Sorry about the delay. I ultimately decided that the story needed a substantial re-write and ended up back at square one. Unfortunately, this means chapters will now only go up three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). Hopefully you’ll enjoy this new version, and find it worth the wait.
Also, my Patreon is now up if you feel like supporting my writing. I’ll add advance chapters as soon as they’re written.
Thanks for reading!
--------------------------------------------------------------
Prequel (Chapters 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie
First ¦ Previous ¦ Royal Road ¦ Patreon
2. Task Force Nemesis
He, General or mere Captain, who employs everyone in the storming of a position, can be sure of seeing it retaken by an organized counterattack of four men and a corporal.
- Battle Studies, Ardant du Picq
“You’re one of those Academy girls, aren’t you?”
Christie Stirling’s heart seized as a shock of adrenaline lanced through her body, and she needed a great deal of effort not to flinch or tremor. Other party guests looked around in surprise, but her smile remained unblemished. She turned with the lazy and graceless air she had portrayed throughout the night to look into the predatory eyes of Allana Rayker; the inhuman terrorist who had killed her best friend.
The question was either a trap or an accusation. The Academy—a fake university—was the cover of the shadowy organization that had recruited Christie. They had made her a Valkyrie; an enhanced super soldier tasked with protecting humanity from the devastating armaments of an extinct alien race, and those, like Rayker, who wanted to exploit those weapons for evil purposes.
Now that Valkyrie had found the evil woman’s hiding place, the hunt was reaching its final moments. But, shaken by surprise, Christie’s instincts screamed that her cover was blown, that she would be tortured and executed, and that the rest of the task force stealthily approaching the chateau would be discovered and attacked.
She feigned a puzzled smile as she fought for control of her emotions. All around the room, expensively dressed party goers mingled and talked with abandon. Light flashed off crystal glasses, chandeliers, and jewelry worth more than any citizen’s life. A man tipsy with wine laughed raucously at the joke of a Central Committee member, no doubt eager to impress one of the most powerful people in the galaxy.
The exclusive party, hosted by Joakinn Meissner, newly selected president of the largest arms manufacturer in the galaxy, had been anticipated for months. The guests were lost in the lavish display of wealth, with no idea, Christie was certain, that they might be about to witness a gruesome murder.
An angry inner voice drowned out the rising panic. How dare she allow herself to fail? How dare she let down her fellow Valkyrie, who had worked tirelessly for years to hunt down Rayker, and finally bring her to justice? And how dare she betray the memory of her friend Rose, who had already given her life in that struggle? There was simply no room for weakness, and Christie would be damned if she was going to let the operation end so abysmally.
She held onto her façade by her fingertips, as a gut-wrenching void swung beneath her.
“Where?” she asked, slurring her words. “Oh, you mean the mystery school? No, I went to Cambridge actually.”
She kept her eyes unfocused and wandering, but nevertheless taking in details. The galaxy’s most dangerous terrorist was dressed in black, and an earpiece was just visible behind the locks of black hair that fell from the neat bun. She didn’t hold a glass, and stood awkwardly, as one who doesn’t care to impress or reassure. On her wrists, Christie noticed the subtle bulges in the skin that marked her most deadly weapons—spikes of bone that she could launch with more power and speed than bullets.
Rayker stared into her eyes, dragging out the silence. Around them, the fabulously adorned guests began to look over, bemused by the strange interaction. Christie continued the drunken pause, allowing her eyes to droop with fatigue. She wished it were real, but tonight she could not be affected by alcohol. Like all Valkyrie, her bloodstream was flooded with nano machines that gave her enhanced speed, strength, and healing potential. Twenty-four hours earlier, a bioengineer had programmed the nanites to target and break down all alcohol enzymes that passed through her system.
Unfortunately, even advanced technology wouldn’t help her survive for long against Rayker.
Eventually Christie began to turn away, suppressing the shiver she felt at showing her back to a predator.
“Loving the dress,” she said with a hint of disdain. “Not everyone can pull off funeral black at a drinky fete.”
“Perhaps I was mistaken,” Rayker said, her voice neutral. “I’m afraid I haven’t had the pleasure.”
Christie stopped and looked back at her with a smirk. “Gosh, you’re scary!” she crowed. “You might almost be a villain in one of those spy movies!”
A wave of embarrassed silence, interrupted by a few titters, passed through the crowd, while others hid disbelieving grins behind their drinks.
Rayker ignored them and extended her hand. “Allana Rayker. I’m an associate of Herr Meissner.”
Christie shook limply. “I’m Petti.”
Rayker’s eyebrows flickered as she suppressed an obviously contemptuous expression. “You’re the girl who found success on the feeds recently? Modeling lingerie?” Her lips twisted into a fake smile. “I wouldn’t normally be interested, but so many men have told me that you have a surprising intellect.”
Of course, the meeting had been inevitable. Rayker had been prowling the halls of Meissner’s Chateau, interrogating every young woman in a similar fashion. Christie’s cover had been calculated to make her stand out, but in a way that could be easily dismissed. ‘Petti’ was a highly connected social influencer, who craved adoration and attention. It had been a fun role, up until now.
Christie grinned at the lascivious looks around her. “You guys—you’re so sweet!”
Her crowd of male admirers laughed, then directed blank stares at Rayker. Christie offered a prayer of thanks for the collective lust that was patiently trying to convince the intruder that she was an unwelcome bore who had no right to deprive them of the attention offered by an inebriated and provocatively dressed young woman, and should leave as soon as possible.
“Enchanté,” Rayker said, and stalked off.
“Is there a draft in here? I think I felt a chill,” Christie said to more laughter.
She turned her sunbeam smile back to the crowd while she reached a gently shaking hand up to brush the silver of her brooch. The tiny and delicate shapes of the flower’s petals helped calm her mind as she focused on the next step.
​
A mile away, in the dense woods of the Chateau’s outer grounds, Lance-Corporal Kayla Barnes moved slowly through the dark undergrowth. She placed each foot purposefully, testing the ground before shifting her weight to prevent the cracking of a twig or the rustle of leaves.
As she crested a low rise, she froze. The multi-wavelength vizor of her helmet showed the surrounding trees and foliage in dark grey and black patterns. Amidst the visual chaos she had been struggling to navigate, a pair of tiny white blobs had suddenly appeared.
Heat sources. Guards.
Kayla reached for the comm switch on her chest and triple clicked the talk button, sending a burst of static noise to the rest of the squad. Close behind, the three other members of her fire team, who had stopped when she had, raised their rifles and peered through scopes at the distant threat. Further along the gentle slope, the second half of their eight-woman squad also stopped, as they too scanned to locate the new target.
They were Rangers, part of Valkyrie’s elite infantry force. Under the cover of darkness, they had climbed through the surrounding mountains and crept past local security forces to infiltrate the chateau grounds. When the time came, their job would be to neutralize the VennZech corporation’s mercenary guards, leaving the Chateau infiltrators free to break in and take down Rayker.
Kayla would either succeed in her mission or die trying. She had graduated Valkyrie’s crushing selection course together with her three best friends, whom she had sworn never to let down. She had already unforgivably failed Rose Djallen; killed in action on a previous operation. Thandi Khawula was in the squad’s second fire team, covering her movements. Christie was in the chateau, facing their target alone.
As Kayla watched the distant blobs draw closer, they resolved into familiar human figures. Three of them. They were strolling, weapons slung, as they made the head and arm movements of everyday conversation.
Of course they were distracted; they had the Ambrosia detail. The planet was the luxury destination for the most powerful members of human society. On its pristine shores, rivalries and factions were forgotten. Powerful cartel members, after being offered a month’s stay, would be offered mutual, but discrete, agreements in place of a prison sentence. Business might be politely discussed, but anyone looking to extort or threaten fellow guests of would find their home planet visited by a Helvetic League security fleet. The normally fractious and squeamish planetary governors would look the other way. Nobody in their right mind would want to disturb this world’s tranquility.
But Valkyrie worked from the shadows and went wherever they pleased. Besides, if everything went to plan, nobody would even know what had happened.
The Chateau was built high on the slopes of Ambrosia’s most popular mountain range, not far from a huge ski resort. Perched on the edge of a sheer cliff, the building was flanked by a spectacular waterfall. In daylight, there was a jaw dropping view of the surrounding peaks and valleys. The grounds were covered in dense forests that stretched across the surrounding slopes. Normally, they were peaceful, disturbed only by the occasional guest out for an adventurous hike. Now they were crawling with Rangers, closing in to seal the chateau off from the outside world.
Kayla slowly turned her head and found the muted gray patch of her squad leader a short distance away. Their combat suits kept their body heat from seeping out into the world—as much a necessity to protect them in the vacuum of space as to keep them hidden. The diffuse blob of Corporal Ksenia ‘Kes’ Rudaski slowly raised an arm towards Kayla, and made a gentle motion in the direction of the approaching men.
Kayla raised her own hand in a thumbs up, then began to move forward. She did not need to see or hear her three other Rangers to know they would be close behind.
The two elements were separating. Kes’ Alpha team spread out on the rise to keep their rifles aimed at the new threats, while Kayla’s Bravo team crept towards them.
Their commanders had decided early in the operation that they should attempt to minimize human casualties wherever possible. To that end, Kayla and her squad mate Ray carried stun rifles. They could stop the heart of a human with a projectile that could latch into the skin and deliver a violent electric shock. Then, the Rangers would have up to two minutes to reach the unconscious victims and inject them with a solution to restart their cardiac rhythm before a powerful tranquilizer took effect. The men would wake up with amnesia hours later, and Valkyrie would confidently maintain its secrecy while assuaging the ethical concerns that interfering in human society often brought them.
Unfortunately, the weapons were only effective to a hundred yards. Kayla and Ray would have to get as close as they could before they could take out all three of the guards. They had night vision, and any sound would carry far on such a quiet night. Even distracted, they wouldn’t miss a disturbance amongst the trees.
Kayla had been a talented stalker since she was a child, a noiseless shadow in any environment. Nevertheless, there was always the chance that something could go wrong, and the Rangers couldn’t take the risk of a compromise when so much was on the line.
Certainly not, Kayla grimly reminded herself, when Christie’s life was in so much peril. One wrong move and Rayker would kill her immediately before making good her own escape and destroying months of work.
So Kes and her three Rangers kept their high-powered, suppressed rifles trained on the distant men. At the slightest hint of a problem, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill, and the ‘moral question’ would be chalked up to the fortune of war. False intelligence would be distributed implicating cartel involvement in the raid. Valkyrie ethics had always been a nebulous concept at best.
The closer Kayla got through the undergrowth to her target the closer, she knew, her watcher’s lethal assistance would have to pass by her own body. But she felt no fear. Thandi had become a talented marksman; neither she nor the others would make a mistake.
Now only fifty yards away, the men stopped by a large boulder, leaning against the rock while they drank from their canteens. Kayla dropped to her belly and merged into the ground as she slithered forward.
First ¦ Previous ¦ Royal Road ¦ Patreon
Prequel (Chapters 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie

Sorry about the delay. I ultimately decided that the story needed a substantial re-write and ended up back at square one. Unfortunately, this means chapters will now only go up three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). Hopefully you’ll enjoy this new version, and find it worth the wait.
Also, my Patreon is now up if you feel like supporting my writing. I’ll add advance chapters as soon as they’re written.
Thanks for reading!
---------------------------------------------------------------
Prequel (Parts 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie
Previous ¦ Royal Road ¦ Patreon
2. Task Force Nemesis
"He, General or mere Captain, who employs everyone in the storming of a position, can be sure of seeing it retaken by an organized counterattack of four men and a corporal."
- Battle Studies, Ardant du Picq
“You’re one of those Academy girls, aren’t you?”
Christie Stirling’s heart seized as a shock of adrenaline lanced through her body, and she needed a great deal of effort not to flinch or tremor. Other party guests looked around in surprise, but her smile remained unblemished. She turned with the lazy and graceless air she had portrayed throughout the night to look into the predatory eyes of Allana Rayker; the inhuman terrorist who had killed her best friend.
The question was either a trap or an accusation. The Academy—a fake university—was the cover of the shadowy organization that had recruited Christie. They had made her a Valkyrie; an enhanced super soldier tasked with protecting humanity from the devastating armaments of an extinct alien race, and those, like Rayker, who wanted to exploit those weapons for evil purposes.
Now that Valkyrie had found the evil woman’s hiding place, the hunt was reaching its final moments. But, shaken by surprise, Christie’s instincts screamed that her cover was blown, that she would be tortured and executed, and that the rest of the task force stealthily approaching the chateau would be discovered and attacked.
She feigned a puzzled smile as she fought for control of her emotions. All around the room, expensively dressed party goers mingled and talked with abandon. Light flashed off crystal glasses, chandeliers, and jewelry worth more than any citizen’s life. A man tipsy with wine laughed raucously at the joke of a Central Committee member, no doubt eager to impress one of the most powerful people in the galaxy.
The exclusive party, hosted by Joakinn Meissner, newly selected president of the largest arms manufacturer in the galaxy, had been anticipated for months. The guests were lost in the lavish display of wealth, with no idea, Christie was certain, that they might be about to witness a gruesome murder.
An angry inner voice drowned out the rising panic. How dare she allow herself to fail? How dare she let down her fellow Valkyrie, who had worked tirelessly for years to hunt down Rayker, and finally bring her to justice? And how dare she betray the memory of her friend Rose, who had already given her life in that struggle? There was simply no room for weakness, and Christie would be damned if she was going to let the operation end so abysmally.
She held onto her façade by her fingertips, as a gut-wrenching void swung beneath her.
“Where?” she asked, slurring her words. “Oh, you mean the mystery school? No, I went to Cambridge actually.”
She kept her eyes unfocused and wandering, but nevertheless taking in details. The galaxy’s most dangerous terrorist was dressed in black, and an earpiece was just visible behind the locks of black hair that fell from the neat bun. She didn’t hold a glass, and stood awkwardly, as one who doesn’t care to impress or reassure. On her wrists, Christie noticed the subtle bulges in the skin that marked her most deadly weapons—spikes of bone that she could launch with more power and speed than bullets.
Rayker stared into her eyes, dragging out the silence. Around them, the fabulously adorned guests began to look over, bemused by the strange interaction. Christie continued the drunken pause, allowing her eyes to droop with fatigue. She wished it were real, but tonight she could not be affected by alcohol. Like all Valkyrie, her bloodstream was flooded with nano machines that gave her enhanced speed, strength, and healing potential. Twenty-four hours earlier, a bioengineer had programmed the nanites to target and break down all alcohol enzymes that passed through her system.
Unfortunately, even advanced technology wouldn’t help her survive for long against Rayker.
Eventually Christie began to turn away, suppressing the shiver she felt at showing her back to a predator.
“Loving the dress,” she said with a hint of disdain. “Not everyone can pull off funeral black at a drinky fete.”
“Perhaps I was mistaken,” Rayker said, her voice neutral. “I’m afraid I haven’t had the pleasure.”
Christie stopped and looked back at her with a smirk. “Gosh, you’re scary!” she crowed. “You might almost be a villain in one of those spy movies!”
A wave of embarrassed silence, interrupted by a few titters, passed through the crowd, while others hid disbelieving grins behind their drinks.
Rayker ignored them and extended her hand. “Allana Rayker. I’m an associate of Herr Meissner.”
Christie shook limply. “I’m Petti.”
Rayker’s eyebrows flickered as she suppressed an obviously contemptuous expression. “You’re the girl who found success on the feeds recently? Modeling lingerie?” Her lips twisted into a fake smile. “I wouldn’t normally be interested, but so many men have told me that you have a surprising intellect.”
Of course, the meeting had been inevitable. Rayker had been prowling the halls of Meissner’s Chateau, interrogating every young woman in a similar fashion. Christie’s cover had been calculated to make her stand out, but in a way that could be easily dismissed. ‘Petti’ was a highly connected social influencer, who craved adoration and attention. It had been a fun role, up until now.
Christie grinned at the lascivious looks around her. “You guys—you’re so sweet!”
Her crowd of male admirers laughed, then directed blank stares at Rayker. Christie offered a prayer of thanks for the collective lust that was patiently trying to convince the intruder that she was an unwelcome bore who had no right to deprive them of the attention offered by an inebriated and provocatively dressed young woman, and should leave as soon as possible.
“Enchanté,” Rayker said, and stalked off.
“Is there a draft in here? I think I felt a chill,” Christie said to more laughter.
She turned her sunbeam smile back to the crowd while she reached a gently shaking hand up to brush the silver of her brooch. The tiny and delicate shapes of the flower’s petals helped calm her mind as she focused on the next step.
A mile away, in the dense woods of the Chateau’s outer grounds, Lance-Corporal Kayla Barnes moved slowly through the dark undergrowth. She placed each foot purposefully, testing the ground before shifting her weight to prevent the cracking of a twig or the rustle of leaves.
As she crested a low rise, she froze. The multi-wavelength vizor of her helmet showed the surrounding trees and foliage in dark grey and black patterns. Amidst the visual chaos she had been struggling to navigate, a pair of tiny white blobs had suddenly appeared.
Heat sources. Guards.
Kayla reached for the comm switch on her chest and triple clicked the talk button, sending a burst of static noise to the rest of the squad. Close behind, the three other members of her fire team, who had stopped when she had, raised their rifles and peered through scopes at the distant threat. Further along the gentle slope, the second half of their eight-woman squad also stopped, as they too scanned to locate the new target.
They were Rangers, part of Valkyrie’s elite infantry force. Under the cover of darkness, they had climbed through the surrounding mountains and crept past local security forces to infiltrate the chateau grounds. When the time came, their job would be to neutralize the VennZech corporation’s mercenary guards, leaving the Chateau infiltrators free to break in and take down Rayker.
Kayla would either succeed in her mission or die trying. She had graduated Valkyrie’s crushing selection course together with her three best friends, whom she had sworn never to let down. She had already unforgivably failed Rose Djallen; killed in action on a previous operation. Thandi Khawula was in the squad’s second fire team, covering her movements. Christie was in the chateau, facing their target alone.
As Kayla watched the distant blobs draw closer, they resolved into familiar human figures. Three of them. They were strolling, weapons slung, as they made the head and arm movements of everyday conversation.
Of course they were distracted; they had the Ambrosia detail. The planet was the luxury destination for the most powerful members of human society. On its pristine shores, rivalries and factions were forgotten. Powerful cartel members, after being offered a month’s stay, would be offered mutual, but discrete, agreements in place of a prison sentence. Business might be politely discussed, but anyone looking to extort or threaten fellow guests of would find their home planet visited by a Helvetic League security fleet. The normally fractious and squeamish planetary governors would look the other way. Nobody in their right mind would want to disturb this world’s tranquility.
But Valkyrie worked from the shadows and went wherever they pleased. Besides, if everything went to plan, nobody would even know what had happened.
The Chateau was built high on the slopes of Ambrosia’s most popular mountain range, not far from a huge ski resort. Perched on the edge of a sheer cliff, the building was flanked by a spectacular waterfall. In daylight, there was a jaw dropping view of the surrounding peaks and valleys. The grounds were covered in dense forests that stretched across the surrounding slopes. Normally, they were peaceful, disturbed only by the occasional guest out for an adventurous hike. Now they were crawling with Rangers, closing in to seal the chateau off from the outside world.
Kayla slowly turned her head and found the muted gray patch of her squad leader a short distance away. Their combat suits kept their body heat from seeping out into the world—as much a necessity to protect them in the vacuum of space as to keep them hidden. The diffuse blob of Corporal Ksenia ‘Kes’ Rudaski slowly raised an arm towards Kayla, and made a gentle motion in the direction of the approaching men.
Kayla raised her own hand in a thumbs up, then began to move forward. She did not need to see or hear her three other Rangers to know they would be close behind.
The two elements were separating. Kes’ Alpha team spread out on the rise to keep their rifles aimed at the new threats, while Kayla’s Bravo team crept towards them.
Their commanders had decided early in the operation that they should attempt to minimize human casualties wherever possible. To that end, Kayla and her squad mate Ray carried stun rifles. They could stop the heart of a human with a projectile that could latch into the skin and deliver a violent electric shock. Then, the Rangers would have up to two minutes to reach the unconscious victims and inject them with a solution to restart their cardiac rhythm before a powerful tranquilizer took effect. The men would wake up with amnesia hours later, and Valkyrie would confidently maintain its secrecy while assuaging the ethical concerns that interfering in human society often brought them.
Unfortunately, the weapons were only effective to a hundred yards. Kayla and Ray would have to get as close as they could before they could take out all three of the guards. They had night vision, and any sound would carry far on such a quiet night. Even distracted, they wouldn’t miss a disturbance amongst the trees.
Kayla had been a talented stalker since she was a child, a noiseless shadow in any environment. Nevertheless, there was always the chance that something could go wrong, and the Rangers couldn’t take the risk of a compromise when so much was on the line.
Certainly not, Kayla grimly reminded herself, when Christie’s life was in so much peril. One wrong move and Rayker would kill her immediately before making good her own escape and destroying months of work.
So Kes and her three Rangers kept their high-powered, suppressed rifles trained on the distant men. At the slightest hint of a problem, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill, and the ‘moral question’ would be chalked up to the fortune of war. False intelligence would be distributed implicating cartel involvement in the raid. Valkyrie ethics had always been a nebulous concept at best.
The closer Kayla got through the undergrowth to her target the closer, she knew, her watcher’s lethal assistance would have to pass by her own body. But she felt no fear. Thandi had become a talented marksman; neither she nor the others would make a mistake.
Now only fifty yards away, the men stopped by a large boulder, leaning against the rock while they drank from their canteens. Kayla dropped to her belly and merged into the ground as she slithered forward.
Previous ¦ Royal Road ¦ Patreon
Prequel (Parts 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie

