#Push Back Pallet Racks

[sigmadisplayracks]

Innovative Pallet Racking Solutions for Modern Warehousing Needs

In the dynamic world of warehousing and logistics, efficient storage solutions are paramount. With the continuous evolution of technology and the increasing demand for optimized space utilization, innovative pallet racking solutions have become a necessity. Modern warehousing needs require systems that are not only robust and efficient but also flexible and scalable to accommodate varying storage requirements. 

Sigma Racks offers innovative pallet racking solutions tailored to modern warehousing needs. Our cutting-edge designs enhance storage efficiency, optimize space, and improve inventory management. Discover how our pallet racking systems can revolutionize your warehouse operations and boost productivity. This blog explores some of the most innovative pallet racking solutions designed to meet the needs of contemporary warehouses.

1. Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS)

Overview: Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS) are advanced solutions that use robotics and automation to store and retrieve pallets with minimal human intervention. These systems are designed to maximize storage density and improve the speed and accuracy of warehouse operations.

Advantages:

Increased Efficiency: AS/RS significantly reduces the time required to locate and retrieve items, thus speeding up the overall warehouse operations.

Space Optimization: These systems utilize vertical space efficiently, allowing for higher density storage.

Enhanced Accuracy: Automation reduces human error, ensuring precise inventory management.

Safety: Minimizes the need for manual handling of heavy pallets, reducing the risk of workplace injuries.

2. Mobile Racking Systems

Overview: Mobile racking systems are a versatile and space-saving solution where racks are mounted on mobile bases that move along tracks. This system allows for compact storage by eliminating the need for multiple aisles, as the racks can be moved to create an access aisle when needed.

Advantages:

Space Savings: Mobile racking can increase storage capacity by up to 80% compared to traditional racking systems.

Flexibility: Suitable for various types of goods, including bulky or irregularly shaped items.

Accessibility: Provides easy access to all pallets by creating an aisle on demand.

3. Dynamic Pallet Racking (Carton Flow and Pallet Flow Racks)

Overview: Dynamic pallet racking systems, such as carton flow and pallet flow racks, use gravity to facilitate the movement of pallets. These systems are designed for high-density storage and efficient stock rotation.

Advantages:

First-In, First-Out (FIFO) Inventory Management: Ideal for perishable goods or items with expiration dates, ensuring older stock is used first.

Increased Productivity: Reduces the time and effort required to move and pick items.

Space Utilization: Maximizes storage space by eliminating the need for multiple aisles.

4. Cantilever Racking Systems

Overview: Cantilever racking systems are designed for storing long, bulky items such as lumber, pipes, and furniture. These racks have arms that extend from a central column, providing open and flexible storage.

Advantages:

Versatility: Ideal for storing items of varying lengths and sizes.

Accessibility: Easy loading and unloading from the front without any vertical obstructions.

Durability: Strong and sturdy, capable of handling heavy loads.

5. Shuttle Racking Systems

Overview: Shuttle racking systems are semi-automated solutions where a shuttle or cart moves pallets within the racking structure. These systems are controlled by remote or software, allowing for efficient storage and retrieval.

Advantages:

High Density: Optimizes space by minimizing the number of aisles.

Efficiency: Speeds up the loading and unloading process.

Scalability: Easily expandable to accommodate growing storage needs.

Conclusion

Modern warehousing demands innovative pallet racking solutions that offer efficiency, flexibility, and space optimization. Whether through automation with AS/RS, space-saving mobile racking, dynamic flow racks, versatile cantilever systems, or semi-automated shuttle racking, these advanced solutions cater to the diverse needs of contemporary warehouses. By adopting these innovative systems, businesses can enhance their storage capabilities, improve operational efficiency, and stay competitive in an ever-evolving market.

[warehouseequipmentsite]

Pushback rack systems are ideal for warehouses that store a high volume of product, multiple pallets per SKU, and a high volume of turnover. The biggest advantage of push back racking is its ability to offer both selectivity (access to different pallets/SKU’s) and storage density by storing multiple pallets per position.

[camaraindustries]

Revolutionizing Storage: The Advantages of Push Back Racking Systems

Push Back Racking Systems have transformed the landscape of storage and inventory management, offering an unparalleled efficiency in maximizing warehouse space. Unlike traditional racks, Push Back Racks can store up to six pallets deep, boosting storage capacity by 25-30% more than selective racking systems. This leap in efficiency is achieved through an innovative design: pallets rest on wheeled carts that glide along inclined rails, enabling deep storage without necessitating multiple aisles.

See More: https://camaraindustries.com/revolutionizing-storage-the-advantages-of-push-back-racking-systems/

[luoshaninternationalinc]

Maximizing Space Utilization with Innovative Warehouse Pallet Racking in Walnut

Discover how Luoshan International Inc. revolutionizes storage solutions with innovative warehouse pallet racking in Walnut. Our professional services go beyond expectations, enhancing storage capacity, reducing costs, and boosting operational efficiency. Trust us to transform your warehouse into a streamlined space that meets your needs and exceeds your goals.

Visit - https://www.wikiful.com/@Luoshan/maximizing-space-utilization-with-innovative-warehouse-pallet-racking-in-walnut

[jinhuirack]

Today's importing/exporting, wholesale, and freight shipping industries need storage space to protect valuable merchandise, and they need it fast. Handing logistics from freight receipt to freight ship often includes a brief period of non-movement for which finding the right warehouse space to rent is a chief concern. Today there are options to securing temporary storage, and facilities to solve any unique shipper's need. From refrigerated units to temperature-controlled warehouses; the best-informed shippers know their options and are successful at storing their freight properly until time to move.

Locating the right warehouse to store your goods means the difference between your product being placed in consumers hands, to ruined merchandise and costly dips in profit. Before you begin checking for warehouses, get to know the types of warehouses available and their storage system so you can be sure the location is a proper fit. Easily damaged merchandise will require special handling, as will raw materials and finished goods.

The most common warehouse storage systems include: pallet racks, mezzanine, cantilever, industrial shelving, and automated storage and retrieval systems. We'll discuss each option briefly so you can get an idea of your ideal storage. Remember, when in doubt, contact the warehouse directly to answer any questions particular to the goods that you will be sending in for storage.

Pallet racks are probably what you think of first when you think warehouse storage, and these include double-deep, pushback, and gravity flow pallets as well as selective, drive-in and drive-through.

Mezzanine storage systems are structural, roll formed, and rack or shelf-supported and generally made from steel, fiberglass, or aluminum. In warehouse storage, you'll typically find mezzanine storage systems formed near the top of the building where buildings are taking advantage of the storage space near their tall roofs. Warehouses work hard to maximize each square foot of their storage facility and mezzanine systems are ideal.

Cantilever storage systems are racks made up of a vertical column, a base, arms, and a horizontal/cross-brace. Made from roll formed structural steel, you'll most find this storage system in place where warehouses see a lot of plumbing material storage.

Industrial shelving storage systems are your typical warehouse shelves. Mostly made from metal and steel, although some include wood materials, this simple solution to storage creates organized systems with easy cataloging.

Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS for short) are single masted, double masted, or man-aboard types and it's important that you know which one your warehouse uses if it has an ASRS system in place. These computer-controlled storage methods automatically place and retrieve loads from programmed locations, and are best used in high volume stowing and retrieval demands are present within tight space constraints. With vertical or horizontal carousels, vertical lift modules, and the ability to retrieve loads of any weight, ASRS systems are highly-efficient because they can reach as far up and out as the warehouse space requires thereby maxing out the square footage of the building.

Get to know the types of storage used in warehouse facilities today and as you secure temporary homes for your goods be sure that you are aware how your selection will be packing and retrieving your merchandise. Knowing this factor will keep you in control of how your merchandise is handled, and allow you to make the best decision.

Chrissy Zhou is a marketing agent of jinhuiracks.com. The website offers a fast and convenient place for importers/exporters, wholesalers, and transport professionals to find and secure the best warehouse storage facility. For more information on their Rent Warehouse [https://www.jinhuiracks.com/] please visit their website.

[hoshigray]

hii love ur works 🫶🏽

can I req brat reader giving toji the WORST attitude? 💗.

*sinister laugh* Why, yes, you can, noonie! When I saw this, the first scenario that came to mind was the reader being another assassin who likes to get on Toji's nerves. So, imma stick with that!! Had to take an all-nighter to finish this up, hehe~ (no fr tho, it's 8:35 in the morning here) Thank you for loving my stuff, and enjoy~~

A/n: posting this bc I'm staling on my Geto fic since my brain has so much it wants to add...sigh. In the meantime, while I'm working on this, I figured I could drop this as an apology for pulling the fic back (~_~;) My apologies, and I hope y'all like this one! Also tysm for 1.7k followers!! Y'all are too kind and sweet, happy to be writing for you~☆ Cw: hard dom! Toji x bratty fem! reader - you and Toji are assassins on a mission together - explicit content; minors DNI - implied age gap (the reader is at least in their 20s; Toji in his mid-30s or approaching 40s, up to you) - fingering (f! receiving) - cunnilingus - sexual acts in a public place - degradation (brat, crybaby, slut, whore) - Daddy kink - reader talking smack, but Toji teaches you a lesson - tiny praise - pussydrunk! Toji - pet names (baby, doll, princess) - ends with penetration, but mostly Toji eating you out - unprotected sex (PSA: wrap it up, or get the fuck up) - overstimulation - clitoral play (pinching, pushing, and sucking) - mentions of blood. Wc: 1.8k

You recently joined the hitmen field not too long ago. Still young and new to the workforce, it wasn't the first place you figured to enter for some quick cash. But with your astute skills and abilities, no other occupation best suited you. Besides, it wasn't long before people looked past your recent addition and saw what you were made of. Not only were you good at your job, but you were climbing the ranks, swifting past your inferior subordinates.

It's nothing new, though. You were always good at what you do, better than others at what you do. Doing everything perfectly and effortlessly, that was your style. And everybody knew that.

Everybody but a particular individual. A specific man who always overshadowed you. An older man who snatched your attention the first moment he looked your way, the scar on his lip rooted up with the twinge of his lips.

"Rookies lookin' real cute these days, huh, doll?" were his first words to you. And from that day on, you did what you could to get close to him. Even if that meant irritating him.

From taking his missions to acting as a complete thorn in his side, you do whatever it takes to get Toji's attention. Especially his silent pissed off expressions, which are your favorite to see. And don't let your handler tell you that you two would be on a mission together because the teasing would be endless for the poor, experienced hitman.

Just like today, when you two are deployed to kill an old geezer and his goons for a massive sum of money, Toji goes to one side of the old warehouse to thin out the number of bodyguards and heads straight to the target's den, leaving you to the rest. But imagine his surprise when he sees the old man already dead on the chair at his desk, a stiletto pierced right through his neck, evident of his demise as a stream of crimson staining his yellow dress shirt.

