Podcasts about clans

Deutschland steht vor einem sicherheitspolitischen Problem: Clankriminalität und organisierte Gewalt sind in vielen deutschen Städten zur Realität geworden. In diesem Interview spricht Maximilian Tichy mit Manuel Ostermann, Polizist und stellvertretender Bundesvorsitzender der Deutschen Polizeigewerkschaft. Die Zahlen sind alarmierend: Allein den drei größten Clans in Deutschland werden mehrere zehntausend Mitglieder zugerechnet. Das Milieu der organisierten Kriminalität dürfte insgesamt mehrere hunderttausend Personen umfassen. Die Straftaten sind spektakulär: Mitglieder des sogenannten Remmo-Clans brachen in das Grüne Gewölbe in Dresden und das Bode-Museum in Berlin ein. Ihre Beute: fast 140 Millionen Euro in Gold und Diamanten. Im Zuge der Ermittlungen gegen den Abou-Chaker-Clan zog das Finanzamt Berlin 58 Wohnungen ein – sie stehen im Verdacht, Teil eines Geldwäsche-Netzwerks zu sein. Dem Miri-Clan gelang es sogar, einen Spitzel in die Anti-Geldwäsche-Behörde des Innenministeriums einzuschleusen. Zeit, die entscheidenden Fragen zu stellen: Wie konnte es so weit kommen? Und wie kann die Polizei wieder die Kontrolle über die Straßen zurückgewinnen? Ostermann stellt klar: Die Polizei handelt längst nicht mehr proaktiv – sie kann nur noch reagieren. An vorausschauende Gefahrenabwehr ist kaum noch zu denken.

In Katar laufen Verhandlungen über eine neue Feuerpause zwischen Israel und der Hamas im Gazastreifen. Wie die Chancen dafür stehen, ordnet unser Korrespondent Julio Segador in dieser Folge ein. Und er erklärt, was bewaffnete Clans für die Zukunft des Gazastreifens bedeuten. *** Aktuelle Informationen zum Krieg in Israel und Gaza findet Ihr hier: https://www.tagesschau.de/newsticker/liveblog-nahost-dienstag-268.html Und hier: https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/krieg-in-israel-iran-gaza-im-news-ticker-vom-7-bis-13-juli,UqFhZRz *** In dieser "Lost in Nahost”- Folge sprechen wir darüber, was im Gazastreifen passiert ist, während Israel parallel einen Krieg mit dem Iran geführt hat https://www.ardaudiothek.de/episode/urn:ard:episode:b852b73348787a12/ Und hier haben wir uns näher angeschaut, wie es den Menschen im Gazastreifen gerade geht https://www.ardaudiothek.de/episode/urn:ard:episode:2a45b85d2b181370/ In dieser Folge geht es um die Rolle der USA im Nahen Osten https://www.ardaudiothek.de/episode/urn:ard:episode:687989387fb527a1/ Und in dieser Folge geht es um die Rolle Katars während der Verhandlungen https://www.ardaudiothek.de/episode/urn:ard:episode:ba01222a32c88a47/ *** Unsere Podcast-Empfehlung: "Iran im Herzen” https://1.ard.de/iran-im-herzen *** Wenn ihr Fragen habt, schickt sie uns gerne per DM an die News-WG auf Instagram oder an uns: lostinnahost@br.de

Tunes: Jason Rouse: Napoleon's Grand March Stables: Napoleon's Grand March Angus MacKay: Up and Waur them A' Willie, The Haughs of Cromdale, Robert Miller: The Highland Brigade at Waterloo, Lochiel's March (Pibroch of Donald Dhu) John Gow: The Highland Brigade at Waterloo Donald MacLeod: The Highland Brigade at Waterloo John McLachlan: The Highland Brigade at Waterloo David Glen: The Highland Brigade at Waterloo, The Highland Brigade at Waterloo (2nd setting), Pibroch of Donald Dhu, Donald MacDonald: Piobaireachd Dhomnuill Duibh (Black Donald Balloch of the Isles), John Grant: The Gathering of the Clans, Readings: Henry John Thoroton Hildyard: Historical record of the 71st regiment Highland light infantry, from its formation in 1777, under the title of the 73rd, or McLeod's highlanders, up to the year 1876 C.A. Malcolm: The Piper in Peace and War Allan MacDonald Thesis: The Relationship Between Pibroch and Gaelic Song: Its Implications on the Performance Style of the Pibroch Urlar +X+ Checkout Jason's Album Heavy Metal on Bandcamp: https://pipingrouse.bandcamp.com/album/miotal-trom-heavy-metal Be sure to come check out the Zoom Tune Session Thursday at 6:30 PM US Central time: https://und.zoom.us/j/95809246209 Here is the Facebook Even for the Session: https://www.facebook.com/share/1EHr9pYUKD/ Sources: +X+X+X+ Late 19thc: Napoleon's March From Henry Stables Cumbria Manuscript by way of Chris Partington and Traditional Tune Archive: https://tunearch.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_March +X+X+ 1854: Up and Waur Them A' Willie from Angus MacKay's The Pipers' Assistant https://digital.nls.uk/special-collections-of-printed-music/archive/105007223 +X+X+ The Highland Brigade at Waterloo 1858: The Highland Brigade at Waterloo From Miller Manuscript +X+ 1817: The Highland Brigade at Waterloo from Gow's 4th Repository https://imslp.org/wiki/Gow%27sRepositoryoftheDanceMusicofScotland(Gow%2C_Niel) +X+ 1854: The Highland Brigade at Waterloo from John McLachlan's The Piper's Assistant https://digital.nls.uk/special-collections-of-printed-music/archive/105010534 +X+ 1870s: The Highland Brigade at Waterloo from the Glen Edinburgh Collection (Book 2) https://ceolsean.net/content/EdinColl/EdinColl_TOC.html +X+ 1890s: The Highland Brigade at Waterloo from David Glen's Collection of Highland Pipe Music (Book 9) https://ceolsean.net/content/Dglen/Dglen_TOC.html +X+X+X+ Pibroch of Donald Dbhu 1821: Pibroch of Donald Dbhu from Donald MacDonald https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=hdpWAAAAcAAJ&pg=RA1-PA106#v=onepage&q&f=false Check out Alasdair Boyd's Singing on Tobar an Dualchais: https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/44689?l=en +X+ 1858: Lochiel's March From Robert Miller's Manuscript +X+ 1880s: Pibroch of Donald Dhu from book five of David Glen's Collection of Highland Bagpipe Music https://ceolsean.net/content/Dglen/Dglen_TOC.html +X+ 1840: Donald Dhu, or Lochiel's March from Davie's Caledonian Repository I didn't play this on the episode https://digital.nls.uk/special-collections-of-printed-music/archive/104999413 +X+ 1816: Pibroch of Donald Dubh from Alexander Campbell's Albyn's Anthology (Lyrics by Walter Scott) I didn't play this on the episode https://archive.org/details/albynsanthologyo00camp_0/page/82/mode/2up?view=theater +X+X+X+X+ 1828: The Haughs of Cromdale From Donald MacDonald I didn't play this on the episode https://ceolsean.net/content/McDlight/Book02/Book02%2020.pdf +X+ 1844: The Haughs of Cromdale From Angus MacKay's The Pipers' Assistant https://ceolsean.net/content/PipeAsst/Book02/Book02%209a.pdf +X+X+ 1920: The Gathering of the Clans by PM John Grant from “The Pipes of War” a Collection of Original Pipe Tunes Compose during the Great War 1914-1918 https://ceolsean.net/content/Pwar/Book01/Book01%2014a.pdf +X+X+X+X+X+ Readings: George Clarke: 1876: Excerpt from Historical record of the 71st regiment Highland light infantry, from its formation in 1777, under the title of the 73rd, or McLeod's highlanders, up to the year 1876 by Henry John Thornton Hildyard https://archive.org/details/historicalrecord00hildiala 'Anecdote of the bravery of the Scotch piper of the 71st Highland Regiment, at the Battle of Vimiero', 1808 https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1971-02-33-533-12 Music Division, The New York Public Library. "The Highland Piper, George Clarke" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed July 5, 2025. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47dc-9cac-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99 +X+ Pipe Major Cameron: 1927: Excerpt from The Piper In Peace And War By C. A. Malcolm, M.A., Ph.D. https://electricscotland.com/history/scotreg/peaseandwar15.htm +X+ 1995: Thesis: The Relationship Between Pibroch and Gaelic Song: Its Implications on the Performance Style of the Pibroch Urlar by Allan MacDonald's https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/archive/rja14/musicfiles/manuscripts/allanmacdonald/ +X+X+ FIN Here are some ways you can support the show: You can support the Podcast by joining the Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/wetootwaag You can also take a minute to leave a review of the podcast if you listen on Itunes! Tell your piping and history friends about the podcast! Checkout my Merch Store on Bagpipeswag: https://www.bagpipeswag.com/wetootwaag You can also support me by Buying my Albums on Bandcamp: https://jeremykingsbury.bandcamp.com/ You can now buy physical CDs of my albums using this Kunaki link: https://kunaki.com/msales.asp?PublisherId=166528&pp=1 You can just send me an email at wetootwaag@gmail.com letting me know what you thought of the episode! Listener mail keeps me going! Finally I have some other support options here: https://www.wetootwaag.com/support Thanks! Listen on Itunes/Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wetootwaags-bagpipe-and-history-podcast/id129776677 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5QxzqrSm0pu6v8y8pLsv5j?si=QLiG0L1pT1eu7B5_FDmgGA

I just have a conversation with myself and I try to understand the Ho-Chunk definitions of "Good Money" and "Bad Money". Apparently there is a difference and I'm just not sure what the difference is. I laud our unofficial partnership with Diane Hendricks as we pursue the same goal, "A Better Beloit". Though the Ho-Chunk Nation and Diane Hendricks are on opposites ends of the political spectrum, it's wonderful to see that as adults, we can put those differences aside and work for the common good. Rummor has it that we are folding our Section 17 and replacing it with a Section 16. Good for us. Everybody was tired of that 12 Clans and I'm sure, happy to see it go. Still, I would have liked to see it stay with new leadership, and not just Ho-Chunk or Waaksik leadership.

