retreating marines. At their rear was Captain Armstrong carrying what seemed to be…… Thompson, PFC Thompson. He looked badly injured. The Captain rushed him inside the main shelter room and laid him down. Immediately the Klaxion rendered as much aid as they could. Although physically different. Both of our species knew that fluids leaving the body in a hurry was bad news and to apply pressure. As I turned back to the Captain he took a plasma bolt to the face. There wasn’t anything left. What was left was all over my face shield. “Here they come!” Shouted someone from the hallway.I heard screams, so many screams. Screams of terror, screams of anger, screams of rage. In the end, my Plasma rifle ran dry. I looked around me, spent plasma cartridges lay in piles. I heard footsteps behind me. The walking wounded had armed themselves with knives, sticks, and sidearms. Then they came into the entrance. I threw myself in front of the civilians out of instinct. An instinct given to all humans. To protect the innocent. As the plasma bolts ripped through my body, one must have clipped my spine. I could feel the pressure of the shots but nothing else. The room grew dark except for one spot. This must be the light everyone talks about.I’m sorry I couldn’t do more, but we did all we could.
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2023.06.03 23:34 vincenzohh Parking Dispute
| So I live in a "luxury" apartment complex in Orange and I parked in front of this guy. It was in the loading zone of our complex, so it's like curbside parking, and he left no room behind himself so in order to squeeze in front of him I did get kind of close to him. Then next time I come out to my car I get this on my windshield. How should I go about this? Contact the office? Park even closer to him? Kinda sucks to feel threatened in my own residence. submitted by vincenzohh to orangecounty [link] [comments] |
2023.06.03 23:32 misstheNBA101 DuPont Minijet help?
Just recently received and love it but one issue I have had since it has no visible butane gas tank. How much should I be loading it with butane?
I followed this video initially
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2ws3lART2VI&pp=ygUORHVwb250IG1pbmlqZXQ%3D And although I don’t have the tool to empty the gas tank (shame it didn’t come with) I use the two 5 second rule in the video to load it with butane before every cigar but it runs out REALLY fast. Anyone own minijet and can share experience? Thanks
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2023.06.03 23:32 sjanevardsson Damned Bureaucracy
The small cargo ship, in the default medium grey, was wholly unremarkable. The same and similar made up the fleets of corporate and private couriers, with the result that it was not surprising to see it anywhere.
The anonymity and ability to blend in served Sidra well…usually. This station, run by the hyper-bureaucratic aslodzhins was the exception. The “bugs,” as many humans called them, had their own ways of doing things and didn’t like a “squishy,” as they called humans and other endoskeletal beings in their own language, upsetting the order.
“Private vessel Hobby Horse, please state the purpose of your visit and expected duration.”
“Station 47 control, I say again: PV Hobby Horse requesting permission to dock in an out-of-the-way small cargo dock for fueling. Expected visit duration no more than a week…seven standard days, but no less than an hour.”
“PV Hobby Horse, docking for fuel cleared at Lock 7-16. All passengers and crew are required to wait inside the vehicle until security arrives to clear you. …
Cracked-shell squishy thinks they can—” The controller’s voice cut out as they must have noticed they were still transmitting.
“Thank you, station 47 control. Docking at Lock 7-16. Squishy out….”
Sidra expected one or two security to show up to clear her to enter the station, instead, there were a dozen. She opened the airlock and waited inside. “Come on in.”
The leader, obvious by the shiny, silver emblem in the center of its blast armor, stepped in, followed by two others that made a quick inspection of the ship to verify the claim of no other persons aboard. The brown color of the leader’s head carapace marked them as a drone, while the black carapaces were male and bright blue were female.
Sidra extended a hand. “Sidra Boston; captain, owner, pilot, and sole crew of the Hobby Horse. Welcome to my home.”
“Sub-adjutant-lieutenant-detachment-commander Slivdzak.” The officer looked at her extended hand and grasped it with one their six manipulators.
“Pleasure to meet you, Slivdzak. How can I help?” Sidra felt a secret rush of joy at the way the officer tried and failed to hide their discomfort. She knew that the lack of carapace was as disconcerting to them as the feel of a surprise tarantula crawling on the neck was to humans.
“Captain Sidra Boston—”
“Please, just call me Sid. Drop all the Captain and Boston stuff.”
