#earth ground resistance meter

[jutech01]

Industrial Temperature Controller Jutech Tester

A industrial temperature controller, also known as a PID controller, is a process controller. They are used to monitor and control temperature depending on the needs of the application. A temperature controller is most simply defined as follows: An input for the controller, such as a temperature sensor, is coupled to an output, such as a heating element.

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[sanarsi]

Victory’s your only payment

lover!Marcus Acacius x f!Reader

Summary: Your general has betrayed you. Your anger is greater than the love you have for him, so you send him to the arena to fight for his last breath. Warnings: +18, MDNI, angst, smut, unprotected PIV, creampie, dom!Marcus, deaths, mention of cheating, killing, violence, slavery Wordcount: 3,1k An: I finally convinced myself to write something with our wonderful general. Even though I resisted it for a long time!! I hope you like it because it's not something I usually write xx Music I worked with: Gladiator - Jann

Masterlist

Your love was great.

Of the two of you, you were always the merciful one.

You were the one people loved.

You were better than your tyrant brother.

You were above the desire for bloodshed.

So how on earth did you stand there giving a speech in front of thousands of people? How on earth did your brother stand in the shadows looking at you in adoration? How on earth did you become like him?

Because your anger was greater than your mercy.

"The great General Acacius!" you said loudly with a wide smile looking around the Colosseum. "He brought our Empire to the other end of the world!"

The crowd began to shout with joy at your words. At words of adoration for the best of the best.

For your illustrious lover.

For the man who betrayed you.

"Today you will see him fight for victory on his native soil!" you continued, sickening feeling of power seeping through you. Your brother laughed sincerely delighted with your words and what you had led to.

In the end, it turned out that you were not so different after all...

"For your entertainment, the great General Marcus Acacius!" you shouted and the crowd seethed with emotion. You laughed and clapped your hands as your heart blossomed with increasing cruelty for the aforementioned man.

You gracefully sat down in your seat next to your brother who looked at you with love. But you only stared at the men who began to enter the arena. Wild beasts dressed in various pieces of armor and various weapons. All to provide the greatest entertainment.

You smiled with satisfaction, assessing the chances of all the slaves in the fight that was to go down in history.

Acacius' death had to be a spectacle.

You had to see him fight for his life. You had to see him pay for what he had done to you. He had to suffer for his sins.

Your brother handed you a cup of wine and looked at you piercingly.

"Sister, I am beyond delighted with your transformation," he finally commented on something that had been on his mind for the past hour. You raised an eyebrow, glancing at him because you had a feeling that this wasn't all he wanted to say.

You were not wrong, as always.

"But I have to ask..." he said with a wide smile and leaned closer to you. Excitement danced in his eyes. "What did our faithful General do that you sent him to certain death?"

You licked your lips from the sweet, tart taste of wine and leaned back comfortably in your chair, lifting your chin proudly. You looked towards the arena, hearing the crowd narrowing louder.

The show had begun.

"He sinned through pride."

Your brother smiled devilishly and began to laugh like a madman.

The screams of the crowd and their laughter became a distant background for the man who had just proudly entered the arena. Alone against a group of gladiators armed to the teeth.

You watched as he stopped a few meters away from them, bowing in respect only for a moment for the bloody slaughter to begin.

You were silent as your brother commented with fascination on every blow and body that fell to the sand.

"He's good," he hissed then laughed seeing the general with a scream plunge his sword into his opponent's stomach and let him fall limply to the ground.

He was panting heavily and you saw even from a distance how his animal side took control of his body. Blood and sweat ran down his face and the instinct of a predator lurked in his eyes. And even though you didn't want to, you weren't surprised that he was the only one left alive.

You cursed him in your thoughts first and then yourself.

Marcus raised his hands to the sides walking around, causing the crowd to cheer. You clenched your jaw tighter as you watched him bask in the adoration of the people. But when his gaze fell on your balcony, his pride disappeared.

You stared at him and noticed a shadow of… guilt?

That only enraged you more.

You looked at your brother with darkness in your eyes. It may have been the first time he had seen you like this, but he immediately understood what you wanted. He looked towards the guard, motioning for him to come over.

“Lions,” he commanded.

One word that made your insides clench painfully. Your gaze fell on the General again, who already seemed to know what awaited him. He tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword, not taking his eyes off you. You were proud to finally reach the power that you always had at your fingertips.

It was enough that you felt wronged.

It was enough that he hit your soft spot and your tyranny seemed to be just beginning.

The gates on his left opened and the familiar roar of wild animals reached his ears immediately. He nodded, giving you a sign that he understood your decision and accepted his punishment. And you only lifted your chin higher, showing him your superiority.

He sighed deeply one last time before turning towards the two lions approaching him. He prepared himself, but both males began to circle him from two different sides.

The Emperor laughed maniacally at the wonderful spectacle. Even you did not despise the satisfied smile when the first lion jumped on the man's back, knocking him to the ground. The crowd erupted as the general fought the beast to stay alive. And something dark woke up in you as you saw him on the brink of death. But the animal roared in pain as Marcus pierced his insides.

Shouts of joy echoed around and you growled angrily, jumping up from your seat. You walked closer to the barriers, looking at everything with greater attention. Blood stained the sand red as he pulled the sword out of the beast. You clenched your hands tighter on the cold stone as the second lion attacked him by surprise.

Excitement woke up in your lower abdomen as a cry of pain left the man's lips.

So close.

He was so close to paying for what he did to you.

But then a sword pierced the beast’s neck. You screamed in anger, slamming your hands against the barrier. Marcus quickly got out from under the dead body and limped, standing on his own.

"Fuckin’ die!" Your scream pierced the crowd's cheers.

General looked in your direction seeing the hatred you were looking at him with. He winced from the pain of his thigh where the claws of the big cat had dug into it. Limping, he moved closer to the balcony to experience the emperor's decision.

You were warming yourself with rage at the sight of his still living body. Silence reigned as your brother made his decision. But he was waiting for your consent. This was your show. You glanced at him as he continued to hold his thumb in a neutral position.

"Sister?" he raised his eyebrows with a smile hoping, that your desire to kill was so great that he would be able to issue the death penalty on him.

But that would not be enough.

Now that your hatred for him had only increased, watching him die was not enough.

"I'll kill him myself," you said seriously. For a moment you stared at each other in silence. Until his smile turned into a devilish grin when he raised his thumb up, sparing him the life you were supposed to take from him later.

The crowd was seething at the emperor's decision. You met Marcus' gaze again.

And that one look was enough for him to know that it wasn't over.

The moment night fell, your feet led you to the gladiator cells.

A dark robe hid your identity as you followed a single guard. Silence reigned all around, broken only by your footsteps and the jingle of keys.

Marcus jumped out of bed when he saw the guard at his cell. Their eyes met before he opened the bars and the hooded figure immediately squeezed through, entering. The bars closed and your hood fell over your shoulders with the sound of the lock closing.

Marcus clenched his jaw as your eyes met. He had never had the honor of seeing so much hatred in your eyes as he had in the past few dozen hours.

Eyes that once sparkled, now boiled with fire.

It was amazing how your love for him disappeared in a split second when you found out he had fucked another woman. While you faithfully waited for him.

Stupid girl.

"If the lions couldn't kill you, I will," you said, getting straight to the heart of the situation that had forced you to come here.

The sound of the blade being pulled out cut through the silence as you pulled the knife from behind your back. It was miserable.

Just like his life.

He didn't deserve the ornate blade from the imperial forges.

You quickly covered the few steps that separated you and put the knife to his throat. But he didn't move. And his eyes didn't leave yours for a moment. He was as unmoved as a stone. He looked at you even with slight regret.

Your heated eyes stared into his gentle ones.

"You should have died on the arena. You would have spared yourself my hateful gaze before you died," you hissed, pressing the blade harder against his throat until a few drops of blood ran down his skin.

And he remained silent.

You felt another surge of anger at his stoic calmness.

"Say something," you growled.

"I'm sorry," he whispered hoarsely. Your heart clenched painfully and the feeling of resentment you felt for him spread through your chest.

"Then you better not say anything anymore," you hissed, barely holding back your breaking voice.

"Dearest..." he began gently, almost pleadingly.

"No," you interrupted him sharply and tears of hatred appeared in your eyes. "Don't call me that. Never again," you said, starting to tremble from the emotions that were starting to overwhelm you.

Marcus stared at you with pain in his eyes. You had every right to stab him in the heart. His betrayal was completely unnecessary and a stupid decision.

But time couldn't be turned back.

That's why he wasn't going to stop the blade that was cutting his skin more and more. It was so blunt that it was starting to strangle him more, but he remained unmoved.

Your chin trembled from holding back tears so you had to look away from him, catching a shaky breath.

"I was fucking waiting for you," you said with a broken voice. Your body began to be taken over by conflicting emotions.

You wanted to cut his throat while listening to his delicate whispers.

"I was waiting for you every day." You looked at him and the first tear ran down your cheek. "And you took the first whore that came your way," you hissed with venom.

You took the knife away, cutting his skin more and you took a few steps back, starting to walk in circles. There was a war in your head. Watching him die in the arena turned out to be an easier option than killing him with your own hands.

Not when he looked at you with the eyes you loved.

The ones you had missed for a few years.

You rubbed your forehead with your hand, feeling how you were shaking inside.

"Oh gods," you whispered overwhelmed.

Marcus immediately took advantage of the fact that you were standing with your back to him. He grabbed your elbow tightly and turned you towards him.

"Leave me alone!" you screamed but it was too late because you leaned into his arms that tightly embraced you. You started to struggle trying to push yourself away from his chest.

"Shhh," he whispered when you cried and your movements became weaker. His arms held you tightly not letting you move even an inch away.

You gave up starting to cry against his heated skin. He rested his cheek on your head starting to stroke your hair.

"I hate you," you moaned through your tears and hit him in the chest once more.

"I know. I'm sorry, my dearest," he whispered soothingly.

You cried louder at the name that only in his mouth sounded like an aphrodisiac.

"You should die."

Another helpless hit on his chest.

Marcus was silent holding your delicate body against his. He let you cry out all the regrets that were inside you.

Your hatred turned into despair.

And he really wanted the despair to turn into forgiveness.

"Kill me if you want, I won't stop you," he began confidently. "But let me make amends first," he added gently.

You calmed your shallow breathing and blinked a few times, getting rid of the tears that blurred your vision. You moved away from him as much as he allowed you to and looked up at him. His eyes were tired from the wars he had lived through and there were a lot of wounds and scars on his face.

"I can't even look at you," you said with venom.

And yet he still looked at you with love.

"So don't look," he said as if it was an answer to everything and a second later his lips were on yours. You squeezed your eyes shut, refraining from kissing him back.

He was kissing another woman with those lips.

"Please, darling," he whispered against your lips and his hand tangled in your hair, not letting you pull away. "After we’re done, you’ll stab me in the heart."

You shivered at his warm breath.

"It belongs to you anyway," he whispered and pressed his lips to yours again.

This time, you reluctantly gave in to his will and began to kiss him back. He immediately moaned, pulling you closer and crept into your mouth, deepening the caress. You moaned at the strength and passion with which his tongue dominated yours. His lips were enough for you to start to melt in his arms.

His movements were confident and deliberate as he pressed you against the wall with his body. The cold stone against your hot skin sent shivers down your spine. But it was his hands sliding down that made you moan.

"I fuckin’ missed you," he gasped into your mouth before kissing your neck.

His fingers immediately began to gather the material of your dress that covered your legs. You closed your eyes, tilting your head as he bit into your skin. You wrapped your hands around his neck and your fingers automatically found their way to his silver curls.

The moment his rough hands touched your thighs, he grabbed them tightly and in one move he lifted you up. You hugged him tightly around the waist, letting him press you harder against the wall. His beard teased your delicate skin as he slowly left traces of his teeth down to your cleavage.

He reached down with one hand to pull out his hard cock and immediately positioned it at your hole. You moaned as he ran the tip along the length of your slit to collect the arousal that had leaked out of you.

Then you screamed as he entered you in one hard movement. He groaned in relief when he was fully inside you and buried his face in your neck, reveling in the feeling of your pussy clenching around him in shock.

"Did you miss me?" he asked, digging his fingers under your thighs and began to thrust into you. You shivered, moaning loudly every time his reminded you of how long you had been celibate. "Tell me you missed me," he repeated more confidently and sped up the movements of his hips. He thrust into you fast and hard, with the desire to mark your body as his once again.

"No," you choked out, digging your nails into his neck at the pain and pleasure that spread through your insides.

"Then lie," he growled and thrust into you harder until you whimpered in pain. He slowed his movements for a moment to straighten up and look at your face twisted in pleasure. "Lie," he repeated, panting against your lips. You looked at him with a misty gaze and whimpered, feeling the approaching fulfillment.

"I missed you," you moaned, getting closer, and your lips died halfway. “I missed you so fuckin’ much,” you repeated against his lips, kissing him clumsily as he once again sped up his thrusts into your leaking cunt. His cock was rock hard from being inside you after so many months of being apart.

You didn't have to wait long before your orgasm hit your body. You screamed, pressing harder into his mouth and he growled at how hard you were clenching around him.

"That's it..." he groaned, thrusting into you harder until you couldn't kiss him anymore.

You squealed every time his cock slammed into you hard until your juices started to drip down his balls.

Finally, he too felt his orgasm approaching.

"I'll leave my son inside you," he said, parting his lips with pleasure. "He'll take care of you when I'm gone," he whispered against your lips and pressed himself against them so hard that you cried.

He growled throatily, cumming inside you, and he thrust into you several times until he was empty.

He stopped, panting heavily, and rested his head on your shoulder. You groaned, trying to calm your body's reactions after the shock. You stayed silent until his lips began to place lazy kisses on your neck again.

You hummed, not expecting his touch. And then he slowly pulled out of you, making you both moan at the loss. He carefully put you down on the ground and immediately pressed his lips to yours.

