'Betting syndicate' may have placed bug placed in All ...

[OC][C1764] Rising Titans Ch.26

Chapters

Canada, Unknown System

"We will be exiting FTL in five seconds!" said Arik over the Canada's comm.
Stagg glanced up at the forward display, watching the alternating blue and red lights that were produced through the use of tachyon based FTL. This was the third consecutive jump, each time the Canada had dropped out of a system the Imperial vessels had appeared several light seconds behind them and continued to give chase.
An advantage they had no doubt due to the fact that the beacon system was an active network. A military would no doubt be able to track almost all ship movements.
At first the Imperial ships had been broadcasting what sounded like canned orders to cease and desist criminal activity but now all they were emitting were the pulses from active scanners as they tried to get a targeting lock on the Canada.
Thankfully with the delay and the random course adjustments the helm was making they were staying outside of a defined lock. Just barely however.
The Canada shuddered and Derrick winced, the ship was strong but still having it shake like that was not a good thing for her. The multiple jumps were pushing the retro engineered tachyon drive past tolerance and the normally smooth transitions from normal space to FTL were now somewhat rough. A fact that was somewhat worrying since the jitteriness meant that the ship was only being partially accelerated, and the rest of the ship was being dragged along with it to FTL speeds.
"When can we jump again?" asked Stagg.
Derrick glanced over at her, he was on the bridge now at the engineering console trying to keep everything together. Arik and his engineering staff were keeping the engineering compartment itself under control as the Canada pushed itself far past recommended specifications.
"Another thirty seconds, after that we won't be able to jump again without frying the systems. I'm trying to bleed the heat off but even dumping it all into the hull armor the systems weren't designed to share heat, it's not nearly as effective as I would like!" growled Derrick.
Stagg nodded and glanced back at Tactical.
"Where are the Imperial ships?" she asked.
"Five light seconds away, they're burning to catch up though." Said Derrick.
"I'm open to suggestions." Said Stagg.
"We fought one of their big ships already, we prime a nuke and the main guns. With the Ace they won't know what hit them." Said the man at tactical.
"It might come to that." Said Stagg.
"Atmosphere, we need a place to bleed off this heat!" said Derrick.
"What?" asked Stagg.
"We use our last jump to hit the atmosphere of a gas giant, and then dive into it! We can bleed off heat a lost more effectively in an atmosphere than in space!"
Stagg and the rest of the bridge crew on the bridge turned to look at the Engineer.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but atmospheric re-entry usually creates a lot of heat." Said Stagg.
"It does, but on the armor of the ship. We're built to bleed it off fast there, not from our engines! In an atmosphere we open the engineering compartment to the air cool us off!"
Stagg looked at him for a moment and then at the other members of the bridge.
"Anyone else have a better idea?" she asked, "Anyone?"
The man at tactical looked back at his readouts and shrugged, "Their weapons will be less effective in atmospheric conditions. If we want to fire our own weapons, we would have to actually under power them. We have firing programs for the conditions, although those are for atmospheres comparable to Earth and Mars."
"I can modify the programs we have to better adjust for firing in a thicker atmosphere." Said Arik breaking into the conversation.
"Then it is possible?" asked Stagg.
"Possible yes, but I can't calculate the odds of a successful atmospheric flight. The Canada is designed to handle them but it is not a recommended maneuver." She hesitated, "However considering the circumstances it is a logical course of action our largest weakness is the inability to properly vent heat."
Stagg glanced over at a computer console, to glare at the AI inhabiting the ship for a moment.
"You and the Lieutenant think far too much alike."
Stagg closed her eyes for a moment and thought, "Very well. How much preparation do you need to perform this maneuver?"
Derrick grinned, "Arik clear the engine compartments and prepare to open the coolant systems."
"We won't be able to vent and open the atmosphere until we pass max Q and the aerodynamic effects from the compromising of the external aerodynamic frame."
"I'm aware of that, let's get the docking thrusters powered up, I also want you to look into overpowering the strange matter reaction systems for balancing. This is going to be like flying a brick."
"They're not strong enough to keep us from tumbling if we don't enter on the correct vector." Said Arik.
"I know that, so make sure you calculate the correct vector!"
"I hate to cut this short, but they are gaining on us. If there is something that we're going to do we need to do it quickly." Said the man at tactical.
"Can you handle the FTL calculation, I need to perform all of the adjustments!" said Arik as the lights in the bridge flickered. She really did like to play with the AI stereotypes, her systems had no direct control over lighting. Even at full processing speed and capacity none of the normal ship systems would be affected.
"Got it."
Derrick turned back to his console and quickly began to adjust the values of the engine and the power systems of the ship.
The Canada shuddered, and lurched to the side.
The man at tactical swore.
"That was a glancing shot, along the top port side. The armor absorbed it well enough. We're bleeding the heat off already and the hulls cooling."
"How much of a temperature differential?" asked Derrick.
"About 400 degrees, why?" asked the man.
"Feed me all of the temperature differentials along the hull, I'll need them for atmospheric entry."
"Roger, they're in front of you now." Said the man.
"Got em."

