#ship: maximum radar

[seerstella]

hope you don't mind me contributing with basically Trapper and everybody because he goes with everybody 💙

1. Trapper/Henry (look at these himbos you just love them)

2. Trapper/Hawkeye/Henry (i mean you cannot tell me nothing's happening on that oak desk after all those parrot movies teeeheee)

3. Trapper/Klinger (you only show your lingeries to someone special aye? I like to think Trap helps Klinger make dresses and listen to his rants about getting a Section Eight)

4. Trapper/Frank (I'm into some soft h/c on this one but that's just me i guess)

5. Idk if this counts but Trapper/Margaret

6. The Deserve So Much Better™ Ships imho: Trapper/Ginger, Trapper/Oliver, and Trapper/Margie

And some non-Trap ships

1. Henry/Hawkeye (they definitely did it you cannot convince me otherwise 😂)

2. Charles/Hawkeye (please push me towards this direction with material please and thank you, I really see potential with these two 😍)

3. Klinger/Radar (more like wingman/platonically but it's also so fun too)

4. I'm kinda curious over Charles/Klinger and Charles/Margaret tho

5. Hawkeye/Dish and Henry/Leslie because I miss the ladies

6. Henry/Klinger because why not *wink wink*

7. Oliver/Ginger because !!!!!strip domino!!!!!

I think that's all that I can think of. For now 😂 Thanks for the post!

hit me with your rarepairs MASHblr!!! i wanna know!

rb and yell in the tags! rb and yell in the body of the post! send asks on or off anon! DM me! link your fave rarepair fics! bonus points if you wrote the thing!!

tell me all about them!!

[planesawesome]

The F-2 fighter is a multirole fighter that entered service with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force in 2000. It is derived from the F-16, which is a lightweight, single-engine, all-weather fighter that entered service with the U.S. Air Force in 1978. The F-2 and the F-16 share many similarities, but also have some notable differences that affect their performance.

Some of the similarities between the F-2 and the F-16 are that they both have a top speed of Mach 2 (about 1,500 mph or 2,400 kph) and a service ceiling of 50,000 feet (about 15,000 meters). They both have a single General Electric F110 afterburning turbofan engine that produces about 29,000 pounds of thrust. They both have a head-up display, a pulse-Doppler radar, an inertial navigation system, a tactical navigation system, an electronic warfare system, and a central digital computer. They both can carry air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons, such as missiles, bombs, and rockets.

Some of the differences between the F-2 and the F-16 are that the F-2 has a larger wing area (608 square feet vs 300 square feet) and a larger tailplane area (116 square feet vs 72 square feet) than the F-16. This gives the F-2 better payload and maneuverability in proportion to its thrust, but also adds weight to the airframe.

The F-2 is heavier (21,000 lb vs 19,000 lb empty weight; 48,000 lb vs 42,000 lb maximum takeoff weight) than the F-16. This reduces the F-2’s acceleration, climbing, payload, and range compared to the F-16. Also the F-2 has a radar-absorbent composite skin that reduces its radar cross-section and makes it less detectable by enemy radars than the F-16.

The F-2 has an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar that has better performance and reliability than the mechanically scanned radar of the F-16. The AESA radar can track multiple targets simultaneously and switch modes quickly. The F-2 has a redesigned cockpit canopy that provides better visibility for the pilot than the F-16. The F-2 can carry some weapons that the F-16 cannot fire, such as the ASM-1 and ASM-2 anti-ship missiles.

Both aircraft have their specific strengths and weaknesses, and their effectiveness may vary depending on the mission and the scenario

[usafphantom2]

VX-9 F/A-18F Spotted With Heavy Air-to-Air Load of AIM-174s and AIM-120s

The U.S. Navy is continuing to test the new AIM-174B missile, derived from the SM-6, aboard the Super Hornet, with a VX-9 jet carrying four AIM-174s, three AIM-120s and two AIM-9Xs.

Stefano D'Urso

Super Hornet four AIM-174s

The F/A-18F "Vandy 1" of VX-9 loaded with four CATM-174B, three CATM-120 and two CATM-9X. (Image credit: @point_mugu_skies)

A U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet of VX-9 “Vampires” was spotted with a heavy air-to-air loadout, which includes four AIM-174Bs, three AIM-120s and two AIM-9Xs, in addition to a targeting pod and an InfraRed Search and Track installed on the external fuel tank. Aviation photographer @point_mugu_skies was one of the few to capture the aircraft in this previously unseen configuration and kindly provided us the images you can see in this article.

The aircraft is the Vampires’ flagship, “Vandy 1”, which sports the black livery applied for the unit’s 30th anniversary to pay tribute to the original one which was used on VX-4 commander’s F-4s and F-14s, also known as “Vandy 1”. The callsign originated from the abbreviation of the unit’s official callsign “Vanderbilt” used at the time.

As The Aviationist has reported in detail in the last few months, the AIM-174B is a Standard Missile (SM) 6 variant developed for the air-to-air role. The SM-6 is the surface-to-air missile designed to be used on Navy ships in conjunction with the Aegis Combat System and also known as the RIM-174 Standard Extended Range Active Missile (ERAM).

The idea of adapting the SM-6 to be air-launched is not new, as the weapon was already seen on a Super Hornet of VX-31 in 2018 and 2021. However, it wasn’t until earlier this year that the testing got a new impulse and operational units were involved.

In fact, after another F/A-18 was spotted in April with an SM-6 under the wing, the weapon then appeared on operational jets assigned to the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier during the Rim of The Pacific 2024 (RIMPAC 2024) exercise in July. The heaviest load seen so far included two AIM-174s and two AIM-120s.

The one seen in the latest photo is reportedly the heaviest air-to-air load to date with the new weapon, with the AIM-174 both on the inner and middle wing hardpoints. It’s interesting to note also the presence on the external fuel tank of the ASG-34A IRST, which acts as a complementary sensor to the AN/APG-79 fire control radar in a heavy electronic attack or radar-denied environment.

Another shot of the F/A-18F “Vandy 1” with the heavy air-to-air loadout. (Image credit: @point_mugu_skies)

AIM-174B

As previously explained, the AIM-174 is an air-launched version of the RIM-174 Standard Extended Range Active Missile (ERAM), a crucial element of the US Navy’s air defense strategy. Integrated into the Aegis Combat System, the RIM-174 is primarily designed for long-range anti-air warfare but can also be employed for terminal phase ballistic missile defense and as an anti-ship missile. This year marked the first official combat use of the SM-6, with the Department of Defense confirming that the USS Carney intercepted and destroyed an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by Houthi rebels in the Gulf of Aden on January 30, 2024.

The SM-6 uses the airframe of the SM-2ER Block IV (RIM-156A) missile, upgraded with an active radar homing seeker derived from the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile. This missile can reach speeds of up to Mach 3.5 and has a maximum range of 200 nautical miles. To that respect, it’s not clear what the maximum range of the air-launched version could be: despite the lack of a booster, launching it at high speed and altitude would result in significantly greater range compared to the surface-launched variant.

With the induction of the AIM-174B into service, the U.S. Navy joins a number of air arms capable of deploying an extra-long-range beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM), like the MBDA Meteor, the Russian R-37M and Chinese PL-15 and PL-21. In fact, the AIM-174B enables the U.S. Navy Super Hornets to engage targets at much greater distances than is currently possible with the AIM-120 AMRAAM. Integrated with the E-2D, F-35, and AEGIS within the Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air (NIFC-CA) system, the AIM-174B would extend the Navy’s capability to intercept aerial targets at ranges comparable to (if not greater than) those achieved against naval targets using the baseline SM-6.

In essence, this new missile fills the gap left by the retirement of the AIM-54 Phoenix. The AIM-54 was a long-range air-to-air missile used by the U.S. Navy’s F-14 Tomcat and retired in 2004 alongside the F-14. Known for its impressive range of over 100 nautical miles and multiple-target engagement capability, the AIM-54 left a significant void in long-range engagement capabilities.

While there wasn’t a direct replacement for the AIM-54 Phoenix in terms of range, the U.S. military has been developing advanced air-to-air missiles to enhance its fighter aircraft capabilities. The AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM) is one such development intended to replace the AIM-120 AMRAAM. Although not a direct replacement for the AIM-54 Phoenix, the AIM-260 aims to offer improved range and performance compared to the AIM-120.

SM-6

I

F/A-18E of VFA-192 carrying two air-launched SM-6 missiles (Image credit: @aeros808)

Operationally deployed

The photo of the new weapon during a test flight in April 2024 was reportedly part of the testing that preceded the delivery of the AIM-174B to the squadron likely to carry out Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E), a testing phase conducted on production, or production representative weapons, to determine whether systems are operationally effective and suitable to support a Full-Rate Production (FRP) decision.

In July, the U.S. Navy acknowledged that the AIM-174 is operationally deployed, likely in Initial Operating Capability (IOC) with the CVW-2 Air Wing’s Super Hornet squadrons aboard the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), as reported by Naval News. “The SM-6 Air Launched Configuration (ALC) was developed as part of the SM-6 family of missiles and is operationally deployed in the Navy today,” said a U.S. Navy spokesperson.

While the service acknowledged the existence and the deployment of the weapon, so far only the NAIM-174B inert, CATM-174B captive carry, and DATM-174B ground training variants were seen installed on aircraft. However, the fact that the Navy mentioned the weapon being operationally deployed implies that live variants might also been delivered.

The Navy did not disclose other details about the AIM-174. So far, we know the standard SM-6 missile is about 21 feet (6.4 meters) long and, using persons for scale in some of the few photos available, the AIM-174B seems to be of similar length. According to the stencils visible on the photos of the missile carried by the CVW-2 Super Hornets taking part in RIMPAC, the weapon weighs 1,890 lb ± 14 lb (857 kg ± 6 kg).

Thanks again to @point_mugu_skies for the photos he sent us and make sure to follow him on Instagram for more!

About Stefano D'Urso

Stefano D'Urso is a freelance journalist and contributor to TheAviationist based in Lecce, Italy. A graduate in Industral Engineering he's also studying to achieve a Master Degree in Aerospace Engineering. Electronic Warfare, Loitering Munitions and OSINT techniques applied to the world of military operations and current conflicts are among his areas of expertise.

@TheAviationist .com

[is-the-battlemech-cool-or-not]

Argo (3153)

The Argo was sent on its maiden voyage to the rimward periphery in 2762. Contact was lost, and the Argo was presumed to have been destroyed as part of the New Vandenberg Uprising.

The ship would be rediscovered in a partially canibalized condition on the moon Axylus, where the self-appointed pirate queen Grim Sybil was using it as her base of operations. The Fursona's Fusiliers mercenary unit were hired by Kamea Arano to successfully recover the vessel for Kamea's Arano Restoration, with the mercenaries calling the vessel home for the duration of that campaign. At the conclusion of the conflict, full ownership of the Argo was transferred to Savannah Cameron-Arano (then known by the alias Savannah Caruso). Refitted and maintained over the years by three generations of the Virtanen-Murad family, the fully-militarized Argo of 3153 is a vastly different vessel than her original form - fully armed (including sub-capital weapons and capital missile launcher, turning her into a Pocket WarShip) and armored, and refitted to make full use of the Multiple Docking Collar System. The Argo has been tapped as the prototype for the new SLDF's Argo II class of "expeditionary mobile base" DropShips, intended to outfit the revived Star League Expeditionary Brigade.

