DAY: May 19 2024

• 5-19-2024 ILLNESS TOOK AWAY HER VOICE. AI CREATED A REPLICA SHE CARRIES IN HER PHONE Alexis Bogan, whose speech was impaired by a brain tumor, uses an AI powered smartphone app to create a audible drink order at a Starbucks drive-thru on Monday, April 29, 2024, in Lincoln, R.I. The app converts her typed entries into a verbal message created using her original voice. Credit: AP Photo/Steven Senne The voice Alexis “Lexi” Bogan had before last summer was exuberant. She loved to belt out Taylor Swift and Zach Bryan ballads in the car. She laughed all the time—even while corralling misbehaving preschoolers or debating politics
• 5-19-2024 SMART CONTACT LENSES LEAD THE WAY FOR HUMAN-MACHINE INTERACTION Scientists have developed eye-tracking smart content lenses based on radio frequency tags that can be used for various applications, including health care and augmented reality (AR). The lenses are biocompatible and imperceptible, requiring no battery or conventional silicon chips. Smart contact lenses that can keep track of various health factors and can be used for human-machine interaction (HMI) are a relatively new technology.
• 5-19-2024 INTEL EXEC ON BRINGING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INTO THE WORKPLACE Artificial intelligence is just about everywhere you look these days—including the workplace. That means training staff about the technology and using it responsibly is critical. It’s a tall order, especially as the commercialization of generative AI continues its rapid growth. Now some tech players have kickstarted initiatives in hopes of meeting that need. Christy Pambianchi, chief people officer at Intel, recently spoke with The Associated Press about how the semiconductor chip maker is expanding AI education programming beyond the company’s walls—as well as best practices around
• 5-19-2024 JUST BELIEVING THAT AN AI IS HELPING BOOSTS YOUR PERFORMANCE, STUDY FINDS Sometimes it seems like an AI is helping, but the benefit is actually a placebo effect—people performing better simply because they expect to be doing so—according to new research from Aalto University. The study also shows how difficult it is to shake people’s trust in the capabilities of
• 5-19-2024 FEMALE HEALTH APPS MISUSE HIGHLY SENSITIVE DATA, STUDY FINDS Apps designed for female health monitoring are exposing users to unnecessary privacy and safety risks through their poor data handling practices, according to new research from King’s College London and University College London (UCL). In the most extensive evaluation of the privacy practices of female health apps to date, researchers found apps that handle medical and fertility data are coercing users into entering sensitive information that could put them at risk.
• 5-19-2024 OPENAI GIVES CHATGPT NEW POWERS TO SEE, HEAR OpenAI and Microsoft are in a heated rivalry with Google to be generative AI’s major player, but Facebook-owner Meta and upstart Anthropic are also making big moves to compete. OpenAI on Monday released a higher performing and even more human-like version of the artificial intelligence technology that underpins its popular generative tool ChatGPT, making it free to all users. The update to OpenAI’s flagship product landed a day before Google is expected to make its own announcements about Gemini, the search engine giant’s own AI tool that competes with ChatGPT
• 5-19-2024 CHATBOTS TELL PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR, RESEARCHERS FIND Chatbots share limited information, reinforce ideologies, and, as a result, can lead to more polarized thinking when it comes to controversial issues, according to new Johns Hopkins University–led research. The study challenges perceptions that chatbots are impartial and provides insight into how using conversational search systems could widen the public divide on hot-button issues and leave people vulnerable to manipulation. “Because people are reading a summary paragraph generated by AI, they think they’re getting unbiased, fact-based answers,”
• 5-19-2024 STUDENTS, ACTIVISTS, ENTERTAINERS: MINECRAFT’S GLOBAL APPEAL Since the first version of Minecraft was released to the public 15 years ago, the block-based world-building game has become a global phenomenon. Since the first version of Minecraft was released to the public 15 years ago, the block-based world-building game has become a global phenomenon. Players of all ages and backgrounds have used the game for everything from educational projects and architecture to building communities and creating artwork. With more than 300 million copies sold, it is the best-selling video game of all time.
• 5-19-2024 SWISS NURSERY LETS ROBOT DO THE TALKING Swiss children in a Lausanne creche have some fun with their new robot friend, Nao. Sat in a circle on the nursery floor, a group of Swiss three-year-olds ask a robot called Nao questions about giraffes and broccoli. By the time these children become adults, interacting with robots may well be as commonplace as using a smartphone, experts believe. So one Lausanne creche has decided to give them a head start.
• 5-19-2024 EU TO ENCOURAGE INFLUENCERS TO HAVE ‘POSITIVE’ IMPACT Younger audiences increasingly get their information from influencers as they turn away from traditional media. The EU announced steps Tuesday to encourage influencers to post content that has a “positive” impact on society, as concerns rise over disinformation in a fragmented information landscape. With online creators increasingly the preferred source of news and opinions for younger audiences in the European Union, Brussels said they needed to be helped to use their role wisely. Ministers from EU countries responsible for culture, audiovisual and media issues approved a series of steps
• 5-19-2024 THE METAVERSE COULD CHANGE OUR RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES, AND CREATE NEW ONES New technologies have always informed and changed our religious experiences. Listening to early radio broadcasts in the 1880s was experienced by many as religious because radio voices seemed to come from some other dimension. Séances became wildly popular at the time because it was thought by some that radio had opened a door to the spirit world. Today, religion is experiencing new transformations. The information-rich, image-laden character of the internet can provide new ways to understand and explain religious activity.
• 5-19-2024RESEARCH SHEDS LIGHT ON THE WEB OF TRUST, PRIVACY AND SAFETY FACTORS SHAPING USERS’ EXPERIENCES ON FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE Love it or hate it, Facebook Marketplace is the largest online resale site today with more than one billion monthly users.
• 5-19-2024RESEARCH SHEDS LIGHT ON THE WEB OF TRUST, PRIVACY AND SAFETY FACTORS SHAPING USERS’ EXPERIENCES ON FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE Google on Tuesday rolled out a retooled search engine that will frequently favor responses crafted by artificial intelligence over website links, a shift promising to quicken the quest for information while also potentially disrupting the flow of money-making internet traffic. The makeover announced at Google’s annual developers conference will begin this week in the U.S. when hundreds of millions of people will start to periodically see conversational summaries
• 5-19-2024 NEW STRATEGIC DESIGN APPROACH FOCUSES ON TURNING AI MISTAKES INTO USER BENEFITS More and more often, automated lending systems powered by artificial intelligence (AI) reject qualified loan applicants without explanation. Even worse, they leave rejected applicants with no recourse. People can have similar experiences when applying for jobs or petitioning their health insurance providers. While AI tools determine the fate of people in difficult situations daily, Upol Ehsan says more thought should be given to challenging these decisions or working around them. Ehsan, a Georgia Tech explainable AI (XAI) researcher, says many rejection cases are not the applicant’s fault.
• 5-19-2024 MANAGING SCREEN TIME BY MAKING PHONES SLIGHTLY MORE ANNOYING TO USE Existing apps for managing screen time can abruptly lock users out of their phone. If users were in the middle of an important task, they could scramble to skip the time limit, opening themselves up to spend more time on their phone than originally intended. InteractOut’s interventions are more gradual and allow users to decide when to put down their phones while also encouraging them to think harder about their smartphone use.
• 5-19-2024 DIGITAL TWIN HELPS OPTIMIZE MANUFACTURING SPEED WHILE SATISFYING QUALITY CONSTRAINTS Feedrate optimization using an uncertainty-aware digital twin demonstrates significant cycle time reductions of up to 38% in a CNC machine tool while staying close to the error tolerances compared to the existing methods. A new method uses a digital twin to optimize manufacturing machine speed—known as feed rate—while adhering to quality constraints,
• 5-19-2024 THE INCREASING DIFFICULTY OF DETECTING AI- VERSUS HUMAN-GENERATED TEXT Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools are used to create text, images and videos, impacting the way society consumes and produces online content. As that technology continues to evolve, it is becoming increasingly difficult to tell the difference between AI-generated and human-generated content. Determining the integrity of online information—particularly text—is the current research focus in the Penn State Information Knowledge and wEb (PIKE) Lab, led by Dongwon Lee, professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State. In a discussion with Penn State News, Lee spoke about the
• 5-19-2024 RESEARCH TEAM WORKS TO IMPROVE AI-BASED DECISION-MAKING TOOLS FOR PUBLIC SERVICES More and more public services—such as affordable housing, public school matching and child welfare—are relying on algorithms to make decisions and allocate resources. So far, much of the work that has gone into designing these systems has focused on workers’ experiences using them or communities’ perceptions of them. But what about the actual impact of these programs have on people, especially when the decisions the systems make lead to denial of services? Can you design algorithms to help people make sense of and contest decisions that significantly impact them?
• 5-19-2024 CINEMATIC TOOLS CAN SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE USER EXPERIENCE IN VIRTUAL REALITY ENVIRONMENTS Without teleportation, many users would be unable to use virtual reality due to motion sickness. Unfortunately, teleportation can cause users to miss important aspects of their surroundings. Credit: Alan Medlar Cinematography techniques can significantly increase user engagement with virtual environments and, in particular, the aesthetic appeal of what users see in virtual reality.
• 5-19-2024 HUMAN DIFFERENCES IN JUDGMENT LEAD TO PROBLEMS FOR AIThe noise level observed in ComVE annotations when controlling the minimum (a) and maximum (b) allowable labels for each turker (we omit the residual in these two figures as, similar to what was observed earlier for TG-CSR, it was nearly coincidental with the level noise curve). We also report the statistics of statements categorized by the number of annotation labels under different cutoff methods used for screening participating annotators
• 5-19-2024 HUMAN DIFFERENCES IN JUDGMENT LEAD TO PROBLEMS FOR AI Innovation is rarely accidental. Behind every new invention and product, including the device you are using to read this story, is years of research, investment, and planning. Organizations that want to reach these milestones in the fastest and most efficient way possible use technology roadmaps.
• 5-19-2024 HUMAN DIFFERENCES IN JUDGMENT LEAD TO PROBLEMS FOR AI A team of researchers at Delft University of Technology has developed a drone that flies autonomously using neuromorphic image processing and control based on the workings of animal brains. Animal brains use less data and energy compared to current deep neural networks running on graphics processing units (GPUs).
• 5-19-2024 US SENATORS UNVEIL ‘ROADMAP’ TO AI LAWS Top US lawmakers on Wednesday said efforts to pass laws governing AI were entering a higher gear and hoped to pump $32 billion into the sector to help assure US dominance. US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said bipartisan legislators had agreed on a policy roadmap and had tasked key senate committees to draft specific proposals on regulating AI. The US is home to the biggest AI companies in the world and has trailed the EU and other regions on coming up with rules to rein in the sector.
• 5-19-2024 US SENATORS UNVEIL ‘ROADMAP’ TO AI LAWS Google chief executive Sundar Pichai says the AI revamp of its online search engine will soon spread to countries other than the United States. Google’s use of artificial intelligence to sum up answers to search queries has publishers wondering if traffic to their websites will wither. The internet titan announced Tuesday it is introducing AI-generated answers to online queries in the United States, in one of the biggest changes to its world-leading search engine in 25 years.
• 5-19-2024 CONSUMER GROUPS ACCUSE TEMU OF MANIPULATING ONLINE SHOPPERS Chinese shopping app Temu has on average around 75 million monthly active users in the EU. European consumer groups on Thursday accused Chinese shopping app Temu of using “manipulative techniques” to make users spend more and other violations of a landmark EU tech law. One of the fastest-growing apps, Temu only entered the EU market in April 2023 and says it has on average around 75 million monthly active users in the 27-country bloc. Europe’s BEUC umbrella consumer rights group filed a complaint with the European Commission while 17 member
• 5-19-2024 PARENTS UNDERESTIMATE THE PRIVACY RISKS KIDS FACE IN VIRTUAL REALITY Nearly two thirds of parents of children aged 5–10 don’t understand the metaverse, according to the Institution of Engineering and Technology. Credit: Kampus Production/Pexels/public domain Virtual reality lets kids play 3D games with their friends as avatars, go back in time, even journey to outer space, all without leaving their living rooms. But while children are immersed in the metaverse, they also face privacy risks that their parents might not recognize
• 5-19-2024 MODEL DISGORGEMENT—THE KEY TO FIXING AI BIAS AND COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT? By now, the challenges posed by generative AI are no secret. Models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude and Meta’s Llama have been known to “hallucinate,” inventing potentially misleading responses, as well as divulge sensitive information, like copyrighted materials.
• 5-19-2024 CAN WE RID ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE OF BIAS? AI giants face a challenge of making artficial intelligence models reflect the world’s diversity without being overly politically correct. Artificial intelligence built on mountains of potentially biased information has created a real risk of automating discrimination, but is there any way to re-educate the machines? The question for some is extremely urgent. In this ChatGPT era, AI will generate more and more decisions for health care providers, bank lenders or lawyers, using whatever was scoured from the internet as source material.
• 5-19-2024 CHATGPT IS NOW BETTER THAN EVER AT FAKING HUMAN EMOTION AND BEHAVIOR OpenAI executive Mira Murati launching GPT-4o. Credit: OpenAI Earlier this week OpenAI launched GPT-4o (“o” for “omni”), a new version of the artificial intelligence (AI) system powering the popular ChatGPT chatbot. GPT-4o is promoted as a step towards more natural engagement with AI. According to the demonstration video, it can have voice conversations with users in near real-time, exhibiting human-like personality and behavior. This emphasis on personality is likely to be a point of contention. In OpenAI’s demos, GPT-4o sounds friendly, empathetic and engaging. It tells “spontaneous” jokes, giggles, flirts
• 5-19-2024 MOST PEOPLE STILL THINK BARRISTERS NEED TO SOUND POSH, RESEARCH SHOWS—BUT ACCENT DISCRIMINATION SERVES NO ONE In the UK legal system, a barrister’s job is to present formalized legal arguments in court and at tribunals. Training to become one, therefore, involves considerable focus on oral skills. It is considered important that barristers have the ability to speak “eloquently.” This risks people thinking there is a “correct” way of speaking in order to be successful in this career. Accents, of course, play an important role here. Accent-based bias discriminates against speakers with non-standard accents—people whose speech differs from Received Pronunciation (RP).
• 5-19-2024 A MINUTE’S SILENCE IS FINE BUT WHEN IT COMES TO VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, BEING QUIET ISN’T ENOUGH Sport has a role to play in creating a culture of respect, yet women in sport are often seen as “less than” on almost every measure: salaries, sponsorship, broadcasting, leadership, access, media, coaching, officiating, uniforms and support. Research shows 3 out of 4 Australian men are gender equality supporters, but very few (17%) prioritize taking any action. As Australia grapples with a “national crisis” of violence against women, what can men in sport do to help?
• 5-19-2024 ARE CANADIANS TOO POOR TO BREAK UP? Why did Al and Peg Bundy from the sitcom Married… with Children never get divorced? After all, they were rarely happy and constantly arguing. Maybe they felt they were the best they could do for each other—a middle-aged homely shoe salesman and a stay-at-home mom with two kids. They cared for each other, but they also hated each other deeply. And neither ever cheated, despite having the opportunity. However, what if the Bundys lived in Canada today?
• 5-19-2024 REPORT LOOKS AT ‘POVERTY STIGMA’ THROUGH A NEW LENS TO STAMP IT OUT OF SOCIETY Stigma is a glue that holds poverty, inequality and economic insecurity in place enabling and exacerbating inequalities of wealth, health and opportunity, says a new report. Poverty stigma is a “wicked social problem,” highly complex, difficult to define and challenging to solve
• 5-19-2024 HOW CRAFT-BASED FIRMS PROJECT AUTHENTICITY THROUGH CREDIBLY AND VISIBLY COMMUNICATING THEIR IDENTITY Consumers are drawn to authenticity when it comes to craft-based firms, and a study looked at how managers in identity-driven markets are challenged to maintain their authenticity as their company’s scale of operations expands. In such craft industries, the authors note, overt claims of authenticity by producers are ineffective.
• 5-19-2024 PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH OFFERS STRATEGIES FOR HEALTHY POLITICAL DISCUSSIONS AMONG PEOPLE WITH OPPOSING VIEWS Civilized political debates may seem increasingly out of reach as democracies across the world face rising polarization, but people still want to discuss issues with people they disagree with—especially those who present themselves as balanced and willing to seek solutions that work for everyone or open to learning new information, according to two studies published by the American Psychological Association.
• 5-19-2024 MORE THAN HALF OF AMERICANS GIVE TO CHARITY AT CHECKOUT, SURVEY SHOWS 53% of Americans give to charity at checkout, and young and diverse people tend to do it more often, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York. Credit: Binghamton University, State University of New York Fifty-three percent of Americans give impulsively to charities at the checkout, and certain demographics tend to give more, according to a new survey conducted by faculty at Binghamton University,

Prequel (Chapters 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie
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Kayla followed her squad into a dropship and took the free seat next to Kes. The frantic treatment and evacuation of wounded Raiders had gone smoothly, and as far as Kayla knew, no-one had been pronounced killed in action.
The vessel’s ramp closed and it lifted into the night. Through a window, Kayla saw the mountains recede below them as they climbed to orbit. She tapped her helmet’s release and servos whined as the faceplate retracted.
“What’s going on?” she demanded.
Kes raised her own vizor. “We’re returning to the Banshee,” she said.
Kayla began to protest, but the corporal held up a hand.
“Just take it easy, will you? I don’t know what’s going either, but the order came direct from General Smyrna.”
“Rayker’s out there and wounded. Aren’t we going after her?”
Kes returned her frustrated expression with raised eyebrows, and Kayla realized that she shouldn’t push the issue. She would simply have to wait.
Another helmet popped open. “Kayla,” Ray said, with an edge to her voice, “I obviously wasn’t there with you in the castle. Didn’t you say you surprised Rayker when you tried to shoot her?”
Kayla nodded.
“But she’d already been shot up by the Raiders? How many times?”
“Six, Christie said.”
Ray gave her a significant look. “Well, you’re the best pistol shot in the company. How is it possible she got away from you?”
Kayla shook her head. She was also confused about what exactly had happened. “I don’t know. She was just too fast.”
“So, she heals crazy fast, yeah? And now that she’s alert and on the move, she could pick us to pieces while we try to chase her down.”
Kayla flashed her fire team member a look of disdain. “You know what, Ray, I didn’t join Valkyrie because I wanted a safe and easy life—”
“Barnes knock it off,” Kes hissed. “This decision is over our heads, so let it go. We’ll get a full briefing on the Banshee. Got it?”
Kayla felt the pain of bottled-up anger, but the squad leader was right. She glanced back at Ray, but the woman had already sealed up her helmet and was watching the planet recede out the window.
On the opposite seat of the ship, Kayla made out the form of Tian, and gave her a kick, but her helmet remained closed, and she didn’t respond. Further down the bay, Thandi caught her eye and gave a quick shake of her head.
That brought Kayla up short. Even her best friend looked like she was pissed at her, and that only happened when she genuinely screwed up.
She carefully felt down her chest rig and pulled a silver necklace out from a pouch—the only place she kept it when she wasn’t wearing it. It was a simple piece of jewelry consisting of a chain looped through a small coin which was engraved with a name. She tied the chain around her wrist so it couldn’t fall off, and held the coin tightly in her hand. The adrenaline in her blood stream began to fade, and she soon crashed with exhaustion.
The Rangers passed an uncomfortable flight of several hours, struggling to sleep in the awkward seats of the dropship. Once they began their approach to the Banshee, hidden in the shadow of Ambrosia’s moon, Kes began to wake them. Yawning and sleepy eyed, they piled out into the hangar of their mothership.
“Team leaders!” Lieutanant Akane called to the disembarking Rangers. “Gather on me. The rest of you are on standdown—take care of your kit, get some showers and food.”
Kayla stayed with Kes as they followed Akane, and the rest of the company’s NCOs and officers, over to a corner of the Banshee’s hangar, where Captain Aguilar and her headquarters staff were waiting.
“Is that everyone?” Aguilar asked as she eyed the assembled Rangers. “Okay take a knee, and I’ll bring you up to speed. I know a lot of you were surprised to see us returning to the Banshee while our principal target is on the run, but here’s what’s happening.”
Her company first sergeant activated a holo-projector and a spider web relief of the mountains they had left took shape from the light rays. A small point of light was nestled in the river canyon, just outside a major beach resort, twenty miles from the chateau.
Aguilar gestured to the display. “One of the team members in the chateau was able to plant a tracking device on Rayker’s body before she regained consciousness. This is her current location. She is obviously resting in a concealed position, near a civilian population center.”
Murmurs ran through the small crowd. Kayla’s jaw clenched.
“A couple of things are immediately obvious from tonight’s events,” Aguilar continued. “Point one; she made this trip in thirty minutes. After the Raiders shot her to pieces.”
This announcement was met with whistles and gasps of disbelief. Kayla shivered. What was it going to take to put her down for good?
“She went straight for a public place,” Aguilar continued, “because she knows we would want to avoid exposure. That should tell you how much she’s figured out about this organization.”
“Or already knew,” a voice said to a few murmurs of agreement.
“You keep thoughts like that to yourself,” Aguilar snapped. “I’m not having rumors and speculation distracting the company from this mission. Anyone who just mouthed off can consider this your first and final warning to pull your head out of your ass.”
Nobody so much as shifted their weight.
“Point two;” Aguilar continued, “her speed indicates how problematic a chase could be, even if she’s unarmed. Command cannot take the risk of a protracted battle that roams across such a public area. Point three—and this is where it gets really concerning—the missile launch that hit the building tonight came from a battery of Ambrosia’s sky defense. Intel indicates it was hacked remotely.”
Silence followed this statement. Anti-air missiles did not target buildings, which meant that either the launch had been planned ahead of time, or someone had pulled off an obscenely difficult system takeover and then reprogrammed a guidance head with only a few minutes of warning. Both possibilities were equally appalling.
“So, as we have suspected for some time, Rayker has an extremely powerful friend in the galaxy. Tonight, we were given proof of that relationship in spades. Someone was able to see what was happening at the chateau and reacted immediately to protect her, cutting out dozens of command-and-control links in seconds. Ladies, we have to face the fact that we are out of our depth if we try to fight our target within Helvet-controlled space.”
Kayla’s expression turned sour. Around the half-circle, other Rangers looked similarly morose.
Aguilar sighed heavily before she continued. “The decision has been made to let her go in the hopes that she will lead us towards her benefactor. Or at least somewhere that helps us better understand her support network.”
Heads shook and voices grumbled. Even though the conclusion had been obvious since the words ‘tracking device’, Kayla still felt angry, and cheated. But she couldn’t argue with the rationality behind the decision and resigned herself to the general opinion that they were all back to square one.
“The Task Force will remain close on her trail and, if this device sends out its tampering alert, we will close in for the kill as soon as we can.” Aguilar paused and ran a hand through her hair. “I don’t mind telling all of you that letting this animal go, after so much work and preparation, burns my soul. But we have to face the fact that our organization is behind the curve on a truly profound threat within human civilization. I, for one, want to do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of it. So—food, showers and rest, and be ready for a fast turnaround. We might need to pounce at a moment’s notice.”
She looked around the assembled faces. “Questions or comments?”
Kayla cleared her throat. “Ma’am, I suggest we nuke the site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.”
Several Rangers laughed while Aguilar cracked a wry smile. “Thank you, ‘Great Destroyer’ Barnes, for that insight. I will be sure to pass it up the chain.
Some of the anger eased with the moment, and Kayla began to feel the creeping cloud of fatigue fog her mind. The officers had a few other questions about the company’s readiness, which Kayla, in her unhappy state, took as further evidence that nothing reassured them more in times of stress than the sound of their own voices.
Eventually the meeting broke up, but as Kayla turned to go, she felt a firm hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Kes, accompanied by Lieutenant Akane. The corporal motioned with her head to step to one side. They were all visibly exhausted, but there was obviously more that needed to be said before they could call it a night.
“So, Lance Corporal Barnes,” the platoon leader began, “I’ve got Raiders clamoring to buy you a drink and demanding that I put in the paperwork for a medal. It seems that the two operators who were first to arrive at the scene, Shaklia and Guiying, were quickly neutralized by Rayker. Without your help, they might both have been killed, instead of currently comatose, but alive. Not to mention how many others in that hallway she might have exacted her revenge on.”
“Ma’am, I take full responsibility for my actions and—”
“Goddammit Barnes, it’s been a long night and I don’t need you interrupting me when I’m dressing you down.”
Kayla fell silent.
“So, whilst your act of heroism undoubtedly should be recognized, it needs to be balanced against the reality that you effectively deserted your squad, without communication, or co-ordination, and without letting them catch up to support you. Leaving Corporal Rudaski here in the impossible position of splitting her squad in two, so your fire team could be led on a not-so-merry goose chase, while she held down the perimeter.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Squads may be composed of two fire teams, Barnes, but they do not separate out of contact. They are a single, cohesive unit of Rangers that support each other through thick or thin.”
Kayla nodded tiredly.
Akane cocked her head. “In hindsight everything turned out okay. But what if you had been wrong?”
Kayla met her eyes with an expression of confusion. “Ma’am?”
“As far as we know, a missile system thirty kilometers away just upped and generated its own firing solution. Someone knew we were going for Rakyer, and they tried to stop us. But what if the strike wasn’t enough? What if there was a risk of her being deeper in the chateau? What if this unknown adversary had a ground team nearby, whose job it was to approach the chateau and extract Rayker? If they had seen your movement, and gone for the perimeter covered by your weakened and distracted squad, you could be looking at four dead Rangers. Am I wrong, Barnes?”
“No, ma’am.” Kayla looked down, and felt a cold dread flooding her veins. “Ma’am I sincerely apologize for my actions. I lost control.”
“I’m not so sure,” Kes interjected. “This isn’t the first time I’ve had to speak to you about your lone-wolf approach.”
“I approved your promotion,” Lieutenant Akane said, “because you drive hard to be a better Ranger, and you push the others to keep up. As much as I hate to criticize heroic actions and quick thinking, it seems clear that you tore off because you have a deep comfort with leaving your team behind to take on the world by yourself. If you can’t get past your own ego, you’re a danger to all of us. Any more solo adventures, and I’m going to drop you back to private.”
Kayla’s stomach knotted. Up until that moment, she had been totally convinced she had been justified in taking off, but she hadn’t even considered the possibility of another threat. And, now that she was forced to think about it, why would Rayker have hung around to finish off the downed Valkyrie? She certainly knew she only had seconds to get away.
Doubt and shame swirled together through the tiredness and left Kayla with only one certainty. She didn’t have all the answers. With her lack of experience, she should obviously listen to her seniors and do her best to earn their respect. But Kes had stuck her neck out for her with the early promotion, and now she had embarrassed them both in the eyes of the platoon leader.
Kayla hung her head, and nodded her acknowledgement.
Akane rubbed her eyes. “Corporal Rudaski, you’ll put her on probation for the next three months. Any slip-ups, and I’m dropping her to private again.”
“Yes ma’am,” Kes replied.
They saluted, and watched as the lieutenant walked away. Kayla began to head back to her bunk, but Kes stopped her.
“One more thing, Barnes. If I ever hear you question one of my girls’ courage in front of the squad again, I’m going to have you transferred out of the battalion. Understand?”
Kayla was shocked. On the dropship, the thought of abandoning the hunt for Rayker had left her so angry. Had she really been that callous when she snapped at Ray?
“Yes, Corporal,” she nodded shamefully.
“That kind of leadership is a cancer that has to be destroyed before it can spread.” Her expression softened. “But I want to leave you the benefit of the doubt. Your judgment tonight wasn’t all that clear, was it? I mean, Christie was pretty vulnerable, alone in that chateau.”
Kes paused as she rubbed her neck. Kayla noticed her fingers brushing the chain of a necklace, which she knew to be identical to her own, but with more names.
“You know,” Kes said hesitantly, “we were all heartbroken by Rose’s death—”
Kayla shook her head and her words came out in a rush. “That has nothing to do with anything. Right? I am fully aware that everyone carries their own burden, and I’m carrying mine. Okay, I screwed up and made a bad call. I’ll own it in the hot wash, and I’ll commit to working on myself as a better fire team leader.”
Without waiting for a response, she turned and strode away, as icy fingers threatened to crush her heart.
First ¦ Previous ¦ Royal Road ¦ Patreon
Prequel (Chapters 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie

