To kill for yourself is murder. To kill for your government is heroic. To kill for entertainment is harmless. What is it to kill for religion? - Unknown
This fanfic is based on the fanfic The Isolationists, by Seeyouon_otherside, and a continuation of the stronger_together series. Constructive criticism is appreciated.
Time Since First Contact: Y:0 M:1 W:0 D:3
Memory Transcript Subject: Private Brolien “Lucky” Tiwond of the enforcers.
“Wait, the humans call you that? Why?” My buddy Rohan asked me as we patrolled the streets of the capital city of Finalshape under the night sky. You could actually see one of the aliens' ships flying overhead, which was fantastic. I felt like a kid watching them, just in awe at the technological marvels. Our power armor was clanking and clunking as we went about our day, heavy auto rifles in hand, a good breakfast this morning, kissed the kids and misses goodbye for today, promising little ones I’ll bring them back a souvenir of some kind. We walked through the snow that had to yet be cleared by the snow plows, and I just enjoyed the forever-green grass and trees. Just admiring the city that we lived in
“Yeah, I was on the plane next to the human ARK ship when I went down.”
“Wait, that was you?!” Rohan practically yelled, getting the attention of many people around us. “How come you’re still not in the Air Force anymore?”
“That crash rattled me pretty bad, So I stepped down for that position and took up a job as a trooper,” I respond casually. “It was fun for a while being in the Air Force, but now, with seven kids and a wife, I can’t take that risk anymore. I’d rather do something more laid-back to have a higher chance of survival. So I can spend more time with my beloved and see my little ones grow up.” I said. Then I revealed my trap card. “I also got a spot on the Land Tank.
“Yeah, I get that-YOU WHAT!?” He yelled.
I let out a hearty laugh as he began to freak out. “Yep! I will be one of the lead anti-air and anti-space gunnery commanders. The pay is fantastic. I’m going to spoil my family rotten.”
He made an odd noise and launched himself at me. “HOLLY SHIT DUDE! YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED A JOB ON THAT HUNK OF HISTORY! I’M SO PROUD OF YOU!” He patted me on the back a few times and then let go. “But I get what you mean by anti-air, but what do you mean by anti-space?”
I sighed and looked around before switching to helmet-to-helmet communication so no one could hear us. "You're aware that Lord Lieutenant Commander Canilia Feral doesn't fully trust the aliens, right?”
Rohan nodded. I couldn’t see his expression under the heavy metal helmet, but we had known each other since we were kids, so I could tell he was somber. “Yeah, I'm not the biggest fan of that. But that doesn't mean I don't understand it. The aliens are fun, lovely, adorable, and huggable. I can say a hundred other nice things about them, but I won't because I don't want to bore you to death. They are still a massive unknown; they've been sharing more and more information with us, and I know the one, Captain Leo, is preparing to hold some… not ceremony, what do you call it…I want to say it's a seminar about how they got here and their history. I'm going to it, but I don't know when it will be.”
I nodded in agreement. “ I am with you on every single one of those points. As amazing as they are, there are so many unknowns about them… which is why Lord Lieutenant Commander Canilia Feral has started a program meant to counteract the aliens' most powerful tools: their droids and ships.”
Rohan looked at me. I could tell from underneath his helmet he looked surprised. “Wait, weapons?”
It was my turn to be somber. “She says it's to prepare for if they turn on us. She made it very apparent that she hoped she would never have to use these weapons, but she wanted to be prepared.”
“Does Commander Fango Feral know about this?”
I scoffed at that thought. “Well, yeah, this project would have never gotten the green light anyway. Plus, we're talking about Lord Lieutenant Commander Canilia Feral here. Going behind her uncle's back is the last thing she would do."
Rohan nodded. "What do you know about the project?" He asked
"What little I know about the project is that I will be operating an ASRFC, an anti-space rapid-fire cannon. It’s designed to do what it sounds like: it shoots or, rather, assists in launching incredibly fast-moving projectiles, similar to missiles but different somehow. They should be coated in the specialized electricity designed to short out alien systems. She's also been developing handheld weapons to short out their droids.”
Rohan was silent. Then spoke. “Geez. That's… a lot. I'm just hoping the aliens don't find out.”
My shoulder sagged as I hated the thought of operating a weapon like that against two species that have been nothing but kind to us. “Same, we all share the same sentiment at the Land Tank. We are on our hands and knees, praying to the great protector that we never have to use these guns. Lord Lieutenant Commander Canilia Feral is probably the person who is hoping the most. However, I get the odd feeling that they would understand why we would make these weapons. I think they'd be mad, but they wouldn't be upset. They'd be understanding.” I looked over at my childhood best friend. “Honestly, considering your Borderline addiction to anything alien right now, I'm surprised you're taking this as well as you are.”
He shook his head. “I'm not really… it's hard making guns and weapons to kill a person who has been nothing but kind to you simply because you don't fully trust them. But I understand and support the logic behind it. However, it is comforting to know that everyone working on this project hopes and prays that they don't have to use them. Not much, but a bit.” Rohan sighed, and we walked in silence for a while. He perked up, his posture became slightly straighter, and he pointed to my chest. “What is that anyway on your chest? I’ve never seen a dialect or a plant like that,” he asked. I looked down and laughed.
“Yeah, that’s human dialect. I want to say it’s the one called English, but it could also be the one called Japanese or Russian. I really have no idea. It says, “Lucky, the falling star.” The symbol is of what they called a four-leaf clover, a type of plant back on the human homeworld that was considered lucky, surrounded by a star, and there are trails to the side of it, or to make it look like it’s falling.”
Rohan stopped for a minute, got the joke, and nearly busted a gut laughing. When he finally calmed down, he looked at me. “How the hell did Humans and Zeyzell convince you to get that painted on your armor!?” he asked through laughs.
“Well, I was at a drink stop, a bar as most of you normals call it, forget which one, when out of the blue, a bunch of humans popped up, and they recognized me as a pilot. I don’t know how, but they did.” I answered, “Ask me all sorts of questions like how I survived. How was I doing? Generally, they were good questions and warmed my heart that they were worried about me. It was nice, anywho, they were going on about this plant on the human home world called the four-leaf clover, and this represents luck or something. They asked if they could paint my armor with it. I had just gotten my shiny new power armor, so I was like, sure, go ahead and paint it. Then, they whipped out a bunch of little pups, or kids and kits, as the humans call them. As in little humans who are ADORIBLE, and they started painting my armor as I started talking to the adults. Two hours later, bam, you got this masterpiece painted all over my armor. I swear they took the little ones out of their pockets if I didn’t know better. After all that, I wanted it back to camp, and the paint had dried. I tried getting off, even though it was a nice gesture. I was kind of sad about it, but I don’t know what the void they used is. This stuff is not coming off. I scrubbed for a good hour, and it didn’t come off. So when I had to fall in with everyone at Camp and with everyone with their new hand-me-down E-10 power armor. I stood out like a sore thumb.”
