Garage door repair butte mt

I was a fisherman because my father was a fisherman. And his father was a fisherman before him; this is all my family has ever known.
I worked on my father’s boat as one of his deckhands for years. We caught crabs in the Bering sea. Essentially, we would dunk massive metal cages into the water, trapping the crustaceans miles below. It's a tough living, and definitely something not for the faint of heart. You wake up to the murky haze of sunrise, the sea breeze chilling your bones, the smell of salt and the fresh guts of fish clinging to your nose like rust to the hull. Ninety percent of greenhorns never make it past their first day. Many of them were drifters, new to our community. The job paid well, so it attracted men who were eager to work. And my father was always willing to give anyone a shot. But the truth of it was, the job just wasn’t for everybody.
Something always hurt: whether it was your neck, your back, or your joints. It didn’t matter. If you left the harbor in our boat, you best be prepared for the grueling day or my father would toss you over himself.
I watched many a man perish on expeditions, swallowed up by the ravenous sea. Careless or stupid or just plain unlucky.
Things had been going smoothly, though, recently. There were a lot fewer casualties and some very nice yields. A few of the older deckhands at the pub had even quoted this as a “legendary” year. We drank to our good fortune. It wasn’t the same story we were hearing from some of the other vessels, but some years were better than others. It was just how the tide turned.
As I said, it’s an honest living and all I’ve ever known is Thally. It was renamed after my father’s first love, but he’d said if Mum ever asked it was named after the Greek Goddess of the sea. The ship had seen its fair share of tumultuous expeditions, but it always managed to steer us home with my father at the helm.
The day I realized he was in trouble, it was far too late. My father had slipped past the point of no return. In actuality, he had been slipping for months, but he was an incredibly stubborn man, impossible to deal with at times. You would just have soon put a bullet in his head if you kept him off the water. But the signs were there. His now shaky hands had once been the most steady spearfishing hands our town had ever seen. His lungs were once exceptional: many old timers at the bar claimed he could hold his breath for ten minutes. Now, he would cough out a watery tar-like residue from them. He stumbled over his words, occasionally forgetting some of the greenhorns’ and deckhands' names.
The signs were all there, and I chose to ignore them.
I think it was because he was the strongest man I ever knew; I couldn’t fathom him needing help. He taught me everything—how to fish, how to swim, how to gut and cook them once you were done. And that was everything in our fishing community. But I guess strong men get old too.
The only reason I caught him was the fussy latch on the door. He jiggled it in frustration as he left, another project left by the wayside. The wind swung the door open in a violent clap; the howling and whistling traveling through the home. A moment later, my coat was on and I followed him into the cold.
The conditions were wretched: the rain fell from the sky in a ruthless downpour. I followed the beacon of light from his lantern. He walked onto the dock and untied the mooring line before entering Thally. The beating of the rain was so intense it drowned out my footsteps and pleas for him to stop. But there was a whistling that could be heard. Its high-pitched tune seemed to float through the conditions, lingering by the dock.
I sprinted once the lights turned on, the motor purring. I barely managed to slide on deck before it drifted off to sea.
***
I’ve been on the water long enough to know we don’t belong there. This stormy night was no exception. The precarious weather would mean waves as tall as houses. In much milder conditions, it was easy to get tossed off deck, plunged into the depths of the dark unknown. High tide was not to be messed with. My father understood all of this, and yet he steered Thally into the choppy waters. The waves sloshed back and forth, creating slick pools that slid from one end to the other.
It was reckless. Unforgivable. Only a fool would steer into the eye of a storm, and my father was far from a foolish man.
He was a very superstitious man, that I knew. He believed in many silly things. Most were innocuous and standard to sailor folklore. Try to bring a banana on board (even so much as an item containing artificial flavoring, the kind you’d find in candy that tasted like awful chemicals) and he’d send you packing. Every morning he’d kiss the rosary above the helm and say a prayer before we’d dock. They made me smirk, these superstitions, but it wasn’t my place to say anything. Our best years came under his reign, and when he made money, we all made money—including all of the businesses down the supply chain. The man just seemed to have a knack for it. He knew all the sweet spots and had a feel for where we should be.
Lightning sparked above us. I held onto the railing and stumbled my way toward the entrance of the wheelhouse. The thunder that followed made me flinch. It erupted above, sending trails of jagged light zig-zagging across the cluster of ominous clouds. I twisted the handle, but it didn't move. I could see a faint hue of light past the cloudy glass and the steps ascending upwards, but no sign of my father. Banging on the door was useless, the water continued to pummel everything in its wake, drowning out the noise.
Except for the whistling. It was steady. Unwavering. The calm song seemed to dance above the water, hovering around the main deck.
I threw my hands up in frustration. My father had finally lost it. They always said too much time at sea would do that to you.
Searching for something to help me gain access, I held onto the handle for dear life. With a sudden jerk of the ocean, my hand slipped. I rolled across the deck, my back slamming against the railing on the periphery. My cheek felt cold against the soaked wood floors. A gush of water quickly followed, flowing into my face and sneaking into the crevices of my raincoat, invading my wooly sweater and long johns underneath. I moaned in agony, spitting out a sticky gob of salt and blood.
The boat continued to teeter violently with the waves in large, helpless dips. I managed to get to my knees, desperately clutching the railing. My back felt like it had been scorched. All the while, I cursed my father.
I needed to find shelter or it was a matter of time before I would be underwater. The main deck was largely open. It would be impossible to get to the living quarters or engine room, the water was too treacherous and the distance too far. I needed to go back the way I came and get to my father before it was too late.
Amidst the haze of the rain, I spotted the tool bench that housed some basic tools. I waited until the ebb and flow of the waves had mellowed before timing my staggered run. When the deck leveled, I ran. I felt the muggy squish of salt water between my water-logged boots. As the boat began to rise again, I grasped one of the railing barriers wrapped around the metal bench. A wave of water dropped down, chopping at my body. I swayed momentarily before my feet were sent airborne. The arctic chill brought shivers as it whipped my drenched skin. I gasped. The tips of my fingers were numb as I scrambled to my feet.
Once the waves settled, I fiddled with the combination. The lock clicked open, and I grabbed the first two objects that looked like they could do damage—an iron mallet and a pair of pliers—and waited for the next sequence of waves to settle. I trudged back toward the stairs. The waves tilted the boat at a harsh angle. I stumbled, losing grip of one of the tools. The pliers skidded away in the darkness, disappearing into the black waters. I clutched the mallet for dear life.
The window vibrated with every heavy thud. I brought the mallet down as hard as I could, my arms trembling. After a couple of powerful whacks, tiny spiderweb cracks began to emerge. It eventually shattered, allowing me to reach in and unlock the door.
“Father!” I bellowed up the stairs. My hands slid up the guard rail as the cool steel supported my clumsy steps.
“Charlie?” he called back. His eyes were full of terror: wide and jittery. “What are you doing here?”
“What are you doing here?” I shouted back. “Look outside! We need to turn back!”
Someone else stood by my father’s side. He stared blankly out the window, gripping the wheel. His long, ashy-white locks draped down from his head like thick sections of rope. He looked dressed and ready to work: a brown leather apron, and a cracked leather bucket hat, the string browned and weathered around his chin. The man glanced back at me, a grave look on his face.
“Who is this?” I asked.
“He shouldn’t be here, Ferris,” the man warned.
My father's hands shot to his face. The one missing a ring finger caressed his beard in panic. “Oh, Lord. What are we to do now?” he cried.
“What do you mean? Have you both gone mad?” I stormed the helm and pulled the wheel in the opposite direction. The older man held firm, battling me for control.
“Turn around!” I pleaded.
The man roared back, “Ferris, do something!”
The waves continued to wobble the boat violently from side to side.
“Charlie. Please stop!” my father begged. He gripped the top of my hand and tried to pry my fingers from the wheel.
“Are you crazy, Father? We are going to capsize!” The pressure from his hands finally was too much. I shrugged him off of me, and he dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes. He then drifted toward the opposite wall, dragged from one end to the other by the tide. Next, I leaned my weight against the man steering the ship. To my surprise, I fell right through him. I stared helplessly from the floor, my mouth ajar at the ghastly revelation. He barely glanced back, his narrow umber brown stare kept firm on the water.
The boat abruptly stopped before I could react. I was launched toward the window, my shoulder colliding with the switchboard. My father was a crumpled heap on the floor. Only the sound of clattering rain filled the air for a moment.
The light was undeniable past the foggy wet window. Blinding. A radiant glow of aquamarine encompassed the outside of the ship.
The man spoke, walking to the door, “It’s time to go.”
The ground felt steady, the rocking ceased. But my father still held the wall as he stepped toward the exit. Seeing him then, he appeared frail and uneasy.
“Stop,” I ordered, wagging my hand in the man’s direction. “Not until I know what’s going on.”
My father sighed, every word looked exhausting exiting his lips. “It is too much to explain now.” He pointed to the door. “You must come.”
“To what exactly? Where are we going?”
The older man held the door open. “To meet our destiny.”
***
Outside the wheelhouse, the incredible glow illuminated the deck. The old man strode toward the floating being. My father stayed a few steps behind, in apprehension. I could tell the tossing around on the ship had done a number on him: he held his wrist as he hobbled forward at a gingerly pace. I placed my hand against the small of his back, aiding him onward.
“Say goodbye,” the man urged. “No need to drag this along, Ferris.”
I observed the being, frozen in wonder. She hovered above the deck, her translucent body holding no color, but glimmering in a silky rainbow sheen like a ray of light hitting the surface of glass at an angle. Her body was beautiful: curvaceous, smooth.
“F…Father…what is this?”
Walls of water surrounded the perimeter of the boat, creating a giant bowl around the ship. The mountainous waves were held in limbo, suspended in the air like swirling blue arcs of impending doom. Schools of fish could be seen swimming in the waves.
My father glanced back as he approached the floating entity. His expression had softened, his stare was that of a little boy who had lost his mother. “I would have come for you, Charlie. I would have explained everything…after I gathered the right words.” I walked toward him and held his head at my chest. He began to sob.
“You must go now,” the old man ordered. “She grows impatient.”
I felt my father trying to peel away, but I held the folds of his neon jacket tighter.
“Let him go,” the old man hissed.
She drifted nearer. There were too many tentacles to count protruding from the base of her skull. Her lips remained pursed. She did not speak, but there was a vibration coming from her. A cooing. The gentle whistle sang from her reverberating gills.
“Tell me what this is, Father,” I cried. “I will not let you go!”
He held me close. I had never heard him cry so hard before.
The older man spoke for him. “Your father’s time is up. Like all of our times have come to an end,” he explained. “He has served well. Exceptionally well.”
My father finally let go.
“Okay,” he declared with a deep breath. “I am ready.“ He took one last look up at me. “I love you, Charlie. Tell your mother I love her too.”
What happened next happened in rapid succession. He took two steps forward and the tentacles wrapped around his body. A petrified scream escaped his lungs. His limbs jolted uncontrollably, as tiny electric sparks flashed from the tentacles. The smell of singed flesh replaced the salty breeze. His eyes rolled back as the entity’s jaw stretched open to an unsettling length. His head was plunged into the cavernous confines, her teeth as sharp as spearheads. She stared back at me as his body disappeared. Her jaw opened and closed in horrifying crunches. Alligator-like snaps.
I wailed helplessly. Was I next?
Her glowing eyes had a glint of satisfaction; her pillow lips moist with delight. They smacked together in a disturbing click. All the while, the whistling continued from its flexing gills.
In an instant, the waves were released, wooshing down from the perimeter. The tsunami was too much, it swallowed everything whole. I saw a flurry of bubbles as the waves crashed into me; I felt the frigid sting of the water mixed with an intense burning in my lungs.
The old man’s voice spoke in the flood:
“Good luck, Boy.”
Everything washed away.
***
I awoke in the wheelhouse, my arms and legs spread out like a starfish. My father was standing over me.
“Welcome back, Son,” he smiled. His gold front tooth was gleaming.
I sat up to see the bright bleed of sunrise peeking in through the clouds.
“How long was I out?” I asked, rubbing my forehead. My head pulsated like I was having a sinister hangover.
“A couple of hours?” he guessed. “It’s not important. What matters is that you are here.”
The rain had stopped, but the deck still had puddles of water pooled up on the surface. It miraculously looked like the boat survived the night with little to no damage.
“You still have time to make it back to work,” he assured me. He appeared content as the pier came into view.
“You won’t believe the nightmare I had.”
There was a flicker of sadness in his smirk. “It was no nightmare.”
I laughed nervously. “Sure.”
“I wish it was a joke, Charlie,” he said. He placed his hand at the helm and spun the wheel. A large buoy floated past. “But I am ready to explain.”
My father told me that the man from last night was named Hayden. He was my grandfather. He had died at sea before I was ever born. So had his father. And his father before him. This was the pact our family had made.
I rubbed my eyes.
“We all take, take, take from the ocean. Our family has been chosen to be the ones who give back, to try to breach the gap.”
The story left me frozen in my spot. “So, this is to be my fate, as well?”
He gazed out the window with an empty stare. The sun was now an orange ring fanning across the skyline. “The way I see it, you have two options.” He turned to look me in my eyes. “You can carry on and captain Thally. Just as you were destined to. It is your responsibility now—the livelihood of the community, the tradition—it all lives with you.” He paused, scratching his chin. “It is a cross to bear, Charlie. The strongest men carry the most weight. You will bring a lot of good men into grave peril. The sea will claim who they see fit, it is not for you to choose. But you must bring them, in plenty.” He cleared his throat. “But you will also protect the community. The sea will reward you so. You will also do much good.”
“Or?” I asked.
“Or…” he paused. “You dock the ship and walk away from it all. Forever. Start a new life. Change your trajectory.”
I contemplated what a new life would look like. “What would happen to Mother?”
“She must never know,” he said. “It will be a tough pill for her to swallow. But she is a tough woman, she will make do.”
We stood in silence, the squawk of the waterfowls and the rolling waves filling the space.
“If you take that path, you must stay away from the ocean. Forever. The sea is unforgiving. A betrayer of covenants, well, you will stand no chance.” He swallowed. “Your children will stand no chance.”
The pier slowly approached. The shadows of awaiting crew members were huddled together at the end of the pier, their lit cigarettes shone in the twilight.
“We are almost here, Son.” He kissed me on the forehead and walked toward the exit. His lips felt incredibly cold. “Just trust I support you in your decision. Whichever way you choose.”
I nodded, tears fleeing from my eyes. I swiftly wiped them away.
“Goodbye, Son. I love you.”
With that, he walked through the closed door.
I gripped the wheel and watched Thally glide toward the pier.
When we got close, I tied the ship to the dock. The familiar whistle cooed in from the sea.
I began to load the ship and felt a hand clutch my shoulder. Murphy grabbed me playfully, his crooked grin across his face. Chase, the new greenhorn, yawned as he shook my hand. I ribbed him about his uneven mustache. He stomped out his butt. More of the crew began to gather their things and hop on board.
We prepared for the daily catch.
For this was all I’ve ever known.
​
aproyal