In Episode 255 we start the 2025 countdown of our top 40 Board Games of all time with choices 31-40.Timestamps:00:00 Introduction01:05 Favorite Games of All Time - How we made our lists07:25 Chris #40 Rats of Wistar11:01 Adam #40 Mosaic: A Story of Civilization13:16 Tim #40 The Castles of Tuscany14:49 Chris #39 - Wingspan16:44 Adam #39 - Rebirth18:18 Tim #39 - Le Havre19:51 Chris #38 - Smartphone, Inc.22:03 Adam #38 - On Mars24:30 Tim #38 - Thunder Road Vendetta26:23 Chris #37 - Revive28:56 #37 - Beyond the Sun30:15 Tim #37 - Boast or Nothing / Best of Neapolitan 32:03 Chris #36 - Keyflower34:41 Adam #36 - Voidfall36:47 Tim #36 - Star Realms38:13 Chris #35 - Cthulhu: Death May Die41:11 Adam #35 - Tycoon: India 198144:54 Tim #35 - Wonderland's War45:52 Chris #34 - Nemesis49:30 Adam #34 -  Revive50:54 Tim #34 - Viticulture: Essential Edition52:00 Chris #33 - Heat: Pedal to the Metal54:57 Adam #33 - Xenon Profiteer56:15 Tim #33 - Slay the Spire: The Board Game58:00 Chris #32 - Scythe59:24 Adam #32 - Pax Pamir: 2nd Edition1:01:37 Tim #32 - Clans of Caledonia1:02:31 Chris #31 - Cthulhu Wars1:05:08 Adam #31 - Hot Streak1:09:31 Tim #31 - Anachrony

Erst kürzlich warnte das Bundeskriminalamt vor einer Kokainschwemme in Deutschland. Die Drogen aus Südamerika kommen in großen Containerschiffen in Bremerhaven, Antwerpen oder Hamburg an und immer häufiger in Fischerbooten in kleinen ostfriesischen Häfen. Drehkreuz des Drogengeschäftes ist der Stadtstaat Bremen, wo kriminelle Mitglieder des arabischstämmigen Clans der Miris den Handel für ganz Norddeutschland steuern. Wie Zoll und Polizei versuchen, den Schmuggel zu überwachen und unterbinden, hat Vanja Budde recherchiert.

Episode 31 - Saskatchewan Waterwalk: Carrying on the Legacy of Josephine Mandamin Baa, with Waasekom Niin WHAT Saskatchewan Waterwalk: Carrying on the Legacy of Josephine Mandamin Baa WHO Waasekom Niin is Turtle Clan Anishinaabe from Saugeen First Nation and the Kettle & Stoney Point First Nations on the southeastern shores of Lake Huron. He is an avid paddler, having led 4 ceremonial canoe journeys throughout the Great Lakes to raise awareness about Water, Climate Change, and Indigenous sovereign responsibilities. His journey began in response to the Waterwalks, where he has been a protector and Eagle Staff carrier on 7 Walks. Waasekom is known for starting Picking Up the Bundles Canoe Journey, Niwiijiiwok Doodemak (Gathering of Clans), the Great Lakes Petition, Gganoonigonaa Zaagigan (The Lake is Speaking to Us), and most recently the Elegy of Ancestors. MUSIC Song: The Epic Hero Composer: Keys Of Moon Website: https://www.youtube.com/c/keysofmoonmusic License: Creative Commons (BY-NC 3.0) https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com

In dieser Episode des Battlepod feiern wir unsere 50. Folge, die 100. vom Dicken Preussen und das 25-jährige Bestehen des Clan Wolf. Ich diskutiere mit meinen Co-Moderatoren und dem besonderen Gast Meldric über die Geschichte des Clans, die Bedeutung von Rollenspiel und Lore sowie die Entwicklung der Clan Wolf App für das Alpha Strike-System. Außerdem erörtern wir die Übernahme von Iron Wind Metals durch Catalyst Game Labs und deren Auswirkungen auf die Battletech-Community. Wir blicken positiv auf zukünftige Events, einschließlich der Möglichkeit einer Live-Demonstration auf der PhoenixCon. Wir sind jetzt auf Patreon und Steady https://steadyhq.com/de/derdickepreusse https://www.patreon.com/derdickepreusse

In dieser Episode des Battlepod feiern wir unsere 50. Folge, die 100. vom Dicken Preussen und das 25-jährige Bestehen des Clan Wolf. Ich diskutiere mit meinen Co-Moderatoren und dem besonderen Gast Meldric über die Geschichte des Clans, die Bedeutung von Rollenspiel und Lore sowie die Entwicklung der Clan Wolf App für das Alpha Strike-System. Außerdem erörtern wir die Übernahme von Iron Wind Metals durch Catalyst Game Labs und deren Auswirkungen auf die Battletech-Community. Wir blicken positiv auf zukünftige Events, einschließlich der Möglichkeit einer Live-Demonstration auf der PhoenixCon. Wir sind jetzt auf Patreon und Steady https://steadyhq.com/de/derdickepreusse https://www.patreon.com/derdickepreusse

Description: Les samourais naviguent entre les terres de différents clans. Aucun ne souhaite accueillir l'ensemble de la troupe.

In recent days Hamas has shifted all of its attention to controlling the food supply for civilians in the Gaza Strip. They continue to hoard aid meant for the needy and then resell it at extortionate prices. The last two weeks have been especially chaotic as the food supply diminishes, and people are living meal to meal. Concerns regarding famine are real and the involvement of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is intended to address the food scarcity. But the rollout of this new initiative has been a mess. Shootings. Chaos. People walking 20k to arrive at one of the few distribution centers to find that there is no food left. State of Tel Aviv regular guest, Ya'akov Katz, joins us to get into the detail of what is going on in the Gaza Strip and why everything seems to be going so wrong. We discuss Hamas, criminal clans, hostages and more. Before wrapping we touch on the surge of Jewish vigilantism in the West Bank and why this seems to continue, uninterrupted.And you will probably be relieved to know we don't even mention Greta. I'll leave that to Piers Morgan.State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Podcast NotesYaakov Katz is an Israeli-American author and journalist. Between 2016 and 2023, Yaakov was editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post where he continues to write a popular weekly column.He is the author of three books: “Shadow Strike – Inside Israel's Secret Mission to Eliminate Syrian Nuclear Power”, “Weapon Wizards—How Israel Became a High-Tech Military Superpower” and “Israel vs. Iran: The Shadow War.”Prior to taking up the role of editor-in-chief, Yaakov served for two years as a senior policy adviser to Naftali Bennett during his tenure as Israel's Minister of Economy and Minister of Diaspora Affairs.In 2013, Yaakov was one of 12 international fellows to spend a year at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University.Originally from Chicago, Yaakov has a law degree from Bar Ilan University. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife Chaya and their four children.Find Yaakov Katz on X @yaakovkatz This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe

Description: Les samourais naviguent entre les terres de différents clans. Aucun ne souhaite accueillir l'ensemble de la troupe.

Your daily news in under three minutes. At Al Jazeera Podcasts, we want to hear from you, our listeners. So, please head to https://www.aljazeera.com/survey and tell us your thoughts about this show and other Al Jazeera podcasts. It only takes a few minutes! Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube.

AP correspondent Charles de Ledesma reports Israel says it is making progress with Palestinian clans opposed to Hamas.

Hosts Stephen Pye and Jordan Byers are back for their fourth team review of the 2024/25 EIHL season, 7th placed Glasgow Clan! In this episode, Steve and Jordan take a look at the highs and lows of Clans season, taking a look at their Challenge Cup, League and Playoff performances! Steve and Jordan also talk about what they expect from Clan next season.

In episode 220, Dean and Deron start their top 50 board games by looking at 50-41. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider rating us and giving us a review. If you like our YouTube channel, please consider subscribing. If you have questions you would like us to answer on the podcast, please email us at meepletownmail@gmail.com. To support us further, check out www.patreon.com/meepletown or www.buymeacoffee.com/meepletown9. Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/uasmBx326h 00:00     Intro Spoilers Below . . . . . . . . . . Dean 09:50     50. Summoner Wars (2nd Ed.) 16:37     49. Project: ELITE 20:38     48. Small World 26:22     47. Earth 31:24     46. Istanbul 38:05     45. Dune: Imperium 43:10     44. Andromeda's Edge/Dwellings of Eldervale 47:46     43. Clans of Caledonia 52:20     42. Wyrmspan 57:02     41. Underwater Cities Deron 06:58     50. Panda Spin  13:07     49. Tournament at Avalon (& Camelot)  18:22     48. Glen More II: Chronicles  23:57     47. Mage Knight: Ultimate Edition  28:36     46. Septima  33:47     45. Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest  40:23     44. Star Wars: Outer Rim  45:58     43. Nightmare Productions  50:26     42. Trickerion: Legends of Illusion  54:03     41. Marvel Champions: The Card game  Thanks for coming down to MeepleTown!