The passionate kiss was interrupted by him placing the knife you brought with you in your hand. You didn't even notice when he took it from you.

He pulled away from you, looking at you with a warm gaze and stroked your cheek with his fingers. His hand tightened on yours and he directed the blade straight at his chest. You blinked a few times when the red broke through the material of his shirt. You looked into his eyes, lost, but he only smiled gently and nodded encouragingly.

"Push," he whispered.

So you pushed.

[stargayzerlily03]

For you, I will lose control

I just had a sudden urge to write down this angsty scene that's been in my head for several weeks now. What if Odin had came all the way from the future to save Donald from the evronians trying to eliminate him, but he would be so badly injured that Odin thinks he came too late and in his grief he let's the part of him that's Two take control of his body and begins to destroy everything and everyone around him.

English is not my first language so there might be some errors, but I tried my best and that's enough:

He had spent countless nights with no sleep; years on end building the chronosail for just this exact moment: to save his dearest friend. He hoped from the bottom of his mechanical heart that he would arrive there just in time. He had seen the documents of the Duck Avenger's death by the hands of the evronians multiple times shown on the holoscreens in the darkness of his own room where no one could see him cry for his best friend's death, that he could have done nothing to prevent. For centuries he had mourned him and grown resentment towards the creatures responsible for his fate, but now he finally had one chance to save him and he was willing to do anything to make it right. He stood tall within his battle armor, the golden light illuminating from its shiny surface, laserpistols loaded in the bucklebelt on his hips, waiting for the timejump to be over so he could meet Donald after all those painful years spent being separated from him.

The first thing he saw when the timejump was complete and the dust had settled around him, was people running around looking for cover and screaming in panic, which could only mean that the evronians' attack had already started and now it would only be a matter of time until they found Donald before he did. He ran around the streets, scanning the area around him until his eyes came across a familar looking car with yellow, red and blue paint and the numbers "313" on its license plate, that was lying upside down on the pavement, wrecked and on fire. There was no mistaking it. It was Donald's car. Few meters away from the burning vehicle were two evronian warriors surrounding a small figure lying on the ground and Odin stretched his artifical vision further to identify the person who had fallen victim to the cruel extraterrestrials. When he realized who the person lying on the ground was, he wished his eyes were malfunctioning, but the sight before him was terribly real. It was......Donald, battered and bruised lying there silently and unmoving.

"Such fragile creatures these lowly Earth people are, don't you think Grrodon?" One of the evronians said smirking while kicking Donald's limp body over as if he was nothing, but a little pebble on his way, lying on the sidewalk.

"You're right, poor suckers can't even handle a little beating." The other evronian, Grrodon, snarkily chimed in while sounding awfully lot like he was enjoying too much about inflicting pain on Donald.

Seeing Donald, his dear friend, like that; hurt and helpless at the unexistent mercy of the evronians, was all that was needed to drive Odin into a fit of raw and unfiltered rage. He took a step forward, stomping his foot on the pavement so hard it cracked under his foot and made his presence known.

"You! How dare you hurt my friend! Step away from him right now and I might even consider sparing your miserable lives a little, alien scums!" He roared in anger, pointing at the two evronian soldiers, his other hand ready to grab the lazerpistol on the side of his hip and shoot them right where they were standing.

Both evronians quickly turned around their heads upon hearing Odin's furious words, looking a bit surprised, like they hadn't expected any retaliation from the earthlings at all. Upon seeing Odin, the other one, Grrodon, narrowed his eyes seemingly looking disgusted by the daring leader of the Earth's resistance group and raised his weapon, pointing straight at Odin's forehead.

"You dare threaten the glory of Evron you foolish earthling? I will suck out all your thoughts and there will be nothing left of you!" Grrodon said and cackled maniacally, thinking that taking Odin down would be as easy as crushing an ant under his thumb.

"I'd like to see you try!" Odin said and before Grrodon would have had the chance to shoot him, not that it would have even affected him in any way, he had already moved away from the weapon's way, running towards the evronians with great speed, ready to take them out with his bare hands.

Grrodon tried repeatedly shooting in the direction where Odin was heading towards them, confident that he would hit him this time, but before he could, Odin had already grabbed him by the wrist, twisting his arm back painfully and snapped the bone in his hand in half. Grrodon didn't even get to finish screaming in agony when Odin had already punched him in the side of his face with all his might, sending the poor alien flying in the air and into the wall of the nearest building with a loud thud. Grrodon didn't get up and the other alien finally realized the seriousness of his situation and the fact that Odin wasn't just a common earthling and dropped his weapon in fear, trying to make a run for it. He didn't get far, because Odin had grabbed the lazerpistol from the bucklebelt on the side of his hip and shot him, making the alien fall to the ground.

After the short battle came a deafening silence. Donald was still lying on the ground where the evrons had left him, still silent and not moving. Odin was almost too afraid to approach him, but he forced his trembling legs to walk to him. "D...Donald...?" He reached his hand to him, the trembling in his body getting stronger and he tried to swallow the fear stuck in his throat that was slowly choking him. He kneeled beside his friend, putting his hand very carefully under his head like Donald would crumble to dust from the slightest wrong move. He tried to gently shake him awake, but to no avail. Donald stayed silent and limp against his touch, eyes shut and beak slightly open. He had a nasty looking wound on his forehead that was slowly staining the white feathers in red and Odin could hardly hear him breathe.

"Donald, please wake up! You have to wake up!" He shouted his friend's name, but no answer came. The fear weighing him down in his chest turned into heartbreak and sorrow and Odin could no longer hold the tears back from running down his cheeks. He cradled his friend in his arms, sobbing inconsolably, rocking Donald back and forth like he was singing him to his final sleep with his tears. He had come too late and all those years of dreaming and planning to save him had shattered into millions of pieces. He would never be able to tell him how much he meant to him, how Donald was so much more to him than just his dearest friend. Donald would be dead and the future of the Earth would be succumbed into darkness forever.

At that exact moment Odin heard a silent voice in the back of his mind that he hadn't heard in a long, long time. The eerie voice inside his head called to him silently from the distance, at first sounding like a faint whisper, but started getting louder second by second until Odin could hear them....him... as clearly as if he was speaking right next to his ear. He recognized the voice immediately. The harrowing voice belonged to his long lost twinbrother, Two, or what was left of him.

"What a pity. Looks like you really cared about that duck. Tell me, brother, would you rather lie here crying for your lost friend or would you let go of your peace for once and let your anger finally burst? I can help you avenge him. Just let me take control. It will only be for a short while and then you can go back to lamenting his death again."

It only took a single, silent nod from Odin to accept his brother's offer. He didn't even hesitate. He was so very tired and overcome with grief that he couldn't even care less if Two was going to tear the whole city to pieces while having control of his body. He just wanted Donald to be alright, but if granting that wish wasn't possible then destroying everything and everyone around him fueled by the rage of his broken heart had to do. He let out a long, weary sigh and closed his eyes. When he opened them again they had turned bright red all the way from the irises to the whites and glowed ominously. He lowered Donald gently on the ground, and carefully, altought coldly, stepped over his body, since Two didn't really care about the duck, but didn't really want to hurt him, lest he'd upset his brother.

At this point other evronian warriors had showed up, -most likely because one of the previous two had called for backup,- before Odin had eventually taken them down. As the aliens surrounding him from all sides readied their weapons, Odin with Two controlling him, let out a wicked grin and cracked his knuckles.

"You better give it all you've got, pathetic organics, because I won't be holding back one bit!"

-

Donald woke up with a groan, doubled vision and a splitting headache. When his vision was slowly beginning to get clearer he tried to get up, but his body was weighing him down, feeling like each of his limbs were made of heavy lead and he tumbled uselessly on his back. He clenched his hands into fists and tried getting up again, this time managing to rise up into a sitting position. The pounding headache on the side of his head made him dizzy and as he tried to rub the pain away he accidentally touched the wound and flinched, hissing in pain. He pulled his hand back, inspecting his blood stained fingertips.

After sitting there for a while and trying to will the pain away he finally decided to take a good look around him and as he did he saw numerous bodies of unconscious evronian soldiers lying around on the pavement. He saw Grrodon lying on the side of the nearest building, unconscious as well. Something or rather someone incredibly powerful must have taken them all out, he wondered, starting to guestion whoever that person might be. His guestions were quickly answered when he suddenly heard a loud crashing sound and he turned his head towards where the noice was coming from. 30 meters away from him on the street was Odin Eidolon himself in his golden armour, fighting off a big, bulky evronian. Donald almost couldn't believe his eyes. His friend, Odin, was here. Had he really come from all the way from his own timeline in the future to the past to defend him? Donald imagined it must have been very difficult, if nearly an impossible task, to travel back in time and Odin had done all of that for him. For a moment he was quite touched by how far his friend had been willing to go just for him, but then he noticed that something about Odin was wrong. His eyes were all red and were glowing ominously, something he had never seen his friend's eyes look like before and it made the feeling of fear rise up in his belly. And to make the matter even more terrifying, Donald watched as Odin lifted a random car from the ground like it weighed nothing to him and threw it against the bulky evronian, crushing him under it. The car's alarm went off from the impact and begun to beep loudly.

There was something terribly wrong with his friend and Donald knew he had to do something to stop it. He forced himself to stand with gritted teeth, his legs wobbling until his injured knee gave out under him and he tumbled down. He got back up again, cursing and doing his best to ignore the pain in his knee and started limping towards his friend with determination.

"Odin!!!" He yelled from the top of his lungs to get his friend's attention on him and it seemed that Odin had heard his cries, because he quickly turned his head to Donald's direction, his red eyes widening at first from confusion and then from shock.

"Donald?!" Odin's voice cracked. He felt a sudden wave of dizziness hit him the very moment he closed his eyes as his brother's influence begun to leave him. He caught himself by dropping on one knee before he could have tumbled on the ground, holding his hand on his forehead and trying to steady himself. When he opened his eyes again, they were that same familiar red and green color greeting Donald's own blue eyes. For a short moment Donald stopped limping towards his friend when their eyes met. He seemed to hesitate for a moment after seeing Odin act so frighteningly before, but he shook that fear out of his thoughts and continued his broken walk towards him. Donald knew that no matter how furious Odin might sometimes get, which happened very rarely, he would never hurt him.

"Odin are you alright? What is the matter of this?" He said now sounding more conserned for his friend's well-being rather than being afraid of him. And of course just at the worst time when he had almost reached walking up to him, Donald felt his knee give out under him again and this time he was too tired to catch himself from falling beak first into the ground.

Luckily, Odin had now recovered from his dizzy spell and when he noticed Donald falling, he ran up to him and caught him in his arms, before Donald's beak would actually hit the concrete under him. He gazed Donald into his ocean blue eyes, smiling like a fool, the feeling of relief washing over him like a tidal wave. Then he squeezed Donald into a tight hug, being careful to not squeeze too tight, since Donald was still an organic unlike him and very much injured. It was the most heartfelt, soft and warm embrace Donald had ever received in his life despite Odin's armour being cold, hard metal. Odin let out a relieved chuckle that turned into a sob and let his tears now flow freely down his cheeks.

"Oh, Donald. I thought I had lost you."

[dzthenerd490]

File: X-Files S2 E9 Firewalker

SCP#: AKQ

Code Name: The Fire Fungus

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-AKQ has been contained at Site-AL within a 20x20 meter containment cell. Within the cell are 4 different tables with artificial moss gardens on them where wild SCP-AHX instances are cultivated. Blood samples and grounded up dead bodies of D Class are occasionally introduced into the soil as fertilizer. This process is done every 12 hours and must be done to keep the SCP-AKQ spores alive. Each artificial moss garden must maintain a temperature of 1,000 °C in order to keep the spores alive.

In the event of a containment breach the entrance to the containment cell as well as the walls will be coated with Torrid Evaporate to ensure any enemy that tries to breach will be killed instantly. Four security units wearing Level 3 Biohazard suits should already be in the containment cell. Depending on the severity of the breach a single MTF Epsilon-11 unit is to enter the containment cell. They will be wearing a specialized armor making them immune to Torrid Evaporates lethal effects to organic material.

Description: SCP-AKQ is a vile fungal infection that oddly grows in extremely hot areas naturally and can only grow in these areas to survive. Shockingly despite never being around Organic tissue SCP-AKQ is extremely parasitic able to infect a human upon contact rather quickly. Its anomalous nature not corresponding with our laws of nature have been pinned on the spores being silicone based instead of carbon based like all life on earth. It should be noted that SCP-AAQ was also parasitic, didn’t obey the common laws of its earth counterparts, and was silicone based. More research on the possible connection between the two anomalies is needed.

Once SCP-AKQ spores have entered a host they will remain healthy for about 24 hours with the only symptoms, if any; being couching, intense sweating, and loss of common sense. After the 24 or perhaps 36 hours are up the hosts throat will start to bulge as a spore mushroom of SCP-AKQ will burst out both killing them and spreading more spores to infect more potential hosts. Once the spores are open, they only last four a short period of time, anywhere between 2 to 10 hours, during that time they wither and die. This thankfully does make containing SCP-AKQ easy even if it was exposed to the public but that does not deny many, possibly hundreds, will die as a result. 

SCP-AKQ was discovered in 1994 when Agent Fox Mulder and Dana Scully went to a research site at Mount Avalon of [data expunged]. They were attempting to find a missing person suspected to be hindering their research by using drones to study the volcano. However, instead they found SCP-AKQ having infected everyone and slowly killing them all one by one. Fox Mulder called the CDC to quarantine the area, thankfully the order was received by a Foundation agent within the CDC. As such the quarantine was established by the Foundation with all researchers and security disguised as common CDC forces. 

By the time they arrived everyone infected was already dead, and the Foundation forces were able to take SCP-AKQ without resistance. Thankfully this time Fox Mulder was unable to tell that the Foundation had intervened. However, Foundation agents were shocked to see Person of Interest Dana Scully back at work. For those that don’t know Dana Scully was recently kidnapped by Species of Interest: the Colonists for [data expunged], which are experiments they perform mainly on women. This means that Dana Scully has been tagged with [data expunged] and is in the process of [data expunged]. What this could mean for Fox Mulder is unknown, but should the time come the Foundation may have to order the FBI to separate them permanently.

