Free printable second grade science worksheets

This is a crossover fanfiction between original fiction titles: Nature of Predators by SpacePaladin15 and The Last Angel by Proximal Flame respectively. All credit and rights reserved goes to them for making such amazing science fiction settings that I wanted to put this together.
You can read The Last Angel here: Be warned, it's decently long, and at its third installment so far. I highly suggest reading it before reading this, or this story will not make sense.

Otherwise, enjoy the story! Thanks again to u/jesterra54 and u/skais01 for beta and checking of work!
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Memory transcription subject: Governor Tarva of the Venlil Republic
Date [standardized human time]: October 22, 2136
The reveal of the Arxur's assistance of Earth was a unsettling, but mostly overlooked note to add to the headlines filling news sites today on Venlil Prime.
UNKNOWN SHIP DEVASTATES FEDERATION FLEET ABOVE EARTH, HUMANITY LIVES
While the ship wasn't currently unknown to us, given the UN's report, General Kam had advised that it would be better left unspoken of what capabilities we did know, so as to not worry the populace. "Leave causing panic to the humans" he said. But I heard the worries and anxious rumors throughout both social media and verbal conversations...
"That ship destroyed an ENTIRE fleet!?"
"Oh Protector, please tell me its not an Arxur vessel..."
"Why don't we know more?"
I couldn't help but feel for my people. I came to disagree with Kam's advice more and more, as I wished desperately to allay their fears of it being an Arxur superweapon, or that it was going to destroy us soon, or other similar worries.
Are you so sure yourself, Tarva? Even the UN government is scared of it, and it supposedly was made by a future Humanity...
I tried not to focus on that pang of paranoia. I just hoped soon enough the UN would make a statement on the Nemesis already. As I accompanied Noah to the UN's remembrance speech today, I did my best to scan for the feelings worn on peoples faces. The Venlil were unsettled as before, but the human refugees were an odder story altogether.
They were devastated, and scared as well as us Venlil were. But on top of it, I could see a common face worn of confusion. The information disambiguation hadn't made its way to Venlil Prime like it had Earth, and as such they were as much in the dark as the public here was. I could only imagine their uncertainty, knowing their race was likely saved by something they had no idea about.
Noah spoke out of nowhere. "I feel for the refugees here. Forced to an unfamiliar place, so unofficially hostile to them, and now they learn of Nemesis like this? I'd be as confused as them in their place." He checked his suit, attending to shift it so slightly as to make him look better in it. "I also can't imagine your opponents didn't run the whole ball with their existence here, too. Are we taxing you harshly, Tarva?"
I gripped his hand tighter. "No, Noah. While there are those that want you off-planet, I will not let them kick you off. I'll fight for you, no matter the cost."
"Seems like anywhere we go, we cause a fight some way or another. Pops always said space was our ticket to a better future, yet all we seem to cause is trouble for merely existing."
"Noah, its not your people's fault we're afraid of you. The Arxur are to blame for that, and we're at fault for holding it against you. What happened to Earth was not your doing, you tried your best, and it just was not convincing enough for millennia of cultural momentum."
He smiled at that, a muted, but still genuine smile. "Thank you Tarva. I'm glad you see the best in us, even when we don't."
I continued to scan the crowd, looking for the sight of Meier. He always seemed alight in diplomacy whenever he was around, it was a strength of his, outshining the room like that. I could only hope he was doing okay in the current state of Earth. The last time we talked, he seemed very tired, very...frustrated with everything.
But I was glad to see him in some his element soon after, amongst a group of dignitaries from other Federation species. He seemed to be listening to a Mazic diplomat, one I remembered by the name of Cupo. Sadly, however, despite Meier's attempt, it seems the conversation was not on a good track.
"-they're a menace to the rest of the galaxy, and you just let them in, not so soon after this ship blindsided an entire Federation fleet out of nowhere!?"
Meier dejectedly sighed. "Cupo, I thought I already told you, when the Arxur showed up, we had no capability to tell them to take a hike. They were ten-thousand strong and we barely managed several hundred ships left. That they even engaged in dialogue rather than just subjugation was a surprise to me."
"That doesn't make much sense either, Elias Meier. Since when do the Arxur play merciful? You're not telling us something here, and it curls my trunk in knots. How can we trust you when you can't even give us the details on what that ship is, or why the Arxur even showed up in its stead?"
The Mazic was not interested in Meier's friendly act, not giving any room for benefit of the doubt. The other diplomats crowded around began to mumble in agreement, as Meier stood there, formulating some response.
"What we do know about the ship and the Arxur, we'll clear up publically later in this event. But neither were expected by us, you have to believe me. Humanity is just as confused as you all are on the results of that battle, and-"
Cupo interrupted this time, clearly not willing to hear an explanation out. "You're running out of trust, Human. We think you ought to be given a chance; as the empathy studies show, you're not the Arxur. But associating with them as you are, with little transparency is not doing you favors with us, and if you want further association with us, you'd best cut ties with those monsters sooner, rather than later." The Mazic's ears hung in displeasure, and I could sense the nervousness in Meier as he stood down one of the races in the room far bigger than he was. Whether Cupo knew it or not, Meier was intimidated by his presence, and was trying to keep it cool to some degree. "We'll at most help with the Gojid refugees at the moment, as they've suffered both of your kind, but beyond that, consider it on hold until that problem is resolved."
They walked away, and some of the alien crowd amongst them followed. The only ones still sticking around seemed to be a Yotul diplomat, a Nevok, and a Fissan. The latter two stuck obviously to discuss more trade details, seeking to cut the other off from Earth to a degree in hopes of exploiting the system, but the Yotul was a surprise. I didn't even realize they had sent one this way.
Given the relatively new uplift of their world, I didn't imagine the Yotul having much stake or spread throughout the galaxy, so how did humanity...?
Meier turned to him. "Ah...Ambassador Laulo, I'm sorry you had to see that. We're...not doing so hot in the grand scheme of things, and some relations are boiling over as a result."
Laulo enthusiastically shook his head in denial. "No, it's okay! I understand the feeling of that persecution, even if it's for a different reason. Feels like the galaxy kicking you while you're already down."
"I appreciate any help we can get in regards to this. You're one of the very few races left that's pledged some sense of unconditional aid. I promise, with all I have in my power, I'll try and return the favor-Tarva!" Elias noticed my presence at last. "I...uh, how long have you been standing there?..."
"Long enough to hear most of it. I'm sorry the more neutral species aren't helping any, Meier. But that's not why I'm here, specifically. We need to talk about the human refugees."
Meier looked at me funny with that statement, as if he wasn't expecting something out of me. "I see...I hope it's not anything too bad, is it?"
I silently cringed at the exact words. Noah filled in the details in my stead. "Meier, the refugees here are seeing images of Earth, of those not too horribly in shock to do anything, there's been an uptick in suicides...a massive uptick. They aren't aware of the full story, due to the Venlil government's reluctance to publish the report sent here publicly. This remembrance speech better give the people here a semblance of peace, of stability, because there's an extreme lack of morale left in the camps."
Meier grimaced and scanned the crowd, glancing at the humans that were here. I assume he too could see how dejected many were, how many seemed at the end of their rope, coming here for the slightest hint of hope left in their lives at the news. They would need some good news, or there was a chance some wouldn't be here tomorrow.
I felt for them. They didn't deserve this, and our intentional censor of the details, so that Meier could deliver the news likely didn't help with the rates.
"I get that Noah. I really do. What happened at Earth was a tragedy, and the death toll is nearly 800 million. You could likely gather a group of ten or so humans from anywhere, and one of them lost someone close to them. I'll...do my best to raise their spirits, there's plenty to talk about here. The alien diplomats just aren't making this easy..." Meier gestured to the clearly forming bloc of neutral species dignitaries that gathered in the room. They did not seem to want to talk further on any support of Earth until some demands were met, mostly on why things were kept so information-blackout heavy at first. The speech would have to be twofold, at raising human refugees' spirits, and at convincing some of the touchy species to support Earth.
His work was cut out for him.
"Did you wish for any assistance on that front, Meier?" Noah offered. His kindness shone through even in the depths of despair that wore
itself on humanity currently. His soul was purely sweet and kind, regardless of his predator disposition, I so deeply respected that about him.
They began to talk shop, Noah mentioning his current experiences with human refugees upon Venlil Prime, and what topics Meier ought to add on and hit on in his speech. As rushed of advice as it was, Meier seemed determined to fit it in somehow, but I knew he had a silver tongue, his capability to navigate and convince was downright bewildering, present company excepted of course. Nothing would get those species over his diet anytime soon, so I could only hope he could appeal to their empathy as another sentient in this case.
I believed in them. If anyone could turn the state of the galaxy around, it would be these two.
Memory transcription subject: Dorian Abder, Commons Member of Parliament
Date [standardized human time]: October 22, 2136
I sat on my desk, watching out the window of my office at the Westminster Palace, reminiscing on the sad scene outside. Another body under cloth cover, wheeled out on a stretcher from a home surrounded by paramedics. Another swept up in despair, seeing the state of our beautiful planet, of our populace, so brutally scarred, enough to take their own life.
How many was it, so far? Nearly a half-percent suicide rate for every hundred thousand in England? More than eight times the highest resting rate in our entire history. And we were hardly hit in comparison to the rest of the world...how are they doing if it's this bad here?
I leaned back in my chair, back cracking in old age, forcing myself away from the scene outside. I tried to not think about it, just tried to focus again on my work. On the coordination efforts with the UN, the Arxur, and any other races seeking to help. But it was a mountain of work ahead, a peak of papers I could barely see myself climbing in an entire week, let alone the mere day it was handed down here.
We've all lost someone. Not a single soul hasn't been touched by the Federation's bombing.
I thought about how the targeting of cities took. How they focused so heavily on Africa and Asia, the most booming corridors of population on Earth. How they erased 78 cities from existence before their fleet was devastated by The Sword. They weren't aiming to cripple humanity, on industrial depots and power plants, but to exterminate us. They aimed for the most populated cities first, before taking potshots at what remained.
Being put to the death by The Sword serves them right, they deserved judgement by that blade for what they had done.
Or, rather, the Nemesis, as reports had given us. A human ship, but not quite our humanity. A time traveler conveniently sent here by accident, saving us from extinction. An AI piloted ship that sought now to reunite with Earth having defended us. Given what remained of our Guardian Angel, I sought to do everything I could to make their welcome home a celebration, for they defended humanity in our darkest hour.