Diana, Jikse

The crowds thickened as Diana approached the heart of the city. It was sad really, almost the entire ruined city was empty. With only a small downtown like sector occupied by the Empire.
It was similar to the rest of the planet, although most of the rest of it was uninhabitable wasteland.
The class C species whom had inhabited it beforehand had lived in the city. A veritable metropolis larger than anything even Earth had to offer. Now it was a husk empty and nearly devoid of life beyond the sectors the Empire regulated.
Now it was a mere shadow of its former self.
Shaking her head Diana continued through the city and the crowds making her way towards the most densely populated section. She had a suspicion, and one that she wanted to confirm.
If another class C was on the planet, and he was operating in a city full of class B citizens and an uncaring Imperial governor he would be able to act with near impunity. He had already in a short time taken control of every crime group within the city and put himself on top from what she could tell.
Not that it would be terribly difficult from what she had seen.
That didn't preclude him from flaunting the new amount of power though, and it was something that every criminal had to do. Still he couldn't have dismantled and replaced every aspect of the criminal underground yet, as primitive as it was. Meaning that there had to be a location where meetings between ill-tempered parties could be carried out, as bad as the class B criminals were they were stupid. If people disappeared at meetings they would know why. A neutral location was therefore needed.
For Diana's mother it had been the old Earth standby of a bar. A tradition that had translated to Mars easily enough. The citizens of the Empire did not however seem to associate bars with clandestine business. Although the general grittiness of such establishments was universal as far as she could tell.
Instead, from what she had figured out the meetings and thus the clandestine business transactions took place in the parks.
All of the cities of the Empire had them from what reading she had done. Sweeping gardens housing both flora and fauna from the Dorvakian home world. It was one of the few locales that wasn't adapted from the previous class C tenants of the planet. It featured only Dorvakian ideas and constructs.
Not only were their plants and animals, but hundreds of small gazeebo like buildings and other amenities. At night lights flickered on and lit the entire area in a dim red glow. It was monitored and patrolled almost as heavily as the government buildings, not that it really meant anything besides a quick response time to disturbances.
Any criminal activity that took place within it had to be civil, unless you wanted the entire city patrol to come down on you.
Why the trade had not gone down in the park Diana didn't know, although if she had to guess it was because of scanners or something looking for them. She would have simply shielded the nano-machines against such things and insisted the trade take place in the open.
Hopefully what she was carrying now would not be detected, even by Human standards it was crude and old fashioned. So there was a good chance it wouldn't be.
Stepping into the garden and ignoring the plethora of scanners around it's perimeter Diana slowly ambled forward and pretended to be examining the plants.
The Dorvakian fauna was, interesting to say the least. Everything was tinted an alien shade of red and everything seemed to be obsessed with right angles and straight lines, unless every plant had been carefully cultured to be like that. She wasn't completely sure.
It gave everything an oddly, artificial feel. Diana didn't like it. She had grown up on the Station, which had not in its near century of construction and additions had any large form of planning.
People glanced up at her as she walked but no one approached her.
Keeping her hands in her faux leather like jacket Diana casually looked around for his agents, or proxies.
"Class C." said a voice behind her.
Diana stopped. And slowly turned to look back at the man speaking.
He was large, larger than Bruno which was saying something. He was wearing the standard business attire of the Empire, a nice set of robe like garments with a one piece beneath it. His ears were exposed and from what Diana could see that he was not one of the aliens. Or at least not one of the aliens she was looking for. He was class B.
"I'm sorry?" asked Diana feigning ignorance.
"He would like a word with you." Said the man remaining civil.
"Who?" asked Diana.
The man said nothing, and instead put a hand on Diana's shoulder.
"This won't take long."
Diana shrugged, "Alright lead the way."
The man slowly guided her into a more secluded section of the park, alien trees that looked like oaks but with red leaves and branches along the entirety of their trunks completely cut off the view from the rest of the park.
It was an isolated section, an alcove of privacy in the very middle of the city.
Glancing up Diana saw that their were lights in the trees. Flash those lights brightly enough they would blind any optics above the glade.
"Over here." Said the man, he pointed at a small gazebo like structure. Inside of it sat a single man. Around the structure however were unmistakably families, children with their parents were running around the field or climbing on the simple structures twenty or so meters away from the gazebo.
Diana raised an eyebrow at that and for a moment briefly reconsidered. Children were not something she had thought to include in her calculations. Even among the criminal syndicates of Earth and Mars involving children in affairs was frowned on.
Stepping into the small structure Diana slowly padded forward to sit at the table across from the man.
These people were not his, unless all of them were very good actors. To him this was simply a meeting place. A fact that further confirmed Diana's suspicions that despite his power, his actual contingent was small.
Sitting down across from him Diana placed a hand on the table keeping the other in her jacket.
The man looked at her for a moment and his eyes widened.
"Did you frisk her?" he barked.
The man behind her struggled to find his words for a moment. "No, she entered the garden. What weapons could she have?"
He growled and said something in a language Diana didn't know and gestured, "Leave."
The man nodded and stepped away weaving his way through the families and children retreated to the edge of the gazebo like structure.
"So you do have a bomb under their right?" asked the class C.
Diana looked at him for a moment, "I do. Seemed like the right amount of insurance."
The man slowly nodded, "What type? The scanners are fairly robust when it comes to identifying explosives."
"I packed thermite around a container of pure oxygen. The conflagration will kill everything within 5 meters of me. It's not particularly effective against structures, but against biological targets? Extremely."
His eyes widened and chuckling he leaned forwards. His face in light now Diana got her first good look at the species. Were he human she would have described him as Asian in decent, but his hair was a vibrant blond and flowed down to his shoulders, it was cut to let his large cat like ears swivel around.
Diana narrowed her gaze at him.
"This is your planet isn't it?" she asked.
"It is."
"How long ago? My planet was attacked nearly a decade ago."
The man frowned, "That would make you either C1764 or C1689 then. I'm going to guess you're C1764 though since C1689's extinction is a matter of public record. Even with my connections though I don't know much about C1764. Something about the effort being a part of a new weapons test."
"Biological agent. Wiped out the population in a matter of minutes. The only survivors were in space at the time of the attack."
The man nodded, "Interesting but a topic for later conversation. I don't know your name."
Diana looked at him and turned her hand over showing him the detonator, "You first."
"Sek, of the nation Ynil."
"Is Ynil the government, or the species you identify as?" asked Diana.
"I am Vakurian. This was my planet, and this is the city of my ancestors." He raised a hand and swept it around.
"Now your name." said Sek.
Diana smiled and nodded, "John Carter of Mars."
Sek narrowed his eyes, "You are lying."
"I was wondering how good your sense of smell was, your men operated fine in almost near darkness but he never looked at me when we fought. I was thinking it was the scent or the sound of my heart."
Sek frowned, "Both. Now, your name."
"Diana of Mars."
He was silent for a moment apparently listening to her and harrumphed. "Very well. Diana why are you here?"
"For the same reason you are, to destroy the Empire."
Sek leaned back against the railing, "Then I see no reason we should fight. The death of my men was a tragedy but I would be willing to overlook it, for the sake of a future mutually beneficial relationship between the two of us and our leaders."
"You're right that we don't need to fight. To be frank I'd rather not. You are perhaps my only competition here." Said Diana.
Sek smiled and his ears swirled around amused.
"I have to ask though, why are you working with class B's?"
Diana forced her heart to remain beating at a constant rate, "They're useful."
Sek narrowed his eyes, "They are but I wouldn't trust them to fight for me. They lack a certain element of… Ruthlessness."
"On that I agree wholeheartedly."
"Which means you're alone, you controlled your heartbeat but I can smell you sweating." Said Sek.
He tapped his nose.
Diana looked at him for a moment and said nothing. He knew the truth but admitting it would be even more dangerous. She would also have to improve her physical control human lie detectors she could pass without a worry, but it seemed the Vakurian were more sensitive.
"Come and work for me, you'll be able to fight the Empire and I'll give you a cut to send back to your own people."
Diana shook her head, "No thanks. As limited as the class B citizens might be they are at least predictable. They'll not stab me in the back."
"Heh, I told the escort to search you. He apparently felt that the scanners were enough though. Now here you sit in the middle of a crowd of families and children a bomb strapped to your chest. The Class B are nothing but domesticated livestock I suppose. Can't even escort a guest correctly."
"Enrage the livestock and they will trample the caretaker." Said Diana.
Sek nodded in agreement, "Still that implies you have lost control. I doubt either of us would lose control in such a manner."
Sek reached not his jacket and drew out a small remote. He flashed it to Diana.
"You killed two of my kin, but they were the least experienced. A pity they won't learn more but still the youngest of my companions. The most experienced of my little group," Sek hit the remote.
The table next to Diana's hand disintegrated, she winced but otherwise remained still. Slowly moving her hand she looked down at the perfect half sphere that had been taken from the material.
"Impressive shot."
"She's quite proud of her abilities. I didn't want you to think I came here completely undefended. I commend your will, coming here with a bomb strapped to your chest? That is something very few of even my own species would do."
Diana frowned "Unfortunately a common occurrence with my own. If your men were any example, it's a good thing you did only bring the rookies. I could snap the bones in your neck with one hand." Diana reached out across the table opening her fist.
Sek considered her for a moment and smiled displaying a mouth filled with several more serrated teeth than would be normal for a human.
"Would you take this deal that you are offering?"
"No."
"Then what makes you think I will?"
"You're all alone. I'm betting you were involved with the incident in orbit. The information on what happened to the Imperial has been somewhat limited to say the least. Based on the data that is publically available, the ship limped away after an encounter with what was reportedly a rebel ship. A story that I'm sure is a cover."
Sek paused, and chuckled.
"Did you know that was the Imperial flagship?"
Diana raised an eyebrow at that.
"Really?"
"You did quite a number on it you're ship from what I can tell escaped and has been on the run since, I've only gotten whispers of it which makes me think it is outfitted for long running. A small crew, and ample supplies."
"Like you guessed, we need information and technology from the Empire." Said Diana.
"You have not tried to take your world back? Surely with your technology it would be easy enough. You managed to bloody the Empire despite their technological advantage."
"Overwhelming odds. The Empire reduced my species to less than 0.1% of our population. Something I would guess happened to you considering the damage to the city."
Diana paused, "Although I don't think they were the first ones to bomb this planet."
Sek stiffened slightly. "Oh?"
"There are nuclear signatures all, from crude nuclear devices. From what I understand the Empire has not used nukes in hundreds of years and the signatures are not that old. You nuked yourselves before the Empire showed up."
Sek said nothing.
"I don't know why you did, hell my planet came close to nuclear Armageddon several times. It does make it necessary to ask a question though."
Sek considered her, "And that question would be what?"
"Are you fighting to reclaim what was lost, or fighting to take revenge for it?"
Sek's ears moved slowly back and forth at that.
"What do you mean?"
"Are you going to kill everyone on the planet who is not your species?"
Sek smiled, "I'll kill anyone who aides the Empire. You don't actually think that any of its citizens deserve to live do you? They are less than sentient, mindless sheep who follow an archaic leader and corrupt Senate. The citizens of the Empire do not deserve any of the worlds they have taken, so yes. I'll kill them all."
Diana slowly nodded, "That explains the nukes then."
"Oh?"
"You don't know when to stop. A war is not as simple as killing your enemies."
The Vakurian slowly stood.
"I disagree. If I kill my enemies, then I have won. Would you rather I show them mercy? Would you show the man who destroyed your own world anything but contempt? Be truthful here little girl!"
Several of the Class B families glanced over as he finished speaking wondering what he was shouting about.
"No. I would cut him where he stands, and enjoy it watching as his life drained away." Whispered Diana.
Getting to her feet she stared at Sek. "I'll not go into his home and murder his son though, not without reason. If humanity has learned anything from war it is that blood for blood will only breed more contempt. I'll not hesitate to kill for the advancement of my agenda and I refuse to feel guilty about the lives I have taken."
Diana stepped forwards towards the man and stood directly in front of him. The alien leered down at her, he was almost a full foot taller than her.
"That does not give me the privilege to wantonly take lives."
Sek chuckled, "You're soft. You show any amount of compassion and it will be taken advantage of."
"Did you not just hear me?" asked Diana.
"I heard you making an excuse. You're afraid to kill."
Sek turned and began to walk away.
"You're not even class C. You're weak and complacent. You might as well be class B."
Sek raised his hand.
Diana raised the hand with the detonator.
"We both go out if you really want to shoot me."
Sek frowned.
Slowly he lowered his hand.
"Until next time then?"

