Laurie loitered as Euan checked them into the lodge and made small talk with the concierge. He always came skiing at Les Autres. They knew him here. It was like nothing else, he'd promised.
Closing one eye and crouching slightly, Laurie aligned the buck's head mounted on the wall behind the check-in desk so that its antlers became the concierge's.
***
Out on the slopes, Laurie felt as though she was flying, her world reduced to only the soft curves of the snow, the blur of trees, and the endless, cradling bowl of the sky.
But no matter how swift her descent, the huddle of lodges and chalets below seemed to grow no closer. Time moved in all directions. How long had she been there, half-gliding, half-falling, unmoving?
***
Les Autres had never quite seen snow like it, the concierge said, his concern reaching neither his eyes nor his voice. The whole resort was snowed in and would be for days yet.
And he was sure there was no sign of Laurie at all?
The concierge was afraid not, sir. And there was no chance of sending mountain rescue out. Not in this weather.
Euan only nodded, no concern in his eyes either. Same as always.
They knew him here.
***
When she finally reached the resort, dusk had settled, and the first wisps of snow starting to fall. The lights were on in the lodges, basking everything in a warm, welcoming glow. But there was no sign of movement behind any of them. No guests in the streets and restaurants. No sound but the wind.
Something moved through the veil of dancing snow and gathering dark. Footsteps cushioned in the snowdrifts, its great crown of antlers golden in the hazy light.
Laurie called out, but her voice only came dull and muffled.
---
Original here.

Usually around the first of the month we have a batch of price changes and this month is no different. According to the "How to Become a Contract Liquor Agent" document, "The Agent must also complete price changes that occur at the first of the month..."
Number of Price Increases: 2 Number of Price Decreases: 136 Number of New Products: 44 Number of Status Changes: 4
I plan to reply to this post throughout the month if I notice other significant changes happening or at the end of the month before the next update to keep the changes in one place. Here's a link back to what changed in May 2023: American Whiskey, Brandy, Canadian Whiskey, Cordial, Gin, and Irish Whisky, Rum, Scotch, Tequila, and Vodka.
For each category I've sorted by the amount of the price increase or decrease. New products are shown first, then price decreases are shown in decreasing order followed by price increases in increasing order. At the end are products with other changes unrelated to price.
Current product status is indicated on each line as follows. OHLQ hasn't publicly explained what these things mean but I've included my best guess below.

• A = Active
  • Regularly supplied and available for purchase
• D = De-Listed
  • No longer carried by OHLQ, may still be available in some stores or the warehouse. Sometimes considered a Last Call product
• I = Inactive
  • Discontinued by the supplier or otherwise unavailable to OHLQ
• S = Special Order
  • Regularly available but in limited supply. Not available in very many stores
• V = Value-Added-Pack
  • Bottle comes with some kind of extra gift like a glass/mug/etc

American Whiskey

• New Products
• [S] 1776 STRAIGHT BOURBON WHISKEY BARREL PROOF ($44.99 / 750 ML)
• [S] 1776 STRAIGHT RYE WHISKEY BARREL PROOF ($44.99 / 750 ML)
• [S] ANGELS ENVY ($28.99 / 375 ML)
• [S] BUCKNER'S 15 YEAR OLD SINGLE BARREL BOURBON ($299.99 / 750 ML)
• [A] FOUR DOGS BLACK DOG BOURBON RYE ($58.95 / 750 ML)
• [S] H.DERINGER BOURBON ($106.99 / 750 ML)
• [S] HEAVENS DOOR 10 YEAR DECADE SERIES 02 STRAIGHT RY ($99.99 / 750 ML)
• [A] HIGH N' WICKED THE JUDGE STRAIGHT BOURBON WHISKEY ($89.99 / 750 ML)
• [S] HIGH WEST BARREL SELECT CASK STRENGTH ($69.99 / 750 ML)
• [S] JACK DANIELS 10 YEAR OLD ($74.99 / 700 ML)
• [S] KNOB CREEK RYE 7 YEAR ($39.99 / 750 ML)
• [S] KURVBALL ORIGINAL BBQ WHISKEY ($1.99 / 50 ML)
• [A] NEW RICHMOND GRANT WHISKEY ($47.47 / 750 ML)
• [S] OLD PEPPER SINGLE MALT SMALL BATCH ($54.99 / 750 ML)
• [S] OLD ROUTE 8 SINGLE BARREL CASK STRENGTH BOURBON ($114.99 / 750 ML)
• [A] SCOTTY'S APPLE WHISKEY ($39.99 / 750 ML)
• [A] SCOTTY'S PEACH WHISKEY ($39.99 / 750 ML)
• [A] SEVEN BROTHERS CASK STRENGTH BOURBON ($59.99 / 750 ML)
• [A] SEVEN BROTHERS CASK STRENGTH MALT WHISKEY ($59.99 / 750 ML)
• [S] WILDERNESS TRAIL BOURON WHEATED PRIVATE BARREL ($65.99 / 750 ML)
• [S] YELLOWSTONE HAND PICKED BARREL 119 PROOF ($64.99 / 750 ML)
• Price decreases
• [A] ERNEST SCARANO DISTILLERY 10 YEAR ($750.00 / 375 ML) - $2,000.00↓
• [A] KARRIKEN SPIRITS JD WAYNE BOURBON ($64.04 / 750 ML) - $17.93↓
• [A] WHISTLEPIG RYE 10 YEAR ($79.99 / 750 ML) - $10.00↓
• [S] HIGH WEST RENDEZVOUS RYE ($74.99 / 750 ML) - $5.00↓
• [A] WHISTLEPIG PIGGYBACK BOURBON ($45.99 / 750 ML) - $4.00↓
• [A] BASIL HAYDEN BOURBON ($39.99 / 750 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] BASIL HAYDEN DARK RYE ($39.99 / 750 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] JEFFERSONS MANHATTAN RTD ($26.99 / 750 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] OLE SMOKY CHERRIES ($19.99 / 750 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] OLE SMOKY HUNCH PUNCH ($19.99 / 750 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] OLE SMOKY MOONSHINE PEACHES ($19.99 / 750 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] OLE SMOKY PEPPERMINT MOONSHINE ($19.99 / 750 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] OLE SMOKY SPIKED APPLE ($19.99 / 750 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] OLE SMOKY WHITE LIGHTNING ($19.99 / 750 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] WILD TURKEY 101 ($46.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $3.00↓
• [A] WILD TURKEY LONGBRANCH ($36.99 / 750 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] JIM BEAM APPLE ($15.99 / 750 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] JIM BEAM FIRE ($15.99 / 750 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] JIM BEAM HONEY ($15.99 / 750 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] JIM BEAM ORANGE ($15.99 / 750 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] JIM BEAM PEACH ($15.99 / 750 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] JIM BEAM VANILLA ($15.99 / 750 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] RED STAG BLACK CHERRY ($15.99 / 750 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] HOWLER HEAD ($27.99 / 750 ML) - $2.00↓
• [A] JACK DANIELS ($49.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] JACK DANIELS FIRE ($49.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] JACK DANIELS HONEY ($49.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] JIM BEAM ($16.99 / 750 ML) - $2.00↓
• [A] JIM BEAM ($34.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] JIM BEAM APPLE ($34.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] JIM BEAM HONEY ($34.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] JIM BEAM PEACH ($34.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] JIM BEAM PET ($34.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] JIM BEAM TRAVELER ($16.99 / 750 ML) - $2.00↓
• [V] JIM BEAM WITH CLEVELAND INDIANS HIGHBALL MUG ($16.99 / 750 ML) - $2.00↓
• [V] JIM BEAM WITH HIGHBALL MUG ($16.99 / 750 ML) - $2.00↓
• [A] MAKER'S MARK ($54.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] RED STAG BLACK CHERRY ($34.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] TWISTED TEA WHISKEY ($14.99 / 750 ML) - $2.00↓
• [A] WESTERN RESERVE CARIBBEAN CASK RYE WHISKEY ($62.99 / 750 ML) - $2.00↓
• [A] WESTERN RESERVE SHERRY FINISHED BOURBON ($62.99 / 750 ML) - $2.00↓
• [A] ELIJAH CRAIG RYE WHISKEY ($32.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] ELIJAH CRAIG RYE WHISKEY ($17.99 / 375 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] ELIJAH CRAIG SMALL BATCH ($32.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] ELIJAH CRAIG SMALL BATCH ($17.99 / 375 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] MAKER'S MARK ($24.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [V] MAKER'S MARK WITH SHAKER ($24.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] OLE SMOKY ($19.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] OLE SMOKY BLUE FLAME ($19.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] WILD TURKEY 101 ($24.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] WILD TURKEY 101 RYE ($24.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] WILD TURKEY 101 TRAVELER ($24.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] WILD TURKEY AM HONEY STING ($21.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] WILD TURKEY AMERICAN HONEY ($21.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] BRECKENRIDGE HIGH PROOF BLEND BOURBON ($52.99 / 750 ML) - $0.24↓
• [A] BRECKENRIDGE PORT CASK FINISH WHISKEY ($52.99 / 750 ML) - $0.24↓
• [A] BRECKENRIDGE RUM CASK FINISH WHISKEY ($52.99 / 750 ML) - $0.24↓
• [A] WESTERN RESERVE SMALL BATCH BOURBON ($36.95 / 750 ML) - $0.04↓
• Price increases
• [A] BUZZARD'S ROOST CHAR 1 RYE ($49.99 / 750 ML) - $4.00↑
• [A] BUZZARD'S ROOST CHAR 1 BOURBON ($63.99 / 750 ML) - $9.00↑
• Changed products
• [S] CLERMONT STEEP AMERICAN SINGLE MALT ($59.99 / 750 ML) - Status changed from Active to Special Order

Brandy

• Price decreases
• [V] HENNESSY VSOP JULIEN VAP ($59.99 / 750 ML) - $4.00↓
• [A] HENNESSY VSOP PRIVILEGE ($59.99 / 750 ML) - $4.00↓
• [A] REMY MARTIN 1738 ($57.99 / 750 ML) - $4.00↓
• [V] REMY MARTIN 1738 SHAKER ($57.99 / 750 ML) - $4.00↓
• [V] REMY MARTIN 1738 W JIGGER ($57.99 / 750 ML) - $4.00↓
• [A] REMY MARTIN 1738 ($28.99 / 375 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] REMY MARTIN VSOP ($48.99 / 750 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] COURVOISIER VS ($41.99 / 1 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] REMY MARTIN VSOP ($25.99 / 375 ML) - $2.00↓
• [A] COURVOISIER VS ($17.99 / 375 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] E & J VS ($11.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] MARTELL BLUE SWIFT ($49.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓

Canadian Whiskey

• Price decreases
• [A] BLACK VELVET ($8.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] BLACK VELVET ($17.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $1.00↓
• [A] BLACK VELVET APPLE ($8.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] BLACK VELVET PEACH ($8.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] BLACK VELVET TOASTED CARAMEL ($8.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] BLACK VELVET TOASTED CARAMEL ($17.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $1.00↓
• [A] BLACK VELVET TRV ($8.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] BLACK VELVET ($4.99 / 375 ML) - $0.50↓

Cordial

• New Products
• [A] CROOKED FINGER APPLE PIE LIQUEUR ($43.12 / 750 ML)
• [A] CROOKED FINGER LEMONADE LIQUEUR ($34.69 / 750 ML)
• [V] JAGERMEISTER ALUMINUM SHOT CUP VAP ($25.99 / 750 ML)
• Price decreases
• [V] GRAND MARNIER CORDON ROUGE 750ML ROCKS GLASS ($37.99 / 750 ML) - $2.00↓

Gin

• New Products
• [A] LOST BRIDGE APPALCHIAN GIN ($34.99 / 750 ML)
• [S] SIPSMITH LEMON DRIZZLE ($36.99 / 750 ML)
• Price decreases
• [A] AIREM GIN ($20.99 / 750 ML) - $10.00↓
• [A] THE BOTANIST ($69.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $5.00↓
• [A] SEAGRAMS EXTRA DRY GIN ($10.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] SEAGRAMS EXTRA DRY GIN TRV ($10.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] SEAGRAMS LIME TWISTED GIN ($10.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] SEAGRAMS WATERMELON ($10.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] LUX & UMBRA LONDON DRY GIN ($24.99 / 750 ML) - $0.21↓
• [A] VIM & PETAL ($24.99 / 750 ML) - $0.21↓

Irish Whisky

• New Products
• [S] GREEN SPOT QUAILS' GATE ($99.99 / 700 ML)
• [A] METHOD AND MADNESS JAPANESE MIZUNARA ($3,300.01 / 700 ML)
• [S] TEELING WONDERS OF WOOD PORTUGUESE OAK ($99.99 / 700 ML)
• Price decreases
• [A] JAMESON ($24.99 / 750 ML) - $4.00↓
• [A] JAMESON COLD BREW ($24.99 / 750 ML) - $4.00↓
• [A] JAMESON ORANGE ($24.99 / 750 ML) - $4.00↓