I recalled my journeys around the globe as a younger man. How my endless wanderlust took me to every corner of the globe in the wake of the Satellite Wars. How the global power vacuum led to so much relief efforts, as the less-touched nations finally had room to breathe, the canopy of carefully controlled superpowers no longer eating up their light needed to grow. How African countries like South Africa and Niger found themselves expanding to match the designation of First World. How beautiful the Seychelles were to see in person.
How my volunteering in the UN's Unfurled Umbrella Initiatives after the Treaty of Shanghai took me to the partially collapsed countries amidst Asia. How Tokyo, despite its immense infrastructure failure, dragged itself back to a powerhouse of a city, as Japan built for itself after so long. How China's government reformed into a Republic after the post-war coups, and how Taiwan finally opened its heart more to them for it. How Beijing found itself all the stronger for adversity.
How the South and Central Americas found themselves no longer under the impressive hand of the United States' geopolitical influence. How the first Diaspora vessels took off from Argentina, seeking to establish a government sentenced only to the annals of history on Earth upon the distant surfaces of Mars. How they were so determined to prove the world wrong on its presuppositions of how a place should be ruled, free of the influence of bullying countries. And how their dream led to the now Martian Collective.
I thought of all the other places the UN took me. Of Cairo, and its deep connection to our most prominent civilization of the ancient past. Of Istanbul, to see the beauty of mixing Christian and Islamic influence over centuries of swapping hands. Of the stunning ports of Singapore, an industrial powerhouse of a nation, so tightly packed into one single city. Of the stunning silver forest of skyscrapers that was New York City, still kicking even after the devastation of the Satellite Wars. Mumbai, Baghdad, Lagos, Mogadishu, Guadalajara, Rio De Janeiro, Berlin. How I drank in all the beauty and magnificent history and culture of the world, and was all the fuller a person for it. These and so many more.
I thought of the honey farmer I met by the Saigon River; how Châu Được's family had kept the traditional job going for so long, and divinely sweet their harvest was they shared with me. I thought of Dari Qazi, how the humble Afghani-borne man had found himself at the forefront of a secular revolution in Pakistan, reaching unrivaled progress not seen since the 1980's. I remembered the ambitious young woman in Monterrey, Mexico, who talked to me of her dreams to build spaceships for the Diaspora program, how she wished dearly she could leave a mark on history, and how now her name was on the finest rockets of the age.
All gone. Dust on the wind. Atomized debris now. Their homes, their families, their history gone, according to reports of which cities have evaporated to bedrock.
Thousands of years of history, erased in moments by antimatter over Rome. Los Angeles was reduced to the basin it was built on those long years ago in America. Cape Town's hard fought for progress from humble beginnings to the most populous and prosperous city in all of Africa, wiped from the record in an instant. Seven-hundred and eighty million dead in the span of an hour.
All those years spent, traveling around the world, drinking in the sights, to know they will never return. To know they are gone and buried, snuffed out by a bloody cruel universe, filled with utterly contemptible aliens. A deep voice spoke inside me on a loop, constantly asking an enraging question.
"Did it all mean nothing to you, Dorian?"
There was only one answer I considered giving to that accusation. To the monsters that took so many lives and homes from humanity, merely for having the gall to eat differently. What answered back blistered with hatred, yet kept frigidly focused.
"It meant everything to me."
Something clicked inside; the Federation wouldn't get away with this. We deserved justice. I rustled through my desk drawers, looking for old contacts from my political days. The stacks of papers on my desk could wait, this was more important. I needed to make some calls. Humanity deserved better, and I knew just how we could get it. But it would require a far more coordinated effort than just me. No, it needed a movement.
The galaxy will hear us. One way or another, we deserve justice. And we have just the circumstances to deliver it...
Memory transcription subject: Governor Tarva of the Venlil Republic
Date [standardized human time]: October 22, 2136
"-the sting of these days will someday pass. Maybe not in the near future, maybe not even in our lifetime, but we will one day no longer feel his pain, this suffering. Until that day comes, we will not go gently into that dark night, we will live on, mourn our dead, defend those still living, and make humanity known to the galaxy that it will not roll over when faced with such hostility. To those who support us even now, I thank you deeply to the core, and ask for a moment of silence to those lost both above and on Earth...to those who would stand with the Federation, who did so cruelly act upon us, we urge you to reconsider, and turn away, for we bring not a olive branch, but a sword. Those species governments that did this will not get away with this, and those who stood aside and watched...either choose a side, or be labeled on one for your inaction. Thank you."
Meier finished his speech with that, and some applause was heard from human refugees amidst the crowd, but a majority remained mostly quiet, in remembrance of the lives lost. A good majority of the dignitaries from the Federation neutral races had already left by this point, so the pointed message at the end likely missed them personally, even if they listen in later. It was a good speech, but it felt...infused with something that was clearly not Meier's normal calm. It was like seeing a side I had never seen with him before, not rant-angry, but mad nevertheless, hidden behind a veneer of diplomatic politeness.
Noah put it in terms I thought best as Meier walked off stage. "You're a bit more of a firebrand than I thought Meier, but nevertheless a good speech! I'm glad you tied in what advice I could give for the refugees here so smoothly."
Meier smiled at that, a cathartic smile that spoke of being proud of what he delivered just a moment ago. I could only imagine he was aching with tension over the pain of so much loss of life, it was only fair that he be angry at the galaxy at large for it, and make it heard.
"Thank you, Noah. I sincerely mean every word of it. The Federation must not escape scot-free for what they have done, and already now at home we're preparing to bring the fight back to them." He looked at me. "We'll...obviously not go as far as the Federation did, but I speak for everyone in that humanity is not happy, and it shows. Even the refugees that came here looking a mere instant from giving up seem a bit resolved now to that goal. I just wish more were on our side to start...I never wanted war, but the galaxy's forcing it."
"I'm so sorry, Meier. My deepest sympathies for how the galaxy has treated you and yours. Despite the hiccups recently, I guarantee we'll still remain close allies; humanity deserves nothing less."
The remainder of the species in the remembrance assembly started to funnel out; it was mostly just humans and Venlil at this point, but a few stuck around. The Yotul ambassador, Laulo, was an obvious one amongst the stragglers, clearly meaning to talk with Meier and us further. As the room became more and more empty he walked over to us once again.
"Meier! Your speech was wonderful, full of spice and vigor, yet calming all the same. It was like a call to arms while smoking spiritwood. The Federation stragglers hopefully will reconsider!"
I felt a little weirded out by his choice of focus in the speech on The Federation, rather than humanity, but I responded in Meier's stead positively: "Yes, Meier's an expert in political and social matters. Anyways, what did you want? You seem to be just hanging around, waiting for a moment here."
"Ah...yes, about that..." Ambassador Laulo nervously tugged at his uniform. "I was sent here initially just in good faith for humanity, as we knew what it must've felt like for the Federation to bully you so immensely. But this second visit, to the gala itself...we actually want to propose something to Humanity and the Venlil, but I wanted to wait for Federation sympathizing eyes and ears to be far away from here first."
He looked somewhat desperate, but resolved. "We're planning on breaking off from the Federation. Their influence on our planet is awful, given what they've done to us during the uplift. They seek to repress our culture, they constantly call us backward, and primitive, hardly capable of thinking for our own in this galaxy. We're tired of it, but we still are partially relying on their technological development to get to this point, and we don't have a proper fleet made. Your space is closest to ours, and we hoped-"
Meier finished "-that'd we begin our war fronting towards Leirn first? Free your people from the Federation? I'll gladly bring it up with our military advisors. You helped us, we help you back."
Laulo sighed in relief at that, a huge weight taken off their shoulders. "T-thank you. Thank you so much for this. Leirn has sought to be free of their grasp ever since we learned their intentions were not pure. You've been the first species to actually care to some degree, and were our only hope out of this mess."
"Don't thank us just yet. If you'd like to get in contact with our military, I can set you up with some Generals and your government as a liason for the war. You can coordinate anything on your side of the bargain to us through them, and make this smoother." Meier handed him a card, and waved over a human attendant of his to Laulo. She talked with him as the two walked away, and Meier remained.
Noah turned to me, a warm hand scruffing my fur. "I know the state of things doesn't look too great, love, but it could be so much worse. We'll make due with what we can get, and hopefully the galaxy will be a better place for it. Don't worry, all will be well someday."
I believed him. Who wouldn't believe in humanity?
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Let's assume there are 2 people "Sam" and "Matt" both are 24 year olds with similar personalities (Kind, humorous, friendly) but different upbringing and life experience....
Sam is from an upper middle class family, was an average student through out his life. he dropped out of a local college where he was studying computer science and starts free lancing and day trading with money borrowed from his parents. By 24 He earns well above the average of the people of his age and eventually returned the borrowed money from his parents. He spends money liberally on somethings he likes but he still plans carefully about spending, saving and investing his money. He plans on setting up a business soon.
Matt is from a poor family, he studied hard and got into a very prestigious college, where he chose to study business administration. He graduates with high grades but fails to get high paying job due to the situation in the job market so he takes up an average paying job. By 24 He earns average for the people of his age. A part his income goes to pay his student loan from college and he avoids spending money on non essentials. He is saving up money to go for higher education.
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Hi everyone,
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Hi everyone,
I’m Axel, a developer who has spent the past six months building PlusSales, an app to help Shopify store owners improve their conversion rates using Google Analytics 4 data.
Some of the features of the app include a Funnel Builder where users can create custom conversion funnels using the urls we provide which are taken directly from your store data. You can then edit and analyse your funnels to better understand where you lose customers, helping you to identify bottlenecks in your website's conversion funnel.
The second feature lets you request store reviews where the PlusSales team reviews your store, and gives you valuable advice on what to change and what to keep. We also give you grades for each section of your store as well as giving you great ecom stores to take inspiration from.
Another feature lets you view your GA4 data through graphs and tables, we also let your view your orders on a world map.
I launched PlusSales in April and am currently working on the third version, the app is 100% free as I hope to get more feedback and even some reviews on my app store listing. Please feel free to try it out and share your thoughts, you can find it on the Shopify App Store here:
https://apps.shopify.com/plussales
or look for PlusSales on the Shopify App Store.
I’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions. Thank you!

