#in color together arlette

[amazingdigitalstudioonelove]

Время Дудлов!

[bardic-tales]

WORD FIND TAG PART IV

Thank you so much for the tag, @aohendo.

Read her snippets to this game. They're lovely.

My words are: care, fix, trust, and proud

Pale Fire Snippet!

cw: brief description of blood.

Blood seeped from the wound to her head. The collision had sent her careening into the Wheel. It wasn't the first time she hit her head during a mission, and this time was proving no less deadly than the last.

The thick smoke cloaking him cleared, and her blood ran cold. She recognized his Lotus garb, the outfit haunting her nightmares often. He would often taunt her and blame the thousands lives lost in Glorendt upon her. There was only one explanation. This was a ghost ship, and he had come back to collect her soul.

Pare Fire Snippet!

He turned on his side and faced her now. Locks of his hair fell in his face. She brushed the strands behind his ear and awaited his response. There was one question that she wanted him to answer for her: the most important question that she was the most afraid of.

"We did eat together." He grazed her hand and held it for a moment. His touched warmed her cold fingers. "Sean would delegate fixin' supper to the initiates. It was supposed to teach us discipline or some shite. I don't know. I was always . . . eh . . . late for everything, so."

Pale Fire Snippet!

cw: death

There wasn't more small talk after that. Anabelle was focused upon the naval battle and, most importantly, on the sloop-of-war. She trusted Louis to do what he needed to do to keep the powder dry. Two giant walkways were carved on both sides of the Arlette's deck, allowing the gunners to transition from being on the main deck to where the guns were kept seamlessly.

Chain-shot darted across the distance between the advancing ship and her frigate. He was aiming for her mizzenmast. She knew then that the Lotus captain would not be offering mercy. He was set on a course of destruction. There would be no captives and no pressing her crew into his. The soldier, as most of his kind did, only sought death.

The Arlette's managed to turn just in time but her railing shattered away. Anabelle was lucky. Her first mate was not.

This is from the first draft of Flight of the Dragon.

cw: injury. violence.

Desperately, the Glorendine did the only thing he could and flung his axe toward Brennan in a final attempt to do anything in the face of such a foe. The axe crashed into Brennan's face, burrowing into his left eye socket. The Glorendine would have been proud to have done such a thing, blinding a great dragon's eye in one blow, but he didn't live long enough to savor the accomplishment.

Roaring in pain and rage, and with the anguish of losing his brood, Brennan clenched his mighty fingers, crushing the Glorendine. He brought the man's face to within inches of his still-roaring maw as he crushed the last vestiges of life from his broken husk. His final moments were brief, but they were terrifying and filled with agony.

Thanks for tagging me, @bookish-galaxy.

Read her snippet here. I really enjoyed everything she shared.

My words are: dark, tower, fight and life

Pale Fire Snippet

It was unknown to anyone onboard the Arlette, but there would be no revelry that night, or any other night for her crew. In the gathering darkness, they had failed to see the smaller Corvette speed toward them from behind, the smaller ship faster and more maneuverable. No one noticed the ship, until it was too late. "Sails off the port stern!" The voice carried down from the crow's nest. "I've never seen those colors before! I don't think it's Glorendt, but it's coming right for us without slowing! Either they don't see us, or they mean to ram us!" Anabelle held a looking glass up to her eye, pointing in the direction her crewmember had called out. She could see the dark shape of the Corvette, but she couldn't see the colors, either. Then she saw them: red sails. She swallowed hard. She'd dragged these men to their deaths. It was a Shadow Blade hunter, a Lotus agent on his way to kill her.

I don't have anything for tower yet.

Pale Fire snippet

cw: implied abuse. talk of restraining

"Bullshite! I think you'll say whatever you need to save your hide!" The fight left her. Her eyes grew fearful as she pulled against her restraints. The bindings held her fast to the bed. There was no way out. She couldn't hide, and there would be no escape for her. That's what always happened. The man she loved was going to strike her. Each breath came out in tiny, quick pants. "I only lied about my name and nationality," Anabelle pleaded. "You're the only who knows me, the real me." She was willing to tell him anything to save herself from the punishment to follow. Would he be dissuade from hitting her if she admitted she loved him? He had all the power. Her feral gaze met his. What she saw took her breath away. There was such kindness in his eyes that it hurt her to look upon him. For a moment, just a small occasion in their lives, Anabelle and Shae were transported back into that breadth of time where they meant everything to each other. His next words were simple but ones she wasn't prepared to explain. "Tell me who hurt you, Ana."

Pale Fire snippet.

cw: suicidal ideation.

"You cannot love me," she argued. "You moved on with your life." "What else was I supposed to do? I mourned you as if you had died, Ana. I feared you had. Everyone around me told me to move on, to get my life together and find happiness where I could. Or solve the whole problem with a few ounces of lead. I chose to move on." "Oh..." "It wasn't and easy choice, or a fast one. Looks like you would have chosen the lead. How much carnage could have been prevented had I chosen that instead, I wonder?"

One-Shot Stories Tag List

@asomeoneperson @jessica-writes22 @athenswrites @elijahrichardwriteshrichardwrites @whimsyqueen @arrthurpendragon @blind-the-winds, @fearofahumanplanet, @365runesofpassion

If you would like to be on my tag list for notifications on any drabbles, short stories, or snippets I might post to my Tumblr, check out this post here. If you wish to be taken off this taglist, feel free to tell me!

[princesspuresarahk]

Rango (Human Form/AU) from Rango 

Name: Rango “Rain Duppre” (didn’t know his full name as his Aunt Arlette who was raised him mostly called him R.D . Age:21 , Height: 5′3 ft . In this au Rango is often mistaken for a woman and having effeminate traits and being raised mostly around women growing up in his childhood being mostly raised by his Aunt ( a retired diva/actress with a love for vibrant and drama) who took him into her care after his mother passed on from illness (he doesn't know who his father was all he knew was that he was guy his mum met in Australia and had a heavy one night stand who gave her a hell of a ride and had very beautiful golden honey eyes a trait surprisingly her son inherited ) anyway Rango was only 2 when his mother passed away and only remembered a few memories about her, according to Aunt Arlette she was described as an eccentric but intelligent young woman that wanted to explore the world and express her creative imaginative side. Rango showed these traits. she became pregnant with Rango when she was 19 and knew that was going to change her life but she did not give up that easily deciding that she have her baby and to raise and love them with all her heart it was going to be a long tough responsibility but she knew she can do this and with the help of her loving Aunt Arlette who took her niece in as no way was her beloved niece going to be raising a baby alone no sir and 9 months later a tiny but healthy a beautiful baby boy was born, sadly it was very rough birth after two an infection resulted her passing that broke her Aunt’s heart, but Arlette was a strong tough as nails woman and she made a promise to her late niece to watch over and raise her son with her becoming not also Rango's mother figure but his best friend in the world and was very protective of her nephew having him mostly home schooled and not having many friends his own age and would rarely meet other children at parties or events he and Aunt Arlette would go to it'd be lonely at times with him being an only child and few friends but Rango didn't mind he had his amazing awesome Auntie who he loved to heaven and back in the world One of his favorite memories with is when she would make whole made Danishes from scratch with no raisins and spaghetti alla puttanesca also from scratch with a glass of wine for her and sparkling apple juice for him in his Aunt's tropical garden He also got to dying his hair green from her too as his real hair color is blonde and his Aunt always had it dyed in different colors and role play in some of her old films and plays she used to be in and play with her old costumes probs and jewelry that inspired Rango for his love of acting and theater as they would watch old movies together ( especially of classic and spaghetti westerns films ) as he got older Rango had gained his mother's eccentric and intelligence but also her lovable kind heart with the need to go explore independently and go on a journey of self discovery after being sheltered all his life and decided to explore it when deciding to go try in a career of theater just like his Aunt who at first wasn't sure if her nephew was ready yet but knew in her heart that as she can't keep him safe forever from the tough hard world that her sweet little baby boy was a young man now wanting to be independent and have a chance to find the path he chooses and whatever he finds what he's looking for she'll support him all the way so at 19 just like his late mother before Rango set off to find his path as Aunt Arlette watched her baby boy drive out into the open road sending a silent prayer to his mother's angel to watch over him and keep him safe with Rango waving goodbye with his happy lovable smile as he sets out on his first adventure unknown that two years later on one of his travels will lead to a new adventure that would take him to a town called Dirt and would be lead to become their new sheriff and a serpent gun slinger named Rattlesnake Jake .

[medusadick]

I feel we should talk about our EP,:

Arlette and I were watching several performances by Britney Spears, her music videos, her interviews, listening to her albums. I don't know, we just got an inspiration with a very 2000's aesthetic. Then Arlette launched the idea of ​​producing a whole EP with the color pink, using the titles of a failed Britney album, that is how this EP was born with the name given by one of the illuminati game cards.

As for sound, the EP stands out for samples of some Britney songs, 8 bits, electro house, pop, etc. In several songs we take parts of interviews (THE ORIGINAL DOLL), the audio of a real exorcism (MONA LISA), my real voice (BABY VOICE), etc. This EP is loaded with very retro-futuristic vibes bathed in toxic pink.

Arlette was in charge of the production while I only dedicated myself to the writing of some songs and verses ...

The visual is infected by the simple message of ''Pink Fame'', I conclude that I use together with Arlette to describe something that is too precious and desirable but that has a dark secret or pain behind it. Since most of the songs seem to be from a video game in which you are losing lives very quickly, music videos use pixel graphics to keep this work as a sequel to the debut EP, Ana(l)bolics and Di(e)amondz.

[phaniecastello-blog]

Practice Challenge 1

((Well, here it is, finally!! I know it is long, but maybe you will like it, I hope so.))

The promise

“…plie, releve, plie, releve…” I was listening to Miss Dorothy words as she was instructed the ballerinas to do the correct positions. I raised my glance from my sketchbook to verify the details on the blonde lady’s tutu; the texture of the tulle had to be properly capture in here, as well as the subtle folds that make the outfit look so feminine. The gratifying whisper of the graphite as it strokes here and there has always been one of my favorite things about drawing; it’s just as if the pencil has his own dance on the paper that once was blank.

I was there again, sitting on the flat wooden floor in the corner of the big white room. Even though I always have been way better with portraits, I had decided to practice making some complete body drawings. I just needed a good sketch to keep the image on my mind and then make it come to life in my free times at home; those times when my mother lets me breathe from all the runway rehearsals and photo shooting sets.