(TRO below the cut)

3153 IS Spheroid DropShip

Type/Model: Argo (3153)

Tech: Mixed Tech / 3153

Vessel type: Spheroid DropShip

Rules: Level 4, Experimental design

Mass: 97000 tons

Power Plant: Fusion (C)

Safe Thrust: 3

Maximum Thrust: 5

Armor Type: 162.0t Ferro-Aluminum (Standard (C))

Armament:

5 ER PPC Capacitor

1 Comm.Equipment

2 SCL/3

1 Mobile HPG

1 AR-10 Launcher

12 Laser AMS

10 LRM 20 w/ Artemis V

13 ER Large Pulse Laser

Manufacturer: Boeing Interstellar

Location: Boeing Interstellar

Communications System: Unknown

Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown

----------------------------------------------------------------

Type/Model: Argo (3153)

Mass: 97000 tons

Equipment: Mass

Engine: 0 Fusion Engine 17751.00

Power Plant, Drive & Control: 17751.00

Structural Integrity:45 8730.00

Safe Thrust: 3

Maximum Thrust: 5

Heat Sinks: 347 Double (C) [694] 0.00

Life Boats:42 294.00

Armor (Standard): 1540 pts Ferro-Aluminum 162.00

Standard Armor

Front: 494

Left/Right Side: 385/385

Rear: 276

Bridge, Controls, Radar, Computer & Attitude Thrusters 728.00

Fuel & Fuel Pumps(48500.0 Points) 4947.00

Large Naval Comm-Scanner Suite 500.00

Cargo Bays:

Bay 1:BattleMech Bay with 1 doors 2250.00

Bay 2:Small Craft Bay with 3 doors 2000.00

Bay 3:Cargo Bay (Standard) with 1 doors 54674.50

Bay 4:MASH Equipment with 0 doors 13.50

Bay 5:Field Kitchen with 0 doors 1.00

Bay 6:Battle Armor Bay (75 troopers) with 0 doors 750.00

Gravdecks:

#1:250-meter diameter (3) 300.00

Crew:

100 1st Class Passengers 1000.00

12 Crew (16 minimum) 84.00

12 Officers (15 minimum) 120.00

110 Bay Personnel 0.00

38 Specialists (16 minimum) 266.00

8 Gunners (1 minimum) 56.00

Weapons and Equipment Loc SRV MRV LRV ERV Heat Ammo Mass

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

2 SCL/3 (IS) Nose 6(60) 6(60) 0(0) 0(0) 64 500.00

2 ER Large Pulse Laser (C)Nose 2(20) 2(20) 2(20) 0(0) 26 12.00

5 ER PPC Capacitor (C) Nose 10(100)10(100)10(100)0(0) 100 35.00

1 AR-10 Launcher (C) Nose 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 20 750.00 (Ammo: 13 - x10 Killer Whale [500 tons], x3 [CLASSIFIED] (150 tons])

2 Laser AMS (C) Nose 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 10 2.00

4 LRM 20 w/ Artemis V (C)FL/R 6(64) 6(64) 6(64) 0(0) 48 36 64.00 (Ammo: 36 per launcher)

2 ER Large Pulse Laser (C)FL/R 2(20) 2(20) 2(20) 0(0) 52 24.00

2 Laser AMS (C) FL/R 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 20 4.00

1 LRM 20 w/ Artemis V (C)AL/R 2(16) 2(16) 2(16) 0(0) 12 36 25.00 (Ammo: 36)

2 ER Large Pulse Laser (C)AL/R 2(20) 2(20) 2(20) 0(0) 52 24.00

2 Laser AMS (C) AL/R 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 20 4.00

3 ER Large Pulse Laser (C)Aft 3(30) 3(30) 3(30) 0(0) 39 18.00

2 Laser AMS (C) Aft 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 10 2.00

1 Mobile HPG Body 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 40 50.00

1 Comm.Equipment Body 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0 10.00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Totals 513 1524.00

Calculated Factors

Total Cost: 36,371,871,200 C-Bill

Battle Value (BV1):18027

Battle Value (BV2):14222

Design Quirks:

Docking Arms

Easy to Pilot

Improved Communications

Improved Targeting (Long)

Improved Targeting (Medium)

Improved Targeting (Short)

Illegal Design

Non-Standard Parts

Un-streamlined

Note: due to a 3031 refit moving the Argo's third docking collar to the nose, the Large DropShip Quirk no longer applies, allowing full use of the MDCS system.

[insomniamamma]

Ribbons & Wings: Ezra x f!reader w/Cee

A/n: I started this on a night of heavy snow followed by blistering cold. I have seen the northern lights, once in Alaska and once in in western New York state. Set between after "Rain" around the same time as "Clean Dirt." I may revise the timeline as I see fit. As with everything else in this AU, this can stand alone. Reader is nicknamed "Artichoke" and "Prickle." Ships and Kings is a game that persists through my Prospect fics,. Cross DND with chess played on a hexagonal board.  As with any game there are house rules that vary. Kevva’s Flick is a highly contested (and some claim illegal) move in Ships and Kings.

Warnings: Language. Anxiety. Food mentions. Mentions of old injuries. Snowball fights?

          "--all ships in northern quadrant be advised boost is not recommended at this time. Hold tight if you are able--next pickup is in 10.25 cycles--"

         "What does that mean?" asks Cee,          "Understood, drop-com, we'll see you on the other side--"          "Ezra, what does that mean?" You hear the rising panic in Cee's voice and reach for the thrower you keep stashed under your bunk.          "There's a storm coming," says Ezra, "Might close our take-off window."          "So we're stranded." Says Cee. She stands and gets in Ezra's face, "You told me this wouldn't happen."          "I can't control the weather, Birdie," says Ezra, "We launch into a blizzard and there's a chance we break up."          "Fuck--"          "How long?" You ask and they both snap their heads around as if they've forgotten you're there, "If we get grounded how long are we here?"          "You heard the man," says Ezra, "10.25 cycles."          "That's two hands," you say, "We can make that. We'll be fucking sick of Bitz-bars  but we've got enough margin."          "What if we boost now? Minimum checks--"          "C'mere," says Ezra, he sits on the edge of his crash couch and Cee takes her place beside him, "You too. Let me show you something." Ezra plops his battered data pad into Cee's waiting hands, she holds it so he can manipulate the touch screen. You hunker behind Cee, peering over her shoulder, hunched in the confines of the pod.          "I'm getting the same info yon freighter's getting from the weather sat, about a sixteenth delayed," says Ezra. He zooms into the northern quadrant where the pod rests near a large, frozen over lake.          "Ooo-oooh," says Cee, face pinched with worry, "That's bad. If that's from a sixteenth ago--"          "Conditions are likely worse by now."          "What are we looking at, Ez?" You ask.          "The lines are wind direction, the color scale is speed. We take off now, our boost curve takes us through the worst of it, right at the point of maximum dynamic pressure."          "That could tumble us."          "Could do worse than that," says Ezra, "Big gust could crumple us like a beer can."          "But if we miss the sling--"          "Artichoke's right," says Ezra, "We've got rations for at least 15. More if we stretch it."          "If worse comes to worse we can do some ice fishing," you say.          "Bleee-arrgh," Cee makes a wretching sound. You were harvesting the spiker fish for their odd, metal-rich navigation organs and you'd cooked one over the camp fire just to see what the meat tasted like. "That was like licking a battery terminal."          "Lick many battery terminals, Little Bird?" Cee laughs.          "Spend enough time in a pod and you'll do just about anything for fun."          "The spiker wasn't that bad," you say. Ezra and Cee look at you with mixed horror and fascination, "I've had worse things in my mouth."          "Didn't need to know that," says Cee.

         We best power down what we don't need, said Ezra, and the three of you began a systems check. Reading off the things you were each responsible for when getting ready to drop or boost. Proximity radar and chute pyro-batts were obvious. Local comms. External lighting. Scrubbers. You sure about the scrubbers? Air's fine, it's just cold, we can reverse the aft vents and draw heat off the RTG baffles.          "We're only talking two hands," you say, "Between the reserve tanks and the scrubbers we should be fine," and Ezra gives you a flat-eyed look that means you've strayed somewhere you're not supposed to be just yet.          "Two hands have a way of becoming more,"says Ezra, "We take what care we can. Clear?"          "Sure. Clear."

         The pod sounds strange half powered down. You don't notice the faint clicks and chirps of the guidance computer until it's offline. In your head you know it'll boot back up just fine, but it still feels deeply wrong having it off. Same with the Baas converter, all the hardware that does the thinking for you. The wind moans through the trees outside, a low warbling wail that resonates through the pod. You and Cee exchange glances. She's got her music player on, but her eyes are big and dark and scared, and you don't like this any more than she does. There's no snow on Falnost but wind is something you understand, driving sand before it that can etch windows, it never happened to any of your livestock, you and your father and brothers were too careful for that, but you'd hear stories about pink skeletons, stripped of flesh but still fresh enough to ooze from their marrow.          "We'll be fine," says Ezra, "We're stable." Eventually you drift into an uneasy sleep. There's nothing else to do.

          "We've definitely missed the window," says Ezra, confirming what you expected, "But we might as well have fun little while we're here, right?" You are barely awake, sipping fake coffee from a pouch.          "Fun?"          "Snow, stupid!" Says Cee, she's already wriggling her way into her thermal gear, "It snowed like crazy overnight! We can bury ourselves in it! We can make a snow fort! Let's go!" You smile, but you feel it curdle, you know what snow is, you've seen vids, and the way Ezra is looking at you you can tell that he knows, he knows you've never seen snow, never felt it for yourself, and you can't look at him. There is so much you don't know. You start suiting up out of habit, thermal gear for a cold world, outer layers for batt-assisted heating--          "Hey," says Ezra, "You okay, Prickle?"          "Sure."          "I know they didn't--"          "Yeah, yeah, we didn't have snow there. We didn't have RAIN there. We'd get a little bit of hard frost come winter but that doesn't count--"          "Easy," says Ezra, "Easy. Cee's just over excited." He nods towards the open hatch now venting your hard-won warmth. Cee's voice comes faint from outside, you guys coming or what? "She hasn't had much chance to play in the snow."          You exit the pod into a new world. The gravelly shores of yesterday are blanketed in white, the branches of the feather-trees droop in low arcs, burdened with snow. You can feel the snow collapse when you step in it, hear it, a small crumping sound beneath your boots, you turn towards Ezra, smiling and something frigid and granular and wet splatters against the nape of your neck, and you whirl, reaching for the thrower your left on the pod and Cee's laughing, her cheeks pink with the cold.          "Gotcha!" She crows and bends down, sinks her hands into the blanket of white. You smile. This might be your first snow but you know mischief when you see it. You scoop up two handfuls of snow and squish them together, noting the give and push-back as it compresses down even as you aim for your crewmate's head. You miss by an Ephrate mile, and her next shot catches you mid-chest. For every shot you land she gets in at least three, and at last you scoop up and armload of snow and start chasing her round the back of a huge feather-tree, and Cee throws up her arms in defense and splutters laughter when you dump it on her.          The two of you pause, laughing and out of breath, Cee's cheeks and nose flaming pink.          "Cee? Artichoke?" Ezra's voice peals out from the pod , "By your silence I am assuming you are up to no good and I will act accordingly."          "He's so goofy," says Cee, and grins at you, "Allies?"          "Yeah. Let's get him." Cee bends and starts making snowballs. Ammo dump, she whispers and you nod. Right.          "Cee? Prickle?" Cee leans around the tree trunk and yells.          "Come and find us old man!"          "Old man," you hear him mutter and Cee giggles. She knows just where to poke and how much pressure to apply, "You think you're so hard to track leaving boot prints in the snow--" Ezra rounds the tree trunk and you paste him, snowballs exploding all over his suit. You try not to aim for his head. Cee has no such compunctions. One of her snowballs catches him right in the face, and he shakes his head, snow caught in his mustache, wipes the snow out of his eyes--          "--Oh," he looks past you and Cee, his eyes wide, white limned, "Oh Kevva what's that?!" You turn your head to the dark undergrowth and there's the whine of a discharged thrower over your head and you barely register Ezra's laugh before you and Cee are buried in a shower of snow from above.