The Imperial

[Vann] stumbled backwards and swore as the room around him spun.
"What was that?" asked the young Emperor.
[Reece] smiled slightly and shrugged his eyes still locked on him.
"Do the two of you really have to do this?" asked [Syn]. The smaller woman was perched on one of the gymnasium machines and looked distinctly uncomfortable.
"It's a military thing." Said [Charles] from where he sat near the edge of the room his back against the wall, [Yuka] was standing awkwardly next to him looking completely.
[Vann] lunged forwards and feinting to the right struck out at [Reece] with his foot, aiming for the man's abdomen.
[Reece] gracefully sidestepped the attack and striking out knocked [Vann] off of his feet sending him to the mats.
The bodyguard settled on his feet and bent down offering a hand.
"Have you had enough?" asked [Reece].
[Vann] rolled over as not taking the offered hand got to his feet bending over to pant. Breathing hard for a moment [Vann] slowly straightened back up.
"I have." Said [Vann].
Stepping away from the mat [Sam] held out a towel to him.
[Vann] took it and carefully wiped the sweat off of his head and tossed it to the ground. [Yuka] stepped forward to take it, but then thinking better of it stood back up against the wall.
[Vann] closed his eyes and walking to the edge of the room and sat down.
"Anything?" asked the Emperor his eyes still closed.
"I'll tell you when I have something." Grumbled the analyst.
"How's the prisoner doing?" asked [Vann].
"He's have a grand old time." said [Charles], "You've got the poor boy thinking he's going to lose all of his families titles. Not to mention that he might be exiled or perhaps even executed."
[Vann] didn't say anything.
"I'm not sure what else to do, without the spy making a move we won't be able to identify him. Whoever it is has avoided detection this long and won't leave a trail. They would have to be caught in the act."
"I have an idea," said [Charles].
"That would be?"
"Consult the class C."
"What?"
[Charles] shrugged and stood up. "The class C's specifically C1764 are far more adept at falsehoods. From what little I understand of their history betrayal is as common place as friendship. Sometimes they caught the traitors, and other times they fell victim. A new perspective might lead to something."
[Vann] shook his head.
"I doubt she would be willing to cooperate. What could I offer her?"
"Wrong question, she'll see this as an opportunity to gain your trust. I must warn you though, she will not be swayed from her people. As much as she might appear to accept what you say do not believe it. At the first opportunity she will kill you."
[Charles] paused for a moment.
"A human would rather die than betray the species. They would prefer to take as many of their enemies with them though."
"And you want me to take advice from her?" asked [Vann].
"She'll have no reason to lie. Well unless she's particularly vindictive which is possible. Your inaction with the Consul did after all result in the death of a man who I think was her mate, or who was at the very least her friend."
[Charles] smiled, "On second thought tell her your trying to hurt [Marcus] she'll be helpful after you tell her that. Still don't trust her."
"Your words stray perhaps a little too close to treasonous [Charles]" warned [Sam].
"I'm the resident drunk." Emphasising his point [Charles] pulled flask from his jacket and popping it open took a swig.
[Yuka] reached out and plucked it away from him. [Charles] frowned and rounded on her.
"You told me too, last time you were drunk."
The old Captain muttered something under his breath.
"In any case, who would believe anything I say?" he asked.
"I'm thinking that might be better advice then talking to a class C." said [Vann]
"Just do it, besides what harm could it do?"
[Vann] scoffed and turned away from the man. What damage could it do though?
"Fine."
Everyone in the room looked up, "What? "Asked [Reece] sounding concerned.
"I'll talk to the class C."
"I have to advise against that." Said the bodyguard.
[Vann] shook his head, "I'll be fine."

Canada, Unknown System

"We're ready" said Derrick.
"Jump!" said Stagg.
"Jumping!" said Arik.
The Canada shuddered again as she slipped into Tachyon FTL. They were already in system, so they had a fairly good chance of making it to the targeted gas giant planet without much deviation. Across short distances a beacon wasn't needed, but it did overly tax the drive systems.
The ship began to shake, and everyone strapped to her frame felt it. Metal groaned and Derrick apprehensively looked around himself and prayed.
The ship listed slightly, he felt the inertial change.
"Arik!"
"I'm adjusting! Give me a moment!" she shouted through the PA.
A violent explosion sounded through the ship and Derrick swore as the sound quickly died.
"The breech was in aft storage, nothing large. The frame of the ship is being torqued, we're not accelerating evenly!" said Derrick.
"Understood, will we make it?" asked Stagg.
The Canada lurched and was expelled into normal space. Filling all of the forward monitors was a large gas giant, red in color and swirling with white clouds it was reminiscent of Jupiter.
"Yeah." Said Derrick somewhat lamely "We'll make it."
Alarms started to sound as the vessel quickly began to fall towards the planet.
"We're on an improper vector, I am burning to adjust." Said the helmsman as calmly as he could.
"How far off?" asked Stagg.
The man was silent for a moment as he finished inputting the course adjustments. Everyone winced as the ship violently rotated around and suddenly accelerated pushing many people who were just starting to relax back into their seats.
"Several Km/s we didn't exit at the proper velocity, we're going to slam belly first into the atmosphere."
"She can handle that." Said Derrick as he continued to go through his own readouts
The pilot glanced over at him, "She can but not without us heating up to almost armor tolerance levels! I thought we were trying to cool down!"
"Then pull us up once we've slowed down, keep us in the upper atmosphere so we can bleed it off correctly."
"Aye."
"The Imperial ships have dropped out of FTL, they are directly in front of us."
Arik zoomed the forward monitors in on the two ships.
"Derrick?" asked the Captain as she slowly stood putting her feet into the braces.
"Ma'm?"
"The new protocol will still work right?" she asked.
"Yeah, not going to bleed the heat from the FTL drives though."
"I'm aware of that. It will drain it from the weapons and armor though?"
"It will."
The Engineer hesitated and looked back down, "Arik, the differences in the heat buildup between the experimental shields and the Ace?" he asked.
"The shields produce less heat."
"Captain, the shields. We use them instead of the weapons."
Stagg frowned, but nodded.
"We're not going to be able to stop and attack them, we're going to shoot right past them." Said the pilot.
Stagg grumbled something under her breath.
"Very well. Shields up, once we're past them though?" she asked.
"The shields won't do much with an atmosphere! We can fire at the from within the gas giant though, we'll have the entire planet to act as a heat sink!" said Derrick.
Stagg sat back down in her chair.
Arik's voice beeped in Derrick's ear and he winced.
A small chat window popped up in front of him, hidden from the rest of the bridge crew.
"You think the shields can handle the attacks of two ships at once? They're modified fighter shields, not designed for out class of vessel!" typed out Arik.
"Not like flashing past them will let us fire many shots within the Ace's effective range. Besides with the heat from the engines I hardly want to activate the Ace in the same compartment! Not to mention you're in their as well!"
"I'm rated to handle as much heat as the engines. My case won't be casually breached!" said Arik annoyed. _ _
The message window disappeared.
"The lead ship is hailing again, telling us to stand down." Said the communications officer.
"Ignore them." Said Stagg.
"Aye. We're ready to vent,"
Stagg smiled, "start dumping the heat throughout the ship then. Power up the shields."
Derrick nodded and looking at the program he and Arik had put together switched it on. The temperature regulation systems changed, and started pushing the heat from every system into the atmosphere of the ship instead of her hull.
Their was a faint hum as the commandeered alien shields powered up.
"The Empire ships are responding and preparing to fire!" said the weapons office, "We pass them in twenty seconds!"
"Derrick, a little drama when we vent if you would."
"I've got that covered Captain!" said Arik.
"Very well then."
The Canada fell forwards towards the two ships, ready to put on a show.
Next week will be the Valiant Few.
Don't forget to vote in the Sweetness Poll!
I've also made it into the second round for the /WritingPrompts Competition!
I've got an apartment for the summer as well as an RA job, so I'm going to call this summer a make or break for my writing. I'll finish up and publish c1764 as well as anything else I have complete.
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The Australian Weed Dilemma