Rum

• Price decreases
• [A] APPLETON 8 YEAR OLD RESERVE ($29.99 / 750 ML) - $2.00↓
• [A] APPLETON ESTATE SIGNATURE BLEND ($19.99 / 750 ML) - $2.00↓
• [A] APPLETON ESTATE SIGNATURE BLEND ($34.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] BLACKHEART ($12.99 / 750 ML) - $2.00↓
• [A] KRAKEN BLACK SPICED RUM ($29.49 / 1.75 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] ADMIRAL NELSON ($14.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] ADMIRAL NELSON SILVER ($14.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] MALIBU ($14.99 / 750 ML) - $2.00↓
• [A] MALIBU BLACK ($14.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• Changed products
• [D] BACARDI RESERVA OCHO SHERRY CASK FINISH ($32.99 / 750 ML) - Status changed from Active to De-Listed

Scotch

• New Products
• [A] ABERFELDY 15 NAPA VALLEY WINE CASK ($69.99 / 750 ML)
• [A] DEWARS DOUBLE DOUBLE 21 MIZUNARA ($149.99 / 750 ML)
• [A] LOCH LOMOND THE OPEN SPECIAL EDITION 2023 ($44.99 / 750 ML)
• Price decreases
• [A] AIREM SINGLE MALT WHISKEY 14 YEAR PX CASK SE1 GRAN ($69.99 / 750 ML) - $44.00↓
• [A] GLENMORANGIE SIGNET ($249.99 / 750 ML) - $16.00↓
• [A] GLENMORANGIE 18 ($129.99 / 750 ML) - $10.00↓
• [A] GLENMORANGIE AZUMA MAKOTO LE ($129.99 / 750 ML) - $10.00↓
• [A] FAMOUS GROUSE ($21.99 / 750 ML) - $4.00↓
• Changed products
• [S] AO SUNTORY WORLD WHISKY ($59.99 / 700 ML) - Status changed from Active to Special Order

Tequila

• New Products
• [S] CORAZON EXPRESIONES FRENCH OAK ANEJO ($79.99 / 750 ML)
• [S] CORAZON EXPRESIONES WELLER 12 ANEJO ($79.99 / 750 ML)
• [S] LOS MAGOS SOTOL 6 YEAR RESERVA ($293.09 / 750 ML)
• [S] LOS MAGOS SOTOL BARREL-AGED WHISTLEPIG EDITION 1 ($65.03 / 750 ML)
• [A] PLUMA NEGRA JABALI ($149.99 / 750 ML)
• Price decreases
• [A] MEZCAL VAGO ESPADIN ($54.99 / 750 ML) - $20.00↓
• [A] MEZCAL VAGO ENSAMBLE ($74.99 / 750 ML) - $5.00↓
• [A] HORNITOS PLATA TEQUILA ($36.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $3.00↓
• [A] HORNITOS PLATA TEQUILA ($24.99 / 750 ML) - $2.00↓
• [V] HORNITOS PLATA TEQUILA GIFT SET - 2 SHOT GLASSES ($24.99 / 750 ML) - $2.00↓
• [A] HORNITOS REPOSADO ($25.99 / 750 ML) - $2.00↓
• [A] LUNAZUL BLANCO ($23.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] LUNAZUL BLANCO ($37.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $1.00↓
• [A] LUNAZUL REPOSADO ($23.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] LUNAZUL REPOSADO ($37.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $1.00↓
• Changed products
• [A] CAMPO BRAVO PLATA ($19.99 / 1 Liter) - Status changed from Special Order to Active

Vodka

• New Products
• [A] A.M. SCOTT DISTILLERY ORANGE CREAM VODKA ($29.04 / 750 ML)
• [A] A.M. SCOTT DISTILLERY STRAWBERRY VODKA ($19.99 / 750 ML)
• [A] A.M.SCOTT DISTILLERY BIRTHDAY CAKE VODKA ($19.99 / 750 ML)
• [A] CANDELLA DISTILLERY POTATO VODKA ($38.30 / 1 Liter)
• [A] CRYSTAL HEAD BONE BOTTLE ($52.99 / 750 ML)
• [S] HIGH ROCK VODKA ($23.99 / 750 ML)
• [S] MUTINY ISLAND VODKA ($19.99 / 750 ML)
• Price decreases
• [A] AIREM VODKA ($17.99 / 750 ML) - $12.00↓
• [A] IRVINE'S PRECISION DISTILLED VODKA ($18.99 / 750 ML) - $3.88↓
• [A] TRULY PINEAPPLE MANGO ($14.99 / 750 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] TRULY STRAWBERRY LEMONADE FLAVORED VODKA ($14.99 / 750 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] TRULY WILD BERRY FLAVORD VODKA ($14.99 / 750 ML) - $3.00↓
• [A] BROKEN SHED VODKA ($19.99 / 750 ML) - $2.00↓
• [A] DEEP EDDY STRAIGHT VODKA ($27.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] DEEP EDDY LEMON VODKA ($27.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] DEEP EDDY RUBY RED VODKA ($27.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] NEW AMSTERDAM ($19.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] PINNACLE CHERRY ($17.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] PINNACLE VODKA ($17.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] PINNACLE WHIPPED ($17.99 / 1.75 Liter) - $2.00↓
• [A] NEW AMSTERDAM ($11.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] NEW AMSTERDAM PEACH ($11.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] NEW AMSTERDAM PINK WHITNEY ($11.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] NEW AMSTERDAM WATERMELON ($11.99 / 750 ML) - $1.00↓
• [A] NEW AMSTERDAM ($2.99 / 200 ML) - $0.50↓
• [A] NEW AMSTERDAM PEACH ($2.99 / 200 ML) - $0.50↓
• [A] OYO VODKA ($17.49 / 750 ML) - $0.32↓
• [A] OYO HONEY VANILLA ($24.99 / 750 ML) - $0.21↓
• [A] OYO STONEFRUIT VODKA ($24.99 / 750 ML) - $0.21↓

For reference we are located in Scotland - where there is currently a rent freeze and rent cap.
Long story short, our 'landlord' has taken us all for mugs as we all came here in desperate need of housing and jumped at the chance of a roof over our heads. In short, deposits not placed within a deposit scheme, rent taken cash no receipts, flat is in severe state of disrepair, repairs to appliances take on average 6 months, he left us with no working cooking facilities for 6 months, he shows up unannounced at all times of day/night, he charges astronomical prices for a building barely live-able, we have no contracts, he told us 'YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS HERE' after one tenant challenged his rent increase. I could go on and on. I believe this property is a tax evasion haven. He claims the property is a holiday let even though for 5/5 of us, this is our permanent place of residence.
Please please offer me some advice, I am at my end with the stress this is causing for myself and fellow tenants. This is my last resort, I have been bounced from governmental department to department with no help, citizens advice didn't help. I am at my end and worried I will be out in the streets before long.