“That would be all for now ladies, I will see you all at our next class” Miss Dorothy paused the classical music in the middle of a violin solo, while the young ballerinas started walking towards the dressing rooms, braking the peace of the room with their voices.

Wait, what?! I was going to be here just a few minutes. Loretta is going to kill me.

I stood up as if something in the floor suddenly had pinched me and put my sketchbook and pencils back in my purse as quick as I could.

“You lost track of time again, don’t you, pretty girl?” I turned to see the thin, tanned skinned woman with the simple black dress and leggings. She has a sarcastic little smile on her face.

“Yes…! Thank you for letting me in, again, Miss” I answered. She nodded. She was a kind but strict person. I have always wanted to be part of her ballet class, but my mother never let me try; the day she found out I signed up without her permission and that I used to spend my Saturday afternoons there, she showed up making a scene in front of everyone! Since then, Miss Dorothy had never let me sign up again. It wasn’t like she was afraid of my mother, she was just a refined and pacific woman, that had no need to be involved in those kinds of problems with anyone; I didn’t want to cause her any problems either, so, I was absent for a long time, until I consider the danger had passed, and beg her to let me stay at least in one corner, quietly, just to do some sketches. A week ago, she finally accepted.

Although, I was never safe, never free. Having a high caste in this country had a price to pay, and a big one. Several eyes following you at least 3 days per week. I’m talking about the media; paparazzi, reporters… A picture of her daughter with the Dance Academy as a background wouldn’t be my mom’s favorite.

Before getting out of there I put on my sunglasses, the heels I took off when I arrived in order not to scratch the wooden floor and pulled the edges of my gray hood further over my face. I knew it wasn’t the best disguise, but it had surprisingly worked for a complete week, I also knew that ritual was pathetic, but every time I remembered all the reasons the media had given me to avoid them, I forced myself to ignore the embarrassment.

The media “love” my mother because she gave them drama and juicy news back when she was a selected; and now she is a famous and successful fashion designer, so, they can’t ignore her, even if they wanted to. But me… the fact that my personality isn’t like Loretta’s seemed to disappoint them. The good thing is some of them were creative enough to made up things about me, others just liked to have fun calling me “hypocrite” every now and then… No matter what I did, they were never content with me.

“Hey, Loretta, I’m here!” I greeted my mom as I entered to her office. I had to run into thousands of photographers, magazine staff and a big bunch of skinny, narcissist, superficial… people to reach her. I have to mention that I had been part of that bunch since I pronounced my first words, but for a change, I had never fit in it.

Everything was being settled for the new autumn/winter collection to come out to the world, so, the place was a chaos. It was always a chaos. Before this one we had the “creative chaos”, my personal favorite, when you can see all kinds of fabrics of many different colors on every table, people around my mother trying to make the best suggestion to impress her, people sawing some details on the unfinished dresses, assistants running from here to there, and, the best part, beautiful sketches of all the designs, posted on every wall… I liked that environment, where you could almost touch the ideas floating in the air and then you see them turning into beautiful clothes.

I can’t lie, Loretta was one of the best fashion designers in the whole country, maybe even in the world. I mean, not for nothing she was a very famous woman, although, being part of the -now- King Spencer selection could have helped a lot!

“You are late, hun” she said scowling, while she was fixing the sleeves of a tall brunette girl; she must had been new, because I didn’t recognize her.

“I know, sorry. I had to stay late at the school to do some… project, but Peter drove as fast as he could” Pete was my driver and bodyguard. He and I had an agreement, he wouldn’t tell mom about my visits to the Dance Academy and I would let him use my car for his personal use, twice a month on his free days.  

I kissed her cheek and she gave me a  fake grin, a sign that she wasn’t convinced. “Well, then, what are you waiting for!? Nancy is waiting for you”

I sighed, relieved that she didn’t react like I expected. Actually, she had been acting surprisingly indulgent, lately; and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.

I entered to the makeup room and noticed that Nancy suddenly hide something behind her back as soon as she spotted me. She waved at me with her free hand.

“What are you hiding from me, now, Nancy?” I asked to my young, personal makeup artist.

“Nothing, Miss. Just wanted to keep this magazine I liked, to cut some hot guys from it” She answered with a nervous tone, fanning the magazine in front of me as it had no importance, but when I noticed the name of it I understood what she was trying to hide.

I scoffed a smile, moved by her failing efforts to protect me. “…Girl! I receive almost all the magazines of the country and even international ones at home every week. I’ve read the article this morning. There’s no need to hide it” I acknowledged, sitting in the chair in front of the big mirror, as straight as I could to show my strength.

The magazine contained the announcement of my ex-boyfriend engagement with a French actress, Arlette … something. The news shocked me, but only because it had been just a year since I rejected his offer to run away with him and travel the world together.

“Are you alright, then?” She asked in a shy tone while she was preparing the face lotions, brushes and makeup to start working on my face.

“Yes, I am. You know more than anyone that we ended in good terms, and surprisingly, it wasn’t that hard to let him go. The problem still is…”

“I know.” She interrupted. Nancy was the closest I had to a friend, sometimes I feel like the makeup sessions are more like therapy for me or maybe a confessionary. We had discussed the Dylan situation before. After he left I was upset, but he wasn’t the reason. I was upset because I hadn’t had the courage to run away, to go to an adventure and leave this… good, but not satisfactory life.

We remain in silence for some minutes while she cleaned my skin with an oiled product that had a peculiar citrus smell “Besides, there are tons of better guys out there. This could be a perfect timing to be single” Nancy continued, handling me a magazine which read: “Nathaniel Schreave, Illéas most eligible bachelor. Ready for the selection?”  on the cover it showed a very good picture of our Prince, he looked very handsome.

I raised an eyebrow glaring at Nancy. “What? I know you like him. Once you said you admire people that has real power and stays humble, like him. I remember it, because I was thinking: What I admire are his nice abs. But your reasons were good, too”. I tried not to laugh at her words, failing.

“I had read this magazine, too, and, you know what? … I have been considering this since then” I said smirking. She grins. I looked down to the magazine on my lap, again “I wonder what she would say” My mother hated the royals for a simple reason. She couldn’t be part of them.

“Oh no! Not again!” Nancy said raising the volume of her voice and leaving my eyeline unfinished. “You can’t lose this opportunity too, because of your fears!” A frustrated look appeared on her face.

I suddenly feel annoyed. How dare she talking to me like that.  “Hey! Watch that tone, Nancy!” The true was that the only reason I felt offended, was because I knew she was right. She looked down at her shoes ashamed and disappointed at the same time and then continued working on my face.

I spent the next 30 minutes of silence meditating about what she told me, about the selection, about how I was going to fix this…

“You are ready” She said with a barely audible tone. I stood up and brush my shirt with my hands, even when I knew it was as clean as it could be. I opened my mouth to speak but she did it first. “Look, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have to talked to you like that. It’s just… I think you’re kind of nice and I don’t want you to have anything else to regret…”

I half smiled “Thank you… I’m sorry I shouted at you. I didn’t have to take out my frustration on you” She nodded and gave a grin. “Also, I already took my decision about this selection thing.”

“…and I also think it will be great to experience what you once lived… Ugh no! This doesn’t sound convincing, does it?” I asked Moe. He was looking at me with his little bright black eyes. I was sure mini pigs are easier to convince than Loretta Castello. I had been rehearsing my words for almost half an hour inside my room. It had been a long day at the fashion studio, but I didn’t want to prolong this anymore. I sit on my bed, holding the application letter in my hands. I realized it doesn’t matter which words I use, she will never say yes to this, but I don’t care, this time I will do what I want to do. I filled the letter with all my personal info and when I finished I felt determined to talk to her.   I was walking towards my door when I listened to a knock on my door “Are you still awake, bambolina? She asked with a sweet voice. The one she used when she’s going to ask me to do something. Like that time when she asked me to be part of an underwear photoshoot at 5 am at the theme park. The good thing was that time I had the opportunity to negotiate my art classes. “I need to talk to you” she added. I kept the application letter in the first drawer of my desk and opened the door. “Yes, I’m still awake, come in” I invited her, although she was already inside my room, sitting on the edge of my bed. She patted the bed at her side for me to sit with her. “Okay, what is it now?” I said with a smirk as I took my place beside her. “Don’t say it as I always ask you crazy things, Estefanía!” I scoffed and make a sign with my hand for her to continue. She took a deep breath as if it was hard for her to pronounce the following words. “I think you should apply for the selection” Loretta most have noticed the shocked look on my face because she tried to justify her words “… before you say no, just listen to me for a second. I think you have not entirely recovered for that break up you suffered with Dolan, and...” “His name was Dylan, mom” I corrected her, still surprised by her words. She never showed much interest about that matter. The day I told her about it she just hugged me tight and said “I told you so” and she never mentioned it again. I guess she just wanted to give me space. “…whatever! That jerk doesn’t deserve to be remembered. So, I think you should take this opportunity to heal and to try to get a new love” She conclude. I couldn’t believe my ears. I thought she hated the royals, since Prince Spencer eliminated her from his selection. “That arrogante, privo di tattoo…” She always shrieks, even when I have read a whole different story in the magazines. With all she did and said about the other selected on the interviews, I was surprised she didn’t get kicked out sooner in the competition. She had been trying hard to change since then, but something in her words just didn’t fit fine, this time, but I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. “Hmm… I think you might be right, mom, luckily I last as much as you, there” I said in a reflexive tone. “Sure, why not? I will apply!” I agreed before she changed her mind. “Estefanía, take it for me when I say, those girls will do whatever it takes to win… and you have to promise me you will do the same! No matter what, you have to fight hard!” Her tone was scaring me, it’s like something had possessed her. But 5 seconds ago, she was all sweetness! When she saw my terror face, she changed her tone “…I’m just telling you this, because I don’t want them to hurt you, bambolina” She said pulling my head closer to her shoulder and stroking my curly hair. “Just promise me you will do it” I didn’t like that tone or what she was suggesting, that wasn’t my idea to apply to this competition, I just wanted to meet Nathaniel and get the opportunity to know him more; also, the experience sounded appealing, I could finally meet real friends, real people, and in the process, I could show the Illéans I wasn’t the superficial, hypocrite girl that the media had made them believe. But this wasn’t the time to argue with Loretta, if making a simple promise was what it takes for her to let me do this, I will do it. “I promise”

[templarhalo]

Endryd Haar: The Riven Hound Chapter 2

 Thanks to  @sisterofsilence for her constructive criticism and loaning me Tribune Arlette Augusta Amon Rakaposhi Gorro, her amazing and badass female Custodes.  Did I mention she's the Emperor's Equerry?