Prequel (Parts 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie
First ¦ Previous ¦ Royal Road ¦ Patreon
Kayla followed her squad into a dropship and took the free seat next to Kes. The frantic treatment and evacuation of wounded Raiders had gone smoothly, and as far as Kayla knew, no-one had been pronounced killed in action.
The vessel’s ramp closed and it lifted into the night. Through a window, Kayla saw the mountains recede below them as they climbed to orbit. She tapped her helmet’s release and servos whined as the faceplate retracted.
“What’s going on?” she demanded.
Kes raised her own vizor. “We’re returning to the Banshee,” she said.
Kayla began to protest, but the corporal held up a hand.
“Just take it easy, will you? I don’t know what’s going either, but the order came direct from General Smyrna.”
“Rayker’s out there and wounded. Aren’t we going after her?”
Kes returned her frustrated expression with raised eyebrows, and Kayla realized that she shouldn’t push the issue. She would simply have to wait.
Another helmet popped open. “Kayla,” Ray said, with an edge to her voice, “I obviously wasn’t there with you in the castle. Didn’t you say you surprised Rayker when you tried to shoot her?”
Kayla nodded.
“But she’d already been shot up by the Raiders? How many times?”
“Six, Christie said.”
Ray gave her a significant look. “Well, you’re the best pistol shot in the company. How is it possible she got away from you?”
Kayla shook her head. She was also confused about what exactly had happened. “I don’t know. She was just too fast.”
“So, she heals crazy fast, yeah? And now that she’s alert and on the move, she could pick us to pieces while we try to chase her down.”
Kayla flashed her fire team member a look of disdain. “You know what, Ray, I didn’t join Valkyrie because I wanted a safe and easy life—”
“Barnes knock it off,” Kes hissed. “This decision is over our heads, so let it go. We’ll get a full briefing on the Banshee. Got it?”
Kayla felt the pain of bottled-up anger, but the squad leader was right. She glanced back at Ray, but the woman had already sealed up her helmet and was watching the planet recede out the window.
On the opposite seat of the ship, Kayla made out the form of Tian, and gave her a kick, but her helmet remained closed, and she didn’t respond. Further down the bay, Thandi caught her eye and gave a quick shake of her head.
That brought Kayla up short. Even her best friend looked like she was pissed at her, and that only happened when she genuinely screwed up.
She carefully felt down her chest rig and pulled a silver necklace out from a pouch—the only place she kept it when she wasn’t wearing it. It was a simple piece of jewelry consisting of a chain looped through a small coin which was engraved with a name. She tied the chain around her wrist so it couldn’t fall off, and held the coin tightly in her hand. The adrenaline in her blood stream began to fade, and she soon crashed with exhaustion.
The Rangers passed an uncomfortable flight of several hours, struggling to sleep in the awkward seats of the dropship. Once they began their approach to the Banshee, hidden in the shadow of Ambrosia’s moon, Kes began to wake them. Yawning and sleepy eyed, they piled out into the hangar of their mothership.
“Team leaders!” Lieutanant Akane called to the disembarking Rangers. “Gather on me. The rest of you are on standdown—take care of your kit, get some showers and food.”
Kayla stayed with Kes as they followed Akane, and the rest of the company’s NCOs and officers, over to a corner of the Banshee’s hangar, where Captain Aguilar and her headquarters staff were waiting.
“Is that everyone?” Aguilar asked as she eyed the assembled Rangers. “Okay take a knee, and I’ll bring you up to speed. I know a lot of you were surprised to see us returning to the Banshee while our principal target is on the run, but here’s what’s happening.”
Her company first sergeant activated a holo-projector and a spider web relief of the mountains they had left took shape from the light rays. A small point of light was nestled in the river canyon, just outside a major beach resort, twenty miles from the chateau.
Aguilar gestured to the display. “One of the team members in the chateau was able to plant a tracking device on Rayker’s body before she regained consciousness. This is her current location. She is obviously resting in a concealed position, near a civilian population center.”
Murmurs ran through the small crowd. Kayla’s jaw clenched.
“A couple of things are immediately obvious from tonight’s events,” Aguilar continued. “Point one; she made this trip in thirty minutes. After the Raiders shot her to pieces.”
This announcement was met with whistles and gasps of disbelief. Kayla shivered. What was it going to take to put her down for good?
“She went straight for a public place,” Aguilar continued, “because she knows we would want to avoid exposure. That should tell you how much she’s figured out about this organization.”
“Or already knew,” a voice said to a few murmurs of agreement.
“You keep thoughts like that to yourself,” Aguilar snapped. “I’m not having rumors and speculation distracting the company from this mission. Anyone who just mouthed off can consider this your first and final warning to pull your head out of your ass.”
Nobody so much as shifted their weight.
“Point two;” Aguilar continued, “her speed indicates how problematic a chase could be, even if she’s unarmed. Command cannot take the risk of a protracted battle that roams across such a public area. Point three—and this is where it gets really concerning—the missile launch that hit the building tonight came from a battery of Ambrosia’s sky defense. Intel indicates it was hacked remotely.”
Silence followed this statement. Anti-air missiles did not target buildings, which meant that either the launch had been planned ahead of time, or someone had pulled off an obscenely difficult system takeover and then reprogrammed a guidance head with only a few minutes of warning. Both possibilities were equally appalling.
“So, as we have suspected for some time, Rayker has an extremely powerful friend in the galaxy. Tonight, we were given proof of that relationship in spades. Someone was able to see what was happening at the chateau and reacted immediately to protect her, cutting out dozens of command-and-control links in seconds. Ladies, we have to face the fact that we are out of our depth if we try to fight our target within Helvet-controlled space.”
Kayla’s expression turned sour. Around the half-circle, other Rangers looked similarly morose.
Aguilar sighed heavily before she continued. “The decision has been made to let her go in the hopes that she will lead us towards her benefactor. Or at least somewhere that helps us better understand her support network.”
Heads shook and voices grumbled. Even though the conclusion had been obvious since the words ‘tracking device’, Kayla still felt angry, and cheated. But she couldn’t argue with the rationality behind the decision and resigned herself to the general opinion that they were all back to square one.
“The Task Force will remain close on her trail and, if this device sends out its tampering alert, we will close in for the kill as soon as we can.” Aguilar paused and ran a hand through her hair. “I don’t mind telling all of you that letting this animal go, after so much work and preparation, burns my soul. But we have to face the fact that our organization is behind the curve on a truly profound threat within human civilization. I, for one, want to do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of it. So—food, showers and rest, and be ready for a fast turnaround. We might need to pounce at a moment’s notice.”
She looked around the assembled faces. “Questions or comments?”
Kayla cleared her throat. “Ma’am, I suggest we nuke the site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.”
Several Rangers laughed while Aguilar cracked a wry smile. “Thank you, ‘Great Destroyer’ Barnes, for that insight. I will be sure to pass it up the chain.
Some of the anger eased with the moment, and Kayla began to feel the creeping cloud of fatigue fog her mind. The officers had a few other questions about the company’s readiness, which Kayla, in her unhappy state, took as further evidence that nothing reassured them more in times of stress than the sound of their own voices.
Eventually the meeting broke up, but as Kayla turned to go, she felt a firm hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Kes, accompanied by Lieutenant Akane. The corporal motioned with her head to step to one side. They were all visibly exhausted, but there was obviously more that needed to be said before they could call it a night.
“So, Lance Corporal Barnes,” the platoon leader began, “I’ve got Raiders clamoring to buy you a drink and demanding that I put in the paperwork for a medal. It seems that the two operators who were first to arrive at the scene, Shaklia and Guiying, were quickly neutralized by Rayker. Without your help, they might both have been killed, instead of currently comatose, but alive. Not to mention how many others in that hallway she might have exacted her revenge on.”
“Ma’am, I take full responsibility for my actions and—”
“Goddammit Barnes, it’s been a long night and I don’t need you interrupting me when I’m dressing you down.”
Kayla fell silent.
“So, whilst your act of heroism undoubtedly should be recognized, it needs to be balanced against the reality that you effectively deserted your squad, without communication, or co-ordination, and without letting them catch up to support you. Leaving Corporal Rudaski here in the impossible position of splitting her squad in two, so your fire team could be led on a not-so-merry goose chase, while she held down the perimeter.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Squads may be composed of two fire teams, Barnes, but they do not separate out of contact. They are a single, cohesive unit of Rangers that support each other through thick or thin.”
Kayla nodded tiredly.
Akane cocked her head. “In hindsight everything turned out okay. But what if you had been wrong?”
Kayla met her eyes with an expression of confusion. “Ma’am?”
“As far as we know, a missile system thirty kilometers away just upped and generated its own firing solution. Someone knew we were going for Rakyer, and they tried to stop us. But what if the strike wasn’t enough? What if there was a risk of her being deeper in the chateau? What if this unknown adversary had a ground team nearby, whose job it was to approach the chateau and extract Rayker? If they had seen your movement, and gone for the perimeter covered by your weakened and distracted squad, you could be looking at four dead Rangers. Am I wrong, Barnes?”
“No, ma’am.” Kayla looked down, and felt a cold dread flooding her veins. “Ma’am I sincerely apologize for my actions. I lost control.”
“I’m not so sure,” Kes interjected. “This isn’t the first time I’ve had to speak to you about your lone-wolf approach.”
“I approved your promotion,” Lieutenant Akane said, “because you drive hard to be a better Ranger, and you push the others to keep up. As much as I hate to criticize heroic actions and quick thinking, it seems clear that you tore off because you have a deep comfort with leaving your team behind to take on the world by yourself. If you can’t get past your own ego, you’re a danger to all of us. Any more solo adventures, and I’m going to drop you back to private.”
Kayla’s stomach knotted. Up until that moment, she had been totally convinced she had been justified in taking off, but she hadn’t even considered the possibility of another threat. And, now that she was forced to think about it, why would Rayker have hung around to finish off the downed Valkyrie? She certainly knew she only had seconds to get away.
Doubt and shame swirled together through the tiredness and left Kayla with only one certainty. She didn’t have all the answers. With her lack of experience, she should obviously listen to her seniors and do her best to earn their respect. But Kes had stuck her neck out for her with the early promotion, and now she had embarrassed them both in the eyes of the platoon leader.
Kayla hung her head, and nodded her acknowledgement.
Akane rubbed her eyes. “Corporal Rudaski, you’ll put her on probation for the next three months. Any slip-ups, and I’m dropping her to private again.”
“Yes ma’am,” Kes replied.
They saluted, and watched as the lieutenant walked away. Kayla began to head back to her bunk, but Kes stopped her.
“One more thing, Barnes. If I ever hear you question one of my girls’ courage in front of the squad again, I’m going to have you transferred out of the battalion. Understand?”
Kayla was shocked. On the dropship, the thought of abandoning the hunt for Rayker had left her so angry. Had she really been that callous when she snapped at Ray?
“Yes, Corporal,” she nodded shamefully.
“That kind of leadership is a cancer that has to be destroyed before it can spread.” Her expression softened. “But I want to leave you the benefit of the doubt. Your judgment tonight wasn’t all that clear, was it? I mean, Christie was pretty vulnerable, alone in that chateau.”
Kes paused as she rubbed her neck. Kayla noticed her fingers brushing the chain of a necklace, which she knew to be identical to her own, but with more names.
“You know,” Kes said hesitantly, “we were all heartbroken by Rose’s death—”
Kayla shook her head and her words came out in a rush. “That has nothing to do with anything. Right? I am fully aware that everyone carries their own burden, and I’m carrying mine. Okay, I screwed up and made a bad call. I’ll own it in the hot wash, and I’ll commit to working on myself as a better fire team leader.”
Without waiting for a response, she turned and strode away, as icy fingers threatened to crush her heart.
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Prequel (Parts 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie

Prequel (Chapters 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie
First ¦ Previous ¦ Next ¦ Royal Road ¦ Patreon
After a little polite small talk, she let him hang for a while, occasionally offering eye contact and a warm smile. Rayker prowled frequently through the room, casting brief glances at Kolar, and Christie reminded herself not to overdo it.
As she watched the dark figure stalk away again, she escalated her apparent state of inebriation. Muttering something about the restroom, she stepped forward and jostled the unhappy looking Kolar, spilling his drink all over his badly fitted tuxedo.
“God I’m SOOO sorry,” wailed Christie, smothering the appalled man’s crotch with a napkin. “Come out into the air to let it dry.”
She dragged him, protesting furiously, out of the main room towards a quiet balcony. A pair of guards looked in on them, then moved away in embarrassment.
“We can’t go back in until it’s dried,” she declared. “What will people think? They’ll say we were—oh well you know.” She cackled.
Kolar stood helpless. “I wouldn’t dream of—totally unthinkable.” He stammered.
“Oh my deeeaaaar!” Christie cooed. “Are you saying I’m ugly?”
“Absolutely not, you are… very beautiful.”
Christie stared into his eyes with the most seductive expression of gratitude she could muster. Then she turned back to the dark mountains beyond.
“This is such a lovely spot, isn’t it?” she sighed, and took out her lipstick.
A furious looking Rayker strode out from the balcony’s doors.
“Doctor Kolar,” she snapped. “Please return with me to the main room immediately. Your behavior is entirely inappropriate. Leave this… this girl to make a fool of herself somewhere else.”
Kolar’s frightened eyes jumped from Christie’s sly grin to Rayker’s terrifying expression.
Out of options, Christie decided to go for broke. “God you’re such a bore, aren’t you, Ranky? Frigid old woman. Why don’t you let the fellow enjoy himself?” She reached a hand up to his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
Rayker’s lips turned into a sneer. “You pathetic, drunken—”
She froze, suddenly alert as her eyes snapped around the balcony.
Christie almost wanted to grab Kolar and haul him backwards into the void. Below them, the waterfall fell away down a thousand-foot cliff. Her nanite enhanced body would survive the fall, and if she positioned herself to cushion Kolar, maybe he would too. She would be hospitalized for months, but anything was better than letting Rayker take her alive.
But the woman lunged forward with impossible speed and seized Christie’s neck. “Luring me outside, is that it?” she spat.
Christie was thrown bodily back into the hallway inside. She fought to regain her senses, but the cold fingers wrapped around her throat again, and she screamed as loudly as she could. On the balcony, a pale Kolar sank to the floor in shock.
“I don’t know what you are yet, you little whore,” Rayker hissed into Christie’s ear.
Her hand came up, and the flesh of her wrist ripped open to reveal a bloody cavity, and a needle sharp spike of bone, aimed at Christie’s forehead.
“But I think you’ll soon tell me everything I want to know.”
Christie screamed again, and tried to kick her captor. She probably ought to pretend to faint, but there was no way she could fool Rayker. What the hell had she seen to tip her off? How much longer before it would all be over?
A breathless guard raced into the hallway and stopped, going pale as he caught sight of Rayker.
“What is it?” she snapped impatiently.
The guard blinked, pulled his gaze away from the woman’s mutated arm and began to speak. “There’s—”
The lights went out, and they were plunged into darkness. Christie heard the distant whir of something sliding fast down a rope.
The pressure on her throat vanished and she collapsed to the ground, just as the windows exploded. Black shapes poured into the hallway. There was a whir, a wet thunk, and a cut off scream, followed by a clatter of silenced gunshots. Christie curled into a ball to protect herself, and out of the corner of her eye she saw something like a giant spider climb onto the ceiling before reaching out an arm.
A black weapon spat another burst of fire. There was a rasping gurgle and Rayker’s body fell to the ground.
Boots stomped back and forth in a chaos of movement. As her spinning mind’s revolutions began to slow, Christie felt a firm hand on her shoulder, gently pulling her upright.
Nearby, a black-suited soldier strode away. “Target secured,” it said, in the harsh rasp of a machine voice.
Christie found herself sat upright, staring into a bug-eyed metal vizor.
“Clear! Move to the main room!” someone else announced.
The vizor slid upwards to reveal the grim face of a woman she didn’t recognize, staring at her in concern. “Are you hurt soldier?” she asked.
Christie shook her head. “I’m okay. Did someone…?”
“We have one casualty. Kolar’s secured, and Rayker is down for the count.”
Christie looked over and saw a blood-stained body in a heap in the center of the hallway. Two armed, masked figures stood over it, weapons aimed firmly. Nearby, the security guards had been bound and blindfolded.
By the balcony entrance, one of the Valkyrie had collapsed against a wall with a spike buried in her chest. As Christie stared at her, the facemask slid up to reveal the pale, gasping face of Urtiga, the Raider team’s senior NCO. Urtiga caught her eye, and winked through her grimace of pain.
Down the hall she could hear the steel-faced soldiers flooding the rooms, demanding, in robotic tones, compliance from the guests. There had been a terrorist attack in the area, they explained, but security had intervened, and the situation was under control.
Still confused by the adrenaline haze, Christie turned back to the woman checking her over. Had she spoken?
“I’m sorry?” she asked.
“I said, you did a great job,” the Raider said with a warm smile.
“Thank you,” Christie said, and felt like she wanted to throw up.
***
“All call-signs—Hera! I say again, Hera,” the radio in Kayla’s headset blared.
She punched the air as a rush of adrenaline and rage flooded her system. The operation was a success, and it felt great, but she still wanted to scream questions into her mic. Had anyone been hurt? What had happened to Christie? Was Rayker dead?
“Get some,” Ray said out loud, as others nodded.
“Stay frosty,” Kes snapped. “Watch your sectors. This isn’t over yet.”
Kayla silenced her mind and focused her eyes on the grounds of the nearby chateau. The perimeter formed by the squad of Rangers was intended to keep Rayker from escaping. But there was still the possibility that rogue security or guests could have slipped through the control of the chateau’s assaulters. If anyone made it through the mountains and back to civilization, they would begin to spread word about an attack by an unknown force and rumors would quickly circulate in Helvetic society.
Kayla didn’t think this would be such an awful development. The Helvetic League was an imperial power, intent on subjugating every human world to their control. Her home-world of Caldera was already in their tightening grip. Though she had sworn her allegiance to an organization that protected all of humanity, she couldn’t help but question her choice. Did Valkyrie have to be so aloof? Weren’t there evils threatening to engulf the human race from within?
But she kept her doubts to herself, and only shared her agonizing with the eternally patient Thandi.
Something made her glance upward, and she saw a star moving across the night sky, visible through her infra-red vizor. At first, she thought it was a nice symbol to end the mission under, but it began to change direction. With a start, Kayla saw that it was much closer than she had guessed, moving incredibly fast, and heading straight for the chateau. She tried to key her mic, but, before she could speak, the object impacted the south wall, where the Raiders and Christie had taken down Rayker.
Kayla slammed her faceplate up, and watched in horror as bright orange fire blossomed into the night. The whole squad was transfixed in silence, before they were hit by a sonic boom from the object’s flight, followed by the boom of the explosion.
“What the—” Thandi began.
“Viper two,” Kes said into her headset. “Viper two-one. We just saw what looked like a missile strike against the objective. What’s going on?”
Kayla’s heart raced. Her vision darkened around the edges and she felt herself flushing with heat. Smoke belched into the sky, while flames were already reaching the chateau’s upper floors. Christie had been near the impact point, and Urtiga, her mentor, and the woman who had recruited her into Valkyrie. In her mind she saw them laying on the ground, unconscious, as fire crept towards their bodies.
She became vaguely aware that Kes had said something to her, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away. Thandi repeated the question, but Kayla shook her head, without knowing why.
“No,” she said. “No.”
And then the squad was behind her, fading into the distance. She was sprinting, legs pumping as hard and fast as her nanite enhanced muscles could manage. She raced for the chateau wall, ignoring the outburst of yelling in her headset that had become as meaningless as static.
Kayla ran until her lungs ached and her heart threatened to burst out of her chest. She covered the half-mile to the building in less than two minutes, and when she reached its walls she jumped for a first floor window frame. Outstretched fingers grasped at the smooth metal lining, but didn’t slip. She had been a strong climber since she had learned to walk, and the chateau’s structure, with its ornate façade and prominent stone slabs, wasn’t much of a challenge.
Smoke was billowing out from a hole in the fourth floor, and she moved as close as she could. She managed to haul herself over a balcony, and smashed through a locked door into a noisy haze. Guests were screaming in terror, while robotic voices yelled commands as the Raiders tried to get control of the situation.
Thick fumes made Kayla’s eyes smart, and she dropped her vizor, selecting infra-red. Further down the corridor, an intense heat source glowed through the hellish obscurity. Kayla headed straight for it. Wherever the other Valkyrie had been, she knew she had to go to the point of impact first. That would be where she would find the most severe casualties.
A sharp scream made her skin crawl, and she rounded a corner, only for her display to blind her with white light. She flipped her vizor to see a ghastly scene. The missile had destroyed the balcony and hallway, leaving a dark void visible through the ragged hole. Fire crawled up the walls, while black suited bodies carpeted the floor. Rayker was crouching among them, blackened with soot and covered in blood. She held one of her spikes like a dagger, ready to strike. With her other hand, she had seized hold of another, buried in a fallen body. She tugged at the needle and pulled it free, then stood to see Kayla staring directly at her.
Kayla shivered in her glare of manic rage.
In the split seconds that followed, years of training came to her aid. Before she could even think her hands were moving, ignoring the stun rifle that hung from her back, and seizing hold of the pistol in her leg holster.
She sidestepped as Rayker flung a spike towards her that buried itself several inches into the wall. Kayla’s gun, almost of its own volition, rose up to her chest and began to orient towards her enemy. Even before she was aware of the sights in her vision, Kayla was pulling the trigger, sending rounds down the hallway in a gradually tightening circle.
The flash and kick of the weapon appeared to pass in slow motion, but Rayker was already moving, darting away from the bullets. Kayla tried to adjust, but she was too slow, and watched helplessly as the most dangerous woman in the galaxy flung herself out into the night. She hung for a brief instant, like a high-diver, and then fell, straight down through the waterfall into the valley below.
Kayla felt a click, and shifted her eyes from the empty sky to see her pistol’s slide locked back. Then she refocused onto the pile of bodies before her.
“Hey?” she called. “Is anyone alive?”
She started to drag bodies as fast as she could away from the flames, hoping that someone had remained conscious.
“Kayla?” a soft voice called from somewhere out of sight.
Kayla wiped away tears and raced forward. She dug beneath an unconscious pair of Raiders until she found a pale, unprotected arm. Then she hauled, until a cursing, soot blackened and shaking Christie emerged.
“Jesus, are you okay? What the hell happened?” Kayla asked.
Christie coughed and spluttered but waved away the concerned and probing hands that were checking her for injuries.
“Call the medics in,” she said.
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Prequel (Chapters 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie

Prequel (Parts 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie
First ¦ Previous ¦ Next ¦ Royal Road ¦ Patreon
After a little polite small talk, she let him hang for a while, occasionally offering eye contact and a warm smile. Rayker prowled frequently through the room, casting brief glances at Kolar, and Christie reminded herself not to overdo it.
As she watched the dark figure stalk away again, she escalated her apparent state of inebriation. Muttering something about the restroom, she stepped forward and jostled the unhappy looking Kolar, spilling his drink all over his badly fitted tuxedo.
“God I’m SOOO sorry,” wailed Christie, smothering the appalled man’s crotch with a napkin. “Come out into the air to let it dry.”
She dragged him, protesting furiously, out of the main room towards a quiet balcony. A pair of guards looked in on them, then moved away in embarrassment.
“We can’t go back in until it’s dried,” she declared. “What will people think? They’ll say we were—oh well you know.” She cackled.
Kolar stood helpless. “I wouldn’t dream of—totally unthinkable.” He stammered.
“Oh my deeeaaaar!” Christie cooed. “Are you saying I’m ugly?”
“Absolutely not, you are… very beautiful.”
Christie stared into his eyes with the most seductive expression of gratitude she could muster. Then she turned back to the dark mountains beyond.
“This is such a lovely spot, isn’t it?” she sighed, and took out her lipstick.
A furious looking Rayker strode out from the balcony’s doors.
“Doctor Kolar,” she snapped. “Please return with me to the main room immediately. Your behavior is entirely inappropriate. Leave this… this girl to make a fool of herself somewhere else.”
Kolar’s frightened eyes jumped from Christie’s sly grin to Rayker’s terrifying expression.
Out of options, Christie decided to go for broke. “God you’re such a bore, aren’t you, Ranky? Frigid old woman. Why don’t you let the fellow enjoy himself?” She reached a hand up to his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
Rayker’s lips turned into a sneer. “You pathetic, drunken—”
She froze, suddenly alert as her eyes snapped around the balcony.
Christie almost wanted to grab Kolar and haul him backwards into the void. Below them, the waterfall fell away down a thousand-foot cliff. Her nanite enhanced body would survive the fall, and if she positioned herself to cushion Kolar, maybe he would too. She would be hospitalized for months, but anything was better than letting Rayker take her alive.
But the woman lunged forward with impossible speed and seized Christie’s neck. “Luring me outside, is that it?” she spat.
Christie was thrown bodily back into the hallway inside. She fought to regain her senses, but the cold fingers wrapped around her throat again, and she screamed as loudly as she could. On the balcony, a pale Kolar sank to the floor in shock.
“I don’t know what you are yet, you little whore,” Rayker hissed into Christie’s ear.
Her hand came up, and the flesh of her wrist ripped open to reveal a bloody cavity, and a needle sharp spike of bone, aimed at Christie’s forehead.
“But I think you’ll soon tell me everything I want to know.”
Christie screamed again, and tried to kick her captor. She probably ought to pretend to faint, but there was no way she could fool Rayker. What the hell had she seen to tip her off? How much longer before it would all be over?
A breathless guard raced into the hallway and stopped, going pale as he caught sight of Rayker.
“What is it?” she snapped impatiently.
The guard blinked, pulled his gaze away from the woman’s mutated arm and began to speak. “There’s—”
The lights went out, and they were plunged into darkness. Christie heard the distant whir of something sliding fast down a rope.
The pressure on her throat vanished and she collapsed to the ground, just as the windows exploded. Black shapes poured into the hallway. There was a whir, a wet thunk, and a cut off scream, followed by a clatter of silenced gunshots. Christie curled into a ball to protect herself, and out of the corner of her eye she saw something like a giant spider climb onto the ceiling before reaching out an arm.
A black weapon spat another burst of fire. There was a rasping gurgle and Rayker’s body fell to the ground.
Boots stomped back and forth in a chaos of movement. As her spinning mind’s revolutions began to slow, Christie felt a firm hand on her shoulder, gently pulling her upright.
Nearby, a black-suited soldier strode away. “Target secured,” it said, in the harsh rasp of a machine voice.
Christie found herself sat upright, staring into a bug-eyed metal vizor.
“Clear! Move to the main room!” someone else announced.
The vizor slid upwards to reveal the grim face of a woman she didn’t recognize, staring at her in concern. “Are you hurt soldier?” she asked.
Christie shook her head. “I’m okay. Did someone…?”
“We have one casualty. Kolar’s secured, and Rayker is down for the count.”
Christie looked over and saw a blood-stained body in a heap in the center of the hallway. Two armed, masked figures stood over it, weapons aimed firmly. Nearby, the security guards had been bound and blindfolded.
By the balcony entrance, one of the Valkyrie had collapsed against a wall with a spike buried in her chest. As Christie stared at her, the facemask slid up to reveal the pale, gasping face of Urtiga, the Raider team’s senior NCO. Urtiga caught her eye, and winked through her grimace of pain.
Down the hall she could hear the steel-faced soldiers flooding the rooms, demanding, in robotic tones, compliance from the guests. There had been a terrorist attack in the area, they explained, but security had intervened, and the situation was under control.
Still confused by the adrenaline haze, Christie turned back to the woman checking her over. Had she spoken?
“I’m sorry?” she asked.
“I said, you did a great job,” the Raider said with a warm smile.
“Thank you,” Christie said, and felt like she wanted to throw up.
***
“All call-signs—Hera! I say again, Hera,” the radio in Kayla’s headset blared.
She punched the air as a rush of adrenaline and rage flooded her system. The operation was a success, and it felt great, but she still wanted to scream questions into her mic. Had anyone been hurt? What had happened to Christie? Was Rayker dead?
“Get some,” Ray said out loud, as others nodded.
“Stay frosty,” Kes snapped. “Watch your sectors. This isn’t over yet.”
Kayla silenced her mind and focused her eyes on the grounds of the nearby chateau. The perimeter formed by the squad of Rangers was intended to keep Rayker from escaping. But there was still the possibility that rogue security or guests could have slipped through the control of the chateau’s assaulters. If anyone made it through the mountains and back to civilization, they would begin to spread word about an attack by an unknown force and rumors would quickly circulate in Helvetic society.
Kayla didn’t think this would be such an awful development. The Helvetic League was an imperial power, intent on subjugating every human world to their control. Her home-world of Caldera was already in their tightening grip. Though she had sworn her allegiance to an organization that protected all of humanity, she couldn’t help but question her choice. Did Valkyrie have to be so aloof? Weren’t there evils threatening to engulf the human race from within?
But she kept her doubts to herself, and only shared her agonizing with the eternally patient Thandi.
Something made her glance upward, and she saw a star moving across the night sky, visible through her infra-red vizor. At first, she thought it was a nice symbol to end the mission under, but it began to change direction. With a start, Kayla saw that it was much closer than she had guessed, moving incredibly fast, and heading straight for the chateau. She tried to key her mic, but, before she could speak, the object impacted the south wall, where the Raiders and Christie had taken down Rayker.
Kayla slammed her faceplate up, and watched in horror as bright orange fire blossomed into the night. The whole squad was transfixed in silence, before they were hit by a sonic boom from the object’s flight, followed by the boom of the explosion.
“What the—” Thandi began.
“Viper two,” Kes said into her headset. “Viper two-one. We just saw what looked like a missile strike against the objective. What’s going on?”
Kayla’s heart raced. Her vision darkened around the edges and she felt herself flushing with heat. Smoke belched into the sky, while flames were already reaching the chateau’s upper floors. Christie had been near the impact point, and Urtiga, her mentor, and the woman who had recruited her into Valkyrie. In her mind she saw them laying on the ground, unconscious, as fire crept towards their bodies.
She became vaguely aware that Kes had said something to her, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away. Thandi repeated the question, but Kayla shook her head, without knowing why.
“No,” she said. “No.”
And then the squad was behind her, fading into the distance. She was sprinting, legs pumping as hard and fast as her nanite enhanced muscles could manage. She raced for the chateau wall, ignoring the outburst of yelling in her headset that had become as meaningless as static.
Kayla ran until her lungs ached and her heart threatened to burst out of her chest. She covered the half-mile to the building in less than two minutes, and when she reached its walls she jumped for a first floor window frame. Outstretched fingers grasped at the smooth metal lining, but didn’t slip. She had been a strong climber since she had learned to walk, and the chateau’s structure, with its ornate façade and prominent stone slabs, wasn’t much of a challenge.
Smoke was billowing out from a hole in the fourth floor, and she moved as close as she could. She managed to haul herself over a balcony, and smashed through a locked door into a noisy haze. Guests were screaming in terror, while robotic voices yelled commands as the Raiders tried to get control of the situation.
Thick fumes made Kayla’s eyes smart, and she dropped her vizor, selecting infra-red. Further down the corridor, an intense heat source glowed through the hellish obscurity. Kayla headed straight for it. Wherever the other Valkyrie had been, she knew she had to go to the point of impact first. That would be where she would find the most severe casualties.
A sharp scream made her skin crawl, and she rounded a corner, only for her display to blind her with white light. She flipped her vizor to see a ghastly scene. The missile had destroyed the balcony and hallway, leaving a dark void visible through the ragged hole. Fire crawled up the walls, while black suited bodies carpeted the floor. Rayker was crouching among them, blackened with soot and covered in blood. She held one of her spikes like a dagger, ready to strike. With her other hand, she had seized hold of another, buried in a fallen body. She tugged at the needle and pulled it free, then stood to see Kayla staring directly at her.
Kayla shivered in her glare of manic rage.
In the split seconds that followed, years of training came to her aid. Before she could even think her hands were moving, ignoring the stun rifle that hung from her back, and seizing hold of the pistol in her leg holster.
She sidestepped as Rayker flung a spike towards her that buried itself several inches into the wall. Kayla’s gun, almost of its own volition, rose up to her chest and began to orient towards her enemy. Even before she was aware of the sights in her vision, Kayla was pulling the trigger, sending rounds down the hallway in a gradually tightening circle.
The flash and kick of the weapon appeared to pass in slow motion, but Rayker was already moving, darting away from the bullets. Kayla tried to adjust, but she was too slow, and watched helplessly as the most dangerous woman in the galaxy flung herself out into the night. She hung for a brief instant, like a high-diver, and then fell, straight down through the waterfall into the valley below.
Kayla felt a click, and shifted her eyes from the empty sky to see her pistol’s slide locked back. Then she refocused onto the pile of bodies before her.
“Hey?” she called. “Is anyone alive?”
She started to drag bodies as fast as she could away from the flames, hoping that someone had remained conscious.
“Kayla?” a soft voice called from somewhere out of sight.
Kayla wiped away tears and raced forward. She dug beneath an unconscious pair of Raiders until she found a pale, unprotected arm. Then she hauled, until a cursing, soot blackened and shaking Christie emerged.
“Jesus, are you okay? What the hell happened?” Kayla asked.
Christie coughed and spluttered but waved away the concerned and probing hands that were checking her for injuries.
“Call the medics in,” she said.
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Prequel (Parts 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie

As far back as I can remember, I had always been passionate about the great outdoors. My love for the wilderness began when I joined the scouts, exploring the diverse landscapes of Southern California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. I was never a huge fan of the dry, barren landscapes, but camping provided a much-needed escape from the monotony of Orange County suburbia.
The first time I visited the Pacific Northwest, I was enchanted. The scenery was breathtaking—majestic mountains, lush fields, and meandering rivers. It was clear that anyone who praised the desert's beauty had never laid eyes on the Cascades. Seeing grass and wildflowers growing without irrigation was practically a revelation.
When I was old enough, I moved to Washington state, immersing myself in nature every weekend. My adventures took me hiking through dense forests, camping by serene lakes, and occasionally taking mushrooms under peaceful waterfalls.
I joined several online forums dedicated to outdoor enthusiasts. One community that particularly fascinated me was the Northwest Tomb Raiders. This group of history buffs and thrill-seekers was dedicated to uncovering artifacts, whether Native American relics or treasures hidden in modern ruins. Many members were collectors, fencing their finds to museums and archaeologists, which made it a rather profitable side gig, should you be lucky enough.
In the fall of 2009, an intriguing post appeared on the forum. A user named Lokk claimed to have discovered a cache of artifacts with Scandinavian origins. He couldn't carry everything back due to the treacherous terrain and his age, so he shared the coordinates, hoping someone else could retrieve the items. I scrolled down to see a few posts of people planning to loot it in the Spring, when the paths have reopened. One user, Patagooner, planned on going as early as possible.
Excited by the prospect, I gathered my two friends, Carl and Noah, for the expedition. They weren't as enthusiastic about camping as I was, but after I told them how much a single arrowhead goes for on the black market, they were on board. It was the start of winter now, which had its advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, the rangers would have a harder time spotting us. On the downside, the harsh conditions posed a serious challenge for two inexperienced hikers.
I must’ve blown about four grand at REI on gear for them, justifying it with the knowledge of how much more I would make with two extra packs. That is of course assuming there really were as many artifacts as Lokk had said, and Patagooner hadn’t beaten me there.
The journey began like any other. We met in the pre-dawn darkness and went over our supplies, ensuring we had everything we needed. By mid-morning, we were on our way, my pickup truck winding up the mountain paths. The roads of Olympic National Park were the epitome of the raw, untamed beauty of the Pacific Northwest.
They snake through ancient forests, where towering Douglas firs and Western hemlocks create a verdant canopy overhead. Mist clings to the trees, giving the landscape an ethereal quality. Occasionally, the forest would open up to reveal breathtaking vistas of snow-capped peaks and deep, shadowy valleys.
As we climbed higher, the landscape grew increasingly desolate. The dense forest thinned out, replaced by rugged terrain and jagged rock formations. The air grew colder, and the first flurries of snow began to fall, dusting the ground in a thin, white layer. The road became narrower and more treacherous, winding precariously along the edge of steep cliffs.
Finally, a road closure blockade signaled the end of our journey in the truck. We unloaded three dirt bikes—one mine, two rentals—and continued up the trail. The bikes roared to life, carrying us several more miles into the wilderness. The trail twisted and turned, cutting through dense underbrush and over fallen logs. The snow began to fall more heavily, blanketing the forest floor and muffling the sound of our engines. The world around us grew quieter, more isolated.
Eventually, the snow became too deep to traverse by bike. We dismounted and prepared to continue on foot. The silence of the forest was profound, broken only by the occasional rustle of branches in the wind. I checked my modern GPS, its screen displaying the coordinates and a relief map of our destination.
The cold air bit into our cheeks as we trudged through the snow-laden forest. The silence was almost oppressive, broken only by the crunch of our footsteps and the occasional call of distant wildlife. The GPS indicated we were close to our destination, but the dense underbrush and uneven terrain made progress slow.
Suddenly, Carl's excited whisper cut through the stillness. "Hey, look at that!"
He pointed to a small, furry creature ambling through the trees. It took a moment to realize what it was—a bear cub, innocently exploring its surroundings.
My heart sank. "Carl, get back," I hissed, my voice low but urgent. "Where there's a cub, there's a..."
Before I could finish, a massive shape exploded from the trees. The mother bear, easily three times the size of the cub, charged at Carl with a ferocity. She was a blur of dark fur and powerful muscles, her roar echoing through the forest.
"Run!" I yelled, but it was too late. The bear was upon Carl, swiping at him with her massive paws. He screamed as he fell to the ground, the bear towering over him. Desperation and adrenaline surged through me. I grabbed the nearest heavy branch and swung it at the bear, hoping to distract her.
Noah joined in, shouting and waving his arms. We had to be careful; one wrong move and she would turn on us. The bear snarled, turning her attention away from Carl for just a moment. It was enough for him to scramble backwards, clutching his bleeding arm.
"We have to get him out of here," I shouted to Noah, who nodded, fear etched on his face. The bear, still enraged, seemed torn between attacking us and protecting her cub.
Using the brief respite, we hauled Carl to his feet. His face was white, and he was clearly in shock. Blood soaked his sleeve, dripping onto the snow. "There's a ranger station about two miles from here," I said, my voice shaking. "We need to get him there. Now."
We half-carried, half-dragged Carl through the forest, every shadow and sound heightening our paranoia.
Finally, after what felt like forever, the small, wooden structure of the ranger station came into view. We had been avoiding the rangers to keep our expedition secret, but now it was our only hope.
Pounding on the door, I prayed for a quick response. The door creaked open, and a weathered face appeared. "What happened?" the ranger demanded, taking in the sight of Carl's bloodied form.
"Bear attack," I gasped. "We need help."
The ranger's expression shifted from suspicion to urgency. "Get him inside. We've got a first aid kit and a radio."
As we eased Carl onto a makeshift bed, the ranger inspected his wounds. "You're lucky," he said after a moment. "The cuts are deep, but they missed any major arteries. He'll need stitches, but we can handle that here. No need for an airlift."
The ranger's face darkened as he turned to me. "What the hell are you boys doing out here?”
I hesitated, "We... we were just exploring."
The ranger's eyes narrowed, his anger palpable. "Exploring? In a restricted area? In the middle of winter? Are you out of your minds?"
He worked quickly and efficiently, cleaning and stitching Carl's wounds. Carl winced but stayed silent, his eyes closed in pain.
"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is out here?" the ranger continued, his voice rising. "The storm, the wildlife... This area is off-limits for a reason! You should have known better." he said, pushing a finger into my chest.
"We'll stay here for the night," he continued, "The storm's getting worse, and it's too dangerous to move him now. We'll reassess in the morning. And count yourself lucky I don't arrest your asses."
Night fell quickly, the storm outside growing more ferocious with each passing minute. The howling wind battered the small ranger station, and the walls creaked under the pressure. We huddled in the main room, the tension thick in the air.
The ranger looked at us sternly. "I need to check the perimeter and make sure everything is secure. There are things out there you don’t want to encounter, especially in this storm."
"Things? What do you mean?" Noah asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
The ranger's expression hardened. "Just stay put. No matter what you see or hear, do not leave this cabin. Understood?"
We nodded, the seriousness in his tone leaving no room for argument. "We'll stay put," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt.
The ranger grabbed his coat and shotgun. "I'll be back in an hour. Do not leave this cabin." With that, he opened the door and stepped into the raging storm, disappearing into the darkness.
As soon as the door closed, I turned to Noah. "We need to go. Now."
Noah's eyes widened. "Are you crazy? He said to stay put."
"If we wait until morning, we'll be escorted out of here and lose our chance. This might be our only opportunity to find those artifacts."
Noah hesitated with uncertainty "But... what about Carl?"
"He'll be fine here. The ranger can take care of him. We have to do this now."
Reluctantly, Noah nodded. "Alright. Let's take what we can and go."
We quickly looted extra gear from the cabin. I checked the GPS one last time before we slipped out into the storm, the cold wind battering us.
The snow fell heavily, obscuring our vision as we slogged through the forest. The ranger was nowhere in sight as we made our way towards the our destination, each step filled with trepidatious excitement.
The storm began to die down as we approached the coordinates. We stepped into a clearing where the undisturbed snow lay like a pristine white blanket. In the center stood an ancient, weathered stone altar, encircled by intricate wooden carvings, delicate metalwork, and beautifully crafted statues. The sight was breathtaking, a treasure trove, a veritable museum of paganism.
Noah and I exchanged glances, our eyes wide with amazement. "Do you see this?" I whispered, barely able to contain my excitement.
"We're going to be rich," Noah replied, his voice trembling with awe. "These must be worth a fortune!"
We approached cautiously, as if the vision before us might disappear. The craftsmanship was stunning. I reached out to touch a carved wooden idol, marveling at the detail. "This is incredible," I said, my voice barely audible.
We began to load our packs with as many artifacts as we could carry, each one more exquisite than the last. It was beyond our wildest dreams. We were so engrossed in our task that we didn't notice the small figure watching us from the ridge.
It wasn't until I turned to leave that I saw her. A young girl, maybe eight years old, stood there, her blue eyes wide with curiosity. She was dressed in simple, rustic clothing, her blonde straight hair blowing gently in the wind. For a moment, we just stared at each other.
"Noah," I whispered urgently, nudging him. "Look."
He turned, his eyes following my gaze. "What the...?" he muttered, his voice trailing off.
The girl took a tentative step forward, her eyes fixed on the items in our hands. There was no fear in her gaze, only a quiet intensity that made my skin crawl.
"Who are you?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
She tilted her head slightly. "My name is Sigyn."
"What are you doing out here, Sigyn?" Noah asked, his voice shaky.
"I live here,"
"You live here?" I echoed, incredulous. "Is there anyone else around?"
"Yes," she whispered.
"Where?" Noah demanded, looking around nervously.
"Everywhere," she said with a giggle.
The way she said it, so matter-of-factly, bothered me deeply. Noah and I exchanged a look, both of us trying to figure out what to do next.
"We can't take her back to the ranger," Noah started, "We'll lose everything."
I nodded, my mind racing. "Sigyn," I said slowly, "we need to know who else is here. Can you help us?"
She looked at me with her piercing blue eyes, then said, "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Noah asked.
"For what's going to happen to you," she replied, her voice tinged with sadness.
"You need to tell us what's going on," Noah said, grabbing her arm roughly. "Why are you out here alone?"
She looked up at him, unperturbed. "I am not alone," she said softly.
Before we could press her further, a loud, guttural mooing sound echoed through the clearing. We turned towards the direction the girl had come from, and there, emerging from the shadows, was the silhouette of an elk. As it approached, my stomach dropped. Its body was a grotesque amalgamation of life and decay. Its skull was fully exposed, the eye sockets dark and empty. Large patches of its ribs were visible, the flesh around them rotted away.
The elk's movements were slow and deliberate, its head swaying as if in a trance. It walked directly towards us, its hollow eyes fixed on Sigyn. The closer it got, the more the stench of death filled the air—a nauseating mix of decay and earth. I fought the urge to retch.
Sigyn stood up, her expression calm. The monster sniffed her gently, its nostrils flaring. Without a word, she climbed onto its back, mounting it like a horse. It was a surreal and horrifying scene ripped straight from a nightmare.
As she settled onto the elk, she looked back at us, "A thief in the night shall reap what he sows," she said, her voice carrying an otherworldly echo. "Beware the price of stolen dreams."
With that, the beast turned and began to walk away, Sigyn riding it into the shadows of the forest. We stood there, frozen in place. The realization that we were in far over our heads began to sink in. This started to feel like a trap.
We need to get out of here," My voice trembling. "Now."
We turned to leave, our packs heavy with the pilfered goods. But as we took our first steps, the forest around us seemed to come alive. Shadows moved among the trees, and whispers floated on the wind. I quickened my pace, glancing nervously over my shoulder.
"Did you hear that?" Noah asked sharply,
"Just keep moving," I commanded.
A figure emerged from the shadows, blocking our path. It was a man, tall and gaunt, his eyes burning with an intense light. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked, his voice cold and menacing.
"We're leaving," I stammered. "We didn't mean any harm."
The man smirked, and with a swift motion, he raised his hand. More figures appeared, closing in on us from all sides. We were surrounded.
"Run!" I shouted, shoving Noah forward.
We sprinted through the forest, branches whipping at our faces and legs. The figures pursued us, their footsteps silent and relentless.
Noah stumbled and fell, his pack spilling open. Statues scattered across the ground, glinting in the moonlight. "Help!" he cried, scrambling to gather the items.
"Leave them!" I shouted, pulling him to his feet. "We have to keep moving!"
But it was too late, their hands seizing us. I struggled, kicking and thrashing, but their grips were too strong. They forced us to the ground, binding our hands with rough, coarse ropes.
"Please," I begged, "Don't hurt us."
The man who had first appeared stepped forward, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "A thief in the night," he mocked.
They dragged us through the forest, the trees closing in around us like a cage. We were at their mercy.
In the distance, I could see the elk standing at the edge of the clearing, Sigyn still astride its back. Her eyes met mine, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of pity. But then they turned away, disappearing into the shadows once more.
We were dragged into the heart of the forest, our struggles futile against the unyielding grip of our captors. As we broke through the treeline, a massive bonfire came into view, its flames licking the night sky. Shadows danced around the clearing, cast by the flickering light. A woman stood at the forefront, her presence commanding.
Her eyes were milk white, devoid of pupils, and her long, flowing white hair cascaded down her back. She was completely naked, her skin pale and marked with intricate symbols. Atop her head, she wore an elk skull, its antlers extending like eerie, skeletal fingers. She beat a drum emblazoned with more of the same cryptic symbols, each thud resonating deep within my chest.
Around the fire, about two dozen people stood, all drinking from crude, horned cups. Their faces were solemn, eyes fixed on the woman as she led them in a haunting chant. The atmosphere was thick with a mix of reverence and intoxication.
We were forced to our knees before the woman, who paused her drumming to look down at us. Her gaze was haunting, as if she could see into the very depths of our souls.
"Who are you?" Noah demanded, his voice trembling.
The woman ignored him, raising her arms to the sky. The chanting grew louder, the rhythm of the drum faster and more frenzied. The air around us seemed to vibrate with energy, the flames of the bonfire growing higher and more intense.
I glanced at Noah, fear mirrored in his eyes. The woman began to speak, her voice low and melodic, but filled with power, in a language I couldn't understand. Suddenly, she stopped, lowering her arms. The chanting ceased, and an silence fell over the clearing. She looked directly at me, her white eyes unblinking.
En tjuv i natten skördar vad han sår, akta dig för drömmar som du stjäl och får.
Hans skratt bevakar lundens gömda stig, där skuggor sveper över skogens liv.
För varje stulet andetag och svek, måste en tjuv möta sitt smärtsamma ödelek.
Tricksterns vilja, vår ande här, så i hans nåd, våra liv bär.
I was terrified and confused. She started again, softer, in a way I could understand.
A thief in the night shall reap what he sows, beware the price of stolen dreams.
His laughter guards our hidden groves, where shadows cloak the forest's seams.
For every stolen breath and lie, a thief must meet his painful end.
The tricksters will, our spirits tie, so in his grace, our lives suspend.
The crowd surged forward, grabbing Noah first. He screamed, his terror echoing through the trees as they pulled him towards a makeshift altar beside the bonfire. The woman chanted louder, her voice rising in a hypnotic rhythm as they began their gruesome work.
They stripped him of his shirt and bound his arms to a wooden frame. I tried to move, to help him, but the grip on my shoulders tightened, pinning me to the ground.
The woman approached Noah, holding a knife with a blade that gleamed in the firelight. She started to slice into his back, her movements deliberate and unhurried. Noah's screams pierced the night as she methodically carved the shape of wings into his flesh.
Blood poured from the wounds, soaking the ground beneath him. The crowd's chant grew louder, almost drowning out his cries. I watched in horror as the woman reached into the incisions, breaking the ribs and pulling them outward, creating a parody of wings.
Noah's agony was unbearable to witness. His screams turned to whimpers, his body convulsing in pain. The woman didn't stop until the work was complete, his lungs exposed and hanging grotesquely from his back.
They lifted Noah's broken body and placed him over the fire. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, making me gag. His life ebbed away as the flames consumed him, the once vibrant light in his eyes fading to nothing.
The woman turned to me, her expression devoid of mercy. "You will meet the same fate," she said, "He demands it."
The smell of burning flesh and the sight of his broken body over the fire was seared into my mind. Despair settled over me as I closed my eyes.
A deafening blast shattered the night. My eyes flew open to see the shaman stumbling backward, a gaping wound in her chest. She collapsed to the ground, her white eyes staring lifelessly into the void.
The villagers turned in shock as another shot rang out, this time hitting one of the men holding me. I twisted free from their grasp and saw the park ranger standing at the edge of the clearing, a pump-action shotgun in his hands. He fired again, the sound echoing through the forest, before one of them tackled him to the ground.
"Run!" he shouted, his voice raw and desperate. "Get the hell out of here!"
I didn't need to be told twice. I sprinted into the darkness, the chaos of the clearing fading behind me. Branches whipped at my face, and the snow underfoot made every step a struggle. I could hear the sounds of fighting and gunshots, but I forced myself to keep moving.
The cold air burned in my lungs, but adrenaline pushed me forward. I didn't stop until I reached the station, my legs threatening to give out from under me. I burst through the door and slammed it behind me.
Inside, Carl lay where we had left him, his face pale and twisted in pain. I stumbled to the radio, my hands trembling as I fumbled with the controls.
"Mayday, mayday!" I yelled into the microphone. "This is an emergency! We need help! Please, someone, come quickly!"
Static filled the room, punctuated by my ragged breaths. I repeated the call, my voice growing more frantic with each passing second. Finally, a voice crackled through the speaker. "This is Ranger Station Bravo. What's your location? Over."
I could barely form the words. "Olympic National Park! The ranger station near mount Christie! We're under attack! Please, send help!"
"Copy that. Help is on the way. Stay put and stay safe. Over."
I collapsed to the floor, my body trembling with exhaustion and fear. Carl moaned softly, his eyes fluttering open. "What… What happened? Where's Noah?”
Tears streamed down my face and I found myself choked up. “He’s gone, man. Help is coming.”
The minutes stretched into an eternity as we waited. The wind howled around the station, and every creak and groan of the structure set my nerves on edge. I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched, that the forest itself was closing in on us.
The radio crackled again, this time with a different voice. "Helicopter en route, ETA fifteen minutes. Prepare for extraction."
I glanced at Carl, his eyes filled with confusion. "Hang on. We're getting out of here."
As the minutes ticked by, I couldn't help but think about the ranger. He had saved my life, but he hadn't made it back. My mind conjured up images of what might have happened to him, the cultists overwhelming him in the darkness. A sense of guilt gnawed at me, knowing he had sacrificed himself for us.
The sound of rotors cut through the night, growing louder as the helicopter approached. I ran to the window and saw its searchlight piercing the treetops, scanning for the station.
I helped Carl to his feet, supporting his weight as we made our way to the hatch. The helicopter hovered above, lowering a rescue basket. The wind from the rotors whipped the snow into a frenzy, but I didn't care. Salvation was finally here.
We secured Carl in the basket first, and I watched as he was hoisted up, disappearing into the safety of the helicopter. My turn was next. I realized that I was now alone and exposed. Fear coursing through me as I scanned around the edge of the forest, expecting to be grabbed and taken seconds before my rescue. But the moment never came. As I gripped the rope, I took one last look at the forest below. The flames of the bonfire still flickered in the distance.
I was lifted into the air, the ground falling away beneath me. The helicopter's crew pulled me inside, and I collapsed onto the floor still holding onto my pack, my body finally giving in to exhaustion. The doors closed, and the helicopter banked away, leaving the horrors of the park behind.
Weeks had passed since the harrowing events, but the memories clung to me like the bitter cold. I had returned to civilization, seeking solace in the familiar chaos of the city. I found a wealthy collector through a network of contacts. The artifacts fetched a price tenfold the cost of gear. The money was substantial, but as I held the cash, it felt like a hollow victory.
Noah's absence weighed heavily on me. His disappearance was chalked up as a missing persons case, and despite my best efforts to explain what had happened, no one believed me. The authorities conducted a search of the area, but they found no trace of the cult, the artifacts, or the clearing. It was as if the forest had swallowed up all the evidence.
I returned to the site where we had parked the truck. The dirt bikes were gone, stolen by opportunistic thieves, but the truck remained. I drove back in silence, the road winding through the dense forest. For a moment, I thought I saw the girl watching me from atop a ridge until I realized it was just paranoia. I stepped on the gas a little harder.
Back home, I checked the Tomb Raiders forum again. The post that had led us into the forest was gone, deleted without a trace. I messaged the mods, but apparently, they don’t keep records to maintain confidentiality. I wrote about our experience, detailing every terrifying moment, but the responses were skeptical at best. Most dismissed it as a work of fiction or a desperate cry for attention.
Time passed, and I tried to return to a semblance of normalcy. Yet, the wilderness called to me stronger than ever. It was my sanctuary, the only place where I could find peace amidst the turmoil. I spent more and more time outdoors than ever before, but now it always felt like I was just running from something.
Determined to prove what had happened, I returned to the forest with a camera and recording equipment. This time, I documented every step, capturing footage of the trees, the snow, and the eerie silence that hung in the air. I retraced our path, hoping to find the clearing again. But each night, as I reviewed the footage, something strange would happen. The files would be corrupted or entire segments missing.
I pressed on. I found the site where Noah had fallen, the ground still bearing faint traces of what had happened. I set up the camera and began to speak, recounting the events in detail. As I spoke, a cold wind swept through the clearing, and the camera's screen flickered. I finished my account and turned to check the recording, only to find the file corrupted once again, the footage replaced by static and a faint, mocking laughter.
I returned home, defeated and exhausted. My attempts to share what I had experienced were met with disbelief and ridicule. The files I managed to save were corrupted beyond recognition. It was as if the forest itself was conspiring against me.
Almost exactly one year later, as I browsed the forums, a new post caught my eye. It was cryptic, eerily similar to the one that had led us into the nightmare. It spoke of another trove of artifacts, hidden deep within the wilderness, waiting to be claimed.
The post was signed with a new name: Skygge. Different handle, same style. Another trap. They had taken so much from me, left scars that would never heal. I opened my drawer, my fingers brushing over the cold metal of my weapons. This was the moment I had been waiting for. This time, I'll be ready.
The forest’s secrets won't remain hidden forever.