From Xenomorphs to ETs: Which Alien Species is the Best? This week on the podcast, Brian and Darryl boldly go into the sci-fi vault to debate the most creative alien species in the galaxy. Think Na'vi spirituality meets Xenomorph acid vomit. From hive-minded cybernetic zombies to fire-based art snobs, it's time to crown the weirdest, wildest, most wonderful extraterrestrials in fiction. Episode Index Intro: 0:07 Alien, Mine: Alien Showdown… Who’s the Best? Darryl Heptapods (from Arrival) Physical Traits – Appearance: Heptapods are seven-limbed (hence the name “hepta-” meaning seven) creatures with a large, oval-shaped head and a body that appears to be semi-transparent2. – Eyes: They have thousands of small, dime-sized eyes in clusters, which are actually patches of photosensitive skin. – Sensory Perception: They use sophisticated sonar to perceive their environment, allowing them to detect even minute details. Culture – Non-linear Perception of Time: Heptapods experience time non-linearly, meaning they perceive past, present, and future simultaneously. This is reflected in their language and behavior3. – Patience and Long-term Thinking: Their non-linear perception of time gives them a unique perspective on patience and long-term consequences. They are willing to wait for humans to understand their language and purpose4. – Purpose of Arrival: They arrive on Earth to share their language, Heptapod B, which they believe will help humanity understand their non-linear perception of time and potentially aid them in the future. Language – Heptapod A: This is their spoken language, which sounds very organic and is designed to be heard rather than spoken. – Heptapod B: This is their written language, consisting of circular logograms that represent entire concepts or sentences rather than individual words. The meaning of these logograms depends on the tendrils and splotches branching out from their circular rings2. – Impact on Humans: Learning Heptapod B alters the human perception of time, allowing them to experience events out of sequence, similar to how Heptapods perceive time. MorningLightMountain (Commonwealth Saga by Peter F. Hamilton) Physical Traits: – Prime Bodies: MorningLightMountain’s consciousness inhabits billions of distinct Prime bodies. These bodies are divided into two types: motiles and immotiles1. – Motiles: Motiles can see and move but are relatively unintelligent on their own. – Immotiles: Immotiles are blind and immobile but highly intelligent. They can breed motiles, and four motiles can merge to form a new immotile1. – Wormhole Technology: MorningLightMountain possesses wormhole technology, allowing its bodies to communicate over arbitrarily large distances. Mental Traits: – Hive Mind: MorningLightMountain operates as a hive mind, with a single united consciousness spread across billions of bodies. – Xenophobic and Expansionist: The Primes, including MorningLightMountain, are highly xenophobic and expansionist, seeking to subsume or destroy other species. – Highly Intelligent: Immotiles can link to each other for greater processing power, making MorningLightMountain one of the most powerful Primes. Linguistic Traits: – Non-Verbal Communication: MorningLightMountain primarily communicates non-verbally through its network of bodies. – Radio Transmitters: Primes use implanted radio transmitters to stay wirelessly connected, allowing for long-range communication. Saga of the Seven Suns series (Kevin J Anderson) Hydrogues – Physical Traits: Elemental beings composed of water and gas, often appearing as massive, swirling masses of liquid and vapor. – Culture: Highly territorial and aggressive, especially when their habitats are threatened. They have a deep connection to water and gas. – Language: Communicate through complex patterns of vibrations and waves. Faeros – Physical Traits: Elemental beings associated with fire and light, emitting a warm glow and capable of producing flames. – Culture: Passionate and energetic, valuing creativity and expression. They are often involved in artistic and spiritual pursuits. – Language: Communicate through a combination of spoken language and visual symbols, using their fiery abilities to create intricate patterns and displays. Borg Physical Traits: – Cybernetic Enhancements: The Borg are a collective of various species that have been assimilated and augmented with cybernetic implants. This results in a mix of biological and mechanical features. – Pale Skin: Their skin tends to be pale or grayish due to the integration of technology and loss of individuality. – Mechanical Limbs and Eyes: Many Borg drones have mechanical limbs and/or eyes, often replacing their original biological parts with more efficient cybernetic versions. Culture: – Collective Consciousness: The Borg operate as a hive mind, known as the Collective. Individuality is suppressed, and all drones are connected through a central consciousness. – Assimilation: The primary goal of the Borg is to assimilate other species to enhance their own collective knowledge and capabilities. This is often done forcibly, with the mantra “Resistance is futile.” – Efficient and Methodical: The Borg are highly efficient and methodical in their actions, driven by their collective purpose of achieving perfection. Language: – Communal Communication: The Borg communicate internally through their collective consciousness, sharing thoughts and information instantaneously. – Distinctive Speech Patterns: When speaking externally, the Borg often use a collective “we” to represent their hive mind and have a monotone, emotionless speech pattern. Changelings (Founders) Physical Traits: – Shapeshifters: Changelings are highly advanced shapeshifters capable of assuming any form, from humanoid figures to inanimate objects. – Gelatinous State: In their natural form, Changelings exist as a gelatinous mass, which they revert to when at rest or regenerating. – Golden Hue: Their gelatinous form has a distinctive golden hue. Culture: – Great Link: The Changelings share a deep connection through the Great Link, a shared state where they merge together in their natural form, exchanging thoughts and experiences. – Isolation and Control: Historically, Changelings have sought to isolate themselves from solids (non-shapeshifting species) and control them to protect themselves from persecution and harm. – Founders of the Dominion: Changelings are the ruling species of the Dominion, a powerful political and military alliance in the Gamma Quadrant. They employ the Vorta and Jem’Hadar as their loyal servants to enforce their will. Language: – Universal Communication: Changelings typically communicate in the languages of the species they interact with. Their ability to shapeshift allows them to perfectly mimic speech. – Telepathic Connection: Within the Great Link, communication is telepathic and intuitive, allowing for an exchange of complex ideas and emotions without words. Na’vi (James Cameron Avatar movies) Physical Traits – Height and Build: The Na’vi are tall, standing about 10 feet (3 meters) in height, and have a slender, graceful build. – Blue Skin: They have blue skin with bioluminescent patterns that glow in the dark, helping them blend into their environment. – Four-Fingered Hands: Unlike humans, the Na’vi have four fingers on each hand and four toes on each foot. – Cat-like Features: They have large, expressive, golden eyes, pointed ears, and tails, giving them a feline appearance. – Braid with Neural Queue: Each Na’vi has a long braid called a “tswin,” which contains a neural queue that allows them to connect with other creatures and the environment on Pandora. Culture – Deep Connection with Nature: The Na’vi live in harmony with the natural world of Pandora. They have a deep spiritual connection with the flora, fauna, and the planet itself. – Clans and Tribes: The Na’vi are organized into various clans and tribes, each with its own customs and traditions. The Omaticaya clan, for example, resides in the Hometree. – Eywa: The Na’vi worship Eywa, the Great Mother, a deity representing the interconnectedness of all life on Pandora. They believe that Eywa maintains the balance of life. – Rites of Passage: Na’vi culture includes several rites of passage, such as the bonding with a direhorse (pa’li) and a mountain banshee (ikran), which signify one’s transition into adulthood. – Hunting and Gathering: The Na’vi are skilled hunters and gatherers, relying on their environment for sustenance while respecting the creatures they hunt. Language – Na’vi Language: The Na’vi have their own language, developed specifically for the film by linguist Dr. Paul Frommer. It is a fully functional language with its own grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. – Tsaheylu: The neural bond, called “tsaheylu,” allows the Na’vi to connect with other creatures and their environment. This connection is a form of communication that transcends spoken language. Xenomorphs (Alien Franchise) Physical Traits: – Exoskeleton: Xenomorphs have a biomechanical, black exoskeleton that provides them with great durability and a fearsome appearance. – Elongated Skull: They possess an elongated, ridged skull with a lack of visible eyes, giving them a terrifying, eyeless visage. – Inner Jaws: Equipped with a secondary, inner jaw that can extend from their mouths for lethal attacks. – Tail: Their long, muscular tails end in a sharp blade, which they use for both balance and as a weapon. – Acidic Blood: Their blood is highly acidic, capable of burning through metal and other materials. Culture: – Hive Structure: Xenomorphs have a hive-based social structure, with a Queen at the center, responsible for laying eggs and maintaining the population. – Instinct-Driven: They operate primarily on instinct, driven by a need to propagate their species. This includes capturing hosts for their Facehuggers to implant embryos. – Parasitic Life Cycle: Their life cycle involves multiple stages: Egg, Facehugger, Chestburster, and Adult. The Facehugger attaches to a host, implanting an embryo that later emerges violently from the host’s chest as a Chestburster. – Adaptive and Versatile: They can adapt to different environments and hosts, resulting in various Xenomorph types with specific traits influenced by their host species. Language: – Non-Verbal Communication: Xenomorphs communicate non-verbally through body language, pheromones, and hisses or screeches. Their interactions are primarily based on their hive hierarchy and instinctual behaviors. Species 8472 (Undine) — Honorable Mention Physical Traits: – Tripedal and Non-Humanoid: Species 8472, also known as Undine, are tripedal beings with a non-humanoid appearance. – Fluidic Space Origin: They originate from a dimension called fluidic space, which is accessible through quantum singularities. – Biological Technology: Their highly developed biology and organic technology make them tactically superior to the Borg. Culture: – War with the Borg: Species 8472 engaged in a war with the Borg after the Borg invaded their realm of fluidic space. They proved immune to assimilation and launched a counter-invasion of the galaxy2. – Genocidal Intentions: They have a genocidal intent towards other species, considering them a threat. – Negotiations with the Federation: Captain Kathryn Janeway of the USS Voyager negotiated peace with Species 8472, using a weapon developed from Borg nanoprobes to force them to retreat. Language: – Telepathic Communication: Species 8472 communicate telepathically, using their telepathic abilities to convey thoughts and intentions. – Unknown Name: Their name for themselves is unknown, as they are referred to by their Borg designation. Brian Farscape Luxans – Tall, warrior-like humanoids with a warrior code of honor. – Recognizable by their facial tendrils and thick-skinned appearance. – Can heal themselves through a process called “battlefield transfusion.” – Notable Character: Ka D'Argo – A fierce but noble warrior with a tragic past. Delvians – A sentient plant-based species with blue skin and photokinetic abilities. – Capable of deep meditation and powerful telepathic abilities. – Often have a spiritual or religious focus. – Notable Character: Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan – A Delvian priestess who can use her mind and biochemistry to heal or harm. Scarrans – Reptilian, highly aggressive, and among the most physically powerful species. – Possess natural heat-based abilities, allowing them to intimidate or harm opponents. – Scarrans view themselves as the superior species and often engage in genetic experimentation. – Notable Character: Emperor Staleek – A ruthless leader of the Scarran Empire. Pilots – Large, multi-limbed creatures that are biologically bonded to Leviathans (living ships). – They have a deep connection with their Leviathan and can control their functions. – Notable Character: Pilot – The pilot of Moya, who communicates with the crew and the ship. Leviathans – Living, biomechanical starships that possess sentience. – Generally peaceful but can be forced into servitude by Peacekeeper “Control Collars.” – Notable Character: Moya – The Leviathan that serves as the home and transport for Crichton and his crew. Star Wars (Expanded Universe) Yuuzhan Vong Who Are the Yuuzhan Vong? The Yuuzhan Vong are an extragalactic warrior species who invaded the Star Wars galaxy, triggering the Yuuzhan Vong War (25–29 ABY). Unlike most species in Star Wars, they: – Are immune to the Force – Jedi cannot sense them, and their presence in the galaxy caused major upheaval in the Force itself. – Use only organic technology – They abhor droids and mechanical technology, instead using genetically engineered living creatures as weapons, ships, and tools. – Are deeply religious and fanatical – They follow a strict caste system and worship pain as a path to enlightenment. Biology & Appearance – Humanoid, but with ritualistic scarring and tattooing that marks their status in society. – They believe in self-mutilation and pain as a form of religious devotion. – Have a higher pain tolerance than most species. – They view cybernetics and machines as heretical and replace body parts with living biotechnological organisms. Society & Culture The Yuuzhan Vong are organized into a rigid caste system: – The Supreme Overlord – The absolute ruler of their species. – Notable Character: Supreme Overlord Shimrra, who led the invasion of the galaxy. – The Warrior Caste – Devoted soldiers who follow a strict code of honor. – The Priest Caste – Religious leaders who interpret the will of the gods. – The Shaper Caste – Scientists responsible for bioengineering their weapons and technology. – The Intendant Caste – Bureaucrats and administrators. – The Worker Caste – The lowest rank, responsible for labor. Their entire culture revolves around pain, sacrifice, and religious zeal, believing that their gods command them to conquer and purify the galaxy. Yuuzhan Vong Technology (All Organic) – Living Starships (Coralskippers & Worldships) – Instead of metal ships, they use bio-engineered living vessels. – Vonduun Crab Armor – Grown, not manufactured, and is resistant to lightsabers. – Amphistaffs – Living snake-like weapons that function as both swords and whips. – Dovin Basals – Creatures that create miniature black holes to absorb attacks (even deflecting turbolaser fire). – Yorik Coral – Used to construct buildings, ships, and even restrain captives. The Yuuzhan Vong War (25–29 ABY) – The Yuuzhan Vong invaded the New Republic, launching a brutal war. – They captured and terraformed many worlds, including turning Coruscant into a massive Yuuzhan Vong ecosystem. – The Jedi, New Republic, and remnants of the Empire had to unite to fight them. – The war ended when Supreme Overlord Shimrra was killed, and his second-in-command, Onimi, was revealed as the real mastermind. – After their defeat, the surviving Yuuzhan Vong were relocated to Zonama Sekot, a living planet. Why Are They So Unique? – They stand out from all other Star Wars villains because they don't use the Force and their biology/technology is completely different from the rest of the galaxy. – They pushed the Jedi to their limits—without the ability to sense them in the Force, traditional Jedi tactics were ineffective. – Their brutality and disregard for machines made them unlike the Sith, the Empire, or any other major villains in Star Wars. Legacy in Star Wars While the Yuuzhan Vong were a major part of Legends, they have not appeared in the Disney canon yet. However, The Clone Wars animated series almost introduced them in a scrapped episode. Falling Skies Espheni (Overlords) – The main antagonists for most of the series. – An advanced, insectoid-like species with a strict hierarchical society. – Possess telepathic abilities and are highly intelligent strategists. – Use a combination of biotechnology and mechanical technology for warfare. – Consider humans an inferior species and attempt to enslave them. – They have an imperialistic nature, having conquered multiple planets before Earth. Notable Espheni: – The Espheni Overlords – Tall, slender, and powerful commanders of the invasion. – The Espheni Queen – The true leader of the invasion, revealed in the final season. Skitters (Arachnids) – Multi-limbed, insectoid creatures used as foot soldiers by the Espheni. – Originally another enslaved species, controlled through neural harnesses attached to their spines. – Many Skitters are loyal to the Espheni, but a rebel faction exists. – Known for high mobility, leaping abilities, and brutal combat skills. Notable Skitters: – Red-Eye – A rebel Skitter who aids the human resistance. – Harnessed Children – Human children forcibly enslaved by the Espheni using a similar mind-controlling harness. The Harnessed – Human (mainly children) captives of the Espheni, controlled through a biomechanical harness attached to their spines. – The harness allows the Espheni to control their minds and enhance their physical abilities. – Over time, harnessed children begin to transform into Skitters themselves. – Ben Mason, the son of protagonist Tom Mason, is partially harnessed but later freed. The Volm – A technologically advanced, humanoid alien species that arrives in Season 3 to help humanity. – They have been at war with the Espheni for generations and seek to liberate Earth. – Use energy-based weapons and powerful war machines. – While allied with humans, their leader, Cochise, warns that they have their own agenda. Notable Volm: – Cochise – The main Volm character, who forms a bond with the humans and helps them fight the Espheni. The Dornia (The Ancient Enemy) – Introduced late in the series as a mysterious aquatic species. – The original victims of the Espheni, nearly wiped out in the past. – Offer limited aid to the human resistance but provide key knowledge for defeating the Espheni Queen. – Their advanced biology allows them to manipulate water-based environments. Final Thoughts – The Espheni are classic conquerors, much like the Yuuzhan Vong (Star Wars) or Scarrans (Farscape), but with an added layer of biotechnology. – The Skitters are tragic figures, originally a peaceful species enslaved by the Espheni. – The Volm act as reluctant saviors, assisting humanity while maintaining their own goals. – The show played with themes of resistance, survival, and moral ambiguity, especially when it came to dealing with harnessed humans. Contact Us The Infamous Podcast can be found wherever podcasts are found on the Interwebs, feel free to subscribe and follow along on social media. And don't be shy about helping out the show with a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts to help us move up in the ratings. @infamouspodcast facebook/infamouspodcast instagram/infamouspodcast stitcher Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play iHeart Radio contact@infamouspodcast.com Our theme music is ‘Skate Beat’ provided by Michael Henry, with additional music provided by Michael Henry. Find more at MeetMichaelHenry.com. The Infamous Podcast is hosted by Brian Tudor and Darryl Jasper, is recorded in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show is produced and edited by Brian Tudor. Subscribe today!

