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2023.03.25 11:25 miroshi2 Investigation into disconnect issues of Logitech® G PRO Racing Wheel
Hi,
if you're experiencing random disconnect issues with the Logitech G PRO racing wheel, this may be helpful to you.
I'm posting this because I want to help other unlucky people (here or others googling the issue) to avoid frustration I had to experience.
I was having serious disconnect issues when using Logitech G PRO wheel on my PS5. I couldn't play in any meaningful way from day one due to frequent disconnects ruining the fun. So I thought that I must've received a malfunctioning unit. I opened a support ticked and after multiple days of troubleshooting and many back and forth messages with the Logi support and support from Logitech members active at GTPlanet.com they RMA the wheel and sent me a replacement. The second wheel arrived 17 days later, counted from the day I received the 1st unit. Unfortunately the very same behavior was observed with the second unit as well. So I started much deeper investigation and could find the cause after many days of troubleshooting.
Supporting evidence:
- Application Error / Progression Blocker When using a Logitech® G PRO Racing Wheel, there have been cases where the game will freeze if the steering controller is disconnected from the console during a race; (source: https://www.gran-turismo.com/us/gt7/news/00_8730173.html)
Report submitted to Logitech:
Long story short, the issue is related to the HDMI link with the TV.
Issue reproducibility: 100%
User cases: 2 users (GT Planet forum)
TVs used: Samsung QE65QN95AATXXH (2021), Samsung QN65Q70AAFXZA (2021),
Consoles tested: PS5 disc version (2020 launch model), PS5 digital version (2022 model), PS4 Pro (2016 model)
Once the TV HDMI link is established with the console, the disconnect issues arise with 100% certainty. The nature of the disconnect events is completely random, sometimes they arise within seconds, minutes, sometimes the wheel stays operational for more than an hour. The pattern is completely random. The issue can be 100% reproduced even when the TV's power supply cord is pulled from the wall outlet. As long as there is just the physical HDMI connection with the TV, the issues will continue to manifest.
Issue manifestation: Wheel randomly disconnects after a random amount of time.
Most of the time the wheel enters a re-bootable locked-up state, showing just an infinite startup animation. Rebooting is possible via holding the power button down and pressing it again.
Sometimes the wheel stays in a permanent locked-up state, completely unresponsive to all user inputs, with only two possible user actions:
Linking the console with different HDMI devices such as A/V receiver (DENON AVR-X1700H Black) will not cause the issue, and the issues could not be observed even after many hours of continuous testing. However as soon as the TV HDMI link is introduced into the A/V chain (regardless of order of devices, PS5 to AVR to TV, or PS5 to TV to AVR) the issues will arise. Changing any HDMI related user accessible setting in the TV will NOT affect the issue. The issue arises, even when the TV has no power. The only 100% working solution is to physically separate the HDMI connection to the TV.
This lets me assume that the culprit is only the TV's HDMI board. Now, I'm not saying that the TV is faulty, certainly not, the TV has been operating without any issues since day one.
The USB and HDMI are somehow related. Looking up the pinout diagram reveals that they both share +5V DC output voltage. Source of the voltage is the console, the voltage is being output via USB and HDMI to all linked devices. According to the online sources: HDMI source (in our case the console) is able to power up with the +5V the sink's DCC bus (in our case the sink can be either the AVR or TV) in order to be able to read information about the device even if the device itself has no supplied power via its own power supply. Which explains why we can observe the disconnects even when the TV's power supply is off.
As mentioned, the order of the devices in the AV chain does not matter, the +5V voltage from the console's HDMI propagates through the AVR's HDMI switch to the TV HDMI board as long as there's just the physical connection, even if indirect one.
The Samsung TV model does seem to be doing something "special", perhaps generating weird signals, or signal disruptions, let's call it a "rogue signal". This signal arises randomly, propagates through the whole HDMI chain, back to the console, affecting the USB communication in the process.
Simple USB devices do not seem to be affected by the "rogue signal", different USB mass storages, etc. all seem to be working just fine. Even the more advanced one, like the Fanatec Wheel does not seem to be affected as we have successfully tested Fanatec Wheel for 3 days without manifesting a single similar disconnect issue. The Fanatec does seem to handle these "rogue signals" more robustly, keeping the device working uninterruptedly.
At this point it's safe to assume that the issue can be reproduced on the Samsung TV's, perhaps only models introduced in 2021?
As you can see this issue definitely taints the PRO wheel's name, as I'm 100%, there are and will be many other users experiencing similar issues as hinted by Polyphony's "unresolved issue" list regarding the wheel disconnects.
Recommendations: Reproduce the issue immediately and learn the nature of it. 1. Source the same TV, and more TV samples from Samsung and perhaps even other manufacturers, retest if the issue can be reproduced with other TV brands 2. Issue a firmware fix, if the identified problem can be solved just a by a simple software update 3. If necessary, carry out a revision of the affected electronics, remedying the issue completely
As for me personally, I would definitely welcome it if the issue could be solved by the firmware update only. I do want to keep the wheel but it makes my situation quite difficult. I can keep playing GT7 with PSVR2 only, that's perfectly fine and actually I prefer it that way, BUT in order to keep the wheel operating without disconnects I have to physically disconnect the TV's HDMI connector from the AV chain, and while this is just a minor annoyance, it still represents a problem in long term as it will wear down the HDMI port. Other options are to buy a new TV, but is this really a solution? Definitely not, I paid 2K for the TV set, barely had it for 2 years and buying a new TV so soon just to fix the problem with the wheel is an expensive proposition. As mentioned, I hope that the issue can be solved as soon as possible via a simple firmware update, or at worst, if a PCB board revision is necessary, by repairing the fault under warranty in the coming months. I certainly hope that Logitech will exhaust all options and try to resolve this issue and not sweep it under the rug, just hoping that the return rate will be low.
Thank you.
submitted by miroshi2 to simracing [link] [comments]
if you're experiencing random disconnect issues with the Logitech G PRO racing wheel, this may be helpful to you.
I'm posting this because I want to help other unlucky people (here or others googling the issue) to avoid frustration I had to experience.
I was having serious disconnect issues when using Logitech G PRO wheel on my PS5. I couldn't play in any meaningful way from day one due to frequent disconnects ruining the fun. So I thought that I must've received a malfunctioning unit. I opened a support ticked and after multiple days of troubleshooting and many back and forth messages with the Logi support and support from Logitech members active at GTPlanet.com they RMA the wheel and sent me a replacement. The second wheel arrived 17 days later, counted from the day I received the 1st unit. Unfortunately the very same behavior was observed with the second unit as well. So I started much deeper investigation and could find the cause after many days of troubleshooting.
Supporting evidence:
- Application Error / Progression Blocker When using a Logitech® G PRO Racing Wheel, there have been cases where the game will freeze if the steering controller is disconnected from the console during a race; (source: https://www.gran-turismo.com/us/gt7/news/00_8730173.html)
Report submitted to Logitech:
Long story short, the issue is related to the HDMI link with the TV.
Issue reproducibility: 100%
User cases: 2 users (GT Planet forum)
TVs used: Samsung QE65QN95AATXXH (2021), Samsung QN65Q70AAFXZA (2021),
Consoles tested: PS5 disc version (2020 launch model), PS5 digital version (2022 model), PS4 Pro (2016 model)
Once the TV HDMI link is established with the console, the disconnect issues arise with 100% certainty. The nature of the disconnect events is completely random, sometimes they arise within seconds, minutes, sometimes the wheel stays operational for more than an hour. The pattern is completely random. The issue can be 100% reproduced even when the TV's power supply cord is pulled from the wall outlet. As long as there is just the physical HDMI connection with the TV, the issues will continue to manifest.
Issue manifestation: Wheel randomly disconnects after a random amount of time.
Most of the time the wheel enters a re-bootable locked-up state, showing just an infinite startup animation. Rebooting is possible via holding the power button down and pressing it again.
Sometimes the wheel stays in a permanent locked-up state, completely unresponsive to all user inputs, with only two possible user actions:
- pulling the power cord from the outlet, which may or may not help, there's still a possibility that the wheel would enter the permanent locked-up state as soon as the power is supplied.
- removing the HDMI link with the TV via physical separation, works every time 100%, mind you, this will not restore the wheel functionality, but will unlock the wheel to a new somewhat locked-up state showing the starting animation, but it's now at least re-bootable via the power button. https://youtu.be/TMKO_SPFeVI
Linking the console with different HDMI devices such as A/V receiver (DENON AVR-X1700H Black) will not cause the issue, and the issues could not be observed even after many hours of continuous testing. However as soon as the TV HDMI link is introduced into the A/V chain (regardless of order of devices, PS5 to AVR to TV, or PS5 to TV to AVR) the issues will arise. Changing any HDMI related user accessible setting in the TV will NOT affect the issue. The issue arises, even when the TV has no power. The only 100% working solution is to physically separate the HDMI connection to the TV.
This lets me assume that the culprit is only the TV's HDMI board. Now, I'm not saying that the TV is faulty, certainly not, the TV has been operating without any issues since day one.
The USB and HDMI are somehow related. Looking up the pinout diagram reveals that they both share +5V DC output voltage. Source of the voltage is the console, the voltage is being output via USB and HDMI to all linked devices. According to the online sources: HDMI source (in our case the console) is able to power up with the +5V the sink's DCC bus (in our case the sink can be either the AVR or TV) in order to be able to read information about the device even if the device itself has no supplied power via its own power supply. Which explains why we can observe the disconnects even when the TV's power supply is off.
As mentioned, the order of the devices in the AV chain does not matter, the +5V voltage from the console's HDMI propagates through the AVR's HDMI switch to the TV HDMI board as long as there's just the physical connection, even if indirect one.
The Samsung TV model does seem to be doing something "special", perhaps generating weird signals, or signal disruptions, let's call it a "rogue signal". This signal arises randomly, propagates through the whole HDMI chain, back to the console, affecting the USB communication in the process.
Simple USB devices do not seem to be affected by the "rogue signal", different USB mass storages, etc. all seem to be working just fine. Even the more advanced one, like the Fanatec Wheel does not seem to be affected as we have successfully tested Fanatec Wheel for 3 days without manifesting a single similar disconnect issue. The Fanatec does seem to handle these "rogue signals" more robustly, keeping the device working uninterruptedly.
At this point it's safe to assume that the issue can be reproduced on the Samsung TV's, perhaps only models introduced in 2021?
As you can see this issue definitely taints the PRO wheel's name, as I'm 100%, there are and will be many other users experiencing similar issues as hinted by Polyphony's "unresolved issue" list regarding the wheel disconnects.
Recommendations: Reproduce the issue immediately and learn the nature of it. 1. Source the same TV, and more TV samples from Samsung and perhaps even other manufacturers, retest if the issue can be reproduced with other TV brands 2. Issue a firmware fix, if the identified problem can be solved just a by a simple software update 3. If necessary, carry out a revision of the affected electronics, remedying the issue completely
As for me personally, I would definitely welcome it if the issue could be solved by the firmware update only. I do want to keep the wheel but it makes my situation quite difficult. I can keep playing GT7 with PSVR2 only, that's perfectly fine and actually I prefer it that way, BUT in order to keep the wheel operating without disconnects I have to physically disconnect the TV's HDMI connector from the AV chain, and while this is just a minor annoyance, it still represents a problem in long term as it will wear down the HDMI port. Other options are to buy a new TV, but is this really a solution? Definitely not, I paid 2K for the TV set, barely had it for 2 years and buying a new TV so soon just to fix the problem with the wheel is an expensive proposition. As mentioned, I hope that the issue can be solved as soon as possible via a simple firmware update, or at worst, if a PCB board revision is necessary, by repairing the fault under warranty in the coming months. I certainly hope that Logitech will exhaust all options and try to resolve this issue and not sweep it under the rug, just hoping that the return rate will be low.
Thank you.
2023.03.25 11:14 nanny1128 International Move with NF
Yesterday, a few people asked me to post about my international move to Switzerland with my NF. NK's are 11, 9, 7. I'm going to try and make it as short as possible. I want to start be explaining that I had been with my NF for 5 years when they asked if I would be willing to move. I didn't have a reason to say no. The whole process of getting work permits and approval from Zurich Canton to live here took about 10 months. My MB job paid for all my moving expenses and fees for the immigration attorney. My NF covers ALL of my Swiss and USA expenses. I use my money for clothes, makeup, and travel when I'm off. We moved here January of 2022. MB's contract is over January 2024 but we may stay longer.
Requirements for my B permit: criminal background check, college degree, proof that I had been with my NF for at least 5 years, birth certificate, USA passport, USA driver's license, pay stubs for 3 months, Swiss employment contract, and proof that I was the only person who could do the job (basically proof that I wasn't taking a job away from a Swiss person). After 1 year in Switzerland, I need to have passed an A1 test in German to renew permit.
Housing here is at a premium. I live in an apartment attached to NF's house. This has been the hardest adjustment for me. We have much less space here than we did in the USA. There was a lot of downsizing of toys and clutter but honestly it was really good for the kids. There's so much to do outside here that no one has really complained. The Swiss are some of the fittest/healthiest people I have ever seen. They walk everywhere. I go to the grocery store daily since the food is so fresh (it goes bad quickly) and we have a fairly small kitchen. There is no buying in bulk here which I miss.
The kids go to an international school. I could write a book on how amazing their school is. I wish every kid in the world could get this kind of education. They are outside as much as possible in all weather. There was definitely a learning curve for me on making sure everyone had the right clothes for the different weather here. School is very much kid driven learning. 11 and 7 are thriving in their school. Both of them were showing signs of ADHD in the US but since coming here those symptoms have gone away. I think the combination of limited processed food and the amount of physical exercise they get at school has helped a lot. 9 has struggled more to adjust to living here. 9 has always been my orchid NK. 9 needs prime everything to thrive. 9 sees a therapist here though and has made great progress.
The public transportation here is top notch. I'm from a smaller suburb in PA with no public transportation so I'm still impressed by it. NYC nannies don't come for me. I know you live that life everyday and Im jealous. We travel as much as we can when the kids are on break from school. The school gives lots of time off, which is a blessing and also a curse. Keeping the kids occupied can be hard at times. More often than not we get out of Zurich when they're off school.
Overall, I feel like my life hasn't changed all that substantially. I'm learning German which has been the hardest part of moving here. Making friends can be difficult but between the kids school, my gym, and my German classes-I have been able to make some friends. Im happy to answer any questions you might have without completely putting my NF on blast. I wouldn't call them my unicorn family because we've definitely had some growing pains over the past year but I am extremely thankful for the opportunity they've given me. I'm also thankful that I have been able to find families that have kept me for so long. This is my second family that I've been with for more than 5 years.
submitted by nanny1128 to Nanny [link] [comments]
Requirements for my B permit: criminal background check, college degree, proof that I had been with my NF for at least 5 years, birth certificate, USA passport, USA driver's license, pay stubs for 3 months, Swiss employment contract, and proof that I was the only person who could do the job (basically proof that I wasn't taking a job away from a Swiss person). After 1 year in Switzerland, I need to have passed an A1 test in German to renew permit.
Housing here is at a premium. I live in an apartment attached to NF's house. This has been the hardest adjustment for me. We have much less space here than we did in the USA. There was a lot of downsizing of toys and clutter but honestly it was really good for the kids. There's so much to do outside here that no one has really complained. The Swiss are some of the fittest/healthiest people I have ever seen. They walk everywhere. I go to the grocery store daily since the food is so fresh (it goes bad quickly) and we have a fairly small kitchen. There is no buying in bulk here which I miss.
The kids go to an international school. I could write a book on how amazing their school is. I wish every kid in the world could get this kind of education. They are outside as much as possible in all weather. There was definitely a learning curve for me on making sure everyone had the right clothes for the different weather here. School is very much kid driven learning. 11 and 7 are thriving in their school. Both of them were showing signs of ADHD in the US but since coming here those symptoms have gone away. I think the combination of limited processed food and the amount of physical exercise they get at school has helped a lot. 9 has struggled more to adjust to living here. 9 has always been my orchid NK. 9 needs prime everything to thrive. 9 sees a therapist here though and has made great progress.
The public transportation here is top notch. I'm from a smaller suburb in PA with no public transportation so I'm still impressed by it. NYC nannies don't come for me. I know you live that life everyday and Im jealous. We travel as much as we can when the kids are on break from school. The school gives lots of time off, which is a blessing and also a curse. Keeping the kids occupied can be hard at times. More often than not we get out of Zurich when they're off school.
Overall, I feel like my life hasn't changed all that substantially. I'm learning German which has been the hardest part of moving here. Making friends can be difficult but between the kids school, my gym, and my German classes-I have been able to make some friends. Im happy to answer any questions you might have without completely putting my NF on blast. I wouldn't call them my unicorn family because we've definitely had some growing pains over the past year but I am extremely thankful for the opportunity they've given me. I'm also thankful that I have been able to find families that have kept me for so long. This is my second family that I've been with for more than 5 years.
2023.03.25 10:28 JakeXgamer CMA UK May approve Xbox''s ABK acquisition
Hello long time writing here and on reddit in general, just wanna say this: (update you) in January 2022 Xbox announced that they where buying Activision Blizzard King for $67.8 Billion and this is it... As you probably heard Jim Ryan (Ceo of Playstation) has been lying to block the deal and FTCs lina khan want to block it (she want to save the world from big tech but does so almost all the time illegally) Now, Xbox has gotten ok to go a head and close the deal and get ABK if EU approves (may 22th 2023) and CMA (around April 26th 2023) now, CMA seemed like a lost cause since they defended Sony all the time no matter how many companies that said that that the deal wouldn't hurt Sony but yesterday: NEW EVIDENCE! Shock! Cma did an U turn and are now for Xbox buying ABK, So: I would expect the ABK deal to be done in June (Xbox's non E3 summer event is June the 11th) and so you know Diablo 4 and Crash Team Rumble may be announced to be coming to Game Pass by then... every game franchise exept COD is kinda confirmed to by exclusive but COD exclusive can acctully happen! And Phil want to revive Guitar hero most but I don't see why Skylanders (without toys) wouldn't be a possibility...
So you know: back in 2020-21 when Xbox bought Bethesda for $6.7 Billion they had a roundable (around 1hr)
where top Xbox and Bethesda execs talked about exclusivity and stuff like that so expect that with ABK to and also a trailer that welcomes all ABK ips to XGP (Xbox Game Studios) like we got with Bethesda!
I hope we get a new Skylanders game!!!
SUMMER CAN'T COME FASTER
:)
submitted by JakeXgamer to u/JakeXgamer [link] [comments]
So you know: back in 2020-21 when Xbox bought Bethesda for $6.7 Billion they had a roundable (around 1hr)
where top Xbox and Bethesda execs talked about exclusivity and stuff like that so expect that with ABK to and also a trailer that welcomes all ABK ips to XGP (Xbox Game Studios) like we got with Bethesda!
I hope we get a new Skylanders game!!!
SUMMER CAN'T COME FASTER
:)
2023.03.25 10:09 JakeXgamer CMA UK May approve Xbox''s ABK acquisition (possible Skylanders revival) Xbox exclusive possibly
Hello long time writing here and on reddit in general, just wanna say this: (update you) in January 2022 Xbox announced that they where buying Activision Blizzard King for $67.8 Billion and this is it... As you probably heard Jim Ryan (Ceo of Playstation) has been lying to block the deal and FTCs lina khan want to block it (she want to save the world from big tech but does so almost all the time illegally) Now, Xbox has gotten ok to go a head and close the deal and get ABK if EU approves (may 22th 2023) and CMA (around April 26th 2023) now, CMA seemed like a lost cause since they defended Sony all the time no matter how many companies that said that that the deal wouldn't hurt Sony but yesterday: NEW EVIDENCE! Shock! Cma did an U turn and are now for Xbox buying ABK, So: I would expect the ABK deal to be done in June (Xbox's non E3 summer event is June the 11th) and so you know Diablo 4 and Crash Team Rumble may be announced to be coming to Game Pass by then... every game franchise exept COD is kinda confirmed to by exclusive but COD exclusive can acctully happen! And Phil want to revive Guitar hero most but I don't see why Skylanders (without toys) wouldn't be a possibility...