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SCP: Horror Movie Files Hub

[positron2399]

The Kehhar (Whispers in the Stars)

The Kehhar have a hard time grasping a day-night cycle as they came from a tidally-locked world that orbited a red dwarf. They evolved to be ground-dwelling filter-feeders/herbivores, eating aerial plankton and the near-black flora that’s better described as slime molds than plants. They also don’t call themselves “kehhar,” The Juggerknight and Brunniee call them that as they communicate with their bioluminescent displays. The reason they have such displays is due to them evolving from tropical orb-weaver-sized “bugs” as both a mating display and a warning to potential predators that they’d promptly die after consumption. Said macrofauna only evolved to their current sizes due to the Juggerknight slamming into their world over twice the speed of light, this also caused a massive ocean to form in the shape of a pupil. They average around .7 m in length and .2 meters in height. And they reproduce via budding like sponges or hydras.

They don’t mate either, while they do swap genes, this is believed to have evolved to increase genetic diversity as this gene swapping between members of the same and closely related species is present in all but two species, those being deep-sea microbes. It’s also of important note that their “genetic” system is closer to that of prions than DNA or RNA, as in, their information is stored on gigantic self-replicating “super proteins.” Albeit much tougher than most crap on earth thanks to the lovely dose of UV from their sun as well as their magnetosphere being fucking 12.3 gauss. Hence how it kept its hydrogen/nitrogen atmosphere, well that and their world is a super-earth with twice the gravity of our world and an atmosphere 7 times as dense, which allowed for aerial plankton, land-dwelling “sponges” and other filter feeders, and even sky “whales.” Though the largest sky whales only exceed Quetzalcoatlus in length and wingspan. ( Yes, I know the how protein-based life thing likely isn’t very plausible, but they have a 2ish meter-tall crystalline guardian that served in the Vietnam War, an event that took place millions of years before them)

It’s also of important note that the kehhar are a very stagnant people, having an information age comparable to that of the early 2000s in terms of technology, granted just as radiation-resistant as them. Granted, rather than using spoiled plankton juice in a hyper-capitalist world, they used solar, nuclear, and wind energies in a heavily caste based feudalist system, granted, there were capitalist and communist nations, but they just didn’t have too much power thanks to the meddlings of the monarchs. Also, they weren’t a planet of hats, kehhars had different loves, hates, and political views from each other. Some working as world-renowned actors, wage-to-wage restaurant cooks, doctors, miners, farmers and so much more.

As for their generation ships, they’re a gift from an allied species called “ven,” also named by The Juggerknight as they communicate via radio waves. Though they weren’t originally supposed to be gifts, they were warships meant to “cleanse” the world of the kehhar, but over time the vens “hearts” changed. Still, the space habitats of the kehhar had all of their advanced weapons like antimatter and sonic bombs (not that the sonic weapons would work) and replaced them with “primitive” weapons such as “slow” suicidal super nuke drones, cannons that shoot telephone pole sized tungsten rods, and particle beans. These space habitats are also humungous, being around 6 km long (including their thrusters), each housing many dense cities, farmland (though most livestock is simply pets as meat is now lab-grown), and wildlife reserves. While they can and do use solar energy, the habitats are primarily powered and propelled via fusion and a maximum speed of .098C

Feedback and Critique welcome (^_^)

[craftingcreatures]

Welcome to Spero

Exoplanet Ahuizotl 593-d is about 15 light-years from Earth, located in the habitable zone of a yellow dwarf star much like our own. It is a rocky world, with an axial tilt of 7.2 degrees and a diameter of just over 12,000 km. It has a single large moon, somewhat smaller than earth's and very different in origin and composition; this moon is a recently-captured long-period comet, composed mostly of water ice beneath a dark protective layer of organic dust. Ahuizotl 593-d was renamed to Spero (meaning "hope") when it was chosen as a candidate for terraforming and colonization.

Prior to human arrival, Spero was a dead world. Though once tectonically active, it ceased to be so long before humanity arrived, and countless aeons of erosion have ground down the mountain ranges and filled in the ocean basins with sediment. Where once tall mountains stood proudly, small, wind-blasted rocks are all that remain; and where once vast oceans surged, endless fields of sand dunes stand still and lifeless. The only true topography that may be found is the rims of innumerable impact craters, slowly being worn away by the ravages of wind and sand. The largest of these is over 1,000 km across, and is relatively young, at a mere 80 million years old; It has not had time to erode away as completely as some of the other craters, and its eastern rim contains mountains that are much higher than anywhere else on the planet - nearly 3,000 meters high.

The oceans are not completely gone - they are buried, to be certain, but the water still exists deep beneath the sediment. In certain places, scattered across the globe, ancient seawater seeps to the surface, forming saltwater oases - in the depths of the largest crater, these springs seep into the basin to form a permanent lake. However, by far the largest body of water is the Mare Vagus, the so-called "wandering sea": a shallow, hypersaline body of water which travels around Spero's lowlands, propelled by the forces of erosion and deposition. On the windward coast, soft rock and sediment are slowly carved away, only to be re-deposited as sand or silt on the leeward coast; harder rock resists erosion, and may deflect the Mare's trajectory against the wind to the north or south. in this way the seas move across the planet, leaving behind them a trail of salt crystal evaporites that can be seen from space. These bodies of water fuel a small but consistent water cycle - a few freshwater rivers snaking down from the highlands are fed by rainfall.

Despite the bleakness of the landscape, the planet is habitable. The air is breathable, the rivers drinkable, the soil nontoxic, and the sun is almost identical to our own. In a universe where habitable planets are exceedingly rare, Spero is a veritable oasis, and within ten years of the planet's discovery humanity was already putting together a plan for colonization. However, the sheer distance from earth to Spero makes for an imposing barrier; the fastest starships in the human fleet (at 1/6th the speed of light) would have to travel for 95 years to reach it. It would be two hundred and fifty years between the arrival of the first probes and the arrival of humanity on the planet's surface. And humanity did not arrive alone. They brought with them their crops, their livestock - everything needed to prepare a planet for permanent human habitation.

Transporting plants and animals across interstellar space is not an easy feat. Due to the 95-year time gap between launch and arrival, everything living must be either put in cryogenic stasis or maintain a breeding stock on the spaceship for the duration of the flight. Since storage space is a limited resource on ships and carrying that many moving animals, plants, and people (not to mention food and water and life support systems) would be unimaginably expensive, cryostasis was by far the preferred option. For most plants and some animals, this made transport downright easy; simply keep the desiccated seeds or cysts into a low-temperature freezer and thaw them out upon arrival. Thousands of seeds could be transported this way while barely taking up any space at all. Hundreds of species from over 450 different families were brought to Ahuizotl.

Animals, on the other hand, needed a little more consideration. Cryogenic stasis is a complicated affair (though much simpler than transporting moving, breathing animals for 95 years) and requires some specialized equipment. Multiple tanks of liquid nitrogen were needed for every individual animal, plus the metabolic suppressors and the actual stasis chamber itself. For an average-sized human this resulted in a set of equipment which weighed some six hundred pounds and took up almost 2.5 cubic meters of cabin space. For a fully grown cow or camel, the requirements were even more ludicrous.

Fortunately, these huge apparatuses could be shrunken, if the animals themselves were also shrunken. If transported as embryos, with development completed in artificial wombs upon arrival to the planet, each individual animal only took up one-eighth of a cubic meter of space. This was much more reasonable, and so many more individuals could be transported, enough to preserve genetic diversity for multiple species. Even so, space was at a premium, and only 18 species of animal were introduced (three of which could undergo cryptobiosis and were simply chucked in the freezer with the seeds).

Colonization occurred in several waves; the first wave included bacteria, algae, and certain lichens and fungi, and began the process of terraforming by beginning soil production and establishing the foundation of the artificial ecosystem the colonists hoped to create. The second wave included more complex plants, including mosses and ferns, and the first animals - tardigrades, rotifers, and other small creatures which would recycle nutrients. Once these organisms were established and thriving (as determined by robotic probes), the third wave - including the first hardy crop plants, larger invertebrates, and the first fish - arrived. Finally, in the fourth wave, humanity arrived (accompanied by the remaining seed species) to be greeted by a thriving, if taxonomically limited, ecosystem.

~o~O~o~

Seed List

All species introduced to Ahuizotl underwent genetic manipulation and hybridization to increase hardiness and heterozygosity, maximizing chances of successful establishment and survival into the future. Species were chosen based on hardiness, adaptability, and – most importantly – usefulness to humans. The vast majority of plant species introduced were crops, producing food, timber, or other important products such as rubber and medicines. Animals were either livestock, herding animals, or detritivores necessary for healthy soils and nutrient cycling. Pest species were strictly avoided. Thanks to the extended time spent in cryogenic stasis (as well as close inspection and quarantining by scientists prior to freezing), diseases and parasites were almost completely eliminated.

(Plants not included in this list; there are too many to count. If it's reasonably hardy and useful to humans, it's safe to assume it was brought along.)

Domestic Goat ~ Capra hircus Cattle were rejected for colonization due to their size and feed requirements - the productive pastures needed to raise them effectively simple didn't exist. Goats were introduced instead, as they could survive better on the sparse scrubby vegetation which had been established by that point. Goats were introduced for their milk, meat, and leather, and for their ability to survive in harsh environments.

Domestic Sheep ~ Ovis aries Sheep were introduced for meat, milk, and (most importantly) wool. The sheep arriving on Ahuizotl were hybrids between several different wool-producing breeds, mostly of the fine-wooled merino type. Though unable to survive without human care due to the need for periodic shearing, the breeds chosen were very hardy and could survive in harsh climates.

Dromedary Camel ~ Camelus dromedarius Camels were introduced as pack animals and long-distance transport to desert outposts. They were also used for milk production. Camels were chosen based on their hardiness, pre-adapted to the desert climate of Spero as they were; able to survive on very little food or water and carry heavy loads for long distances, they would be invaluable, especially since Spero had no oil or petroleum deposits to produce fuel for motorized vehicles.

Domestic Donkey ~ Equus africanus asinus Horses were considered for colonization as a means of transportation on a world where fuel was a highly limited resource, but were ultimately rejected in favour of donkeys. Donkeys were smaller than horses, but much hardier and required fewer resources. Donkeys were also used extensively for plowing and transportation in pulling carts - they were also significantly easier to handle and more comfortable to ride than camels.

Domestic Dog ~ Canis familiaris Dogs were introduced as herding animals for goats and sheep, much more efficient than robotic substitutes. They had the added bonus of providing companionship to the human settlers (on a planet with a total population of less than 500 spread out over a vast area, loneliness was an ever-present problem). The dogs brought to Spero were all mutts with strong herding dog histories; border collies, blue heelers, and Alsatians were all prominently featured in the pedigrees.

Domestic Pig ~ Sus domesticus Pigs were introduced mostly for their meat, but also for leather, manure, and disposal of organic wastes. They were also introduced for their unique ability to provide organs and tissues useful in medical applications, such as their heart valves. Hardy animals, able to survive on garbage, pigs were well adapted for surviving the turbulent early years of colonization.

Domestic Chicken ~ Gallus domesticus Chickens were introduced for their meat and eggs, and their feathers were also used as a natural fiber for stuffing cushions and other necessary textiles. The chickens introduced were hybrid mixtures most similar to Indian and Polynesian breeds, but also included genes from western breeds such as leghorns, orpingtons, and wyandottes.

Common Carp ~ Cyprinus carpio Fish was a critical nutrient source for the developing world, rich in Omega-3 fatty acids that could not be efficiently produced by plants. Although humanity makes use of many kinds of fish, most species require more advanced ecological environments to thrive. Carp, on the other hand, don’t; and while not typically considered food fish by western cultures their meat is tasty and nutritious. It is their ability to thrive in low-quality environments which made them better choices for colonization than more popular fish.

Flathead Mullet ~ Mugil cephalus Mullets were introduced for many of the same reasons as carp. Adaptable, hardy, and able to survive in a wide range of temperatures and salinities, their diet of algae and bacterial scum allowed them to thrive in Ahuizotl’s estuaries. Unlike carp they congregate in large schools and so can be harvested in large quantities, an invaluable attribute once large numbers of colonists began arriving and expecting to be fed. The mullet introduced to Spero were genetically modified to have a flexible life cycle and a broader tolerance of salinity; they do not need to return to saltwater to breed, though they can still survive there just fine.

European Honeybee ~ Apis mellifera mellifera On earth, bees are of critical importance, pollinating a huge proportion of the crops we rely on to produce our food. Thus, bees were practically guaranteed to be included in the seed list. Not only do they pollinate flowers, but the honey, wax, and other products produced by beehives are valuable commodities. The bees introduced are exclusively from the Western subspecies (A. m. mellifera); this is to prevent aggressive and swarming behaviours exhibited by hybrid bees on earth.

Common Woodlouse ~ Armidillidium vulgare Woodlice were introduced as detritivores, aiding decomposition of excess organic matter and helping to keep soils fertile. This particular species was chosen based on its adaptability and hardiness compared to other woodlouse species, as they can tolerate drier conditions.

Common Earthworm ~ Lumbricus terrestris Earthworms were introduced to aerate the soil and help keep croplands healthy. They also help to remove organic detritus such as fallen leaves and help mix soils, bringing nutrients within reach of plant roots. This species was chosen due to its ability to survive in diverse habitats.

White Rat Springtail ~ Folsomia candida Springtails were chosen as detritivores, recycling organic matter and keeping the soils fertile and healthy. They also serve as extra food for woodlice and earthworms. This particular species was chosen due to the ease of culture and adaptability.