Six years together. 2024 has been quite a year so far. My boyfriend has been out of work for almost 5 months, which is yearly occurrence since his main source of income is from doing gig work with a local transportation company. He has been applying to jobs with an out of date resume, he hasn't had that much luck in finding work. When I suggested taking on a temporary job at a grocery store or cafe to stay afloat until his main job starts up again, he became extremely upset and said that those jobs were beneath him.
In these past 5 months he has been playing video games, smoking weed in my bathroom, randomly leaving at all hours to hang out with his friends. He doesn't help with any chores, out of fear for my safety I purchased him a new phone when he broke his, paid for two months worth of phone bills, purchase work boots, and allowed him to shake me down for cash to buy weed.
Even though he tries to gaslight me but saying that this is first year that he hasn't been without work, it hasn't been. Every year since he quit his job during covid(2020)and moved into my apt. he has had periods of no work and very little to no money. He just games and smokes those months away. He berates me for not cooking or cleaning when I was working two jobs and he was working none. When he finally did get a new job thanks to his dad helping him, he refused to contribute financially even though he saw how physically and mentally exhausted I was from working 6 days a week. He said I didn't deserve help. He treats me terribly whenever I help him out. He has forced me to pay his taxes, give him one of my stimulus bills, buy him food. He becomes irate if things aren't exactly how he wants it. He loves to make plans only to cancel at the last minute and then gaslight me about it. He would refuse to go out with me to events but then drop everything to go hang out with his friends.
I always told him that if he can't contribute financially due to not having enough or having work, it's fine but he should contribute by doinf household chores. He refuses.
I think what is going on is that my mind is trying to protect me by compartmentalizing and lessen the gravity of the situation and of what occurred this past weekend. I see the signs of being in an abusive relationship but I don't fully believe that I am in one because it doesn't fit what we all have been told are the signs of an abusive relationship.
In February he pushed some storage bins into me, one of which broke and cut me in my back because I told his parents that he hadn't been working for the past two months.
This past weekend which we were walking through a soon to be closed mall, I had been recording the beautiful 80's/90's architecture when he said wait, I instinctively turned around and he was scratching himself. I laughed a little bit and turned back and continued walking. Since I had my phone in my hand he thought I had recorded him, he rushed down the hallway angrily asking me if I recorded him and to give him my phone. I said I didn't and kept walking,I was wearing a hoodie and he grabbed my hood and pulled, angrily telling me to give him my phone, I told him to let go that he was hurting me. I tried to keep on walking but he was still holding onto and pulling my hood. He then proceeds to try to grab the phone out of my hands. You know when someone tries to grab something out of your hands and both of you start grappling over the item, that's what happened. My phone is brand new and did not have a case yet and I was worried he would smash it into the ground. I know my personal safety is more important than a phone but I couldn't let go even if I wanted to, he had grabbed onto me and was in the process of pushing me into the wall when a guy rounded the corner.
He didn't step in nor call the police as far as I know. I took the opportunity to get away from my boyfriend as quickly as I could.
I ran to the train station, he kept on yelling at me "Are you really going to act like this", I didn't answer. My neck and throat burned from where his was pulling back on my hoodie. I started to cry. There was a lady who seemed to notice that something was going on and nodded her head in approval when she saw me rushing past to get into the station.
When he finally did catch up to me and when he texted and called me afterwards, he kept on blaming me for what happened. He said that I shouldn't have walked away from him when he grabbed onto my hood and that I should have told him that I was playing around and pretending to record him( which is what I said to placate him). When I said that he shouldn't have grabbed my hoodie and pulled he retorted with the so now it's my fault, as if I made him pull my hoodie and react like that.
I wanted to go home but I didn't have my keys on me, so I went down to a nearby marina and watched the boats for awhile.
I ultimately ended up at his parents house. I did not tell them what happened. In the past he would become enraged when he found out that I had told his sisters or mom about what was really going on, and would forbade me to either go to a family function or to say anything. His dad then proceeded to have a conversation about selling his house and giving us the proceeds to buy a house but we should have two kids. His parents have been pressuring me have a child with him even though we aren't married. I want to get married and have a small church wedding but according to my boyfriend I don't deserve a wedding. He also shared with us the importance that both people in a relationship need to contribute financially and pay bills, I told him he should tell that to his son, not me. It would be insanity to have a child with a man like him. I know that he will not change who he is if a child came along.
My friends are aware of the general situation (not of this latest incident), some of my family is aware of the general situation( I don't want them to worry and I don't want to bring unnecessary drama into their lives). His family is aware, one of his older sister's told me to call her for help when I wanted to end things with him and she would come over but when I actually did reach out to her, she said that I was an adult and would need to handle things on my own. I think she feigned concerned in order to get information to gossip with the rest of their family.
I am scared of him. Scared of how he would react if I stand firm in him needing to leave. Scared that he will harm my friends, family, himself and me. He has threaten suicide before. He has threaten to harm my pet. He has threaten to steal my mom's ashes. I have asked him to leave before and either he refuses or he simply ignores me.Him leaving is not that simple. He has nothing to lose yet at the same time everything to lose. He doesn't want to go back to his parents house because they will make him find a full time job and then won't let him do what he wants, he would have less freedom( couldn't smoke weed)...and those are his words not mine. He has never agreed to a break or even a temporary visit because he would "come back madder". He knows if he does leave, I will try to end things with him.
He comes across as a calm, chill guy when he is around my friends and family because he is high all or most of the time. That calm, chill guy is not who he really is. He is angry, volatile, and cruel. Yes, he has his moments of kindness(or niceness) and sweetness. Is it "nice" to have someone around to talk with, yes. Who seemingly care about when you will be back home, yes. but do those niceties outweigh everything else that has happened.
There is so much more that I could add to this post, but I am exhausted and I have blocked several incidents out. He constantly tries to gaslights me. He lied about his background and education. He has gotten physical several other times as well as verbally/emotionally. He has engaged in several sexting relationships, most notably with his ex Christy and his "friend" Lore. When I expressed how hurtful his cheating was he stated that is who he is, that he's the kind guy but since he didn't sleep with them, it's fine, it's not cheating. These girls also do not see anything wrong with what they have done.
I do not have any immediate family ie siblings or parents. Therefore, I cannot go and stay with family until he leaves or have a family member accompany me while he moves out. I do have extended family in the area but life has taught me that there is no guarantee that they will help you even if you desperately need it. It's the American way to find your own way out of problems and pull yourself up by your bootstraps ( I say this sarcastically).
The apt. is in my name and I'm pretty sure there is a clause in it that states that if there are domestic disturbances I would have to move out. As stated above I don't have anywhere else to go, so he must leave.
Sometimes I think that this is my lot in life and that I should just accept it. I find myself questioning if what happened on Saturday really is abuse or if it was just a misunderstanding that got a little bit out of hand. Sometimes I just don't know anymore.

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

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

“Are you ready?” Yasmin Raiz places a MASSIVE bowl of fried rice onto the table. “Hi everyone, it’s Yasmin Raiz, your Season 4 Mx Congeniality, and I’m here to host our REUNION of Season 5 of Chronologica’s Drag Race!” Yamin stands to welcome the monarchs. “Welcome back the lovely contestants of CDR Season 5! Madam Maine!”
Madam Maine re-wears her finale look: a top hat, fitted black and white suit and a pair of silver boots with a cane. She bows and smiles broadly, looking nervous.
“Kaia K. Beauvoir!”
Kaia strides out confidently in an elaborate gold and silver pageant dress, with silver hair that glitters with metallic extensions.
“Cwunchie!”
Cwunchie is dressed as a little yellow plastic flower, with big petals and a tiny narrow stem. Her arms and legs are constricted at her sides in the stem and she hops along the runway towards her chair, grinning wildly.
“Now, let’s welcome the elephant in the room.” Yasmin smiles. “Bates Baghdashi, everyone!”
Bates arrives in a sepia-painted Agatha-Christie-esque detective look, with decadent shades of tan, brown, and black, an oversized magnifying glass, a briefcase, and a messy mop of Sherlockian curls.
“Oh, I love this.” Yasmin claps.
Bates lights an oversized origami faux cigarette, pretends to smoke from it, then flicks it away, where it unfurls into a bird, already aflame, and blasts away into the air, powered by a miniature firework.
Madam Maine looks very afraid for a moment, and starts to stand up.
“Before we continue, I want to let everyone know that their safety is assured! You are not in danger.” Yasmin smiles at Maine. Bates blushes.
Maine sits back down.
“Say hello, it’s Mermaid princess, Cleo Mertoris!”
Cleo wears a golden seashell bikini top stoned to the gods, showcasing some clear, recent work done on her chest, as well as a tight blue mini dress, as she flicks back her long luscious ginger hair with a smirk.
“Drag Princesita!”
Princesita waves in a sepia coloured maxi dress and bald head look, with bronze glitter on the top of her now shaved head, as she spins around with a smile on her face.
“It’s Briar Midnights!”
Briar walks out dressed quite similar to Ambrose’s traditional look- a tophat and sleek black trench coat, with jet black, wet hair and a half-smirk.
“Ms Stripes, Starzanne!”
The others look unimpressed as Starzanne walks out in an American Eagle style look, with feathers, glitter and fringe wrapped around her body.
“Ambrose NOIR!”
Amborse wears a black plaid mini skirt and white linen shirt, going for a rare fem drag look, with long black braids with hundreds of little pins wrapped into the braids.
“S-S-e-v-e-r-a!”
Severa rocks BODY on the main stage, wearing a bikini top and denim short combo, as well as a sensible pair of blue boots and pigtails to add the final touch.
“Magenta! Leigh! Simmons!”
Magenta gaps, wearing a Magenta coloured plaid look, wrapped around her body to create a fitted garment, along with a Magenta pair of sneakers.
“Jupiter Sterling!”
Jupiter rocks a head to toe, douchebag Vuitton look- jacket, shirt, pants, glasses and a backwards baseball cap.
“Apocalyptica!”
Apocalyptica looks slightly displeased- wearing a bright, toxic green look that appears to have toxic slime wrapped around her, in a similar vein to a past look.
“Lupe LaBelleza!”
Lupe wears a sensible pussycat wig, red coat and matching pencil skirt, with a black sheer turtleneck and a red fedora, along with a pair of black sheer socks being held up by garter belts and classic black pumps with a smile.
“And our winner, Nymphe d’Azote!”
Wearing her crown on her shoulders, her head too small for her crown, Nymphe is dressed in a glittering yellow robe, wearing a matching facemask looking ready for a spa moment, along with a wig, made entirely of bubbles!
Yasmin smiles, handing people plates of rice. “Now, today we're spilling ALL of the TEA. At the start of our season, we said goodbye to some girls that some fans really wanted to see more of. Say hello to Madam Maine, Miss Kaia K. Beauvoir, and…”
“CWUNCHIE!!!!” Cwunchie interrupts happily.
Severa rolls her eyes.
Cleo rolls her eyes.
Kaia rolls her eyes.
Severa glares at Cleo.
Cleo glares at Kaia.
Kaia glares at Severa.
Yasmin smiles. “Madam Maine. Once and for all, can you tell us why you’re named after a state you’re not even from?”
“Oh! Haha.” Madam Maine laughs nervously, eyeing the cameras. “I really like Maine. I have a French Canadian aunt who lives up there.”
“French Canada? Is she related to French Montana?” Magenta asks.
“Oh…no.” Madam Maine smiles awkwardly.
“A lot of our viewers this season questioned whether you were totally ready for the Drag Race experience. What’s your take?”
“I will be honest. I wasn’t.” Maine flushes. “I don’t think that I totally understood the caliber of some of these performers, and…I was in such awe of them. I feel really lucky that I’ve gotten to know some of my castmates, including all the first outs before me. Jupiter and Princesita especially, I really feel have shown me love.”
“You’re a sweetheart, honey.” Princesita smiles. “I hope you get your chance to come back someday too.”
“Are we going to do that every few seasons? Because it’ll get old, QUICK.” Severa responds. “Twists are only twists if we don’t see them coming.”
“Agreed.” Kaia says.
Princesita frowns.
Yasmin looks at Kaia. “Kaia, you represented, I believe, our first instance of a child of Drag Race–that is, your drag mom, The Mother Delilah, competed on season 2.”
“That’s right.” Kaia nods, keeping one eye warily on Severa and Cleo. “As a trans woman, it was important to me to be part of a legacy of successful trans women.”
“Delilah was successful?” Severa half jests with a smirk. “I think there have been plenty of trans women on the show who were more successful.”
Lupe looks like she wants to say something, but doesn’t.
“Whatever, I’m proud to be a daughter of Miss Delilah regardless and even more proud of having a healthy and kind relationship with the woman who inspired my craft.” Kaia says haughtily. “Not all of us can say that after all.”
“Ooooooooo…” the room roars.
Severa makes a displeased face and shrugs.
“One question about your time on the show, Kaia.” Yasmin looks around. “Why do you, in particular, think you ended up going home so early? A lot of fans were very surprised.”
“I think it’s quite obvious that Cleo’s leadership in that challenge was disastrous for me and everyone else on it. I’d assume that Cleo’s current appearance reflects how people received her during this season.”
“You mean my gorgeous knockers?” Cleo shimmies.
“I mean, your cheap bra and panty set.” Kaia snaps. “And-”
“You’re so smug.” Cleo interrupts. “As if you have anything to be smug about. Not with that mug, you don’t, mate.”
“At least I can still afford my makeup.” Kaia shoots back.
Cleo huffs and crosses her arms.
“Cwunchie! You were a force of nature for a short time with us this season.” Yasmin looks nervous to even speak to Cwunchie.
“WOOOOOOHOOOOO!” Cwunchie yells. “This show did NOT disappoint! I–”
It then cuts to an ad break.
~
“Welcome back to the Chronologica’s Drag Race Season 5 Reunion! Onto, the infamous, Bates!” Yasmin smiles. “You had one of the most DRAMATIC moments, ever in history. Let’s look back.”
Bates grins as the cast turns to watch the TV screen.
~
Will the following-
Wait.
Everyone looks concerned. For a moment, the stage is perfectly still, as the judges and racers wait with uncertainty.
In the distance, sirens are heard. The sirens get closer. And closer.
Suddenly, a group of police officers in full riot gear burst into the room through a production door. Crew members and producers look shocked and frantic. The police officers are led by a stern-faced man with a badge that reads "Officer Jeffery," who steps forward, his hand gripping a pair of handcuffs.
What?
Office Jeffrey points directly towards the racers. Everyone looks to see who he’s pointing at.
Bates stares back at the officer expressionless, blood still dripping from their look.
"Mahdi Hakimian?” The police officers crowd onto the stage towards Bates.
“Oh my god.” Magenta gasps.
Princesita starts to say something, and Jupiter reaches over to cover Princesita’s mouth.
“Yes.” Bates gulps.
Officer Jeffery reaches towards Bates. “Turn around and place your hands behind your back.”
Bates stands silently, his face expressionless.
“I am placing you under arrest in connection with the murders of Javad Tahmasb, Hamidreza Entezami, Mohamad Askari, Mostafa Shahi, Ali Reza Arjmand, Arman Nousari, Elahe Nousari, Setareh Tarokh, and Mohammed Tarokh."
Magenta falls to the ground in her bra and panty set, as everyone looks in stunned silence.
Bates slowly raises their hands as the police officers move closer, handcuffing them.
Everyone looks in disbelief. The judges look shocked and horrified.
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
Bates looks at Apocalyptica, still expressionless, and speaks softly. “Christian…I’m sorry.”
“You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights?”
Bates gives a nearly imperceptible nod.
Apocalyptica’s eyes well with tears. “Batesy?”
~
“Traumatic.” Apocalyptica looks at Bates, who exhales.
“To explain this….” Yasmin looks over. “Rachelle Mirage!”
Rachelle walks in with a smile.
“You two have worked hard together- tell us, what happened?!”
“I am, as we’d all know, originally from Iran. And- I knew it was a risk.” Bates exhales. “And they found out, and tried to have me extradited back from the US, for an alleged murder.”
“You killed someone?” Magenta gasps.
“A set up. Some of my former schoolmates had reported to the government that I had been cast here. So they falsified police records to make it look like I had done something which… was just because I, a Queer person, was representing the country in a way that didn’t match their… image.” Bates nods.
“Then comes… me.” Rachelle grins. “I could not let this happen.”
“Thank you, Rachelle.” Bates smiles.
“I felt something was off. And, I served as a character witness in the International Criminal Court, where… Eventually, after little evidence, we were able to not only have this gorgeous artist freed- but, I pulled some strings…”
“And I am now living in Denver.” Bates responds, holding Apocalyptica’s hand.
“What a shocking story.” Yasmin smiles. “And Apocalyptica, I must ask- are you two…?”
“We live literally across the street from each other.” Apocalyptica smiles.
The two grin.
“Now next up! She was one of our famous RETURNEES- Ms Cleo Mertoris, who won her first challenge- then proceeded to go home. Cleo, how did you feel about your journey?”
“I think… I should’ve gone much further than I did, to be honest.” Cleo shrugs.
“Girl...” Severa stares at Cleo for a few seconds. “You deserve exactly what you got- because you weren’t talented enough to survive a lipsync.”
“Not Miss ‘Double Sashay’ talking.” Cleo gasps. “At least I could pay for my tits myself, and not resort to sugar daddies huh Sevvie… Fucking bitch!” In a flash, Cleo, angrily standing, throws her drink onto Severa, who yelps.
In a flash, Yasmin tries to pull Cleo away from Severa, but Cleo does her best to claw at Severa.
“The fuck?” Jupiter yells.
“Don’t fucking call me Sevvie ever again!” Severa yells, scrubbing at her ruined dress and crying while subtly drinking the cocktail on her face.
“I’ll call you whatever I fucking want! Coming for my fucking gig!” Cleo shrieks.
“Let’s stop this-” Yasmin raises her hand.
Cleo spits at Severa. “Fuck you, fucking whore. You only transitioned to copy me! I MADE YOU! I-”
“WE’RE GOING TO ANOTHER BREAK!” Yasmin yells.
~
Severa tries to shake cocktail out of her wet wig.
Lupe covers her mouth with one hand. Kaia is laughing.
Nymphe suddenly stands and aggressively wrings out Severa’s wig, as Severa winces.
“Well!” Yasmin says sharply. “Are you okay, Severa?”
“I’m fine.” Severa huffs, bent over as Nymphe wrings her wig out. “I started my transition because, since the season aired, I came to terms with a lot about myself. Including how some of my behavior on the season was…rash. I’ve definitely been hiding from this moment. And Cleo has nothing to do with it.”
Lupe apologetically speaks up. “Pienso que, Severa, that Cleo might just be jealous of you.”
“You know it, mami.” Severa sighs. “I also really want to express some sincere apologies to you.”
Lupe looks startled.
“I think that with our time on the show, I was often jealous of you. Unlike me, or Cleo, or Kaia, you have been confidently living in your womanhood for a long time. I’ve followed you for a long time…and I fucked up.” Severa nods. “I am sorry.”
“I accept your apology, darling.” Lupe smiles. “It’s all I ever needed.”
“Now, these two were our OTHER, non finalist returnees, and both have… wild journeys.” Yasmin smiles.
“Non finalist.” Princesita frowns.
“You did good, Mami.” Lupe smiles. “I know it was hard…”
“I lip synced- a lot.” Princesita nods. “And it was hard.” Princesita begins to tear up. “Because, I believed I could do better, you know?”
Magenta holds Princesita’s hand.
“But- you must keep going. You can never push yourself too far, and maybe this wasn’t my journey. I think… I think I've accepted that now.” Princesita sighs.
“Regardless of how it ends, know that you should be proud of yourself, girl.” Kaia shrugs. “Like, we can’t all win.”
“Like me.” Starzanne jokes.
Nobody laughs.
“Well, turning to you, Starzanne, you had a controversial moment this season, in your makeover moment….” Starzanne turns. “How did it feel, watching it back?”
“I feel bad.” Starzanne closes her eyes. “And… I’m learning, I’m working on what I know, how to do it better, how to…” Starzanne sighs. “Do more than what I did, and truly, I feel shame.”
“I kinda think it’s bullshit.” Severa looks at Starzanne. “Because I think you knew better.”
Ambrose and Briar nod in agreement.
“HOWEVER…” Severa shrugs. “Good for you.”
Starzanne pouts, before nodding. “I aim to really deliver, I p-promise.”
The others look uncertain.
Bates sighs. “As the Middle Eastern refugee here, I can’t speak for Mohammed, who it’s obvious you really hurt and mistreated…and I hope he never has to see or work with you again. Because I hope you do learn, Starzanne. But also know the work is on you, not people of color.”
Severa gulps.
“Moving onto a power couple, or power ex-couple, this season. Briar and Ambrose…”
Jupiter woofs.
“How are we going since the season?” Yasmin asks.
“We’ve reconciled.” Ambrose looks at Briar with a knowing glance.
“I think both of us felt intense pressure this season.” Briar nods. “We both wanted to exist separate, but were so intrinsically tied to each other…”
“Ultimately I did think it led to our failure.” Ambrose sighs. “And- that’s fair, because it was a lesson to learn.”
“The lesson, being?”
“We are powerful- together.” Ambrose smiles, holding hands. “But, we believe it’s important to make space.”
“So, where does that mean for you now?” Yasmin asks. “The both of you.”
The two look at each other.
“We’re creating space, yet, collaborating.” Ambrose nods. “And-”
“They’re fucking again, BUT not doing duo gigs. Only attending gigs together.” Magenta chuckles.
Everyone gasps.
“Well… true.” Briar shrugs.
“Now, finally- the shocking moment… right before the semi final.” Yasmin nods. “Let’s look.”
~
I’ve made my decision.
Jupiter Sterling, Shantay you stay.
“Thank you.” Jupiter exhales. “Thank you.”
Severa closes her eyes, whispering to herself. “Severa, shantay…”
Severa and Magenta Leigh Simmons…
The others look on.
Thank you for being here, and doing great work this season. Now, I must say… sashay away.
“Damn!” Magenta yells, as Chronologica chuckles.
Everyone in the back of the stage look flabbergasted.
“No, thank you for this.” Magenta bows.
Severa looks at the judges for a split second, before walking off without a word.
“...Damn!” Magenta says again, as the others laugh. “I’m strutting off with GRACE.”
Magenta raises her hands in the air, as she walks off with a cheer.
~
“First, you- Severa, how are you feeling with time?” Yasmin asks.
“I feel as if that’s a different girl. Kinda. She’s thinking she’s giving nothing, not caring- but she cares too much, she’s lost that war. I think of myself as effortlessly fierce- but I did get stressed. I wish I… walked off and stomped the stage.” Severa sighs. “Instead of that.”
“And that’s okay, because we all- get there, sometimes.” Princesita says. “It’s about what you do next.”
“I’m going to win, girl.” Severa jokes. “They gotta make another All Stars so this diva can take the title.”
Everyone chuckles.
“Magenta, how did you feel, about being the other half?”
“I am happy, because if I’m being damn honest, I didn’t expect to make it this far!” Magenta laughs. “And I was me the whole damn time.”
“I love you for being you.” Jupiter adds. “You’re real, Ms Simmons. We honor that.”
“And not everyone can say that.” Nymphe smirks.
Apocalyptica grips Bates' hands.
“Now, it’s time for us to celebrate… some titles.” Yasmin smiles. “First, our GOLD BOOT title of the Season- ugliest outfit. Winner of a $5000 grand prize….”
…
Starzanne Stripes and September Remembers arrive in what else, but red, white, and blue. September looks patchy- his face is painted red, white and blue, in an attempt to cover his beard. Starzanne and September are both wearing fringe dresses that look straight out of a car wash, and it’s the epitome of… awkward.
“Starzanne!”
Starzanne chuckles, grabbing the trophy.
“Anything to say, Starzanne?”
“I am now wearing a lot LESS red, white and blue.” Starzanne nods.
The others awkwardly chuckle.
“Now, our title of SHADE- The Shadiest C.U.N.T this season.” Yasmin smiles. “Can I have a drumroll?”
“Cleo?” Severa looks over at the empty seat laughing.
“SEVERA!” Yasmin cheers. “Condragulations, you’ve won $10,000!”
Severa chuckles, grabbing the sash. “Thank you,I’d like to thank Cleo, Alcohol, and the rest of you for being too boring to get confessionals!”
Lupe laughs dramatically.
“I’d say I’m surprised, but I’m not!”
Everyone laughs.
….
“Finally, MY successor.” Yasmin smiles. “This year, the Congenial title will win $20,000, sponsored by Virtue Beauty.”
Everyone looks excitedly.
“The Winner is… MAGENTA LEIGH SIMMONS!” Yasmin cheers, as everyone starts clapping.
“Yes, yes!” Magenta cheers, as Yasmin puts the sash on her.
“Do you have anything to say, my Queen?”
“I-” Magenta smiles. “Damn.”
Everyone cheers.
“She’s finally out of things to say everybody!” Kaia laughs.
“Ugh…” Apocalyptica whimpers, wiping her eyes, as the others look over.
“Popsicle, are you okay?” Lupe asks.
“I’m- I’m fine.” Apocalyptica sighs. “I just- am really happy for Magenta.”
Magenta smiles.
“Bullshit.” Nymphe looks over.
The room is quiet.
“You expected this win, and again, you’re inauthentic, you’re lying, and you’re not owning up to when you want something.” Nymphe responds.
“I-” Apocalyptica tears up, holding onto Bates. “I-”
“I do have a question to ask, actually, as the crowned Ms SHADE.” Severa smirks. “Ms, Popsicle- we noticed your lack of presence at the crowning. You weren’t at any of the cast parties we held to celebrate or any of the events we planned, so what’s really up?”
Nymphe looks over.
“What happened?”
“I didn’t feel up to it. I was a bit sad, and I really did want to be there- but I-I felt physically ill, and…”
“Bullshit, again.” Severa rolls her eyes.
“Alright, you guys can have your opinions on everyone’s actions, but we don’t need to gang up on her.” Bates says, raising their voice a little..
“I don’t know what any of you mean…” Apocalyptica sighs. “I just-”
“You wanted to win, so you’re bitter. You kept denying it- but clearly, you positioned yourself in a way to do well. And you lost. So, why not own up to it?” Nymphe asks.
“Ugh, Can you go fuck yourself?” Apocalyptica snaps.
“Woah.” Magenta says.
Everyone looks spooked.
“Popsicle… You don’t have to acknowledge them…” Bates whispers.
“Of course I wanted to win.” Apocalyptica exclaims loudly. “I wanted to prove alt drag, to prove myself, and I don’t think that trying to be nice while doing so is a sin. ” Apocalyptica says. “LIKE-”
“Because you weren’t being real.” Severa looks at Apocalyptica. “Not the sweet girl who always happens to copy others.”
“I- You can think whatever you want. I…Actually I’m not going to continue to engage with this narrative.” Apocalyptica stutters as she turns to hold onto Bates.
“If you owned being unoriginal, maybe you’d have won.” Nymphe shrugs.
“Okay hold up- I’m mad she didn’t show up to our get togethers either but unoriginal?” Kaia inserts herself into the conversation. “We all get inspired and learn and take notes from others, like that’s the point of drag families, Delilah taught me so much, does that make me unoriginal? Have none of us ever felt inspired after seeing a good drag show or look?”
“I learned a lot from everyone in my short time here, my drag has changed a lot from all of you.” Madame Maine smiles.
“Girl, there’s a difference between being inspired and trying to steal my signature move the week after I leave.” Severa turns back at Kaia and Madame Maine.
“And were you the first to ever do that move? You came up with it with absolutely no influence from anyone else.” Apocalyptica bites.
“I don’t remember getting any credit or even a shoutout.” Severa stares at Popsicle.
“Do you give credits to who helped teach you how to dip every time you do it?” Apocalyptica retorts. “Whatever, i'm just so over this conversation.”
“Cool.” Nymphe bluntly states.
Apocalyptica rolls her eyes. “Cool.”
A couple of seconds pass of silence.
“Well, thank you all for a lovely season.” Yasmin smiles breaking the tension. “Now, before we go… Here's a sneak peak of SEASON 6 of Chronlogica’s DRAG RACE, coming soon!”
~
This has been… magic.
“It sure has.” Nymphe nods, sipping her pink tea. “But the magic… lives on and continues, as does the journey of the forest. It is… eternal.”
It's magic, you know…
Thirteen figures flash, as someone grabs a potion labeled ‘IMMUNITY’.