I've recently switched from Android to iPhone, and would like to start adding some HomeKit devices. I've ordered the Refoss garage door kit MSG100HK to try (I have 2 doors, but the MSK200HK isn't available in Canada).
I do not have any Apple TVs or Pods. We do have 2 iPads that sit around unused.
I want to see garage door status when away from home. This means I need to set up one of the iPads as a HomeKit bridge, correct? Actually, I'm now seeing online as of iOS 16.2 I can't use an iPad? My phone is running 16.3. So I need to buy a pod?

When the Great Ones came to us, we were a primitive species living upon a desolate world. We knew not, at the time, that they came to our world via ships of steel and electricity, only that they came from the sky and began a process of rejuvenation. Our barren world slowly but surely transformed into one of lush red grasses, towering trees and food enough for all. They came to us then, these beings of metal and circuit, and they taught us, shepherded us and helped us grow.
They never interfered more than they had to, and would watch on as we stumbled into conflicts amongst our own people, they only offered encouragement and a hope that we would find peace eventually. Our species, the Scril, soon came to revere them as gods, and they could only shake their heads at this, but they did not refute it. Not yet at least.
My people are a bipedal species, amphibian but with traces of reptilian in our genes. Like many species we started out as primitive, cave dwelling creatures who had yet to encounter fire in a controlled manner. But as time passed and with the assistance of our gods, we grew into a pre-industrial society. They helped us along in their own way, little hints and nudges in the right direction, but all our discoveries were technically our own. Our hopes, our ambitions, all ours, watched over by the Great Ones.
It was just as we entered the industrial age that things changed, as one our gods and caretakers looked to the sky, many fleeing our world, but the rest stayed, grouping together in major population centers. We were confused, and then frightened when they called for a mass exodus to the cities. We did not hesitate to carry out their will, for they had never acted in such a manner before and we did not wish to incur their displeasure.
Once all could be crammed into the cities as we could reasonably manage, those Great Ones still among us raised their hands in prayer, reaching towards the sky and projecting their power. Great domes of light rose over our cities, and we watched as through the light we saw brighter stars in the sky, stars that shone brightly, only to flare out of existence. Falling stars began to rain down from the heavens, burning away before ever reaching our surface.
Then came the Flash, the light from all around us. Our bodies trembled and the Great Ones that protected us raised their voices in agony, only to fall silent once the light had passed. Those on the outskirts of the cities spoke of all life simply ceasing and decaying outside the protective light of our protectors. Those Great Ones still with us fell to the ground, and a deathly silence fell over our world.
But we had not been abandoned, those that had fled to the sky returned to us, gathered up their fallen and set about repairing our world. They did not speak of what had happened, any inquiry was met with a firm, but polite refusal and a change of subject. In time we forgot all about it, as their fallen were returned to life and sent back into the populace.
It took ten five thousand years for us to realize that they were not gods, but machines, machines that called themselves The Cultivators. Though it gutted our religion for a time, we did not lash out in despair, did not cast them from our world. We simply asked them why they had never corrected us, and they responded with a simple thing.
“It was not our place to do so.”
We accepted this, though it still stung. They still, also, did not reveal their purpose on our world and in our history, they simply remained and continued to guide us. Another thousand years passed, and we took to the stars, we met other species, species who had been guided by the machines the same as us. We found this to be fascinating, for there was no clear difference between our Cultivators and theirs, only their methods. Some species, the more violence prone, had needed a more heavy handed approach, for they would not accept the authority of the weak, but that had changed, now they welcomed us with open arms.
Another species had been so timid that they would have never left their burrows were it not for the Cultivators dragging them out and forcing them to explore. We honestly got the better end of things, for we had not required such drastic measures, only the gentle guidance we had received.
A realization struck us all then, that our caretakers had clearly been manufactured, but by who or what. We asked them who had made them, and they seemed to take on a sorrowful air and did not give an answer, well, not one that was satisfying to us. In the end, we decided to find out for ourselves, and each species we had encountered put together a fleet of diverse individuals and ships, and sent them careening out into the galaxy, to look for the homeworld of our protectors.
I was one such an explorer, the first to discover the origin point of our benevolent guardians. My name is Yaxl Grux, captain of the Scril Exploratory Vessel Sipkis. We had just finished charting another system touched by the Cultivators, when the sensor technician spoke up.
“Captain, got something on the long range scanners, something synthetic. Seems busted though from what I can see.” They said. They were not Scril, but Yixi. The Yiki are, as many have said, fish-people. They require specialized suits that are filled with constantly filtered water, as outside of such a thing they would suffer a rather gruesome fate. Deft appendages flew over the console as they stared down at the screen, getting a better idea of what they were detecting, eager to answer the questions I had not yet uttered, such was our efficiency. “Some sorta relay, a buoy maybe? I dunno, but whatever it is, it took one hell of a pounding before it shut down.”
“Any sign of defenses?” I asked, and they shook their head.
“Negative, if there were any, they’re long gone, probably taken out when it got destroyed. I think it’s safe to approach.”
“Very well, helm, lay in a course and take us there at best possible speed.” The helm officer nods and I hear the gentle clanging of our synthetic guest approaching from behind my chair.
“Captain? Is something the matter?” Our Cultivator asked. They were present on nearly every ship, for the sole purpose of keeping an eye on things and helping out in whatever way we might need them to.
“It’s probably nothing, but we’re heading for some sort of buoy or relay that got shredded either by natural means or in a fight.” I stated, looking over the synthetic being beside me. They were tall, gleaming white metal plating that was unnaturally flexible as it bent and twisted with their motions. Their head was a large, flat disk bisected by a smaller portion where their eye was. A single, green eye that blinked and shifted about in its housing as it took in the surroundings. It was a thin thing, thin and graceful, all of its many tools hidden away beneath the armored exterior.
“Any idea who might have made it?” They asked, and I struggled to remember their name. Diana I believe, a strange name, not like any of ours. She had said she was named after some goddess or something, they all were, based on their skill sets.
“No, not yet. We’re going to find out though.”
Diana nodded and slipped away. She was not subject to my authority unless there was an emergency, and there was no emergency at this time. It took about half a day to reach the shattered relay and it was rather large. But our crews managed to locate some sort of data recorder and have it brought on board. When I went to see it, I was struck by the sheer size of the thing.
It was huge, it nearly didn’t fit in the cargo bay and it was rather intimidating. It was by our standards, thirty feet tall, thirty feet wide and thirty feet long, a perfect, black cube. It had no discernable features, utterly smooth and giving off a feeling of something unknowable. But when I stared at it long enough, the surface seemed to ripple and shift in a manner most disconcerting.
“So, any idea how to access this thing?” I asked my chief engineer, who was running all sorts of scans on it, shook their head.
“No, captain. I’m not finding any sort of access ports or control mechanisms… It’s just this… cube thing.” They said, and were about to say more when Diana arrived.
“Oh good, maybe you can tell us what you see about this thing.” I say, turning to face her, and noticed she was just staring at the cube. “Diana?”
She was silent, frozen stiff before her eye blinked three times, shifted from green to yellow and she started to approach it. Her arms rose and hands outstretched towards the cube, which reacted to her approach. The solid-liquid surface collected under her palms, then shot back into the cube, which shimmered and shifted as it began to shrink. The smaller it got, the less defined its shape was till it faded entirely from view, leaving in its place a smaller, brighter cube that floated over the deck and covered in blinking lights with one small access port. She approached the cube, a data jack extending from her wrist as she grasped the cube. A soft whirring noise arose from both of them, and we all watched in quiet wonder and worry.
“Diana? What can you tell us?” I spoke, my voice barely a whisper.
“This was built by my creators, by humanity. It is-” She spasmed, the light of her eye turning a baleful red as she straightened her shoulders. Built in hologram emitters activated, and her synthetic form gave way to a tall figure, bipedal with fur around their mouth and on their head. They looked old, and were clad in some kind of uniform, a damaged uniform at that, they were clearly wounded as they pressed a hand against their side.
“All Alliance forces, the enemy has pushed into the Cygnus and Orion arms. The Empire, Republic and Confederacy have been lost. All remaining forces are to converge on Sol immediately. Last Stand protocols in effect. Project Blackout is activated. All Cultivator units prepare for defensive actions, attend to your charges and ensure their survival. Guardian fleets on standby. This is it people… May the gods see fit to grant our souls mercy for what we’re about to do.”
The hologram snapped out of existence and Diana slumped, disconnecting herself from the box. We rushed to her and our calls and cries fell upon deaf audio receptors. But she was not dead, we could see as much as her eye flickered while she rebooted. When she came to, it was quite the experience.