Cherry Shrimp ~ Neocaridina davidi Freshwater shrimp were introduced to help control the growth of bacterial and algal mats in riverine environments, keeping waterways clear. They also serve as a secondary food source for carp. This species was chosen due to its ease of culture.

Ramshorn Snail ~ Planorbarius corneus Like the cherry shrimp, freshwater snails were chosen to help keep down algal growth and keep waterways and rice paddies healthy and productive. They, like the shrimp, also serve as a secondary food source for carp.

Brine Shrimp ~ Artemia franciscana Brine shrimp hold little value to humans, except as a food source for mullet, carp, and other marine species. They were mainly included because, as eggs, they can survive being frozen for long periods of time and so did not require the heavy cryogenic stasis equipment needed for most other animals. During early colonization they were used as a feed for the recently-thawed fish fry, and continued to be eaten by subsequent generations of larval fish.

Rotifer ~ Brachionus plicatilis Like the brine shrimp, the rotifers were included as larval fish food and because they could be transported easily and in large numbers with nothing more than a simple freezer. They were one of the first animals introduced to Ahuizotl, along with tardigrades, and were intended to form the base of a self-sufficient aquatic ecology.

Tardigrade ~ Milnesium tardigradum Tardigrades were chosen as pioneer animals to help create usable soils. They also provide food for larger invertebrates such as snails, isopods, and springtails. Thanks to their ability to withstand low temperatures for long periods of time in a cryptobiotic state, they could be brought in large numbers in a simple freezer.

~o~O~o~

These eighteen species of animals - and hundreds of species of plants - were cultivated to form a self-sufficient ecosystem in the dusty, dry wastes of Spero. Croplands, orchards, and timber plantations were planted along the banks of the rivers; farther from water, scrubby grasses and hardy forage plants grew in the infrequent rainfall. While the vast majority of the planet was still hostile desert, endless sand dunes or bare rock swept clean by the wind, humanity managed to eke out an existence along the narrow inhabitable margins of the rivers.

Until a cataclysmic event destroyed humanity's hope of creating a new home... and simultaneously laid the groundwork for Spero to become a thriving paradise far beyond their wildest dreams.

[marginal-notes]

You could talk about floodwater management on here instead :3

lololol but seriously, I’m constantly thinking so much about the economics and infrastructure of ATLA, especially at scale, given the existence of bending.

First off, I’m still not 100% sure what percentage of the population has bending. Personally, I think it’s a minority? Let’s say 30% max? Probably more around 10-15%, don’t ask where I’m getting this number from.

Then you gotta think about stuff like, “okay, I want to build this dam around this location along a river, and I have to do a geological survey first along with collecting whatever else elevation data we need.” So, are you planning to find a specialized earthbender? I fully embrace the idea of Toph’s sensing ability being really rare, so how much value does an earthbender bring in? And what if you’re in the Fire Nation’s territory and for various reasons you don’t want to use an earthbender, so you need to develop nonbender methods anyway.

When do things reach sufficient scale that using tools and technology override the need for individual human labor?

“What does this have to do with floodwater management?” Yeah, whatever, this is just some of the usual bean counter ramblings, let’s also talk about security.

In the show, Jet already proves the knowledge that infrastructure’s destruction can be a weapon. He needed blasting jelly to destroy that dam, but what if you had an earthbender. The thing with dams is that you just need to punch one hole through the wall, and the weight of the water and physics will do all the rest for you. Bitch slapping a meter cube of material out of a dam is way too easy for an earthbender.

Like, bro, what the fuck. Why are you forcing me to pay so much money on effective security to keep you maniacs out.

Real talk, would you really want to have a lot of dams in the world of ATLA when you have to live with the constant threat of some drunk idiot stumbling along and fucking up the earth around your giant water infrastructure and immediately threatening the lives of thousands downstream.

Good grief.

Now also take that constant aggravation and apply it to rivers. Rivers already don’t want to stay along the same course. Those things famously shift around constantly to find the path of least resistance. How easy would it be for someone to weaken and manipulate the ground along a riverbank to lay a strategic time bomb waiting for the next heavy rain to hit.

Oh, what’s that Mr. Fire Army General sir, you planned your supply routes along this path near the vicinity of this river? If I have a sneaky enough crew of earthbender willing to be relentless mole people for a couple of weeks, I can utterly ruin your day and career.

Man, imagine if the Fire Nation already had an interest in instruments that can measure seismic activity because these people are crazy enough to put their SEAT OF POLITICAL POWER inside the caldera of an ACTIVE VOLCANO, WHY. But the real reason why the Fire Nation has such good instruments is because of the military trying to fend off renegade bands of mole people laying mines under their camps.

I mean, that’s how a lot of tech development tends to go anyway irl.

[usafphantom2]

Israel uses bunker-destroying ammunition to hit Hamas tunnels in Gaza

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 10/10/2023 - 09:25 in Military, War Zones

Israel would have used bunker-destroying ammunition to attack Hamas-controlled tunnels in Gaza, which serve as a lifeline for the besieged region.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that the Israeli military launched a campaign to hit these tunnels in northwestern Gaza, employing powerful bunker-destroying bombs to hit Hamas underground positions.

Bunker destroyers, specialized ammunition designed to penetrate hardened or deeply buried targets, fall into two main categories. The first type is equipped with a reinforced nose to resist impact, using its weight and a delayed fuse to penetrate the ground or structures before detonation. The second type carries double loads, with the initial load creating an entry point at the target, allowing the main load to detonate, causing substantial destruction.

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These recent developments coincide with the fact that Gaza is shrouded in smoke, marking the fourth day of Israeli bombing. The enclave, blocked on all fronts by land, air and sea, relies heavily on a network of tunnels for vital imports, including food, weapons and fuel. These tunnels also serve as crucial outposts for Hamas, assisting in storage and transportation.

GBU-72 ammunition.

The use of bunker destroyers by the Israeli military has significant strategic implications. In the 2014 Gaza War, Israeli forces allegedly faced challenges when they attacked Hamas in tunnels, resulting in casualties between their own ranks. Bunker destroyers provide a means of attacking Hamas from a safe distance, reducing the exposure of Israeli soldiers to such risks.

Israel's arsenal of bunker destroyers, which includes the advanced GBU-72 model, comes from both domestic production and U.S. acquisitions. The GBU-72, sought by Israel in 2021, has the capacity to penetrate up to 30 meters of earth or 6 meters of concrete, causing destruction in the vicinity and generating shock waves capable of causing collapses in underground structures.

In addition to their effectiveness against tunnel networks and underground installations, ground-penetrating munitions are also useful in the demolition of buildings and high towers, penetrating from the top to the foundations and causing structural collapse, rather than a conventional explosion.

Tags: Military AviationIAF - Israeli Air Force/Israel Air ForceWar Zones - Middle East

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has work published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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[fatehbaz]

In the Intag Valley of Ecuador, at this “most biodiverse hotspot on the planet” (the cloud forests of the tropical Andes), local communities have engaged in 30 years of sustained defense of environment and resistance to multiple mining corporations, including Canada’s Copper Mesa Corporation. The group Defensa y Conservación Ecológica de Intag has helped plant tens of thousands of trees while establishing about 40 different forest reserves. Now the planet’s biggest copper producer company (Codelco) is targeting the Intag region, with wells already drilled and important court cases scheduled for 2023. Among the many unique orchids, moths, hummingbirds, plate-billed mountain toucan, spectacled bears, mountain tapirs, critically endangered brown-headed spider monkey, and other creatures, in Intag Valley there are two species of frog which live nowhere else on Earth, previously thought to be extinct: the longnose harlequin frog and the newly-named “rana cohete resistencia de intag” (”Intag resistance rocket frog”). The frogs now provide “hope” and are the subjects of Intag’s pending court cases.

From January 2023, Mongabay provides a thorough report about Intag’s cloud forest ecosystems, community projects, and resistance to mining. Excerpts from their report below.

---

For nearly 30 years, communities have worked to conserve, restore and defend the cloud forests of the Intag Valley in Ecuador, in what locals say is the longest continuous resistance movement against mining in Latin America. The tropical Andes are considered the world’s most biodiverse hotspot, ranking first in plant, bird, mammal and amphibian diversity; however, less than 15% of Ecuador’s original cloud forests and only 4% of all forests in northwestern Ecuador remain. Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer from Chile, plans to open a mine in the Intag Valley that would destroy primary forest and lie within the buffer area of Cotacachi Cayapas National Park — a plan that experts say would be ecologically devastating and not worth the cost. Communities are using the presence of two threatened frog species — previously thought to be extinct — at the mining site to challenge the project [...].

In the 1960s, to encourage development, the government deemed forested properties with no human occupants “unproductive” and open to land grabbers. In turn, landowners were forced to clear at least 50% of the land to prove it was in use. These agrarian laws led to a flurry of deforestation that lasted into the 1990s. [...]

Pumas (Puma concolor), spectacled bears (Tremarctos ornatus), mountain tapirs (Tapirus pinchaque), mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata), the critically endangered brown-headed spider monkey (Ateles fusciceps fusciceps), and the colorful plate-billed mountain toucan (Andigena laminirostris) are just a few of the more charismatic threatened species living here. [...]

Our first foray deep into this “terrestrial coral reef” is led by Roberto Castro, a local nature guide, environmental educator, and Zorrilla’s friend and neighbor. [...]

“Here is the Sangre de Drago tree … its red sap [is] a cure for many ailments,” he says. “Here is the Cecropia tree that lives in partnership with the ants.”

He shows us a white flower that shares its nectar with just one bat species and lets go of its seeds in a grand explosion once the nectar is spent. We see the sickle-winged guan (Chamaepetes goudotii), a large ground bird that lays only one, maybe two, precious eggs in a year. The famed Andean cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola peruvianus) cries out, its song somewhere between that of a parrot and a squealing pig. In the cloud forest, a single leaf is a stage for drama: ants farming aphids, lichens making their slow march against the moss. The forest drips with life.

We stop in a grove of massive elephant ear plants, twice as tall as a person. “These plants tell us water is abundant,” Castro says. The water trail leads us to a 10-meter (33-foot) waterfall. Castro stands in the stream below and pulls out a minuscule underwater castle made from pebbles.

“This is the home of moth larvae,” he shows us. [...]

Zorrilla and other community members started the environmental group Defensa y Conservación Ecológica de Intag (DECOIN) in 1995. [...] DECOIN helped communities establish 38 small-scale forest reserves that, altogether, protect almost 12,000 hectares (nearly 30,000 acres) of forest within the buffer zone of Cotacachi Cayapas National Park. [...]

In Intag, communities are self-defined administrative units, whose leader is nominated by its residents. It’s up to each community to decide how to best protect forests. Most include agreements prohibiting activities such as [...] cattle ranching, mining [...]. Bolaños and fellow community members planted more than 60,000 trees on slopes that were originally forests but had been converted to pasture decades ago. Working for six months each year between 2008 and 2013, dozens of community members planted 22 native species [...].

Intag’s richness aboveground is rivaled by a different kind of wealth below: copper. [...]

In 1996, the Japanese mining company Bishimetals, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation, found evidence of massive copper deposits in the Intag Valley. [...] In 1997, local communities reacted [...]. No one was harmed in the incident, but it was enough to make the company pull out. [...] After Bishimetals retreated in 1997, things calmed down until the Canadian mining company Copper Mesa Corporation (formally Ascendent Copper) entered the scene in 2004. [...] The company tried for five years to develop the project and used paramilitaries and violent force, Zorrilla tells Mongabay. [...] DECOIN helped residents file a lawsuit against both the mining company and the Toronto Stock Exchange for complicity in human rights violations based on Copper Mesa’s actions. [...] [I]n 2010 the Toronto Stock Exchange delisted Copper Mesa Mining Corporation.

---

Now, the communities face the world’s largest copper producer, Chile’s Codelco, which has partnered with Empresa Nacional Minera (ENAMI EP), Ecuador’s state-owned mining company, and invested millions into advanced mining explorations across Intag — in particular within the 5,000-hectare (12,400-acre) mining concession known as Llurimagua. [...]

According to several community members Mongabay spoke to, around 400 military and police officers used force to ensure the presence of Codelco and ENAMI in the mining concession. [...] Javier Ramirez was the president of the Junín community in 2014 when he was arrested for “sabotage and rebellion against the state.” [...] Codelco persisted and set up camp in the Junín Community Reserve, a patch of primary, old-growth forest [...].

Codelco has installed at least 90 drilling platforms within the reserve, digging down to depths of 1,200 meters (3,900 feet). [...]

The U.S. nonprofit Earth Economics [...] valued ecosystem services in Intag, such as water, food, climate regulation, soil retention, pollination, waste treatment, recreation, and scientific research, at $447 million per year in 2011. That’s higher than the projected revenue from copper mining in the region [...].

At the base of a waterfall, we stop to catch our breath, and Zorrilla steps forward. “This is close to where they found the frogs,” he says.

And here enters hope.

Among the dozens of threatened species in the tropical Andes, two have been found in this reserve and nowhere else on Earth: the longnose harlequin toad (Atelopus longirostris) and the Intag resistance rocket frog whose name was chosen through a contest. Both were presumed extinct until they were recently found again in the Junín Community Reserve. [...]

Finding these frogs has given the community a strong argument to try to legally stop mining development [...].

In September 2020, the Intag communities won one of the few cases upholding the rights of nature in the lower court. But the case was overturned in the higher provincial appeals court due to a procedural error. [...] The case is now before a three-member appeals court. After months of delay, a new judge was appointed in December. The new judge wants to have all of the evidence presented again, essentially starting the process over. The next court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 23 [2023]. [...]

We speak with Norma Bolаños about Mujer y Medio Ambiente (Women and the Environment), a group of nearly 50 women in Intag who make products out of cabuya, a fiber they produce from the agave plant, and color with natural dyes. [...]

In Cotacachi, we visit the home of Cenaida Guachagmira. She’s 28, the same age as the resistance movement, and has known this fight her whole life. [...] “The companies have their weapons and we have our dignity,” Guachagmira told Re:wild in an interview earlier this year.

