#white gallant convoy

[askvectorprime]

Dear Vector Prime, do you know anything of the White Order leaders with the body-types of Dragonicus and Thunderwing? What were their names/titles? What deeds led to their deaths and entombment in the Ivory Towers?

Dear Alabaster Adventurer,

I see you’ve chosen two of the more notable leaders of the White Universe. Long before the seven colored universes were merged by the Primus Vanguard and their holy defenders organized into orders, the White Guardians watched over the inhabitants of their primordial universe. Their dedication to protecting life had led to a cosmos filled with planets untouched by the ravages of time. The bravery espoused by the Way of the White Matrix had allowed their mightiest warriors to face down even entropy itself. The world that would become known as the White Planet had long been saved from climate change, its pristine glaciers having been saved from the rulebreaker named Heat. Wherever a citizen walked, there was always a White Guardian ready to save them, from dangerous traffic, unsteady construction, and even bad nights’ sleep. When Primus first made contact with this universe, they were led by the peace-hoarding dragon, White Resolute Convoy.

For Resolute Convoy, the threat of the Specters was outweighed only by the threat of the six other universes. The heat of the Red, the sickly-sweet Purple… To him, once the Specters had been extinguished, the real threat would be the stains of his neighbors on his perfected world.

By now, many of the White Guardians had personally accompanied their counterparts into battle, and had experienced their bravery at first hand, so it should not come as a surprise to that there was little resistance when Primus himself, enraged at this disregard for his grand design, arrived in the White Universe to punish Resolute Convoy. This was said to have been the first and only time Primus brought the might of his Golden Power down on one of his own lieutenants, and it was only the disappointed gaze of Blue Brightes Convoy, Primus’ second in the duel, that saved Resolute Convoy from death. By now quite unpopular with his own people, the dragon slinked away into the wastes, never to be seen again.

With no named successor, one White Guardian rose above the others to take the place of Convoy. With grinning fangs and a cocksure stalk, Daringdo took the name White Daringdo Convoy, and the mantle of leadership with it. His horrific appearance having been carved in his youth to scare off evil, the maverick Daringdo had been known to loudly introduce himself as “uncle” or “grandfather” to his foes before demanding respect, then blowing them away with his Cyclone Cannon.

As Daringdo Convoy, he was aware that his watch was merely part of a longer chain of justice, and it was thus that he took a ward, Gallant, to teach in his ways. Gallant was far more stiff than his master, more concerned with traffic statistics than the untrue stories Daringdo Convoy taught him in order to find the hidden justice within. Perhaps it was some sense of his eventual death that drove him to take a student. During a particularly vile Specter attack, Daringdo Convoy chose to stand his ground and let his subordinates escape. Intent on never backing down, in his last moments he converted the Matrix Saber into its White Matrix form, and opened it fully, exposing the attacking Specters to not just the full force of the White Star Power, but encoding their entire spectrographic data inside its crystalline core. Despite intense wounds, he died standing. A silent Gallant returned to the battlefield some days later, and at the request of his comrades became White Gallant Convoy. His only hope was to follow in his foolhardy master’s footsteps. The data White Daringdo Convoy had obtained would be shared with the other universes, becoming part of the chain of events that would end with Blue Big Convoy proposing the Joint Matrix Strategy and the birth of the Precursor Universe.

For good and for ill, all former leaders of the Primus Vanguard are memorialized in the Ivory Tower. However, Resolute Convoy lost his right to enshrinement. Indeed, neophytes occasionally mistake Daringdo’s memorial for him, thinking his monstrous countenance proof of his draconic heritage. This is a mistake quickly corrected by attendants: to this day, White Resolute Convoy is the only commander struck from the records. Primus had desired a future all his own, but it would be a future with change, albeit by his own design.

Nonetheless, these two warriors are examples of the many ways justice and order can be interpreted through the lens of belief. I hope their tale has been of interest to you.

[plethoraworldatlas]

A week after Israeli officials promised the Biden administration they would open a border crossing and a port to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, relief organizations and the United Nations reported Friday that life-saving supplies are still being blocked, and warned that the White House must take more decisive action to force Israel to stop starving Palestinians.

The U.N. reported that just 212 aid trucks entered Gaza on Tuesday, far lower than the 467 reported by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who promised to "flood Gaza with aid" after a tense phone call between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden last Thursday.

The phone call came in response to Israel's bombing of a World Central Kitchen aid convoy that killed seven aid workers. On the call, Biden reportedly threatened to halt weapons deliveries unless a surge in humanitarian aid was allowed into Gaza.

