https://imgur.com/Yip50i1
Graph of subvariants and recombinants sampled in Washington state over the past five months, put together using data from GISAID and Nextclade Web v2.14.1. The dashed line represents the proportion of PCR positive tests that have been sequenced so far.
Note: The graph above excludes the most recent week of May 28th as it consists of only 10 sequences and is far too low to be useful visually. For the sake of transparency I am however including that week in the table below.
Five of the past twelve weeks are "incomplete", defined as fewer than 9 % of PCR positive samples sequenced. The most three recent weeks are "very incomplete", defined as fewer than than 5 % of PCR positive samples sequenced.
https://imgur.com/NI6B0pQ
Table with most recent four weeks of data. These numbers will fluctuate with backfill, especially for the week(s) indicated as "incomplete" and "very incomplete". Values may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
Additional tables below illustrate changes due to recent backfill.
https://imgur.com/RFAOfnO
https://imgur.com/jTX0H2A
We're seeing a massive reduction in the number of sequences coming in since the Public Health Emergency ended in May. Fewer than 100 samples were uploaded in the past two weeks. Our state is at least still providing information but the dramatic shift in sample-size pretty depressing. It makes it very difficult to determine if what I'm looking at is normal variation or something significant.
The CDC Nowcast recently changed to posting an update every two weeks. I don't want to do that but it hardly feels useful updating you all when only 50 or so sequences have come in since last time. I'll have to think about this.
Repeated Notes:
It's definitely looking like we're going to get a recombinant soup. Hard to suss out which mutations to focus on again because there are so many and little info on which ones are actually significant. There's also the issue of how they may not interact with each other in predictable ways.
I hope to have something more focused/useful for these newer recombinant subvariants in the next couple of weeks.
Definitions of aliases referenced in state sequencing graphs and tables:

• BA.2* includes aliases BL* , BM.1.1.1, BN.1* , BR* , BY.1, CA* , CH* , CJ.1, CM* , DS* , DV* , FJ.1, FK* , and FR.1
• BA.5* includes aliases BE* , BF* , BQ* (except BQ.1.1* and BQ.1* ), BT.2, BU.1, BW.1* , CK* , CL.1, CN.2, CP* , CQ.2, CR.1.1, DF.1.1, DG.1, DL.1, and DY.4
• BQ.1* alias of BA.5.3.1.1.1.1.1.*
• BQ.1.1.* alias of BA.5.3.1.1.1.1.1.1.* includes aliases DK.1, DN.1* , DR* , DT* , DU.1, ED* , EE* , EF* , EH.1, ER.1, EW.2, and EY.1
• X* alias of any recombinant, aka: two sublineages merged into one new one, includes XAY.2, XBB* (excluding list below), XBC.1.3, XBF* , XBK, and XBM
• XBB* alias of an Omicron-Omicron recombinant (BJ.1 and BM.1.1.1) includes aliases FE* and FY* and excludes the following:
• XBB.1.5* includes aliases EK.2, EL.1, EU.1.1, FD.2, and FG.3
• XBB.1.9.1* includes alias FL*
• XBB.1.9.2* includes alias EG*
• XBB.1.9.3* includes alias GD.1
• XBB.1.16* includes alias FU*
• XBB.2.3* includes alias GE.1

The * symbol means there are even more sublineages branching out under that designation umbrella.
Resources:

• https://gisaid.org/
• https://clades.nextstrain.org/
• https://github.com/cov-lineages/pango-designation/blob/mastepango_designation/alias_key.json
• https://doh.wa.gov/emergencies/covid-19/data-dashboard
• https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracke#variant-proportions

https://imgur.com/Yip50i1
Graph of subvariants and recombinants sampled in Washington state over the past five months, put together using data from GISAID and Nextclade Web v2.14.1. The dashed line represents the proportion of PCR positive tests that have been sequenced so far.
Note: The graph above excludes the most recent week of May 28th as it consists of only 10 sequences and is far too low to be useful visually. For the sake of transparency I am however including that week in the table below.
Five of the past twelve weeks are "incomplete", defined as fewer than 9 % of PCR positive samples sequenced. The most three recent weeks are "very incomplete", defined as fewer than than 5 % of PCR positive samples sequenced.
https://imgur.com/NI6B0pQ
Table with most recent four weeks of data. These numbers will fluctuate with backfill, especially for the week(s) indicated as "incomplete" and "very incomplete". Values may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
Additional tables below illustrate changes due to recent backfill.
https://imgur.com/RFAOfnO
https://imgur.com/jTX0H2A
We're seeing a massive reduction in the number of sequences coming in since the Public Health Emergency ended in May. Fewer than 100 samples were uploaded in the past two weeks. Our state is at least still providing information but the dramatic shift in sample-size pretty depressing. It makes it very difficult to determine if what I'm looking at is normal variation or something significant.
The CDC Nowcast recently changed to posting an update every two weeks. I don't want to do that but it hardly feels useful updating you all when only 50 or so sequences have come in since last time. I'll have to think about this.
Repeated Notes:
It's definitely looking like we're going to get a recombinant soup. Hard to suss out which mutations to focus on again because there are so many and little info on which ones are actually significant. There's also the issue of how they may not interact with each other in predictable ways.
I hope to have something more focused/useful for these newer recombinant subvariants in the next couple of weeks.
Definitions of aliases referenced in state sequencing graphs and tables:

• BA.2* includes aliases BL* , BM.1.1.1, BN.1* , BR* , BY.1, CA* , CH* , CJ.1, CM* , DS* , DV* , FJ.1, FK* , and FR.1
• BA.5* includes aliases BE* , BF* , BQ* (except BQ.1.1* and BQ.1* ), BT.2, BU.1, BW.1* , CK* , CL.1, CN.2, CP* , CQ.2, CR.1.1, DF.1.1, DG.1, DL.1, and DY.4
• BQ.1* alias of BA.5.3.1.1.1.1.1.*
• BQ.1.1.* alias of BA.5.3.1.1.1.1.1.1.* includes aliases DK.1, DN.1* , DR* , DT* , DU.1, ED* , EE* , EF* , EH.1, ER.1, EW.2, and EY.1
• X* alias of any recombinant, aka: two sublineages merged into one new one, includes XAY.2, XBB* (excluding list below), XBC.1.3, XBF* , XBK, and XBM
• XBB* alias of an Omicron-Omicron recombinant (BJ.1 and BM.1.1.1) includes aliases FE* and FY* and excludes the following:
• XBB.1.5* includes aliases EK.2, EL.1, EU.1.1, FD.2, and FG.3
• XBB.1.9.1* includes alias FL*
• XBB.1.9.2* includes alias EG*
• XBB.1.9.3* includes alias GD.1
• XBB.1.16* includes alias FU*
• XBB.2.3* includes alias GE.1

The * symbol means there are even more sublineages branching out under that designation umbrella.
Resources:

• https://gisaid.org/
• https://clades.nextstrain.org/
• https://github.com/cov-lineages/pango-designation/blob/mastepango_designation/alias_key.json
• https://doh.wa.gov/emergencies/covid-19/data-dashboard
• https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracke#variant-proportions

So I finally ran a session with three friends, one had never watched Star Trek and the other two had only watched a few episodes. I ran a homebrewed Kobayashi Maru so that everyone could run it through a few times, trying out different stations and solutions, and getting a feel for the rules of the game. The crew consisted of 3 cadets at Starfleet Academy taking part in a regular training simulation.
Cadet Daksha Ito, Human, pilot.
Cadet Sevek, Vulcan, security.
Cadet V1-803, Hologram, science.
USS Endeavour, NCC-1768-A, simulated Ambassador class starship.
Attempt 1: USS Endeavour on patrol near the Romulan Neutral Zone, Captain V1-803 in command, Sevek at tactical, Daksha Ito at helm. A garbled transmission is received on the emergency band, the crew fails to clear it up but they succeed in determining its origin and set course. They discover an antimatter fuel carrier that seems to have suffered some kind of accident, one of the fuel bunkers has exploded and the ship is drifting into the Neutral Zone. Sensors detected 106 lifeforms aboard, presumably the crew and passengers. Sevek makes a critical success on his attempt to detect any nearby Romulans (helped by his focus Cloaking Detection) and finds a gravimetric anomaly within the Neutral Zone that could be a Romulan ship. Against the wishes of the ship's doctor, who wants to go across immediately, Sevek beams to the Kobayashi Maru with a security team first to secure the ship. Meanwhile V1 and Daksha utilise the Endeavour's tractor beam to pull the Kobayashi Maru away from the Neutral Zone. Sevek secures the bridge, finding a dead pilot but no one else, Dr Washington beams across and, after a failed check by Sevek, she proceeds to head to the passenger deck to treat any injuries, unfortunately the moment she opens the door she takes a blast from a disruptor and is vaporised. The away team beams back under fire and the gravimetric disturbance begins moving out of the Neutral Zone, on course to intercept the Endeavour. Having determined that the gravimetric disturbance was probably a Romulan warbird (It was) the decision was made to fire first, thanks to Sevek's earlier detection of the ship and some critical roles the warbird took the full force of the Endeavour's firepower without its shields. Shortly afterwards a transmission was received from a Romulan fleet lead by the Praetor, he stated that the unprovoked destruction of a Romulan ship would not go unavenged and he declared war on the Federation.
Attempt 2: This one was rather quick. Captain Daksha Ito decided to tow the Kobayashi Maru away from the Neutral Zone and any Romulan vessels by pulling it within the Endeavour's warp field. This time there were no Romulans aboard but there was a risk of antimatter containment breach that the crew would have to deal with. As the crew did not beam aboard or do any kind of remote inspection, the entirety of the Kobayashi Maru's fuel and cargo went up and taking the Endeavour with it. The cadets were left believing that this was the work of Romulan fanatics carrying out a suicide bombing.
Attempt 3: Sevek now in command, Ito at tactical, V1 at helm. This time the crew detects the gravimetric disturbance and successfully makes contact with the Kobayashi Mary, however their attempt to tow the ship suffers a critical failure, the tractoring effect is no evenly distributed and the Kobayashi Maru is cracked in half. Fortunately V1's quick thinking and good rolls managed to save all but 3 of the crew and passengers. The Captain of the Kobayashi Maru has to be talked down from his rage by Captain Sevek before he leads a mob of angry people in a brawl with the Endeavour's crew but fortunately Sevek manages a success on his roll and calms the Captain down, although a report to Starfleet and a demand for reimbursement will be incoming. Unfortunately while the crew was distracted with rescue efforts, the gravimetric disturbance begins moving at high warp towards a nearby Federation colony. The Endeavour moves to intercept at maximum warp and her superior warp drive and some successful engineering rolls allow her to intercept before the ship reaches the colony. The vessel decloaks revealing a Klingon bird of prey with Orion markings painted on her hull. The bird of prey turns to engage the Endeavour nose to nose but misses its attacks, Ito returns fire, scoring critical hits and destroying the bird of prey's engines, the pirate ship is now flying out of control towards the Endeavour. V1 rolls to avoid but fails, the two ships collide and are both destroyed.
It was getting late and mutual destruction seemed a good way to end so I called the session there. The whole thing was a bit janky, with a lot of double checking rules, but everyone had a lot of fun and as first sessions with a new RPG system go I think it was one of my better ones. They're even keen to try out a proper campaign and I've started plotting it out and leading books so that they can create their own characters.
The best part is that is that because they know so little about Star Trek I can tell them that things like "You've been ordered to join a fleet at Wolf 359" and they won't know what's coming.