---

Headline, images, captions, and all text published by: Liz Kimbrough. “In Ecuador, communities protecting a ‘terrestrial coral reef’ face a mining giant.” Mongabay. 9 January 2023. [Italicized heading and first paragraph in this post added by me.]

[alien-in-residence]

Taking Back Terra ch.1 Towerfall

106 years post-war, the Imperium 34th Army, in loose cooperation with the dishonored 28th and 82nd Brigades, holds an iron grip on the planet Earth. Much of Eurasia is under direct control by the 34th Army. The Dishonored Brigades content themselves with terrorizing the backwater American continents. Central to this occupation, is the control of Terra’s handful of Space Elevators. With these, the Occupation can isolate any human resistance fighters, and ship prisoners off-planet. Human-made but no longer human controlled, these space elevators stand like baneful towers over an occupied Terra.

The video screen flickered on and off as it hummed to life. The picture was grainy, black and white before slowly adding each color in the spectrum. It buzzed in the recognizable way that neglected alien tech often did. The picture became clear as the audio also burst from its speaker, “State your business.” The voice was kurt but betrayed fear in its bass vocalizations.

“Open the door or we’re opening it ourselves,” a Human told the screen.

“You’re not allowed on the platform. Leave your weapons and return to your assigned ghetto,” the screen replied. The blurriness cleared up to reveal a Yonk, one of the Imperium’s most erudite sub-species.

Lt. Surya Harish had never had a conversation with a Yonk before. Sure they were always the ones broadcasting propaganda, but she’d never had the screen talk back. She motioned Pvt. Druk to start placing charges. On her side of the video call there were gunshots and the sounds of decompressing air from rail-guns. The Yonk on the screen was flinching with each particularly loud shot. Surya tried to meet the Yonk’s eyes as her squad set up breaching charges.

“You’re a psion, aren’t you?” she asked the screen. The alien wiped a nervous mucous from its gills. “Do the math, psion. Predict what’s gonna happen here.”

It steadied itself and responded, “The ground patrols are going to flush you out of the halls and off the platform. If you don’t surrender and return to your ghetto, they’ll kill you.”

Surya smiled and made sure to show her teeth before putting her head back in her helmet. “Wrong guess, beanstalk.” She gave the signal and the squad breached the door. The Kiran in the room were huddled just beyond the line-of-sight of the video call. They were right where Surya knew they’d be. Her squad mates were efficient, going for the soft spot just below the neck where the Kiran nervous system centralized. Surya didn’t even get the chance to fire off a shot, they had the room secure before the broken door even hit the floor.

Her helmet adjusted her hearing, letting the occasional pops and booms of battle back into her audio feed. The Yonk was huddled by his control console, clutching his ear holes. He met Surya’s eyes and tried to slink away. “Stand up,” she commanded him.

He shivered, still in shock, but stood up. The Yonk, like most, was almost 3 meters tall. He wiped at his gills, clearing a large build-up analogous to vomit. Surya was intimidating to the psion even though she was a little over half its height. She met his bulbous eyes while her squad secured the rooms and halls attached to this command center. She didn’t need to supervise or give commands, they were good at their jobs.

Surya let her hand rest on her rifle trigger as she stepped closer to the Yonk, invading its notoriously large personal space. “Stop the elevator.” she commanded through her helmet’s speaker.

The Yonk kept to its protocols, “We can’t stop the freight while it's en route. Only top-side can do that.”

“Bullshit, bring the elevator back down.”

“Space elevators are complicated tech. You don’t understand the inner worki-”

Surya interrupted him by pointing her rifle at his head, just as fatal for his species as for hers. “Don’t lie to me, beanstalk! My people made these elevators. Don’t think to tell me how they work! Now stop the elevator and bring it back down.”

The Yonk looked like it might try one last ruse but Surya fired a single shot, deliberately missing his skull by a few centimeters. His gills went white and he suppressed the instinct to vomit a second time. Surya trained her gun on him the whole time he punched in the commands at his console to stop the space elevator’s freight car and send it back down the gravity well.

She called her commander without letting the Yonk hear her, “Mission accomplished, Major. Elevator’s secure and the cargo’s been stopped from getting to orbit.” She looked at the read-out, her helmet translating the alien text even though she’d learned to read it years ago. “46 minutes til it’s back on the ground, over.”

Her helmet fed her the Major’s response, “Received, Lt. Harish. Change of plans. Things are going better than we’d hoped. We’re holding this platform. Repeat, the rescue op is canceled. This elevator’s ours now, over.”

Surya smiled so big it might’ve popped off her helmet. “Received, major-” she checked her heads-up-display seeing that her squad had finished securing the command wing and only Jamis was injured. “-command wing is under our lock and key. What are your orders, over?”

The major took a minute to respond, likely they were coordinating too many squads at once to change tactics and hold the platform. Smash and grab had been their go-to for years. “Lieutenant, hold that command wing. The other squads are locking down the rest of the buildings as we speak. You see any alien stragglers you take em down for me, over.”

Surya confirmed her new assignment and let her squad know, telling them to move Jamis away from any exits and get him a med kit. The Yonk had been standing there in silence as she said all these things within her noise-sealed helmet. He was no longer hiding his fear. After this extended silence she finally spoke through her helmet speaker, “Knees, Yonk. Drop to ‘em.”

The tall alien carefully descended to his knees and placed his double jointed arms behind his back. He was clear on what was happening. Surya shackled his ankles and connected the specially designed restraints to his wrists as well. She then zipped the final shackle around his neck, completing the device designed to hog-tie his species.

She spoke over comms to her squad as she did this, asking, “Squad, how many captives?”

Private Hool responded, “3 Yonks, lieutenant. One of the Kiran tried to surrender but it was a ruse, it stabbed Jamis in the leg with its dorsal arms.”

Not a bad haul and only one injury, Surya thought to herself. “Find a broom closet, throw your Yonks and mine into it.” She stood up and hauled her hog-tied Yonk into a hallway where one of her men grabbed him and gathered him with the others. Yonks were surprisingly light for the tall frame. “After that closet’s good and locked, make this command wing secure.”

Her squad was confused for a second until Specialist Rourke asked, “Is evac not coming?”

“Nope, evacs canceled. In fact, all the evacs are canceled. This is our platform now.”

Surya’s squad erupted in cheers as they responded to the shift in tactics. She let them have the celebration for 2 seconds before cutting them off over comms. “Save it for later. We gotta secure this command wing and help any squads that need it. Rourke, Xiang, seal up the entrance we came in. Hool, check on Jamis. Jamis, don’t die. Rest of you, check ammo and set up sight-lines.”

Her squad snapped to their tasks with a learned efficiency. They were tired of smash and grabs. This was the op they’d been waiting for. Surya was about to set her mind to the next thing when her HUD chirped at her.

“Squad Beta. Squad Beta. This is Squad Gulf. Bogeys headed your way, over.”

“Gulf, this is Beta. How many and from where?”

“7 or 8 Kirans escorting a Psion captain. They’re headed through the maintenance wing, east of you. We’re in pursuit but they’ll reach you before we do.”

“Confirmed, Gulf. Over and out.”

Surya relayed the info to her squad and collected them all into a position facing east, minus Jamis guarding the prisoner closet. “Specialist, eyes!” she barked over comms.

Specialist Rourke fired up his Odin tactical helmet and fed the important data to the rest of the squad. 9 heat signatures: 8 Kirans in tactical gear and one lanky Yonk. They were level with the squad and 60 meters away, making their way carefully through the maintenance section. Surya’s squad moved into cover, poised for an ambush.

The maintenance wing was connected by three walkways on this level. There were two walkways 10 floors down, three walkways 20 floors down, and then the ground level of the platform. The 2,3,2,3 pattern continued upwards as well with 2 walkways 10 floors up, then 3. It alternated all the way up to the 100th floor where the walkways merged into a flat platform covering the whole gap and forming a roof for the chasm.

The Kirans and their one Yonk were still level and now 30 meters away. A shockwave hit the gap from outside the platform. A few of the remaining intact windows shattered. The humans had taken down another of the Kiran gunships and it was spewing smoke into the air as it sank into the Black Sea.

Surya felt herself wanting to cheer so she wrangled her squad, “Eyes sharp, 20 meters and closing. Fire at will on my mark.” The aliens rounded another corner, now it was just a straight shot to the walkways. Her squad was concealed so the ambush’s timing was all up to her. The leading Kiran was nearing the door, signalling his squad to wait. “Weapons free!”

The chasm between the command wing and maintenance wing erupted into gunfire and explosions. The lead Kiran was mist, torn into shreds by Surya’s squad. The remaining enemy fighters fanned out into side rooms, a couple shielded the Yonk. The human squad got 2 more confirmed kills in the space of the next second. Five fighters and one yonk left. A pause and one Kiran tried to stand and return fire. He got punished for his gamble. Four left.

The heat vision was useless now, with bright spots from bullet holes and still-hot plasma rounds. Rourke cut the odin and joined the squad in pinning down the enemy. Surya got a ping on her HUD, squad Gulf was 80 meters away and moving fast. Beta squad kept the enemy pinned, winging another ambitious Kiran. When Gulf arrived the Yonk tried to get his guards to surrender but got stabbed for his trouble. The three remaining Kirans went suicidal, charging at the human squads but getting nowhere, their grenades detonating in their hands.

Squad Gulf was cheering over comms before Surya even realized the firefight was over. Surya called up their Sergeant and thanked him for the heads-up. The celebration was cut short again when each soldier’s helmet came alive with a message from the Colonel. Her gruff voice came through shakily then cleared up, “Troops, we did it. I got confirmation that the Base Psion just surrendered. She was en route to an escape plane when our forces captured her and her top brass. This tower is ours.”

A few of Surya’s squad took off their helmets and howled like animals. They beat their chests and hollered while the Colonel let the victory sink in. New assignments started streaming in through the HUDs of those still wearing their helmets. Gulf’s commander wrangled his squad and they set about checking the Maintenance wing for structural weaknesses. Surya checked her helmet and paused in shock for a half second. The orders were addressed to Captain Harish. Next to the message was a medic’s update informing that her Captain Tarevnya had succumbed to her wounds during the landing. She’d been field promoted. The message wasn’t sent to the rest of the squad so she decided that the news could wait.

“Beta squad, form up!” she shouted over comms. The few that had taken their helmets off returned them to their heads. “New assignment. Foxtrot is going to hold down the command wing. We’re going top-side. I’ve told their CO that Jamis is injured. He’s gonna stay here while we secure the elevator cargo.”

The squad snapped to attention and barked their confirmation in a disciplined “Ma’am yes Ma’am!”

-

Ironically enough, most of the elevators at the base platform of the space-elevator were non-functional. Spc. Rourke found the squad a freight elevator still working in the maintenance wing and got them all top-side.

The top of the space-elevator platform was a massive hexagon, formed by the 6 wings of the base below. Pre-war, the elevator had mainly been an industrial lift. It shuttled goods from the region into orbit then out to the solar and extra-solar colonies. To the north of the platform was Crimea and to the south was the rest of the Black Sea. The fighting was still on-going from the shoreline. Sit-rep stated that the enemy was in full retreat.

Four other squads were assembled on the pad. The space elevator cable itself couldn’t have been more than 20 meters thick, but it extended all the way up into orbit. The freight elevator was slowing its descent. The Lt. Colonel of the freedom fighters, a Kiran defector, was also standing on the platform. His dorsal and ventral arms were folded at what was military rest for his species. He wore a human beret that looked out of place on his octopus-like head.

“Rourke, what do you see on the freight car’s cameras?” Captain Surya asked of her specialist. He was patched into the central tower’s data feed and was looking through the cameras on the freight elevator.

“No Kirans and no Yonks, Lieutenant. All clear.” She still hadn't informed her squad of the field promotion or the Captain's death. She figured the news could wait till after the rescue was complete.

“Are you sure, specialist? Kirans love to hide in blind-spots.” Her use of ‘specialist’ suggested that she wanted absolute certainty.

Specialist Rourke flipped off his data-visor and made eye-contact with Surya through her helmet. “I’m certain, Lieutenant Harish. The psions don’t leave blind-spots in slave freighters.”

Surya resisted her knee-jerk reaction to apologize. Rourke broke his stare and went back to his data-visor. How could I have forgotten about Rourke? Piss-poor start as captain, she thought to herself.

“Touching down,” Rourke announced to everyone on the pad. A gust of wind hit everyone still assembled as air-brakes blasted the elevator car, bringing its already slow descent to a stop.

Surya looked around at her squad and the others. Many still had battle marks or blood on them. “Helmets off, everyone,” she said over comms. Her squad followed orders and placed their helmets on belt clips. Most of them got the message immediately, tidying up their clothes and cleaning off some of the nastier battle debris. The other squads followed suit, making themselves less intimidating.

Surya looked to the Lt. Colonel, his mandible tentacles flowing with the wind. He met her eyes and instantly understood her meaning. “This is a reunion for humans,” his vocalizer said. He saluted and left the pad.

She returned the salute and started to say, “No offence-”

Lt. Colonel Zava interrupted her with a hand gesture, “No need to explain, I understand.” And with that he left.

The freight car was a hexagon in matching shape with the platform. It was itself 6 stories tall. As it docked to the landing pad, stairs and walkways ascended and clamped on to the car. With a final mechanical clunk the doors opened. It was a sight to remember. Hundreds upon hundreds of humans were huddled together in the freight car. Most of them had shuffled to the back, away from the doors. There was fear in each of their eyes as the doors opened and they returned to a world filled with sunlight.

A few cautious souls ventured out from the car when they saw that the platform was filled with fellow humans. The pioneers inspired the rest and soon the rescued slaves were pouring out, not quickly and not gracefully. They stumbled forward, bewildered and tears in their eyes. The rescued fell upon Surya’s squad and the others, crying and hugging. They were eager to touch their rescuers, kissing faces or armor plates where they could.