And Toji notices a note left on the weapon, the familiar handwriting in pink with a kiss mark already tells him who wrote it. "Gotta be quicker than that, Grandpa ~" is what he reads in your charming voice, and it vexes him knowing you beat him to the punch.

He sees you leaning on a pallet rack when he returns to the warehouse, and you smile when you turn to him. "Well, that was fast," you play coy, stretching when standing straight up. "Took care of those punks like five minutes ago, figured I'd wait on you."

"I got your note." He wastes no time. He's so hot when he does that.

"Oh? Did ya like it~?" Your hand swiftly grabs something that came dangerously close to your temple — your stiletto. It was thrown with the knowledge that you would catch it. So serious, huh.

"Ya know, for someone callin' me a 'grandpa,' you sure act like a damn kid leavin' y'r toys everywhere."

You chuckle at his complaint. "Awww, did I hurt your big boy feelings with my little words?" You see his green eyes watch your every move as you walk up close to him. "Sorry~, not my fault you were too slow to get the final kill."

Toji raises a brow. "How'd ya get to him before me?"

You shrug with a cheeky grin. "Assassins don't tell their secrets, especially when your old head couldn't get it."

It's his turn to chortle. "Oh yeah? Ya think y'r too fast for me?"

"I wouldn't say that, just that you're too slow for me," your hands go up defensively when he takes a step forward, and you try hard to not get turned on by his well-built physique displayed by the shirt that does a terrible job hiding his features. "As a matter of fact, I bet you're slow at other things."

He takes another step forward, and before you register his next move, he already has you pinned to the pallet rack you once leaned against. His smirk grows broader while your eyes widen at the sudden shifting. "Was that too slow fr' you, princess?"

No, absolutely not. That's what you would want to say to him, his tall figure engulfing you under his presence. But you didn't want to let off that easily, your hand finding the crotch of his pants. When verdant eyes shut to the feeling of your fingers brushing against his bulge, you take the chance to say more. "Oh, that was totally too slow for me, geezer. Such a shame; I thought you'd be a lot more fun. But guess I'll have to go on to the next person who could do a better job."

"Mmm, don't start somethin' y'r not ready for, brat." His gruff voice dials to a whisper, your ears replaying the tone, making the throbbing sensation between your legs prosper. You can feel his erection, even with his pants blocking the view. "Good luck findin' someone who'd shut that pretty mouth of y'rs better than I do."

You giggle after grabbing onto his erect cock, forcing the older man to hiss and his face coming down to your level. You whisper to his ear. "And what makes you think a dumb, old, brute-for-brains like you could satisfy me? I fail to see what you're capable of, grandpa." Those were the words you chose to entice the man under your spell.

But what you really failed to see was the predicament you've gotten yourself in.

Lying on a pallet with your back, your pretty bottoms and panties now discarded to the dirty floor, you scream out to the empty warehouse. Tears and drool escape from your face, and the quiver in your legs is evidence of your body going through the absolute most right now. "Haaahh! Ahhhh!! T-Tojiii, Toji, please!! I'm—Hoooohh!!" You grab tufts of raven hair that are stationed between your legs.

The older man holds your legs up with one hand, the other nestled between your slick-coated folds as his middle and forefinger push in and out of your cunt. His tongue licks furiously on your clitoris, your cries evident of the abuse on your tender bud and vulva.

Toji removes the wet muscle and moves his fingers go an instantaneous pace, the tips of his digits scraping your walls resulting in more tears falling off your face without fail. He snickers, "Look at you; all that screamin' and hollerin' like a damn whore have you forgetting simple rules." His thumb finds your clit, pushing down on it every time his fingers are propelled inside. "What did I tell you to call me, brat?"

The unforgiving rhythm of his hand on your bare vulva has you seeing stars and choking on your spit. "I-I'm sorry, Daddy!! I didn't mean to make you mad at me!"

"You sure 'bout that?" His condescending tone matched the devilish twinge of his scarred lips. The digits doing a 'come hither' motion that has your body jerking nowhere, your legs still restrained by his firm arm pushing them to your stomach. "My 'big boy feelings' were crushed with y'r little comments, so here I am gettin' the payback I need. Was acting all high and mighty until I got my mouth on ya."

"But I said—Mmmph!! I'm sorry!" You wail out, your face hot with embarrassment and excitement. "And I already came—Oh fuck...C-Came three times!!"

"You called me names four times, so I expect you to cum one more time, you fuckin' crybaby." He replies coldly, your tears and pleas on deaf ears. "Heh, if I knew havin' my fingers in you like this would have you behavin', I woulda done it earlier. Grippin' on my 'em like a damn slut."

His fingers go faster with no smooth transition as his mouth returns to your soft button, your screams erupting from the back of your exhausted throat. Even with your voice filling the scene, you can only listen to the raunchy noises of the commotion between your thighs. It's enough for you to wish your ears burn at such lewd sounds, and your head pounding worsens the state of your already mushy brain. This is what you wanted all this time — to have the man you've been infatuated with give you the attention to so dearly strived and poked for. However, the intensity of it all was nowhere near what you had expected.

"Nnnmm!! Daddyyy," the title slurred from your mouth feels hot to the tongue, but it's the only way to address him before your punishment intensifies. You peer down to see his black hair come up, fierce emerald eyes taking in your expressions. "It's coming, gonna cum again!!"

"Yeah? Wanna come on my fingers again?" He chortles when you rapidly nod at him, pathetically desperate for your release. "Fine, cum on Daddy's fingers like the slut you are." He moves his hands to the back of your thighs and has his tongue slowly glide up your soapy chasm, tasting your wetness until he reaches your clitoris and attacks the bud more. Circling around and sucking on your precious nub prompts your orgasm to climb up, and it hits you hard when his teeth and tongue grind on your clit.

With final moans of pleasure, you experience your finish with the harsh treatment of Toji's mouth, hands purchasing his hair for faux stability. Your legs tremble with curled toes, and your body jolts with the shocks. And Toji doesn't stop until he licks the slit clean of your essence, slurping up your sensitive folds until his thirst has quenched. All you can do is submit and let him have his way with you, sucking up your fluids from your cunt to the mess of your inner thighs.

"Mmmm, fucking Christ, Y/n," you hear his mumbled curse below. "Taste so fuckin' good, baby..."

Your body soon calms down from the climax, trying to steady your breathing with even breaths. And Toji finally finishes drinking your wetness, drawing his head up to reveal his lips wet with your come, licking it and his fingers. "Bet that wasn't slow fr' ya, huh."

You meekly nod your head. "And I bet nobody's gonna make you shut you up like that, huh?" You nod again.

The smirk on his face scares you, especially when he straightens up to show his erect dick still hard and ready to be free from the tented pants. And when his cock springs out, your sweaty body runs cold immediately.

"Good," he says while bringing you close to him, arranging his cock to your wet entrance. "But we ain't done here." Complaints and pleas aren't able to enter the air because you just watch the tip of his cock bully through the lips of your chasm and enter inside you with ease. He gradually pushes his entire length into you, getting full with every inch as his girth intrudes between your tight, smooth walls.

"Keep up wit' me, baby," his eyes hone in on you, gauging your reactions before he starts moving his hips relentlessly. "because I'm about to show you what I'm really capable of."

[kymerawrites]

hii, if your taking in requests. Could you write something about simon and reader having a teenage son who knocked up his high school girlfriend and reader thought that it was simon who cheated on her and knocked up somebody when in fact he didnt and was planing an anniversary gift.

Like the pregnancy stick could be found like in the car or in simon jacket that the son sometimes use like that.

❤️❤️

Ooh this is going to be a fun one! I wanted to try something with !papa Simon for a while but let’s give it a go! Ty for the idea love 🤍🤍 for this I’ll use shym and Simon (NOT RELATED TO THE SIR SIMON RILEY, see it as a multiverse lol)

Life is amazing, married, settled life, 2 children of my own and a house in the city. It has been 19 years since me and Simon met, and 17 years ago since we had our first of our 2 children. Killian and hope.

As I got into the car I felt as if my worst dreams became true, a pregnancy test on the seat. Simon was still at work, we lived close at the 141 headquarters. After I became pregnant I surrendered myself from that lifestyle but Simon was still enjoying it. Even becoming the captain of the team after John price retired.

I picked up the test, tears welling up in my eyes, was he really seeing someone else?

I went down stairs to see hope sitting on the couch, she was a copy of her father’s behavior, always stoic. But for me she had her soft spot ofcourse, we parented her to be strong, wise and powerful. And I think we did a great job.

She saw my eyes with tears.

“Mamma? What is going on?” She rushed instantly to the doorway and held me “tell me what’s wrong?”

I instantly hid the test in my pocket, they shouldn’t know when I don’t have closure yet.

“Hope.. it’s fine, everything is okay. I just had a look at some old photos of me and your dad when we were younger.”

She looked up in my eyes “mom you’re so emotional, what happened to the cold and fearless lady that my father tells so proudly to everyone about?”

I laughed “being pregnant with you 16 years ago made my hormones like this!” I gave a playful push to her and went to sit on the couch.

“Love, where is killian?”

Hope rolled her eyes “2 possible options, the gym or out with friends.”

I sighed

Killian is an actual copy of his father, Simon is his role model. But he is like me from back in the days, always going out with friends or to a party.

Until I heard the door click.

Simon came home with only his mask still on, hoor laughed when she saw it, it’s not that likely to see her father with his mask on.

“Dad you look stupid!” She burst out laughing and instantly switched to mad “didn’t I tell you to not use my eyeshadow pallet anymore?! You know how much that thing costed me?!”

He chuckled and closed the door behind him, locking it before taking his hat off and throwing it on the side as usual, placing it next to his military jacket that he placed on the rack.

He ruffled Hope's hair and gently squeezed her cheek, before he walked closer to his wife and wrapped his arms around her from behind, placing a kiss on her neck as he rested his chin on her shoulder, his stubble and facial scars leaving a ticklish sensation on her skin.

He tilted his head slightly. "What's wrong love? What's with the tears?"

The sight of his wife's tears made his heart flutter. She was the most important in his life, he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. He cupped her cheeks, gently and softly wiping the tears away with his thumbs as he turned her around, lifting her chin up.

"Hey baby, look at me. What happened?" He questioned and softly mumbled, holding her close and rubbing her back, looking right at her. He was always direct and straightforward, he hated when she started crying without a clear reason.

Simon looked at hope and nodded for her to go upstairs

Hope quickly nodded, standing up and heading upstairs to her room, taking a last glance at her worried parents before closing her door. Simon cupped his wife's cheeks again and kissed her tenderly on the lips, hoping that would calm her down and make her talk.

I showed the pregnancy test “20 years of marriage Simon, and this is how you try to dispose me? Who is that fucking bitch? It’s not like she can give you what I cannot.”