Some background: I am a typical christian. My friend is a hardcore leftist LGBTQIA Satanist. Recently, she agreed to attend a christian mass for one week if I also agree to attend a satanic mass for one week. So thats what we did. Spoiler alert: none of us burned into flames after stepping into each other’s place of worship. In fact it was a good learning opportunity for both of us.
Christian Mass:
If you are in this sub, you probably know what happens during mass so I will not elaborate further. Obviously my friend was clueless AF and didn’t know any of the mass responses or when to sit/stand/kneel, but otherwise the mass was relatively uneventful. During the Asperges, some drops of holy water landed on her satanic amulet but the amulet survived intact so I guess thats a W for Satan.
After the mass she had some questions so I explained to her about the art/statues in the church and she lit a candle for St Michael because she thought he looked cool. Overall I think she had a good time and she is open to attending mass again in the future.
Satanic Mass:
This is the part of this post that should be new to most readers of this sub, so I will elaborate on my experience in more detail. The Satanic mass took place on a friday evening in a plain-looking rented multi-purpose hall with normal seats for the audience and a plain mic+screen setup for the priestess. There were no visible signs, art or decoration anywhere that hinted at Satanism. All the participants wore typical everywhere clothes but with some of them wore satanic amulets/trinkets/jewellery that look normal at first glance unless you really pay attention and know what to look for.
The satanic mass began with some songs. The songs were performed with guitadrums and lyrics flashed on the screen. The songs were a mix of parody lyrics (e.g. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound” became “Amazing D***, how sweet the c**”) and generic songs about love.
After the songs ended, the priestess went on stage and gave a short sermon for about 10-15 minutes about being nice to your neighbours. Satan was mentioned once or twice but in a vague way. If you replace “Satan” with “God”, the sermon would basically be the same.
After the sermon ended, there was a 30 minute group discussion where the participants were broken up into small groups to read a war poem written by a Palestinian refugee. The group discussion was actually surprisingly in-depth because one of the participants in my group was a Literature professor so he really knew his stuff. Another participant was abused by her ex-husband so she shared about her experiences and I actually cried a little at her sharing.
After the group discussion, everyone went back to their usual seats and the prayers to Satan started. The prayers were led by the chief priestess and some of the senior satanists seated in the front row. Most of the prayers were quite standard (If you replace “Satan” with “God”, the prayer would basically be the same). But there were also some prayers where the chief priestess would speak in a strange language and start shaking uncontrollably while the audience would start making excited noises in response. At the end of the session, the chief priestess said a prayer over a basket (shaped a bit like a baby’s crib) and the crib was passed around the congregation, who began taking items out of the crib. When it was my turn, I saw that the crib consisted of some strange looking pills and some individually-packed disposable wipes. I thought that the pills looked suspicious but I didn’t want to be rude so I took home a few packets of disposable wipes instead.
Concluding thoughts
I don’t know… I have some mixed feelings about this one. For sure it is good that my satanist friend was interested in church and is willing to attend again in future, especially on some of the more exciting feast days like the upcoming Corpus Christi procession at our parish.
On the other hand I kind of feel a bit disturbed by how much I enjoyed the Satanic mass. In the past, I had in mind the Hollywood stereotype that satanism would be dark and evil and consist of literal child sacrifice to Moloch. But in reality it turns out that most Satanists are really nice people and the Satanic mass was quite normal-looking. Even the chief priestess wore normal clothes and smelled nice. As mentioned above, I actually cried a little bit during the group discussion because of the extremely touching personal story shared by one of the other participants.
Obviously as a christian I know that Satanism is wrong so Im not going to convert anytime soon. But still the experience has been very thought provoking. Satanism is obviously wrong but I now realise that Satanists can be good people in spite of their wrong beliefs. As the bible tells us, even Satanists are made in the image of God.
edit: During the Satanic mass I was abit confused why it was held on a friday evening. But now after thinking about it, Jesus was crucified on a friday so I guess the day of the week was chosen to celebrate the death of Jesus. The evening timeslot is probably just for convenience since even Satanists have day jobs. Okay now I am starting to think that the Satanists are not really good people after all.

And Then There Were None [[module Rate]]
Ten little soldiers, all having crossed the line,
One was distracted, and then there were nine.
Nine little soldiers, reading books at late,
One got too tired, and then there were eight.
Eight little soldiers, two up in heaven,
One tried to fly and join them, and then there were seven.
Seven little soldiers, blowing out the wicks,
One got lost in the dark, and then there were six.
Six little soldiers, running to the hive,
A busy bee stung one, and then there were five.
Five little soldiers, wondering who's Blore,
One wasn't Wargrave, and then there were four.
Four little soldiers, swimming in the sea,
One swam out too far, and then there were three.
Three little soldiers, eating up their stew
One ate too much, and then there were two.
Two little soldiers, the rest were all gone,
One AIMS to hang himself, and then there was one.
One little soldier, thinking "I should do that again!"
So we're back to the beginning,
And then there were ten.

1. Adrian Goddard glanced at the poor bastard on the receiving end of his deflected bullet
2. Lawrence Sellars watched as Henri jumped into the pool
3. Emma Rawley sent the six of them through the doorway
4. Mohammed Ayad jammed his foot on the accelerator
5. Jane Anderton didn't look at him as he asked if it was safe
6. Lev Shevchenko threw the torch onto the house
7. Jacob Devers spent one final moment with his finger on the trigger
8. Harry Thornton punched him in the head
9. Daniel Clay hesitated to fire when he started to scream
10. Edward Reiben took aim at his head
    and he carried on running Larry Sellars ripped open the envelope to his invitation, and converted it into a paper airplane that exploded into a literal fireball when it slammed into the window. “Considering buying some of your pieces,” he read aloud. “Would like to meet you in person. Meet me at Soldier Island. Costs and travel will be sorted after you meet with my assistant, Blaine, later today… ring if you cannot make it… blah blah blah… Yours Sincerely, Mr. Rios-Guy. Huh. Nice name. Still, what creatively bankrupt goon names a placed Soldier Island? Christie did that ages ago, mate.”
    

He stood up, before saying, “Still, good artists copy, great artists steal.”
Jane Anderton read through the email quickly. An invitation to Devon from somebody she had never heard of did arouse some suspicions, but she needed some time off anyway. If she hadn’t have sold that damned death clock, she probably wouldn't have been demoted. Hell, she probably would- should have taken that idiot Hartwell’s job if he hadn’t brought up some bullshit about “ethical violations”- like he gave a toss! Like he wouldn't have done the same if he could get away with it, like she would have without the fucking idiot customer leaving their address on the fridge!
“Didn't matter, it was done,” she thought, before looking once more at the address. Soldier Island. Wasn’t that the one from that old Agatha Christie book? She looked at it a final time, before shrugging her shoulders and saying, “Fuck it, why not?” to nobody in particular.
Corporal Edward Reiben read his letter slowly. He had put off opening it all day; not out of fear, but out of preserving the anticipation like a child before Christmas. He didn’t receive any more mail after Sam died. When he read that Mr. Rios-Guy was hoping to hire three new security staff- and that he was one of them- his first thought was that it was that arsehole Evans playing a trick on him, or some pathetic scam trying to rinse him of his last few pennies. But… it didn’t ask for any credit card information, and the only thing Evans did was call him, “Reibender,” before Captain Moore told him to back off. He didn’t mention the letter.
When Blaine actually arrived at the barracks hidden off somewhere among the Surrey countryside, he hugged him.
Lev Shevchenko spent five minutes thinking after he had finished his letter- or perhaps fantasizing would be a more accurate term. He had always wanted to visit England, and with Rios promising to sort out his Visa, it had the potential to turn his life around.
He spent the next half hour arguing with Mr Blaine over the accompaniment of Alexandra and Vera, his wife and daughter. Blaine finally compromised by agreeing to pay for their accommodation and travel, but that they would stay in a separate hotel in Devon, more than thirty miles away. They agreed on that.
He waited three hours to tell them, saying no more than the occasional hint of a big surprise. He gathered them in the living room- after assuring Vera many times that she was not in trouble- when he had finally accepted himself what was happening.
It still didn’t stop him breaking into a massive smile before he could say the words “Very important letter.”
He screamed his name for hours. The storm raged. Waves smashed against the side of the Vindication, rain teemed down in its thousands, and the moon’s hue was reduced to a vague haze by the pitch black clouds. Foundation agent Rawley sat quietly inside, reading slowly over her invitation.
“Dear Ms. Rawley, It is my pleasure to invite you to a small social gathering at Soldier Island. I have been looking for a decent body guard since I acquired the place, and your record indicates you are somebody I would like to have in my organization. Please consider it. Funding for your journey will be provided. My assistant, William Blaine, will arrive shortly. Please contact me if you are unable to attend. Yours sincerely, Mr. Rios-Guy” She had gone for it. What the hell, it would be a decent excuse for weekend off, and her boss Tanners didn’t have a problem with it.
She looked up at the ten other people on the boat. The cabin was cramped; ten of them sat in the cabin, while Blaine piloted the boat.
She turned to the person next to her. He looked about five years younger than her thirty two, his face clean-shaven and his hair cut short.
“Hey, why’d they hire you?” she asked, more out of boredom than curiosity.
He responded with a thick American accent. “Said they wanted to have a chef.”
“Huh. Security guard.” She extended a hand for him to shake, and he took it.
“Harry Thornton. Work for the United Independent Utilities, hoping that’s going to change soon.”
“Emma Rawley,” she said, thinking for a moment as to whether to mention that independent and united were mutually exclusive.
“You know the owner?”
“Mr Rios-guy? Nah, haven’t even seen him, actually.”
“Huh. Neither have I. Hey, you ever read And Then There Were None? Cause, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say this seems like the exact same plot.”
“You a murderer?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact. Killed a homeless guy just an hour ago,” Thornton said, totally deadpan.
“Yeah, good one. How long till we get to this damn island anyway?”
“Think that’s it coming up now,” he said, jabbing his slender index finger against the window misted by condensation at the sole light in the endless expanse of the sea.
Adrian Goddard idly flicked through his e-book on his phone. He didn’t really understand it- Why was Norton beating up Meeks, when the Helios were dragging Dufay away?- but, seeing as he lost any signal on his phone twenty minutes ago, he had no other choice, other than to talk to the stupid idiots next to him.
“Hey, you got any connection?”
Goddamn it.
“Uh, no it’s just something I downloaded. No connection either.”
“Huh. Hey, I’m Danny, by the way. Danny Clay. Private investigator, specialize in stopping corporate espionage. Guess this Rios guy… guy doesn’t trust his own employees. Hope that doesn’t apply to us, heh.” He smiled weakly at his own joke.
“Hmm. I’m Goddard. UN corporate executive. Rios doesn’t even want me for a job, he just decided having a UN bloke around would be good press or something.”
“Hey, you met Mr Rios? Haven’t heard too much about him.”
“Neither have I, actually. Odd.”
Mohammed Ayad sat quietly, his arms pressed against the wall in a vain attempt to stop the rocking of the boat to send him flying into the person next to him. It didn’t work. “Sorry,” he muttered, and the man responded with the same.
“Hey, you know anything about this Mr Rios? Just wondering, cause I’ve heard basically nothing about him.”
“Nah, can’t say I do, mate. Only here ‘cause he said he could use a speaker like me at the place for a few hours, and it’s a free holiday, so why complain? Jay Devers, by the way.”
“Mohammed Ayad,” was all he managed to say before William Blaine shouted through the speakers.
“Uh, we’re coming up to Soldier Island now, if you could please get your possessions and be ready to disembark.”
Ayad and Devers exchanged glances, before grabbing their suitcases and converging with the others onto soldier island.
The island was small; no landmarks were on it except for the rather large house in its centre. A few trees grew on the neatly cut grass that surrounded it, a small beach at its front.
As the roar of the boat’s engine started up again, they all headed off for their rooms, previously located by Blaine.
Reiben flopped onto his bed. He was knackered; he had spent the last three hours travelling, and all he wanted to do was sleep. Still, he’d probably have to meet Mr. Rios. He dropped his suitcase (“Suitcase wanker!” Brambly had shouted as he left, not maliciously. Reiben returned a non-malicious middle finger) onto the floor, before a pennant hanging from the wardrobe grabbed his attention.
It read, in a middle-ages esque text:
Ten little soldiers, all having crossed the line, One was distracted, and then there were nine. Nine little soldiers, reading books at late, One got too tired, and then there were eight. Eight little soldiers, two up in heaven, One tried to fly and join them, and then there were seven. Seven little soldiers, blowing out the wicks, One got lost in the dark, and then there six. Six little soldiers, running to the hive, A busy bee stung one, and then there were five. Five little soldiers, wondering who's Blore, One wasn't Wargrave, and then there were four. Four little soldiers, swimming in the sea, One swam out too far, and then there were three. Three little soldiers, eating up their stew One ate too much, and then there were two. Two little soldiers, the rest were all gone, One AIMS to hang himself, and then there was one. One little soldier, thinking "I should do that again!" So we're back to the beginning, And then there were ten.
Reiben felt a pang of fear. Just like the book… Jesus. Jesus, why the hell had he come here? He was going to die. He was going to die on this god-forsaken island and he’d done exactly what he told himself he would be clever enough to avoid when he read the damned book, had probably inspired the bastard to do this-
No, he was being ridiculous. Worst case scenario, it was a prank, a twisted joke. And he wasn’t a murderer.
Except for Sam. He couldn’t have known that he’d die. Hell, he had taken all responsibility if it all went wrong… Commander Moore had cleared him of all blame…
But Armstrong didn’t have a motive, he did it accidently as well… and he probably saved more lives than he killed… and he even stopped drinking. Didn’t matter to Wargrave, killed him anyway. And Armstrong’s first name was Edward…
God, why did he have to fucking invent that piece of shit gun that was supposed to, “Save lives”?
All he managed to mutter was, “Jesus, Sam, I’m so sorry.”
There was a knock on the door. It was the posh bloke whose name he had picked up to be Goddard.
“Hey, Reiben, wasn’t it? Looks like Blaine has set out dinner. Should get down there before it gets cold.”
Reiben shrugged, and followed Goddard to the dining room.
Meals had been set out on the table, each looking identical.
“God, I’m starving,” said Clay. “Let’s eat.”
“Heh. Let’s hope it’s not poisoned,” Reiben joked. Nobody laughed.
One returned They sat down, and Devers had just taken his first bite when a voice suddenly rang out from the next room. It was deep, distorted, inhuman.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, silence, please.”
They all stared at each other. Had to be a joke, nobody would actually-
“You are charged with the following:
“Commander Adrian Kenneth Goddard of the Global Occult Coalition, you are charged with causing the death of Frederick McPherson.
“Agent Emma Jane Rawley of the SCP Foundation, you are charged with the deaths of Daniel Denney, William Carlyle, and Geoffrey Betterton.
“Lawrence Daniel Sellars, of Are We Cool Yet?, you are charged with causing the deaths of thirteen people during an anomalous art exhibit.
“Corporal Edward Richard Reiben of the Chaos Insurgency, you are charged with the manslaughter of Samuel Birch.
“Mohammed Omid Ayad, of the Office for the Reclamation of Islamic Artifacts, you are charged with causing the death of Nicholas Vincent Graves.
“Jane Helen Anderton, of Marshall, Carter, and Dark Ltd, you are charged with causing the death of Charles Jonathan Kimball.
“Daniel Frederick Clay of the Horizon Initiative, you are charged with the murder of an unknown Fifth Church Combatant.
“Harry Michael Thornton of the Unusual Incidents Unit, you are charged with the death of Kevin Victor Connors.
“Lev Yuri Shevchenko of the GRU-P, you are charged with the deaths of Victor Cherenkov, Yuri Malarkov, and Alexis Artyom.
“Jacob William Devers of the SCP Foundation, you are charged with the murder of 124 people aboard the Regal Vindication.
“What do you say in your defense?”
and buried the secret They all stared at each other, taking in the surreal situation, before Reiben stumbled away from the table, and straight out of the dining room. A vomiting sound emitted shortly after.
The remaining nine stared at each other, before Sellars finally said, “I suppose we’re all in on the masquerade. No point trying to hide it.”
“He’s right. We might as well be honest about it,” said Clay.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” spluttered Devers. “What masquerade? What was the voice even saying? Total nonsense.” He sipped his drink, perhaps in an attempt to look natural. His wooden acting gave him away.
“Bullshit. Look, the rest of us aren’t denying it,” said Sellars.
“So you admit to killing those people?”
Sellars grimaced, before admitting, “I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. They were just being idiots, and more people would have died if I hadn’t have stopped them.”
“Fine, I’ll admit to killing that Fifthist bastard. Guy killed two of my men, I wasn’t gonna let him walk away just because he threw his hands in the air.”
“I have no idea whom Fred McPherson is. You’d think I murdered someone I’d remember it!” shouted Goddard.
“But you are GOC?” asked Ayad.
Goddard paused for a moment, before saying, “Yes.”
There was a noise from outside the room, and everybody turned to its source.
Reiben walked back into the room, looking pale.
“S-sorry. Got a bit… bit light-headed. Like, this is just like And Then There Were None, right? Nobody should drink anything, that’s how the first person died.”
“Shit,” said Devers, looking at the glasses. His was the only one that had been drunk at all.
He coughed loudly, then again, before entering a coughing fit. Ayad and Shevchenko, who were sitting next to him, grabbed him before he could fall onto the floor. He suddenly stopped coughing, and went limp. Ayad’s hands darted for Devers’ wrist.
“He’s still got a pulse… We should get him to his room, have somebody take a look at him. Anyone here a doctor?”
“I’m no expert, but I’m better than everyone else,” said Goddard.
Shevchenko and Ayad carried Devers between them, Goddard following.
The six people remaining in the dining room looked at each other.
“Right, I’m going to get on the radio. See if we can contact Blaine,” said Clay.
“You really think the killer hasn’t already taken care of that?” questioned Rieben.
“Worth a shot.” He left.
Rawley began to speak.
“Didn’t the killer leave a poem in the book? Seems strange that they’d miss out such a vital part of the-“
“Actually, there’s a copy of the poem in my room. I’ll get it, could give us some clues. Whoever it is, he- or she- is basing it off the book, right?”
Rieben left before Rawley could object to a Chaos Insurgent running around on his own. She figured that he probably was of little danger as an individual.
She looked back around the table. Thornton, Anderton, and Sellars.
“I’m going to find out where the hell that voice came from,” said Thornton.
“Shouldn’t we all stick together?” said Rawley. “Someone poisoned Devers-“
“Like anyone would base their murders off a book. Probably just a joke.”
“Joke? How would they know about the UIU, or the Coalition, or the Foundation? Why would they fly you half way around the world for a joke?”
Thornton left without another word.
Rawley, realizing that Devers’ party was now larger than her own, decided that going there was her best bet. She left Anderton and Sellars in the dining room.
“Is he alright?” she asked Goddard as soon as she stepped into the room, surprised to see only Shevchenko there.
“He’s still alive, if that’s what you mean.”
“Where did the others go?”
“Goddard went out to get his first aid kit from his room, not like that’ll help much. Ayad… actually, I have no idea where Ayad went.”
He paused, trying to remember, before saying, “You’re Rawley, yeah?”
“Yeah. Shevchenko, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, Lev Shevchenko.”
There was a period of awkward silence, before he asked, “So… who do you think poisoned him?”
The fact that her tactic of safety in numbers had resulted in her being alone with somebody maybe a foot taller materialized in her brain the moment he said it.
“Clay,” she said, the first name that came to mind. “I really should be getting back to the others.”
“I’ll come with you.”
When they arrived in the living room, Goddard and Reiben were there.
“Look, all I’m saying is that it says in the poem “One got distracted”, right?” said Reiben
“That doesn’t mean anything, it could be a lie, or maybe even the distraction itself!” argued Goddard.
Sellars sat quietly, turning towards Shevchenko and Rawley.
“Anderton said she was going to the toilet, if you’re wondering where she is.”
Thornton entered the room, a small speaker in his hands.
“Found this little bastard,” he said, holding it up. “Must have been from this.”
Ayad arrived shortly afterwards, saying, “Tried signaling Blaine, but he’d already gone out a few miles and I couldn’t see him.”
William Blaine’s death was mostly painless. When he first noticed he was out a fuel, he had accepted his fate. Narracota had survived, but he wasn’t Narracota, he was Morris. He knew that the sandwiches given to him by Mr. Rios were poisoned with a particularly slow poison; too late.
In a final attempt at spite, he released the ladder. He knew it would probably mean nothing, but his final image in his mind was of the poor sod who had been pushed into the water climbing onto the boat and finding his body.
“Where’s Clay?”
“He said he was going to the radio room, try and hail Blaine,” answered Rawley to Ayad’s question.
They didn’t have to look for long. Daniel Clay the Third was found sitting on the radio room chair, his throat sliced open from ear to ear. His face was stoic, his eyes closed. Blood had splattered all over his clothes.
Rieben vomited for the second time that day. Ayad fell silent. Goddard checked his pulse. Anderton looked at Shevchenko, who looked back. Rawley went to check on Devers. Thornton fiddled with the speaker in his hands, in a futile attempt to distract him from death.
It was Sellars who said, “Clay’s dead… murdered, and somebody’s responsible.”
“Hmm? Yes, of course.” Goddard and Reiben took Clay’s body to his room, both trying their hardest to avoid his- its?- vacant stare.
“How the hell did a kid like you end up working for the CI?”
“Pretty simple, actually. Sam- yes, he was the guy I killed- said we should sign up. I’d always been interested in the anomalous since I was a kid, and I guess I saw it as an opportunity to really change the world in some way. You know what we were working on when Sam died?”
“What?”
“This gun we were making for the Mi- these guys, which was basically a really powerful tranq rifle. Like, it was brilliant. Had to break a few laws of physics, but it was worth it. Full auto. Just took one of the darts to hit the guy and he’d be out. Not strong enough to penetrate bones; biggest chance of injury was it smacking straight into your eye and blinding you.”
“I’m guess something went wrong.”
“Sam kept saying that he wanted me to shoot him, just to make sure it worked perfectly before we showed it to the buyers. Had a fatal allergic reaction to the sedative. Died before I could get a doctor to him. Cleared me of all blame, since Sam made a note saying he’d accept all responsibility. I just…just wish that I hadn’t done it.”
“Jesus. You were friends?”
“Probably more than that, actually.”
“Sorry.”
“Nah, not your fault. So, what happened to you? How’d you kill Fred McPherson?” asked Reiben, laying Clay onto his bed. He had almost forgotten he was carrying him.
“Can’t recall it exactly, but I think I’ve got a good idea of what he’s on about. Back a few years ago, I was in South Africa chasing after this anomaly in this old street. Fired at it, must’ve accidently hit this guy. He was bleeding on the road, begging for help. Had a choice between either saving one life, or letting the anomaly kill more. Easy choice, don’t regret it.”
“Do you regret it now that we’ve got this guy killing us off one by one?”
“Fair point.”
“JESUS!”
Rawley’s scream was heard by everyone on the island.
Ayad and Shevchenko sprinted in, only to find Devers sitting up on his bed and Rawley looking at him like he was a ghost.
“Christ, Devers, you scared the hell out of me.”
“So, uh, who poisoned me?”
“We don’t know, but…”
“Clay’s dead,” said Ayad suddenly.
“What? How?”
“Some bastard slit his throat.”
“Who?”
“We don’t know. Whoever it was is probably one of us, and probably isn’t going to stop at us.”
The nine survivors gathered in the dining room.
“Okay,” said Rawley, holding up Rieben’s pennant of the poem and his copy of the book.
“The killer is obviously basing their murders on both this book and this poem. Now, one of us is dead, and they are going to continue to do so until we are all dead, minus themselves. That much is obvious.
“I don’t know how many of you have read it, but I’m going into some serious spoiler territory, mainly because our lives are at stake. The first person to die had his drink poisoned; the killer anticipated this, used that as a distraction so he could get to Clay.
“Now, seeing as the killer in the book faked his death, we will be thoroughly checking to make sure the dead are actually dead. We’ve all committed crimes, we all work for enemies, but if any of us want to walk off this island alive, we have to work together. Agreed?”
There were a few murmurs of agreement.
“I think we’re each meant to represent a character in the original,” said Reiben. “Considering that my murder was both accidental, and that my name is Edward, I reckon I’m Armstrong.”
“But you’re not about to ally with the killer with the benefit of hindsight, are you?” said Shevchenko.
“Good point, but I suppose he’s trying to subvert it on every count.”
“It’s late,” said Anderton. “We should sleep.” “…I’m sorry, but have you been listening to a fucking word we’ve been saying?” said Goddard. “Did the part about the psycho killer running about become lost on you?”
“If we are gonna sleep, we should all get in one room. Keep three people awake at all times.”
“How will that help? The killer could just, I don’t know, drop a grenade and run,” said Sellars.
“They have to follow the poem, remember?” cut in Ayad.
“Yes, but what’s stopping a particularly paranoid person whose goal is to simply off us all to ensure their survival doing it?”
“The obvious lack of grenades?” said Goddard, but that did not stop them going to their separate rooms that night.
—- Rawley looked around her room. Why had the killer hanged the pennant in Rieben’s room? Why poison Devers in particular?
Probably just random. She locked her door, and pushed the bedside table next to it, locked all the windows, and did a final sweep of the room to make sure it was totally devoid of anyone but herself.
She considered just staying up all night, pointing her revolver at the door until morning.
But then again, “One got too tired, and then there were eight,” was next, and she didn’t fancy tempting fate, so she slept.
When Shevchenko found a copy of And Then There Were None resting on his bed, he decided that skimming through it could give him some clues.
It was 2 AM when Shevchenko read the epilogue. It was a single sentence that suddenly revealed to him who the killer was. God, it was obvious. Their motive wasn’t revenge, it was some twisted form of justice, mixed with a heavy dose of a-
Lev Shevchenko turned the last page, and the memetic image stuck to it was the last thing he ever saw.

Hi everyone, I just finished TAR 14, and I am beyond excited to talk about it, but TAR 13 shall be linked for your reading pleasure! Here is the link.
And y'all like polls, right? Well here is TAR 14, the masterlist with the links, and the leaderboard. Thanks for taking these, it's fun to see your opinions go through!
Now TAR 14... well quite frankly, I think this is now my favorite season of The Amazing Race.
I mean seriously, this season has one of the best final sixes in the history of the show, one of the best fights ever on the show so far, and some of the greatest challenges in the history of the show. I think I officially gave 5 people on this cast 10s because it is just that freaking good! So many individual stories happening at once that bleed into creating a cohesive narrative on the show and one of the best endgames in the history of the show, or at least up to the point I am in the series. I also love the storyline of the season because a lot of it involves breaking stereotypes that people perceive them as - Kisha and Jen with the water, Tammy and Victor letting loose, and obviously Margie and Luke with their own unique struggles. Jamie and Cara are trying to surpass the dumb cheerleader arc, and Mel of course beasted the competition and lasted further than anyone ever expected. I mean, seriously, a great plot thread on top of some of the most entertaining personalities the show has ever seen.
On top of that, the challenges this season were INCREDIBLE! I mean literally so many iconic ones in such a short period of time. The naked running through the street was hilarious, especially with the cut to Phil being in his underwear for the bit. We have the fucking cheese challenge in the first episode that literally came iconic the minute we saw Mel scooting down the hill with his cheese and the minute Margie and Luke's cheese rolled away. The swimming detour in China became iconic for Kisha and Jen's role, and don't even get me started on that fucking foot massage. The roadblock with the paragliding or hike (MEL <3), the pie-throwing challenge, the vampire stakes with the blood, the gypsy challenge with the music BLASTING, the shakers challenge in India, watching these fools play around with the snowplows and the surfboards are just a few that I really enjoyed this season. We even have elephants tapping their asses, and a challenge with dentures! So much incredible content in such a short period.
This race also had some of the best episodes of the entire series. The first leg in China was great because it led to one of the greatest fights ever on the show, with the body checking and yelling at each other at the goddamn pit stop. We have that episode in Thailand with the karaoke, but also Mark and Michael and Kisha and Jen leaving their bags behind at the first destination, causing a wild goose chase between the two (and a four-hour penalty). The second leg in China, with the swimming, was fantastic for Kisha and Jen and their story, the Romania leg had some awesome tasks, and also Tammy and Victor fighting which was awesome. No episode this season was subpar, and I was thoroughly entertained the entire season. I was really worried about the route being boring this season too because most of the countries have been visited already, but they clearly delivered with help from the tasks and cast.
Even the twists were great this season. The U-Turn against Amanda and Kris represented a shift in the season, and it was so refreshing to see the team that everyone expected to win go home in such a fun way, leaving us with an incredible final 7. The U-turn against Kisha and Jen was even more tragic after they completed that rough swimming task and finished strong. Plus I loved the addition of the split screens, especially with the prank call with Jamie and Cara or Margie and Luke vs. Kisha and Jen. The theme song was also crazy this season like it went hard!
Anyway, time for the character rankings! And all I can say is this season deserves all the damn flowers.