Kyiv’s counteroffensive against Russian forces has started, a Washington, DC-based think tank monitoring the war in Ukraine has said, though Ukrainian officials continue to deny or decline confirmation that their long-awaited campaign to retake territory occupied by Russian forces is under way.
​
“The Ukrainian #counteroffensive has begun. Activity throughout #Ukraine is consistent with a variety of indicators that Ukrainian counteroffensive operations are underway across the theater,” the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in a series of tweets late on Thursday.
​
Ukrainian officials have confirmed that their forces are on the offensive in the Bakhmut region – where they have reportedly gained territory – and the ISW said that it had “observed a general uptick in military activity across the entire front line, not all of it part of the Ukrainian counter-offensive effort”.
​
The ISW said the counteroffensive “won’t likely unfold as a single grand operation”.
​
“It will likely consist of many undertakings at numerous locations of varying size and intensity over many weeks.”
​
With Ukrainian officials signalling that the start of the counteroffensive will not be officially announced, other experts have also concluded that the campaign has begun amid reports of fighting intensifying in areas along the more-than-1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line from Kherson on the Black Sea to Ukraine’s border with Russia.
​
NBC News, citing a senior officer and a soldier near the front lines, also said the offensive had started, while The Washington Post, citing “four individuals” in the armed forces, reported the same information on Thursday.
​
Asked about those reports, a spokesperson for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine told the Reuters news agency: “We have no such information.”
​
In his nightly address on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed what he described as “results” in heavy fighting in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.
​
“I am in constant communication with our military. The commanders of Khortytsia, Tavria, [and] all those involved in the hottest areas. Donetsk region – very tough battles,” he said.
​
“But there is a result, and I am grateful to everyone who ensures this result! Bakhmut – well done. Step by step. I thank each of our warriors!”
​
In a podcast on Wednesday, Michael Kofman of the Center for Naval Analyses, a US research group, said fighting had taken a “more qualitative turn” with Ukrainian forces appearing to mount offensive operations near the eastern town of Velyka Novosilka and other points in the southern part of the Donetsk region, as well as on its border with the Zaporizhia region.
​
“These attacks, I don’t believe [them] to be the main offensive effort, but they mark what I think is the beginning of the Ukrainian offensive,” he said.
​
Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull, reporting from Kyiv, said that Ukraine has made it clear it will not give “a running commentary on what is going on” as it appears to not “want to give up the element of surprise”.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/9/ukraine-counteroffensive-against-russia-under-way-think-tank

This list is purely based on who is better RIGHT NOW. Which TEs would you take first in a fantasy draft (think madden) for multiple seasons.
This is not based on past seasons and accomplishments!! This is just my opinion. Everyone has one! Let the games begin...
*Rookies Excluded due to never playing a down in the league, therefore I feel I can’t compare them to established vets fairly*
Starting High to Low:

1. Travis Kelce - Kansas City Chiefs
2. George Kittle - San Francisco 49ers
3. Mark Andrews - Baltimore Ravens
4. Dallas Goedert - Philadelphia Eagles
5. TJ Hockenson - Minnesota Vikings
6. Kyle Pitts - Atlanta Falcons
7. Pat Freiermuth - Pittsburgh Steelers
8. Darren Waller - New York Giants
9. Dalton Schultz - Houston Texans
10. David Njoku - Cleveland Browns
11. Zach Ertz - Arizona Cardinals
12. Evan Engram - Jacksonville Jaguars
13. Logan Thomas - Washington Commanders
14. Dawson Knox - Buffalo Bills
15. Chigoziem Okonkwo - Tennessee Titans
16. Cole Kmet - Chicago Bears
17. Gerald Everett - Los Angeles Chargers
18. Greg Dulcich - Denver Broncos
19. Hunter Henry - New England Patriots
20. Marcedes Lewis - New York Jets

Does anyone know just how much of the stuff the main characters do is actually scripted? Like there are some songs like Stay Alive and Ten Duel Commandments where they seem almost entirely scripted (idk if they are) but then there are songs like What’d I Miss and Washington On Your Side where the cast (mostly Daveed) seem to be doing their own kind of thing. Anyone got any idea how much they’ve actually been given in the script in terms of what they need to do and how much is freestyled?

https://www.timestelegram.com/story/news/history/2023/06/08/mohawk-valley-history-lafayette-owed-life-to-augustas-amos-parke70299078007/
​
​
1825, 198 years ago
A tearful reunion
You can't miss Amos Parker. He is well over six feet tall. Some say closer to seven. Many say he was the tallest soldier in the American army during the Revolutionary War.
​
This week, the now 63-year-old Parker enters Shepard's Hotel on Bagg's Square in Utica (really the Bagg's Hotel, but the name was changed while Abraham Shepard owned it from 1825 to 1828). Parker is determined to meet the hotel's distinguished guest, the Marquis de Lafayette.
​
In 1777, while the Revolutionary War was raging, the then 19-year-old, tall, red-haired Lafayette left his home in France and joined the American army in its fight to win for the American colonies their independence from Great Britain. He fought in many battles and, in 1781, commanded troops in Yorktown, Virginia, when British Gen. Charles Cornwallis surrendered his army to Gen. George Washington, just about ensuring an end to the war and an American victory.
​
On the night of January 30, 1948, Utica firefighters fought one of the most spectacular fires in the city’s history. Flames roared through “The Long Block” on the west side of Lower Genesee Street, between Oriskany and Whitesboro streets. The 3-alarm blaze was fought in temperatures 30 below zero. Seventeen firefighters were injured and 11 businesses damaged. Losses were estimated at $400,000.
Now, 44 years later, the 68-year-old Lafayette is back in America, touring the country as a guest of its grateful citizens. This week, after visits in Rome, Oriskany and Whitesboro, he enters Utica triumphantly via the Rome Road (today Lafayette Street). After a big celebration, he is in his hotel room, resting before continuing his journey east.
​
Suddenly, there is a knock on the door and in walks the very tall Amos Parker. At first, Lafayette is puzzled, but then Parker begins to relate an incident that occurred at the Battle of Yorktown.
​
As the fighting there raged, Lafayette ordered 25 of his men — including Parker — to remove a fence so that Lafayette could lead his soldiers through the breach. "Once you remove the fence," Lafayette shouted, "allow me and my men to ride through the opening. Do not fire your weapons!"
​
More:Utica's Conkling leading figure at 1880 Republican convention: Mohawk Valley history
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More:Utica Independent Infantry Company prepares for war: This week in Mohawk Valley history
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More:Later known for illustrations, Saturday Globe began without: Mohawk Valley history
​
The fence was removed and Lafayette and his men began to ride through. Suddenly, Parker spotted a British sniper aiming his rifle at Lafayette. Before the sniper could fire, though, Parker raised his musket and shot him.
​
Unbelievingly, an aide to Lafayette had Parker court-martialed for disobeying Lafayette's "don't fire your weapon" order. He, of course, was acquitted when it was learned that by disobeying the order, he had saved Lafayette's life.
​
Now, in a hotel room 44 years later, Parker and Lafayette relive the incident. They embrace and (a historian later wrote) enjoy "a heart-tugging event and weep" in each other's arms. (After the war, Parker settled in the town of Augusta in southwestern Oneida County and died there in 1842 at age 80. He was buried at the Parker (Augusta) Cemetery at the intersection of Augusta-Solsville Road and Anderson Road. A blue and yellow state marker there reads: AMOS PARKER, TALLEST MAN IN AMERICAN ARMY. SAVED GEN. LAFAYETTE'S LIFE. PRESENT AT THE SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS. BURIED HERE.
​
1923, 100 years ago
Record at UFA
A class of 210 students receive diplomas at Utica Free Academy (UFA), the largest class ever graduated in the school's more than 100-year history. The Right Reverend Charles Fiske, bishop coadjutor of the Central New York Episcopal Diocese, addresses the students: "Why has the city of Utica paid for your education? … It expects to receive from you a return for its investment. You owe the community repayment for this debt. Not in money, but in service. You are expected to exercise a high standard of living, put forth an honest effort to make your neighborhood a better place to live and accept public calls of duty to serve your community with its charities and efforts to improve the public well-being."
​
1948, 75 years ago
Utica in novel
Carl Sandburg, noted poet and historian, completes a novel that contains a chapter on Utica and the Erie Canal. He was in Utica a year ago to collect material for the novel: "Remembrance Rock."
​
1973, 50 years ago
GE contract
The General Electric Aircraft Equipment Division in Utica is awarded a $1.3 million contract for a computer system for the Viking Orbiter, which will explore Mars in 1975.
​
1998, 25 years ago
Morrisville celebrates
The village of Morrisville celebrates its 150th anniversary. It was incorporated in 1848 and named for its founder, Thomas Morris. He settled in the area in 1797 and built a house on the corner of today's Main and Cedar streets. His father, Robert, was a Founding Father from Pennsylvania, who signed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
​
Civita M. Allard, a registered nurse and an associate professor in the Health Services Department at Mohawk Valley Community College, receives the college's "alumna of merit" award.
​
In American Legion baseball, Utica Post defeats Parkhurst Post, 13 to 3, behind the pitching of Chris Donalty (a four hitter) and the hitting of Eric Miller (3 hits, 2 RBIs). Meanwhile, Whitestown beats Lee, 6 to 4, behind the hitting of Jason Englehart, Mike Antanavige, Bernie Martin, Brent Wengert and Matt Maine. Steve Rice has two hits for Lee.
​
The Genetaska Club of New Hartford elects Ellen Boerger as its president. Other officers include: Peg Mullin, vice president; Barbara Reinshagen, recording secretary; Sue Maher, corresponding secretary; Joyce Ebensperger, treasurer; and directors Joyce Goggin, Ada Ruhm, Ellie Lampert and Barbara Weaver.
​
2013, 10 years ago
Pro hockey returns
Utica, after many years without a professional hockey team, has one again. The Utica Comets are in the American Hockey League, a minor league affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks in the National Hockey League. They will play in the Utica Memorial Auditorium. Robert Esche, a former goalie in the National Hockey League and president of the Mohawk Valley Garden, will operate the team. Mayor Robert Palmieri says the move fits in with his vision for a revitalized Bagg's Square and Harbor Point development. "What a great day for the city!" he says. "The emotion is overwhelming."
​
The Greater Utica Sports Hall of Fame inducts Stan "Buddy" Evans, longtime baseball coach at Rome Free Academy and college football official; Bill Holowaty, originally from Mohawk, longtime baseball coach at Eastern Connecticut State University; Ed Wadas, a "super" supporter of local athletics and called the "candy man" for giving out candy at local games, especially in Whitesboro, Oriskany and New York Mills; and Tom Wells, multi-sport coach at New Hartford schools, especially known for his highly successful swim teams.
​
Bobbi Jo Kahl is approved by the town board in Remsen as as the town justice.
​
In American Legion baseball, Roberts Post defeats Whitestown, 3 to 1. Nate Palmer, a senior at Holland Patent High, strikes out 18 and gets the win. He is supported by the hitting of Kinsey Williams, Nico Ramos and Austin Mann. Whitestown's Jared Muraca pitches well, allowing only five hits.
​
Trivia quiz
Next Sunday is Father's Day. Let's celebrate with a tough question. Name the man who was the son of a U.S. president and also the father of a U.S. president. If you can't name him, at least name the two presidents. (Answer will appear here next week.)
​
Answer to last week's question: Richard Nixon was president when, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin first walked on the surface of the moon after landing in the Apollo 11 lunar module.
​
This Week in History is researched and written by Frank Tomaino. E-mail him at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]).