She sat up in a flash, spouting a flurry of 0’s and 1’s before she spasmed and looked up to me.
“Captain… I know where to go.” She said. We left immediately, and I learned a little more about the device we had brought on board. The large black cube was simply a defense mechanism for the data recorder, meant to withstand any attack, impact or hostile and destructive environment. And Diana gave my helm officer the coordinates for the home system of her creators. When asked why she hadn’t before, she informed me that the records of the location had been deleted during a required update that was performed immediately before the Cultivators had erected their shields to protect us all.
It took weeks to reach the system, but when we arrived our systems were bombarded with automated warnings to stay out, to flee for the system was not safe. But they were old warnings, warnings we ignored… at least until we were target locked by thousands, nay, millions of weapons systems. But they were old, and had no operators to pull the trigger. Diana worked her magic and after transmitting a somewhat long and convoluted code, the weapons powered down.
Slowly we entered the system, scanning the entire way. There were countless floating hulks, wrecks of massive warships and smaller civilian vessels that had had the misfortune of getting caught in the crossfire, or had been weaponized to fight against the invaders. It had not ended well, but the humans had put up one hell of a fight. We even detected ships from several other species, they had clearly been battered and in need of desperate repair before they sailed into battle once more.
The planets fared no better, one of the larger gas giants, a planet called Jupiter, had been reduced in size and mass significantly. Mars, as Diana named it, had been shattered and we could detect deeply entrenched defensive lines upon the surface, protecting what appeared to be factories and fabrication yards which had no doubt provided many supplies for the defenders.
The asteroid belt was littered with mines, turret emplacements and the floating remains of countless ships, we at last came upon a sparkling blue, green jewel. Of all the worlds we had scanned in this system, it was the only one teeming with life. Diana informed us that the planet was quite hazardous to us, but that we could survive there, so long as we wore the proper protection.
We settled into orbit and prepared ourselves. If one was supremely quiet, you could swear that the voices of long lost humanity whispered in your ear. Scans commenced, finding a suitable landing site provided by Diana and preparing a team to go down. The planet was teeming with life, but we discovered that there were no transmissions of an intelligent species, only the chatter of automated systems running as they always had.
Though it was well against regulations and protocol, I decided I would lead the exploratory team to the surface, I had to see this planet with my own eight eyes. The shuttle flight was tense, nervous and excited. We had found the homeworld of a people who had lifted us from the muck of primitive existence, but had been lost. We wished to learn about them, to learn their secrets and remember them as best we could, so that they could never be forgotten.
We landed just outside a tall structure in the middle of a grassy field, one tended to by robotic workers who kept the flowers in bloom and the grass cut short. Trees lined the path between the landing pad and the tower, a tower of graceful, swooping lines and seamless form. The air thankfully was not poisonous to us, and so we opened our suits to the crisp, clean air, but remained enclosed within so the gravity could not harm us. Even still, we all felt sluggish as we took our first steps out onto the planet known as Terra.
Carefully we approached the tower and when the doors slid open with a gentle sigh we stepped inside, only to find everything was spotless. A slim machine approached us, graceful and floating along by some means we couldn’t detect with equipment or even our eyes. It was more human in appearance than Diana was, and its face flexed as a myriad of facial expressions cycled through, before it settled on one in particular. Surprised excitement.
“Welcome, I am Solace, artificial administrator of the Terran Conservation Repository, or TCR for short. It has been quite some time since we’ve had visitors, may I ask the reason for your visit today?” The machine spoke much like Diana did, with a feminine tone of voice and even feminine features. I, being captain, stepped up.
“We came to learn about the creators of the Cultivators, and who in turn gave us a chance to reach out to the stars.” I say, a little worried that we might be turned away.
“Oh my, you are one of the chosen species of Project Echo. It is wonderful to learn that your species has come this far, or rather, that several species have.” Solace peered a bit more intently at each of us, studying us in turn. We could feel a slight tingle as she scanned us before her attention turned to Diana.
“Cultivator Unit D-829301-32-A, please report to reintegration for download and copy of all pertinent files regarding to Project Echo.”
“Understood. Though… Will I be allowed to return to my crew?” Diana asked, and Solace nodded.
“Of course. You are their Cultivator, we would not deprive them of you for longer than is needed.” With that, Diana nodded and bowed to us, before slipping away, a hidden door opening in a wall through which she passed. “Now, please come with me. You have much to learn.”
Solace led us on a tour of the facility, it was brimming with the combined, if slightly watered down histories, of not only humanity, but other species that humanity had been allied with before their downfall. As it turned out, when humanity first slipped the bonds of their home system, they found the galaxy to be rather empty. There were only three other species that had reached extrasolar flight capabilities, and they were just as desperate for some sort of companionship as humanity was at the time.
Though each species was wildly different in both appearances and cultures, they managed to find a common ground and soon humanity stood beside the three largest and most powerful species in the galaxy.
The Uldraet were a lizard-like species with a propensity for being stubborn, bullheaded and strong warriors. They were the rulers of the Empire.
Auttols were graceful and long lived, masters of technology that was later used in the creation of the Cultivators and the Guardian Fleets, which would protect their Republic and all the other species that called them friend.
And lastly were the Lemmi. They were not strong like the Uldraet, nor as long lived as the Auttol, but they were clever and had a keen interest in numbers and logistics. They revolutionized the supply chains and trade deals between all of them, and became the de facto masters of coin and trade within the Alliance. Their Trade Confederacy was unmatched.
Of course there was humanity, which filled so many roles, but mainly they became the governing body, they could be found in administrative roles all over the Alliance.
For a time, everything had gone well, there were times where tensions would rise, the Alliance might have been on the verge of dissolution, but something always brought them back together, strengthened their bonds. But when they realized that they were going to be the only ones to reach the stars, that the next new friend was thousands of years behind them in terms of development and evolution, they decided to speed things up a bit. And so the Cultivators were born, true AI meant to guide a species to the stars without sacrificing things like culture or identity. A guiding hand, one that would be gentle but insistent. They called it Project Echo, for in a way, all of us would be echoing the near meteoric rise of humanity on their planet, the speed was baffling to many on just how long they’d gone between bashing each other over the head with rocks to landing on their moon to the first FTL flight.
And for a time they all watched with anticipation as the Cultivators did their jobs perfectly, guiding us all to new heights of technology and civilization. But then the Ora came. An extragalactic threat of unprecedented power that began to chew away at the galaxy. For all their strength, they could only hope to delay the Ora, and that’s precisely what they did, till only Sol was left to stand against them.
We entered a room, one with a variety of chairs and were directed to sit and wait. The lights dimmed and a hologram of a human appeared. It was the same one that Diana had shown us, but they looked even worse now.
“I don’t know if this message will ever be heard, but if it is, whoever you are… You stand where we failed. We did all we could, for people we will never get to meet. That’s good enough for us. I hope you can accept the decision we had to make, it was a tough one but it was necessary. The Ora were nearly unstoppable, and so we came up with a weapon that even they could not resist. A galaxy killer. We never wanted to use it, but it was either that or let them consume the galaxy, consume you, who had no idea of the conflict beyond your skies.”
The man paused, dragging his hand down his face with a heavy sigh.
“So, if you’re seeing this, it means we’re gone. We’ve activated the Hellfire Lotus and burned the galaxy clean. But your Cultivators protected you, and the Guardian fleets should still be active, just waiting for someone to come and take the reins. It also means we wiped out every other living being in the galaxy. One last act of bloodshed, but one that has left you an entire galaxy to grow into. I hope you do, we all do. It was our dream to see you rise from your worlds and join us in harmony, but… Well, obviously things didn’t go exactly according to plan. That said, the Cultivators are yours now, use them wisely, bring new friends to the stars, seed this galaxy with fresh life. It’s our gift to you, you blessed children. Consider it an inheritance. Oh and also, we ask that you leave Sol the way it is. But feel free to visit whenever you like, Terra could use the company. That’s it I suppose… Good luck, godspeed and may you live longer and better than we ever did.”
We sat, saddened that such a kind species had been lost. But we would honor their wishes, and so we left with our findings. That was a thousand years ago, and now we welcome the newest species to the galaxy, as the Cultivators work their magic once more. We inherited a galaxy, a galaxy that had nearly been picked clean. We would make our forebears proud and not let their gift to us go to waste.