Hi all,
I'm a student pilot at a small 141 at a class D. I'm taking classes twice a month with a CFI who's really cool. We mesh well and I've been enjoying the lessons. Only have about 7 hours, but he said I was ready for the first stage check, which isn't even a solo check. Just ensuring I can turn the plane and do some basic maneuvers and a simple landing.
The chief CFI did the stage check, confident in my abilities especially after the last lesson, but I was not prepared for what this entailed.
The preflight was noneventful, but things started to get bad when we sat down and prepared for startup. I was just doing some final checks, making sure the seat is adjusted properly and I could see over the cowling. I realized the seat was a little too low, so I had to quickly get out and adjust the seat (it's a C172 so I had to turn this crank while I was not seated.) The CFI snapped at me, "I thought you completed the preflight." Right then and there I knew this was going to be rough. Keep in mind, seat position was not even in the preflight checklist. Or really any checklist.
Next I started the aircraft and it was a little bit of a rough start. I had the throttle in just a little too much (checklist called for throttle 1/4 inch open and I think I had it more like 1 inch) which resulted in it starting at 1200 RPM instead of less than 1000. My bad, but the chief CFI totally chastised me for it. "You are going to destroy the engine doing that!" which... how true is that? I certainly don't want to cause problems, and it was a learning moment for me.
I get my clearance from ground and then start heading to the usual place where the CFI and I do the runup. But this was apparently the wrong place, as she said angrily, "Do you see the hangars behind you? What do you think is going to happen when you rev that up to 1800 RPM? You should only do this just before the bend in the taxiway to the runway at a 45 degree angle." and she shakes her head like a disappointed parent. I sheepishly head to where she said, start my runup, and then start to recite what I'm checking... "Vacuum's good, oil pressure good, oil temperature good, now for a mag check..." then she berates me again, "You're going WAY to slow. It should be a 2 second check of the gauges, and not to just recite on your checklist. I just dart my eyes. Vacuum, oil, fuel flow, done. And you HAVE to check your oil temp BEFORE you start the runup. Geez..."
At this point all my confidence had all but disappeared. And I was about to takeoff. I start my roll towards the hold short line and report to tower that I am ready for takeoff. CFI intervenes, PPT to say tower, "Tower, N123 we're going to hold here for another minute first." and asks me, "ARE you ready for takeoff?" I realize I must have forgotten something. I look through my checklist... itemizing every single thing... the whole time I'm getting flustered and I'm not sure what I might've missed. Flaps? No, it's a normal takeoff. Flaps 0. I did the runup... everything as far as I saw was checked. It must've been 15 excruciatingly long seconds of me looking before I finally had to give up... "What did I miss?"
"LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION! MOST IMPORTANT! I'm almost ready to fail you right here."
Well, at this point I had to object, "I do have that. I always wait until after I get takeoff clearance and I'm about to roll onto the runway before I do those things."
"Did [CFI] tell you that?!"
I nodded, "He told me strobes and landing lights should only be turned on when you're actually cleared for takeoff. Otherwise you'll confuse anyone on final who might see your lights and think you're about to cut them off. And the mixture should be lean for as long as possible, because if we are sitting here waiting for clearance for 2 minutes, that's 2 minutes that might be clogging our spark plugs." I felt like the CFI's explanation (and mine) were accurate and reasonable. But maybe not? The chief didn't say anything, but I decided to do the takeoff checklist and then request clearance again.
After we took off, we head directly to the practice area. We do some of our maneuvers and those were... okay. My only gripe was in the middle of my power on stall, just before we were stalling, she asked, "What do you do if you spin?" and I was just caught off guard with that question, as I was concentrating on keeping coordinated for the stall and holding it up until the buffeting. I perform the stall, keeping the aircraft steady, and she seemed unimpressed and said, "I asked you a question." I answered, thankfully correctly.
The only thing of note was the air was very rough, and so I was feeling like it was harder to maintain altitude and get a feel for some of the maneuvers, especially steep turns and turns around a point. I mentioned that to her, and she said, "You need to be able to do maneuvers in weather like this. It's part of good airmanship. It's really not that bad."
Most of the rest of the flight was non-eventful, but my nerves were rattling. I figured I had to have failed this stage check but at the end she said, "You have some things to work out. But we can consider this complete." Her demeanor changed dramatically afterwards, saying I did a good job with a smile.
So my question is, was I that egregious with my mistakes? I'm planning on debriefing with the CFI tomorrow for my next lesson, and asking him about it, but my only thought is maybe she's intentionally trying to make me nervous so she sees how I deal with pressure? Is that a reasonable assumption? The two things I can think of that I definitely had to mess up was the startup and the runup location. I'm going to ask the CFI about that as well. Keep in mind, the place we were running up was specifically marked as a runup pad. It was where I saw many other aircraft perform them, and the hangars were maybe 100 or so feet behind us. Maybe if there were aircraft parked in front of the hangars or there were people around, I'd have second thoughts, but given it seemed like standard practice I was completely caught off guard on that. Maybe I just had it turned the wrong way.

Battle beyond Saturn

They came out of deep space, always preying on weaker opponents. With their gigantic ships, they smashed through any system defenses they encountered before looting and pillaging valuable resources and food. No one knew where their home world was located to go after them.
They had a Behemoth Class Ship which had been up-gunned to have no equal in a 1:1 battle. Having laid waste to a system, they would disappear once again into the vastness of space. They were gone before anyone could assemble a fleet large enough to engage them in battle.

Pluto Station - Sol System

Alarms started ringing all over the station. Sensor satellites in the Kuiper belt had detected a large fleet emerging from jump, inbound to Sol system. Since no known convoy was scheduled, this was most likely the hostile raiders.
Captain Karlson - Commander Pluto Station: “Hail on all frequencies. ‘Unknown ships. Please identify yourselves. You are entering Sol System Space’. ”
“No response. I think we have our answer. All hands, General Quarters”
“Sensors - what do we have?”
“Eleven ships in total. One ship over 2 million tonnes. Nine large vessels from 600 kilo-tonnes to one mega-tonnes. And one smaller vessel approximately 150 kilo-tonnes accelerating and heading above the orbital plane”.
“Comms - open FTL channel to Fleet HQ at Ganymede Station. Leave it open and send continuous telemetry.”
“Aye-aye, Captain.”

Behemoth Class - Havoc

For Admiral Goranth of the H’runik, this was the 14th system raid and frankly, things were routine and boring. His Captains knew what to do and were getting into battle formation. The Scout Ship “Seeker” was already accelerating above the planetary orbital plane in its capacity of Spaceborne Early Warning. All engines and sensors, it was the one ship in the raiding fleet to have defensive armament only.
The only surprise was how quickly the natives had detected his fleet and sent out a challenge. No matter - their puny fleet was no match for his ships.
“Comms - tell the Captain of Smasher to take care of that station. I don’t want any surprises from behind once we are in-system”. Within a few minutes, the Admiral watched the ship fall out of formation and head towards the source of annoyance.
Jump drives could take ships between the stars rapidly. The bigger the drives, the further the jumps and consequently fewer jumps needed. However, once inside the gravity well of a star system, normal physics took over and ships were limited to sub-light speeds. Due to the mass and inertia of Havoc, Admiral Goranth was expecting to take about 10 standard days to get to the populated third and fourth planets. He wasn’t expecting the defending fleet to slow him down at all.

Sol Fleet HQ - Ganymede Station

Admiral Vir Singh (CinCSDF), thanks to the FTL data feed, watched the events unfold on the edge of the Solar System. He and his team analyzed the movements of the approaching enemy fleet.
Analyst 1: Marking them as “Bandits” starting with “1” from the biggest to smallest. On screen now. Those ten ships in the main body are huge. Even the smallest out-masses our largest carriers.
Analyst 2: If intel is right from previous raids, they’ve added bigger and many more weapons to the original designs.
Analyst 3: Bandit-11 ascending above the orbital plane is obviously their eyes. They will be able to watch and report our movement.
Commodore Perera: Hello? What’s Bandit-9 doing? He’s going after Pluto Station!
Admiral Singh: Ganymede Actual to Pluto Actual. There’s big trouble headed your way. Get ready to evacuate to the Charon bunker.
Captain Karlson (on comms): Aye-aye Sir. We saw them. We will be out of here within 20 minutes. Will leave the channel open and will take command from the bunker on Charon.
Admiral Singh: Destroyer Squadron 8 - hide in the Kuiper Belt for now. You can’t match the enemy and we will need you later.
“Admiral Singh to all ships. Recall all personnel and get ready to deploy within 12 hours. Replenish stores, especially ammunition. I’ll be calling a meeting with all Captains and XOs at 14:00 today.”

Behemoth Class - Havoc

Admiral Goranth: Seeker - report on enemy strength.
Seeker: This system only has three Dreadnought class ships. These have the biggest weapons. Then there are six heavy Cruisers. Their biggest ships are of an unknown configuration. These don’t seem to have any major armament. There are eleven of these.
Admiral Goranth: Tell me more about these big ships.
Seeker: They only seem to have close in defensive weapons. Analysis suggests they are big in volume but not heavy in tonnage so maybe some sort of troop ships or freighters?
Admiral Goranth: We’ll deal with those later. Tell me about the Dreadnoughts and Cruisers.
Seeker: Standard configuration. The Dreadnoughts may be a match for Smasher or Hammer but even together will not be a problem for Havoc. The Cruisers individually will not be a problem but they look like they operate in teams so the combined firepower may cause some damage.
Admiral Goranth: So, these are the ones we need to destroy first.

Sol Fleet HQ - Ganymede Station

Analyst 3: Bandit 11 is on station and watching our fleet movements. We won’t be able to hide anything while it’s up there.
Commodore Perera: Admiral, I have some aviators who may have come up with a solution. With your permission, we’d like to set up in the small conference room.
—
Lt. Wang “Hornet” Bo Wen (Sqr.Ldr): May I introduce Lt. Bill “Dingo” Saunders and 2nd Lt. Stella “Orbits” Ceres.
Admiral Singh: At ease. Have a seat. Tell me your plan?
Dingo: It was Orbits’ idea, Sir. She is somewhat of a genius when it comes to trajectories.
Orbits: Yes Sir. None of our ships have the power or the fuel to accelerate straight up to Bandit-11. However, we may have a way of looping around Saturn and using its gravity to slingshot up to Bandit 11.
Dingo: We estimate that 2 attack craft each with 2 buddy drones will be sufficient to take care of Bandit 11. Each ship will carry 4 torpedoes and the buddies have six.
Hornet: And our squadron of 4 attack ships with 8 buddy drones are volunteering. The extra ships and torpedoes will ensure that we get the job done.
Commodore Perera: You need to tell the Admiral all of it.
Orbits: Once we loop around Saturn and accelerate up to Bandit 11 to destroy it, we’ll only have enough fuel to turn around and stop our forward velocity. While we will be slowly moving back to the ecliptic plane, we will not be able to rejoin the fleet without a tanker.
Admiral Singh: What’s the timeframe for this operation if approved.
Hornet: If we leave at 12:00 Hrs today, we will engage Bandit-11 around 14:00 Hrs tomorrow.
Admiral Singh: My analysts will go through what you’ve written up. Get ready to go but wait for my approval. I’ll make my decision within the hour.

Sol Fleet HQ - Ganymede Station - 14:00 Hrs

All fleet encrypted holo-meeting.
Admiral Singh: Thank you all for assembling. As you know by now, we are facing a fleet of raiders that out mass and outgun us by a huge margin. But we do have a trick up our sleeves. They are used to slugging it out with the big guns, they have never encountered carriers and our strike craft.
Admiral Vassily: In fact, apart from Bandit 11, our analysis of the sensors on the big vessels is that they just don’t have the resolution to pick out the individual strike craft. Nor do they have any Close In Point Defense weapons to engage anything this small.
Captain Park: So how are we going to get rid of Bandit 11?
Admiral Singh: We have already sent an attack squadron to take care of it. If all goes to plan, it will no longer be a problem by this time tomorrow.
Admiral Vassily: So, since they are expecting to fight our Dreadnoughts and Cruisers, that’s what we will show in our fleet movement for the next 24 hours. It’s part of our Maskirovka.
The Dreadnoughts, Shambala, Shanghai-La and Taprobana will be at the center of the formation like a spearhead. Three cruisers on each of their flanks. The carriers will be in the rear. That is until Bandit 11 is destroyed. After that, they’ll spread apart to allow the carriers through. Since there is no need for a Combat Space Patrol to protect our ships, every strike spacecraft will be launched as soon as they are in range.
This meeting went on for another hour with questions and refinement of the plan. Everything depended on Bandit 11 being taken out as scheduled.

Squadron 471 “The Howling Wolves” - looping around Saturn

Lt. Wang “Hornet” Bo Wen: Wolf 1 to Wolf Pack - get ready for final slingshot burn.
“Wolf 2, everything green”
“Wolf 3, Green”
“Wolf 4, Green”
Five minutes later
Hornet: Burn in 3-2-1
…
…
Dingo: Wolf 3 to Wolf Pack - we have a problem. The computer went off-line and didn’t initiate the burn.
Hornet: Wolf 3 - Can’t you burn now and catch up?
Orbits: Sorry Sir. It was a tight window and we missed it. The computer crashed at just the wrong time and took the engines off-line. By the time we got the engines back up, it was too late.
Hornet: Wolf 3 - Return to fleet.
Wolf 4 - Tighten up formation.
Dingo: Aye and Sorry. Give them hell.

Behemoth Class - Havoc

Admiral Goranth: I don’t know if these Humans are brave or foolish. I expected them to run. But it looks like we are going to have some target practice soon.
Comms, tell all ships that I want it quick and easy. Just smash those battleships and cruisers on our way through. They are the priority but take out those troop carriers if they are in range. I don’t want to send anyone back to do cleanup.

Wolf 3 - still looping Saturn

Orbits: Hey Dingo, I’ve been doing the math and I’ve got a crazy idea.
Dingo: I’m not going anywhere, so let’s hear it.
Orbits: Between us and the buddies, we have 16 torpedoes. I don’t like the idea of going back to the fleet with a full load. What do you say that we expend them on that big bastard?
Dingo: How?
Orbits: Instead of decelerating during this orbit, we do measured burns and accelerate. We’re going to swing by Titan and use its gravity to send us towards the enemy.
Dingo: What about the Nav-Comp. What if it craps out again?
Orbits: I don’t trust it. I’m going to time all the burns and tell you where to point the nose. Do you trust me?
Dingo: With my life!
Orbits: There’s bad news! Once we swing around Titan, we’ll be going about 0.45c. We will only have enough fuel to make minor course corrections but not enough to turn around or stop. And if the enemy slows down, speeds up or even fractionally changes course, we’re going to miss them.
Dingo: So, this is a one-way mission. Okay, I’m in if you are!
Orbits: Alright! First burn is going to be in 6 minutes and 43 seconds, and I’ll give you a countdown.

Squadron 471 “The Howling Wolves” - approaching Bandit 11

Hornet: Wolf 1 to Wolf 2 and 4. We’re only going to have one pass at this. I’m going to aim for the engines. Wolf 2 - you’ve got the main body and sensors. Wolf 4 - hang back a little and hit anything that looks undamaged.
And remember, as soon as the torpedoes are away, do a hard 180º turn and full power to thrusters to kill forward velocity.
Tally Ho and Good Hunting!
Wolf 2: Aye, aye and good luck
Wolf 4: Let’s get them!

Scout ship Seeker

The scout ship had detected the nine tiny ships approaching but the defensive weapons couldn’t track or target them. They were just too small. Besides, what threat could they be? The captain hadn’t even bothered to inform the Admiral of these gnats approaching.

Sol Fleet HQ - Ganymede Station

Commodore Perera: Admiral, sensors indicate that the Howling Wolves have successfully taken out Bandit-11.
Admiral Singh: Excellent. Send an all-fleet message - “Execute Operation Anvil now”
The Battleships and Cruisers moved aside and allowed the Fleet Carriers to surge forward. So far undetected, the Destroyer squadrons made their way behind the enemy hidden by the Kuiper belt objects.
Admiral Singh: And now we wait.
Commodore Perera: Yes Sir. Oh, and a tanker has been sent to refuel Wolf Squadron. Except for Wolf 3 who is rounding Saturn again.
Admiral Singh: Keep me updated. Thank you.