His eyes widened as he saw the pregnancy test in her hand, looking back up at her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, sighing deeply as he placed his forehead on hers, shaking his head softly.

"Baby, no. I'm not trying to dispose you love, I wouldn't do that. You know I love you, why would I cheat?" He said and gently rubbed his thumb over her cheek, his voice filled with sincerity.

“Then why did I find this in our car? Who was it?”

He gently pulled away, sighing again as he ran his hand through his hair in a stressed and flustered manner, his eyes fixated on the wall in front of him. This conversation was going in a direction he never wished it would go.

He didn't answer her yet, taking a moment to find the right words.

“It’s not mine. And no you have a google cam so you won’t see me with a woman in our car.”

I laughed “I’m not stupid Simon, who else could possibly drive our car?”

We both looked each other in the eye and both came to a realization.

“Fuck it’s one of the kids.” I said

He groaned and facepalmed, shaking his head. "Ugh, I knew I raised them wrong.”

He sighed in disappointment before he continued: "I'm going to talk with Hope, you go talk with Killian. They'll only talk when we're separated. I'm going to find out what the hell is going on.”

And with that, he let go of her and began walking up the stairs, muttering "Damn kids..”

As he reached the door of Hope's room, he softly knocked, his knuckles tapping gently against the wood. A soft and slightly annoyed voice echoed from inside, her words muffled slightly but still faintly audible.

"Yeah?" She said from within the room and after a few seconds, she sighed before opening the door, her eyes immediately widening in surprise as her tall father stood in front of her.

"Uh, Hey dad," she gulped, gulping.

Ghost raised a brow to her nervousness and leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms as he watched her intently. He could tell something was up and he wasn't going to leave until she spoke.

"Hope." He stated simply, his gaze never leaving hers as he eyed her up and down. She could feel his presence intimidating her but he remained silent, waiting for her to speak.

Hope swallowed hard, her hands gripping tightly to the door as she nervously looked into her father's intense gaze. His height towered over her, making her seem even more small and vulnerable under his intimidating presence.

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, she finally spoke up, her voice shaky and filled with uncertainty. "Yes, dad?" She managed to say, mentally cursing herself out for flinching.

Ghost's gaze remained fixed on hers, his expression unwavering. He could sense her unease, but he wasn't going to let her off the hook that easily.

"We need to talk, Hope." He stated firmly. "Now. Close the door and have a seat."

Hope gulped heavily, her heart racing as she closed the door behind her and took a seat in a nearby chair, crossing her arms in an attempt to appear nonchalant. But Ghost saw right through that façade, and he wasn't fooled one bit.

With his hands crossed over his chest, he surveyed his daughter intently, watching her every move as she waited for the inevitable interrogation.

“Is this some military training? If so maybe try this on Killian as I don’t want to be bombarded by terrorists any time soon.”

Ghost rolled his eyes at her attempt to joke, not amused in the slightest. Though, he couldn't blame her for trying to diffuse some of the tension, it wouldn't work. He uncrossed his arms and stepped closer, his frame towering over her as he looked down at her with unwavering eyes.

"Hope," he began firmly. "We need to talk about the pregnancy test in the car. Explain."

She looked disgusted

“First of, no I’m not pregnant, second off yes I did do some stuff but I always take my birth control. Very embarrassing to have this talk with my dad..” she muttered

He raised a brow, clearly unconvinced but not exactly surprised. He knew how sneaky his daughter could be, she always had a rebellious streak in her. He crossed his arms again and leaned against the wall, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Alright," he replied slowly. "And the pregnancy test? Where did that come from? Who was it?" He pressed.

She laughed “oh dad you have so much to learn, maybe ask at that irritating douche I need to call my brother”

Ghost gritted his teeth in annoyance, his patience starting to wear thin. He knew that she was still not fully cooperating and playing games with him.

"Language, Hope," he reprimanded, his tone firm and authoritative. "You need to explain this to me right now and stop playing games. Who are you really sleeping with?"

“Oh my god.. I haven’t slept with someone in weeks! But killian has some chicks being head over heels for him!”

He listened to her explanation, his eyes narrowing as she mentioned about her brother. It didn't surprise him that Killian would be a heartthrob, what surprised him was the situation happening behind his back. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"And you know this because..?" He questioned, raising a brow.

She tried to get out of this situation “uh well, yeah uh..”

Ghost's piercing gaze never wavered as he stepped closer to her, towering above her as he firmly and assertively raised a brow.

"Hope," He warned, his voice laced with warning. "You're not leaving this room until you give a straight answer. Stop stalling or the next conversation will be much worse."

It was clear that he was done playing games and would not tolerate any more nonsense. He expected the truth, and he expected it now.

“Oh my god dad! I can’t tell that’s a secret between me and killian or else mom won’t sleep anymore”

His annoyance grew with her response, clearly not satisfied with it. He gritted his teeth, frustration evident in his eyes.

"Hope, enough with the games." He said lowly, his voice dangerously close to a growl.

"You have three seconds to give me one, straight answer, or I’ll have your mother find out what exactly is going on. And this isn’t a threat, it's a warning. You don’t want to see your mother’s reaction to all of this. Understood?"

“Fine, killian takes me to his friends house parties every Saturday so we can both have some fun and he just parties with me.. and I guess he went with a girl that evening?”

He listened intently, taking in every word she said with a serious expression. His brow furrowed as she continued and when she was done, he let out a deep sigh. He ran a hand over his head as he processed the information his daughter have given.

"I see." He finally said after a moment of tense silence. "Is this why you two has been coming back home late every Saturday night?" He questioned, his tone firmer than before.

“I’m not the one to blame here! I’m just enjoying my young years, now please get out before I make sure you somehow get out? Also go talk to killian!”

His eyes narrowed at her request, clearly not amused with her attitude, but he had to admit, she was not the one to blame this time. With a deep sigh, he nodded slightly and walked to the door.

"We will continue this later," he warned before walking out of her room and closing the door behind him. He stood there for a moment, taking a deep breath before walking downstairs to his next mission. Confronting Killian.

He saw shym sitting on the kitchen counter pouring herself a glass of wine, she looked so sexy today.

Simon couldn't help but admire her beauty as she stood there, pouring herself a glass of wine. In his eyes, she was always sexy and attractive. He slowly approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder from behind, and gently massaging it before planting a kiss on her neck.

“Baby is kil still out with his mates?” He asked shym.

Shym looked irritated ready to throw her glass at the window “what did hope say? I swear to god-“

It’s Killian Simon said

Shym looked surprised at her husband

“What did you just say?”

Simon chuckled also being not amused at all “Your daughter is too much like you, and your son is a heartrob.”

Shym smiled “we did make beautiful kids didn’t we?”

Until she heard a click of the door and Killian walked inside. And there was a sound of the front door opening Killian coming inside the house.

Simon’s eyes flicked towards the door as Killian entered the house, his attention immediately shifting to his son. He gently squeezed Shym's shoulder before making his way towards the entrance, his eyes filled with a mixture of concern and disappointment.

Killian froze at the sight of his father waiting for him by the door, he gulped nervously, sensing that he was in trouble.

Shym walked behind him staring daggers in his eyes “catch it.” And threw the pregnancy test towards Killian

Killian caught the pregnancy test in mid-air, his eyes widening in disbelief and fear. He looked pale and sweat started to form on his forehead, his heart thumping rapidly in his chest.

Simon stood there with his arms crossed, his expression stern and disapproving, waiting for his son to explain.

Killian gulped, his hands trembling slightly as he held the pregnancy test.

"I… I can explain,” he finally managed to stutter out, his voice shaky and weak. “I-"

I walked towards Killian and gave him a slap on the shoulder “first of, what the actual fuck are you having unprotected sex? U are 17 Killian!” I wanted to berate him more before Simon intervened

Killian winced at the slap and looked at his parents sheepishly, rubbing his shoulder gently. He knew he had messed up, and he braced himself for the verbal berating that was to come from his mother. But Simon stepped in, placing a calming hand on her shoulder.

Simon gave his son a serious look before speaking. "Explain." He simply said.

Killian took a deep breath, trying to steady himself.

"I’m sorry, okay? I was at a party and things got carried away. I wasn’t thinking straight. I didn’t mean for this to happen, I swear." The boy began, his eyes averted as guilt washed over him. "I just...I didn’t think-"

A tense silence hung in the air as Killian explained himself. But both Simon and Shym remained unsympathetic with a stern expression, clearly not satisfied with his excuse.

Simon's gaze hardened as he shook his head. "You didn’t think?” He repeated, his voice firm. "That's not an excuse, do you understand the consequences of your actions?"

“What is the girl going to do with this baby? Are you even sure it’s yours.”

Killian looked even more anxious as his mother questioned him about what the girl planned to do with the baby. He hadn't even thought about that. And as for the paternity, he honestly didn’t know.

After a few moments of silent thinking, he finally responded. "I don't know," he admitted weakly. "I haven't talked to her yet."

Simon nodded, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. He could sense his son's guilt and fear, but it wouldn't resolve any of this.

“You will talk to her. Now.” He stated firmly, his authoritative tone leaving no room for negotiation.

“Roger that sir!” And Killian ran out of the house

Simon nodded, watching as his son dashed out of the house. He let out a deep sigh and leaned back against the kitchen counter, rubbing his temples in frustration.

Shym stood beside him, her hands on her hips as she stared at the empty door. After a few moments of silence, she finally spoke and looked at Simon with a hint of a smirk.

"You’re going softer on that boy."

“I am a mother, not a drill sergeant.” I laughed

Simon chuckled slightly at her remark, a warm smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Of course, you’re not," he agreed, wrapping an arm around her waist. He pulled her closer and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

[luna-andra]

The Shadows Return | Simon 'Ghost' Riley x OC Retired AU | Chapter 8: Compromise

Summary: Andra wants answers, and Ghost has to choose

Word Count: 6.5k

If this is the first time you're seeing this, Chapter 1 is here. You can find the rest on my masterlist!

Content: slow burn, eventual smut, 18+, fluff, mentions of mental health, mild violence

The clouds on the way home were overcast across the afternoon sky. Johnny left Andra with several things to think over, bringing her back to a familiar train of thought from five years ago.

He gave her the same look that stirred shame in her belly. She didn’t like being on a different level of rationality – or lack thereof – with the people once close to her.

It was declared by the officer that showed up there was no indication of foul play. The possibility of an incompetent and inconvenienced officer being sent to her call was in the forefront of her mind, and also the possibility of any traces of someone’s presence could have been washed away from the thunderstorm by the time they came out to investigate. The whole process of filing the report gave her no peace of mind, but she took the advice of setting up surveillance seriously.

A precautionary that she should have done ages ago.

The quiet, quaint life out on the farm had soothed her troubled worries all of these years, making her forget for a moment what it was like to live looking over her shoulder every moment. She wasn’t naïve, no, she knew how to take care of herself when the seldom case of harassment arose. Andra should have never gotten so comfortable the way she did.