“Sid, you have not made clear the purpose of your ‘one-hour to seven-day’ stay. Please elaborate.”
“I’m meeting someone here and taking them home.”
The officer looked at a small device it carried. A hologram rose from it, her close-cropped black hair, medium-brown skin, large, green eyes, and humped nose obvious. Beneath the hologram was writing in the bugs’ script. “Are you not a hunter of bounties?”
“Well, if that’s what you want to call it, I guess.”
“Such activity is only allowed in teams of three or more by aslodzhin law 9314-27.664 and safety regulations 647-88.932 and 90991-17.0. In addition, at least one of the team must be aslodzhin.”
“That’s kind of speciesist, isn’t it?”
“The courts have allowed for permanent residents of aslodzhin space to fill the requirements where applicable, in accordance with Galactic Union Resolution on the Rights of Sapients, 74.23.08 Paragraph 12.”
“Great, good to hear. Problem is, I work alone and I’m not after a bug.” She shrugged. “You know how we squishies are.”
“Station command has already decreed that you are not to leave your vessel without the two members chosen for you.” The officer raised to its full height, its head carapace close to scraping the ceiling. “Your team will be here soon. Good day, Captain Sidra Boston.”
“Good day, sub-whatever-whatchamacallit Sliv.”
After the security detail left, she stepped out of the ship to check on the refueling. No sooner had her foot set down outside the airlock than she found herself in the crosshairs of two armed security guards that had been standing out of sight.
“They aren’t kidding about not leaving without a team, huh? Damned bureaucracy.” She stepped back inside the ship and sat on the floor to await her babysitters.
When her team arrived, she was surprised by the presence of the furred, six-limbed hikarin hemi-male. He was easily head and shoulders taller than her, but slight of build, and thin-boned, coming from a lower-gravity world.
The aslodzhin female didn’t surprise her, even in her law enforcement uniform. She wore a red symbol on the chest of her uniform.
Sidra stood. “Okay guys, I’m Sid, and this is
my job. You do what I say and stay out of the way we’ll get along fine. You,” she said, pointing at the aslodzhin female, “change out of that uniform. You’ll scare off my skip.”
“Sid, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m senior-squad-chief Dliz, and this is Soolyasin.” Dliz extended a manipulator for a shake and Sidra obliged. Dliz’s compound eyes rotated in a way Sidra didn’t know they could, and she showed frank wonder at the feel of a hand in her manipulator. “Could you do that again?” she asked.
“Do what?”
“You moved your hand, and I could feel the muscles flex…yes! That’s it!” Dliz laughed. “That’s the neatest feeling ever!”
“Am I the first squishy you’ve met?”
“Oh, no. I’ve known Sool since I was a nymph.” Dliz continued to hold on to Sidra’s hand.
“How about humans?” Sidra raised an eyebrow and tried to extricate herself from the increasingly awkward handshake.
“Yes. I mean, I’ve seen plenty passing through, but never met one.” Dliz let go and uttered a quiet apology.
Soolyasin stepped forward. He was dressed in technician’s clothes, complete with tool belt. “You’ll have to forgive Dliz. She’s a fan of bounty hunters in general, and you in particular.”
“Shush.” Dliz stood straight up at attention on her four hind legs, her head scraping the ceiling, her three left manipulators raised in a salute. “What are your orders, Sid?”
“First order of business, you need to lose the uniform and dress in something less conspicuous. Sool, is that a disguise?”
“No, these are my work clothes. When Dliz called I ran straight here.”
“That’s fine. You’ll blend in, no trouble.” Sidra put on a ballistic vest and covered it with a loose jacket. She checked that she had cuffs, shackles, bench warrant, and badge.
She turned toward Dliz. “Do you have a ballistic vest?”
“I have a carapace; I’m not a squishy.”
“Will your carapace stop a slug from a weapon like this?” Sidra held up a high-powered, 6mm rifle.
“Um, no. I have armor, though.”
“Can you wear it under clothes?”
“Yes, but it’s against the regulations.”
“Screw the rules, wear your armor…
under your clothes.” She muttered under her breath, “Damned bureaucracy.”
Sidra turned toward Soolyasin. “I think I have a vest that’ll fit you.”
He looked at Sidra, then Dliz, then back again. “Is it going to be that dangerous?”