But as The Guardian reported Friday, the Ashdod port has not been opened yet, and instead of opening the Erez crossing last Sunday as promised, Israel has opened another crossing into northern Gaza but has not yet allowed U.N. agencies to use it.

"Netanyahu scammed Biden again: A week after he promised to open the Erez crossing and Ashdod port to increase aid to Gaza, the [Israel Defense Forces] & port authorities say they NEVER received any instructions of this nature," said Muhammad Shehada, communications chief for Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, citing reporting from Israel's N12 channel.

The Guardianreports that Israel has set an ultimate target of 500 aid trucks per day to enter Gaza—the same amount that delivered relief to residents before the Israeli bombardment rendered the enclave's food system, healthcare facilities, and other public services inoperable.

"The call for 500 trucks, with a combination of commercial and humanitarian shipments, is the absolute minimum," Juliette Touma, communications director for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) toldThe Guardian. "Probably what Gaza needs is at least 1,000 trucks a day."

The U.N. found that just 141 aid trucks entered the enclave on Wednesday. The Washington Postreported that Israeli authorities have blocked aid deliveries containing items such as chocolate croissants, maternity kits, sleeping bags, stone fruits, and oxygen cylinders.

[pluralsword]

Who’s Killed a Prime?

If we missed somebody or had an error, feel free to add to the list in the reblogs (so we can build the full list) or the comments!

Alpha Trion: Skyfall (1/5th of Nexus Prime)

Arcee: Liege Maximo

Bee Team: Megatronus

Broadside: Modus Prime

Central Powers and Entente/Allies: Domitius Major

Cybertronian Senate: Nominus Prime

Galvatron: Nexus Prime

Galvatron II: Rodimus Prime

God Neptune: Black Go Prime, Green Tender Convoy, White Gallant Convoy, Yellow Splendid Convoy

Hydra Cannon gunners: Optimus Prime

Iaconus: Alchemist Prime (noted by madisonthetimewalker ! thank you)

Megatron: Alpha Trion, Sentinel Prime, Optimus Prime, Zeta Prime

Megatron & Optimus Primal: Optimus Primal

Megatron X: Optimus Prime

Megatronus: Solus Prime, Prima

Optimus Prime: Megatronus, Nova Prime, Sentinel Prime, Optimus Prime, Zeta Prime

Prima: Megatronus

Primus: Purple Wicked Convoy

Rainmakers: Sentinel Prime

Shockwave: Highbrow Prime, Liege Maximo, Megatronus, Onyx Prime

Solus Prime: Megatronus

Someone in battle: Sentinel Prime

Soundwave: Zeta Prime

The Swarm: Optimus Prime

Vector Prime: Logos Prime

Windblade: Matrix of Leadership containing all of the Thirteen of Megatron X's universe

Funny that Windblade technically has the biggest kill count per different character here while she was saving the world (again)

[shikkokunohaoh]

i’m still thinking about white gallant convoy. what a funny character. “oh god this guy might be my reincarnation in the next universe so i have to DIE IMMEDIATELY”

[thatstheticketheresthestory]

It's Sunday so its stub-day! Here's another ticket from the many I have collected over the years

Venue - Wembley Stadium

Year - 1971

The League Cup Final

Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa

Price 60p

Edmonton is only a mile from White Hart Lane. I was destined to be a spurs fan. My late dad Les had taken me to my first game a couple of years earlier. Now me and Gary Garyoke Yido Furness and other mates from Orpington Gardens would go on our own to every home game. Back then you could just turn up, pay 20p and stand on the terraces; 5p more if you wanted to stand in the safer enclosure area

It was the first time since I'd been going that Spurs had got to Wembley. I was desperate to go and managed to get a ticket which my dad had brought home, purchased for me from a bloke down the pub the night before. I was so excited.

There was only one ticket and my dad was working so my mum organised that I would get a lift there from some neighbours, a couple of guys who lived over the road. I didn't really know them. In hindsight, I think they may have been on the other bus. They had a Morris 1100. We dangled our spurs scarves out the windows, which trailed behind like dancing windsocks as we drove in convoy with other fans making the pilgrimage along the North Circular Road

They had seats. I was standing behind the goal in the Spurs end, so we separated and agreed to meet in the car park after.

I gingerly edged into the packed crowd, a 10-year-old on his own but not alone: surrounded by singing supporters and engulfed in navy blue and white. I was too small to see much, but I was lifted up by a stranger and perched on crush barrier where I could get a better view

Spurs had a brilliant team with some legendary players. Jennings, Kinnear Knowles, Mullery, Collins, Beal. Gilzean, Perryman, Chivers, Peters and Neighbour. We were playing rank outsiders, Villa, who were in the third division.