[Part 1](https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/131t1q9/first_contacts_part_1/)
[Part 5](https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/13rv3xp/first_contacts_part_5/)
​
“Let’s introduce ourselves to the Captain of this boat!”
Nathan pushed the door control and was greeted with a flashing Yellow light, the door had already been locked down, with that, he took two steps back and levelled his pistol at the bottom left of the door, he began firing his gun, spacing the shots around the edge working his way up the left and along the top of the door, reloading after 12 shots.
Reloading was done between two boxes, when one was empty, or low, he would push it into a belt pack he was wearing, a whir from the pack indicated that it was feeding new rounds into the box and within seconds it was full again.
It took a total of 20 shots for him to reach the place he had started, Nathan reloaded his pistol once more and stepped forward with a spring and brought his right foot up to kick the door, the sound was almost as loud as the gun, the metal finally giving in to the stress and falling away.
Beyond the door were a dozen command officers and four Axarli soldiers, they were already disarmed and ready to surrender, likely as a result of watching the carnage that Nathan had already inflicted on their defence forces.
Most of the Officers were Sovereigns of the Pearls, though a couple of Euterians and a Forgol were among them. “Which one of you is the captain?” Nathan’s voice was raised to an uncomfortable level for the Sovereigns who all covered their auditory antennae, one of the Sovereigns stepped forward her hands still clasped over her antennae.
“Everyone else on the floor, face down and arms out!” Nathan’s voice was still raised but he had lowered it a little. The remaining crew complied with his command.
Nathan lowered his voice back to normal conversational level and turned to the Sovereign Captain “Captain, I understand you are taking prisoners from the surface.”
“That is correct.” The Sovereigns were not able to speak Orvangian directly, so her words issued forth from a worn translator device about her neck.
“I would like you to call your crew and have them surrender.”
“I Do not know your species, but you stand with the Federation against our might!” the Captain and her Sovereign Officers all flourished their hands and feelers in a dance-like display.
I am not sure what happened next, a pulse of electromagnetic energy hit me and my suit was instantly fried, pain shooting through my body at the same time, I found myself laying on the floor the ceiling above me decorated with the flashes of Nathan’s pistol.
Despite the repeated blasts of that handheld cannon, I couldn’t hear a sound and I could see my thoughts around me as though I had engaged in the bond with an Orvangian, I was soon floating on a warm ocean of orange light, enveloping me in its softness.
My eyes drifted closed and Purple Valuri bloomed before me, the faces of my family and the distant arches of my home rose into the sky above. I whooped and laughed like Nathan as I clung to the velvety mane of a Plains Rasil, its legs pounding the landscape into the past behind me, we rose over the hills and across the savannah of Talloral and I Roared like the Volluk on the plains of Orvang.
Dreams fell away to a burning pain as consciousness returned to me, I was in a medical bay, opening my eyes was painful, the white surfaces and bright lights making them sting as much as my chest did.
A pair of Tilik were lingering close to my bedside with relief washing over their faces, they moved back and Nathan stepped into my field of view. His face now sporting several fine slices that welled up with red “Jin! We are glad you’re awake.”
The Tilik flapped their tentacles in agreement and I heard a muffled voice in the background. With considerable pain, I pushed myself into a sitting position so I could survey our situation.
We were still aboard the Separatist ship, in a medical bay, there was a pile of equipment blocking the doors and they had been welded closed, the Euterian officers from the bridge were strapped down to one of the beds though they were unconscious, the Forgol officer was standing beside Nathan a thin trail of white bile trickling from his nasal ducts a sign of the fear and discomfort he was in as a result of having Nathans Pistol barrel so far down his throat that it was likely brushing against his oral lymph nodes.
“What happened?”
Nathan bared his teeth at me, the Forgol seeming to shrink slightly at the expression “Those bejewelled Centipede guys pulled a McClain on us, blasted us with an EMP and Frag weapons.
“I had to shoot them and the power armour guys too, it was a blood bath.
“Your space suit took most of the damage and got fried by the EMP, but you got stuck pretty good yourself. Doc here says you had 28 flechette pieces in you.” Nathan gestured to one of the Tilik.
“The Bejewelled Centipede Guys are called ‘Sovereigns of the Pearls’ and the Power armoured guys are Axarli.” My voice was a little weak but it brought Nathan’s Smile back.
“So, there’s a whole army of those Axarli guys out in the hallway now, waiting for our surrender, but my new pal here says there is a service duct that runs through the floor of this room.” Nathan patted the back of the Tilik he had called Doc earlier.
“Even if we escape this room, where would we go?” I winced and even yelped a little as I swung my legs to hang over the side of the bed.
“Well, this ship’s sensors and weapons are out at the moment, I may have devastated the bridge a bit, so I need you and Doc to go down to the Shuttle and bring it around to their Hangar bay.
“Me and Mister Tactical Officer here.” He grinned at the Forgol officer still tasting his pistol. “We go down to holding, free your fellow crew members and meet you at the light frigate they have parked in the hangar.”
It was as insane as every other plan he had come up with, yet I couldn’t shake the fact that his plans seemed to work every time so I mirrored his thumbs-up gesture to him and slid off the bed.
Gravity on this ship was about 15% lower than what I was used to, which made standing possible, but I could feel the slices of pain in my chest and legs, medication was probably the only reason I was able to move at all.
Nathan passed me the Laser Rifle again and I pointed it at ‘Doc’ but Nathan pushed my gun down, “Woah there, Doc is on board with us, he is my newest pal ok.”
The Tilik’s cybernetic translator chipped in with a slightly musical tone “I don’t want to be here either.”
Doc moved to a floor panel and lifted it away, below was a narrow catwalk surrounded by bundles of cables and pipes. Nathan turned to the second Tilik medic “Remember what I told you!” it nodded and injected itself with a sedative, slumping to the floor within moments.
Doc dropped onto the catwalk and I followed, “Good luck Nathan!”
“Same to you Jin.”
Doc began heading left along the duct, Nathan and his hostage dropped in after us and lowered the panel back in place then headed right.
Doc and I soon arrived at a service shaft, it ascended about ten decks, but it went down to the very bottom of the ship, where we were going. The wall next to the duct had a rail mesh on it and a half dozen tractor lifts were parked here, Doc configured one and stepped off the edge, it grabbed him in its tractor beam and began a swift descent, I followed suit, setting it for deck 210 and stepping into the shaft.
The little rail-mounted tractor-beam device reached Deck 210 in under a minute, it would have been an exhilarating ride if it weren’t for the danger I was in.
Doc arrived a few seconds ahead of me and was waiting on the floor of the shaft when I arrived, he lifted a wall panel off once I dismounted from my tractor lift, beyond the panel was an engineering hallway, not far from the hub where a crate of Tilik still sat.
As we walked past the crate Doc read the top, “Can we let them out now?”
“Let’s take it to the airlock, we can let them out just before we exit the ship.”
Doc hooked a lifter dolly to the crate and began pushing it along with us.
We soon reached the airlock Nathan and I had used to enter the ship, my suit was damaged from the flechette attack, and the computer systems had rebooted now but I had to patch it before we could decompress, “Do you need any protection?”
“How long will we be in the vacuum?” Tilik are all able to survive for short periods out in space, but some are augmented for longer periods.
“About 20 minutes, maybe more.”
Doc took a magnetic field generator from the airlock and attached it to his harness, it would provide additional protection from radiation, which he was going to need so near those engine cones.
Once my suit was sealed, we stepped into the airlock and I reached out to the crate to push the release, as soon as the lid popped up, I pulled back and hit the airlock controls. It only took moments for the airlock to cycle and the outer door to open.
I took the lead out into the engine spaces and made my way back to the panel that Nathan had hastily welded back into place, with the laser rifle I shot each weld and then gave it a good kick, the panel breaking loose and floating away from the hull. It occurred to me that I had never done anything like this before, this was the sort of action that Nathan would have taken, it was exactly how he had gained access to the command centre, shot the door and kicked it open.
I didn’t dwell on the thought, the engines were still hot so I clambered out followed by Doc, the Shuttle wasn’t far away so we moved as quickly as we could manage.
It wasn’t long before we were in the rear of the shuttle, “Doc, can you fly?”
“No, I am a medical specialist, but I do have some engineering training.”
“See if you can get the laser banks back online.”
Doc pulled a repair kit from the wall and began a diagnostic survey, I left him to work and glanced at the device sitting on one of the chairs here, it was clearly the black case Nathan had recovered from the Endeavour, but now it was open, the lid was raised on a framework, becoming the top of the device, I recognised what it was, though I had never seen a portable one before, it was a Fabricator, able to manufacture items from schematic diagrams, the Doradul had several of them in the engineering bays but they were large and fitted into the walls.
I stepped through into the cockpit and strapped in, I wasn’t a pilot like Nathan but I had hundreds of hours of shuttle operations time, I could only hope that the battleship’s weapons were still disabled.
The shuttle detached from the Separatist ship and I kept close to the hull, moving as quickly as I felt comfortable doing at this distance. Once we were out from among the engine cones I turned onto the dorsal surface of the battleship, its cannons were all aimed forward now, sitting in their standby positions and none reacted to my presence.
I picked up the pace as I navigated between turrets and antennae clusters, not as reckless as Nathan had been, but I was ignoring my instructor’s safety rules as it knocked a radar dish off the surface of the battleship.
We were almost at the prow of the ship where the hangar was when the laser banks came back to life, I set them to strafing auto-targeting mode, so I could shoot any Axarli in the hangar with the squeeze of a trigger.
My reckless disregard for flight safety reached its peak as I passed the prow of the battleship, making a hard roll and braking as Nathan had done, I even bared my teeth when I completed the move without crashing.
“What was that!” I heard Doc’s Translator proclaim from the rear compartment.
The Hangar ahead was open an atmospheric shield keeping it from depressurising, I could see a few deck crew and some Axarli were targeted by the shuttle’s computer.
I advanced the shuttle through the shield so the weapons fire would not evacuate the atmosphere, the sudden shift from zero-G to the downward pull of the hangar’s gravity forced the shuttle’s nose thrusters to fire and shook the shuttle. As soon as we were through the shield I pressed the trigger and the shuttles laser bank began to fire, deck crew scattered to shelter while Axarli troops began to return fire.
There was plenty of space in the hangar, the Light Frigate stood like a tower on the Port side allowing me to make evasive moves and even take cover. It didn’t take long before the hangar deck was largely clear, even the Axarli had retreated into the surrounding hallways and rooms to avoid being incinerated by the shuttle’s laser.
After they withdrew I had little to do but hover and wait for Nathan to arrive, Doc came into the cockpit once we had stopped firing “What now?”
“Until Nathan and my crew arrive there is not much we can do.” The Tilik had sided with the Separatists back during the war and Doc deciding to join us was beginning to bother me, why would he sign up for fleet duty only to abandon it?
“Doc, why are you here?”
He looked slightly puzzled at my question, “You mean why did I decide to join you and Nathan?”
“Yes, why would you sign up for fleet service in the Separatist army only to abandon your post now.”
“I didn’t sign up, you know we share our home planet with the Norold.”
I gave an affirmative gesture.
“Well since the Separatist council decided to rebuild the fleet they needed crews, and the Norold were quick to support the new fleet, they decided that every family of Norold and Tilik would provide one person for the fleet forces.
“This was easy for them, they have families of dozens each, but Tilik families are usually no more than five to eight, so to protect my family from reprisals and my mother from forced service I stepped in to replace her.”
Doc deflated in the co-pilot’s chair, I was aware that the Tilik were very peaceful before the Separatist war, many believed that they were not enthusiastic supporters of the Separatists, especially since the planet Ghoat was still a member of the federation despite being a Tilik colony.
“So, you figure that the Separatist fleet will write you off as a casualty now and your family will be safe.”
“Exactly, the Euterian Officers don’t know I am siding with you, my colleague understands and promised to keep it secret, the Fleet will compensate my family and send condolences.”
Through the window of the shuttle, I saw weapons fire again, a group of Axarli backing out of their cover position and under fire from a combination of Plasma Fire and the unmistakable streaks of white thunder that Nathan’s pistol issued forth.
I opened fire again, clearing away the Axarli that had broken cover, moments later Nathan emerged with twenty of the Doradul’s Crew and one Forgol captive, they were using Axarli sidearms and seemed to be carrying makeshift shields.
Axarli in other covered positions began firing on them so I lowered the shuttle and fired back, Nathan pushed his team toward the frigate and up the gangway.
I moved the shuttle to cover them as much as possible, taking dozens of hits from plasma casters, their rifles were not going to fell the shuttle quickly but the damage was already mounting up, soon my laser bank was down again and moments later navigation followed.
“Jin, we are about to launch.” Buddy’s voice sounded over my suit’s com system.
“OK, I am right behind you, I will need to dock soon, my navigation is out.” As soon as I finished speaking, my Warp drive went offline as well.
The Frigate began to ascend moments later, I turned and pushed out ahead of it escaping the weapons fire before anything else went down. The frigate soon followed and once it was clear of the battleship’s hangar its shuttle bay door rolled open and launched the emergency shuttle that was blocking my path.
The moment the bay was clear I manoeuvred into it, the frigate’s tractor beams bringing me to a safe landing, the bay doors closed and the ship jumped to warp moments later.
Doc and I disembarked from the shuttle and took the elevator to the bridge, there were a half dozen members of the Doradul crew here, manning stations. All but one were auxiliary bridge crew, ones that would take night shifts, the only member of the primary crew here was the Secondary Ops Officer, he and I shared the same rank, though he was technically my superior.
In the pilot’s seat was Nathan grinning his toothy grin at me, “Welcome to the Endeavour 2.”
[Part 1](https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/131t1q9/first_contacts_part_1/)
[Part 5](https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/13rv3xp/first_contacts_part_5/)
(I am running a little behind on writing this last couple of weeks so there may be a missed week in the near future, I will do my best to prevent that, but be warned.)