So you know: back in 2020-21 when Xbox bought Bethesda for $6.7 Billion they had a roundable (around 1hr)
where top Xbox and Bethesda execs talked about exclusivity and stuff like that so expect that with ABK to and also a trailer that welcomes all ABK ips to XGP (Xbox Game Studios) like we got with Bethesda!
I hope we get a new Skylanders game!!!
SUMMER CAN'T COME FASTER
:)
submitted by JakeXgamer to skylanders [link] [comments]
So you know: back in 2020-21 when Xbox bought Bethesda for $6.7 Billion they had a roundable (around 1hr)
where top Xbox and Bethesda execs talked about exclusivity and stuff like that so expect that with ABK to and also a trailer that welcomes all ABK ips to XGP (Xbox Game Studios) like we got with Bethesda!
I hope we get a new Skylanders game!!!
SUMMER CAN'T COME FASTER
:)
2023.03.25 09:24 Little-Focus-9382 TruckersMp Is Dead (Admins Abuse)
submitted by Little-Focus-9382 to TruckersMpNoCensor [link] [comments]
Hi, everyone, I posted this topic again, because it wasnt solved. Some Admin delete because it hurts him i told the true about them and how they try to avenge on the normal players📷
This video is truth , 13-16 yo admins try to destroy everything in this game, because of them low mental. Karma comes back to you in the worst possible moment :))))))))))))))))))))📷
This game mod is still with game mod rank after this abuse📷
Your egos are too big for that small amount of sever slots poor kids. i ve got banned again 📷 (2nd time on Promods ) A few hours after my last ban left because of this : https://medal.tv/clips/113xGjrgfnA-rH I dont care, i dont want to play this trash multiplayer never after that ban. 2 times in that short amount of time is too much for me for these lil mistakes :))) , Thanks to admins for support the reckless drivers, trolls and trafic jam overtakers and all of these "monkeys". About Ban System: People whose try to drive like a normal and make a mistakes sometimes and get banned but trolls still raming everything on wheels and playing this game mostly this players get 3 days bans :)) About Ban Appeal System: If u try to talk with the admin/mod which punish u and he dont care what u want to say and close the disscusion, ofc they are always right and never made any mistakes but if u make (its not their bussines ) :))))). This is how it works. You appeal your ban with the same admin/mod which banned u. Its nonsense We drove in the same time,So if this is ban tell me why u dont ban guys whose blocking corners ??? Why U dont ban rammers, trolls for more than 3 days or do nothing with them ??? 24 Mar 20238 hours ago In-game issued by Purrie Reason: Reckless Driving, Collisions - https://medal.tv/clips/113xGjrgfnA-rH // 1 month due to history Expiration date: 23 Apr 10:27 UTC Ban ID: 1966246 Appeals: 0 I never had a bans in games but in truckers i ve got 4 . This is really sad how u treat normal players and reward reckless drivers Here is my one before,where u can see my mistake i made but in my opinion admins shouldnt give bans for that because it wasnt intentional and i always try to drive safe as its possible and its little mistake. Admin doestn cares what i wrote to him and tell me he decline my appeal so :))) 16 Mar 20233 days ago In-game issued by Purrie Reason: Reckless Driving, Collisions - https://medal.tv/clips/ZOFMXqbPmHYyt Expiration date: 23 Mar 07:22 UTC Ban ID: 1962084 Appeals: 1 This one was real st\*pid think by my self so, obv my fault 6 Feb 20231 month ago In-game issued by Harryp32 Reason: Reckless Driving - https://youtu.be/xl-SCFD86yg?t=1702 Expiration date: 14 Feb 21:06 UTC Ban ID: 1941158 Appeals: 1 The fist one i had is obviously my fault,but it was because of break failure. i didnt appeal because i didnt know about this ban before and dont know about the ban appeal system 25 Nov 20223 months ago Website issued by Ruffian Reason: Collisions, Reckless Driving - https://youtu.be/IyFvah4ThW8 Expiration date: 02 Dec 2022 06:57 UTC Ban ID: 1904550 Appeals: 0 The guy on my record still has no ban : Euro Truck Simulator 2 2023 03 23 20 38 57 01 Trim - YouTube if the link doesnt work text to me on priv Sorry for my bad english, im still learning. Have a good day, drive safe and better not on the TruckersMP
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 | submitted by nsdjjfjndjrc to vosdjbffeedc1 [link] [comments] |
2023.03.25 09:09 Ok_Spare4464 New Friends. ( Power Rangers x Super Sentai Fan-art. )
 | submitted by Ok_Spare4464 to supersentai [link] [comments] |
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As a last consideration, which of these outlets will likely distribute the film worldwide? Is Black Warrant on Netflix? The streaming giant has a massive catalog of television shows and movies, but it does not include 'Black Warrant.' We recommend our readers watch other dark fantasy films like 'The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf. ' Is Black Warrant on Crunchyroll? Crunchyroll, along with Funimation, has acquired the rights to the film and will be responsible for its distribution in North America. Therefore, we recommend our readers to look for the movie on the streamer in the coming months. In the meantime, subscribers can also watch dark fantasy shows like 'Jujutsu Kaisen.' Is Black Warrant on Hulu? No, 'Black Warrant' is unavailable on Hulu. People who have a subscription to the platform can enjoy 'Afro Samurai Resurrection' or 'Ninja Scroll.' Is Black Warrant on Amazon Prime? Amazon Prime's current catalog does not include 'Black Warrant.' However, the film may eventually release on the platform as video-on-demand in the coming months. Therefore, people must regularly look for the dark fantasy movie on Amazon Prime's official website. Viewers who are looking for something similar can watch the original show 'Dororo.' When Will Black Warrant Be on Disney+? Black Warrant , the latest installment in the Black Warrant franchise, is coming to Disney+ on July 8th! This new movie promises to be just as exciting as the previous ones, with plenty of action and adventure to keep viewers entertained. If you're looking forward to watching it, you may be wondering when it will be available for your Disney+ subscription. Here's an answer to that question! Is Black Warrant on Funimation? Since Funimation has rights to the film like Crunchyroll, its official website may include the movie in its catalog in the near future. Meanwhile, people who wish to watch something similar can stream 'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train.' Black Warrant Online In The US? Most Viewed, Most Favorite, Top Rating, Top IMDb movies online. Here we can download and watch 123movies movies offline. 123Movies website is the best alternative to Black Warrant (2021) free online. We will recommend 123Movies is the best Solarmovie alternatives. There are a few ways to watch Black Warrant online in the US You can use a streaming service such as Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video. You can also rent or buy the movie on iTunes or Google Play. You can also watch it on-demand or on a streaming app available on your TV or streaming device if you have cable. What is Black Warrant About? It features an ensemble cast that includes Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Wilde, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll, and Chris Pine. In the film, a young wife living in a 1950s company town begins to believe there is a sinister secret being kept from her by the man who runs it. What is the story of Black Warrant? In the 1950s, Alice and Jack live in the idealized community of Victory, an experimental company town that houses the men who work on a top-secret project. While the husbands toil away, the wives get to enjoy the beauty, luxury and debauchery of their seemingly perfect paradise. However, when cracks in her idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something sinister lurking below the surface, Alice can't help but question exactly what she's doing in Victory.tqwetewsg gfghf Black Warrant Movie Details "Black Warrant" is a (2022) Science Fiction movie directed by Stephen E. Rivkin and starring by Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña. Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, learn the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure. Black Warrant Full Movie download Black Warrant Full Movie Free online Black Warrant Full Movie 123Movies Black Warrant Full Movie online Black Warrant Full Movie youtube 123Movies Watch Black Warrant ((2022)) Movie Online Full Streaming at Home 123Movies Black Warrant (2022) MP4/720p 1080p HD 4K Hindi Tamil dubbed filmywap Watch Black Warrant ((2022)) Free Online Streaming at Home Watch Black Warrant Free Online Streaming 123Movies Where Watch Black Warrant (2022) Free Online Streaming At home 123Movies Black Warrant ((2022)) Free: 'Black Warrant' Crosses $850 Million Globally in 10 Days.
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Server 1 ► ►Black Warrant (2023) Movie
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A brilliant toy company roboticist uses artificial intelligence to develop Black Warrant, a life-like doll programmed to emotionally bond with her newly orphaned niece. But when the doll's programming works too well, she becomes overprotective of her new friend with terrifying results. Now Is Black Warrant available to stream? Is watching Black Warrant on Disney Plus, HBO Max, Netflix or Amazon Prime? Yes we have found an authentic streaming option / service. Black Warrant is a dark drama film written by Katie Silberman. A 1950s housewife living with her husband in a utopian experimental community begins to worry that his glamorous company could be hiding disturbing secrets. Showcase Cinema Warwick you'll want to make sure you're one of the first people to see it! So mark your calendars and get ready for a Black Warrant movie experience like never before. We can't wait to see it too! In the meantime, check out some of our other Marvel movies available to watch online. We're sure you'll find something to your liking. Thanks for reading, and we'll see you soon! Black Warrant is available on our website for free streaming. Just click the link below to watch the full movie in its entirety. Details on how you can watch Black Warrant for free throughout the year are described below. If you're a fan of the comics, you won't want to miss this one! The storyline follows Black Warrant as he tries to find his way home after being stranded on an alien Black Warrantt. Black Warrant is definitely a Black Warrant movie you don't want to miss with stunning visuals and an action-packed plot! Plus, Black Warrant online streaming is available on our website. Black Warrant online free, which includes streaming options such as 123movies, Reddit, or TV shows from HBO Max or Netflix! Black Warrant Release in US Black Warrant hits theaters on September 23, (2022). Tickets to see the film at your local movie theater are available online here. The film is being released in a wide release so you can watch it in person. How to Watch Black Warrant for Free? As mentioned above, the dark fantasy is only released theatrically as of now. So, people who wish to watch the movie free of cost will have to wait for its release on a platform that offers a free trial. However, we encourage our readers to always pay for the content they wish to consume online and refrain from using illegal means. Where to Watch Black Warrant? There are currently no platforms that have the rights to Watch Black Warrant Movie Online. MAPPA has decided to air the movie only in theaters because it has been a huge success. The studio, on the other hand, does not wish to divert revenue. Streaming the movie would only slash the profits, not increase them. As a result, no streaming services are authorized to offer Black Warrant Movie for free. The film would, however, very definitely be acquired by services like Funimation, Netflix, and Crunchyroll. As a last consideration, which of these outlets will likely distribute the film worldwide? Is Black Warrant on Netflix? The streaming giant has a massive catalog of television shows and movies, but it does not include 'Black Warrant.' We recommend our readers watch other dark fantasy films like 'The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf. ' Is Black Warrant on Crunchyroll? Crunchyroll, along with Funimation, has acquired the rights to the film and will be responsible for its distribution in North America. Therefore, we recommend our readers to look for the movie on the streamer in the coming months. In the meantime, subscribers can also watch dark fantasy shows like 'Jujutsu Kaisen.' Is Black Warrant on Hulu? No, 'Black Warrant' is unavailable on Hulu. People who have a subscription to the platform can enjoy 'Afro Samurai Resurrection' or 'Ninja Scroll.' Is Black Warrant on Amazon Prime? Amazon Prime's current catalog does not include 'Black Warrant.' However, the film may eventually release on the platform as video-on-demand in the coming months. Therefore, people must regularly look for the dark fantasy movie on Amazon Prime's official website. Viewers who are looking for something similar can watch the original show 'Dororo.' When Will Black Warrant Be on Disney+? Black Warrant , the latest installment in the Black Warrant franchise, is coming to Disney+ on July 8th! This new movie promises to be just as exciting as the previous ones, with plenty of action and adventure to keep viewers entertained. If you're looking forward to watching it, you may be wondering when it will be available for your Disney+ subscription. Here's an answer to that question! Is Black Warrant on Funimation? Since Funimation has rights to the film like Crunchyroll, its official website may include the movie in its catalog in the near future. Meanwhile, people who wish to watch something similar can stream 'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train.' Black Warrant Online In The US? Most Viewed, Most Favorite, Top Rating, Top IMDb movies online. Here we can download and watch 123movies movies offline. 123Movies website is the best alternative to Black Warrant (2021) free online. We will recommend 123Movies is the best Solarmovie alternatives. There are a few ways to watch Black Warrant online in the US You can use a streaming service such as Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video. You can also rent or buy the movie on iTunes or Google Play. You can also watch it on-demand or on a streaming app available on your TV or streaming device if you have cable. What is Black Warrant About? It features an ensemble cast that includes Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Wilde, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll, and Chris Pine. In the film, a young wife living in a 1950s company town begins to believe there is a sinister secret being kept from her by the man who runs it. What is the story of Black Warrant? In the 1950s, Alice and Jack live in the idealized community of Victory, an experimental company town that houses the men who work on a top-secret project. While the husbands toil away, the wives get to enjoy the beauty, luxury and debauchery of their seemingly perfect paradise. However, when cracks in her idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something sinister lurking below the surface, Alice can't help but question exactly what she's doing in Victory.tqwetewsg gfghf Black Warrant Movie Details "Black Warrant" is a (2022) Science Fiction movie directed by Stephen E. Rivkin and starring by Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña. Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, learn the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure. Black Warrant Full Movie download Black Warrant Full Movie Free online Black Warrant Full Movie 123Movies Black Warrant Full Movie online Black Warrant Full Movie youtube 123Movies Watch Black Warrant ((2022)) Movie Online Full Streaming at Home 123Movies Black Warrant (2022) MP4/720p 1080p HD 4K Hindi Tamil dubbed filmywap Watch Black Warrant ((2022)) Free Online Streaming at Home Watch Black Warrant Free Online Streaming 123Movies Where Watch Black Warrant (2022) Free Online Streaming At home 123Movies Black Warrant ((2022)) Free: 'Black Warrant' Crosses $850 Million Globally in 10 Days.
2023.03.25 08:39 ShadowDragon8685 [Ace is the Only Sane Pirate 12]The Avaricious Runaround
No sooner had Najia sat down at a dingy canteen on the scrap facility than her datapad received a call from Yorilos. She hadn't even gotten her coffee yet, and thought that was supremely unfair. "Anyone wanna bet he natters on without stopping to let me interrupt?"
There were no takers, and she propped the datapad up, connecting the call. Yorilos's face appeared, in the cockpit of the ship she had 'liberated' for him. "Excellent!" he exclaimed without preamble. "Now, Protectyon is exorbitantly expensive, but I suppose we will not need an entire unit to conduct your research. It might be our best course of action to approach the CEO of Northriver Company directly. We might be able to buy a small sample from him... If we can find him, that is. It is well known that he occasionally likes to flaunt his enormous wealth. A fellow trader just spotted him taking his most prized possession out for a pleasure cruise. I have sent you the coordinates of his last known location. Start from there."
He terminated the call, and Najia sat back, blinking. "Did he even stop to breathe?" Marta snorted. "That guy apparently sucks wind with his asshole, since he sure as hell didn't take any in through his mouth!"
Najia snorted, laughing and covering her face with her palm. Ace looked at Marta in disbelief for a few moments, as she worked out the idiom, then let out a high-pitched, almost strangled trill, hanging her head. "Y'all know I'm right," Marta hammered the point in. "He is longwinded, yes. And also, unfortunately, an idiot," Ace declared. "Well... Yes, but why in specific, this time?"
"I hope for his sake he is fantastic in the bunk and willing to pursue a career in prostitution, because he is clearly a homeworld-raised true believer in nonsense," Ace spat. "He actually believes 'the invisible hand of the free market' will result in equitable distribution of goods and wealth?!" She let out a shrill trill. "In Avarice and Windfall no less!" Marta snorted. "Yeah... He'd better be planning to be a boy-toy." She rolled her eyes. "Does he really think that the CEO of a monopoly is just going to sell us a tiny sample of what's making him filthy rich so we can take it away, analyze it, synthesize it, and start competing with him?" "Apparently he does," Najia said with an exasperated sigh. "That's kind of... Frightening, actually. Though chasing this fellow down might be something we'll have to do eventually, but for now... We might as well just buy a load."
"Protectyon is not ordinary cargo," Ace pointed out. "I do not know the specifics, but I do know that it requires special cargo-handling equipment. The Rakers know this. They guard the nature of this equipment with some skill. Between that, and that the only market for the stuff is here in Windfall, it is not a substance of any value to a pirate... Presumably, small containers for transporting small quantities are available to those in the know, of course." "Of course... But in this case, I think the best move is to make use of my checking account," Najia said. The waitress arrived with coffee in a cheap metal mug, which Najia took gratefully, as did the rest of her party. They were sitting at a table next to Robin and the party of crew she had brought with them. Najia took a drink of the coffee, and grimaced immediately. "Don't like it, spacer," the waitress asked with a smirk as she handed out the others' drinks. "Took me by surprise. Tidebreak serves it sweet enough to curl eyebrows." No sooner had she said that, than the waitress sat a bottle on the table with a heavy, dense thunk. Najia poured it in, and nodded; it was some kind of yellowish syrup or synthetic honey. "Thank you," she said. "Sure, whatever. Your ship brought a load of food here - and not even like, the stuff the fuckin' Viggs 'let us' have, at extortionate rates. So, there's that, spacer." The waitress turned and hurried away. Ace snorted. "Not very grateful, was she?" She had, apparently, missed where part of the plan had been to have Takio's personal Baku deliver a load of food, which she supposed had transpired while she was asleep.
"These people are... Prickly. I can understand that," Najia said. "Anyway, I'm just going to take the simple route on this one: buy one of the condensate ships, load it with the stuff at market value, and have it fly it to the headquarters... For 'upgrades' of course." She grinned.
Ace trilled softly at that. "Upgrades indeed." She fiddled with the datapad in her hand as Najia and the others started to do likewise, and after a few moments, found what seemed to be a saved-game in progress. It looked like a sketch of a space station, but it struck her as being a puzzle game, and probably an 'indie' one at that, given the godawful user-interface. She quickly worked it out of course, because a pirate's mind is slippery by necessity and a Teladi's mind is primed to calculate a dozen variables at once, and then she could dig into the meat of it. It looked like a space station, but it was one built on an impossible scale; an absolute megalith of a station, an absurd and ridiculous monolith seemingly built to construct the most basic and common of Commonwealth construction materials, but in absolutely absurd quantities. There was a rider on it, too; and that seemed to be the objective of the game, or at least of the current level; adding a mixed population of Terran, Argon, and Teladi workers, and the requisite inputs to feed them all, enough to run the entire station and then some.
The datapad in her hand chirr-uped, and Ace saved and closed the progress she had made in the game, finding that a new report had been filed by the professor they had hired for, frankly, enough money to probably have employed the entire Empyrean Curs. She skimmed the summary - short, consise and to the point - and trilled softly. "Interesting development," she noted. "Your starship professor is making yet more inroads." She looked up at the human magnate. "Apparently he found a project starfighter that someone had been preparing in one of your hangars."
Najia chuckled. "A project starfighter?" She took the datapad. "Paramerion...? Hmph. Looks like someone stripped down a Kallis for speed and narrowness, judging by these stats." "Could be fun," Marta pointed out. "For someone who likes to fly, that is," she added, grinning at Najia and Ace.
Najia chuckled, and then shook her head. "Might even be just the thing for chasing down this Northriver fellow, if we assume he's going to make himself difficult to catch up to. According to the Professor, it's currently a one-off, but they should be able to extrapolate the plans and build more, if desired. Seems that it actually was based on some early, unproduced Kallis prototypes." "I'll have it sent out to the Avarice Necessities supplier," Najia added. "Meanwhile..."