“Let's  go over this again traitor.  Your legion was exchanging gene-seed data with the World Eaters  and successfully produced Gene-Seed that combined traits from the World Eaters and Emperor's Children Gene-seed that could theoretically could produce a stronger Astartes with a minimal chance of implant  rejection.  Correct?” Kal said softly.

 “That’s correct.”  Titus said.

 The Emperor’s Children’s face was a mass of precision knife cuts courtesy of Boian.  Haar had broken his nose again.

 “Why'd you combine World Eaters Gene-seed with your own legion’s? Wouldn't it taint your “Perfect” Gene-seed?” Boian asked.

 “On the contrary, The World Eaters Gene-Seed was most suited for the augments we wanted to add and the  accelerated implantation in hosts. In addition it had the lowest rate of implant rejection after  the Sons of Horus and Iron Warriors, both which were rejected due to difficulties in  combining the samples. Chief Apothecary Bile decided  that the World Eaters gene seed was perfect for this  project.”

 “What role does to that girl in that stasis coffin play in this little project of yours?” Haar  asked.

 “She is someone my master has been looking for a very long time.  You see, before we found her, this project was all theoretical. To borrow a mortal phrase. A wet dream.  But you see Ruri and I found this girl when we were attacking a world.. She was  the daughter of all some imperial noble Daken killed and her genetic profile indicates she is a perfectly compatible  match to our hybrid  Gene-Seed.”

 “You don't mean to-

 “ Oh yes, she would be our first test subject.  The Blade of Chemos was supposed to pick me up and take the girl and I to Master Bile’s workshop.  He was to supervise her implantation  personally. And considering the girl is young and healthy, with excellent  physical  traits…”

 Haar put the pieces  together.

 “I remember a time when your legion  would condone such acts.” Haar said

 “My legion?”  Titus said incredulously  “It was Gahlan Surlak, Master of Induction for your legion  who proposed the project to Master Fabius.” Titus said.

 Haar was silent.

 “We'll have some more questions for you later.” Haar said.

 “I won't be going anywhere.” Titus said.

 Haar, Boian and Kal left the cell.

 “I can't believe the traitors really are that desperate.” Boian said.

 “Of course they are.  With the loss of Bodt to Autek Mor and his Iron Hands and the  heavy casualties they regularly sustain, our former brothers will do anything  to keep the legion’s numbers up.  And Horus knows every Astartes he loses is one he won't have at Terra. The bastard knows the scales are balancing out. “ Haar said.

 The three  strode through the hallways of the the Tyrannis.  The Tyrannis’ hallways were empty.   When they weren’t in battle, the  mortal crew was sleeping like the dead.

 With the exception of Ella who shot them a glare that could bore through Terminator Armor as the three Astartes walked into  the apothecarium.

 “Remind me why I’m  here again and not in my nice warm bed?” she asked out loud.  The Flag Captain was clad in a plain white slip, wool slippers and an oversized fur shawl.  He hair was free of the braid it had been for hours and her blood red locks tumbled past her shoulders in a messy sprawl.

 “ Because you are a woman, Flag-Captain.  The trauma this girl probably endured means she might have a rather violent reaction to four Astartes.”  Apothecary  Danek said as he checked the readouts on the old cogitator that was hooked up to  the stasis coffin.

 Like Haar and Boian, Danek had been inducted long before the Twelfth Legion became War Hounds .   Danek  was dark of skin, and his face a mix of scars, stitches and burns.   What patches of hair he had leff was sloppily cut, almost like it had been done  with a combat knife.The good apothecary was missing his right ring finger and his left eye was a bionic.  His right eye was the the red rimmed one of someone who had spent a good portion of their career around rad weaponry.   His  body was all but broken, held together by artificially replaced organs, bionics and a desire for vengeance.  The right side of his throat was a partial augmetic due to phosphex burns . This also had  required the removal of his Betcher’s Gland.   The lower right side of his chest was all bionic organs and metal ribs. One of his three lungs and part of his Osetic kidney had been blown to bits.  One lung was partially collapsed and kept working  because of a device attached to his  chest plate that pumped oxygen directly to it.  His Multi Lung had been poisoned by  radiation and Death Guard chemical weapons. One of his Progenoid Glands had been destroyed as well.  His right shoulder had a Rotor Cannon round embedded in it. His body, his right leg in particular was  a mass of tumors from aggressive cancers.  Worse his Larraman’s organ  was slowly breaking down and not healing his body as quickly as it use too.   His Mark III Power armor was as broken as his body.  He had long disposed of the right gauntlet and he had replaced his right shoulder pad with a piece of Scout armor.  His left thigh-plate was held together by two crossed chains. His left Pauldron was carpeted with molecular bonding studs and there was plenty of  cracks that had been filled with solvent.  Deep gouges covered nearly every surface of the armor and much of the original black paint was now gunmetal grey.  Dried blood dotted the armor as well.

 Erud said he would repair the armor one day, but he had never gotten around to it.

 Danek limped over to the Cogitator, the right leg joint of his armor sparked a little bit.

 “We're readyEndryd.” Danek said.

 “Do it.” Haar said.

 Danek nodded and pressed a switch .  

 Steam hissed and pistons fired.  The cover of the Stasis-Coffin retracted .

 “Vitals are green so far. Brain activity is speeding up. Her core body temperature is rising .” Danek said.

 The girl rose from the coffin like she was waking from a nightmare. Her eyes, a deep brown the color of freshly tilled soil or chocolate darted around the room .

 ‘“Where am I? Who are you?” she said.

 “Calm yourself child.  We mean you no harm.” Danek said in a soothing tone.. This was rather difficulty, as a throat ravaged by cancers and partially augmetic didn’t lend itself to a comforting voices.

 “Can you tell us your name?” Danek asked.

 “It's Vesta sir. Vesta..”

 The girl put a hand to her head.

 “Headaches?” Danek asked.

 “Yes sir. I’m sorry, but I can't remember  anything.  I don't even  remember my last name. “

 “That’s alright. I am sure your memories will return in time. I am Apothecary Danek.   The other Astartes you see are Praetor Endryd Haar, Chaplain Kal Jakar  and Sergeant  Boian Traven.  The woman is Flag Captain Ella Thylin.”

 “I.  It’s  nice to meet you.  Forgive me for asking, but I don't know what legion you're from.”

 “We left our legions behind us. We are Blackshields.  Space Marines who remained loyal to the Emperor and the Imperium while our brother became traitors. “ Haar  said softly.

 “ Traitors.  I remember the Emperor's  Children.  They and the World Eaters came to- “ Vesta put her hand on her head.

 “ Don't worry about trying to remember Vesta.  We're going to our best to help you.  Can you step out of the coffin?” Haar asked with a gentleness in his voice that surprised  himself.

 “ Yes. “ She rose and then paused.

 “Apothecary  Danek, do- do you have some clothes for me?” she asked timidly. Vesta wrapped her arms across her developing chest.

 It was in that moment that the three Astartes and Ella realised the girl was naked.

 “ I knew I was forgetting something.” Danek said.

 After Ella wordlessly handed Vesta her shawl.  Kal had gone down to the supply a room and returned. with a set of grey robes and some boots. The robes didn't exactly fit, but they would do until they could get her measured for some  better clothing.

 Danek had given her a physical, taken blood and tissue samples and pronounced her in good health. Albeit partially  amnesiac . He also explained why the traitors wanted her.

 “ Your memory must have wiped before they put you in the Stasis casket. Probably in the misguided notion that it would reinforce your hypno-indoctrination.  Which it does not.   I can't promise your entire  memory will return, but some should come back to you over time.”

 Kal and Endryd had then taken her to the cafeteria and watched her scarf down a surprising amount of food.  It was quite amusing to see, as Vesta was trying  to be dainty and have good manners,while trying to get as much food in her mouth as possible.

 After that they the taken her to the Tyrannis’ seamstress, Philone.  Philone had been a civilian, an old woman whose world and husband had been lost to the traitors.  She sewed and mended the garments and assisted in other duties aboard  the ship.  She was a fine  old lady full of wisdom and had a tongue as sharp as a Chainsword.

 Philone took some measurements and soon had seven robes produced for Vesta.

 Unlike Vesta’s ill-fitting and baggy grey robe, the robes Philone spun for her,were made of the same beige cloth meant for a Remembrancer’s robes and fit her perfectly.

 “You’ll fit in just fine at Terra.”  Haar said.

 “Terra!” Philone exclaimed.

 “ We need to speak with Lady Arlette  Philone, the traitors want Vesta and we need to plan a course of action . “

 “You'll need a better outfit if you're going to Terra girl!” Philone said. She held up a strip of purple cloth and scrutinized Vesta.

 “The robes you made me are fine Lady Philone.” Vesta said shylly.

 Philone glared at Vesta. It was a glare that even Haar found intimidating.

 “Nonsense Vesta! You're meeting with Lady Arlette herself! She’s aTribune of the Legio Custodes You need some much more regal looking than that! Besides I’ve been  wanting to make something nice for a long time.  Especially since the Flag-Captain won’t let me make anything nice for her.”

 “You do know the Flag-Captain doesn’t appreciate your unsubtle attempt at finding her a date.” Kal Jakar said.

 “Hmph, mark my words,  Ella will come down here asking me to weave her something nice for a date she has with some nice lad or lass, maybe even an Astartes.  Throne knows this ship is big enough to  them to find a place to have a date and -”

 “We do have a twelve year old present.” Kal said.

 ‘It’s alright. I know what she’s talking about. Ms. Thyln is a nice lady, i’m surprised she hasn’t found someone yet.” Vesta said.

 The three Astartes stared at the young maiden.

 “I’m an amnesic twelve year old girl, not an idiot.” Vesta said.

 Philone cackled.

 It was  agreed upon by Haar and the Blackshields that Vesta  should have her own room in the Astartes  quarters.  There had been an unused room right across from Haar  that she could use.   This also was so in the unlikely event they were boarded Haar and the others could quickly  defend her. Plus if she needed medical  attention, Danek would  be close at hand. The cot was sized for an Astartes, and  Vesta declined an offer for  a  human sized one.  