We were pretty awful that day.

Villa completely outplayed us and deserved to win. Chivers scored a couple of late goals against the run of play and Tottenham snatched a rather jammy victory.

The gallant losers were treated as heroes, receiving by all accounts, the greatest ever ovation for a losing team at Wembley. Some of Spurs fans were laughing, rather than cheering when they did their lap with the cup. We were so relieved. It had been the great escape!

All the excitement must have got to me. I felt a bit car sick and nauseous on the car journey home and I secretly vomited on my lap

It didn't matter, we had won the cup. I used my scarf to wipe it up

With love from the stubman x

Here are the highlights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM-RgqVD7Dk

[hottytoddynews]

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hegel and Capt. Joe Skinner

Editor’s note: The following is a Veterans Day speech written by Captain Joe Skinner of Oxford for the American Legion Post 55. As a 31-year U.S. Navy veteran, Captain Skinner served as commanding officer of the USS Louisville, a fast-attack nuclear-powered submarine, among other assignments, and later served in the Pentagon. Unfortunately, a scheduling conflict prevented Captain Skinner from delivering the speech, but he has kindly agreed to share the text with HottyToddy.com’s readership.

I was asked to speak today by the American Legion, and it is truly a humbling experience to speak on such an important day. How can I possibly memorialize the legion of heroes that have gone before us? I will try, but I must apologize up front, because I know it is difficult to properly thank all the veterans.

Today, I am going to tell you a little about who I am, how veterans contributed to my life, and conclude with some submarine stories. The American Legion said I could pick my topic, so you are going to hear some submarine stories.

I grew up surrounded by veterans: My father was a Marine who fought on five islands in the Pacific. My mother was a WAVE. Seven of my nine uncles served in WWII or Korea. My oldest brother, two cousins, and two of my four brothers-in-law all served during the Vietnam War. Every night growing up, my neighbor played taps.

These men were all hard-working family men that loved America. It seemed natural to me to join the military when I was old enough. My wife also came from a military family: her father served during the Korean War in Europe, and three of her uncles and grandfather served in the military. We can trace relatives who fought for this country in the Revolutionary, Mexican, Civil, Spanish-American, WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam wars.

I spent 31 years in uniform, four at Annapolis, 20 associated with submarines, and seven working international military policy issues. I served on six nuclear attack submarines and spent a total of six years under water. I traveled extensively, visiting 37 countries, leading discussions with Russia, China, Vietnam, India, Japan, Korea, and others.

After this, I was asked to take a job in the Pentagon, where I developed an asymmetric strategy for Taiwan to defend itself from China.

The crew of the USS Louisville (SSN-724) pose for a picture with their submarine.

Now I want to shift to discuss submarines. Today, submarine missions include reconnaissance, land attack missions, anti-submarine and surface missions, mining, SEAL delivery, and ballistic missile patrols. Most of the information concerning these missions is classified, so I am going to discuss what submarines accomplished in WWII.

At that time, the submarine force consisted of only 2 percent of the Navy, but it sank 54% of all Japanese merchant ships. They also sank eight carriers, one battleship, 13 cruisers, 38 destroyers and 23 submarines.

Read Steve Vassallo’s far-ranging 2014 interview with Captain Skinner on world affairs here.

During the war, U.S. submarines had the highest casualty rate for a single branch of the service—18% of all those who served on submarines died.

Two specific stories I would like to share with you, and I have a connection to both:

First, Captain George Street is a Medal of Honor winner. I met him in 1989 during a submarine birthday ball. I shot silly string at a friend of mine, who ducked, and the string hit an older gentleman in the table next to me. I went and apologized and noticed he was wearing a Congressional Medal of Honor.

This artist’s rendering, by Lt. Commander Fred Freeman, depicts the a scene from the famous battle of the USS Tirante off the Quelpart Island in the South China Sea. Commander George Street earned the Medal of Honor for his bravery in the battle.

The following excerpt comes from Captain Street’s award recommendation for the Medal of Honor:

“With extreme aggressiveness, brilliant planning and daring, the commanding officer took his submarine deep into the enemies’ inner defenses in a meticulous search for enemy shipping. With sagacity and consummate skill, he penetrated strong escort screens in the shallow water and launched four devastating torpedo attacks, which resulted in the sinking of four ships, including a transport ship loaded with troops. After the attack upon the transport, the Tirante was subjected to a severe depth-charging, which bounced her off the bottom. Fighting for her life, with explosions rocking her from side to side, this gallant submarine came back with a vengeance and launched a brilliantly executed torpedo attack to sink a patrol vessel. In the confusion following the sinking, the Tirante skillfully made her escape.