Behemoth Class - Havoc

Comms: Admiral, communication lost with Seeker.
Admiral Goranth: What? How?
Comms: Unknown Sir. They were transmitting and then suddenly stopped.
Admiral Goranth: Try to re-establish contact. We need their data.
Sensors: Admiral, the enemy fleet is moving. The capital ships are moving aside, and those transport carriers are moving forward.
Admiral Goranth: This is not a coincidence. They must have done something to Seeker. What are they up to? Get me all the information on those eleven big ships.
Sensors: Sir, I don’t understand what’s happening but there seems to be a cloud in front of those ships. Our sensor resolution is not enough to see what that is. Our best guess is that it’s some sort of electronic countermeasures, but it doesn’t seem very effective against our sensors.
Admiral Goranth: Guess! That’s not good enough. I want answers.

Sol Fleet HQ - Ganymede Station

Commodore Perera: Admiral, all carriers indicate that every available fighter, bomber, attack craft and their buddy drones have been launched. The count is 2,267 craft with over 9,000 torpedoes, missiles and bombs.
Admiral Singh: Tell them not to bunch up. The enemy may not be able to track and target our craft but even firing blindly those big guns can take out hundreds if they hit.
Commodore Perera: Yes sir, the attack plan is to go above or below the enemy. We believe their guns have very limited elevation. They typically target other big ships by maneuvering their entire ship and firing broadsides.

Wolf 3

Orbits: This final burn has got us pointed right to rendezvous with the enemy fleet - nice flying. You bounced off Titan's atmosphere like skipping rocks on a pond.
Dingo: Hey, I’m only the driver. I just followed your instructions. And we are traveling at 0.449c - isn’t that a record in normal space?
Orbits: Yeah! But who are we going to tell?

Behemoth Class - Havoc

Sensors: Admiral, whatever that cloud is, it’s still coming towards us but is dispersing and slightly above and below our path.
Admiral Goranth: I was thinking space mines, but then why are they not in our path? Navigation, can we proceed in the gaps?
Navs: Yes sir. They seem to be leaving a huge gap in the middle.
Admiral Goranth: This still bothers me. I don’t like it.

Wolf 3

Dingo: On my mark, fire all 16 torpedoes. I’m going to target their bridge.
Orbits: All torpedoes armed and ready. You have plasma cannon as well.
Dingo: Stella, it’s been an honor and a pleasure serving with you
Orbits: It goes both ways, Bill.
Dingo: Fire …

Behemoth Class - Havoc

Admiral Goranth: I don’t like this at all. I want all weapons on all ships firing when we get in range. Open a channel to all shi …
The sixteen torpedoes and three ships slammed into the bridge area of Havoc. Just the kinetic energy due to the velocity would have been enough. But the delayed fuzes in the explosives caused even more devastation. The Admiral and entire fleet command were vaporized, as were sixteen decks and over 400 other personnel.
The sudden loss of communication from Havoc caused a vacuum in command on the other ships. There was just no structure in place for any other Captain to take charge of the fleet. The situation was unthinkable.
And that’s when the carrier strike craft struck. They specifically targeted the guns on all ten ships. In less than 30 minutes, the ships were defenseless. Confusion and panic reigned on all ships and exasperated by the fire and smoke and the blaring alarms.
Now, Admiral Singh sent in the Destroyer squadrons. The twenty-three Destroyers had been hiding in the Kuiper Belt and had stealthily been moving in while the enemy’s attention was focused elsewhere. They first hid in Neptune’s shadow and then Uranus’. Their job was to target the engines and sensors on all the enemy ships.
Pretty soon, all ten ships were literally blind and dead in space with their heads cut off. Now it was the turn of the Battleships and Cruisers. When they were done, all that was left of the ten ships was a debris field slowly scattering between the orbits of Saturn and Uranus.

Sol Fleet HQ - Ganymede Station

Admiral Singh: Please send my personal congratulations to each and every member of the fleet. Their actions will be studied for centuries to come. Now give me the numbers.
Commodore Perera: The actual number of enemy dead is unknown but estimated to be around 30,000 to 40,000. We captured over 5,000 and they are being interrogated. Unfortunately, none of these seem to be navigators who know the location of their home system.
Admiral Singh: And our losses?
Commodore Perera: I have the complete list here but 87 KIA, no wounded or missing. Top of the list are Lt. Saunders and 2nd Lt. Ceres. If Wolf 3 hadn’t taken out the bridge on the enemy ship, we might have had a bloodier fight. They transmitted all their data before they hit, so we know it was a suicide run.
Admiral Singh: This is the part I hate - writing to the families. Writing the after-action report is a breeze compared to that.
Commodore Perera: That’s why you have a staff, sir.
Admiral Singh: No, I have to do this myself. I sent them out to die. Medals just don’t seem to be enough.

H’runik Home World - location unknown

After 47 days, Seeker finally limped home. With only 2 of its 19 engines working, it was a slow journey with many short jumps. Most of its crew was dead. Fortunately, Ensign M’thul knew the coordinates to get home and Second Engineer K’gala kept the ship running … after a fashion.
C-in-C Admiral A’zeneth: Ensign M’thul, I want a full report. What happened to all our ships? Where is the treasure you should have brought back?
Ensign M’thul: Sir, I regret to inform you that the fleet was destroyed. They were ambushed. We almost didn’t make it back either.
Just then alarms blared as multiple fleets with hundreds of ships from several star systems jumped in around the system.
C-in-C Admiral A’zeneth: You fool! Why didn't you disguise your route back. You led them straight here! Now you have killed us all!

I haven’t had a vacuum in months. Shipped a warranty covered MultiFloor 2 unit back to them (this took about a weeks worth of emails). After not hearing anything for 2-3 weeks I reached out and they confirmed they received it but they said they lost the unit and can no longer locate it. They promised to ship me a brand new Animal 3 as a replacement. I called today after a few more weeks went by. Turns out they still haven’t shipped my replacement. The phone support person guy was very nice and understanding. After putting me on hold “for a few minutes” 4-5 times so he can talk to whoever he had to talk to. He told me he can’t get anybody to answer the phone and he is not authorized to ship the replacement unit himself. He said he would send them an email and red flag it as priority because “you have been waiting far too long for your service repair”
He said look for an email within 48 hours to update me. I thanked him for doing all he could do but told him I don’t expect that I will actually get an email. He sort of sheepishly said something along the lines of “yeah I know, good luck with that” which made me think he didn’t really expect that I would receive an email either.
I’m sure I’ll be talking to another agent in another week.