“And you had petty officer Gotrom, didn’t you?” Rohana teasingly said. I shook my head in pain, causing him to laugh. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Yep, I had him, the man of the petty ones. The moment he laid eyes on me. His eyes did the whole bleeding thing. I hate it when he does that and starts screaming at me. I mean, this dude is slightly above me in rank, but he takes his job too seriously. So, after five minutes of chewing me out, I thought he would pass out with the amount of hot air he was spewing. He asked me what my excuse was.”
“What do you say to him?” Rohan asks.
I laughed. “It was like the great protector had whispered exactly what I should say into my ear. “Interacting with the new locals, sir. Just letting them know that we are their friends, not their wardens.” And you won’t freaking believe this, he took it.”
“He what?! he took it as a valid answer?!” Rohan asked.
“I myself was still surprised that he took that as a valid answer, but yes, he did. Then he immediately brought me to the front of all three hundred troops and started to yell at them, tearing them a new one by telling them how I was the only one here who had made any attempt to meet with the alien. Even though we all know that’s not true, they found me. He patted me on the back, congratulated me, and sent me off to get some extra food.”
“By the old void, that guy gets stranger and stranger every time.”
I shrugged. “I honestly have no clue, and I think he was telling everyone to step up the game in greeting the aliens, but other than that, I have no idea. The Humans are super nice, and I often find them chatting with someone or petting someone. Void, I’ve even seen an entire group of humans swarm a giant and start petting it. It was cute to watch. The Zeyzell seem far more reserved than the humans, but you can have interesting conversations with them.”
We continued to patrol the streets in silence for a while after that, making a bit of small talk to break it, but nothing much, just observing people going about their business. That’s when we saw an out-of-breath Tiwond with a human gently helping him drink a bottle of water. A Zeyzell clung to the human's back, laughing his lungs out. “Everything all right over here?” I asked.
“Yeah,” the person said as he got up, swishing his tail as he did, “tried to beat my buddy here in a race after hearing about humans' high stamina. I lost by a large margin while he carried his fluffy ass on his back. The man said as he pointed to the Human and the Zeyzell. The Zeyzell just laughed while still clinging to the human's back.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you!” The Zeyzell said as the three laughed.
“All right, you three, stay safe. Bye now.” The group of three said their goodbyes, and I looked at the human. He just seemed so happy. It was such a pure and authentic expression that it warmed my hearts. “It’s so nice that we met the humans; everyone just seems happier.”
Rohan nodded. “Yeah, it’s like the mood has shifted, from the low to the high, it's nice. With the war, the terror that came after it, and the animals evolving and changing. Things were looking bleak. That’s not even mentioning all the giant refugees we've been getting, and well…him and them.”
I looked at Rohan. “Who and what?”
Rohan looked at me, confused. “You know? Viggo Scythelock?”
I nodded. The mention of his name made me slightly mad. “Oh, him…you think they will catch the guy?” I asked.
“Honestly, I hope so. He has caused so much pain to so many. The man is a psychopath, a monster. He used the war as an opportunity to harm so many.” Rohan looked down. “But honestly, it’s been over three years. I’m not sure if they will ever find him.”
“Yeah…I hope they find him and take him out. Also, who are "Them" you are talking about?”
Rohan looked at me, surprised. “You haven't heard?” he asked. He switched to helmet-to-helmet communications instead of talking out loud. This must be bad.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask…but no, I have not heard about them,” I responded also with helmet-to-helmet communication. “Who are you talking about?”
“The Cult of the Old God? You haven't heard what they have been up to?”
“You mean them assassinating high-ranking individuals, stealing supplies, their entire operation multiplying tenfold ever since the alien's arrival?”
I could tell he was surprised, and I could also understand that he was blinking and surprised underneath the helmet. That's how well we know each other. “How did you know?”
“It's common knowledge, and the higher-ups sent this documentation earlier this morning. Did you not read it? They're very transparent, and you know that I don't get all your conspiracies at everything, which is a conspiracy.”
“Oh, come on! The Aliens! Their rival was too perfect; just when we were getting worried that we were the only living creatures in the universe, pop! They show up. That can't be a coincidence!”
I rolled my eyes underneath my helmet. “You need help.”
“Not with my mental state, but definitely with my taxes.” I shake my head
We continued on our way. When we crossed one of the streets and took a left toward one of the shopping districts, we saw two dudes sitting in the snow, huddled around something. We approached to make sure everything was alright. “Everything alright?” I asked. The guys looked up at me and made the shhh motion with their fingers. Then they parted their bodies a little, and I saw a female human sleeping between them.
“We don’t want to wake her up,” the first said. I nodded my head and continued on.
Both of us then turned a corner into a more populated part of the district. We saw a human and what looked like a construction worker chatting there. “Thank you so much for taking us in. I think I can speak for my entire species when I say you have made us so happy.”
The construction worker raised an eyebrow and took another bite of the sandwich she was eating. “Anyone would’ve done it; it's just the right thing to do if they had a soul, at least.”
The human started to laugh a bit, and then it quickly stopped as a human just shook her head. “Guess the federation has no soul then, huh?”
The construction worker took another bite out of her sandwich. “Doesn’t sound like it.” The human leaned into the construction worker. “Eay, don’t worry. If those Federation things ever come here, they’ll get a big face full of Big Jim.” She then pulled out a massive [monkey wrench.] I smiled at that, knowing that so many were willing to protect the humans. I believe that made them feel more at home. We wandered past them on our patrol and continued deeper into the district.
“Hey, you know what I’ve noticed?” Rohan said.
“Hm?” I asked in return.
“I haven’t seen all that many little humans, you know, their pups, kids, children, whatever they call them.”
I was about to argue that I had seen quite a few children, but when I really thought about it. The only significant group of human children I had seen was when a bunch of them confronted me and painted the four-leaf clover and star onto my chest plate. Other than that, I’ve only seen a few. “Now that you mention it, you’re right. I’ve hardly seen any. Why do you think that is?”