200+/1000$ Gift Trades in 5 years

 

Made a google doc because the list is long

My Steam Rep: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WEgt1Kjaf8PbkinQ0opU41fysTwYC0xMgX_kjDOgldg/edit?usp=sharing
 

YOUR FAVOURITE SELLER IS BACK FOR 5TH YEAR IN A ROW. CHECK MY REP THREAD

 

CACHE Price Increases as I stock out & Reservation is Compulsory

 
Want items worth listed Amount or items (1.2x - STEAM TAX). I will not go first. The link to add me :LINK to ADD ME
 

Ultra Rare Immortals 2022

Item	Quantity	Price	Type	Reserved
Bloodfeather Finery (Queen of Pain)	1	50$ or Items	Ultra Rare Immortal 2	LastLeft
The Strings of Suradan (Hoodwink)	1	30$ or Items	Ultra Rare Immortal 1	LastLeft

 

Diretide Collectors Cache-2 2022

Item	Quantity	Price	Type	Reserved
Sublime Equilibrium (Void Spirit)	2	45$ or Items	Very Rare Direteide Collectors Cache	One Sold Last Left
Brands of the Reaper (Anti Mage)	5	13$ or Items	Rare Direteide Collectors Cache 2	Two Sold
Grudges of the Gallows Tree (Treant)	6	15$ or Items	Rare Direteide Collectors Cache 2	Four Sold
War Rig Eradicators (Techies)	5	4.5$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache 2	One Sold
Sacred Chamber Guardian (Huskar)	5	5.5$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache 2	Two Sold
Acrimonies of Obsession (Vengeful Spirit)	5	3.5$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache 2	None
Freeboot Fortunes (Ogre Magi)	5	3.5$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache 2	None
Withering Pain (Clinkz)	5	3.5$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache 2	One Sold
Darkfeather Factioneer (Phantom Assassin)	5	5$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache 2	One Sold
Feasts of Forever (Night Stalker)	5	5.5$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache 2	Two Sold
Cursed Cryptbreaker (Pudge)	5	5.5$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache 2	Two Sold
Dawn of Darkness Foretold (Doom)	5	6$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache 2	Two Sold
The Wilding Tiger (Brewmaster)	5	4$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache 2	One Sold
Transcendent Path (Oracle)	5	3.5$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache 2	None
Darkbrew´s Transgression (Alchemist)	5	6$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache 2	Two Sold
Grand Suppressor (Silencer)	5	4.5$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache 2	One Sold
Bird of Prey (Legion Commander)	5	4.5$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache 2	One Sold

 

Diretide Collectors Cache 2022

Item	Quantity	Price	Type	Reserved
Dark Behemoth (Primal Beast	2	25	Very Rare Direteide Collectors Cache	Sold Out
Angel of Vex (Invoker)	3	18$	Rare Direteide Collectors Cache	One Sold One Reserved One Left
Blue Horizons(Marci)	4	16$ or Items	Rare Direteide Collectors Cache	One Sold Two Reserved Last Left
Shadowleaf Insurgent (Hoodwink)	3	10$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache	Two Sold Last Left
Scarlet Subversion (Riki)	3	10$	Direteide Collectors Cache	Two Sold Last Reserved
WhipperSnapper (Snap Fire)	3	8$	Direteide Collectors Cache	SOLD OUT
Hounds of Obsession (Chen)	3	7.5$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache	Two Sold Last Left
Seadog's Stash (Clockwerk)	3	6$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache	One Sold
Starlorn Adjudicator (Dawn Breaker)	3	10$	Direteide Collectors Cache	Two Sold Last Reserved
Spoils of the Shadowveil (Spectre)	3	$8	Direteide Collectors Cache	Sold OUT
Chines of the Inquisitor (Faceless Void)	3	5.5$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache	One Sold
Trophies of the hallowed hunt (Ursa)	3	9$	Direteide Collectors Cache	SOLD OUT
Crimson Dawn (Phoenix)	3	5.5$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache	One Sold
Forgotten Station (Terrorblade)	3	4.5$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache	None
Dirge Amplifier (Undying)	3	5.5$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache	One Sold
Champions of the Fire Lotus (Monkey King)	3	7.5$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache	Two Sold Last Left
Deathstitch Shaman (Witch Doctor)	3	5.5$ or Items	Direteide Collectors Cache	One Sold

 

Aghanim's Continuum Cache 2021 / Ti-11

Item	Quantity	Price	Type	Reserved
Pyrexae Polymorph Perfected (Ogre Magi)	4	15$ or Items	Aghanim Cache Rare	Three Sold Last Left
Scales of the Shadow Walker (Phantom Lancer)	4	12$ or Items	Aghanim Cache	Two Sold
Test of the Basilisk Lord (Razor)	4	10$ or Items	Aghanim Cache	One Sold
Secrets of the Frost Singularity (Ancient Apparation)	4	5$ or Items	Aghanim Cache	None
Perils of the Red Banks (Chen)	4	7$ or Items	Aghanim Cache	Two Sold One Reserved Last Left
The Chained Scribe (Grimstroke)	4	5$ or Items	Aghanim Cache	One Sold
Widow of the Undermount Gloom (Broodmother)	4	9.5$ or Items	Aghanim Cache	Two Sold
Forgotten Fate (Mars)	4	5$ or Items	Aghanim Cache	One Sold
March of the Crackerjack Mage (Rubick)	4	10$ or Items	Aghanim Cache	Two Sold
Cosmic Concoctioneers (Alchemist)	4	12$ or Items	Aghanim Cache	Two Sold
Blightfall (Abbadon)	4	8$ or Items	Aghanim Cache	Two Sold

 

Nemestice Cache 2021 / Ti-11

Item	Quantity	Price	Type	Reserved
Twilight Hex (Dark Willow)	3	10$ or Items	Nemestice Cache 1	Two Sold Last Left
Astral Terminus (Enigma)	3	9$ or Items	Nemestice Cache 1	1 Sold
Caerulean Star (Enchantress)	3	6$ or Items	Nemestice Cache 1	One Sold
Arcane Inverter (Gyrocopter)	3	15$ or Items	Nemestice Cache 1	2 Sold Last Left
Red Sands Marauder (Shadow Shaman)	4	20$	Nemestice Cache 1	Three Sold Last Left
Herald of the Ember Eye (Grimstroke)	3	8$ or Items	Nemestice Cache 1	Two Sold LAST Left
Creed of the Skullhound (Lycan)	3	18$ or Items	Nemestice Cache 1	Two Sold Last Left

 -

Collector's Cache 2020 / Ti-10

Item	Quantity	Price	Type	Reserved
Steward of the Forbidden Chamber (TA/Templar Assassin)	3	15$	TI-10 Rare Cache 2	Two Sold Last Left
Clearcut Cavalier (Timbersaw)	3	5$ or Items	TI-10 Cache 2	One Sold
The King Of Thieves (KOTL/ Keeper of the Light)	3	4$ or Items	TI-10 Cache 2	One Sold
Talons of the Endless Storm (CK/Chaos Knight)	3	7.5$ or Items	TI-10 Cache 2	One Sold
A carousel of the Mystic Masquerade (Rubick)	3	10$ or Items	TI-10 Cache 2	Two Sold Last Left
Crown of Calaphas (SD/Shadow Demon)	3	5$ or Items	TI-10 Cache 2	None
Blacksail Cannoneer (Sniper)	3	7$ or Items	TI-10 Cache 2	None
Blaze of Oblivion (Phoenix)	3	7$ or Items	TI-10 Cache 2	None
Songs of Starfall Glen (Enchantress)	3	4$ or Items	TI-10 Cache 1	None
Flashpoint Proselyte (Huskar)	3	10$ or Items	TI-10 Cache 1	One Sold
Signs of Allfather (Nature Prophet)	3	10$ or Items	TI-10 Cache 1	Two Sold Last Left
Beholden of Banished Ones (Warlock)	3	6$ or Items	TI-10 Cache 1	One Sold
Fissured Flight (Jakiro)	3	8$ or Items	TI-10 Cache 1	Two Sold Last Left
Mindless Slaughter (Pudge)	3	11$ or Items	TI-10 Cache 1	One Sold
Fury of Righteous Storm (Disruptor)	3	4$ or Items	TI-10 Cache 1	None
Apocalypse Unbound (Ancient Apparation)	3	6$ or Items	TI-10 Cache 1	One Sold
Herald of Ember Eyes (Grimstroke)	3	8$ or Items	TI-10 Cache 1	One Sold

 