BACKGROUND
Scoring high quality weed is high on any smokers list of priorities, but the unspoken truth of searching for high quality weed resides in that there needs to be a psudo-symbiotic priority of a grower to produce high quality weed to be able to sell (it takes a ton of love to produce top quality buds, they don’t just accidentally result from a shitty grow). Thus it needs to be asked, how many producers out there are actually producing high quality bud for sale?
The folly of the pact lies in believing tales of small scale home grown as a possible new source. I refer to the fact that being able to score consistently from a home grower is almost a red herring, due to the fact small growers generally are not even able to actually provide more than one additional smoker of full time habit. This means that even if you do happen to be extremely lucky and know a home grower who produces some really nice stuff, chances are they don’t produce enough to sell to more than just you. Having addressed small time growers and their fundamental problem with lack of supply we move onto medium scale producers.
These are actually the hardest producers to find as they operate generally larger facilities then the smaller grower but they tend to produce still high quality crops. This type of source shouldn’t be quickly discarded as they are more than likely able to supply you and your friends with high quality bud, but undoubtedly finding this source is literally a one in a million…. For example there is 22 million people in Australia, but I doubt there would even be 22 medium size producers (of high quality buds), therefore it’s probably actually less than 1 in a million of finding these guys.
Next we come to the large scale producers. I don’t think I really need to write much here but there’s zero chance of any large scale producer in Australia currently growing high quality buds…. Why is this the case? Fundamentally it’s an education issue on both parts, but in clearer terms its buyers resistance to pay more, along with a lack of incentive for growers to produce high quality product.
Many will address the issue by saying ‘I tell my source I would pay for better quality weed’ or ‘ If I could get better stuff I would’. Well the obvious needs to be said in that I bet you straight away you don’t actively look for a new source of (specifically high quality) because it requires a different game plan to a regular dealer. First of all people producing high quality are not going to be in it exclusively for the money, or at least they will value security over any short term profits meaning this is going to be a long grind, you can’t expect to just discover who they are, ask them and expect for the golden gates to open.
As alluded to above I wouldn’t even bother trying to randomly bump into a high quality grower IRL because the chances are slim at best, it would be much more advantageous to message people online from various platforms that you suspect might be able to help you in your search. On top of this the best suggestion I can give is get active in the various communities. If you want to be around high quality weed the simplest way to do it is grow it yourself. A lot of people will put up reasons as to why they cannot grow the bud and I’ll address this point in another post.
THE PROBLEMS
The major problem on the buyers end however seems to be a cognitive bias over high quality bud and its pricing. When presented with a price but no product to inspect/smoke people tend to straight away be incredibly defensive of paying anything greater than regular prices (`300-350$/oz). However every time, without fail, If presented with the product and the price, people can’t get enough and do something similar to ‘Shut up and take my money’. This straight away indicates that people are anxious when told the cost of high quality - because they have been tricked before possibly? They convinced themselves they would pay more for higher quality only to be disappointed and ultimately jaded by the whole experience.
Ultimately leads to a situation where even if people are telling their source that they would pay for better quality weed, they are more than likely aren’t specifying how much, and if so, they are probably still low balling the price they would have to pay. Weed that’s twice as good only yields half as much but sells for twice as much… you do the math as to how much you need to offer your source.
Small scale productions are doing their bit for the community if they can help even one person other than themselves. While supplying yourself may be fine and dandy, it is a noble act to be able to supply someone else and enrich their smoking experience of someone who would have otherwise been left in the dark miserable world of pacto induced headaches.
Medium scale producers are far and few so the lack of them in itself is the real problem. They are the way of the future as they have the right idea but currently have the highest risk to profit ratio, making their lack of presence understandable.
Large scale producers…. Well I could honestly go on for days about all the fucked things that go on in these syndicates, however I will limit myself to this. Typical biker / Asian / ethnic triads are the gold standard for producing high quantities of low quality buds, covered in red hairs (pistols), full of water and most importantly, permeated with pactobutrazol. I don’t really need to harp on too much about this style of production, sadly there is about a 95% chance you are smoking this stuff right now if you aren’t getting stuff that’s home grown. Don’t delude yourself, these are the types of people your paying at the end of the day when you go buy your Q’s / Halfs / Oz’s, you may not put it in their hand directly but it goes back to them in the end.
One other larger scale source of production is outdoor bud produced inland NSW / WA mostly. I have had some ok tasting bush but it took far to many hits to feel its effect HOWEVER you can take solace in that bush WILL NOT contain pactobrutrazol. Anyone growing outdoors won’t invest in pacto generally as they can just plant another tree to account for extra yield someone would seek if using pacto. Although this is a simplistic view remember we are talking about large scale producers, they will more than likely have an abundant amount of space available to them. Outdoor crops will improve dramatically with the improvement in quality of a growers genetic library.
WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE?
The mental hurdle that is the higher cost of high quality buds needs to be overcome by the buyer but you must insist on testing the product before purchasing it / purchasing an incredibly small amount (1-2g). Through the strict adherence to testing before purchasing buyers can avoid being ripped off and thus avoid becoming apathetic to buying high quality cannabis. Any source who doesn't agree / offer this isn't one worth dealing with and will more then likely have sub standard product.
Growers need to both understand that there is both a substantial market for high quality and if they grow it, the demand is present to make it worth their while. The major improvement in weed however will be a result of improving the genetics growers have to work with. This will come from education on the growers own part or learning from others ie) via joining a growing collective cough cough. Via growers making the correct seed purchase they can reap the benefits of cali quality buds (FYI Oregon produces the best quality buds on earth btw not cali). This situation should fundamentally remove the need for pacto being used.
IN CONCLUSION
Where does this leave the community? Ultimately in order to force larger scale growers to produce higher quality bud the entire market would need to have a boycott, which simply won’t happen. The next best option for the average (enthusiast) individual is to try to connect with groups / people who are already a part of the scene. Become more active on Reddit and become active on grow forums. But make no mistake, if you really want to become a part of the scene and get your hands on the good quickly, take the plunge and LOOK INTO growing…. It may be easier then you imagined.
submitted by HeavyDayzeCollective to ausents [link] [comments]

Rising Titans Ch.26

Canada, Unknown System

"We will be exiting FTL in five seconds!" said Arik over the Canada's comm.
Stagg glanced up at the forward display, watching the alternating blue and red lights that were produced through the use of tachyon based FTL. This was the third consecutive jump, each time the Canada had dropped out of a system the Imperial vessels had appeared several light seconds behind them and continued to give chase.
An advantage they had no doubt due to the fact that the beacon system was an active network. A military would no doubt be able to track almost all ship movements.
At first the Imperial ships had been broadcasting what sounded like canned orders to cease and desist criminal activity but now all they were emitting were the pulses from active scanners as they tried to get a targeting lock on the Canada.
Thankfully with the delay and the random course adjustments the helm was making they were staying outside of a defined lock. Just barely however.
The Canada shuddered and Derrick winced, the ship was strong but still having it shake like that was not a good thing for her. The multiple jumps were pushing the retro engineered tachyon drive past tolerance and the normally smooth transitions from normal space to FTL were now somewhat rough. A fact that was somewhat worrying since the jitteriness meant that the ship was only being partially accelerated, and the rest of the ship was being dragged along with it to FTL speeds.
"When can we jump again?" asked Stagg.
Derrick glanced over at her, he was on the bridge now at the engineering console trying to keep everything together. Arik and his engineering staff were keeping the engineering compartment itself under control as the Canada pushed itself far past recommended specifications.
"Another thirty seconds, after that we won't be able to jump again without frying the systems. I'm trying to bleed the heat off but even dumping it all into the hull armor the systems weren't designed to share heat, it's not nearly as effective as I would like!" growled Derrick.
Stagg nodded and glanced back at Tactical.
"Where are the Imperial ships?" she asked.
"Five light seconds away, they're burning to catch up though." Said Derrick.
"I'm open to suggestions." Said Stagg.
"We fought one of their big ships already, we prime a nuke and the main guns. With the Ace they won't know what hit them." Said the man at tactical.
"It might come to that." Said Stagg.
"Atmosphere, we need a place to bleed off this heat!" said Derrick.
"What?" asked Stagg.
"We use our last jump to hit the atmosphere of a gas giant, and then dive into it! We can bleed off heat a lost more effectively in an atmosphere than in space!"
Stagg and the rest of the bridge crew on the bridge turned to look at the Engineer.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but atmospheric re-entry usually creates a lot of heat." Said Stagg.
"It does, but on the armor of the ship. We're built to bleed it off fast there, not from our engines! In an atmosphere we open the engineering compartment to the air cool us off!"
Stagg looked at him for a moment and then at the other members of the bridge.
"Anyone else have a better idea?" she asked, "Anyone?"
The man at tactical looked back at his readouts and shrugged, "Their weapons will be less effective in atmospheric conditions. If we want to fire our own weapons, we would have to actually under power them. We have firing programs for the conditions, although those are for atmospheres comparable to Earth and Mars."
"I can modify the programs we have to better adjust for firing in a thicker atmosphere." Said Arik breaking into the conversation.
"Then it is possible?" asked Stagg.
"Possible yes, but I can't calculate the odds of a successful atmospheric flight. The Canada is designed to handle them but it is not a recommended maneuver." She hesitated, "However considering the circumstances it is a logical course of action our largest weakness is the inability to properly vent heat."
Stagg glanced over at a computer console, to glare at the AI inhabiting the ship for a moment.
"You and the Lieutenant think far too much alike."
Stagg closed her eyes for a moment and thought, "Very well. How much preparation do you need to perform this maneuver?"
Derrick grinned, "Arik clear the engine compartments and prepare to open the coolant systems."
"We won't be able to vent and open the atmosphere until we pass max Q and the aerodynamic effects from the compromising of the external aerodynamic frame."
"I'm aware of that, let's get the docking thrusters powered up, I also want you to look into overpowering the strange matter reaction systems for balancing. This is going to be like flying a brick."
"They're not strong enough to keep us from tumbling if we don't enter on the correct vector." Said Arik.
"I know that, so make sure you calculate the correct vector!"
"I hate to cut this short, but they are gaining on us. If there is something that we're going to do we need to do it quickly." Said the man at tactical.
"Can you handle the FTL calculation, I need to perform all of the adjustments!" said Arik as the lights in the bridge flickered. She really did like to play with the AI stereotypes, her systems had no direct control over lighting. Even at full processing speed and capacity none of the normal ship systems would be affected.
"Got it."
Derrick turned back to his console and quickly began to adjust the values of the engine and the power systems of the ship.
The Canada shuddered, and lurched to the side.
The man at tactical swore.
"That was a glancing shot, along the top port side. The armor absorbed it well enough. We're bleeding the heat off already and the hulls cooling."
"How much of a temperature differential?" asked Derrick.
"About 400 degrees, why?" asked the man.
"Feed me all of the temperature differentials along the hull, I'll need them for atmospheric entry."
"Roger, they're in front of you now." Said the man.
"Got em."