This is the second half of my list for Oklahoma's execution roster. As mentioned in the first part, I broke it in half to comply with reddit's character limitations. For the link to part 1, please click here.
The currently executed 124 offenders, cases 63-124:
63. Robert Knighton (~1960s-2003, lethal injection): In 1973, after being released from a 1968 armed robbery conviction, Knighton went on his first major crime spree. He stabbed and strangled several men and women during many robberies and home invasions. The only victim that was killed, 32 year old Coffier Day, was shot dead while Knighton was arguing with him in his home. Coffier's father, 53 year old Claude, was also injured in the shooting. Knighton's first crime spree ended when he kidnapped a married couple and their 6 year old daughter. They escaped when the wife and mother of the family attacked Knighton with a knife to protect her husband and daughter. The family then notified the police of their abduction. Knighton managed to secure a 30 year manslaughter conviction and a 10 year armed robbery conviction with a plea deal, and was released to a halfway house in 1989. There, he began dating a female addict and befriended a teenage boy. The trio embarked on a nationwide robbery spree together. In Missouri, they shot and killed 59 year old Frank Merrifield and his 40 year old stepson Roy Donahue while robbing their home, and stole guns and money from them. In Oklahoma, the trio fatally shot a couple, 64 year old Virginia and 62 year old Richard Denney, while carjacking them. Their rampage ended when a woman in Texas grow suspicious of them circling a neighborhood. Knighton had a long history of theft convictions dating back to his childhood, and joined the Aryan Brotherhood in prison. Behind bars, he frequently attacked black and Native American inmates out of racial hatred for them.
64. Kenneth Charm (1993-2003, lethal injection): Charm and his teenage cousin lured a family friend, 14 year old Brandy Hill, into their car. They raped Hill and tried strangling her with a towel. When that failed, the cousins bludgeoned her to death with a sledgehammer.
65. Lewis Gilbert II (1994-2003, lethal injection): Gilbert and his teenage accomplice committed at least 4 robbery murders in Missouri, Ohio, and Oklahoma, but he was executed for the killing of 37 year old Roxanne Ruddell. They ambushed and kidnapped Ruddell while she was fishing alone. She was robbed of $3 and her truck, tied to a tree, and shot to death. The pair also fatally shot Ruth Loader, a 79 year old Ohioan woman, while abducting her from her residence, and gunned down a Missouri couple, 86 year old William and 76 year old Flossie Brewer, in their home. Gilbert was also sentenced to death for the Brewer murders by the state of Missouri, but was incarcerated in Oklahoma State Penitentiary’s death row.
66. Robert Duckett (~1980s-2003, lethal injection): After breaking out of prison, Duckett was picked up hitchhiking by John Howard, a 53 year old store owner. Howard agreed to let Duckett stay with him until he could find a job. The pair soon had a failing out, and Duckett was evicted by his host. He retaliated by tying Howard up with wire and then beating him to death with a fireplace poker. Duckett made off with his car after he switched the license plates, and took several bank bags from his store. He had a long violent criminal history, which included several incidents of assault and robbery. One of the incidents involved the beating of an 83 year old man. Allegedly, Duckett was previously gang-raped by other inmates, and suffered from PTSD from the incident. His attorneys claimed that Howard’s sexual advances trigged those memories, and he was killed as a result of Duckett lashing out at them. However, the prosecution shot the argument down, citing that the murder happened after Duckett was evicted from the apartment.
67. Bryan Toles (1993-2003, lethal injection): Toles and his two accomplices forced themselves into the home of the Franceschi family, and shot and killed the family patriarch, 39 year old Juan, in a struggle. Juan's son, 15 year old Lonnie, was also murdered "execution style" out of fear that he could identify Toles and his accomplices. The only survivor of the attack was Norma, Juan's wife and Lonnie's mother, who escaped by hiding in her older daughter's bedroom.
68. Jackie Willingham (1994-2003, lethal injection): Willingham was a door to door salesman selling perfume in an office building. One women, 62 year old Jayne Van Wey, he tried to solicit rejected him despite his repeated offers. Angered by her "rude behavior", Willingham attacked Van Wey when they had a chance encounter near the building's restroom. He dragged Van Wey out of a stall after following her inside, slammed her head against the bathroom wall several times, and kicked her head. Reportedly, Van Wey choked to death on her own blood.
69. Harold McElmurry III (1999-2003, lethal injection): While under the influence of meth, McElmurry and his wife Vicki broke into a home that a WW2 veteran, 80 year old Robert Pendley, shared with his wife, 75 year old Rosa. Robert and Rosa were both quickly subdued and physically restrained by the couple. McElmurry clubbed Robert to death with a pipe in front of Rosa, who was forced to watch by Vicki. Vicki then held Rosa down as McElmurry stabbed her several times with scissors. After killing the Pendleys, the McElmurrys fled with $70 in cash, a pair of guns, and the victims' car. A few days after the murders, they were captured by border agents while trying to cross into Mexico.
70. Tyrone Darks (~1990s-2004, lethal injection): Darks rammed his ex wife, 26 year old Sherry Goodlow, off the road as she was driving with their 2 year old son. After Goodlow crashed, Darks pulled their son out of the wreckage, shot her to death, and then drove away with him. Just before she succumbed to her injuries, Goodlow managed to call and notify the police about her son’s abduction. The police confronted and arrested Darks at his home, and they found the boy unharmed in their search. Darks and Goodlow’s former marriage was marred with violence, and he was arrested on numerous occasions for assaulting her. On death row, Darks was involved in a scheme to defraud a foundation for 9/11 survivors.
71. Norman Cleary (~1980s-2004, lethal injection): While burglarizing an upper class home with an accomplice, Cleary shot and killed a housekeeper, 44 year old Wanda Neafus, and took her purse and a cane that her employers purchased from the Smithsonian Institution. Cleary had a long criminal history and was previously convicted of beating an 87 year old woman in her home.
72. David Brown (~1983-2004, lethal injection): For several years, Brown violently harassed his ex wife and her family. In one incident, Brown abducted his ex wife and 11 of her customers from a beauty saloon she owned, and held them hostage until he surrendered to police. He was able to leave custody on bond and went into hiding. A few years after the hostage crisis incident, Brown broke into his ex wife's family home and gunned down her father, 47 year old Eldon McGuire.
73. Hung Thanh Le (1992-2004, lethal injection): Le crept into the apartment of another Vietnamese refugee, 34 year old Hai Nguyen, and found him watching TV on the couch. He struck Nguyen from behind with a weightlifting bar, and continued stabbing him with a meat cleaver when he screamed his wife for help. Nguyen's wife phoned the police, and Le fled with the couple's safety deposit box that contained $36,000 and their wedding ring.
74. Robert Bryan (1993-2004, lethal injection): Bryan shot and killed his estranged aunt, 69 year old Mildred, dumped her body on his parents' property, and forged a $1,800 check to himself under her name.
75. Windel Workman (~1980s(?)-2004, lethal injection): Workman beat his girlfriend's daughter, 2 year old Amanda Holman, to death while babysitting her in their home. His ex wives reported that he had a history of child abuse and often violently spanked their children during their marriages.
76. Jimmie Slaughter (1991-2005, lethal injection): Fearing that she was going to tell his wife of their affair, Slaughter stabbed and shot his ex girlfriend, 29 year old Melody Wuertz, and their daughter, 1 year old Jessica. According to court documents, Slaughter mutilated both of their bodies, and he carved an "R" on Melody's stomach. He tried pinning the murders on a black man, but the investigators and the courts dismissed his allegations.
77. George Miller Jr. (1994-2005, lethal injection): During the robbery of a hotel, Miller attacked the auditor, 25 year old Kent Dodd, with a hedge shear and paint cans, and took $122 from the register. Dodd was severely beaten, had muriatic acid shoved down his throat, and was left to die. Just before he died of his injuries, Dodd gave a description of his attacker to the police that matched Miller. A massive amount of circumstantial evidence, such as wearing shoes that resembled the bloodstained footprints next to Dodd's body, a microscopic drop of blood found on his shoes that was tentatively linked to Dodd, his wife's testimony of his unaccounted absence from their home during the murder, and what appeared to be Dodd writing Miller's alias that he knew him by in his own blood, convicted him. Miller’s friends also reported that he was broke and begging them for money a day before the murder, and his wife mentioned him giving her the same amount of money that was stolen from the robbery a day after it happened.
78. Michael Pennington (1991-2005, lethal injection): Pennington shot and killed a clerk, 20 year old Bradley Grooms, while trying to rob a 7-eleven grocery store. He left empty handed when the register failed to open.
79. Kenneth Turrentine (1994-2005, lethal injection): Under the belief that they were stealing money from him for drugs, Turrentine shot and killed his sister, 48 year old Avon Stevenson, and his girlfriend, 39 year old Anita Richardson, during confrontations in their homes. He also gunned down Anita's two children, 22 year old Tina Pennington and 13 year old Martise.
80. Richard Thornburg Jr. (1996-2006, lethal injection): A month after he was shot by an unknown assailant, Thornburg and his accomplices sought revenge by abducting 5 men that he thought was responsible from a trailer. Three of the hostages, 51 year old James Poteet, 39 year old Tery Sheppard, and 24 year old Kieth Smith, were gunned down on the spot, and Thornberg forced the fourth to shoot the fifth with the threat of killing him if he didn’t comply. They then burned down the trailer with the wounded fifth victim still trapped inside, but he managed to escape with his life. Despite being forced to put all the blame on himself in exchange for being spared, the fourth hostage still went forward to the police.
81. John Boltz (1984-2006, lethal injection): To spite his estranged wife following an argument, Boltz attacked her son, 23 year old Doug Kirby, with a knife. Kirby was stabbed a total of 11 times, and he received several fatal wounds to his chest, stomach, and neck.
82. Eric Patton (1994-2006, lethal injection): Patton forced his way into the home of 56 year old Charlene Kauer after she refused his pleading for money. After dragging her around the house as he searched for valuables, Patton stabbed Kauer several times with many different blades objects at hand such as scissors, barbecue forks, and kitchen knifes. Although he confessed to the murder, Patton blamed it on alleged demonic possession and his cocaine addiction.
83. James Malicoat (1997-2006, lethal injection): Malicoat slammed Tessa Leadford, his 13 month old daughter, against a dresser. After she died from the beating, he tucked her into bed, and waited until his daughter's mother returned from work to take her to the hospital. The doctors found that Leadford had been dead for several hours at the time of her arrival, and discovered several injuries such as broken ribs, bite marks, abdominal bleeding, and facial bruising on her body. By his own account, he had abused Leadford on a daily basis. For her role in enabling her boyfriend's treatment of their daughter, Leadford's mother was convicted of first degree murder and given a life sentence.
84. Corey Hamilton (1992-2007, lethal injection): During the robbery of a restaurant, Hamilton shot and killed 4 employees, 26 year old Sandy Lara, 24 year old Stephen Williams, 19 year old Ted Kindley, and 17 year old Joseph Gooch, and made off with $2,000.
85. Jimmy Bland (~1975-2007, lethal injection): Bland shot his boss, 62 year old Doyle Rains, in the head over an argument regarding a borrowed car and dumped the body in a creek. He was previously convicted of killing a soldier, Raymond Prentice (age unknown), and abducting the man's wife and son at the age of 19. Bland served a 20 out of 60 year sentence, and murdered Rains a year after he was released.
86. Frank Welch (~1987-2008, lethal injection): In 1987, Welch attacked 28 year old Jo Cooper, who was 4 months pregnant with her second child, in her home. She was tied up with leather straps, raped and violated with plastic toys, and strangled to death. Cooper’s body was found laying near her infant son by her husband. Another woman, 32 year old Debra Stevens, was also bound, raped, and strangled to death in her home in a near identical fashion a few months later. Although both murders went unsolved for several years, Welch abducted and raped a woman in 1994, and he received a 45 year sentence for it. His DNA samples was collected and filed after his abduction conviction, and linked to both Cooper and Stevens’ murders in a 1997 test.
87. Terry Short (1995-2008, lethal injection): In an attempt to kill his ex girlfriend, Short blew up her apartment complex with a firebomb. She and her family managed to escape, but the blast killed Ken Yamamoto, a 22 year old Japanese exchange student. Yamamoto had no connections to the targeted ex girlfriend's family beyond him having the misfortune of residing in the same apartment.
88. Jessie Cummings Jr. (1991-2009, lethal injection): Cummings was a polygamist that had married and lived with two wives. Under his orders, Cummings’ wives shot and killed his estranged half sister, 46 year old Judy Mayo, and kidnapped her daughter, 11 year old Melissa. He bound his niece to his bed with handcuffs to be raped, and stabbed her to death.
89. Darwin Brown (1995-2009, lethal injection): While robbing a grocery store with three accomplices (including Billy Alverson and Michael Wilson), Brown tied up the clerk, 30 year old Richard Yost, with handcuffs, and then bludgeoned him death with a metal baseball bat. The killing was caught by security cameras, and the footage was used by the prosecution to secure the convictions of Brown and his accomplices.
90. Donald Gilson (1995-2009, lethal injection): Gilson routinely physically abused his live in girlfriend's 5 children (who were all between the ages of 8 and 12 years old). The youngest, 8 year old Shane Coffman, was beaten to death with a board for defecating on the living room carpet. He and his girlfriend then hid the body by stuffing it in a freezer. The body was kept inside it for 6 months until it was discovered by a sheriff's deputy investigating the family's abuse allegations. Gilson's girlfriend was spared the death penalty with a plea deal, and given a life sentence without the possibility of parole for her part in her son's abuse and murder.
91. Michael DeLozier (1995-2009, lethal injection): While camping with his friends, DeLozier ambushed another pair of campers, 60 year old Orville Bullard and 54 year old Paul Morgan, and shot them to death. They stole Morgan and Bullard's generator, pick up truck, and other camping gear. To cover up their tracks, DeLozier and his friends set their victims' campsite on fire, and severely burned the bodies.
92. Julius Young (1993-2010, lethal injection): For breaking off their relationship, Young beat his ex girlfriend, 20 year old Joyland Morgan and her 6 year old son Kewan, to death with a baseball bat in their apartment.
93. Donald Wackerly II (1996-2010, lethal injection): Wackerly and his wife ambushed and gunned down Pan Sayakhoummane, a 51 year old Laotian immigrant, while he was fishing in the Arkansas River. After he placed Sayakhoummane's body in the man’s own truck, he pushed into a river, and stole his fishing gear. A few months after the murder, Wackerly’s wife turned him in to the police.
94. John Duty (~1970s-2010, lethal injection): Duty was given a life sentence for abducting, raping, and non fatally shooting a female store clerk during a robbery. While incarcerated, he tricked a fellow inmate, 22 year old Curtis Wise Jr. into allowing himself to be tied up as a part of a hostage ruse, and then strangled him to death with shoelaces. At the time of his murder, Wise was serving a conviction for burglary and contributing to the delinquency of minors. Duty's execution caused some controversy for the use of pentobarbital, a drug more commonly utilized by veterinarians to euthanize pets.
95. Billy Alverson (1995-2011, lethal injection): Alverson assisted the above mentioned Darwin Brown and Micheal Wilson in the beating death of Richard Yost while robbing a convenience store.
96. Jeffrey Matthews (1994-2011, lethal injection): Matthews and his accomplice shot and killed his great uncle, 77 year old Otis Short, while robbing the man's home. In the robbery, they stole Short's truck, his .32 calibre pistol, and $500. The pair also slit the throat of Short's wife, but she survived her injuries.
97. Gary Welch (~1993-2011, lethal injection): During a fight over a drug shipment, Welch and his partner stabbed another dealer, 32 year old Robert Hardcastle, to death with broken glass bottles. He was previously convicted of battery with a deadly weapon, and was off on probation at the time of Hardcastle's murder.
98. Timothy Stemple (1996-2012, lethal injection): Stemple conspired with his girlfriend to murder his wife, 30 year old Trisha, for her life insurance policy. With the help of his girlfriend's 16 year old nephew or cousin [sources vary], Stemple beat Trisha with a baseball bat, and rammed her to death with his truck.
99. Michael Selsor (~1975-2012, lethal injection): Selsor and his accomplice went on a crime spree and robbed several convenience stores. During their robberies, the pair shot and killed two clerks, 55 year old Clayton Chandler and 20 year old Ina Morris, and injured two others in shooting and stabbing attacks.
100. Michael Hooper (~1992-2012, lethal injection): Hooper kidnapped his ex girlfriend, 23 year old Cynthia Jarman, and her children, 5 year old Timothy and 3 year old Tonya, from her boyfriend's residence. He shot all three of them dead, and buried the bodies in a rancher's field. According to court documents, Hooper was hyper-violent towards Cynthia in their year long relationship.
101. Garry Allen (1986-2012, lethal injection): Allen shot and killed his fiancee, 24 year old Lawanna Titsworth, during an argument at a day care she worked at. He fought with the responding officers trying to arrest him in an attempt to provoke a "suicide by cop" outcome. Despite the officers' best efforts to avoid harming him, Allen lost his eye from an accidental discharge. Due to claims of him having schizophrenia, Allen's execution was a source of controversy.
102. George Ochoa (~1993-2012, lethal injection): A Southside Locos gang member, Ochoa and another hoodlum shot and killed a couple, 38 year old Francisco Morales and 35 year old Maria Yanez, while burglarizing their home. The murders were witnessed by the couple's 14 year old and 10 year old children and stepchildren, who then phoned the police after the shooters' departure.
103. Steven Thacker (~1980s-2012, lethal injection): Thacker kidnapped 25 year old Laci Hill during a botched robbery of her home, and took her to a remote cabin to be raped. She was then strangled and stabbed to death. He fled to Missouri, fatally stabbed 24 year old Forrest Boyd while carjacking him, and used his car to hide out in Tennessee. After the stolen car broke down, Thacker called a tow truck to pick him up. When the driver, 52 year old Ray Patterson, found that he was using a stolen credit card, Thacker stabbed him to death as well. As a teenager, Thacker committed several acts of auto thefts and burglaries. He also engaged in inappropriate relationships with underaged girls, and was released from a Florida prison after serving time for a bad check conviction months before his murders.
104. James DeRosa (2000-2013, lethal injection): DeRosa and his accomplice tricked a couple, 73 year old Curtis and 70 year old Gloria Plummer, that he worked for on their ranch, into letting them inside their house. After they stabbed the Plummers and slit their throats, DeRosa and his accomplice stole $73 and drove away with their truck.
105. Brian Davis (2001-2013, lethal injection): Davis went searching for his girlfriend and their daughter when he found them missing from their home, and called his girlfriend's mother, 56 year old Josephine Sanford, about their whereabouts. Sanford dropped by the couple's residence after failing to find her daughter and granddaughter. At her arrival, she was raped, beaten, and stabbed to death by Davis. He then left the body in the house, drove off with Sanford’s van, and injured himself in a car accident. As Davis was high while driving, he was arrested for being under the influence. The detaining officers weren’t aware of the murder until Davis’ girlfriend returned to the home later that night, and called 911 after finding her mother’s corpse.
106. Anthony Banks (~1978-2013, lethal injection): In 1978, while robbing a grocery store, Banks shot and killed a clerk, 22 year old David Fremin. A year later, he abducted Sun Travis, a 24 year old South Korean immigrant, from a parking lot. He then sexually assaulted Travis in his car and shot her in the head. Although he was captured and convicted for Fremin's murder, Travis' killing went unsolved until a 1997 DNA test. Banks was originally sentenced to death for Fremin's murder, but it was lifted in favor of a life sentence. He was condemned for a second time after his conviction for Travis murder.
107. Ronald Lott (~1980s-2013, lethal injection): A sexual predator of elderly women, Lott broke into the homes of 93 year old Zelma Cutler and 83 year old Anna Fowler after cutting off their power. They were tied up with cloth, anally penetrated, beaten, and suffocated to death with pillowcases. The case attracted controversy when another man was erroneously condemned for the murders, and he spent 11 years on death row until a 1997 DNA test linked the murders to Lott. At the time of the discovery, Lott was serving time for two rape convictions.
108. Johnny Black (~1984-2013, lethal injection): Black, two of his brothers, and two other men went looking for a man they feuded with for a fight. While they were crusing on the road, the group encountered a rancher, 54 year old Bill Pogue, and mistook him for their target due to them driving similar vehicles. They forced Poque off the road, pulled him out of his car, and stabbed him a total of 10 times. Pogue's son in law was also dragged out and attacked, but he managed to escape with his life. Black was previously convicted of manslaughter for shooting 49 year old Cecil Martin dead in an argument.
109. Michael Wilson (1995-2014, lethal injection): Wilson was the third participant in the above mentioned beating death of Richard Yost to be executed.
110. Kenneth Hogan (1988-2014, lethal injection): Hogan stabbed 21 year old Lisa Stanley to death while she was babysitting his children. According to autopsy reports, she was stabbed at least 25 times. Stanley had previously accused him of sexual misconduct, and prosecutors believed that she was killed during an argument over the allegations.
111. Clayton Lockett (~1992-2014, lethal injection): Lockett, his cousin, and another accomplice kidnapped 23 year old Bobby Bornt, 18 year old Summer Hair, and Bornt's 9 month son after burglarizing a home. After tying them up with duct tape, they forced their captives to lure a friend, 19 year old Stephanie Neiman, with a phone call. Neiman was also bound and initially survived getting shot multiple times. Out of frustration, Lockett buried her alive, and she succumbed to a combination of suffocation and her injuries. Lockett and his accomplices also gang-raped Hair and beat Bornt, but spared them on the forced condition of their silence. His execution was controversial, as Lockett convulsed for 45 minutes after being injected, and then died from a heart attack. He also had a long criminal history, and was first arrested for burglary as a teenager.
112. Charles Warner (1997-2015, lethal injection): Warner raped his girlfriend's daughter, 11 month old Adriana Waller, and shook her to death. His execution sparked outcry, as the wrong fatal drug was administered by mistake, and Warner complained of "burning pain" as he was being injected. With the botched executions of Lockett and Warner back to back, the state of Oklahoma delayed further executions until 2021.
113. John Grant (~1970s-2021, lethal injection): While serving a 130 year sentence for armed robbery, Grant stabbed a prison cafeteria worker, 58 year old Gay Carter, to death. He had a long criminal history dating back to the ag e of 11, had several previous convictions of theft and armed robbery, and frequently fought with and assaulted other inmates behind bars. Due to reports of "adverse reactions" to the lethal drugs, Grant's execution was scrutinized by a number of national media outlets.
114. Bigler Stouffer II (1985-2021, lethal injection): Stouffer shot and killed his ex girlfriend, 35 year old Linda Reaves, in her boyfriend's home for breaking up with him. Reaves' boyfriend was also seriously injured in the shooting.
115. Donald Grant (2001-2022, lethal injection): During a robbery of a hotel, Grant fatally shot, stabbed, and bludgeoned two employees, 43 year old Felicia Smith and 29 year old Brenda McElyea, and ran off with $1,500. He spent $200 of the stolen on paying for his girlfriend's bail.
116. Gilbert Postelle (~1998-2022, lethal injection): Postelle’s father was badly injured in a motorcycle accident, and they suspected that 57 year old James Anderson, 56 year old Terry Smith, 49 year old Donnie Swindler, and 26 year old Amy Wright were deliberately involved. Out a desire for vengeance, he recruited Postelle, his other son, and another man to kill them. All four victims were fatally gunned down in what was described as a “blitz attack” on their trailer. He was an addict and had several arrests for drug possession and manufacturing dating back to the age of 12.
117. James Coddington (1997-2022, lethal injection): After robbing a grocery store, Coddington went to the home of a friend and co worker, 73 year old Albert Hale, to ask for money. When Hale turned him down, Coddington retaliated by beating him with a claw hammer. Coddington stole $525 and went on to rob 5 more grocery stores. Hale was left alone with his injures for nearly an entire day until he was discovered by his son, and died in the hospital a day later.
118. Benjamin Cole Sr. (2002-2022, lethal injection): Out of anger that her crying interrupted his Nintendo game, Cole beat his daughter from his second wife, 9 month old Brianna, to death. He was previously convicted of abusing his son from a different marriage in California.
119. Richard Fairchild (1996-2023, lethal injection): Fairchild got into a fight with his girlfriend’s 17 year old daughter after making drunken sexual passes at her, and was enraged that she left with a cab driver. He took his anger out on the girl’s younger brother, 3 year old Adam Broomhall, and scalded him with a wall heater. He then repeatedly hit the boy, threw him against a table, and fatally hemorrhaged his head. Bromhall received over 26 blows during the beating.
120. Scott Eizember (2003-2023, lethal injection): Eizember snuck into his ex girlfriend's house to lie in wait for her. However, her roommates, 76 year old A.J. Cantrell and his 70 year old wife Patsy, arrived home earlier then she did. He shot and beat them both to death and then fled the scene.
121. Jemaine Cannon (1995-2023, lethal injection): Cannon was put in prison for assaulting an unidentified woman. He managed to escape and stabbed his girlfriend, 20 year old Sharonda Clark, to death in her apartment.
122. Anthony Sanchez (1996-2023, lethal injection): Sanchez kidnapped 21 year old Jewell Busken from her apartment complex, and then raped and shot her to death. He amassed a following from the anti death penalty movement for claiming that his father was responsible, but such notions were debunked following a 2023 DNA test that concluded Sanchez’s guilt.
123. Phillip Hancock (~1982-2023, lethal injection): In 1982, Hancock shot a drug dealer, 27 year old Charles Warren, dead in a dispute over stolen jewelry and was given a manslaughter conviction for it. He was released after serving a 2 year term. About 17 years later, he shot and killed 58 year old James Lynch III and 37 year old Robert Jett Jr. in a drug house. Despite an eyewitness account describing Lynch and Jett begging for their lives, the case attracted scrutiny when Hancock's attorneys claimed that the shootings were done in self defense.
124. Michael Smith (~2002-2024, lethal injection): A member of the Oak Grove Posse gang, Smith was responsible for two separate fatal shootings on the same day. In one of his murders, he killed Sharath Pulluru, a 24 year old Indian immigrant that worked as a clerk, while robbing a gas station. The other murder occurred when he tried to confront a gang member that he thought was a police informant in his apartment, and gunned down the target’s mother, 40 year old Janet Miller-Moore, when she refused to give away her son’s location. Smith was also given a life sentence for delivering a gun to a shooter that carried out another gang killing.

My wife and I have build this little home from the ground up and it’s time to finish the LP gas system and install appliance. I need guidance on a few things… here are the details. I’ll be using twin 40lb cylinders (we are very remote and I’ll need to bring them into town to be filled) The cylinder will be located right next to the house where the gas line penetrates the wall so I plan on using an integral two-stage regulator. (Fisher R232A). There is ~40ft of 3/4 black pipe supplying the house. It drops to 1/2 stub out for gas stove supply line. The two appliances using gas need 11” Wc. On demand hot water heater (180k btu/hr max) and stove (41500 btu/hr max). Total 221,5000 btu/hr max. If I want to be able to easily change between tanks and refill one at a time, what change over devise do I add to this system? Do I use POL fittings on the pigtails to the tanks? Am I missing anything? Information on building these systems is hard to come by, but that’s why Reddit exists. Thank you in advance.

Whether you love them or hate them, open world games have built a huge audience of gamers, and we seem to be now existing in a vacuum where there's simply not enough open world games to satisfy this demand. As technology has progressed, it also seems to take more and more time to create these massive games. Many devs have said as much, saying that these big worlds take time to develop and create interesting content for. Yet the consistent criticism of many open world games is they are wastelands devoid of content, bigger with less stuff to do, more copy-paste formulaic quests and points of interest, the same building or dungeon stamped across the world, the same unique number of biomes or tilesets as the previous game, but now it's bigger so there's more of it. Also as technology has marched on, so have dev toolsets, where they can easily produce assets that used to take a lot of time, placing clutter, painting shadows, building dungeons, scripting events, it's easier than it ever has been.
The bottom line though is that AAA open world games have slowed dramatically. Look at some of these franchises by release year:

• Grand Theft Auto - 1997
• Grand Theft Auto 2 - 1999
• Grand Theft Auto III - 2001
• Grand Theft Auto Vice City - 2002
• Grand Theft Auto San Andreas - 2004
• Grand Theft Auto IV - 2008
• Grand Theft Auto V - 2013
• Grand Theft Auto VI - 2025 (projected)

• The Elder Scrolls: Arena - 1994
• The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall - 1996
• The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - 2002
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - 2006
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - 2011
• The Elder Scrolls VI - TBA

• The Witcher - 2007
• The Witcher 2 - 2011
• The Witcher 3 - 2015
• The Witcher 4 - TBA

Only including 3D mainline games for brevity

• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - 1998
• The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - 2000
• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - 2003
• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - 2006
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - 2011
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 2017
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - 2023

Even when we look at series which used to be nearly annual releases like Assassin's Creed have slowed down noticeably, with their newer titles often suffering from the most notably from lackluster content (wide as an ocean, deep as a puddle).
If you count in that certain studios like Bethesda or CD Projekt Red only ever handle a single AAA game at a time, the situation is still rather bleak, with the time between projects growing longer and longer.
The undeniable fact is that many beloved franchises which used to grace us every 2 - 4 years with new entries have become once in a generation entries (meaning console generations), with some skipping entire console generations.
The real question though is the demand for these games to be bigger, better, and prettier really the reason for this prolonged drought in many of our favorite franchises? People are still playing Skyrim, GTA:V, Fallout 4 and The Witcher 3, nearly a decade or more later, because nothing new has come to replace them.
While there's been some notable attempts by smaller studios or indie devs to make open world games, they simply fail to capture the mass market appeal that AAA Devs can manage to pull off with a large team making an open world game. Yet is it reasonable to expect fans to wait 10+ years between releases? While the next Witcher, the next GTA, and the next Elder Scrolls may be visible on the distant horizon, should we, as mere mortal beings come face to face with the horrible truth that we'll likely not live long enough to see another entry beyond that? More appropriately, can any game truly live up to the level of hype (that hasn't evaporated) that someone waiting a decade would have for a game?

It feels amazing to dive into a refreshing pool during the sweltering summer months. But as soon as you get out of the water, you realize your skin is itching. Known as “swimmer’s itch,” this irksome drawback of swimming is surprisingly widespread. Read on to discover the reason behind skin irritation caused by pool water and how swimming pool contractors in Dubai may assist avoid it happening again.

What Causes Swimmer’s Itch?

Cercarial dermatitis, another name for swimmer’s itch, is an allergic reaction to certain microscopic parasites that may survive in pool water. Infected snails discharge their parasites into the water. The larvae bury themselves in your skin, triggering an allergic reaction that leaves the areas of your body exposed to the water red, with itchy welts, and a rash.
Millions of individuals get swimmer’s itch in lakes, ponds, and seas every year, but it may also happen in swimming pools. There are several ways in which parasites might inadvertently enter public and backyard pools:
– On the bodies of infected snails or birds – Carried in on the feet or swimsuits of swimmers – Transported in contaminated water used to fill the pool
Once established, the parasites multiply. Chlorine and other chemicals meant to keep water clean and clear unfortunately do not always kill them off.