Send us a textThe Boardgame Specialist Podcast Episode 119: Top 9 Economic GamesBe sure to follow us on discort.https://discord.gg/ssnqjsRFxV%0A Follow Carla at: IG: boardgamespecialist FB: Red Deer Board Game Fanatics Follow Mel at: IG: mels_boardgame_room FB Mel's Board Game Room YouTube: Mel's Board Room[1:59] Kanban EV[9:05] Black Friday[18:29] Shipyard[24:02] Acquire[28:01] Chocolate Factory[34:10] The Network[38:00] Last Will[43:29] Smartphone Inc[48:25] Windmill Valley[54:22] Bruxelles 1893[57:16] Anno 1800[1:02:22] Keyflower[1:06:41] Le Havre[1:13:00] Shipyard[1:15:53] Lisboa[1:20:37] Tinner's Trail[1:24:26] Vinhos[1:28:21] Anno 1800[1:31:06] Clans of Caledonia[1:36:29] Galactic Cruise

Lust auf ein drachenstarkes Abenteuer? Dann seid ihr hier genau richtig! Genießt eine Hörprobe aus dem neuen Band der geheimen Drachenschule. Wir wünschen euch ganz viel Spaß.Jeremias und sein Drache Feuerschatten wurden von den Clans verstoßen. Auf der Suche nach einer sicheren Bleibe treffen sie auf Buckel und Ash, die sie bei sich aufnehmen. Die beiden erzählen von einem protzigen Ritter, dem Goldenen Gilbert, der von Dorf zu Dorf zieht, um im Kampf gegen Drachen seine Hilfe anzubieten. Als kurz darauf eine Mönchshaube die Festung des Murray-Clans in Brand steckt, erfährt Jeremias, dass auch die Clans den Ritter anheuern wollen. Doch Jeremias spürt, dass hier etwas faul ist. Gemeinsam mit seinen Freunden muss er verhindern, dass die Clans all ihr Gold an einen Tunichtgut opfern. Doch wer wird ihnen glauben, wenn ihnen niemand mehr vertraut?"Die geheime Drachenschule - Der goldene Ritter" könnt ihr als Hardcover und Hörbuch erwerben. Hier zum Beispiel: Die geheime Drachenschule - Der goldene Ritter – BaumhausBandeWeitere Geschichten, Bastelideen und Rezepte findet ihr auf: BaumhausBande: Geschichten und DIY-Projekte für KinderWenn ihr Fragen und Anregungen habt, dann schickt uns gerne eine Mail an buchstabenbande@luebbe.de Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman" ist ein neues Studioalbum des Wu-Tang Clans und Produzenten Mathematics. Es ist die vierte Veröffentlichung unter dem Namen „Wu-Tang“ nach "Chamber Music", "Legendary Weapons" und "The Saga Continues". Alle lebenden Mitglieder des Clans sind dabei, außer ODB (R.I.P.). Mathematics, seit den 90ern Produzent und Tour-DJ, hat auch das Logo designt. Das Album bietet 70er-Jahre-Design, Blaxploitation und Shaolin-Film-Samples, ähnlich wie "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)". Der Track "Warriors Two, Cooley High" mit Benny the Butcher von Griselda Records beginnt mit einem langen Sample und bietet soul-sample-basierte Beats, die an das klassische Wu-Tang-Oeuvre erinnern. Ein Fan-Service oder mehr als nur Nostalgie? Mahdi Rahimi, Trishes und Natalie Brunner diskutieren darüber.29.04.2025 FM4 Homebase 20 Uhr

Tribalism has shaped how humans connect, cooperate, and survive for thousands of years. It's the instinctive pull toward forming groups—a behavior that helped early humans build strong communities, protect resources, and thrive in a challenging world.  At the same time, it has fueled rivalries, shaped cultural identities, and played a key role in both conflict and unity. By understanding how tribalism shaped human behavior, we can better grasp how it continues to influence our interactions, choices, and societies today.  In this episode, you'll explore the development of tribalism, its influence on our actions, and how we can positively harness its strengths.