It was difficult, not just logistically, but emotionally to have to wrangle the rescued. It broke the soldiers' hearts to then load these poor souls back into smaller elevators and off of the platform. At the base of the 100 story platform, the freedom fighters had assembled all their remaining hover-craft and boats to carry the freed humans.

When the top platform was finally cleared of the rescued, the Lt. Colonel returned from out of nowhere. “That was prudent decision making back there, Captain Sorya.”

She saluted and thanked him. “I hope it wasn’t over-stepping, sir.”

“Not at all, captain.” His mandible tentacles curled in a way that was supposed to mimic a human smile. “I imagine the first thing you wish to see after being liberated is not the face of one of your oppressors. Especially an ugly mug like mine.” He chuckled to himself while Sorya stood uncomfortably silent. “In any case, I wasn’t just talking about the rescue op, your squad did an excellent job securing the command wing. And 4 psions captured.”

Sergeant Xiang had been waiting to speak but finally worked up the courage, “Lt. Colonel Zava, did you mean to call her captain?”

Zava curled his mandible tentacles inward in embarrassment. He addressed Surya, “I’m sorry, I thought-”

She interrupted him and addressed her squad, “He meant to call me Captain. That’s because I'm the Captain of the platoon now. But that still means I’m in Beta.” The platform was silent except for the howling wind. “Tarevnya didn’t survive her wounds from the landing. I thought it best to tell you after we were done with the freight car.”

Her squad was silent, but none of them were angry. Death was the reality of war. Surya had proved herself after the botched landing. None of them were doubtful of her command. As clean as a transition you could hope for given the circumstances.

The Lt. Colonel finally pierced the silence with his vocalizer’s semi-mechanical voice, “Beta squad, you are hereby ordered to take a break. Logistics has already converted one of the loading bays into a mess. Get some grub and find a cot. Report for reassignment at 0800.” He checked his watch on his ventral arm, “That gives you little over 18 hours to get some well-deserved rest. Dismissed.” The squad saluted and were left to themselves.

[jutech01]

In our environment, humidity and temperature metres are essentially omnipresent. These metres are able to measure both the air's temperature and water vapour content. But what variations are there, and how do they work? Continue reading this post to find out everything you need to know about a humidity temperature meter.

[wikifuck]

End times

An angel was lying on his stomach on a rooftop overlooking the yard of a secondary school, binoculars in hand. Aw fuck aw fuck aw fuck, went Ectovius’s internal monologue for yet another hour. Why did Mary need to be 14 again? Nothing in the plan required her to be still a child, other than the fact that it had been the case the last time. Jesus could just come on earth as an adult, couldn’t he? 

The deadline loomed closer than ever, unyielding to his desperate procrastination for a year. Stupid plans, stupid second coming, stupid attentive adults looking after the kids. 

Ectovius ducked away from the rooftop edge. Two of the teachers on watch duty peered in his direction. One of them was the coach, an attractive black dude whose six-pack he could see through the shirt all the way here even without binoculars. Defeated, he unconjured the binoculars into the ether with holy magic and dragged himself to the exit as low to the ground as he could.

He tried to look as much like he lived there as possible. The two meters of height and broad shoulders of a bodybuilder made it a challenge, but he managed to carefully give the little old lady in there with him some personal space. He had company waiting when he stepped out the front door. The fit teacher stood before him, a skeptical look in his silvery eyes. That was the only part of his face that Ectovius could make out behind the black fabric mask that he should have noticed earlier, had he not been focusing on the abbs. Wait, silver eyes?!

“What do you want, demon?” The words left his lips as an icy growl as he instinctively assumed a defensive position. The demon stood its ground, not taking its eyes off his. 

“To know what an angel’s doing staring at little girls,” it retorted. Rather than hostile, its voice sounded genuinely curious. 

He had not expected his first-ever sighting of a demon to be one in a bright yellow attention vest and warm woolly shirt. 

Concentrate! It’s trying to seduce you into sin and evil. This is exactly what you have been training to resist for two millennia.

The demon stepped closer, capitalizing on his distracted thoughts. Ectovius recoiled back, coming alarmingly close to having his back against the glass doors. “You are the one standing right next to them, staring at them all day. I have seen you here for at least a week!”

“My boss has never gotten a minor pregnant,” the demon pointed out.

Ectovius swallowed hard, a mistake he failed to hide. Encouraged by the sight of his distress, the demon took yet another step, closing the distance and coming almost nose-to-nose with him. “You didn’t answer me. Why are you here?” It asked, a mischievous glint in its eyes. 

“Get off me!” Ectovius screamed and shoved it to the side. The demon crashed against a wall. It yelped in surprise as it made contact.

Without thinking, Ectovius reached his hand in the air, conjuring his holy golden spear above his head. He went to plunge it into the creature's skull, but it threw itself out of the way faster than he had anticipated. The spear let out a hot scream as it melted into the brick wall’s surface. He could hear the demon struggle back onto its feet behind him. The spear was deeply embedded into the wall, the heat from the holiness infused in the tip having glommed the surrounding material into a ball of glass. With all his might, he ripped the spear out, sending red stone dust and pebbles flying in all directions and taking the mass of half-molten wall with it. He spun around, brandishing the combination like a great mallet, but a crash of thunder deafened him. The sound echoed in the small alcove they stood in. A blisteringly hot pain pierced his shoulder with a force that threw him backwards into the crumbling brickwork. The moment his head made impact he was out.

—

Ectovius regained awareness, thanks to the feeling of being stared at. He opened his eyes to find the demon on the edge of his bed, looming over him with studying eyes. Instinct told him to hit it with all his might but the attempt of lifting his arm had him gasping as the blisteringly hot pain returned. 

Instead of sadistic glee, the demon’s eyes went wide with worry. It scrambled up and scuttered out of the room in search of something. 

He glared after it and writhed in bed for a moment. When he stilled the pain subsided enough for him to calm down and look around the room. It didn’t look like hell but like a high-end apartment. As he struggled to sit up, the demon entered the room again, carrying a glass of water in one hand and a mystery pill in the other. Ectovius cowered away when presented with them.

“It’s just a painkiller.” In the calmer moment, the demon had a soft and inviting voice, the kind that an unsuspecting victim would want to befriend immediately.

“You are drugging me,” Ectovius hissed pathetically. 

The demon shook its pretty head. “Don’t you think if I wanted something from you, I would have taken it already?” It shoved the pill to his face again. He took it meekly, realizing that he had no options. A familiar feeling of smallness and fear of repercussion overtook him. He was small underneath the creature's gaze, despite the fact he was a head taller and double its weight. 

The demon stepped back after handing him the glass.

“Why would you help me?”

“I have not seen one of you down here in a while. Would have been a waste to leave you for dead after I shot you.” The demon smiled and its gaze travelled over his body and returned to his eyes. 

“Shot by a demon…” Ectovius said in disbelief under his breath.

“I have a name. It’s Amadeus.” It stepped closer again and waggled a finger disapprovingly in his face. “Use it.”

—

Amadeus didn’t seem like a bad person, which should have made him appear even slimier to Ectovius. God had always been careful to warn him to stay away from the manipulative hellspawn. But as he watched Amadeus work on his teaching duties, grading students' work and putting cute stickers next to the scores, that warning seemed far away and paranoid. Amadeus seemed like just a nice guy who just happened to be a demon. Then again, that’s how they got to you, right? They lied and tricked you into a false sense of security, and then… And then what? A man like Amadeus could get whatever he wanted by just asking nicely, what on earth would he need treachery for? 

Ectovius sat back on the couch and reached for the remote, craving for a distraction from his racing paranoid mind. His hurt arm rested in a cradle against his chest.

Floods, fires, hurricanes. Ectovius closed the TV again after less than five minutes. He leaned his face into the palm of his hand. The end times were approaching fast, and he was stuck here.

[satoshi-mochida]

Multiplayer mech action game Mecha BREAK announced for PS5, Xbox Series, PC

Gematsu Source

Seasun Games has announced multiplayer mech action game Mecha BREAK for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC (Steam). A release date was not announced.

Here is an overview of the game, via Seasun Games:

About

Mecha BREAK is a multiplayer mech game that allows players to choose from diverse mechs, customize appearances, and battle colossal war machines on treacherous terrain. Get ready for the ultimate showdown—blitz, brawl, and blaze!

Key Features

-Gameplay Modes – Choose from three-versus-three, six-versus-six, or Battle Royale modes for intense battles and survival challenges.

Six-versus-Six Battlefield Mode – The game features different mid-sized battlegrounds like “Eye of Misra,” “Mercury Shipyards,” and “Cape Blanc Observatory.” Players are randomly assigned to these battlegrounds, forming squads to complete missions. In the six-versus-six battleground, tactical decisions are crucial, including cover, strategic retreats, and baiting enemies. Choosing the right team tactics at the right time is key to winning.

Mashmak – Form a team of three or six players to execute combat missions. Utilize your piloting skills to defeat enemy mechas, or employ strategic coordination for seamless victories and game-changing maneuvers. You’re in full control. Immerse yourself in a 48-player battleground, where you’ll encounter ambushes, hostile resistance, and the looming threat of colossal weapons. Navigate lethal pulse storms, skillfully evade pursuers, and claim victory alongside an abundance of spoils.

Three-versus-Three Arena Mode – Three-versus-Three Arena Mode offers the ideal platform to showcase your exceptional piloting skills. Navigate intense combat with agile evasion of incoming missiles, while seizing strategic moments for decisive strikes. Your precise maneuvers will be the key to victory, propelling you towards becoming an ace pilot.

-Character – Customize paint jobs and create your own unique mecha. The appearance of the mechas’ weapons can be customized. You have the ability to personalize the weapons, shields, and wings, allowing you to tailor each mech’s appearance according to your preferences. Each mecha is divided into over 120 color modules. This allows players to create unique color combinations. Through battles or purchase, players can acquire common or rare paint colors. The game also offers a wide selection of patterns and decals for you to choose from, so you can personalize your mechas to your liking.

-Battle Experience – 1) Aerial and ground combat combined for a dynamic engagement. 2) Intense close-quarters brawls. You will experience a thrilling sense of speed, firepower, and strength as you control a 12-meter-tall mecha from a third-person shooter perspective. Engage in battles against other players in various battlegrounds while accomplishing difference mission objectives.

-Mechs and Pilots – Unlock a wide array of mechas and exclusive pilots, each with their own unique backstory. Each mecha is equipped with distinctive weaponry and serves a specific role, such as sniper, brawler, attacker, defender, or support. Coordinate with your squad members to maximize your advantages and secure victory.

World Setting

The Catastrophe – Triggered by a massive coronal mass ejection, the Catastrophe occurred as supercharged particle flows impacted Earth’s magnetic field. Collisions between highly active thermal mantle plumes and the crust led to earthquakes, volcanic activities, and the eruption of EIC.

EIC – Scientifically known as “Corite,” Eruptive Inorganic Carbide (EIC) emerged from geological disasters during the Revival Era. EIC manifests in towering mineral columns and hazardous mines formed by volcanic activities. With immense technological value, this enigmatic mineral possesses wide applications in the energy and tech industries, making it vital for post-Catastrophe reconstruction. However, it also poses a severe health risk and remains humanity’s greatest threat.

Epoch of Biped Strikers – After the Catastrophe, Lunarians invented bipedal machines as the primary mode of transportation. These walking vehicles were designed to navigate lunar terrain, surpassing the limitations of traditional vehicles. Eventually, they were weaponized, leading to intense conflicts among powerful mechanized soldiers called “Strikers.” These adaptable armored units replaced conventional vehicles and showcased their dominance in resource struggles. The third-generation Strikers emerged as the elite among their kind.

BREAK – “Third Generation Strikers,” often referred to as “Mind Projection Type Strikers,” use the power of the EIC supercomputer “Cubrain” to form a neural link between the human brain and the Striker unit. This concept, known as Mind Projection, is the cornerstone of their operation. BREAK Strikers take this technology a step further. By taking into account the pilot’s physiological indicators, they surpass previous synchronization constraints. This enhancement allows the Striker to deliver a significantly improved performance on the battlefield.

Moonbow – Moonbow is a powerful independent force, operating globally utilizing their airship of the same name. They deploy the formidable BREAK Strikers to address various EIC-related crises and explore the truth behind EIC.

Conflicts – Moonbow confronts persistent threats from EIC and the malice of humanity. While BREAK Strikers are more than mere weapons, they often become a necessary means while facing unavoidable conflicts.

Marcens Pandemic – The Catastrophe released EIC debris, contaminating the Earth’s atmosphere. High EIC concentrations result in plant mineralization and the fatal Marcens Disease in animals. Regions and cities transform into lifeless “Marcens Zones” through high-purity secondary Corite crystallization. Today, these zones rapidly expand via deadly EIC Pulse Storms, while humanity remains oblivious to EIC. Is EIC a natural disaster or something more sinister?

New Terrain – The Catastrophe shifted Earth’s tectonic plates, altering its landscape. New rifts and straits were formed, while mountains rose and landforms crumbled. Islands were engulfed, and volcanoes emerged, inflicting immense devastation upon both ecosystems and societies.

New Paradigm – As a response to Corite pollution, cooperation gradually became crucial, leading to the emergence of the Culturia Alliance, the Cygnia Union, and the Thalassic Federation. Meanwhile, the Lunarians proclaimed their independence under the name of the Commonwealth of Lunar-mare amidst the chaos.

New Conquest – EIC is an indispensable resource for science and commerce. Various factions are congregating at the largest Mercens Zone, Mashmak, preparing for an intense upheaval. The Catastrophe reshaped landscapes and disrupted the global order. Amidst recovery and Corite pollution, the Vulturia Alliance, Cygnia Union, Thalassic Federation, and Commonwealth of Lunar-mare emerged. Despite risks, these factions vied for self-interests. A storm is brewing in the largest Marcens Zone, Mashmak.

Watch the announcement trailer below. View the first screenshots at the gallery.

