Nine
December 2251
Tarbos
“All we can do, for now, is wage a hit and run campaign. We have but two advantages. According to the prisoners that the privateer brought into New Albion, they don’t know where Earth is, and they don’t know about the shipyards on Halifax. So, hopefully, we can build more ships without them knowing where they’re coming from. At least not right away.”
“Admiral Gauss,” one Senator stood up. Gauss’ eyes narrowed; it was “Lord” James Galloway from Corinthia, leader of the appeasement lobby. “Might I ask who it is that’s going to pay for all these ships?”
“The free worlds of the Confederacy will pay for them, I presume, Senator,” Gauss replied, deliberately refusing to use the term “Lord.” Galloway preferred the latter form of address, which to Gauss was reason enough to refuse it. “Our survival is at stake, sir.”
“Indeed it is, Admiral. The sovereignty of our worlds is at stake. Our financial well-being is at stake.”
“Senator,” President Cochet chimed in from her place at the front of the Senate Briefing center. “One world has already been occupied. Maybe you think that the Grugell will be content to stop there, but I don’t believe they will. Now, Senator, will you allow the Admiral to finish his briefing?”
Galloway sat down, frowning, and smarting internally from the browbeating delivered by the President.
At the front of the high-ceilinged chamber, Admiral Gauss allowed himself a tight, crisp grin. “As I was saying, at the moment we have the Orleans almost ready to put back to space; the Mountain View is in a parking orbit in an undisclosed location, along with the cruisers Cairo and Dallas. The frigates Reuben James and Bob Pritchard are in another location, within a day’s travel of the Mountain View task group. I have the destroyers MacKee and Perry on the way from Earth now to join Task Force One. The rest of the Navy’s frigates and destroyers are being deployed to protect Earth, Tarbos and Halifax.”
A Senator in the front row waved her hand. “Why those three planets?”
“That’s where the shipyards are, ma’am,” Gauss replied. “We need to build more ships. We can’t afford to lose that capacity. The Seattle, a twin to the Orleans, will be coming off the ways at the Halifax orbital yard in another six weeks, and there are more ships already in the planning stages.”
The Senator frowned but didn’t offer any comment. Gauss belatedly recognized her as the junior Senator from New Albion, stranded now on Tarbos for the duration – or maybe forever, unless the Navy could take the planet back.
“When will you be ready to put back to space, Admiral?” Gauss blinked; President Cochet hadn’t said much during the briefing, her verbal slap to the Senator from Corinthia notwithstanding.
“Forty-eight hours, ma’am. I’ll move my flag back aboard the Mountain View at eight-hundred Friday morning, and I expect to leave the system by noon.”
“Good.” President Cochet turned her attention back to her notes.
“That, ladies and gentlemen, concludes my briefing.” There was a rumble of conversation, and the sound of chairs being pushed back. Captain Jensen helped Gauss gather his notes and holo-projector, and the two officers left the room.
“There hasn’t been a formal declaration of war yet, Jerry.”
“No, sir, there hasn’t.”
“The vote is tomorrow. No matter what I said back there, we can’t put to space without that.”
“No sir.”
“Cross your fingers, Jerry. Either we go find them out there, or they’ll find us here. And they already know how to get here.”
New Albion
Springtime on New Albion’s large southern continent, eighty kilometers north of the capital city Glengarry, and the prairie flowers set the grasslands alive with a riot of color.
But Jason MacFeeters’ band of guerrillas had no time for enjoying the view.
The Bent Fork River ran south out of the Crow Ridge Mountains towards Glengarry, and in the stretch before MacFeeters now, the river ran through a rather deep valley. MacFeeters was dug into a narrow hole in the side of the valley wall, covered with a light lid of plastic covered with sod; the hole he occupied was of the type known as a “spider-hole,” for reasons MacFeeters had never known. But he knew how to employ the tactic, and he had shared that knowledge with the eight other members of his militia group now dug into similar holes to his left, right and front.
A whirring sound was growing slowly louder. Approaching from the south, from the abandoned city, a Grugell scout vehicle was approaching the valley, using the river as a transit reference. MacFeeters had noted that the Grugell occupation force tended to use waterways to navigate in undeveloped terrain. Today he would make that a costly habit.
Crouched in the stuffy hole, he shifted sweaty hands on a portable heat-seeking missile. Three of his guerrillas held similar units, another a light machine gun, while the rest held hunting rifles much like the Ordnance Specialties 500K that leaned against the side of MacFeeters’ hole.