Many praises to u/SpacePaladin15 for this universe.
Credit again to u/TheManwithaNoPlan for helping edit!
[First]-[Prev]-[Next]
Memory transcript: Tarlim, Venbig. Date: [Standardized human time] September 28th, 2136
Jacob sat on my couch, speaking on his phone to his parents. Lightyears separated them, but the communications had gotten to the point that they were finally able to talk with instant transmission.
“And you think they will approve?” He asked on the phone. I couldn’t hear, even with a Venlil’s superior hearing, but I could tell by his expression that whatever was being said was good! “So there’s a chance? That’s awesome! Then ah wish y’all luck!”
His cheeks rise once more in his toothless grin as he listens. I set the rest of the stringfruit I had been eating onto the table, feeling that their conversation was wrapping up. I really hoped to talk to him as well. “Love y’all too! Ah guess ah’ll let all’a y’all go. Hmm?” He hummed joyfully, “Thank y’all so much. Ah’m always a call away! Any time y’all want! Love ya!… bye!”
I let my tail wag as he hung up his phone and placed it on the table. “So what is the verdict?”
“Their prospects are looking good,” he replied, “lot of people have been signing up to sponsor a refugee. Their ranch could accommodate some workers for the goats and orchard. And they could even give them proper pay!”
“Impressive. Are your parents that wealthy?”
He wiggled his hand to signal the ‘kinda’ sign. “They got lucky with some investments. They’re country folk at heart, so they put a good amount into peach groves and expandin’ the property for the goats.”
That last word caught my attention. It was translated as a form of cattle. Cattle that they currently had. Steady, Tarlim. You don’t know what it truly means yet. I wasn’t about to let an unspoken fear fester in my mind. I had to know. “Goats? What are… goats?”
Jacob froze a bit. He had been swinging his braces ankle up to rest on my table, so it was obvious how it hung in the air. “Crap. Okay! Look, this is a long explanation, and it goes into our ability to eat meat.” He set his leg on the table, turning his head so that he looked at me with both eyes. “We ain’t supposed to talk much ‘bout that stuff, but if ya really want to know, ah will tell ya.”
I did want to know. Jacob had done so much for me. He talked to me in the program. Greeted me with open arms. Built me up when the world felt like it was going to tear me down.
I didn’t want him to think I would fear him for the actions of his people. Never.
“Please,” I say, “Explain all that you can. I will listen.”
He patted his hand against his knee and grinned at me. “Kay! Kay… where should ah start…”
A moment of silence passed as he thought. I do hope he isn’t overthinking.
Thankfully, my fears appeared unfounded as he spoke again. “Ah ain’t an expert in this, but ah know a bit. The goat is a four-legged animal that ah believe originally lived in hilly or mountainous areas on earth. Think… well, remember that Putyl plush? How its body looked?”
“Yeah,” I replied, “go on?”
“Okay, imagine that body but with a head shaped similar to a Venlil but with a nose on it. That would be the average goat.”
I blinked in surprise at the mental image. “So we Venlil look like one of your cattle?”
“Slightly,” he admitted, “but ah can’t really call it an exact likeness. Kinda like how the Krakotl look kinda like those blue birds y’all have round here.”
I nodded. A human gesture I had come to include in with my ear gestures.
“Well, on average, their shoulders come up to our waist, though there are some breeds that who could stand as tall as us.” He chuckled to himself, and I also whistled in amusement at the thought. Those would be some big animals. “Anyway, you know how humans keep animals around us, right?”
I flicked my ears in the affirmative. “Your dogs, cats, and that stuff.”
“Yeah, well, while dogs were the first animals we humans kept around as our companions, goats and a similar species called sheep were the very first animals we specifically bred to feel safe around us.” He held up his hand in a calming gesture, “note that this took a long time. Goats and sheep have been domesticated- a word that means bred for human use- for something over 10,000 years. Our bond with those animals is practically on an instinctual level.”
It was astonishing. Ten. Thousand. Years. How does one even begin to conceive such a history? Even the founding of the Federation seemed ancient to many.
“Way-ell, that may be an exaggeration,” he corrected himself, “Maybe not quite instinct. Ah, for one, whenever ah see a baby goat, ah just think ‘protect. Feed baby. Keep safe. Raise healthy and strong!’ They are great animals. Can be stubborn and absolute crybabies, but still great animals.”
He leaned back on the couch and glanced up at me. “Any questions so far?”
“Nothing… too major,” I admit. “Mainly the usual about what they were… used for.”
“Yeah, ya know one of ‘em already.”
I keep my expression neutral. “Meat.” We sat in silence for a bit as I watched him nod. “It’s… with all you’ve done for me, it’s sometimes hard to remember that you’re predators.”
He nodded. “Ah won’t get into anything bout morality ‘n all that. Survival and time don’t really care about that. But ah can sum up the basic stance humans have had about how we treat our animals.” He sat straight and moved his hand up and down to emphasize his words. “A farmer should keep their animals Happy, Healthy, and Respected. Whenever one of those things were forgotten, people would get upset and move to try and make things better. Ah won’t lie and say it always worked, but ah can say somebody was always tryin’ to make sure the animals were treated well.”
I absorbed the information he told me. “But why? I know that you aren’t like the Arxur, so…” I sigh, “why do you treat your… cattle… so well?”
“Again, ah won’t go into the morality and all that,” he explained, “ah ain’t qualified to talk ‘bout that. But there is a practical reason as well.” He cleared his throat, “a happy, healthy, and respected animal can do and give more than an animal that isn’t. Being good to them results in more good coming back to us. Simple as that.”
Part of me wanted to find a flaw in that logic. The part that still grasped to what I had been taught all my life. But… but those teachings said I myself was dangerous. That caused the facilities to be built.
By the tenants, the humans treat the animals they eat better than we treat other people.
“As for goats in moder times,” Jacob continued, ignorant of the thoughts going through my mind, “eh, modern times, we have other uses fer ‘em that isn’t meat. Mah parents got a few kinds’a goats, an’ somma them are fer grass care.”
My train of thought stalls in confusion at his words. “I’m sorry, grass care?”
“Yeah!” He laughed, “see, goats will eat grass and shrubs, and their poop acts like a natural fertilizer. The goats can be rented out to people for their lawns, though they usually get rented by farmers so they can graze in their fields before planting their next crops so there’s less weeds and the area’s fertilized.”
I needed a moment to process that. One of the things they do to help…is eat food and defecate? That’s it? “So…one of their jobs is literally just eating and pooping? And people are willing to pay for that? Why not just buy fertilizer? Wouldn’t that be easier?”
“Sometimes, but not as good fer the environment.” He shrugged, “besides, fertilizers don’t get rid of the weeds as well. So when given the choice between paying for a plane or people to come out and spray the fertilizer and weed killers or pay us for our goats to do the same thing naturally, a good number will rent the goats.”
It was strange logic that only worked in the context of cattle, but I couldn’t find any flaws in his reasoning. “And if a goat eats the wrong thing? Are they…y’know…” I couldn’t find it in myself to continue the morbid question. What other use would defective cattle have other than being slaughtered?
“Then it’s the farmers fault fer letting them in the crop field.”
I blink. “Wrong field?”
“Yeah. The farming fields are in sections, and are frankly massive, so it’s usually easy to keep them in the correct area for grazing.” He was so calm when he said that. Maybe he didn’t understand my question.
“Well, what if one isn’t easy? What if it… attacks someone or… or just refuses to obey?”
He shrugged. “Then it’s just a goat being a goat. Like ah said, they can be stubborn. Will even headbutt ya. Just gotta work around them.”
Work around… “They attack you and you… do nothing?”
He shrugged again. “Yeah, pretty much. It’s usually nothing major. They’re usually pretty friendly most of the time.”
I couldn’t wrap my head around this. They kept cattle…but treated them well and allowed themselves to be abused by them? Where’s the sadism? The cruelty? The…the…
My line of thought trailed off as I realized in horror what I was doing. In some small way, I was equating Jacob to the Arxur. My friend to those monsters. I…was I really still that far gone? I noticed Jacob stepping in front of me, waving his arm rhythmically. “Hello, Venlil Prime to Tarlim! You okay? You, uh, started lookin’ two ways there for a bit.”
“S-sorry,” I stuttered. “I just, I…”
“Look, ah can stop if it’s getting too much. Ah know that-”
“No!” I shouted, “it- it’s not that! I- I just realized that I… I was still thinking of you as like those… like the Grays.” I take a deep breath to calm myself. Jacob is silent as he recognizes that I have more to say. “I don’t… I don’t want to think of you like them. L-like the Federation says you are.”
He reaches over and gives my back a comforting scratch. “You’ve been taught that stuff all yer life. Ah ain’t gonna blame ya for taking time to adjust to new stuff.” We fell silent as I controlled my breathing. Focus. Breathe. Calm… His grin had become a comforting sight since I had first met him. He shifted back in his seat. “We can still talk about something else, if ya want.”
“Thank you, but…” I let out my breath, preparing myself. “I still want to know more. About… Y’all, and your goats. You said that… y’all used them in other ways, right?”
He seemed comforted by my imitation of his words. He picked up his phone and clicked it once. “This next one will likely need a bit of a visual explanation. Thankfully, ah was able to get this past as a personal memory.”
I cocked my head in curiosity. “What is it?”
He pointed the screen towards me. “Mah first time milking a goat with the milking machine!”
The what.
10 Minutes Later
I didn’t even realize it was possible for my soul to be dirty. Can I clean it, or will it be that dirty forever? By the Tenants, what would Sharnet think?
… could those suckers work on her- NO! BAD BRAIN!
“And do the Goats feel… do they feel pain?”
Jacob shrugged. “Yeah, it’s why they walk right up to the milking machines. Having swollen udders can be painful fer them.”
“No, no.” Shuck Shuck Shu-- STOP IT!! “aHEM. Does the machine hurt them?”
He shook his head. “Not at all. The suction is gentle enough that it is just like one of their own kids suckling.”
White liquid flowing through tubes into a container. The machine being set on- CEASE! “And you… Use this milk?”
“As food, is the shortest answer. Animal milk is extremely nutrient dense so it was essential to our survival in northern climates in early history. Nowadays, goat’s milk is mostly processed for Cheese and Yogurt, both of which are eaten for health and for pleasure.”
They can do that? “You are… you are able to eat another animal’s milk? Not just your own?”
“Yeah! Well, Not all of us! This is actually really interesting:” Jacob sat on the edge of his seat and met my eye, an excited gleam behind it, “So humans who raised goats lived in these mostly hilly areas that got cold. Not many things we could eat would grow there, but plenty that the goats could eat. Now, this is slightly related to our ability to eat meat, so you ready?”
Anything to get my mind off Sharnet in- “Yes, I’m ready.”
He clapped his hands together. “Okay! So, because not as much would grow, there would be times when people didn’t have much food, so they’d go hungry.”
And so they ate the goat.
“Now you’re probably thinking we ate it, but no!” My ears flicked up in surprise as he continued. “See, a goat as a meal would only last so long, but a goat that was lactating would feed the family for much longer, as well as give nutrients that the humans weren’t getting otherwise! So, with time, it became an evolutionary advantage for humans to be able to drink milk into adulthood!”
I gave my head a quizzical tilt, “but didn’t you say not all humans could?”
“Right! Because the animals that gave us milk weren’t everywhere! Humans in places with more sun and fields didn’t need as much milk, so they never developed the ability; milk tolerance was probably our most recent evolutionary trait! So, yeah! Keeping goats around literally caused us to evolve.”
So much history. Animals that literally changed how they evolved. “And… and these are the animals some Gojid refugees would work with?”
“Yep!” He leaned back in his seat, confident in his words. “Milking, cleaning, moving, all that stuff.”
I wag my tail. “I hope that they come to realize how great an honor they would be being given.”
Jacob let out a content sigh. “Fer those that stay, ah hope so too.”
​
[First]-[Prev]-[Next]

I feel like my relationship towards the world is strange and I always feel disconnected from it as if my self identity is not connected to reality, it makes me feel like an alien on earth which in turn makes me feel paranoid around others, I’ve also noticed that my online life/ inner world is completely disconnected from what I do and how I behave around people so much so that I can’t even fathom it existing at the same time and the thought of those two things somehow being connected freaks me out.
It’s basically that feeling you get when you see two characters from different worlds interact, I almost always feel this way in many different forms from the micro to the macro although I’ve grown accustomed to it for the most part. I think if I seen some internet personality (even if they weren’t famous or known in any sense) in real life I’d just freeze because I wouldn’t be able to fathom that two worlds just became one.
The Australia isn’t real conspiracy theory hit me from a deep emotional standpoint even though logically I knew that Australia is real my Brian deeply felt the possibility that Australia might not even be real because it isn’t real from my perspective as I’ve never seen or observed it, it’s only real from the mentions, pictures and such but it’s hard to integrate that idea of Australia in my head and map it onto my reality, it’ll just stay a figment of my imagination of a different type of reality that’s completely disconnected from my world.

Google maps almost got me shot today. I was out casually exploring dirt roads, listening to a podcast and vaguely following a route that appears to loop around back to a main road (according to google).
End up passing through a wide open gate (should have stopped and read the sign but I was cruising and not paying attention), dirt road narrows and basically becomes an ATV trail. K whatevs it happens, I keep following the Google route, "trail" keeps getting sketchier, it eventually dead-ends into just grass and at this point I slow down and realize some dude is chasing me on a 4 wheeler and he has a shotgun.
I stop, he's yelling at me with gun in hand, I'm confused and trying to turn off my headphones. "I don't give a fuck what your map says get off my property" is the jist of what he's yelling. Super raging unreasonable older guy. Like I get it, I'm trespassing and you don't know me, but dude google shows that this a looping route but it suddenly dead ends and becomes private property, it's not that crazy to think someone may cruise through your wide open gate and not realize it. I'm a fully geared up ADV nerd on a big ass bike at 1pm on a sunny day, I made a mistake, I'm not here to rob and murder you... I was trying to be super friendly, fully acknowledged my mistake, etc, but he was legitimately suuuper pissed off like he caught me breaking into his house or something. Bro wtf is your problem, my tires touched your dirt oh god please forgive me...
Ends up making me turn around at gunpoint and rides my ass back to his gate. That's the end of my story and I guess I'll try to actually read posted signs from now on...
I try to empathize with people in situations like this, and yes I get that we're in the middle of nowhere and some guy casually strolling onto your private property is not something I'd just ignore either, but I don't understand the instant rage, cursing and yelling armed with a shotgun. That just seems like such a disproportionate response to accidental trespassing...

M, 33, 73kg Result: 01:26:xx
A: 1:29:59 B: 1:31:59 C: 1:34:59
Background: I've a decent background playing sports since I was kid, and competed in athletics/track up until my late teens in long sprints (400-800m) as I preferred the training despite always having a tendency to do better aerobically in training. I generally kept in shape during my 20s, and had a few spells of getting back in competitive shape for 400m, but always ended up getting injured which would put me out for months at a time and going back to square one. I have a tendency to over-do things which probably contributed to that cycle in hindsight!
During covid I started getting into distance running consistently as a way to spend time outside, but again was hit by the typical new distance runner injuries a few months in from doing too much too soon. Shin splints, and achilles tendinopathy x2. I do not recommend either! I ran a few 5k Park Runs when that became possible and got into the low 19min range fairly quickly before injury hit again.
So, starting from scratch again last October after the better part of 2 years of an incredibly frustrating training->injury->back-to-square-one cycle, this time around I have been very careful about pacing and recovery and lo and behold that's resulted in my longest stretch of injury-free training in years. Funny that, eh?
My training in the lead up to my first ever HM was 90% easy running with a focus on increasing volume towards a target of a trail Ultra (46km) in June (this coming weekend!!) I deliberately avoided doing much in the way of tempo/intervals and just added strides once a week as a way to keep in touch with true speed. The HM was a nice mini-target a few months into my training to see where I was at. Given I had barely done any work at speed I had no idea what I was capable of over HM, and especially given the course was famously hilly (c 250m elevation gain) but having done a 5km on a tough course a few weeks before in 19:25, I decided to have a crack at sub 90 but wasn't very confident I would get it. Volume was up to 50-70km depending on the week, with 5-6.5hrs time on feet and running on 5 or 6 days.
Pre-race: The race itself was fantastic, with an unbelievably scenic route and extremely well organised with shuttle buses to the start in the tiny village of Leenane from a few pre-appointed parking areas. The weather was extremely good for the West of Ireland in April, with clear skies and temps up to 16°C+ in the sun.
I lined up towards the front with the 1:30 pacers and asked what their pacing plan was, as I had pre-loaded targets for a slight neg split on my watch to try avoid blowing up too much. They said they were planning on banking some time in the first half as the route had a big hill from 16-18.5km and would definitely slow people. I'm glad I made the call on the spot to go with them as it turned out to be a good decision. Atmosphere was very positive at the start line, and I felt a good sense of conraderie that I'd never experieneced in my years running track.
The Race: The start gun went boom-boom, we were underway, and about 30 athletes took off ahead of my pace group as we navigated the short downhill through the village before turning left into a decently long climb out of Leenane and into the wilds of Connemara. I felt like I was working to keep up in the first couple k's but HR was OK and I stayed with it.
3-5k's in and I was feeling much better, up at the front of the pace group and in control as we rolled through undulating short climbs and downhills into the middle section of the race. There was plenty of encouragement from the two pacers and we had a nice group of 10-15 working together.
5-10k and I was feeling great. I took at gel at 30mins in with one spare for the hour mark. I noticed I was taking time out of everyone else on the downhills, something I had been working on in my training but it was good to see it in action without any effort.
Around the halfway point the group was down to 3 plus the lead pacer and we were 3mins ahead of target. The pacer at this point dropped back to try help some of the others who needed more help and the three of us started working together. There were some lovely views during the third quarter of the course and I made sure to take on water at the aid stations. Soon it was just me and one other dude working together, we were both feeling strong and we had started picking off people who were struggling to stay with their early pace. It was around this point I made the mistake of not taking my second gel as I was feeling great and I decided I didn't need it.
At around 16k we hit the big daddy climb and it did not disappoint! I was starting to work harder and the pace dropped a little but we were still well under target pace. I was confident now that I was going to smash my targets. 17k, still climbing and we passed a photographer on the road. I knew he picked that spot because of the stunning views but I doubt if many runners were looking their best at that point in the race, least of all me. Nevertheless, onwards and upwards, still passing runners. Then all of a sudden, just as we were about to crest the peak I felt a twang in my right hammer and then a full blown cramp. Shot by a sniper. Sht sht, double-sh*t!! I pulled up, let my comrade go and stretched it out. I don't know how much time I was stopped for but it must have been at least 30s before I shuffled tentatively onwards, adjusting my stride to a flat or kind of heel-strike motion to change up the firing pattern on my stricken hammer. Thankfully I was soon over the top of the hill and was able to cruise into the long downhill before the final 2.5km flat to the finish-line at Maam Cross.
Luckily that was the end of the cramping and I managed to not get passed by any of the runners I had previously overtaken, in fact I finished strong and passed a couple more runners, while being cheered on by a few groups of people on the roadside. Once I had the finish line in sight I pushed as much as I had left and saw the clock just hit 1:26 as I approached, elated.
Official finish time low 1:26 and inside the top 15 finishers in a field of over 1000, which I was absolutely over the moon with. Absolutely smashed it. I got chatting to the guy who I'd run with up until the cramp and he'd done sub 3 in the marathon before but had gone conservative here due to the hilly course. He was training for sub 2:50 in October so I took a lot of encouragement from being able to hang with him for so long.
Overall it was a fantastic experience for me and a race I will 100% return to.
Post-race and next steps: Next up for me is my A-race Ultra (well, mini-ultra). My training has been fairly consistent since this HM at the end of April but if anything my average volume has gone down a little. Despite that, I'm feeling very positive heading into the weekend and don't have any running commitments immediately afterwards. The immediate focus will be some down time before I pick the training up again in the second half of July and probably work towards a sub 80 HM. I think I have it in me to bridge that gap but will require some more dedicated training at goal paces.
Thanks to anyone who read this far, it ended up being a bit of a monster!