A high-importance alert hit her datapad. She frowned as she read the report; one - then two - then three - of her freighters in Windfall were reporting being harassed by the Vigor syndicate. That was new. She scowled at that, snarling.
"Trouble," Ace asked. Under the table, she curled her tail around Najia's calf, and Najia rubbed her eyes. "Trouble," Ace repeated; no longer an interrogative, but a statement. "The Vigor syndicate have apparently decided to start harassing ships carrying food," she noted, wrathfully. "That you have gone so long without them doing so is the anomaly," Ace pointed out. "They are not shy about that they use force to enforce their monopoly on food in Windfall and Vigor," she added. "And was this not the fight you intended to wage anyway?"
"Yes," Najia hissed angrily. "But the timing is wrong." She rubbed her eyeballs, seething. Her ships were reporting that the Vigor syndicate were being very aggressive; not quite at the point of shooting openly at them - which would go poorly for everyone concerned frankly - but they were harassing them openly, shaking them down for bribes or even demanding they drop cargo, as well as conducting "police" inspections for "contraband" - meaning food and water. "Then what do you plan to do?"
Najia grit her teeth, closing her eyes. She focused on the feeling of Ace's tail squeezing her calf, and seethed, but calmed herself. "Comply... For now. Set up some goodwill by selling them energy cells again." "Again? They're probably angry you cut them off in the first place," Ace noted, and Najia snorted. "Probably." Najia let out an annoyed hiss of breath. "Well, we'll deal with it." She drummed her fingers in annoyance on the bare metal, cafeteria-style table. "The time is not yet. Not yet... Yet." She cracked her knuckles, one-by-one. "First, we need to chase down this Protectyon stuff." She started fiddling on her datapad. "I'll just place the order and have it sent to the HQ. If Boso Ta can't work with that, well... I guess we'll try it Yorilos' way and chase down this Northriver."
"It might be worthwhile to approach him now in any event," Ace suggested. "The Northriver company are, as you might imagine... Well-connected, with the Vigor Syndicate." Najia pursed her lips and frowned, but nodded. She looked around the dingy cafeteria, and sighed, nodding, but sighed again, heavily. "You can't fix everything, Ninja Taco; and what you can fix, you mostly can't fix in a day," Marta said, softly. "Let's just... Let's try Ace's idea."
Najia nodded, with a heavy sigh. She covered her head with her hands for a few moments, and let out a huff. She needed a bit of breathing room, time to think, time to plan. She looked around, and drummed her fingers on the table. "Let's finish our business here, and head for the Necessities station," she said. "We'll give the Raleigh I bought time to make it to the HQ, and the Paramerion time to get here... Then we'll use it, as it's apparently speed incarnate, to chase down Northriver and see what he can tell us about Protectyon, or the Syndicate, or both." She looked around; there were no particular objections raised. Ace snorted softly at her. "I and 'Chipmunk' are laying low; it matters little to me where we do so or what other activities we engage in whilst doing. Besides, I wonder what this station looks like."
Najia grinned at her.
Scant hours later, Ace was in the co-pilot's seat of the Baku as it arrowed in to land, alongside the Radiant Afterglow that had been shadowing them the whole time. The station was a mammoth; Ace had been expecting some kind of small way-station. It had absolutely gargantuan solar arrays pointing at the nearby star; the number of docks and piers was, frankly, grossly excessive, to the point that Ace reckoned it could easily hold the entire ship population of Avarice. There were massive personnel accommodations, and all the things she had seen that made Takio's constructions so awe-inspiring. "The number of docks and piers you have here is mind-boggling," Ace commented as the ship landed on one of the Terran-style disk docks. "It defies description. I cannot imagine why."
Najia smiled weakly at her, leaning out to look out through the expansive flight-deck window. "Quite simply? I wanted there to never, ever, ever be any question about whether or not a ship in need of safe-habor from the Tide could find it here. And yes, we're buying the Protectyon stuff - at quite ridiculous prices - to keep the place safe." She pointed at a massive, triple-pronged module along the station's 'spine.' "The Breakers built that, and the storage for it. They're effectively a 'black box' to us since part of the deal there was that we didn't poke around inside, but the thing keeps working, and we've isolated them from outside comms to ensure that stays the case."
Ace snorted. "I'm surprised you agreed to refrain from reverse-engineering them." "Well, we did. Of course, we lied," Najia said, with a grin. "I don't believe in letting other people keep technological secrets from me. But we're not, you know, cutting our way in or anything... Sometimes, you have to move slow. Besides, nobody would bat an eyelash at me commissioning another Raleigh and stocking it with some Protectyon, right?" "Right," Ace said, chuckling. She glanced up at the station. It was massive. She glanced down at the time-table; the Paramerion would arrive in approximately sixteen hours. "This place is huge. I might have to look around."
Najia smiled at her. "Feel free. You want to come with me to chase down this Northriver character? I think I'm going to give this prototype a test run myself." Ace trilled. "That sounds fun. Sure."
The Avarice Necessities Supplier station was a mammoth. Ace had explored it thoroughly; it had all the amenities one might expect of a space station, which was surprising in Avarice space. Unsurprising to her now, was that the prices were absolutely rock-bottom. Not quite giving the stuff away at cost, but close enough. It was, Ace mused, a good way to make inroads with the Rakers, though she suspected that Takio was doing so out of beneficience as much as anything else. She seemed positively furious that the Syndicate were exerting control over food and water; absolutely furious.
That, Ace realized, was something that set her apart. To her way of thinking, it was only to be expected that the party which had the power to establish a monopoly on such basic necessities should do so, to further increase their power and wealth, exploiting that position to enrich themselves. Takio clearly did not see it that way. It was an affront to her; and she was clearly plotting the Syndicate's downfall over it. Ace mused these musings both before and after she took a nap, in a surprisingly-affordable lodging room she took on the station. The amenities were in fact made in the same style and materials as those Najia had established for herself back on her headquarters station. The shower, in particular, was an absolute luxury to Ace's mind; there was no time- or pressure-limiter, no charge for the water use, and, as with the showers on her ships, featured a slick slatted floor instead of an obvious drain and a bench. All available at such a rate that anyone who landed here could afford to stay without difficulty. Neither were there any other tiers of accommodation available; there were no 'suites' above and beyond what she slept in, nor were there the expected squalorus hostel dormitories she had sometimes been able to avail herself of in her youth - at prices that sometimes exceeded that of the individual suite she enjoyed. The only other forms of room available were doubles and quads for pairings or parties sleeping together, and 'accessibility' rooms for persons with mobility or other issues.
Ace had found this so surprising, in fact, she had chatted up the clerk at the lodging module. Apparently, Takio Enterprises had taken some simple shortcuts in their design process, by not doing the design work themselves; they had simply followed Segaris traveler-accommodation regulations and made use of a common Segaris habitat module design. The prices were set low because the station was, ultimately, self-sufficient save for the reliance on Protectyon, and it was largely viewed as a public service.
The difference between this station and the one they had left hardly any time at all before was striking. The Terran construction techniques Takio used were incredible, of course; but it also spoke to their intents that they were effectively leaving money in the pockets of persons who would pay higher prices for what they were offering and gladly. Of course, she mused, it wasn't entirely utopic. It couldn't be. she had found a tavern and lurked, and certainly she had caught the (metaphorical) scent of black-market trade. The number of employees at the station was enormous, surely there would be those who could be bribed. There was certain, she knew, to be a thriving underbelly in illicit goods or services; though it seemed that there was an effort to minimize this, by the simple expedient of making the most commonly-smuggled goods and most commonly-criminalized services legal, mostly in the Teladi style; Ace saw vending machines which dispensed packets of Space Weed and found a local-net exchange board which purported to connect medically-checked and cleared prostitutes with clients; tangential to that was a heap of information about prostitution - both practical and, she saw with a little digging, historical and philosophical - as well as resources for those looking to get into that trade, beginning with reporting to medical for an examination. There was also a stark warning that pimping, or abusing a prostitute in any way, carried a summary sentence of execution. Ace's eyes shot up at that. She ran a few searches to see what cut Takio Enterprises was taking for this, but couldn't find any over and above presumably the rental price of the lodging rooms involved.
It almost seemed clinical, but, she mused, on the balance, if this environment had been available to her when she was trying to figure out what to do to avert hunger, it certainly would have seemed a far more attractive option. Her primary reason for shying away from prostitution as a career, had been the fear of winding up the property of a pimp. Ace ruminated on this, whilst staring out the window of a tavern, at the star, through the solar panel array, when she got the message that the Paramerion had arrived.
The craft itself looked very much like many of the Terran ships Ace had seen in recent weeks, sitting in the pretty purple trim that Takio had ships meant for herself painted in. It was even sitting in a bay next to a Tsurugi superheavy fighter, which made her take a double-take; clearly they had wasted no time in producing the starfighters!
Ace looked between the two. The Paramerion was short dorsal-to-ventral, as most Terran small craft were, but this one took it to an extreme. It was elongated and somewhat narrow, though it could have, she thought, been narrower still without the side-mounted wings that served no purpose she could discern immediately, save to be wings. "They're for atmospheric flight," Najia explained. "Most Terran S- and M- craft are at least capable of it; most Argon, too, for that matter. Most Teladi... Even the Drill, which the Baku is based on; and of course the Baku itself. Though, admittedly, the flying shoe does rely a lot more on thrusters," Najia said; she was standing by the ramp into the Paramerion, watching Ace's gaze.
Ace trilled softly and nodded, joining Najia in the cockpit. It was roomy enough; the cockpit design seemed to be wholly-copied from the Kallis. That made sense, as they were apparently related designs. She looked around, and tapped on the holographic auxiliary console at the rear of the cockpit, to the side. "Shall I navigate for you?" "Unless you'd rather fly," Najia said, smiling at her. Ace took a moment to think on that, and shook her head. "I'll fly the way back, if all goes smoothly. It's your ship, you should take it. Where is Marta? Is she not coming?"
"She's already in the back. There's what the original designers of these classes euphemistically refer to as a 'bunk-slash-engineering-access' behind us, in front of the power plant. It's so tight I don't think anyone could even masturbate in there, but you can sleep in there... If you're desperate. Personally, I'd just roll out a sleeping mat in the dockpit," Najia said; this got a louder trill from Ace, as Najia took the chair. "Right, I've already done the preflight... Let's see what she can do."
Northriver was, allegedly, in the same sector - Avarice I - and finding him was a minor challenge. Ace operated sensors whilst Najia piloted; the ship seemed to have very desirable piloting characteristics; agile and responsive without being touchy or prone to over-maneuvering. Swift, but not prone to sliding. She looked forward to her own turn at the stick, as they narrowed in on the alleged location of Brantlee Northriver.
Finding him was little challenge - then Ace swore softly. "Is that..." She had another ship on the fighter's sensors, and brought up its details. Sitting a hundred klicks from Astrid, apparently the ship of Northriver, was J.P. Morgan's Knife. Ace hissed softly. "Does he... Really..."
"Does he really expect this guy to give us a sample to reverse engineer?" Najia groaned. "Fine, fuck it. If we don't ask, he will, and Yorilos is about as good at negotiating as someone who goes to a flea market, sees a pair of sun-shades at a stall, talks the proprietor down two credits and walks away feeling like they're John Pierpont Morgan." Ace trilled softly at that. "Is that whom his vessel is named after? Who was this person?" Najia snorted. "We'd have to interrupt the history lesson to run for cover from the Tide," she said with a grin, looking over her shoulder. "Suffice to say he was a human industrialist from a very long time ago, who managed to amass one of the smaller fortunes of his era, but who wielded power and control of money to substantially more effect than the actual wealth he personally had. He formed banks, you see; once, he helped to fend off an impending bank run that would have caused a financial collapse, by assembling a large number of a nation's most powerful bankers in his mansion, and locked them in his library, telling them that they would not be leaving until they had worked out a scheme to avert the crisis."
Ace trilled, watching as the little fighter closed on what she was reading as some kind of yacht. "That sounds like something you might do," she pointed out. Najia snorted, looked back at Ace, and chuckled. "I think I should take that as a compliment. J.P. Morgan was an asshole, like pretty much all of the wealthy and powerful persons of his time and era... Or, any era, to be honest. I... Never expected to find myself wielding clout and power like Morgan's, let alone enough that I probably eclipse him. It's... Kind of overwhelming, to be honest." "And yet, you persevere," Ace retorted. "By any measure, you could take what you've amassed now, retire to a sector of your choosing, build a monumental space station of your own design, and live a life of indolence until the money ran out. A Teladi could take your wealth and live out the rest of her life, even. Yet, you are building warships and lodgings fit for well-off individuals and affordable to the hardscrabble. By Teladi reckoning, Najia, you are insane."
Najia blinked at that, half-snorting. She had cut the travel drive and was approaching the lazily drifting yacht, and took the moment to turn her chair halfway, looking to her side at Ace. "Do you think I'm... Literally mad?" Ace peered at her, and shook her head. "No, I do not. Many Teladi might assume it to be so," she said, with an ambivalent sway of her hips and a shrug. "... I believe that you are acting to a set of principles and convictions that are, however, utterly alien to most Teladi understanding. You seem as if you intend to seize Windfall and Avarice outright. Yet even if you did, you would not squeeze the Rakers on food prices the way the Syndicate does. I do not understand where you are coming from," Ace said, swaying her hips again. "But... I feel I can trust you. And from there, confidence. Heads-up," she added, cautioning Najia. "We are close enough you had best comm them, lest they think you're about to attack."
Swiveling rapidly back to face forward, Najia did just that, signaling the yacht she was approaching of her intent to communicate. Moments later, she recieved a reply. "Yes, what is it you want?" Brantlee Northriver had a grating, abrasive, and smug voice; he was also dressed, she thought, ridiculously, wearing what looked like a desaturated blue jacket trimmed with excessively gaudy, and gaudily excessive amounts of gold, with some kind of absurd half-hood thing cupping the back of his head. It was some long-ago futurist's vision of what a far-flung spacefuture clergyman's robe might look like crossed with a business suit. Najia knew that her own sense of fashion was questionable, but even she immediately recognized the outfit as disgustingly ugly, and radiating both wealth and contempt. Her impression was realized as he continued, "I sure hope you have a good reason for approaching me. I am quite busy, you see?"
Najia mastered the urge to ask if he was busy receiving fellatio from someone under the console he was sitting at, because she could see absolutely no other possible activity he was invested in; she also mastered the urge to just shoot the smug off his face. She instead smiled at him, schooling herself into 'businesswoman' persona even though he made her skin crawl on an imager; and, of course, she would have to try to talk a sample out of it, because she knew that Yorilos was listening in and would certainly swoop in and somehow make things stupider if she didn't. "Mr. Northriver, you may not have had time yet to notice my minor operations; Takio Enterprises is expanding into Avarice. The name of Northriver and its Protectyon is on every set of lips within three jumps as a potent defensive measure against the Tide. I wished to obtain -"
"What, just a sample?" Northriver leaned forward, towards his camera, smirking - no, smugging - at her, adopting the 'Thinker' pose, briefly. "Such a small quantity won't get you far, if you want to protect yourself from the Tide. Can't afford more, eh?" For a moment, Najia toyed with the notion of making an offer to buy Northriver outright, just to wipe the smug off his face, but he continued to smug audibly at her. "Oh, well, since you seem to be new around here, I'll allow it. Once." Brantlee turned to look out his cockpit window at Avarice, which illuminated him brightly. Looking away and up was probably his 'best side;' it was the only posture in which she had yet seen him that looked anything other than 'contemptable.' "To get you hooked. Am I not charitable?" He immediately resumed his contemptuousness, then turned back to face her and made it all the more stark. "I will even cut you a special deal, how about that?" His expression clearly communicated his contempt and belief that he was superior. "Merely twelve and a half thousand credits for the sample you so dearly desire; my first, last, and only offer."
Najia wanted to say something scathing in return, she really did. Or simply to lock her cannons on his admittedly-very-sexy yacht and take the sample at cannon-point. Or to flip him the finger. Instead, she schooled herself to merely raise her eyebrow skeptically; forcing herself to maintain 'The Businesswoman,' who was too refined to rise to the bait. But she also had neither time nor patience to haggle over what was, frankly, a trivial sum to her bank account. Hell, she knew for a fact that Ace could buy the sample and wouldn't lose much sleep over it, just from what Ace had made in the last several days with her. "It seems your proposal can only be agreed to," she said, bringing up the financial transfer function on her console and sending the sum required.
Smugly, Brantlee grinned at her. "Here you go. I hope you leave as a satisfied customer!" Ace quickly tapped a message that appeared on her console. 'He's jettisoned an XS cargo pod.' The Teladi deftly located it for her on sensors, targeting it for her, as Northriver continued, "Oh, and by the way - don't for one second think that you can use this sample to engineer a competing product. It won't work. Northriver products are just too ingenious!" Northriver positively crowed it at her, and once again Najia had to master the urge to lock weapons upon him, but she did, at that moment, privately vow that, by means fair or foul, she was going to gain possession of his yacht if only to spite him. "Run along now," he added, smirking. "I have much more important matters to attend to," he clarified, sanctimoniously smiling, ending the comm channel and turning the yacht away, entering Travel drive.
"Let me bring that pod aboard," Ace muttered, manipulating the tractor controls, and comming the multipurpose space in the back. "Marta, if you would kindly suit up -" "Way ahead of you, Ace," Marta answered her, popping up on-screen already wearing a light pressure suit, in the airlock. "Get it over here and I'll grab it, make sure it doesn't jostle or anything. Mass?" "Considerable, but not more than a large human such as yourself can handle. Volitility is not known, but it cannot hurt to be over-cautious."
Najia smiled to herself as she heard Ace, unprompted, begin collaboration with Marta. A part of her cynical and intellectual side tried to argue that Ace was a pirate, and probably always would be a pirate at heart, but she was quite simply too fond of the reptilian spacer to listen to that part of her anymore; her oldest friend and her newest could be coming together. Then another comm popped up, and she resisted the urge to groan aloud. She let The Businesswoman fade; frankly, Yorilos didn't rate it, and they were (sort of) collaborators on this anyway. To her surprise (and pleasure), when he commed her, he immediately voiced her own opinion, "I wonder if being obnoxious is his deliberate business strategy?" Najia laughed, heartily, slumping back in her command chair and grinning brightly, shrugging. "I don't think so. I think it just comes naturally to the git."
Yorilos looked momentarily nonplussed, presumably by her vernacular, then said, "No matter. It will make it all the more enjoyable when we pull the rug from under the Northriver Company." "We are in absolute agreement about that," Najia said. "I want to wipe the smug grin off his face." She glanced down; her airlock indicator had closed, and she flicked up a view of the inside. Marta was carefully securing a container roughly the size and volume of a ubiquitous 205-liter shipping drum, though it wasn't one. "I've just taken the sample aboard." "You want to take it back to the headquarters yourself? Go ahead," Yorilos said. He cut the channel, and Najia blinked at the suddenness.
"... Well, that was... Abrupt," Najia said, looking back to Ace. "It was. I cannot believe that you paid twelve and a half thousand for the sample." Najia shrugged. "I mean... It's highway robbery, considering that a commercial volume costs just about twice that and is twenty cubic meters in volume whereas that sample is maybe two. On the other hand, you heard him; he wasn't in the mood to negotiate. What should I have done? Shot at him?" "Yes." Ace trilled, then huffed, shaking her head. "No. As cathartic as it would be, your plans are too long-term to have simply taken it from the wretch by force." She shook her head. "I suppose you had little choice," she conceded, "if you are to continue Yorilos' scheme."
"I'm kind of eager to set Boso Ta loose on this stuff myself," Najia said. The revolving door to the back cycled, and Marta walked in, looking flushed with exertion. "Thanks, Marta," she said. "You can thank me by you securing the damn thing in the 'hold,' Marta said, snarkily.