         You splutter and swipe snow out of your eyes, out of the open neck-hole of your suit. Cee shakes her head, a brief, indignant halo of flakes ringing her flushed face. Ezra howls laughter. He's bent double, face red, eyes squinched shut.          "You shoulda seen your faces--" he wheezes.          "That was cheating!" says Cee, "No fair--"          "That was tactics! That was strateegery--" Ezra takes a bad step and overbalances, flails his arm out and falls on his ass in the snow.          "That was Kevva's Flick!" You say and grin. Kevva's Flick is a marginally legal move in Ships and Kings, the kind of thing that will get you stuffed out an airlock if you try it in the wrong company. A badly missed stealth roll followed by a natural sixteen means that your opponent can flick one of your pieces off the board like dislodging and errant piece of lint. The only reason you even know about it is because Ezra pulled it on Cee and they spent the next eighth arguing and wasting precious bandwidth looking up the legality of the move over the drop-net. Cee throws back her head and laughs, bright and clear. Ez crawfishes in the snow and then manages to heave himself upright.          "Hmmm," says Ezra, narrows his eyes, but his dimpled smile gives him away, "I know where you sleep, little bird."          "I know where you sleep too," says Cee, "Call truce?" A hard gust bends the tops of the feather trees, sending snow down in slow whorls, a low moaning sound that makes the nape of your neck prickle.          "We should get back inside," you say, "Wind's gonna pick up."          "Truce," says Ezra, and flashes you a smile, "Let's get on in before our C5 friend freezes solid." You trace your tracks back to the pod, landing struts buried in white, it's uglier angles and dents covered over.          "Oh hey!" Says Cee, "We can make snow angels!" You and Ezra look at each other, but before you can say anything, Cee is stomping out into the wide expanse of unbroken white.          "It's easy, see?" She flops down on her back in the drifted snow and fans her arms and legs.          "We called 'em phoenixes back home," you say, and pull Cee to her feet, careful not to step in the wing shaped marks she's left behind, "Once things settled after a storm we'd draw pictures in the dust."            You take a few steps so you don't mess up Cee's snow angel and flop down yourself. It feels different. Not like the dust that would puff up in your eyes and stick to your skin but the motion is the same, cloud laden sky instead of the screaming bright stars back home. Cee offers her hand and pulls you up.          "Not bad, dirt-farmer," she says, "You do one, Ez.          "If I must." Ezra takes a few steps and drops into the snow like a felled tree, makes his own pattern beside yours and Cee's.          "I'm somewhat lacking in the wing department," says Ezra, "If I'm to be an angel--"          "Hold up," says Cee. She wanders away from Ezra, back towards the dark of the trees and roots around, finds a fallen limb, some feather-needles still clinging to it.          "My ass is getting awfully cold, little bird,"          "Stay still," says Cee, using the branch like a paint brush. "There." She casts the stick aside and offers her hand. She pulls Ezra up and turns him around so he can see her handiwork, a feathered wing traced in the snow, fanning out from the shortened arc at his right side.          "See?"          "Yeah. I see." Ezra pulls Cee against his chest, she stiffens, then lets herself be hugged, her arms creeping around his middle.          "S'okay, Birdie," he murmurs into her hair and you turn away, embarrassed, feeling like you've seen something you shouldn't. The next gust of wind comes with a raft of blown snow, rough and cold against your cheeks. You bend down and draw your name in the snow with an outstretched finger and think of how very far you are from Falnost, the only one in your family to make it up out of the well and see snow.            "Come on in before you freeze," calls Ezra, he stands at the ramp and waves, "The snow'll be here tomorrow." You smile.          "Yeah. I suppose it will."

         "Hey! Hey wake up!" Cee's voice cuts into your dreams, harsh and breathy and urgent and you are reaching for the thrower beneath your crash-couch before your eyes can unstick themselves.          "Whuzzit birdie--" Ezra's sleep befuddled voice murmurs someplace to your left          "Come on!" says Cee, and she's climbing into her gear, green witch-light shines through the pod's small, rounded windows, "You've got to see!" You pull on your thermal gear and follow her out the door and down the ramp, still half asleep.          "What is this?"          "I don't know," says Cee, her hand finds yours and the sky writhes overhead, shivering bands of green like curtains, like incandescent ribbons, dimming and shifting and brightening, columns that ascend into the dark, stars muted behind them. No sound at all, a silent ignition, silver-green edged in red. You feel Ezra fetch up beside you, his hand finding yours.          "What am I looking at, Ez?" He squeezes your fingers.          "It's an aurora," he says, "I think. I've never seen one before. Just vids."          "It's so quiet," you say, your voice dropping to a whisper without even thinking.          "It is," says Ezra. There is no sound at all associated with the shifting columns, the world gone so still that you can hear your crewmates breathing, hear the soft sussurration of your own pulse. You pull your eyes away from the churning sky to look at your friends’ faces, Cee smiles, wide and open, her pale hair frosted green, eyes alight. Ezra's face is a study in naked wonder, and it's like you’re seeing him for the first time, no spacer's charm, no worldly confidence, just him smiling up at the sky. You squeeze their hands and they squeeze back.

[lyroa]

"Identifiers are in, captain," said Pacet, antennas glued to their ofacto-monitor. "It was identified as a ship originally constructed to serve in he Saan-Bredias conflict, human side. No hyper-propulsion, though, which is strange..."

"Oh shit."

Vibork never heard the commander swear. At risk of a swift reprimand, they pulled their antennas away from their ofacto-monitor and glanced in the direction of their superior. They were not reprimanded.

This wouldn't be the only new thing Vibork would see the commander do this cycle: for the first time, the engine operator sensed fear pheromones from them.

"Captain Bavok?" they asked.

"Vibork, push the engines to their maximum. We got pirates on our trail."

"But, captain," said Vibork. "They already hit one of our propulsor. In this state, pushing it could mean an explosion--"

"Human pirates, Vibork."

The commander spoke as if Vibork was meant to know what this meant. But Vibork did not know what this mean. In their mind, the best course of action was to surrender and let them take their cargo, since they were pirates. Pirates that were too violent climbed the priority list of intergalactic forces faster, it was a well-known fact... and those were humans. A quadru-cycle ago, when they had still been stationed at Bicental Stationnef for restocking, Vibork had heard the story of a silly human getting in a Brutk's enclosure to "pet it". Thankfully, it seemed that it had been well-fed, and the human was swiftly retrieved - unharmed - by the xenozoo guardians. That was a human. For crying out loud, last they had met one, she had tried to poke their "silly nubs" - their antennas! - because they seemed "funny to touch!" Nothing was off-putting to them, they were simply too curious - surely, if the crew surrendered, the pirates might even want to strike a conversation.

All of this occurred to Vibork in an instant, making them hesitate, before years of training took over and they obeyed their commander. No matter how much they doubted, they pushed the controls to their maximum setting.

Pacet, the radar operator, dared to say what everyone else thought.

"Captain Bavock? Those are humans, not bevert--"

"If only they were beverts! They'd kill us with a shot to the head!"

Pacet, surprised, didn't reply, instead returned to their duty.

"Pacet," said the captain. A pause as they considered what to say next. "Do you consider yourself to be... edible?"

Silence. Pacet obediently completed their next task before tuning their antennas once more in the direction of their superior.

"That never occured to me," they replied.

"Well, those are deserters. They are one-eighth of a light-year away from the Saan-Bredias conflict zone, meaning that their supplies are probably running low, if they haven't ran out already." Pause. "That we are edible has occurred to them. It's known to most of them. One of them told me that we are most delicious when cooked alive, slowly, so that our flesh burst through our shell when it's tender enough to melt on the tongue."

Silence fell upon the deck. Even the breathing frills stilled for an instant, as the realisation of what one of those humans, enormous and ever-hungry, could do to them.

"Don't stop moving now!" cried the captain. "Get us out of here! Vibork, can you make us Jump?"

"If one of the engines explodes, security will kick in and the propulsors will switch to security AI, which will override the Jump. Until then, I can still attempt one."

"Good. Do that."

"If there is a single anomaly in hyperspace..."

"Then we'll die a quick death and our souls will join the ones of sailors that haunt the In-Between. Just do it, Vibork, before it's too--"

Being hit by an explosive in space felt weird. Vibork felt the spacial makers under some of their front feelers shake and twist suddenly as the ship was thrown off its axis. Outside of that? Nothing but a distant metallic groan that was only heard through the very bones of the ship's structure.

A second later, Vibork's ofacto-monitor blasted them with angry warning pheromones.

"Explosion in the left engine, captain," said Vibork. "They got us."

Silence on the deck. Under Vibork's feeler, the knob that displayed the amount of power directed towards the engine turned, going lower and lower as the security AI took over. They wouldn't decelerate, but they couldn't accelerate anymore.

"They got us," repeated the captain. Silence. Then, "Pacet, how long till they board?"

"Estimated time is one-sixteenth of a cycle, captain."

More silence. It was almost unbearable. Vibork wanted to scream.

"On Saan," said the captain, "humans would plunge captured berverts in swamps till their corpses were bloated with disease, before dropping them in enemy forts, over the coordinates of their hospitals. They know the intergalactic forces won't come to help the berverts. And they did worse yet, which I'll take to my grave. For those that want the easy way out, you all know how to make your stun gun... more efficient."

"Captain, surely this isn't right. Those are humans, not... monsters. It's impossible."

"I know what I saw. I served there for a while, as a supplier, and saw scars on bervert soldiers... more than scars, I saw. But there is no use in telling you that now."

"Captain, I'll not use my stun gun. There is no need to dramatise. They are probably deserters, as you said, not real pirates. If we help them..."

"They blew up our engines. Our Jump." Then the captain added, quietly, "they don't want our help."

"Oh," said Vibork, just as quietly.

The pheromones that escaped from the captain was one of deep sadness.

Humans aren’t actually space Orcs, they’re space Orcas. For most, they’re a social, playful species. For their prey, however, the evil shit Humans can conjure up to hurt and destroy them is terrifying.

[demonsheyd500025]

Name: Keizer Also known as: Age: 300+ yrs Species: Among Us bean Genetics: Hybrid Zilla bean Gender: Male Skin color: Dark green & mint green Hair/fur color(s)[can be split in two categories]: Eye color(s): Golden visor Alignment: Neutral good Height: 7'08" Weight: 400+ lbs Occupation: Ex submarine captain Abilities: Rapid regeneration, atomic fire breath, aura sensing, can breathe underwater, rapid burrowing Strengths: High strength, high defense, immune to parasite infection & illness, high/low temperature tolerant Weaknesses: Subzero temperatures, radiation overdosing Top speed: Land - 20mph, water - 12mph

Description: A custom bean that I didn't actually plan to create, but I slowly grew accustomed to him anyway. :/ I was kinda on the fence about him at first, since he came about from an RP I joined into, and I wanted to use my giant Zilla character, Vaisala, but for some reason kaiju don't "fit in" with the Among Us universe, so he had to be either "beanified" or reintroduced as a parasite to "fit in". (Can you tell I'm still a bit salty about it? :] ) Anyway, a friend drew the concept design for a bean form of Vaisala, and ngl I did kinda like it (I didn't like that it was meant to be Vaisala though), so after a while of internal debating, I accepted Keizer as a separate character based on that design into my roster of characters (half begrudgingly), and gave him an updated design to better fit my liking. I even added a little height chart to more clearly reference his size juxtaposed with a standard crewmate.

Martial status(married, dating, single, etc.): Single Sexual preference(optional[not encouraged]): Straight Personality(optional[not encouraged]): A bit animalistic, mildly intimidating, friendly & helpful when you get to know him Religion(optional[not encouraged]): n/a

Stats(can add up to 40[each stat can have a maximum of 10]) Speed: 3 Agility: 2 Strength: 6 Defense: 5 Evasion: 3 Dexterity: 3 Intelligence: 5 Attack skills: 7

Date of birth: ??? Place of birth: Mira HQ Current residence: A Zilla cavern deep under the ocean

Misc. attributes: Keizer is still able to mate with other beans, though he is infertile due to being such an unorthodox hybrid creature. -Despite being part Zilla and able to use radioactive energy, he is not dangerous to be near in terms of being able to cause radiation poisoning. -Being only a hybrid Zilla, Keizer does not possess the ability to procreate via parthenogenesis like the Zillas. -Unlike the Zillas, Keizer cannot handle the crushing pressure surrounding the undersea cavern, so if he wished to exit, he would need to be ferried in and out by a larger Zilla within their mouth. -Even though Keizer can breathe underwater, he can't speak underwater, but he can emit groans and growls to vocalize with gestures if need be.

Dating or married partner(s): Close friends: Vaisala, Siren Friends: Allies: Zilla colony Neutral(optional): Amethyst, Purl, "Shifter" Rivals: Arch-rival: Enemies: Arch-nemesis:

Family Mother: ??? Father: ??? Other family members: ???

Favorite food: Fish Favorite drink: Tomato juice Hobbies: Raising fish in the piscary cave, gardening Likes: Playing with the babyzillas Dislikes: When any babyzillas try to venture into his submarine base Weapons(optional): Claws, back scutes, fire breath, tail, teeth Clothing(optional): Items(optional): Misc.(optional):

Backstory(optional): Keizer was once a normal crewmate over 300 years ago, and his original color was actually black. He was the captain of a seafaring crew tasked to explore the ocean floors and document any discoveries. His ship was a pretty impressive large submarine that could withstand the crushing pressure of the ocean depths, and even act as a mobile base.

On one of their ventures, the crew caught something peculiar on their radar and followed it down into a deep trench, which led into a cavernous tunnel into the rock wall. The tunnel went so deep through the earth, at least a mile out from the open waters, and then they found light emitting from crystals jutting from the walls. They followed the crystalline tunnel until they came to an opening, where their radar was suddenly filled with massive lifeforms, all motionless except for smaller readings that were moving around. The crew didn't know what they had stumbled upon, but it was a fascinating discovery. They attempted to map out the area while avoiding collisions with the massive lifeforms, finding that the floor of the cavern had thermal vents scattered around keeping the water rather comfortable. They didn't go unnoticed by the smaller lifeforms though, which started investigating the strange giant vehicle, to the unease of the crew, and which they tried to move away from the little creatures, only to be followed regardless. They didn't seem to be aggressive yet, but they pushed the submarine close to a wall while strange vocal sounds were being picked up by the ship's radar.