Sidra showed them the bench warrant. Soolyasin’s eyes grew wide and Dliz’s eyes rolled in a different way to earlier. Sidra thought she might be able to read bug emotions if this kept up.
“You were going after a turgen terrorist by yourself?” he asked.
“Still am. Just don’t want to see my babysitters get hurt.” She turned to look at Dliz. “Dliz, relax. You don’t have to stand at attention. I need you to tell me which of these weapons you’ll let me carry on the station.”
Dliz settled back down onto six legs and looked over the cabinet Sidra had unlocked. In addition to the rifle, she had pistols, tasers, batons, knives, and a shotgun with less-lethal beanbag loads along with standard loads.
“Which of them are capable of breaching the station hull?”
“The 6-mil, and the shotgun, if I loaded it with steel shot or slugs instead of beanbags.” She didn’t mention that the 10mm pistols were just as likely to do the same damage, but she wasn’t going out without at least one lethal weapon.
“In that case, leave the rifle and lethal shotgun rounds behind. I’ll be carrying a beam weapon, too, so we should be covered.”
“What about me?” Soolyasin asked.
“The only thing I need you to do is stay out of the way. Unless I need some inconspicuous eyes in the bay.”
After fitting Soolyasin with a ballistic vest and Dliz getting into civilian clothes over her armor, much to her dismay, they moved to the main cargo bays where they expected their quarry to show. Sidra positioned them so that she could watch arrivals, Dliz could watch her back, and Soolyasin could stay well out of the way unless and until needed.
The first hour went by at glacial speed, with constant interruptions from Dliz and Soolyasin asking questions or pointing at every passerby that
might be a turgen in disguise. The next two hours dragged compared to the first.
It was in the middle of the fourth hour that Sidra got notice that the ship carrying her quarry was docking. She moved them to cover the lock where it pulled in, granting them a view on both the personnel airlock and the cargo airlock.
A much smaller contingent of security met the ship, cleared the crew for the station, and left. Four crewmembers, all turgen, filed off. Larger than humans in bulk, grey skin covered with hard dermal denticles, they had two arms, two legs, the remnants of a dorsal fin, and a long, flat tail with which they could do bone-breaking damage.
Sidra waited. If he was going to sneak off the ship, he’d need to do it soon. When it became apparent that he wasn’t going to get out on his own, she radioed Soolyasin.
“Okay, Sool. It’s clear around the ship. Just carry your tool case and walk onboard like you belong there. You’ve seen his picture, if you see him, run. If there’s
anyone else on the ship, just tell them you’re checking the fuel gauges because of some regulation or other.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. You got this, and I’ve got your back.”
Soolyasin walked onto the ship, and they could hear him in their headsets, “Hello? Anyone here? I need to check your fuel gauges. Hello?”
A few quiet moments passed before Soolyasin spoke up again. “There’s no one else here,” he said, “I’m co—” His voice was cut off by the sound of a heavy thud.
Sidra ran for the ship, pulling her shotgun into firing position and cycling a round into the chamber. She stopped at the door of the ship and called inside. “Give it up, Otto. The only way you’re leaving here is in cuffs.”
When she didn’t hear anything else, she moved to clear the corners. She looked right where the door to the cockpit was closed. She swiveled around to check the other side only to find it empty as well. “Dliz, move up and cover the exit. The cargo airlock hasn’t been cycled, so this is the only way off.”
She began to move down the passageway when she heard the cockpit door click behind her. She swung around a delivered a 12-gauge beanbag into Otto’s gut at near point-blank range. Rather than stopping him, it enraged him. He turned and swiped at her with his tail.
Sidra tried to dodge out the way, but he managed to knock the shotgun out of her hands. He picked it up and threw it behind himself into the cockpit, next to the limp form of Soolyasin. “Time to go away, bounty hunter.”
He began to move toward her. When he stepped in front of the open door, he was met with a concentrated beam of infrared energy that forced him to jump back. “Listen, soft-skin. You leave now, and I’ll throw your friend out. It’s your one chance to leave alive.”
She drew her 10mm pistol and pointed it at him. “And if I don’t?”
He started toward her again, then stopped when the beam almost connected. “I’ll start by killing your furry friend, then your trigger-happy friend, then you…but nice and slow. There’s no way you’re taking me to a human prison.”