Rohan thought for a minute. Then, he snapped his secondary jaw in realization or remembered something. “I remember a bit of talk about a lot of young ones being on a second ARK ship. I don’t know much about it. All I know is that most of their young population, as in newborns to tweens, was supposedly on an ARK ship called ARK Twelve. Other than that, I don’t know much.”
“Where did you hear that from?” I asked.
“One of my buddies works in intelligence gathering. We like humans, but the intelligence bureau doesn’t fully trust them like Lord Lieutenant Commander Canilia Feral doesn't. I can’t blame them. Again, Humans are still a big unknown, even though they are one of the cutest things I have ever seen.”
“Agreed.”
“He was pretty drunk when I asked him, but it was his reaction when he said out loud that really disturbed me. Normally he’s a pretty big drinker because you see some bad shit in intelligence gathering. I mean, there are some terrible people out there. But the second he mentioned ARK twelve, he got really really sad. And he didn’t even finish his drink, which was a first. He mumbled something about going home to spend time with the human he was taking care of. I don’t know what it was about the response, but I got a sense of pure dread from it.”
I nodded my head, and we continued. I felt like asking the next human I saw about ARK twelve, but I sensed it would be a bad idea. We saw a commotion in front of what looked like a jewelry store. Wandering over, there was a female tiwond Who seemed distressed. As we approached, she continuously asked strangers if they had seen someone. A lot of other people are starting to be concerned, too, for some reason. We approach to attempt to calm the situation. “Enforcers, what’s going on here?” Rohan asked. The woman turned around rather quickly. She was short and had that typical camo pattern fur that the people of the woodland area have, so she was most likely not a local. Then again, you can never be too confident in the city.
“I lost them! I can't find them! I don’t know where they are!” She almost yelled in what looked like fear and worry.
“Whoa, calm down, ma’am. What’s the problem?” I gently told her to try to get him to calm down. “Take four large breaths and clear all four of your lungs. Trust me, it helps.”
She took some deep breaths, seemingly calmed down just a little, and then spoke again. “I am in charge of two humans under my care for the exchange program. I had brought her and her kid here to the shopping district to see if they wanted anything before moving back to the Woodland cities. However, they vanished. I don’t know where they went. I am terrified of all the unknowns around here that might hurt them.”
“Thank you. Do you know where you last saw them?” I asked. I made a hand motion to Rohan to signal in an incident report and some backup. Rohan stepped away from the conversation and radioed a command using his helmet.
“This is Rohan. I'm reporting a case of a missing person. Yeah, two humans went missing. I’m currently with Brolien, and we’re patrolling the shopping district… Green Wyvern. Can you send a few more patrols down here to help? We can’t have two aliens going missing in the city. That's bad, AR. Also, and yes, I want to see them safe. I am not an AR asshole.”
"This is HQ, sending down an additional squad. Keep us updated."
"Yes sir." Rhoan responded
“Do you know which store you were in when you saw them last?” I asked.
“The jewelry store, the one just over there. About [10 minutes] ago. Their names are Jasper and Melinda.” She pointed to one of the higher-end jewelry stores, and I motioned to Rohan to follow me. I noticed a few Street cops coming over to see what the situation was about.
“What’s going on here?” one of the cops asked. I recognize this one, a retired Detective, I think.
“Missing persons, two humans last seen over there. We’re going to investigate now,” I quickly informed him. “Keep an eye on her, will you?” He nodded and walked over to the lady, with two others in tow. Rohan and I walked over to the building to inspect the area around it.
“If a human is missing here… I’m worried about who might’ve taken them. I know it’s pretty rare for kidnappings, but still.” Rohan said as he opened a dumpster and took a peek inside. “I mean, the humans are so frail. A good-sized hail storm will kill them.” Rohan said.
“Yeah, apparently it can. I’ve heard rumors that back on their home planet, it’s possible to die from things like that.” I responded.
“Unbelievable,” Rohan replied in disbelief, shaking his head. We started to search the area, calling out their names. We wandered past an ally—“Oh, protector, what is this?” I looked over to see Rohan had stepped in Something. I walked over and looked at it.
“Is that blood?” I asked him.
“No way too light to be blood. Look at how red it is. It’s not even a black color like ours. I bet you another copper wire melted. I can tell by the scent.” he replied as he shook the stuff off his boot. I took a closer look, put my hand in it, and brought it up to my face. It looked like blood. It flowed like blood. I used the scanning equipment in my helmet and…
…Oh shit.
“Rohan, this is human blood,” I said. I got up and turned the safety off my gun. Rohan follows suit, and we both enter the alleyway, guns drawn. There was a little more blood on the walls and a bit on the ground.
“This is enforcer Rohan calling enforcer HQ, and we have possible contact with an unknown that has seemingly taken two humans, one child, and one mother. Send backup, sending location.” Rohan called in as we quietly walked along the side of the alleyway. We are doing our best to make no noise. I’m so happy that we are wearing the newer power armor. They are so silent.
“Roger that Rohan, this is enforcer HQ. Reinforcements are inbound in two minutes.” The coms operator said
[Chanting]
“Do you hear that? Sounds like chanting?” Rohan whispered. I strained my ears to listen and turned up the sensitivity on my power armor audio receptors. Chanting, I wonder…
“Do you think it could be…?” I trailed off, and he immediately knew what I was talking about.
“Cult of the old God? This far north? Hm… shoot to kill.” Rohan sternly replied. “This is Enforcer Rohan, possible contact with the Cult of the old god. I am requesting time for the arrival of reinforcements.”
“Reinforcements inbound in one minute.”
We both quickened the pace and turned the corner-“FUCK!” I yelled out loud. There were Six cultists in total. Two cultus whipped around to face me. One drew a pistol, and another a plasma pistol.
“CONTACT CONTACT! LIGHT THEM UP!” Rohan yelled, and we both started blasting into them. We popped bullet bullets into each of their heads and two hearts, taking them down instantly. “Cultus! Here! This far north! What the fuck?!” Rohan yelled. The three others drew their guns and aimed and opened fire at us as we took cover behind some old barrels. We were bullet and plasma-proof in our power armor, but I would rather not risk it. Rohan tossed a flash bang, and It blew up a second later. I heard screams a second later, and we got up and opened fire, our visors blocking out the flash. We both nailed the same bastard as his buddies dove behind cover. They would fire at us every few seconds, keeping our heads down. I looked at Rohan and made the hand single to get the shield. He reached behind himself and took out the heavy-duty shield. I had the battering ram, so I was not that useful. He got up first as I threw another flash, confusing and disorienting the cultists as it went off. We both advanced as Rohan swapped out his heavy rifle for an SMG; I took out the full-auto shotgun as we got closer. Rohan shield-bashed the first one and then blasted him with the SMG. I took out the second one with my shotgun. A bullet deflected off of the shield, and a small spread of bullets that Rohan could deflect with his shield came at us. Then they stopped, and we rushed to cover, Rohan still holding the shield. I peeked out from behind the cover.