This got the crew more unnerved as they tried to get away, before the whole lot of lifeforms started moving, and the smaller ones scattered from the vessel as though something spooked them. The radar was suddenly picking up some seismic activity in the area, before the walls started vibrating and the water steadily rose in temperature with the thermal vents expelling hot water into the cavern. The rock walls then began crumbling as a deep bassy growl rumbled throughout the water, threatening to crush the crew's sub if they didn't move to escape. It seemed this area was an underwater volcano, and it was letting off some pressure, which caused the giant lifeforms to stir awake, and notice the intruding submarine… They started to approach it curiously, but it caused the crew to panic and blare the sub's horn to try and scare them away. The creatures were startled by the loud call, only to respond with much louder bellows that rattled the ship and caused systems to malfunction.

The resounding noise caused more of the cavern to crumble, large boulders and chunks of rock falling around the creatures and the submarine, crushing most of the thermal vents and blocking the exiting tunnel. Keizer's crew was now trapped down here with these unknown leviathans, but before long, the gas pressure was building up in the crushed thermal vents, and they started to burst air into the cavern, a cocktail of noxious gases and minerals bleeding into the surrounding water, which only served to make the creatures disoriented and agitated… The crewmates had no idea what to do, other than hope they wouldn't get crushed and die in a volcanic deathtrap.

The leviathans then seemed to move to where the exiting tunnel was, only to find it blocked up by fallen boulders, but they moved to dig into the debris and bore through to reopen the tunnel. This took a few moments, but before long the pressure in the cavern started to drop as they broke through, and water started gushing out from the tunnel like a drain. The noxious air being belched out from the damaged thermal vents was then moving to replace the water towards the top of the cavern, creating an atmospheric pressure that further forced water out of the cavern. Unfortunately for the crew, their ship had gotten trapped on a lip against the wall, and they couldn't move to escape. Even if they did try to make it to the opening, the suction would likely tear their vehicle apart, so it was dawning on them that they could become marooned in this undersea cavern.

Now, crewmates weren't always the brightest creatures, so when that was the first realization, they simply accepted their fate and decided to just hunker down in their mobile base while some of the giant creatures got sucked through the drainage tunnel, but most stayed away from it and let the water get vacuumed out. For the first time in a long time though, they felt the surface of the water that was being replaced by the nauseating gaseous air, thus they all stayed below the surface to keep from getting sick. The water continued to drain out for what felt like hours, and when it started to finally settle, around 50% of the cavern was replaced by toxic air, and Keizer's ship was completely landlocked on the lip. The crew only discovered how not breatheable the outside air was thanks to their submarine's sensors telling so, but now they couldn't even leave the safety of their vessel that kept full of oxygen.

The seismic activity soon ceased as the earth returned to calm, leading to the surrounding leviathans to steadily calm down as well, though they seemed annoyed at half of their water being gone, leaving them much less space to suspend themselves in dispersal throughout the cavern. The crewmates were left distraught, while Keizer was thinking about their situation, knowing they wouldn't be able to live in this submarine forever, especially surrounded by those mystery creatures. They had no way to return to the surface, and even their communications were now cut off. They were completely at the mercy of these leviathans…

Keizer decided to shut down some non-essential systems in the ship to help preserve as much power as possible, to give them as much time as possible to figure out what to do. At least the toxic air was keeping the land sections free of disturbances, but the problem remained of how long the crew was willing to stay trapped in their submarine… It didn't take that long before Keizer decided to try and purify the outside air so they could venture out later; they had such a filtration engine onboard, and he got the crew to start it up. It was connected to the hatch at the top of the ship and started working to suck in the putrid gaseous air to convert it into oxygen. Yes, even back then their technology was pretty advanced, but in this case it was incredibly helpful, albeit it was going to take quite a long time for the outside air to drop to safe levels.

It indeed took many hours for the engine to filter out just a portion of the toxic air, and in that time the crew had taken to sleeping their boredom away, already settling in to their entrapment. And eventually the filter actually managed to purify around 90% of the air, making it safe enough for the crewmates to venture outside, which the only available airlock on the sub was on the bottom, so that was where they went to exit the ship. The air still stank, but it wasn't suffocating anymore, at least not immediately. And in this cavern, the pressure almost felt normal, while the surroundings seemed to reverberate with a bassy rumble from the submerged creatures, as the surface of the water looked very spiky with so many backs hovering at the surface. But once the crewmates could get a good look at the creatures, it was soon clear just how massive they were, and how many there were all clustered together in the remaining water. It made the crew quite nervous to be here, now wondering if they could come onto land when they realized that the air was breatheable…

It took another number of hours before the whole air filled chamber was clear of noxious fumes, at least as long as the filter stayed on, since the thermal vents were constantly bleeding those gases back up, but now it was only a matter of time until the leviathans noticed the purified air and decided to explore the new dry land sections of their cavern… It didn't take too long for that to happen, as the crewmates were using their nifty devices to synthesize materials to help them survive here, such as containers and growbeds to cultivate plant foods, but then they saw some of the smaller creatures peeking out of the water with somewhat purile chirping and trilling. They would have been cute if they could be deemed safe, but they were only making the crewmates nervous, even more so when some of them started climbing up onto the land. They were a bit shaky on their legs, but they looked more built for terrestrial life already. Now that was curious.

The crewmates opted to create defensive structures to deter the creatures from getting too curious of them, such as a barrier of large spikes surrounding the submarine. This actually worked against the small creatures, which looked like theropod dinosaurs with exceptionally long arms tipped with sharp claws, and it allowed the crew to try to ignore their curious behaviors for a while. Until they learned that these creatures could burrow, then their defensive structures were virtually useless when the theropods could just dig underneath them. Soon enough the crewmates were now trapped within the barrier with the small creatures, though they were very much still bigger than the beans, and the creatures proceeded to strike at the crewmates with purile shrieks. The crewmates had no defense against these beasts other than to run, retreating into the submarine for safety, though a few beans were caught and pulled away. They were swiftly killed by being ripped apart and devoured by the creatures, granting them the taste for blood as they tried to follow the crewmates in through the airlock hatch, but the bulkhead door was locked shut to keep them out. The space was too cramped to allow them to move about in there, so they pulled back out and stalked around the hull of the submarine looking for other openings.

Thankfully they weren't able to claw through the solid metal hull, so the remaining crewmates were safe for now. Unfortunately, the crew was now quite shaken that it wasn't safe to go outside with those monsters, and Keizer was the one who had to try to calm them down. They slowly settled down with visible anxiety, only for it to flare up again when the ship's alarm sprang to life, warning of hull damage… The crewmates fearfully went to see what was happening, only to watch a section of the hull melting away from some kind of acid corrosion, and those theropod monsters stalked inside once the hole was large enough. The creatures saw the crewmates up through the glass flooring where a smaller submersible was held suspended, and barked wanting to get them. It wasn't long before they noticed the ladder down the hallway, and moved to it to get to their prey. They didn't just know that they'd get to the other floor using that, but they saw the opening where the ladder led up to, and figured they could climb up to get their food. It was honestly a fun way to hunt for them, and terrifying for the crewmates of course.

Keizer ushered his crew into the bridge of the ship and shut the bulkhead once they were all inside, keeping them safe for the time being as the creatures breached the upper floor with scary growls and brays. There wasn't anything the crew could do against them, and looking out of the large viewing window revealed that the whole submarine was pretty well surrounded by the little monsters, preventing any escape. The sound of scratching on the door made the crewmates just crumple into balls of fear, trying to hide in whatever small spaces there were, praying their predators would just decide to go away… That didn't happen, but the creatures did seem to become distracted by some of the things in the ship, such as biting at the alarm lights with a yelp since they got shocked upon doing that, but it wasn't enough to dissuade them from being here. When Keizer was trying to think of what to do, he saw a fabricator machine on the wall and got an idea, quickly going over to it to open up the repertoire library, and soon found that it could make a gas grenade. That should be useful, thus he put in the ingredients to make it and proceeded to synthesize a handful of grenades, giving one to each of the crewmates for defense, hopefully it would ward off the creatures. Keizer then ushered his crew to climb up through the hatch at the top of the sub, before then going to unlock the bulkhead and let the monsters make their way into the bridge.

As they heard the latch opening up, the dinosaurian creatures pushed the door open only to have the room fill up with a tranquilizing gas that spilled out into the rest of the ship, quickly rendering the creatures unconscious while the crewmates stood cornered atop their submarine. Some of the members were starting to question why they were still trying to survive when they had nowhere else to go from here, seeing a few adults eyeing them from the water now, and Keizer didn't have an answer. They were trapped until the small ones figured out how to reach them, which may be soon based on how smart they seemed to be so far… Unfortunately, the crew ran out of luck as one of the adult leviathans moved to approach the submarine with a guttural rumble, pressing a heavy foot upon the ground to tower over the stranded crewmates in a nightmarish manner, before it then widened its jaws and blew a stream of blue fire out at the tiny crewmates, sending them all plummeting to the ground where the small ones could easily catch them…

Keizer managed to avoid the direct blast and landed on another crewmate upon hitting the ground, which spared him from crippling fall damage, but now the smaller monsters moved in on them with dangerous growls and hisses. Keizer moved to dodge the snapping jaws of one of the creatures and stumbled into a hole in the rock wall, while the rest of his crew were left to be chased down and slain by the beasts. There was nothing he could do for them, but when some more predatory figures approached the hole that hid him, in a panic he threw his gas grenade to the ground and filled the small area with tranquilizer, holding his breath as the creatures fell unconscious in seconds. He couldn't hold his breath for long with how scared he was, but a quick last ditch idea came to his mind, and he pulled out a syringe from his backpack, only to go up to one of the theropods. The idea was a crazy and unorthodox one, but maybe it could work to save himself. He hastily took the blood of a green creature while the gas kept any other creatures from getting too close, and then proceeded to simply hide within the hole as far back as it would go, hoping his black body would blend in well enough to the darkness while he tried to fan the gas away from himself with his hand so he could breathe without knocking himself out.

The gas didn't stay for too long once the grenade was empty, and as the creatures saw that there was no more food here, they abandoned the submarine to go back to the water, leaving none of the crew alive, aside from Keizer. They didn't think to check the hole again, leaving him in there to his traumatized lonesome… Keizer was left alone from then on from the unaware creatures, he not daring to make himself known until he had a plan. He had no other choice now, staring at the syringe in his hand, wondering what this blood would do to him, if he… In his disgruntled state of mind, he simply injected the creature's blood into his own body, not knowing what it would do or if it would be helpful at all, but there was nothing else to try. He wanted to survive, and there was no way to do that as a single crewmate in a cave full of monsters… At first nothing seemed to happen, and for a while nothing happened, other than Keizer felt a little sickened at what he'd just done to himself, but any pain or weariness was chalked up to the overwhelming stress. From which he simply started to cry quietly in his dark hidey hole, just needing to release his built up inner turmoil of all that just happened…

After a while, the tranquilized creatures started to wake up from the gas, and groggily moved themselves away from their spots to head back to the water, the ones coming out of the submarine as well, while Keizer ended up falling asleep in the hovel, still nothing happening to him from the blood injection. He stayed in there for hours just resting, though his subconscious was tormented with bad dreams, replaying the horror of his crew just being hunted down and killed off with no mercy, he couldn't help but cry more in his sleep… When he woke up some hours later, he just didn't have the will to move in spite of how sore his body was of laying on the hard ground, not like he could go anywhere anyway, but he did shift some to check his body to see if anything changed. There were no changes that he could see, he was still black, his hands still had normal fingers, no extra growths… If that blood injection was just a pipe dream of an idea, then he'd have no choice but to accept his fate and join his crew in death, he could only hope that it wasn't in vain, and before any of those beasts found him here and killed him anyway.