Diana, Jikse

The crowds thickened as Diana approached the heart of the city. It was sad really, almost the entire ruined city was empty. With only a small downtown like sector occupied by the Empire.
It was similar to the rest of the planet, although most of the rest of it was uninhabitable wasteland.
The class C species whom had inhabited it beforehand had lived in the city. A veritable metropolis larger than anything even Earth had to offer. Now it was a husk empty and nearly devoid of life beyond the sectors the Empire regulated.
Now it was a mere shadow of its former self.
Shaking her head Diana continued through the city and the crowds making her way towards the most densely populated section. She had a suspicion, and one that she wanted to confirm.
If another class C was on the planet, and he was operating in a city full of class B citizens and an uncaring Imperial governor he would be able to act with near impunity. He had already in a short time taken control of every crime group within the city and put himself on top from what she could tell.
Not that it would be terribly difficult from what she had seen.
That didn't preclude him from flaunting the new amount of power though, and it was something that every criminal had to do. Still he couldn't have dismantled and replaced every aspect of the criminal underground yet, as primitive as it was. Meaning that there had to be a location where meetings between ill-tempered parties could be carried out, as bad as the class B criminals were they were stupid. If people disappeared at meetings they would know why. A neutral location was therefore needed.
For Diana's mother it had been the old Earth standby of a bar. A tradition that had translated to Mars easily enough. The citizens of the Empire did not however seem to associate bars with clandestine business. Although the general grittiness of such establishments was universal as far as she could tell.
Instead, from what she had figured out the meetings and thus the clandestine business transactions took place in the parks.
All of the cities of the Empire had them from what reading she had done. Sweeping gardens housing both flora and fauna from the Dorvakian home world. It was one of the few locales that wasn't adapted from the previous class C tenants of the planet. It featured only Dorvakian ideas and constructs.
Not only were their plants and animals, but hundreds of small gazeebo like buildings and other amenities. At night lights flickered on and lit the entire area in a dim red glow. It was monitored and patrolled almost as heavily as the government buildings, not that it really meant anything besides a quick response time to disturbances.
Any criminal activity that took place within it had to be civil, unless you wanted the entire city patrol to come down on you.
Why the trade had not gone down in the park Diana didn't know, although if she had to guess it was because of scanners or something looking for them. She would have simply shielded the nano-machines against such things and insisted the trade take place in the open.
Hopefully what she was carrying now would not be detected, even by Human standards it was crude and old fashioned. So there was a good chance it wouldn't be.
Stepping into the garden and ignoring the plethora of scanners around it's perimeter Diana slowly ambled forward and pretended to be examining the plants.
The Dorvakian fauna was, interesting to say the least. Everything was tinted an alien shade of red and everything seemed to be obsessed with right angles and straight lines, unless every plant had been carefully cultured to be like that. She wasn't completely sure.
It gave everything an oddly, artificial feel. Diana didn't like it. She had grown up on the Station, which had not in its near century of construction and additions had any large form of planning.
People glanced up at her as she walked but no one approached her.
Keeping her hands in her faux leather like jacket Diana casually looked around for his agents, or proxies.
"Class C." said a voice behind her.
Diana stopped. And slowly turned to look back at the man speaking.
He was large, larger than Bruno which was saying something. He was wearing the standard business attire of the Empire, a nice set of robe like garments with a one piece beneath it. His ears were exposed and from what Diana could see that he was not one of the aliens. Or at least not one of the aliens she was looking for. He was class B.
"I'm sorry?" asked Diana feigning ignorance.
"He would like a word with you." Said the man remaining civil.
"Who?" asked Diana.
The man said nothing, and instead put a hand on Diana's shoulder.
"This won't take long."
Diana shrugged, "Alright lead the way."
The man slowly guided her into a more secluded section of the park, alien trees that looked like oaks but with red leaves and branches along the entirety of their trunks completely cut off the view from the rest of the park.
It was an isolated section, an alcove of privacy in the very middle of the city.
Glancing up Diana saw that their were lights in the trees. Flash those lights brightly enough they would blind any optics above the glade.
"Over here." Said the man, he pointed at a small gazebo like structure. Inside of it sat a single man. Around the structure however were unmistakably families, children with their parents were running around the field or climbing on the simple structures twenty or so meters away from the gazebo.
Diana raised an eyebrow at that and for a moment briefly reconsidered. Children were not something she had thought to include in her calculations. Even among the criminal syndicates of Earth and Mars involving children in affairs was frowned on.
Stepping into the small structure Diana slowly padded forward to sit at the table across from the man.
These people were not his, unless all of them were very good actors. To him this was simply a meeting place. A fact that further confirmed Diana's suspicions that despite his power, his actual contingent was small.
Sitting down across from him Diana placed a hand on the table keeping the other in her jacket.
The man looked at her for a moment and his eyes widened.
"Did you frisk her?" he barked.
The man behind her struggled to find his words for a moment. "No, she entered the garden. What weapons could she have?"
He growled and said something in a language Diana didn't know and gestured, "Leave."
The man nodded and stepped away weaving his way through the families and children retreated to the edge of the gazebo like structure.
"So you do have a bomb under their right?" asked the class C.
Diana looked at him for a moment, "I do. Seemed like the right amount of insurance."
The man slowly nodded, "What type? The scanners are fairly robust when it comes to identifying explosives."
"I packed thermite around a container of pure oxygen. The conflagration will kill everything within 5 meters of me. It's not particularly effective against structures, but against biological targets? Extremely."
His eyes widened and chuckling he leaned forwards. His face in light now Diana got her first good look at the species. Were he human she would have described him as Asian in decent, but his hair was a vibrant blond and flowed down to his shoulders, it was cut to let his large cat like ears swivel around.
Diana narrowed her gaze at him.
"This is your planet isn't it?" she asked.
"It is."
"How long ago? My planet was attacked nearly a decade ago."
The man frowned, "That would make you either C1764 or C1689 then. I'm going to guess you're C1764 though since C1689's extinction is a matter of public record. Even with my connections though I don't know much about C1764. Something about the effort being a part of a new weapons test."
"Biological agent. Wiped out the population in a matter of minutes. The only survivors were in space at the time of the attack."
The man nodded, "Interesting but a topic for later conversation. I don't know your name."
Diana looked at him and turned her hand over showing him the detonator, "You first."
"Sek, of the nation Ynil."
"Is Ynil the government, or the species you identify as?" asked Diana.
"I am Vakurian. This was my planet, and this is the city of my ancestors." He raised a hand and swept it around.
"Now your name." said Sek.
Diana smiled and nodded, "John Carter of Mars."
Sek narrowed his eyes, "You are lying."
"I was wondering how good your sense of smell was, your men operated fine in almost near darkness but he never looked at me when we fought. I was thinking it was the scent or the sound of my heart."
Sek frowned, "Both. Now, your name."
"Diana of Mars."
He was silent for a moment apparently listening to her and harrumphed. "Very well. Diana why are you here?"
"For the same reason you are, to destroy the Empire."
Sek leaned back against the railing, "Then I see no reason we should fight. The death of my men was a tragedy but I would be willing to overlook it, for the sake of a future mutually beneficial relationship between the two of us and our leaders."
"You're right that we don't need to fight. To be frank I'd rather not. You are perhaps my only competition here." Said Diana.
Sek smiled and his ears swirled around amused.
"I have to ask though, why are you working with class B's?"
Diana forced her heart to remain beating at a constant rate, "They're useful."
Sek narrowed his eyes, "They are but I wouldn't trust them to fight for me. They lack a certain element of… Ruthlessness."
"On that I agree wholeheartedly."
"Which means you're alone, you controlled your heartbeat but I can smell you sweating." Said Sek.
He tapped his nose.
Diana looked at him for a moment and said nothing. He knew the truth but admitting it would be even more dangerous. She would also have to improve her physical control human lie detectors she could pass without a worry, but it seemed the Vakurian were more sensitive.