 Vesta  had a pillow, a brown wool blanket and a thick quilt that was a mosaic of colors.  She lay there for a while. Then  she had fallen asleep rather quickly.

 Unfortunately her dream that night were anything but pleasant

 .

“My lord the walls have been breached.  The traitors are now inside the capital,” Lord Marshall Marcus Quintus said.

 Vesta’s father  Justinian Augustus, Imperial Governor of  Byzas Longa, sighed.

 He asssesed the tactical hololiths., sighed again and looked at her and her brother.  

 “Theodosius!  Look after my children.  Get them to  the starport. The time has come for me to meet Horus’ whelps blade to blade.”

 Theodosius, Captain of the Praetorian Guard made the pre-unity salute.  He was a huge man.  A Gene-enhanced man  like the rest of her father’s bodyguard.  Some in the court whispered he had once been a Thunder Warrior.

 The five members of the Praetorian Guard were clad in Void-Hardened Carapace Armor.  They carried Volkite Chargers and had power weapons sheathed at their side.

 “Father “-her brother, Trajan began.

 “You and your sister look after each other Trajan. And do not cause mischief for old Theodosius,”   he said, his tone light as he unsheathed his Paragon Blade

 “You're going to your death father.” Vesta said

 “You have your mother’s bluntness Vesta.  Yes I am.  I will not cower in my palace while these traitors slaughter my people.  And someone must rally the remaining militia and Solar Auxilla to  buy time for the last of the civilians and yourself to escape.”

 “But father.”

 “Vesta you and your brother, are my legacy.  Children like yourself will be the future of this Imperium.  As long as you live the fires of the Imperium will  keep burning.  The heart  of mankind will not be snuffed out by Horus and his ilk.”

 “I love you both.  I cannot tell you how proud I am to have such  wonderful and intelligent children.   I know you both will accomplish great things.  “

 Vesta could tell Trajan was holding back tears.   

 Justinian smiled and hugged them.  Than Theodosius led them the underground escape route in the palace..  

 Vesta never saw her father again,

 The traveled for about 10 minutes  underground, although it felt much  longer to Vesta.  They climbed up a ladder and emerged  just outside the starport.  The small warp-capable skiff lay a few meters away.

 Vesta heard screams and the sound of Bolter  and lasfire in the distance.

 She drew her Volkite Serpenta, it's weight a comforting presence. Trajan drew his Power Sword.

 “Greetings.” a rich cultured voice said.  The voice belonged to an Astartes.  An apothecary of the Emperor’s Children.  Standing next to him was another apothecary  clad in the blood  stained white and blue colors of the World Eaters.  Behind them was five Palatine Blades of the Emperor’s Children and ten  World Eaters Tactical Marines.

 The Praetorian Guard leveled their Volkite  Chargers.   Trajan didn't stand in front of Vesta, which was good. She didn’t want her overprotective  brother blocking her line of fire.

 “ Allow to me introduce  myself.  I am Titus Phovian. You must be Justinian Augustus’ children.  You should be proud. He slew three of my Palatine Blades  and five World Eaters  before  Centurion Daken removed his head.”  the Apothecary said in an oddly polite tone.

 The World Eaters  apothecary signaled to his men .

 The ten World Eaters  charged, Chainaxes raised high.

 Theodosius  and the Praetorian Guard  cut half of them town  with their Volkite Chargers  before they got into melee range.   Theodosius  killed one with his Power Axe before they hacked him into pieces. Two members of the  Guard took another with  them into death’s embrace .   That left three to  charge  the  two youths.

 Vesta dropped one with a clean headshot.   The second one took two shots to the face before his twisted soul left his body.  

 The third Eater of Worlds met his end at Trajan’s Power Sword. Trajan had rammed his sword deep into  his throat.

 He withdrew it and shook the thick transhuman blood off the sizzling power field.

 “That was unexpected. “  The World Eaters Apothecary said gruffly.

 One of the Palatine  Blades  stepped forward and Vesta shot him in the chest.  He fell to ground with a thud.

 “Who’s next!” Vesta shouted.  She sounded  a lot braver than she felt.

 The World Eater  Apothecary charged  them. He was a blur as he raised his Chainaxe.  Trajan  lunged forward, his Power Sword held in both hands.

 The Apothecary’s blow sent Trajan’s Power Sword skidding out of his hands.  He struck  Trajan  with the back of his chainaxe. The blow sent him flying into the  ground .   He did not rise again.

 Vesta leveled the Volkite Serpenta at the apothecary, before a hand wrapped around the back of her throat and lifted her up.  The Volkite Serpenta  slipped out of her hands.

 She grunted in pain as she felt a needle dig into her neck.  She heard the  device on Titus’ gauntlet chime .

 “ Ruri my friend, today must be our lucky day.”

 “What are you talking about?” Vesta said.

 “You. Don’t worry my dear,   Ruri and I going to take good care of you. “

 Before Vesta could question him further, Titus extended his Narthecium. She felt something sting her neck.  Then everything went black.

 Vesta woke up screaming.  It all had come back to her.  The death of her world Her time in that monster Titus’ hands.  Watching her brother be turned into a mindless killing machine.   The needles and tubes as Titus poked and prodded at her. His cruel whispers and how his hand would stroke her hair  .

 She sobbed.  Part of her wanted to hold her tears back, but she couldn't. She cried and cried and cried.

 When she ran out of tears to shed she rose and wrapped the brown wool blanket around herself and stood up.  She walked out of her room and found herself standing outside Haar’s door. Without  thinking, she knocked on the door.

 Haar answered. Unlike Vesta, who wore a blue nightgown and had wrapped herself in her blanket, Haar was naked but for a loincloth.

 Vesta couldn't  help but stare.

 Haar’s physique was amazing, even by Astartes standards.  Regular combat,  rounds in the fighting pits and long  gymnasia sessions  during interstellar voyages had has left him with a body any mortal  and more than some Astartes would kill for.

 Vesta blushed. Haar just stared.

 “ Can I sleep  with you tonight?  I… I don't want to be alone.“ She asked.

 “Danek said this might happen. I'm assuming you had a nightmare?” Haar asked.

 Vesta nodded.

 “Did you memories return?“ he asked.

 “Yes.” Vesta said. She looked so frail. The blanket she wrapped herself in dwarfed her.

 “Do you want me to wake Danek?  am sure he has sleeping medication.” Haar asked.

 “No! No sedatives. I don’t need them. “  Vesta said with a fierceness that surprised him.

 Haar felt something like pity but he squashed the feeling.  To pity this girl after all she endured would be disrespectful.

 Without a word he let Vesta in his quarters.

 Haar’s quarters were plain. There was a cot, foot locker, and rack for Haar’s wargear.  The World Eaters  were never big on ornamentation and any trappings from Haar’s former legion had been removed.  The large desk and chair that had been sized for an Astartes had not been  used for some time.

 Haar made room for Vesta on his cot. She snuggled close to him and in seconds she was asleep.

 The voyage to Terra was three weeks.  Vesta spent much of her time helping crew members with various tasks aboard the  ship.   Her free time was filled with medical check ups at Daken’s hands, being fitted for various clothes with Philone and reading.  The Tyrannis had a rather nice library and Vesta enjoyed the solitude it offered.  Kal Jakar and Boian often joined her. Kal asked if she wanted to go to the Mass he held aboard the ship, Vesta went a few times out of politeness, but the Lectitio Divinitatus  didn't really appeal to her. (She did remember her father turning a blind eye to it on Byzas Longa.)  

 Boian often made jokes. Sometimes  really dirty ones that made her laugh so hard she cried.  

 And then there was the fighting pits.

 While the Blackshields utterly rejected their previous legions and traditions, including the spoken and written languages they once used, old habits died hard.  Many of the Fangs of the Emperor. Were former World Eaters, and sparring was a good way to  vent anger and grief.  In addition it,  settled conflicts and rivalry and was good for morale.   The mortal crew loved to bet on the fights.  

 The arena was a section of the vehicle storage bay that had been unused for quite sometime.  Empty ammo crates  formed a ring.   Chairs and other empty crates acted as seating for the spectators. . A few jars of olive oil that had been borrowed from the kitchen had been laid out for those who wished to anoint themselves before a match.

 Kal Jakar was refereeing.  Karanthus stood beside him  ready to  intervene if a match became to the death rather than to third blood.

 Vesta  liked watching the matches.  It was interesting seeing an astartes fight. The spectacle, the brotherhood. The jokes and curses, all were entertianing and so interesting. .

 Vesta’s seat, nicknamed the “Kathisma” or royal box, by the Blackshields was two ammo crates stacked atop each other with a blanket laid atop it.  It gave her an excellent view of the matches.

 Right now it was Boian and a Blackshield named Gorrivan, were sparring. Gorrivan held a chainsword in one hand, a chainaxe in the other. Boian held a Power axe.  Both warriors wore loincloths and their.  Gorrivan  had already taken two blows.  Boian was untouched.

 Gorrivan made an overhead swipe with his chainaxe  while simultaneously stabbing  with his chainsword.  Boain sidestepped him and raked his power axe across his back.

 “Third blood.”  Kal Jakar said.

 Gorrivan growled  but the two shook hands.

 “Next time Boian.” He growled.

 “Of course.” Boian said with a smile.

 “Who’s next?” Boian called.

 As Vesta observed the next  match. As she saw these transhumans, these living weapons cheer laugh, and curse.  She wondered, what had made them a family?   These men were all from different legion’s, different cultures.  Was it because they  were outcasts? Was it because they had stayed loyal and true when others went astray? Was it all of it or none of it?  

 Vesta could have asked, but she was content to wait.  Something told her that she would get wildly different answers. It would be better to observe and interact with these men, these pariahs and she’d find the answer herself..  After all, with her world and family dead, she was like them now, an orphan of war and betrayal.

 Terra.

 Humanity’s cradle.  Humanity’s mother.   Without her the human race would not exist. Without her, the Legiones Astartes would not exist.     

 Terra was the most important world in the Imperium of Man.  No other world rivaled it in its splendor or glory.

 Being the impending target of Horus’ invasion Terra was now a fortress world.   The vast fleet of the VII legion, the Imperial Fists, circled it like wolves.  Thousands of vessels  of various classes, from  corvettes and frigates to the Five Gloriana class battleships that surrounded the Phalanx, the massive vessel that the Imperial Fists called home.  A circle of orbital defense stations and star forts ringed the planet.