1. Steve and Linda (0/10) - Except for Steve and Linda... they sucked. I got undertones of an abusive relationship, and while I don't like assuming that, I felt uncomfortable whenever they were on screen, and they are a clear weak link of the season. Linda sobbing about Steve being mad at her was just... so uncomfortable.
   
2. Preston and Jennifer (2/10) - The usual first boot issues. We didn't learn about either of them besides Preston has temper. Glad they went out earlier because it was almost refreshing to not have a bickering team get far in the season - a big strength of this season was that 5/6 were family members (and Jamie and Cara are their mothers), and the fighting between them felt incredibly real and tense, which might have gotten taxing with another relationship that ultimately wouldn't last in life.
   
3. Brad and Victoria (4/10) - Unfortunate circumstances led them to get crazy behind, and I feel like these two had the potential to be a fun, older team, but ultimately time and bad luck were their enemy.
   
4. Amanda and Kris (6/10) - If they didn't get u-turned, I would have been a lot lower on them, but I think their leaving was a turning point for the season - no more boring teams, we just have CHAOS! It also sets up Margie and Luke's arc of playing a ruthless game and not caring about feelings. I don't have much to say about the couple individually, they were generally likable, but I think the perfect example of what would happen if Kris and Jon weren't on TAR6 - boring yet likable, but worse than the rest of the cast.
   
5. Christie and Jodi (7/10) - Serviceable, generally likable dumb blonde team on the race. I loved how they kept messing up throughout the season without reading any of the clues correctly, that was funny. I think what made me higher on them though was them winning one of the races randomly. Like I had no expectations for them to do well on the race after they kept getting near last, and then BOOM they came running into first place. Love them.
   
6. Mark and Michael (9/10) - I thought coming in, I would detest the stuntmen, but I also found it to be so fucking fun to hate on them. Like they were so much fun to make fun of because of how incompetent and stupid they are. I think my favorite moments with them are with Phil however, and his clear disdain for the brothers. This saves their character for me because they are beyond the funniest when Phil looks like he actually wants to murder them with his big brow going up. There's no love there, and whenever they come running up during their penalty legs, he looks so disappointed, and I love it! They really deserved the worse too for hiding those pumps and probably helping give Margie heat stroke. But when Phil said "4 hours" I almost fell out of my chair, lmao. In terms of the theming though of them being able to break stereotypes, they were clearly underestimated for their height in the game, and while they were buffoons mentally, they were able to physically beef through the challenges.
   
7. Kisha and Jen (10/10) - and the beginning of my 10/10s for the season, starting with Kisha and Jen with their incredible downfall. Kisha and Jen started the race with communication issues and tension due to their big/little sister relationship, but they really began to flourish in the second Thailand leg, where they left their bags in the taxi and had to race back to get them. Kisha was barefoot the entire time, but we could see the annoyance between the sisters, and Jen herself was aggravated because of her feeling like she could not speak up in the situation. It was a great subtle moment between. Eventually their story transitioned to Margie and Luke and their rivalry with one another (He's a BITCH!). This is probably my favorite beef so far because they are both so clearly in the wrong, and their arugmentation really devolves more into argumentation than anything else. Yes Luke did body check her, but I think Kisha and Jen also overreacted at some points to it, and I think they take it too far at points. It leads to great conflict however (I love how they unintentionally follow them on every single detour and Kisha and Jen jumping in line). But they also foreshadowed that moment twice, one with Jen saying she'd push anyone out of the way, and also Kisha saying she doesn't engage in conflict and just smiles through it. But their shining moments are the final two legs in China. The swimming challenge was a great bonding moment between the two sisters and you could really see how far their bond grew from that point. Jen's fear was heartbreaking, and personally affected me because I also cannot swim, and I understood her fear, a lot in that situation. Kisha was really supportive in that situation however, and it was just really sweet between them, and how they eventually beasted through it because they are competition. And lastly, they began to make up in the rest of the game with their second chance of life of it being a mega leg, but they of course got their famous u-turn - and it wasn't even from Margie and Luke, it was from Tammy and Victor! It was heartbreaking to watch them scraggle back up in the competition and then lose again because of that especially because they already passed Jamie and Cara while they looked for a clue and because of the legendary BATHROOM BREAK! What a unique and horrific way to go out of the race at this point. Love them, love the end of their race, and just love their spirit!
   
8. Mel and Mike (10/10) - What an absolute ray of sunshine Mel White is. I loved how, despite Mel's weaker physique because of his age, they managed to succeed really well during the race, notably by sticking with the paraglider and getting first place (Mel's commentary during that scene was beautiful), their ability to find the camel feed tools and finish the roadblock, and their first place during that one leg might be one of my favorites in the entire series. THe context of Mel, knowing that he was a minister for years before coming out is gay, also makes me enjoy him more because it seems like he is so optimistic but having a new lease on life. Mel has a great quote during the season however, about making his son proud, and how that means so much more than a million dollars. That scene just about broke my heart in how touching and poignant it was, and it just made me adore Mel even more. It was tragic watching them get lost in Thailand finding that silly goofy gorilla, and I loved how apologetic Mel was. It was great. Mike White, someone who I am pretty familiar with at this point from his appearance on DvG and White Lotus, was also great (him running around in his hiking boots in his underwear was hilarious), is also just a funny guy, and I think his commentary (he's like part Woody Allen, part Billy Graham, and a dash of Judy Garland or "the sinister deaf kid archetype") is some of the best parts of the season. He has a great delivery, and I think his love of his dad during it too was just amazing to watch and I really felt for them.
   
9. Jamie and Cara (10/10) - Taxi Drivers: 17, Jamie: 0. Nothing funnier than watching Jamie terrorizing cab drivers the entire season, Cara's shame, and the culmination of it being them getting yelled at by a cab driver and Jamie losing the final roadblock to Victor is just so damn good and excellent storytelling. I don't think Jamie was trying to be malicious either, she was just so freaking competitive, and the fact that they could have been the first F/F team to win the Amazing Race would have been so unbelievably hilarious. I also love their opening confessional about Jamie being a bitch, and owning it, and Cara just shaking her head like she knows what she is about to get herself into. I think my favorite part about their characterization however was Jamie's love of animals. She talks about it constantly throughout the season (I call dogs, doogies!), and I think that little detail of their characterization really helped humanize them beyond being angry and frustrated about the language barrier and their taxi drivers taking them in the wrong directions. Plus their relationship with Margie and Luke was really sweet and I loved how they made active efforts to try to communicate with them as real people, and the scene where they learned sign was one of my favorites so far. Plus Cara was hilarious during the roadblock where they had to run in her underwear because she was really mad that no one honked at her as she drove by. That scene made me laugh so hard and I was near tears when it originally happened. A lot of their story involves their underestimation too of being seen as the ditzy redheads on the race, when in fact they went above that, proved themselves to be competent racers, and their overt competition proved against the stereotype in which they were cast for.
   
10. Tammy and Victor (10/10) - Oh my god, I loved these two so much and they are definitely my second favorite winners at this point (Uchenna and Joyce supremacy). I definitely didn't expect that coming into this season either. I loved their relationship and how they learned how to communicate with each other, as Victor had to learn to take a chill pill on the race and learn how to be more complacent and let loose, while Tammy desired to take more leadership in the team and prove herself to her older brother, who was seen as the more important sibling in the family due to the strength of the male lineage in Chinese families. Victor also dealing with his emotions is great during the season, and him accepting them - UGH I LOVE THEM! Their relationship really grew with one another since their disaster leg in Romania, which was my favorite moment of theirs by far. Watching Victor breakdown over finding the incorrect markers and sending them on a wild goose chase at the detours was so fascinating and Tammy finally taking initiative away from her older brother was fantastic to watch because it finally made them equals in the race. They continued to absolutely dominate throughout the race, and watching Victor be so happy racing and setting himself apart from his stuffy life as a lawyer was just a blast to watch, and his relationship growth with his little sister reminded me of myself again because me and my little sister are pushing each other to be better people and racers too, and to learn how to live life again. I think my favorite part about them though were them trying to break expectation and stereotypes for Asian-Americans (dancing in India, being better drivers on the fly, which Victor specifically makes a joke about), while also retaining and relearning aspects of their culture, which was especially evident in the legs in China were they knew the language intimately.
    
11. Margie and Luke (10/10) - Margie and Luke are the perfect representation of the storyline I have been talking about, with people trying to understand their stereotypes and how to prove them wrong. With Margie and Luke, there's is obvious, with Luke being the first deaf contestant on the show, showing that people like him are able to race the show and also dominate (the fact that they never got lower than 4th is crazy!). But he also brings the idea that people with disabilities can also be entertaining, and not brought down to a single trait. At first, I was worried Luke would be classified as just a deaf person with an inspirational story, but he brought the fucking drama this season, with both his own self-destruction with him getting easily frustrated with puzzles, and his relationships with other players, and notably his fight with Jen. He has had to fight a lot of adversity in his life, and watching him succeed was just so satisfying, but even then he was a conflicted character. Margie on the other hand came out to prove that she was indeed the bionic woman. She's had to do a lot with Luke, and while she has enjoyed every minute and would never give it up, I don't think Margie has been able to prove herself in a way where she is anything beyond Luke's mom. But on this race, she beasted through challenges, while also playing interpretation, and her juggling all the hats breaks stereotypes about parents with students and their disabilities, as well as mothers on the race and how they can perform on the race. I loved how she jumped in to defend Luke immediately with Kisha and Jen, and while I definitely don't think K & J smiling was intentional by any means, her jumping in was really a motherly thing to do, and led to one of the best fights of the entire season between two unexpected teams to be beefing. Margie and Luke brought the drama, brought the inspiration, and brought the rootability factor to blend into a character that was not over the top by any means, and felt like one of the most fleshed out and important teams on the show. Also Phil signing to Luke every leg <3.
    

TAR 14 - 10/10. I am normally very apprehensive about giving 10s to seasons (I only have 3 in Survivor, for example), but this one absolutely deserves all the flowers, as it created 5 teams that I adore, some of the greatest challenges in the history of the show, and some of the best drama, conflict and legs that created a captivating and magical time.
Onto TAR 15. I am actually at the point where I vaguely remember parts of these seasons coming up. TAR 14 I have some memory for too (I remember the Kisha and Jen swimming challenge vividly, probably because I couldn't swim and I related to them at that moment, but that was really it, besides vaguely remembering Margie and Luke), but TAR 15 I remember the winners (who I have heard are boring as sin), as well as the GLOBETROTTERS! I am excited to reevaluate these seasons coming up, and I thank y'all again for reading these : )
Season Ranking

1. TAR 14 (10/10) (yes, you read that right, this season has jumped to my number one. I think it might be my 3rd favorite season of anything across the CBS Big 3, with Panama and Palau from Survivor just beating it barely).
2. TAR 5 (10/10)
3. TAR 2 (10/10)
4. TAR 3 (10/10)
5. TAR 1 (9/10)
6. TAR 11 (9/10)
7. TAR 10 (8/10)
8. TAR 7 (8/10)
9. TAR 12 (8/10)
10. TAR 13 (5/10)
11. TAR 4 (2/10)
12. TAR 9 (1/10)
13. TAR 8 (1/10)
14. TAR 6 (0/10)

i feel like other people have mentioned this, but I’m still extremely confused as to why Holly described christi shake (aka April in her book) as “bigger boned” and bigger than Hefs usual girlfriend type. all of the pictures of seen of her she’s stick thin, maybe taller than average but no where near worth being described as bigger boned, plus she perfectly fit the girlfriend archetype (bleach blonde, young looking, skinny with curves, etc). I also don’t think hef would have made her a playmate almost immediately (she was miss May 2002) if he believed she was bigger or otherwise unattractive.
I don’t know if Holly had/has some unresolved internal 2000s fatphobia, or if she just genuinely believes that women with similar bodies to christi should be considered big. either way I don’t think it’s fair to comment on someone’s body shape regardless of how intimidating they were or how mean they were. From what I’ve gathered, it seems that Christis only issue was being intimidating and wanting a room to herself, which I think most people would be the same way. Maybe holly meant bigger boned to mean something else, but I’ve never heard of the term used to describe anyone as anything besides fat.

The following events happened on this day in history!

• 04/12/1980 - All Star Wrestling - All Star Wrestling S1980E103
  
• 04/12/1980 - WWE Championship Wrestling - WWE Championship Wrestling S1980E10
  
• 04/12/1985 - Best of - Wrestlings Bloopers, Bleeps, & Bodyslams
  
• 04/12/1986 - Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling - Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling S1986E15
  
• 04/12/1986 - WCCW - World Class Championship Wrestling S1986E102
  
• 04/12/1986 - World Championship Wrestling - WCW World Championship Wrestling S1986E102
  
• 04/12/1986 - WCCW - WCCW S1986E102
  
• 04/12/1986 - World Championship Wrestling - World Championship Wrestling S1986E102
  
• 04/12/1993 - Raw - Raw S1993E12
  
• 04/12/1994 - ECW Hardcore TV - ECW Hardcore TV S1994E14
  
• 04/12/1997 - Special - Terry Funk Lifetime Achievement Banquet
  
• 04/12/1999 - Raw - Raw S1999E15
  
• 04/12/1999 - WCW Monday Nitro - WCW Monday Nitro S1999E15
  
• 04/12/2000 - WCW Thunder - WCW Thunder S2000E15
  
• 04/12/2001 - SmackDown - SmackDown S2001E15
  
• 04/12/2003 - WWE Confidential - Sable s Second Chance S2003E15
  
• 04/12/2004 - Raw - Raw S2004E15
  
• 04/12/2010 - Raw - Raw S2010E15
  
• 04/12/2011 - WWE NXT - WWE NXT S2011E6
  
• 04/12/2013 - SmackDown - SmackDown S2013E15
  
• 04/12/2014 - This Week in WWE - April 12, 2014 S2014E15
  
• 04/12/2016 - Total Divas - Cest La Divas (Part 1) S5E13-4045)
  
• 04/12/2016 - Documentary - Straight Outta Dudleyville: Legacy of Dudleys
  
• 04/12/2016 - Raw - Becky Lynch wants a piece of Emma: WWE.com Exclusi
  
• 04/12/2016 - Raw - AJ Styles thrives on proving he is the best in the
  
• 04/12/2016 - Raw - The war between Natalya and Charlotte has only jus
  
• 04/12/2016 - Raw - WWE Superstars receive LA Kings jerseys: WWE.com E
  
• 04/12/2016 - Raw - The Dudley Boyz explain the difference between gut
  
• 04/12/2017 - Main Event - Main Event S2017E15
  
• 04/12/2017 - Total Divas - Feel The Glow S6E12
  
• 04/12/2017 - WWE Main Event - WWE Main Event S2017E15
  
• 04/12/2017 - WWE NXT - NXT S2017E17
  
• 04/12/2017 - WWE NXT - Kayla Braxton welcomes Christy St. Cloud to NXT: W
  
• 04/12/2017 - WWE NXT - Cell phone footage of Shinsuke Nakamuras NXT send
  
• 04/12/2017 - WWE NXT - Dylan Miley apologizes to the tag team partner tha
  
• 04/12/2017 - SmackDown - Explosive slow-motion footage of the Raw competito
  
• 04/12/2017 - SmackDown - Slow-motion footage of the Triple Threat United St
  
• 04/12/2017 - WWE Top 10 - Top 10 SmackDown LIVE Moments: April 11, 2017 S2017E57
  
• 04/12/2018 - Main Event - Main Event S2018E15
  
• 04/12/2018 - WWE Main Event - WWE Main Event S2018E15
  
• 04/12/2018 - WWE Now - Superstar Reactions to Carmellas Stunning Cash-In S2018E82
  
• 04/12/2019 - This Week in WWE - April 12, 2019 S2019E15
  
• 04/12/2019 - WWE List This! - Superstars Who Benefited From a Superstar Shake-Up 2019
  
• 04/12/2019 - WWE Now - Paige Has a Surprise for The IIconics S2019E78
  
• 04/12/2020 - WWE Top 10 - Raw after WrestleMania returns 2020
  
• 04/12/2020 - Steve Austins Broken Skull Sessions - Ric Flair S2020E6
  
• 04/12/2020 - WWE Playback - Ryder & Hawkins Relive Their First Tag Title Win S2020E5
  
• 04/12/2020 - Steve Austins Broken Skull Sessions - Ric Flair (Uncensored)
  
• 04/12/2021 - WrestleMania - Rhea Ripley got her WrestleMania moment
  
• 04/12/2021 - WrestleMania - Roman Reigns kept his word
  
• 04/12/2021 - WWE Now - Full WrestleMania Sunday Results S2021E56
  
• 04/12/2021 - Raw Talk - April 12, 2021 S2021E15
  
• 04/12/2021 - WWE Playlist - Jaw-dropping Raw After WrestleMania Moments 2021
  
• 04/12/2021 - Raw - Raw S2021E15
  
• 04/12/2021 - Raw - Exclusive: Adnan Virk thrilled ahead of Raw debut
  
• 04/12/2021 - Raw - Exclusive: Miz, Maryse & Morrison shuffle back
  
• 04/12/2021 - Raw - Exclusive: Rose & Brooke happy to embarrass champs
  
• 04/12/2021 - Miz & Mrs. - Mike s Man Cave S2E15
  
• 04/12/2022 - WWE Top 10 - Top 10 Raw Moments: April 11, 2022 2022
  
• 04/12/2022 - WWE NXT - WWE NXT S2022E16
  
• 04/12/2023 - WWE Top 10 - Top 10 WWE NXT Moments: April 11, 2023 2023
  
• 04/12/2023 - WWEs The Bump - April 12, 2023 S2023E19
  

What event was your favorite in this list?

Source: https://www.kbtx.com/2024/03/24/they-still-need-your-help-family-friends-search-missing-college-student/
“To think that somebody like Caleb would go missing, is a little scary,” said Priscilla Carlisle, a friend of the Harris family.
Carlisle has known the Harris family for more than a decade. She watched Harris grow up as he and her daughter went to school together.
She recalls the moment that she heard of his disappearance.
“My daughter, Ellie, called me, and the first moment that I heard Caleb was missing, I remember saying, ‘What do you mean missing? What are you talking about?’” Carlisle said.
Within hours, the Carlisle family drove down to Corpus Christi to help the Harris family find him.
“Shaking the bushes, checking the ditches, looking in the tunnels. I find myself doing that just as I’m driving along the road. I’m looking in the wooded areas, just trying to pay attention to details that I might ordinarily not pay attention to,” said Carlisle."

The aftermath of Operation Desert Storm and Operation Thunderstruck has left the Texan Army and her allies shattered. With the Ranger forces triumphant on the battlefield despite overwhelming odds, the great cities of Austin and San Antonio lie at risk of capitulation to Ranger forces as they prepare for a siege. The governor of Texas himself deliberated his options over fleeing with his government to Dallas as Austin fell under siege. Knowing that their enemies are beaten and broken, the Rangers issued a olive branch to the Texan Government to seek peace without further bloodshed. Texas has sacrificed so much already for her freedom after all and continuing to fight a futile conflict is not within the interests of the Federal Government. Both parties attempted to make peace during the summer in order to end the war and find a suitable settlement.
Nevertheless despite the stunning martial successes of the Rangers and brilliant tactical maneuvers, if there is one critical mistake the Ranger leadership has done was to negotiate with the Federal Government within a position of strength. Indeed the Federal Government in D.C had absolutely no desire to surrender to the Rangers, exploiting the Ranger's honor code to their advantage by delaying peace negotiations in order to rearm and fortify their lines. By the time the Rangers realized what was going on, the Federalists have mobilized tens of thousands more troops for the front, new anti tank armaments, armor units and most of the Federalist Air Force redeployed preparing for a counter offensive of their own. The Rangers realized their mistake in letting Texas buy time and immediately pounced upon the enemy by September 1958.
Second Battle of Llano: [TX122]
The Battle of Llano was the largest engagement between Federalist and Ranger forces of the war, largely thanks to the sheer size of military units deployed in such a narrow front. Llano sat at a critical junction in the suburbs of Austin and Waco, its seizure would allow for Ranger forces to surround Austin from both North and South. Federal Intelligence suggested another similar armored assault in Llano to better secure the front so they deployed newly raised M4 Sherman tank units to reinforce Atlantic infantry holding the sector.
What the Federalists did not know however, was that the Rangers came prepared for this exact occasion. As the Atlantic infantry raised their rifles from their trenches, they felt the ground... shaking? The Rangers are coming that's for certain but it feels as if the ground is tumbling beneath their feet. To their horror, they realized from where it was coming from. In the distance, several large heavy tanks emerged from the horizon, unlike anything they have seen in their briefings. The Shermans fired a salvo upon the heavy tank formation but they... just bounced? The metal beasts then reared their guns and fired, destroying an entire squadron of Atlantic tanks, Then the mechanized infantry followed, the Atlantic forces were being overrun as even their new anti tank equipment was useless in piercing these new heavy tanks.
EMAAS Forces frantically called for air support to hold the line which was awnsered by DC light bomber and Mexican leased air support planes. They played right into Abrams's trap as scores of P-38 Lightning heavy fighters were unleashed upon the bombers and hidden anti aircraft bases fired back with impunity. The narrow battle zone was flooded by the acrid smell of burning diesel and crashed airframes, EMAAS forces were forced to withdraw back to Georgetown.
Texas Rangers: 1,880 casualties
DC/EMAAS: 3,065 casualties
​
https://preview.redd.it/f7pior8iljqc1.png?width=729&format=png&auto=webp&s=03e4194c79a88a4e65c92b32576e7f28af9ae355
​
https://preview.redd.it/4mjnvf3kljqc1.png?width=735&format=png&auto=webp&s=82d017555bd9f54ab758fbd76cfbf92bf081917d
Siege of Austin: [TX121]
The city of Austin now was surrounded from multiple sides. The Rangers understood that taking the capital was bound to be a brutal slog if their intelligence regarding new deployments were correct. In the months of the lull period, Texan forces built the city into a veritable fortress, consolidating all National Guard, city militia and Federal infantry units in the city into a strong garrison. The Rangers began their assault by levying a massive artillery barrage followed by a armored push to seize key supply stations and outposts from within the city.
The dense urban environment made it the optimal environment for asymetric warfare as field guns hid behind apartment stores, anti tank guns behind scuttled civilian cars, and machine guns in the windows of skyscrapers. Overwhelming Federalist air support and counter battery fire in the defense of the city made pushing extremely difficult for the Rangers sustaining egregious casualties in the process.
Suddenly, it began to rain... hard, strong winds blowing from all sides. A Category 4 hurricane has made landfall into Texas, the horrible weather present in the combat zone has resulted in extreme flooding and all air operations being grounded. The Rangers were forced to call off any further attacks into Austin and wait until the storm subsides. The devastation incurred by the hurricane has devastated Ranger forces in the sector, but it has also resulted in massive civilian fatalities and property destruction due to the weather event. Austin holds, but at what cost...
[TX122 set to Restless City, 3 development destroyed, 2 railway destroyed]
Texas Rangers: 2,054
State of Texas: 1,198
​
https://preview.redd.it/03h6iakmljqc1.png?width=731&format=png&auto=webp&s=1f3006fb2c24a533802fdfee65add7298871d14d
​
https://preview.redd.it/4nq948vnljqc1.png?width=740&format=png&auto=webp&s=669bea9feb2cc1b736b2bc941f355c41e9dbc6b4
Battle of Kyle/Mountain City: [TX120]
Intending to further isolate Austin from Federal resupply, Ranger Frontiersmen forces attempted to seize the town of Kyle. Believing there to be only a skeleton crew guarding the town. The Rangers were surprised by a massive Federalist defensive echelon in the town. Despite their training and creative tactical abilities. the arrival of DC air support laid waste to any attempts at securing the town. The Rangers were forced to withdraw back to their starting positions.
Texas Rangers: 2,672
State of Texas: 1,561
​
https://preview.redd.it/5cg9ohhqljqc1.png?width=650&format=png&auto=webp&s=9d1697cc20b8fca7b224aef38e2c0fc1da7a8fad
Battle of Kerrville [TX116]
The town of Kerrville was held by the other half of EMAAS's expeditionary force in Texas which held the pocket in order to tie down Ranger forces from assaulting San Antonio in the south. They faced units of the Frontier Guardsmen, some of the creme de la creme of the Ranger's light infantry. Following an intelligence failure at the hands of the Rangers, the Frontiersmen believed Kerrville to have been abandoned in favor of more defensible terrain. Instead they were forced to fight mechanized Atlantic units in the town. For the first time in the war, Federalist forces had the armor advantage in this battle, which was used to great effect, routing Ranger light infantry back to base and holding the town.
Texas Rangers: 1,939
State of Texas: 1,461
​
https://preview.redd.it/j3hakblrljqc1.png?width=657&format=png&auto=webp&s=eec68a85a68dd367b18c3a5fd311cca75fe2a2bf
Battle of Pleasanton: [TX094]
Frustrated by the lack of progress on the Austin Front as Federal forces executed a effective defense in depth strategy around the city, General Creighton Abrams ordered his reserve tank corps to push on into the San Antonio sector, a key strategic objective for the Rangers. Forces of the 10th Armored Brigade would sweep in into the settlement of Pleasanton where vanguard Texan forces were stationed guarding a key supply depot to San Antonio. Luckily for the Rangers, they managed to capture the success of their earlier campaigns as the defenders were unable to call in air support due to Federal overextension in other ongoing battles. Outnumbered and ill-equipped, the Texan vanguard was routed out of Pleasanton cutting off San Antonio from resupply.
Texas Rangers: 991
State of Texas: 1,790
​
https://preview.redd.it/8l1mqkuuljqc1.png?width=613&format=png&auto=webp&s=fb3bcf20c9dc60659cdbbf624325e6a20155f9f9
Siege of San Antonio [TX090]
Much like Austin, the city of San Antonio, once a bastion against the Mexican invaders during the Texan War of Independence, is now surrounded by enemy forces. With the loss of Pleasanton, San Antonio was cut off from the capital. The Federalists deemed San Antonio of lower priority for resupply than the capital of Austin, thus the defenders in the city were of much less quality and training than their counterparts in the capital. Nevertheless, the Texans attempted to erect earthworks and other defensive emplacements to halt Ranger armored advances from within the city.
The elite 3rd Armored Brigade of the Rangers rolled into the city with the Texans buckling amidst the weight of the artillery barrage of the Rangers. The beleaguered Texan defenders retreated all the way to the famed Alamo where the Texan forces were routed from the old Mission. The Rangers declared the city to have fallen to their control from the Alamo's courtyard in a radio address. The loss of the Alamo was a major blow to Texan morale as the cultural significance of the site was not missed by the Rangers as they jubilantly cry out "REMEMBER THE ALAMO!" in unison, celebrating their victory against the Federalists.
Texas Rangers: 1,644
State of Texas: 1,846
​
https://preview.redd.it/43bhu72uljqc1.png?width=608&format=png&auto=webp&s=a3e6450ed560f829e772f4c6e2955263bdcee2e0
The Federalist Counterattack [TX123] [TX127]
So far, the Federalist cause in Texas has been wavering. Despite their dramatic victories at Austin and Mountain City, stopping the Ranger advance into the capital, the South has all but fallen to Ranger control. Fortunately for the State of Texas, under the table arms acquisitions from the Republic of Georgia has helped Texas rebuild their lost battlegroups and has raised four new battalions in Dallas. Armed with Columbus Arsenal made rifles, artillery, explosives, and anti tank weapons, the new battalions set off to counter attack exposed Ranger positions. Texan forces found the Ranger 5th Cavalry Brigade rushing to cut off Austin from Dallas and immediately pinned the battlegroup down at the town of Temple. Ranger mechanized infantry quickly redirected their attention against the Texan forces but the Rangers were surprised as the Texans unleashed their high velocity ammunition and rocket launchers at their thinly armored halftracks and vehicles. With a backhand blow maneuver by the Texans at the town of Killeen cutting off supply trains for the 5th Cavalry Regiment, the trap snap shut. The 1st Armored Brigade of the Rangers attempted to relieve the Cavalry forces as they routed EMAAS forces from Llano but to no avail. The 5th Cavalry Regiment was lost to Texan forces as without supply, their forces were encircled and surrendered in the first major Federalist tactical victory during the war. Only a few Rangers managed to escape the battle on foot.
Texas Rangers: 1,250
State of Texas: 1,560
​
https://preview.redd.it/0vho96wxljqc1.png?width=609&format=png&auto=webp&s=fc6e066e418087b669b7e5b63afa7e6d9b38fc57
Battle of Wichita Falls [TX097]
Throughout the war, the fighting largely limited itself around the borders of the State of Texas itself, while the Ranger homeland avoided direct combat. Sure, the blockade has seriously disrupted the economy of the Rangers leaving the homefront reeling, but no combat was actually fought inside Ranger territory. That all changed once the Federalists launched a daring raid on the riverine port of Wichita Falls. Sailing up the Red River with four destroyers and four corvettes, a battalion of Georgian equipped Texans landed on the port. Originally, Federal Intelligence suggested the port to be lightly defended given that the bulk of the Ranger forces were tied up fighting in Austin and San Antonio. But once again, Federal Intelligence was faulty. The Rangers had a garrison in the port city, expecting a potential landing from the Federalists. The lack of preparation to fight a contested landing forced the Federalists to use ship borne artillery against the port's defenders indiscriminately. Without air cover of their own and the lack of fortifications in the port, the Rangers opted to sabotage what remained of the port infrastructure that survived the bombardment and retreat back in order to prepare for a counter assault. The Federalists managed to seize Wichita Falls but the port is severely damaged meaning that repairs must be done in order to resupply the stranded troops in the town and continue operations inside Ranger territory.
[TX097 is occupied but cut off from supply, units are taking attrition, 7 development destroyed, port destroyed]
State of Texas: 1,620
Texas Rangers: 1,691
​
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Piracy and Famine, The Homefront
After the engagement at Corpus Christi, the Ranger fleet has been nowhere to be seen by Federalist patrols which gave them the impetus to strengthen the ongoing blockade in the Rio Grande and Red Rivers, extending it into the Arkansas River. In it, they confiscated massive shipments of grain and foodstuffs from Wisconsin bound for the Rangers transiting through Georgian controlled Arkansas. The valuable lifeline of foodstuffs to the Rangers presents a very dangerous predicament for the Ranger Republic which is extremely reliant on food imports to sustain it's population in the desert. Without these key food imports, a period of tight rationing and famine is expected for the Rangers. Negotiations with Wisconsin for critical food aid was redirected using the Nebraska route to bypass the blockade but by the time such food aid was received, it was too late. By December, civilian foodstocks in many major cities across Western Texas have ran out. City dwellers have been forced to trek into the countryside begging for foodstocks from the Rangers' rancherfields. Many ranchers were forced to cull thousands of their livestock to manage the mass famine. The Texan Rangers were forced to utilize extreme measures to keep the peace, establishing martial law across the country, prioritizing the military's food stocks to maintain the war effort all the while hundreds of thousands of Texans languished in the desert. Statisticians from independent research organizations who were recalled to study the situation in Texas have reported that an estimated 376,967 people have starved to death in the months of blockade. Nearly 1 in 9 Ranger citizens knew someone who perished due to the blockade.
The Rangers however did not go quietly into the night, as small craft hidden within Georgian waters assaulted undefended Federalist convoys and supply networks flowing through what Federalist strategists considered as the "Georgian gap" where air cover from both Texas and DC was out of range to provide support. Ranger vessels wreaked havoc on internal Federal trade routes leading to fuel and war materiel shortages for DC and the State of Texas as a result. The environmental effects of the hurricane that smashed into Austin severely compromised supply across the frontlines in Texas and will require extensive repairs to maintain troops in top condition. While substantially less civilian casualties than the Rangers, the war and the natural disasters that wreaked Eastern Texas, they number around 97,680 casualties.
[9 development destroyed due to the hurricane across Eastern Texas]
[3 coastal tiles in Eastern Texas set to Restless for one year]
[TOTAL CASUALTIES:]
Texas Rangers: 14,121
State of Texas/DC/EMAAS: 14,101