“Were did..” I started when I heard a yell from behind us. Whipping around, the cultist had appeared and was now wrestling with me for my shotgun. In a split second, I shoved the shotgun into him as he pulled, disorienting him and knocking the wind out of him. I then grabbed the battering ram, which had already been turned on and was at full power, and bashed it into his chest. He immediately exploded from the pressure, and I was coated in his blood. Looking around, all the cultists were down just as reinforcements flooded the area.
Looking at the cultus robes, I noticed the same color of blood on them that I had looked at earlier. “Shit, I think these guys got the humans!” I told Rohan.
The human female was lying on what looked like a makeshift altar made of scrap metal, an old luxurious chair, and wood. Her entire chest and lower body had been torn open. Most of her major organs were removed, and her heart was speared with multiple little needles and placed on top of the altar. “This is bad. This is bad. If there is this far north, they have gotten bold.” Rohan spoke as he walked over to the human female and inspected her. “She died only a minute ago. It looks like she was in pain the entire time, too. Damn. FUCKING FANTIC SHITS!”
“Radio this in,” I ordered Rohan, and he immediately did that. I walked over to the human adult female's corpse and looked at it as a medic was handling her. Why didn’t she scream? Oh, that’s why. They sewed her mouth shut. Damn. I look at the cultists again and look at their golden medallions decorated with a skull. “Wait, Rohan. Weren’t there two?” We looked at each other and immediately split up in different directions to find the kid. It didn't take long for me to see him. “Aw…kid.” I gently bent down to inspect the little body. His lower jaw was gone entirely. His left arm seems to have been sawed off and taken. His eyes were closed, and he wasn’t moving. I looked up and noticed footprints taking off into the distance. A seventh cultist, it looks like we missed one. I cradled his head in my hand and took a pulse. Nothing…
“Shit.”
“Oh, void.”
‘Oh, my young one…I am sorry.” the other enforcers said as we gathered around the child's corpse. One of the enforcers punched a wall out of anger as another just sat on an old couch, shaking her head.
“Looks like there was a seventh we missed. If I get my hands on that-.” Another one started.
*GACK!*
“OH SHIT! ROHAN HE'S STILL ALIVE!” I screamed. Rohan immediately ran over and looked. As did the medic.
“By the protector he is!” The medic yelled as she began to administer human-friendly meds. “There is an ambulance outside. MOVE!” She yelled.
I picked up the kid and held him in my arms, carrying him as the medic did her work.
“You’ll be OK, you’ll be OK,” I told him to comfort him, although I felt it was more for my own sake.
“JASPER!” I looked behind me to see the female running to me and followed beside me.
"MISS IS MUST INSIST YOU MOVE-" The medic begins to yell.
"I'M HIS CARE TAKER!" she yelled back. "Shhhh, I’m here now.” Jasper reached up with a blood-soaked hand and began to grab at her fur like he was trying to hold onto life. She held him to her and then took something out of her bag. “I can use this to get the blood out of his lungs!”
“Do it!” the medic told her. She stuck the tube into the kid's chest, and blood came out, and he immediately began to breathe easier. He then latched himself to her chest and passed out.
“Don’t worry. I promised your mom I would take care of you if anything happened to her. I will take care of you.” She quietly told the sleeping child as she rocked back and forth, crying, holding the child as the ambulance came around the corner with more enforcers. They loaded both of them into the ambulance and took them away. I walked out and sat down on a bench in front of the alleyway. I just needed time to think. I sat there as the world around me continued. Just lost in thought. What if we got there sooner..?
I was broken out of the trance by Rohan. “You alright?”
I looked down. “No, we were supposed to protect them…”
“Yeah,” Rohan said. We just sat there. It was helping a little to have my buddy there. But…still
A human was…dead.
“And yet…we saved a human child.” He told me.
I nodded, looking up at the Alien space station that was now in orbit around our planet. “Yeah…we did.” We remained silent before he put an arm around me and hugged me. "I hope he survives."
"Me too, me too."
First/Previous/Next

First, look at Babar and Rizwan. They're both averaging around 70 runs in 10 overs.
Then, look at the nonexistent middle order that's supposed to bail them out. It's insane when you see how Iftikhar and Fakhar, who are supposed to be enforcers, are actually oblivious to their roles.
There are two spots they just can't figure out. They've tried Haider Ali, Haris, Khushdil, Agha, and now Azam Khan.
For comparison, Ahmad Shahzad, who's supposed to be the worst offender when it comes to strike rate, has a better record than all four of our current mainstays.
Babar has repeatedly refused to evolve and just won't let go of his "friendly circle." It's dragging Pakistan cricket down. With immense experience as a T20I captain, he still makes mistakes that even club cricketers would avoid.
The hype surrounding Babar and this team was off the charts after 2021, but it's become painfully obvious that we are evolving backwards

By Nicole MilleNewsday. Pasted here in case you hit a pay wall.
Suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex A. Heuermann thought he had long deleted what prosecutors called a “manifesto” on how to kill and avoid detection, a two-paged document littered with bone-chilling references to a “dump site” and burning clothes.
Under the ominous subheading of “body prep,” prosecutors said Heuermann listed “remove head and hands” and “package for transport.”
The existence of the “manifesto” was publicly disclosed Thursday as Heuermann was arraigned on two more murder counts. Prosecutors say evidence, including DNA, links Heuermann to victims Jessica Taylor, a 20-year-old sex worker and Poughkeepsie native living in Manhattan, and Sandra Costilla, a Queens resident who was 28 when she was killed and her body dumped in a field in North Sea.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney on Friday called the “planning document” a major break in the case, telling Newsday in an exclusive interview that its contents prompted a second search of Heuermann’s home in Massapequa Park and the woods in Manorville where three of the victims were found.
The Microsoft Word document, created in 2000 and typed in all caps, was a “planning document” used by Heuermann to “methodically 'blueprint' and 'plan out' his 'kills,'” prosecutors said in a bail letter as part of a superseding indictment charging Heuermann with the killings of Costilla and Taylor, bringing the number of women whom Heuermann has been charged with killing to six.