All Chapters First Chapter of Alien-Nation Previous Chapter
Alien-Nation Discord
Buy A Coffee for the Author
Chapter Summary:
Shot Heard Across the Galaxy A poor Shil'vati patrol goes looking for that Security Force that just got blasted in the last chapter
First Contact: We jump POV, where Elias gives them "pretty much the exact terms" of their invasion and occupation, turning it back on them.

Shot Heard Across the Galaxy

The summer had clung on by the tips of its fingernails despite the threatening change in season. The dry morning air heated quickly back to what Serenie had grown accustomed to, as if to deny the inevitable unwelcome encroachment of the biting cold night they'd just endured performing riot control in the center city.
Serenie learned some new insults over her comm as a pursuing Captain Goshen had watched the insurgent 'clear a building in a single bound like a retarded kangaroo with viagra in its tail.'" Serenie had never seen a kangaroo, but Earth's nature had fascinated her, and the loose familiarity caused her alone to laugh uproariously at the Captain’s breathless fury.
There were some other matters the Captain had muttered about, such as ‘lies turning truth’ that seemed to elude Serenie’s grasp. One thing that the Captain made certain Serenie did understand was the concept of punishment duty for her laughter. Double-shifts just seemed to be the order of the day, but being sent far afield with these people could hardly be called anything else. The scenery was occasionally something she’d have called nice, if it wasn’t for her present circumstance.
She was stuck with her new podmate, Zell, who it seemed just could not shut up.
"Look. All I'm saying is, they're hot. Hotter than the Security Forces 'squad' we're looking for. 'Squad.' Such a stupid-sounding word."
Serenie's expansive patrol pod had been shattered apart by casualties in the wake of Emperor's attack on Unification Square. The combat patrol had been dropped over twenty feet onto jagged concrete as the overpass they were sprinting across collapsed underneath them into rubble, courtesy of planted explosives. Serenie was one of the only ones to come out with relatively minor injuries and to make a full recovery. She'd even hobbled to the square on a broken leg, just in time to behold the horrific spectacle of the building’s collapse.
Now those cast off shards of incomplete pods had been shuffled and mixed up to serve with some temporarily deployed Shil'vati forces from out-of-state.
Two whole pods made up of the odd numbers from other units, sent to Delaware on punishment duty of their own came together to compose the new team of six out of the hodgepodge. Once Zell had used all her brain to do the math, she announced excitedly: ‘A grateful human boy for each of their rescuers.’
And so the two pods set off with initial enthusiasm, unburdened by much familiarity with one another. That had been three miles ago, and by now the excitement had given way to bitterness over how they were wasting time on a long walk across open, somewhat bleak bulldozed terrain that nature work crews had yet to reclaim, doing Search and Rescue for a bunch of deserters who didn't want to be found at all, instead of rounding up those 'mysterious hot insurgent guys.'
Serenie reflected that at least the razed structures and tall grasses offered a nice view of the vibrant colors the trees were starting to turn. A 'silver lining,' as the more optimistic locals liked to say. 'Well the square was utterly destroyed and you're led by an idiot from a green zone, but at least you're alive!'
The boys here were always upbeat. Then again, they were paid to take their clients' minds off their troubles. And she had to admit they worked better than the stupid Anarevoca. The deep rest in the arms of the man she'd visited while on mandatory medical and psychological leave had done more for her recovery and in then passing the evaluation than anything else she’d tried. She didn’t regret a moment or credit of the exchange, even if the bribes and fees to slip her out and get her the secret rendezvous did her accounts the same kind of damage as she herself had suffered.
She hoped Azraea hadn’t lowered the score just to get every soldier back on the front lines, and switched her line of thought. It did her no benefit to dwell on such things. ‘At least he let me sleep longer than I paid for’, she reflected, remembering the faintly sweet musk of where his shoulder met his neck, and how gently he’d run his fingernails along the back of her head, through her scalp until she fell asleep.
"The insurgents are not 'hot'," Serenie sputtered. "They're supposedly all too old, too set in their ways to adapt. You know, like, twice your age. You got a father-fucker fetish or something?" Serenie had already had more than an earful of this conversation, and repeating her rent-a-paramour’s comforting words buttressed her conviction. The honeyed sense of validation he’d whispered into her ears was better than dwelling on the possibility that the planet and all the men on it all just outright hated her.
"What, so you got your asses kicked by a bunch of daddies?" At Serenie's stare, her new podmate from New Jersey relented slightly. "Okay, fine. At least admit the idea of them is hot. So hot.” When Serenie didn’t bite, Zell kept going. “Come on- physically active, mysterious, and just need some love and affection before they realize we aren't so bad, and you win 'em over with -"
"-Yeah, alright, you find one, you try it, you tell me how it goes. If you survive and he’s somehow tolerating even someone like you, then I figure I can swipe him off you."
"Fuck no, we'll share, and you'll be grateful I'm so generous. Seriously, share the insurgency, I say. I can charm 'em so good we'll have peace within the day."
Serenie wondered how Zell had served this long and didn't realize human men tended to be fiercely monogamous. Maybe things were different where Zell served, though Serenie doubted it was.
"That's something I actually wanted to ask. I thought maybe you'd know." Serenie wasn’t sure why Zell might know anything, but it was at least in the area of Zell’s obvious obsessions. "How is 'fuck' an insult? Especially when the humans say words that mean 'fuck you,' but they use it as an insult. But even other forms of it mean ‘get fucked,’ or something."
"You sure it's an insult? Sounds like an invitation, if you ask me. Have you tried asking them ‘when’?"
Just one more addition to the ever-growing mountain of evidence that Zell was an idiot.
The new pod's equally new sergeant was little better, but at least when Sergeant Patmorica interrupted this time, it was focused on the mission. Her comm cut through the half-hearted banter as she made her periodic report at the required interval.
"Command, we've got eyes on a pretty good LZ on the crest of this hill, mark for exfiltration if necessary." Sergeant Patmorica pointed a gauntleted finger to the ridge on the far side of the field. Rote procedure; the last one she'd pointed to would be marked as a secondary. "Got a wide open view of that woods near where the patrol of Security Forces went missing- not seeing much out here in the field. Permission to move into the forest and check for them?"
Data Officer Borzun's voice floated back. "Granted. Relief forces will be en route if you find anything, ETA eleven minutes from Command."
The return signal sounded distant, quieter than normal. Something about that troubled her, but Serenie didn't want to draw the attention of a sergeant eager to prove she was capable of leading a couple pods, or feel she had to prove herself to the red zone veteran. Even more disturbing, Zell looked ready to start talking again.
"How are the other leads looking?" Serenie piped up quickly. At least the sergeant might offer something helpful, even if the information was secondhand.
"Not great. A lot of the people who are supposed to be patrolling looking for rebels are responding to the strikes and protests at the prisons, beating up protestors who weren't on any lists, trying to restore some semblance of order," Sergeant Patmorica responded with surprising candor.
"Be a real shame if no one's here. We could be out there helping," Zell picked up the line conversationally as they descended from the crest of the hill near the river, past an old sign that read 'Mister Pasta'. "Instead we're chasing down wayward Security Forces, who probably cut and ran."
"Best lead we've had so far," Patmorica responded.
"Have you heard anything about 'Camp Death'?"
"Just whispers. Nothing solid," Patmorica said, stepping over a half-buried old curb. The work here in leveling the town and returning it to nature had certainly been hurried and half-done. The ridge of the distant trees hadn't expanded outward much at all.
"Supposedly, it's somewhere in the North. We're in the North."
"What, you think Camp Death is actually in the middle of nowhere, somewhere out here? Come on, the town's leveled. There was a bomb that went off literally over there-" Serenie pointed across the rubble of the highway they were walking along. "-Some local shirtless kid pulled a Lieutenant out of the rubble."
"Doesn't seem to have been enough for them to consider saving the neighborhood. Not a chance it's out here; Work crews woulda spotted it."
"Guess the work crews finally got around to really taking the place apart before, you know, 'shit hit the fan.'
Human words were very evocative. Terrible situations lined with precious metals, feces being sprayed about by rapid physical impacts- the mental images they provided, disturbing though they often were, seemed silly enough to bring a smile that had been all too absent on the senior private's face ever since her time in Unification Square.
There used to be some roads here, but all that's been cut off. A bunch of trees, and no structures, no infrastructure, and a bunch of troops? That's just begging for an orbital strike."
"He might have the hostages there. Anywhere might."
The sergeant paused, contemplating something, then jumping into a private comm chat with Serenie, her voice coming through a bit more crisply. "Yeah, alright. Look, I read your file. You had your run-ins. You're still shaken, I understand that, but I need you to not jump at shadows, got that? You get to go on patrol with us, finding some lost boys who forgot how to read a map, and maybe lending your local expertise. But I have to weigh that against what you went through. The absolute last thing I need is you opening fire because one of the Security Forces guys sneezes, and it sets you off. Are we clear? Not everything's an insurgent. Not everything is done by insurgents."
"Ma'am," Serenie responded. "Understood. I'm cleared as ready for action." Idiot or not, Sergeant Patmorica was still her commanding officer for the time being, and she couldn't exactly relate her late night rendezvous in a red zone and say she was 'all better now.' Confessing such a violation was just begging to be written up.
"That's what I like to hear." Something about her answer or stature must have been conveyed while providing the words because they seemed to reassure Patmorica of her readiness. Serenie felt a ray of hope that she was really, well and truly had finally free from the aftereffects.
The rest of the walk along the treeline was blessedly quiet. Five minutes of peaceful walking. No idiots, no stupid orders, no more braggadocia. Even in full kit, Serenie enjoyed nature on earth in all its many mysterious and downright strange aspects. The morning chill felt crisp, and the crunch of dried parched dirt and grasses under her boots felt more alive than the steady beat of boots-on-plate aboard a starship's hull, no matter how large or ambient the white noise supplied.
It was as she reflected on the multitudinal ways the experience was different that she had a realization.
"There's something wrong."
"Is it that we got sent out without a vehicle? 'Cause I think we could have covered all this ground in a few seconds. Honestly, says everything that the Governess shipped us out here, but got tight-fisted with vehicles and equipment."
"No, everyone, be quiet!"
"You be quiet, Serenie!" The soldier in front of Zell snapped back.
"Shut up!" She hissed. Sergeant Patmorica spun on her heel. "Private Serenie. What are you-"
"Please, just- just- would you just listen!" A few seconds passed as everyone stared, either obeying or just shocked at the quiet girl's outburst.
"Listen...for what?" Zell finally broke the silence.
"Exactly. Do you hear anything? Birds? See any deer? Where are all the animals?"
"What's your point?"
"I think that we are not alone in this forest."
"Well, we were sent in to investigate where people disappeared to. Duh. It's a good thing if we aren't."
"But where are the animals?"
"I don't know. They migrate, right? Look." As if on cue, a tight formation of flying Canadian Geese passed overhead, honking. "There's your noisy animals right there."
Zell pointed and quipped. “Look sarge, insurgents!” The hand tracked the geese as they flew overhead.
Serenie felt trapped. How had some stranger from out-of-state been promoted to Sergeant and assigned to lead these pods, despite clearly never leading so much as a patrol in a yellow zone? Worse, Patmorica continued her teasing, likely to try and regain some face after her authority being openly challenged.
"Should we call it in? Tell Command: 'it's quiet' or ‘I saw some parrots’? With everything else going on in the state, do you think they'll laugh, or do you think they'll...?" The sergeant turned back to face the forest whose edge they were weaving in and out of, turning to start walking up the steep hill again, as if transfixed by something. "Hold on. I've got some thermal there and- hey, are you Ladies picking this up? I've got an IFF..."
Serenie dutifully reported her readings, grateful to at least get the topic changed. "I've got one friendly- two now. Security Forces standard."
Sergeant Patmorica pointed up the steep embankment she'd been about to start walking up. "I'm reading them as being straight ahead on my map. Confirm?"
This time someone else spoke up, and with all the fresh voices and full helmets, Serenie wasn't sure she could place them all. She was too busy staring at the collection of dead and dried branches lining the bottom of the hill.
What might leave such a large swath or create a clearing? A bear? She'd seen a video of one rubbing their backs against trees, one of the first to return to the state of Delaware, dubbed ‘DelaBear. These were certainly very large, unfamiliar trees. She’d never seen anything like them before, much as she’d never seen a Bear. To her mind, she might imagine such a large furry beast seeking out a suitably large tree, for some purpose or other. But she did not see any tufts of fur stuck in the grass or to the bark. And didn’t they only do that when shedding off their loose fur in Spring?
"It's two of the missing Security Forces," reported the sergeant somewhat spiritedly, leading the way toward the hill, the pod moving forward in her wake.
She crouched low again, taking a step back, eyes following where a serpentine footpath ascended the bluff. It was hard for her to make out if there were any footprints or animal tracks in the parched dirt, until at last she saw one near her own footprint. Conclusive evidence eluded her, but she thought she could make out a boot print, and searched her memory. Was it the pattern of the Security Forces uniforms? Was she just searching for signs and evidence, the conclusion already obvious in her mind?
Then she turned in place, and saw the many trampled grasses behind them, only noticeable once the patrol had reached where they had all converged. There were far, far too many to be the Security Forces.
"Zell. Zell! Hold here," Serenie whispered, putting her hand out to block her new podmate's progress.
"What?"
"Trust me."
"Privates! Fall in!"
Patmorica's tone was harsh. Serenie motioned like she was going to comply, freezing in place again the moment the sergeant's back was turned to her again. Something about this place seemed wrong. Where were the others of their 'squad'? And why hadn't they reached out to them on the comms yet?
Zell shook her hand free of Serenie's.
"Zell. Zell!"
Zell ignored her.
"Zell, will you stop thinking of fucking your father and turning your family tree into a circle for one depths-damned minute and listen to me!? Something. Is. Wrong."
"What?" Zell hissed, annoyedly. "I'm not getting in trouble just because you have 'a feeling'."
"There's some sort of structure up top. I'm getting metal readings. Way more than just their plate armor. Sensors are reading weird depressions on the way up, too. I'll relay it to your suits' telemetry. Are you receiving this?"
"How do I do that?" Zell asked, tapping her helmet. "Ah to the depths with it. Could it be caves?" Serenie's dimwitted podmate asked, clearly dreading that the answer potentially might be: 'Yes, now we have to go explore them.'
"Didn't you read your briefing? Delaware doesn't have caves." Serenie had read that first upon deployment, and then wondered where all the bats came from.
"Then what is-"
At that point, her comms dropped off completely, replaced with a sharp whine in her ear.
Communications lost. Signal lost.
"Ma'am, Sergeant? Zell? I've got a suit malfunction- I can't hear you." Serenie called out, pressing the button to retract the mouthpiece of her helmet. Her suit's connection to the satellites seemed to have cut out. Most of her HUD blanked out as she stepped forward to be heard, the device no longer receiving data to sync with the other suits and Command. The Friendly IFF signals had winked out as well.
Everyone seemed to be looking amongst each other, slowly coming closer together to be heard, faceplates retracting so they could speak, or touching helmets so the suit would pick up the vibrations.
So it wasn't just her, then, but her podmates, too. All of them were eyeing the hill, now, Serenie's sinking suspicion catching on. Then, everyone was calling out activity at once, some of them pointing in different directions, clumsily sighting down their rifles without the HUD to guide their targeting reticle.
"Everyone fall back. Rifles up- rifles up! Those are not friendlies!"
Movement from the crest of the ridge, figures pointing down at them, including the long barrels of unusual weaponry, the likes of which Serenie had seen glimpses of before, and again in her nightmares. Voices called out over one another, without a comms system to filter or grant priority.
"Motion! I've got motion!"
"It's an ambush!"
"Identify and surrender now! Lay down your weapons!" The sergeant yelled. There was no answer, but neither side opened fire. "Identify yourselves immediately!" Bellowed the sergeant, again, switching her command suit to loudly project her voice in the local tongue. "Surrender immediately!" Serenie was pulling Zell back. They were vastly outnumbered.
Those low, unmistakable, clipped and precise tones of the Emperor of Mankind that her translator didn't need to pick up had her heart thrumming in her ears too loud to even make out the words, no matter how clearly enunciated they were. She knew what they meant well enough, and her steps backward started carrying her out of the woods on instinct.
For what it was worth, her sergeant didn't balk, and renewed her demands.
"Surrender immediately! Lay down your arms!"
The response was as sudden as it was brutal. Where once Sergeant Patmorica had stood, now there was empty air. Something powerful cleaved her in half, a sharp roar of noise following as the hypersonic round split the air in a deafening thunderclap.
She hadn't quite been vaporized, rather jerked clean off her feet by a sudden and terrible impact, boots leaving the ground and her body separated at the middle, halves toppling to the ground and held together by the just as suddenly exposed entrails. The shock of the impact had surely killed her instantly.
Serenie turned on her heel and ran for her life.