Collector's Cache 2019/ Ti-9

Item	Quantity	Price	Type	Reserved
Fowl Omen (Necrophos)	4	13$	TI-9 Rare Cache Set-2	Three Sold Last Left
Prized Acquisitions (Batrider)	4	7$	TI-9 Cache Set-2	Two Sold
The sight of the Kha-Ren Faithful (Drow Ranger)	4	10$	TI-9 Cache Set-2	One Sold
Directive of the Sunbound(Clockwerk)	5	7$	TI-9 Cache Set-2	Three Sold
Distinguished Expeditionary (Tusk)	4	7$	TI-9 Cache Set-2	Two Sold
Automaton Antiquity (Broodmother)	5	6$	TI-9 Cache Set-2	Three Sold
Fury of the Bloodforge (Bloodseeker)	5	7$	TI-9 Cache Set-2	Two Sold
Tribal Pathways (Warlock)	5	6$	TI-9 Cache Set-2	Two Sold
Verdant Predator (Venomancer)	5	9$	TI-9 Cache Set-2	Two Sold
Tales of the Windward Rogue (Pangolier)	4	20$	TI-9 Cache Set-2	Sold OUT
Priest of the Proudsilver Clan (Chen-Long Live Harambe)	3	5$	TI-9 Cache Set	One Sold
The Arts of Mortal Deception (Enigma)	3	9$	TI-9 Cache Set	Two Sold Last Left
Poacher's Bane (Tidehunter)	3	6$	TI-9 Cache Set	One Sold1
Riddle of the Hierophant (Oracle)	3	9$ or 3 Keys	TI-9 Cache Set	Two Sold Last Left

 

Collector's Cache 2018/ Ti-8

Item	Quantity	Price	Type	Reserved
Raptures of the Abyssal Kin (Queen of Pain)	4	12$	TI-8 Cache Set	Three Sold Last Left
Raiments of the Obsidian Forge (Underlord)	4	18$	TI-8 Rare Cache Set	Three Sold Last Left
Shackles of the Enduring Conscript (Axe)	4	10$	TI-8 Cache Set	Three Sold Last Left
Pattern of the Silken Queen (Brood)	4	8$	TI-8 Cache Set	Three Sold Last Left

 

Collector's Cache 2017/ Ti-7

Item	Quantity	Price	Type	Reserved
Eternal Testament (Death Prophet)	4	12$	TI-7 Cache Set	Three Sold Last Left

 

Made a google doc because the list is long

My Steam Rep: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WEgt1Kjaf8PbkinQ0opU41fysTwYC0xMgX_kjDOgldg/edit?usp=sharing
https://steamcommunity.com/id/NiriDash/ (Mirana Ti-10/2020 Super Rare, Sven Rare Ti-11, Mars Ti-10 Rare, Clock Ti-9, Sandking Ti-7 Caches Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/lameslim (Nemestice Sky Set, Ti-10 Sky, and Ember set Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561199068303037 (Lina Ti-10/2020 CacheSold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/p013 (Nature Prophet Ti10/2020 Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198043865971/ (Aghanim Axe Set Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198156603233/ (Ti-9 Disruptor Rare Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/BeAn1457738937/ (2019 Pudge Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/vcxxiv/ (Aghanim Ultra Rare CK, Rare Ogre, PL, Rubick, Alchm, DK, Axe, Mars, Abbadon, Razor, Chen, Grim, and 2020 Rare TA, Ember, CK, Doom, Tide, Timber, KOTL, SKY, Rubick, Nemestice Gyro, Shaman, Winter, Doom Sold Successfully) - Man God Bless this guy
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198795911053/ (2020 BB Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198072474418 (Ti-9 Slark, UL & NS 2020 Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/whatsyouraff (WitchDoctor Super rare, Diretide Spec, Ti-8 Ember cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198103513889/ (Pudge Super rare Cache Hook Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/nandomanul/ (Agahnim Axe Cache and Enigma 2020 Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198055874238 (Aghanim Dawnbreaker Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197990802490 (2020 Pudge Super Rare Hook, Tiny Rare Cache, Aghanim Clockwerk Sold successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197966381775 (Ti-9 Abbadon Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198863088276 (Ti-9 Pudge Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/Steinx (Agahnim Drow Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198111387239 (Rare URSA immortal bundle Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198003271696/ (Agahnim Drow Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/thelastswagurai/ (Aghanim Brood and 2020 Arc Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198057677292/ (Agahnim Rare CK, DK & 2020 Rare Tiny, NS, Jugger, BB, Grim Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/gargorath/ (2020 Juggernaut, Underlord, Warlock, Nature, Enigma, Ancient Apparition Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198144053768/ (Nemestice Doom, Enigma, Nature, and Lycan Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198080795303/ (Aghanim Drow Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198006516009/ (Rare Disruptor Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/dbsama/ (Ti-8 Magnus Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198054565307/ (Aghanim Clock Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198051635207/ (Ti-10 Arc Warden Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198916278783/ (Ti-9 Earth Spirit Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198054299781 (2021 Dawnbreaker Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198380791860/ (Aghanim Abbadon Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561199116896336/ (2020 Silencer Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198079185431/ (2020 Silencer and Bounty Hunter and Aghanim DK Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/tkkz15/ (2020 BH Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/dreddhz (Ti-10 Arc Warden Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198065746417/ (2020 Silencer and Bristleback Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198186076006 (2019 Brood and Pudge Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/wraith2142/ (2021 Enchantress Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/grail_knight/ (Ti-10 Sky Set Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/novtnw/ (2022 Cache 1 Spec and Cache 2 Night Stalker Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197993911001 (Aghanim Dawn Breaker & Alchemist Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/750459748 (Rare Necro & 2019 Abbadon Cache Set Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198043196989/ (2022 Primal Beast Very Rare Cache, Legion Cache, 2020 NS Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/674330/ (Aghanim Brood, Diretide Cache - 1 Hoodwink, Riki, Spectre, Clockwerk, Ursa, Phoenix, Witch Doctor, Dawnbreaker, Alchemist, MK, Undying, Chen Dire Tide Cache - 2 Rare Treant, Clinkz, Doom, Huskar, Night Stalker, Pudge, Brew Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/yash121299/ (Nemestice Tiny Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197980391055/ (Nemestice Shaman, Diretide Riki Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/nikbigdick/ (Diretide Cache 2 Rare Treant Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198055898123/ (2019 Doom, Tusk, Batrider, Nemestice Nature Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/3011/ (Diretide Rare Treant Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198916278783/ (Diretide Snapfire Cache Set Sold Successfully)- Repeat Buyer
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198017178682/ (Nemestice Lycan and Tiny Cache Set Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/OakEel/ (2022 Rare Treant and 2021 Rare Ogre Cache Reserved Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198933415596/ (Ultra Rare Primal, Ultra Rare Void Spirit and Agahnim DK, PL, Diretide AM, PA, Void, Huskar, Ursa Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198592340222 (Ultra Rare Void Spirit Reserved - 5/15 Keys Paid Advance)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198111544330/ (Ti-9 DP Set Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198883986801/ (Diretide Rare Invoker Set Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198303321183/ (Aghanim Rare Ogre & Clockwerk,Ti-10 Rare TA& Pudge, Nemestice Tiny and, Ti-9 Rare Necro Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198088242520 (Diretide Cache 2 Techies, Doom, Alchemist & Cache 1 Snapfire Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198181327203/ (2022 AM & Chen Diretide and 2020 Huskar Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/bkwlove/ (Diretide Rare Marci, Snapfire, Hood, Silencer, and Dawn Breaker Cache Sold successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/aptekamaya/ (Nemestice 2021 Grim Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198111544330/ (2019 Pango Cache and 2020 Jakiro Cache Sold successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198838671544/ (Diretide 2022 Ursa Cache Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198838008436 (Diretide Collectors Cache 1 Rare Voker and Riki Cache Reserved - 7/28 Paid Advance)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198073897919 (Pango Cache Tales of Wind Sold Successfully)
https://steamcommunity.com/id/arktomys/ (Two Rare Marci Sets Reserved - 6.5/27 Paid Advance)
Wall of Shame:
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561199102322625/ (This clown added me and when I asked to reserve which I have clearly stated in my post backtracked on trade offer, has no idea how 30-day steam gifting works so beware)

https://www.reuters.com/world/china-post-spy-facility-cuba-off-southeastern-us-wsj-2023-06-08/
WASHINGTON, June 8 (Reuters) - China has reached a secret deal with Cuba to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island roughly 100 miles (160 km) from Florida, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing U.S. officials familiar with classified intelligence.
Such a spy installation would allow Beijing to gather electronic communications from the southeastern U.S., which houses many U.S. military bases, as well as monitor ship traffic, the newspaper reported.
The U.S. Central Command headquarters is based in Tampa. Fort Liberty, formerly Fort Bragg, the largest U.S. military base, is based in North Carolina.
The countries have reached an agreement in principle, the officials said, with China to pay Cuba "several billion dollars" to allow the eavesdropping station, according to the Journal.
“I cannot speak to this specific report, but we are well aware of – and have spoken many times to – the People’s Republic of China’s efforts to invest in infrastructure around the world that may have military purposes, including in this hemisphere," John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said in a statement.
"We monitor it closely, take steps to counter it, and remain confident that we are able to meet all our security commitments at home, in the region, and around the world," he said.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said: "We are not aware of the case and as a result we can't give a comment right now."
The Cuban government did not respond to a request for comment. But veteran Cuban diplomat Jose Cabanas, former ambassador to the U.S., wrote in a tweet that Washington was “trying to demonize Cuba again." He did not elaborate.
The agreement between the two U.S. rivals, both ruled by communist governments, has caused alarm in President Joe Biden's administration, the newspaper said, posing a new threat close to America's shores. The Journal said U.S. officials declined to provide more details about the proposed location of the listening station or whether construction had begun. I
The reported deal comes as Washington and Beijing are taking tentative steps to soothe tensions that spiked after a suspected Chinese high-altitude spy balloon crossed the United States before the U.S. military shot it down off the East Coast in February.
It could also raise questions about a trip to China that U.S. officials say Secretary of State Antony Blinken is planning in coming weeks. Washington's top diplomat had earlier scrapped the visit over the spy balloon incident.
Ties have deteriorated over disputes ranging from military activity in the South China Sea and near Taiwan, Beijing's human rights record, and technology competition.
'DIRECT ASSAULT'
U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a Cuba hawk, said if the report is true, it would be “a direct assault upon the United States.”
“So I hope the administration will think about how they'll react, if it’s true," he told reporters.
A former U.S. intelligence official said on condition of anonymity that a Chinese listening post would be a “big deal,” marking an expansion of Beijing's spying capabilities and giving it access to signals intelligence as far north as Washington.
If such a facility is built, the Chinese will use Cuba "as a beachhead for collection against the United States," said
Daniel Hoffman, a former senior CIA undercover officer.
However, the U.S. has a long history of spying on China in its own neighborhood. It is widely reported to have used Taiwan as a listening post for the mainland and regularly flies spy planes in the South China Sea, angering Beijing.
The head of Taiwan’s National Security Bureau told the island’s parliament in April that Taiwan was conducting real-time encrypted intelligence sharing with Five Eyes partners, which includes the U.S.
A cash infusion would likely be welcomed in Cuba, where the economy is sputtering and inflation, fuel shortages, plunging farm production and a cash crunch continue to fan discontent.
Relations between Washington and Havana remain strained. The Biden administration last year partially rolled back some Trump-era restrictions on remittances and travel to the island, but Cuban officials called the steps insufficient.
The intelligence on the agreement was gathered in recent weeks and was convincing, the Journal reported. The officials said it would allow China to conduct signals intelligence, including emails, phone calls and satellite transmission.
Cuba, an old Cold War foe of the United States, has long been a hotbed of espionage and spy games.
The Cuban missile crisis in 1962 began after Moscow began placing Soviet nuclear weapons on the island. It backed down and removed the missiles, but it is widely regarded as the moment when the United States and the Soviet Union came closest to a nuclear confrontation.
The Soviets installed a spy base on the island at Lourdes, just south of Havana, in the mid-1960s, with parabolic antennas aimed at Cuba´s northern neighbor. Russian President Vladimir Putin closed the facility in the early 2000s.