Announce Trailer

English

Japanese

Korean

Traditional Chinese

[mariacallous]

On April 25, Google Earth and Google Maps updated their satellite images of Mariupol. The previous satellite images were from June 2021, before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The new photographs were taken at different times following the start of the war, which is why fires are visible in some parts of the city, while in other areas occupying authorities are seen constructing new buildings. What’s more, one newly reconstructed area of Mariupol, which Vladimir Putin visited in March 2023, isn’t visible at all. The following photographs from Google Earth offer a glimpse at the extent of the destruction inflicted upon Mariupol since the start of the Russian invasion.

Mariupol’s city center

The dark squares visible in the image on the right were not caused by combat operations. They are inserts from a different satellite.

The Mariupol Drama Theater

The satellite images above show the Mariupol Drama Theater, which was destroyed by two Russian airstrikes. In March 2022, the word “children” was written to the left of the building to indicate that this was serving as a bomb shelter for Mariupol residents. According to the Associated Press, approximately 600 civilians were killed in the airstrikes that hit the building. This is not a recently updated image – Russian occupation authorities demolished the Drama Theater in December 2022.

Craters from artillery fire in eastern Mariupol

The updated image on the right shows a crater that was likely caused by a powerful aerial bomb. The crater’s diameter is approximately 70 meters (76.5 yards). Nearby, numerous craters caused by artillery fire are visible, as well.

A line outside of a United Russia assistance center in Mariupol

The images above show a former grocery store on Mariupol’s western outskirts. After the city’s capture, the Russian army opened an assistance center inside the store. The updated image on the right shows massive queues, made up of the city’s residents who came to the center for humanitarian aid. To see how the lines looked on the ground, take a look here.

Checkpoint on the way to Azovstal Iron and Steel Works

A checkpoint on a bridge passing over a railway line near the Azovstal plant. The railway is no longer operational. Previously, it supplied millions of tons of raw materials to the plant each year (and to parts of the Donbas that Kyiv hasn’t controlled since 2014).

The Azovstal Iron and Steel Works

The images above show the extent of the damage to the Azovstal plant. The industrial complex, which was the last stronghold for the defenders of Mariupol, was hit by airstrikes (including high-caliber bombs) and heavy mortars. Azovstal became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance, withstanding a two-month siege by the Russian army. The occupying authorities have announced that they will not rebuild the plant.

The Staryi Krym cemetery

The Staryi Krym cemetery on the western outskirts of Mariupol. Hundreds of new graves are visible in the updated satellite image on the right. The majority of the graves are reportedly unmarked.

[whisker-biscuit]

The Lines We Cross: Chapter 13

A Grave Undertaking

(A/N: Brief instance of police brutality in this one, folks)

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Don't. Don't “let's pretend” when there's no one around.

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“Dispatch, come in. This is Inspector Fox. Mz. Ruby has been successfully apprehended. Requesting back-up for retrieval and area sweep, over.”

Static answered back, just like the last four times she’d tried. Frustrated, Carmelita waved her radio back and forth in the air to try to catch a better signal. She sat on a tree stump in the clearing next to the incapacitated alligator, using her other hand to shine her flashlight over the disturbed ground around her – just to make sure there weren’t going to be any more unwelcome “guests” popping up for a surprise visit.

“Dispatch, are you there? Do you copy?”

More static. Fantastic.

A branch snapped. The fox whipped the light up, in high alert, only to be greeted by gray fur and blue clothes and a familiar pair of brown eyes.

“Oh my god, Sly!” She exclaimed, trying to get her hackles to drop as the raccoon stepped into the clearing. “Warn me you're coming next time; I almost shot you!”

He eyed the scorch earth and rotting bodies surrounding her and her apprehended criminal. “Looks like you had a rough go of things.”

“A little bit,” she admitted, “but ultimately nothing I couldn’t handle. I’m just trying to get a signal to call for an extraction.”

The radio blared another round of static as if to mock her. Carmelita groaned and resisted the urge to put her face in her hands. Her partner edged closer by a meter or two with his gaze locked on the mystic.

“She’s unconscious for real, right?”

“What?”

“Mz. Ruby.” He gestured to the criminal at her feet. “You’re sure she’s down for the count?”

The inspector gave him a confused look. “Of course I’m sure. If she wasn’t, there’d still be zombies everywhere.”

Sly quirked an eyebrow and made a dramatic show of glancing around the bedraggled clearing. She rolled her eyes with an exasperated yet fond sigh.

“There’d still be moving zombies everywhere, smartass.” It was then that she noticed the stiff way he held himself, with his left hand gingerly wrapped around his right side, and she frowned. “Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”

“A guard showed up where I was waiting for you and got a few hits in before I put him in his place.” He fiddled with his hoodie, and she realized with a start that there was a large tear in its side underneath his fingers. “Figured it’d be safer to see if you’d won yet than hang around back there.”

“Good thinking, but are you sure you’re okay? You look…”

Carmelita couldn’t quite describe the emotion on his face. Guarded was probably the closest to being right. In fact, his entire body language was awfully closed-off for someone who’d just given her his full confidence barely fifteen minutes ago, even if it had been tinged with nervousness.

“I’m fine,” the raccoon insisted. Snapped, really. He gestured to her radio before she could address it. “If that thing isn’t working when it’s supposed to, it means she’s still messing with it somehow.”

She frowned at that a moment before standing up and taking a few steps away from Mz. Ruby. Her eyes never left her partner as she brought the transceiver back up to her mouth.

“Inspector Fox to dispatch, are you there? Can you hear me?”

The receiver crackled a moment, before a voice finally answered through the static. “Copy. This is dispatch. Inspector Fox, what is your status? Over.”

Carmelita heaved a giant sigh of relief. She watched as Sly found another tree stump to crouch on, staring at the unconscious alligator with the same level of intensity as he had with Muggshot.

“I’ve apprehended Mz. Ruby. Requesting pick-up immediately for transfer, over.”

“Copy. Helicopter en route now. ETA twenty minutes. Stay where you are so we can get a clear reading on your GPS tracker.”

“Copy that.” She lifted her finger off the transmitter and looked at the raccoon, who was practically a statue where he sat. “How did you know that would work?”

“Your radio went screwy earlier, remember?” He replied softly. “When you were in the middle of a call and she interrupted it with her own broadcast?”

“Well, yes, I remember that, but…how did you think of that if she’s unconscious?”

Sly shrugged and folded his arms. “Mostly just a hunch. She is famous for breaking both the laws of man and nature, after all. Thought it was worth a shot.”

“Pretty good shot, I’d say.” The fox pocketed her radio and checked her watch. “I don’t know if you heard, but we have twenty minutes before Interpol arrives to get us out of here. This long night is almost over.”

“Twenty minutes, huh? Thanks for the heads up.”

He stood up – and began walking away. Carmelita jumped to her feet, completely caught off guard.

“Wha – where are you going? They just told us to sit tight!”

“They told you to sit tight,” he said without turning around. His stride remained confident and unwavering, even as he still clutched his waist. “Not me.”

“You – but –” she spared one glance at Mz. Ruby’s unconscious form before bolting after her partner. “Ringtail, they’re bringing a helicopter. There will be plenty of room for you. There’s no need for you to walk all the way back to town!”

The raccoon stopped at the edge of the clearing. He looked back at her just as she reached him, and his expression was firm with the decision he’d made. “I’d really rather walk, if it’s all the same to you.”

Those words stopped her in her tracks. She stared at him, uncomprehending the idea of choosing to trek miles through a swamp when there was an easy ride to be had. “What? Why not? Is it your aerophobia?”

He eyed her for a bit, then looked up at the night sky. “Nah. Not this time.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I just don’t trust Interpol.”

“This again?” She was so irritated she almost missed the slightest narrowing of his eyes. Almost. “You’re seriously going to skip out on me again at the last minute like you did in Mesa?”

“I’m not skipping out. I’m just getting out of your way,” he replied without ever losing his mellow tone. His gaze, however, was getting harder with each passing second.

“But I’m not asking you to get out of my way! It’s just a helicopter ride – you wouldn’t even have to talk to anyone. I understand you don’t like police officers, Sly, but this is ridiculous! What reason could you possibly have to not want a ride out of here?”

“I’ve got a lot of reasons, and none of them are your business, Inspector.”

Carmelita took a step back, hackles raised at the way he’d suddenly just spat her title like it was a bad word. Exhaustion and frustration and that distant, nagging suspicion she’d stamped down since Mesa City swirled in her chest and overwhelmed any patience she might have otherwise had.

“What is your problem?!” She finally snapped. “Why do you have such a chip on your shoulder about law enforcement? Did you have a bad experience with an officer? Or did you have a bad experience with the law?”

Somehow, during her rant, she found herself just a few centimeters from him, and made to jab her finger at his chest. His hand intercepted it before she could touch him. It was not a gentle parry.

“Listen, Inspector Carmelita Fox.” His eyes had turned piercing, and his voice was ice cold. “It’s cute that you think your job is the greatest thing since sliced bread. It really is. But some of us average people don’t have the overwhelming trust in police that you do. I am not getting on that helicopter with a bunch of cops I don’t know, and I do not need to give you a reason that satisfies you. So how about you just drop it before one of us says something we might regret, yeah?”

Inspector Carmelita Fox was not someone willing to ‘drop it’ on the best of days. And right now, the doubts in her head were echoing into a terrible crescendo as they stared each other down. She felt the words leave her mouth almost without her consent.

“Are you a criminal, Sly?”

The world went quiet around them. The swamp was hushed. The air was suffocating. And her partner simply looked at her. Looked at her with a broken kind of triumph, like he had just won a battle he had not actually wanted to win.

He looked at her like he’d been expecting the accusation for a very long time, and yet had still been wounded by it.

“Would you arrest me on the spot if I said yes?” He asked, oh so very quietly. “Question me? Brutalize me until I confessed? Or would you turn a blind eye to it until you’ve solved your case and you don’t need me anymore? Turn the other way to your so-called ‘moral code’ because it benefits you in the moment?”

They were nearly touching. She could see the whites of his furious eyes as he stared her down and dared her to answer. She opened her mouth.

Closed it.

Sly pulled out of her space with folded arms. The anger fell away under something closed-off and numb, and he turned his head to glare bitterly at Mz. Ruby’s prone form.

“I guess it doesn’t matter what you’d do,” he continued, even quieter now. There was heavy resignation in every line of his body. “Cause at this rate, you probably wouldn’t believe me even if I said no.”

His eyes locked onto the holstered pistol at her hip. It was with sick understanding that she realized he was waiting for her to pull it out and use it on him.

“I’m not – I wouldn’t –” Carmelita struggled to say, sucker-punched of all her words by that realization; of the way his hands were still limp at his sides even as he seemed to have braced himself for an attack. “I’m just – Sly, I’m not like that.”

He looked at her for a long time. There were a lot of things in those eyes of his, but above all else she could see that he was tired. Something like a sigh left him, and it sounded like a decision.

“I know, Carmelita. I know you’re not.”

Sly stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned towards the trees.

“I’ll see you back at the hotel.”

This time, she didn’t try to stop him from leaving.

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Inspector Barkley wasn’t there to greet her in person again when the helicopter finally arrived, but he was waiting for her call through the pilot’s secure radio line, as she was told the moment she climbed into the passenger seat. The fox answered it with only the slightest bit of hesitation; instinctually expecting a reprimand after so many past cases despite there not being any real reason for this one.

“You’re doing fantastic work, inspector,” her boss’ voice came through clear and crisp, crackling only slightly when Mz. Ruby was carried into the back of the copter, separated from the front by a thick wall of metal. “I thought it would take you at least a month to even catch the trail of the next Fiendish Five member – and here you are bagging another in a week.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, you can thank Muggshot for the quick turnaround, sir,” she replied, watching the flashlights of her fellow officers bobbing up and down in the distance as they slowly flushed out the remainder of the alligator’s men. It was an incredible sense of déjà vu. “I found correspondences between him and several of his associates that detailed a rendezvous with Mz. Ruby at this exact place and time.”

“He’s not called ‘Meathead Muggshot’ for nothing,” the badger mumbled with a gruff laugh. “Nevertheless, you still did some fantastic sleuthing to reach this point. Not to mention shutting down her operation, and taking down the boss by yourself again. Is it true there were zombies involved?”

“Very much so. She was growing an undead army in her own backyard – I saw her raise the dead with my own eyes.”

“Couple that with the list of all her past crimes, and that woman is going away for a long time.” He let out a muffled yawn. “Well, I’ll leave you to it. It’s nearly 4 AM here and I’d like to get a little more sleep while the sun’s still down. Keep up the good work.”

“Will do, sir.”

She hung up and leaned back in the plushy chair, mind cycling through a million different things and none of them enjoyable. The suspicion was still there but now steeped in guilt – which made no sense. He hadn’t answered her question. He’d told her a week ago that he didn’t have a criminal record, but that was very different from being a criminal. Not having a criminal record only meant he hadn’t been caught yet.

If he was actually a criminal. Which she felt guilty about accusing him of, but there was no reason to feel guilt when it was an honest question, if maybe a little aggressive. But he hadn’t answered the question, and that should’ve made her more suspicious, but all she could think about was how hurt he’d been. Hurt yet unsurprised.

Carmelita groaned and ran a hand through her hair as she stood up and climbed out of the helicopter. Her thoughts were just going in circles now, and they weren’t going to help her for the time being. What she needed was a distraction.

So, she grabbed a handful of cuffs and went out to join her fellow officers.

Clean-up was a lot quicker than in Mesa. They didn’t have an entire city’s worth of ground to cover this time, and most of the guards had either felt the disconnect from their psychic boss going down or had been so terrorized by the giant snake still roaming free – or both – that they accepted arrest without any trouble.

Said snake was still at large, having disappeared deeper into the swamp if the criminals’ witness accounts were to be trusted, but her fellow officers decided that was a problem for another day. She certainly didn’t feel like protesting; if they wanted to wrangle a monster by the time she was already out of town and flying to another country, then that was their prerogative.