A click came over the short-range radio headset MacFeeters wore under his narrow garrison cap. He lifted the front edge of the spider hole cover, very slightly, and stole a look. The gleaming silver insect-shape of the scout was floating into view, slowly, making its way up the valley, turning from side to side as it scanned the valley walls.
“Hold your fire,” MacFeeters whispered into his throat mike.
The plan was simple. MacFeeters would fire first; the rest of the precious missiles would remain unlaunched unless the first failed to bring the scout down. Peering out of the hole, MacFeeters let the scout move closer.
It was a warm day. The spider-hole smelled of dirt, plant roots, and sweat. A trickle of sweat ran into the guerrilla leader’s eyes, and he wiped it away with the back of his hand. His heart was hammering in his chest, but he forced himself to wait just a few seconds longer…
“Execute!” At the barked command, nine spider-holes popped open. MacFeeters stood up, his head and shoulders out of the hole. The scout turned slightly at the movement, but before the Grugell could react, MacFeeters shouldered the launcher, depressed the launch stud, and dropped back into the hole, leaving the empty launcher on the ground outside.
The missile screeched towards the scout, covering the hundred-meter distance in less than a second. It impacted on one of the insect-leg drive units and detonated, knocking the scout craft spinning wildly to the valley floor.
A volley of rifle shots brought MacFeeters up and out of his hole, his rifle in his hands. The scout was lying broken and smoking a couple hundred meters away. Rifle fire crackled from the opposite side of the valley; MacFeeters could already see three alien invaders down in the grass near the wreck.
His eye was drawn to a slight movement. A Grugell peered cautiously from a hatch in the side of the wrecked scout. The guerrilla leader dropped to one knee, brought his rifle up, sighted carefully through the scope, and fired one round. The alien collapsed into the spring wildflowers.
“Move in, be careful, be quick,” MacFeeters announced into the throat mike.
Ten minutes later the wreck was stripped of anything useful and portable. By the time another scout craft flew up the valley in response to the distress call, the guerilla band had faded into the endless prairie, taking six Grugell plasma rifles and two packs of explosives with them.
The Shade Tree
Tarbos again at last, Captain Jean Barrett thought to herself. The pale blue and white orb of the Confederate capital world was growing slowly large on the main screen as the Shade Tree decelerated slowly in to their assigned trajectory. A berth in the Navy’s orbital dock awaited the ship, and the bars and hotels of Mountain View awaited Barrett’s leave-hungry crew.
And a Senator, the Senator who made the Shade Tree’s excursions profitable, was waiting to speak to Jean Barrett.
There were plans to make, supplies to buy, and two crewmembers to hire to replace the two who’d announced their intentions to join the Navy. Fortunately, Indira Krishnavarna wasn’t one of them.
And out there on the edge of Confederate space, there was a planet to take back, and Captain Barrett had a feeling that the Privateer SS Shade Tree would play a part in that. In fact, she looked forward to it.
To see more of Animal’s writing, visit his page at Crimson Dragon Publishing or Amazon.
smarting internally from the browbeating
The tender sensibilities of the nobility!
I really enjoyed the books.
Same same. I devoured them all too quickly.
Did we ever get a pronunciation on “Orleans?”
“AW-leans”.
Or Le ans
Orly? Ayans.
“Toledo”
When asked how to pronounce “flind” the creator of the gnoll-like monster wrote “it rhymes with ‘wind.'”
Oh, so it’s pronounced “Edinburgh”
Raymond Luxury Yacht (pronounced ‘Throatwobbler Mangrove’
I went back and re-read. I think I missed for forgot the last one.
I need to buy these books, stat!
Gerrymander good
The new district is the biggest opportunity Utah Democrats have ever had for congressional representation, especially when the majority margin in Congress is minuscule.
“We have the ability to add to the body and the Democrats in the House of Representatives in a way that may swing that chamber back to Democratic control,” said Brian King, the chair of the Utah Democratic Party.
——-
He said Utah is a successful example of why the national party should be investing in flipping red states and not just focusing on purple districts and areas they know they can win.
“Democrats, if they’re going to be successful across this country, they have to figure out how to speak, to reach and change the hearts and minds of voters in red areas,” he said.
Eat the Rich; it’s a winning message. You just need to focus on envy, fear and hate and you can’t go wrong.
For purposes of winning elections, this is correct.
The strategy: Make blue states unlivable so Dems flee to urban areas of red states.
change the hearts and minds
No YOU change if you want to represent ME.
When do we get to blow up the Grugell home planet?