Najia nodded, and swiveled her chair all the way. "Sure. Thank you. Ace, you're up on stick," she said, standing up. "Let's just fly this thing straight home; I bet we can make it before dinnertime with us flying," she said, smiling at Ace. Ace trilled softly. "That sounds like a challenge. Accepted." She slid past Marta and Najia, slaloming between them, and took the stick, keying in a course for the Takio Enterprises headquarters. "We should recall the other ships, yes?" "Yes; good thinking, Ace. Thank you. I'll handle it from the back, after I've secured this barrel."
Ace and Najia made great time returning to the headquarters; they flew close to recklessly, causing Marta to comment that she was glad she was flying with them, for if they got themselves killed flying that way, she wouldn't have to hear about it. They arrived at the headquarters to little fanfare, and Marta peeled off as soon as they arrived, pleading the need to go and look into something she had arranged previously. "Well, shall we talk to Boso Ta?" Ace asked, looking up at Najia. They had gone to Avarice in an overnight journey by-the-numbers, stayed for less than a day, and were now back where they had started. "And hope that this back-and-forth bears some fruit?"
"I would very much like that," Najia agreed. The container had already been sent to the lab, and she squared her shoulders up, heading for the lift with purpose.
The door to the laboratory opened, and Najia's jaw dropped. "How," she said, flatly, quietly, as Ace all-but plowed into her backside. Ace slid around her side, looking into the lab, and let out a chuff of disbelief.
Yorilos was standing beside Boso Ta's tank.
Ace resisted the urge to hiss in surprise, and reached up, patting Najia's back. "I do not know," she confessed. "Perhaps he made use of an anomaly and was quite lucky. Or perhaps he has modified his hauler in ways unimaginable and is an outright daredevil pilot." Najia shook her head, and squared up, entering the lab. The elderly professor was nowhere to be seen, but it was late at night; he was likely in bed. So she went to the interloper, approaching Yorilos. "Yorilos, hi... What are you doing here?" She wasn't even going to ask how. That was his secret and his alone.
"Ah, yes. I really hope we can find a way to make the Protectyon more affordable for everyone in Avarice," he explained, as he peered around the laboratory. That, she thought, didn't exactly explain her question; presumably he intended for her to infer the answer. Somehow. Najia shook her head and smiled, nodding to him. "Alright." She climbed up the stairs, after a glance back at Ace, who had become fascinated by the new addition of a lot of bonsai trees in the laboratory's little greenery display, and greeted Boso Ta with a wave, to which the Boron responded with one of his own. "Hello there! Ah, excellent, the Protectyon sample has been delivered, and we may begin. Thank you kindly!" Boso Ta seemed to examine a computer tablet held in his... Tentacles? Flippers? Manipulators. He made a few deft strokes. "I have added the Protectyon Research to our agenda, and listed the required secondary materials. Feel free to initiate the research at any time convenient to yourself!"
With that abrupt declaration, Boso Ta swam upwards through the hatch in the laboratory tank, presumably to his personal lodging suites. Najia blinked, rocking back on her heels and looked back at Ace, who looked at her with the cocked hips that Najia had intuited was a definite shrug. "You'd think I didn't own the place," Najia muttered to herself, "the way almost everyone just... Is so... Curt with me." "You could put them in their place the way a pirate lord would," Ace suggested. "Or, if having a beating administered is too vulgar for your preferences, do what a capitalist might do and threaten them with penury."
Najia snorted. "Yeah... I think I'd rather just live with being curtly spoken to than be an asshole." "So be it. Your ways do allow for others to become... Familiar with you," Ace said, giving a vibrato trill. "For better, and for worse." She smiled at Najia, and Najia smiled back. Ace was toying with a small bonsai tree, and watched as Najia checked her datapad, then clucked her tongue.
"A lot of things we don't have on-hand," Najia muttered, "mainly because what Boso Ta wants - for this research project, and others - are Commonwealth-base, and we're not. That's not a huge problem, I'll just ask Tsukiko to set up a PO for a useful quantity of said commodities. For now -" The tank was suddenly filled again with Boso Ta. "Assistant, you simply must do something about this irksome vessel!"
A moment of silent passed. Najia pushed down the urge to be catty or snarky at Boso Ta, or outright hostile. She took a deep breath. "A... Vessel? Is irking you?" "Yes yes! Somehow, it is managing to distort the station's sensors, preventing me from witnessing a solar event in the Great Reef Nebula. I suggest you take care of this annoyance before it manages to disrupt even more observations!"
Najia took in a breath to respond, but Boso Ta had already vanished again, with such rapidity that even Yorilos seemed to be watching him dumbstruck. Yorilos also made a cocked-hip gesture, and then walked out. Najia watched him go, and snorted. "If he has even half a brain, he's going to ask Boso Ta what resources he's asking for and then try to get ahead of the purchase orders," Najia noted. "I would." "As would I," Ace agreed. "Would you like me to take care of this... 'Irksome Vessel' for you?"
"Bored?" Najia asked, grinning at Ace. "I wouldn't say that I was bored," Ace said, reaching out and squeezing her hand. Najia squeezed back. "But it seems that Boso Ta will not likely let the matter drop."
"Alright. Let's take care of it." Najia rolled her shoulders. "I can do this admin stuff from a ship as easily as my apartment study." She headed for the lift, neglecting to let go of Ace's hand; Ace likewise kept the hold, accompanying her. They almost ran into Marta coming out of it. She had a big grin on her face, and Najia pursed her lips. "Okay, what have you done," she asked.
"Oh, not much, just had a warship commissioned to keep close-to-hand in case we get in trouble and need some biggish guns fast. She's done, come take a look." Najia looked down at Ace, who trilled loudly at her. "Either you pay her too well, or you trust her entirely, if she has such authority in your name." "Jealous," Marta asked, smirking. "Yes," Ace admitted frankly. "Shall we?"
Najia sighed and laughed. "Fiiiine."
The bridge of T.E.S. Koshirae was the common standard Terran capital module, and very shortly, Najia, Marta and Ace were standing in it, shaking hands with the woman standing at the captain's post, who was wearing a stylish jacket in a decidedly non-Terran style, tights, and comfortable looking sneakers. "I'm sorry," Najia said, with a smile. "I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage."
"Kevlin, ma'am; Selaia Kevlin. I'm a shipyard specialist." Her accent was distinctly neither anything Solar that Najia recognized, nor Segaris. "I'm surprised you're even aboard yet; we're only about to put her through space trials."
Najia snorted. "Not even the shakedown cruise, huh? You're not from anywhere I've been, are you?" "No ma'am." Selaia looked Asian, with her hair up in a tight bun. "I'm from Argon Prime. I found myself in Grand Exchange as crew on a freighter, saw the amenities on offer on your headquarters station, and jumped ship for a job here."
Najia nodded. "I see..." She grinned. "Are you spying on me?" "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you, ma'am," Selaia responded back, in the age-old joke. Najia laughed in turn.
"Right. Well, stand down for a while," she said. "I appear to have been talked into taking her out personally." "Ma'am!" Selaia stepped aside. "The, err, owner has the bridge!" she called out, fumbling through something approximating military protocol, as Najia stepped up, looking over the console. Najia grinned. "Alright. Nifty little ship. Ace, take the helm," she said. "Take us out."
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There were no takers, and she propped the datapad up, connecting the call. Yorilos's face appeared, in the cockpit of the ship she had 'liberated' for him. "Excellent!" he exclaimed without preamble. "Now, Protectyon is exorbitantly expensive, but I suppose we will not need an entire unit to conduct your research. It might be our best course of action to approach the CEO of Northriver Company directly. We might be able to buy a small sample from him... If we can find him, that is. It is well known that he occasionally likes to flaunt his enormous wealth. A fellow trader just spotted him taking his most prized possession out for a pleasure cruise. I have sent you the coordinates of his last known location. Start from there."
He terminated the call, and Najia sat back, blinking. "Did he even stop to breathe?" Marta snorted. "That guy apparently sucks wind with his asshole, since he sure as hell didn't take any in through his mouth!"
Najia snorted, laughing and covering her face with her palm. Ace looked at Marta in disbelief for a few moments, as she worked out the idiom, then let out a high-pitched, almost strangled trill, hanging her head. "Y'all know I'm right," Marta hammered the point in. "He is longwinded, yes. And also, unfortunately, an idiot," Ace declared. "Well... Yes, but why in specific, this time?"
"I hope for his sake he is fantastic in the bunk and willing to pursue a career in prostitution, because he is clearly a homeworld-raised true believer in nonsense," Ace spat. "He actually believes 'the invisible hand of the free market' will result in equitable distribution of goods and wealth?!" She let out a shrill trill. "In Avarice and Windfall no less!" Marta snorted. "Yeah... He'd better be planning to be a boy-toy." She rolled her eyes. "Does he really think that the CEO of a monopoly is just going to sell us a tiny sample of what's making him filthy rich so we can take it away, analyze it, synthesize it, and start competing with him?" "Apparently he does," Najia said with an exasperated sigh. "That's kind of... Frightening, actually. Though chasing this fellow down might be something we'll have to do eventually, but for now... We might as well just buy a load."
"Protectyon is not ordinary cargo," Ace pointed out. "I do not know the specifics, but I do know that it requires special cargo-handling equipment. The Rakers know this. They guard the nature of this equipment with some skill. Between that, and that the only market for the stuff is here in Windfall, it is not a substance of any value to a pirate... Presumably, small containers for transporting small quantities are available to those in the know, of course." "Of course... But in this case, I think the best move is to make use of my checking account," Najia said. The waitress arrived with coffee in a cheap metal mug, which Najia took gratefully, as did the rest of her party. They were sitting at a table next to Robin and the party of crew she had brought with them. Najia took a drink of the coffee, and grimaced immediately. "Don't like it, spacer," the waitress asked with a smirk as she handed out the others' drinks. "Took me by surprise. Tidebreak serves it sweet enough to curl eyebrows." No sooner had she said that, than the waitress sat a bottle on the table with a heavy, dense thunk. Najia poured it in, and nodded; it was some kind of yellowish syrup or synthetic honey. "Thank you," she said. "Sure, whatever. Your ship brought a load of food here - and not even like, the stuff the fuckin' Viggs 'let us' have, at extortionate rates. So, there's that, spacer." The waitress turned and hurried away. Ace snorted. "Not very grateful, was she?" She had, apparently, missed where part of the plan had been to have Takio's personal Baku deliver a load of food, which she supposed had transpired while she was asleep.
"These people are... Prickly. I can understand that," Najia said. "Anyway, I'm just going to take the simple route on this one: buy one of the condensate ships, load it with the stuff at market value, and have it fly it to the headquarters... For 'upgrades' of course." She grinned.
Ace trilled softly at that. "Upgrades indeed." She fiddled with the datapad in her hand as Najia and the others started to do likewise, and after a few moments, found what seemed to be a saved-game in progress. It looked like a sketch of a space station, but it struck her as being a puzzle game, and probably an 'indie' one at that, given the godawful user-interface. She quickly worked it out of course, because a pirate's mind is slippery by necessity and a Teladi's mind is primed to calculate a dozen variables at once, and then she could dig into the meat of it. It looked like a space station, but it was one built on an impossible scale; an absolute megalith of a station, an absurd and ridiculous monolith seemingly built to construct the most basic and common of Commonwealth construction materials, but in absolutely absurd quantities. There was a rider on it, too; and that seemed to be the objective of the game, or at least of the current level; adding a mixed population of Terran, Argon, and Teladi workers, and the requisite inputs to feed them all, enough to run the entire station and then some.
The datapad in her hand chirr-uped, and Ace saved and closed the progress she had made in the game, finding that a new report had been filed by the professor they had hired for, frankly, enough money to probably have employed the entire Empyrean Curs. She skimmed the summary - short, consise and to the point - and trilled softly. "Interesting development," she noted. "Your starship professor is making yet more inroads." She looked up at the human magnate. "Apparently he found a project starfighter that someone had been preparing in one of your hangars."
Najia chuckled. "A project starfighter?" She took the datapad. "Paramerion...? Hmph. Looks like someone stripped down a Kallis for speed and narrowness, judging by these stats." "Could be fun," Marta pointed out. "For someone who likes to fly, that is," she added, grinning at Najia and Ace.
Najia chuckled, and then shook her head. "Might even be just the thing for chasing down this Northriver fellow, if we assume he's going to make himself difficult to catch up to. According to the Professor, it's currently a one-off, but they should be able to extrapolate the plans and build more, if desired. Seems that it actually was based on some early, unproduced Kallis prototypes." "I'll have it sent out to the Avarice Necessities supplier," Najia added. "Meanwhile..."
A high-importance alert hit her datapad. She frowned as she read the report; one - then two - then three - of her freighters in Windfall were reporting being harassed by the Vigor syndicate. That was new. She scowled at that, snarling.
"Trouble," Ace asked. Under the table, she curled her tail around Najia's calf, and Najia rubbed her eyes. "Trouble," Ace repeated; no longer an interrogative, but a statement. "The Vigor syndicate have apparently decided to start harassing ships carrying food," she noted, wrathfully. "That you have gone so long without them doing so is the anomaly," Ace pointed out. "They are not shy about that they use force to enforce their monopoly on food in Windfall and Vigor," she added. "And was this not the fight you intended to wage anyway?"
"Yes," Najia hissed angrily. "But the timing is wrong." She rubbed her eyeballs, seething. Her ships were reporting that the Vigor syndicate were being very aggressive; not quite at the point of shooting openly at them - which would go poorly for everyone concerned frankly - but they were harassing them openly, shaking them down for bribes or even demanding they drop cargo, as well as conducting "police" inspections for "contraband" - meaning food and water. "Then what do you plan to do?"
Najia grit her teeth, closing her eyes. She focused on the feeling of Ace's tail squeezing her calf, and seethed, but calmed herself. "Comply... For now. Set up some goodwill by selling them energy cells again." "Again? They're probably angry you cut them off in the first place," Ace noted, and Najia snorted. "Probably." Najia let out an annoyed hiss of breath. "Well, we'll deal with it." She drummed her fingers in annoyance on the bare metal, cafeteria-style table. "The time is not yet. Not yet... Yet." She cracked her knuckles, one-by-one. "First, we need to chase down this Protectyon stuff." She started fiddling on her datapad. "I'll just place the order and have it sent to the HQ. If Boso Ta can't work with that, well... I guess we'll try it Yorilos' way and chase down this Northriver."
"It might be worthwhile to approach him now in any event," Ace suggested. "The Northriver company are, as you might imagine... Well-connected, with the Vigor Syndicate." Najia pursed her lips and frowned, but nodded. She looked around the dingy cafeteria, and sighed, nodding, but sighed again, heavily. "You can't fix everything, Ninja Taco; and what you can fix, you mostly can't fix in a day," Marta said, softly. "Let's just... Let's try Ace's idea."
Najia nodded, with a heavy sigh. She covered her head with her hands for a few moments, and let out a huff. She needed a bit of breathing room, time to think, time to plan. She looked around, and drummed her fingers on the table. "Let's finish our business here, and head for the Necessities station," she said. "We'll give the Raleigh I bought time to make it to the HQ, and the Paramerion time to get here... Then we'll use it, as it's apparently speed incarnate, to chase down Northriver and see what he can tell us about Protectyon, or the Syndicate, or both." She looked around; there were no particular objections raised. Ace snorted softly at her. "I and 'Chipmunk' are laying low; it matters little to me where we do so or what other activities we engage in whilst doing. Besides, I wonder what this station looks like."
Najia grinned at her.
Najia smiled weakly at her, leaning out to look out through the expansive flight-deck window. "Quite simply? I wanted there to never, ever, ever be any question about whether or not a ship in need of safe-habor from the Tide could find it here. And yes, we're buying the Protectyon stuff - at quite ridiculous prices - to keep the place safe." She pointed at a massive, triple-pronged module along the station's 'spine.' "The Breakers built that, and the storage for it. They're effectively a 'black box' to us since part of the deal there was that we didn't poke around inside, but the thing keeps working, and we've isolated them from outside comms to ensure that stays the case."
Ace snorted. "I'm surprised you agreed to refrain from reverse-engineering them." "Well, we did. Of course, we lied," Najia said, with a grin. "I don't believe in letting other people keep technological secrets from me. But we're not, you know, cutting our way in or anything... Sometimes, you have to move slow. Besides, nobody would bat an eyelash at me commissioning another Raleigh and stocking it with some Protectyon, right?" "Right," Ace said, chuckling. She glanced up at the station. It was massive. She glanced down at the time-table; the Paramerion would arrive in approximately sixteen hours. "This place is huge. I might have to look around."
Najia smiled at her. "Feel free. You want to come with me to chase down this Northriver character? I think I'm going to give this prototype a test run myself." Ace trilled. "That sounds fun. Sure."
That, Ace realized, was something that set her apart. To her way of thinking, it was only to be expected that the party which had the power to establish a monopoly on such basic necessities should do so, to further increase their power and wealth, exploiting that position to enrich themselves. Takio clearly did not see it that way. It was an affront to her; and she was clearly plotting the Syndicate's downfall over it. Ace mused these musings both before and after she took a nap, in a surprisingly-affordable lodging room she took on the station. The amenities were in fact made in the same style and materials as those Najia had established for herself back on her headquarters station. The shower, in particular, was an absolute luxury to Ace's mind; there was no time- or pressure-limiter, no charge for the water use, and, as with the showers on her ships, featured a slick slatted floor instead of an obvious drain and a bench. All available at such a rate that anyone who landed here could afford to stay without difficulty. Neither were there any other tiers of accommodation available; there were no 'suites' above and beyond what she slept in, nor were there the expected squalorus hostel dormitories she had sometimes been able to avail herself of in her youth - at prices that sometimes exceeded that of the individual suite she enjoyed. The only other forms of room available were doubles and quads for pairings or parties sleeping together, and 'accessibility' rooms for persons with mobility or other issues.
Ace had found this so surprising, in fact, she had chatted up the clerk at the lodging module. Apparently, Takio Enterprises had taken some simple shortcuts in their design process, by not doing the design work themselves; they had simply followed Segaris traveler-accommodation regulations and made use of a common Segaris habitat module design. The prices were set low because the station was, ultimately, self-sufficient save for the reliance on Protectyon, and it was largely viewed as a public service.
The difference between this station and the one they had left hardly any time at all before was striking. The Terran construction techniques Takio used were incredible, of course; but it also spoke to their intents that they were effectively leaving money in the pockets of persons who would pay higher prices for what they were offering and gladly. Of course, she mused, it wasn't entirely utopic. It couldn't be. she had found a tavern and lurked, and certainly she had caught the (metaphorical) scent of black-market trade. The number of employees at the station was enormous, surely there would be those who could be bribed. There was certain, she knew, to be a thriving underbelly in illicit goods or services; though it seemed that there was an effort to minimize this, by the simple expedient of making the most commonly-smuggled goods and most commonly-criminalized services legal, mostly in the Teladi style; Ace saw vending machines which dispensed packets of Space Weed and found a local-net exchange board which purported to connect medically-checked and cleared prostitutes with clients; tangential to that was a heap of information about prostitution - both practical and, she saw with a little digging, historical and philosophical - as well as resources for those looking to get into that trade, beginning with reporting to medical for an examination. There was also a stark warning that pimping, or abusing a prostitute in any way, carried a summary sentence of execution. Ace's eyes shot up at that. She ran a few searches to see what cut Takio Enterprises was taking for this, but couldn't find any over and above presumably the rental price of the lodging rooms involved.
It almost seemed clinical, but, she mused, on the balance, if this environment had been available to her when she was trying to figure out what to do to avert hunger, it certainly would have seemed a far more attractive option. Her primary reason for shying away from prostitution as a career, had been the fear of winding up the property of a pimp. Ace ruminated on this, whilst staring out the window of a tavern, at the star, through the solar panel array, when she got the message that the Paramerion had arrived.