First Blood

"Sur-ren-dar!" The call sounded out from the valley below. One of those few words the Shil'vati knew and uttered almost every time we met, often before we'd even begun fighting.
I grabbed the megaphone, irritated that I'd been kept waiting so long for them to show up. "We don't have enough facilities to take you all prisoner. Please elect your bravest, most stalwart defenders of your way of life, and have them step forward into the line of fire for us to dispose of. The remainder of you will be afforded the same kindness as you have given our civilians. As you're unfamiliar with democracy and the concept of 'voting,' we'll give you a moment to conform to our system of governance and culture, whether you like it or not. You get an unreasonably short amount of time to comply."
I tossed the Megaphone back down to Larry, who stared up at me with wide eyes. The sound of wind through the trees was all endured for now, a shocked silence settling in.
"What?" I asked, hefting the railgun up to my shoulder with a shrug and aiming down the sights at the one who continued to bellow threats. It seemed we had a volunteer. "Turnabout is fair play."
I raised an open hand to all those who had watched, and the stunned silence turned to eager discipline, men sighting irons and readying themselves to unleash hell as I lowered my hand slowly, indicating I was to take the first shot.
"The Emperor has given his orders!" He bellowed into the megaphone. "Hold the line! Hold for the signal!"
I squeezed off the first round, letting the railgun round kick- and this time I was braced for it. The shot took the woman right in the midsection, and tore her apart. Screaming and shouting from below- but no signs of an immediate mass surrender.
"FIRE!"
All Chapters First Chapter of Alien-Nation Previous Chapter
Alien-Nation Discord
Buy A Coffee for the Author

Well the June hols are basically here and everyone is either incredibly motivated or feel impending doom sensing that history is about to rewrite itself or that the holidays are going to disappear in the blink of an eye, I decided to share some tips that I picked up as a fellow unmotivated individuals. (Especially those who have exams right after the hols)
I know we all have heard of your typical tips like: Schedule every second of your day! Pomodoro! Sacrifice your first-born child to the bell-curve gods! Or something… I’m not going to repeat those tips. If those traditional methods work for you, great for you! If not, then have a read.
I myself have been switching between various methods over the years as they lose effect after some time for me so don’t be too discouraged or come back flaming me after a certain method fails. A lot of these were just stuff that worked for me that I wish I knew earlier. Do also feel free to share your own tips and methods in the comments!
General Tips: 1. Your environment determines your brain Tidy up your workspace! At the end of the day, leave the books and worksheets you need on the desk for the next morning. Keep books you will be needing close to you so you won’t get distracted during your “journey to the textbook” 2. Study outside A change in environment does wonders sometimes. Look for a nearby CC, library or cafe! Stop being cooped up at home you nerd. 3. Go outdoors Go for a walk! Exercise a bit. Seriously. Stop cooping yourself up at home. I know you will feel guilty for “wasting time” but trust me you aren’t, the breath of fresh air everyday helped me to reduce burnout. 4. Keep your phone in view yes i know this is contrary to most believe but if you experience more anxiety without your phone, keep it away but in view instead. Use notification blockers etc to keep it silent or app blockers to prevent your access to distracting apps. (depends on person!) 5. Do not take breaks If you are already in the zone, dont stop! Continue studying until you feel tired etc. DO NOT BREAK YOUR FOCUS! But if you aren't in the zone yet, feel free to take breaks. 6. Music music while studying isn't for everyone and may not be suitable all the time. I myself, depending on mood, switch between a few different types and vibes, sometimes I layer different types too! Try to change up your playlist between your normal songs, lo-fi beats, background noises etc! I myself love listening to mild typing noises layered with a bit of lo-fi, but when I already have a song stuck in my head I just listen to songs.
Methods: 1. Yeolpumta Need to feel pressure from your peers? Download Yeolpumta with your friends and create a group. Its an app that can act as a timer while you study, also acts as an app blocker while you study. You can also see in real-time which of your friends are studying and nudge those that arent. (Cons is it can feel very competitive over time because some people are legit scary) 2. Body doubling/ study buddy Get someone to passively watch over you while you study, this can be a friend or anyone. (Rmb to stay safe though!) This can be done in real life or over video calls. This more of holds you accountable to your promise to sit at this desk for the next 2hrs etc. The person can be studying too or just doing anything else (as long as they dont distract you instead). If you are like me and have no friends :’) Google for body doubling or “study with me” videos that show the view of the person themself (not just the book etc), seeing someone remain focus can give a subconscious motivation to focus, or just study in an area with a lot of other people studying. For me I found a 12hr one and challenged myself to see how much of the 12hrs I completed everyday. 3. To-do, Doing, Done for those who get bored easily, you can try to do multiple tasks at the same time. This can be done physically on paper or whiteboard or digitally. Split the space into 3 sections, label the top with To-do, Doing, Done and move tasks between sections as you go about your day. This helps to cure the boredom a little, for best effectiveness do choose subjects that are similar though! 4. 3 tasks a day For those that easily backlog or get overwhelmed when seeing a packed schedule, this method can help! This is my favorite method! It may seem inefficient but ngl most times I have trouble even completing 3 tasks so :p Rather than packing your schedule tightly, determine 3 main assignments/tasks you want to complete in one day (if the task is really simple then ofc increase the tasks and vice versa, rmb it's all adjustable to your needs!) If you complete them before the day ends, then you can of course "steal" tasks from the next few days! 5. Chapter summary some hate this because you lose some details by doing so, some swear by this. I personally like creating small summaries of chapters and usually end up studying the summaries instead of the actual textbook/sch notes. I prefer this over the usual "rewrite notes" method. I do this for practical worksheets too, I write a small summary of the main learning points of the worksheet on a small post it and stick it to the first page, this wastes lesser time when I'm revising as I do not need to reflip through the whole thing unless I am very unsure of the concept. 6. Buffer time if you die die must do a schedule of every second of your day, add buffer time between each task! This reduces the chances of having backlog!
Anyways while I'm at it I'm also going to share the typical signs of burn out - Frequently feeling tired or drained - Recurring pains/ headaches - Changes in sleep habits - Changes in our appetite - Taking longer to complete tasks - Sense of failure or self doubt - Avoiding responsibilities - Cynical outlook I know we are all typical kiasu students but I'm telling you DO NOT try burnout, its not fun… The last thing you ever want is to burn out in the middle of exam period!
Some tips on how to prevent: 1. Know when to stop don't overdo studying! Find your limit and settle there, my own limit is studying is 12hrs a day for a few days straight, beyond that I begin burning out and take a long time to recover. 2. Take breaks Toilet breaks and food breaks should not be your only breaks! Scrolling your phone isn't the best form of break either! It's better to go out on walks, move your body etc. You can even go online and look for quick workout warmup stretches. 3. Act productive for those that feel anxious taking breaks, there are ways to "trick" yourself into feeling productive. Rearranging your table, creating your schedule for the next week, decorating your schedule etc are good ways! They are essential things you need to do but are not studying technically! (This is not an excuse for procrastinating pls) 4. Happy productivity have a method of studying that you love? Example maybe you love making mindmaps. Then between study sessions, schedule some time to make a mind map. The key is to release some dopamine between sessions! You still get boring essential work done but you also get to feel good yet productive at the same time!
Anyways that's all I have from the top of my head, I hope this helped :p As usual all methods vary depending on how you and your brain works best! But if you are lost then give some a try and find the best method for you :) If they still don't, try to get to the root of what's exactly distracting you rather than passing it off as "I just can't focus". If you have any other tips please share below!
Anyways jiayouz to everyone! Make full use of your holidays! Work hard play hard!