"Come and work for me, you'll be able to fight the Empire and I'll give you a cut to send back to your own people."
Diana shook her head, "No thanks. As limited as the class B citizens might be they are at least predictable. They'll not stab me in the back."
"Heh, I told the escort to search you. He apparently felt that the scanners were enough though. Now here you sit in the middle of a crowd of families and children a bomb strapped to your chest. The Class B are nothing but domesticated livestock I suppose. Can't even escort a guest correctly."
"Enrage the livestock and they will trample the caretaker." Said Diana.
Sek nodded in agreement, "Still that implies you have lost control. I doubt either of us would lose control in such a manner."
Sek reached not his jacket and drew out a small remote. He flashed it to Diana.
"You killed two of my kin, but they were the least experienced. A pity they won't learn more but still the youngest of my companions. The most experienced of my little group," Sek hit the remote.
The table next to Diana's hand disintegrated, she winced but otherwise remained still. Slowly moving her hand she looked down at the perfect half sphere that had been taken from the material.
"Impressive shot."
"She's quite proud of her abilities. I didn't want you to think I came here completely undefended. I commend your will, coming here with a bomb strapped to your chest? That is something very few of even my own species would do."
Diana frowned "Unfortunately a common occurrence with my own. If your men were any example, it's a good thing you did only bring the rookies. I could snap the bones in your neck with one hand." Diana reached out across the table opening her fist.
Sek considered her for a moment and smiled displaying a mouth filled with several more serrated teeth than would be normal for a human.
"Would you take this deal that you are offering?"
"No."
"Then what makes you think I will?"
"You're all alone. I'm betting you were involved with the incident in orbit. The information on what happened to the Imperial has been somewhat limited to say the least. Based on the data that is publically available, the ship limped away after an encounter with what was reportedly a rebel ship. A story that I'm sure is a cover."
Sek paused, and chuckled.
"Did you know that was the Imperial flagship?"
Diana raised an eyebrow at that.
"Really?"
"You did quite a number on it you're ship from what I can tell escaped and has been on the run since, I've only gotten whispers of it which makes me think it is outfitted for long running. A small crew, and ample supplies."
"Like you guessed, we need information and technology from the Empire." Said Diana.
"You have not tried to take your world back? Surely with your technology it would be easy enough. You managed to bloody the Empire despite their technological advantage."
"Overwhelming odds. The Empire reduced my species to less than 0.1% of our population. Something I would guess happened to you considering the damage to the city."
Diana paused, "Although I don't think they were the first ones to bomb this planet."
Sek stiffened slightly. "Oh?"
"There are nuclear signatures all, from crude nuclear devices. From what I understand the Empire has not used nukes in hundreds of years and the signatures are not that old. You nuked yourselves before the Empire showed up."
Sek said nothing.
"I don't know why you did, hell my planet came close to nuclear Armageddon several times. It does make it necessary to ask a question though."
Sek considered her, "And that question would be what?"
"Are you fighting to reclaim what was lost, or fighting to take revenge for it?"
Sek's ears moved slowly back and forth at that.
"What do you mean?"
"Are you going to kill everyone on the planet who is not your species?"
Sek smiled, "I'll kill anyone who aides the Empire. You don't actually think that any of its citizens deserve to live do you? They are less than sentient, mindless sheep who follow an archaic leader and corrupt Senate. The citizens of the Empire do not deserve any of the worlds they have taken, so yes. I'll kill them all."
Diana slowly nodded, "That explains the nukes then."
"Oh?"
"You don't know when to stop. A war is not as simple as killing your enemies."
The Vakurian slowly stood.
"I disagree. If I kill my enemies, then I have won. Would you rather I show them mercy? Would you show the man who destroyed your own world anything but contempt? Be truthful here little girl!"
Several of the Class B families glanced over as he finished speaking wondering what he was shouting about.
"No. I would cut him where he stands, and enjoy it watching as his life drained away." Whispered Diana.
Getting to her feet she stared at Sek. "I'll not go into his home and murder his son though, not without reason. If humanity has learned anything from war it is that blood for blood will only breed more contempt. I'll not hesitate to kill for the advancement of my agenda and I refuse to feel guilty about the lives I have taken."
Diana stepped forwards towards the man and stood directly in front of him. The alien leered down at her, he was almost a full foot taller than her.
"That does not give me the privilege to wantonly take lives."
Sek chuckled, "You're soft. You show any amount of compassion and it will be taken advantage of."
"Did you not just hear me?" asked Diana.
"I heard you making an excuse. You're afraid to kill."
Sek turned and began to walk away.
"You're not even class C. You're weak and complacent. You might as well be class B."
Sek raised his hand.
Diana raised the hand with the detonator.
"We both go out if you really want to shoot me."
Sek frowned.
Slowly he lowered his hand.
"Until next time then?"

The Imperial

[Vann] stumbled backwards and swore as the room around him spun.
"What was that?" asked the young Emperor.
[Reece] smiled slightly and shrugged his eyes still locked on him.
"Do the two of you really have to do this?" asked [Syn]. The smaller woman was perched on one of the gymnasium machines and looked distinctly uncomfortable.
"It's a military thing." Said [Charles] from where he sat near the edge of the room his back against the wall, [Yuka] was standing awkwardly next to him looking completely.
[Vann] lunged forwards and feinting to the right struck out at [Reece] with his foot, aiming for the man's abdomen.
[Reece] gracefully sidestepped the attack and striking out knocked [Vann] off of his feet sending him to the mats.
The bodyguard settled on his feet and bent down offering a hand.
"Have you had enough?" asked [Reece].
[Vann] rolled over as not taking the offered hand got to his feet bending over to pant. Breathing hard for a moment [Vann] slowly straightened back up.
"I have." Said [Vann].
Stepping away from the mat [Sam] held out a towel to him.
[Vann] took it and carefully wiped the sweat off of his head and tossed it to the ground. [Yuka] stepped forward to take it, but then thinking better of it stood back up against the wall.
[Vann] closed his eyes and walking to the edge of the room and sat down.
"Anything?" asked the Emperor his eyes still closed.
"I'll tell you when I have something." Grumbled the analyst.
"How's the prisoner doing?" asked [Vann].
"He's have a grand old time." said [Charles], "You've got the poor boy thinking he's going to lose all of his families titles. Not to mention that he might be exiled or perhaps even executed."
[Vann] didn't say anything.
"I'm not sure what else to do, without the spy making a move we won't be able to identify him. Whoever it is has avoided detection this long and won't leave a trail. They would have to be caught in the act."
"I have an idea," said [Charles].
"That would be?"
"Consult the class C."
"What?"
[Charles] shrugged and stood up. "The class C's specifically C1764 are far more adept at falsehoods. From what little I understand of their history betrayal is as common place as friendship. Sometimes they caught the traitors, and other times they fell victim. A new perspective might lead to something."
[Vann] shook his head.
"I doubt she would be willing to cooperate. What could I offer her?"
"Wrong question, she'll see this as an opportunity to gain your trust. I must warn you though, she will not be swayed from her people. As much as she might appear to accept what you say do not believe it. At the first opportunity she will kill you."
[Charles] paused for a moment.
"A human would rather die than betray the species. They would prefer to take as many of their enemies with them though."
"And you want me to take advice from her?" asked [Vann].
"She'll have no reason to lie. Well unless she's particularly vindictive which is possible. Your inaction with the Consul did after all result in the death of a man who I think was her mate, or who was at the very least her friend."
[Charles] smiled, "On second thought tell her your trying to hurt [Marcus] she'll be helpful after you tell her that. Still don't trust her."
"Your words stray perhaps a little too close to treasonous [Charles]" warned [Sam].
"I'm the resident drunk." Emphasising his point [Charles] pulled flask from his jacket and popping it open took a swig.
[Yuka] reached out and plucked it away from him. [Charles] frowned and rounded on her.
"You told me too, last time you were drunk."
The old Captain muttered something under his breath.
"In any case, who would believe anything I say?" he asked.
"I'm thinking that might be better advice then talking to a class C." said [Vann]
"Just do it, besides what harm could it do?"
[Vann] scoffed and turned away from the man. What damage could it do though?
"Fine."
Everyone in the room looked up, "What? "Asked [Reece] sounding concerned.
"I'll talk to the class C."
"I have to advise against that." Said the bodyguard.
[Vann] shook his head, "I'll be fine."