Her foot pressed down heavily on the brake pedal as she waited at a stop light to rub the exhaustion from her eyes. She was just a few more turns from home, she reminded herself. The caffeine she had ingested all throughout the morning was threatening a big crash.

Andra drove slowly down Middleton Lane as she spotted the first right turn to the private dirt road of Ghost’s property. Then her truck came to a full stop. You know what-

Her hand turned the wheel right as her tires skid around the corner.

Andra didn’t know what she was doing, or what she would exactly say to him, but she needed to know what was going through his head.

Andra parked behind his truck and turned the key out of the ignition. She paused for a few seconds to take a breath and gather at least the first sentence that would come out of her mouth.

Her phone vibrated.

I’m in the garage.

Of course Ghost knew Andra had arrived, another sign that she definitely needed to do the same thing to her property. Cameras and motion sensors.

She shut the door behind her as she made her way to the garage off to the right of his house. One of the metal double doors was left cracked open, and she could hear the metal clink of a tool being put down.

The garage was Ghost’s own personal auto shop, with an incomplete classic-looking car taking up majority of the left. The wall was lined with tool boxes, yard tools, and almost a pallet’s worth of army green ammo cans. To the right, a rudimentary gym setup took up another portion of space, with a bench press, a high pull-up bar, seemingly crafted and welded together amateurly, and a rack of assorting dumbbells and plates to complete it all.

Ghost was hunched over the open hood of the car, one hand on the lip of the hood as he kept his attention on whatever he had been working on before Andra’s unannounced arrival.

“Is this your way of letting me know that you’re pushing me away again?” Andra sharply said to the backside of Ghost.

Ghost tossed a tool onto the toolbox on his left side and retrieved a rag, wiping grease from his stained hands. His muscles tensed in his back as he turned to Andra’s direction. “Today has been a really tense day. I wanted to give you some space to come down from last night.”

Andra clenched her jaw. “I don’t need space, I need answers. I feel like I’ve been kept in the dark about something I have no control over.”

“That’s because you don’t.”

She could feel her blood simmering already. Not how she wanted this to go. “I don’t because you never gave me the choice to take control.” Andra couldn’t recognize the person she was talking to. His stare was cold and dark. If his goal was to anger her into cutting her losses with him, it wasn’t going to work. “You didn’t tell me anything because we lost touch the first time, fine, I get it. But you went ahead and told Johnny? That’s what I can’t get passed.”

Ghost trudged out of the garage with Andra following behind him. “He and I had an eye on things. We had it under our thumbs.”

Andra tossed her hands up. “Had what exactly?” Her voice echoed all around them. “What the hell is going on with you?”

He turned back to her, stopping her in her tracks before bumping right into him. Ghost peered down to her, his eyes burning the same heat. “What do you want from me? You want me to take back what I did?”

Her fists clenched hard enough for her nails to dig into her palm. “No, I just want you to stop being such a hard ass and talk to me.” Her carotid artery strained against the muscles in her neck. “Tell me what you think is going on and we’ll deal with it together.”

He flinched as if her hand flew across his face.

“You keep acting like you’re looking for an excuse to push me away, for an excuse to leave.” Andra’s chest rose and fell with a heavy rhythm. “You act as if one morning I’ll wake up and you won’t be here, and you’ll just be a memory for me.”

His eyes squeezed shut as his own breath left him.

“You’ve thought about it, haven’t you? Leaving without another word, taking your shadows with you.” There was a shiver in her voice.

“I have.” Ghost finally answered. “I could leave in a moment’s notice. I’ve done it before.”

Andra didn’t doubt him. She had done it herself, she knew how easy it was to pack a couple of bags and leave. “What’s stopping you this time?”

Ghost opened his eyes to meet hers.

She scoffed and turned away from his silent response. The wind picked up and wisps of her hair flew around her face. She had to squint her eyes at the unbearable overcast sunlight. “I was able to forgive you for cutting me off the first time. I shook it off because there was no expectation for you to keep in contact after fixing my truck. Then you came back, and I thought you wanted me in your life, and maybe we even had something. Cool. Great, even.

“But when you brought up the transpiring events, the person driving up our street and telling me there have been people on my property?” She shook her head. “You think you’re handling this on your own but you’re not. I won’t let you. Either you let me know what’s going on, or you’ve lost my trust.”

His eyes were unreadable when she saw him once more.

Andra reached into her pocket and flipped her keys into her palm, the key ring sitting on her index finger as she clenched them tight. “I’ll see you around, Ghost. If you figure out what you want to do, you know where to find me.”

The screen door smacked the side of the house harder than it should. Andra wasn’t paying attention. Her face still felt hot with anger. Sammy darted outside for her chance to do what she does, leaving her alone in the house.

The air felt thick, charged with energy that wasn’t there when she woke up the morning before. Or maybe it was her mind messing with her. Either way, her house felt compromised.

The tears collected in her eyes out of nowhere, and she quickly wiped them away. This is stupid. She felt ridiculous for letting it get to her. For letting a shattered window re-surface the fear that drove her away to another country.

This was all going to blow over. The tracks in the woods were a random coincidence, the car meant nothing. And the rock flying into her window was just a freakish feat of nature. She’s witnessed some heavy storms in the countryside in her years of living here. It wouldn’t be the first time something has sustained damage on her property, and it was bound to happen again.

“Be kind to yourself.” Andra whispered to herself as she kicked her shoes off, remembering what she was taught in therapy and from self-help reading. However, being kind to herself was proving difficult with the lingering anger from talking to Ghost.

The nerve of him.

But also, the nerve of her. She felt the weight of her corrosive past. An affliction, threatening to dismantle the life she had built. It had to be irrational, she was no one. She wasn’t worth being tracked down, right? That’s the rhetoric she kept force feeding herself. They had succeeded in getting rid of her, she made sure of it. At this point, if anyone wanted to pursue in finishing the job, she would end up burning a hole in their dirty wallets.

And if Ghost was going to play the need-to-know card, two can play that game.

She stopped in her tracks as she walked into the kitchen, catching a glimpse of the black trash bag covering her window. It crinkled and swayed inward and outward with the passing wind. The ever-growing chasm in her chest was making itself comfortable, and she couldn’t stand it.

-----

 Ghost knew Johnny would stop calling after the second time he reached his voicemail. The third call in a row told him that he better answer the phone. His heavy hand reached out to the nightstand for his phone, swiped his thumb across the screen and pressed it against his ear, eyes closed. “Yes, sir.”

“You broken, Simon?”

Price’s gravelly voice came through the speaker on his phone, and it was like a splash of cold water on him. It was a question he was familiar with Price asking, except he’s no longer checking for missing limbs or hemorrhaging blood loss. Ghost sat up on the edge of his mattress and rubbed the exhaustion from his eyes. “M’solid.”

“When’s the last time you got a full eight hours of sleep?” Price asked.

Ghost took a quick glance at the time on his phone before returning the receiver to his ear. “I was getting’ rest before you woke me up.” He was only asleep for two hours, and his pounding head reminded him that it had been a restless 72 hours.

Price doesn’t reach out very often. The captain – along with the other lads – will dedicate an amount of time out of the year to catch up with the former task force in person. It was an annual event of spending the holidays doing anything but celebrating Christmas and New Years. When he hears from Price before November, it’s because he’s been tipped off on Ghost’s concerning behavior.

“Soap tells me you’re acting barmy, you think you’re being followed, son?”

There it was.

Ghost didn’t respond for a few beats, his feet felt like lead against the cold wooden floor. “A couple of events transpired, would put you on edge, too.”

He could hear a deep sigh come from the other end of the line, and it had Ghost clench his jaw. “Get yourself to an appointment or a meeting, or I’ll bring the meeting to you.”

Price’s demand sent a wave of guilt and shame through Ghost. The memories of being pulled up off the living room floor and thrown into his tub flashed behind his heavy eyelids. Price, Johnny and Gaz showed up. Ghost reeked of alcohol and piss. They had him hauling bags of sand back and forth from his backyard to the range on his property for several hours, making him sweat and puke the remains of alcohol in his system.

“I’m still sober.” Ghost gritted his teeth. He made Ghost sound like an addict.

Price clipped his words, “See your doctor, and get out of bed for a sweat.”

Ghost opened his eyes to the void of his darkened room and sighed. “I’ll set up an appointment today.”

“Good lad.” Beep-beep-beep went the line as Price disconnected the call.

Sleep had eluded Ghost once more. He sat there at the edge of his bed and rolled his neck, failing to relax the knotted muscles at the base of his neck. His eyes burned, and his headache pressed down on every surface of his skull. He felt an irritation for Price waking him up, but rationality told him it wasn’t his fault.

Since sleep was out of the question, Ghost stood up and peered out the bedroom window. The sun wasn’t due to come up for another couple of hours, but he insisted to listen to Price’s advice. Get a workout in, then when the office opened, call doc to get that appointment.

His feet were heavy as he shuffled to the bathroom. Ghost always looked down to the basin of the sink before turning on the lights, avoiding the reflection staring back at him. He watched as his hands gripped the edge of the counter. Scars littered his knuckles, the skin over bone splitting open too many times for him to count.

It was when he was sick of looking at the reminders of his violence when he slipped and the person he hated stared back with cold, dead eyes.

You’ve tried killing me so many times, but fail every single time. You need me. You need the mask. You need it to hide so there’s never a chance to hurt again. You don’t deserve her. You try and pretend to be someone worthy of a teaspoon of affection, but you’re not what she needs. You’re filthy. You’re-

The glass shattered against his fist as he struck as quick as an asp. He hissed between clenched teeth, cursing as the reached for a towel and covered his bleeding knuckles.

If one thing was for certain, his reflection was right.

He didn’t deserve her.

-----

Andra flipped closed the back end of the book and placed it on her blanket covered lap to rub her tired eyes. Every night she would read The Operators when it was evident she wouldn’t be getting peaceful rest, or when something had her jolting awake. She had no clue how many hours she had slept in the past couple of days; definitely not enough to keep her from loading up on caffeine and making her debate breaking her years of being nicotine-free.

She could hear the roosting of her birds out in the coop. Andra leaned her head back against the headboard and sighed. There wouldn’t be time to try and fall asleep. Her day had to start.

After the morning chores, Andra headed inside for another cup of coffee. She stared out of her newly replaced window, out into the distance. It was hard not to; it was as if something – or someone – was going to come storming out from the brush and trees. All remained quiescent in those groves, as logic would have it.

The rattling sound of her plastic phone case vibrating against the countertop broke her focus. She swiped her finger across the screen and pressed the speaker button. “What’s up, Johnny?”

“I need to ask a favor.”

His voice was hushed and the words were muddled like he had the phone pressed against his mouth, and she could hear the workings of the auto shop in the background.