Ace looked between the two. The Paramerion was short dorsal-to-ventral, as most Terran small craft were, but this one took it to an extreme. It was elongated and somewhat narrow, though it could have, she thought, been narrower still without the side-mounted wings that served no purpose she could discern immediately, save to be wings. "They're for atmospheric flight," Najia explained. "Most Terran S- and M- craft are at least capable of it; most Argon, too, for that matter. Most Teladi... Even the Drill, which the Baku is based on; and of course the Baku itself. Though, admittedly, the flying shoe does rely a lot more on thrusters," Najia said; she was standing by the ramp into the Paramerion, watching Ace's gaze.
Ace trilled softly and nodded, joining Najia in the cockpit. It was roomy enough; the cockpit design seemed to be wholly-copied from the Kallis. That made sense, as they were apparently related designs. She looked around, and tapped on the holographic auxiliary console at the rear of the cockpit, to the side. "Shall I navigate for you?" "Unless you'd rather fly," Najia said, smiling at her. Ace took a moment to think on that, and shook her head. "I'll fly the way back, if all goes smoothly. It's your ship, you should take it. Where is Marta? Is she not coming?"
"She's already in the back. There's what the original designers of these classes euphemistically refer to as a 'bunk-slash-engineering-access' behind us, in front of the power plant. It's so tight I don't think anyone could even masturbate in there, but you can sleep in there... If you're desperate. Personally, I'd just roll out a sleeping mat in the dockpit," Najia said; this got a louder trill from Ace, as Najia took the chair. "Right, I've already done the preflight... Let's see what she can do."
Finding him was little challenge - then Ace swore softly. "Is that..." She had another ship on the fighter's sensors, and brought up its details. Sitting a hundred klicks from Astrid, apparently the ship of Northriver, was J.P. Morgan's Knife. Ace hissed softly. "Does he... Really..."
"Does he really expect this guy to give us a sample to reverse engineer?" Najia groaned. "Fine, fuck it. If we don't ask, he will, and Yorilos is about as good at negotiating as someone who goes to a flea market, sees a pair of sun-shades at a stall, talks the proprietor down two credits and walks away feeling like they're John Pierpont Morgan." Ace trilled softly at that. "Is that whom his vessel is named after? Who was this person?" Najia snorted. "We'd have to interrupt the history lesson to run for cover from the Tide," she said with a grin, looking over her shoulder. "Suffice to say he was a human industrialist from a very long time ago, who managed to amass one of the smaller fortunes of his era, but who wielded power and control of money to substantially more effect than the actual wealth he personally had. He formed banks, you see; once, he helped to fend off an impending bank run that would have caused a financial collapse, by assembling a large number of a nation's most powerful bankers in his mansion, and locked them in his library, telling them that they would not be leaving until they had worked out a scheme to avert the crisis."
Ace trilled, watching as the little fighter closed on what she was reading as some kind of yacht. "That sounds like something you might do," she pointed out. Najia snorted, looked back at Ace, and chuckled. "I think I should take that as a compliment. J.P. Morgan was an asshole, like pretty much all of the wealthy and powerful persons of his time and era... Or, any era, to be honest. I... Never expected to find myself wielding clout and power like Morgan's, let alone enough that I probably eclipse him. It's... Kind of overwhelming, to be honest." "And yet, you persevere," Ace retorted. "By any measure, you could take what you've amassed now, retire to a sector of your choosing, build a monumental space station of your own design, and live a life of indolence until the money ran out. A Teladi could take your wealth and live out the rest of her life, even. Yet, you are building warships and lodgings fit for well-off individuals and affordable to the hardscrabble. By Teladi reckoning, Najia, you are insane."
Najia blinked at that, half-snorting. She had cut the travel drive and was approaching the lazily drifting yacht, and took the moment to turn her chair halfway, looking to her side at Ace. "Do you think I'm... Literally mad?" Ace peered at her, and shook her head. "No, I do not. Many Teladi might assume it to be so," she said, with an ambivalent sway of her hips and a shrug. "... I believe that you are acting to a set of principles and convictions that are, however, utterly alien to most Teladi understanding. You seem as if you intend to seize Windfall and Avarice outright. Yet even if you did, you would not squeeze the Rakers on food prices the way the Syndicate does. I do not understand where you are coming from," Ace said, swaying her hips again. "But... I feel I can trust you. And from there, confidence. Heads-up," she added, cautioning Najia. "We are close enough you had best comm them, lest they think you're about to attack."
Swiveling rapidly back to face forward, Najia did just that, signaling the yacht she was approaching of her intent to communicate. Moments later, she recieved a reply. "Yes, what is it you want?" Brantlee Northriver had a grating, abrasive, and smug voice; he was also dressed, she thought, ridiculously, wearing what looked like a desaturated blue jacket trimmed with excessively gaudy, and gaudily excessive amounts of gold, with some kind of absurd half-hood thing cupping the back of his head. It was some long-ago futurist's vision of what a far-flung spacefuture clergyman's robe might look like crossed with a business suit. Najia knew that her own sense of fashion was questionable, but even she immediately recognized the outfit as disgustingly ugly, and radiating both wealth and contempt. Her impression was realized as he continued, "I sure hope you have a good reason for approaching me. I am quite busy, you see?"
Najia mastered the urge to ask if he was busy receiving fellatio from someone under the console he was sitting at, because she could see absolutely no other possible activity he was invested in; she also mastered the urge to just shoot the smug off his face. She instead smiled at him, schooling herself into 'businesswoman' persona even though he made her skin crawl on an imager; and, of course, she would have to try to talk a sample out of it, because she knew that Yorilos was listening in and would certainly swoop in and somehow make things stupider if she didn't. "Mr. Northriver, you may not have had time yet to notice my minor operations; Takio Enterprises is expanding into Avarice. The name of Northriver and its Protectyon is on every set of lips within three jumps as a potent defensive measure against the Tide. I wished to obtain -"
"What, just a sample?" Northriver leaned forward, towards his camera, smirking - no, smugging - at her, adopting the 'Thinker' pose, briefly. "Such a small quantity won't get you far, if you want to protect yourself from the Tide. Can't afford more, eh?" For a moment, Najia toyed with the notion of making an offer to buy Northriver outright, just to wipe the smug off his face, but he continued to smug audibly at her. "Oh, well, since you seem to be new around here, I'll allow it. Once." Brantlee turned to look out his cockpit window at Avarice, which illuminated him brightly. Looking away and up was probably his 'best side;' it was the only posture in which she had yet seen him that looked anything other than 'contemptable.' "To get you hooked. Am I not charitable?" He immediately resumed his contemptuousness, then turned back to face her and made it all the more stark. "I will even cut you a special deal, how about that?" His expression clearly communicated his contempt and belief that he was superior. "Merely twelve and a half thousand credits for the sample you so dearly desire; my first, last, and only offer."
Najia wanted to say something scathing in return, she really did. Or simply to lock her cannons on his admittedly-very-sexy yacht and take the sample at cannon-point. Or to flip him the finger. Instead, she schooled herself to merely raise her eyebrow skeptically; forcing herself to maintain 'The Businesswoman,' who was too refined to rise to the bait. But she also had neither time nor patience to haggle over what was, frankly, a trivial sum to her bank account. Hell, she knew for a fact that Ace could buy the sample and wouldn't lose much sleep over it, just from what Ace had made in the last several days with her. "It seems your proposal can only be agreed to," she said, bringing up the financial transfer function on her console and sending the sum required.
Smugly, Brantlee grinned at her. "Here you go. I hope you leave as a satisfied customer!" Ace quickly tapped a message that appeared on her console. 'He's jettisoned an XS cargo pod.' The Teladi deftly located it for her on sensors, targeting it for her, as Northriver continued, "Oh, and by the way - don't for one second think that you can use this sample to engineer a competing product. It won't work. Northriver products are just too ingenious!" Northriver positively crowed it at her, and once again Najia had to master the urge to lock weapons upon him, but she did, at that moment, privately vow that, by means fair or foul, she was going to gain possession of his yacht if only to spite him. "Run along now," he added, smirking. "I have much more important matters to attend to," he clarified, sanctimoniously smiling, ending the comm channel and turning the yacht away, entering Travel drive.
"Let me bring that pod aboard," Ace muttered, manipulating the tractor controls, and comming the multipurpose space in the back. "Marta, if you would kindly suit up -" "Way ahead of you, Ace," Marta answered her, popping up on-screen already wearing a light pressure suit, in the airlock. "Get it over here and I'll grab it, make sure it doesn't jostle or anything. Mass?" "Considerable, but not more than a large human such as yourself can handle. Volitility is not known, but it cannot hurt to be over-cautious."
Najia smiled to herself as she heard Ace, unprompted, begin collaboration with Marta. A part of her cynical and intellectual side tried to argue that Ace was a pirate, and probably always would be a pirate at heart, but she was quite simply too fond of the reptilian spacer to listen to that part of her anymore; her oldest friend and her newest could be coming together. Then another comm popped up, and she resisted the urge to groan aloud. She let The Businesswoman fade; frankly, Yorilos didn't rate it, and they were (sort of) collaborators on this anyway. To her surprise (and pleasure), when he commed her, he immediately voiced her own opinion, "I wonder if being obnoxious is his deliberate business strategy?" Najia laughed, heartily, slumping back in her command chair and grinning brightly, shrugging. "I don't think so. I think it just comes naturally to the git."
Yorilos looked momentarily nonplussed, presumably by her vernacular, then said, "No matter. It will make it all the more enjoyable when we pull the rug from under the Northriver Company." "We are in absolute agreement about that," Najia said. "I want to wipe the smug grin off his face." She glanced down; her airlock indicator had closed, and she flicked up a view of the inside. Marta was carefully securing a container roughly the size and volume of a ubiquitous 205-liter shipping drum, though it wasn't one. "I've just taken the sample aboard." "You want to take it back to the headquarters yourself? Go ahead," Yorilos said. He cut the channel, and Najia blinked at the suddenness.
"... Well, that was... Abrupt," Najia said, looking back to Ace. "It was. I cannot believe that you paid twelve and a half thousand for the sample." Najia shrugged. "I mean... It's highway robbery, considering that a commercial volume costs just about twice that and is twenty cubic meters in volume whereas that sample is maybe two. On the other hand, you heard him; he wasn't in the mood to negotiate. What should I have done? Shot at him?" "Yes." Ace trilled, then huffed, shaking her head. "No. As cathartic as it would be, your plans are too long-term to have simply taken it from the wretch by force." She shook her head. "I suppose you had little choice," she conceded, "if you are to continue Yorilos' scheme."
"I'm kind of eager to set Boso Ta loose on this stuff myself," Najia said. The revolving door to the back cycled, and Marta walked in, looking flushed with exertion. "Thanks, Marta," she said. "You can thank me by you securing the damn thing in the 'hold,' Marta said, snarkily.
Najia nodded, and swiveled her chair all the way. "Sure. Thank you. Ace, you're up on stick," she said, standing up. "Let's just fly this thing straight home; I bet we can make it before dinnertime with us flying," she said, smiling at Ace. Ace trilled softly. "That sounds like a challenge. Accepted." She slid past Marta and Najia, slaloming between them, and took the stick, keying in a course for the Takio Enterprises headquarters. "We should recall the other ships, yes?" "Yes; good thinking, Ace. Thank you. I'll handle it from the back, after I've secured this barrel."
"I would very much like that," Najia agreed. The container had already been sent to the lab, and she squared her shoulders up, heading for the lift with purpose.
The door to the laboratory opened, and Najia's jaw dropped. "How," she said, flatly, quietly, as Ace all-but plowed into her backside. Ace slid around her side, looking into the lab, and let out a chuff of disbelief.
Yorilos was standing beside Boso Ta's tank.
Ace resisted the urge to hiss in surprise, and reached up, patting Najia's back. "I do not know," she confessed. "Perhaps he made use of an anomaly and was quite lucky. Or perhaps he has modified his hauler in ways unimaginable and is an outright daredevil pilot." Najia shook her head, and squared up, entering the lab. The elderly professor was nowhere to be seen, but it was late at night; he was likely in bed. So she went to the interloper, approaching Yorilos. "Yorilos, hi... What are you doing here?" She wasn't even going to ask how. That was his secret and his alone.
"Ah, yes. I really hope we can find a way to make the Protectyon more affordable for everyone in Avarice," he explained, as he peered around the laboratory. That, she thought, didn't exactly explain her question; presumably he intended for her to infer the answer. Somehow. Najia shook her head and smiled, nodding to him. "Alright." She climbed up the stairs, after a glance back at Ace, who had become fascinated by the new addition of a lot of bonsai trees in the laboratory's little greenery display, and greeted Boso Ta with a wave, to which the Boron responded with one of his own. "Hello there! Ah, excellent, the Protectyon sample has been delivered, and we may begin. Thank you kindly!" Boso Ta seemed to examine a computer tablet held in his... Tentacles? Flippers? Manipulators. He made a few deft strokes. "I have added the Protectyon Research to our agenda, and listed the required secondary materials. Feel free to initiate the research at any time convenient to yourself!"
With that abrupt declaration, Boso Ta swam upwards through the hatch in the laboratory tank, presumably to his personal lodging suites. Najia blinked, rocking back on her heels and looked back at Ace, who looked at her with the cocked hips that Najia had intuited was a definite shrug. "You'd think I didn't own the place," Najia muttered to herself, "the way almost everyone just... Is so... Curt with me." "You could put them in their place the way a pirate lord would," Ace suggested. "Or, if having a beating administered is too vulgar for your preferences, do what a capitalist might do and threaten them with penury."
Najia snorted. "Yeah... I think I'd rather just live with being curtly spoken to than be an asshole." "So be it. Your ways do allow for others to become... Familiar with you," Ace said, giving a vibrato trill. "For better, and for worse." She smiled at Najia, and Najia smiled back. Ace was toying with a small bonsai tree, and watched as Najia checked her datapad, then clucked her tongue.
"A lot of things we don't have on-hand," Najia muttered, "mainly because what Boso Ta wants - for this research project, and others - are Commonwealth-base, and we're not. That's not a huge problem, I'll just ask Tsukiko to set up a PO for a useful quantity of said commodities. For now -" The tank was suddenly filled again with Boso Ta. "Assistant, you simply must do something about this irksome vessel!"
A moment of silent passed. Najia pushed down the urge to be catty or snarky at Boso Ta, or outright hostile. She took a deep breath. "A... Vessel? Is irking you?" "Yes yes! Somehow, it is managing to distort the station's sensors, preventing me from witnessing a solar event in the Great Reef Nebula. I suggest you take care of this annoyance before it manages to disrupt even more observations!"
Najia took in a breath to respond, but Boso Ta had already vanished again, with such rapidity that even Yorilos seemed to be watching him dumbstruck. Yorilos also made a cocked-hip gesture, and then walked out. Najia watched him go, and snorted. "If he has even half a brain, he's going to ask Boso Ta what resources he's asking for and then try to get ahead of the purchase orders," Najia noted. "I would." "As would I," Ace agreed. "Would you like me to take care of this... 'Irksome Vessel' for you?"
"Bored?" Najia asked, grinning at Ace. "I wouldn't say that I was bored," Ace said, reaching out and squeezing her hand. Najia squeezed back. "But it seems that Boso Ta will not likely let the matter drop."
"Alright. Let's take care of it." Najia rolled her shoulders. "I can do this admin stuff from a ship as easily as my apartment study." She headed for the lift, neglecting to let go of Ace's hand; Ace likewise kept the hold, accompanying her. They almost ran into Marta coming out of it. She had a big grin on her face, and Najia pursed her lips. "Okay, what have you done," she asked.
"Oh, not much, just had a warship commissioned to keep close-to-hand in case we get in trouble and need some biggish guns fast. She's done, come take a look." Najia looked down at Ace, who trilled loudly at her. "Either you pay her too well, or you trust her entirely, if she has such authority in your name." "Jealous," Marta asked, smirking. "Yes," Ace admitted frankly. "Shall we?"
Najia sighed and laughed. "Fiiiine."
"Kevlin, ma'am; Selaia Kevlin. I'm a shipyard specialist." Her accent was distinctly neither anything Solar that Najia recognized, nor Segaris. "I'm surprised you're even aboard yet; we're only about to put her through space trials."
Najia snorted. "Not even the shakedown cruise, huh? You're not from anywhere I've been, are you?" "No ma'am." Selaia looked Asian, with her hair up in a tight bun. "I'm from Argon Prime. I found myself in Grand Exchange as crew on a freighter, saw the amenities on offer on your headquarters station, and jumped ship for a job here."
Najia nodded. "I see..." She grinned. "Are you spying on me?" "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you, ma'am," Selaia responded back, in the age-old joke. Najia laughed in turn.
"Right. Well, stand down for a while," she said. "I appear to have been talked into taking her out personally." "Ma'am!" Selaia stepped aside. "The, err, owner has the bridge!" she called out, fumbling through something approximating military protocol, as Najia stepped up, looking over the console. Najia grinned. "Alright. Nifty little ship. Ace, take the helm," she said. "Take us out."
2023.03.25 08:35 _Triple_ [STORE] 900+ KNIVES/GLOVES/SKINS, 50.000$+ INVENTORY. M9 Fade, M4 Poseidon, Kara Gamma, BFK Freehand, BFK Bright Water, Spec Gloves Kimono, Nomad Fade, M9 Doppler, Skeleton, BFK B.Steel, AWP Fade, Stiletto Fade, S.Gloves Slingshot, BFK Ultra, Kara Damas, Bayo Lore, Bayo Gamma, Flip Fade & A Lot More
Everything in my inventory is up for trade. The most valuable items are listed here, the rest you can find in My Inventory
Feel free to Add Me or even better send a Trade Offer. Open for any suggestions: upgrades, downgrades / knives, gloves, skins / stickers, patterns, floats.
All Buyouts are listed in cash value.