“The Gilgo Homicide Task Force members believe that the totality of circumstances surrounding the HK Planning Document, including Heuermann's attempt to delete its existence, points to it as Heuermann's self-education and 'homework' on the topic of carrying out serial, sexual murder,” prosecutors said in the bail letter.
It was last July, after Heuermann was arrested outside the Fifth Avenue office of his midtown Manhattan architectural firm and charged in the killings of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello, that authorities found the hard drive during a two-week-long search of Heuermann's home. Heuermann was later charged with killing Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who along with Barthelemy, Waterman and Costello are known as “The Gilgo Four.”
With mountains of other potential evidence to process from the search of the home and two nearby storage facilities, authorities recovered the document, which was thought to have been deleted by Heuermann, from a hard drive found in the basement only recently — on March 7 — during a computer forensic extraction method called “file carving.”
Tierney on Thursday identified the 60-year-old former architect, who has been living in virtual isolation in the Suffolk County Jail since his arrest last July 13, as a suspect in the killing of another Gilgo Beach victim — Valerie Mack, a 24-year-old New Jersey woman who disappeared in October 2000.
The prospect of a suspect indicted on six of the killings was almost unthinkable in the years since authorities found the first remains on Dec. 11, 2010, near Gilgo Beach.
Police had been searching for Shannan Gilbert, a New Jersey woman who was working as an escort and had disappeared after seeing a client in nearby Oak Beach in May 2010. In the following months, the remains of 10 people were found — eight women, one man and a female toddler. Gilbert’s remains were later found, but authorities ruled her death accidental.
Until Heuermann's arrest last year, the mystery of who killed 10 people — mostly sex workers — and dumped their bodies along Ocean Parkway had confounded federal, state and local investigators.
With the indictment of Heuermann in the killing of Costilla, who had not until recently been identified as a possible Gilgo Beach victim, the timeline of the case has broadened significantly. The other five victims were killed from 2007 to 2010, but Costilla was killed sometime in November 1993, suggesting that Heuermann began his alleged killing spree much earlier. On Friday, Tierney said there was anecdotal evidence that Costilla was engaged in sex work.
Their killings are detailed in the bail letter unveiled last week.
Two hunters discovered Costilla’s remains in a wooded area of Southampton on Nov. 20, 1993. A native of Trinidad and Tobago, she was living on Long Island and in Queens and Brooklyn before her disappearance and killing.
Costilla was found lying on her back with her arms outstretched over her head, and her shirt was pulled up over her torso and head, exposing her breasts, authorities said. Her naked legs were spread apart. She had several “sharp force” injuries to her face, torso, breasts, left thigh and vaginal area, authorities said. Three hairs were recovered from her remains — one found on her right arm, and two others from tape-lifts of two shirts that were above her head.
Those hairs were earlier tested against the DNA of convicted killer John Bittrolff, long suspected in Costilla’s killing, but he was excluded as a match.
Recent DNA testing comparing Heuermann’s mitochondrial and nuclear profiles to the hairs, could not exclude Heuermann as the provider of the hairs found on Costilla’s body.
“It is significant that two forensic laboratories have now independently determined that male hair recovered from the mutilated remains of Sandra Costilla is substantially more likely to have derived from a personal genetically identical to defendant Heuermann’s mitochondrial and nuclear profiles,” prosecutors said in the bail letter.
Further testing showed, according to prosecutors, that another of the pieces of hair found on Costilla’s remains “shares a common base at all compared positions” with a DNA sample provided by a woman who had lived with Heuermann before Costilla’s disappearance and killing. The woman, who authorities referred to only as “witness #3” in the bail letter, said she could not be excluded as the contributor of the hair found on Costilla.
That woman, whose relationship to Heuermann at the time has not been publicly shared, had been living with Heuermann since 1991 and moved out of their shared residence in September 1993 — about two months before Costilla disappeared and was killed, prosecutors said. Heuermann’s late mother had moved out of the home before the woman, prosecutors noted, without giving a time frame on the mother’s cohabitation with her son.
Prosecutors noted that Heuermann would have been living alone at the time Costilla was killed, giving him “unfettered time to executive his plans” without worrying about anyone coming home to discover a crime in progress.
That’s a theme that prosecutors have said runs through Heuermann’s alleged killing spree: Heuermann’s family was always vacationing out of state when he allegedly committed the killings. In the case of Taylor, prosecutors said, phone records and other documents indicate that Heuermann’s now-estranged wife Asa Ellerup and children were vacationing in Vermont when the young woman was killed.
Someone walking a dog found Taylor’s remains on July 26, 2003, just west of Halsey Manor Road in Manorville and called 911. Lying on her back with her legs bent beneath her, Taylor was decapitated and both of her arms had been severed below her elbows. A tattoo on Taylor’s torso had been “severely obliterated by a sharp object,” prosecutors said, adding that they believe that act, along with the dismemberment of her body, had been done by Heuermann to “inhibit” authorities from positively identifying her remains.
It wasn’t until some eight years later — on March 29, 2011 — that authorities found Taylor’s skull, hands and forearm along Ocean Parkway, just east of Gilgo Beach. Her remains were located less than a mile from where the Gilgo Four victims’ remains were discovered.
Taylor was last heard from on July 21, 2003 — five days before her partial remains were discovered. Police interviewed a witness who said on July 25, 2003, at about 10:30 p.m. they had seen a dark-colored Chevrolet pickup backed into the same wooded area where Taylor’s remains were later found.
Heuermann had owned a dark green 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche pickup during that time, investigators have said. And it was key to Heuermann’s initial arrest.
A New York State Police investigator assigned to the Gilgo Beach Task Force, using a database that can search for vehicles by make and model, first identified Heuermann as the owner of an Avalanche and a potential suspect on March 14, 2022.
A witness in Costello’s disappearance — her West Babylon roommate — also described to police a similar vehicle being driven by a man who was seen with Costello shortly before she was last seen alive.
Costello got a call from a burner phone purportedly used by Heuermann on Sept. 1, 2010, authorities have said. A man that investigators think was Heuermann, described by the witness as appearing like an “ogre” and seeking a paid sexual liaison, came inside the house, but she and others there executed a ruse to take his money, authorities said.
A man posing as her boyfriend showed up and the client said he was only her friend and left. But that same prospective customer contacted Costello the next night and she left with him — the witness telling authorities he saw the dark-colored Chevrolet Avalanche drive away from the home. That was the last time she was seen alive, authorities said.