“I need you to go check on Ghost for me, he called out of work this morning.”

Andra felt her chest and throat tighten all at the same time. Johnny wasn’t aware of the fallout between her and Ghost from the sound of it. Or if he did, he must be extremely concerned for Ghost’s silence. I figured he would be used to it by now… she thought bitterly. “You need me to go immediately?”

“Take yer time, a mate of ours reached him this mornin’. Just pop over there when you get a chance. Gotta go, text me.”

The line went dead before Andra could say bye. She released a heavy sigh after taking her first sip, her fingers tapped against the countertop as apprehension churned in her gut.

Maybe Ghost took their last conversation as motivation for him to actually leave.

Tears pricked in the corner of her eyes, and she rubbed them away with her thumb and index finger, pushing her fingers together to pinch the bridge of her nose. She didn’t want their relationship – friendship – whatever they had, to end on that note. Fuck, I messed up.

She took a deep breath to regain composure. You don’t know if he’s gone. Andra decided she would go by after her run to the post office to pick up her package. With a quick rinse of her empty coffee mug, she headed to the front door to collect her keys and purse.

The sound of gravel crunching and a vehicle engine made her pause in her tracks. Her heart raced, she could feel her adrenaline dump. Her shaky hand moved aside the curtain to look out the window beside the door, and the sight of Ghost’s truck had her releasing a heavy breath.

It took everything in her not to throw the door open and run to him. She took another grounding breath and unlocked the door, opening it to Ghost preparing to knock.

Andra swore her heart was going to burst. The look in his eyes mirrored the same surprise she displayed. The discernible presence of a bandage wrapped around Ghost’s hand caught her attention in the corner of her eye.

He noticed where her eyes fell to, and shoved it in the pocket of his jacket. “You got a minute to speak?”

His voice sounded like sandpaper. He looked just as sleep deprived as she felt. Andra couldn’t say anything, so she just nodded. She closed the door behind her and opted to sit on the wooden bench, leaving a space for Ghost to sit beside her. He never did, instead he decided to lean against the railing, his ankle crossed over the other.

Seconds passed before anything was said. “I’m not good with words, you’ll have to bear with me.”

Andra folded her legs beneath her and clasped her hands together. Her eyes remained on him as she waited to hear him out.

His head tilted down. “I gave a lot of thought to what you said, about losing your trust.” He rolled his neck, rolling the nerves and giving him a chance to think. “And I realized, taking a bullet is far less painful than that.”

Andra could see his adam’s apple bob in his throat underneath the fabric of his mask as he tilted his head back with closed eyes. She felt her throat tightening, and had to swallow to relieve the ache.

“So, I’ve come to terms with if I want to mend what I had with you, I’m going to have to find a way to tell you what you need to know.” Ghost’s eyes found hers, searching for a response.

She gave him a subtle nod, letting the words sink in. “How are you going to do that?”

Ghost uncrossed his ankles and took the two steps to sit beside her. It was a struggling few seconds for him to begin speaking. “Did you ever pick that book back up?”

Andra was confused by the approach he was taking, but went with it. “Yeah, I finished it actually.”

"Did the author talk about some of his assignments?" Ghost asked patiently.

She recalled what the author was able to talk about and reveal. "Not specifics, but he went in detail with Selection, and then the training thereafter and some events that happened in the 80s in Northern Ireland."

He nodded as he listened. "What did the training entail?"

"Physical training, a lot of sleep deprivation, weapons and vehicle tactics, photography, interrogation..." Andra's words drifted as she continued her recollection. She wouldn't say this out loud, but it was a dry read.

Ghost cut in at the mention of the last topic. "Interrogation, okay." His shoulders rose and fell as he let out a deep breath, and his hands flexed over and over. "I've been on both ends of being interrogated. Not just in training, but out on the field." His red-rimmed eyes aged several decades, and her chest grew heavy. "And there were times the bars and stars – officers that outranked me and my team – had ordered us to let go of the person we had just roughed up.

"They were dangerous people, Andra, do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Andra was piecing together why Ghost had given her that book to read. It was more than just what was on the surface. The selection process, the training, the assignments, the images in the book illustrating the teams with black lines redacting their eyes. It occurred to her then when she was reading it all, Ghost was another one of the SAS operatives that had an alias, he had paperwork with his name on it that contained redacted information on what he and his team had accomplished, but now discussing it all solidified it for her.

Not only him, but Johnny as well, and Johnny had brought up a few other names. People that were also special forces.

It was sobering. She never took the time to sit with all of this information and come to terms that these men had enemies that went deeper than just being from differing nations. Enemies that may or may not still be alive out there, preying on the downfall of the men she had come to know.

“Has anyone ever found you or Johnny?” Andra asked with a tremble in her throat.

“No.” He answered definitively. “And I would like to keep it that way.”

Andra nodded, as she fully agreed with him.

Ghost leaned back against the bench. “I truly never intended to alarm you and bring you to endless conclusions. I wish I could take it back, my foolishness, everything.”

“You can’t help that, though.” Andra defended. “It was a really messed up chain of events.”

There was a pregnant pause. “I have moments like these when there are too many coincidences happening at once. I’ve been working on how I handle it.”

Andra turned to him. “Do you… talk to someone about it?” She felt hesitant to ask.

Ghost’s eyes slid back to her. “Does that bother you?”

She shook her head swiftly. “No, oh Gods, no I didn’t mean it that way.” Her hands covered her face for a moment. “That was wrong of me to ask.”

Ghost reached for one of her hands. “You have every right to know, doll.” The calloused pad of his thumb brushed the top of her hand. She could feel a tremor in his touch.

It would have warmed her heart had it not been for the churning contrite souring her stomach. He had every right to know, too, but how would she even begin to tell him?

His injured hand was holding hers. She took this opportunity to distract herself from the guilt eating at her. “What happened to your hand?”

“Ridiculous accident with some glass.” He answered too quickly. Andra could feel him wanting to recoil, but he continued to let her hold his hand. Her peripheral vision gave her a peak of Ghost studying her face. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look exhausted.”

Andra let go of his hand and rubbed her eyes. “I really haven’t been sleeping. Every little noise wakes me up, and I lay there for hours.”

Ghost’s eyes turned serious. “What can I do to remedy that?” Andra started to shake her head. “No, I’m responsible for this. Name it, I’ll do what I can.”

“I was actually on my way to go pick up a security system I ordered from the post office.” Andra raised her hand with her set of keys jingling.

Ghost stood from the bench, Andra followed in suit. “That I can do.”

Her smile returned. If it was one thing Andra was certain about Ghost, acts of service was how he communicated his apologies. It was easier to demonstrate with his hands than words.

After picking up the hefty box of camera and motion sensor equipment, Andra worked around the farm after her and Ghost discussed where the best places to set up the cameras would be. He got it done in less than a few hours, giving them time to pick up food together.

As they traveled, she remembered Johnny was waiting for an update from her.

Ghost is fine, we’re picking up food.

“So, you read the book in the past three days?” Ghost asked to start up chatter. Look who’s talking more now.

She hummed. “I read when I can’t sleep, and found it sitting there on the table before I locked up for bed.” Andra glanced at him. “What do you do when you can’t sleep?” Her phone vibrated with a response.

Thank you.

Ghost shrugged. “I lay there hoping I fall asleep.”

“I would get so bored.” Andra confessed, tapping her hands on her thighs. “You don’t even scroll through Netflix or something to try and turn your brain off?”

“I don’t have Netflix.” He responded.

Andra shook her head and blinked. “Remind me to give you my login.”

“I don’t watch TV or movies.”

Now she was looking at him like he was crazy. “You’re lying. You’re a liar.”

He rolled his eyes. “I do watch movies, but they’re all old war movies or westerns on DVD.”

Andra narrowed her eyes. “What are you, fifty?”

Ghost chortled. “I have a while before I hit fifty, thank you for that.”

“How long is a while?” Andra smirked. “Five years or six months?” His mouth opened, but she kept going. “Wait, I bet you have M.A.S.H. all on DVD, don’t you?”

“There’s nothing wrong with M.A.S.H.” Ghost defended.

“Yeah, when you’re as old as my dad and watching it on your days off as you doze on the living room couch at eleven in the morning.”

“You’re pushing your luck, doll.” Ghost warned with a grin in his voice. “Let me put it this way, I joined the Royal Air Force after the events of 9/11.”

Andra’s face went slack and her eyes were as wide as saucers. She turned to the passenger window with a hand pretending to scratch the side of her head and wondered if he would be weirded out if she told him she was in grade school during 9/11.

Her silence was loud in the cabin. “We’re not that far apart in age if you know M.A.S.H.” Ghost resumed.

Andra raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you saying I look old?”

“No.” His accent thickened as his voice dropped. “I didn’t say that.”

She was having too much fun busting his chops. “We have a tad bit of an age gap,” she demonstrated with her thumb and index finger with a small gap, “I’m a ninety’s baby.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Three years is a tad of an age gap, not a whole decade.”

Andra rolled her eyes. “Is this what I have to look forward to in my thirties?” She laughed at the flash of astonishment as he panned a look at her. “I’m kidding! Well, kind of, but I’ll be thirty next summer.”

Ghost smoothed his hand over his covered mouth. “You’re killing me, woman.”

“Best stay on top of those heart meds then – ooh!” Andra shot forward and was caught by her seatbelt from Ghost slamming the breaks harder than normal. “You’re gonna cause an accident, sir.”

After a few beats of silence, Ghost changed the subject. “I hope the camera system will give you some peace of mind.”

“I’m sure it will.” She nodded with a hopeful smile.

Ghost ran inside the chip shop they ordered from while Andra sat in the truck to keep it running. Her head tilted back onto the head rest as she stared up at the roof of the truck. The lack of sleep was catching up to her, and now that there was less of a problem with surveillance around the farm, she felt the muscles in her shoulders relaxing.

The sudden sound of the driver door opening had her jerking back awake. She attempted to cover up the fact that she had dozed off in his truck with a little stretch of her legs.

Ghost handed her the bag of food without noticing her brief second of sleep and drove back to her house.

-----

“I get why you go to this place.” Andra spoke in between eating in the living room with him. “It’s not bad.”

“It’s also because Johnny has been getting us discounts from his little girlfriend.” Ghost wiped his mouth with a crumpled napkin.

Andra looked over the app on her phone that connected her to all of the cameras on her property. The feed looked really good, giving her confidence that she could point out important details if she ever had to. She switched to the camera that aimed at the dirt driveway with both trucks sitting outside. Her thumb and index finger spread across the screen to utilize the zoom feature; she was able to read off the license plate numbers from each truck.

“Thank you again for setting up the cameras.” Andra locked her phone and placed it down on the coffee table.

Ghost covered the lower half of his face back up with the balaclava as he finished his own meal. “Thank you for letting me.”