 A single Storm Eagle gunship descended.  It bore no markings apart from the scars of war and the old bloodstains on its hull.  It was black as night itself.

 “Our clearance code has been accepted.” Fabius said.

 Haar surveyed the people he brought with  him.   

 Blackshields didn't have formal Command Squads and these were a rather rough honor guard. They sure as Hell wouldn't pass a parade ground inspection.

 Harr had has brought Danek, Boian and Kal Jakar.  Vesta had come as well. She looked more like the noble she was rather than the scared waif they had awoken from a stasis coffin.

 Vesta wore a white Stola with Grecian style sandals. In addition, she wore a purple Palla with a freshly polished Aquila clasp. Haar noted it was an older one that clutched  lightning bolts in its talons. Her hair was unbound  and her brown hair fell nearly to her waist. She wore no jewelry  and had no makeup, but she was beautiful. Perhaps more beautiful the so called “nobles” of the Imperial Court.

 “Nervous?” Boian asked.

 If Vesta was nervous she hid it well.  She didn’t fiddle with her clasp or fidget. She looked straight ahead.

 “A little. I mean this is Terra. And we're going to the Imperial Palace ”  Vesta said.

 “Trust me it get’s boring after a few visits.” Boian said.

 Kal Jakar looked like he was going to launch into his  “This is Holy Terra, the birthplace of our species” rant, but he remained silent .

 Haar looked outside the viewport and scowled.

 “Aella is late.” Haar said.

 “She is a little girl.” Kal Jakar said.

 “The ligo aetes are never late.” Haar sat.

 “There’s always a first time for everything Endryd.” Boian said.

 “Little eagles?” Vesta asked.

 “Custodes in training. They’re mostly young children, but there are a few around your age or older.” Haar supplied.

 “I’m surprised you know Grecian.” Danek said with a cough.

 “Byzas Longa, my homeworld spoke a dialect of Grecian before the coming of the Emperor, It was still used in court along with High Gothic.  My father would switch to it in the middle of a conversation to  help me and my brother learn it.”  Vesta said in perfect Grecian.

 “Well i’ll be damned.” Boian said with a smile.  Boian  smiled a lot. It gave him an opportunity to show off his Iron teeth.

 “Your soul already is.” Kal Jakarsaid in a voice as dry as the desert he was born in.

 The two laughed as the ramp opened and they stepped out of the Storm Eagle.  

 They paused when they came face to face with a Legio Custodes.  He stood between them and the entrance to the Inner Palace.  The Custodian’s body language indicated great displeasure, though in Haar’s opinion, most Custodian’s body language indicated great displeasure.

 “Halt.” The Custodian said.

 Haar paused.  He recognized that voice.  

 Prefect Diocletian.

 “We are agents of the Imperium and we come being news for Lady Arlette.” Haar said.

 “Your kind are not welcome here Blackshield. Neither is the girl you bring.” Diocletian said.

 “Why do you deny us passage?  We are both warriors of the God-Emperor and we bear the blessing of your Tribune.” Kal Jakar said.

 “Silence Word Bearer.   The Emperor has forbidden the referral to him as a God.  Speak that word again and I will remove your head from your body.” Diocletian  said.

 In hindsight. Kal Jakar shouldn't have mentioned the God-Emperor, but Diocletian would have stopped them and made the threat. anyway.  The Prefect was quite frankly, a dick. Haar knew he did not trust them, and he had probably delayed Aella with some meaningless task like retrieving headlight fluid for the Grav-Rhinos. Haar honestly no idea why Diocletian  had delayed them or why he disliked them.  You think the Emperor’s own Equerry vouching for them would give them some slack. Haar was pretty sure Malcador’s band of misfits didn't have to deal with this.  

 Haar decided he had enough.  As much as he wanted to rip out the Custodians spine, he’d settle this with words.

 “Praetor.”  Haar said with all the cold rage and authority he could muster.

 “I’m sorry?” Diocletian said.

 “My rank is Praetor, Prefect..  You may also address me as Reaver Lord if you prefer. We report directly to Lady Arlette and the Emperor himself. While you are well within your authority to stops us. I believe your reasons for stopping us are personal and not for security reasons. My brothers and I have stayed loyal while  our legions turned traitor. We are willing to sacrifice  our lives for this Imperium. Not for honor or glory, but for duty and vengeance.  This girl you so casually dismissed,has suffered more than any girl her age should have. She has lost her family and her world. The IIIrd legion plans to do unspeakable thing to her. Our own brothers and our primarch’s betrayed us, soaked their blades in our blood. And you dare question our loyalty! You dare to question our honor and commitment to this Imperium! To our Emperor!”

 Diocletion  was about to reply, but Haar cut him off.

 “Now I want you to stand there Prefect Diocletion, in that golden armor of yours and extend some fracking courtesy to myself, my brothers and this girl.” Haar said.

 Haar had a feeling he wanted to draw his Misericordia and strike him down.  

 Than the sound of scampering feet was heard.

 “I'm so sorry!” an eight year old voice said.

 A blur of red and gold dashed pass Diocletian.  

 “It is alright Lady Aella.” Kal Jakar said. The Chaplain made the sign of the Aquila.

 Aella was a young girl, a few weeks shy of her ninth birthday. She wore the red with gold trim robes of the Legio Custodes  Her hair was a black and silky,and she wore it in a braid with a silver and jade hairpin.

 “Lady Arlette sends her compliments Praetor Haar. I’m here to take you to the Tranquil Courts.” Aella said in an imitation of a rather regal and important sounding tone.

 Aella looked at Vesta.

 “Hi! I’m Aella! What's your name?”  Aella said this with all the enthusiasm  an eight year old girl possessed.

 “Vesta.” Vesta replied.

 “You're very pretty. I like your Palla.” Aella said.

 She turned to lead them to inside.

 “Aella,could you wait a moment.  Prefect  Diocletian needs to tell me something.” Haar said.

 “Sure!” Aella  said cheerfully.

 Haar looked at Diocletian.

 Haar could tell Diocletian was gritting her teeth beneath his helm.

 “I apologize for my rudeness Praetor.”

 “Not  just me.” Haar said. He gestured to Kal Jakar.

 “I apologize for my unkind  words, Chaplain. I hope I have not offended you.”

 “Think nothing of it. The Emperor's blessing be upon you Prefrect.” Kal Jakar said. He made the sign of the Aquila. For politeness sake, Diocletian returned it.

 Diocletian turned to Vesta.

 “You don’t have to apologize to me, My Lord. It's a honor to be here.” Vesta said.

 “You're too kind for your own good, girl.” Danek said with a laugh.

 “We’re ready to proceed Aella.” Haar said.

 Aella smiled, waved goodbye to Diocletian  and led them into the Imperial Palace.

 The Tranquil Courts was perhaps the only part of the Imperial Palace not fortified. An eye of peace and beauty in a storm of iron and stone.

 Tribune Arlette Augusta Amon Rakaposhi Gorro was waiting for them in a spacious patio.

 Arlette was a rather striking woman with  brown skin and black hair that stopped at her shoulders. She wore red robes with fur and gold trim. She held an old graphite pencil in her hand.

 The square table she sat at was carpeted with paperwork.

 The table style was one he did not recognize.  Although, Haar did not an Emperor’s Chilrdren or Thousand Sons, skill in recognizing furniture.   It was strangely low, and her seat was directly on the ground

 She looked up from the parchment she was scribbling on. Writing implements of various types lay in easy reach. Everything from pencils and various types of pens to monoquills.

 Arlette smiled at Aella  as she bowed.

 “Hello Aella, did Diocletian delay you?”

 “Yes my lady, Prefect Diocletian was grumpier  than usual.”  Aella said with a pout that was more adorable than annoyed.

 “It’s probably because we're  here,we’re not exactly good little boys compared to Dorn’s little builders.” Boian said.

 Aella giggled and Arlette smiled.

 Haar gestured to Vesta.

 “Lady Arlette, this is Vesta Augustus, the heir to the Imperial governorship of Byzas Longa.”

 “She’s a friend of ours.” Boian said.

It’s an honor, my lady.” Vesta said with a bow.

 “The honor is mine, the Emperor and I enjoyed our time on Byzas Longa.” Arlette said.

 Haar watched the two women make eye contact.

 This was not merely the meeting of two women, this was the meeting of two queens.

One who was young and recently crowned, ready to take her throne and do her duty.  The other, older and more comfortable in her role. One who had done all her king and subjects asked for and more.    

 “Aella could you bring my guests and I some tea?” Arlette asked.

 “Yes ma'am. What kind of tea do you want?” She asked.

“My usual.” Arlette said.

“Black.” Haar said.

 “Lemon, one cream, milk and two sugars.” Danek said

“Black with three sugars.” Boian said.

“Green tea.”  Kal Jakar  said.

“Black, one sugar.” Vesta said.

Aella scampered off.

 Arlette gestured for them to sit.

Haar sat directly across from Arlette.  Kal Jakar sat to his right, Boian on his left. Vesta sat next to Boian, while Danek sat next to Kal Jakar.

Aella returned with a platter laden with  mugs of tea.

 Haar caught the whiff of cinnamon as Aella distribute the tea.

Haar sipped his tea.  After months of recycled water, the tea was a rare treat. He could tell his brothers and Vesta enjoyed the tea immensely.

The woman who saved his life enjoyed her tea immensely as well.

 Some compared Arlette  to the Roman goddesses Bellona, or the Grecian goddess Pallas Athena, but no such comparison could be made in person.

 She was beautiful in her own unique way.  She radiated an overwhelming power and grace that rivaled, even surpassed, a Primarch.   No one could stand before her without to urge to kneel and prostrate themselves. No one could draw a blade or Bolter to harm her without dying.  Either at her hands, or the Emperor’s himself.

 She was, in many many ways, the ideal woman.

 Haar knew that if it wasn't for Arlette’s backing of the Fangs of the Emperor, they wouldn't have been able  to inflict  so much damage on the traitors. The Tyrannis wouldn't have been able to be refitted and resupplied. The Sigillite would not have shared his Intel. The Fangs now had an opportunity to die a glorious  death that would be remembered by loyal and traitor alike.

 “I trust your mission was successful?”  Arlette said.

 “The Word Eater’s 126th Company has been informally disbanded and a  plot that could tip the balance in the traitor’s favor has been discovered. “

 “And what does this plot entail exactly?” Arlette asked with a sip of her tea.