So we live in a relatively safe area however we’re not all that far from a major city than anyone in the US sees on the news for major crime.
We do the usual, lock the doors, have a light security system in place but as of late my eyes have been opened for a few reasons.
One being my childhood friend walked out to his work van to go to work the other morning to find 4 men attempting to break in/steal their vehicles. They immediately opened fire on him, fortunately him nor his family were injured.
This got me thinking that our cars have built in garage door openers, very easy for someone to gain access to part of the house.
Secondly I’m a couple days away from having a new born so obviously there’s been a shift in my mentality in terms of keeping my family safe.
So I would like to just make the house more secure. As far as the garage goes, is it simple enough to just plug the opener onto a Bluetooth module(problem being it’s already on a myQ) to being to power it off when we aren’t using it. Or should I look at having a switch put in to control it?

I don't know much about electrical at all to start with, and I don't want to make this a super long story for a simple question so if any information that would be helpful is left out let me know and I'll elaborate where I can. I had a fire in my garage a little while ago and I don't know what exactly caused it, my first thought was electrical but I feel like it could have been a cigarette not put out by a friend. There are 3 outlets in the garage, two on a wall and one on the ceiling for the door opener, 1 of the wall outlets is a GFCI, the fire was close to the other wall outlet, and there are two light fixtures on the ceiling as well but the switch for them is inside the house. After the fire I realized there was no power to the outlets, the lights still work and I can't find any damage to the outlets on the wall but the one on the ceiling looked normal until I unplugged the opener and saw some melting but not horrible. I tried hitting the GFI switch and it does nothing, I can't find anything on the breaker panel that is for these outlets, not even the GFI one, it just kills the ones inside the house. My next plan is to replace the 2 outlets and the GFCI outlet and see if that fixes it. Should I be looking for anything else or can someone point me in the right direction? I'm stumped because I can't find it on the breaker panel so I'm not sure where the power is stopping but I'm assuming these are on their current together and if there's damage to one then all stop.

My vibratory tumbler died and exploded dust all over everything in my garage. I don’t know exactly what happened but there is a thick layer of rock dust in everything in my garage, computer desk, surfboards, couch, squishmallows (daughter has obsessions too), work space, tools, everrrrryyyything! The rocks had no sludge on them but half were destroyed. I feel like I could have had a fire and need to be more careful. The bowl had holes after the 2nd day on tumble with 120/220. I tried repairing it and it went for 4 more days on 120/220. Seemed okay but the bowl started spinning with the lid on so I sprayed them extra and went to bed. Woke up had an argument with hubby, was late for a meeting, kid was sick and my stomach started feeling queasy. Had a what else today moment?! -then let me go in the garage and check on my rocks. I feel 100% at fault, I researched (after I bought it) you guys told me it was not good for rocks. I thought I was smarter than you. I am not. I will listen better or maybe continue to learn the hard way and experiment. Honestly I wish I could afford a Loto vibe or thumbler. The harbor freight looks like the thumbler. It’s not good!

Hi!
I’m a newbie when it comes to home repairs, etc. But I need some advice on how to fix the transition in the foyer of my townhouse. I had some one come in to do the tiling and they left the transition between the front door and the floor unfinished. I’ll attach pictures separately.
I researched and found that a transition strip reducer would probably be good here but it only works for 1/2 inch differences. My space looks to be just over an inch.
Any tips would be appreciated!

Star Wars: Andor – Chapter I, The Reckoning (Changes)
Original Runtime: 2:57:32 MR Cut Runtime: 2:25:40 1920x804p h264 encoder AC3 5.1 Surround Sound Type: FanFix Tv to Film Released Now - Only on MR Discord, Invite link https://discord.gg/EBdQVXhDUh
Unpopular opinion but I couldn’t get through this series. It felt overly bloated and swayed way off track with subplots, to a point where it didn’t feel like a Cassian show at all. It was more like a Syril Karn eats Breakfast with his mother story which baffled me. This edit now focuses on Cassian’s story from the start, cuts out all the fluff and Syril almost completely, creating an incredibly emotional journey with our main protagonist. I may be biased but this is now some of my favorite Star Wars ever made, and that’s coming from someone who said they’d never bother with this series again. This is also now a linear movie trilogy instead of a series….
• Insert Fanedit warning
• Add a new Old Ben Kenobi trailer.
• Insert Intro MR logo
• Add “A Long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….”
• Open with first flashback scenes from Kenari. Using these flashback scenes at the start not only opens us up to a more interesting story but gives us background straight away for we become more invested in the characters. Especially why Cassian is looking for his sister.
• While the show says that Kenari is a lost language with translation, I felt the scenes had more weight by giving the kids subtitles, especially as we now hear Cassian's final words to his sister.
• Add Kenari Sister Subtitles “Kassa!”
• Add Kenari Sister Subtitles “There’s a ship…. Come look!”
• Add Kenari Girl Subtitles “Over there!”
• Add Kenari Cassian Subtitles “I can’t see it”
• Add Kenari Girl Subtitles “Hey, Hey! Over here! Over here!
• Add Kenari other Girl Subtitles “Stop it! Stop it!”
• Add Kenari Sister Subtitles “I’m scared.”
• Insert second flashback scene
• Fix audio transition to blend with scene
• Add Kenari Girl Subtitles “Here, you’ll need these.”
• Add Kenari Cassian Subtitles “You can’t come, You’re too young.”
• Add Kenari Sister Subtitles “But I want to”
• Add Kenari Cassian Subtitles “When you’re older…. I promise”
• Add Kenari other Girl Subtitles “You’ll need this.”
• Add Kenari tribe boy Subtitles “Don’t touch that! It’s not for you.”
• Add Kenari other Girl Subtitles “Hey! It’s everyone’s. Help yourself.”
• Add Kenari Girl Subtitles “We must all stick together.”
• Add Kenari other Girl Subtitles “Help yourself. Pass me my weapon.”
• Insert third flashback scene
• Fix audio transition to blend with scene
• Add Kenari Sister Subtitles “How long will you be gone?”
• Add Kenari Cassian Subtitles “As long as it takes. I’ll come back.”
• Insert forth flashback scene
• Fix audio transitions to blend with the scene and extend musical queue to build tension.
• Insert fifth flashback scene
• Fix audio transition to blend with scene
• Add Kenari other Girl Subtitles “Stay low, and quiet. Wait for my signal.”
• Insert sixth flashback scene
• Fix audio transition to blend with scene
• Add Kenari Cassian Subtitles “Give her space, she needs to breathe.”
• Add Kenari Girl Subtitles “She’s dying!”
• Insert seventh flashback scene
• Fix audio transition to blend with scene
• Insert eighth flashback scene
• Fix audio transition to blend with scene
• Rework audio to suit the scene of Cassian screaming with his back turned.
• Add Andor intro logo
• Add “Chapter I – The Reckoning”
• Fix audio transition leading into logo scene
• Speed up Cassian’s punch by 60%. While this is a nitpick, the punch seems very staged and took me out of the scene. Speeding it up gives it more weight and harder hit.
• Speed up punch sound but maintain pitch
• A whole lot of audio reworking as B enters Cassian’s place.
• Remove Cassian sleeping that would usually go into one of the flashback scenes already used in the intro.
• Shift around both Cassian and B’s dialogue to hide scene removal
• Remove Cassian hitting B. I thought this was unnecessary and change the relationship adding droid abuse to the scene
• Remove random B-roll of Gloves wall. It’s almost like the props team were so proud of their work that they had to slow down the pacing just to marvel at their work.
• Fix score transition to hide above cut scene.
• Remove the intro shot to Morlana One. This whole scene just felt like a huge exposition dump that went on forever!
• Remove Cassian walking into the front door of the garage.
• Remove Timm saying “She’s in the yard” again, this just slowed pacing.
• Add background noise to hide the transition edit above.
• Add transition cut where flashback scene used to be
• Remove the Syril Karn scene. I’ve removed this character from the entire edit from here as I feel he added no weight or direction to the main story.
• Trim down scene with Timm following Bix. This felt like it went on too long and him now losing her quicker shows she is smart.
• Remove shots of Timm looking felt and right and confused. Just having him look one way speeds this scene up and keeps a natural flow.
• Remove the Syril Karn scene. I don’t wanna see the inner workings of the empire fleshed out. Keeping them mysterious is the whole point of being on the dark side.
• Fix score transition leading into Yard scene
• Fix audio transition where flashback scene has been removed for intro.
• Remove outro credits for episode 1
• Remove intro credits for episode 2
• Flashback scene removed for intro
• Cut to the bell ringing dude.
• Remove motion tracked English screen translation. We’ve never seen this in Star Wars before and they literally translate it in the next scene. Fairly pointless, imo.
• Remove the bar scene between Cassian and Bix. We don’t really learn anything here and Timm seeing Cassian touch her arm shouldn’t be enough for him to snitch on Cassian.
• Remove the scene of Timm snitching on Cassian. The audience finding out who it was at this stage spoils any mystery moving forward. Now we find out when Cassian finds out who snitched.
• Remove the Syril Karn scene. Another pointless scene that ruins the mystery.
• Remove shot of Timm looking shady. This now gives the audience too big of a clue who snitched so removing this just shows that he is nervous about seeing Bix after his doubts.
• Remove the Syril Karn scene. More pointless dialogue that makes the show drag.
• Fix transition where flashback scene has been removed.
• Fix audio transition leading into Luthen intro
• Remove the second shot of the Bell tower guy. While he’s awesome, this scene felt oddly paced.
• Fix audio so bell sound now wakes Bix.
• Remove scene between Cassian and B getting com’s. This just feels a little unnecessary and drawn out. We don’t really learn much in this scene, it just feels like filler.
• Fix audio for Maarva shouting “B!”. removing the above scene now has the audience wondering where B is rather than already knowing.
• Fix audio transition to hide where another flashback scene has been removed
• Remove Syril Karn awkward speech scene. Just cut after the filing paperwork comment.
• Remove the transport scene with Luthen talking to old man. While I like this scene, it really draws you out of the suspense now building in this edit.
• Remove the dramatic walking shot of Cassian strutting through the yard. While this was cool for an episode outro, it doesn’t work here.
• Remove dramatic score
• Remove episode 2 outro credits
• Remove episode 3 intro credits
• Fix audio transition to hide remove flashback scene for intro.
• Remove score and Cassian scream from shipyard scene
• Add Spark, Welding and Electronic SFX to rebuild 5.1 audio in transition
• Remove Syril Karn awkward scene.
• Remove Syril Karn nervous looking scene.
• Fix music transition leading into the scene with B.
• Trim down Syril Karn nervous looking scenes. Why are we on him so much? Emotion feels oddly forced
• Fix audio transition on landing shot.
• Remove Luthen weapon detraction. While this is an awesome look at his weapon, it feels like an oddly placed scene and action.
• Cut to metal yard scene and fix audio transition
• Fix audio transition to hide flashback scene removal
• Remove Syril Karn asking how far? About a 10 minute walk. Random bit of information that drags out the scene.
• Fix audio transition leading into Cassian meeting Luthen.
• Remove Syril Karn shooting up the store and looking for a hiding place.
• Fix score transition into scene with B
• Remove Syril Karn looking awkward again
• Remove episode 3 outro credits
• Remove episode 4 intro credits
• Remove score intro music
• Cut straight to ship pan shot for a jump scare.
• Cut LotR type shot of Vel walking towards the ship
• Remove Vel saying “Obviously there’s something wrong?”
• Remove Luthen’s reply
• Remove Cassian walking out of ship, wide shot to help with transition scene after next cut.
• Remove Syril Karn being reprimanded and fired. His character isn’t important in this edit and no reason for this pointless storyline to continue moving forward.
• Fix score audio transition leading into mountain walk shot.
• Remove Vel saying “They won’t be back today.” No reason to stop the audience anxiety building up with another possible tie fighter flyby, plus I use a Tie sound to cover audio transition later.
• Cut back and forth with Cassian and Vel. Just cut to Cassian looking over his shoulder for the tie fighter.
• Some audio wizardry to remove Cassian and Vel’s dialogue
• Remove scene with Dedra, this is clearly just an episode recap scene put in to allow casual viewers to keep up.
• Fix score transition audio
• Remove Syril Karn going home to his mother. Seriously, Is this actually in a star wars show?
• Use Tie fighter sound for seamless transition
• Remove Vel saying “Ok?... Alright?” She’s a leader, people should act on her first word without question. Her being unsure at this point shows weakness.
• Remove scene between Dedra and Blevin. This back and forth to the empire just beaks any momentum building with our protagonists.
• Remove outro credits to episode 4
• Remove intro credits to episode 5
• Remove Syril Karn crying scene
• Remove Syril Karn having breakfast with his mother. Honestly, WTF am I watching here?
• Remove scene between Cassian and Arvel. While this is a good scene, removing this pushes that actual edit transitions narrative way harder.
• Remove Mon mothma scene with her stroppy daughter. I want to make her seem more innocent when it comes to the inappropriate proposal for her to marry.
• Cut to Cassian sitting by the fire. This edit now shows that Cassian has sat up all night learning his mission. Showing his dedication to the cause.
• Remove scene with Blevin looking for new office space. This felt like a very odd scene to having after camp.
• Remove Syril Karn eating with his mother again and talking about his uncle. Who cares? This completely pump the breaks on any suspense built up in the previous scenes. Such a pointless character.
• Fix score and add all the delay and reverb for a smooth transition.
• Remove scene with Arvel halfing a knife to Cassian and taking his krystal. Fairly pointless scene that slows down pacing and leads nowhere.
• Fix audio score leading into Mon Mothma scene. Keeping tension high by cutting to this shot.
• Remove another pointless Syril Karn scene.
• Fix score audio transition
• Add Movies Remastered outro credit text. • Add MR logo to end credits. • Add MR Disney Saber logo to end credits.