Her heart fluttered at the sudden drop in his voice. His eyes were set on her when she turned to look at him. Despite not being able to see his expression, she could feel a softness in his brown eyes.

“Let me get these out of the way.” Ghost insisted as he began to collect the takeout containers. Andra sucked down the last of her drink in her Styrofoam cup and tossed it into the bag Ghost was using.

Andra slipped a hand in the back pocket of her jeans. “You staying for a little while?”

“I can.”

She felt some relief for having to spend less time by herself for the evening.

While Ghost did his thing, Andra browsed her bookshelf in search of a new read.

“Anything interesting?” Ghost asked as he returned.

Andra chose Dune from the shelf. “Maybe.” She returned to her designated reading lounge chair and curled her legs up. “How far did you get with The Outsiders?”

Ghost scratched the back of his head. “Maybe the first fifty pages.” Then, he tilted his head. “How did you know I had it?”

Andra smirked. “It was gone the following morning after you left.”

Did she have him flustered? The indecisive glance to the couch and back to the front door then back to the kitchen was amusing enough to have her grinning.

“I have it in the truck, actually. Be right back.” Ghost made his way outside, letting in a kissing, chilly breeze.

It must have been the book she chose, or the way she receded back into the cushions, but she felt the wave of sleepiness return back. Or maybe it was Ghost’s presence, knowing he was only a few feet away on the couch with Sammy next to him. He emitted an aura that Andra could only classify as comfort. Safety.

She knew he was safe to fall asleep around, she knew he would keep her safe.

Andra flinched out of the sleep she was slipping into and let out a disappointed sigh. Her book was still in her hand, but the pages were damp from the warmth of her fingers holding them in place. She closed the book, not worried about where she left off because she wasn’t paying attention anyway and softened her movements as she looked to her right.

Ghost’s head lulled to one side from the upright position he fell asleep in, his arms crossed over his chest and his own book sitting on the table with Sammy resting in her own bed by the window. The heavy breath he suck in and released told her he was deeper in that sleep than she was.

How is he sleeping with the mask on? Andra wondered.

With light movement, Andra rose from her chair and padded quietly to the hallway closet to retrieve a blanket. He looked as tired as she felt halfway through the day, and she wasn’t about to wake him up and send him home. She unraveled the blanket and moved to lay it over Ghost just above his arms and below his collarbone.

But his awareness was more keen than Andra had anticipated. Ghost reached out, throwing the blanket off and swiped her wrists single-handed. The room went spinning, and she let out a small yelp as her back met the bottom cushions of the couch, his grasp securing her wrists above her head.

Ghost’s eyes were wild with alert, then widened as he realized who he just wrestled down. It startled her at first, but out of nervousness a chortle escaped. Then a chuckle, and confusion wrinkled Ghost’s eyebrows.

She probably looked insane to him. She was supposed to be frightened, but all she was was dizzy. And too aware of how his body hovered over her. The grip on her wrists eased up but remained there. Her giggles dissipated, along with whatever she was about to say. She was too absorbed by Ghost’s eyes darting all over her face, and she wasn’t too sure, but she was almost certain he kept looking to her mouth.

Before Andra could register what she was doing, she pressed her lips against the teeth of the skull pattern on his mask, hitting her mark as she felt his lips beneath. Ghost pulled away like she had put his hand in an open flame, his eyes widened. Oh shit, what have I done –

His empty hand shoved up the fabric of his balaclava and he smashed his mouth against hers. Heat blazed through her face, molten liquid flooding her core as she took in every sensation overwhelming her. The fierce hunger of his kiss. The friction of their bodies pressed against each other. The solid grip Ghost had on her wrists.

She couldn’t get close enough to him. Her leg attempted to hook around his waist, but only succeeded in wrapping around a thigh that nestled its way between her legs.

He couldn’t pull himself away, and instead fed the part telling him to nudge his knee where she wanted it. Ghost freed her hands to grip the thigh pulling him in, giving her free reign to cradle his stubbled jaw. His fingertips worked divots into the fabric of her jeans, earning a small sound from her tightening throat.  

Andra hoped there would be marks later left where he was squeezing.

Her tongue slipped out between her lips and playfully swiped across his mouth. Oh fuck, the sound that just came from him… Andra had never heard arousal so delicious before.

All of Ghost was crashing through her like a freight train. His taste, his heat, his sounds. Her head felt like it’s been shoved underwater, and she has no intentions surfacing for air. Not when drowning in all of him felt this good.

Ghost reciprocated her invitation and found his tongue pushing through the slit of her lips. She felt her own arousal winding tightly in her warmth. Anything more was likely going to set her off. There’s no way I’m coming just from this, she cursed herself.

Ghost pulled away, hit hot breath fanning over her face. He moved his free hand to his mask, but it remained there. One second, two seconds. His mouth slackened into a frown, lips parted with labored breathing. The trance had been broken between the two. He retreated from where he had Andra pressed into the couch, his hands ran down his face and stayed there as he battled with himself.

Andra adjusted her shirt as she sat up and gave him a nudge of space. “Hey,” she softly said as she brought his hands down, cradling them in her own. “You don’t need to.”

“I want to.” He rasped, breathless from their kiss. “I don’t know why, but I can’t.”

“It’s okay.” She took his hand away from his face and stroked his knuckles with her thumb.

Ghost blinked a few times like he was waking up from a dream. “I shoved my tongue in your mouth.” He stated, a little too forward. His words had heat rushing to her face. “The least I can do I show you who is beneath this.” He gestured to the mask covering half of his face, a bitterness in his words directed to his disguise.

Andra slowly raised her hands to the bottom half of his revealed face. He flinched away from the contact, but settled as she let her thumbs brush against the stubble on his jaw. She made no subtle movements; just exploring the craters and slits across his skin.

Ghost watched her silently, attentively, his eyes flickering back and forth. She can feel the intensity, a man questioning the intentions of the woman touching him, holding the privacy and secrecy he clings to. He sucked in a breath as she took hold of the balaclava and didn’t exhale until Andra had pulled it back down over his face.

“If you’re not ready, then you’re not ready.” She affirmed.

 His bandaged hand brushed Andra’s disheveled hair behind her ear. Ghost leaned in and pressed his covered mouth against her forehead. Andra gave him a meek grin as he pulled away.

Andra felt this moment building up to a goodbye, but she took his hand again. “You can stay here for the night. I don’t want you driving back even if it’s just down the street.”

He reached down on the floor and picked up the blanket. “If that’s alright with you, I’ll take up the couch-”

“Sleep on a bed, for gods’ sake.” Andra nodded her head to the stairs. “I have an extra room upstairs.”

Thankfully, Ghost didn’t argue. Heavy feet dragged themselves up the stairs, Sammy following them both. They took pause as both turned to each other from across the hall. There was so much she wanted to say, but the brief, drowsy goodnight that was exchanged had them retreating into their respective rooms. Andra leaned against the closed door, clouds in her head and lips swollen with the phantom sensation of their catalyst.

:)

I've started up a taglist! comment if you want to get tagged for this story 🖤 likes & reblogs are wholeheartedly appreciated, your engagement helps new readers find me ✨

[biteforblood]

[ GROCERIES #1 ] the damn crew.

✶ notes : gn!reader, silly chaotic fluff, stupid long hcs, 0.6k

damien is prepared. he has a budget and full, detailed list of which he is determined to stick to and complete and will not get distracted from. he knows what aisles to go down for each item. he’s quick, efficient, bit peeved cause…people, especially when they’re in his way. which they are. a lot

huxley is hopping between the group ; he wanders aimlessly through the store with freelancer, helps lasko find and pick out specific brands of things he needs, messes around and causes a respectful ruckus with gavin, pushes the grocery cart around for damien

you cannot tell me gavin isn’t either a) hiding in places he shouldn’t be like in clothing racks or behind displays or b) sitting down somewhere he also shouldn’t be on like pallets or in the shelves ( y’know, like the water and paper towel…shelves? )

like damien, lasko has a list, but unlike the fire elemental, he doesn’t stick to it as firmly. he really does try to, and for the majority if not the entirety of it, he does! lasko also just…kind of…grabs other things as well that aren’t on his list. that, or is convinced by a certain incubus or freelancer to…it’s sooo fiiine

freelancer is one of two ways when shopping : the tired “parent” trying and failing to keep all their kids and boyfriend wrangled in, or one of the kids being unsuccessfully wrangled in. really depends on their mood. that, and who they’re shopping with or lack thereof

the group is forbidden from the snack aisle — at least until the very end — because it’s the one they splurge on the most. everyone’s getting something, if not multiple things, and it’s just the unhealthiest amount of chips and sugar that half of will likely be gone by the end of the night

when freelancer isn’t shopping or being carried by gavin or huxley, they’re being rolled around in the cart like the passenger princess ( gender neutral ) they are

gavin is just…picking up things from shelves and displays that he doesn’t need nor want, then putting it back where it doesn’t belong

and, yes, this irks the hell out of damien ( and as someone who has worked retail, i’m going to strangle you gavin, i swear— )

you remember when you were little and you’d go grocery shopping with your parents or friends, and you had to go to the bathroom really bad so everyone goes together, then when you came back out of the bathroom, everyone just magically disappeared?

yeah, that happens every single time they all go shopping together. without fail. and the person who is left behind changes each time, it’s never consistent, only the ( accidental ) abandonment is

as said at the beginning, huxley pushes around the cart. not solely for damien, but in general. or, if they choose a basket instead, he’s carrying that, or, hell, he’ll just carry whatever it is they’re grabbing in his arms, cart or basket be damned cause who needs one, he’s got this!

similarly…ish, when they’ve gotten all that they do and don’t need and checked out, cart or basket if they used one has been returned, the boys — sometime freelancer, when they aren’t being ref — will make a competition out of seeing who can carry the most bags to the car without dropping or breaking anything

and you’re probably thinking huxley wins every time, and he certainly has! but you cannot tell me that freelancer hasn’t wiped the floor with all of them as well

is it because the boys let them win? maybe. doesn’t make it any less funny a thought or any less sweet a victory that they gleefully rub in each of their faces

© biteforblood. please do not translate, repost, or redistribute in any way on any platform.

[afriendlywizard]

My review of a warehouse I found on Earth's Moon in the video game Starfield

I work at a cidery in the PNW. We have a pretty hefty canning line that can handle what I like to call a Solid Chunk of Volumetric Output. Our fulfillment and warehouse team touches several hundred pallets a day. We handle ingredients that come in drums, plastic IBC totes, 5 gallon buckets, and raw ingredients off the back of people’s Ford Raptors. We have pipes and valves and connectors. We talk about glycol and peracetic acid a lot. We have standard 4 level pallet racks, as well as push-back pallet racking and back-load pallet racking that maintains a First In First Out order.