Hi everyone,
I’m Axel, a developer who has spent the past six months building PlusSales, an app to help Shopify store owners improve their conversion rates using Google Analytics 4 data.
Some of the features of the app include a Funnel Builder where users can create custom conversion funnels using the urls we provide which are taken directly from your store data. You can then edit and analyse your funnels to better understand where you lose customers, helping you to identify bottlenecks in your website's conversion funnel.
The second feature lets you request store reviews where the PlusSales team reviews your store, and gives you valuable advice on what to change and what to keep. We also give you grades for each section of your store as well as giving you great ecom stores to take inspiration from.
Another feature lets you view your GA4 data through graphs and tables, we also let your view your orders on a world map.
I launched PlusSales in April and am currently working on the third version, the app is 100% free as I hope to get more feedback and even some reviews on my app store listing. Please feel free to try it out and share your thoughts, you can find it on the Shopify App Store here:
https://apps.shopify.com/plussales
or look for PlusSales on the Shopify App Store.
I’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions. Thank you!

Hi everyone,
I’m Axel, a developer who has spent the past six months building PlusSales, an app to help Shopify store owners improve their conversion rates using Google Analytics 4 data.
Some of the features of the app include a Funnel Builder where users can create custom conversion funnels using the urls we provide which are taken directly from your store data. You can then edit and analyse your funnels to better understand where you lose customers, helping you to identify bottlenecks in your website's conversion funnel.
The second feature lets you request store reviews where the PlusSales team reviews your store, and gives you valuable advice on what to change and what to keep. We also give you grades for each section of your store as well as giving you great ecom stores to take inspiration from.
Another feature lets you view your GA4 data through graphs and tables, we also let your view your orders on a world map.
I launched PlusSales in April and am currently working on the third version, the app is 100% free as I hope to get more feedback and even some reviews on my app store listing. Please feel free to try it out and share your thoughts, you can find it on the Shopify App Store here:
https://apps.shopify.com/plussales
or look for PlusSales on the Shopify App Store.
I’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions. Thank you!

Hi everyone,
I’m Axel, a developer who has spent the past six months building PlusSales, an app to help Shopify store owners improve their conversion rates using Google Analytics 4 data.
Some of the features of the app include a Funnel Builder where users can create custom conversion funnels using the urls we provide which are taken directly from your store data. You can then edit and analyse your funnels to better understand where you lose customers, helping you to identify bottlenecks in your website's conversion funnel.
The second feature lets you request store reviews where the PlusSales team reviews your store, and gives you valuable advice on what to change and what to keep. We also give you grades for each section of your store as well as giving you great ecom stores to take inspiration from.
Another feature lets you view your GA4 data through graphs and tables, we also let your view your orders on a world map.
I launched PlusSales in April and am currently working on the third version, the app is 100% free as I hope to get more feedback and even some reviews on my app store listing. Please feel free to try it out and share your thoughts, you can find it on the Shopify App Store here:
https://apps.shopify.com/plussales
or look for PlusSales on the Shopify App Store.
I’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions. Thank you!

Hi everyone,
I’m Axel, a developer who has spent the past six months building PlusSales, an app to help Shopify store owners improve their conversion rates using Google Analytics 4 data.
Some of the features of the app include a Funnel Builder where users can create custom conversion funnels using the urls we provide which are taken directly from your store data. You can then edit and analyse your funnels to better understand where you lose customers, helping you to identify bottlenecks in your website's conversion funnel.
The second feature lets you request store reviews where the PlusSales team reviews your store, and gives you valuable advice on what to change and what to keep. We also give you grades for each section of your store as well as giving you great ecom stores to take inspiration from.
Another feature lets you view your GA4 data through graphs and tables, we also let your view your orders on a world map.
I launched PlusSales in April and am currently working on the third version, the app is 100% free as I hope to get more feedback and even some reviews on my app store listing. Please feel free to try it out and share your thoughts, you can find it on the Shopify App Store here:
https://apps.shopify.com/plussales
or look for PlusSales on the Shopify App Store.
I’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions. Thank you!

Hi everyone,
I’m Axel, a developer who has spent the past six months building PlusSales, an app to help Shopify store owners improve their conversion rates using Google Analytics 4 data.
Some of the features of the app include a Funnel Builder where users can create custom conversion funnels using the urls we provide which are taken directly from your store data. You can then edit and analyse your funnels to better understand where you lose customers, helping you to identify bottlenecks in your website's conversion funnel.
The second feature lets you request store reviews where the PlusSales team reviews your store, and gives you valuable advice on what to change and what to keep. We also give you grades for each section of your store as well as giving you great ecom stores to take inspiration from.
Another feature lets you view your GA4 data through graphs and tables, we also let your view your orders on a world map.
I launched PlusSales in April and am currently working on the third version, the app is 100% free as I hope to get more feedback and even some reviews on my app store listing. Please feel free to try it out and share your thoughts, you can find it on the Shopify App Store here:
https://apps.shopify.com/plussales
or look for PlusSales on the Shopify App Store.
I’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions. Thank you!

News Link: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/05/14/2881828/0/en/Dyadic-Announces-First-Quarter-2024-Financial-Results-and-Highlights-Recent-Company-Progress.html
Human Health Sector

• Final Clinical Study Report has been issued for the First-In-Human Phase 1 clinical trial demonstrating safety and antibody response for DYAI-100, a recombinant protein receptor binding domain booster vaccine candidate for protection against COVID-19 infection
• Entered into several fully funded vaccine and antibody projects covering more than twelve targets, five of which are funded by two of the top ten pharmaceutical companies
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• Announced strategic partnership to develop affordable rabies prophylactics and vaccines using C1-cell protein production platform
• Published a manuscript of preclinical studies on C1 produced monoclonal antibody in non-human primates and hamsters in prestigious peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications
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• C1 produced adjuvanted recombinant ferritin nanoparticle H5N1 “Bird Flu” human vaccine candidate demonstrated a strong immune response in animal studies

Animal Health Sector

• C1 produced adjuvanted recombinant ferritin nanoparticle H5N1 “Bird Flu” human vaccine candidate demonstrated a strong immune response in animal studies for potential use in poultry, cattle and other animals
• Expanded collaboration with Phibro/Abic to develop vaccines and treatments for companion and livestock animal diseases

Alternative Proteins Sector

• Executed a term sheet to utilize our microbial protein production platforms to develop production strains for the production of recombinant serum albumin
• Advanced development of 6 product candidates for non-pharmaceutical applications utilizing the Dapibus™ platform technology