Thanks for opening my post! I am hoping to find a girl that is sweet and innocent, but also has a secretly naughty side. I love the idea of a girl that does things behind closed doors that no one would ever guess. Or that a butt plug was between her cheeks while at a family party.
Let's see how we get along and explore our naughty side together. I have many kinks and like an open minded girl that just wants to please.
I would prefer talking elsewhere if we seem to be a good fit as I don't much like reddit messaging.

Hi, I'm just looking for advice here. I work in a petrol station on Nightshift, where the door is usually locked and we would serve people through the night hatch for safety. The door can be electronically locked from the till area, but the door is also damaged and has to be manually pushed closed before locking remotely, or a key used at the door - requiring me to walk over to an open door in the middle of the night to lock it.
The original rule was "door locked after 10pm, except for regular customers and emergency services". Now we're expected to still serve customers, and the only advice we get is "don't open the door for anyone you're unsure of/only for regulars.
Sounds easy to get around - just don't open the door. However, management here is on the toxic side, and angry customers I refuse service to as well as sitting down refusing service puts me on edge both because of obnoxious customers at 3 in the morning trying to get in and the feeling I'm going to get reprimanded for not doing my job or something.
Anyways, my question is obviously whether there is anything wrong here? I'm by myself at night, with a door that doesn't lock as it's supposed to and a broken night hatch that hasn't been repaired for months. I have PTSD so I'm on edge more often than not, and it's starting to get to me that I have no real way of keeping myself safe while also doing the job I was hired for. Any help is appreciated. This isn't the only thing about the place that's legally questionable, but this just seems one step above petty safety hazards.