Another few hours of laying there, Keizer finally couldn't stand it anymore and pushed himself up, feeling his muscles a bit tight and stiff. The air was still breatheable, thus the black bean nervously paced over to the mouth of the hole and peered out to see if any creatures were going about. They all seemed to be asleep, or not paying any attention to his area, thus Keizer silently moved to sneak over to the submarine to get inside and hopefully be more safe in there. Thank god the place was empty of those creatures now, but the gaping hole burned through the hull was not something Keizer wished was there. All he could do now was try so hard not to attract any attention to the submarine…

With luck, some time passed with the stranded vehicle not gaining any attention from the dinosaurian creatures, as Keizer tried to live somewhat normally again, albeit all alone and silent as possible. He managed to bring the growbeds in from outside when no creatures were near enough to notice him, using a synthesizer gun to dematerialize and rematerialize them inside the submarine so he could have food in the safety of his vessel, growing fruit bearing plants that didn't need sunlight. The growbeds were incredibly built to infuse the soil with uv radiation so that plants could grow even in darkness, and be basically parthenogenic so they would always bear fruits. This would keep Keizer alive as long as he wanted, and thankfully for him the creatures didn't seem interested in his ship anymore, so he could find ways to occupy himself in his solitude.

Before a few days had gone by, and Keizer was starting to feel uneasy internally, like his guts were cramping up and shifting around, it felt so disturbing. Maybe that blood injection was doing something to him, but it did not feel nice, making him regret doing that now that he wasn't so disorientated by fear and stress, but now there was nothing he could do about it but endure whatever was happening to him. Another day going by led to more discomfort in Keizer's body, as his skin started turning from black to dark green, to little of his notice, and his visor had gained a dull golden glow. Finally some metamorphosis was happening to the surviving crewmate. And one change that was noticed was that his fingers now bared sharp claws, small as they were, but they were growing as time went on, and it wasn't painless. Just as well his body seemed to be gaining strength, which was difficult for him to control, keeping Keizer in a state of disorientation, thus he chose to lay in bed until he could tell when the process was winding down. In the meantime, all he could do was focus on his breathing and try to keep track of his changes, admittedly nervous the whole time, but brave enough not to panic.

He couldn't even sleep with how off he felt, wishing the pain and discomfort would end already as his claws grew larger and more robust, his hide turning completely dark green with a mint green belly, and his visor turning completely golden. With that though, his vision seemed to become enhanced so he could see more clearly in the dark, and his hearing too was more acute, able to hear the vocals of the creatures outside. He could even start to percieve what they sounded like, as Keizer laid still to reduce the discomfort as much as possible, and he tried to focus on the creatures. Maybe he could start to understand them?

Not yet, they still just sounded like skulking monsters to the traumatized crewmate; it would be a while before he forgave them for wiping out his whole crew. By the time he was able to fall asleep, his body was changing more and growing hard plates along his back, as well as a tail forming from his behind. Keizer just wanted to ignore the metamorphosis with sleep, but it felt like he could barely get to the point where his mind could even try to develop shallow dreams, let alone actually let him rest, as pangs of pain kept jolting his conscious. He was slightly getting used to it though, taking to laying on his sides and belly while his back was so sore from the new growths, he even tried to ignore how hungry he was getting. This of course he couldn't ignore for too long though, it only made his pains worse, and it was one thing he could do something about at least, so reluctantly he pushed himself up and went to get himself some fruits from his growbeds. Going through the doorway was what made him notice how much smaller it seemed, though he didn't linger on it as he figured it was just his senses being disoriented. He got his food and simply went back to bed to let his transformation continue on until it was done, but indeed his body had been growing in size as well, with claws sprouting from his feet, his tail growing longer, and even a jagged mouth forming across his chest similar to impostors, but he didn't have their anatomy. Keizer soon started to feel a little better with the helping of food, and only afterwards did he notice his large mouth full of sharp teeth, which did startle him once he realized its existence. The thought that he was just an impostor sparked in his mind, if those creatures were a kind of impostor, but on second thought, why would they be impostors if they looked nothing like crewmates? That made no sense, impostor meant mimic, so they couldn't be called that. Well, not like mouths were exclusive to those alien lifeforms in any case.

For a little while, Keizer took up some curiosity with his new mouth to distract himself from the discomfort of the rest of his body growths, feeling his sharp teeth and his spear-shaped tongue, especially how they felt against his stout claws, now starting to examine his new features. Even his voice had changed to a deeper and more monstrous tone, but he still didn't want to make any noise for fear of attracting those theropods to him again. He did want to practice a little, thus he moved to shut the doors in the bridge to keep any sounds he made blocked in, and he started vocalizing making growling sounds and deep groans, trying to imitate the creatures outside. At that point, it almost felt natural to make those vocals, like speaking in a language that just came with this body. He wasn't quite done changing yet, but he figured it was finally winding down when he could start moving around again without so much pain, and he started messing with his new tail as well, trying to move it as a new limb, which was easier than he thought, again like his new body just knew how to handle itself, though it was still fascinating to the bean.

Another day passing, and Keizer was finally able to wake up from a nap feeling much better, though he now noticed how much smaller his bed looked around him. It still fit his body since it was a fairly large bed to begin with, but he was definitely much bigger in size than before. He started to shift around and examine his body more now that he figured his transformation was finally complete, seeing large bluish scutes running down his back and down his tail, which was quite long and stout now, and he flexed it to test how prehensile it was. He continued to check out his new body as he sat up, trying to be careful of his now sharp edges on his hands and feet and back, even his hide felt more coarse and thick, but still fleshy. Keizer soon decided to get up to see how he stood, finding that he could stand straight, but now it felt more comfortable to hunch over a bit, especially to fit himself through the now comparitively smaller doorway that he just managed to fit through. This submarine almost didn't seem like it was really fitted to crewmate sizes, being much larger than they would have really needed, but now the ex captain was thankful it was so big.

He decided to go over to the growbeds and test his strength, moving to pick up one of them almost easily now, before setting it back down, making curious noises in his new rough voice. Even four crewmates would have had difficulty lifting that, but he now found it rather light. He then moved to scale down the ladder to the lower deck, finding that his feet barely fit into the deep steps now, but thankfully they still fit enough for him to keep his footing, and he paced over to the large hole in the side of the hull, only to peek out into the expansive cavern. The adults were still in the water, while the youngsters were more everywhere. By now, Keizer could better understand their noises, and discovered that those size disparities were growth stages, so the small ones were babies and the big ones were adults, which made sense, but wow were their size differences truly massive… He remained in the safety of his submarine as he started looking around at the cavern with more interest, after all he was trapped in here now for who knew how long, so he might as well get used to it. He started to see just how much of the walls were covered in glowing crystals, and he started to notice how strangely comfortable the atmosphere felt, like there was some energy all around that even made him feel a little more calm.

Before long, his scent caught the attention of a nearby creature, who moved to approach the vessel. It was the same green one that Keizer took the blood of, but when Keizer noticed it approaching, he let out a warning growl that made it pause with a confused noise. He didn't want any of those monsters getting close, thus he snarled and shot a blast of fire at the creature to scare it away, succeeding as the green theropod scrambled away to the water with a yelp, but it also drew the attention of other youngsters. Keizer pulled back as his fear flared up realizing that he was making too much noise, not even having time to be curious that he just breathed fire. When he peeked out from the hole again, he growled more seeing some creatures gathered around, but they kept back from his aggressive vocals. They seemed to show submission as they stepped back, but they also looked curious of him since he now carried their scent. This fact did not immediately come to Keizer's mind, he was still traumatized by them after all.

This hostility went on for a while between Keizer and the leviathans, but they didn't try to mess with him, much to his satisfaction, and he kept to his own space in the submarine in the time it took him to fully get used to this new body of his, while the leviathans stayed outside. Eventually he learned through listening to their communicative noises that they referred to themselves as kaiju known as Zillas, though he still wasn't interested in interacting with them. But after some days that seemed like weeks, Keizer felt comfortable enough to come outside, though he stayed near his ship within the barrier of large spikes, and worked to fill in the holes that the babyzillas made to burrow underneath the spikes, to try and keep them out. The Zillas just watched him with curiosity, being warded away when any got too close. They were quickly learning that they weren't allowed near that vehicle, and that Keizer wasn't going to share anything of his with them…

Another few days went by, and the babyzillas were still curious of the new entity in their cavern, while Keizer was getting comfortable with them not bothering him at all. He even took to building himself a little bonfire next to the ship, keeping a watchful glare on any of the onlookers, who continued to watch him back whenever he did things outside. They didn't seem hostile anymore now that Keizer smelled like them, but he was still grieving for the loss of his crew. He growled when one babyzilla approached the spike barrier, crouched down submissively while holding some fish in its mouth. The same green one paused just outside of the barrier, nervous that Keizer might shoot fire at it again, before chucking the fish over the spikes to Keizer and then turning to run away. Did that babyzilla just give Keizer a peace offering? Keizer just leered at the flopping fish for a moment before looking up at the green Zilla with a scowl, suspicious of what it just did, while the other babyzillas almost looked expectant now. He almost started to lift some resentment from the gesture, before looking back to his fire with a curt snort as he ignored the fish, still unforgiving of them for what they did. Of course, the babyzillas weren't sentimental enough to understand why he was being so spiteful, but soon they drooped seeing that their peace offering was rejected, and just continued to leave Keizer alone…

Keizer stared into the fire for a while, only feeling his emotional pains bubbling up again from that little show of hospitality, but it wasn't from something he wished for. He couldn't help the tears that welled up at the edges of his visor, missing the companionship of his crew, but it was like he could still feel them around as spirits. Maybe they were still with him, but he had no way to communicate with them, so he was just left to his lonesome surrounded by monsters… The babyzillas almost seemed to sense his sorrow, which only made them more curious about Keizer, since they'd never sensed such emotions from another creature before. Keizer soon couldn't stand them all watching him and decided to put out his fire before pacing inside the submarine. He went up to the bridge and cloaked the viewing window black so nothing could be looked at from the outside or the inside; he didn't want to see them and he didn't want them seeing him. The depressed Zilla bean then just moped on his bed with tears still trailing down his face, his tail curled around as he just cried quietly to himself…

Even though the babyzillas couldn't see Keizer in his ship, they could still sense his energy, and it made them a bit somber in kind, but they didn't know what to do about it. They didn't even know what the listless feeling they were feeling even was, but it sure didn't feel good. It took another while before Keizer calmed down in his room, deciding to spend some time writing information about the Zillas in his notebooks. As resentful as he was towards them at the moment, he withheld too many negative personal comments as he described them, as if he still intended to somehow get this data back to his HQ eventually. He wrote down their appearances, their vocal noises, their behaviors, and their alledged diet, as well as the cavern itself and how he got trapped here, even what he did to himself for the sake of avoiding predation. He described his transformation on another page, detailing the pain and discomfort, but also what his new body could do, at least as much as he was aware of. For a while he wrote, and it seemed to help calm him down further and start to understand the Zillas, despite his grudge.

Soon, Keizer was done with documenting for now. He put his notebook away before feeling a slight tremor from outside, prompting him to uncloak the viewing window to see an adult Zilla half stepped onto the land, pulling its attention to the inside of the sub becoming visible with a low groan from it. Keizer snarled in just as much surprise, before he let out a screech to make it go away, to which the adult Zilla pulled back some with a deep guttural rumble in reply, only to get startled more when Keizer blared the submarine's horn to make it back off. The Zilla jumped back into the water with a strident bark, before giving an abrasive shriek right back that echoed throughout the cavern and roused the other Zillas, who rose deep bassy growls in response. This only made Keizer anxious as he saw the youngsters run away as well, but thankfully the adult decided not to cause another scene. The hybrid bean then turned to go down and exit the sub to see off any loiterers, but he spotted a glowing crystal placed on the floor in front of the exiting hole, which made him pause for a moment in wonder. He moved to pace over to it after a few seconds, looking out to see most of the babyzillas were scared away, but one was actually inside of the spike barrier near the back of the ship, dipped down nervously. When Keizer spotted it and growled ruefully, the green youngster gave a little whine and tried to slink away towards the barrier, trying to get out through the spikes, but it quickly got stuck with a few whimpers as it got cut up on the sharp points.