Canada, Unknown System

"We're ready" said Derrick.
"Jump!" said Stagg.
"Jumping!" said Arik.
The Canada shuddered again as she slipped into Tachyon FTL. They were already in system, so they had a fairly good chance of making it to the targeted gas giant planet without much deviation. Across short distances a beacon wasn't needed, but it did overly tax the drive systems.
The ship began to shake, and everyone strapped to her frame felt it. Metal groaned and Derrick apprehensively looked around himself and prayed.
The ship listed slightly, he felt the inertial change.
"Arik!"
"I'm adjusting! Give me a moment!" she shouted through the PA.
A violent explosion sounded through the ship and Derrick swore as the sound quickly died.
"The breech was in aft storage, nothing large. The frame of the ship is being torqued, we're not accelerating evenly!" said Derrick.
"Understood, will we make it?" asked Stagg.
The Canada lurched and was expelled into normal space. Filling all of the forward monitors was a large gas giant, red in color and swirling with white clouds it was reminiscent of Jupiter.
"Yeah." Said Derrick somewhat lamely "We'll make it."
Alarms started to sound as the vessel quickly began to fall towards the planet.
"We're on an improper vector, I am burning to adjust." Said the helmsman as calmly as he could.
"How far off?" asked Stagg.
The man was silent for a moment as he finished inputting the course adjustments. Everyone winced as the ship violently rotated around and suddenly accelerated pushing many people who were just starting to relax back into their seats.
"Several Km/s we didn't exit at the proper velocity, we're going to slam belly first into the atmosphere."
"She can handle that." Said Derrick as he continued to go through his own readouts
The pilot glanced over at him, "She can but not without us heating up to almost armor tolerance levels! I thought we were trying to cool down!"
"Then pull us up once we've slowed down, keep us in the upper atmosphere so we can bleed it off correctly."
"Aye."
"The Imperial ships have dropped out of FTL, they are directly in front of us."
Arik zoomed the forward monitors in on the two ships.
"Derrick?" asked the Captain as she slowly stood putting her feet into the braces.
"Ma'm?"
"The new protocol will still work right?" she asked.
"Yeah, not going to bleed the heat from the FTL drives though."
"I'm aware of that. It will drain it from the weapons and armor though?"
"It will."
The Engineer hesitated and looked back down, "Arik, the differences in the heat buildup between the experimental shields and the Ace?" he asked.
"The shields produce less heat."
"Captain, the shields. We use them instead of the weapons."
Stagg frowned, but nodded.
"We're not going to be able to stop and attack them, we're going to shoot right past them." Said the pilot.
Stagg grumbled something under her breath.
"Very well. Shields up, once we're past them though?" she asked.
"The shields won't do much with an atmosphere! We can fire at the from within the gas giant though, we'll have the entire planet to act as a heat sink!" said Derrick.
Stagg sat back down in her chair.
Arik's voice beeped in Derrick's ear and he winced.
A small chat window popped up in front of him, hidden from the rest of the bridge crew.
"You think the shields can handle the attacks of two ships at once? They're modified fighter shields, not designed for out class of vessel!" typed out Arik.
"Not like flashing past them will let us fire many shots within the Ace's effective range. Besides with the heat from the engines I hardly want to activate the Ace in the same compartment! Not to mention you're in their as well!"
"I'm rated to handle as much heat as the engines. My case won't be casually breached!" said Arik annoyed. _ _
The message window disappeared.
"The lead ship is hailing again, telling us to stand down." Said the communications officer.
"Ignore them." Said Stagg.
"Aye. We're ready to vent,"
Stagg smiled, "start dumping the heat throughout the ship then. Power up the shields."
Derrick nodded and looking at the program he and Arik had put together switched it on. The temperature regulation systems changed, and started pushing the heat from every system into the atmosphere of the ship instead of her hull.
Their was a faint hum as the commandeered alien shields powered up.
"The Empire ships are responding and preparing to fire!" said the weapons office, "We pass them in twenty seconds!"
"Derrick, a little drama when we vent if you would."
"I've got that covered Captain!" said Arik.
"Very well then."
The Canada fell forwards towards the two ships, ready to put on a show.
submitted by Weerdo5255 to CGWilliam [link] [comments]

Highly intelligent hacker renounces societal norms, embraces religion and questions our perception of reality with love slaps to the face. Requests Repost as he currently walks the earth. Loyal friend obliges