​
In recent years, Guo Wengui's shamelessness has continuously refreshed the public's perception of liars. Among those who supported Guo, those who were still sane became sober, while the distorted views of the remnants of the Ant Gang made the melon eaters amazed. They believed in the lies full of loopholes, turned a deaf ear to the obvious truth, and were immersed in Guo Wengui's lies and could not wake up. Guo Wengui's lies are the laughingstock of the public, but they are the drugs that he and the little ants rely on to survive and are crazy about. If Guo Wengui’s Himalaya is a lunatic asylum, then congratulations Guo Wengui and the Ant Gang have reached the end ahead of schedule.
Drugs of Lies - the Rich and Rich
The upper-class dignitaries are the identity that Guo Wengui has been seeking for, an indispensable part of the Whistleblower Revolution, and an important drug to lure little ants. Whenever the lies were poked at a terrible level, he would fantasize about mysterious events and people to raise his status. The former League of Nations, old leaders, Secret Service, mysterious meetings, global anti-CCP alliance organizations, large arms dealers, former heads of state, and future high-level U.S. political circles. The little ants also especially like this set, and are complacent about Guo Wengui's "independent consultant". As for the businessmen interfering in politics in the story, the president's cross-party election of staff, and the future leader not worrying about the mid-term elections but meddling in the affairs of other countries at critical moments, which are contrary to common sense, the little ants ignore it. Guo Wengui's rich and powerful stories that are only for the effect and disregard common sense can indeed make the brainless ants who are greedy for vanity lose their minds, but this is also a mirage of self-deception on the road to nowhere.
Drugs of Lies – Conspiracy
Guo Wengui saw that the story of the rich and powerful was smashed to pieces, so he immediately changed his dressing and spread fake news. He once created a veil of conspiracy for the Chongqing bus crash into the river. The cause of the accident is evidenced by the surveillance video of the black box. The entire incident process was traced in detail and complete. Powerful netizens also uncovered the identities of the female passenger and the driver. This is indeed a tragedy, but it is obvious that it has absolutely nothing to do with the conspiracy. But Guo Wengui wanted to make use of the topic to make up the taste of conspiracy, and the little ants who like conspiracy really conjectured various questions maliciously out of nothing. This is all kinds of doubts about events with solid evidence and clear facts. They have completely lost their pursuit of the truth. As long as there is a conspiracy, the truth is completely unimportant. Guo Wengui conspired for the sake of conspiracies, which really excited the little ants who love conspiracies, but made the public more aware of the true face of the so-called Whistleblower Revolution, which is called democracy but is actually a farce.
Lies Drugs - Money
Property is frozen, debts are high, and stocks are losing money again and again. Guo Wengui's property is as precarious as the Whistleblower Movement, but for the sake of the remaining Ant Gang, Guo Wengui can only bite the bullet and show off his wealth. "Made in Vietnam" shirts could not be given away, and the shoddy ties were slapped and ridiculed. As a last resort, Guo Wengui made up a professional photographer to show off, and he did not forget to send a few photos as proof. The little ant with golden eyes can only see Guo Wengui's false display of wealth, but he cannot see his ignorance of global economic trends. His huge wealth comes from the fact that crime ends in law. In reality, he will never be lucky enough to become a financial predator who berates Fang Qiu again. Guo Wengui's flaunting of his wealth can only attract brainless little ants to flock to him, but it cannot cover up his financial crisis.
Guo Wengui's revelations were for political asylum. If there is no information to reveal, he can only rely on lies to maintain his political asylum. The political asylum is out of reach, but the lies have become Guo Wengui's spiritual drug to get by and win over ant colonies. But lies cannot become reality, and punishment will eventually come. The future will come, and Guo Wengui will surely reap the consequences.

I’d like to think of myself as a very reasonable and understanding person. I try to look at situations from outside my perception so I don’t project. I don’t like conflict, I’m not mean or a bully and I prefer to be left alone and at peace.
I try to keep a cool head but I am so prone to snapping. This is one of my biggest weaknesses and I haven’t found anything relating to this online. Typically, if somebody comes to me and confronts me about something, whether big or small, as long as it’s for the most part respectful we can take care of it and move on.
As soon as somebody does something disrespectful or tries to undermine me I snap. Dealing with ignorant and careless people tends to make me snap too. Even if the persons demeanor is calm, I get riled up immediately and all the logic I have is out the window. I seem to become a completely different person. I say nasty things and I threaten to hurt people.
For example, a coworker and I got into an argument because she didn’t like what I was wearing. My boss said what i was wearing was fine and called a meeting to deal with it and move on. When her and I started speaking I tried my best to have a decent conversation to get the problem resolved but within 30 seconds I was cursing her out and threatening to beat her up. To be fair she was another girl talking to all of my coworkers about the way i dress, which my supervisors didn’t have a problem with and slut shaming me/ telling me I was seeking attention. I work in a 90° warehouse and she was mad about my biker shorts, which my manager suggested as appropriate attire for this weather.
I couldn’t form a coherent thought or actually address the problem. It’s like my brain short circuits when I have to deal with stupidity, I come to the conclusion that I can’t reason with stupid and my ape brain activates. Even up until the next day I was just obsessing and beating her up and stabbing her in my brain. I know it sounds sick, I’d never hurt anyone nor do I have a desire to. Doing it in my brain just helped release frustration I guess? This has happened to me with a coworker in the past. Similar incidents and he would make my blood boil and I’d snap. It seems when I do get upset about things everyone agrees with me and finds the upset completely valid. The problem is, I can’t deal with it civilly and I don’t want to deal with it civilly. it’s pointless arguing with ignorant people. Then I’m angry they’re ignorant and I can’t reason with them so I resort to violence. It seems to be the most reasonable and effective way to deal with certain situations.
Anyways does anyone know why I act like this? I’ve literally never met a person who acts this way before. Is this a character flaw that i should work on or is it okay to be authentic and not to conform so other people are comfortable? even if that means threatening your coworkers in front of your boss.
I didn’t get fired btw
I have severe but medicated adhd & High functioning autism

I found lurking on this forum really useful for planning our trip, so thought I'd return the favour by posting about our trip here - with some extra tips for travelling as vegan or vegetarian! We just got back a few days ago and I'm already itching to go again. I think our interests generally align with what many people want when they go to Japan - nerdy stuff, food, temples and pretty locations. I hope the below is useful to someone, and happy to answer any questions (whether on food or just something we visited!).
**General tips:*\*
1) Learn some basic Japanese: I've seen this one come up quite a few times and can only echo it - while there certainly are Japanese people with excellent English skills, it will smooth the way so much more if you learn to speak some Japanese. Any attempts at Japanese were always met with a much friendlier response than tourists we saw speaking English, and it was especially helpful in the two ryokans we stayed at, where we had much more conversation with our hosts and they seemed much more comfortable communicating in Japanese (also we got some free apple jam!). Personally I taught myself from the basics because I had time/that's how my brain works (hiragana, katakana, then learning vocab + grammar) - but learning some modular phrases will help, e.g. '____ doko desu ka?' (where is ____?), '____ arimasu ka?' (is there ____?), and 'kore wa hitotsu/futatsu/mittsu o kudasai' (one/two/three of this please).
2) For dietary requirements, do your research and book in advance: There are quite a few helpful guides online for vegan diets, including the IG account 'tokyoveganguide', the website 'isitveganjapan' (https://isitveganjapan.com/food-on-the-go/507-2/), Vegewel (https://vegewel.com/en/area/) and some articles on matcha-jp (https://matcha-jp.com/en/7716). We ate really well while out and about and could pick up certain street snacks - but again, being able to communicate in Japanese helped a lot here (see tip 1). As you probably know, vegan diets aren't well understood in Japan, and they're often shocked to find out you won't eat fish OR fish-based dashi. I've mentioned some of the standout places we ate at below. At conbini/kiosks, plain rice and salted onigiri, as well as the salted ume (plum) onigiri are typically vegan. Mochi are also often a good bet, as are jelly sweets (tend to use agar rather than gelatin). It can be helpful to know the kanji for fish (魚), meat (肉) and eggs (卵). Milk products are often listed in katakana as cream (クリーム) or similar, but could be listed as cow's milk (牛乳). Translate apps can be helpful but it's about 50/50 helpful versus 'hilarious result'.
3) As a vegan, don't expect your western-style hotel to provide breakfast (but a ryokan will!): We generally found that big western style hotels just.. did not provide anything viable for breakfast. You might have been able to negotiate a bowl of plain rice and a piece of fruit, but ultimately we ended up eating breakfast elsewhere (but see tip 4!) and in the future I wouldn't bother opting in for breakfast unless I could verify with the hotel in advance that they had options. However, ryokans were very accommodating so long as you communicated with them in advance, and the two we stayed at provided a list of dietary requirements at the start of our stay that we could tick to indicate what we could eat.
4) Most coffee shops/food places won't open until 10am: It was a bit of a struggle to find places open early enough for us to have breakfast before heading out. We did bring a few cereal bars for this eventuality! But if you research you can find a few places that open at 7am (in Tokyo we went to Komeda Is in Ginza, in Kyoto, the IMU hotel).
5) Always have some cash: We didn't need a phenomenal amount of cash on our trip, although we were also not skimping on spending (we took out 70,000 yen, or about £400, and that was about right) - many taxis, shops and restaurants took cards if needed. However, cash-only purchases did pop up unexpectedly - for example, in one of our very nice upmarket hotels that 100% had a card reader, sending our luggage by takkyubin for some reason was a cash-only purchase. A lot of smaller shops and little cafes will take cash only. If you want to use a card, you can check at the till with the phrase "caa-do wa ii desu ka?" (is card ok?).
6) Be prepared to walk: I know this one is said a lot - it depends what you're used to. We did in the range of 15-30,000 steps a day, and I was fine with a pair of foldable ballet flats and a pair of Vans. However we did bring blister plasters and a blister stick just in case! We also found lots of fun little shops/places by simply walking instead of taking transport, so if you have time it's highly recommended. As you will see below, we broke up the two major destinations (Tokyo/Kyoto) with smaller, slower-paced places. That helped a lot!
7) Build in extra time for navigating public transport: Yea, you probably think you're used to big transit systems - we certainly did. However it's just not always clear which exit you want to get to or how to get there, especially if you're not familiar with the station and surrounding area. Whenever we were pressed for time (for example, when transferring to shinkansen or needing to grab snacks before getting a train) we looked up a map of the station first to plan our route. You probably already know this, but I promise you are NOT ready for Shinjuku station.
8) If you're worried about temple fatigue, collect goshuin: This has been written about extensively elsewhere although I'm happy to share my experiences. Goshuin are a stamp/calligraphy combination you can get at many temples and shrines. They're a very beautiful memento. You need a special accordion-style book (goshuincho) for them that you can buy in advance (I did) or at your first temple (usually 1200-2000 yen). Collecting a goshuin usually costs 300-500 yen and a couple of minutes of your time. You should only collect a goshuin after paying your respects at the temple. Generally the process is just to approach the desk (it's generally quite obvious, and there may be pictures of goshuin on the window of the booth - in some places you choose which one you want), and present your book with both hands, open to the relevant page, asking 'goshuin o onegaishimasu'. They might take your book and give you a number (in which case, you need to wait), or they might do the goshuin then and there - it depends on how busy the temple is.
9) You probably won't be able to check-n early: Of all the places we stayed, only one allowed us to check in before 3pm. However, you should be able to leave any bags with them - just be prepared! If you want to drop off your bags, you can say the following: "Nimotsu o azukatte mo ii desu ka?" (more or less: May we leave our luggage here?).
​
**Brief trip report:*\*
Day 0: We got our flight to Tokyo (14h). We flew Japan Airlines - the vegan meals were.. ok? But the snack was the infamous (iykyk) banana. Everyone else got an interesting snack, so it was sad to just have a banana. I would pack my own snacks next time!
Day 1: Land in Tokyo. Staying in the Ginza area. We got in to the airport relatively late (6pm) so we grabbed a snack locally once we got to our hotel (2foods Ginza) and went to sleep!
Day 2 Tokyo (~26,000 steps). Breakfast at Komeda Is, Ginza. Kokyo Gaien National Gardens (near to our hotel), then walk around the Yanaka Old District, bought some tea/crackers (often vegan but check), train to Asauksa to see Senso-Ji (there happened to be a festival on while we were there so it was packed, but I got a special goshuin!), then across to Akihabara. It started raining but was mostly ok as we were running from indoor shop to indoor shop. We had lunch at a shojin-ryori place in Akihabara station. In the evening we went on a vegan ramen tasting tour (highly recommended!) in Shibuya/Shinjuku.
Day 3 Tokyo (~25,000 steps). Breakfast at Komeda Is, Ginza. Then to Team Labs Planets (we had tickets for the earliest entry). Despite some of what I've read on here, we really enjoyed the experience (happy to say more if asked!). Then we headed across to Shibuya, wandered around, went to the Pokemon Centre and Nintendo store in Shibuya Parco, had lunch at Izakaya Masaka in the basement of Shibuya Parco (highly recommended) and headed over to Yoyogi Park, Meiji Jingu and walked up through Harajuku. We continued walking up through to Shinjuku and walked around there for a while, including going up the Tokyo Government Metropolitan building (free) for a view over Tokyo. We had dinner at Wired Bonbon.
Day 4 Yudanaka (~12,000 steps). We sent our bags via takkyubin to Kyoto, and then got the train over to Yudanaka (we had breakfast at Komeda Is again - honestly, great menu! and picked up onigiri in the train station for the train ride). At Yudanaka, we travelled over to the Snow Monkey Park, and then back to our ryokan to chill in the bookable private onsen. Our feet needed the rest! We stayed at Seifuso in Yudanaka, which was lovely and inexpensive - our host drove us over to the park (we got a bus back). The food was excellent.
Day 5 Nagano and Hida Furukawa (~11,000 steps). We travelled from Yudanaka through to Hida Furukawa, stopping off at Nagano on the way to visit the Zenko-Ji temple. For lunch we picked up oyaki from Irohado in Nagano, which were delicious (there are 3 shops - one in the station, one in a mall outside the station, and one by the temple)! By the time we got to Hida Furukawa it was relatively late, so we just had dinner. We stayed at one of the Iori Stay apartments, which provide dinnebreakfast (vegan if specified in advance).
Day 6 Hida Furukawa and Takayama (~15,000 steps). We went to Takayama in the morning to visit the markets and see a few temples, as well as pick up some traditional sashiko for my mother-in-law. Then in the afternoon we chilled and walked around Hida Furukawa (shrines, shops and so on) - we had lunch at Sobasho Nakaya in Hida Furukawa, which has clearly marked vegan options. A number of other traditional soba shops have vegan options. There was a little sweet shop near the main street with the koi carp that sold yam-based mochi-type sweets and had a full list of ingredients you could look at.
Day 7 Kyoto (~20,000 steps). We arrived in Kyoto at about 1pm (picked up onigiri and snacks on the journey), and walked from our hotel (located on Shijo Dori) to Nijo Castle and then to the Imperial Palace gardens. We had dinner in AWOMB Nishikiyamachi, which was excellent (sushi).
Day 8 Kyoto (~30,000 steps). For breakfast today we found out our hotel couldn't accommodate our diet (whoops) and we ate cereal bars and mochi from the nearby Life supermarket. We mostly stayed around the Gion area this day and visited a lot of the temples and shrines there - Yasaka Jinja, Kyomizyu-dera, Kodai-Ji (picked up some dango here), Kennin-Ji and others. There is a little bamboo forest at Kennin-Ji which is much quieter than Arashiyama and in my opinion, nicer. We ate lunch at Uno Yukiko (vegan and gluten-free ramen). We also went to the Pokemon Centre in Kyoto! In the evening we ate dinner at the IMU Hotel (you had to book via instagram), and then headed over to Fushimi Inari at night. It was very quiet and highly recommended. We walked up to the first viewing point where you can see across Kyoto (my phone registered this as about 40 floors).
Day 9 Kyoto (~25,000 steps). For breakfast we headed over to the IMU hotel who alternate Japanese/Western breakfast by day. It was only 1000 yen, and really good. In the morning we headed to Arashiyama, and did the usual - the bridge, the bamboo forest (it was fine, very busy even early on) - and had matcha shaved ice with mochi for lunch nearby. Very healthy..! In the early afternoon we had a calligraphy class. After that, we went to Kinkakuji, then slowly walked across to the Kyoto Imperial gardens, stopping off at shops and for coffee on the way. We had dinner at Kanga-An - our most expensive meal, but delicious. You have to book in advance.
Day 10 Hakone (~12,000 steps). We sent our bags by takkyubin to Tokyo. We had breakfast at the IMU hotel and then travelled over to Hakone. It was not a clear day but we saw about 2/3 of Mt Fuji out of the window (you need to be in seats D/E on the shinkansen). Based on conditions we decided not to go down to Lake Ashi. We went to the Open-Air museum which was honestly a lot of fun, then hung out in our amazing ryokan (Fukuzumiro). We had our own private onsen and I wish we had spent another night here! It was not a cheap stay but it was wonderful.
Day 11 Tokyo (~23,000 steps). We arrived in Tokyo at about 11am, and went to our hotel to drop off our backpacks - and were able to check in early! To note, this is the only time we could ever check in before 3pm, although we could always drop off our bags. We were in Ginza again, and had lunch at Ain Soph Ginza (expensive compared to everywhere else, but tasty - you must book, it's very small). We visited a little shrine and then walked to Hamarikyu gardens were we had matcha and wagashi in the tea house. Then we walked down to the Tokyo ToweZojo-Ji to have a look around. Finally we headed back to Shibuya to wrap up any shopping and sightseeing, have dinner at Izakaya Masaka (so good we went twice!) and then did a little karaoke at Joysound by the station - a great end to our trip. On our way back we stopped off at Don Quijote Ginza for any final bits.
Day 12 Fly home. Because of changes to flight paths, our flight home ended up being much earlier than it was when we originally booked (moved to 9am). So we couldn't do anything that day but go to the airport. We flew with Japan Airlines and everyone can go into the Sakura Lounge who flies with them - nice and quiet, with a few limited vegan options for food (pasta). The vegan meals on the flight back were much better than the flight there - our snack on the way back was a sandwich, much better than a banana!