KNIVES
★ Butterfly Knife Freehand FN #1, B/O: $1867
★ Butterfly Knife Bright Water MW, B/O: $1098
★ Butterfly Knife Blue Steel BS, B/O: $907
★ Butterfly Knife Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $789
★ Butterfly Knife Stained FT, B/O: $695
⎯★ Bayonet Tiger Tooth MW #1, B/O: $888
★ Bayonet Gamma Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $727
★ Bayonet Doppler (Phase 2) FN, B/O: $608
★ Bayonet Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $521
★ Bayonet Rust Coat BS, B/O: $253
★ Bayonet Night FT, B/O: $251
★ StatTrak™ Bayonet Lore MW, B/O: $751
⎯★ Karambit Gamma Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $1343
★ Karambit Damascus Steel FT, B/O: $774
★ Karambit Rust Coat BS, B/O: $537
★ Karambit Boreal Forest FT, B/O: $488
⎯★ M9 Bayonet Fade FN, B/O: $1523
★ M9 Bayonet Fade FN, B/O: $1523
★ M9 Bayonet Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $1008
★ M9 Bayonet Blue Steel FT, B/O: $534
★ M9 Bayonet Rust Coat BS, B/O: $449
⎯★ Flip Knife Fade FN, B/O: $703
★ Flip Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) MW, B/O: $509
★ Flip Knife Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $406
★ Flip Knife Freehand FT, B/O: $228
★ StatTrak™ Flip Knife Bright Water FN, B/O: $332
⎯★ Falchion Knife Doppler (Phase 2) FN, B/O: $292
★ Falchion Knife Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $264
★ Falchion Knife Marble Fade FN, B/O: $258
★ Falchion Knife Bright Water MW, B/O: $133
⎯★ Stiletto Knife Fade FN, B/O: $822
★ Stiletto Knife Slaughter FN, B/O: $569
★ Stiletto Knife Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $530
★ Stiletto Knife Crimson Web FT, B/O: $396
★ StatTrak™ Stiletto Knife Scorched FT, B/O: $172
⎯★ Gut Knife Doppler (Sapphire) MW #1, B/O: $830
★ Gut Knife Fade FN, B/O: $204
★ Gut Knife Tiger Tooth FN, B/O: $138
★ Gut Knife Bright Water MW, B/O: $104
★ Gut Knife Freehand FT, B/O: $92
★ Gut Knife Urban Masked FT, B/O: $82
★ StatTrak™ Gut Knife Rust Coat BS, B/O: $93
⎯★ Shadow Daggers Fade FN, B/O: $258
★ Shadow Daggers Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $165
★ Shadow Daggers Blue Steel FT, B/O: $82
★ Shadow Daggers Bright Water FT, B/O: $82
★ Shadow Daggers Blue Steel WW, B/O: $80
★ Shadow Daggers Rust Coat BS, B/O: $74
★ StatTrak™ Shadow Daggers Marble Fade FN, B/O: $186
⎯★ Classic Knife Slaughter MW, B/O: $311
★ StatTrak™ Classic Knife Stained BS, B/O: $163
⎯★ Talon Knife Slaughter MW, B/O: $605
★ Talon Knife Scorched MW, B/O: $290
⎯★ Ursus Knife Marble Fade FN, B/O: $405
★ Ursus Knife Night Stripe MW, B/O: $162
⎯★ Paracord Knife Stained WW, B/O: $125
★ Paracord Knife Forest DDPAT FT, B/O: $97
★ Paracord Knife Safari Mesh FT, B/O: $96
⎯★ Navaja Knife Safari Mesh FT, B/O: $71
★ Navaja Knife Scorched WW, B/O: $71
⎯★ Nomad Knife Fade FN, B/O: $1015
★ Skeleton Knife, B/O: $909
★ Bowie Knife Boreal Forest MW, B/O: $106
★ Survival Knife Forest DDPAT FT, B/O: $97
GLOVES
★ Driver Gloves Crimson Weave FT, B/O: $335
★ Driver Gloves King Snake BS, B/O: $270
★ Driver Gloves Lunar Weave WW, B/O: $113
★ Driver Gloves Overtake WW, B/O: $88
★ Driver Gloves Overtake BS, B/O: $67
⎯★ Moto Gloves Transport MW, B/O: $171
★ Moto Gloves Polygon BS, B/O: $137
★ Moto Gloves Transport WW, B/O: $71
★ Moto Gloves 3rd Commando Company BS, B/O: $62
⎯★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Kimono WW, B/O: $1027
★ Specialist Gloves Tiger Strike FT, B/O: $654
★ Specialist Gloves Mogul FT, B/O: $295
★ Specialist Gloves Lt. Commander FT, B/O: $277
★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Web FT, B/O: $275
⎯★ Sport Gloves Slingshot FT, B/O: $796
★ Sport Gloves Amphibious BS #2, B/O: $699
★ Sport Gloves Omega FT, B/O: $656
⎯★ Broken Fang Gloves Unhinged BS, B/O: $60
WEAPONS
AK-47 Case Hardened BS, B/O: $130
AK-47 Bloodsport MW, B/O: $79
AK-47 Fuel Injector BS, B/O: $76
AK-47 Fuel Injector BS, B/O: $76
AK-47 Bloodsport FT, B/O: $70
AK-47 Neon Rider MW, B/O: $60
⎯AWP Fade FN, B/O: $864
AWP BOOM MW, B/O: $84
AWP Containment Breach FT, B/O: $69
AWP Containment Breach FT, B/O: $69
AWP Wildfire FT, B/O: $59
AWP Chromatic Aberration FN, B/O: $59
StatTrak™ AWP Hyper Beast FT, B/O: $65
StatTrak™ AWP Hyper Beast FT, B/O: $65
⎯Desert Eagle Blaze FN, B/O: $565
Desert Eagle Blaze FN, B/O: $565
Desert Eagle Printstream FN, B/O: $155
Desert Eagle Cobalt Disruption FN, B/O: $58
⎯M4A1-S Icarus Fell FN, B/O: $414
M4A1-S Printstream MW, B/O: $204
M4A1-S Printstream MW, B/O: $204
⎯M4A4 Poseidon FN, B/O: $1402
M4A4 The Emperor FN, B/O: $152
M4A4 Asiimov WW, B/O: $97
⎯USP-S Kill Confirmed MW, B/O: $65
USP-S Printstream FT, B/O: $69
StatTrak™ USP-S Kill Confirmed FT, B/O: $123
StatTrak™ USP-S Neo-Noir FN, B/O: $106
⎯AUG Flame Jörmungandr FN, B/O: $218
P2000 Ocean Foam FN, B/O: $139
Souvenir SSG 08 Death Strike MW, B/O: $81
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2023.03.25 08:00 F1-Bot Ask /r/formula1 Anything - Daily Discussion - 25 March 2023
Welcome to the /formula1 Daily Discussion / Q&A thread.
This thread is a hub for general discussion and questions about Formula 1, that don't need threads of their own.Are you new to Formula 1? This is the place for you. Ever wondered why it's called a lollipop man? Why the cars don't refuel during pitstops? Or when Mika will be back from his sabbatical? Ask any question you might have here, and the community will answer.
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Daily Facts by Fart_Leviathan
- The most laps lost by a finishing driver was 56, achieved by Skip Barber in the 1972 Canadian GP. He spent most of the race cleaning out his throttle sides and repairing his car after an off during the first lap.
- In 1972 Dave Walker failed to score a point, while is teammate, Emerson Fittipaldi, won the championship.
- In 2008, A British driver in car number 22 with a Mercedes powered engine sealed the world championship with a 5th place finish at Sao Paulo. In 2009, A British driver in car number 22 with a Mercedes powered engine sealed the world championship with a 5th place finish at Sao Paulo.
- Don't complain about Red Bull dominating F1, they deserve it - Sainz
- Albon’s Ferrari-themed childhood room
- 2022 vs 2023 Constructors Standings
- Massa: No reason why Verstappen won’t win six F1 titles in a row
- [@TeamRedline on IG] Ready for the iRacing Sebring 12H, tomorrow at 13:30 CET live on our Twitch
2023.03.25 07:57 Melted_INC Migraines weed related?
Hey guys as you can see from my post history ive been a bit perplexed in regards to some recent events that happened to me
I was a regular edible user between July 2022-Feb2023 usually on a weekly to monthly basis the potentcy of the drugs i took was quite strong usually highly concentrated home made THC not sure of the levels
Persay on Feb 5th i took my last Edible and on Feb 25th i came down with a chronic ‘migraine’ i dont have history of migraines so this was unexpected google told me its likely HPPD as some of the symptoms lined up namely visual auras, static, floaters and sensitivity to bright lights
feb25th onwards the symptoms persisted and i was basically resigned to the fact ill be permanently fucked but google and reddit told me that physical symptoms from weed is unlikely so i hit up a dr who gave me a bunch of migraine medication which the symptoms responded to but i still feel pretty woozy and fkked up and im unsure if quitting weed is tied to this
Can anyone relate? Thanks
submitted by Melted_INC to weed [link] [comments]
I was a regular edible user between July 2022-Feb2023 usually on a weekly to monthly basis the potentcy of the drugs i took was quite strong usually highly concentrated home made THC not sure of the levels
Persay on Feb 5th i took my last Edible and on Feb 25th i came down with a chronic ‘migraine’ i dont have history of migraines so this was unexpected google told me its likely HPPD as some of the symptoms lined up namely visual auras, static, floaters and sensitivity to bright lights
feb25th onwards the symptoms persisted and i was basically resigned to the fact ill be permanently fucked but google and reddit told me that physical symptoms from weed is unlikely so i hit up a dr who gave me a bunch of migraine medication which the symptoms responded to but i still feel pretty woozy and fkked up and im unsure if quitting weed is tied to this
Can anyone relate? Thanks
2023.03.25 07:29 919280 HELP
Can someone tell me what size spacer I will need to fit a Chevy wheel on my 5th gen 4runner? Realized after I purchased new wheels the wheel hub bore was smaller than the vehicle hub bore. I messed up and I don’t want to get rid of the wheels nor, bore them out.
submitted by 919280 to 4Runner [link] [comments]
2023.03.25 07:22 LucyMor Help me plan my setup please
After about 3 years, I finally want to go back to simracing (once my wife and I move to a bigger place). I tried many different rigs over the years, for triple monitors to VRs, from desks to dedicated simracing frames.
I would probably want to play GT with street cars with some drifting. The most important thing for me is to get a realistic feeling from the wheel, pedals, and shifter, as close as possible to the real thing.
In the past, I had G29 and T300, and they were fine but nothing special. I wasn't convinced, and it still felt like a toy, so this time around, I decided to spend a little more.
There isn't a strict budget, but I prefer to stay under $2500 for everything.
The only part I am sort of sure about is the CSL DD 5nm (with the 8nm hack, hope that still works) and possibly a 49" ultra-wide monitor (Probably the cheaper G9, I hate the idea of multiple monitors). On the other hand, I will probably have a really good VR by this point, so it feels stupid to waste $1000 on a monitor when I know from past experience that I am fine simracing with VR. Also, if I ditch the monitor, it will take up less space in my work\gaming room.
I am missing a wheel (looking for one that will feel as close as possible to the wheel in the 718 GT4), pedals (load-cell is a must), and a frame.
I would also appreciate your opinion on anything you think is relevant, especially about my wheel-base and the VR vs 49" monitor debate.
Thank you
submitted by LucyMor to simracing [link] [comments]
I would probably want to play GT with street cars with some drifting. The most important thing for me is to get a realistic feeling from the wheel, pedals, and shifter, as close as possible to the real thing.
In the past, I had G29 and T300, and they were fine but nothing special. I wasn't convinced, and it still felt like a toy, so this time around, I decided to spend a little more.
There isn't a strict budget, but I prefer to stay under $2500 for everything.
The only part I am sort of sure about is the CSL DD 5nm (with the 8nm hack, hope that still works) and possibly a 49" ultra-wide monitor (Probably the cheaper G9, I hate the idea of multiple monitors). On the other hand, I will probably have a really good VR by this point, so it feels stupid to waste $1000 on a monitor when I know from past experience that I am fine simracing with VR. Also, if I ditch the monitor, it will take up less space in my work\gaming room.
I am missing a wheel (looking for one that will feel as close as possible to the wheel in the 718 GT4), pedals (load-cell is a must), and a frame.
I would also appreciate your opinion on anything you think is relevant, especially about my wheel-base and the VR vs 49" monitor debate.
Thank you
2023.03.25 07:20 JaydumbWasTaken Y’all ever read or watch something scary and have nightmares afterwards?
This is long so go to the bottom where I describe my dream or read what I say first.
I watched Jurassic Park a lot because I love dinosaurs but I never got scared of them. The movie was about wonder and action and a thriller but it’s counterpart is not.
The book version is terrifying, the most terrifying thing of the book is the velociraptors. I enjoy learning about any animal that has high intelligence. When the book talks about the raptors it depicts them as intelligent, dangerous animals. There’s a moment in the book where Dr.Sattler is trying to distract the raptors on the other side of the fence so Dr.Grant and Gutierrez can restore power to the fences because many animals escaped during the storm the raptors included. When Sattler was running back and fourth behind the fence to distract the raptors Dr.Wu realized they weren’t trying to get her but seemed to be toying with her. He ran outside to worn her but the moment he stepped outside to tell her to run back inside a raptor dropped down from the roof of the building slashing his stomach open and eating him alive.
When the raptors on the other side saw this they ran back into the jungle to look for more survivors. They set a trap and the humans fell for it.
After reading the novel I had dream where my family and I were staying in a large air-BNB at night in a forest when I see something run through the trees from the window. Shortly after electricity is gone from the home and we rush downstairs to see why and I could see bright green eyes among some bushes outside staring at us. Morning suddenly appeared and we are looking for some power grid, while we’re on a trail my little brother gets grabbed by raptors and is lost to the forest I could hear his screams which still disturbs me. We run back to the house but everyone gets picked off but me. I run to the backyard where there a safe house for some reason, but the door to it look like a steering wheel on a ship you can’t to swing it sideways and the door drops down like a draw bridge. It’s lol to the grouch though so u have to crouch to get it and the roof is low so u have to have your knees to your head. I close the door and moments later I hear a clicking along with snarls. Then the noise stops and it’s replaced with the sound of the door turning it was scary. The door drops and it was night again the faint moonlight showed the legs of a raptor and it turned to the door and ducked down to look at me and all I saw was it’s glowing eyes and that’s when I woke up.
Now im going to read ‘The lost world’ the next book wish me luck :)
submitted by JaydumbWasTaken to teenagers [link] [comments]
I watched Jurassic Park a lot because I love dinosaurs but I never got scared of them. The movie was about wonder and action and a thriller but it’s counterpart is not.
The book version is terrifying, the most terrifying thing of the book is the velociraptors. I enjoy learning about any animal that has high intelligence. When the book talks about the raptors it depicts them as intelligent, dangerous animals. There’s a moment in the book where Dr.Sattler is trying to distract the raptors on the other side of the fence so Dr.Grant and Gutierrez can restore power to the fences because many animals escaped during the storm the raptors included. When Sattler was running back and fourth behind the fence to distract the raptors Dr.Wu realized they weren’t trying to get her but seemed to be toying with her. He ran outside to worn her but the moment he stepped outside to tell her to run back inside a raptor dropped down from the roof of the building slashing his stomach open and eating him alive.
When the raptors on the other side saw this they ran back into the jungle to look for more survivors. They set a trap and the humans fell for it.
After reading the novel I had dream where my family and I were staying in a large air-BNB at night in a forest when I see something run through the trees from the window. Shortly after electricity is gone from the home and we rush downstairs to see why and I could see bright green eyes among some bushes outside staring at us. Morning suddenly appeared and we are looking for some power grid, while we’re on a trail my little brother gets grabbed by raptors and is lost to the forest I could hear his screams which still disturbs me. We run back to the house but everyone gets picked off but me. I run to the backyard where there a safe house for some reason, but the door to it look like a steering wheel on a ship you can’t to swing it sideways and the door drops down like a draw bridge. It’s lol to the grouch though so u have to crouch to get it and the roof is low so u have to have your knees to your head. I close the door and moments later I hear a clicking along with snarls. Then the noise stops and it’s replaced with the sound of the door turning it was scary. The door drops and it was night again the faint moonlight showed the legs of a raptor and it turned to the door and ducked down to look at me and all I saw was it’s glowing eyes and that’s when I woke up.
Now im going to read ‘The lost world’ the next book wish me luck :)
2023.03.25 07:11 suika921 Valkyrae gaming. Rae has her own VALORANT team way before Toast and Ludwig. Truly the pioneer.
 | submitted by suika921 to valkyrae [link] [comments] |
2023.03.25 06:03 MESAXIII 2022 4Runner TRD ORP ,Stock TRD Wheels with 295's?
So I currently have 285's on my stock wheels and got my lift and work done at 88 Rotors but I wen to Cali Raised shop and they said that they should have never put on 285's on my stock tires. He said there is chance of pinching when airing down. I know that is true but I dont really air down much and when I do its not crazy low like my bead lock buddies haha. I wanted to go to 295's without getting new wheels. Is this going to work? Thank you all for the help!
submitted by MESAXIII to 4Runner [link] [comments]
2023.03.25 04:53 cuecrickets 9 days into 50 day break
On March 16th, I committed to stop smoking until my birthday (May 5th) at the very earliest.
I've never used any substance besides weed, I've never even drank alcohol before. I started smoking weed in the beginning of 2022.
When I started, it was very occasional. Once per week at the very most, usually no more than twice a month. Those highs were actually good. I laughed, I cried, I let go of things I'd been carrying for far too long, and I really feel it helped me grow into the person I truly wanted to be.
But once or twice a month quickly became once or twice a day... I fell into the pattern of thinking that weed is "harmless" or "just a plant" and there's no way it could hurt me. I was getting high before work, after work, any chance I got really. I started thinking, why JUST play my favorite video game, if I could play it while high? Why JUST watch my favorite show, if I could watch it while high? I would deliberately not eat for the whole day, just so I could get high at night on an empty stomach, THEN I'd eat. I felt like I couldn't really enjoy anything unless I'd smoked first.
Of course over time my tolerance went up and up and now getting high just doesn't have the same positive effects that it used to. The effects are much lighter, they don't last as long, honestly the last few times I got high it felt pointless. I barely felt it, all I really did was scratch the itch and remove the urge to smoke.
I want to enjoy marijuana, and I don't want to NEED it.
After my 50 day break, the ground rules are: • Take at least 2 weeks off after every smoke. (This limits my usage to twice a month. Telling myself, "hey, you have two smokes this month, use them wisely" will encourage me to save them for the right time instead of just smoking because I'm bored.) • Flower only (disposable vapes/carts are too convenient.) • Never keep more than a quarter in the house at a time. • If I break the rules, I have to take another 50 day break.
I'm looking forward to having a healthier and more moderated relationship with weed moving forward :) here's to understanding that there's such a thing as too much of a good thing
submitted by cuecrickets to Petioles [link] [comments]
I've never used any substance besides weed, I've never even drank alcohol before. I started smoking weed in the beginning of 2022.
When I started, it was very occasional. Once per week at the very most, usually no more than twice a month. Those highs were actually good. I laughed, I cried, I let go of things I'd been carrying for far too long, and I really feel it helped me grow into the person I truly wanted to be.
But once or twice a month quickly became once or twice a day... I fell into the pattern of thinking that weed is "harmless" or "just a plant" and there's no way it could hurt me. I was getting high before work, after work, any chance I got really. I started thinking, why JUST play my favorite video game, if I could play it while high? Why JUST watch my favorite show, if I could watch it while high? I would deliberately not eat for the whole day, just so I could get high at night on an empty stomach, THEN I'd eat. I felt like I couldn't really enjoy anything unless I'd smoked first.
Of course over time my tolerance went up and up and now getting high just doesn't have the same positive effects that it used to. The effects are much lighter, they don't last as long, honestly the last few times I got high it felt pointless. I barely felt it, all I really did was scratch the itch and remove the urge to smoke.
I want to enjoy marijuana, and I don't want to NEED it.
After my 50 day break, the ground rules are: • Take at least 2 weeks off after every smoke. (This limits my usage to twice a month. Telling myself, "hey, you have two smokes this month, use them wisely" will encourage me to save them for the right time instead of just smoking because I'm bored.) • Flower only (disposable vapes/carts are too convenient.) • Never keep more than a quarter in the house at a time. • If I break the rules, I have to take another 50 day break.
I'm looking forward to having a healthier and more moderated relationship with weed moving forward :) here's to understanding that there's such a thing as too much of a good thing
2023.03.25 04:50 PutridBite Last of the Defenders - Ch 29
Welcome new readers. Please start with chapter one https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/11ai7iv/last_of_the_defenders_ch_01/
Previously https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/11xv7ss/last_of_the_defenders_ch_28/
Allah settled into a corner of the room, resting against a wall at a crouch. Li pulled out a sheet of shiny black cloth from her pocket, flapping it to unfurl the short, shawl length thing. She set it on the desk and the cloth lit up--a duplicate of the interface she had used in Star dancer’s CNC--to form a keyboard. The human danced her fingers over the glowing surface, lists and glyphs changing, growing, being replaced by new symbols.
Several times the lights flickered ominously. Once they went out completely for a span of seven times seven times three and six heartbeats, the room suffused by the glow of the sticks, the monitor and Li’s keyboard cloth.
Allah lowered her head in thought. Why would the other defenders abandon them? Abandon Li? She had said, before, that “the tempo of the war had changed” when the bullies attacked…dirt? The bullies seemed to attack anything. What was so special about this particular dirt?
It had to have been important. Irreplaceable even. Allah suspected the war must not be going as well as Li’s performance last night had appeared.
She wanted to ask but more importantly she did not want to interrupt. Li remained focused on the screen and her keyboard until Allah had lost all track of time. It was only after the human stood, stretched and yawned that Li took notice of the U’knock.