I manage our Quality Assurance team, which means I spend most of my team at a desk or in a lab. I have driven our forklifts and our scissor lifts. I’ve blended our ingredients into our batching tanks. I verify our sanitation practices, and I help solve problems as needed. I spend a lot of my day staring at stainless steel pipes and mumbling about dissolved oxygen to myself.

That’s all to say, I’m not an expert. I would call myself a warehouse hobbyist and enthusiast. Not out loud to anyone, but when I play a video game that has a warehouse in it, I like to spend my time looking at how the warehouse is put together.

In addition to this, a note on Forklift Certification: It’s largely made up. There are some machines that require special licenses, and OSHA has classes you can take that probably look good on a resume, but if you look at the language that OSHA uses to define who is allowed to drive a forklift it only has two requirements. “Trained operators must know how to do the job properly and do it safely as demonstrated by workplace evaluation.” It’s up to the employer how that’s interpreted. My employer had me watch a forty five minute video and then someone watched as I drove around for thirty minutes saying “oh fuck oh fuck okay okay okay don’t hit anyone.”

I took my character, Dr. FLIPJUMP DARKSWALLOW, to the moon. I brought my companion Sarah with me, she said she wouldn’t mind a detour so that we could finally live out our shared dream of owning a pair of moon boots, so down we went to explore a seemingly abandoned lunar station. It seemed to be some kind of staging facility for receiving shipments, landing dock, staff kitchen and common area, but as far as I could tell there wasn’t anywhere within a kilometer or two to send the shipments once they arrived. Typical supply chain issues, major distro hub with nothing in site to distro to. But it did have a small on-site warehouse so Sarah and I both agreed to put a pause on our moon boots dream and explore.

This is called an IBC tote. You can fill these up through a big screw-top hole on the top, super easy to use, cheap ($275 new), universal. The most common versions I’ve seen have a galvanized steel cage and a galvanized steel pallet attached to the bottom so it can be universally picked up by a forklift. They typically have a 2” drain valve with a butterfly and a camlock. This is a pretty good example of an IBC tote! You can see how the galvanized steel was welded together at each intersection, bent into place and held there. The butterfly at the bottom has a cap in place, it has a pressure valve that’s clearly labeled. This looks pretty good!

This is a pallet jack. On Earth in the present day, you roll it into the slats on a pallet, squeeze on a hand lever in the handle, and pump the handle bar up and down as it lifts. On the Moon in the future, it looks like it’s been upgraded for use in space with what I assume is probably some electric battery type of deal. Otherwise it’s very similar to a normal pallet jack! It even has the double wheels in the front, a detail I was very excited about. There doesn’t seem to be the hand lever though, or any buttons anywhere. I assume that’s because this model has a voice assistant like an Alexa in it.

It has a spring in the back as well, another neat little detail. I’d be curious to see how this works in action, there’s a decent number of mechanical parts on it for how futuristic it looks. There’s also two small… baskets, I guess? For paperwork maybe? On either end of the handle shaft. I made up the term handle shaft.

Here is what I assume is a future-forklift. And Sarah. Please ignore Sarah. I was required to take her on a mission early on, but she keeps saying things like “that’s not yours!” and “we should not break the law,” which has been definitely cramping Dr. DARKSWALLOW’s style. Anyway, this forklift is a far cry from the kinds we have in present day. Barely recognizable.

My best guess is that you stand on this platform to operate it. But there’s no buttons or levers again, no key ignition. Presumably this turns on somehow and that panel is a touchscreen, or maybe it’s another Alexa operated device. This whole thing seems pretty dangerous. There’s no roll cage. I guess maybe there’s no OSHA in the future? Or maybe this thing has a lot of safety tech built into it to protect the operator from making mistakes. Maybe it follows Asimov’s rules of robotics and can’t allow a human to come to harm, through action or inaction. But that seems like a lot of liability to pack into programming, and it seems expensive to attach a positronic brain to a forklift. I don’t know how it would anticipate other drivers doing things badly, knocking over pallets? It seems dicey.

I do like that the cabling looks like it’s painter’s taped onto the frame so it doesn’t get caught anywhere. That’s a great little detail, very much something a maintenance team might do in a pinch. A “short term hold” as they “work with supply chain details to implement a long term repair.”

I climbed up onto a pile of boxes to get this picture. It looks like they redesigned the forks in the future, kind of a high-heeled shoe thing going on at the ends there. And this forklift seems like it has reduced functionality from what forklifts here on Earth can do. Forklifts can usually do three things with the forks: lift up and down, pitch the forks back and forth, and spread the forks wider or narrower. I think this can only lift the forks up and down. There also seems to be a large orange ball on the bottom, but I don’t know what that’s used for. My best guess, given the short cylinder above it, is that the forks can control their yaw and rotate on a horizontal access? But they’re right up against the axle so I’m not sure how that would work. Maybe if you lift the forks up it’s able to rotate? But I don’t see much of an engine to ballast the center of gravity anywhere. Maybe the entire body is made with a very dense metal, it does seem to be pretty flush with the ground.

My biggest complaint is that this forklift doesn’t have any headlights or taillights. It’s important for forklifts to have a horn and bright lights to let other workers know there’s a forklift around, especially reverse lights. These might be taillights, if I’m giving some benefit here, but they’re so low to the ground I’m not sure how other drivers are going to be able to see them. But I’m not an expert in future light bulbs, maybe these work just fine.

These look like future pallets! Pallets come in different materials, with wood or plastic as the most common, but they also come in standard sizes. But these pallets look like they’re way too small for the forklift to pick up. Maybe they’re just for the pallet jack? And big note here: I really hope for the sake of the warehouse manager in this facility that OSHA doesn’t exist, because each one of those pallets standing up on its side is going to be its own fine. Overall these pallets look pretty good, if small. And this disaster of a pile seems pretty true to form with how pallets are stored, no matter how many @everyone pings on Microsoft Teams you see get sent out about stacking pallets correctly.

I suspect everyone in the warehouse crew here hates their coworkers. They have four of these pallets in a square but are stacking things randomly on top of them. None of these things are strapped down, this black cube is on a pallet that’s a different size than the pallets underneath it. Just a bizarre move. I hope everyone’s doing okay.

And then on the other side is this: … Why? Why would anyone do this? You can’t pick those rolls up, the rest will roll right off the pallet. They’re not centered on the pallet so even if you did pick it up, you couldn’t put this onto pallet racking anywhere, it’s hanging off the edge.

This is pallet racking. It seems bolted together for some reason. I haven’t seen that before on this style of racking. It seems counter-intuitive; the whole point of this type is that it’s easy to put together, it’s modular. But if you bolt it together, it’s not modular anymore. Normally you just slot the pieces in, they fall into place and don’t require additional parts. Just welded steel with drop slots.

Oof. A dead body. I’m a little surprised there aren’t more of these here. It does feel a bit dangerous.

Here’s another pallet jack, but they aren’t using it correctly. The pallet goes into the forks, why did they put a pallet on top of the forks? Ridiculous. Now they’re just lifting things for no reason. A forklift put the pallet on, now a forklift has to take the pallet off? Why use the pallet jack at all?

And lastly: a propane cage! There’s no locks on it, the maintenance team is probably screaming at everyone to make sure they Lock Out/Tag Out their equipment, but I’ll give the benefit of the doubt and sign off on it because there’s no propane tanks inside the cage so maybe the locks just aren’t necessary. Hopefully it’s just in someone’s pocket while they’re going to refill the tanks.

Overall, this is a pretty dangerous looking facility but probably usable. I’d say they ought to start working towards shoring up some safety gaps here, maybe making more intentional decisions about purchases for a while so they have the equipment they need for their process flow instead of all this equipment that requires rework and multiple touches to get anything done. But a growing business sometimes has to take what’s available! Kudos to them for getting things up and running on the moon, not an easy feat.

[camaraindustries]

Push Back Racking System | Camara Industries, Inc

Push back rack systems come with either structural or roll-formed frames. At Camara Industries you can find’ refurbished push-back rack systems as low as $215 a pallet position reducing your warehouse rack footprint  by up to 65%. Call now and save big on your next push back rack purchase! 

See More: https://camaraindustries.com/products/push-back-rack/

[thehufflepuff02]

Chapter nine—Jake

Jake gathered the clans with Neytiri by his side. His strong, independent, fierce mate. The woman he loves with his whole heart. The clans followed him. They followed Toruk Macto, rider of the last shadow. They returned with hundreds- thousands of Na’vi prepared to fight. The Ikran swept down from the sky in colorful swarms. Some arrived on dire horse. The tree of souls filled with warriors.

Neytiri gripped his hand as the couple watched proudly of the army they brought together. Unlike humans, the Na’vi cared about each other no matter the cultural differences or distance between them. They protected one another through thick and thin. 

Norm was there, in his human form when Jake unlinked. “The clans are willing to fight with us.” Jake told him, pushing himself down into his wheelchair with a grunt. “Everyone is at the tree of souls preparing.” He felt the affects of being linked for so long, his body screaming for food. Hunger gnawing at his insides.

“Before you say nothing else, I need to go grab Trudy and Grace. If I don’t they will probably team up and kill me.” Norm said quickly, putting a exo-pack on and rushing out the door.

It took some maneuvering but Grace managed to get inside the shack. Despite the situation they were currently dealing with, Jake had to hold back his smile. Any other day he would have made fun the the scientist.

“You and Neytiri did it? The clans came?” Grace asked.

“Yea, doc.” Jake gave her a proud smile. “Have you guys heard from Max at all?” 

“We got a message saying he will try to get in contact the moment it’s safe.” Norm explained.

“It has to be a total shit show back at hell’s gate.” Trudy mused. “Without the head of the Avatar department,” she gestured to Grace. “And their obvious best pilot.” She put her hand on her chest.

The other three looked at her, definitely not amused.

“Sorry…too soon?” Trudy asked. “Just trying to lighten the mood.”

“Too soon, babe.” Norm agreed, rubbing her back. 

Ringing coming in from the comm alerted them. “That’s gotta be Max.” Jake quickly said, going to answer it. “Right?”

Grace nodded. “Yea it’s him.” 

Jake accepted the call. 

Max’s face appeared on the screen. “I don’t know how secure this channel is.”

“Talk fast.” Jake told him seriously.

“It’s crazy around here, Jake. It’s full mobilization. They’re rigging up the shuttles as bombers. They’ve made these pallets of mine explosives,” Jake saw as Grace paled at the word explosives. “It’s for some kind of shock and awe campaign.”

“Fucking daisy cutters.” Trudy cursed.

“Holy shit.” Norm spoke.

“Can you talk to Selfridge? Maybe we can get some sorta deal before this goes all the way.” Jake ask, doubtfully.

Max shook his head. “No, Quaritch has taken over. He rolling and there’s no stopping him.”

“When?” Grace asked, stepping in when Jake mulls over the last thing Max said.