Itchy Skin Triggers

The timing and location of itchy welts point to the swimmer’s itch as the culprit rather than a simple allergic reaction to chlorine or other chemicals. Swimmer’s itch symptoms usually pop up within 12 hours but can start in as little as 10 minutes after swimming.
The location of the rash provides clues too. Swimmer’s itch usually affects the parts of your body that were most exposed to water and rubbing against your swimsuit including:
– Torso – Legs – Arms – Neck and face
The itchy rash typically lasts up to a week and may be accompanied by symptoms like:
– Hives – Tingling Skin – Small Blisters – Headache – Fever – Fatigue

Preventing Swimmer’s Itch

While swimmer’s itch cannot always be prevented, the key is keeping pool water clean and free of parasites through proper maintenance. Here are some top tips:
Test Water Frequently Check chemical levels including chlorine, pH, and alkalinity with test strips once a week or more when actively using your pool. Adjust chemicals if outside the normal range.
Shock Treat Regularly Using pool shock weekly or biweekly helps control algae growth and kill microorganisms. Make sure to allow proper contact time before swimming again.
Maintain Proper Filtration Run your pool’s filter system sufficiently each day and clean out filters regularly to remove waste and impurities from the water. Consider upgrading old cartridge filters to more efficient sand or DE filters.
Brushing Use a pool brush daily when in use to keep all surfaces smooth and remove any tiny pests clinging to walls and floors. Pay special attention to corners and the water line.
Vacuum Use your cleaning vacuum weekly or more often to get rid of debris from pool floors and surfaces where larvae or parasite eggs can hide.
Consider bringing in professional services for pool cleaning in Dubai if you are struggling to stay on top of maintenance yourself. They use specialized techniques and equipment including pressure washing to keep water in tip-top shape.
While a swimmer’s itch is difficult to control, the payoff of preventing repeated itchy and painful rashes is well worth stepping up your pool maintenance protocol. Protect your family’s skin and keep your pool water sparkling and irritation-free by testing and adjusting chemistry properly, shocking regularly, and thoroughly brushing and vacuuming all surfaces inside the pool.

Hello Reddit community, TIA if you read all the way through this is a long one. Just trying to best explain what happened. I’m reaching out for advice on what I can do regarding the unusual circumstances of the situation. Here’s a rundown of the events: -I have the tractive collar on my cat because she’s an indoooutdoor cat and when I was living in California she got stuck in a storage shed for a few days. -It has a power saving mode when it’s connected to WiFi and I realized once it was too late that, that means the location it shows isn’t very accurate but you can use blue tooth or live tracking to get an accurate location neither of which were working. -I was out of town for work then I went home (different state) to take my sister to her Chemo appointment -Ended up being gone for ten days. Which I’ve done before and everything has been fine but Monday evening my roommate texted me that she hadn’t seen my cat yet that day so I looked at the location and it was saying at home so I figured she was just nearby and would be back later. -Tuesday came and still no sign so I got a flight home Wednesday morning. - Once I got home I disabled WiFi power saving on the tracker, which pinpointed my cat’s location a few houses down. - I ran down and was looking for her but felt weird looking around on someone’s property so I knocked and then rang the doorbell but, my neighbor didn’t answer the door so I went to go write a note explaining why I was there and left my name and phone number. -When I came back to drop it off I noticed the front blinds had been closed. Which is fine I can understand someone not wanting to talk to a stranger. - I went out that evening around 7 pm with my headlamp to walk around the neighborhood and call for her and see if I could see any eyes reflected. -When I walked down the street my neighbor was washing his truck in the front yard not the driveway where it was parked earlier -So I waved and introduced my self and explained what was going on, he was nervous maybe just caught off guard? Stumbling a bit with his words but wouldn’t look at me and just said he hadn’t seen her but that I could look around - He was standing in front of the truck and when I looked to my right, I saw my cat’s collar right next to the driver’s side rear tire, wet and without the tracker attached and clasped back together indicating it was manually removed (the tracker threads through the collar so there’s no way it could’ve slid off if it had just gotten snagged on something and fell off of her. I know I would’ve seen it the first time I was there because the front yard is zerascaping, and it stood out against the rocks because it’s bright orange and reflective. I held it up in shock to see it and I’m still kicking myself for not questioning him more about it right then but I’m not a confrontational person especially with a man that’s a stranger. - I said something along the lines of like oh yeah this is hers and held it up and looked at him but like I said he was dismissive and said he hadn’t seen her. -I walked away trying to collect my thoughts and realized that if I could connect to the tracker I could turn the light on and see if it was nearby. When I walked back over he had moved his truck back to the driveway to vacuum it. - When the tracker connected, I could see the light in the yard and took a picture because now I was thinking something’s going on? It would’ve been under the truck which is why I didn’t see it the first time. - I went home and told my roommate what I had just found and was like will you hype me up so I can go talk to him about this. She said his sister lived close by and suggested we talk to her to see if he had mentioned anything. I’m sure most women would agree it’s easiesafer to talk to another woman instead. She called him and he told her the same story and that he had just returned from a concert that day which was on Monday the day she went missing. At this time it was Wednesday evening but she closed the door and walked away so I couldn’t hear the convo. -I screen shotted the tracking showing it at his house and then not moving. As well as the picture of the tracker in his yard, and both of them together soaking wet.
I’ve filed a police report, and the officer acknowledged the odd circumstances, he went to his house but he didn’t answer the door he said he would try to call him but I haven’t heard any updates. Shortly after the officer left (I can see his driveway from my window) and his truck was gone but when I drove by he had backed in and parked at an angle so no one could pull in to his driveway, we live on a busy street and there’s no shoulder. I’m thinking about first leaving a note expressing my desperation for answers or closure, or even just a I found the collar or what ever emphasizing that I’m not seeking to blame or pursue legal action but if I still don’t get a response is this enough to?

Hello Reddit community,
TIA if you read all the way through this is a long one. Just trying to best explain what happened. I'm reaching out for advice on what I can do regarding the unusual circumstances of the situation. Here's a rundown of the events: -I have the tractive collar on my cat because she’s an indoooutdoor cat and when I was living in California she got stuck in a storage shed for a few days. -It has a power saving mode when it’s connected to WiFi and I realized once it was too late that, that means the location it shows isn’t very accurate but you can use blue tooth or live tracking to get an accurate location neither of which were working. -I was out of town for work then I went home (different state) to take my sister to her Chemo appointment -Ended up being gone for ten days. Which I’ve done before and everything has been fine but Monday evening my roommate texted me that she hadn’t seen my cat yet that day so I looked at the location and it was saying at home so I figured she was just nearby and would be back later. -Tuesday came and still no sign so I got a flight home Wednesday morning. - Once I got home I disabled WiFi power saving on the tracker, which pinpointed my cat's location a few houses down. - I ran down and was looking for her but felt weird looking around on someone’s property so I knocked and then rang the doorbell but, my neighbor didn't answer the door so I went to go write a note explaining why I was there and left my name and phone number. -When I came back to drop it off I noticed the front blinds had been closed. Which is fine I can understand someone not wanting to talk to a stranger. - I went out that evening around 7 pm with my headlamp to walk around the neighborhood and call for her and see if I could see any eyes reflected. -When I walked down the street my neighbor was washing his truck in the front yard not the driveway where it was parked earlier -So I waved and introduced my self and explained what was going on, he was nervous maybe just caught off guard? Stumbling a bit with his words but wouldn’t look at me and just said he hadn’t seen her but that I could look around - He was standing in front of the truck and when I looked to my right, I saw my cat's collar right next to the driver’s side rear tire, wet and without the tracker attached and clasped back together indicating it was manually removed (the tracker threads through the collar so there’s no way it could’ve slid off if it had just gotten snagged on something and fell off of her. I know I would’ve seen it the first time I was there because the front yard is zerascaping, and it stood out against the rocks because it’s bright orange and reflective. I held it up in shock to see it and I’m still kicking myself for not questioning him more about it right then but I’m not a confrontational person especially with a man that’s a stranger. - I said something along the lines of like oh yeah this is hers and held it up and looked at him but like I said he was dismissive and said he hadn’t seen her. -I walked away trying to collect my thoughts and realized that if I could connect to the tracker I could turn the light on and see if it was nearby. When I walked back over he had moved his truck back to the driveway to vacuum it. - When the tracker connected, I could see the light in the yard and took a picture because now I was thinking something’s going on? It would’ve been under the truck which is why I didn’t see it the first time. - I went home and told my roommate what I had just found and was like will you hype me up so I can go talk to him about this. She said his sister lived close by and suggested we talk to her to see if he had mentioned anything. I’m sure most women would agree it’s easiesafer to talk to another woman instead. She called him and he told her the same story and that he had just returned from a concert that day which was on Monday the day she went missing. At this time it was Wednesday evening but she closed the door and walked away so I couldn’t hear the convo. -I screen shotted the tracking showing it at his house and then not moving. As well as the picture of the tracker in his yard, and both of them together soaking wet.
I've filed a police report, and the officer acknowledged the odd circumstances, he went to his house but he didn’t answer the door he said he would try to call him but I haven’t heard any updates. Shortly after the officer left (I can see his driveway from my window) and his truck was gone but when I drove by he had backed in and parked at an angle so no one could pull in to his driveway, we live on a busy street and there’s no shoulder. I'm thinking about leaving a note expressing my desperation for answers or closure, or even just a I found the collar or what ever emphasizing that I'm not seeking to blame or pursue legal action.
Please refrain from commenting if it’s not helpful I understand just dismissing this as trivial or suggesting moving on, or that she was eaten or killed, I’m thinking possibly sold or something because she looks like a bengal? But please understand the significance of her in my life, especially during my sister's battle with cancer. I’ve had her since she was two weeks old she’s two and a half now. She's been my constant source of comfort, and her absence has been deeply felt.
I'm open to any positive advice or recommendations on how to proceed. Thank you in advance for your understanding and help.
Side note she is microchipped, I called and they marked her as missing and sent out an alert to every pet facility in a 10 mile radius. I also posted on the lost pets Facebook page in my area, and made 30 flyers and put them up around my neighborhood, stores that would let me as well as veterinary offices and the humane society. I put bed outside, some food. I also walked around the neighborhood dropping pieces of a bandana she wore that I cut up trying to leave a scent trail for her to find her way home.

This post is part of a series of reviews. To see them all, click here.
Historical information found on Shannon O'Sullivan's Doctor Who website (relevant page here and the TARDIS Wiki (relevant page here). Primary/secondary source material can be found in the source sections of O'Sullivan's website, and rarely as inline citations on the TARDIS Wiki.

Serial Information

• Episodes: Season 18, Episodes 25-28
• Airdates: 28th February - 21st March 1981
• Doctor: 4th
• Companions: Adric, Nyssa (Episodes 2-4), Tegan (Janet Fielding)
• Other Notable Characters: The Tremas Master
• Writer: Christopher H. Bidmead
• Director: Peter Grimwade
• Producer: John Nathan-Turner
• Script Editor: Christopher H. Bidmead

Review

Logopolis is the keystone. If you destroy Logopolis, you unravel the whole Causal Nexus. – The Monitor
Logopolis is, on paper at least, a very busy story. You've got a new companion to introduce, a new incarnation of the Master to establish, a plot about the universe ending, another new companion to establish after being introduced but not really made into a companion last story and, oh yeah, a regeneration. That's a lot.
So why does the story feel so stretched out?
Don't get me wrong, once it gets going, Logopolis is honestly a great story. The final episode and a half are genuinely engrossing television, some of the best material of the whole season (though admittedly there are even some caveats to that). But getting there…hoo boy.
What's funny is that I don't think cutting Logopolis down an episode or two solves the problem. The pacing issue here isn't length, it's something a bit more basic than that. See there's actually a lot happening in the first two and a half episodes, it just all takes the form of moving the characters into the positions that they need to be in for the climax. If not for the Master killing Tegan's Aunt Vanessa in episode 1 and the cloister bell ringing a bunch throughout the same episode, there would be no sense of danger in that episode, but you couldn't really cut much of it out. Because it's all important. It's just that there's no actual peril associated with it. It's moving around characters like pieces on a chessboard so that we can get to the good stuff.
The story opens with the Doctor deciding to go to Earth so that he can measure a police box. He wants to do this so that he can get exact measurements of the thing. And why does he want to do that? Well, simply put, if he does that, he can then go to Logopolis so that the Logopolitans can fix the chameleon circuit. Which is interesting, but doesn't really feel like the setup to a grand adventure. And yet there is a, quite effective, sense of foreboding that builds up behind all of this. This is the first time we hear the cloister bell, and, as a surprisingly late addition to Doctor Who's standard sound effects, it's pretty effective. It doesn't sound like your standard alarm noise, yet it perfectly encapsulates the idea of something dangerous happening – perfect for the idiosyncratic TARDIS. And of course there's the looming presence of the Watcher. A silent figure always just barely in frame, the Watcher is perfectly set up as the harbinger of something bad.
What he is though…is another matter entirely, but we're not there yet.
After a lot of time spent getting Tegan on the TARDIS, getting her Aunt Vanessa killed by the Master and various other shenanigans we finally arrive on the titular planet of Logopolis. That planet's society is so devoted to the study of mathematics that they can execute something called "block transfer computation" which allows for the creation of actual matter by reciting what is effectively a computer program. This is essentially a magic spell, though the story does a lot of work trying to present it as something more scientific. The way the Monitor – the Logopolitan leader – describes it, Logopolis essentially acts as a living computer. They could build actual computers, but the calculations they do are so subtle and complex that they would actually alter the computers themselves, rendering the programs useless.
And then writeScript Editor Christopher H. Bidmead does something clever. He makes Logopolis a culmination of the big arc that dominated much of the season.
It's often said that "entropy" is the main theme of Season 18. That's true…to an extent. The reality is that a lot of the time it's not entropy that's presented as the main theme, but rather it's more generic cousin decay. Much of E-Space was in various states of decay (including the vampire planet in…State of Decay) but this was more of an overarching aesthetic than actually hitting on the idea of entropy. But Logopolis finds a way of retroactively making the theme of all three E-Space stories entropy.
When the Master destabilizes Logopolis (he wants to take control of the planet, naturally) that's when the Monitor has to explain what Logopolis has been doing all this time. Their main work has been a desperate fight against entropy. See, without Logopolis, the universe would have succumbed to entropy long ago. Logopolis has kept entropy at bay by opening up Charged Vacuum Emboitments (CVEs) into other universes to siphon off energy from them. That CVE that the Doctor and Romana fell into back in Full Circle? That was one of them. It's a really clever way of tying the E-Space trilogy into the finale. And since Keeper of Traken was all about the Master's return and introducing Nyssa, that essentially makes Logopolis the culmination of the prior four stories of buildup.
As a concept, it's not without flaws though – well one in particular. The CVE that opened into E-Space was created by the Logopolitans to slow down entropy in our universe, but surely that means entropy would increase entropy in E-Space, causing that universe – that as a reminder is inhabited – to die more quickly (I am aware that there is a Big Finish trilogy that deals with exactly this). Isn't that pretty cruel of the Logopolitans? And how many of the other universes that the CVEs open into are populated? See when I noted the large amounts of decay occurring in E-Space, this story sort of retroactively implies that it's because of the Logopolitans. That's not even the only time the Logopolitans come across as morally dubious, although the other time at least feels intentional.
As mentioned before, we find out about the whole entropy thing because the Master starts messing with the Logopolitans, thus nearly causing the destruction of the entire universe via entropy. While technically appearing last story, this is the first time we really get a look at Anthony Ainley's version of the Master. I've never been a fan. Anthony Ainley will be appearing as The Master on and off for the remainder of the Classic Series' run and his performance does settle down somewhat by the end of the show, but I never really could get into his take on the character. It comes off as Roger Delgado with all the subtlety taken away. Delgado's Master was never the deepest character (well, maybe once or twice), but Delgado was always able to imbue him with a sense of restrained menace. Ainley just sort of attacks every line with pure malice in a way that just does not work for me.
Mind you, this is kind of what John Nathan-Turner wanted. The producer had intended for the new Master to be more like Delgado's Master than the decayed version seen in the last story and The Deadly Assassin but more malevolent and less humorous than Delgado's version. It's just that doing that really does take away from what made Delgado's Master work in the first place. The restraint, the "gentleman villain" persona was so captivating, and now we've absolutely lost that. It's not to say that there's no other way to make the Master work but this is just a poor man's Delgado.
And that's not the only odd choice made with the Master in this story. The Master's face is kept out of sight for most of the first two episodes of the story. This was done, apparently, to make it seem plausible that the Watcher was in fact the Master. Now the restraint shown in keeping the villain limited to a few offscreen laughs for the majority of the first two episodes does create some buildup. But…we saw the Master's new face at the end of the last story. And under different circumstances maybe you could argue that not everyone watching Logopolis necessarily saw Keeper, but if you were trying to build in a twist for those who hadn't watched the prior story, perhaps Logopolis shouldn't have been so much of a direct sequel to the Keeper.
Which isn't to say that Logopolis gets nothing to due with the Master right. In fact, the Master's actual plan is a well-conceived plot. Actually, this story largely takes the same the same basic plot structure as many of the 3rd Doctor era stories featuring the Master. The Master comes up with a plan for conquest, but his arrogance causes him to overlook how it would go wrong. Ultimately, the Master and the Doctor have to work together to stop the threat that the Master has accidentally unleashed. There are two things that make this different from the 3rd Doctor stories of this ilk (eg Terror of the Autons). First, in most of those 3rd Doctor stories, it was some alien menace that the Master had allied himself with before it all would go wrong for him. But in this story, he just happens to fail to realize that Logopolis is the glue that's keeping the universe together. It allows him to take a central role as villain, but we still get those great scenes where the Doctor and the Master are suddenly working together.
But that's the other big change to the formula here. In the past, typically the Master has collaborated in relative good faith with the Doctor when the two are forced to work together. The Master would always make sure he had an escape route before UNIT (or whoever) could arrest him. But aside from that by the end of the story the Master would just be trying to survive the mess he'd made. But here, the Master is continuing to further his plans for universal conquest. And he nearly pulls it off. We'll talk more about the Doctor later, but suffice to say the Master has never been quite so successful in manipulating his arch-rival than in the final moments of this story. It's actually well-done, where we see the that the Master is up to something whenever the Doctor isn't looking, and the Doctor is, of course, suspicious, but it's he doesn't quite have the information to put together what the Master is actually doing. It works quite well.
And speaking of characters first introduced in the last story, Nyssa's back. Apparently brought to Logopolis by the Watcher at first she just wants to find him. And then she does! Looking about twenty years younger and strangely malicious. I've seen people complain that Nyssa comes off looking stupid here. Personally I can buy that, desperate to find her father, she just accepts that he's been de-aged. At bare minimum her trust in the man who looks like a younger version of her father is more excusable than Kassia's trust in the Melkur last story – the fact that both turn out to be the Master notwithstanding. She also gets a really good moment in episode 4, where she realizes that the Master has, in order, killed her step-mother, her father and then destroyed her world, "blotted out forever". Good acting from Sarah Sutton and a genuinely moving scene. But Nyssa's involvement in this story feels a lot more perfunctory than her fairly strong debut. While normally I wouldn't necessarily mind. Logopolis has a lot on its plate after all, and after giving the character a strong debut we can theoretically afford Nyssa taking a more secondary role in this story. But, considering this is actually the story that establishes Nyssa as a companion, it would be nice if she had a little more to do.
Then again, a lot of Bidmead's time was clearly spent trying to establish Tegan. Here we're a lot more successful. Tegan instantly works in this story. The basic idea of the character was a loudmouth Australian (as to why it was decided that new companion should be Australian, see the "Stray Observations" section) whose shouty demeanor was used to cover up her insecurities. We see this playing out nicely through episode 1. Tegan is a flight attendant, or at least about to become one, apparently visiting England and her Aunt before taking her first job starting at Heathrow. We see her insist on taking care of her aunt's car when it breaks down herself – she doesn't trust mechanics and, as she puts it, "It's the 1980s Aunt Vanessa. No knight errants."
Eventually, Tegan accidentally wanders onto the TARDIS out of mixture of curiosity and confusion and gets lost in its corridors – and if Logopolis ever does feel like it's just marking time, it's in these scenes. Tegan does discover the Master's TARDIS within the Doctor's but nothing really comes of that. Once she gets involved in the action properly though, Tegan does something she'll be doing a lot over the course of the next season – complaining to the Doctor. It does work, and to her credit in other moments she shows a degree of interest and curiosity, in spite of being annoyed. And one scene in particular stands out. When she sees how the Logopolitans work she pretty much immediately takes issue with it, telling the Monitor to his face that it looks like a sweatshop. This sets up a pretty interesting discussion between the two, though it's sadly never really resolved. On the whole, while not the best companion introduction of the 4th Doctor era (it's really hard to beat either The Face of Evil or Ribos Operation) it's a strong one all the same.
I should quickly touch on Adric here, although he doesn't do much. In the first episode, when it's just him and the Doctor he does surprisingly little. Later on, he seems quite pleased to see Nyssa again, the first signs of him having a bit of a crush on the Trakenite princess. He takes the most intellectual interest of our characters in the Logopolitan mathematics, and in particular in block transfer computation, something that will pay off next story. Otherwise he's kind of in the background for much of this. This will be a recurring problem for much of the 5th Doctor era, where having 3 companions will force one into the background.
And then, there's the Doctor. I've often remarked that Tom Baker can, by this point, pull off a compelling performance as the Doctor in his sleep. So the question, I suppose, is, does he wake up for this, his final story? Eh…sometimes. Again, Baker's never bad in this story, because he's just not capable of that at this point, and he's definitely more lively than he was in some earlier stories (presumably no longer feeling ill helps out a lot in that department), but he's had way better performances earlier the 4th Doctor era. In spite of the fact that it was ultimately his decision, Tom Baker was not happy to be leaving Doctor Who, and apparently made life difficult for everyone on set as a result (which is not particularly out of character). According to himself, Baker was not taking direction, Janet Fielding recalls him being angry at everyone, and John Nathan-Turner remembers that after he filmed his final scene, Baker simply left without a word.
As for the Doctor's actual characterization in his final story, there are a few moments worth highlighting. When the Logopolitan formulas for fixing the chameleon circuit are inputted into the TARDIS, the Doctor insists on his companions remaining outside the TARDIS. Given that the Master corrupted the calculations, this turns out to be a good thing, but it does raise the question of why the Doctor thought something might go wrong. I think that, given the presence of the Watcher, we can assume the Doctor knew his regeneration was coming soon, and didn't want to take any unnecessary risks.
Also we see the return of some of the 4th Doctor's most notable characteristics. The first, and something I've talked about a lot, is his fallibility. When the Doctor realizes that the Master is still alive after the events on Traken, he naturally assumes that the Master is after him. But this turns out to be wrong, and a pretty grave error. As the Doctor puts it, "And I was vain enough to think it was me he was after." As for the other, it's the 4th Doctor's more mercurial nature. To some extent in the latter half of the 4th Doctor era, he's become a cuddlier version of himself. But as he makes a deal with the Master, his companion object, only for the Doctor to run them each down. Pointing out how none of them were invited to travel with him. This actually serves as the perfect set up for each of them to provide some crucial help the Doctor in the final scenes of the story.
And of course, there's the regeneration. And with it…we have to talk about the Watcher. In principle, this is fine. Sure it's different from any other regeneration we've seen to this point, but there's not a set way for these things to go. And it isn't entirely unprecedented. After all, the Abbot regenerated into Cho-Je who was just a mental projection of the Abbot back in Planet of the Spiders. This ends up working a little differently – Tom Baker doesn't finish his regeneration as a creepy man with entirely white skin – but the idea feels similar enough that, while probably accidental, the parallel still holds up. The Watcher being more ethereal than Cho-Je can be put down to the Doctor's lack of control over his regenerations when compared to Time Lords – as seen with Romana's regeneration back in Destiny of the Daleks. And, you know, it's all fiction at the end of the day. As long as it's possible for the audience to follow what's going on, you can get away with a lot.
My issue is that everything feels kind of underexplained. Hell, we don't even really explain what regeneration is, and sure anyone watching knows that there have been multiple Doctors, but it still feels like the sort of thing that someone, maybe Adric who has been traveling with the Doctor for a bit, could explain. And for that matter, the one line of explanation we do get is baffling for it's own reasons. "He [The Watcher] was the Doctor all along" says Nyssa, knowing this…somehow. Sure, she's right, but that it's Nyssa saying this, who knows basically nothing about the Doctor or Time Lords just doesn't track. Her only experience with Time Lords changing bodies is the Master taking over her father's body, something which she only found out about later. And that gets to my main problem with this regeneration – it all feels very ad hoc.
Which isn't to say there's nothing good about it. The Doctor seeing hallucinations, first of former villains as he's about to fall to his (temporary) death and then of all his old companions works really well. It's the first instance of this, and it's something that works well enough that we'll see it get repeated a couple of times. And I do think his last line, as aggravating as how the whole regeneration is handled, "It's the end, but the moment has been prepared for", is a good line. And that ending shot of Peter Davison as the Doctor smiling then sitting up works really well.
On a technical level, this story is a strong one. The Logopolitans initially look just like humans but have these enlarged backs of their skulls, presumably meant to emphasize their intelligence. Logopolis itself is a very impressive set. It's one of the few alien city sets to this point that genuinely feels like an actual location on not just a few corridors. The Watcher looks very appropriately mysterious and creepy. And the music is some of the absolute best work from this era. Paddy Kingsland, who probably should have become the show's permanent composer based on his work at this time, but sadly only ever got to work on a handful of stories from Seasons 18-21, does a remarkable job backing up the mood and style of the piece. Logopolis gets a a memorable theme that feels tinkly yet serious, the Watcher of course gets some creepy music, the Master gets a sinister sting for a lot of his actions, and so on. The story really is fun to just listen to for its music.
And that's a solid note to end on, because, while I do have some very major complaints, I do like Logopolis. There's a pacing issue early on, probably too many moving parts and that regeneration is mishandled, but once it gets going it's genuinely engrossing stuff. Logopolis is an inherently interesting setting, while I take some issues with how the Master is portrayed, I do like the effect he has on the plot, and the foreboding atmosphere is played perfectly. And hell, even in that first half, Tegan gets a solid enough intro. A pretty good sendoff to the 4th Doctor on the whole, though not without reservations.
Score: 7/10