Disclaimer. The time is 5:07 Monday, December, 22 2014. At the present I am feeling healthy and sane and have no thoughts of hurting my person. I am a man of God (Christian) but I believe the religion of brotherly love, comes before any of our religious pathways. I am currently at the Monterey Public Library 625 Pacific Street, Monterey CA 93940 - Library Card Number xxxxxxxxxxxxx
You're not invited to the Party
Have you read the newspapers lately, I do, and guess what I see? Some call us impatient, rats, dogs, and "Bees" Some call me Bird(man), they say I have cognitive dissidence, I smoke a lot of Pot, and I walk around tense, Some call me a loser, a scatter brained-fish, I'm a bunch of phycho-drama, on the top of their list, I'm blade runner, I'm batman, but can't spell nor write, Django Unchained, but see I'm just Light, A Hebrew Israelite, who's up on the mountain, with wells underground, caves, and beautiful fountains, I'm soon to be divorce, and that's a blessing to me, Because god called her Jezebel,and says he has the one for me, In the last year and a half, I've slowly accepted my destiny, A black raisenette, who needs SPF 60, I hang out with 8, maybe 14, A crew of Bad News Bears, that's blind folded but sees, In a miniature garden of Eden, a really cool scene, There's a secret improv society, of guys that are mean, There's artist, there's painters, (3) crosses, and boats, Soldiers,The Navy, Even built a fake wharf that floats, The 6 months I been here, I fell like detective Columbo, Some call me inspector Gadget, some call me a "Black Hole", Do you ever read the syndicated comics? Good "advice to the ears", Zits, Charlie Brown, they put me in tears, The Crossword and Word Searches those are good too, Especially when there are "Chocolate Words" in there for you, Come on yall, give it up for the masters of wit, But I just can't help thinking, who came up with this shit? Some say the Masons, some say Chinese, I said it was God But some say Japanese, Paaaaaleeeaaase! There are passwords, computers, maps that are hidden, tax deduction, excess liability, and shipper request "excess declared value", children, In a bunch of room, I've seen crazy fuckin, Is that a congressman? Whose dick is he sucking? Did you know about 1906? They call it a disaster here, I say it was fixed! Hold up my peoples, it even gets hotter, illegally built roads, and bridges that block river water!, There's powerful familes, in this rural countryside, And oh in there history they take so much pride, there's photos, and photos, and termite bomb blast, it gives you the shivers, this remnant of the past, I dont know why I'm here maybe opposites attract? Or maybe I'm pissed over "poorly educated" blacks, Like J.J. From Goodtimes, he was an artist too, but he couldn't paint what he wanted at the bank, because the picture looked just like you,. There's Holman's department store, an antique shop, but I call it a school, because I learned more in one visit, than those history class fools, All I'm trying to say is that this is the place, there are a lot of new buildings, and I found boots that look like they should be in space, Thank the father in Heaven for His Amazing grace, because i'm a two-celled mouse this town likes to chase, But theres a lot of talk here about a "four-cell-stage" And something about a bird count on President's Day, Cornell West is running for president, man that's my dude! I listen to his audio books, and take them in like their food, See in this U-N-I-verse, our friends are not random, the European Southern Observatory, knows we can handle them, First of all I hate being called "Hanky the Christmas Poo", Chappie and Frosty, Brothers dont you? I've made my list and checked it twice, because who likes being referred to as newborn male mice? They want me to act flexibly, while 60% or more percent of the town is under cover, Wiggas, I'm not Prince and I don't want to be your lover, Maybe its my altered behavior, or my growing nappy hair, Excess Liability, Have you cc'd the chair? Call me Mr Rodgers, could you be my neighbor? They don't understand this wolverine has teeth like a saber, Are these psychological disorders? Come on, yall know me, I been fighting for justice, since 1983 Some say its post trauma from losing my daughter, I put that in God's hands years ago, so I don't even bother, Come on yall know Governments "On thin ice", A Federal reserve bank, you better think twice, In fact I bet its not even that hard, Lets match up "accounts" to peoples library card, See I'm in a city where lies come unearthed, and what a few men did "Our Nations Birth", Don't take my word for it, I dare you to come double check me, or ask Maurice. R Greenberg, UPS or AT&T, Apple, Exxon, Microsoft Google, Berkshire Hathaway, they know what went off, Johnson & Johnson, there in on it too, Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo, General Electric too, Procter & Gamble, JP Morgan Chase, When my wife named our child Rothschild, it was a slap in the face, Speaking of Faceboook, Cheveron, Oracle and Phizer, Verizon, Bank of America, their all the wiser, Cross check library book receipts, on Euros and Franks Pie Safes, and Backyard Fire Pits, are Rich Peoples Bank, Coca-Cola, Intel, Vanguard & Fidelity, I was arrested digging through fish and squid, so dude are you smelling me? American Fund, Dodge & Cox, Vanguard Wellington, Franklin Income, Foreign Exchange, GREAT! If we can't consume like yall, why do we pay consumer rates? Watch the news yall, travel industry about to explode, as currency is not reassured, and the rich dump their load, See with our enemy, their culture always comes first! They've had a good run but its about to get worse, They let us down, big time, never trying to improve, But they's give us credit for dancing, they love how sisters booty move, I know that I'm going ham, but yo it don't stop! I'm a Rasta, but never thought to ask about a Jamaican Prostitute in a Smoke Shop, Where are our Queens, influenced by cash, I'd love to pay for you sister, just not your ass, I guess, you can keep secrets (ha!) when you have community, and your main focus, is black folk dis-unity, All hands up lets take a unanimous vote, how many of us been, harassed, locked up or smoked? Its a horrible precedent, how they broadcast themselves, See how Snow White was too, good to bang a hardworking elf, I know it was 7 dwarfs that did all the service, but they were just the help, and that made her nervous, Is this credible nostalgia, you figure it out, But if you looking for a way to win, this of this as credible doubt, We treat them as brothers, Citizen Cane let us down, I bet Big Sur will come alive when you forward this around; Help me, Help me, this really sucks, How could a lightning storm, blow up, dried pine needles and kerosene, in a well water pump? I'm don't know maybe I'm just smokin', A star with a slight wobble or maybe heartbroken, Maybe we should write the "National Security Writer", And ask him how those DNA-Saurs, got those big lighters? Its a shared U-N-I-verse, not no time travel tricks, I have a theory, maybe all these Asian women like powerful men with small dicks, Speaking of which, have you read the children's book "Always Come Home to Me", I guess that's why there are sooooo many massage spas around the city, Maybe I'm mad that shes not my mom, maybe there mad, that I seen the California Vietnam, Bogota, to Columbia, put together by request, "That's the way it is" Elvis Presly said best, Don't you know it's Christmas, someone asked me? I responded, I've forgotten what its like to have gifts or a tree, Here in Beach Blanket Babylon, I wear fantastic hats, was it inherited via molecular pathways in germ cells like bats? Coincidence Studies? Collective Subconsciousness? Flash of Intuition describes it best, no I can't take all the credit its all the books in there chest, The called me Bao Zheng, that's a compliment, I'm a fair judge' But nothing black in these photos not even a smudge, But every year they capitalize on Reggae and Jazz, a few blacks on some bus benches to see as you pass, What they really are afraid of is a runaway green house phase, because that means the end of their, fracking that pays! I'm surrounded by Justice, just not my own, A Charity Education, from our former home, Family, love and music is all that I see, But then again they say I've lost my objectivity, Because here in Christmas Town, and on Christmas Street hanging around, Are the most beautiful Christmas Angels, surprisingly they're"brown", I inspected 3 rooms, (shhhhh) it was more, Is this a fucking slave ship, parked on the shore? Was it a historical accident? Can we undo it and do it right? On the Nob Hill Pirate farms, that are clean out of sight, There's the Dynamic House, Special Struggle House, and Decentralized House, They never suspected, the real life Oscar the grouch, I confess my sins to you my brothers, you know how you get sprung, It was my wifes, idea for the dog collar, we were experimental, reckless and young, But see I grew up, have God, repented for my Sin, I guess she's Mrs. Mark Hopkins, or at least that's whats he's "in", Murdery barbershops, beheadings and all, Child abduction, rape, and that's just the fall, I know this well written mystery book, is not easy to read, but please forward it around, if not out of a sense of nobility, I'm just being culturally sensitive, I'm just planting a seed, I could easy bribe, all these people right now hissing at me, But I roll this God, not man's simple terrors, I guess they think is funny, to have bull ball sacks hanging from rear view mirrors, The leaders from the inside, are spirituality dead, You can't reap and sow at the same time, lets check their incomes per head, 26 recordings I held in my hands, along with diamonds, and gold, oil and sand, He's not a genuine black man; good, that means if I die, Investigate it like a White Man, eating American Pie, I mean they could just shoot me, almost the whole town is all in, But they scared of that Ferguson, lost cause they can win, I was being nice, I was decking the halls, but that was really creepy, seeing a car with Hanging Bull balls, Its stylistic drama, all over coffee, I've had to tell, A Mason, and Hell's Angel, yo dude get off me, This aint 1878, in fact California & Mason Street, really aint that Great, I rather be in the Hood with my 50 mil, at least there's good fried fish, and friends that are real, Moors, Moors, when will you Rome? And start your own cooking project in Our Ancient American Home, Do I feel terrible? No not that much, I feel like God has blessed me with the Midas touch, Cause everywhere I walk, I'm seeing Gold, Better check your facts of the stories, been told, "All Over Coffee" Listen to me, This aint a love story, its a tragedy what happened on this Sea, There was no 911, when this was called bay of the pines, and the Italians, and Spanish saw that it was divine, Yeah I walk around with some physical pain, I need Dr. Schols, But not one for my Brain, Because the State "Embraces This Rodent" with big teeth, While they ride around, and talk shit like they got beef, It's a revolt, its a revolt, in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Officer Shoots Teen with Machete, is the story they are shouting, They say 911, I say insurance fraud, Their trigger is faster, but not faster than God's, Sue Adolphson, here's a spoiler alert, poorly orchestrated scavengers, covered in dirt, The Systems broken Down, but me I'll be OK, Whose gonna step up and tell us whose idea, was this anyway? Is it future blood sport, the purge or wet world, Crazy stupid love, or the movie White Girls, Yeah I'm a broken man, and my son's a great kids, The media will try to spin it on the things, that I did, Thats called deflection, cowardness too, I'll worry about my 3, kids you worry about You, If you received this love letter, its not a coincidence, The Bible says we showed them our stuff, when they hopped the fence, Everyone I'm relying, on your power of prayer, Don't believe me come to Monterey, and i'll take you there. I'm not a terrorist, I'm a born american with nothing up my sleeve, Win Van Aalst and David Wu got it right, when they said "They're not that naive"
One Love Family, I was led by God, Jesus Christ and the holy Spirit to a holy place, 3 times I've spoken with the devil, right to his face, I came here by bus, public transportation and car, I guess to know you are are, you have to know who you are.
Please forward Merry Christmas, I went to Church Sunday at the pacific coast church of christ and found out the real meaning of Christmas, and its beautiful - baaaaa humbug, I've seen the sun.
[email protected]
submitted by redblackgreenleaf to misc [link] [comments]

TheSyndicateProject - YouTube TC CHARTON 2015 Photo Shoot Towel rub dreadlocks method. Comment questions and I’ll answer! The Fight To Save Africa's Rhinos IcyTubeTV - YouTube

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