Sidra couldn’t see Dliz, but from the angle of the last beam, she’d moved to where she had more coverage of the passageway toward the cockpit. She knew that if he wanted, he could ignore the burns and rush her, crushing her carapace in a thousand different ways. Her shotgun was far out of reach, not to mention ineffective, but the 10mm pistol was a comforting weight in her hand.
Otto turned his back on her, his tail swishing wildly, smashing against the bulkheads on each side of the passage. “Very well, then. On to killing your furry friend first.”
“I’m warning you, Otto, these are lethal rounds. Put your hands behind your head, your tail between your legs, and drop to your knees.”
By the time Otto had taken a step, Sidra had taken aim and fired a shot into his torso and another into his thigh. He stopped and turned to look at her, bright pink blood running down his leg and back. He laughed. “You’re going to be so much fun.”
The courts tended to look down on spinal injuries, but when a round in the torso and thigh didn’t slow him down, she didn’t feel like she had much choice. She took aim again and fired at the base of his tail. His tail dropped like a dead weight, and he cried out.
The pain dropped him to his knees. Sidra finished the motion by jumping between his shoulder blades to put him flat on the deck. She cuffed his hands behind his back, and secured his ankles with shackles before motioning Dliz to come in.
“Call for medical for Sool and for the idiot here.”
Dliz made the call and medical teams arrived in less than a minute.
“Damn,” Sidra said, “I guess bureaucracy is good for something after all.”
Soolyasin was awake by the time he was loaded onto a stretcher. There didn’t seem to be any broken bones, but he’d been thrown rather hard by Otto’s tail strike. “Sorry I wasn’t any help,” he said.
“Nonsense. I’m sorry I sent you in there and you got hurt. I’m splitting the bounty three ways, even across with both of you.”
“I can’t take any payment,” Dliz said. “It’s against the regulations for police to have any outside earnings.”
“You saved my bacon, though. If you hadn’t been enough of an inconvenience with the beam, he would’ve tail swiped me before I could draw.”
“Still can’t accept any payments or monetary gifts.”
“How about this? You two have been friends forever, right? I’ll pay your portion to Sool, and he can treat you to fancy dinners for the rest of your life.”
“Wha...how much is the bounty?”
“Three-point-seven million Terran credits. About sixteen million galactic.”
Dliz’s eyes rolled in yet another motion. “Damned bureaucracy.”
Reedsy Prompt: Write about someone who has always done something as part of a group, and is now starting to set out solo, or vice versa.
Story published here.
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2023.06.03 23:26 All_Foul_Ways Looking for Roommate
Hello y’all, I am looking to fill a spacious spot at Victoria Station on mulberry street, its right across the street from Fuzzies and Roosters and just a street over from the square right in the heart of downtown, only a mile straight shot down the road from UNT, 0.8 miles from TWU and right across the street from NCTC. It’s a two bed two bath, so you’d have your own bedroom and own full bathroom aswell as up to two reserved parking spots, pets allowed. RENT is $789 plus utilities. The move in date would be August 1st, prime time for the fall 2023 semester. My roommate and his girl are looking to get their own place in few months before the lease is up in November, so it’s a win win in the sense that you won’t have to pay a deposit, pro rates, or extra rent up front, only thing you’ll need to pay is a lease transfer fee. The apartment has an in apartment washer and dryer as well. A little about me I’m a 23yr old former college student. I work nights in shipping and distribution management but I will do my best to respond quickly. So DM me for more info, come see the place, and check out the great location. Cheers yall have a great rest of your day!
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2023.06.03 23:23 THELOSTABBEY [WTS] DD 12.5 Barrel AEM5/OCM5 Vltor SLR pinned ADCO
Timestamp:
https://imgur.com/a/UQpmnob Selling this new unfired, only mounted on an upper, front end complete.
Daniel defense 12.5 chf cl profiled for ops can by adco
Pinned slr gas block
Brt 50/50 gas tube
Ocl muzzle break
Vltor freedom mlok
The can sits about 1/2” from the front of the rail when assembled. Super clean looking setup. Top quality build. Ready to attach to a stripped upper and go.
$650 shipped
Paypal f&f
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THELOSTABBEY to
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2023.06.03 23:19 Ainaman Help with building solar system from scratch?