Stray Observations

• This was Christopher H. Bidmead's final story as Script Editor, having grown frustrated with a job he felt he wasn't getting enough credit for, and having dealt with a very rough shoot for Warriors' Gate. He would be replaced by, essentially, both Eric Seward and Antony Root who would split script editing duties for Season 19. Root would leave the show after Season 19, while Seward would stick around until Season 23.
• Like Douglas Adams in Season 18, Christopher Bidemad wrote the finale for the season he script edited. Like Adams before him, he didn't particularly want to, but couldn't find a writer to do the story in time.
• WriteScript Editor Chrisopher H. Bidmead was a computer enthusiast (at a time when that was still somewhat rare) and the ideas behind Logopolis drew heavily from his interest in computers.
• Tegan was created after the production team was unable to get Louise Jameson (Leela) or Elizabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane) to return to the show. There were other motivations though. Specifically, the BBC's Head of Serials Graeme MacDonald was trying to get additional funding from the Australian government. This came somewhat close to happening even before Tegan was proposed as character, but the BBC and ABC (Australia's equivalent to the BBC) couldn't come together on filming dates for Doctor Who in Australia for Season 19. Tegan was then created to make the show more appealing to the Australian viewers and ABC. Ultimately the plan failed, and the BBC and ABC were never able to come together on a production deal.
• Jovanka was not supposed to be Tegan's last name, but was rather suggested as an alternate name for the character. However Christopher Bidmead misread a document from JNT identifying her as "Tegan (Jovanka)" to mean that her name was meant to be "Tegan Jovanka" and the name stuck.
• Janet Fielding probably shouldn't have been cast as Tegan Jovanka as she lied to the production team twice. JNT wanted an Australian actor for the part and Fielding was recommended to him as being ideal for the part of, as it was described, "bossy Australian". Fielding's first lie was about her age, claiming to be three years younger than she actually was. Her second lie came about because there was concern that Fielding was too short to play someone who was supposed to be a flight attendant. Fielding told the production team that in Australia height requirements for flight attendants were shorter than in the UK because Australians were shorter. Of course that wasn't true, and I'm kind of shocked that JNT believed her.
• Amusingly, Tom Baker was once asked why he left Doctor Who and replied that he was pushed off…by Anthony Ainley.
• The first episode starts with a policeman making a call on an actual Police Telephone Box, and I think it's pretty funny that it's kind of a twist that we can show one of these things and it's not actually a time machine in disguise.
• After that the Master's TARDIS lands in the exact spot occupied by said police box, disguised, naturally, as a police box.
• The Doctor refers to Earth as his "home away from home".
• The Doctor says he left with the TARDIS before its "chameleon conversion" was completed because there were "other pressing reasons at the time". How wonderfully vague!
• Episode 1 has the Doctor making a serious attempt at fixing the chameleon circuit, pretty much the only time the idea is seriously considered on the show.
• It's much better done here, but I appreciate the parallel where in last story Nyssa's stepmother was fooled by the Master and given a piece of jewelry (a necklace in that case) to ensure her obedience, and in this story the same thing happens to Nyssa (only it's a bracelet).
• In episode 4 the Doctor lays his scarf across a narrow walkway so that it acts as a tripwire for the Master, who dutifully trips on it. His scarf is long enough that, even though he's standing a good 4 feet away from the "tripwire" portion of the scarf, he's still wearing the rest of the thing.
• In episode 4, as he's hanging by an electrical cable, the Doctor sees images of his enemies threatening him. The obvious suspects are all there, the Decayed Master, a Dalek, a Cyberman, the Black Guardian, and a Sontaran but also some less obvious choices. A Zygon from Terror of the Zygons (bear in mind the Zygons wouldn't have their second appearance on the show for over 30 years) and the Captain from The Pirate Planet are certainly unusual choices for this part, although both good villains in their own right.

Next Time: This was the season that Tom Baker finally left the show. And it felt like the show was leaving him behind, even as he stuck around for one more season.

My low flow dial spins slowly, ~1rev per 10s, monitoring for about an hour the leak is ~20 gph. my issue is that within the home i visibly see nothing wet, no staining, no issues.. ive looked behind cabinets and walls and i havent seen a lick of a leak.. i hear the sound of water running, like a "hsssss" but more low pitch, at every toilet/faucet/hose bib (but not the kitchen sink oddly enough). ive turned off the water to every toilet and faucet, the meter still spins. turned off hot water at the water heater, still spins. i shutoff the water in my home, and the meter stops spinning.
my water meter is located in my home, AFTER the shutoff valve. i turned off the shutoff for 2.5hr and when i turned it back on it flowed ~1.5gal. does this mean the leak is indeed in my home or could it be the line from the street to my home? ive looked for any weird wet spots and havent been able to locate anything outside, the 2 hose bibs dont leak, ive checked everything i can and no dice...
since im in a cold area my pipes go into the foundation, i have a slab. could the break be in one of these lines? am i at the point where i need to hire a professional leak inspector to come find the source or should i call the city first?

For the past month or so, (at least if you're regularly online in this subreddit, or watch a lot of backrooms youtube videos) you'll likely have seen that image of a furniture store, which looks similar in some ways to the original backrooms image. That room with peach walls, grey carpets, and flourescent lights that line up, is this really it?
Well I, HappyFaceDelusions (GlipJip on discord, please dont spam me with friend requests), was the taker of this said photograph. Yes, it was me. On April 7th, mr and a friend decided to go to a furniture store. There weren't any big reasons as to why we entered the furniture store, except the idea of;
It might look like the backrooms or something
It might look like SCP-3008
Just for the hell of it!
So we went to two furniture stores which will NOT be named. The first of which, I took that photo that's been going around. I hadn't noticed it right away, but I soon realized that the picture I took, looked A LOT like the original backrooms image. I originally posted my find on the Kane Pixels Backrooms discord server, and from there, it gained a lot of popularity, making its way across multiple other discord servers, and even all the way over here to reddit!
Even BROOGLI made a video on it. Even though it was not accurate analysis, it was still a video that went over the image.
And NO, it is NOT Sam's Furniture! I'm not going to say where it is, but I can confirm it is not even on the west coast.
That aside, me and a group of other people on discord, made a GC, which was made for finding all we can about this place. We ended making a document to compile all the information we had on the place.
Here is the document we made: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lPLgtV5bWR8dGh95CrhNWG6k8EiNDe_u3qNEPqhYJVQ/edit
Now, this lead is old, and sort of dead. And at least for now it remains as unsolved - there's no definitive conclusion.
And yeah yeah yeah... the store was called and the lady said no, but think:
She obviously wasn't taking the phone call seriously
She likely just genuinely didn't know; how could she have known what all the rooms in their 8 locations looked like a decade of two ago? (Which old Facebook posts show that the places did in fact look like the OG back rooms image)
It's also possible that the original backrooms photo was taken before the store even got their hands on the building in 1999.
So, with everything finally put together In a reddit post, what can we get from this lead?
Well first things first, it's not debunked, it's unsolved.
And Second, if this wasn't the area, it definitely supports the theory that it was taken in a furniture store, possibly during Renovations. (the furniture store theory would explain all the wallpapers; display for selling)
I hope you took the time to read all of this, I tried to keep it as short as possible, because this could have gone out into a novel's worth of text.
I will pribably be making a youtube video on this soon, You can find my youtube channel under the same name; GlipJip
I will be happy to answer as many questions as I can in the comments.
Peace yall - HappyFaceDelusions / GlipJip