 “Unsanctioned Legions Astartes implantation and indoctrination methods, tampering  with blessed gene-seed and the utter damnation of the souls.” Kal Jakar  said.

 “What Chaplain Jakar means is that the  Emperor’s Children have created enhanced  hybrid gene-seed designed to maximize the positive traits of both World  Eaters and the Emperor’s Children with a high compatibility rate and a minimum  chance of implant rejection.  They are also enhanced via genetic data and sample recovered from Blackshield Astartes referred to as Chymarie.  Lady Vesta here was to be first test subject.  We recovered one of the apothecaries responsible  and we’d like to transfer him to the Silent Sisterhood. for interrogation.”

 “We’d also like to arrange for protection  and sanctuary for Vesta.  We also need some more supplies and a couple of fresh crewmen. “  Haar said.

 “ The first request I can grant.  The second I must deny. The Ten-Thousand must remain at the palace. Like the Sigillite and the Knights-Errant, we are fighting our own Silent War and the casualties have not been light.  I cannot spare the Custodes. The Emperor's safety cannot be jeopardized   While there are those in the Imperial Court who could provide sanctuary, Alpharius and his sons are here on Terra, until Rogal deals with them, her safety cannot be guaranteed.  A moving target is harder to hit, so Vesta will stay with you.  As for supplies, the Hall of Weapons is open to you.  Perhaps while you restock, you could find some weapons for Vesta here as well.  In addition, if your looking for crewmen, many refugees have gathered in the Petitioner’s City, seeking to join the Imperial Army and Navy. I’m sure you will find willing recruits.” Arlette  said.

“Thank you My Lady,”   Haar said

“You’re welcome Endryd.” she said with a smile.

 Haar rose and brought his fist to his chest in the pre-unity  salute.

 Arlette returned it.

 The Hall of Weapons was like a toy store for an Astartes.  While the Fangs could not access the sections reserved for the Custodes and the Silent Sisterhood, there was still plenty for them  and their young companion.

Weapons were kept on racks or held in shining stasis-fields. Crates of ammunition were stacked under the racks.

“I could spend decades in this place.” Boian said with a childish grin.  He had taken a Phobos-pattern Bolter and about nine clips from one of the racks.

“I don’t doubt that.’ Kal Jahkar said.

Haar hadn’t touched anything, but he had watched Vesta as she browsed the racks.

Vesta had immediately grabbed a Volkite Serpenta, but she had  stopped at a collection of swords.  She hefted a chainsword and placed it back.  She ignored the large two-handed weapons.  She paused at the knives and grabbed a Power Knife sized for a mortal and a Chainknife.   She also grabbed a Digi-melta and slid it on her left ring finger.

She was smiling the whole time she had done this.  

This was the first time any of them had seen  Vesta smile.    

She looked around some more and went to a small collection of blades and pistols in stasis fields.

She paused in front of a gladius in  a stasis field.

 “Blade.. Of the Hearth?” Vesta said reading the High Gothic inscription on  the blade.

“Looks like an Albian Power Gladius,  Shadrak Meduson has one of those. Some officers in the Fourteenth used to carry those.” Boian said.

“A few in the Seventeenth did as well.” Kal Jakar said.

 Vesta  pressed the key to  disengage the stasis field and gently grasped the blade.

It came free from it’s stand with a soft shunk noise.

Vesta gave it a few swings and made a stabbing motion with the blade.  

It was in that moment that Harr saw Vesta in a different light.

He now longer saw her as an amnesiac waif or a young noblewoman.

Now she was a warrior-queen.

Now she was ready to take her vengeance on the traitors who stolen everything from her.

And Haar and his Blackshields would gladly fight by her side.

[agritecture]

Growing vine crops without daylight is possible. Here, there and everywhere...

Via Hortidaily

"In an indoor grow without daylight, you can eliminate all stress factors for a plant. If you know the ideal growth conditions, the production can be optimized and the growth and yield can be predicted beforehand. Then also the growth of fruit vegetables in a controlled environment without daylight, can be made profitable." That's the vision of the team of Here, There & Everywhere. With the technical knowledge of Priva and a lot of botanical knowledge, the Dutch company produces and supplies turnkey indoor cultivation projects anywhere in the world.

Marc Kreuger Profitability

It takes a moment to adjust when you enter the Here, There & Everywhere module. Instead of red, far red, blue or other color LEDs, the tomato plants here grow only under red and blue LEDs. "Far red light results in stretching of the plant," says Dr. Marc Kreuger, Head Innovations, who was previously employed by Syngenta for 26 years. "We just want to keep the internodes short, so no far red light." Last year it resulted in a 4 meter tall tomato crop with stems of 8 meter, well suited in the privately owned module on the Priva site. "To meet the desired production we need to get more stems/m2. We worked with a density up to 9 stems/m2, instead of 3 or 4, as is usual in greenhouse horticulture."

This unusual strategy is characteristic of the vision of cultivation without daylight from Here, There & Everywhere. "Most developers of indoor cultivation relate to the knowledge they have of the greenhouse and try to imitate those conditions. They create day- and night rhythms, and work for example with an evening or morning dip, so this we absolutely don’t do", says Marc. "Plants do not like nature at all. The great benefit of growin a crop without daylight is that you are not influenced by external conditions. This is the emancipation of the plant. You can eliminate all the factors that are stressful for a plant."

In recent years, Here, There & Everywhere has researched what would be the ideal growth conditions and how to realize them for high-wire crops, such as tomatoes. Fifty percent of the company is owned by Priva and the other fifty by Gertjan and Lianne Meeuws, co-founders and former CEO of PlantLab.

"We combine Priva's technical knowledge with the botanical knowledge of Lianne, Gertjan and myself," explains Marc. This knowledge combination resulted in the current system. "The space is optimally designed to have the air moving continuously in a laminar direction. A horizontal airflow is realized, so the air quality and flow rate are the same everywhere: nowhere in our modules is there a temperature difference or a moisture deficiency." With these possibilities, the ideal growth conditions for each crop can be realized. "We optimize the cultivation conditions, we impose the desired evaporation on the crop and provide all the nutrients for the production of fruits. This results in a harvest of 2 to 3 times as much per m2 compared with greenhouse cultivation."

The same goes for tomatoes, as can be seen in the photo, taken end of last year.

Revenue calculation

On this basis, the entire cultivation can be predicted in advance, according to Marc. And not only that: also the yield can be calculated. "The evaporation is known, as well as the production of dry matter and how many fruits can be generated by it, so you know what kind of price per kg you need," Marc explains. According to his calculations, after the well-known cultivation of lettuce and herbs in indoor areas, now also the cultivation of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, is commercially interesting.

It's a second key point in the business practice of Here, There & Everywhere: It's not just about supplying an indoor cultivation project, but it's about supporting the various processes and parties involved. "We are seeing three distinct roles in setting up an indoor cultivation project. There is the owner, an operator and a marketing partner. We can support all three." This also was the case at the first indoor cultivation project of Here, There & Everywhere, which by now has been completed in North America. After that, Africa is on the list, but we are also preparing projects in Europe, in the Middle East and in Asia. "It's a fully modular system of which we build the vital components ourselves in De Lier and then transport them to the project for installation together with a local party. In fact, from now on the complete installation can basically be copied by us. We are on a mission. There is a lot of work to be done!", Marc concludes.

For more information:

Here, There & Everywhere

Zijlweg 3 2678 LC De Lier The Netherlands

www.here-there-and-everywhere.com

Publication date: 4/27/2017 Author: Arlette Sijmonsma Copyright: www.hortidaily.com

SOURCE

[blogparadiseisland]

Nature Another Democratic Ambush? Not in Delaware, as Carper Rebuffs Outsider’s Bid

Nature Another Democratic Ambush? Not in Delaware, as Carper Rebuffs Outsider’s Bid Nature Another Democratic Ambush? Not in Delaware, as Carper Rebuffs Outsider’s Bid http://www.nature-business.com/nature-another-democratic-ambush-not-in-delaware-as-carper-rebuffs-outsiders-bid/

Nature

Image

Senator Tom Carper of Delaware greeted supporters in Wilmington Thursday. He defeated a political newcomer, Kerri Evelyn Harris, in the Democratic Senate primary.CreditCreditSuchat Pederson/The News Journal, via Associated Press

Senator Tom Carper of Delaware fended off a primary challenge from his left on Thursday, easily dispatching a political newcomer, Kerri Evelyn Harris, in the latest test of strength between Democratic insurgents and the party establishment.

The most successful statewide politician in Delaware history, Mr. Carper won renomination for a fourth Senate term and what will likely be his 14th consecutive general election victory. He had about 65 percent of the vote with all of the precincts reporting.

“We need to unite as a party,” Mr. Carper told supporters in Wilmington Thursday night. “We need to keep in mind that we’re not one another’s enemies, we share the same values.”

His deep connections in the state he has served since 1976 — as treasurer, at-large congressman, governor and senator — were enough for victory. But Mr. Carper, 71, had to work hard for the right to seek what he suggested could be his last term.

Declaring that the incumbent’s moderate and consensus-oriented politics were out of step with today’s Democratic Party, and insufficient to meet the challenges of the Trump era, Ms. Harris, 38, pushed Mr. Carper to the left. He expressed regret for voting to confirm Brett M. Kavanaugh to a circuit court judgeship, offered his support for decriminalizing marijuana and amplified his criticism of President Trump.

An Air Force veteran-turned-activist, Ms. Harris, 38, sought to tap into the same anti-establishment energy on the left that propelled successful congressional challengers such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York and Ayanna Pressley in Boston to victory over incumbents. She campaigned on universal health care and raising the minimum wage to $15, and she lashed Mr. Carper for his pro-business posture and willingness to accommodate Delaware’s financial services and pharmaceutical industries.

Image

Kerri Evelyn Harris, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Delaware, at an appearance at the University of Delaware in August.CreditPatrick Semansky/Associated Press

But Ms. Harris did not draw the same amount of attention, locally or nationally, and she raised only about $140,000.

Her loss illustrates the difficulty of scaling up primary challenges in statewide races where there is not the sort of readily available coalition — a mix of people of color and younger white progressives — that has lifted other Democratic insurgents this year. While Delaware has a modest black population, it is not a hub for liberal white millennials.