Ender will fix that shit.
Until Speaker for the Dead.
YES!
MOAR EXPLOSIONS!
Alan Greenspan is toes up.
Pushing up daisies?
It was a good run at 100.
Needs more violence advocacy
The violence caught the attention of President Trump, who has frequently said he wants to send in the National Guard to help with crime in the city.
The president took to social media early Sunday morning, saying in part, “Lots of killing going on in Chicago …. Why isn’t Governor Pritzker calling me for help. I could make Chicago a safe city…”
Violence prevention advocates are saying the focus now needs to remain on bringing people together safely. City leaders and youth advocates are saying the number of shooting victims from just the Juneteenth weekend alone is a reminder of why organizations like the Peacekeepers and Violence Interrupters are so important and need continued support.
They are so incredibly effective. Won’t you give generously?
Sounds like you need peacemakers in Chicago. I’m not seeing much peace there to be kept.
So more Colts, less Glocks.
Did that clean cut black lad have to defend himself against a much bigger white bully at a track meet?
There’s your proof.
Midnight basketball would’ve fixed this.
Herp derp
It’s almost like the leaders there are not actually interested in lowering crime.
Ownbestenemy, Sensei,
I’m switching here after 30mins/ brevity sake.
I did find the ADSB trace (N249WF), since it was in the DCA/BWI class B they were clearly talking to ATC, and the trace shows that it looks like they were diverting to W00. I suspect that there was communication from Potomac Approach to the local support services, but the “apple alert” is the sensational part of this… Not, that they had already been contacted by ATC.
Generic “power loss” seems likely.
Thanks! My guess is the Apple part may actually be useful for the cops and first responders. Likely few people/organizations between the phone alert and the boots on the ground.
RIP.
Fewer.
The flip side is the false positives.. I do recall that there were a bunch in the early development of the code..
https://9to5mac.com/2023/02/03/iphone-crash-detection-criticism/
ELT’s can also false trigger.. and not trigger.
The newer 406 ELTs are individualized and someone can be called to check for the false positive.
Yeah. I recall one of my automotive YouTube channels at a manufacturer reveal on a racetrack and car under review kept calling 911 while they were going around the track. No option to cancel it – it just kept connecting to 911.
On my Android variation of it on my phone – it basically sits there for a full minute (from memory) alarming with a countdown before it calls.
Going out with a directional ELT finder is hard enough on the apron, let alone a wooded area.
This one didn’t take much looking.
The surrounding homeowners need to play LOTTO tonight.
https://wtop.com/prince-georges-county/2026/06/a-deadly-plane-crash-rattles-neighbors-in-bowie/
https://nypost.com/2026/06/20/health/scientists-create-3d-map-of-the-black-box-of-female-genitals/
Psht, the Post spreading myths and legends.
uh
is that safe to click at work?
Why does your job hate The Science, kinnath?
Cause they want to make money
“Black box”
Cue up the articles on how Gen Z has discovered the Clit.
Scratch that…they arent having sex, forgot about that. Well except my middle son, he is bravely carrying the torch forth.
The little man in the boat with two sets of oars in the water?
https://shop.thecmp.org/browse/Ammo?f=Commercial%20Ammo
CMP ammo sale. I typically don’t buy precision ammo, or actually never. But the price on the Hornady CD FTX 115gr is excellent.
The Eley Standard .22LR is terrific, especially if all you’ve ever used is domestic rimfire stuff.
The Creedmoor 9mm 115grn. Match is also really good stuff, and $285/case is a pretty scorching deal. CMP’s shipping charges are pretty brutal though.
No YOU change if you want to represent ME.
Won’t you accept
Jesusthe DNC as your true lord and savior?If only they were that honest in their proselytizing.
Charles C.W. Cooke:
You can’t really dust for vomit.
Maybe one day they’ll arrive at someone who actually represents what the subjects want.
🍿
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/nyc-coffee-shop-bars-jewish-congressman-goldman/
In a proper world, a business could exclude any customer for any reason. But the law today says otherwise.
Hopefully, the market will punish the real villain here.
This is one of those “I hate everyone involved” stories.
Amusing, the prog Goldman is being primaried by a dude even harder left.
lol I was going to post that.
The NYPost version shows the coffee shop.
I wonder what the Arabic script translates to. “No Jews”? And what flag is that?
https://atlanticflagpole.com/products/uzbekistan-flag
I figured a -stan.
Dude should probably have guessed he wasn’t welcome.
Did Starmer announce his retirement by saying, “I can take a hint”?