The purpose of this is to have a comprehensive list of the leagues rotation players along with a brief summary of each. Many of you have certain rotation players that you are familiar with; you know their habits, strengths, weaknesses, style. I will fill out a few that I know, and hope you can help fill in the blanks. I will edit in reports for each player listed as they come in. This does not include starters or 6th men.
Celtics:
Sam Hauser-
Payton Pritchard-
Jaden Springer- Gifted athlete and defender at SG. Respectable defensively at the perimeter thanks to his athleticism, can stay with the leagues fastest players. Makes quick rotations and contributes as a help defender, knows how to pick pockets. Solid 6’8 wingspan. Good in transition and can drive. Screen navigation is fine, bites on fakes too often, too handsy. Still a project player with bad ball handles and bad shooting, his release is too slow for the NBA.
Xavier Tillman-
Luke Kornet-
Thunder:
Kenrich Williams- Older player compared to the rest, plays the 4/5 depending on how Daigneault does rotations. Is used as a center in small ball lineups where thunder sacrifice size for shooting. Expect to see him match up against much bigger guys. He is a slight above average defender, and often makes the hustle plays. Kenny shoots the 3 ball well and is used as a screene cutter in the offense. Most of his points come off catch n shoots and backdoor cuts, does not create his own shot well.
Isaiah Joe- Three point specialistist, and microwave scorer. Mainly takes catch and shoot 3's with an occasional midrange or drive. Nothing special defensively but adds to spacing the offense.
Cason Wallace- Amazing 3&D player who is also a rookie. One of the Thunder's main rotational pieces, an amazing point of attack defender. Shooting 41% from three this season, allows Dort to get a rest while not sacrificing defense or shooting. Not the best at creating his own shot, but cuts often and is a great piece for the spread offensive that the Thunder runs. Fully expect to see Dort & Cason in the same lineups for a defensive nightmare for the other team.
Mike Muscala- Veteran center who can shoot the threeball. Wouldn't actually expect him to get many minutes in playoff games. A defensive liability, slow, unathletic, and a little undersized for his position, but tries to make it up by being a 3 point shooter. Recently signed during the all-star break, to bring more veteran presence. I see him more of being a locker room guy than an actual rotational player.
Jaylin Williams- Not to be confused with Jalen Williams (JDUB), JWill is a 2nd year player, big body, and can shoot the threeball. Provides excellent spacing and is able to bang down low with the big men. Led the league last year in charges taken, and loves to try and take them. A little slow defensively, but against bigger and slower big man provides an excellent challenge to them compared to Chet. Against bigger lineups, expect to see JWill guarding the 5 with Chet guarding the 4.
Aaron Wiggins- Unafraid dependable shooter at good volume. Great cutter with lots of off ball movement. Decent passer for a shooting guard, good decisive finisher. Limited creative abilities, can’t be a primary or even secondary ball handler. He’s not “big” but lengthy and athletic. Nothing special on defense but he has instincts and can make needed rotations. Still young enough to say he can develop further.
Kenrich Williams-
Nuggets:
Christian Braun- Good PoA defender, good driving game. Fast hands on defense, quick first step, and good positioning seem to overcome his negative wingspan. Surprisingly aggressive rebounder. Matches up well 1-3. On a bit of a hot streak at the moment, but is generally more of a threat slashing and cutting inside than shooting outside. Playmaking is a bit of a project. Confident finisher.
Peyton Watson- Fantastic 1-on-1 defender, a vertical threat on both ends of the floor. Good rebounder. One of the closest players the Nuggets have to a guy who can guard 1-5. Very quick on closeouts, and his long wingspan gets him plenty of blocks. Not a great shooter, but loves being a lob threat.
Justin Holiday-
Julian Strawther- 3&D forward project that's comfortable making plays on both ends of the floor. Streaky, confident shooter with a quick-release outside shot. Off-ball defense has greatly improved since his Gonzaga days. Does well on-ball against players his size, but guards and centers can give him some trouble.
Timberwolves:
Naz Reid-
Kyle Anderson-
Shake Milton-
Troy Brown Jr-
Bucks:
Bobby Portis-
Pat Connaughton-
Marjon Beauchamp-
Cavaliers:
Isaac Okoro-
Georges Niang-
Dean Wade-
Sam Merrill-
Craig Porter Jr-
Clippers:
Terrance Mann-
Amir Coffey-
Kobe Brown-
Pelicans:
Dyson Daniels-
Jordan Hawkins-
Naji Marshal-
Larry Nance Jr-
Jose Alvarado-
Cody Zeller-
Knicks:
Precious Achiuwa-
Quentin Grimes- 3&D wing. Amazing defensive motor, very good man defender against PGs and smaller wings putting a lot of pressure on them, also has great screen navigation. Good catch and shoot player with great form, can attack close outs as well with a good first step and puts pressure on the defense. Fine bball IQ but passes up opportunities and can be scared to shoot. Passive when attacking the basket, bad at finishing in traffic. He has ok handles but doesn’t employ them. Doesn’t create. Doesn’t use his hands enough on defense to poke out steals.
Miles Mcbridge-
Jericho Sims-
Magic:
Mo Wagner-
Goga Bitadze-
Caleb Houston-
Chuma Okele-
Kings:
Trey Lyles-
Keon Ellis-
Davion Mitchell-
Chris Duarte-
Sasha Vezenkov-
Suns:
Josh Okegie-
Drew Eukbanks-
Keita Bates Diop-
Jordan Goodwin-
Chimezie Metu-
Royce O’Neil-
Nassir Little-
Mavericks:
Dereck Lively - rook. rim protector allday. 7'7 wingspan. can rebound, can block, can moves his feet in perimeter. can finish around the rim. still need to shape ball defensive IQ because of experience (because rookie). 22-26mins guy
Josh Green- energizer bunny jack of all trades. elite corner shooter, the 3pt% looks clean. can drive fast. not lump him in ballhandler type. hustle boi. cant navigate screen to save his life. but because his atheticism, he still can recover a bit if got beaten. 20-25mins guy
Tim Hardaway Jr- former 6th man. shot chucker. icycold. having shitty stretch since ASB even before. negative defense and IQ. cant playmake. just shoot. hopefully he can be useful in PO. at this rate 15-18mins guy
Dwight Powell-
Jaden Hardy- 3rd year showing development in ballhandler + passer + scoring under Kai mentorship. should get nods over Tim if im Kidd. 6'9 wingspan helps him on D. compete on D. 12-15mins guy
Maxi Kleber- in his prime premium 3-D big (RAREST POSITION IN NBA!), but old + injury sap some of that 3 and the D. bad stretch games of shooting, who knows if he can get back to at least 80-90% of his prime shooting. lost half step especially in perimeter. but still servicable 15-18 minutes big with his defense + IQ on both ends
Olivier-Maxence Prosper- 3-D combo forward mold.
76ers:
Paul Reed- Good defensive player in the paint and a smart helper. Played at the 5 but is a natural 4. Respectable 3pt shooter even with poor shooting form. Subpar handles, versatile layup package but often doesn’t go up strong and opts for layups over dunks. Good rebounder for his size. Very limited creation abilities. Doesn’t move off ball as often as he should, weak screener.
Nic Batum- Underrated defensive forward, versatile on that end. Good 3pt shooter, great at certain passes as a connector especially entry passes. High BbalIQ, knows how to play passing lanes. Lots of hustle even at his age, more clutch than you might expect. Not great at attacking close outs or finishing at the basket. Subpar handles. Doesn’t have an easy time keeping up with quicker ball handlers on the perimeter.
Danuel House-
KJ Martin-
Pacers:
Obi Toppin-
TJ McConnell-
Jalen Smith-
Isaiah Jackson-
Ben Sheppard-
Heat:
Caleb Martin-
Josh Richardson-
Haywood Highsmith-
Lakers:
Cam Reddish- definitely talented to a degree but very obvious it won’t come together. He’s at his best when he can play aggressive on ball defense, and while he can really excel at times doing that it’s very inconsistent and it’s pretty reliant on Davis being behind him being able to make up for his mistakes
Christian Wood- sets really sloppy screens with pretty much the explicit intent of getting open so he can try and get the ball, not to actually create space for the ball handler. He can space the floor, is somewhat dynamic as a scorer, and when he’s locked in he’s better on defense than his reputation might lead you to believe
Max Christie- pretty athletically gifted, when he’s engaged, willing to cut, and makes quick drives off having the ball passed to him he’s helpful offensively. Looks like he could be a solid shooter but we’ll see. Has the defensive tools to help out on that end with him being both explosive but also skinny enough to maneuver around screens. Very rough, needs more time
Jaxon Hayes- also sets some sloppy screens but not as bad as wood. Doesn’t do it for as selfish reasons, just seems a trigger happy. Super athletic, pretty solid outside defensively for a 5, and he’s a surprisingly good passer for his position too. Ultimately he’s just roll man who (yet again) likely will not live up to his potential
Warriors:
Dario Saric- Dario Saric: Started the season strong but has regressed seriously. Good 3-pt shooter who's not limited to the corner and a good passer. Lethal pick-and-pop with Chris Paul. Can occasionally punish guards in the post. Slightly turnover-prone, and sometimes will try to do too much on offense. One of the best players in the league in terms of and-1s. Good offensive player when he's shooting well. Bad rim-protector -- almost a non-factor at the rim despite playing the 5 most of the time. Gets burned on switches by any guards -- even if they aren't known for their driving games. Bad contested rebounder. Extremely unathletic -- has 1 dunk in his 1080 minutes this season.
Moses Moody- Moses Moody: Plays with incredible effort and heart, and has good hands to steal the ball from ball-handlers. 7'0" wingspan makes him a solid defender. Slightly slow-footed and prone to get blown by from quicker players like Fox. One of the least strong players in the league -- prone to get bumped. Effective at guarding change-of-direction guys who isn't athletic, such as his defensive masterclass against Jalen Brunson. Good 3-pt shooter who'll punish the D if left wide-open. Improved self-creator but still not a good one by any means.
Trayce Jackson Davis- 6'9" Center who plays like a 7-footer. Extremely athletic. Great lob threat, and is a good passer in the post/short rolls. Good finisher, will try to dunk on everyone (Even Wembanyama). Non-shooter, and not much hopes in developing a jumper with his 56FT%. Additionally, his chemistry with Klay Thompson is phenomenal. Defensively, he's an excellent shot-blocker and a master at the chase-down. Athletic enough to match up with guys like Giannis and seriously bother them. A bit too jumpy -- tends to jump and leave his rebounding position. Decent switch defender who wouldn't get destroyed on the perimeter but wouldn't be great in an all-switch scheme.
Kevon Looney: Pivotal piece to the 2022 championship run but has regressed considerably. The best screener on the team aside from Steph and Dray, and one of the most lethal offensive rebounders in the league. Good passing for a big despite the occasional boneheaded play. Viewed as a non-shooter by defenses but occasionally hits the mid-range shot. Awful finisher considering the shots he gets. Used to be amazing on the perimeter (And guarded James MF Harden really well in 2018) but has regressed to a slow-footed big who's one of the least athletic dudes in the league. Decent rim-protector, but not a good one by any means.
Gary Payton: Another pivotal piece to the 2022 championship run who has considerably regressed. Amazing ball-pressure and forces tons of turnovers and can guard wings like Jayson Tatum without being a massive mismatch (He's 6'2"). Not quick as he used to be -- was constantly getting blown-by from Malik Monk last year. He's basically a 6'2" center on offense who can occasionally hit 3s and dunk, but a zero on offense otherwise. Played at the 4 next to Paul, Thompson and Podziemski for some reason -- those lineups don't work.
Bulls:
Torrey Craig-
Jevon Carter- 3&D point guard with nice handles (Great crossover) that’s nearing the end of his prime. Lots of effort in his on ball defense, even though his size and length limit his ceiling there. Knows how to wear down the opponents he guards, also great at jumping passing lanes. Can knock down shots with ok efficiency on average volume but it is inconsistent and can he is prone to taking bad shots. Bad finisher. His size limits his creation for his teammates.
Dalen Terry-
Julian Phillips-
Rockets:
Cam Whitmore-
Jae’Sean Tate-
Jeff Green-
Aaron Holiday-
Jack Landale-
Hawks:
Onyeka Okongwu-
Garrison Matthews- Averaged sized SG, Lots of effort on defense and a willingness to take charges, lots of hustle on both sides of the ball. He has an excellent jumper especially off the catch but a tendency to take inefficient 3s. Limited defensively against larger wings. Not going to get himself to the line.
Bogdan Bogdanović-
Jazz:
Simone Fontecchio-
Kelly Olynyk-
Ochai Agbaji-
Talen Horton Tucker-
Kris Dunn-
Omar Yurtseven-
Nets:
Can Johnson-
Dennis Smith Jr-
Lonnie Walker IV- Athletic scorer off the bench that can get tough buckets without hesitation. Doesn’t look to pass when he gets the ball, many of his assists are accidents. His 3p% is deceptive, his shot is more inconsistent than you might think. Strong finisher with a versatile bag. Bad defender. Incredibly dangerous when he gets hot on offense.
Day‘Ron Sharpe-
Trendon Watford-
Raptors:
Chris Boucher- On offence he’s gets out in transition and is a willing but very streaky 3pt shooter. On defense he’s never seen a pump fake he didn’t like, which can lead to spectacular blocks but more often leads to foul trouble.
Jalen Mcdaniels-
Jontay Porter - the younger brother of Micheal Porter Jr plays a much different game. He’s an underwhelming athlete, below average 3pt shooter, and above average passer. Good court awareness means he can overcome some of his physical limitations by making the right reads on both ends of the floor.
Grizzlies:
Zaire Williams-
John Konchar-
Jacob Gilyard-
Spurs:
Malaki Branham-
Julian Champagnie-
Cedi Osman-
Doug Mcdermott-
Blake Wesley-
Sandro Mamukelashvili-
Pistons:
Alec Burks-
James Wiseman-
Wizards:
Corey Kispert-
Landry Shamet-
Johnny Davis-
Eugene Omoruyi-
Anthony Gill-

I have no family left now that my ex and my son have cut me out of their lives, so I'm sharing what will likely be my last words, with strangers.
I’ve never been good with words and I know it’s only a matter of time before I’ll be unable to write anything ever again.
Marla, Nathan, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry for all the pain I’ve caused.
I should’ve paid more attention to the red flags. Maybe if I had, I wouldn’t be holed up in a dark closet in someone's basement surrounded by a puddle of my own blood.
He had looked so nervous when he showed up unannounced, introducing himself as Dave. He’d studied my house as we walked through to my office, as if trying to memorize each detail.
What struck me about him, besides the odd smell that clung to his clothes, was how timid and soft spoken he was. I had to coax him into actually taking a seat and making eye contact with me. Once he did, though, his stare was unnervingly intense, almost predatory.
“I need you to watch my wife.”
I nodded; it was a fairly common request, finding out where the spouse, fiancé, or significant other was going during the day. What they were doing, and oftentimes, who. It isn’t the most exciting type of job, but it typically pays fairly well and usually ends up being safer than many I’ve taken over the years. After the recent accident and with the new metal rod in my leg, I was all for something low key.
I laid out the terms of my employment, how much I charge an hour, all of that, as he nodded along, never once breaking eye contact.
“What’s your wife’s name?”
He stood up so abruptly that he knocked his chair over and leered at me, eyes narrowed. I tensed, putting my hands up placatingly – I thought he might come over the desk.
He shuddered as if trying to shake himself out of it, and then sat back down.
“Sorry,” he laughed nervously, “Of course. Of course, you wouldn’t know that.”
We sat in silence for a moment. I considered sending him away, but I needed the money and he’d offered to pay the full amount up front – in cash.
The downside of the work that I do is that you tend to meet people that while at their worst, while they are desperate, afraid, frustrated. I made a mental note to try and rent out my old space from before the accident, so in the very least I wouldn’t be having these types of meetings in my home.
“Where do you think she’s going?”
“I need you to watch her sleep.”
Now that, that gave me pause. Of everything I’d ever been asked to do, something about that made me more anxious.
“It was her request.” He added, perhaps in response to the concern written on my face.
“And why does she need someone to watch her sleep?”
He smiled at me for the first time, a bit too widely. “You’ll see.”
I figured that at least she’d been the one to request that I be there, which while still strange, felt less intrusive. At the time I wasn’t sure why he hired me to watch a sleeping woman at a hundred bucks an hour.
When that night came, as I sat in my car, I felt my anxiety spike. I’d never done a job like this before in my life, and while strange, it seemed too good to be true. No crouching in bushes, sitting in a hot car for hours on end – but in the back of my mind I couldn’t shake the image: the momentary crack in Dave’s calm persona, the absolute abhorrence with which he looked at me. It all felt wrong.
I told myself it was fine, I was just on edge after the accident, and did my usual pre-driving ritual:
Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Wait. Start the car.
Their house looked like your run of the mill colonial from the outside – well manicured lawn, cheery flowers, baby blue siding, a porch swing.
The inside, well, the inside was a different story entirely. When Dave opened the door cobwebs floated through the air from where they’d been disturbed, drifting through the pale moonlight. Dust coated nearly every surface I could see. I clutched my light coat to my body to keep from shivering after I stepped inside – it was a good 30 degrees colder than I kept my own house. The lights were dim, just barely bright enough for me to see where I was going.
It wasn’t the dust, or the dark, or the cold that fazed me, though. It was the smell. From the moment I stepped over the threshold, it hit me. Faint but immensely unpleasant, like meat gone bad.
“Christy is upstairs.”
The only parts of the house I’d seen so far that weren’t in total disarray, were the pictures plastered along the entry hall. They were all of Dave with a striking blonde woman, his wife Christy, I guessed. He looked so happy in them, a stark contrast to the waxen and grim-faced man I’d come to know.
As I kept walking, I passed an end table with pictures of just her. Little trinkets were laid out, a woman’s engagement ring, a lock of hair.
I realized what I was looking at.
It was a shrine.
My heart pounded at the thought of what I was possibly walking into. As we approached the dark stairwell, the smell intensified. I still don’t know what possessed me to stay.
Dave started up the stairs and after a moment, I followed slowly, clutching the banister and making my way up the best I could.
“Bad leg?”
I nodded.
By the time we reached the top, the smell of decay and rot had become so strong that it made my eyes water. As he slowly opened the door to the bedroom, I held my breath – both to keep the fetid air from my lungs, and also out of anticipation of what I was about to see.
On the bed, bundled up under blankets, was the woman from the pictures – Christy. To my immense relief, she was alive, albeit asleep.
There was a single chair facing the bed, which Dave gestured to.
“Can I get you something to drink?” he asked as I plopped down none too gracefully.
I nodded appreciatively, staring at Christy, still unsure of what was happening and what exactly I was supposed to do. I was surprised when he came back with an entire bottle of whiskey.
I asked if I could take him up on some water instead and he looked me up and down, before walking away again without a word.
As I stared at the small figure in the bed, pale and delicate looking, blonde hair around her like a halo – I realized she looked so familiar; I wondered where I’d seen her before.
I only had a moment to ponder that before the bottle struck me in the head. The last thing I remember was the sting as alcohol seeped into the wound, doubling the searing pain.
When I awoke, I was in a partially finished basement. I felt the cold cement on my cheek as I opened my eyes to see that Dave was inches from my face, smiling at me. I sat up, woozy. I was near a drain that was flecked with bits of soggy tissue and clumps of hair, and the rancid smell that arose from it hit me in a wave. Blood had stained the concrete – there was far too much of it to just be my own. I managed to prop myself up and then fought the urge to vomit when I saw that a tuft of black hair – still attached to the scalp – had been pinned under my arm and was stuck to my bare flesh.
“I’m calling the police,” I whispered the empty threat hoarsely – I doubted I could fish the phone out of my pocket faster than he could do whatever he had planned for me. I highly suspected that he’d just tossed me down both flights of stairs – my entire body was throbbing with a dull pain that battled the jagged cuts along my head for my attention.
“Sure.” His laugh unsettled me, “Please! Please do that. Please tell them how an unlicensed PI is at my home at 3 AM reeking of alcohol. Tell them how you’re here to kill my wife a second time.”
Jesus.
I suddenly realized why Christy looked so familiar – it was only for a moment, but it’s still imprinted on my mind no matter how hard I try to erase it.
I shouldn’t have been behind the wheel. A part of me knew I wasn’t up to driving. I could’ve called a cab, an Uber, but I didn’t.
Her mouth had formed a perfect O; blue eyes wide.
Of course, she was surprised. She’d been driving on the correct side of the road; she wouldn’t have expected to suddenly see headlights pointed at her as I barreled down the small highway going 75. Her reflexes were fast but in her panic, she’d swerved too hard in the opposite direction and I’d heard the sound of screeching metal and shattering glass as her car wrapped around a tree.
I made it out without so much as a scratch, it was almost as if I’d never been there at all.
It was a miracle she’d survived.
But no – she hadn’t, I reminded myself. I’d have stuck around if there was any chance she had still been alive. It was too late, I could tell by looking at her car that there was nothing I could do for her – the news later confirmed my suspicions. Died on the scene. I had a wife, a son, a job, my entire life ahead of me. Later, the guilt and self-loathing would end those relationships anyways, but at the time all I could think of was what I stood to lose if I got caught.
“How is she… still here?” I whispered.
“Oh, now you remember her.” He flashed a bitter smile at me. “She was my world, Michael, I couldn’t live without her. I found a way where I wouldn’t have to.”
I managed to stand, bur found myself backed against a wall, remaining upright was a struggle. Dave continued towards me, unsteady, unhinged.
“There’s no way to really, truly bring someone back. Not completely. No matter what you offer in exchange. She’s not the same. I wanted to go after you as soon as I found you, but Christy – there used to still be a bit of Christy in there – she convinced me not to. But you did it again.” He pointed his head accusingly towards my leg.
“No one else got hurt this time,” I gasped, “Never again.”
“I’m sorry, Michael. We just don’t believe you.”
The floorboards above my head creaked – something heavy was moving across the floor.
“She’s so hungry. It’s been difficult, but when you love someone, you make sacrifices for them.”
I heard her footsteps as she descended the basement stairs. Slow, deliberate.
I looked around frantically, he was between me and the only exit, and the windows were far too tiny for me to fit through. The only place I could hide was in a tiny closet on the finished side – I slid along the wall in that direction, as he followed.
“I’ve seen it a few times by now. It won’t be fast – it will take days of digestion before you’re truly dead – but even that is still far faster than you deserve.”
She leaned forward and peeked her head down at me, grinning, her blond hair a curtain through which her eyes glinted in the scant light. She moved unnaturally and even in the shadows I could see that her skin seemed to be shifting, like whatever was in there was aching to come out.
Dave was transfixed as she strode towards us. The look he gave her as she approached was one of sheer adoration, even as what should’ve been flesh and bone began unfurling to reveal a gaping maw.
As she came close enough that I could see the hundreds of teeth ringing the now fully opened mouth, I swung at Dave blindly.
I seemed to have caught them both by surprise, allowing me to narrowly avoid being pulled into the living darkness that had once been Christy.
Instead, she only caught the lower half of my bad leg – the distinct feeling of flesh and bone dissolving away hit me instantaneously.
She began to drag me backwards, I frantically clawed against the rough concrete floor trying to pull myself towards the tiny closet – nails shredded, fingertips bloody, when I heard a meaty sounding rip and the resistance was finally gone.
I tried to ignore the sound of the exposed bone and metal dragging on cement, tried to stay conscious despite the pain. I managed it just long enough to reach the small dark space, and lock the door from the inside.
That was hours ago.
I don’t know what to do. I can’t run, but even if I could, there’s no way I could get past them. I hear them on the other side, every so often Dave will whisper to her softly.
I have no doubt that a flimsy door and small piece of metal will be no problem for something like her – whatever she is. The bits and pieces I've found of others unfortunate enough to have met their end in this same closet, confirms that to me.
I don’t know when she will decide to come for the rest of me – all I can think about is how any moment now could be my last. I cannot stop vividly picturing what my death will be like at her hands.
This is not a plea for forgiveness – I do not deserve it. I just need to tell someone what happened to me. I need someone to know what I did.
I have a feeling that soon, this and a few pieces of indigestible hair, bone, and a metal rod, will be all that remains of me.
​
JFR

Lonerbox recently did a segment of comparing Trump and Biden on Palestine, and implied that leftists should consider voting for Biden if they care about Palestinians. I wanted to give a more general overview of some of Trump's policies both during his presidency as well as what a future Trump term could entail in terms of policy. I'll also be looking at some of the statements Trump has made which I think are rather concerning. This post is not comprehensive and will not include every policy or statement that Trump has enacted or promised to enact. Feel free to add more.
You may disagree with some if not many of Biden's policies. I know I disagree with some of Biden's policies as well as his rhetoric. I think he sometimes panders too much to the populist left in terms of rhetoric. I think he's a bit too protectionist in terms of trade policy seeing as how he literally maintained a lot of the Trump-era tariffs. I think Biden hasn't done well enough regarding immigration and asylum rights, and I think his push for the bipartisan immigration bill concedes way too much to the right. I think Biden has also done a poor job of handling the war in Gaza. All that being said, if we look Trump's policies, both during his presidency and what he and his campaign are promising right now, he's probably a lot worse than Biden. This should give us some reason to vote for Biden over Trump.
I understand that I'm preaching to the choir by posting this here. However, I think it's helpful to post here because y'all can help improve this post to potentially convince some leftists who say they won't vote for Biden because of Gaza to vote for Biden.