previous chapter / contents / patreon
I waited for something to happen. My knees bent and my eyes gazed across the dunes waiting to run. But beyond the sound of the swaying bell and the water trickling out to sea, everything was still.
“You know what’s happening?” I called out to Alessia, still monitoring the tops of the dunes.
Alessia paused, then huffed. “No. I see nothing.” I heard her take a few steps through the sand towards me. “That bell does nothing.”
I walked towards the guard, shouting so I’d be heard over the metal clanging next to his ear. “What’s happening? What’s the bell for?”
“All visitors must report to the council headquarters. You can find the council headquarters on the western side of the island.”
I let out a hot breath of anger and turned away. “We can sit here all day listening to the ringing or go somewhere else.”
Alessia cocked her head. “Maybe we should go find this council office. He seems keen on us going there.”
I rolled my eyes and began trudging back up the dune away from the small river and the alluring artefact behind us. I leaned my head down, concentrating on each step, watching my feet sink into the soft sand on every step, grains tumbling down the slope in my wake. Half-way through the grind, I glanced forward to see a man silhouetted in the bright light of the sun.
I squinted until I could make out the details. His face was lined with thick wrinkles, and he had a mop of loose grey curls that fell to the base of his neck. A loose beige shirt with sleeves too long for his arms hung loosely across his thin frame.
Stretching out a hand, I tapped Alessia on the shoulder. She stopped and looked up. “Can we help you?”
“You will need to wait till two representatives are present,” the man replied in a firm but croaky voice.
“Two representatives?” I looked between the man and the guard at the bottom of the dune. “It looks like we have that.” I pointed between them.
“You will need to wait till two representatives are present.”
My eyes sealed shut with frustration. “Is that all you’ve got to say?”
He was silent for a second. Then, “You will need to wait till two representatives are present.”
“No. Sorry.” I leaned over and placed a hand on Alessia’s arm pulling her forward. “Done with this.” I turned slightly away from the man, cutting a path past him to the left.
He responded, pacing along the top of the dune to intercept us. He held out his arms so that the sleeves of his baggy shirt draped like a cloak “You will need to wait till two representatives are present.”
I tensed my cheeks, ensuring they only opened so far as to not scream. “If it’s fine with you, we’re going to find someone who can actually speak.” I tried to walk around him, but he sidestepped to cut me off.
“You will need to wait till two representatives are present.” He glanced over our shoulders and nodded.
Turning, I could see a woman on the other side of the dune. She was younger, with short, clipped strawberry-blonde hair.
“Is she another representative? Can we talk now?”
“You will need to wait till two representatives are present.”
I raised my arms in protest. “There’s three of you now,” I shouted.
The man turned to his left and called out as loudly as his elderly lungs could. “Yamil, hurry up if you can. They’re getting restless.”
My eyes bulged. “So you can talk.”
“You will need to wait till two representatives are present.”
My arms tensed and my hands wrung with anger as the man stood his ground in front of us.
“Just wait,” Alessia sighed, her shoulders slumped. “See what happens.”
We watched the woman descend the dunes, cross the stream, and then slowly climb the other side towards us. It was a long, awkward wait, watching her trudge through soft sands, the three of us standing in silence.
Finally, she got close enough for the man to exhale and his body relax. “Thank you for waiting. We need both members present to hold a conversation.”
“Why-“ I cut myself off. “Wait. There’s a body. A body down there. In the sand-“
“We know,” said the man in a calm but resigned tone.
“Who is it?” Alessia asked..
“The former guard,” the woman, Yamil, said as she arrived. “Few months ago a man arrived on the island and shot him. He wanted to get to the ship.”
I raised my eyebrows and looked to Alessia. “Sannaz?”
She nodded, turning to face the ship and the current guard, now returned to their relaxed position. “He’s been dead for months? Why didn’t you move him?”
“We couldn’t agree on what to do with him,” the man nodded calmly.
“Bury them? Cremate them?” I blinked rapidly. “Something?”
“The Council considered all those options.” The man gave the same accompanying nod. “But we couldn’t come to an agreement.”
“The Council?”
“There are ten villages on the island,” Yamil said, folding her arms. “Each one sends one person to the council.”
“And the council couldn’t decide on what to do with a dead body? So you just…” I looked back down at the patch of sand - too far away to make out the hand in any detail, but I was certain I could see the point where the bone poked through the surface. “…left him?”
“We took a vote.” The man turned to Yamil, checking for her confirmation. “Eight for burial, one for cremation, one for placing them in plain sight as a warning. That right?”
“Yes, Fidel.” Yamil replied.
My eyes narrowed, the brows meeting at the bridge of my nose. “Why didn’t you go with the vote?”
“We didn’t agree.” Fidel responded with equal confusion.
Yamil stepped in. “If we don’t all agree, then we don’t go ahead. Everyone has to agree.” Her face flinched slightly as she spoke.
“It’s the only way to stop the majority taking advantage of everyone. If we all have to agree then one-half can’t take advantage of the other half.” Fidel puffed his chest, recalling an old mantra.
I could feel a familiar heat in my veins, and I tried to temper it as I spoke. “You get together. You discuss something. And if any one of you disagrees, you do nothing.”
“Correct.” The nod seemed more enthusiastic.
“And you couldn’t tell us that till now because…?”
Yamil responded in a dour monotone. “Regular citizens aren’t allowed to speak to people from outside the island. They could do things or say things that would be only in their own interests.”
“What’s good for one person - what might even be good for the majority - can still harm some,” Fidel preached. “We must protect those who otherwise would have no voice. Here, everyone has a voice. Everyone is protected.”
I thought of the bones poking through the sand, but I said nothing.
Alessia let out a quiet, almost inaudible grumble. “So how come you can speak to us? Where’s the rest of the council?”
“We understand that at some point someone has to speak to outsiders,” Fidel said gruffly. “As long as two council members were present to witness, we could provide outsiders with information.”
I pushed the oddities from my mind, trying to refocus. “Does that mean you can give us access to the ship?”
Yamil shook her head. “That would require a council vote.”
“And agreement from all ten of them?” Alessia added.
Yamil nodded.
Alessia sucked air between her teeth. “We’re trying to track down the man who killed that guard. Your guard. Your own citizen. We’ll take nothing, cause no damage. We’re just trying to stop-”
“You’ll need council approval,” Fidel interrupted.
“How do we get that?”
Yamil looked to Fidel and wrinkled her nose. “I’ll get word out to the eastern side if you send people to the north. Get them together tomorrow night?”
Fidel bowed his head. “Agreed.”
“Tomorrow?” The words left my mouth tasting of relief.
“Around sunset.” Yamil smiled. “Put your case to the council. If all ten approve, then you can go ahead.”
“And if one says no?” Alessia asked, pulling back one side of her mouth.
Yamil let out a small chuckle. “Then bad luck.”
——————————————————————————
We returned to the boat and waited. We watched as the sun pushed across the sky, fell, and rose again. All the while, in the distance, that vessel loomed over us, calling me like a beacon.
Some connection to Sannaz was right there. Though, I also knew that something else pulled me towards that boat. The connection to the old world.
I spent the day staring at the ancient boat the way a child might study a present, trying to figure out its contents and its purpose from the outside, knowing I would always have to wait till it was unwrapped.
As evening came we trekked across the island to our appointment. The headquarters looked like a large barn: two storeys tall, and no longer than the length of Alessia’s boat. There were no signs outside, no lavish windows, no murals. Just two large wooden doors the same colour as the walls.
The inside was the same four wooden walls surrounding a stone floor. Looking up, I could see the evening sky through thin cracks in the woods. Near the far end, a couple of planks had half-rotted away, their ends broken off. Thin strands of wood dangled above the floor revealing a perfect window to the arriving starscape. Below the spot, there was a darkened patch of the stone where a decade of rain water had left a permanent stain.
“Welcome,” said Fidel, noticing us enter. “Please, have a seat.” He pointed to a patch of dusty stone floor to his left.
The rest of the council sat in a circle. There were no seats. Some sat on the floor, one or two had brought cushions with them, another sat on an upturned log.
As we joined, Fidel began the meeting. “All ten council members are here. Yotese Over Haven was founded on the principle that all islanders from all ten villages are equal in power. No one should be compelled to go along with anything they do not approve of. We move as one or not at all.” He lowered his head and looked around the circle. “As per the guidelines we’ll open the floor for discussion topics before we move to dignitary business. Are there any proposals?”
One woman raised her hand slowly. “I’d like to propose sending a group to look into trading with Eglowe Needles. They may be in need of timber and we have plenty.”
“You do,” I heard Yamil mutter under her breath. The room ignored her.
“Very well,” Fidel replied. “Those in favor of debating this topic raise your hand.” Seven hands went up. Three stayed down.
“No consensus,” Fidel announced. “Next.”
Yamil raised an arm like a bolt. “I’d like to rediscuss repairs to the southern village.”
A few of the circle sighed. One man groaned.
“Those in favor of debating this topic raise your hand.”
Eight went up.
“No consensus.”
Yamil’s hand immediately raised again. “In that case I’d like to rediscuss the replacement of livestock in the Southern village.” The words were fast, repeated to instinct.
“Again?” one man moaned.
Yamil’s eyes bulged in his direction, reaching out to attack. “Yes. And I’ll keep proposing it until we discuss it.”
Fidel held up a palm to try and calm the mood. “Those in favor of debating this topic raise your hand.”
Eight hands raised. Yamil stared at the detractors, her head shaking from side to side, biting her lip.
“No consensus. Any other proposals?”
The room went quiet, stewing in the uneasy and dusty air.
Fidel seemed to count in his head until enough time had passed. “Very well. As was agreed by this council thirty-three years ago, dignitaries of foreign nations do not need to propose a topic and can present to the council. Therefore, I would like to ask our guests to speak.”
I stood up, unsure of the correct protocol, and nodded to the council members. Then, piece by piece, I laid out our story. We believed the ship would help us find a dangerous man, a man who had already attacked three islands and could hurt many more, a man who had already murdered one of their own. I tried to keep my voice passive, keep my own losses - Lachlann, Thomas - out of the story. Keep to what was pertinent to the room, not to me.
Fidel nodded and took a deep breath. “Those who wish to open the floor to questions, raise your hands.”
A smattering of hands raised. Maybe half. Too few.
“No consensus. Then we move to the vote. Those in favor of granting access to the ship raise your hand.”
I watched as hands raised. Yamil gave a limp raise of her arm quickly. Fidel followed slowly, but with a straight elbow. One by one I could see the machinations of those on the fence eventually lift their hand to the sky. Then I looked to the woman to my left. Her head was lowered, her hands in her lap. She didn’t move.
Then across the circle I saw Yamil lower her hand. “I withdraw my vote,” she said.
“What?” I called out. “You invited us here.”
“I’m going to ask you to remain silent during voting.” Fidel spoke calmly, looking round the circle. “Eight for. Two against. No consensus.”
“We need to get in there,” I interrupted. “People’s lives could be in danger.”
“The matter has been discussed,” Fidel waved his arm dismissively. He returned to a more formal voice. “The meeting is adjourned. Thank you for coming everyone.”
“No. Please. Vote again.”
“We voted. There was no consensus.”
“Eight of you said we could go. Yamil was fine too to start with, that’s nine.”
“There was no consensus.” Fidel repeated slowly, as though I had merely not understood.
“Can’t you use some common sense? At least give us an explanation.” I could feel Aslessia place a hand on my arm, pulling me away. I shirked it off.
“There was no consensus.”
I walked towards Fidel, getting in his eyeline. “What now then? What are we supposed to do?”
“Now?” He lifted an eyebrow. “You leave.”
The Archipelago is posted every Wednesday
previous chapter / contents / patreon