But the success of candidates like Ms. Pressley and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez was clearly on the mind of Mr. Carper. Since his first race in 1976 he had relied on a mix of affability and political pragmatism to find success — 13 victories in 13 statewide races — in one of the country’s most lightly populated states.

He raised more than $3.5 million, airing commercials trumpeting his achievements for Delaware and boasting of all the miles he put on his Town & Country minivan — but also reminding voters of his opposition to Mr. Trump and polarizing cabinet figures such as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

And Mr. Carper enlisted his friend and former colleague, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., to record a radio ad and automated call on his behalf.

Most of all, he relied on the relationships he has built up in the “state of neighbors,” as Delaware politicians call it, a place small enough — with a population of about 960,000, ranking it 45th among all states — where a veteran figure like Mr. Carper can personally meet a sizable number of voters, and an even larger share of the primary electorate.

Mr. Carper is all but certain to defeat the Republican nominee, Sussex County councilman Rob Arlett, in November.

Even as he won the right to serve a fourth term, though, Mr. Carper suggested he was puzzled by the competing demands he was hearing from Delaware voters.

“I go around the state and I hear two messages: Number one is, why can’t you guys in Washington find a way to work together like we do here in Delaware?” he said after the Labor Day parade in Wilmington Monday. “But the other message is: This guy Trump is no good and you should oppose him with everything you can.”

For a self-declared political centrist, it may have been jarring, and Mr. Carper wondered out loud whether there was “room for us in the middle.”

Ms. Harris argued that the party had passed him by, that his moderate and cautious politics were outdated at a time when the left is ascendant in the national Democratic Party.

Running in a state that has elected a long line of officials who hover between the center-left and center-right, most of them white men, Ms. Harris said Delaware needed a candidate with “a diversity of experience.”

A biracial lesbian who noted she had worked in mostly male-dominated jobs, she called herself “a whole lot of otherness.”

While acknowledging she was facing a steep climb because of Mr. Carper’s financial advantage, Ms. Harris argued she was “changing the definition of what viability means in a campaign” by virtue of the volunteers she had signed up.

“Viability used to mean a whole bunch of money,” she said. “Now, at least here in the state of Delaware, it means a whole bunch of people.”

Her challenge irritated some elements of the state’s Democratic establishment who worried that it presaged an incipient tea party of the left. But other Delaware Democrats said there was an upside to the competition.

“Maybe Carper needed a little bit of a kick in order to say, ‘Hey, I’ve really got to do things and pay attention,’” said Paul Thornburg, the second-ranking official with the state Teamsters.

A version of this article appears in print on

, on Page

A

21

of the New York edition

with the headline:

Carper Stops Democratic Insurgent in Delaware

. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

Read More | https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/06/us/politics/delaware-democratic-primary.html | http://www.nytimes.com/by/jonathan-martin

Nature Another Democratic Ambush? Not in Delaware, as Carper Rebuffs Outsider’s Bid, in 2018-09-07 03:50:09

[internetbasic9]

Nature Another Democratic Ambush? Not in Delaware, as Carper Rebuffs Outsider’s Bid

Nature Another Democratic Ambush? Not in Delaware, as Carper Rebuffs Outsider’s Bid Nature Another Democratic Ambush? Not in Delaware, as Carper Rebuffs Outsider’s Bid https://ift.tt/2NUWJ2L

Nature

Image

Senator Tom Carper of Delaware greeted supporters in Wilmington Thursday. He defeated a political newcomer, Kerri Evelyn Harris, in the Democratic Senate primary.CreditCreditSuchat Pederson/The News Journal, via Associated Press

Senator Tom Carper of Delaware fended off a primary challenge from his left on Thursday, easily dispatching a political newcomer, Kerri Evelyn Harris, in the latest test of strength between Democratic insurgents and the party establishment.

The most successful statewide politician in Delaware history, Mr. Carper won renomination for a fourth Senate term and what will likely be his 14th consecutive general election victory. He had about 65 percent of the vote with all of the precincts reporting.

“We need to unite as a party,” Mr. Carper told supporters in Wilmington Thursday night. “We need to keep in mind that we’re not one another’s enemies, we share the same values.”

His deep connections in the state he has served since 1976 — as treasurer, at-large congressman, governor and senator — were enough for victory. But Mr. Carper, 71, had to work hard for the right to seek what he suggested could be his last term.

Declaring that the incumbent’s moderate and consensus-oriented politics were out of step with today’s Democratic Party, and insufficient to meet the challenges of the Trump era, Ms. Harris, 38, pushed Mr. Carper to the left. He expressed regret for voting to confirm Brett M. Kavanaugh to a circuit court judgeship, offered his support for decriminalizing marijuana and amplified his criticism of President Trump.

An Air Force veteran-turned-activist, Ms. Harris, 38, sought to tap into the same anti-establishment energy on the left that propelled successful congressional challengers such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York and Ayanna Pressley in Boston to victory over incumbents. She campaigned on universal health care and raising the minimum wage to $15, and she lashed Mr. Carper for his pro-business posture and willingness to accommodate Delaware’s financial services and pharmaceutical industries.

Image

Kerri Evelyn Harris, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Delaware, at an appearance at the University of Delaware in August.CreditPatrick Semansky/Associated Press

But Ms. Harris did not draw the same amount of attention, locally or nationally, and she raised only about $140,000.

Her loss illustrates the difficulty of scaling up primary challenges in statewide races where there is not the sort of readily available coalition — a mix of people of color and younger white progressives — that has lifted other Democratic insurgents this year. While Delaware has a modest black population, it is not a hub for liberal white millennials.

But the success of candidates like Ms. Pressley and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez was clearly on the mind of Mr. Carper. Since his first race in 1976 he had relied on a mix of affability and political pragmatism to find success — 13 victories in 13 statewide races — in one of the country’s most lightly populated states.

He raised more than $3.5 million, airing commercials trumpeting his achievements for Delaware and boasting of all the miles he put on his Town & Country minivan — but also reminding voters of his opposition to Mr. Trump and polarizing cabinet figures such as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

And Mr. Carper enlisted his friend and former colleague, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., to record a radio ad and automated call on his behalf.

Most of all, he relied on the relationships he has built up in the “state of neighbors,” as Delaware politicians call it, a place small enough — with a population of about 960,000, ranking it 45th among all states — where a veteran figure like Mr. Carper can personally meet a sizable number of voters, and an even larger share of the primary electorate.

Mr. Carper is all but certain to defeat the Republican nominee, Sussex County councilman Rob Arlett, in November.

Even as he won the right to serve a fourth term, though, Mr. Carper suggested he was puzzled by the competing demands he was hearing from Delaware voters.

“I go around the state and I hear two messages: Number one is, why can’t you guys in Washington find a way to work together like we do here in Delaware?” he said after the Labor Day parade in Wilmington Monday. “But the other message is: This guy Trump is no good and you should oppose him with everything you can.”

For a self-declared political centrist, it may have been jarring, and Mr. Carper wondered out loud whether there was “room for us in the middle.”

Ms. Harris argued that the party had passed him by, that his moderate and cautious politics were outdated at a time when the left is ascendant in the national Democratic Party.

Running in a state that has elected a long line of officials who hover between the center-left and center-right, most of them white men, Ms. Harris said Delaware needed a candidate with “a diversity of experience.”

A biracial lesbian who noted she had worked in mostly male-dominated jobs, she called herself “a whole lot of otherness.”

While acknowledging she was facing a steep climb because of Mr. Carper’s financial advantage, Ms. Harris argued she was “changing the definition of what viability means in a campaign” by virtue of the volunteers she had signed up.

“Viability used to mean a whole bunch of money,” she said. “Now, at least here in the state of Delaware, it means a whole bunch of people.”

Her challenge irritated some elements of the state’s Democratic establishment who worried that it presaged an incipient tea party of the left. But other Delaware Democrats said there was an upside to the competition.

“Maybe Carper needed a little bit of a kick in order to say, ‘Hey, I’ve really got to do things and pay attention,’” said Paul Thornburg, the second-ranking official with the state Teamsters.

A version of this article appears in print on

, on Page

A

21

of the New York edition

with the headline:

Carper Stops Democratic Insurgent in Delaware

. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

Read More | https://ift.tt/2CDXEUj | https://ift.tt/2fjtBV6

Nature Another Democratic Ambush? Not in Delaware, as Carper Rebuffs Outsider’s Bid, in 2018-09-07 03:50:09

[democratsunited-blog]

Another Democratic Ambush? Not in Delaware, as Carper Rebuffs Outsider’s Bid

https://uniteddemocrats.net/?p=9357

Another Democratic Ambush? Not in Delaware, as Carper Rebuffs Outsider’s Bid

Senator Tom Carper of Delaware fended off a primary challenge from his left on Thursday, easily dispatching a political newcomer, Kerri Evelyn Harris, in the latest test of strength between Democratic insurgents and the party establishment.

The most successful statewide politician in Delaware history, Mr. Carper won renomination for a fourth Senate term and what will likely be his 14th consecutive general election victory. He had about 65 percent of the vote with all of the precincts reporting.

“We need to unite as a party,” Mr. Carper told supporters in Wilmington Thursday night. “We need to keep in mind that we’re not one another’s enemies, we share the same values.”

His deep connections in the state he has served since 1976 — as treasurer, at-large congressman, governor and senator — were enough for victory. But Mr. Carper, 71, had to work hard for the right to seek what he suggested could be his last term.

Declaring that the incumbent’s moderate and consensus-oriented politics were out of step with today’s Democratic Party, and insufficient to meet the challenges of the Trump era, Ms. Harris, 38, pushed Mr. Carper to the left. He expressed regret for voting to confirm Brett M. Kavanaugh to a circuit court judgeship, offered his support for decriminalizing marijuana and amplified his criticism of President Trump.

An Air Force veteran-turned-activist, Ms. Harris, 38, sought to tap into the same anti-establishment energy on the left that propelled successful congressional challengers such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York and Ayanna Pressley in Boston to victory over incumbents. She campaigned on universal health care and raising the minimum wage to $15, and she lashed Mr. Carper for his pro-business posture and willingness to accommodate Delaware’s financial services and pharmaceutical industries.

But Ms. Harris did not draw the same amount of attention, locally or nationally, and she raised only about $140,000.

Her loss illustrates the difficulty of scaling up primary challenges in statewide races where there is not the sort of readily available coalition — a mix of people of color and younger white progressives — that has lifted other Democratic insurgents this year. While Delaware has a modest black population, it is not a hub for liberal white millennials.