That's What I'm Tarkin' About | Maximizing Your Preferences in TDM Draft Welcome to Lords of Limited, the podcast dedicated to getting you better at drafting in Magic: the Gathering. This week, we're diving deeper into Tarkir Dragonstorm and what makes this format so hard to talk about! Unlike a prescribed paint-by-numbers archetype system, this format truly is a blank canvas and leaves a lot up to the player to figure out. But we're here to help!

You asked, we listened. Everyone at Remap played Blue Prince, but not everyone at Remap is convinced they're going to keep spending time in this mysterious mansion. But first, it's time to break down the week's news with Rob, Cado, Janet, and Patrick, as they talk through PS5 price increases, the debut of Marathon, and the increasingly credible Oblivion remaster. Plus, Rob has a serious case of MechWarrior 5: Clans fever, and we dip deep into The Question Bucket.Discussed: Rob's Tax Story 1:18, Sony Is Raising PS5 Prices 11:37, Marathon Announcement 17:18, The Oblivion Remake Leaks 33:53, Blue Prince 1:05:55, Blue Prince spoilers zone 1:22:33, Mechwarrior 5: Clans 2:03:39, The Question Bucket 2:45:13See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

5 große Clans, 5 vollgepackte, unterschiedliche Decks für Precon-Freunde! Freddy, Marius und Jochen haben sich alle 5 Precons ganz genau angesehen und für euch mal zusammengestellt, was sie an den Decks gut oder nicht so gut finden. Und ein paar kleine Upgrade-Tipps gibt's obendrauf.[Werbung] Wir werden von Ultimate Guard gesponsert - an unserer Themenwahl oder Ansichten ändert das nichts, es gibt nur immer mal wieder Shoutouts und Hinweise auf Neuigkeiten und Produkte. Thalia und das Gitrog Monster: https://moxfield.com/decks/yfezBb4EP0WwAL2Y75Li6gSivriss (alt):https://moxfield.com/decks/MIP0y4w_pU2zAO2kxKcbpghttp://tinyurl.com/commanderkompass-Discord: https://discord.gg/Mu2EBCUwjKSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3rVEuy5Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3bX7fVPGoogle Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3eWvxASTwitter: https://twitter.com/edh_kompassAnchor: https://anchor.fm/commanderkompassDeezer: https://deezer.page.link/wduneK1DsrUKKVvF9-Editor: https://twitter.com/merlotter

With the stories finished, we can now delve deep into the world of Tarkir as it is now, a world ruled by five clans once more, but very different from both the world before the dragonlords and the world that never was. Each clan's identity has evoled tremendously, so we go deep into the Planeswalker's Guides to give you an overview of who they are, how they work, and what roles they play in the new world of Tarkir. If you'd like to join our Discord server to talk all things Magic, sign up for our Patreon at Patreon.com/TheVorthosCast, where everyone who pledges a dollar or more a month gets access! For $3 a month, you get access to our live listen, where you can hear the show recorded live on Thursday evenings!

 On the eleventh episode of The Avatar Podcast, host/producer Albert begins the remastering of the first 50 episodes recorded between 2020 and 2023, starting with the mid-2020 debut recording, now edited and with music added,. Enjoy!•The Avatar Podcast (2018-present) is a podcast dedicated to James Cameron's Avatar universe, founded by Albert Chessa, who produces video/audio material on YouTube on his 'factory floor' channel at YouTube.com/@AlbertChessaMedia, before re-publishing the edited content as podcasts.Chapters00:00:00 Start (coming soon)Linkshttps://open.spotify.com/show/7K5MUtSw66D6by2sncCGrR?si=hJ1cEFOuQXGIYlzjkE0xMwhttps://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-avatar-podcast/id1520505741https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDbvv13jn1lhBdE5pFLe8rZ5Did5YNdii&si=HVLiifQOG683j42whttps://www.instagram.com/avatarpodcasthttps://www.bsky.app/profile/AvatarPodcast.bsky.socialhttps://www.threads.net/@avatarpodcasthttps://www.x.com/AvatarShowhttps://www.facebook.com/AvatarPodcastOfficialhttps://www.tiktok.com/@AvatarPodcasthttps://www.avatarpodcast.tumblr.comhttps://www.reddit.com/u/TheAvatarPodcasthttps://ko-fi.com/avatarpodcasthttps://patreon.com/avatarpodcasthttps://imgur.com/user/AvatarPodcast/https://discord.gg/xdBcWVhPOfficialhttps://avatar.comhttps://instagram.com/avatarhttps://tiktok.com/@avatarhttps://www.facebook.com/avatarCommunity Friends (Constellation of Clans)https://avatararcticlife.orghttps://www.etsy.com/au/shop/BecomingNavihttps://www.youtube.com/@DiscoveringPandorahttps://www.youtube.com/@AvatarsRobinhttps://www.youtube.com/@AvatarPodhttps://www.youtube.com/@AVTRhttps://www.youtube.com/@AvatarTheoryhttps://kelutral.orgCredits and LinksThe Power of Avatar Documentary (The Angry Hippie)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BTPwoesL64(Please reach out if there's any credit you'd like to know or have added to this description)