Police did not appear to act on the witness statements at the time in either sighting of the distinctive-looking vehicle.
After Taylor’s partial remains were found, authorities said, Heuermann searched online for a new Chevrolet Avalanche in bright blue and white and attempted to delete the search.
DNA testing, according to prosecutors, links Heurmann to Taylor’s killing. Heuermann cannot be excluded as the contributor of a male human hair that was recovered from a surgical drape found under Taylor's remains, although 99.96% of the North American population can be, the bail letter said, adding that DNA analysis conducted by two separate labs had reached similar conclusions.
Heuermann is not charged in the killing of Valerie Mack, a sex worker who went missing in 2000, but for the first time Thursday, authorities linked Heuermann to her killing, noting that an analysis of Heuermann's electronic devices revealed a significant collection of violent, bondage and torture pornography, dating to 1994.
The images showed various abuse and mutilation that prosecutors said “notably and largely coincide with how the remains of Sandra Costilla, Jessica Taylor, and Valerie Mack were discovered,” the bail letter reads.
Authorities found Heuermann’s extensive porn collection after seizing more than 350 electronic devices from his home after he was arrested last year.
The HK Planning Document was among the items that piqued prosecutors’ interest. It prompted authorities to search multiple wooded areas in the Manorville area in April, though no new remains were found.
Prosecutors have studied the document and laid out their theories of what it all means. The document lists “finger prints and gloves” and “hair & fiber” as “problems.” Prosecutors said that section of the document appears to be a guide to avoiding apprehension. A section on “supplies,” which lists tarps/drop clothes, medical gloves and saw/cutting tools, are the supplies needed to carry out the killings, prosecutors said.
In another section, Heuermann wrote, according to prosecutors, “REMOVE ID MARKS,” which they argue is consistent with Heuermann’s alleged attempt to obscure Taylor’s tattoo. The document’s “BODY PREP” section, which also notes to “REMOVE HEAD AND HANDS,” clearly relates to the condition of Taylor’s and Mack’s remains, as both victims were decapitated and dismembered at their arms below their elbows, prosecutors said.
Some of the HK Planning Document has origins in the 1996 book written by former FBI special agent and profiler John Douglas entitled “Mind Hunter,” which explored serial killer profiling, prosecutors said, specifically graphic passages on sexual torture.
When authorities searched Heuermann’s home after his arrest, they found another of Douglas’ books: “The Cases That Haunt Us.”

Walking around OpenAI’s office in the Mission on Monday afternoon, I couldn’t help but feel like I was being watched.
Near the 575 Florida St. building’s back entrance on Bryant Street, a man wearing sunglasses and a black jacket stood outside the door, tracking my movements as I walked down the block. I tried faking a phone call to see if he would turn away. He did not.
A photographer for The Standard had recently spotted what they believed to be an additional Security Guard outside OpenAI’s office, leading us to wonder if the tech company was beefing up security. So we decided to check it out.
Though the observant man in shades and others standing guard refused to say whether they were security—or even if the building where they were posted was indeed OpenAI’s office—people who live and work near the building say they most certainly are.
The lack of confirmation only adds to the mysterious presence of one of the most influential tech companies in the historic neighborhood.
“The vibe is secretive,” said Iain Langlands, a cashier at pet supply store George, which is down the block from OpenAI’s office. “They have this security, and they look at me when I walk by the building or when I park.”
James, a salesperson at the Heath Ceramics showroom down the street, said he’s asked the people standing by the office’s entrance multiple times if they are security, but “they never admit to it.”
“[OpenAI] is not a bad neighbor, but they’re secretive,” James said.
‘I know you’re OpenAI’ Candice Combs, owner of In-Symmetry Spa and president of the Mission Creek Merchants Association, said she has spoken with the supposed Security Guards before, though she didn’t ask who they were. They wouldn’t, however, confirm who worked in the building they were obviously guarding.
“I asked, ‘Is this OpenAI?’ And they were like, ‘We can’t say,’” Combs said. “I was like ‘Well, I know you’re OpenAI. We’re a spa that does massages, and here’s coupons for 10% off.’ So it’s like an open secret.”
Some residents are convinced the people standing outside OpenAI’s office are Security Guards.
“They’re definitely security,” said Qorey Globo, who has lived on Alabama Street for 20 years and often walks her dog past OpenAI’s office.
Given the uncertainty, The Standard wanted to learn more about these maybe-or-maybe-not Security Guards ourselves.
The tech company’s four-story, ivory-white office building sits adjacent to a picturesque courtyard with benches, grass and palm trees. The plaza is cordoned off along Florida Street by a black metal fence and gate where employees enter the property. As I approached the entrance, two men stood outside watching the door. One had a shaved head and wore a black Arcteryx jacket and backpack. The other man wore a brown jacket, sunglasses and an earpiece.
When I asked the shaved-head man if he was a security guard, he just shrugged. When I asked him if he could confirm the building housed OpenAI’s offices, he said he didn’t know who worked there.
The earpieced-man said his name was Jose and that he was with building maintenance—not security. Jose said the earpiece alerts him to requests to fix leaks and replace faucets as well as summon janitors on his radio.
When I asked the shaved-head man if he was also building maintenance, he refused to talk to me.
“I don’t want to answer any of your questions,” he said. “You’re very questiony.”
Out of luck, I sauntered over to the Bryant Street entrance to talk with the guy who had been watching me earlier.
He too wore an earpiece, along with white pants, a black jacket and sunglasses. The man told me that his name was Joey and said he was a “private contractor.” But he would not share details about his job at the building, only saying that it was confidential and that he travels frequently. I asked if the building he was standing in front of was OpenAI’s, but he said he didn’t know.
After the face-to-face approach went nowhere, I tried getting some clues from the California agency that regulates security guards, to get a sense of whether these men standing around were security or not.
A spokesperson for the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, which issues licenses for private Security Guards, told me that unarmed Security Guards don’t need to wear a uniform or badge, but they must be an employee of a Security Guard company or an employee of a lawful business or public agency. They must also disclose licensure information to law enforcement and bureau representatives.
‘Sorry, but I’ve got to run’ Attempts to chat up three suspected OpenAI staffers Monday elicited many “uhs,” “ums,” and insistence that they had no time to chat.