Corporate

• Closed a $6.0 million convertible note in a private placement, with a conversion price of $1.79 and no warrants
• Appointed Mr. Patrick Lucy as Board Chairman and Mr. Joe Hazelton as Chief Operating Officer
• Cash and investment grade securities of $12.1 million as of March 31, 2024
• Financial results and business update conference call scheduled for 5:00 p.m. ET today

JUPITER, Fla., May 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dyadic International, Inc. (“Dyadic”, “we”, “us”, “our”, or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: DYAI), a biotechnology company focused on the efficient large-scale manufacture of proteins for use in human and animal vaccines and therapeutics, as well as non-pharmaceutical applications including food, nutrition, and wellness, today announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2024 and highlighted recent Company progress.
“We continue to execute our business strategy to focus on near-term pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical applications for our proprietary and patented C1 and Dapibus™ protein production platforms and pipeline products,” said Mr. Mark Emalfarb, President and CEO of Dyadic. “One of our key highlights was the successful completion of a Phase 1 clinical trial that met its primary endpoint of safety and reactogenicity affirming the safety of proteins produced by Dyadic's C1 platform in humans. We believe this milestone not only establishes the safety of our platform but also provides a solid foundation for C1 technology’s future applications in human and animal vaccines and therapeutics. With the H5N1 ('Bird Flu') virus outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows, along with one recent human case, we are seeing an increasing interest in our H5N1 'Bird Flu' ferritin nanoparticle human vaccine candidate, developed with ViroVax. Additional animal studies indicate that the vaccine candidate has the potential to generate high neutralizing antibodies for use in cattle. Our Q1 2024 achievements demonstrate our ongoing commitment to enhancing our microbial platforms for diverse applications, and our dedication to improving health for humans and animals, while tackling the challenges of sustainable food production.”
Mr. Emalfarb continued, “As we progress into the second quarter, our Company continues to focus on enhancing the Dapibus™ platform, designed specifically for non- pharmaceutical uses in industries such as food, nutrition, health, and other bioproducts. To accomplish this goal, we have honed our business development strategy, focusing on key areas where our technologies can deliver the greatest impact with shorter commercialization timelines. Our strategy includes simultaneously targeting multiple offtakes for a single product in several corresponding business segments and seeking out new opportunities that are in line with our strategy.”
Joe Hazelton, Dyadic’s Chief Operating Officer, elaborated, “In addition to operational advancements, we also strengthened our financial position with the issuance of $6.0 million in convertible notes, which will be used to accelerate and exploit our strategic objective of near-term revenue generating products and commercialization opportunities for pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical applications. We believe that product opportunities such as recombinant human albumin and alpha-lactalbumin provide Dyadic with multiple monetization opportunities as a licensed product or cell line in pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and food applications. We are confident that our strong position, both financially and scientifically, will enable us to implement our business plans with improved capabilities and resources. We are enthusiastic about our future prospects and remain committed to providing value to our customers and stakeholders.”
Recent Company Progress
Corporate Events:

• On March 8, 2024, the Company issued an aggregate principal amount of $6.0 million of its 8.0% Senior Secured Convertible Promissory Notes due March 8, 2027 (the “Convertible Notes”) in a private placement in reliance on the exemption from registration provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The purchasers of the Convertible Notes include immediate family members and family trusts related to Mark Emalfarb, our President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of our Board of Directors, including The Francisco Trust, an existing holder of more than 5% of the Company’s outstanding common stock.
• On March 28, 2024, the Company announced changes in the leadership roles of the Board and senior management team: the appointment of Mr. Patrick Lucy as Chairman of Board of Directors and promotion of Mr. Joe Hazelton to Chief Operating Officer.

~Human Health Sector~
DYAI-100 Phase 1 Clinical Trial
DYAI-100, a C1-SARS-CoV-2 recombinant protein RBD vaccine candidate, is the first C1-expressed protein tested in humans. The Phase 1 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was designed as a first-in-human trial to assess the clinical safety and antibody response of DYAI-100, produced using the C1 platform and administered as a booster vaccine at two single dose levels in healthy volunteers. Following regulatory clearance from the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), the trial was initiated in 1Q 2023, with the last patient visit occurring in 3Q 2023. On November 29, 2023, the Company announced the top-line safety results, indicating that the study has met its primary endpoint that both the low and high dose levels of the vaccine are safe and well tolerated among participants. Additionally, the vaccine has been shown to induce immune responses at both dose levels, suggesting its potential efficacy in generating protective immunity against the target virus. The study has been finalized, and the final Clinical Study Report has been issued, demonstrating that the DYAI-100 vaccine met its primary endpoint of safety and reactogenicity.

• In April 2024, Dyadic and its development partner ViroVax reported pre-clinical animal testing on a ferritin nanoparticle H5N1 bird flu recombinant protein human vaccine candidate that demonstrated a strong immune response in rabbits. The potential vaccine combines Dyadic’s C1 single step ferritin nanoparticle H5N1 antigen production with a novel adjuvant from ViroVax. Additional animal studies are being carried out that preliminarily show that this H5N1 bird flu vaccine has the potential to be used in humans.
• Successfully expressed H1N1 influenza antigen in the fully funded research collaboration with the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center (“VIC”) at Massachusetts General Hospital to express vaccine antigens for influenza A and other infectious diseases, as part of a US $5.88 million award from the Department of Defense (“DoD”).
• On March 25, 2024, the Company entered a funded research collaboration with a top ten pharmaceutical company to develop a vaccine antigen and a monoclonal antibody produced from the C1 technology.
• In March 2024, a manuscript of preclinical studies on C1-produced monoclonal antibody in non-human primates and hamsters was published in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications. A non-human primate challenge study completed dosing of a C1-produced COVID-19 monoclonal antibody (mAb) that had previously demonstrated broad neutralization and protection against Omicron (BA.1 and BA.2) and the other earlier variants of concern in hamsters. Preliminary results obtained from the challenge study with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta virus on non-human primates demonstrated potential high protection. This was the first time a C1-produced monoclonal antibody was used in a non-human primate study validating the safety and efficacy of a C1 produced antibody for infectious diseases.
• On February 28, 2024, the Company’s Dutch subsidiary, Dyadic Nederland BV, entered into a strategic partnership agreement and collaboration with Rabian BV (“Rabian”), a Dutch innovative SME founded by experienced entrepreneurs and vaccine scientists. Awarded by Eurostars for the AVATAR project, a part of the European Partnership on Innovative SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), and co-funded by the European Union through Horizon Europe. Rabian will use the total funding of approximately Є1.7 million leveraging its expertise in virology to develop a rabies vaccine using Dyadic’s C1 protein production platform to tackle the challenges posed by rabies, particularly in lower- and middle-income countries. Dyadic is expected to receive an equity stake in Rabian, fully funded research and development costs, and specified product milestones and royalties upon commercialization.
• On February 21, 2024, the Company announced it has advanced its collaboration with the IIBR and its commercial arm Life Science Research Israel (LSRI), to target emerging disease solutions. This partnership aims to leverage Dyadic’s expertise in microbial platforms for flexible scale protein bioproduction and the IIBR’s antibodies and antigens discovery capabilities to develop and manufacture innovative solutions for addressing emerging diseases and potential bio-threats. Through this collaboration, both parties are working towards the development of effective treatments and vaccines to combat global health challenges with the intention of future commercialization (to date, the framework is non-binding and subject to the execution of a binding agreement to be negotiated by the parties) through collaborative out-licensing initiatives.
• On February 13, 2024, the Company announced a strategic partnership with Cygnus Technologies®, part of Maravai LifeSciences®, who have developed the C1 Host Cell Protein ELISA Kit for the quality release of products produced using Dyadic’s protein expression platforms. The C1 Host Cell Protein ELISA Kit is now available for purchase on Cygnus Technologies website under Fungal HCP ELISA kits tab.
• On February 6, 2024, the Company announced it signed a fully funded evaluation agreement including a commercial option with an undisclosed leading global biopharmaceutical company to design and produce recombinant proteins using Dyadic’s C1 microbial protein production platform.

~Animal Health Sector~

• On March 15, 2024, the Company expanded its collaboration with Phibro Animal Health/Abic Biological Laboratories Ltd to develop vaccines and treatments for companion and livestock animal diseases.
• C1 produced adjuvanted recombinant ferritin nanoparticle H5N1 “Bird Flu” human vaccine candidate demonstrated a strong immune response in animal studies for potential use in poultry, cattle and other animals.
  • The H5N1 C1 produced bird flu ferritin nanoparticle vaccine elicits high neutralizing antibodies against all three virus isolates (including Texas) of the H5 virus in livestock.