Can You Segway?Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.So exactly who was going to be sympathetic to their plight, who we cared about?Beyond my fevered dream of making a difference there was a pinch of reality. See, the Cabindans and the people of Zaire were both ethnic Bakongo and the Bakongo of Zaire had also once had their own, independent (until 1914) kingdom which was now part of Angola. The Bakongo were major factions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) -(formerly for a short time known as the nation of Zaire, from here on out to be referred to as the DRC and in the running for the most fucked up place on the planet Earth, more on that later)- and Congo (the nation) yet a minority in Angola. Having an independent nation united along ethnic and linguistic lines made sense and could expect support from their confederates across international boundaries.The Liberation Air ForceThe Earth & Sky operated under one constant dilemma ~ when would Temujin make his return? Since they didn't know and it was their job to be prepared for the eventuality if it happened tomorrow, or a century down the line, they 'stockpiled', and 'stockpiled' and 'stockpiled'.That was why they maintained large horse herds and preserved the ancient arts of Asian bowyers, armoring and weapons-craft. That was why they created secret armories, and sulfur and saltpeter sites when musketry and cannons became the new ways of warfare. They secured sources of phosphates and petroleum when they became the new thing, and so on.All of this boiled over to me being shown yet again I worked with clever, creative and under-handed people. The Khanate came up with a plan for a 'Union' Air Force {Union? More on that later} within 24 hours, and it barely touched any of their existing resources. How did they accomplish this miracle? They had stockpiled and maintained earlier generation aircraft because they didn't know when Temujin would make his re-appearance.They'd also trained pilots and ground crews for those aircraft. As you might imagine, those people grew old just as their equipment did. In time, they went into the Earth & Sky's Inactive Reserves ~ the rank & file over the age of 45. You never were 'too old' to serve in some capacity though most combat-support related work ended at 67.When Temujin made his return and the E&S transformed into the Khanate, those people went to work bringing their lovingly cared for, aging equipment up to combat-alert readiness. If the frontline units were decimated, they would have to serve, despite the grim odds of their survival. It was the terrible acceptance the Chinese would simply possess so much more war-making material than they did.Well, the Khanate kicked the PRC's ass in a titanic ass-whooping no one (else) had seen coming, or would soon forget. Factory production and replacement of worn machines was in stride to have the Khanate's Air Force ready for the next round of warfare when the Cease-fire ended and the Reunification War resumed.Always a lower priority, the Khanate military leadership was considering deactivating dozens of these reserve unit when suddenly the (Mongolian) Ikh khaany khairt akh dáé (me) had this hare-brained scheme about helping rebels in Africa, West Africa, along the Gulf of Guinea coast/Atlantic Ocean, far, far away, and it couldn't look like the Khanate was directly involved.They barely knew where Angola was. They had to look up Cabinda to figure out precisely where that was. They brought in some of their 'reservist' air staff to this briefing and one of them, a woman (roughly a third of the E&S 'fighting'/non-frontline forces were female), knew what was going on. Why?She had studied the combat records and performance of the types of aircraft she'd have to utilize... back in the 1980's and 90's and Angola had been a war zone rife with Soviet (aka Khanate) material back then. Since she was both on the ball, bright and knew the score, the War Council put her in overall command. She knew what was expected of her and off she went, new staff in hand. She was 64 years old, yet as ready and willing to serve as any 20 year old believer in the Cause.Subtlety, scarcity and audacity were the watchwords of the day. The Khanate couldn't afford any of their front-line aircraft for this 'expedition'. They really couldn't afford any of their second-rate stuff either. Fortunately, they had some updated third-rate war-fighting gear still capable of putting up an impressive show in combat ~ providing they weren't going up against a top tier opponents.For the 'volunteers' of the Union Air Force, this could very likely to be a one-way trip. They all needed crash courses (not a word any air force loves, I know) in Portuguese though hastily provided iPhones with 'apps' to act as translators were deemed to be an adequate stop-gap measure. Besides, they were advised to avoid getting captured at all cost. The E&S couldn't afford the exposure. Given the opportunity ~ this assignment really was going above and beyond ~ not one of these forty-six to sixty-seven year olds backed out.No, they rolled out fifty of their antiquated aircraft, designs dating back to the 1950's through the mid-70's, and prepared them for the over 10,000 km journey to where they were 'needed most'. 118 pilots would go (72 active plus 46 replacements) along with 400 ground crew and an equally aged air defense battalion (so their air bases didn't get blown up). Security would be provided by 'outsiders' ~ allies already on the ground and whatever rebels could be scrounged up. After the initial insertion, the Indian Air Force would fly in supplies at night into the Cabinda City and Soyo Airports.The composition,14 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 jet fighters ~ though she entered service in 1959, these planes' electronics were late 20th century and she was a renowned dogfighter. 12 were the Mig-21-97 modernized variant and the other two were Mig-21 UM two-seater trainer variants which could double as reconnaissance fighters if needed.14 Sukhoi Su-22 jet fighter-bombers ~ the original design, called the Su-17, came out in 1970, the first 12 were variants with the 22M4 upgrade were an early-80's package. The other 2 were Su-22U two-seat trainers which, like their Mig-21 comrades, doubled as reconnaissance fighters. The Su-22M4's would be doing the majority of the ground attack missions for the Cabindans, though they could defend themselves in aerial combat if necessary.6 Sukhoi Su-24M2 supersonic attack aircraft ~ the first model rolled off the production lines in the Soviet Union back in 1974. By far the heaviest planes in the Cabindan Air Force, the Su-24M2's would act as their 'bomber force' as well as anti-ship deterrence.8 Mil Mi-24 VM combat helicopters ~ introduced in 1972 was still a lethal combat machine today. Unlike the NATO helicopter force, the Mi-24's did double duty as both attack helicopter and assault transports at the same time.4 Mil Mi-8 utility helicopters, first produced in 1967. Three would act as troop/cargo transports (Mi-8 TP) while the fourth was configured as a mobile hospital (the MI-17 1VA).4 Antonov An-26 turboprop aircraft, two to be used as tactical transports to bring in supplies by day and two specializing in electronic intelligence aka listening to what the enemy was up to. Though it entered production in 1969, many still remained flying today.2 Antonov An-71M AEW&C twin-jet engine aircraft. These were an old, abandoned Soviet design the Earth & Sky had continued working on primarily because the current (1970's) Russian Airborne Early Warning and Control bird had been both huge and rather ineffective ~ it couldn't easily identify low-flying planes in the ground clutter so it was mainly only good at sea. Since the E&S planned to mostly fight over the land,They kept working on the An-71 which was basically 1977's popular An-72 with some pertinent design modifications (placing the engines below the wings instead of above them as on the -72 being a big one). To solve their radar problem, they stole some from the Swedish tech firm Ericsson, which hadn't been foreseen to be a problem before now.See, the Russians in the post-Soviet era created a decent AEW&C craft the E&S gladly stole and copied the shit out of for their front line units and it was working quite nicely ~ the Beriev A-50, and wow, were the boys in the Kremlin pissed off about that these days. Whoops, or was that woot?Now, the Khanate was shipping two An-71's down to Cabinda and somewhere along the line someone just might get a 'feel' for the style of radar and jamming the Cabindans were using aka the Swedish stuff in those An-71's. The Erieye radar system could pick out individual planes at 280 miles. The over-all system could track 60 targets and plot out 10 intercepts simultaneously. NATO, they were not, but in sub-Saharan Africa, there were none better.Anyway, so why was any of this important?Why the old folks with their ancient machines? As revealed, since the Earth & Sky had no idea when Temüjin would return, they were constantly squirreling away equipment. World War 2 gave them unequaled access to Soviet military technology and training.Afterwards, under Josef Stalin's direction, thousands of Russian and German engineers and scientists were exiled to Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan who were then snatched up (reportedly died in the gulags/trying to escape) and the E&S began building mirror factories modeled on the 'then current' Soviet production lines.So, by the early 1950's, the E&S was building, flying and maintaining Soviet-style Antonov, Beriev, Ilyushin, Myasishchev, Mikoyan-Gurevich, Sukhoi, Tupolev and Yakovlev airplanes. First in small numbers because their pool of pilots and specialists was so small.The E&S remedied this by creating both their own 'private' flight academies and technical schools. They protected their activities with the judicious use of bribes (they were remarkably successful with their economic endeavors on both side of the Iron Curtain) and murders (including the use of the Ghost Tigers).By 1960, the proto-Khanate had an air force. Through the next two decades they refined and altered their doctrine ~ moving away from the Soviet doctrine to a more pure combined-arms approach (the Soviets divided their air power into four separate arms ~ ADD (Long Range Aviation), FA (Front Aviation), MTA (Military Transport Aviation) and the V-PVO (Soviet Air Defenses ~ which controlled air interceptors).).It wasn't until the collapse of the Soviet Union and the independence of the various former SSR's that the E&S program really began to hit its stride. Still, while Russia faltered, China's PLAAF (Peoples' Liberation Army Air Force) began to take off. Since the Chinese could produce so much more, the E&S felt it had to keep those older planes and crews up to combat readiness. The younger field crews and pilots flew the newer models as they rolled off the secret production lines.Then the Unification War appeared suddenly, the E&S-turned Khanate Air Force skunked their PLAAF rivals due to two factors, a surprise attack on a strategic level and the fatal poisoning of their pilots and ground crews before they even got into the fight. For those Chinese craft not destroyed on the ground, the effects of Anthrax eroded their fighting edge. Comparable technology gave the Khanate their critical victory and Air Supremacy over the most important battlefields.What did this meant for those out-of-date air crews and pilots who had been training to a razor's edge for a month now? Their assignment had been to face down the Russians if they invaded. They would take their planes up into the fight even though this most likely would mean their deaths, but they had to try.When Operation Fun House put Russia in a position where she wasn't likely to jump on the Khanate, this mission's importance faded. The Russian Air Force was far more stretched than the Khanate's between her agitations in the Baltic and her commitments in the Manchurian, Ukrainian, Chechen and Georgian theaters.With more new planes rolling off the production lines, these reservist units began dropping down the fuel priority list, which meant lowering their flight times thus readiness. Only my hare-brained scheme had short-circuited their timely retirement. Had I realized I was getting people's grandparents killed, I would have probably made the same call anyway. We needed them.The KanateThe Khanate's #1 air superiority dogfighter was the Mig-35F. The #2 was the Mig-29. No one was openly discussing the Khanate's super-stealthy "Su-50", if that was what it was, because its existence 'might' suggest the Khanate also stole technology from the Indian defense industry, along with their laundry list of thefts from South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the PRC, Russia and half of NATO.Her top multi-role fighters were the Su-47, Su-35S and Su-30SM. The Su-30 'Flanker-C/MK2/MKI were their 2nd team with plenty of 3rd team Su-27M's still flying combat missions as well.Strike fighters? There weren't enough Su-34's to go around yet, so the Su-25MS remained the Khanate's dedicated Close Air Assault model.Medium transport aircraft? The An-32RE and An-38. They had small, large and gargantuan transports as well.Bombers? The rather ancient jet-powered Tu-160M2's and Tu-22M2's as well as the even older yet still worthwhile turboprops ~ from 1956's ~ the Tu-95M S16.Helicopters? While they still flew updated variants of the Mil Mi-8/17 as military transports, the more optimized Kamov Ka-52 and Mil Mi-28 had replaced them in the assault role.Bizarrely, the Khanate had overrun several Chinese production