The Standard approached some (sorry) nerdy-looking people who were seen leaving the Florida Street entrance with employee badges dangling from their hips. The badges didn’t say OpenAI, but they had the same gray color scheme as the company’s logo. The IDs were otherwise sparse with only a headshot and a first name.
One worker, whose tag said his name was Kyle, said, “Sorry, but I’ve got to run” when I asked if the building he was exiting was OpenAI’s office. When I followed up to ask if he worked for the company, he said, “I’m just heading out. Sorry.”
Two other men with similar-looking badges also would not say if they worked at OpenAI or if the building they left was the tech company’s office. When I flagged them down, they just looked at me and shot nervous glances at each other before one of them said, “Sorry, we’ve gotta go.”
The company did not respond to The Standard’s requests for comment.
People who work at restaurants near the building said OpenAI employees dine at their businesses but don’t speak openly about their jobs. They do, however, often take their coffee cold and with milk, according to one barista at Dandelion Chocolate.
The barista, who declined to be named out of fear of retaliation from their employer, said staffers will come to the 16th Street cafe for coffee, usually just one or two workers at a time. He said they’ll admit they work at OpenAI.
“A lot of iced lattes,” the barista said. “And it’s usually just the grunt coders who come in.”
At Tartine Manufactory at 595 Alabama St., waiter Marco Rojo said a group of 10 to 15 Open AI workers comes in every weekend, with at least a few sporting jackets with the company’s logo. He said they come in the morning and often order the $14.95 breakfast sandwich.
Rojo said he has never seen CEO Sam Altman or any other OpenAI executives dine at Tartine. He doesn’t walk by the company’s office and hasn’t seen the maybe-or-maybe-not Security Guards. When asked for his thoughts on the company and generative AI technology, he deferred to his general manager.
Rolling out flatbreads, Osito chef Harry Choi said he has never knowingly served an OpenAI employee but said the restaurant catered an event at the company’s Florida Street office last summer. They served smoked chicken, poke and prime rib.
“They don’t really make themselves known,” Choi said.

On the anniversary (2003) of this album I believe I finally understand this album and its cover. The Thief is the entity who steals all our happiness and peace which are representative of all the words on the album cover.
As a long time RH fan this album took me the longest to appreciate. Glad that I stuck through it. Love ‘Go To Sleep’ and ‘Where I End And You Begin’ amongst the other obvious great songs.

Continuing my series on Battlegroup ideas for the factions, today is the US. I've already done Wehr and DAK, as well as posted ideas for Italians and Free French. The US is really hard to design battlegroups for, as unlike the Germans, who made about 20 of a thousand different vehicles, the US built thousands of about 20 different vehicles. So its a little trickier. I've also used as many of the assets in the game already as I could. Anyway, without further ado:
https://preview.redd.it/jefe80r18c5d1.png?width=1129&format=png&auto=webp&s=2fdd30d64f21fbb70ceb9620c1ec7e896654046e
Central Idea: Vehicle play.
Harley Davidson WLA Recon: Light capping vehicle, most comparable to the Kettenkrad, the ‘Unload Thompson’ ability would be really cool, I imagine the driver pulling out a Thompson and emptying the magazine. It would need to be stationary to work. You’d mostly use it against team weapons but could you imagine getting a wipe with it on a retreating squad, how satisfying would that be.
A3 Fuel trailer: I’ve talked about the trailer unit concept before, but to reiterate: “My thinking with this is that its a brand new unit type, which loosely can be defined as a support weapon. How it works is that infantry squads can crew it, push it around, vehicles can tow it, etc. When on a fuel point, it provides bonus fuel, in excess of a standard cache. However, the unit shouldn't require pop cap and moreover, you can actually manually decrew it and it will still provide you the benefits. So for example, let's say it spawns in your base, you can crew it with a squad, wheel it over to a fuel point and then decrew it. That fuel point would give you bonus fuel. When you want to move it, recrew it again, or tow it, to a new location. The beauty of this dynamic is that your opponents can steal these units from you like an ATG, so while they don't take up popcap and would be relatively cheap (say 100 to 150 manpower), you're still incentivised to protect them. You can also attack move them with AT guns etc, would be interesting to play around it. I think it would make for an fun dynamic, but would need to be coded from scratch. It also indirectly makes tow yet more useful." In addition to the fuel cache aspect, vehicles would be able to ‘top themselves up’ from the fuel trailer, which increases their mobility for a certain distance. Note this is distance and not duration, so while stationary, its not exhausted.
Brazilian Troops: These troops basically act as a long range infantry option with repair, so that they mesh well with mechanised compositions. M17 Rifle Grenade Volley is best described as a long range grenade assault. All squad members would fire rifle grenades at once and would land at the same time. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Brazilian Troops in Italy in WW2 represented, so that would be cool.
Preserve The Crew: The image says it all, it gives vehicles an ‘Abandon’ ability, the vehicle explodes, the crew bail out and retreat off map. If they survive, you’re refunded the manpower cost of the vehicle. Situations where this are useful basically boil down to when you’re 100% certain the vehicle will die and you want to try minimise the losses you incur. However, your opponent has the counter play of just running the crew down on retreat, so its situational.
M12 155mm Gun Motor Carriage: Heavy mobile artillery, not much to say.
Maintenance Rotation: So this can be selected on vehicles out of combat and the vehicle immediately leaves the battlefield, once it goes off map, a fresh vehicle arrives immediately to take its place. So why do this? In a word, tempo. Its faster than a repair and requires no engineer squad. The downside is that you loose the veterancy of the unit, so its not a no brainer.
Vehicle Ability Aimed Shots: This ability basically trades DPS for consistency. M8 Greyhounds would snipe infantry models, Tanks would always land killing blows, but for the duration of the ability you’re basically putting out a lot less damage. So its again situational.
AI Temp. M3 Halftrack: An M3 Halftrack controlled by the AI comes from off map, drives to the target location and then remains there, healing and reinforcing until the ability times out or it is killed. Useful for field presence.
Designate Command Vehicle: Selected on any of your vehicles, the unit gets increased LOS, increases the ROF of surrounding vehicles and also allows surrounding vehicles to repair themselves outside of combat.
Jumbo Sherman: Heavy assault tank, it would be especially good against infantry and has strong frontal armour. With the 76mm Upgun, you could have this as a stock upgrade or you could lock this behind the mechanised support tech, either would be interesting.
https://preview.redd.it/450p2cm66c5d1.png?width=1410&format=png&auto=webp&s=c0e7a20011ac308761830090a187361a39b4936e
Central Idea: Backline harassment.