Here is the most important information, and related articles, from this article.
Published on 2023-06-08 at 11:31, this article is written by kieron monks and published by inews. (2 minutes)
Save 2 minutes of reading with this summary:

A senior officer in the Russian army who was kept as prisoner by the Wagner mercenary group has said he was tortured in captivity and that its members stole weapons including tanks from his unit in an explosive monologue that lays bare the growing rift between the Russian military and the private militias fighting in Ukraine. Lieutenant Colonel Roman Vinivitin, commander of Russia’s 72nd Independent Motorised Rifle Brigade, who was previously recorded apologising for ordering his men to shoot at Wagner forces near Bakhmut, said the confession was made under duress. The Wagner chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed that Lieutenant Vinivitin ordered his men to fire on mercenary fighters and lay mines on a road they were using.

Keep reading with 3 related articles: Reuters (2023-05-25 at 23:22) Russian Wagner mercenaries handing Bakhmut to regular army The Washington Post (2022-12-27 at 06:00) Captured Russian tanks and equipment are coveted trophies — and a headache Deutsche Welle (2023-05-09 at 07:17) Ukraine updates: Wagner boss says Russian army fled Bakhmut
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Our 21-year old league needs a manager to fill the spot vacated by a longtime member.
We play in a dynasty league where we keep 22 players each year. Our roster is NFL-legitimate, utilizing every position except for offensive linemen.
QB – WR – WR – RB – RB – TE – FLEX – K – LB – LB – LB – DE – DT – DT – DE – S – S – CB – CB
This league has existed since 2003 and has grown in roster size with Yahoo’s additional features. Very likely moving to Sleeper in 2024.
Our primary rules are that everyone shows up for the draft (live online) and that you must field a complete team each week. Every position, despite bye weeks and injury, MUST be filled each week.
Trading is not only encouraged but very necessary over time to keep your team competitive. The entire offseason is open for trading. Every player on your roster is available for trading. Keepers are not locked down until two weeks before the draft.
Our roster size and defensive line-ups prove to be a challenge for most newcomers; even scares some veteran guys off. There is no buy-in fee.
Contact me at [email protected]

AVAILABLE TEAMS
Team #1
Offense:
QB Mac Jones
WR Drake London
WR Allen Lazard
RB Najee Harris
RB AJ Dillon
TE Noah Fant
WRB Clyde Edwards-Helaire
BN Jakobi Meyers
BN Kadarius Toney
BN Darnell Mooney
BN Joshua Palmer
BN Tyquan Thornton
BN Romeo Doubs
BN Tim Patrick
K Eddie Pineiro
Defense:
LB Foye Oluokun
LB Zaire Franklin
LB Alex Singleton
DE Kwity Paye
DT Chris Jones
DT Denico Autry
DE George Karlaftis
CB Jonathan Jones
CB Logan Ryan
S Donovan Wilson
S Jaquan Brisker
BN Josey Jewell
BN Dre Greenlaw
BN Kenny Moore
BN Travon Walker
BN Jordan Hicks
BN Kyler Gordon

Team #2
Offense:
QB Jared Goff
WR Justin Jefferson
WR AJ Brown
RB Nick Chubb
RB Aaron Jones
TE Evan Engram
WRB Brian Robinson
BN Dawson Knox
BN Leonard Fournette
BN Kareem Hunt
BN Daniel Jones
BN Kyle Pitts
BN Jameson Williams
BN Kevin Harris
BN Khalil Herbert
BN Rashod Bateman
BN Trey Lance
K Younghoe Koo
Defense:
LB Jordyn Brooks
LB Shaq Thompson
LB Patrick Queen
DE Josh Allen
DT Harrison Phillips
DT Jonathan Allen
DE Brian Burns
CB D.J. Reed
CB Carlton Davis
S Chuck Clark
S Derwin James, Jr.
BN Damar Hamlin
BN Matt Milano
BN Davon Godchaux
BN Quincy Williams

Team #3
Offense:
QB Kirk Cousins
WR DK Metcalf
WR Keenan Allen
RB Latavius Murray
RB Jerrick McKinnon
TE Tyler Higbee
WRB Cordarelle Patterson
BN Dak Prescott
BN Donovan Peoples-Jones
BN Gus Edwards
BN Courtland Sutton
BN Curtis Samuel
BN DJ Chark
BN DeeJay Dallas
K Harrison Butker
Defense:
LB Christian Kirksey
LB Drue Tranquill
LB Nicholas Morrow
DE Zach Sieler
DT DaVon Hamilton
DT Kenny Clark
DE Trey Hendrickson
CB Charvarius Ward
CB L’Jarius Sneed
S Rayshawn Jenkins
S Grant Delpit
BN Dean Lowry
BN Kyzir White
BN Ryan Neal
BN Eddie Jackson
BN Jamal Adams

Our 21-year old league needs a manager to fill the spot vacated by a longtime member.
We play in a dynasty league where we keep 22 players each year. Our roster is NFL-legitimate, utilizing every position except for offensive linemen.
QB – WR – WR – RB – RB – TE – FLEX – K – LB – LB – LB – DE – DT – DT – DE – S – S – CB – CB
This league has existed since 2003 and has grown in roster size with Yahoo’s additional features. Very likely moving to Sleeper in 2024.
Our primary rules are that everyone shows up for the draft (live online) and that you must field a complete team each week. Every position, despite bye weeks and injury, MUST be filled each week.
Trading is not only encouraged but very necessary over time to keep your team competitive. The entire offseason is open for trading. Every player on your roster is available for trading. Keepers are not locked down until two weeks before the draft.
Our roster size and defensive line-ups prove to be a challenge for most newcomers; even scares some veteran guys off. There is no buy-in fee.
Contact me at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

AVAILABLE TEAMS
Team #1
Offense:
QB Mac Jones
WR Drake London
WR Allen Lazard
RB Najee Harris
RB AJ Dillon
TE Noah Fant
WRB Clyde Edwards-Helaire
BN Jakobi Meyers
BN Kadarius Toney
BN Darnell Mooney
BN Joshua Palmer
BN Tyquan Thornton
BN Romeo Doubs
BN Tim Patrick
K Eddie Pineiro
Defense:
LB Foye Oluokun
LB Zaire Franklin
LB Alex Singleton
DE Kwity Paye
DT Chris Jones
DT Denico Autry
DE George Karlaftis
CB Jonathan Jones
CB Logan Ryan
S Donovan Wilson
S Jaquan Brisker
BN Josey Jewell
BN Dre Greenlaw
BN Kenny Moore
BN Travon Walker
BN Jordan Hicks
BN Kyler Gordon

Team #2
Offense:
QB Jared Goff
WR Justin Jefferson
WR AJ Brown
RB Nick Chubb
RB Aaron Jones
TE Evan Engram
WRB Brian Robinson
BN Dawson Knox
BN Leonard Fournette
BN Kareem Hunt
BN Daniel Jones
BN Kyle Pitts
BN Jameson Williams
BN Kevin Harris
BN Khalil Herbert
BN Rashod Bateman
BN Trey Lance
K Younghoe Koo
Defense:
LB Jordyn Brooks
LB Shaq Thompson
LB Patrick Queen
DE Josh Allen
DT Harrison Phillips
DT Jonathan Allen
DE Brian Burns
CB D.J. Reed
CB Carlton Davis
S Chuck Clark
S Derwin James, Jr.
BN Damar Hamlin
BN Matt Milano
BN Davon Godchaux
BN Quincy Williams

Team #3
Offense:
QB Kirk Cousins
WR DK Metcalf
WR Keenan Allen
RB Latavius Murray
RB Jerrick McKinnon
TE Tyler Higbee
WRB Cordarelle Patterson
BN Dak Prescott
BN Donovan Peoples-Jones
BN Gus Edwards
BN Courtland Sutton
BN Curtis Samuel
BN DJ Chark
BN DeeJay Dallas
K Harrison Butker
Defense:
LB Christian Kirksey
LB Drue Tranquill
LB Nicholas Morrow
DE Zach Sieler
DT DaVon Hamilton
DT Kenny Clark
DE Trey Hendrickson
CB Charvarius Ward
CB L’Jarius Sneed
S Rayshawn Jenkins
S Grant Delpit
BN Dean Lowry
BN Kyzir White
BN Ryan Neal
BN Eddie Jackson
BN Jamal Adams