Out there - Patreon (for all those curious or wanting to support :))
At the Beginning
Adventure Arc - Arc 2
Wilderness Arc - Arc 3
Academy Arc - Arc 4
Nobility Arc - Arc 5
Previously on Leveling up the World...
DOMAIN INVASION
​
“It’s starting,” Veil said. “Someone didn’t like you reaching the big one-thirty.”
Dallion couldn’t agree more. Mere hours had passed since he had taken control of the fallen south. It was natural to expect some sort of reaction. Instead of sending a few missiles to glass the crater, however, Jeremy had resorted to a territorial attack. Over a dozen mid-sized settlements had pushed into Dallion’s territory, aiming for conflict. At present, a quarter of Wetie province had been taken and an even larger chunk of Dallion’s western domain.
“Get everyone to the war room,” Dallion said as he focused on the exact territories being lost.
Diroh had sent fury scouts to all the border regions. The fact that none of them had sounded an alarm suggested that there had been no cloud fort movements on the empire’s side. Most likely they were kept in reserve should Tiallia attack with her water islands.
Vihrogon emerged in the large room a step away from his designated seat. Hannah followed.
Unfortunately, we won’t be able to join you in person, dear boy, Adzorg said from within Dallion’s personal realm. Cloud forts have been sighted in the north, requiring our full attention.
If there’s any danger, get Di out of there, Dallion ordered without hesitation.
You know she won’t like that.
That’s why I’m telling you. The Circle might be there and she’s not ready to face them.
Euryale and Ariel were the last to arrive. Pan focused on his old role of checking for copyette infiltrates. He had already expressed a desire not to be involved in the combat decisions unless there was a very specific need for him. Having already gone through this during the days of his own world conquest attempt, he preferred not to be reminded of his failure. Besides, this was an entirely new type of war he knew nothing of.
“The empire is giving a push,” Dallion shared the situation. “For now, they’re pushing both east and south.”
“He’s copying your method,” Vihrogon said with a slight laugh. “It’s the same way you pushed out the Order.”
Yes, Dallion thought. The emperor seemed to be copying a lot. Everyone was. As the saying back on Earth went: In order to become number one, do everything it takes. In order to remain number one, copy number two.
Despite all the problems it faced, the Tamin Empire was undoubtedly the strongest power there was. With the Order’s influence waning, neither Dallion nor the nymphs were anywhere close. By pushing Dallion out of his domain, Jeremy aimed at gaining undisputed control of the entire continent, and possibly a few more levels . Afterwards, he could focus his whole attention on Tiallia.
It was outright scary how effective the man was at copying others. If everything that was said was true, half a century ago he was the archbishop’s subordinate and only one of hundreds—possibly thousands—otherworlders. He had then copied the Order of the Seven Moons to make a similar organization of his own. He had made use of the skills and abilities of the people who were part of it before killing them off. Even the rockets were knowledge that was taken from the archbishop. Now, he had done the same with Dallion’s idea.
​
DOMAIN INVASION
The TOWN of ISAL is no longer part of your domain.
​
“He’s deployed troops,” Dallion said, bringing silence to the room. “I’ve lost a Wetie Province settlement.”
The silence lasted several seconds longer.
“The empire’s done this before.” Hannah was the one who broke it. “The legions would occupy settlements while fighting chainlings and other wilderness monsters. It happened a few times during my time.”
“It’s not just imperials.” Dallion clenched his fists. “Priscord.”
Of the people alive, there weren’t many that could cause such a reaction. The former countess was among the select few. She had treated Dallion as a pawn pretty much since his arrival in Nerosal, using him to exacerbate the friction between her and Archduke Lanitol and come out on top. Twice she had tried to have Dallion killed and use his death to her political advantage.
I’m moving the children to Dherma, Gloria said through Dallion’s larger domain. Since the absorption of Wetie province, she had become one of his five overseers.
Send them here, Veil suggested. It’ll be safer.
Just because there are more people doesn’t make it safe, Gloria snapped at her brother. All the capitals are dangerous, and if I know Priscord, she’s the type of woman to hold grudges for centuries and take great pleasure in extinguishing them.
That much was true. It was very much like her to try to take vengeance on the province she viewed as being rightfully hers. Maybe that was the deal the emperor or his aether echo had offered: take Dallion out of the game and claim everything he had for her own. That would make her second within the empire and probably the person with the most lands.
Do it. Dallion gave his permission. All other overseers, join her.
Isn’t that a bit rash? The Lanitol overseer asked. I understand Gloria, but to have all of us flee?
None of you can stand up to her. And trust me, she’ll join the fight soon enough. Nothing beats the satisfaction of personally dealing with someone who slighted you.
While not all the overseers agreed, they saw the logic in Dallion’s words. Left with little choice, they left the cities they were overseeing to gather in Dallion’s home town.
Emotions of deep gratitude emanated from Gloria. She didn’t voice it, yet was fully aware that Dallion could sense it. Although they had drifted apart, there remained a few strong bonds between them. In many ways, he viewed her as an extension of his family. There was no way he’d put her children at risk. If he had a say, he didn’t want to put any children of his inhabitants at risk. Awakened and armies were one thing—they had made the decision on some level to put their life on the line. As long as he followed the path of the empath, Dallion’s goal was to protect those who didn’t.
“I’ll be going to face her myself,” he said out loud.
“No,” Hannah said in a firm tone. “Too risky. It’s no coincidence that the emperor let her lead the attack. He’s hoping to draw you out.”
“Best not disappoint him, then.”
“Are you sure?” Euryale asked.
Dallion nodded.
“What’s your plan?”
“They attacked where it was expected, so I’ll do the opposite.”
“Alright. Then I’ll do the same.” The gorgon’s snakes twirled. “If they’re expecting to face you in Wetie, I’ll oblige. I also have a few scores to settle.”
Dallion thought about arguing, but changed his mind before any words came out. Eury could be twice as determined as him. Plus, he didn’t have to worry about her handling herself in battle. She was better at analyzing threats and knew when to retreat and when to push on. Besides, Dark was going to be with her.
“Pick some troops. When you’re ready, I’ll send you to Lanitol.”
“I can do that,” Veil said. “You focus on your stuff.”
“You don’t have the reach.” Dallion gave the overseer a stern look.
“I don’t need it. All I have to do is move Alliance there,” the blond smirked.
“Don’t mess it up.”
“Look who’s talking. I’ll do my part. Don’t end up getting killed. If something happens to you, all the settlements become static.”
Not the greatest prep talk, but Veil never was good when it came to oratory skills. He wasn’t wrong, though. It was Dallion’s powers that overseers and local area guardians were taking advantage of when moving the settlements. If Dallion were to die, there was a good chance that his domain died with him. Euryale would certainly try to hold things together. There was even a good chance that she might save a lot of people. Sadly, the thing about vacuum was that it was filled equally fast from all sides. Each next successor would only manage to claim part of what was lost.
“I’ll hold down the east forest,” Vihrogon said. “In case the order has any ideas. I doubt that the nymphs will take any action.”
“What if you come across Aurun?” Hannah asked.
“Me?” The dryad glanced at Dallion, then back at the woman.
“Either of you.”
“The only thing we could.” Vihrogon did a casual shrug. “Run. besides, if that happens, the dragon will be the least of our worries. The emperor doesn’t sound like the guy who goes anywhere without it. If there’s a dragon, that would mean he’ll be riding it.”
“Use rockets,” Dallion said. “You can hurt him with those.”
“Maybe, but only if the emperor isn’t there.”
This marked the end of the conversation. Dallion could feel it in their emotions. All that remained was ironing out the details, but that they could do without him.
​
AREA AWAKENING
​
Dallion slipped into the realm of his domain, then slid through it, surrounded by a bubble of reality. While he had full confidence in the creatures in the room, he chose not to share the final part of his plan. There was no doubt that he wanted to face Priscord again, yet it wasn’t going to be in the south or the east. Instead, he was going to strike right in the heart of her new domain from the one place no one expected—the forbidden north.
The minuscule domain that had been created once Dallion had removed his mansion from the imperial capital still remained. Its insignificant size and isolated location allowed it to remain overlooked. Bringing an army through it was going to be challenging in the best of circumstances, but a single person could use it to venture into Priscord’s domain with ease.
“Are we going to fight?” The young Aquilequia asked, flying next to Dallion with a bubble of her own. Clearly, being formed of Moon magic gave the familiar some useful abilities.
“I am.” Dallion didn’t even look her way. “You’ll just watch.”
“Why?”
“You’re still young in your current form. When you get enough magic to level up, we’ll have this conversation again.”
The dragon snapped her jaw, then flashed, moving to the other side of Dallion’s reality bubble.
“I’m not that weak!” she protested.
“Are you stronger than Nox?”
There was a moment of silence. In her former state, Aquilequia could claim to be dozens of times stronger. As things stood now, she couldn’t even claim to be an equal match.
“When you're as strong as Nox and Gleam, I’ll consider it.”
With a snarl, the dragon disappeared back into Dallion’s personal realm. No doubt she was going to challenge Nox to a fight. That was for the better. Both of them needed all the practice they could get for the fights to come.
Not to interrupt, dear boy, but might I suggest a change in your plans? Adzorg’s voice sounded in Dallion’s mind.
“You want me to give up?”
On the contrary. I think that attacking now is a splendid move. It’ll let everyone know that you’re not to be trifled with. In a free for all, it’s not the strongest that everyone fears, but the one who has no issue taking you down with him.
“What do you want me to change, then?”
The target. Attacking the Priscord province might be great at sending a message, but other than that, it holds no benefits. Her territory is exposed on all sides, sandwiched between the Tamin empire and the nymphs. The Academy will be a substantially better target.
“The Academy?” Dallion didn’t expect that. “And they say that I hold grudges.”
My personal experience with the current archmage aside, the Shimmering Circle is the single thing that poses a direct threat, other than the world conquerors themselves.
“Come on. They couldn’t deal with a few battle mages.”
That’s assuming that was their goal. Knowing what you know now, have you considered that the emperor might have been deliberately thinning the herd?”
“He killed them?”
Maybe not personally, but have you noticed that the two of them who knew the emperor best of all were terrified of him? One created an enclave as far away from him as possible, and the other doesn’t dare take any action without orders. With the exception of Katka, everyone else is dead one way or another.
A chill ran down Dallion’s spine. Thinking back, he did remember guardians at the Learning Hall talking about another mage with empathy. With the pool being incredibly small, the only people they could be referring to were the archbishop, the emperor, or his aether echo. And the archbishop wasn’t the type of person who’d leave the safety of his island.
“You really think they might turn into a problem?”
There still are a lot of powerful trinkets at the Academy, not to mention many young mages that could be puppeted. That’s precisely the hidden ace someone would use in a battle such as this. After all, didn’t you play a few trump cards of your own to reach your current level, dear boy?
Dallion indeed had. What was more, he could see Jeremy resorting to that. The man had already copied his and the archbishop’s methods of fighting, why not copy Tiallia’s use of symbiont echoes to make himself a squadron of mage puppets?
“And Priscord?” he asked. “A surprise attack only works once. I won’t be able to catch her off guard after this.”
You don’t need to worry about that. As long as you make it clear you’re involved in the battle at the Academy, she won’t be able to resist joining in.
Next

I am a first-time writer, I've taken on a creative project to try to write a full novel from front to back. I am around nine chapters in, the deeper the chapter, the more unpolished the editing. The Book Writing Project can be found: here.

BOOK 1 SUMMARY WITH GRAPHICS

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DEADCOAST-INTRO #

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“Deadcoast Book 1: Heat and the Grizzly Reds” transports readers to a 2063 Earth, a world on the brink, where the scarcity of fresh water has led to previously unseen geopolitical tensions. Amidst this backdrop, the nation-backed militant group DAGGR has emerged as a formidable force, leveraging advanced technology to assert control over Canada’s abundant water resources. At the heart of their arsenal is ‘slugTech,’ a technology pioneered by James Broadshaw, intended for ecological restoration but repurposed for militaristic dominance.
The story unfolds with the chilling invasion of Vancouver, marking a turning point as DAGGR makes its ambitions clear, culminating in the assassination of the Canadian Prime Minister. This act of aggression leaves the country reeling, exposing vulnerabilities and igniting a global reaction.
The UNE-EYE satellite is central to the international response, a significant narrative element representing the world’s most advanced orbital tracking system. Once decommissioned in favour of privacy, the Dutch reactivated the satellite as a strategic move to monitor DAGGR’s movements and coordinate a unified international effort against the aggressors. This revival of UNE-EYE symbolizes a crucial turning point, highlighting the global stakes and the interconnectedness of nations in the face of a common enemy.
As Canada grapples with its plight, the DAMU (Deserted American Military Units) rise in solidarity, breaching borders to fight alongside their Canadian counterparts. This act of defiance is mirrored by international forces, including the Netherlands and Ukraine, each bringing their unique strengths to the coalition, underscored by the strategic oversight provided by the UNE-EYE satellite.
Amidst the geopolitical chaos, a man who had all but given up, a boxer on the ropes, emerges from Vancouver’s Gastown. Known as HEAT, this leader of the Grizzly Reds becomes a symbol of resistance and hope. HEAT’s story, and that of the Grizzly Reds, is one of resilience, rallying not only Canadians but also global citizens to stand against DAGGR’s tyranny.
“Deadcoast Book 1: Heat and the Grizzly Reds” is a compelling narrative of survival, alliance, and resistance. It deftly weaves elements of advanced technology, international politics, and the indomitable human spirit. The inclusion of the UNE-EYE satellite serves as a testament to the complexities of modern warfare and the critical role of global surveillance and coordination in maintaining security and freedom. But something else stirs amongst it. The UNE still shrouds its use, albeit assuring it is for record-keeping purposes- there is no way to be sure. Join HEAT and the Grizzly Reds as they navigate the challenges of Time, War, Science and liberating their fellow man in Vancouver. THE GRIZZLIES NEED YOU, in this action-packed, emotional saga, speaks to the resilience and camaraderie inherent in the human condition.
— -

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DEADCOAST-SUMMARY-ILLUSTRATED #

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THE YEAR IS 2063
In a future world plagued by scarcity and desperation, DAGGR, a shrouded nation-funded militant group, emerges as a significant player. They focus on Canada, a land rich in the most valuable resource left on Earth: fresh water. DAGGR, a state-of-the-art military faction, features boat hulls fitted with tech from forgotten scientists, silenced for their discoveries out of fear, not fortune. The DAGGR technology, originally known as ‘slugTech,’ was a technological marvel in 3 breakthroughs. 1. Quantum Computing, 2. Data Compression, 3. Power Generation. ‘slugTech,’ created by a young Canadian Scientist ‘James Broadshaw’ 30 years earlier, was a true innovation. James created the slugs to heal, to help. The slugs were a 360-degree plan to encapsulate the earth in self-repairing atmospheric “slug swarms.” A self-repairing Global Bandaid. The project’s potential caused widespread alarm among the Need-to-know world leaders. Just like that, the slugTech was delegated and prohibited at the highest level of classification: TWA Technology. A Total World Annihilation Classification.’ slugTech was shrouded in secrecy and hidden to avoid events like the ones to come. No trace of James Broadshaw has been seen or heard from 19 years ago. Today, DAGGR approaches with an abomination tainting James’ legacy.
DAGGR’s innovation extended beyond self-repairing hulls. It involved trillions of quantum scale molecules, a new man-made molecule reactive to electric currents, programable to scale, to human eyes — A manifestation of slimy consistent liquid. The Molecules, capable of constructing honeycombing at a microscopic level, chains of strength tested by time in Darwin's evolution. The honeycomb is fine-tuned to absorb, create, repair, and discard. It scatters in and out of vision like a hive, moving as if bleeding while discarding its damaged former molecular brethren. Adversaries dubbed them M’YASNI HOLOVY, aka MEAT HEADS. This was just a taste of what DAGGR had to offer, the tip of the military iceberg. This tech alone was thought of only in science and prototyping. But DAGGR’s mission was not solely about military prowess. It was about unlocking new Technological Marvels via destruction and power, paving the way for swift world domination.
And so…
The enigma persists: who was DAGGR, and how did they outpace the world’s best? This Faction, a force to be reckoned with, traces its strength back to ancient times when men spoke a forgotten tongue. The Romans, the Anglo-Saxons, the Vikings, and the great philosophers of Greece. Structuring their Military ranks as the Roman Legion once did was a cusp to dawn the new Legionaries. The mystery of their origins and ability to surpass the world’s best is a puzzle that continues to intrigue and confound.
— -
Under the veil of fireworks on Canada Day, a sinister plot unfolds as the then-unknown (DAGGR) assailant assassinates the Canadian Prime Minister. Chaos ensues as the highest echelons of the government are either eliminated or driven into hiding, leaving a power vacuum in their wake.
The world is shocked by the unveiling of DAGGR and its sudden, unprovoked invasion of Vancouver.
“As the DAGGRS military might descend upon Vancouver, the world watches in stunned silence. It was Canada…Who dared with The United States so close? So intertwined?”
The countries almost became One after the American Water Crisis. The United States, with all its power and might, could not battle the grim reality of a dry well — that is until the Canadians intervened.
During the 2043 American water crisis (due to overpopulation), Most of the world clung to its Dwindling supplies. Canada and Russia were becoming vastly wealthy nations with vastly different ideals. Each harnesses 89% of the natural water left on Earth between them.
Canada, NOTWITHSTANDING, fiscally bankrupted its country, sending trillions in drinkable, H2O aid to the impossible, seemingly unquenchable thirst of the American Populace. The talks of liquid gold had come to pass. Most of Canada’s still bountiful glacial runoffs prove vital for its controlled population.
Canada, its citizens, and its shield were dedicated to ensuring the safety and survival of their American counterparts. The Canadian Nation essentially shut down for three months, pivoting all infrastructure to aid RED BLEED BLUE.
Operation “Red Bleed Blue”
Canada suspended its airspace for three months. It took control of all aircraft with two wings and an engine in its flying zones, including small planes in the east, seaplanes in the west, and Inuit icebreakers in the north. All international pilots were required to join the effort or relinquish their respective companies’ aircraft temporarily. Airspace clearance was strictly controlled from coast to coast. Natural spring pools near the Canadian borders were donated to help the United States immediately by providing a pumpable source close to the border. This was a Canadian-led coalition to support its loyal allies in the south; the world, inspired by the Northern Nation, came together to offer overwhelming manpower support. As a result of this effort, America’s recovery operation was streamlined, ensuring a full economic and strategic recovery. These events immeasurably further strengthened the bond between Canada and the United States. In exchange for steady water supplies, America would provide permanent military incorporation to Canada, making Canada’s young and too optimistically forward-thinking leaders believe there was no need for an underfunded, rudimentary Canadian military.
The Canadian Military was Designed to be an operational elite force of cutting-edge units. Some soared above in the skies with the eagles; some stared through scopes at their prey miles away, and some lived at the depths of the ocean’s crust, researching the next edge. It wasn’t a large force but a technologically forward one. The Canadian Military, all Research projects and its personnel are cut overnight.
Aside from these events and the Sacrifices of the North, it wasn't enough when Canada’s time of need came.
The US finds itself handcuffed by a technological marvel of DAGGR Faction ingenuity — the “C2c,” a super bomb designed not for destruction but to hinder AI in Machines. This leaves America’s Technological might and size paralyzed, unable to intervene without risking its national security. The closure of borders and refusal to accept Canadian refugees ignite riots within the U.S.; the Americans take to Social news outlets, and these phrases take hold;
“BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER.”WE REMEMBER:”
Freedom fighters awaken in their populace, not for themself, but for the Canadian Citizens so much like their own. They are the DAMU.
As the American people grapple with their government’s inaction. Militant groups, mostly “Deserted American Military Units” or “DAMU,” rip open their border gates.
The DAMU march to Seattle, where they are openly greeted, shown, and instructed on how to broadcast nationally by the Local News Agencies. It would seem the want, the need to help was not just limited to those that can fight. The DAMU, with the help of the Media, both left and right, was broadcasted, Unified, Nationally, Globally.
“*WE WILL COME TO THE AID OF THE NORTH. WE ARE THE DAMU. WE CALL ANY TRAINED MILITANT OF AMERICA. IT IS IN OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO DEFEND OUR FAMILY, OUR NEIGHBOURS, OUR FRIENDS WHO SACRIFICED FOR US IN THE NORTH. IF YOU ARE TRAINED, YOU ARE DAMU, AND THIS IS YOUR FIGHT. LEST WE FORGET THE THIRST OF THE CRISIS? OUR BLOOD IS TO THE TRUE NORTHERN SACRIFICES IN OUR TIME OF NEED. WE MARCH FOR VANCOUVER AT DAWN. WE MARCH– WE FIGHT; IF YOU WISH TO JOIN US, ALL TRAVEL WILL BE COMPENSATED TO SEATTLE. DIAL ‘#FIGHT’ (‘#34448’)*”
DAMU CONVOY MARCH TO ZERO BEACH, VANCOUVER, BC.
They demanded their own smaller(than the now 400-strong DAMU) national guard units lower their weapons or fire on them(DAMU), but they sure as hell weren’t going to do anything while the Civilians in the North were openly Slaughtered. The UNE-EYE(A world Monitoring Mega Satellite Structure provided a Full Scope, degree stream of the invasion, live as it unfolded. The DAMU were fired up and ready for what may come after witnessing the atrocities on civilians in the violent invasion. The border forces subtly obliged; they didn’t want to be there either. A small sign of humanity, a small flame doused by the arrival of the entire American border forces not a day later. The DAMU militants crossed the border into the grey. If the government wasn’t going to, the American people were. Despite the political constraints, there’s an undercurrent of hope and solidarity among the American populace, a belief that their Canadian kin won’t be trounced so easily — they are Northmen: Strong, Weathered, Proud. The Canadians will buy themselves enough time to allow the American people to mobilize independently. Riot or Revolution- Canada will not be abandoned in their darkest hour.
— -
Amidst this international turmoil, a forgotten ally rekindles an old bond. The Netherlands, moved by the atrocities and recalling a debt from a world’s past, announces a Declaration of War that is both Swift and Symbolic. In a historic gesture, 10,000 dead tulips are sent to DAGGR’s “SUNKEN CITIES.” Not underwater, but an alias for their innovative creation of continental Landmasses in the Pacific Dark Zones. It is a grim reminder of the Dutch’s loyal tenacity, bond to lives lost, and vow to honour past sacrifices from Forgotten World Quarrels. The Dutch mobilize their military for an operation named “Vrijheid” — a phrase that means freedom, a principle they’re determined to uphold.
The Dutch Royal family, with ties to Canada dating back to World War II, leads the charge. Princess Margriet’s Direct Descendant, Halifax van Royal(“Royal,” a warrior title replacing his traditional royal Surname ‘Orange Nassau.’ The Highest Honor in the Dutch Military Elite), a symbol of the enduring bond between the two nations, reignites his family’s commitment; a vow from a different time, violence born of a different struggle, the Canadians once Liberated Dutch lands from tyrants, and he would vow to return that very same favour.
During their(Dutch Royalty) refugee status in World War II, Princess Margaret van Orange Nassau sought asylum in Canada’s parliament. Canada even temporarily granted parts of their “Dutch soil” land so Margaret’s children could be born officially on Dutch Lands. As a boy, Halifax’s family passed down stories of the Fateful days of the great struggle, generation to generation; the stories passed off tongues as the test of time-shifted legacies and gifted life. The gratitude survived the tests, the sands of time– about the days the Canadians arrived. The day they roared into Holland ferociously, battling the Occupying Nazis and expelling them from household to household, driving them from city to city, until the Netherlands was once again a free reign. Canadians sacrificed to save Holland’s people Halfway Across the World in a war that wasn’t theirs. Halifax was determined to honour this Sacrifice.
Halifax, infuriated by the atrocities streamed by the UNE-EYE(World Surveillance), personally promises his “Korps Commandotroepen (KCT)” to liberate one Canadian town for each of the 8,000 Canadian soldiers buried on Dutch soil, a tribute to the heroes who helped liberate Holland during the war. Before a full hour passed in the Canadian invasion.
Korps Commandotroepen — KCT(English: Commando Corps) is the elite special forces unit of the Royal Netherlands Army. The KCT traces its origins to the Second World War with the founding of №2 (Dutch) Troop.
The royal family pulled in generational favours to the powers of the U.N.E.(The United Nations of Europe.) to recommission its Mega Structure Satellite, the once intrusive World Eye. A Satellite can find almost anything, anywhere, at face-recognizing precision. A mother to a web of smaller surveillance satellites, it could track a fly in the desert. For the first time in 7 years, the UNE-EYE was back and operational, fully utilizing its global tracking and orbital streaming system.
The world’s state-of-the-art orbital tracking system. It was mainly decommissioned to search and rescue after the global privacy initiative before being wholly outlawed and shut down a few years later. The power of the Mob and privacy were prime.
Unbeknownst to Canadians, the world was watching their struggle, fight, and determination.
As the world watched on, it burst into flames. Inspired by everyday Canadians’ hearts in their battle against torrential odds, their hearts, minds and souls felt for them and prayed for them. Every denomination, religious alignment, and political authority seemed to unite under one banner; “how can we help the Canadians?” Politics ensued as the world's populace helplessly watched as Canada burned.
With Halifax leading the Efforts, The reality of warfare and logistics proved to be a daunting challenge. Despite the royal efforts, including setting up refugee centers in various locations and sending evacuation ships to Newfoundland, Halifax(the Canadian Province), and Montreal, the Dutch faced an uphill battle against time and dwindling resources.
Meanwhile, another unexpected ally emerges from the East. Ukraine, forged in the fires of conflict and struggle, remembers Canada’s aid during its decade-long fight for independence.
Canada was there, officially or unofficially, for all ten years. The arrival of the Ukrainian flagship, ZELENSKY II, bearing the flag “UTF-FLR.’’ followed by a new garrison name, “UKRAINIAN TASKFORCE — FOREIGN LEGIONS REVENGE,” an homage to the INTERNATIONAL CANADIAN LEGION forces that fought for Ukraine and the brave Canadian JTF-2 “12 of Hope” a unit shrouded in secrecy and anonymity until then. Their actions shattered their veiled secrecy. It’s hard to stay hidden when you disobey direct orders to liberate half a Ukranian city. Saving hundreds of thousands of civilians, throwing their lives on the line in the process, losing six members, and igniting the Ukrainian Civilians they were trying to rescue. Elite soldiers and Ukrainian civilians alike, side by side, fighting for survival. With its golden yellow hull and blue stripes, the Zelenskyy ii signals a new chapter in this unfolding saga. The UKRAINIAN TASKFORCE — FOREIGN LEGIONS REVENGE.
Hope.
However, tragedy strikes as the Zelensky II falls victim to DAGGR’S C2c weapon. Rendered immobile, a sitting duck in open harbours. A low rumble flies ahead, eight engines grown on a mammoth aircraft dawning the letters ‘SPIT FLARE.’ As their bomber flies overhead, Canadians watch in horror from the beach; a small black dot falls slowly from the craft above, and with a flash of white, the Zelenskyy II vaporizes.
The “Small Bang” bomb, as DAGGR calls it, is the rapid spinning of plasma in a small diameter, increasing and accelerating its speed until the molecules in the plasma begin to flare outwards in a disc formation, stretching their fabric in the very space-time itself, expanding, thinning and super-heating the plasma to sub-molecular level, then rapidly infusing the process with oxygen and at the same speed decelerating it completely. The molecules super-compress, contract, and expand explosively. It would almost seem modelled as the same process of creating the universe. In its current state, it reaches temperatures close to the sun. The bomb resulted in the loss of 180,000 lives and shattered the morale of those waiting for evacuation on the Atlantic Shore.
The NORTHERN DAGGR forces, failing to enter through the Arctic, encounter resistance from the “Canadian Shield,” the formidable natural defences of the North. DAGGR is stopped in their tracks. With the invading forces, there is a new All-in focus on Vancouver for its strategic ports and supply lines. However, the Atlantic side of Canada succumbs to fear tactics, with the evacuation efforts ceasing after the destruction of the Zelensky II.
Amidst the challenging times, a hero unexpectedly rises from the ashes of Gastown in Vancouver. Known by the code name HEAT, Ryan emerges as a symbol of hope and resistance.
HEAT becomes the founder and leader of the Grizzly Reds, a resistance group that plays a pivotal role in igniting the spirit of defiance across Canada. Their true origin is rooted in the Red Brick Road incident, a gruesome act of violence by the DAGGR FACTION to enact fear in the uprising. This heinous act catalyzes HEAT and gives a new birth to the Grizzly Reds, a symbol of Canadian tenacity and the fight for freedom.
The Grizzlies are known for their guerrilla “Roar and Move” Tactic, which strategically surrounds their militia unit around a target. The streets are that of the grizzlies; it's their hunting grounds, homes, and native streets they know best: Zero Beach, Gastown, Vancouver, Canada. The Grizzlies exchange Roars one by one around their target as if banshees transcending physical barriers— haunting, taunting their prey. Their unbreakable spirit inspires a global movement to rise up.
Across the border, Americans, forming the DAMU(DESERTED AMERICAN MILITARY UNIT), flock to the Seattle coast and organize the march to Zero Beach. True to their word, the Dutch include the ‘Vrijheid’ Garrison, comprising military personnel who volunteer to fight for Canada’s liberation, commanded by the elite Korps Commandotroepen (KCT).
The story of HEAT and the Grizzly Reds is a powerful reminder of humanity’s unyielding resilience in the face of adversity. It speaks to the deep-seated desire for justice and compassion that runs through our veins and the unwavering commitment to our fellow human beings.