“Although the Tirante had already sunk a very creditable amount of enemy shipping, the commanding officer refused to leave this dangerous area until the maximum amount of damage had been inflicted upon the enemy. By sound deduction and brilliant reasoning, it was determined that the enemy ships were using a confined harbor on the north shore of Quelpart for an anchorage. In order to reach this anchorage, he would have to take his submarine through many miles of shallow water in which his ship would not be able to dive. The harbor was inevitably mined, numerous reefs and shoals were known to exist, and the whole area was closely guarded by shore-based radar, numerous patrol vessels and extensive air coverage. Fully realizing the mountainous dangers involved, the commanding officer made his decision to attack.

“Disregarding the possibility of minefields and five shore-based radars in the immediate vicinity, Tirante closed the shoreline and progressed into the harbor through numerous anti-submarine vessels. The gun crews were at the stations, as Tirante would have to fight her way out on the surface if attacked. Once in the inner harbor, the current was checked, and a rapid set-up was made on a 10,000-ton tanker. Two torpedoes were skillfully fired at this target, and a great mushroom of white blinding flame shot 2000 feet into the air, and a thunderous roar nearly flattened the crew of Tirante. In the light of the burning tanker, two frigates spotted the Tirante and started in for the kill. Quickly bringing his submarine to bear on the leading frigate, the commanding officer tenaciously fired two torpedoes at the vessel that was endeavoring to block his escape and then swung his ship and fired his last torpedo at the other frigate.

“With all torpedoes expended, the commanding officer headed his ship out of the confined harbor at full speed just as the torpedoes hit the first frigate and blew it sky-high. Seconds later, the sister ship was hit and it, too, disintegrated. With emergency full speed, the commanding officer slipped right out of the enemy’s hands. In addition to this action, a 100-ton ship was sunk with gunfire, three prisoners were captured from a schooner, and two aviators were picked up from a downed Japanese aircraft.”

Richard “Dick” O’Kane accepts the Medal of Honor from President Truman.

The second submarine Medal of Honor winner I want to discuss is Dick O’Kane. I had the opportunity to meet him when he sold his book in Groton, Connecticut while I was a student at submarine basic school.

On October 23, 1944, Commander O’Kane conducted a surface attack on a convoy and torpedoed seven ships. Twenty-four hours later, he encountered a second convoy that included oilers with aircraft on their decks and troop transports headed to Leyte. This convoy was heavily escorted, and before he reached attack position. the escorts opened up with 5-inch and 40mm fire. O’Kane remained on the surface, and at 1000 yards fired six torpedoes at two transports and two tankers—all torpedoes smashed home.

At once the night became livid with the glare of burning ships, spitting guns, tracers, and exploding shells. All ships were highlighted by the burning ships as the Tang maneuvered for an attack on another large transport. The transport and tanker were astern of the submarine, and off the beam, a destroyer was charging in at 30 knots. Two destroyer escorts rushed at the Tang from the other side, and the three burning ships were directly off the bow. The Tang fired three fast shots to clear the way—the first struck the tanker, which immediately spewed a geyser of flame. The second hit the transport, stopping her dead in the water. The third struck the destroyer.

The explosion of the destroyer shook the Tang from stem to stern. Sprinting out through the gap, she dashed away from the Japanese destroyer escorts. The Tang remained at a safe distance while her last two torpedoes were loaded.

O’Kane selected the damaged troop transport as his final target. The Tang darted through a gap between the escorts and fired the last two torpedoes. The first ran straight to the target, while the second failed and circled back and struck the Tang. The nine crew members on the bridge were thrown into the sea, and the submarine sank to 180 feet. Thirteen men attempted to escape the submarine—eight survived the swim to the surface. The surviving crew were immediately captured and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp in Taiwan.

I selected these two stories for several reasons. First, I had the opportunity to meet both of these men; however, I failed to take advantage of this opportunity and really talk to them. Don’t make my mistake—talk to the veterans in your community; they all have stories worth hearing. However, you will likely have to encourage them to talk—these humble men seldom brag.

The second reason for selecting these stories was to tell a little about the submarines of WWII. Like all services, their culture is built on incredible sacrifice. The submarine force has been called the silent service, and many of their stories do not get told.

Lastly, I selected the second story to remind you not to blindly trust government organizations. In WWII, two U.S. submarines were sunk by their own torpedoes. The U.S. Bureau of Ordinance refused to allow our submarine to fire torpedoes prior to the war because their operation was so secret. This failure to test the torpedoes prevented flaws from being detected and corrected in the torpedoes. Several submarines were lost because of the Bureau of Ordinance’s arcane procedures.