~Alternative Proteins Sector~
Dyadic is advancing a pipeline of differentiated product candidates that leverage its microbial protein production platforms, including Dapibus™ which have demonstrated the ability and efficiency to enable the rapid development and large-scale manufacture of proteins at low cost in a wide range of non-pharmaceutical applications and commercial use.
Cell Culture Media Products

• In March 2024, the Company executed a term sheet with a large global albumin manufacturer and distributor to develop and license Dyadic’s recombinant serum albumin. The Company’s animal-free recombinant serum albumin projects were initiated in late 2022 using Dyadic pharmaceutical cell lines for use in potential therapeutic, product development, research, and/or diagnostic human and animal pharmaceutical applications. The Company has completed the initial analysis of its recombinant albumin products and has Certificates of Analysis for recombinant human and bovine albumin that demonstrate comparability to reference standards used in the testing.
• In March 2024, the Company entered into a co-promotion agreement with Biftek Co. for the promotion of growth media supplement for cell culture.
• The Company is undergoing a project to produce recombinant transferrin for use in cell culture media for the alternative protein industry.
• The Company is currently sampling recombinant bovine albumin for application testing as growth media for the cultured meat industry.

Non-animal Dairy Products

• As previously announced, in September 2023, the Company entered into a development and exclusive license agreement to commercialize certain non-animal dairy enzymes used in the production of food products using Dapibus™ and received an upfront payment of $0.6 million in October 2023. The Company believes it has achieved the specified target yield level required for a milestone payment upon verification by its partner, and the development of a second enzyme is progressing as planned.
• The Company has developed a highly productive strain and is actively sampling recombinant alpha-lactalbumin, a whey protein, and is currently negotiating several development and commercialization agreements.
• The Company is undergoing a beta-lactoglobulin animal-free recombinant whey protein project, expected to begin sampling in the late third quarter.
• The Company is undergoing a recombinant lactoferrin project, expected to begin sampling the product in the late second or early third quarter.

Bio Industrial Products

• The Company has developed three enzymes, with plans for two additional enzymes, that have the potential for use in multiple industries, such as dairy, nutrition, biogas, biofuels and biorefining. Several initial targets are under evaluation with interested parties.

Financial Highlights
Cash Position: As of March 31, 2024, cash, cash equivalents, and the carrying value of investment-grade securities, including accrued interest, were approximately $12.1 million compared to $7.3 million as of December 31, 2023.
Revenue: Research and development revenue and license revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2024, decreased to approximately $335,000 compared to $934,000 for the same period a year ago. The decrease in research and development revenue was due to the winding down of several large research collaborations conducted in 2023. For the three months ended March 31, 2024, the Company’s revenue was generated from ten collaborations compared to seven collaborations in the same period a year ago.
Cost of Revenue: Cost of research and development revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2024, decreased to approximately $144,000 compared to $727,000 for the same period a year ago. The decrease in cost of research and development revenue was due to the same reasons as for revenue described above.
R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2024, decreased by 35.5% to approximately $523,000 compared to $811,000 for the same period a year ago. The decrease reflected the winding down of activities related to the Company’s Phase 1 clinical trial of DYAI-100 COVID-19 vaccine candidate and a decrease in the amount of ongoing internal research projects.
G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2024, increased by 20.9% to approximately $1,789,000 compared to $1,480,000 for the same period a year ago. The increase reflected increases in business development and investor relations expenses of approximately $138,000, audit fees of $99,000, management incentives of $59,000, and other increases of $59,000, offset by decreases in insurance expenses of $29,000 and legal expenses of $17,000.
Loss from Operations: Loss from operations for the three months ended March 31, 2024, slightly increased to $2,126,000, compared to $2,050,000 for the same period a year ago.
Net Loss: Net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2024, was $2,010,000 or $(0.07) per share compared to $956,000 or $(0.03) per share for the same period a year ago. The increase in net loss was derived from the sale of the Company’s equity interest in Alphazyme LLC for $989,000 in 2023.
Conference Call Information: Date: Tuesday, May 14, 2024 Time: 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time Dial-in numbers: Toll Free 877-407-0784 International +1-201-689-8560 Conference ID: 13743568 Webcast link: https://viavid.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1650831&tp_key=0f89478e24
An archive of the webcast will be available within 24 hours after completion of the live event and will be accessible on the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.dyadic.com. To access the replay of the webcast, please follow the webcast link above.

Me (F17) and my 3 friends (Fs16) are always together in school works, the rest of our classmates don’t like us and we are really close so we just always stick together. And every time we have a deadline we don’t do the work until last second, most of the times we don’t even do. for example my english teacher (we are not native english speakers btw) gave us a month to create a play to present to our class. My group in comparison to other classmates has an easier time in english and they just take it like “i can speak english so we don’t need to worry about it”(in my opinion it should be the other way around, because we can do it less difficultly than others we should work more and have the better grade possible, but okay) and well today is the deadline, our play needs to have at least 8 minutes and ours doesn’t even covers a 1 minute. yesterday they decided to change the topic we originally had planed. and now i came an hour earlier to school and they don’t even care about this, they are just hoping that our very strict teacher lets us do it another time when she specifically said that everyone had to present today. literally yesterday i skipped lunch and wasted my free afternoon in 10 lines of work, which is noting compared to what we need, and rn i am alone at school while they are talking with some other friends. non of us has been getting good grades lately, my best grade was a 13 (0 to 20) in english and it’s almost to the same for them. English could be the subject we had an easier time to make our final grades (i don’t remember how it’s called) better. am i being to uptight on this or do i have a reason to worry ?

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Hey, im a 3rd year (6th semester) student doing CS bachelor degree. I want some serious guidance and advise from someone who's currently working in the field/market because my current grades, gpa and skills are not what you expect from a 3rd year student, yes its really really messed up and how i got to this stage is cuz i had family problems + financial crisis so i had to work along with my studies. I'm really depressed and confused on what to do as im unable to land an internship let alone a job. I have spent so much on this degree and I don't think i can switch to any other degree because i have no money to start over again. My cgpa is exactly 2.4 (managed to maintain it somehow) and my skills are: im average at DSA but on C++ ,amatuer at python, an intermediate in JS, Css and HTML, also i have theoratical knowledge of some ML information retrieval techniques. I'm interested in Data science, ML and Ai. So if someone is down to help feel free to comment, and thank you in advance.

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I (19M) grew up in a big family (I was the second oldest of seven). I had an identical twin brother who died when I was young. The rest of my family passed in a house fire a few weeks later whilst I was on a school trip, and I was left in care of my godfather.
My dad was known in our community as a great person. He'd make sure his kids (us seven) followed in his footsteps and succeeded in everything we did. My brothers were good at sports, my sisters too. They were all academically successful too. I was as well, more academically than sport related. I just excelled in different things than my siblings (I played baseball rather than football and basketball, and I was great at science and theory but everyone else was good at English and maths). It was like I was always the odd one out. There was never really any sort of disagreement and argument between us at all and we were all treated fairly equally.
That was about thirteen years ago when they passed. I was recently contacted by the university that my dad used to guest lecture at in his free time. They had an old interview in 2011 (a week or so before he passed) of my dad which he opted to participate in as some students needed it for their assignment.
I watched the video, thinking it was going to be heartwarming and such. But it was the complete opposite. During the video, he was asked if he was proud of his children's achievements. He said he was, but in terms of me, he wasn't. He was disappointed and expected so much more. He said that I should do more than what I 'enjoyed' because it wasn't good enough and it gave him a bad name. He also said that he wished it was Billy (my twin brother) who survived that day not me because he would have been so much more successful. During the interview time, I would have been six.
I just don't really know how to feel or how I'm supposed to feel. When I was younger, I knew I wasn't the same as my siblings but that didn't mean I was failing at anything. In the things I did do, I'd argue I was fairly successful. But hearing that from your own father, about you when you were merely six years old hurts a lot more than ever expected.
I just don't understand how I'm supposed to get past this. I guess it's even harder now that I can't even have a conversation with him as he's no longer around. What can I do to ease the pain I'm feeling from his words? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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So in our reservation system, you can either make multiple reservations separately or simultaneously. Oftentimes making them simultaneously is the option that makes the most sense. You only need to get the guest’s personal information and CC number once as opposed to however many times. There is, however, a quirk with this shitty reservation system that’s started happening in the last week. When you make multiple reservations simultaneously, you have to send the confirmation emails individually. And when you do that, for whatever reason, the system lists the total for ALL the rooms on EACH confirmation email. So if each room is $100 and someone has three rooms, each confirmation email will show one room, but the total on each of them will show as $300. Might be enough to make you go, “wtf? That ain’t right.” and call the hotel, right? Totally understandable. And those phone calls involve the guest explaining the problem and asking why the total for all the rooms is showing for each individual room. And I politely explain that making multiple reservations simultaneously produces that result in the automated emails, and I assure them that each room is still the same price. And they say thank you, they appreciate the explanation, and we say goodbye. Pretty simple, right? A shitty bug in the system, but it’s not our fault, and it’s not our hotel’s fault. It’s the reservation system itself. The call this post is about is, what, the second call I’ve had about it, though apparently my GM was already aware of the issue earlier in the week and didn’t say anything until I brought it up. Of course.
So this lady calls me to make two reservations over the phone. Okay, no problem! I make them simultaneously and send the emails. She calls back, and she explains the issue. I’d said each room is $100, but the confirmation emails each say $200. I apologize and explained the issue that’s cropped up and assured her that each room was still only $100. She asked if I’d be able to resend the confirmation emails with the correct totals on each. I hesitated before telling her it wasn’t possible with the way the reservations were made, but I’d be happy to manually send her an email confirming the price if she wanted documentation. She didn’t say anything for a few seconds, so I asked if it was for an employer that would need proof in order to compensate her. She said, “just a second, my boyfriend wants to talk to you.”
Of course he does. Gotta get The Man on the phone to Set Things Straight, huh. Right away, he was a lil bitch. Actually a huge bitch, but y’know. “YOU told me those rooms were each $100 but then YOU sent two emails saying they were $200.”
“And I explained that th-“
“I HEARD your explanation, but obviously you don’t know how to do your JOB.”
“Uh, excuse me?”
“I want you to do your job right.”
“Okay? Well I can do my job just fine without you being rude.”
“I WANT two separate emails with the right totals on each. Because THAT’S WHAT I DESERVE.”
I actually, audibly, scoffed when he said that. Because, sir, what you deserve is to have my foot crammed up your ass.
“I’d have to cancel both and remake them separately to do what you’re asking, which is fine, b-“
“I don’t care what you have to do, just do your job right this time. If I find out you’ve charged my card the wrong amount, it’s not going to end well.”
“Oh, would you like to come in for your rooms tomorrow night and yell at me then, also?”
Now HE’S scoffing in disbelief because I said something unprofessional over the phone. Well suck my dick, sir, because you’re a Grade-A piece of shit.
“Oh I won’t be yelling at you. I’d be speaking to your manager and telling them to fire you for lying.”
“Great! I’m going to go ahead and cancel your two reservations and you can stay somewhere else. Feel free to call tomorrow morning from 7am to 3pm to discuss this with the manager.”
Dude didn’t even say anything for a second. And then he said, “isn’t there a manager there RIGHT NOW?”
“Nope… I hope you have a night as lovely as you are, sir.” and then I hung up on his ass. And yes, I shamelessly ripped that suggestion from people on this sub. That’s what came to mind. Well, that’s what came to mind after I reminded myself that I couldn’t call him a motherfucking cocksucker and hang up on him. I was at the desk waiting for him to call back and bitch at me. To my surprise, he never did.
God, he pissed me off so much that I was shaking with anger for half an hour afterwards. I went back into the office and texted my manager about the whole conversation followed by a string of profanity. My GM was accepting of the situation. My FOM was like “what an asshole. I would’ve said worse before hanging up on his ass. DNR him.”
I did. The best part was, he went online and made two reservations for our hotel that way. Like a few hours after the phone call ended. And I cancelled both of those ones too. Sent the cancellation emails and everything. He didn’t try to rebook. He tried to bitch at the manager the next day, but he was told he was put on the DNR list and would be escorted off the property by police if he came in.
What a fucking prick.