I see that my system always writes a log to mcloud_ext.log whenever the system starts up and I log in with any account. The file cannot be deleted, so I use handle.exe to find out which application is keeping the file busy and then kill it. Eventually, I am able to remove the file. However, it reappears when I start explorer.exe, so I have to repeat the process. Sometimes, I also have to kill Firefox. I scanned my operating system with the Microsoft security tool, but no virus was found. As of now, I have a folder named C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log after I delete this file. In this case, no more log files are generated. The file used to be around 30 GB in size, and it was still growing. There is no such file under d:\gitcode\mcloud_clientwin\mcloud_shell_ext\mcloud_shell_ext\icon-overlay.cpp. I don't even have a D drive. I'm not sure how this is happening, and I still don't have a clue. I tried using Process Explorer to dig out more details, but explorer.exe looks normal. PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> handle.exe -u -nobanner -accepteula "C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log" explorer.exe pid: 23356 type: File P5540\dk 18dc08X C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log explorer.exe pid: 23356 type: File P5540\dk 191808X C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log explorer.exe pid: 23356 type: File P5540\dk 197808X C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log explorer.exe pid: 23356 type: File P5540\dk 198408X C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> taskkill /f /im explorer.exe 成功: 已终止进程 "explorer.exe"，其 PID 为 14652。 成功: 已终止进程 "explorer.exe"，其 PID 为 23356。 成功: 已终止进程 "explorer.exe"，其 PID 为 47556。 成功: 已终止进程 "explorer.exe"，其 PID 为 28780。 PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Remove-Item "C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log" Remove-Item : 无法删除项 C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log: 文件“C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log”正由另一进程使用，因此该进程无法访问此文件。 所在位置 行:1 字符: 1 + Remove-Item "C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log" + ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + CategoryInfo : WriteError: (C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log:FileInfo) [Remove-Item], IOException + FullyQualifiedErrorId : RemoveFileSystemItemIOError,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RemoveItemCommand PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> taskkill /f /im explorer.exe 错误: 没有找到进程 "explorer.exe"。 PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> handle.exe -u -nobanner -accepteula "C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log" firefox.exe pid: 41616 type: File P5540\dk 1ef008X C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> taskkill /f /im firefox.exe 成功: 已终止进程 "firefox.exe"，其 PID 为 41616。 成功: 已终止进程 "firefox.exe"，其 PID 为 43568。 成功: 已终止进程 "firefox.exe"，其 PID 为 47304。 成功: 已终止进程 "firefox.exe"，其 PID 为 45588。 成功: 已终止进程 "firefox.exe"，其 PID 为 42160。 成功: 已终止进程 "firefox.exe"，其 PID 为 42304。 成功: 已终止进程 "firefox.exe"，其 PID 为 32688。 成功: 已终止进程 "firefox.exe"，其 PID 为 18060。 成功: 已终止进程 "firefox.exe"，其 PID 为 19020。 成功: 已终止进程 "firefox.exe"，其 PID 为 38840。 成功: 已终止进程 "firefox.exe"，其 PID 为 1264。 错误: 无法终止进程 "firefox.exe"，其 PID 为 19028。 原因: 没有此任务的实例在运行。 错误: 无法终止进程 "firefox.exe"，其 PID 为 7160。 原因: 没有此任务的实例在运行。 错误: 无法终止进程 "firefox.exe"，其 PID 为 21312。 原因: 操作不被支持。 PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> handle.exe -u -nobanner -accepteula "C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log" No matching handles found. PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> handle.exe -u -nobanner -accepteula "C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log" No matching handles found. PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> handle.exe -u -nobanner -accepteula "C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log" No matching handles found. PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> handle.exe -u -nobanner -accepteula "C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log" No matching handles found. PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> handle.exe -u -nobanner -accepteula "C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log" No matching handles found. PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> handle.exe -u -nobanner -accepteula "C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log" No matching handles found. PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Remove-Item "C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log" PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> New-Item "C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log" -type directory 目录: C:\Users\dk Mode LastWriteTime Length Name ---- ------------- ------ ---- d----- 2023/6/6 16:16 mcloud_ext.log PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Set-ItemProperty "C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log" -Name "Attributes" -Value "Readonly" PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Get-Item "C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log" 目录: C:\Users\dk Mode LastWriteTime Length Name ---- ------------- ------ ---- d-r--- 2023/6/6 16:16 mcloud_ext.log PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> handle.exe -u -nobanner -accepteula "C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log" No matching handles found. PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> start explorer PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> handle.exe -u -nobanner -accepteula "C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log" No matching handles found. PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> handle.exe -u -nobanner -accepteula "C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log" No matching handles found. PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> > handle.exe -u -nobanner -accepteula "C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log" explorer.exe pid: 13656 type: File P5540\dk 168808X C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log explorer.exe pid: 13656 type: File P5540\dk 16c008X C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log explorer.exe pid: 13656 type: File P5540\dk 1b8808X C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log firefox.exe pid: 16944 type: File P5540\dk 2c5c08X C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log procexp64.exe pid: 16960 type: File P5540\dk 11dc08X C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log PS C:\WINDOWS\system32>Get-Content C:\Users\dk\mcloud_ext.log Select-Object -First 500 [21/09/01 20:56:59] [21/09/01 20:56:59] d:\gitcode\mcloud_clientwin\mcloud_shell_ext\mcloud_shell_ext\log.cpp(line 39) mcloud_ext_log_start: ---------------------------------- log file initialized: 4.1.0 C:/Users/dk/mcloud_ext.log ---------------------------------- [21/09/01 20:56:59] d:\gitcode\mcloud_clientwin\mcloud_shell_ext\mcloud_shell_ext\log.cpp(line 39) mcloud_ext_log_start: ---------------------------------- log file initialized: 4.1.0 C:/Users/dk/mcloud_ext.log ---------------------------------- d:\gitcode\mcloud_clientwin\mcloud_shell_ext\mcloud_shell_ext\log.cpp(line 39) mcloud_ext_log_start: ---------------------------------- log file initialized: 4.1.0 C:/Users/dk/mcloud_ext.log ---------------------------------- [21/09/01 20:56:59] [21/09/01 20:56:59] d:\gitcode\mcloud_clientwin\mcloud_shell_ext\mcloud_shell_ext\icon-overlay.cpp(line 130) IsMemberOf: IsMemberOf called for C:\Users\Public\Desktop\Microsoft Edge.lnk [21/09/01 20:56:59] d:\gitcode\mcloud_clientwin\mcloud_shell_ext\mcloud_shell_ext\icon-overlay.cpp(line 130) IsMemberOf: IsMemberOf called for C:\Users\Public\Desktop\闃块噷鏃烘椇.lnk d:\gitcode\mcloud_clientwin\mcloud_shell_ext\mcloud_shell_ext\icon-overlay.cpp(line 130) IsMemberOf: IsMemberOf called for C:\Users\dk\Desktop\鏈夐亾浜戠瑪璁?lnkd:\gitcode\mcloud_clientwin\mcloud_shell_ext\mcloud_shell_ext\log.cpp(line 39) mcloud_ext_log_start: ---------------------------------- log file initialized: 4.1.0 C:/Users/dk/mcloud_ext.log ---------------------------------- [21/09/01 20:56:59] d:\gitcode\mcloud_clientwin\mcloud_shell_ext\mcloud_shell_ext\icon-overlay.cpp(line 130) IsMemberOf: IsMemberOf called for C:\Users\dk\Desktop\Jacky (cyweizk) - Chrome.lnk [21/09/01 20:56:59] d:\gitcode\mcloud_clientwin\mcloud_shell_ext\mcloud_shell_ext\icon-overlay.cpp(line 130) IsMemberOf: IsMemberOf called for C:\Users\Public\Desktop\Wireshark.lnk [21/09/01 20:56:59] d:\gitcode\mcloud_clientwin\mcloud_shell_ext\mcloud_shell_ext\icon-overlay.cpp(line 130) IsMemberOf: IsMemberOf called for C:\Users\dk\Desktop\鏈夐亾浜戠瑪璁?lnk [21/09/01 20:56:59] d:\gitcode\mcloud_clientwin\mcloud_shell_ext\mcloud_shell_ext\icon-overlay.cpp(line 130) IsMemberOf: IsMemberOf called for C:\Users\Public\Desktop\闃块噷鏃烘椇.lnk