lines of the aircraft frames and components ~ enough to complete fairly modern PLAAF (Peoples Liberation Army Air Force) FC-1 and J-10 (both are small multi-role fighter remarkably similar to the US F-16 with the FC-1 being the more advanced model, using shared Chinese-Pakistani technology and was designed for export,).They did have nearly two dozen to send, but they didn't have the pilots and ground crews trained to work with them, plus the FC-1 cost roughly $32 million which wasn't fundage any legitimate Cabindan rebels could get their hands on, much less $768 million (and that would just be for the planes, not the weeks' worth of fuel, parts and munitions necessary for what was forthcoming).Meanwhile, except for the An-26, which you could get for under $700,000 and the An-71, which were only rendered valuable via 'black market tech', none of the turboprop and jet aircraft the Khanate was sending were what any sane military would normally want. The helicopters were expensive ~ the 'new' models Mi-24's cost $32 million while the Mi-17's set you back $17 million. The one's heading to Cabinda didn't look 'new'.The Opposition:In contrast, the Angolan Air Force appeared far larger and more modern. Appearances can be deceptive, and they were. Sure, the models of Russian and Soviet-made aircraft they had in their inventory had the higher numbers ~ the Su-25, -27 and -30 ~ plus they had Mig-21bis's, Mig-23's and Su-22's, but things like training and up-keep didn't appear to be priorities for the Angolans.When you took into account the rampant corruption infecting all levels of Angolan government, the conscript nature of their military, the weakness of their technical educational system, the complexity of any modern combat aircraft and the reality that poor sods forced into being Air Force ground crewmen hardly made the most inspired technicians, or most diligent care-takers of their 'valuable' stockpiles (which their officers all too often sold on the black market anyway), things didn't just look bleak for the Angolan Air Force, they were a tsunami of cumulative factors heading them for an epic disaster.It wasn't only their enemies who derided their Air Force's lack of readiness. Their allies constantly scolded them about it too. Instead of trying to fix their current inventory, the Angolans kept shopping around for new stuff. Since 'new'-new aircraft was beyond what they wanted to spend (aka put too much of a dent in the money they were siphoning off to their private off-shore accounts), they bought 'used' gear from former Soviet states ~ Belarus, Russia and Ukraine ~ who sold them stuff they had left abandoned in revetments (open to the elements to slowly rot) on the cheap.To add to the insanity, the Angolans failed to keep up their maintenance agreements so their newly fixed high-tech machines often either couldn't fly, or flew without critical systems, like radar, avionics and even radios. Maybe that wasn't for the worst because after spending millions on these occasionally-mobile paperweights, the Angolans bought the least technologically advanced missile, gun and rocket systems they could get to put on these flying misfortunes.On the spread sheets, Angola had 18 Su-30K's, 18 Su-27, 12 Su-25's, 14 Su-22's, 22 Mig-23's, 23 Mig-21bis's and 6 Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano (a turboprop aircraft tailor-made for counter-insurgency operations), 105 helicopters with some combative ability and 21 planes with some airlift capacity. That equated to 81 either air superiority, or multi-role jet fighters versus the 12 Union Air Force (actually the Bakongo Uni o de Cabinda e Zaire, For as Armadas de Liberta  o, For a Area ~ Liberation Armed Forces, Air Force (BUCZ-FAL-FA) Mig-21-97's.It would seem lopsided except for the thousands of hours of flight experience the 'Unionists' enjoyed over their Angolan rivals. You also needed to take into account the long training and fanatic dedication of their ground crews to their pilots and their craft. Then you needed to take into account every Unionist aircraft, while an older airframe design, had updated (usually to the year 2000) technology lovingly cared for, as if the survival of their People demanded it.A second and even more critical factor was the element of surprise. At least the PRC and the PLAAF had contingencies for attacks from their neighbors in the forefront of their strategic planning. The Angolans? The only country with ANY air force in the vicinity was the Republic of South Africa (RSA) and they had ceased being a threat with the end of Apartheid and the rise of majority Black rule in that country nearly two decades earlier.In the pre-dawn hours of 'Union Independence Day', the FAL-FA was going to smash every Angolan Air base and air defense facility within 375 miles of Cabinda (the city). Every three hours after that, they would be hitting another target within their designated 'Exclusion Zone'. Yes, this 'Exclusion Zone' included a 'tiny' bit of DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) territory. The DRC didn't have an air force to challenge them though, so,Inside this 'Exclusion Zone', anything moving by sea, river, road, rail, or air without Unionist governmental approval was subject to attack, which would require neutral parties to acknowledge some semblance of a free and independent B U C Z. Worse for Angola, this 'Zone' included Angola's capital and its largest port, Luanda, plus four more of their ten largest urban centers. This could be an economic, military and humanitarian catastrophe if mishandled.The Angolan Army did not have significant anti-aircraft assets. Why would they? Remember, no one around them had much of an air force to worry about. The FAL-FA in turn could hit military convoys with TV-guided munitions 'beyond line of sight', rendering what they did have useless. It got worse for the Army after dark. The FAL-FA could and would fly at night whereas the average Angolan formation had Zip-Zero-Nadda night fighting capacity.Then geography added its own mountain of woes. As far as Cabinda was concerned, there was no direct land line to their border from Angola. Their coastal road only went as far as the port of Soyo where the Congo River hit the South Atlantic Ocean. Across that massive gap was the DRC where the road was not picked back up. Far up the coast was the DRC town of Muanda (with an airport) and though they did have a road which went north, it did not continue to the Cabindan border.Nope. To get at Cabinda from the south meant a long, torturous travel through northeastern Angola, into the heart of the DRC then entailed hooking west to some point 'close' to the Cabindan frontier before finally hoofing it overland through partially cleared farmland and jungle. Mind you, the DRC didn't have a native air force capable of protecting the Angolans in their territory so,In fact the only 'road' to Cabinda came from the Republic of Congo (Congo) to the north and even that was a twisted route along some really bad, swampy terrain. This had been the pathway of conquest the Angolans took 39 years earlier. The difference being the tiny bands of pro-independence Cabindan guerillas back then couldn't hold a candle to the Amazons fighting to free Cabinda this time around in numbers, zeal, training and up-to-date equipment.Next option ~ to come by sea. They would face a few, stiff problems, such as the FAL-FA having ship-killer missiles, the Angolan Navy not being able to defend them and the Unionists having no compunction to not strike Pointe-Noire in the 'not so neutral' Republic of the Congo if they somehow began unloading Angolan troops. It seemed the Republic of the Congo didn't have much of an Air Force either.Before you think the FAL-FA was biting off more than they could chew, Cabinda, the province, was shaped somewhat like the US State of Delaware, was half the size of Connecticut (Cabinda was 2,810 sq. mi. to Conn.'s 5,543 sq. mi.) and only the western 20% was relatively open countryside where the Angolan Army's only advantage ~ they possessed armed fighting vehicles while the 'Unionists' did not (at this stage of planning) ~ could hopefully come into play.Centered at their capital, Cabinda (City), jets could reach any point along their border within eight minutes. Helicopters could make it in fifteen. To be safe, some of the FAL-FA would base at the town of Belize which was in the northern upcountry and much tougher to get at with the added advantage the Angolans wouldn't be expecting the FAL-FA to be using the abandoned airfield there, at least initially.Where they afraid attacking Angolan troops in the DRC would invite war with the DRC? Sure, but letting the Angolans reach the border unscathed was worse. Besides, the DRC was in such a mess it needed 23,000 UN Peacekeepers within her borders just to keep the country from falling apart. Barring outside, read European, intervention, did "Democratically-elected since 2001" President (for Life) Joseph Kabila want the FAL-FA to start dropping bombs on his capital, Kinshasa, which was well within reach of all their aircraft?Congo (the country), to the north, wasn't being propped up by the UN, or anything else except ill intentions. In reality, it hardly had much of a military at all. Its officer corps was chosen for political reliability, not merit, or capability. Their technology was old Cold War stuff with little effort to update anything and, if you suspected corruption might be a problem across all spectrums of life, you would 'probably' be right about that too.If you suspected the current President had been in charge for a while, you would be correct again (1979-1992 then 2001- and the 'whoops' was when he accidently let his country experiment with democracy which led to two civil wars). If you suspected he was a life-long Communist (along with the Presidents of the DRC and Angola), you'd be right about that as well. Somehow their shared Marxist-Leninist-Communist ideology hadn't quite translated over to alleviating the grinding poverty in any of those countries despite their vast mineral wealth,At this point in the region's history, little Cabinda had everything to gain by striving for independence and the vast majority of 'warriors' who could possibly be sent against her had terribly little to gain fighting and dying trying to stop them from achieving her goal. After all, their lives weren't going to get any better and with the Amazons ability ~ nay willingness ~ to commit battlefield atrocities, those leaders were going to find it hard going to keep sending their men off to die.And then, it got even worse.See, what I had pointed out was there were two oil refineries in Angola, and neither was in Cabinda. Cabinda would need a refinery to start making good on their oil wealth ~ aka economically bribe off the Western economies already shaken over the Khanate's first round of aggressions.But wait! There was an oil refinery just across the Congo River from Cabinda ~ which meant it was attached to mainland Angola. That had to be a passel of impossible news, right?Nope. As I said earlier, it seemed the people of northern Angola were the same racial group as the Cabindans AND majority Catholic while the ruling clique wasn't part of their ethnic confederacy plus the farther south and east into Angola you went, the less Catholic it became.But it got better. This province was historically its own little independent kingdom (called the Kingdom of Kongo) to boot! It had been abolished by Portugal back in 1914.The 'good' news didn't end there. Now, it wasn't as if the leadership of Angola was spreading the wealth around to the People much anyway, but these northerners had been particularly left out of this Marxist version of 'Trickle Down' economics.How bad was this? This northwestern province ~ called Zaire ~ didn't have any railroads, or paved roads, linking it to the rest of the freaking country. The 'coastal road' entered the province, but about a third of the way up ran into this river, which they'd failed to bridge (you had to use a single track bridge farther to the northeast, if you can believe it). It wasn't even a big river. It was still an obstacle though.How did the Angolan government and military planned to get around? Why by air and sea, of course. Well, actually by air. Angola didn't have much of a merchant marine, or Navy, to make sealift a serious consideration. Within hours of the 'Union Declaration of Independence' anything flying anywhere north of the Luanda, the capital of Angola, would essentially be asking to be blown out of the sky.Along the border between Zaire province and the rest of Angola were precisely two chokepoints. By 'chokepoints', I meant places where a squad (10 trained, modernly-equipped troopers) could either see everything for miles & miles over pretty much empty space along a river valley and the only bridge separating Zaire province from the south, or overlook a ravine which the only road had to pass through because of otherwise bad-ass, broken terrain.Two.Zaire Province had roughly the same population as Cabinda ~ 600,000. Unlike Cabinda, which consisted of Cabinda City plus a few tiny towns and rugged jungles, Zaire had two cities ~ Soyo, with her seventy thousand souls plus the refinery at the mouth of the Congo River, and M'banza-Kongo, the historical capital of the Kingdom of Kongo, spiritual center of the Bakongo People (who included the Cabindans) and set up in the highlands strategically very reminiscent of Điện Biàn Phủ.Of Zaire's provincial towns, the only other strategic one was N'Zeto with her crappy Atlantic port facility and 2,230 meter grass airport. The town was the northern terminus of the National Road 