CHAPTER 9 – ENTROPY
DATE: MARCH 10th, 7 A.U. (AFTER UNIFICATION) LOCATION: SOL SYSTEM, ABOARD UTRN INDOMITABLE WILL
CAPTAIN HENRY O’TOOLE
"Ah, there you are Commander. Your message said there was something you wanted to talk with me about?" Henry asked as his executive officer approached the system map.
“Aye Captain, now's a good a time as any. As you know, the rate of disciplinary incidents has more than tripled in the last two weeks. We've had six fistfights, one near strangling, a few dozen counts of sexual harassment amongst different parties, and a few more incidents of a nature that I would rather not get into for fear of derailing the point of this conversation. I need additional resources to allocate towards ship internal security. With your permission, I'd like to borrow some of our more trusted marines to help the MA's out on their off shifts.” Commander Alvarez asked.
“Yeah, of course, take what you need to nip this in the bud. I can't say I'm entirely surprised; we expected a certain amount of this with the stresses of FTL travel. With everyone cooped up like this, maybe we should brainstorm some new outlets for the crew. Were there any specific incidents I need to get involved with?” Henry replied as he looked up from the list of updates and reports on his own console.
“No, I have it covered. It's just the regs state I need to ask permission to use marines for internal security matters.” The Commander waved it off.
“Excellent, continue to keep me in the loop then. Can I ask you a question?” Henry took the opportunity to ask something that had been bothering him.
“You just did. Hah! Just kidding, put the axe away boy! Now what would you like to know?” He said with a twinkle in his eye.
“I've seen your file, well, the parts that weren’t redacted anyway. If anything, I should be taking your orders! I mean, you're the Space Wolf! Nobody came even close to the number of ships captured or destroyed than you in the early days of the battle for the belt. Why would they want me to be captain when they had someone like you coming along the whole time? Why aren't you a captain anymore? By all right this should be your command, not mine.” Henry asked, after taking one last look around to verify they were still alone around the system map.
Commander Alvarez seemed stunned for a moment before he settled into a more pensive look.
“Listen, son, you're all full of the vigor and high passions of youth. By that I mean you've got a certain fire and aggression in you, yet I've seen you generally keep it balanced by wit and wisdom. You are a perfect match for the job, even if you could use some more real world experience. With some guidance, you'll do just fine, if you can keep strict standards for yourself and crew and a cool head when things get tough."
"I appreciate that, and I will definitely lean on your experience whenever possible. However, you didn't really answer my question... Why aren't you a captain anymore?"
"I... got a lot of damn good men and women killed in an impossible situation when we lost the Michigan-II, and I never truly got over it. No amount of medals, captured enemy ships, or the fact that I've saved many more lives than I lost can make up for that. I finally found peace with that, but that peace required that I relieve myself of any chance of future command. My legacy, for better or worse, is set in stone. Joining this expedition gives me another chance at adjusting the scales without breaking my former vows, even if the only people who will ever know it are here on the voyage with us.”
“So, you claim you have no aims or desires for leadership, but here you are a mere heartbeat away from it.” Henry said, carefully studying his executive officer's every reaction.
“My time for glory is mostly gone, yours is at your feet before you. To the world, I am retired in comfort and isolation. In reality you have me here to help make your will law. You can relax. I already turned down command of this expedition. I was plan A, why do you think they had to scramble to find you? I will take command of this mission only if you are incapable of doing so yourself, Sir. In the meantime, let my experience and whatever wisdom I can offer guide you.”
An emergency alert snapped both of their attention out of their conversation. "There's a fire in one of the officer's cabins?!" Henry’s pulse quickened as he referenced the map to find which one.
“Fuck, it started in Chantal’s room!” Henry said, horrified.
“I've got the CIC under control. Go on and get her out of there, I'll send the cavalry."
“Thank you, Commander.” Henry called back over his shoulder as he rushed for the quick lift.
The officer cabins were the in the very next deck overhead, so he was able to arrive quickly and break into a sprint. The ship shifted as it dodged some antimatter, causing Henry to slip and scramble back to his feet. As he rounded the corner he saw her door was closed and the keypad powered was off. He could hear thumps and muffled screaming from within the room.
"HANG ON CHANTAL, I'M COMING!" Henry shouted in the hope that she could hear him as he pried at the manual override panel.
Two modified Paladin exo-combat armor suits rounded the corner seconds later with a hospitalman trailing behind pushing a medical cart.
"WE'LL TAKE IT FROM HERE, SIR." A speaker-amplified voice spoke from behind him.
One of the Paladin suits accessed the manual control override and forced the door open enough for the other suit to reach in and pry it the rest of the way open as smoke plumed into the corridor. The second suit charged into the room with its flood lights on as a water cannon mounted on the right wrist sprayed flame retardant from a pack on its back. The first suit abandoned the door control and entered, emerging moments later with Chantal awake and coughing from inside the darkened door frame. She was quickly ushered into cleaner air, set gently down, wrapped in a blanket, and was quickly attended to by a hospitalman who began to check her vitals.
Relief flooded Henry’s mind as his adrenaline surge broke against the wall of worry he had built up during his mad dash from the CIC.
“Baby you came for me! I thought I was going to die in there." She pulled him into a tight embrace as she wept in cathartic release.
"Of course I did! I couldn't stand to lose you, especially not over something like this. So, what the hell happened in there?"
"Well you know me, I was all burning the midnight oil and then I smelled smoke! Then there were some sparks, the outlet pops then whoosh! My computer station and my desk are all ablaze along with half my notes, then the damned door wouldn't work! I had to drop to the floor under the smoke and pound on the door in hopes that someone would hear me. God, it was horrible... I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life." She replied with a deep shudder.
"You're safe now, it's going to be alright."
"I know, but what about my work?" She replied with a forlorn look back at her smoke damaged room.
"What about your work?"
"As you know, I lost a ton of it just now, but what’s worse is I don't even have the ability to recover them! Remember how I lost my backup drive last week? Like, I know I packed it and it is not here anywhere! It’s like some sick cosmic joke on me or something. Sorry! Gotta keep it positive, girl! I get to rethink my last few weeks’ worth of work from scratch... that was almost positive! I probably have most of this recoverable from email sent box backups. Fuck, what do you do if there's no good silver lining?” Chantal bemoaned.
Henry couldn’t help himself but laugh for a second, while his girlfriend stared at him, waiting for a response.
“I’m sorry, is this funny to you or something?”
“No, no of course not. This might be one of those times where the only silver lining is that you're alive. Plus, if anyone can remember and rebuild their notes, you can." Henry smiled down at her.
“Fine, fine, at least I am alive. I was only breathing smoke for a few seconds after all.” She said, rolling her eyes. “Thank you for rushing down here right away anyway, it means a lot. You're amazing, you know.”
Henry smiled, slightly uncomfortable for a moment, so he changed the subject.
“I do my best... Anyway, it seems like these electrical issues seem to be getting worse instead of better. Whatever patch these clowns have slapped on my ship to get her to pass inspection is clearly coming undone. What do you think is going on here?” Henry asked in mild exasperation.
“Honestly, I can’t tell you without digging into the systems myself, which I would rather avoid. My plate is full enough as it is right now, especially having to reproduce so much of my own work now. This ship has kilometers of power cables running throughout it, after all, and you have an entire loyal, capable team down there in electrical, so it should only be a matter of time before they sort it out for you. Let them do their jobs without harassing them too much, please?”
Henry felt a little irked at her for not giving him credit to know not to go overboard, but he stowed it, seeing as she ultimately was right.
“The crew has been under a lot of stress, too, between the technical issues with the lights going out, losing power to workstations, or the constant antimatter threat. More than a few people have tried to convince me to turn us around and return to S33 for a more in-depth refit and repair cycle before we try the mission again. So far, everyone has accepted the fact that we are continuing the mission without much argument, but I fear what may happen if these issues are seen as getting worse. Our orders are clear, though, we must continue the journey.” Henry said, uncomfortable with the implications, even if he didn't dare voice it.