In this photo, Captain Joe Skinner’s father affixes the command pin on Captain Skinner as he assumed command of the USS Louisville.

My final point of this speech is to ask you: Do you have a ritual you share with your children on Veterans Day or Memorial Day to instill pride in your country? My simple ritual occurred on Memorial Day when we lived in Hawaii. My three daughters would put a lei in Pearl Harbor in remembrance of Claude Alderman, my grandmother’s brother, who died in Flanders Fields during WWI.

To end on a lighter note I have one more story about a veteran:

Ethan Allen returned to England after the Revolutionary war, and the British made fun of him. One day they put a picture of George Washington in an outhouse where Allen would be sure to see it. He used the outhouse but said nothing about the picture. Then the British asked him about it, and Allen said it was a very appropriate place for an Englishman to hang the picture because “nothing will make an Englishman s— so quick as the sight of General Washington.”

The post Former Submarine Captain Shares Stories of WWII Heroism appeared first on HottyToddy.com.

[askvectorprime]

Dear, Vector or Onyx Prime. How did CW Optimus Prime evolve into Battle Core Optimus Prime?

In times of true need, shapes resonate with shapes. They call to the future, awash with stars, and to the past, in alabaster clad. 

In the eye of the storm, a call was heard and answered, oh so gallantly.

[askvectorprime]

Dear Vector Prime, whatever happened to ConvoBat and Megalligator who were created by the two Straxuses?

Dear Convobat Conversational,

Megalligator's journey was a cold one. Soundwave had inherited his holy Father's quiet disposition, and on a number of occasions he failed to communicate the graveness of his mission. Assuming he was being taken to begin his crusade against all Megatrons, Megalligator was shocked to find himself face to face with Burning Red Sentinel Prime and the final Megatron himself. Megalligator found his body reacted to Megatron's presence, releasing the Green Matrix from within his veins.

You see, the Straxuses had gathered quite the collection of artefacts during the Angolmois Battles, including the all-creating Green Matrix. The Matrix' limitless creation powers had been drained by the Straxuses to form a battery for their new rebellious assassin, granting him power over machine life. Red Sentinel insisted Megalligator hand over the Matrix to Megatron, but Megalligator stole it away, enraged that he had been reduced to a pawn in the life of his genetic source. It was only the timely manifestation of Green Tender Convoy that brought an end to the conflict. Tender explained that Megatron had been chosen as his successor, but the weight of his sins as Emperor of Destruction prevented him from taking the Green mantle alone. This was where Megalligator came in. As a Primitive, beloved of Primus, Megalligator was to act as shieldbearer and conscience to Megatron, always pushing him towards defense of nature and the common man. Megalligator buckled under this decree, but came to some acceptance after seeing Megatron risk his life for him when Straxus' servant Sideways attacked. The villainous space biker was driven off, and the pair were jointly dubbed the Green Compassionate Commanders.

Meanwhile, Convobat joined Magna Convoy as they scoured their quiet and chaotic universe for survivors of the Primus Vanguard. They found Jhiaxus in her laboratory, having completed the formula necessary to manifest the Matrix Gauntlet, her lover Yellow Splendid Convoy dubbing her the Yellow Dazzling Commander before passing on to Primal Valhalla. Deadlock found them, having meditated on the hiss of the Black Legendisc and realised his potential as Black Brilliant Commander. This act of sheer personal assertion called forth his opposite to balance the universe, a minor candidate at White Gallant Convoy's Glacier Academy: Drift, the White Bold Commander.

This party made their way to the Purple Planet, having been told that their final test awaited them. There they found Purple Wicked Convoy, quite alone. Without Primus, his Shockwave council had mostly found themselves preoccupied with their own experiments. Wicked played the madman, insisting that he was intent on deciding whether Magna Convoy or Convobat was to become his successor: Purple Heinous Convoy.

This was in truth another of Wicked's ill-timed jokes. Confronted with two bots the spitting image of his dear brother-in-arms, he wished to test who deserved to take the Blue mantle. Magna Convoy won out: Convobat could not help but find himself tempted by a future separate from the shadow of his genetic father. Wicked assured him to take heart: Blue Big Convoy had always asserted that the world was larger than Convoys or Primes, and Convobat had proven himself as beyond the cycle of Primal succession.

When Convobat and Megalligator finally met, it was as equals: as Convoy and Convobat. Though they had one final clash, the only ones who had anything to fear were the Straxus Corps. For they were the defenders of the universe: the Primus Vanguard.