I waited for something to happen. My knees bent and my eyes gazed across the dunes waiting to run. But beyond the sound of the swaying bell and the water trickling out to sea, everything was still.
“You know what’s happening?” I called out to Alessia, still monitoring the tops of the dunes.
Alessia paused, then huffed. “No. I see nothing.” I heard her take a few steps through the sand towards me. “That bell does nothing.”
I walked towards the guard, shouting so I’d be heard over the metal clanging next to his ear. “What’s happening? What’s the bell for?”
“All visitors must report to the council headquarters. You can find the council headquarters on the western side of the island.”
I let out a hot breath of anger and turned away. “We can sit here all day listening to the ringing or go somewhere else.”
Alessia cocked her head. “Maybe we should go find this council office. He seems keen on us going there.”
I rolled my eyes and began trudging back up the dune away from the small river and the alluring artefact behind us. I leaned my head down, concentrating on each step, watching my feet sink into the soft sand on every step, grains tumbling down the slope in my wake. Half-way through the grind, I glanced forward to see a man silhouetted in the bright light of the sun.
I squinted until I could make out the details. His face was lined with thick wrinkles, and he had a mop of loose grey curls that fell to the base of his neck. A loose beige shirt with sleeves too long for his arms hung loosely across his thin frame.
Stretching out a hand, I tapped Alessia on the shoulder. She stopped and looked up. “Can we help you?”
“You will need to wait till two representatives are present,” the man replied in a firm but croaky voice.
“Two representatives?” I looked between the man and the guard at the bottom of the dune. “It looks like we have that.” I pointed between them.
“You will need to wait till two representatives are present.”
My eyes sealed shut with frustration. “Is that all you’ve got to say?”
He was silent for a second. Then, “You will need to wait till two representatives are present.”
“No. Sorry.” I leaned over and placed a hand on Alessia’s arm pulling her forward. “Done with this.” I turned slightly away from the man, cutting a path past him to the left.
He responded, pacing along the top of the dune to intercept us. He held out his arms so that the sleeves of his baggy shirt draped like a cloak “You will need to wait till two representatives are present.”
I tensed my cheeks, ensuring they only opened so far as to not scream. “If it’s fine with you, we’re going to find someone who can actually speak.” I tried to walk around him, but he sidestepped to cut me off.
“You will need to wait till two representatives are present.” He glanced over our shoulders and nodded.
Turning, I could see a woman on the other side of the dune. She was younger, with short, clipped strawberry-blonde hair.
“Is she another representative? Can we talk now?”
“You will need to wait till two representatives are present.”
I raised my arms in protest. “There’s three of you now,” I shouted.
The man turned to his left and called out as loudly as his elderly lungs could. “Yamil, hurry up if you can. They’re getting restless.”
My eyes bulged. “So you can talk.”
“You will need to wait till two representatives are present.”
My arms tensed and my hands wrung with anger as the man stood his ground in front of us.
“Just wait,” Alessia sighed, her shoulders slumped. “See what happens.”
We watched the woman descend the dunes, cross the stream, and then slowly climb the other side towards us. It was a long, awkward wait, watching her trudge through soft sands, the three of us standing in silence.
Finally, she got close enough for the man to exhale and his body relax. “Thank you for waiting. We need both members present to hold a conversation.”
“Why-“ I cut myself off. “Wait. There’s a body. A body down there. In the sand-“
“We know,” said the man in a calm but resigned tone.
“Who is it?” Alessia asked..
“The former guard,” the woman, Yamil, said as she arrived. “Few months ago a man arrived on the island and shot him. He wanted to get to the ship.”
I raised my eyebrows and looked to Alessia. “Sannaz?”
She nodded, turning to face the ship and the current guard, now returned to their relaxed position. “He’s been dead for months? Why didn’t you move him?”
“We couldn’t agree on what to do with him,” the man nodded calmly.
“Bury them? Cremate them?” I blinked rapidly. “Something?”
“The Council considered all those options.” The man gave the same accompanying nod. “But we couldn’t come to an agreement.”
“The Council?”
“There are ten villages on the island,” Yamil said, folding her arms. “Each one sends one person to the council.”
“And the council couldn’t decide on what to do with a dead body? So you just…” I looked back down at the patch of sand - too far away to make out the hand in any detail, but I was certain I could see the point where the bone poked through the surface. “…left him?”
“We took a vote.” The man turned to Yamil, checking for her confirmation. “Eight for burial, one for cremation, one for placing them in plain sight as a warning. That right?”
“Yes, Fidel,” Yamil replied.
My eyes narrowed, the brows meeting at the bridge of my nose. “Why didn’t you go with the vote?”
“We didn’t agree,” Fidel responded with equal confusion.
Yamil stepped in. “If we don’t all agree, then we don’t go ahead. Everyone has to agree.” Her face flinched slightly as she spoke.
“It’s the only way to stop the majority taking advantage of everyone. If we all have to agree then one-half can’t take advantage of the other half.” Fidel puffed his chest, recalling an old mantra.
I could feel a familiar heat in my veins, and I tried to temper it as I spoke. “You get together. You discuss something. And if any one of you disagrees, you do nothing.”
“Correct.” The nod seemed more enthusiastic.
“And you couldn’t tell us that till now because…?”
Yamil responded in a dour monotone. “Regular citizens aren’t allowed to speak to people from outside the island. They could do things or say things that would be only in their own interests.”
“What’s good for one person - what might even be good for the majority - can still harm some,” Fidel preached. “We must protect those who otherwise would have no voice. Here, everyone has a voice. Everyone is protected.”
I thought of the bones poking through the sand, but I said nothing.
Alessia let out a quiet, almost inaudible grumble. “So how come you can speak to us? Where’s the rest of the council?”
“We understand that at some point someone has to speak to outsiders,” Fidel said gruffly. “As long as two council members were present to witness, we could provide outsiders with information.”
I pushed the oddities from my mind, trying to refocus. “Does that mean you can give us access to the ship?”
Yamil shook her head. “That would require a council vote.”
“And agreement from all ten of them?” Alessia added.
Yamil nodded.
Alessia sucked air between her teeth. “We’re trying to track down the man who killed that guard. Your guard. Your own citizen. We’ll take nothing, cause no damage. We’re just trying to stop-”
“You’ll need council approval,” Fidel interrupted.
“How do we get that?”
Yamil looked to Fidel and wrinkled her nose. “I’ll get word out to the eastern side if you send people to the north. Get them together tomorrow night?”
Fidel bowed his head. “Agreed.”
“Tomorrow?” The words left my mouth tasting of relief.
“Around sunset.” Yamil smiled. “Put your case to the council. If all ten approve, then you can go ahead.”
“And if one says no?” Alessia asked, pulling back one side of her mouth.
Yamil let out a small chuckle. “Then bad luck.”
——————————————————————————
We returned to the boat and waited. We watched as the sun pushed across the sky, fell, and rose again. All the while, in the distance, that vessel loomed over us, calling me like a beacon.
Some connection to Sannaz was right there. Though, I also knew that something else pulled me towards that boat. The connection to the old world.
I spent the day staring at the ancient boat the way a child might study a present, trying to figure out its contents and its purpose from the outside, knowing I would always have to wait till it was unwrapped.
As evening came we trekked across the island to our appointment. The headquarters looked like a large barn: two storeys tall, and no longer than the length of Alessia’s boat. There were no signs outside, no lavish windows, no murals. Just two large wooden doors the same colour as the walls.
The inside was the same four wooden walls surrounding a stone floor. Looking up, I could see the evening sky through thin cracks in the woods. Near the far end, a couple of planks had half-rotted away, their ends broken off. Thin strands of wood dangled above the floor revealing a perfect window to the arriving starscape. Below the spot, there was a darkened patch of the stone where a decade of rainwater had left a permanent stain.
“Welcome,” said Fidel, noticing us enter. “Please, have a seat.” He pointed to a patch of dusty stone floor to his left.
The rest of the council sat in a circle. There were no seats. Some sat on the floor, one or two had brought cushions with them, another sat on an upturned log.
As we joined, Fidel began the meeting. “All ten council members are here. Yotese Over Haven was founded on the principle that all islanders from all ten villages are equal in power. No one should be compelled to go along with anything they do not approve of. We move as one or not at all.” He lowered his head and looked around the circle. “As per the guidelines we’ll open the floor for discussion topics before we move to dignitary business. Are there any proposals?”
One woman raised her hand slowly. “I’d like to propose sending a group to look into trading with Eglowe Needles. They may be in need of timber and we have plenty.”
“You do,” I heard Yamil mutter under her breath. The room ignored her.
“Very well,” Fidel replied. “Those in favor of debating this topic raise your hand.” Seven hands went up. Three stayed down.
“No consensus,” Fidel announced. “Next.”
Yamil raised an arm like a bolt. “I’d like to rediscuss repairs to the southern village.”
A few of the circle sighed. One man groaned.
“Those in favor of debating this topic raise your hand.”
Eight went up.
“No consensus.”
Yamil’s hand immediately raised again. “In that case I’d like to rediscuss the replacement of livestock in the Southern village.” The words were fast, repeated to instinct.
“Again?” one man moaned.
Yamil’s eyes bulged in his direction, reaching out to attack. “Yes. And I’ll keep proposing it until we discuss it.”
Fidel held up a palm to try and calm the mood. “Those in favor of debating this topic raise your hand.”
Eight hands raised. Yamil stared at the detractors, her head shaking from side to side, biting her lip.
“No consensus. Any other proposals?”
The room went quiet, stewing in the uneasy and dusty air.
Fidel seemed to count in his head until enough time had passed. “Very well. As was agreed by this council thirty-three years ago, dignitaries of foreign nations do not need to propose a topic and can present to the council. Therefore, I would like to ask our guests to speak.”
I stood up, unsure of the correct protocol, and nodded to the council members. Then, piece by piece, I laid out our story. We believed the ship would help us find a dangerous man, a man who had already attacked three islands and could hurt many more, a man who had already murdered one of their own. I tried to keep my voice passive, keep my own losses - Lachlann, Thomas - out of the story. Keep to what was pertinent to the room, not to me.
Fidel nodded and took a deep breath. “Those who wish to open the floor to questions, raise your hands.”
A smattering of hands raised. Maybe half. Too few.
“No consensus. Then we move to the vote. Those in favor of granting access to the ship raise your hand.”
I watched as hands raised. Yamil gave a limp raise of her arm quickly. Fidel followed slowly, but with a straight elbow. One by one I could see the machinations of those on the fence eventually lift their hand to the sky. Then I looked to the woman to my left. Her head was lowered, her hands in her lap. She didn’t move.
Then across the circle I saw Yamil lower her hand. “I withdraw my vote,” she said.
“What?” I called out. “You invited us here.”
“I’m going to ask you to remain silent during voting.” Fidel spoke calmly, looking round the circle. “Eight for. Two against. No consensus.”
“We need to get in there,” I interrupted. “People’s lives could be in danger.”
“The matter has been discussed,” Fidel waved his arm dismissively. He returned to a more formal voice. “The meeting is adjourned. Thank you for coming everyone.”
“No. Please. Vote again.”
“We voted. There was no consensus.”
“Eight of you said we could go. Yamil was fine too to start with, that’s nine.”
“There was no consensus.” Fidel repeated slowly, as though I had merely not understood.
“Can’t you use some common sense? At least give us an explanation.” I could feel Aslessia place a hand on my arm, pulling me away. I shirked it off.
“There was no consensus.”
I walked towards Fidel, getting in his eyeline. “What now then? What are we supposed to do?”
“Now?” He lifted an eyebrow. “You leave.”
The Archipelago is posted every Wednesday

Saw in another post somewhere on Reddit about getting the best performance from MT you might need to delete your fxo and metashaders2 folders in your saved games folder, so I did, and now all i get on launch is a black screen. I've tried a quick repair, slow repair, i'm ready to reinstall if i can't get this working. Any ideas?

Thinking About Building Facade Maintenance? – Here Is The Essential Checklist For You
With the statement, the building stands as the true representation of your brand; great maintenance becomes an important thing. Façade, which refers to the exterior of a building, creates the face of your building. Having the necessary knowledge of periodic façade cleaning and doing it with experts in Facade cleaning services is the need of the hour.
Why façade inspection?
Facade inspection helps in identifying loose, missing, and damaged façade elements of a building that require immediate repair. When you have identified these crucial points in the right period, you ensure to have a safe building for the users and the occupants.
Facade cleaning and maintenance is the expensive upkeep for any building. If you have better hands and are good at maintaining the façade of your building regularly, you can get rid of paying for expensive repairs in the future.
What is the need for a building facade checklist?
When you have the building facade checklist in hand, it makes it relatively easy to recognize those areas where it requires repairs and maintenance. It is always essential to be up to date and top of maintenance if you like to have a durable and excellent exterior of a building. This obviously demands a checklist of tasks for building facade maintenance which should be considered a vital part of every maintenance activity.
Checklist for building façade cleaning
Look at the checklist where the points are suggested and followed by experts of facade cleaning companies.

• Inspect and sweep all dust, debris, and dirt from the sidewalks, building door, and parking
• Clean/wipe glass doors in order to get rid of dirt and streak
• Inspect for any flaking related to paintwork.
• Performing moisture tests to identify any leaks
• Evaluate the conditions of skylights or chimneys
• Assess the exterior appeal and determine how often it requires maintenance activity
• Look out for the balcony concrete repairs

Get support from the best facade cleaning company
Dealing with the right people makes your building façade new and shiny. Contact Glasshoppers today and avail of expert services.

I’m pretty new to flipper, but I’m getting the jist of it. I’ve been using it for writing and emulating 125hz, nfc tags and cards, using sub-ghz protocol to copy the fob of my garage doors, I’ve saved IR remotes of all of my remote controlled devices…
But I’m extremely stupid when it comes to hardware and modules and all of that stuff.
So can please someone explain to me in dumbest words possible what are these dev boards that are connected to these GPIO boards? I’ve noticed that people are talking about Marauder (?), Wifi boards, signal enhancers, CC(something) modules..? I honestly have no clue what it is, and most importantly, what can I do with it if I choose to buy this dev board? What sort of things can I do with flipper with these dev boards that I can’t do with the things flipper does without them?
Again, sorry for the dumb post but I’d appreciate every help and information!

The trunk latch on my 2016 Fit is breaking. When I open it, I have to manually move the handle (the thing you press upward) before unlocking it. When I close it, I have to manually move it back into place for it to actually close. I know it's just a matter of time before it completely stops working so I want to repair it. I tried putting grease when the issue first started, it helped for a bit but when I looked under the handle now, I can see the spring is very, very rusted.
You can probably tell from my description, I don't know the correct terminology. I'm also not super car savvy but I want to at least try fixing it before I seek professional help. I've found a Honda parts supplier but I can't find a video online or instructions on how to repair it for my generation of Fit. This community helped me fix my door panels when rain started getting in a few years ago so I'm hoping you can help again.
Instructions? Video links?... Or even just the correct terminology might help me find instructions/videos on my own.