“You should get on the Q-Comm to report the fire to S33. Maybe they will order us back to base after this.” She offered, looking for a solution to an impossible problem.
“Good idea, at least the Q-Comm is still working. It’s incredible to me those particles maintained their entanglement once we passed through the baryonic barrier. That alone has been a huge morale boost, being able to contact home base with no time lag.” Henry replied.
“It’s incredible to you because you only have a basic grasp of the science, hon. But that’s alright, very few people truly understand it. That’s in part what you have me here for anyway. Einstein called the effect spooky action from a distance; I always liked that line.”
Henry ran his fingers through his hair and looked at Chantal, with a shake of his head and a smile.
“Listen, Henry, I just had a crazy stressful experience and I need to unwind. Plus, I haven’t slept in almost a day, so I am bone tired. Let’s go to bed, huh? What do you say doc, am I clear to go?” Chantal asked.
The hospitalman closed her eyes and shook her head before responding. "Yes, you are cleared to rest, and only to rest, do you understand me?"
Chantal mouthed a thank you before she took Henry by the hand and led him off to the captain’s quarters. Henry felt no desire to fight it, nor flaw with her reasoning. Sleep sounded good, really good. Plus, he was about an hour from the start of his sleep shift anyway, and Alvarez had the CIC well covered. The lights flickered again, but Henry very purposefully ignored it.
“Hey, since we have a little time and we are both a little wound up, Why don’t we take a shower together real quick?” She said with genuine enthusiasm and a wink.
“Madam, I like the way you think.” The couple raced just a bit faster than regulations would have liked, and arrived at his door in record speed.
Inside the room they fell upon each other in great passion and need, stripping each other out of their BDU’s and underclothes. Henry tossed a giggling Chantal onto the bed, and proceeded to kiss her neck and nibble on her ear causing her to purr in anticipation before he moved down her chest, past her navel, and then eagerly began to move his kisses in between her thighs.
“Hah…. I haven’t showered. Are you sure? Oooookay! I think…. Hah…. Okay.” She said breathlessly as Henry began to work his tongue until she began to shiver and squirm before she cried out as she melted in his mouth.
“Enough, please, I can’t take it anymore! Just fuck me already!” Chantal pulled herself together enough to beg for it. Henry stood rigid and ready and set himself to granting her request, first slowly, and then with a growing intensity. She once more began to squirm as he paid close attention to her hip’s cues, knowing very well by now what she liked.
As she climaxed again, Henry lifted her from the bed and pushed her up against the wall, and then bent her over his desk for a bit before he could take it no longer and they finished together.
“Holy shit… my legs aren’t gonna work for a bit after that one. Help me up?” Chantal said in between shallow breaths.
“Yes, ma’am. It would be my pleasure.” Henry said as he helped her to her feet and into the shower, staying in longer than was strictly necessary.
Henry left the steam first, once more thankful that his cabin included its own small bathroom, rather than a communal one. Being captain had its perks, after all. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist, then handed another to Chantal who gratefully accepted it before it dropped to the ground as she stared straight past him.
“Henry!" She squeaked as she pointed past him.
"What?" Henry asked, confused.
"Henry, someone was in here!”
On their bathroom mirror, wiped from the steam were the words TURN BACK.
Henry's blood ran cold and his adrenaline spiked him into overdrive. He waved Chantal back into the shower and put his finger to his lips. She nodded then wrapped herself in her retrieved towel and dropped to the shower floor with her arms wrapped around her knees, whimpering slightly. Henry moved silently along the wall, watching the visible half of his room for any movement. He then burst round the door frame, only to find everything perfectly, precisely as they had left it. The shock of finding nothing collided with the spike of his adrenaline surge, which only fed his growing unease.
“There’s nobody here!” Henry called out after checking the closet, the only other place someone could have hidden.
“Did you lock the door?” Chantal asked, her mind already working on the mystery.
“I set the security protocol to auto lock every time it closes.”
“Paul. We need to talk to Paul.” Chantal said, squeezing her BDU’s up over her hips with a few hops. Henry pulled on his undershirt before tossing over her bra.
“Why would we want to bring that weasel into this?” Henry asked, incredulous at to how he could possibly help.
“Because he has access to the surveillance tapes, why else?”
Henry stared at Chantal, brimming with rage, trying his hardest to keep it isolated to Paul over the invasion of his privacy.
“Did you just say surveillance tapes!?!” Henry asked in an icy tone. “That does it, I’m going to strangle him.” Henry said, moving with a purpose toward the door.
“Stop. Turn around and give me a kiss. I already disabled the video cameras, at least all the ones I could find. He has audio at best, even that I doubt. What he does have that I want is the data from the motion sensor that he had installed just in case you found the more obvious bugs. Unfortunately, I sabotaged its effectiveness by blocking the sensor with dense foam, but there might be enough of something to give us a clue."
“How in the hell do you know about all of this anyway, and why the hell didn’t you tell me?!” Henry roared.
“This entire enterprise is run by an intelligence agency; how can you not have seen that one coming a mile away? I have gotten very good at catching bugs over the years. Just because I expect the invasion of privacy to be happening, doesn’t mean I have to make it easy on them. Just be happy I already took care of the issue, alright?” She replied firmly while staring him in the eyes with raised eyebrows.
“You’re incredible, I love you.” Henry blurted out before he could catch himself. Chantal beamed and tackled him to the bed sitting on his lap.
“What took you so long? Never mind, don’t answer that. I love you too, man have I wanted to say that one for a while now.”
“You know these things aren’t easy for me. I had to be sure, I also didn’t want to mess anything up. We need to be able to work together even if we had turned out to be a bad couple.” Henry admitted, Chantal made an show as she thought it over, but she then smiled and helped Henry to his feet.
“Alright, my captain. You speak great wisdom. While I have certainly felt, and thoroughly enjoyed, the depths of your passion, it is really nice to hear about it too. I do think it makes it all the better that you rule said passion with reason. It’s just one of the many things I love about you.” She said, laying her hand over his heart.
Henry took her other hand and kissed it before replying. “I think above all, I wanted to make sure that I didn’t take you for granted, nor suffer the same in reverse. A wise woman once gave me some great advice there that I have taken to heart.”
“Okay, Romeo, maybe you have a better handle on these things than you think. Now… Let’s go interrogate Paul.” Chantal had a fire in her eyes that Henry was loving very much at that moment.
“I have wanted to turn the screws on that spook for a while now.” Henry smiled as he spoke, and he opened up the connection to the ship’s intranet through his neural implant to send a message.
MEET ME IN YOUR QUARTERS IN 5 MINUTES FOR A DISCUSSION OF CRITICAL IMPORTANCE – CPT. O'TOOLE
“That ought to get him there and alone.” Henry smirked. “Let’s go.”
Together, they made their way to Paul’s equivalent-sized quarters, which he had somehow secured for himself in the ship design to help facilitate his role as the official thorn in Henry’s paw. I guess being the captain’s handler has its perks as well. Henry’s eye twitched at the corner.
After making them wait far too long, Paul opened the door and gesturing them inside. The door closed and Paul turned towards them, narrowing his eyes, studying them both.
“Is this about the fire?” Paul asked before Henry punched the weasel right in the diaphragm, forcing him to gasp for air. The look of shock on his face as he bent forwards was priceless.
“What the fuck, Henry!?” Paul managed to choke out after a minute between gasps.
“Relax, I didn’t do any permanent damage, yet.” Henry said, Paul for just a second showed actual fear in his eyes before he sneered in defiance. “Oh? That got your attention, did it? Why were you spying on me?” Henry growled.
Paul closed his eyes, dropped his head, and began to laugh before Henry grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the wall. Foolishly, Paul even then kept laughing amidst the gasping. So Henry squeezed until Paul started slapping his arm, looking genuine fear once more growing across his face.
“Orders… I was following orders!” Paul managed to say amidst gasps and coughs.
“I thought it might be something like that. You're going to open up those files, now, and you're going to show me everything.” Henry said, dropping him to his feet at last.
“Fucking hell, Henry, I thought you of all people would have anticipated this was going to be the case. Do you think the people who made this all possible would simply let you fly around the most dangerous, advanced warship in human history without some insurance?”