“What’re you doing?” she asked.
“Waiting,” Allah said simply. And what else could she do? She had barely managed to make broth, and that with help. Allah had considered returning to the mess hall to clean the dishes and dispose of the trash left from their meal but…she did not trust the hole in the wall to provide enough water to clean them, nor did she know where to find a well, wash rags, or the refuse heap. Was the outpost like Star dancer? She did not remember seeing a bucket in the walls to whoosh away such work.
“That won’t do,” Li chastised, turning to stride out the door. The lights flickered again and Li returned to the desk, grabbing her glowing stick.
“Demeter?” Li called as Allah rose from her crouch and picked up her own stick to follow, “Do you have any V-REHs in storage?”
“T-t-t-t-t-this facility hhhhhhhhas a fully stoc-c-c-cked classroom,” the machine replied. Whatever Li had been focused on, heeling Demeter speak was not an apparent priority.
“Show me,” Li ordered.
"P-p-please follow the indicated-d-d-d-d-d-” Demeter hiccuped, clicked and was silent. A blue light flickered on and off on the floor. Li followed.
They reached the great hall again, and Allah was almost surprised to hear the sound of robots still busy tearing apart other machines. More, in place of the planters there now sat the squat carts from the holoimage at the quorum. Tanks, Li had called them. They were bare, skeletal husks now, but the treads and wheels were in place. Three humanoid robots were pushing a large many tubed box into the machine's center.
“How many of these will we need to make?” Allah asked as she passed another husk of metal.
“We’ll keep producing until the siege ends,” Li answered, “but I’d like to have at least one thousand per continent. And at least a hundred mass drivers for orbital bombardment deterrence.”
“Those are the larger ones,” Allah guessed, “the wide ones that will crush Umati’clam’s buildings?
Li nodded. “The same,” she pointed up. In the dim scattered light Allah could see the open center of the spire was no longer so open. Highlighted by the glow of sparks were the skeletons of metal birds. She could not be certain but these forms looked larger than the arrows that had assaulted the bully vessel. “But those bad boys,” Li continued, “will be able to take the fight to em.
“Nachtkrapp class assault fighters,” Li explained. The flickering blue light led them out of the garage and down another door filled corridor. “With quad mounted rail guns and hardpoints that can load up to four Hawking/Golubev B-903 ship killer missiles.
“Buster missiles,” Allah said uncertainly. Li nodded. “These birds--these Nachtkrapps--are much larger than the arrows from before. Why did Demeter not use such weapons last night?”
Li stopped in the dark hallway, turning to reappraise her friend. “You catch on quick,” the human complimented Allah. She turned, resuming their journey. “Two reasons. First, Nachtkrapp designs are only about thirty years old so Demeter didn’t know how to make them before we uploaded thermopylae. They’re not bleeding edge tech but they’re proven and tough. The assault drones you saw last night are in-atmosphere interceptors. Not much bigger than busters themselves.”
“You said there were two reasons,” Allah pressed as she was led into another room filled with tables. These were much smaller than the mess hall benches, a single chair and monitor for each. They were arranged in a circle around the room, facing inward. Li strode to a closet in the corner.
“Gravity weapons have a…life cycle. They need to either be used within a couple years or recycled. Buster missiles are expensive to maintain. So there was no foreseeable reason for Demeter to waste resources on making and maintaining a fleet of drones that could carry them.”
“Until now,” Allah concluded. “But I still do not understand. Why did the bullies come here? We have nothing of value to offer.”
Li stopped digging through the closet, returning to the ring of tables. She set three helmets on one of the tiny tables, then glanced around the room. She walked to another closet, retrieving a pitcher and a plate. Allah watched as Li set the plate in the center of the room, took the pitcher to a waist high box and pressed a button. Water spouted from the top of the box and Li used it to fill the pitcher.
She returned to the center of the room, tapping a button on the edge of the plate with her foot. Allah could feel the air begin to hum.
“Here,” Li handed the pitcher of water next to Allah. “Pour this over the Vibro plate. Don’t worry; it won’t spill as long as the plate is on."
Allah did as instructed, and the water began to shimmer. It hovered three paw’s spans above the surface of the strange plate. Allah bent, sniffing at the floating pool.
“Now,” while Allah had been pouring the water, Li had made a tiny toy out of paper. It was pointed like her ship, but not. It looked like some strange raft, “place this under the water with the flat side pointed up.”
As Allah moved her paw under the water, she felt a force shaking her. She drew her paw away.
“It won’t hurt you,” Li promised. "We used to do this in primary school. It’s a science experiment. For children.”
Cautiously, Allah crouched and slid her paw under the floating water.
“Make sure the boat touches the water before you take your hand away.”
Allah did so and the boat floated upside down on the water.
"This is using vibrational force to counteract gravity. It is not true anti-gravity but it lets you see what I’m trying to describe next."
“It floats upside down though,” Allah pointed to the toy boat as it bobbed on the underside of the pool, upside down. “It defies the gravity."
“Not entirely,” Li answered, “this is more a case of bending the rules."
“What,” Allah asked, “is gravity?”
“It's a fundamental force of physics,” Li explained, holding up a hand at Allah’s question. “We’ll get to physics another time. Every object, including you and me, has gravity. It allows objects to pull one another closer together. It’s what holds you to the ground and,” she dug into a pocket, pulling a round coin shaped object free. She dropped the coin onto the ground, “what causes objects to fall to the ground when released."
“It is not magic then,” Allah gestured to the boat.
“Depending on your level of technological achievement,” Li shrugged, “that's debatable. The point is that normal gravity pulls objects together. The larger the object, the greater that pull. Generally speaking, I’m not getting into mass today.
“But,” she continued, “let us suppose you had a way to harness gravity, “ she bent and manipulated a dial on the plate. “If you could force the gravity of a giant object into a single point,” the pool of water began to shift and change, the upside down boat rocking violently in the sudden storm. Slowly, as Li pressed other buttons and turned dials, the tone of the plate changed, and the pool of water with it. It began to swirl, becoming a tiny typhoon. “Something that is creating a strong gravity well--like this planet--you could “dip” from that well using a special bucket,” the boat was now spinning rapidly faster up the inside of the typhoon, “and take some of that gravity to use for your own means.
“This is how we first learned to control gravity,” Li finished as the boat flew up from the top of the typhoon. “Large objects create it, and we exploit it. It's how we created the slingshot drive. We could use gravity because its pull is infinite, and reaches beyond all the known universe.
“But if it reaches so far,” Allah asked, “why do not all objects pull themselves together?”
“They may,” Li answered, “eventually,” she waved a hand in defeat. “The tech heads would be able to explain this much better than I can. But,” she handed Allah the paper boat, “the important thing is to understand that gravity pulls everything together by its nature, and the closer you are to a large object, the more powerful its effect becomes.
“Now,” she set the pitcher under the typhoon and tapped another button with her foot. The water--most of it--sloshed inside. “This is where things get a little weird. When we first created sling drives we used gravitational pull and massive amounts of power to pull us to neighboring stars, and from there to other stars, and others. But as my species learned more about gravity, we realized we could…” She trailed off. “I am not a gravity mechanic, and we start getting into infinite universe theory, supersymmetry, string theory and you’re barely ready for quantum mechanics,” the human shrugged, “but it was explained to me when I was…younger that it is like reversing the polarity of a magnet. To create an anti-gravitational well inside of an existing gravity well.”
“What is a magnet?” Allah asked.
“Another force of attraction, like gravity, only stronger than gravity, but with much shorter range. But magnets can both pull and repel. So can gravity…Once you learn how.
“And that is part of why the,” Li grinned again. Allah was getting used to the expression, “Bullies attacked here. Your planet has an easily exploitable gravity well and all the resources they could ever want. Well, most. And the swarmers are what my people call a ‘competitive species’. They don’t seek cooperation and destroy any sapient species they find to avoid the chance of competition later.
“That's the main reason why they attacked your planet. Its what’s called the Smorgasbord Doctrine. Once a species learns to control gravity, it becomes more energy and time efficient to use that control to harvest larger astral bodies than to chase down multiple smaller ones. They could have parked over or in one of your gas giants like Star dancer is now and gotten most of the same minerals, water and materials but…there is a third reason. They came here for something ‘special’.”
“What?” Allah asked. What could her planet still have to offer that the bullies could possibly prize?
Li looked at Allah appraisingly, “Complex proteins and carbohydrates remain energy intensive to synthesize or store for long periods of time.”
Allah’s face remained blank as the tiny star behind her ear translated the strange words into U’knock. “Meat and plant matter,” it said.
Li put it more plainly still.
“They came here to harvest you…”
submitted by PutridBite to HFY [link] [comments]
Previously https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/11xv7ss/last_of_the_defenders_ch_28/
Allah settled into a corner of the room, resting against a wall at a crouch. Li pulled out a sheet of shiny black cloth from her pocket, flapping it to unfurl the short, shawl length thing. She set it on the desk and the cloth lit up--a duplicate of the interface she had used in Star dancer’s CNC--to form a keyboard. The human danced her fingers over the glowing surface, lists and glyphs changing, growing, being replaced by new symbols.
Several times the lights flickered ominously. Once they went out completely for a span of seven times seven times three and six heartbeats, the room suffused by the glow of the sticks, the monitor and Li’s keyboard cloth.
Allah lowered her head in thought. Why would the other defenders abandon them? Abandon Li? She had said, before, that “the tempo of the war had changed” when the bullies attacked…dirt? The bullies seemed to attack anything. What was so special about this particular dirt?
It had to have been important. Irreplaceable even. Allah suspected the war must not be going as well as Li’s performance last night had appeared.
She wanted to ask but more importantly she did not want to interrupt. Li remained focused on the screen and her keyboard until Allah had lost all track of time. It was only after the human stood, stretched and yawned that Li took notice of the U’knock.
“What’re you doing?” she asked.
“Waiting,” Allah said simply. And what else could she do? She had barely managed to make broth, and that with help. Allah had considered returning to the mess hall to clean the dishes and dispose of the trash left from their meal but…she did not trust the hole in the wall to provide enough water to clean them, nor did she know where to find a well, wash rags, or the refuse heap. Was the outpost like Star dancer? She did not remember seeing a bucket in the walls to whoosh away such work.
“That won’t do,” Li chastised, turning to stride out the door. The lights flickered again and Li returned to the desk, grabbing her glowing stick.
“Demeter?” Li called as Allah rose from her crouch and picked up her own stick to follow, “Do you have any V-REHs in storage?”
“T-t-t-t-t-this facility hhhhhhhhas a fully stoc-c-c-cked classroom,” the machine replied. Whatever Li had been focused on, heeling Demeter speak was not an apparent priority.
“Show me,” Li ordered.
"P-p-please follow the indicated-d-d-d-d-d-” Demeter hiccuped, clicked and was silent. A blue light flickered on and off on the floor. Li followed.
They reached the great hall again, and Allah was almost surprised to hear the sound of robots still busy tearing apart other machines. More, in place of the planters there now sat the squat carts from the holoimage at the quorum. Tanks, Li had called them. They were bare, skeletal husks now, but the treads and wheels were in place. Three humanoid robots were pushing a large many tubed box into the machine's center.
“How many of these will we need to make?” Allah asked as she passed another husk of metal.
“We’ll keep producing until the siege ends,” Li answered, “but I’d like to have at least one thousand per continent. And at least a hundred mass drivers for orbital bombardment deterrence.”
“Those are the larger ones,” Allah guessed, “the wide ones that will crush Umati’clam’s buildings?
Li nodded. “The same,” she pointed up. In the dim scattered light Allah could see the open center of the spire was no longer so open. Highlighted by the glow of sparks were the skeletons of metal birds. She could not be certain but these forms looked larger than the arrows that had assaulted the bully vessel. “But those bad boys,” Li continued, “will be able to take the fight to em.
“Nachtkrapp class assault fighters,” Li explained. The flickering blue light led them out of the garage and down another door filled corridor. “With quad mounted rail guns and hardpoints that can load up to four Hawking/Golubev B-903 ship killer missiles.
“Buster missiles,” Allah said uncertainly. Li nodded. “These birds--these Nachtkrapps--are much larger than the arrows from before. Why did Demeter not use such weapons last night?”
Li stopped in the dark hallway, turning to reappraise her friend. “You catch on quick,” the human complimented Allah. She turned, resuming their journey. “Two reasons. First, Nachtkrapp designs are only about thirty years old so Demeter didn’t know how to make them before we uploaded thermopylae. They’re not bleeding edge tech but they’re proven and tough. The assault drones you saw last night are in-atmosphere interceptors. Not much bigger than busters themselves.”
“You said there were two reasons,” Allah pressed as she was led into another room filled with tables. These were much smaller than the mess hall benches, a single chair and monitor for each. They were arranged in a circle around the room, facing inward. Li strode to a closet in the corner.
“Gravity weapons have a…life cycle. They need to either be used within a couple years or recycled. Buster missiles are expensive to maintain. So there was no foreseeable reason for Demeter to waste resources on making and maintaining a fleet of drones that could carry them.”
“Until now,” Allah concluded. “But I still do not understand. Why did the bullies come here? We have nothing of value to offer.”
Li stopped digging through the closet, returning to the ring of tables. She set three helmets on one of the tiny tables, then glanced around the room. She walked to another closet, retrieving a pitcher and a plate. Allah watched as Li set the plate in the center of the room, took the pitcher to a waist high box and pressed a button. Water spouted from the top of the box and Li used it to fill the pitcher.
She returned to the center of the room, tapping a button on the edge of the plate with her foot. Allah could feel the air begin to hum.
“Here,” Li handed the pitcher of water next to Allah. “Pour this over the Vibro plate. Don’t worry; it won’t spill as long as the plate is on."
Allah did as instructed, and the water began to shimmer. It hovered three paw’s spans above the surface of the strange plate. Allah bent, sniffing at the floating pool.
“Now,” while Allah had been pouring the water, Li had made a tiny toy out of paper. It was pointed like her ship, but not. It looked like some strange raft, “place this under the water with the flat side pointed up.”
As Allah moved her paw under the water, she felt a force shaking her. She drew her paw away.
“It won’t hurt you,” Li promised. "We used to do this in primary school. It’s a science experiment. For children.”
Cautiously, Allah crouched and slid her paw under the floating water.
“Make sure the boat touches the water before you take your hand away.”
Allah did so and the boat floated upside down on the water.
"This is using vibrational force to counteract gravity. It is not true anti-gravity but it lets you see what I’m trying to describe next."
“It floats upside down though,” Allah pointed to the toy boat as it bobbed on the underside of the pool, upside down. “It defies the gravity."
“Not entirely,” Li answered, “this is more a case of bending the rules."
“What,” Allah asked, “is gravity?”
“It's a fundamental force of physics,” Li explained, holding up a hand at Allah’s question. “We’ll get to physics another time. Every object, including you and me, has gravity. It allows objects to pull one another closer together. It’s what holds you to the ground and,” she dug into a pocket, pulling a round coin shaped object free. She dropped the coin onto the ground, “what causes objects to fall to the ground when released."
“It is not magic then,” Allah gestured to the boat.
“Depending on your level of technological achievement,” Li shrugged, “that's debatable. The point is that normal gravity pulls objects together. The larger the object, the greater that pull. Generally speaking, I’m not getting into mass today.
“But,” she continued, “let us suppose you had a way to harness gravity, “ she bent and manipulated a dial on the plate. “If you could force the gravity of a giant object into a single point,” the pool of water began to shift and change, the upside down boat rocking violently in the sudden storm. Slowly, as Li pressed other buttons and turned dials, the tone of the plate changed, and the pool of water with it. It began to swirl, becoming a tiny typhoon. “Something that is creating a strong gravity well--like this planet--you could “dip” from that well using a special bucket,” the boat was now spinning rapidly faster up the inside of the typhoon, “and take some of that gravity to use for your own means.
“This is how we first learned to control gravity,” Li finished as the boat flew up from the top of the typhoon. “Large objects create it, and we exploit it. It's how we created the slingshot drive. We could use gravity because its pull is infinite, and reaches beyond all the known universe.
“But if it reaches so far,” Allah asked, “why do not all objects pull themselves together?”
“They may,” Li answered, “eventually,” she waved a hand in defeat. “The tech heads would be able to explain this much better than I can. But,” she handed Allah the paper boat, “the important thing is to understand that gravity pulls everything together by its nature, and the closer you are to a large object, the more powerful its effect becomes.
“Now,” she set the pitcher under the typhoon and tapped another button with her foot. The water--most of it--sloshed inside. “This is where things get a little weird. When we first created sling drives we used gravitational pull and massive amounts of power to pull us to neighboring stars, and from there to other stars, and others. But as my species learned more about gravity, we realized we could…” She trailed off. “I am not a gravity mechanic, and we start getting into infinite universe theory, supersymmetry, string theory and you’re barely ready for quantum mechanics,” the human shrugged, “but it was explained to me when I was…younger that it is like reversing the polarity of a magnet. To create an anti-gravitational well inside of an existing gravity well.”
“What is a magnet?” Allah asked.
“Another force of attraction, like gravity, only stronger than gravity, but with much shorter range. But magnets can both pull and repel. So can gravity…Once you learn how.
“And that is part of why the,” Li grinned again. Allah was getting used to the expression, “Bullies attacked here. Your planet has an easily exploitable gravity well and all the resources they could ever want. Well, most. And the swarmers are what my people call a ‘competitive species’. They don’t seek cooperation and destroy any sapient species they find to avoid the chance of competition later.
“That's the main reason why they attacked your planet. Its what’s called the Smorgasbord Doctrine. Once a species learns to control gravity, it becomes more energy and time efficient to use that control to harvest larger astral bodies than to chase down multiple smaller ones. They could have parked over or in one of your gas giants like Star dancer is now and gotten most of the same minerals, water and materials but…there is a third reason. They came here for something ‘special’.”
“What?” Allah asked. What could her planet still have to offer that the bullies could possibly prize?
Li looked at Allah appraisingly, “Complex proteins and carbohydrates remain energy intensive to synthesize or store for long periods of time.”
Allah’s face remained blank as the tiny star behind her ear translated the strange words into U’knock. “Meat and plant matter,” it said.
Li put it more plainly still.
“They came here to harvest you…”
2023.03.25 04:28 _Triple_ [STORE] 900+ KNIVES/GLOVES/SKINS, 50.000$+ INVENTORY. M9 Fade, M4 Poseidon, Kara Gamma, BFK Freehand, BFK Bright Water, Spec Gloves Kimono, Nomad Fade, M9 Doppler, Skeleton, BFK B.Steel, AWP Fade, Stiletto Fade, S.Gloves Slingshot, BFK Ultra, Kara Damas, Bayo Lore, Bayo Gamma, Flip Fade & A Lot More
Everything in my inventory is up for trade. The most valuable items are listed here, the rest you can find in My Inventory
Feel free to Add Me or even better send a Trade Offer. Open for any suggestions: upgrades, downgrades / knives, gloves, skins / stickers, patterns, floats.
All Buyouts are listed in cash value.