But the success of candidates like Ms. Pressley and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez was clearly on the mind of Mr. Carper. Since his first race in 1976 he had relied on a mix of affability and political pragmatism to find success — 13 victories in 13 statewide races — in one of the country’s most lightly populated states.

He raised more than $3.5 million, airing commercials trumpeting his achievements for Delaware and boasting of all the miles he put on his Town & Country minivan — but also reminding voters of his opposition to Mr. Trump and polarizing cabinet figures such as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

And Mr. Carper enlisted his friend and former colleague, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., to record a radio ad and automated call on his behalf.

Most of all, he relied on the relationships he has built up in the “state of neighbors,” as Delaware politicians call it, a place small enough — with a population of about 960,000, ranking it 45th among all states — where a veteran figure like Mr. Carper can personally meet a sizable number of voters, and an even larger share of the primary electorate.

Mr. Carper is all but certain to defeat the Republican nominee, Sussex County councilman Rob Arlett, in November.

Even as he won the right to serve a fourth term, though, Mr. Carper suggested he was puzzled by the competing demands he was hearing from Delaware voters.

“I go around the state and I hear two messages: Number one is, why can’t you guys in Washington find a way to work together like we do here in Delaware?” he said after the Labor Day parade in Wilmington Monday. “But the other message is: This guy Trump is no good and you should oppose him with everything you can.”

For a self-declared political centrist, it may have been jarring, and Mr. Carper wondered out loud whether there was “room for us in the middle.”

Ms. Harris argued that the party had passed him by, that his moderate and cautious politics were outdated at a time when the left is ascendant in the national Democratic Party.

Running in a state that has elected a long line of officials who hover between the center-left and center-right, most of them white men, Ms. Harris said Delaware needed a candidate with “a diversity of experience.”

A biracial lesbian who noted she had worked in mostly male-dominated jobs, she called herself “a whole lot of otherness.”

While acknowledging she was facing a steep climb because of Mr. Carper’s financial advantage, Ms. Harris argued she was “changing the definition of what viability means in a campaign” by virtue of the volunteers she had signed up.

“Viability used to mean a whole bunch of money,” she said. “Now, at least here in the state of Delaware, it means a whole bunch of people.”

Her challenge irritated some elements of the state’s Democratic establishment who worried that it presaged an incipient tea party of the left. But other Delaware Democrats said there was an upside to the competition.

“Maybe Carper needed a little bit of a kick in order to say, ‘Hey, I’ve really got to do things and pay attention,’” said Paul Thornburg, the second-ranking official with the state Teamsters.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A21 of the New York edition with the headline: Carper Stops Democratic Insurgent in Delaware . Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

Read full story here

[theconservativebrief]

Delaware’s US Senate primary usually has a predictable outcome, with a longtime Democratic incumbent usually coasting to a win. This year could be different.

Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), a moderate Democrat, is up for reelection. Carper is a former governor and has been in the Senate since 2001. He rarely faces a serious primary challenger. In 2012, he beat businessman Keith Spanarelli with 88 percent of the vote and went on to easily defeat his Republican opponent in the general election.

Like a number of other centrist Democratic lawmakers around the nation, Carper is facing a challenge from the left in 2018. His primary opponent is Kerri Evelyn Harris, an Air Force veteran, community activist, and LGBT woman of color. She has far less money than Carper, but her entrance into the primary has already shaken up what is normally considered a sleepy race.

While they acknowledge defeating Carper will be difficult, national progressive groups are excited at the prospect of winning such a high-profile seat — Delaware is a blue enough state that the winner of the primary will likely win in November.

Carper, a 71-year-old senator who told the Washington Post’s Dave Weigel that his next term may be his last, is known for being a moderate.

“The thing I’ve heard the most from people in Delaware over the last several years is, ‘Why can’t you guys in Congress work together?’” Carper said during his debate with Harris. “Ted Kennedy once said he is willing to compromise on policy but not principle. I think that’s good advice.”

The three-term senator opposes Medicare-for-all and was one of the Democrats that voted to roll back key parts of the landmark 2008 Dodd-Frank Act, easing up federal regulations on small and mid-size banks.

“Among the people that have pushed hardest for me to support the legislation are, believe it or not, credit unions and community banks,” Carper told the Intercept in March. Carper’s reasoning echoed that of a number of red-state Democrats, including Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), and Joe Donnelly (D-IN). Fellow Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat, also voted for the bill.

Given the nature of the state Coons and Carper are representing, the vote may not come as a surprise. The financial industry is a huge employer in Delaware, employing over 47,000 Delawareans as of 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Pharmaceutical companies are also big players in the state, something that Harris and progressive groups have tried to tie to Carper’s vote against a bill introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) that would have allowed cheaper pharmaceutical drugs to be imported from Canada. Carper and Coons were both among a group of 13 Democratic senators who opposed the measure.

Carper’s campaign has pointed out his support for a $15 minimum wage, and going into Thursday’s primary, the senator has the support of environmental groups like the League of Conservation Voters and gun safety group Giffords. He has the support of the state’s two largest labor unions — the Delaware AFL-CIO and the Delaware State Education Association — and has raised about $3 million in campaign cash as opposed to Harris’s approximately $114,000 (she has also gotten a $100,000 cash infusion from an independent expenditure from the Working Families Party).

So far, the left’s biggest 2018 primary win was the victory of Andrew Gillum in Florida — a progressive mayor who is now fighting a tough race against Trump-like Republican Ron DeSantis. The rest of the left’s victories have come with House races — most notably Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s victory against House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley in the Bronx.

Simply put, Harris beating a sitting US senator in a blue state would be a huge deal.

Harris is embraced by progressive stars like Ocasio-Cortez, whom she campaigned with this past weekend, as well as groups like the Working Families Party and Justice Democrats. But Harris is hesitant to describe herself using the word “progressive.”

“I avoid that term because it’s shut some people off to it,” she said in a recent interview with Vox. “I’m not pushing left, I’m not pushing right. I’m pushing toward the people.”

In tiny Delaware, which usually doesn’t have a lot of political drama, Harris’s challenge to Carper seems to be stirring some excitement. The two recently squared off at a sold-out debate — the first and only one of the primary season.

At the very least, progressive ideas are getting a high-profile platform in Delaware, but Harris is hoping she can carry momentum all the way to the Senate. With three Republicans also running in the GOP primary — Sussex County councilman Rob Arlett, finance attorney Gene Truono, and perennial candidate Rocky De La Fuente — there are some concerns that a primary win by a leftist candidate could pave the way for Delaware’s Senate seat flipping red.

“In the state of Delaware, it tends to be the same people getting elected over and over again, from the same families and the same network,” Harris told Vox. “We talk about entrenchment nationally, but there’s entrenchment in our state.”

Harris’s challenge to Carper is part of a larger pattern of the Democratic party’s leftist flank attempting to primary centrist incumbents. A Senate seat in Delaware could be the left’s biggest prize yet.

Original Source -> The left’s best hope to pick up a Senate seat is in Delaware

via The Conservative Brief

[bardic-tales]

🕊 and 🏹 for whoever you want

Hello, Jessica. I hope you are having a wonderful day or evening. Thanks for the questions.

As I am actively working on the characters of Pale Fire, I'm going to answer this for Anabelle Laure Marguerite Vasser de Spacci and Seamus Gilleán Muirin Darby Jorinuson.

🕊 how did they meet?

Anabelle and Seamus met in Lokus, a village in the Eastern kingdom. They were both Shadow Blades of the Shadow Council, my universe's assassins. The Shadow Council has sects set up in all parts of the world, but the downfall is that they tend not to communicate with each other.

Due to this, Anabelle and Shae both accepted the same contract. Seamus was new to the council, and Anabelle was still deeply affected by her part in the destruction of twin coastal cities. Annie was accompanied by Jackson, her foster father. Sean, Shae's best friend, went with him to make sure everything went smoothly as it was Seamus' first contract.

cw: assassination. abuse.

I wanted their first meeting to resemble a romantic comedy. To assassinate her target, Anabelle would serve as a priestess. She was walking down from the temple. He was walking up the path. They collided with each other. The force threw her to the ground, and he tried to catch her. He would grab the sacred sash around her waist to prevent her from falling. It would tear. She received a nasty cut on her hand from the rock she landed on. He would insist she go back to him in the room Sean and he were renting from the inn. He would ask her her name and she would say it was Ana Maria, keeping with the new identity she gave herself.

Sean forbade the union between Anabelle and Seamus as he thought something wasn't quite right about her. She didn't act like a priestess. Annie would notice combat technique from Shae that resembled the training she received in the Shadow Council and tell Jackson. Jackson denied that Shae could ever be a shadow blade and was probably a pirate. He ordered her to stay away from the Glorendine, as he is quite prejudice. After Shae asks her to marry her, this will come back later to haunt her.

This does not sway the two, as they spent more time together. They both put off the assassination. Something that should have been finished quickly was stretching out. Two weeks into their whirlwind relationship, Shae would declare he has never felt this way about someone and ask her to be his wife. She would initially refuse but would agree. Annie agreed to meet him at noon on the bridge leading into Tokus.

Meanwhile, Annie would go to her room in a different inn and collect her things. She couldn't help but tell Jackson that she was right about Shae, that he was a shadow blade. Then, she would tell him that she was going to marry Seamus.

Jackson responded by slapping her across the face. For the first time in her life, she stood up to him, kneed him in the groin, and sprinted for the door. Jackson threw a sleeping dart that struck her in the buttocks. The last thing he said to her before she fell unconscious was he would decide who she married.

Shae would go to their agreed meeting place with flowers. Every time someone approached the bridge, he would get his hopes up until he realized that Anabelle wasn't coming. He would crush the flowers in his hand and toss them over the railing before heading back to the inn for whiskey. Seamus would never know her real name.

As a note, Anabelle is very self-destructive as a result of her PTSD and often puts herself at risk. She fell hard for Seamus in those two weeks. His memory would fuel a search that would span continents and come to an end six years later when he initiates combat with the Arlette, her ship. Imagine to her surprise, Seamus was flying the colors of the Glorendt Empire, the natural enemy of the Olessans.

🏹 at what age did they meet?

Annie was 21; Seamus, 19. Seamus was young and brash. He would later tell Anabelle that he was full of "piss and vinegar" then, thinking that he could take on the world and rushing into making her his wife.

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