“Don’t try and weasel out of your own personal culpability here. You may also want to think back to other people who were “only following orders” while performing acts they knew were wrong before you wave that line around like some get out of jail free card.” The fact that he had nothing to say spoke volumes.
“You should have told me, Paul.” Henry growled.
“That defeats the purpose! Plus, your girlfriend sabotaged them all before we ever left S33 anyway, and once more after! That type of tech doesn’t just grow on trees you know, and I don’t have an unlimited supply. You should be thanking me for covering for her and reporting back like things are normal!” Paul shouted in indignation.
“This is pointless, show me the files from around fifteen minutes ago, motion trackers, thermals, anything you have that's not blocked or sabotaged.” Henry commanded. Paul’s eyes narrowed, but after a long moment he huffed and closed his eyes.
Paul then sat down at his station and fired it up.
“Like I said, I've got practically nothing. No video, muffled audio and readings from what I assume to be a faulty motion sensor, that’s it. What are we looking for?”
“Chantal and I were, well, together. After we got out of the shower we saw that someone had written turn back in the condensation on the bathroom mirror. Only problem? My door auto locks when closed and only opens for my biometrics. That is why all of this even came up in the first place.”
“Motherfucker. That's a whole heap of bad news.” Paul said. Henry merely nodded, paying rather more attention to the screen to see if he could catch Paul in a lie about the extent of the spying.
“There’s nothing. No disturbances in the air that would even remotely resemble human movement between you two getting in the shower and you charging into your bedroom. With the noise of the shower and the distance to the microphone, there is nothing I can discern that is anomalous. You can see it all right here for yourself.”
Henry found himself even more confused and alarmed than before.
“How is that possible? Look again, run through some filters or something. There must be some evidence somewhere!”
“Alright, relax, I will get to work on this and get you a report by the end of C shift. In the meantime, you look like a mess. Get some sleep man! I can take care of it from here. Oh, and I want you to remember that I forgave you quite magnanimously for that little episode back there where you attacked me.” Henry and Chantal gave each other a look as Paul spoke.
“Wasn’t gonna apologize anyway, you had it coming. I’m going to hit the rack. I expect that report to be detailed and ready when I get up.” Henry took Chantal by the hand, and they left together, not waiting for a response.
“What a snake. Did you see him in there? Zero guilt or recognition whatsoever about spying like that. It just makes my skin crawl. Gives me bad memories.” Chantal said, turning pensive and quiet.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Henry asked, seeing that there was something clearly bothering her.
“I… had an uncle that lived with us from time to time and he would spy on me when I was dressing, try and sneak looks in the shower, stuff like that. Never touched me or anyone else that I know of, thank god, but man did it screw me up a bit still. Played havoc with my sense of security and even my sanity, never being quite sure it was real or all in my head. I wish I had said something, but I was afraid everyone would think I was overreacting or imagining it. I saw it in his eyes though, that look of... predatory lust. At least I didn't see anything like that in Paul's eyes. To this day it makes my skin crawl.”
“Good God, I can see how alone you must have felt in the middle of all that.” He squeezed her hand, she smiled up at him.
“Yeah, that was one of the hardest parts. I don’t think Paul is some raging pervert or anything, but it concerns me how normalized it was to him. Even if he isn’t being a creep with it, as if we can take his claims to be covering for me at face value. There is still no way I am going to let him have easy access to intimate videos of us, if I can possibly help it.” Chantal said before adding, “I’ll be all right, don’t worry about me. Let’s just get some sleep.”
Henry put his palm against the biometric scanner outside his room and the door slid open for them. They definitely needed some sleep after the emotional roller coaster of the past few hours, and the irresistible warm embrace of his bed called for him. The Q-Comm report could wait until he woke, he decided.
Better to have the electrical inspection ordered up, too.
I WANT A FULL REPORT AND INSPECTION PERFORMED ON THE ELECTRICAL FIRE IN CHANTAL’S ROOM BY THE START OF A SHIFT. – CAPT. O'TOOLE
Good enough. Henry thought as he sent the message. Now he could sleep. The chief could handle it from there.
MEANWHILE…
DATE : MARCH 10th, 7 A.U. LOCATION: SOL SYSTEM, ABOARD UTRN INDOMITABLE WILL
FIREMAN APPRENTICE SARAH CALLAHAN
It'll be back again tonight...
Sarah’s haunted thoughts repeated like a mantra. She had to be ready, but how? Her skin crawled and itched, the long sleeves of her BDU’s prevented her from being able to do anything about the painful sensation from the inflamed scratches they hid. She blearily rubbed at her sunken eyes, and she drained the rest of her coffee. All the numbers on the screen had started bleeding in together and her eyes hurt horribly, with the throbbing pain in her abdomen only compounding her misery.
“My god, Sarah, you look a wreck, hon. How have you been sleeping?” Yvonne, her shift partner asked, with concern in her voice.
“I have a monster tension headache, I just hope the meds kick in soon. Can you check my math? I need to get out of these white lights for a few minutes. Close my eyes for a bit, something, anything. I've been having nightmares again.” Sarah felt good, being able to admit it, and Yvonne had long since proven her friendship, so it was easier to actually speak.
“Yeah, no prob. As soon as I am done here I will check your readings and we can get out of here. Do you mean nightmares from the invasion?” Yvonne asked, carefully picking her words and tone.
“Kind of the same general themes, but different. Everything is going wrong, like the worst possible outcomes of my worst nightmares are all combining together. Like, it feels actively malicious, I don't know, its hard to explain...” Sarah said, bleakly.
“That’s hard, I am sorry. You need a shower, and an uninterrupted nap. Sleep deprivation plays all kinds of hell on the body and mind. I had a friend who went through an insomniac phase so extreme he would go days without sleeping. Wound up in the hospital after trying to drive to work while hallucinating his dead fiancée was sitting in the passenger seat screaming at him to watch out. Wound up rear-ending the car in front of him. Thank God he lived to tell the tale, but that is why it worries me to see you like this.” Yvonne planted her hand on Sarah’s shoulder as she told the story.
“Yikes, I think I slept like two hours into my sleep shift before I started having the nightmares again, woke up, and passed in and out of some restless sleep. It got really bad around oh three hundred. There were sounds... noises like scratching and a loud bang, and the shadows were moving. I just kept feeling like I was being watched, but everyone else seemed to be having disturbed sleep in their bunks. God, it was a creepy feeling.” Sarah took a moment to compose herself.
“I know how crazy this will sound, maybe that I am sleep deprived and likely hallucinating like your friend, but just hear me out. There was something there Yvonne, in the dark at the edge of perception, I could feel it. I also know I wasn’t the only one tossing and turning either. I could also hear scratchy whispering, too. I just hid, strapped in under the weighted blanket. At some point I slept some more, I must have, but not for what felt like a few stressful and draining hours. I'm just making a total mess of explaining this, aren’t I?”
“No, you're fine, girl! I am sorry that happened, my dorm has been pretty quiet, but I have always slept like a rock. Is there anything I can do?”
“I could use a hug.” Sarah said, which caused Yvonne to laugh, breaking some of the tension. They embraced warmly for a good minute, which did wonders for relieving some of the headache and her black mood.
“Thanks, Yvonne, I know it’s all in my head and it’s a vicious feedback cycle due to lack of quality sleep. Thanks for listening without calling me crazy.“ Sarah said, shying away from the last thing she hadn’t the courage to say.
She didn’t dare mention how she had hidden under the covers as she felt it get near. How she had felt something pushing on the mattress. How as her fear peaked, she herself peeked over the covers to find nothing there just to have the oppressive feeling evaporate along with the sensation of pressure by her feet. Her dorm mates all seemed to stop stirring after that, and only then did the nightmares stop for her that night. By then she was left with barely enough time for one last short sleep cycle before the start of A shift that very morning. This was a secret she would have to keep to herself, nobody would believe her anyway.
“I think I'll ask the Chief for a break from my duties today to rest and to visit med bay. Maybe they can give me something to help catch back up on my sleep.” Sarah said.
“Good idea, can I come with? I’ll back you up.” Yvonne said. Sarah smiled at her friend before she nodded at her before they checked off the last of their duties on site and headed away to find the Chief.