KNIVES
★ Butterfly Knife Freehand FN #1, B/O: $1867
★ Butterfly Knife Bright Water MW, B/O: $1098
★ Butterfly Knife Blue Steel BS, B/O: $907
★ Butterfly Knife Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $789
★ Butterfly Knife Stained FT, B/O: $695
⎯★ Bayonet Tiger Tooth MW #1, B/O: $888
★ Bayonet Gamma Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $727
★ Bayonet Doppler (Phase 2) FN, B/O: $608
★ Bayonet Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $521
★ Bayonet Rust Coat BS, B/O: $253
★ Bayonet Night FT, B/O: $251
★ StatTrak™ Bayonet Lore MW, B/O: $751
⎯★ Karambit Gamma Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $1343
★ Karambit Damascus Steel FT, B/O: $774
★ Karambit Rust Coat BS, B/O: $537
★ Karambit Boreal Forest FT, B/O: $488
⎯★ M9 Bayonet Fade FN, B/O: $1523
★ M9 Bayonet Fade FN, B/O: $1523
★ M9 Bayonet Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $1008
★ M9 Bayonet Blue Steel FT, B/O: $534
★ M9 Bayonet Rust Coat BS, B/O: $449
⎯★ Flip Knife Fade FN, B/O: $703
★ Flip Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) MW, B/O: $509
★ Flip Knife Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $406
★ Flip Knife Freehand FT, B/O: $228
★ StatTrak™ Flip Knife Bright Water FN, B/O: $332
⎯★ Falchion Knife Doppler (Phase 2) FN, B/O: $292
★ Falchion Knife Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $264
★ Falchion Knife Marble Fade FN, B/O: $258
★ Falchion Knife Bright Water MW, B/O: $133
⎯★ Stiletto Knife Fade FN, B/O: $822
★ Stiletto Knife Slaughter FN, B/O: $569
★ Stiletto Knife Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $530
★ Stiletto Knife Crimson Web FT, B/O: $396
★ StatTrak™ Stiletto Knife Scorched FT, B/O: $172
⎯★ Gut Knife Doppler (Sapphire) MW #1, B/O: $830
★ Gut Knife Fade FN, B/O: $204
★ Gut Knife Tiger Tooth FN, B/O: $138
★ Gut Knife Bright Water MW, B/O: $104
★ Gut Knife Freehand FT, B/O: $92
★ Gut Knife Urban Masked FT, B/O: $82
★ StatTrak™ Gut Knife Rust Coat BS, B/O: $93
⎯★ Shadow Daggers Fade FN, B/O: $258
★ Shadow Daggers Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $165
★ Shadow Daggers Blue Steel FT, B/O: $82
★ Shadow Daggers Bright Water FT, B/O: $82
★ Shadow Daggers Blue Steel WW, B/O: $80
★ Shadow Daggers Rust Coat BS, B/O: $74
★ StatTrak™ Shadow Daggers Marble Fade FN, B/O: $186
⎯★ Classic Knife Slaughter MW, B/O: $311
★ StatTrak™ Classic Knife Stained BS, B/O: $163
⎯★ Talon Knife Slaughter MW, B/O: $605
★ Talon Knife Scorched MW, B/O: $290
⎯★ Ursus Knife Marble Fade FN, B/O: $405
★ Ursus Knife Night Stripe MW, B/O: $162
⎯★ Paracord Knife Stained WW, B/O: $125
★ Paracord Knife Forest DDPAT FT, B/O: $97
★ Paracord Knife Safari Mesh FT, B/O: $96
⎯★ Navaja Knife Safari Mesh FT, B/O: $71
★ Navaja Knife Scorched WW, B/O: $71
⎯★ Nomad Knife Fade FN, B/O: $1015
★ Skeleton Knife, B/O: $909
★ Bowie Knife Boreal Forest MW, B/O: $106
★ Survival Knife Forest DDPAT FT, B/O: $97
GLOVES
★ Driver Gloves Crimson Weave FT, B/O: $335
★ Driver Gloves King Snake BS, B/O: $270
★ Driver Gloves Lunar Weave WW, B/O: $113
★ Driver Gloves Overtake WW, B/O: $88
★ Driver Gloves Overtake BS, B/O: $67
⎯★ Moto Gloves Transport MW, B/O: $171
★ Moto Gloves Polygon BS, B/O: $137
★ Moto Gloves Transport WW, B/O: $71
★ Moto Gloves 3rd Commando Company BS, B/O: $62
⎯★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Kimono WW, B/O: $1027
★ Specialist Gloves Tiger Strike FT, B/O: $654
★ Specialist Gloves Mogul FT, B/O: $295
★ Specialist Gloves Lt. Commander FT, B/O: $277
★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Web FT, B/O: $275
⎯★ Sport Gloves Slingshot FT, B/O: $796
★ Sport Gloves Amphibious BS #2, B/O: $699
★ Sport Gloves Omega FT, B/O: $656
⎯★ Broken Fang Gloves Unhinged BS, B/O: $60
WEAPONS
AK-47 Case Hardened BS, B/O: $130
AK-47 Bloodsport MW, B/O: $79
AK-47 Fuel Injector BS, B/O: $76
AK-47 Fuel Injector BS, B/O: $76
AK-47 Bloodsport FT, B/O: $70
AK-47 Neon Rider MW, B/O: $60
⎯AWP Fade FN, B/O: $864
AWP BOOM MW, B/O: $84
AWP Containment Breach FT, B/O: $69
AWP Containment Breach FT, B/O: $69
AWP Wildfire FT, B/O: $59
AWP Chromatic Aberration FN, B/O: $59
StatTrak™ AWP Hyper Beast FT, B/O: $65
StatTrak™ AWP Hyper Beast FT, B/O: $65
⎯Desert Eagle Blaze FN, B/O: $565
Desert Eagle Blaze FN, B/O: $565
Desert Eagle Printstream FN, B/O: $155
Desert Eagle Cobalt Disruption FN, B/O: $58
⎯M4A1-S Icarus Fell FN, B/O: $414
M4A1-S Printstream MW, B/O: $204
M4A1-S Printstream MW, B/O: $204
⎯M4A4 Poseidon FN, B/O: $1402
M4A4 The Emperor FN, B/O: $152
M4A4 Asiimov WW, B/O: $97
⎯USP-S Kill Confirmed MW, B/O: $65
USP-S Printstream FT, B/O: $69
StatTrak™ USP-S Kill Confirmed FT, B/O: $123
StatTrak™ USP-S Neo-Noir FN, B/O: $106
⎯AUG Flame Jörmungandr FN, B/O: $218
P2000 Ocean Foam FN, B/O: $139
Souvenir SSG 08 Death Strike MW, B/O: $81
CZ75-Auto Emerald Quartz MW, B/O: $61
Trade Offer Link - Steam Profile Link - My Inventory
Some items on the list may no longer be available or are still locked, visit My Inventory for more details.
Send a Trade Offer for fastest response. I consider all offers.
Add me for discuss if there is a serious offer that needs to be discussed.
2023.03.25 04:14 MrBuckBuck (Plenty of Records) Fun facts & stats from the Wizards' 136-124 win over the San Antonio Spurs
A song for the current mood - Robert Miles - Children.
Teams:
Peace.
submitted by MrBuckBuck to washingtonwizards [link] [comments]
Teams:
- The Wizards are now on a 33-41.
- The Wizards are currently 17-19 at home games & 16-22 at road games.
- The Wizards are now 17-20 in the year 2023 (17W & 21 L) - from 16-21 to 33-41.
- The Wizards are now 5-11 since the All-Star break.
- The Wizards are now 4-6 without Kyle Kuzma.
- The Wizards are now 12-15 since the trade with Rui Hachimura (12 W & 15 L). Before the trade, the Wizards were 17-13 (17 W & 13 L) with him (in games he played), and 3-13 (3 W & 13 L) in games he wasn't playing. Overall, the Wizards were a 20-26 record before this trade.
- The series between the 2 teams ended tonight: 2-0 to the Wizards. A sweep.
- The Wizards won their last 2 games vs. the Spurs after losing 4 straight beforehand.
- The Spurs lost their last 3 games, including 4 out of the last 5.
- The Spurs lost their last 3 games by a combined margin of 83 points (36 & 35 margin loss in their last 2 games before tonight).
- The Wizards finally won after 4 straight losses, including 7 losses in their last 9 games previous to tonight's game.
- The historical head-to-head matchup during the regular season - Washington Wizards vs. the San Antonio Spurs: 36-65 to San Antonio Spurs.
- The Wizards are 5-25 when an opponent scores 117 points or more against them this season.
- The Wizards scored 136 points tonight, their 3rd most of the season.
- The Wizards had 4 different players scoring 20+ points tonight: Corey Kispert with 26 points, Delon Wright with 24 points, KP with 23 points & Deni with 21 points.
- 3 different Wizards players were exactly 9/14 from the field - Deni Avdija, Corey Kispert & Delon Wright - scoring anywhere between 21 to 26 points.
- The Wizards had their first game this season with both 60%+ from the field & 50%+ from the 3PT. It's the first time since October 30th, 2019 - 158-159 loss to the Rockets (The only time the Wizards lost while scoring 60%+ from the field & 50%+ from 3 in their franchise history.
- The Wizards had their 3rd 60%+ FG game of the season (51/85 FG), and for the first time with 50%+ from 3PT, with 15/30 from 3PT tonight (50%) - tying a franchise record for 60%+ FG games in a single season from the 1987-1988 season.
- It was the Wizards' 40th game shooting 60%+ from the field in their franchise history.
- Overall, the franchise had Statmuse (incomplete because it's from the 1979-80 season): 1 60%+ FG game as Chicago Packers (62-63: L). 2 as Baltimore Bullets (64-65: W, 72-73: W). 23 as Washington Bullets (games not included in Statmuse - 74-75: W, W, 75-76: W, 76-77: W, 77-78: W, 78-79: W).14 as the Washington Wizards. It sums up to 40 games of 60%+ - 35-5 record (35 W & 5 L). I also checked season by season here to verify it - including Washington Wizards/Bullets, Chicago Packers, Zephyrs & Baltimore Bullets. Another fun fact, in the month of January 1988, the Wizards had 3 games in 10 days they scored 60%+ from the field - their only 60%+ FG of the season. The 3rd game was on January 24th, 1988 vs. the 76ers ended in 131-99 W.Source. I also checked season by season here to verify it - including Chicago Packers, Zephyrs & Baltimore.
- The Wizards are now 15-1 in their franchise history when they are 60%+ from the field & 50%+ from the 3-point land.
- The San Antonio Spurs had their 15th game of the season with 50+ rebounds.
- The Wizards had fewer than 10 turnovers in 3 out of their last 4 games.
- It's the first time an opponent scores vs. the San Antonio Spurs exactly 136 points, but it's the 12th time this season an opponent scores 136+ points vs. the Spurs, which translates to a 0-12 record in this scenario (0-13 in 135+ points as well).
- It was the 7th time this season that an opponent scores 60%+ from the field vs. the Spurs, and in all but one of these cases, the opponent shot 50%+ from 3PT - including tonight. It's actually the 2nd lowest 3PT% when an opponent scores 60%+ from the field vs. the Spurs, as the rests were 51.7% from 3PT or more (once 45.0%). The Spurs are now 0-7 in these scenarios.
- It's the 17th time this season an opponent scores 50%+ from 3 vs. the Spurs, and for the first time, a team scored exactly 50% from 3PT vs. the Spurs this season (once 51.1% & once 48.1%).
- The Spurs had their 4th most assists in a single game this season - 35 assists (for the first time exactly 35 assists too), with just 4 turnovers.
- The Spurs had 4 turnovers tonight - the lowest amount of turnovers they in a single game this season.
- The Wizards had just 7 turnovers tonight - the season's 2nd lowest they had this season, for the 7th time this season.
- Both teams combined for just 11 turnovers this game (4 by the Spurs & 7 by the Wizards) - it's the lowest amount of combined turnovers both teams had in any game this season.
- The Wizards had a season 2nd best of 51 made field goals. That's also the same amount the Spurs had (season 3rd best for them). That's also the most FG the Wizards made when scoring 60%+ from the field this season.
- The Spurs were 9/15 from the free throw line tonight, which is 60% from the FT - that's the lowest FT% a team had against the Wizards this season, so far. It's also the 3rd least amount of free throws made against the Wizards this season.
- The Spurs scored 64 points in the paint vs. just 58 points in the paint by the Wizards - that's 50.8% of their points tonight scored against the Wizards (out of 124 points).
- The Spurs had 19 2nd chance points vs. just 13 2nd chance points by the Wizards, 9 fastbreak points vs. 8 fastbreak points by the Wizards.
- Bradley Beal missed his 24th game of the season after reaching his 50th game of the season a few days ago. Kyle Kuzma missed his 10th game of the season, including 9 out of his last 22 games. Both players missed together two consecutive games.
- The Spurs came tonight quite injured, missing Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, Khem Birch, Charles Bassey, and Romeo Langford.
- Corey Kispert was in the starting lineup for the 37th time this season, while Deni Avdija had his 36th.
- Corey Kispert had a career-high of 26 points tonight, breaking the 25 points he had twice in his career - once this season & once last season. Of course, it's also a season-high for him. He also tied season-high FGM (9 - also tying career-high) & FGA (14). He also had a career-high of free throw attempts in a single game - 5 free throw attempts.
- Corey Kispert tied his career-high of 6 3-pointers made, which is also a season-high for him, as he had 5 3-pointers twice this season. That's despite coming to this game 2/12 from 3 in his last 2 games (16.7%), that's also more 3-pointers than what he scored in his previous 3 games, combined (5 3-pointers)!!!
- Corey Kispert was 2/5 (40%) from the free throw line tonight - it's the first time in his NBA career that he missed more than a single free throw in a single game (!!!)
- Corey Kispert's 40% from the free throw (2/5 FT tonight) is the lowest he had when he made a single free throw or more.
- Delon Wright had a season-high of 24 points, that's the most he scored since January 25th, 2021, as the Pistons won under his leadership over the 76ers 119-104 - he had 28 points back then, which still remains as his career-high.
- Delon Wright had a season-high in field goals made - 9 FGM & field goals attempted with 14 FGA
- Delon Wright had a plus/minus of +26 tonight - a season-high (he had +25 previously).
- Until tonight, Delon Wright hasn't scored more than 7 points in each of his last 6 games (2,0,4, 4, 2 & 7 points).
- Delon Wright scored tonight 24 points - that's more than what he scored in his last 6 games, combined (17 points)!!!!
- Kristaps Porzingis had 4 blocks tonight, and he had 2+ blocks in 6 out of his last 7 games (4 times 2 blocks & twice 4 blocks, including tonight).
- Kristaps Porzingis is now 25 from 25 at the free throw line in his last 5 games (including tonight's 7/7 FT).
- Kristaps Porzingis didn't play in the 4th quarter, but he still had his 44th 20+ points game of the season - a career-high.
- Kristaps Porzingis had his 10th game of the season with exactly 5 assists (season 2nd best, he had 7 assists once).
- Kristaps Porzingis had 0 personal fouls tonight, for the 4th time this season.
- Kristaps Porzingis scored his 1,422 points of the season - keeps on shattering his total points in a single season (which was 1,196 points in his sophomore year, in 66 GP). If he maintains this, he will also break his PPG record of 22.7 (48 GP), which currently stands at 22.9 PPG.
- Deni Avdija had his 10th double-double of the season (9th with points & rebounds, once with points & assists (1 reb away from a triple-double)).
- Deni Avdija had his 5th game of the season with 20+ points, two of them vs. the Spurs (including 25 points career-high that still stands). 5 games with 20+ points for Deni Avdija is also a career-high for 20+ points in a single season (he had it once in his rookie season & once in his sophomore season).
- Deni Avdija had the 3rd game of his career with 20+ points & 10+ rebounds, and also for the 2nd time this season (he did it once last season).
- Deni Avdija had his first 20+ points game without scoring a single point from the free throw (0/1 from FT tonight).
- Deni Avdija had 2+ assists in his last 12 games.
- Deni Avdija had his 12th 15+ points game of the season, as well as his 31st game with 10+ points this season.
- Deni Avdija is 8 from 14 in his last 4 games, including tonight - that's 57.1% from 3PT. Also, he has a nice mathematical sequence of 3-pointers made: 1, 3,1 & 3 tonight.
- Jordan Goodwin scored 17 points tonight - tying his career 2nd best, and the most he scored since his career-high of 19 points on December 9th, 2022 - 111-121 L to the Pacers. A coincidence, he also had a plus/minus of +17.
- Jordan Goodwin tied his career-high of free throws made (4) & free throws taken (5). It's the first time in his career he ended up 4/5 from the FT - he was 4/4 from FT once, and 3/5 from FT once as well.
- It was only the 11th game this season Delon Wright didn't have a single steal (out of 44 GP), and the 5th straight game without a single steal.
- Johnny Davis played for 7 straight games - a career-high.
- Johnny Davis tied his career-high of 4 personal fouls (did it 3 times this season).
- Out of 65 GP this season by Kispert, he was 0% from 3PT only 6 times, & 15 times between 0% to 20%, 8 times shooting 33% from 3PT out of 17 games shooting between 20%+ to 40% Overall, he has 36 games shooting 40% or higher this season, including tonight 6/9 (66.7%).
- Deni Avdija & Corey Kispert had 20+ points games tonight, but both had a plus/minus of 0, each.
- Johnny Davis was 0/1 from 3PT tonight, which means he is 1/13 (7.7%) from 3PT this season.
- Johnny Davis scored in each of his last 6 games.
- Johnny Davis had the 5th assist of his NBA career (he also never had more than 1 assist in a single game this season).
- Monte Morris had the only negative plus/minus on the team with -14 in 19:02 minutes.
- It's the 12th straight game of Deni Avdija without a single block.
- Deni Avdija had only one block in his last 18 games. The last block was on March 2nd, 2023 - 119-108 W over the Raptors.
- Deni Avdija had offensive rebounds only once in 7 out of his last 8 games (he had 3 offensive rebounds once), accumulating in the process 52 defensive rebounds & 3 offensive rebounds.
- Monte Morris just played 19:02 minutes tonight, the lowest he had since March 8th, 2023 - 120-122 L to the Hawks.
- Kendrick Nunn didn't play tonight after 4 straight games he did (including 5 out of the last 6).
- The rookie Julian Champagnie had a career-high of 12 points tonight - 5/8 FG (1/4 3PT & 1/1 FT), as well as career-high 5 field goals made. His previous career-high was 11 points not so long ago vs. the Hawks - on March 19th, 2023 - 118-126 W.
- The rookie Julian Champagnie had a career-high of 2 blocks tonight - that's the same amount of blocks he had until then in 6 games, combined.
- The rookie Blake Wesley had a career-high of 8 assists tonight (he had 7 assists previously). Though he didn't score tonight. He also had only 2 turnovers.
- Blake Wesley had his 5th game of the season ending up with 0 points - 0/6 from the field tonight worst shooting night in terms of not making any shots (he has 4 times 0/2 from the field).
- Keldon Johnson had his 8th 30+ points game of the season - that's a career-high, and the Spurs are now 4-4 in this scenario.
- Keldon Johnson also had his 2nd game of the season with 30+ points & 10+ rebounds.
- Keldon Johnson also had his 42nd 20+ points game of the season - a career-high.
- Tre Jones had his 2nd season best in assists, with 12 assists tonight (for the first time this season, he had exactly 12 assists in a single game) & with impressive 0 turnovers.
- Tre Jones had a career-high of 12 assists with 0 turnovers - he never had more than 10 assists with 0 turnovers.
- Keita Bates-Diop had a season-high of 20 points tonight (was 18 points until tonight) - his first 20+ points game of the season, and the first time he scored 20 points or more since February 26th, 2022 - 129-133 L to the Heat.
- Doug McDermott tied his season 2nd best of 14 field goal attempts (4 times this season) and scored 18 points tonight - 4th best this season.
- 15.5 PPG with his 14 games with the Spurs before this game, Devonte' Graham, scored just 5 points tonight - that's the lowest he had in 15 games (5 points with the Pelicans in the 113-122 L to the Nuggets on January 31st, 2023), after also scoring 10+ points in his last 12 games, including 13 out of the last 14 games.
- 5 points It's also the lowest amount of points Devonte' Graham scored for the Spurs this season, after scoring 9 points or more in his last 14 games, with 13 games with 10+ points (out of 14).
- Malaki Branham had his 22nd game of the season with 10+ points, and 11th with 15+ points (15 points he had tonight).
Peace.
2023.03.25 04:02 AceRex60 10 Free it Fridays (which is your favorite?)
 | submitted by AceRex60 to HotWheels [link] [comments] |