Keizer just watched it trying to get out through the barrier, seeing that it would be effective in stopping them if they tried to actually go through it, but then, why was this one actually trying to go through it? Couldn't it just burrow under the spikes like they did before? Keizer soon stopped growling as he saw the creature's blood dribbling down the spikes as it tried to wriggle free, casting a glance back at him as if hoping he would have mercy… He and the babyzilla stared at each other for a moment, before he looked back down at the crystal at his feet with some thought. Was this another peace offering attempt? The babyzilla's pained whimpers caught his attention again as a few other babies cautiously paced over with concerned trills, and it managed to tug enough at the hybrid bean's sympathy to urge him to pace over to the stuck youngster. His approach though made the babyzillas nervous since he was so abrasive to them, and the green youngster only gave itself more wounds as it tried to wriggle itself free towards the outer side of the barrier. Keizer let out a low growl telling it to stop struggling, which it froze up to as it looked back at him with a nervous gaze, unsure of what he was going to do. The youngsters assumed he was dangerous if they weren't careful, so they let out wary hisses as they stepped back, growing more-so when Keizer pulled out his synthesizer gun and pointed it at the green Zilla, only when he fired, it casted a laser upon the cluster of spikes and they started dematerializing in seconds, soon freeing the injured child and letting it run away, but it didn't get too far before pausing to look back at him. Keizer just leered right back as though he was conflicted for saving it, before he just gave a short grunt telling them to stay out before he shot his gun again and rematierialized the spikes in place, before turning back to his ship. The babies were just as well confused, while the green one tried to tend to its wounds while watching Keizer. It seemed like they wanted to induct him into the colony, but they didn't know why he was as reserved against them as he was. For all they knew, he wasn't the last remaining crewmate that they failed to kill, all they saw was him in his current form just start appearing from the submarine after their whole hunting party, and no members of their own scent were nearly as reluctant to join the colony, so they just learned Keizer's boundaries and kept trying to make peace with him, regardless of how unforgiving he was to them.

More days went by as the babyzillas kept trying to befriend the hybrid bean, with their attempts failing everytime due to Keizer's grudge, and it was starting to dissuade them from persisting. They even tried communicating with him to understand his xenophobic resentment, but the foreigner wouldn't spare them any information. They still weren't inclined to remove him from their cavern despite his abrasion towards them, but especially the green babyzilla wished to learn about Keizer and see what the world he came from was like, after all his submarine wasn't of natural creation, so perhaps Keizer himself came from somewhere unknown to the Zillas.

While Keizer was out checking the spike barrier, the green Zilla noticed him staring at a bone on the ground with an almost painful gaze, making it curious of what was going through his mind. At least Keizer took more to ignoring them rather than glaring at them, but the green one was starting to wonder what significance the bone had, before it glanced around inside the barrier to spot more bones laying around; the bones of the crewmates that they had killed. Why was Keizer so fixated on them, it wondered? It watched him curl his tail around almost sadly for just a moment, before he turned to go back into his beached vehicle, and the babyzilla started to wonder if doing something with those bones would yield any new reactions from the hybrid bean. As wary as it was to intrude on Keizer's land again, it wondered if it could sneak through and collect the bones…

The other babyzillas watched the green one burrow under the spike barrier to get into Keizer's land while he was unaware, and it moved about searching for the bones that were scattered around. They still had old blood and dried bits of flesh on them, but the youngster picked up each one it found carrying them in its arms, before Keizer started to sense its presence from inside the submarine. He also heard the other babies trilling and grumbling in a nervous tone from outside, and went to check if they were bothering him again, only seeing the dark colored ones still hovering around outside of the barrier, which made him scowl at them in warning. But when he glanced around the grounds, he snarled spotting the green one near the rear of the ship, and gave a strident bark to it saying "I thought I told you to stay out!" He then moved to pace over to it as it whimpered to him, making the other babyzillas hiss and bray uneasily as they watched in between the spikes. The green Zilla then dropped the bones with a scared chitter as it stepped backwards from Keizer, who paused seeing the bones while the babyzilla started to dig into the ground, but it too paused noticing the hybrid's reaction. Keizer only glowered more in anger that the monster dared to touch those bones again, making the child more distressed, even as Keizer growled darkly basically damning it and the rest of them for killing his crewmates. The young Zilla just whined seeing blue vapor spilling out from Keizer's mouth as he stepped towards it looking like he was about to kill it in revenge, but he paused again as the babyzilla hastily moved a couple of bones into the hole. Neither of them knew exactly what it was doing, but seeing that Keizer was now watching its movements, restraining himself so tenuously, the green theropod wondered if Keizer actually accepted that… It continued to warble fearfully as it moved more bones into the hole keeping its golden eyes fixed on him, and soon enough all bones found within the spike barrier were collected in the hole. Keizer's glare seemed to project a mix of emotions while watching, which the babyzilla sensed pretty easily, but it also noticed him starting to breathe more heavily as more blue vapor huffed from his mouth, like he was just holding his fire breath down, only just… The youngster barely got enough time to let out a meek chirp before Keizer simply snapped and blasted a stream of blazing fire at the young monster, scorching it as it scrambled away with an alarmed cry, making the other babyzillas cry out in kind, but Keizer kept the fire going after it until it ran all the way to the edge of the spikes. He just roared the iconic bellow of the Zilla species with such pain that even the adults in the water turned their attention to his direction. And once he was out of breath, he just leered at the ground panting roughly with tears pooled at the edges of his visor, standing in place for a few moments as he let his inner turmoil swirl inside of him that prevented him from moving. He couldn't believe that that monster had the gall to trespass against his consent and try to make such a crude apology gesture. It probably wasn't even that, it probably was just trying to escape, but noticed that he paused and let it try to appease him again. Why did they keep trying? Why wouldn't they just leave him alone…?

Most of the other youngsters decided to turn away and go back to the water, virtually repelled by Keizer's grief, while the green one stayed in its spot next to the barrier slowly recovering from its burns, and it watched the depressed hybrid finally move to turn around and face the hole of bones, his tail laid limp across the ground while his clawed hands hung by his sides. Keizer then just dropped to his hands and knees before the hole, crying in his rough and raspy voice that made the green babyzilla tilt its head with some sympathy, wondering why he was so affected by that gesture… Did Keizer have some connection with those colorful beans that the babyzillas ruined? The green child dipped its head in some thought, listening to the cries of Keizer from its spot, as if he didn't even care that it was still trespassing at the moment, and it started to get that upset feeling again. It didn't know if it did a good thing or a bad thing. Would this make Keizer hate them even more? Or would he appreciate it finally?

Keizer remained in his distressed state for a long while, while the green Zilla decided to move to the hole it'd dug to get in here, casting another glance at Keizer almost with some pity, before then descending into the burrow to get out of the spike barrier, and it headed back to the water to collect some fish. Eventually, Keizer finally calmed down enough to recollect his thoughts and emotions, and groggily got back to his feet only to move the dug up dirt back into the hole with his tail, burying the bones that would help ease his conscious. His gaze was still quite pained, but maybe he could pretend that the green babyzilla meant to do this. Maybe it would help him get on the path to forgiving them in the future. After all, he couldn't really leave this cavern, and he wasn't going to just give up living because he was alone.

He was still watched by a few babyzillas as he turned to head back into his submarine base, but before he stepped inside, he glanced over to the spike barrier seeing a couple of fish and a glowing crystal get tossed over from the green babyzilla, who gave a few sheepish chirps and trills. To which Keizer just stared at the peace offering for a number of seconds, his mind really not stable enough to react much more, before he just turned away and paced up to his room in the ship, leaving the items there yet again, and yet again to the young Zilla's dismay. He just needed to sleep for now, feeling so tired after that outburst that all he needed right now was rest to recover his energy…

The babyzillas decided to leave Keizer well alone for a while now since his episode, their will to interact with him deminishing with all of their attempts continually failing, and just accept him as his own space in the cavern that didn't welcome them. He was only one small entity after all, so it wasn't like he was any competition for their resources, as was the only inclination predators had to exile something from their territory. And all that time, Keizer refused to come outside again while he grieved, still pondering on what the green babyzilla had done with the bones of his crew… It was unlikely that it actually was sentimental enough to consider burying those dead members out of respect, it was an animal. But… It did seem to be quite intelligent for an animal. Maybe it could be capable of some degree of sentience, maybe it could be taught what the meaning of grieving was… When Keizer calmed down some after a few days time, he wondered if he could get the attention of that green one; it seemed to be the only one trying harder to win over his forgiveness. Keizer was still feeling reluctant to finally respond to their efforts, but the burdened feeling of depression was starting to wear on his mind, and they were just animals to be fair… At least his crew wasn't just killed because they existed like impostors tended to do, they did provide some food to the babyzillas, Keizer supposed…

Keizer took some more time to mull over his decisions and weigh his options, gazing out from the large viewing window in his submarine seeing all the adult Zillas just lazing around in the water while the babies wandered around playing with each other. They didn't seem like aggressive creatures when there was no new stimuli for them to entertain themselves with, in spite of how malicious that sounded in Keizer's mind, but this was still these Zillas' home after all… It was all just starting to make Keizer feel bad about himself, now that he started to consider the Zillas' perspective of his situation… His crew were the intruders, and the babyzillas were, well, children. Of course they'd jump at the opportunity to practice their predatory nature whenever they could. But that didn't mean it didn't still hurt when the crewmates meant no harm…

After another few hours, Keizer felt it was time to talk to the residents of the cavern, or at least the one that was trying the most to reach out to him. He spotted the green babyzilla amongst the dark ones, and went down to step outside of his ship. He walked over to the spike barrier, letting the nearby babies notice him with apprehensive leers and noises, but Keizer focused on the green one. When it came close enough, he let out a beckoning grunt at it, gaining its attention and getting it to cautiously pace close. Keizer just downcasted his gaze seeing how nervous the youngsters were of him, before he took out his fabricator gun and shot at a portion of the spikes to dematerialize them, which slightly spooked the babyzillas. They then looked a bit curious seeing the gap in the barrier, before Keizer ushered the green one to come through, which it hesitently did, a bit nervous of what Keizer wanted with it, since this was the first time he was willingly interacting with them without any hostility, granted the portion of spikes was rematerialized once the green child was inside the barrier. Keizer was still reserved against any more than one entering his grounds for now, he only wanted to communicate with one as of yet; this one seemed a bit different aside from just its colors.

Keizer turned back towards his ship as he grunted ushering the green baby to follow him, which it did with a more curious gaze, giving him a trill questioning what he wanted, to which Keizer sighed deeply for a moment, before admitting through a guttural grumble that he finally wished to communicate with them. To this, the green babyzilla looked to perk up some hearing that the Zilla bean was finally relenting in his resentment, though it was still a bit cautious since Keizer had been so spiteful for so long and they didn't quite know why. When Keizer led the youngster into the submarine and up to the second floor where they could be more comfortable, he sat on the floor with a light grunt, followed suit by the other theropod, and they began their communications. Keizer began by apologizing for his abrasive attitude towards them all, explaining that he was very sad for his crew being killed, which the babyzilla was puzzled by, before it responded with a trill admitting that it wondered what connection he had with them, and questioning what a "crew" was. Heh, of course it wouldn't know… Keizer then proceeded to explain what he really was, which piqued the curiosity of the youngster as it listened, steadily settling down in the hybrid bean's presence, and it grew more interested in learning all of what Keizer told; what crewmates were, where they came from, what they were doing at the bottom of the ocean, and that Keizer was in fact one of those beans that the other babyzillas hunted down. That did make the young one feel a bit sorry for Keizer, but it felt slightly better when he admitted that he already figured why they predated on the beans. It was still painful, but he couldn't really hold it against them for just trying to survive. The babyzilla gave a sympathetic trill, before questioning then how Keizer made himself turn into a Zilla like them, to which the hybrid tensed slightly before admitting that he took the green youngster's blood and injected it into himself, to which the child surprisingly looked more curious rather than appalled. In which case, Keizer was rather relieved that it was just an animal rather than a person who would have been practically offended that he did such a thing, but this babyzilla didn't seem to really care at all, rather accepting that Keizer was more or less one of them now, and that was all that mattered… Somehow, this seemed to help Keizer feel more accepted despite the youngster now knowing that he was probably going to be devoured along with the rest of his crew if he didn't manage to evade the brood that month ago, and the child seemed to feel a bit bad about that as well now that it got to properly meet Keizer and hear his story, like it was easier to form a bond while it was most willing to learn and able to really befriend him. Maybe they could have befriended the other crewmates if given more time to let the two species coexist…

Outside with the other babyzillas, they all seemed to settle down as they sensed their sibling feeling fine in the ship, assuming that nothing bad was happening to it while the time passed by, but they continued to keep their distance from the spike barrier since they assumed that Keizer still didn't want them near the submarine, so they just waited for their broodmate to reappear, hopefully in good condition. Keizer and the green babyzilla continued to chat for at least an hour, getting the consolations done with easily enough, and it led to other learning topics about each other, Keizer learning that the green one was a male called Vaisala, which Keizer gave his own name in return. Keizer also learned that despite having a terrestrial anatomy, the Zillas could live in water just as well, even able to breathe underwater, though they couldn't breathe fire underwater, understandably. It made Keizer a bit nervous to try breathing underwater since just a small amount in his lungs would drown him, but maybe being a Zilla granted him a new adapted anatomy for water dwelling. That didn't mean he knew how to use it though. Or, maybe he did? After all his body seemed to just know how to use his new anatomy already, so maybe he would actually know how to breathe underwater. For now, Keizer just wanted to try to recover from his depression as he felt comfortable, which Vaisala was content with now that Keizer was finally willing to be friendly with the other Zillas, though it wouldn't be quite that fast, Keizer informed. Getting over grief would still take a while yet, this was just the first step to forgiveness, which Vaisala was willing to wait for. After all, there wasn't much else to do in this cavern until they were big enough to safely exit into the deepsea trench, where only the adults were resilient enough to withstand the crushing depth pressure; it gave them more time to get to know each other in any case.