Overall, it was far easier, and it had also calmed the fox’s jumbled mind by the time they’d hauled the last few people into the clearing along all the rest. Multiple helicopter trips were going to have to be made but, again, that wasn’t her problem anymore.

The lemur detective who’d offered to send in the copter in the first place approached her after she finished reading rights to a group of twelve or so criminals sitting miserably on the mossy ground. He’d been just as superstitious as the rest of his team about coming here, but he’d also been the only one willing to do some aspect of his job, so she gave him a neutral nod instead of the stern frown she’d been shooting at everyone else in uniform.

“Yes?”

“Just wanted to say we appreciate you cleaning up this place,” the lemur said in an accent similar to Mz. Ruby’s, albeit a little lighter. “It was impressive, what you did. Sorry we couldn’t be of more help.”

She shook her head, not about to get snippy while in earshot of so many of Mz. Ruby’s goons. “You came through when I called, and that’s what matters.”

“Well, I can assure you that we’ve got things handled from here on out.”

His gaze trailed across the gathered criminals, then stopped on one turtle who glared back with open fury. Carmelita watched, curious, as her associate strode up to him with a harsh expression.

“You got something to say to me?” He demanded, staring down his snout at the other man.

The turtle wrinkled his nose and shook his head, then spit at the ground at the officer’s feet. The lemur’s face twisted in a snarl and he unclipped a baton from his belt. Inspector Fox’s eyes went wide and she lunged forward in shock.

“Wait, don’t–!”

She wasn’t fast enough. The crack of wood against the turtle’s head was so loud it ricocheted across the clearing, leaving a terrible ringing in the silence that followed. No one moved a muscle as the detective stood over the crumpled criminal with his baton still held high as if to follow through with another blow. The turtle moaned with his bloody face pressed into the dirt, properly cowed, and the officer finally put his weapon away. He spit at the ground, barely missing the criminal’s head, and sauntered back to Carmelita as nonchalantly as if he’d just swatted a bug on his arm.

“Can you believe that?” He asked with a disbelieving scoff, ignorant of the way she stared at him. “Absolutely no respect for the law. It’s a good thing you came around to help nip it in the bud before it could get any worse.

Her mouth was open, completely shell-shocked, and she looked towards his associates, but none of them seemed bothered by the blatant brutality they had just witnessed. They’d all simply gone back to work, and some even began talking jovially amongst themselves as if their coworker hadn’t just committed assault.

“You okay, ma’am?”

Inspector Fox forced her jaw closed and struggled very hard not to grind her teeth together, stunned and furious and without any real power to address it. They were all Interpol, but she was the outsider here, and it had never become so apparent as in that moment.

“Just peachy,” she growled. “But I think it’s time I get out of this place.”

“Oh, I don’t blame you at all,” he said, completely oblivious. “But are you sure you don’t want to wait until they drop off Mz. Ruby first? It’ll only be another hour, tops.”

“No, thanks. I’ve seen enough depravity tonight.”

As she climbed back into the helicopter and watched the ground shrink away beneath them, Carmelita thought about Sly being here with her, and what he might have thought about being proven right about officers for once. What he might’ve said about that horrible scene. What he might’ve done. He did not strike her as the kind of person who would have let it happen unchallenged, and those officers did not strike her as the kind of people who would have let him interfere, civilian or not. Suddenly she was very, very thankful for his absence.

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They dropped her off at their headquarters – partly because it had a safe landing place for the copter, mostly because she was now very keen on not sharing where she was staying – and she took a taxi back to the hotel with the incident playing over and over in her head. The sound of it…

Would you brutalize me, Inspector?

Carmelita’s hands were trembling as she made her way up to her and her partner’s shared floor, and she couldn’t tell if it was from anger or adrenaline, or shame, or something else entirely. Whatever it was, she forced herself to steadiness as she approached Sly’s room.

“Hey Ringtail, I’m back. Can we talk?” She called with a quiet knock.

Silence greeted her, and there was no light seeping in through the crack under the door. The fox bit her lip, wondering if he was asleep, and tried again a little louder.

“Sly? Please tell me if you’re in there. I – I really need to talk to you.”

Still nothing. She knew he was a light enough sleeper to have heard her by now, which meant either he was deliberately ignoring her or he wasn’t here. Carmelita hoped it was the latter and headed for the hotel’s nearest common area.

She ended up searching the whole building, top to bottom, and came up empty-handed. Not a single sign of him anywhere. The inspector returned to the hallway with no small amount of frustration, racking her brain about where else the raccoon might be.

He’d told her he’d see her back at the hotel. It had sounded like a promise even after their argument, and even on his rudest days, he never deliberately ignored her. But if he wasn’t in his room, or the lobby, or the tiny dining area, then where on earth could he possibly –

The detective turned on her heel and began to march.

Sunrise was threatening to peak over the horizon when she stepped onto the fire escape balcony outside, chasing away the stars and leaving the moon shrouded halfway between the sleeping and waking worlds. Carmelita leaned over the railing to scan the balconies below her for any glimpse of her missing partner on the off-chance her hunch was wrong. When no familiar gray fur or blue clothing presented itself, the fox heaved a sigh and turned her attention to the roof above.

You’d better be up there, Ringtail, she grumbled to herself, because I’m not about to do something incredibly illegal for nothing.

She leapt for the overhang, catching it easily and hoisting herself up no differently than if she were doing a pull-up at the gym. The only truly dangerous part of it was the way the metal creaked under the force of her, but it didn’t do more than bend a few centimeters as she hauled herself onto the roof of the hotel.

No one shouted at her to get down, either, which she took as a win.

The inspector looked up, half-expecting her efforts to be in vain, but there was a dark silhouette sitting several meters away in the very center of the roof. His knees were drawn halfway up to his chest, and he clutched his backpack close like it was a life preserver.

He was staring up at the moon.

Carmelita approached him, trying not to let irritation at him for making her climb a damn roof to find him drown out the things she’d been working up the courage to say.

Sly turned his head just slightly at her presence, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye even though his attention was still on the sky.

“Back already?” He asked. His voice was distant and almost contemplative. “Didn’t realize how much time had gone by.”

She sank down slowly to sit next to him, watching him as he watched the moon. The ringing in her ears from that terrible act was so loud she was amazed he couldn’t hear it too.

“Sly –”

“I’m sorry.”

The apology halted all her thoughts. Even the ringing nearly faded in the wake of her surprise.

“You’re…what?” She asked. “What do you have to be sorry for?”

“For being an asshole.”

“You weren’t being an asshole.”

“Yes, I was. I was dodging questions and then goaded you into a fight. I was looking for a fight. I’d say that’s pretty asshole-ish behavior.” The raccoon picked at the hole in his hoodie. “You didn’t deserve that, so…I’m sorry.”

Carmelita considered that for a minute.

“…Thank you. I’m sorry, too,” she said after a while. “I didn’t mean to imply anything about you.”

“It’s fine,” came the brief, expected response. “It’s nothing I haven’t already heard before.”

“From…from police officers?”

The raccoon shrugged without looking at her. She folded her arms to warm herself against a cold that wasn’t from the open air.

“I mean it, though, Sly,” she continued before the quiet could settle too heavily between them. “I know you have your reasons, and it’s not like you were in any danger. I shouldn’t have pried.”

“You were just doing your job.”

“No. I was being an asshole.”

He finally looked at her head-on, blinking in that way he did when he was caught off-guard. After a moment, the smallest of smiles curled across his snout.

“Yeah, you were.”

This time, when they both fell silent again, it wasn’t so uncomfortable. Carmelita watched as the sun slowly crested in the distance beyond the city, bathing everything in golds and purples. She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, mirroring his own posture.

“I just don’t understand, Sly. Please help me understand.” The inspector leaned her cheek on her knee as she studied him. “If you’re worried about – police brutality, or being treated poorly for not having a badge, I won’t let that happen. You know I won’t let it happen.”

His face went through a series of subtle emotions, all of them unreadable. “I know. But you’re just one person, Carmelita. It’s been hard enough just learning to trust you as much as I have.”

She bit her lip, surprised by how much the admission stung, but he continued before she could say anything.

“But that’s the thing – I do trust you, and I want to keep trusting you. And that…in some ways, that’s almost scarier than not trusting anyone at all. The last time I risked that, it…”

One hand started rubbing against his chest almost unconsciously when he looked back up at the disappearing moon, at the scars she hadn’t been meant to see. She wondered if he even knew he was doing it.

“There’s not a lot going for me these days,” he said quietly. “Hasn’t been for a long time. I can’t risk losing the freedom I finally have.”

“I can’t imagine what that must have been like back in Mesa City,” she replied just as softly. “I understand being fearful after that entire ordeal, not trusting anyone but yourself.”

Her partner looked at her, carefully blank. For some reason, Carmelita got the deep-seated feeling that she had just said the wrong thing.

“Yeah.” He said after a moment. “Mesa was really rough.”

You’re missing something, nagged a voice in her ear. But it was too late to ask as the raccoon stood up and offered her his hand. She took it and let him haul her to her feet, and they stood there a moment to watch the sunrise together.

“We should probably get down from here before someone sees us,” the fox said, turning towards the side of the roof with the fire escape. “Wouldn’t want to be banned.”

“Or arrested,” he replied with the light amusement she was used to, following her as silently as he always did. “Although that would be pretty funny. Imagine the headlines – ‘Cop Who Arrested Infamous Fiendish Five Member Mz. Ruby Immediately Arrested For Standing On Hotel Roof’.”

Carmelita began carefully climbing down past the overhang, chuckling despite herself. “That headline’s too long, Ringtail. Try again.”

“Illustrious Inspector Imprisons Immoral Invader; Caught Climbing Caravansary.”

“Too much alliteration. You sound like a wannabe playwright.” Her boots hit solid ground and she moved out of the way; he shimmied down a pipe and balanced himself on the balcony’s railing, crouched in front of her with a shit-eating grin.

“Latin Hottie Busts Big Bad Voodoo Mama –”

“Finish that sentence and I’m locking you out here until we leave.”

His laughter was the most genuine sound she’d ever heard from him. It floated across the air as an accompaniment to the beautiful sky, and it was the first thing to finally quiet the ringing in her head for good.

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A/N: I love introducing a personal conflict and then resolving it the same chapter. Not really, of course, but it's a little funny to think of it that way.

Sly's the kind of person who I think can't actually bring himself to harm someone he cares about, regardless of his upbringing. Or at least, he'd do it and then feel incredibly guilty about it. If Carmelita hadn't actually found him on that roof, he probably would've slunk back to his room in the morning and tried to live with his actions, but she caught him right at the precipice and he's already let her save him twice. That apology was just as surprising for him as it was for her.

[silyabeeodess]

FusionFall Headcanons: Heavy Pinchers

Rather than having been formed from a specific vehicle, these monsters have been frankensteined together from multiple types of heavy machinery. While they do still have the single, large crane attachment, remains of other cranes--with only one claw to each--make up their front legs. Meanwhile, excavator parts make up their back legs and lower jaw. Standing at 3.5 meters (approx. 11.5 ft.) on average, according to concept art, these titans can easily crush whatever stands in their way.  

If their bodies were to be compared to any specific creature, the Heavy Pinchers share a number of physical similarities to frogs. Also like frogs, as seen in their in-game animations, these monsters can move both with a quadrupedal walking gait and saltation (a hopping pattern), the latter type of movement used more often when the monsters attack. This was possibly intentional due to the strong likelihood of frogs in the nearby environment for fusion spawns to mimic.  However, thanks to the claw crane attachment, the Heavy Pinchers are incapable of jumping the same long distances as frogs, relative to their size, since it would likely throw them off balance or even cause damage to themselves.    

Another habit they take from frogs is hunting by overpowering their targets. Large species of frogs, like the bullfrog, will not only eat insects, but birds, snakes, mice, and other frogs. The Heavy Pinchers can attack Earthlings in a similar manner, unhinging their metal jaws to clamp down on a person practically whole--a death grip that can be almost impossible to escape. 

If a fusion fighter finds themselves caught in a Heavy Pincher’s maw, you have to stay calm. With the exception of any other objects or fusion matter also caught in its mouth, there should be some room to move around.  You can target the joints of the jaw to force its mouth open and escape. 

Still, that’s far from their only means of attack. Heavy Pinchers are known for crushing anyone that gets too close, their forelimbs can be used to slice and stab at enemies, and their working crane claw can even pick up small vehicles and fling them across a battlefield. Simply put, it’s best if you try avoiding going head-to-head with these monsters.   

At the very start of the war, they were used to deal severe damage to both civilians and property, since their massive strength and size could tear through the average neighborhood without much resistance. However, Earth’s forces were quick to set up defenses against them. For one thing, they’re pretty noisy and their size also makes it extremely hard for them to move with anything remotely resembling stealth. Guards can spot Heavy Pinchers coming for miles. Fusion Fighters have set up positions surrounding the area where the majority of Heavy Pinchers are located, largely keeping them contained. 

They do so not just with manpower, but by using the terrain. Again, the Heavy Pinchers have similarities to frogs, but aren’t as nimble because they’re so big and bulky with added attachments. Heavy machinery like cranes and bulldozers are very much capable of getting stuck in soft ground, like muddy areas, so Heavy Pinchers can get trapped in a similar way.  This makes it difficult for them to move across the creek without using the bridge. Fusion Fighters also set up numerous traps or use torn apart sections of land caused by the Maelstrom Creepers to their advantage, creating pitfalls.  This might explain the large hole at the edge of Peach Creek Estates closest to Goat’s Junkyard.       

While armored, their weak points are pipes along the back and sides and exposed sections of the engine. You can also shoot out the glass windows from what was the driver’s seat of the original vehicles, but they’re often flooded with fusion matter and so can cause large leaks.  

Their evolved cousins, the Heavy Punchers, are noted in their description to have an even stronger claw that can pierce solid rock.