Jesus watched the scene over again and was in awe. This was a man who would not change as he could not change. There was something else different. He was the most stubborn man alive in Jesus’ opinion and he had been around a while. His uniform never changed his cologne never changed. His hair was the exact same way. He had a biological age of 42 but a calendar age of 300 or so years. He wasn’t exactly sure since he had been born in a time when records were incomplete. Government was just getting back on its feet when he came into the world so who knew? Did it matter?
He had never espoused a political belief. He voted in every election and that was it. He was no campaigner and was not interested in any of it. He had a baseline distrust of ALL politicians. He had more time in command than any human in history. He had faced down alien races. He had been nearly terminated by pirates more than once but speaking in public scared the shit out of him. and He did not want to do it. He had done a series of lectures 60 years ago that resulted in some significant fallout he was eager to not relive. He did not want to discuss it. He knew what was about to happen.
“Class dismissed”
The Dean of Students asked him to “Please please just this once set it straight and walk away from it. You did what you had to do at the time.” He knew it hurt when he was called “conquistador”. The Monday Morning Quarterbacker’s weren’t there when decisions had to be made, and neither was the dean, yet he still implored him. It would likely be televised too. Ken had built the best laid wall of obfuscation he could. He did not want any glory. He wanted to be left alone. Despite his best effort it did not work. His hope had been to be in the background making the best decision without regard to any so called “Glory” His hope was that the sailors in real danger would get the credit they deserved. It just did not work. Besides, it was clear that he wanted him to talk about that battle. This made him waver in his assent. He wanted to speak about what he wanted to speak about. Simple.
Admiral Pearl and He had had to face a hero’s welcome when they came home. Then the detractors started in on him.
Despite the promises of the Dean it would just open all the old wounds back up again and likely crank the peanut gallery up to full tilt. “I do not want it televised. You can record it if you want but I get to decide if it gets released. Deal or no deal? If you want to dictate the topic then that is my condition. You are asking me to open up a box I have had welded shut for years now. Anyone can look up the logs and watch every single shot and hit if they wish. It has been analyzed to death. What further can I add at this point? There is nothing I can tell you that hasn’t been discussed in hundreds of books at this point. It is a dead subject that I can drone on about.”
The dean held up his hand and said “I want to know how you felt about it. All of it. What was the methods you used to make the decisions. How did you feel? The most important event in modern history drops in your lap like an egg salad sandwich. You have to feel something. That is what I want to know. It is your bully pulpit to say what you wish. No restrictions except for classified material. And no using the “F” word.”
“I am not doing it unless I can say ”fuck”. Not happening.” He wasn’t kidding. “To sweeten the deal you can televise it but I have to be able to talk in my normal voice. And I will say fuck.”
The Dean relented and agreed. He had just manipulated the situation to where he could minimize the fallout. Besides: he was tired of people talking shit about him in all these books and articles. He was going to tell them all to go fuck themselves, with a cactus.
On the Saratov. Warp area 13 off the plane of the ecliptic.
The admiral sat and contemplated what they were about to do. They were waiting on a couple more ships before going to warp. He tried to sum it up.
This was a high stakes mission. He had a high stakes strategy. It was brilliant and it was risky. He was about to do something never attempted in real combat and was completely theoretical. They had wargamed it to death and this had honed their protocol. They were going to Net their AI’s. They would calculate global firing solutions using parallel computing. They had 8 AI’s that were going to fight it and this should greatly augment their firepower due to increased efficiency. No matter how they wargamed it the AI’s won. They had it down pat. He felt certain this was the right thing to do but there was also a huge ethical hole in this. For the first time AI’s would determine firing sequence, aiming and execution without human intervention. He had to pause and consider the implications. This was colored by several recent experiences. It was all about Jezz. He still loved Jezz but she scared him. She has never been malevolent, but man was he scared that she could become dangerous. He had created a tiny bit of monster in her for certain. She was a combat AI. She was a hunter killer and as long as she worked for them, she would be fine. If she decided to freelance it, they would be in trouble. All because of this: there was a chunk of predator in her digital DNA and he hoped she could keep it in check.
He had come up with the best rationalization he could. They were going in against one decidedly ill-tempered AI and another AI (the “damsel in distress”) wanting rescue. At least that is what it looked like on the surface. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this was not as clearcut as everyone else thought. Either way It would not be aliens versus humans but AI vs AI. At least that is what he kept telling himself. He wasn’t buying his bullshit either since none of it passed the smell test.
The decision to unleash the AI’s had come from above his paygrade, all the way to the Joint chiefs of staff of the world Navies. Forty-five Space faring nations sat down and hashed it out. He hated the complexity but admitted that it did work fairly well. They wanted the spam in a can home alive and if AI made this happen then so be it. There was one important point: they weren’t on the ships, were they?
As he sat about to enter warp and head out to the clusterfuck in question. The initial reason for all of this was still nagging him. Where was everyone else? He had data that showed an alien drive signature. He was resentful that they were fucking around with all this other shit. He would leave the AI’s in question to sort it out amongst themselves. He wanted no part of what was going on since he was doubtful that there were any good guys on either side of what looked like a standoff. All he wanted to do was find alien life (which they had kind of but it weren’t just quite the right kind.) He wanted something that could look like us maybe a bit . If you squinted. And they would find that hopefully, but they had a shit detail to cross off the bucket list first. The more he looked at this the more it became clear this should be two separate missions. Those AI’s were fighting over a dead world and he knew it. He just knew. He wanted no part of the Hatfield and McCoy bullshit. The real point was to capture as much as they could. This was actually about technology. They even had some freighters on the way for the cleanup and oh BTW come back alive. We will let the AI’s babysit you. May as well send a Voyager probe for all the use the crew was.
He was soon to learn the value of human judgment and that was going to prove a bunch of people wrong, sort of. All because of this: there are some decisions that do not fit into ones and zeroes. Value judgements were critical. That is one thing AI’s couldn’t do yet and it was that way why? Who could say for certain but in his years of interacting with true AI’s for the last 5 years did give him some insight. He was apprehensive to say the least but where was his fear coming from? He always thought that you had to identify the source(s) of any fear. He had it partially figured out, not only was he a bit afraid of Jezz and her friends he was also fearful for Jezz. And this is what he had: a gut feeling. And if that weren’t enough (and by gosh, don’t you think it ought to be?): how was he going to keep Jezz’s precognition a secret? The Admiral went through the computer logs and Jezz had not accessed any information about the disposition of the Galileo. It could be explained away but he was not convinced he could be very convincing. This was something that just did not fit. He could not make it fit, and he would just as soon pretend it did not exist. But it was clear that his AI had some degree of psychic power or something. She was different and he did not know if the other AI’s would be catching whatever it was. If the folks in charge knew the depths of his misgivings, they would be appalled. And the situation they were headed into was not as simple as it looked. He knew this. His questions were simple. Number one: Who were the good guys and who were the bad ones. Number two: could he maintain plausible deniability about Jezz. They were going to have a talk. Just the two of them. He needed some reassurances.
Also, He was trying to figure out a way to crack this and he had an idea. While looking at the menu for the ships mess, he noticed the two columns and he decided to do what he always did with most major decisions. He would make a list of the facts he had and try to run through the various permutations. A pencil and some paper would be adequate, and he even had a ruler so he could make it all professional.
So he made a list of the players Side “A” in orbit and Side ”B “planetside. Side “ A” obviously held the high orbitals. “B” had an extensive force field that would occasionally flicker. He thought that might be something to look into. He had all of the video files from the Galileo and there was one telescope tasked with watching the planetside compound. They had days of footage. He sped it up until the frames were racing by. The force field was visible due to impacts from what he assumed to be dust. This gave it a phosphorescent look. It also made it possible to have visual confirmation if it was up. The shield “failures” occurred on a stable repeated time frame. After doing the math and getting a video analysis program running, he figured it out only after focusing on the Spectro photography. Every 23.29 minutes the shield was apparently offline for 0.07 seconds. It was so brief it was tough for the naked eye to pick up but the spectral signature did.
Looking at the area under shield he could see a row of what appeared to be ships. These were triangular. He could see no evidence of what their primary drives were but it wasn’t the best picture. Things degrade through an atmosphere and distance. No drive nodes. No distribution rings. He had a suspicion, and he suddenly felt nauseated and had this sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. They were not using Alcubierre’ drives. They were using jump drives of some type. In the raw sensor data was a Gamma spike and a Gravity spike right before the attack. The Galileo probably never saw the vessel that hit them. But the Admiral was a patient man and he had the eye for detail. How they had missed this he did not know but he finally found what he wanted. The ship was identifiable. One sternward scope had several good views of a shape blocking the stars.
The other fact was that there was no warning. No comms traffic but, the recovered buoy made it clear that they knew they were suddenly in trouble since the buoy was released (and in warp) seconds after jettisoning it. Command deck recordings showed the captain getting a proximity alarm and then immediately releasing the buoy. There was no “prepare to be boarded” or “Heave to.”, just MASER beams slicing through the hull. Listening to the conversations on the deck made it clear they were paranoid as they were scanning with their non military grade graviton detector. Seems like it wasn’t paranoia after all.
They would have been blind until the ship was right on top of them. Someone was operating on a hunch and that person was Nico. He was frantic. As first officer he had the conn and did what he could to at least let them know what they were facing. It took some guts to do that. He saw internal video running. It captured Captain Nic’s hand slamming down on the buoy release button before the video cut out. It had to have damaged the Galileo Significantly. He had to override the safeties to get the thing to instantly go to warp. He knew that close to the ship the damage would have been substantial. Nico knew they were doomed.
He leaned back and took a deep breath. The ship in question was triangular in shape. Planetside. This could be some sort of trap or things were not as they superficially seemed or maybe he had found his bad guys. So he went back through the compound footage and there it was a ship moving out of frame. There was only maybe 6 meters of ship but it was clear where it was from. It was clear it was moving. Where had it been for 2 hours plus? If it were going to jump he would think that the image would have arrived at the Galileo after it had been blown apart. That is the whole point of faster than light travel. You could have all these paradoxes and that actually gave him more than a headache. It was a brain ache. Without FTL the tyranny of Einstein held sway. Why were they not there immediately? The Galileo was about 120 light minutes out. Assuming they get there immediately there should be no video. They had taken a detour. This he did not know for sure but also had a bad feeling about. I guess it did not mean much in the grand scheme of things but he did have a hunch. Only problem with that is that hunches don’t win battles unless it is more than a hunch.
He did not have a frame of reference for how a jump drive worked IRL. He had read all the theories. There was a huge amount of research being conducted but there were unpredictable failures resulting in some ships getting cut in half and what not. Just not something compatible with the life of the crew. Destructive testing was also expensive. They had gotten one small ship that was maybe twice the size of an emergency buoy to jump to the orbit of Neptune. What he did not know was how long that took. All he had was some rumor mill shit that he generally did not give two fucks about. He was not into “R and D". And while they could send the damn thing out there what they could not do was get it back the same way. The power requirements were so high that the capacitor banks were charged externally . Putting in a zero-point tap would push the ship size beyond the mass they could manage for the drive they currently had. They were running into problems of scale and those are not so easily rectified. Problems of scale were problems with lubrication. You just had to lube the ship with cash. You had to fuel it with Lots and lots of cash. This was such a priority that every aerospace manufacturer and design firms were plugged into the research institutions. It was a huge effort because of one thing. Warp drive was “too slow”. The boffins were thinking intergalactic travel. They had their sights set on the universe.
To top it all off there was one inescapable problem: You can’t put ten pounds of shit in a five-pound bag.
Due to all of this they were going down an interesting path. All you had to do was fill the magnetic tank with antimatter. Matter antimatter annihilation gave near instantaneous power. It was used in weapons some but only the best militaries would even fool with it. Compared to nuclear warheads Antimatter left no nasty isotopes in orbit of a planet you may be interested in colonizing or defending. Also, you don’t want to poison an uninhabited M-class world in the habitable zone given their relative scarcity.
Finally: containing it is problematic but doable. You can probably pull off the power requirements but there is one downside. You are flying in a bomb. Not just a small bomb. It was a big bomb that will go off if you lose containment. 40 mega tons of TNT will vaporize a ship. There was talk of building a manned vessel but saner heads put the kibosh on that. Besides: no one with any sense would want to crew it.