From this time on, Keizer efforted to accept the Zillas and put the death of his crew behind him, for the sake of his happiness and the other Zillas feeling more comfortable with him, helped with Vaisala telling them what Keizer's problem was, to which they all slowly warmed up to as time went on. Of course a lot of them weren't quite as sympathetic, but they agreed to put that hunting event behind them for Keizer's sake as well. Keizer also got them to agree not to hunt crewmates if ever any more managed to make their way into or near this cavern, and instead bring them to him as a sort of ambassador. After all, he was still a crewmate at heart, and he didn't want any others going through what he did. Of course he didn't have his hopes the highest for the darker Zillas, as they seemed to be more feral than Vaisala, thus they were more probable to kill intruders anyway, especially if they showed aggression to the Zillas, and which he told himself that at least it was better they all die than a few living to suffer the grief, and if that was the case, he didn't want to acknowledge it…

Eventually Keizer grew out of his resentment for the Zillas when he became too tired to hold onto it any longer, finally letting those separation wounds heal, which took a couple of months. During which, he started interacting more with the other babyzillas to learn how they spent their childhood, and likewise with the adults, he learned how they spent their time, which seemed to be pretty sedentary since there wasn't much to do in the cavern. They typically just went out into the open ocean to relieve their boredom, staying within the depths to avoid detection by any surface walkers that might cause them trouble. That seemed to be another note for Keizer as to why the Zillas were initially inclined to kill intruders, not just for predation, but they were wary of what intruders might be from the surface world and may mean them harm. Keizer more easily understood that bias, since crewmates did the same thing with impostors, granted impostors usually were malicious, while the Zillas were just trying to survive. He supposed he could apply that perspective to impostors now that he thought about it, sometimes impostors were the ones on the recieving end of crewmate aggression, which made them more similar to the Zillas, but aforementioned they were usually the aggressors… Well, regardless of which side was in the wrong, both were vying for survival, and blaming the one who started it was starting to sound rather petty; it just served to perpetuate misunderstanding and mistrust…

Regardless, Keizer steadily regained his happiness as he spent more time with the Zillas, finally learning how he could breathe underwater, and becoming fully integrated into the colony, though he always kept to his submarine base as his own familiar home grounds, where he continued to document his discoveries. He found that he couldn't remember the last time he felt hungry even if he didn't eat anything for a few days at a time, maybe something to do with the cavern, or the crystals in particular. They did feel somewhat radiant more than just light-emitting, and as long as he kept his air purifier going to keep the noxious gases from the thermal vents under the water under control and kept the air breatheable, this cavern would be pretty comfortable to live in for as long as he bothered to keep track of. He even dematerialized the spike barrier after he came to trust the Zillas well enough, they still weren't allowed inside the submarine unless he permitted them access, but they could come close if they wished for whatever reason, and Vaisala was pretty much the only one who was allowed to get close to the hybrid bean more frequently since he was the blood doner to Keizer, so he felt more attached to him than any of the others. Vaisala pretty much became Keizer's closest friend out of the colony, being the one who would communicate with him most often, which grew their bond over time, and Keizer grew more comfortable with his new Zilla lifestyle, finally accepting the peace offerings and sharing quality time with the youngsters, mainly since they were his own size, while the adults were more just there to talk to, which Keizer informed them of the surface world in an attempt to get them to have more of an open mind about outsiders. It was actually somewhat simple since they didn't really have any negative experiences with foreigners, Keizer just had to make sure that whatever intruded into the cavern wasn't hostile that would tarnish that open-mindedness, granted the Zillas were so ginormous that outsiders weren't likely to be much of a threat in any case, but with what crewmates and impostors, and especially parasites, were capable of, you couldn't always tell…

[sa7abnews]

Iran beware: US moves these 6 top of the line strike options into position in the Middle East

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/16/iran-beware-us-moves-these-6-top-of-the-line-strike-options-into-position-in-the-middle-east/

Iran beware: US moves these 6 top of the line strike options into position in the Middle East

Hurry up. America’s top shooters are moving into position to target Iran.  With Sunday night’s announcement hastening the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and moving the submarine USS Georgia under U.S. Central Command’s control, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is making sure U.S. Central Command is prepared to attack Iran, and/or its proxies, if Tehran strikes Israel in the next few days.Air Force F-22 fighter jet pilots have already unpacked their bags at a Middle East base where they arrived Aug 8.  Here are more top shooters under Central Command’s operational control – that we know of. It’s very unusual for the Pentagon to make announcements about secretive submarines. But then, the USS Georgia is a very special vessel.  Powered by a nuclear reactor, the USS Georgia began life as an Ohio-class “boomer” designed to carry nuclear weapons, then underwent a high-tech conversion into a conventional guided-missile attack submarine.  Now she can carry an astounding 154 precision Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missiles.  And SEAL teams with mini-submarines.  Add in a highly advanced communication suite, and USS Georgia can stare down Iran all by herself. US ASSETS DEPLOYED TO MIDEAST WILL HELP ISRAEL BUT WILL UNLIKELY ALTER IRAN’S MIND ON RETALIATION, EXPERTS SAYThe USS Georgia was already on exercises in Europe and is positioning in the Eastern Mediterranean. Her Tomahawk missiles have roughly a 1,000-mile range, which equates to good coverage well into Iran.  The most modern Tomahawks also accept targeting updates while in flight, giving commanders maximum flexibility to act on fresh intelligence. That’s six in the Persian Gulf, and two more in the Red Sea, per a count from the Washington Post on Aug. 2.  Crews from ships like USS Laboon have been whacking Houthi drones, missiles and unmanned boats for months.  The DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers can fire Tomahawks, too, as but the destroyers will have some of their vertical launch tubes loaded with Standard Missiles for air defense across the region, as seen when Iran attacked Israel back in April. Austin ordered the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to speed up its transit from the Pacific to the Middle East, where the USS Theodore Roosevelt is already running sustained flight operations.  Nuclear-powered carriers can charge ahead at 35 knots per hour without slacking off, since they don’t refuel.  The Middle East crisis has compelled Central Command to keep a carrier in the Red Sea area almost non-stop for 10 months and it has required four carriers – Ford, Eisenhower, Roosevelt and Lincoln – to meet the tasking. Moving the Lincoln actually leaves the Navy one carrier short in the Pacific. IRAN IS LIKELY WEIGHING ‘RISK OF FAILURE’ BEFORE POTENTIAL ISRAEL STRIKE: JOSEPH VOTELAustin touted the F-35Cs on the Lincoln by name on Sunday, because these stealthy, carrier-based jets have tremendous radar and other sensor capabilities known to intimidate Iran.  In an unusual twist, it’s a U.S. Marine Corps squadron flying the F-35Cs.  Other Marines fly the F-35B vertical take-off and landing variant with amphibious ships.  But this squadron, the “Black Knights” of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron VMFA 314, trains and flies as part of Carrier Air Wing 9.  (Don’t look so shocked.  Marines flew from carriers in World War II and Korea.)Yes, the very jet flown by Tom Cruise in “Top Gun: Maverick.”  Carrier Air Wing 11 on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt has three F/A-18E squadrons.  They have been busy day and night with air patrols against Houthi aggression in the Red Sea and doing their part in knocking out Houthi drones, missiles and unmanned boats. This ground-attack variant of the F-15 air superiority fighter is affectionately known as the “Mud Eagle” and has been operating quietly in theater for ages. The F-15Es are true fighter-bombers, and their most experienced pilots have thousands of combat hours from the anti-ISIS war.  The two-seat F-15Es carry air-to-air missiles, a gun and “any nuclear or conventional weapon in the USAF inventory.” Just so you know, Iran.CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONAustin’s choice to deploy America’s top of the line strike options serves two purposes. The first, obviously, is to deter Iran and constrain Iran’s tactical options as the mullahs mull their retaliation plans.  But the specific choice of these forces is to provide Central Command with capability for sustained, precision strikes against military targets in Iran or among Iran’s militia groups.Don’t forget that U.S. B-2 bombers can reach any spot on the globe.  Also, B-1 bombers were used by Central Command in attacks on Syrian targets. I would not be surprised to see the B-1s in action again with their joint stand-off missiles.Beyond this, expect Britain, France, regional allies like Jordan, and others to have forces in play.Of course, China is taking note of this firepower display. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi issued a statement on Saturday supporting Iran’s “dignity” and right to self-defense, whatever that means.  Iran is the center of Mideast terror and China is Iran’s top ally. Gen. Erik Kurilla at U.S. Central Command will soon have all he needs to defend, deter or strike back. As they strive to keep a lid on this crisis, we owe a big debt of gratitude to the American men and women making these crisis deployments in the Middle East. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM REBECCA GRANT

[blessedwifey]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Lululemon Hotty Hot Short II *2.5" Classic Green Size 2.

[whatwewrotepodcast]

Writing Share Tag

Thanks @willtheweaver for this one!

This is from PPiS!

Theo felt the shudder right through his bones as he veered the Starfighter wildly, his weight crushing against the side of his chair. His could feel his palms sweating against the controls as he checked the radar. One buddy too far away to be of any assistance and two bogeys he had to assume were rackets, given the fire he was taking.

“S-Wing 12-24 to control, I’m taking fire. Two rackets, evasive manoeuvres taken.” he reported through his comms array, sending through their coordinates as well. The radar flashed at him, and a warning began to bleat. They were seeking a target on him. He jerked hard enough on the yoke he could feel it creak under his grip as he forced the starfighter in a horizontal roll, grunting his chair shook and creaked. He knew he wasn’t supposed to be flying these kinds of exercises, but he was confident the ship could handle it. It was a strong build, designed to handle the strongest of g-forces. It’s power in vacuum with rear, mid and forward thrusters for maximum manoeuvrability, and its aerodynamic curves and wings allowed for it to be a formidable force both in and out of atmo. Why put him in a ship like this if he wasn’t allowed to stretch its wings?

Tagging @elsie-writes @spideronthesun @mk-writes-stuff

[fastm4k]

Who Would win Maximum Battleship or the kingdom of Arendelle

Its 1946 the USS Connecticut, a Tillman IV-2 class design battleship, has been out to see for a couple of months, but has recently been pulled into a portal when going through a storm that has sent them to the Frozen Universe. There, a mysterious voice told them that if they want to go back to their own universe, they have to destroy a tiny kingdom called the Kingdom of Arendelle. Everyone on the ship agrees to the term, and given directions to the kingdom, the steam towards it. A couple of hours later, they find the city and start to train there guns at the castle they see and fire the first salvo. What happens now?

Stats for the Connecticut (Most of them i based off the Iowa class ,since there isn't much info on the Tillman Designs, so i just increased a couple of things) Displacement: 80,000 short tons (72,600 t)

Size: Length, 975 feet (297 m) Beam, 108 feet (33 m) Draft 32 feet 9 inches (10 m)

Sensors and processing systems: Mark 8 fire control radar Mark 12/22 fire control radar SC-3 radar SK/SK-3 radar SG radar SR radar

Armement: The battleship uses 18"/48 caliber Mark B cannons which lobs 4,000 lbs shells at 3,000 ft/s due to gunpowder technology improving the cannons. 36 × 5 in (127 mm)/38 cal guns 120 × 40 mm (1.6 in) AA guns 60 × 20 mm (0.79 in) AA guns.

Armor: 8–16-inch (203–406 mm) 5–15-inch (127–381 mm) 6–18-inch (152–457 mm) Speed: 25.2 knots (46.7 km/h; 29.0 mph)

Things to keep in mind: The Battleship is 7 miles away Both Anna and Else are in the city, but not in the castle itself. Takes place after Frozen 2

[purpleandstarlight]

@hateweasel

-Me: Lilith says she is doing this to get Ciel back to his family because she may have lost hers forever but his is still in reach. Idk if she's saying the entire truth but i believe her...