Trump Policy during Presidential Term

Environmental Deregulation
During the Trump presidency, we saw that the EPA significantly loosened many environmental laws and regulations.
The EPA under Trump sought to replace the Clean Power Plan which was enacted under Obama. The CPP would've reduced CO2 emissions 32% by 2030 in the electricity sector was expected to prevent an estimated 3600 premature deaths caused by soot and smog. Under Trump, the EPA replaced the CPP with the Affordable Clean Energy rule. This was estimated to increase CO2 emissions by 60 million short tons relative to the CPP by 2030. This is just one example of EPA deregulation under Trump.
We saw loosening of Mercury emission and air toxin standards which limited the scope of the Clean Air Act. We saw reversals of Obama administration expansions of the Clean Water Act. We even saw a reversal of a ban on chlorpyrifos, a pesticide which is known to impair child brain development and adult cognitive function.
(The source for all of this is in the Brookings Institution article.)
The Trump administration pulled out of the Paris climate accords.
What's even worse is this:

The American departure from the Paris Agreement also means the end of U.S. contributions to a global fund to help smaller and poorer countries that bear disproportionate costs of climate change. The United States originally pledged $3 billion to help such nations transition from fossil fuels and adapt to a hotter Earth — the largest amount of any country, but still far less than America's fair share, given its cumulative carbon emissions.
The Trump administration withdrew two-thirds of that money. At a meeting last year, 13 other rich nations, including the United Kingdom, France and Germany, doubled their original pledges, while the U.S. declined to contribute any additional money to the fund.

Withdrawing money that poorer nations could've used to get off of fossil fuels is a very not good thing that the Trump administration did in my biased opinion.
The Trump administration even tried to approve leases in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Decreased Regard For Civilian Collateral Damage
Lonerbox went into this a bit in a previous segment. Under the Trump administration, we saw a significant loosening of rules of engagement.

The U.S., its allies, and the Afghan Government, which the United Nations calls Pro- Government Forces (PGF), also escalated their operations in the period immediately before and during the negotiations in hopes of retaking disputed territory and gaining leverage.9 As a consequence, the number of civilians killed and injured by pro-government forces also grew in the years prior to the U.S. peace agreement in early 2020. From 2007 to 2016, PGF killed an average of 582 civilians each year; from 2017 through 2019, Pro-Government Forces killed an average of 1,134 civilians each year, a nearly 95% increase.

An American girl died in one of Trump's first military raids in Yemen.
Immigration, Refugees, and Asylum
Trump infamously called for a ban on all muslims entering the country.
This later became policy with multiple iterations.
At first, the Trump administration restricted the entry of refugees and immigrants from countries like Iraq, Iran, Libya, Syria, and Somalia. A federal court blocked this version. The final iteration of the muslim ban expanded the restrictions to countries like North Korea and Venezuela.

It's had a dramatic impact. Between 2017 and 2018, the number of permanent visas given every month to nationals of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen fell by 72%, according to Migration Policy Institute (MPI).

The Trump Administration had a "zero-tolerance" policy on illegal border crossings which criminally prosecuted entries and separated migrant children from their parents.
As of November 2023, there were still 1000 children who haven't completed reunification with their families.
During Trump's presidency, approval rates for asylum decreased dramatically.

At the same time, asylum denials have increased even more than approvals, meaning that although the number of asylum grants increased, the approval rate has concurrently decreased, from 43 percent in FY 2016 to 29 percent in FY 2019. Furthermore, the Trump administration’s dramatic narrowing of opportunities to apply for asylum has contributed to fewer new applications being filed. Since these applications can take a long time to process, it is likely that, absent major policy reversals, the number of approved asylum cases will fall substantially in coming years.

The Trump administration raised the standard for establishing a credible fear, expanded and prolonged detention of migrants and migrant children, attempted to get rid of federal rules limiting how long migrants can be detained, and imposed fees on those seeking asylum.
When immigrants were detained during the Trump Administration, there were unhealthy conditions which led to adverse health problems and even death such as inadequate medical care and a lack of sanitary items like soap. (Unhealthy conditions in the detention centers, too lazy to edit this properly.)
Under Trump, experiencing gang violence was not a valid reason to be granted asylum.
Some asylum seekers potentially even faced racist abuse which could amount to torture during the time Trump was in power.

C.M., who spoke on the condition that he be identified by his initials to protect his safety, is one of seven plaintiffs across three federal lawsuits filed against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and immigration authorities that allege African migrants seeking asylum faced racist abuse in U.S. detention facilities. Two of the suits allege hours-long confinement that amounted to torture in a full-body restraint called the “Wrap.”

Because of the Remain in Mexico policies enforced by the Trump administration which required asylum seekers to remain in Mexican border towns while waiting for their court case, asylum facers faced violence, extortion, and kidnapping at the hands of the Mexican police and criminal groups.

An October 2019 study by the US Immigration Policy Center of the University of California San Diego found that one-quarter of more than 600 asylum seekers returned to Mexicali and Tijuana were threatened with physical violence while they waited in Mexico for their immigration court hearings.

Trump set a record low limit for refugees that can be resettled in the US.

The Trump administration has slashed the number of refugees it will allow to resettle in the United States in the coming year, capping the number at 15,000, a record low in the history of the country's modern refugee program.

LGBT Rights
The Trump Admin banned transgender people from serving in the military with some exceptions.
This is all I have in this section right now. I don't know much else about the rights of LGBT people under the Trump administration. Feel free to add more.
Excessive Force
During the George Floyd protests, federal agents were detaining protestors and taking them away in unmarked vans without ever informing the protestors what they were being charged with. These protestors were often far away from federal property.
Trump threatened to use the military to quell protests if state and local leaders couldn't do it themselves.
Tariffs and Protectionism
Trump put harsh tariffs on imports both from US allies and on China.
These tariffs at best had no net positive effect on the US economy and probably had a negative impact on the economy and sparked other nations to retaliate with their own tariffs, making it harder for US producers to export their own goods.
More data from the Tax Foundation article:

According to the Tax Foundation model, the Trump-Biden tariffs would reduce long-run GDP by 0.21 percent, wages by 0.14 percent, and employment by 166,000 full-time equivalent jobs.

NIMBYism
Trump opposed Obama-era policies which would've incentivized localities to end single-family zoning, a regulatory barrier which imposes unnecessary costs on poor people and people of color.
These I think are the main things which I and many other people and leftists should take issue with the Trump administration on. Again, feel free to add more policies during the Trump-era which I didn't account for.
​

Potential Policy in a Future Trump Presidency

Trump could invoke the Insurrection Act to allow him to use the military to quell protests if he gets elected in 2024 according to the Washington Post. He may also use the Justice Department to investigate officials who were critical of him.
The Trump campaign is planning on implementing militarized deportations of undocumented immigrants.

Aides and officials spoke privately about detaining migrants on military bases and flying them out of the country on military planes — ideas that the Pentagon headed off. Throughout his presidency, Trump himself would frequently demand to send troops to the border and catch people crossing.

Trump wants media outlets critical of him to be investigated for threatening treason.
According to Project 2025 proposals, we could see the firing of up to 50,000 federal employees, some whom will be replaced by Trump loyalists.
We could end up seeing a major gutting of the EPA, one that far exceeds the deregulation in Trump's first term.
According to a Carbon Brief analysis of a hypothetical Trump and Biden second term, a future Trump presidency would add an extra 4 billion tons of CO2 by 2030.
What's more scary is this analysis doesn't take into account what would happen if Trump succeeded to pass future pro-fossil fuel acts. Either way, if Trump gets into power again, it could ruin the chances of the world meeting global climate goals by 2050.
Trump is thinking of implementing a 16-week abortion ban, with exceptions for rape and life of the mother.
Trump is planning on putting tariffs of 60% or more on Chinese goods. He also plans to put 100% tariffs on Chinese made cars in Mexico.
There will be restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors if he is re-elected for president.
Trump promises to reinstate and possible expand the muslim ban.
Trump implies he wants to bar certain immigrants from entering the country because of their ideological beliefs.
Silly Stuff Trump Has Said
Trump says if you rob a store, you can fully expect to be shot as you are leaving it. Hmmm, I wonder if he support due process?
Trump says that undocumented immigrants poison the blood of the nation.
Trump says that we should suspend parts of the constitution because he thinks that the 2020 election was rigged against him.

"A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution," Trump wrote on Truth Social on December 3, 2022. "Our great 'Founder' did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!"

​

While Chris Christie paraphrased Trump's argument, his characterization roughly fits what the former president said.

Trump implies that Mark Milley should be executed.
There's many other crazy stuff that Trump has said, but hopefully, this should be a good overview that Trump has some wild views. I'm not saying that he'll be capable of doing all this (he probably can't because we have democratic institutions), but the fact that he's suggesting this stuff at all shows that maybe we should reconsider a vote for this guy and instead do everything we can to not let him in power.

Conclusion

Trump is a weirdo. Don't vote for weirdos. Vote for the less weird person like Biden so that we can lower the chance of weirdos getting in power.
Some of you may want to see stuff about how Trump tried to illegally overturn the 2020 election. It's true this should be brought up, but I mainly wanted this post to focus on Trump's statements and policies. Stuff like getting fake electors to case fake ballots and encouraging rioters to delay the certification of the election are important and give us more reason to fear Trump, but it's not the focus of this post.
As said multiple times throughout this post, feel free to add more stuff where I may have missed something. This is not a comprehensive review of all Trump's bad policies. Feel free to fix something if you feel like I didn't give enough context or was unfair to Trump.
Also, to show I'm not the biggest partisan hack in the world(only somewhat of a partisan hack), I'll say two things which I think Trump did a good job on. I think it was a good thing he cut taxes for lower and middle income people. I also think he did a good job on Operation Warp Speed which saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of American lives from Covid.
If you liked this post, where else do you think this post should be sent to?

Results acquired via a combination of real-time game footage, stills, and images. In certain instances, such as injury, samples were taken from preseason or last year.

1. Haliburton, Tyrese
2. Vanderbilt, Jarred
3. Bridges, Miles
4. Hartenstein, Isaiah
5. Embiid, Joel
6. Payton, Gary II
7. Paul, Chris
8. Mann, Tre
9. Schröder, Dennis
10. Martin, Jaylen
11. Wright, Delon
12. Hart, Josh
13. Butler, Jared
14. Grant, Jerami
15. Jokić, Nikola
16. DeRozan, DeMar
17. Huerter, Kevin
18. Young, Trae
19. Plumlee, Mason
20. Bolden, Marques
21. Miller, Jordan
22. Thompson, Ausar
23. Aldama, Santi
24. Curry, Stephen
25. Antetokounmpo, Thanasis
26. Henderson, Scoot
27. Williams, Nate
28. Murray, Keegan
29. Bamba, Mo
30. Horford, Al
31. Key, Braxton
32. Mathurin, Bennedict
33. Vukčević, Tristan
34. Nwora, Jordan
35. Smith, Jabari Jr.
36. Gobert, Rudy
37. Little, Nassir
38. Sharpe, Day'Ron
39. Holmgren, Chet
40. Williams, Jaylin
41. Baldwin, Patrick Jr.
42. Morris, Markieff
43. Jerome, Ty
44. Curry, Seth
45. Ivey, Jaden
46. Lyles, Trey
47. White, Derrick
48. Mobley, Evan
49. Vincent, Gabe
50. Freeman-Liberty, Javon
51. Flagler, Adam
52. Hood-Schifino, Jalen
53. Collins, Zach
54. Johnson, Keldon
55. McDaniels, Jaden
56. Griffin, AJ
57. Bridges, Mikal
58. Vezenkov, Sasha
59. Burks, Alec
60. Williams, Robert III
61. Gilgeous-Alexander, Shai
62. Alvarado, Jose
63. McGee, JaVale
64. Agbaji, Ochai
65. McDermott, Doug
66. Walsh, Jordan
67. Barrett, RJ
68. Finney-Smith, Dorian
69. Banchero, Paolo
70. Lewis, Maxwell
71. Robinson, Duncan
72. Hardy, Jaden
73. Payne, Cameron
74. McBride, Miles
75. Swider, Cole
76. Gordon, Eric
77. Dort, Luguentz
78. Jones, Colby
79. Brown, Jaylen
80. Kennard, Luke
81. Sims, Jericho
82. Vučević, Nikola
83. Maxey, Tyrese
84. Robinson, Orlando
85. Moody, Moses
86. Brooks, Dillon
87. Jackson, Reggie
88. Richards, Nick
89. Hauser, Sam
90. Tatum, Jayson
91. Mitchell, Donovan
92. Clarkson, Jordan
93. Barlow, Dominick
94. Clowney, Noah
95. Livingston, Chris
96. Williamson, Zion
97. Kornet, Luke
98. Carter, Wendell Jr.
99. Williams, Alondes
100. Len, Alex
101. Dosunmu, Ayo
102. Jackson, Andre Jr.
103. Shamet, Landry
104. Miller, Brandon
105. Eason, Tari
106. Ingles, Joe
107. Merrill, Sam
108. Beal, Bradley
109. Christie, Max
110. Quickley, Immanuel
111. Lively, Dereck II
112. Pickett, Jalen
113. Grimes, Quentin
114. Strawther, Julian
115. Konchar, John
116. Harris, Tobias
117. Murray, Kris
118. Holiday, Aaron
119. Bogdanović, Bogdan
120. Duke, David Jr.
121. Lee, Damion
122. Jackson, Jaren Jr.
123. Peterson, Drew
124. Williams, Mark
125. Šamanić, Luka
126. Lawson, A. J.
127. Adams, Steven
128. Middleton, Khris
129. Milton, Shake
130. Covington, Robert
131. O'Neale, Royce
132. Hinton, Nate
133. Wiseman, James
134. Spencer, Pat
135. Prosper, Olivier-Maxence
136. Simons, Anfernee
137. Samuels, Jermaine
138. Reaves, Austin
139. Gueye, Mouhamadou
140. Green, Draymond
141. Markkanen, Lauri
142. Reath, Duop
143. Isaac, Jonathan
144. Matthews, Wesley
145. Bouyea, Jamaree
146. Čančar, Vlatko
147. Morris, Marcus Sr.
148. Rozier, Terry
149. Warren, T. J.
150. Brissett, Oshae
151. Nurkić, Jusuf
152. Graham, Devonte'
153. Jeffries, DaQuan
154. Okeke, Chuma
155. Bates-Diop, Keita
156. Green, Josh
157. Badji, Ibou
158. Jordan, DeAndre
159. Davison, JD
160. Podziemski, Brandin
161. Highsmith, Haywood
162. Kleber, Maxi
163. Washington, Duane Jr.
164. Waters, Lindy III
165. Livers, Isaiah
166. Murray, Jamal
167. Looney, Kevon
168. Champagnie, Julian
169. Smith, Nick Jr.
170. Windler, Dylan
171. Fournier, Evan
172. Connaughton, Pat
173. Marshall, Naji
174. Wagner, Moritz
175. Drell, Henri
176. Minott, Josh
177. Williams, Jalen
178. Sabonis, Domantas
179. Hield, Buddy
180. Anunoby, OG
181. Bogdanović, Bojan
182. Bernard, Jules
183. Caruso, Alex
184. Smith, Dennis Jr.
185. Beasley, Malik
186. Harris, Kevon
187. Gallinari, Danilo
188. Williams, Patrick
189. Coulibaly, Bilal
190. Beverley, Patrick
191. Rollins, Ryan
192. Pritchard, Payton
193. Bertāns, Dāvis
194. Tate, Jae'Sean
195. Green, Jeff
196. Hendricks, Taylor
197. White, Coby
198. Williams, Grant
199. Dick, Gradey
200. Simmons, Ben
201. Forrest, Trent
202. Potter, Micah
203. Capela, Clint
204. Wood, Christian
205. Miller, Leonard
206. Allen, Jarrett
207. Castleton, Colin
208. Jaquez, Jaime Jr.
209. Huff, Jay
210. Jones, Kai
211. Nance, Larry Jr.
212. Whitehead, Dariq
213. Smart, Marcus
214. Jones, Damian
215. Cain, Jamal
216. Osman, Cedi
217. Howard, Jett
218. Morris, Monté
219. Kessler, Walker
220. Yurtseven, Ömer
221. Bey, Saddiq
222. Strus, Max
223. Tucker, P. J.
224. Gordon, Aaron
225. LaVine, Zach
226. Sheppard, Ben
227. Towns, Karl-Anthony
228. Garland, Darius
229. Black, Leaky
230. Tyson, Hunter
231. Šarić, Dario
232. Porter, Craig Jr.
233. Joe, Isaiah
234. Gill, Anthony
235. LeVert, Caris
236. Clark, Jaylen
237. Bryant, Thomas
238. Nesmith, Aaron
239. Lillard, Damian
240. Holiday, Jrue
241. Camara, Toumani
242. Wiggins, Aaron
243. Carter, Jevon
244. Russell, D'Angelo
245. Wiggins, Andrew
246. Lundy, Seth
247. Antetokounmpo, Giannis
248. Poole, Jordan
249. Watford, Trendon
250. Zeller, Cody
251. Gilyard, Jacob
252. Porter, Michael Jr.
253. Ellis, Keon
254. Eubanks, Drew
255. Portis, Bobby Jr.
256. Lewis, Kira Jr.
257. Prince, Taurean
258. Kuzma, Kyle
259. Queen, Trevelin
260. Smith, Terquavion
261. Daniels, Dyson
262. Pöltl, Jakob
263. Walker, Jabari
264. Exum, Dante
265. Pippen, Scotty Jr.
266. Boston, Brandon Jr.
267. Ball, Lonzo
268. Bassey, Charles
269. Irving, Kyrie
270. Primo, Joshua
271. Tshiebwe, Oscar
272. Mays, Skylar
273. Dieng, Ousmane
274. Diakite, Mamadi
275. Thomas, Cam
276. Flynn, Malachi
277. Booker, Devin
278. Brown, Greg III
279. Batum, Nicolas
280. Garza, Luka
281. Şengün, Alperen
282. Branham, Malaki
283. Wainright, Ish
284. Jackson, Quenton
285. Thompson, Tristan
286. Barnes, Scottie
287. Reddish, Cam
288. Lowry, Kyle
289. Hyland, Bones
290. Moore, Wendell Jr.
291. Tillman, Xavier
292. Ball, LaMelo
293. Achiuwa, Precious
294. Braun, Christian
295. Porziņģis, Kristaps
296. Lopez, Brook
297. Juzang, Johnny
298. Johnson, Keon
299. Seabron, Dereon
300. Westbrook, Russell
301. Harris, Gary
302. Diabaté, Moussa
303. Okogie, Josh
304. Caldwell-Pope, Kentavious
305. Sarr, Olivier
306. Fox, De'Aaron
307. Jackson-Davis, Trayce
308. Holiday, Justin
309. Thor, JT
310. Jarreau, DeJon
311. Quiñones, Lester
312. Smith, Jalen
313. Temple, Garrett
314. Johnson, Keyontae
315. Powell, Dwight
316. Galloway, Jaylin
317. Preston, Jason
318. Davis, Johnny
319. Valančiūnas, Jonas
320. Williams, Kenrich
321. Mann, Terance
322. Wagner, Franz
323. Barnes, Harrison
324. Brown, Troy Jr.
325. Watson, Peyton
326. Rhoden, Jared
327. Biyombo, Bismack
328. Hagans, Ashton
329. Wallace, Cason
330. George, Keyonte
331. Green, Jalen
332. Dinwiddie, Spencer
333. Kuminga, Jonathan
334. Bagley, Marvin III
335. Fontecchio, Simone
336. Williams, Brandon
337. Wesley, Blake
338. Jones, Tyus
339. Gafford, Daniel
340. Giddey, Josh
341. Jović, Nikola
342. Robinson, Jerome
343. DiVincenzo, Donte
344. Boeheim, Buddy
345. LaRavia, Jake
346. Porter, Jontay
347. Rose, Derrick
348. Suggs, Jalen
349. Santos, Gui
350. Houstan, Caleb
351. Taylor, Terry
352. Marjanović, Boban
353. Walker, Lonnie IV
354. Rupert, Rayan
355. Okongwu, Onyeka
356. Martin, Cody
357. Krejčí, Vít
358. Walker, Jarace
359. Dončić, Luka
360. Jones, Derrick Jr.
361. James, LeBron
362. Herro, Tyler
363. Mamukelashvili, Sandro
364. Duren, Jalen
365. Brown, Moses
366. Thybulle, Matisse
367. Dunn, Kris
368. Harden, James
369. Hayes, Jaxson
370. Jones, Tre
371. Lofton, Kenneth Jr.
372. Dowtin, Jeff
373. Moon, Xavier
374. Muscala, Mike
375. Goodwin, Jordan
376. Alexander-Walker, Nickeil
377. Washington, P. J.
378. Toppin, Obi
379. Fernando, Bruno
380. Young, Thaddeus
381. Murphy, Trey III
382. Thompson, Klay
383. Crowder, Jae
384. Watanabe, Yuta
385. Hill, Malcolm
386. Queta, Neemias
387. Okoro, Isaac
388. Avdija, Deni
389. Powell, Norman
390. Gueye, Mouhamed
391. Nnaji, Zeke
392. Clarke, Brandon
393. Liddell, E. J.
394. George, Paul
395. Mitchell, Davion
396. Nance, Pete
397. Umude, Stanley
398. Roddy, David
399. Martin, Caleb
400. Council, Ricky IV
401. Schofield, Admiral
402. Hayward, Gordon
403. Jones, Mason
404. Hunter, De'Andre
405. Bailey, Amari
406. Toppin, Jacob
407. Ayton, Deandre
408. Melton, De'Anthony
409. Trent, Gary Jr.
410. Slawson, Jalen
411. Ryan, Matt
412. Randle, Julius
413. Drummond, Andre
414. McGowens, Bryce
415. Richardson, Josh
416. Whitmore, Cam
417. Carton, D. J.
418. Siakam, Pascal
419. Sochan, Jeremy
420. McDaniels, Jalen
421. Beauchamp, MarJon
422. Gray, RaiQuan
423. Bane, Desmond
424. Jackson, GG
425. McLaughlin, Jordan
426. VanVleet, Fred
427. Collins, John
428. Cunningham, Cade
429. Green, A. J.
430. Bol, Bol
431. Williams, Vince Jr.
432. Azubuike, Udoka
433. Wilson, Jalen
434. Brown, Kendall
435. Giles, Harry III
436. Funk, Andrew
437. McCollum, CJ
438. Wade, Dean
439. Edwards, Anthony
440. Boucher, Chris
441. Jones, Herbert
442. Brogdon, Malcolm
443. Fultz, Markelle
444. Jemison, Trey
445. Mobley, Isaiah
446. Murray, Dejounte
447. Martin, Kenyon Jr.
448. Sasser, Marcus
449. Champagnie, Justin
450. Bates, Emoni
451. Conley, Mike Jr.
452. Coffey, Amir
453. Butler, Jimmy
454. Craig, Torrey
455. Johnson, Cameron
456. Turner, Myles
457. Wong, Isaiah
458. Bitim, Onuralp
459. Garuba, Usman
460. Sanogo, Adama
461. Oubre, Kelly Jr.
462. Minaya, Justin
463. Bullock, Reggie
464. Niang, Georges
465. Wembanyama, Victor
466. Love, Kevin
467. Black, Anthony
468. Mykhailiuk, Sviatoslav
469. Sexton, Collin
470. Bitadze, Goga
471. Olynyk, Kelly
472. Durant, Kevin
473. Ford, Jordan
474. Fudge, Alex
475. Bazley, Darius
476. Stewart, Isaiah
477. Omoruyi, Eugene
478. Pokuševski, Aleksej
479. Leonard, Kawhi
480. Robinson, Mitchell
481. Brown, Kobe
482. Allen, Grayson
483. Robinson-Earl, Jeremiah
484. Williams, Ziaire
485. Adebayo, Bam
486. Micić, Vasilije
487. Davis, Anthony
488. Thompson, Amen
489. Kispert, Corey
490. Phillips, Julian
491. Sensabaugh, Brice
492. Mills, Patty
493. Brown, Charlie Jr.
494. Brunson, Jalen
495. Bufkin, Kobe
496. Zubac, Ivica
497. Banton, Dalano
498. Anthony, Cole
499. Lee, Saben
500. Gibson, Taj
501. Mathews, Garrison
502. Terry, Dalen
503. Edwards, Kessler
504. McConnell, T. J.
505. Nembhard, Andrew
506. Ramsey, Jahmi'us
507. Hachimura, Rui
508. Reed, Paul
509. Evbuomwan, Tosan
510. Brown, Bruce
511. Stevens, Lamar
512. Landale, Jock
513. Theis, Daniel
514. Sharpe, Shaedon
515. Vassell, Devin
516. Springer, Jaden
517. Hardaway, Tim Jr.
518. Hawkins, Jordan
519. Gillespie, Collin
520. Anderson, Kyle
521. Morant, Ja
522. Nix, Daishen
523. Horton-Tucker, Talen
524. Claxton, Nic
525. Ingram, Brandon
526. Monk, Malik
527. Jackson, Isaiah
528. Cissoko, Sidy
529. Johnson, Jalen
530. Reid, Naz
531. Holmes, Richaun
532. Duarte, Chris
533. Washington, TyTy Jr.