Resistance Fighters: They’re a light infantry squad which start with a plethora of different rifles, however, what makes them interesting is their Scavenge Weapons ability. This is targeted on the dead models of a squad and allows them to swap out some of their weapons. For example, if they’re fighting assault grenadiers, after the fight, you use the ability on a dead model and 2 of the rifles are swapped for MP40s. If you want to swap the weapons back to rifles, find a DAK Panzergrenadier model and voilà. This not only encourages micro of the squad, makes the squad quite flexible but also encourages your opponent to force them to retreat first so they can’t do swaps afterwards. The Transfer To Resistance Cell I will come back to.
Saboteurs: These are a demolition style squad, with camo, demos and the ability to steal resources.
Sharpshooters: A long range style squad, close to Jaeger Light Infantry from Coh2, with some added utility abilities.
Establish Resistance Cell Ability: The other big ability on this side of the tree, this can be used on buildings or can be constructed in the field. They provide healing and reinforcement, it has an ability to deploy medics to somewhere else in the field and can be self destructed should you choose to do so. However, the important mechanic here is the Transfer To Resistance Cell ability. Squads can enter one resistance cell and then transfer to any other Resistance Cell on the map. In practice, this works by the squad entering the building, using the ability, selecting the other Resistance Cell and then after a delay, emerging from the selected resistance cell. This allows partisan style units to get around the map easily and makes it difficult for your opponent to keep track of where they are. If the resistance cell gets destroyed mid transfer, then the transfer is just cancelled. If both cells get destroyed, they emerge in base. This feature would make hit and run style tactics a lot of fun. Your opponent would be strongly encouraged to perform ‘Counter Insurgency sweeps’ to ‘route out resistance cells’.
Air Drop Weapons: Simple weapon package drops. These are 2 separate weapon drops.
Supply Crate Drops: A crate drop, which drops 3 random crate types. For the crate types, I’ve talked about these individual crates in my different designs but briefly; Ammunition Crate increases ROF of squad/Team Weapon for short duration, Medical Crate heals squad, Grenades Crate recharges grenade ability and doubles the grenade on next usage, Mine Crate allows squad to plant a normal mine for free (one time use), Camouflage Crate allows squad to camo for a short period and finally the Flare Crate allows the squad to fire a flare for free (one time use).
Deploy Local Spy: The way I see this working is with the civilian model that’s already in the game. Select a point and a civilian will walk out to that point and provide LOS. The civilian won’t appear on either map or be marked as an enemy to your opponent, however, it would be a fun counter play if your opponent could use one of their squads and select the civilian to ‘shoo them away’. Otherwise this ability is quite like a low key recon loiter.
Advanced Explosives: The incendiary grenades and the AP Mines are fairly self explanatory, however the ‘Bazooka Rocket Improvised AT Mine’ (yes, they actually did this in WW2) could do with being expanded upon. They’re a variation on normal mines, where the emphasis is placed on the engine critical rather than the damage of the mine. So these mines would be relatively spammable, specialised against vehicles and would cause an engine damage critical. The focus here is having a mine that doesn’t detonate on infantry and can be spammed around the place to shut down vehicle pushes. However, unlike say Riegel mines, it doesn’t do that much damage, so your opponent will have a much easier time of quickly repairing off the damage. It’s a variation on mines with its own drawbacks and strengths.
P47s Search & Destroy: This strike is preceded by a Grasshopper recon for sight and then 2 P-47s follow up behind strafing infantry and firing rockets against vehicles. Note however just how long this ‘strafe’ is. How I see this being implemented is not so much a continuous strafe, but instead, the planes will only shoot at targets they find in the area, once they pass over that target, they ascend and if there is still distance in the area left to cover, they come down again and strafe some more. So I could see you doing this in the backlines of your opponent to cause hassle and catch units.
Douglas A-20 Havoc Quad T30/M10 Heavy Rocket Strike: This is more like a standard rocket strike, but the big difference is that for this plane, the number of rockets under each wing is doubled, so the Alpha damage would be a lot higher.
https://preview.redd.it/1rdue5yd6c5d1.png?width=1417&format=png&auto=webp&s=2a9f73c32581c294e701c82bd43c43d068124264
Central Idea: Ranged combat, elevation.
Medical Jeep: Alternative to the normal jeep, this can heal up squads. However, it can also lockdown and function like a casualty clearing station. I could see this being mostly used for capping in the early game with in field healing, before retiring to base to heal.
M4 Tractor: A more aggressive light vehicle that meshes with indirect. You can use it to cap and harass early on but its main advantage is the ability to tow and also its recharge barrage ability. So it’s the ideal tow vehicle for artillery.
Mountaineers: Very much a long range focused squad with elevation advantages.
Global Timed, Inf. Range, Sight & Accuracy Buff: Self explanatory.
Circle Area Debuff Inf: Fairly self explanatory, this works like the Humber flare ability, except its not attached to a unit and the area is flexible.
Designate Observer: This can be used on any unit to increase its sight. So you could have it on MGs to allow it to self-spot, on Hellcats to give them an advantage in long range duels or on Mountaineers to augment their role as a sight tool. But bear in mind that this can only be used on 1 unit in your army at a time, if you want to change the unit, you remove it from the original.
Ben Hur Supply Trailer: Another type of trailer unit. This trailer focuses more on synergy with indirect, as it allows indirect to increase the number of shells per barrage.
WC-62 Mortar Carrier: Self explanatory.
Grasshopper Recon Artillery Pass: Similar to the British recon artillery, but in a line rather than a loiter.
M1 155mm Long Tom Towed Heavy Howitzer: This howitzer would be of a similar power to the BL 5.5, except towed.
Other DLC
In alignment with my other proposals, I’ve included other substitutable units:
https://preview.redd.it/rsw6ikfu6c5d1.png?width=1340&format=png&auto=webp&s=48da1bfb146668006b9f9a92cbd94a1a2cd45c21
Historical Accuracy Notes: As far as I know the M12 155mm Gun Motor Carriage and Jumbo Sherman didn’t see action in Italy. But neither did the Easy 8 to the best of my knowledge so…
Base Faction Change:
Finally, one change I would make to the base faction is adding the M5 ATG to T4. It seems like the base faction is somewhat reliant on the Hellcat for dealing with tanks in the lategame, to the faction's detriment:
https://preview.redd.it/wczvqcta7c5d1.png?width=499&format=png&auto=webp&s=fe45ef2c11f33976d2574b7ef7e065f1296aaa29