The answer was obvious to him, and he suspected it was obvious to the researchers. Why not use a singularity? Just dump matter into it and harvest the radiation to charge up and go. He did not know where that research currently stood. He knew there were some successes along these lines and quite surprisingly there had been no major accidents. The problem came with feeding the little monster in a consistent fashion to produce enough power to in turn contain the position of the singularity. This was done with antigravity. Antigrav technology had found it’s way into just about everything, except cell phones. They still broke when you dropped them. The black hole was carried by the ship, but it never changed its axis of rotation. The singularity in this scenario is one hell of a gyroscopic top with fixed axes. Since the jet of X-rays only came “out” along this axis and given that the ship would change attitude constantly it was necessary to have X-ray converters on the entire internal surface of the reaction vessel. The ship moved around the singularity. That made things a lot more complicated and really fucked with power distribution. Since there would be energy jets at the poles of the internal singularity power flow would be from two converters at a time. And since they weren’t 100% efficient you had some heat to deal with. He had read a few initial summaries of the work. You still had to keep containment of the singularity just as with antimatter but an uncontained singularity would put a small hole of about 10 mm as it passed through the ship before evaporating. This was better than being atomized. The problem was heat. Waste heat is just unconverted energy as such there was talk of installing a steam turbine circuit to generate power and to cool the reaction vessel. This would be the use of centuries old technology in a starship since convection does not occur in a vacuum. Trying to radiate enough heat to keep the thing cool would not work. The act of running the turbine also cools the circulating liquid. Trying to radiate heat away in a vacuum took a lot of time so big heatsinks would only go so far. It was simple physics. If you can convert some heat to electricity that is a little less that must be radiated. He bet it was a pain in the ass and was probably not worth the effort, but Fusion reactors did not have the peak power output needed to rip space. You either stored it in cap banks for one big release or you instantaneously generated it. Ken thought that the whole line of inquiry was going to be moot and they would finally give up, build a huge Casimir bank and strap a ship to it.
Which meant one thing. The jump ships in question had to deal with waste heat from whatever power system they used. The only way to get rid of this waste heat was to radiate it into the void. This took time. He now knew what the delay had been. The alien ships had to cool off between jumps. He or she had also taken a circuitous route to get there. This in turn means that they wanted them to see the ship leave the planet. They could have possibly gone there straightaway but they had not done that. They wanted him to know. They must have jumped above the ecliptic and back down into the ecliptic.
This slowed them down.
It also meant that escaping with a jump drive wasn’t that easy. They couldn’t pop in and out of position. If they were in your sights they were yours. He also knew that they would have a brief window where they were detectable before fully entering normal space. All they had to do was detect that energy spike and target it at the right time.
After reading all of the executive summary Jezz had put together he had a lot of questions, and he did not know quite where to begin. He had one thought: time to get everyone together and pick everyone’s brain. He wanted to talk to his chief engineer and every engineer in the fleet. He wanted to get all ships Captains and First Officers to come up with a game plan: What is the best order of battle and why? He wanted to see the nonconventional answers as this was anything but a conventional situation. He kept each team to the size of two: Captain and first officers. They could consult with the crew and had access to any information they could find. He needed options. You never want to run out of options on the field of battle.
He turned to his First Officer “Take us out and form up the fleet. We will jump directly to warp 5. That will keep the transports somewhat close. I want the fleet on shipwide in 10 minutes. I have some tasks to assign. Set the countdown to jump for 3 hours. There may be a few stragglers. Jezz, calculate the route and send me a copy. Sensors. I want you to calibrate for Gamma detection and localization. I will send you the energy signature, now. Look for that and calibrate for that. Any questions? (There were none) Good. Yuri, you have the conn.”
He exited the bridge.
Outbound from Sol. 72 hours after jump.
The Admiral was in the center of the virtual room with 70 or so Captains and first officers arrayed about. The flotilla had topped out at 82 warships as well as smaller craft and support vessels. He had 82 ships he had under command currently. This was the biggest expeditionary force ever fielded by Earth. There was one Mormon ship with them. A frigate This was ironic he thought. It was also a bit much to keep up with. He had read all the preliminary proposals and he was now going through the ones he thought had merit. He was currently discussing Captain Pearls proposal she planned to arrange ships into a cylinder or hoop. The individual ships alternating primary weapons one way or the other. That way anyone jumping into the center was covered as well as the “external” surface. It was really a pretty good plan. It played to their strengths. They could bring weapons to bear quickly since they could not just jump away. He especially liked the network formation It was a nice diamond pattern. He just couldn’t shake it being familiar. She had a great movie playing that demonstrated it quite well.
“This is Guardians of The Galaxy” Ken said. Barely keeping his shit together. He wanted to laugh. Once everyone else started the cat was out of the bag, He did not want to ridicule her plan but this was too much. Bless her heart. It was Guardians of the Galaxy.
“OK everyone settle down lets get back to it. Does that make it a bad plan? It isn’t straight out of the movie either. I do think it has merit but I would prefer it to not be too obvious. Can we do a formation that gives closed fields of fire without looking like it? I think we should go with a spheroid that is as irregular as we can make it. I want the focus to be on full coverage. Actually, Jezz give me a pattern with those criteria.”
What she generated looked like a swarm of bees. When she overlayed the weapons plots the effect was uncanny. It looked very random but was anything but. The coverage was better than any plan he had seen. That settled it for him. They would war game it just that way. It was a bit risky since every ship had to maintain their place in relation to all the other ships. She had even linked in the shield generators from the transports. She had used every resource.
“That was brilliant Jezz.”
“I try Sir. I really do.”
“I know you do.”
The admiral continued “OK I want to go ahead and start moving the fleet into that configuration. We will stay in that all the way to our destination. I want checklists of unique tasks made up. Sensors are going to be the critical piece. I am hopeful we will see them when they jump in, and we can quickly target them if necessary. That brings me to another point. We cannot go in and just start banging away at everything that moves. By now you should be aware that this is not clear cut. We can speculate. And I have done it obsessively. What you need to know is that I am not sure who is good or bad. I have a sneaking suspicion that neither are good or bad. They are neutral. We don’t know if this is a rogue AI or AI’s. We do not know if there were biological life here at any point. There is certainly flor BUT THERE SEESM TO BW NO FAUNA. This world has undergone bombardment in the not too distant past somewhere around fifty year ago give or take. Could a sentient race have been killed off? Who the fuck knows. But our next task is to come up with some possible scenarios. Based on what we have seen I suspect this is a rogue AI. I cannot tell what has happened to them yet, but I suspect we will know more once we get planetside.”
He took a long draw from an Opus X and continued. Rank had its privileges.
“The Vikrant will provide aircover for a Marine expeditionary force to go to the planet’s surface and secure the compound. I have spoken to the Air boss and confirmed the strike package will consist of two squadrons of F-15’s for high cover and 5 Su-34’s to be tasked with strike. We have enough transport to go in one wave with backups to spare. That also leaves us with more than enough reserve forces. I hope we do not have to commit more but I will want another squadron of MiG-29’s or F-15’s in reserve. Keep them hot and on the ramp. I want to deploy as quickly as possible.”
One of the junior officers spoke up “That looks like a good plan.”
“Thank you son for that. It is like getting the compliment of how smart you are from your Marine Commander (He had to give Chuck a hard time. He loved him.)
Everyone at least politely laughed.
“Speaking of mentally challenged little brothers. What you got Chuck?”
Chuck went with it The Admiral would pay later. He had some photos of him waltzing with a large muscular person and he was going to visit scorn on him. All in the name of fun. “We are going to take two battalions. I am going to strip them down a bit and we will be utilizing more heavy weapons teams. I plan to draw more M-60’s and M-203’s. You guys are welcome to join the party since I could use a couple of forward observers. It will be a fun time. Additionally I am not babysitting the press pool this time boys and girls and others. It is potentially a deadly environment and I don’t want their deaths on my hands. Let them die with you fuckers instead. By the way; I have 18 Comanche-4 Helos for CAS.”
“That sounds like all the more reason to send them with you. The herd needs to be thinned anyway.”
Jezz hissed “SIR! You are going to get in trouble Sir.”
“Just a little lighthearted humor don’t be so touchy. Anyway’ what about armor?”
“I have a platoon of Abrams going in with us Sir. More for mobile artillery.”
When you got right down to it it was a very simple plan. Modest forces for planetside. There was enough aircover but not so much to result in fratricide. He had extra firepower at the squad level. He had thought it out. Chuck had his full confidence. He was an Oscar-6 and you did not make O6 by being stupid. He would make General soon and he would be taken from the pointy end of the spear. The spear would be a little less sharp for a while but that was just how it went. Right now, he had the best field commander alive in his corner and he was going to utilize him.
“I know my engineers are logged into this meeting and have been paying attention. What do you guys make of their propulsion system? I have been spouting off and thinking about this for a week and all I got is a bunch of ideas.”
He thought for a moment. Rusty, what do you think.” He had just called out his own engineer. Rusty was his nickname and damned if he could remember his actual one. He knew it was not Russel. “What do you think they are using for power?”
Rusty wanted to cuss him out. He did not like meetings. In his opinion meetings were just excuses to avoid doing any actual work. He could have asked him privately…”Rusty what do you think?”
“Goddammit Sir, they have to be using a singularity. They are not using capacitor banks so they are generating power instantaneously. The alternative is antimatter and we had better hope it is not antimatter since taking them out could be suicidal. Most importantly: I am not a fucking tactician. I am an engineer for fucks sake, and I don’t see why anyone cares what I think about this anyway. But you asked so here it is. We are going to have to assume that it is not antimatter and hope we are right. The thing that would keep me awake is the possibility that our weapons are outranged by the fireballs generated when their antimatter containment fails. That will end us, and the best tactic will be to run like hell. Add to that the fact that the rules of engagement mean we can’t go in guns blazing. What if we need to go in guns blazing? It takes away an option. Never discard even the most ludicrous of options as that may be the one thing that saves your ass.”
“ We do not want to go traipsing in there with our dicks uncovered and this ain’t no tulip picking expedition here ladies. This is potentially a war, and we better acknowledge that. I don’t want to be Debbie downer here but let us be real. Some of us are not coming back from this. Look around boys cause some of your compadres are going to be left behind. This is serious business. This ain’t no rescue mission and we better stop treating it that way. Since you asked, Sir.”
Admiral Alexander had to give him honesty points for that. He was right. “We are going to run this scenario as many times as we can before we arrive. I suspect that there is going to be some mass confusion until we figure out who the baddies are. If I had to make a wager, I would go with our folks in orbit, being less of a threat. We have clear evidence of who attacked our ship, and it weren’t none of them football shaped guys. (He did grow up in the South. Woodruff SC to be precise.) It is the flying Dorito that we have to watch for. My gut tells me we are going to have to smash whatever is running the show down there. That compound with the force field is our primary target.” Furthermore, I just don’t know how the remainder are going to act. Are they under a different AI? Is there more than one AI? We can say there are no life signs from any of the ships in system and that makes me think this is artificial all the way. ”
“ The Galileo was attacked by one of the ships on that Spaceport apron. None of the ships in orbit participated from what we can tell. Also, the Galileo was attacked from outside the ecliptic. They are using some type of jump drive that apparently has to avoid gravity wells. That would explain why the attack occurred outside the system. We can take advantage of the situation though if we cozy up to that gas giant and let them come to us. They can’t just pop in on us that way and we can put the planet behind us or we can peg them up against the planet. We can warp anytime but they can only jump in relatively clear space. In short: We are going to pick the battlefield.”
“First wave will be led by the Atlanta and Saratov. The Havana and The George Washington will be tasked with offense. I want rail slugs loaded and ready to go. The surface strike package will go in from the Vikrant and the Conestoga. Commander Yactine has the battle plan for the surface operation and is handling their own transport duties. We can supply an AC301 Spooky for fire support if needed Commander.” The commander waved it away. He felt he had enough assets.
“I do think we may want to take a chance on something. Since they are having to jump “vertically” out of the system to avoid gravity wells and since we suspect they will do it in two jumps I think we can predict where they have their initial jump point. We can nail them before they even get to the main fleet.”
The admiral pointed to a plot that indicated a tangential course that terminated well above the plane of the ecliptic and one that went directly back into it. It was an “L” shaped course. At least he felt sure they traveled in straight lines and not arcs. It made the most sense but could still be wrong. Poring through the Galileo’s sensor data he could see a spike that barely registered. That also indicated that they took a while between jumps. Once they exited subspace, they would be sitting ducks for at least a few minutes. He was guessing 20 minutes for them to recharge their drive and get ready. They would have to target them when most vulnerable. Given that he was not feeling particularly charitable he decided that annihilation was in order. There were 50 deaths to avenge after all.
“Jezz, what do you think?”
Jezz paused. She had been on good behavior and that had made her overly cautious “I think your basic assumptions are correct, Sir. I think we are dealing with two AI’s. One is on the surface and one is in control of the orbital fleet. Approximately 56% of the orbital ships appear to be functional. They could also be in a powered down mode but looking at the Galileo data and 20 ships look to be fully operational. Weapons appear to be primarily MASER batteries. I can see no evidence of rail guns. Their weaponry may be less impressive, or they may be armed in a fashion we cannot detect. I wouldn’t assume them to be inferior to our ships. If we do that we run the risk of being surprised. I do not like surprises.”
The Admiral had one more question. He was looking more for how she was going to reply, “What is your gut feeling Jez?”
She paused “My gut feeling is that we are dealing with two AI’s. One of them has gone mad.” It was out of her speaker before she could catch herself. He had asked what her gut feeling was. What did he know? She did not have a gut. But, she did have feelings.