• JOIN HEAT AND THE GRIZZLY REDS AS THEY FIGHT TO LIBERATE VANCOUVER IN THIS ACTION PACKED EMOTIONAL DRAMA.
• JOIN THE FIGHT
• JOIN THE RESISTANCE

WHERE WERE YOU THE DAY CANADA WAS INVADED?

Live Music

• Caleb Joye, The Cellar Upstairs Wine Bar & Restaurant, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm,
• Paper City Hustlers, Conch House Marina Resort, 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm,
• Michael Jordan, Borrillo's Pizzeria & Beer Garden, 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm,
• Reggie Starrett, DJ's Clam Shack, 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm,
• Lonesome Bert's Thick and Thin String Band, Marina Munch, 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm,
• Committee, The Cellar Upstairs Wine Bar & Restaurant, 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm,
• Contact Buzz, Hurricane Grill & Wings, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm,
• Lauren Gilliam, Trinity Parish Episcopal Church, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm,
• Chillula, Pesca Vilano by Michael Lugo, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm,
• Burn Unit, Fuzion 904 Eatery, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm,
• Allen Arena, Hurricane Patty's Bar and Grill, 6:00 pm – 9:30 pm,
• Remedy Tree, St. Augustine Food + Wine Festival 2024, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm,
• Jolie, Casa de Vino 57, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm,
• Cumberland, Colonial Oak Music Park, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm,
• Space Heaters, Pierre's Pub, 7:00 pm – 11:00 pm,
• Kirk Whalen, Mayday Ice Cream - Midtown, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm,
• Brian Rowland, Pusser's Bar and Grille, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm,
• Groove Pipe Band, A1A Ale Works, 8:00 pm – 12:00 am,
• Smokin' Joe Schauer, Meehan's Irish Pub & Seafood House, 8:00 pm – 11:55 pm,
• Live Stream, Tradewinds Lounge, 9:00 pm – 1:00 am,
• Tru Phonic, Prohibition Kitchen, 10:00 pm – 12:00 pm

Drake's Raid Reenactment

• On Saturday, May 11, 2024, Historic Florida Militia will present their annual reenactment of Sir Francis Drake's raid on old San Agustïn.
• From 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, the Oldest House Museum Complex will host a re-created 16th-century-style military encampment featuring drills, weapons demonstrations, and living history interpretations. A ticket for the Oldest House Museum Complex is required to enter the encampment.
• They will reenact Drake's Raid near the Orange Street redoubt in front of Ann O'Malley's on Saturday evening, May 11. The troops gather at the Governor's House and proceed up St. George Street to the Redoubt.
• Participating reenactors include the Men of Menéndez and Drake's Men, member groups of Historic Florida Militia, Inc. Find information about the militia and Drake's Raid on their website.
• Admission: Regular park admission rates apply to visit the encampment at the Oldest House Museum Complex.
• When: The military encampment will be open from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. at the Oldest House Museum Complex on Friday and Saturday. The reenactment of the sacking and burning of the town will begin at 6:00 p.m.
• Where: The living history encampment is at the Oldest House Museum Complex, 33 St. George Street in St. Augustine. The reenactment of the raid begins at 6:00 p.m. at the Governor's House and will conclude at 8:00 p.m. at the St. George Street Redoubt.
• History of the event: On June 6, 1586, 23 ships approached the harbor of the Spanish colonial city of San Agustín with 2,000 Englishmen under the command of Sir Francis Drake. After sighting the harbor, 1,000 of these men, led by Captain Christopher Carlile, landed on Anastasia Island the next day and mounted cannons opposite the Spanish wooden fort, which was located on what is now the Fountain of Youth Park. The cannons blazed until the Spanish forces (just 300 in number) were forced to abandon the fort during the night of June 7. On the morning of June 8, the English crossed Matanzas Bay, taking the fortification and driving the Spanish rearguard from the city.

Chamber Music Series: Belle Fleur Ensemble

• The Romanza Festivale presents the Belle Fleur Ensemble on Friday, May 10, 2024, at noon at the Memorial Presbyterian Church on Sevilla Street.
• The trio, Glynda Newton on violin, her husband Cliff Newton on trumpet, and Michael Dell on piano have all performed extensively with several ensembles. Glynda and Cliff retired from the Jacksonville Symphony after performing with that orchestra for more than 30 years. They both perform with a salon orchestra, the Newton Musical Palm Court Society Orchestra. Michael Dell is the Director of Music and Organist for the South Jacksonville Presbyterian Church and accompanies Jim Goodell's Bella Voce, as their principal keyboardist.
• Admission: Free.
• When: Friday, May 10, 2024, from noon to 1:00 p.m.
• Where: Memorial Presbyterian Church, 32 Sevilla Street, St. Augustine, Florida 32084
• This event is part of the Romanza Festivale of Music and the Arts, an annual festival of two weeks of historical, cultural, and creative events celebrating all things St. Augustine. From May 3 -19, the nation's oldest city will be jam-packed with music and dance concerts, living history events and historical tours, live theater, and art exhibits.

Romanza: Author Visit with Madeline Martin

• Madeline Martin, a bestselling author on the New York Times and USA Today lists, will talk with fans and writers at the Voorhees Mission building at St. Cyprians Episcopal Church on Friday, May 10, 2024, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. This event, presented by Romanza Festivale, will include wine, cheese, and conversation.
• Madeline credits her time in Germany as an "Army brat" for her love of history, and has said that she often "loses herself" when researching for her next book. Her books have been translated into more than 20 languages, and includes The Last Bookshop in London and The Librarian Spy. Her next book, The Booklover's Library, will be released in August.
• Admission: Free.
• When: Friday, May 10, 2024, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.
• Where: In the Voorhees Mission House (on the grounds of St. Cyprians Episcopal Church) at 130 Martin Luther King Avenue, St. Augustine, Florida 32084
• This event is part of the Romanza Festivale of Music and the Arts, an annual festival of two weeks of historical, cultural, and creative events celebrating all things St. Augustine. From May 3 -19, the nation's oldest city will be jam-packed with music and dance concerts, living history events and historical tours, live theater, and art exhibits.

Nomadic Nonsense – an Improv Grad Show

• Third Space Improv presents Nomadic Nomads -- an improv school graduation show that features improv comedy that's smart and from the heart.
• ACT 1: Game style improv a la Whose Line is it Anyway?
• ACT 2: A one-act play completely made up on the spot – inspired by audience suggestions.
• Third Space Improv offers beer, wine, and soft drinks as well as free parking. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the show begins at 8:00 p.m. There is open seating for this show.
• Tickets are $10.00 advance and $15.00 at the door or online.
• This is the eighth class graduating from The Adventure Project's five-level improv training school that is now housed at Third Space Improv. For more information about improv shows, events, and classes in St. Augustine

I am unable to post the sources because they are getting flagged as spam since they are all similar in name. So please visit this site for the list.
Written out urls here tinyurl.com/yjkw32kd

For future events please visit the Discord.

https://discord.gg/NG4eZSWAgR

Live Music

• Caleb Joye, The Cellar Upstairs Wine Bar & Restaurant, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm,
• Paper City Hustlers, Conch House Marina Resort, 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm,
• Michael Jordan, Borrillo's Pizzeria & Beer Garden, 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm,
• Reggie Starrett, DJ's Clam Shack, 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm,
• Lonesome Bert's Thick and Thin String Band, Marina Munch, 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm,
• Committee, The Cellar Upstairs Wine Bar & Restaurant, 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm,
• Contact Buzz, Hurricane Grill & Wings, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm,
• Lauren Gilliam, Trinity Parish Episcopal Church, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm,
• Chillula, Pesca Vilano by Michael Lugo, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm,
• Burn Unit, Fuzion 904 Eatery, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm,
• Allen Arena, Hurricane Patty's Bar and Grill, 6:00 pm – 9:30 pm,
• Remedy Tree, St. Augustine Food + Wine Festival 2024, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm,
• Jolie, Casa de Vino 57, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm,
• Cumberland, Colonial Oak Music Park, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm,
• Space Heaters, Pierre's Pub, 7:00 pm – 11:00 pm,
• Kirk Whalen, Mayday Ice Cream - Midtown, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm,
• Brian Rowland, Pusser's Bar and Grille, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm,
• Groove Pipe Band, A1A Ale Works, 8:00 pm – 12:00 am,
• Smokin' Joe Schauer, Meehan's Irish Pub & Seafood House, 8:00 pm – 11:55 pm,
• Live Stream, Tradewinds Lounge, 9:00 pm – 1:00 am,
• Tru Phonic, Prohibition Kitchen, 10:00 pm – 12:00 pm

Drake's Raid Reenactment

• On Saturday, May 11, 2024, Historic Florida Militia will present their annual reenactment of Sir Francis Drake's raid on old San Agustïn.
• From 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, the Oldest House Museum Complex will host a re-created 16th-century-style military encampment featuring drills, weapons demonstrations, and living history interpretations. A ticket for the Oldest House Museum Complex is required to enter the encampment.
• They will reenact Drake's Raid near the Orange Street redoubt in front of Ann O'Malley's on Saturday evening, May 11. The troops gather at the Governor's House and proceed up St. George Street to the Redoubt.
• Participating reenactors include the Men of Menéndez and Drake's Men, member groups of Historic Florida Militia, Inc. Find information about the militia and Drake's Raid on their website.
• Admission: Regular park admission rates apply to visit the encampment at the Oldest House Museum Complex.
• When: The military encampment will be open from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. at the Oldest House Museum Complex on Friday and Saturday. The reenactment of the sacking and burning of the town will begin at 6:00 p.m.
• Where: The living history encampment is at the Oldest House Museum Complex, 33 St. George Street in St. Augustine. The reenactment of the raid begins at 6:00 p.m. at the Governor's House and will conclude at 8:00 p.m. at the St. George Street Redoubt.
• History of the event: On June 6, 1586, 23 ships approached the harbor of the Spanish colonial city of San Agustín with 2,000 Englishmen under the command of Sir Francis Drake. After sighting the harbor, 1,000 of these men, led by Captain Christopher Carlile, landed on Anastasia Island the next day and mounted cannons opposite the Spanish wooden fort, which was located on what is now the Fountain of Youth Park. The cannons blazed until the Spanish forces (just 300 in number) were forced to abandon the fort during the night of June 7. On the morning of June 8, the English crossed Matanzas Bay, taking the fortification and driving the Spanish rearguard from the city.

Chamber Music Series: Belle Fleur Ensemble

• The Romanza Festivale presents the Belle Fleur Ensemble on Friday, May 10, 2024, at noon at the Memorial Presbyterian Church on Sevilla Street.
• The trio, Glynda Newton on violin, her husband Cliff Newton on trumpet, and Michael Dell on piano have all performed extensively with several ensembles. Glynda and Cliff retired from the Jacksonville Symphony after performing with that orchestra for more than 30 years. They both perform with a salon orchestra, the Newton Musical Palm Court Society Orchestra. Michael Dell is the Director of Music and Organist for the South Jacksonville Presbyterian Church and accompanies Jim Goodell's Bella Voce, as their principal keyboardist.
• Admission: Free.
• When: Friday, May 10, 2024, from noon to 1:00 p.m.
• Where: Memorial Presbyterian Church, 32 Sevilla Street, St. Augustine, Florida 32084
• This event is part of the Romanza Festivale of Music and the Arts, an annual festival of two weeks of historical, cultural, and creative events celebrating all things St. Augustine. From May 3 -19, the nation's oldest city will be jam-packed with music and dance concerts, living history events and historical tours, live theater, and art exhibits.

Romanza: Author Visit with Madeline Martin

• Madeline Martin, a bestselling author on the New York Times and USA Today lists, will talk with fans and writers at the Voorhees Mission building at St. Cyprians Episcopal Church on Friday, May 10, 2024, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. This event, presented by Romanza Festivale, will include wine, cheese, and conversation.
• Madeline credits her time in Germany as an "Army brat" for her love of history, and has said that she often "loses herself" when researching for her next book. Her books have been translated into more than 20 languages, and includes The Last Bookshop in London and The Librarian Spy. Her next book, The Booklover's Library, will be released in August.
• Admission: Free.
• When: Friday, May 10, 2024, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.
• Where: In the Voorhees Mission House (on the grounds of St. Cyprians Episcopal Church) at 130 Martin Luther King Avenue, St. Augustine, Florida 32084
• This event is part of the Romanza Festivale of Music and the Arts, an annual festival of two weeks of historical, cultural, and creative events celebrating all things St. Augustine. From May 3 -19, the nation's oldest city will be jam-packed with music and dance concerts, living history events and historical tours, live theater, and art exhibits.

Nomadic Nonsense – an Improv Grad Show

• Third Space Improv presents Nomadic Nomads -- an improv school graduation show that features improv comedy that's smart and from the heart.
• ACT 1: Game style improv a la Whose Line is it Anyway?
• ACT 2: A one-act play completely made up on the spot – inspired by audience suggestions.
• Third Space Improv offers beer, wine, and soft drinks as well as free parking. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the show begins at 8:00 p.m. There is open seating for this show.
• Tickets are $10.00 advance and $15.00 at the door or online.
• This is the eighth class graduating from The Adventure Project's five-level improv training school that is now housed at Third Space Improv. For more information about improv shows, events, and classes in St. Augustine

I am unable to post the sources because they are getting flagged as spam since they are all similar in name. So please visit this site for the list.
Written out urls here tinyurl.com/yjkw32kd

For future events please visit the Discord.

https://discord.gg/NG4eZSWAgR