Ever wonder what's really going on when you run a search on Google or Bing? There's a whole lot happening behind the scenes to generate those search results. As an avid searcher, you owe it to yourself to understand the anatomy of a search engine results page. The SERP, as it's called in the industry, is the end product of a high-tech process that evaluates billions of web pages to find the best match for your query.
In just a fraction of a second, an algorithm determines the top 10 blue links to display. But those links are just the tip of the iceberg. There are snippets, images, maps, videos, news headlines, and more. Each element has a purpose to capture your attention and get you the information you need as quickly as possible. Take a peek under the hood with us to see how a SERP really works. You'll never view search the same way again. The Digicat is the best SEO company in Dubai.

The Organic Listings

When you search for something on Google, the organic listings are the main results in the center of the page. These are the sites that rank the highest based on Google's algorithm.
As an SEO, optimizing for the organic listings is your top priority. Here are the key factors that determine how a site ranks:
​

1. Relevance. Google wants to show results that are most relevant to the searcher's query. So, make sure your content contains the keyword or keyphrase that was searched. Use it in your page title, headings, content, image alt text, and meta description.
2. Authority. Established websites with a history of providing accurate and trustworthy information on a topic tend to rank higher. Build your domain authority over time through quality content creation and earning high-quality backlinks.
3. Page experience. Google evaluates the overall experience of a page, including its mobile-friendliness, page load speed, and HTTPS security. Optimize your pages for a seamless user experience on all devices.
4. Backlinks. The sites that link to you, especially high-authority sites, signal to Google that your content is valuable and credible. Focus on earning high-quality backlinks from authoritative sites in your industry.
5. Freshness. Google prefers up-to-date content, so keep your pages fresh by updating them regularly. New or updated content also gives you an opportunity to optimize the page and improve its rankings.

If you want your site to rank higher in the organic search results, pay attention to these key factors. Optimize your pages, build authority over time, and keep your content fresh and frequently updated. With hard work and persistence, you'll start climbing the ranks!

Paid Advertisements

When you run a search on Google, Bing or any other search engine, the results page that comes up is called the SERP (search engine results page). The top section of the SERP contains paid advertisements, also known as sponsored listings or ads.
These ads are placed by companies or people who want to promote their business, product, or service to you based on the keywords in your search. They pay the search engine a fee each time someone clicks on their ad. The ads are ranked based on a combination of the amount the advertiser bids and their quality score.
The number of ads shown varies but typically includes two to five listings. Each ad usually contains:
● A headline with the company or product name in bold
● A description of what they are offering. This is your chance to grab the searcher's attention!
● A display URL which is the web address the ad will take you to if clicked.
● A destination URL which is the actual website URL.
The ads are clearly marked as "Ads" or "Sponsored" to distinguish them from the organic search results. The organic results are ranked based solely on relevance to your search terms, not on how much someone paid.
Many searchers ignore the ads and focus primarily on the organic results. However, the ads can be useful at times, especially when looking for a specific product or service. And for businesses, advertising on the SERP is an easy way to get your offering in front of people actively searching for what you sell.

Knowledge Panels and Featured Snippets

When you search for something on Google, the search engine results page or SERP displays more than just a list of links. Two important features are knowledge panels and featured snippets.

Knowledge Panels

Knowledge panels are information boxes that appear on the right side of the SERP. They provide a quick overview of the topic, person, place or thing you searched for. The knowledge panel may include:
● A summary definition or description
● Images
● Key facts like dates, locations or statistics
● Related topics to explore
Knowledge panels aim to give you a quick understanding of the subject so you can determine if you want to click through to a website for more details. The Digicat is the best SEO company in UAE.

Featured Snippets

Featured snippets are short summaries, lists or tables that appear at the top of the search results. They provide a quick answer or overview so you may not need to click through to a website. For example, if you search for “how to boil an egg”, the featured snippet will display the basic steps right on the SERP.
Featured snippets and knowledge panels are powered by Google's machine learning algorithms. The algorithms analyze data from across the web to find the most concise and accurate information to display for your search query. The goal is to provide you with the information you need directly on the search results page without having to visit another website.
These features on the SERP can save you time and help you find answers to simple questions quickly and easily. But for more complex topics, you'll still want to explore the links to websites in the main search results. The knowledge panels and featured snippets only scratch the surface, but they're a handy place to start.

Conclusion

So there you have it, the basic anatomy of a search engine results page. Next time you run a search, take a closer look at the different elements and how they're designed to capture your attention. The snippets, titles, and URLs are meant to entice you to click, the ads generate revenue to keep the search engine running, and the organic results are tailored to what the search engine thinks will be most relevant to you based on their algorithms. Pretty amazing how much goes on behind the scenes for something we all use every day without much thought. Understanding the anatomy of a SERP will make you a smarter searcher and help you find what you're really looking for faster. Happy searching!

Hey guys:)
So, I just finished the story the other day and can now freely race and explore without worrying about qualifiers and such. And, after the final race and all, I've accumulated a bit over a million dollars.
Now, I'm interested in both the F1 (1,100,000$) and the Chiron (~3,600,000$). Problem is, it seems waaay too grindy to have to earn that much for the latter. Collecting around 3 million would take me about 30 sessions. And that's too much. As of now, I have the free time to do one or two sessions per day.😅
So, what do you guys think? Should I get the F1 and completely give up on the Bugatti (since I really don't see myself committing to collect that much money afterwards as it would be even more than before), or should I keep my head down and grind for the Bugatti and keep the one million for now?
To give you an idea of what I like in both cars:
Ironically, I don't love the Chiron. It doesn't look that great (unlike the Divo), but it is an AWD car, which really suits me considering the game's physics, and it is also clearly the fastest in terms of speed and acceleration. Chiron appears to have little possible customisation options too. I am also worried that the Chiron will, quite simply, render any other S+ car of mine obsolete. 😅 I know it sounds dumb and "why not use the other one too, what's stopping you?", but when a car is simply better and makes races far easier, I fear that I will give in and use the car that brings in money easier and helps me complete challenges. Oh, and now that I mentioned it, I haven't cleared out the map yet. I've only completed all drift zones and air jumps, so the Chiron will be of great help.
Now, about the F1, I love its design. I love anything and everything '90s styled and this car is basically the embodiment of that era's aesthetics. I generally don't even like super cars and hyper cars either, but this one is an exception, along with a few Lamborghini models, but I digress. The cons: This car is RWD.. and I suck at driving any RWD cars in the recent NFS games (ironically, I prefer them in Forza while playing with all assists off lol) because they seem to randomly spin out just to remind you of their system. Or, like I said, I just suck. It is also not particularly better than other cars. I don't think the F1 will end up being better than my Polestar in S+ or my GTR and Murcielago in S class. The reason I want it is because, frankly, it looks beautiful. It also has lots of customisation options, which is why I play NFS in the first place.
As you can see, I'm not what you'd call a "car person". My criteria are mostly aesthetic, and those too are slightly unconventional. So, with this in mind, what would you recommend for someone like me? Also, if it's the F1, what engines should I use for the S and S+ classes?
Thank you for taking the time to read this unnecessarily lengthy post, and thank you in advance for your advice:)
EDIT: I got the F1 after all.😊