“Why are you in your av—” he begins to ask, when Grace came on the screen.

“Now isn’t the time for an explanation. When is Quaritch planning on rolling in?” 

“Oh six hundred tomorrow.” Max told them. 

Before anyone could thank Max, he whipped his head around and shut down the call.

“We’re completely screwed.” Norm deadpanned. “We can’t go up against gun ships and bombs.”

“You know he’s gonna commit those bombers straight to the tree of souls.” Trudy pointed out.

“That’s right. Because I gave it to him on a silver plate.” Jake knew this was his fault, the guilt was eating him up. If he wasn’t so stupid they might not be here right now.

“We both did.” Trudy admits. 

“It would have happened sooner or later even if the two of you weren’t feeding Quaritch information.” Grace assured them the best she could. 

“If he goes for the tree of souls it’s over. It’s their main line to Eywa, to their ancestors. It would destroy them.” Norm reminds.

“Then I guess we better stop them.” Jake announces like it wasn’t already the plan. 

“Jake, you need some rack.” Grace told him, changing the subject when she noticed his dark bruise like eye bags. She gave him a slightly scary glare that was daring him to object. “You look awful.” 

“Jeez. Thanks for the compliment, mom.” Jake rolls his eyes. He was fine. He didn’t need sleep. What he needed was to help prepare. How would anyone even expect him to sleep now?

“I wouldn’t need to act like your mother if you actually took care of yourself. That goes for all of you.” Grace said, looking at the kids she didn’t sign up to take care of. 

“Yes, mom.” The three of them said in unison. 

“That’s it. I’m going to let Mo’at know we got in contact with Max.” Grace left, squeezing herself through the door. 

Trudy looked Jake in the eyes. “If you don’t eat and get some rack there will be consequences and I don’t feel like dealing with an angry doctor Augustine.”

“She’s right.” Norm added.

“Fine.” Jake obeyed. “I’ll go get some food. I’m not promising anything about sleeping, coffee will have to do.”

[jinhuirack]

It is all too easy for a warehouse to become filled to the brim with inventory. In order to maximize the amount of storage space that you have, you must ensure that your warehouse utilizes practical storage systems, and that your inventory and ordering schedules are managed correctly. This article lists five things that you can do in order to maximize your warehouse storage space.

Have a Clean Out

You will be surprised at how much unnecessary 'stuff' may be lurking in your warehouse. By taking the time to remove old stock and unused furniture you will be freeing up much needed space within the warehouse area. If you have too much old stock that is not shifting then you may want to consider putting them on sale, or selling on some of the products in bulk so that you can free up some space for more popular products.

Organize Correctly

You should take the time to create an organized system for your inventory. By labelling and organizing your inventory according to its shape and size you will increase the amount of storage space that you have to work with. When you keep your stock organized you will also make it easier for employees to locate products, which will result in increased staff productivity and increased customer satisfaction rates.

Use the Correct Pallet Racking Systems

Pallet racking systems are commonly used in warehouses of all shapes and sizes. In order to make the most out of the space that you have, it is essential that you are using the correct pallet racking systems. There are a huge range of pallet racking systems available to purchase including narrow aisle racking, carton flow racking, high bay racking, mobile racking and heavy duty racking. There is also adjustable racking systems which can be easily adapted as your product range expands.

Use Vertical Space

A great way to maximize the storage space in the warehouse is to use up more of the vertical space. You can do this by extending your current pallet racking systems vertically, or by installing new shelving systems into the warehouse. You can also consider installing a mezzanine floor. A mezzanine floor is a structure which is designed to fit in between a level of a main floor. They allow you to increase the space that you have without having to build an extension in the warehouse. Mezzanine floors can be custom built to suit your needs and requirements.

Warehouse Management Systems

Warehouse management systems are designed to help you to monitor all aspects of the warehouse management process. They can help you to more efficiently and effectively manage things such as scheduling, package tracking, document management and transportation optimization. These systems have the ability to connect to other warehouses around the world. The information stored within the systems can also be used to print or email reports, and to create accurate forecasts. By maintaining a balance on your inventory stock and order you will be freeing up more storage space within the warehouse.

In today's fast paced and ever changing business world, the warehouse management systems needs to connect into many other departments of the business to provide critical information in real time. Click here for more information!https://www.jinhuiracks.com.

[fruitless-vain]

She met her first walk in fridge and did great, a little confused by the blast of air at the entrance which she quickly shrugged off. She did a meat/ cheese cooler and a produce cooler both of which she rocked. Not tempted by the floor level cheeses at all, totally focused and brilliant. She was a little stressy in the produce cooler- it was really busy in the already tight new space so she wasn’t loving adjusting to the space while dodging clanky carts around every bend. Still managed it very well, just some lip licks sort of thing.

We were also getting stalked by a small child who’s parent kept corralling them back and telling them not to engage with her, first few passes she had a hard time disengaging from the kid but by the end Yoshi was flying by with ease.

She then met some forklift-ish machines which made her uncomfortable, they were snagging pallets off the top racks and that was pretty scary. So we stood at the other end of the aisle and watched them. By the end she was able to approach and leave with very minor discomfort.

Then me deciding to carry some pop instead of push the cart over triggered an episode which Yo thankfully was on the ball with (right near the scary machine too!) so we were able to properly prepare.

Then she perfectly waited at the till, I didn’t make her down bc everything is so muddy rn so I left it up to her and she just stood perfectly still for the whole checkout/ bagging process.

[s-i-m-p0]

Epel felmier x childhood friend! Reader

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today was epel's birthday and I decided since he can't come home and visit I'll come to him.

So now I'm stood infront of epels dorm with a small present bag. I am so nervous, I feel like a fish out of water everything here was so fancy, while I was in denim-shorts with a red flannle shirt and adorned on the back if my neck was a staw hat and Simple brown boots were on my feet caked in dirt and muck.

"Bonjour mademoiselle, how may I help you," a thick french voice asked. "Oh! Umm...,i'm y/n,jm looking for epel felmier,he's my friend"

"Ah! Of course,mon cheri, follow me" I nod and start following the figure. We enter fancy dorm "ehem!" I spin around to see a more fancier looking man with hair dyed purple at the end.

"Rook whyd you bring in a muck?" "Ah!, Roi de Poison, this is y/n, a friend of epel from his village"

This 'rou de poison' dude eyed me suspicious and slowly circled me. "Hmm, you do have good bone structure but you dotn look suitable enough to see epel right now in you're...state"

I send him a weird look. "Hey! I'm just dropping off gifts from us from hone then I'll be gon-"

"Sh! I won't hear it, rook, to the salon" he started to walk away and rook grabbed my arm draging me along behind him.

I was pulled into a seat infrotn of a vanity decorated with all kinda of make up.

"Rook, give me a hair brush and the hair spray" my hair was unbraided from its plat and a brush was draged through my hair.

My head was pulled back. "Keep you're head up," the dyed haired hissed pushing my head back up.

"So tell me,mon cheri, how come we didn't meet you when we visited?"rook asked curiously.

"Oh I was hunting some animals to feed mine plus other familys"

In the reflection I could see the one behind me grimace.

"Oh! You have a hunting group?" "Yeah we call it 'hunters of artimis' after the Greek god"

Rook nods.

"Now we've finished your hair...time for make up...oh the great seven please epel and sit still."

"Oh beautiful vil, they're from the same place, I'll say they'll be co-operative"

This new named vil person sat next to me and opened up a make up pallet.

"Tell me more about your hunter group, please mademoiselle"

"Well we use different wepons; bows,swords,spears and sometimes Poison in winter"

One side of my face was lightly grabbed and tilted.

"You've used Poison?" Vil asked Intriged now by our conversation.

"Yes, the alchemist make Poison that's harmless to humans but extremly deadly on animal

We don't tell the village about the alchemist but a small portion of the village is part of it"

He let out an odd chuckle. "Face me" he ordered.

I shuffle round and face vil as he starts on my left side. "How can a Poison be deadly to animals and not humans?" He asked.

"Well, we had done some test on dead trees that had animal remains on and we tried on some human bones..." I grimace with vil remembering the testing process "and human bones we bought from a neighbouring village who's culture is too sell the dead on

Then we added hyoblplical acid with HASIC2 ( i have no idea what that is i made it up) and got the results we needed"

I suddenly glinch as cold liquid was pressed on my face. "What was that?!" I panic moving back slightly. "Foundation, now come back closer I'm nowhere near done"

~~~~after all...that~~~~~~~

"Now you're outfit, rook something poofy or layed down"

"Hmm...I'd say poofy but not met-gala poofy, Roi de Poison"

He nods and grabs a few dresses from the rack. "Why... you know what never mind"

Considering this dorm I couldn't ask why they had dresses because nearly everyone here looks as a fem-boy (not that its a bad thing!!!)

I was unceremoniously pushed into a changing room. "Come out when you're done" vil ordered I sigh I just wanted to say happy birthday to epel, deliver gifts and go back home,not have a runway show.

I removed my clothes (and shoes) and slip into this fancy weird outdated dress. Slowly I step out aqwuardly "no," "no" "agreed"

This prossess happened til I just grabbed one at random and decided that is the one.

I close y eyes tightly and grab a dress hoping for the best.

My hand grabbed one that felt comfy in my hands and had no weird spinening. I open my eyes to see a lovely lilac dress

I put it on easily and step out. "Alright I'm open with a runway can I just see my friend?" I beg crossing my arms.

"Hmm, suits you well enough don't you agree rook?" "Oui"

A unrelated sigh left my lips and I grab my clothes from the changing room.

Rook took them and placed them in a bag "I'm sure these heels will fit fine"

I nod and slid them on. "Can I see epel now?"

"Yes,follow us" a exhausted groan left my mouth as I follow holding my stuff.

We ended in a ballroom filled either people chatting away in groups and food along one side of the room with drink on the other.

"Y/n?" My head darts around for that familiar voice. I lock eyes with epel. "Epel!" I yell running up to him full speed.

I lock arms around his neck as his lock aroudn my waist spinning me around.

When I was placed down a few 'awws' or cheering was heard.

"Y/n, baby, you look so Pomefiore like" he laughs. "Well someone found me when rook tried to take me to you and decided a fashion show was ideal" I laugh along pointing at vil.

Epels arms stayed around my waist with his head resting on my sholder.

Vil and rook aproched "so, epel, you baby potato are dating her, a potential model lf tried hard enough" I roll my eyes "you wish drama queen"

Third person;

Y/n laugh with epel "oh! I have to show ya the gardens there amazing!" Epel grabs his beloved hand and

I sigh taking in the moment and rest my head on epels chest. "I love you" i mumble "me too, my sweet apple"

As the clock struck midnight epel picked you up bridal style and carrier you inside.

"It appears baby potato has found love way before we knew rook" vil laughs.

(these are all from my drafts help)