Still me literally 2 minutes after: NO!! I WAS PLAYED LIKE A FIDDLE, SHE BLAMED HER CRIMES ON CIEL!! Oh well, what can I say if not gaslight, gatekeep, girlbos? Still like her more than the other bad guy. At least she's smart...

-Hey Hate, you know that big moment where you revealed that next to Ciel, as they were caged, was another person? And you built it up with Ciel's shock and even ended the chapter with the person's name for maximum plot twist effect? It was Goddard, first introduced as a villainous angel, now back as a good grim reaper after his death. It would have been a great shock! ...if only I remembered who the fuck Goddard even WAS back then. It took me 26 minutes to get it - I counted it now with the time stamps on the messages.

In my defense, Goddard appears before Cielois even gets together. Cielois gets together somewhere between chapter 50 and 56 if i remember correctly. I was now 400+ chapters in. I CANNOT remember everything with my terrible memory, especially names...

-My friend, upon finding out that Dan was right all along and Cielois actually was getting it on like he thought all those chapters ago: Imo we undervalue Dan. Especially when it comes to gay stuff. He has a radar.

Me: Secretly, when it comes to gay stuff, he's as smart and perceptive as Travis is with everything...

-Me like 13 minutes laters: Dan is an idiot. Like, when it comes to non-gay stuff I mean.

My friend: And up to this we're not at all surprised

-Me: Seriously, I understand wanting to help rescuing his friend, but it's such a dumb idea! You're all humans, don't have any training in fighting, and that is an extremely dangerous place full of demons! You'll only get killed and upset your demonic friends who will blame themselves even though it's not their fault!! STAY PUT!!

Me like one minute after ending the rant: Nvm Oliver's here bc Dan called him. LIGHT OF MY LIFE!! MY SON!! We hadn't seen him in too long...Suddently I'm okay with this whole Rescue Mission.

-I had spoiled myself from your tumblr blog long before that Dan would be with someone other than Kris in the future. I wasn't 100% sure but it was only wishful thinking for my friend who was shipping them hard since the Ferris Wheel accident. Because of that, and since we were nearing the end of the fic, I feared Kris would die as an ending twist

-Me after Integra calmed Alois down after he snapped at Dan for putting the rest of their friends in danger: Alois is crying :( Dan is crying :( Oliver and DaffyDuck are almost crying (who gives a shit about DaffyDuck?) :(

-Me: You know...Daffyduck stopped being a creep after getting together with Cameron...still, watch me hold a grudge and hate on him for my own pride 💀 (As it turns out with future knowledge, I was right to do so uwu)

Me: So, Kris and Dan are together again. Dan jumped on him to hug him i think? ...OKAY NO I GREATLY MISCALCULATED THAT WAS A KISS-

-Me, after copypasting the DanKris kiss scene and some of the post kiss scene for my bestie who shipped them, finally going back to simply recapping: ...And then Integra interrupted them saying they had more important business to attend to.

My friend: Leave them to it, Integra!!

Me: CIEL COULD LITERALLY DIE AT ANY MOMENT THO?!

My friend: WHATEVER!

-Something that's funny reading it later on with a fresh mind: I was sad about Preston being mortally hit and said it to my friend, who -since I apparently never really mentioned Preston, especially by name- asked me who it was. It's ironic that the first time I ever thought to tell my friend about him was when he was mortally wounded? And then I just talked about him more in DLTP, wich...yeah.

[swazzzy42p]

What if: the revolutionary war having ww2 technology

The revolutionary war was a conflict between the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain that lasted from 1775 to 1783. The colonists fought for their independence and the establishment of a democratic republic, while the British fought to maintain their control and authority over the colonies. The war involved various battles, campaigns, and alliances, and resulted in the creation of the United States of America.

WW2 technology was the collection of scientific and engineering innovations that were developed and used during World War II (1939–1945). WW2 technology included various types of weapons, vehicles, aircraft, ships, communication systems, and medical devices, which had a significant impact on the outcome and nature of the war. WW2 technology also involved the development of nuclear weapons, which were used for the first time in history against Japan in 1945.

If the revolutionary war had WW2 technology, it would have been a very different and more destructive war, with some possible changes and consequences:

- The colonists would have access to modern and superior weapons and equipment, such as machine guns, tanks, planes, and submarines, which would give them an edge over the British army and navy. They would also be able to use radio and radar to communicate and coordinate their operations and receive support from their allies, especially France. They would also be able to use atomic bombs to end the war quickly and decisively, if they had the resources and the will to do so.

- The British would also have access to modern and superior weapons and equipment, such as rockets, jets, aircraft carriers, and battleships, which would give them an advantage over the colonial militia and ships. They would also be able to use encryption and code-breaking to intercept and decipher the enemy messages and plans. They would also be able to use chemical and biological weapons to spread diseases and terror among the colonists, if they had the ethics and the permission to do so.

- The war would involve more casualties, destruction, and environmental damage, as both sides would use their weapons and equipment to inflict maximum harm and damage on the enemy and their infrastructure. The war would also involve more civilians, as both sides would target and bomb the enemy cities and towns. The war would also involve more global implications, as both sides would seek and receive assistance from other countries, which could lead to a world war.

Therefore, if the revolutionary war had WW2 technology, it would have been a more complex and violent war, with each side having its own strengths and weaknesses. The outcome would depend on the strategy, leadership, and morale of both sides, as well as the intervention and influence of other countries. It would be a fascinating and terrifying scenario to witness.

[usafphantom2]

Chinese J-35 poachers should be deployed on the Liaoning aircraft carrier

The model was observed on the aircraft carrier Liaoning, which notably lacks the catapult launch equipment with which the J-35 was expected to work.

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 02/24/2024 - 16:00 in Military

According to information published by the Global Times on February 19, 2024, China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, is about to complete a significant update, with recent reports revealing the presence of a model of a new stealth fighter, identified as J-35, on its deck.

This development indicates that China's advanced aircraft carrier-based jet fighter will not only be deployed in the new Fujian aircraft carrier, equipped with a catapult, but also in the ramp-assisted Liaoning and Shandong aircraft carriers.

To expand: beyond obvious benefits of 5th gen sensors+VLO, if J-XY/35 can take off from STOBAR w/ near max internal fuel+full weapons bay (no externals, i.e. far below MTOW), that's a viable “HIC” CV loadout.

This measure indicates a strategic effort by China to fill the technological and operational gap between its naval aviation capabilities and those of the main naval powers, particularly the United States.

Despite the extensive work, the external changes in Liaoning seem minimal. The focus of the update has been on internal improvements, including support for new types of aircraft and advances in command and control systems.

This extensive maintenance period, which exceeds the typical duration, suggests a comprehensive update beyond regular maintenance. The tests of the J-35 and J-15 models on the Liaoning deck highlight a strategic diversification in the aircraft carrier's aircraft line.

The J-35 is prepared to take on functions that require aerial superiority and deep penetration into enemy defenses, while the J-15 continues to serve as a crucial component for anti-ship and attack missions due to its large payload capacity.

The J-35 stealth fighter features a single-pilot design and is 17.3 meters long. Its dimensions, including a wingspan of 11.5 meters and a height of 4.8 meters, are optimized for both aerodynamic efficiency and compatibility with aircraft carriers. The aircraft has a wing area of 50 square meters, increasing its lifting capacity and maneuverability.

It has a maximum take-off weight of 28,000 kg and is driven by two WS-13 post-combustion turbofan engines. Each engine provides a dry thrust of 56.75 kN, which increases to 87.2 kN with post-combustion, allowing the aircraft to reach speeds of up to Mach 1.8 at high altitudes and Mach 1.14 at sea level.

The operational range of the J-35 is 1,200 km with internal fuel, which extends up to 1,900 km with in-flight refueling, offering considerable versatility in mission planning. It can operate at altitudes of up to 16,000 meters, facilitating combat above most ground defense systems.

Equipped with six external hardpoints and an internal weapons compartment, the J-35 has the capacity to carry up to 8,000 kilograms of ammunition. Its payload includes a variety of medium-range air-to-air missiles, supersonic air-to-ground missiles and pumps.

The advanced set of aircraft avionics includes the KLJ-7A AESA radar, a distributed aperture system for situational awareness and an electro-optical aiming system, increasing its effectiveness in combat.

Tags: Military AviationLiaoning (CV-16)PLAN - People's Liberation Army Navy / People's Liberation Army Navyaircraft carrierShenyang J-35

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

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

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[militaryleak]

Terma to Supply SCANTER 6000 Radars for New Royal Navy Type 26 Frigates

Terma, a Danish leader in advanced technology solutions for defense, is thrilled to announce its significant contribution to the second batch of Type 26 frigates for the Royal Navy. Terma will be providing ten SCANTER 6000 radars to equip five state-of-the-art Royal Navy Type 26 frigates, bolstering their capabilities for the future. The agreement on the delivery of the radars has been contracted with German marine navigation manufacturer Anschütz, who is providing the complete Integrated Bridge System (IBS). The Royal Navy's Type 26 frigates are at the forefront of naval innovation, with the first batch of the frigates consisting of three ships already in build, along with the first ship of Batch 2, HMS Birmingham. The second batch of the Type 26 frigates consists of five ships - HMS Birmingham, HMS Sheffield, HMS Newcastle, HMS Edinburgh, and HMS London - and will be equipped with Terma SCANTER 6000 radars. Construction of all eight frigates is expected to be completed by the mid-2030s. The SCANTER 6000 radar systems, to be supplied by Terma, are renowned for their exceptional performance in naval applications. These radars offer simultaneous detection capabilities for small targets, helicopter guidance, and large and small target detection at various ranges, including close and maximum distances. The Royal Navy's Type 26 frigates are designed to be versatile, advanced anti-submarine warfare warships and will serve as the replacement for eight of the retiring Type 23 fleet. Terma's contribution solidifies Terma's reputation as a key player in delivering cutting-edge defense technology and underscores the company's commitment to enhancing naval operational effectiveness.

Terma, a Danish leader in advanced technology solutions for defense, is thrilled to announce its significant contribution to the second batch of Type 26 frigates for the Royal Navy. Terma will be providing ten SCANTER 6000 radars to equip five state-of-the-art Royal Navy Type 26 frigates, bolstering their capabilities for the future. The agreement on the delivery of the radars has been contracted…

[comm-log-james-rascal]

Celestial era 296 may 25th

Comm log transcription from private James rascal to tower aboard covert R&D satellite delta.

P. Rascal: Asteroid tower, this is dante unit 46, two miles out coming from the main gate, inbound for the hangar.

Tower: Dante 46 this is tower, please reroute. I’ve got a blip on my radar I need you to check out in sector 7.

P. Rascal: Roger. That’s pretty far out though. No visuals on camera?

Tower: negative. Asteroids blocking the object. Metallic response and a heat signature.

P. Rascal: A ship? Out here? I’m on it.

Tower: Roger. Over and out.

P. Rascal: ooookay. So it’s over here somewhere.

P. Rascal: oh no… okay Rascal, don’t panic. It’s just a heavily armed ship hiding among the asteroid belt that wasn’t there yesterday. Just back off with minimal jets and they shouldn’t notice-

[laser cannon fire]

P. Rascal: THEY NOTICED ME!!!

P. Rascal: TOWER THIS IS DANTE 46 IVE GOT CONTACT IN SECTOR SEVEN. UNKNOWN HOSTILES HAVE OPENED FIRE!

Tower: Dante 46 this is tower. Do not engage. Return to hangar for rearmament.

P. Rascal: Way ahead of you tower.

[engines roar]

P. Rascal: I’m making my approach through sector six to maintain cover until I get out of range.

Tower: Roger Dante 46. Be safe.

……..

Tower: Dante 46 be advised we’ve got a heat signature leaving the ship at high velocity towards you.

P. Rascal: Missile?

Tower: negative. Too big and it’s weaving the asteroids. It’s a mech. Model is unregistered and moving at 1.2 times your speed. You need to increase thrust!

P. Rascal: negative tower I’m already at maximum speed for this unit!

Tower: copy that… I’m sorry.

[engines roar]

P. Rascal: what the hell!!? Did it just pass me?!!

Tower: what?!! Roger that Dante 46 unknown mech has passed you. Do you have a visual?!!

P. Rascal: Affirmative. This guy painted it teal! It looks like a suped up Heracles model!

Tower: alright, return to hangar for rearmament. I’m gonna have private Taylor lay down some cover fire.