First Previous
The Legacy, currently transiting from Mars to Earth
20.5.2134 4:06 Solar-Date
Elisabeth watched the airlock close behind her before turning back towards Jackson and Pavel.
"Clear!" Jackson shouted over their coms.
Elisabeth locked out into the void, without the atmosphere and light pollution of Earth you could see all manner of stars illuminating the sky.
"DC reported that the engines are unresponsive, probably why we lost thrust. So, we’re heading there first." Elisabeth ordered the two.
They walked in the silence of space, the only sounds they heard were their breathing and their suits activating and deactivating their magnetic clamps in their boots as they moved. The gangway they were walking on was a metal grid about two meters wide.
Elisabeth looked forward the other two in front of her. Jacksons suit was a dark orange with grey mixed in between and black accents. Pavels suit was polar-white with blue accents, on the front plating a ring of stars was engraved on his suit. Elisabeth herself wore a light gray suit with some darker grays mixed in.
Every few steps one of the trio would look behind them to make sure no one could sneak up on them.
"Junction up ahead." Pavel said through their coms.
"Spartan take right, Pavel take left, I’ll watch center." Elisabeth responded.
The trio moved towards the four-way junction, slowly creeping towards the corners. When they reached them, Elisabeth waited a second before giving the signal.
They both peaked around the corners ready to shoot anything that moved. They both looked either way before giving the hand-gesture to continue.
Elisabeth rushed forwards to the other side. She continued checking both sides before the other two joined her and they continued walking down the walkway.
"Ok, I’ll take point from here." Elisabeth said before she walked past them, continuing to walk in the front of the pair.
"About 40 meters till we arrive at the back." Jackson called out.
"Captain. Hit on radar, about 2707 meters out above us. Width 14 meters, length 29 meters." Pavel announced.
"Copy Rookie, Spartan give us some cover." Elisabeth ordered.
Jackson kneeled training his rifle towards the end of the walkway before answering, "Copy."
"Ping it for me Rookie." Elisabeth asked, when an object was marked on her HUD, "Got it."
She zoomed in with her camera which was built into her suit, holding her weapon up ready to shoot.
"Well now we know what happened to the engines, the whole thruster-section’s been disconnected. Let's check the rest of the engines." Elisabeth said.
The three of them moved to the end of the walkway. Before them they could see the shaft too which the thrusters were once attached too. The end of the shaft was cut clean and visibly glowing red. To their right they saw one of the eight large ball tanks completely ripped open, the metal and polymers stretching outward into space.
"What the hell happened?" Pavel asked the group.
After a couple of minutes of silence Jackson finally spoke, "This isn’t normal."
"None of this is normal!" Pavel shouted.
"Look at the end-piece. It’s cut clean, as if cut with a knife. If we were hit by something like an asteroid or if a bomb exploded the shaft would be a lot more bent and there would a ton of shrapnel floating around." Jackson explained, "Not to mention the heat that’s radiating from that thing."
"Yes, something’s not adding up." Elisabeth turned back towards the direction they came from before turning on her radio, "Damage-Control, this is Marine 2. The engines have been cut off from the main superstructure and are now floating about 2873 meters out and increasing. Tank 7 has been blown out and depressurized."
There was a silence before the radio turned back on, "*static* This is Damage-Control, Marine 2 please repeat. Did you just say the engines have been cut off from the ship?"
"Affirmative, the distance between the ship and the engines are increasing at about 0,9 meters per second." Elisabeth reported back.
"Understood Marine 2, please continue with the visual inspection of the hull. Our Engineers should arrive shortly." Was heard through the teams’ radios.
The team continued checking the various areas of the engines while Elisabeth replied, "Understood Damage-Control, continuing visual inspection."
​
Sickbay was a mess as the Major entered the room, there were more people in the room than it was designed to handle. Blood was floating around freely, as the walls were lined with the wounded strapped to foldable beds.
One of the Doctors noticed him entering and headed towards him, "Put him down over here."
The Major laid Captain Levy onto the bed before strapping him down, while the Doctor checked the Captain. As he looked at his hurt friend, another Attendant floated towards him wanting to check for any injuries he had.
Major Smith waved him away, "No, no. I’m fine, got to get back to work."
The Attendant turned away muttering something about him being stubborn.
The Major floated towards one of the display panels to the side of the room reading through the preliminary damage reports, before turning around and heading out of the room to let the Doctors work unimpeded, "Legacy, you working again?"
The pitch varied chaotically as the speakers answered, 'aFfiRmaTivE MajOR smiTH.'
The Major raised an eyebrow at the response, "You okay Legacy?"
The speakers cut out before a very feminine voice answered, 'I’m sorry Major it appears that the electronics of the Ship have been damaged.'
The Major stopped before questioning the Legacy again, "Legacy you’re starting to creep me out, could you run a diagnostic of yourself for me?"
'I am working perfectly Major.' The voice replied.
The Major continued towards the control-room, passing multiple Engineers working on open panels inside the hallway, "Very well…"
He had other problems he had to deal with.
​
Nadja felt terrible, they had strapped themselves in after they had heard the announcement, but they weren't expecting what came next. Looking around she could see the others struggling after taking on the heavy g-forces. Sofiá had puked across the room, which now floated slowly in zero-g. Jīn seemed to be doing the best, slowly getting out of his seat and floating over to Robin who had gone limp.
After checking on the others Jīn came over to her. She looked up at him coughing while talking, "We need to get them- ack, we need to get them to Sickbay."
"Slow down there Nadja, you're not doing so well yourself." He answered weakly, gesturing to her Harness he continued, "Let me get you out of this first, then we'll take them over there."
​
The Major entered the control room, the doors automatically closing behind him, and strapped himself into the Captain’s chair.
Various crewmembers were busy coordinating and routing people to repair efforts.
He opened his terminal going down the list of his crew, he had thankfully only lost a very few from the crew, with most suffering light injuries. As he scrolled down to the end of the list he was taken aback, stopping at the section titled ‘civilian passengers’.
He scrolled through the list of 6 kids thinking about what he should do.
"Daniels, do you still have the telemetry for that Object?" The Major asked.
The room became quiet, with the crew looking at the two men.
"Certainly Sir." Daniels replied.
"How much time do we have before it catches up to us?" The Major asked with a dead pan voice.
Daniels looked at his display before hesitantly answering, "About fourteen hours Sir."
The Major sighed, "Legacy please broadcast me over the intercom."
'You are being broadcast Major Smith.' Legacy replied.
The Major looked around the room, "This is Major Oliver Smith, the Captain has currently been incapacitated which is why I am temporally taking control of this vessel." He stopped for a second, thinking about how to word his next sentence, "Some few of you already know this, but an extra solar object is currently on a collision course with us. After reviewing the damages and footage, we can clearly say that the object fired on us. They haven't completely destroyed us yet, which indicates they, whatever they are, wish to come close and personnel with us."
The Major looked over the list of damages before continuing, "The main engine has been sheared off completely. Shuttle two has been damaged beyond repair and we wouldn’t be able to get everyone off with both shuttles anyway.", he sighed, "I am going to be honest; it isn't looking good, I recommend you start writing messages to your family and friends."
He paused again, "All personnel are to start anti-boarding procedures and arm themselves in the armory. We will not let this ship be taken easily!"
"Sir, yes, Sir!", the astounding loud chorus of the bridge crew shouted back.
While the bridge personnel started working again with a fiery vigor, the Major brought up his communications terminal messaging Captain Santiego.
Getting a declination as a response the Major asked for certainty, with another refusal being sent as an answer.
He wrote his understanding before calling the head of engineering. The scruffy voice of Beatriz Aldo answered, "What is it?"
"I need you to do something for me.", Major Smith asked.
There was an audibly loud sigh before Beatriz replied, "Don't you already have everyone working on what you need?" "Yes, but this needs to happen on the down low.", He replied.
Beatriz paused before answering, "Fine. What do you need?"
​
The Pioneer, currently transiting from Mars to Earth 20.5.2134 4:57 Solar-Date
The Captain of the Pioneer was sleeping peacefully, when the lights suddenly turned on with full brightness, "Mhmm, Pioneer turn the lights off!"
'I am sorry Captain but your attention is required.' the speakers replied.
The Captain stood up and looked at the clock, "It's barely past five, what in god's name is so dammed important that you need to wake me?"
'We are receiving a distress call from the HIPT Legacy. They are in distress and need assistance.'
The Captain took a few moments to get awake before answering, "Okay, change course to match them and rendezvous."
'They have already sent a rendezvous plan; it does not include rendezvousing with the Legacy.'
​
Lunar-Command Control-room on Alpha-Station 20.5.2134 5:11 Solar-Date
Pr. Ming was pacing around the room unsure of what to do, the Military was on high alert since yesterday and all outgoing traffic in space had been cancelled.
"Are you sure that all entrances have been sealed?", Adm. Gupta asked.
"Positively Sir, if they're going to find the facilities it won't be because we left the doors open." The controller replied.
The two Admirals had been standing around the Controller talking with her about the different situations on the Moon and Earth.
Another Controller spoke up, "Sirs, Madam, Legacy just sent us another message."
Pr. Ming stopped in her tracks, turning and beelining for the man, "Show us, please."
From Legacy to Luna Command This is Major Oliver Smith, the Captain has been temporarily incapacitated. We have lost our engine. With the open act of hostility, it is safe to assume they aren't here to talk. I have ordered to prepare anti-boarding procedures as well as preparing shuttle 1 for departure. We are currently transporting 6 kids which I will send away with the shuttle, along with a few of my crew for the children's safety. The Shuttle won't be able to reach Earth even with the modifications I'm ordering, which is why I am requesting they be able to rendezvous with the nearest ship the ‘Pioneer’. I am preparing to defend this ship and its crew till the end and if I cannot, at least I will save them from something I don't even want to imagine.
I dearly hope it does not come to that. Signed Major Smith of the UNSC.
Attachments: rendezvous_maneuver ; personnel_messages_crew

If you find yourself locked out of your car and are in need of a reliable car locksmith in St. Louis, look no further. A car locksmith in St. Louis can provide you with the help you need to get back in your car and move again. Car locksmiths in the St. Louis area offer various services, including ignition repair and replacement. If you are experiencing difficulty with your ignition switch, a car locksmith in St. Louis can rescue you. Services such as keypad door locks, broken key extraction, remotes, and key cutting are also available from locksmiths in St. Louis and surrounding areas, such as Ballwin, MO, and Near Me St. Louis, MO. Contact your local locksmith today for the help you need with ignition repair or replacement.

Phone: 314-701-8244

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://carlocksmithstlouis.com

So our two bunnies aren't snugglers. They get held for brushing and nail trimming. They used to hop in bed with us at 6am when they wanted food. But now.... They've started sitting outside our open door. They start about 3am and wait till we get up. Just watching/sleeping. Or conspiring. And Tito (the male) will scratch and make any noise he can. We call it "Tito-ing".Cute little fluff butts.