I want to go solar but know very little about what to choose. I know what components I need, but am having trouble choosing which ones to get to achieve an optimal balance between cost and quality. Most reviewers have links to particular brands, so I tend to distrust their advice. Living in rural Hawaii with lots of sunlight, but not lots of options :) I am looking to spend between five and ten thousand USD for the setup. Can spend more if necessary. Is Outback really the best? Are there other brands that have proven reliable? Can I get most of it on line and have it shipped? What would you choose for a complete system? I would like it to be able to handle sporadic loads like a two kilowatt hair dryer. Tia for all good advice. Aloha.
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Ainaman to
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2023.06.03 23:18 tvwtb where do i stand if a police car throws up stone chips onto my car and causes damage to a panel?
i was driving home from a long day at work when a police car with its blues on joined the road on a slip lane to my left (not a lane where you have to merge, the lane continues if that makes sense) and drove over the chevron-ed area to overtake a car in the left lane which flung loads of stones up, one of which has left a bit of a gash in the passenger front wing
i take great care of my car & work all hours under the sun to be able to afford the car, as well as the insurance & extortionate cost of fuel.
i have dashcam footage (though there’s no sound) and you can see the car drive over the stony area
is there any way that the police can pay for any repairs if i discover there’s more damage than just the one gash?
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tvwtb to
LegalAdviceUK [link] [comments]
2023.06.03 23:16 daanaveera Laundry Business
Starting out, I read it's a good idea to buy second-handed machines (making sure it's repairable, parts available).
I also read laundry shops use gas-powered dryer. How much would these machines usually cost? Any brand/model recommendations? Type? (I read front load machines saves on water, and electricity?)
Thank you in advance for any tips you can share.
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2023.06.03 23:15 Punch_Your_Facehole Had the best day at Costco. Got lucky and scored a parking spot right in front. Great samples. Got out and packed up my car just before it started pouring. Also didn’t have to wait in line for $3.65 gas! Bonus snack for later as well.
2023.06.03 23:09 asd8dhd I spliced together the comms audio from the official Starfield trailers
The audio, which has been carefully compiled and enhanced for clarity, can be found
here.
Please note that some of the speech is still difficult to make out, but I have included a transcript below that I believe to be accurate. The two sections which are slightly unclear have been marked with an asterisk, and have been explained at the end of the post.
The conversation that we are now able to listen to is, I believe, a highly plausible, step-by-step list of procedures that would be followed in-game prior to carrying out a Grav Jump.
PILOT: "Control this is Constellation Starship Frontier." CONTROL: "Constellation Starship Frontier, we have you on scanners." PILOT: "We're ready to start on your signal." CONTROL: "Performing Load Systems check. Helium-3 tanks, check. Seals are intact." PILOT: "Maintaining exit vector course, steady 'till ready." CONTROL: "We are still go." PILOT: "Coordinates input, plotting jump course." CONTROL: "We read you Constellation." PILOT: "Sky HUD is converged, we're looking good." \*
CONTROL: "Chawla surround looks good." \*
PILOT: "Allocating auxiliary reactor power." CONTROL: "Prepare for departure. Graviton Loop Array Spool, check." PILOT: "System checks are green across the board." CONTROL: "Your space lane is clear." PILOT: "Grav jump commencing in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."
Note: there is a small amount of comms audio that I have not included here, as it seems to pertain specifically to taking off from a planet rather than attempting a Grav Jump. This audio, spoken by the person identified above as Control, is
"Main engines go, ignition. Good luck Constellation. You are go, for, launch."
And finally, the two sections marked with an asterisk:
- "Sky HUD is converged, we're looking good." I think this is a direct reference to what we see in the trailer with the broken line drawn between two points that is then re-routed via a third point. The Sky HUD is probably the instrument that is showing us this graphical representation.
- "Chawla surround looks good." Chawla is an already confirmed moon of the gas-giant Olivas, based in the Alpha Centauri System. The word surround being used by the 'Control Tower' (probably a space-station) would make sense because, unlike conventional Air Traffic Control, they would need to be aware of flights either entering or leaving orbit for an entire moon or planet.
EDIT 1: I had some technical issues with the post which have now been fixed. EDIT 2: Fixed link to audio (should be fine now!) submitted by
asd8dhd to
Starfield [link] [comments]
2023.06.03 22:57 Valor4Christ Dryer timer counts down and "clicks" when starting cycle, but doesn't actually turn on, spin, or produce heat
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Valor4Christ to
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