100 ~ the Coastal Road. It terminated because of the Mebridege River. There wasn't a bridge at N'Zeto though there was a small one several miles upstream. N'Zeto was also where the road from provinces east of Zaire ended up, so you had to have N'Zeto ~ and that tiny bridge ~ to move troops overland anywhere else in Zaire Province.So you would think it would be easy for the Angolan Army to defend then, except of how the Amazons planned to operate. They would infiltrate the area first then 'rise up in rebellion'. Their problem was the scope of the operation had magnified in risk of exposure, duration and forces necessary for success.The serious issue before Saint Marie and the Host in Africa were the first two. They could actually move Amazons from Brazil and North America to bolster their numbers for the upcoming offensive. Even in the short-short term, equipment wouldn't be a serious problem. What the Amazons dreaded was being left in a protracted slugfest with the Angolan Army which the Condottieri could jump in on. The Amazons exceedingly preferred to strike first then vanish.There was reason to believe a tiny number could have stayed behind in Cabinda to help the locals prepare their military until they could defend themselves. They would need more than a hundred Amazons if Cabinda wanted to incorporate Zaire. The answer was to call back their newfound buddy, the Great Khan. While he didn't have much else he could spare (the Khanate was ramping up for their invasion of the Middle East after all, the Kurds needed the help), he had other allies he could call on.India couldn't help initially since they were supposed to supply the 'Peace-keepers' once a cease-fire had been arranged. That left Temujin with his solid ally, Vietnam, and his far shakier allies, the Republic of China and Japan.First off ~ Japan could not help, which meant they couldn't supply troops who might very well end up dead, or far worse, captured.. What they did have was a surplus of older equipment the ROC troops were familiar with, so while the ROC was gearing up for their own invasion of mainland China in February, they were willing to help the Chinese kill Angolans, off the books, of course.The ROC was sending fifteen hundred troops the Khanate's way to help in this West African adventure with the understanding they'd be coming home by year's end. With Vietnam adding over eight hundred of her own Special Forces, the Amazons had the tiny 'allied' army they could leave shielding Cabinda/Zaire once the first round of blood-letting was over.To be 'fair', the Republic of China and Vietnam asked for 'volunteers'. It wasn't like either country was going to declare war on Angola directly. Nearly a thousand members of Vietnam's elite 126th Regiment of the 5th Brigade (Đặc cáng bộ) took early retirement then misplaced their equipment as they went to update their visas and inoculations before heading out for the DRC (some would be slipping over the DRC/Cabindan border).On Taiwan, it was the men and women of the 602nd Air Cavalry Brigade, 871st Special Operations Group and 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion who felt the sudden desire to 'seek enlightenment elsewhere, preferably on another continent'.They too were off to the Democratic Republic of Congo, man that country was a mess and their border security wasn't worth writing home about, that's for damn sure, via multiple Southeast Asian nations. Besides, they were being issued fraudulently visas which showed them to be from the People's Republic of China, not the ROC/Taiwan. If they were captured, they were to pretend to "be working for a Communist Revolution inside Angola and thus to be setting all of Africa on fire!" aka be Mainland Chinese.There, in the DRC, these Chinese stumbled across, some Japanese. These folks hadn't retired. No. They were on an extended assignment for the UN's mission in, the DRC. OH! And look! They'd brought tons of surplus, outdated Japanese Self Defense Forces' equipment with them, and there just so happened to be some Taiwanese who had experience in using such equipment (both used US-style gear).And here was Colonel Yoshihiro Isami of the Chūō Sokuō Shūdan (Japan's Central Readiness Force) wondering why he and his hastily assembled team had just unloaded,18 Fuji/Bell AH-1S Cobra Attack helicopters,6 Kawasaki OH-6D Loach Scout helicopters,12 Fuji-Bell 204-B-2 Hiyodori Utility helicopters,6 Kawasaki/Boeing CH-47JA Chinook Transport helicopters and4 Mitsubishi M U-2L-1 Photo Reconnaissance Aircraft.Yep! 46 more aircraft for the FAL-FA!Oh, and if this wasn't 'bad enough', the Chinese hadn't come alone. They'd brought some old aircraft from their homes to aid in the upcoming struggle. Once more, these things were relics of the Cold War yet both capable fighting machines and, given the sorry state of the opposition, definitely quite deadly. A dozen F-5E Tiger 2000 configured primarily for air superiority plus two RF-5E Tigergazer for reconnaissance, pilots plus ground crews, of course.Thus, on the eve of battle, the FAL-FA had become a true threat. Sure, all of its planes (and half of its pilots) were pretty old, but they were combat-tested and in numbers and experience no other Sub-Saharan African nation could match.The Liberation Ground Forces:But wait, there was still the niggling little problem of what all those fellas were going to fight with once they were on the ground. Assault/Battle rifles, carbines, rifles, pistols, PDW, SMGs as bullets, grenades and RPG's were all terrifyingly easy to obtain. The coast of West Africa was hardly the Port of London as far as customs security went. They were going to need some bigger toys and their host nations were going to need all their native hardware for their upcoming battles at home.And it wasn't like you could advertise for used IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicles), APCs (armored personnel carriers) and tanks on e-Bay, Amazon.com, or Twitter. If something modern US, or NATO, was captured rolling around the beautiful Angolan countryside, shooting up hostile Angolans, all kinds of head would roll in all kinds of countries, unless the country,A) had an Executive Branch and Judiciary who wouldn't ask (or be answering) too many uncomfortable questions,B) wasn't all that vulnerable to international pressure,C) really needed the money and,D) didn't give a fuck their toys would soon be seen on BBC/CNN/Al Jazeera blowing the ever-living crap out of a ton of Africans aka doing what they were advertised to do and doing it very well in the hands of capable professionals.And politics was kind enough to hand the freedom-loving people of Cabinda & Zaire a winner, and it wasn't even from strangers, or at least people all that strange to their part of the Globe. If you would have no idea who to look for, you wouldn't be alone.That was the magic of the choice. See, the last three decades had seen the entire Globe take a colossal dump on them as a Nation and a People. They were highly unpopular for all sorts of things, such as Crimes Against Humanity and 'no', we were not talking about the Khanate.We would be talking about Република Србија / Republika Srbija aka Serbia aka the former Yugoslavia who had watched all their satellite minions (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia) slip away. Despite being reduced to a tiny fraction of their former selves thus fighting two incredibly brutal and bloody World Wars for nothing, Serbia insisted on maintaining a robust armaments industry.Mind you, they didn't make the very best stuff on the planet. That didn't stop them from trying though. Of equal importance was their geographic location and the above mentioned desire for some hard currency without asking too many questions. The geography was simple, you could move even heavy gear unnoticed from central Serbia to the Montenegrin port of Bar by rail and load them up on freighters and off to the Congo you went.The Serbians produced an APC called the BVP M-80A's which weren't blowing anyone's minds away when they started rolling off the production lines back in 1982, plus some over-eager types on the Serbian Army's payroll sweetened the deal by offering 'the rebels' some BVP M-80 KC's and a KB as well.Then they slathered on the sugary-sweet Maple syrup by upgrading a few of the M-80A's to BVP M-98A's. Why would they be so generous? The KC's and KB were the Command & Control variants, so that made sense (C = company & B = battalion commander). The -98A had never been tested in the field before and they were kind of curious how the new turrets (which was the major difference) would behave. 'Our' procurement agents didn't quibble. We needed the gear.Besides, these Slavic entrepreneurs gave them an inside track on some 'disarmed/mothballed' Czech (introduced in 1963) armored mobile ambulances and Polish BWP-1 (first rolled out in 1966) APC's which were either in, or could be quickly configured into, the support variants those ground-fighters would need. The 'disarmed' part was 'fixable', thanks to both the Serbians and Finland. The 'missing' basic weaponry was something the Serbians could replace with virtually identical equipment.It just kept getting better. Unknown to me at the time, the Finnish firm, Patria Hágglunds, had sold twenty-two of their 'most excellent' AMOS turrets ~ they are a twin 120 mm mortar system ~ then the deal fell through. Whoops! Should have guarded that warehouse better. Those bitches were on a cargo plane bound for Albania inside of six hours.The ammunition for them was rather unique. Thankfully, it was uniquely sold by the Swiss, who had no trouble selling it to Serbia, thank you very much! Twenty-two BWP-1's became mobile artillery for the Unionist freedom fighters, though I understood the ship ride with the Serbian and Chinese technicians was loads of fun as they struggled to figured out how to attach those state-of-the-art death-dealing turrets to those ancient contraptions.To compensate, the Serbians added (aka as long as our money was good) two Nora B-52 155 mm 52-calibre mobile artillery pieces and one battery of Orkan CER MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) for long-range artillery, two batteries of their Oganj 2000 ER MRLS for medium range carnage and six batteries of their M-94 MRLS for 'close support' as well. More field-testing new gear for the "freedom fighters" We also managed to 'purchase' ten M-84AS Main Battle tanks plus an M-84A1 armor recovery vehicle. It should have been twelve tanks, but two had 'loading issues'.Not to be deterred, our busy little procurement-beavers discovered four tanks no one was using, in neighboring Croatia. Why wasn't anyone immediately keen on their placement? They were two sets of prototypes, Croatia's improvements on the M-84; the M-95 Degman which was a 'failed redesign' and the M-84D, which was a vast up-grade for the M-84 line which had been sidelined by the 2008 Global economic collapse, after which the project stagnated.It seemed they were all in working order because late one night 'my people' exited a Croatian Army base with them, never to be seen again, until two weeks later when an intrepid news crew caught the distinctive form of the M-95 sending some sweet 125 mm loving the Angolan Army's way. Whoops yet again! At least they hit what they were aiming at and destroyed what they hit, right?By then, millions of other people would be going 'what the fuck?' right along with them as Cabinda's camouflage- and mask-wearing rebel army was laying the smack-down on the Angolans. That was okay; over a million 'free Cabindan Unionists' were in the same boat. Over a thousand Asians with their mostly-female militant translators were right there to prop up their 'Unionist Allies', but then they were the ones with the tanks, armored vehicles, planes and guns, so they were less worried than most.To pilot these tanks, APC, IFV and man this artillery, they had to go back to the Khanate. Sure enough, they had some old tankers used to crewing the T-72 from which the M-84's and -95 Degman were derived. They'd also need drivers for those BVP M-80A's and Polish BWP-1's and OT-64 SKOT's... who were, again, derived from old Soviet tech (just much better). The Serbian artillery was similar enough to Soviet stuff, but with enough new tech to make it 'more fun' for the reservists to 'figure out' how to use.More volunteers for the Liberation Armed Forces! More Apple sales, great apps and voice modulation software so that the vehicle commanders would be heard communicating in Portuguese if someone was eavesdropping. As a final offering the Turkish Navy spontaneously developed some plans to test their long range capabilities by going to, the South Atlantic.On the final leg they would have six frigates and two submarines, enough to give any navy in the region, which wasn't Brazil, something to think about. This was a show of force, not an actual threat though. If anyone called their bluff, the Khanate-Turkish forces would have to pull back. These were not assets my Brother, the Great Khan, could afford to gamble and lose.If someone didn't call that bluff, he was also sending two smaller, older corvettes and three even smaller, but newer, fast attack boats, a "gift" to the Unionists ASAP. The frigates would then race home, they had 'other' issues to deal with while the submarines would hang around for a bit. The naval gift was necessitated by the reality the Unionists would have to press their claim to their off-shore riches and that required a naval force Angola couldn't hope to counter.As things were developing, it was reckoned since a build-up of such momentous land and air power couldn't be disguised, it had to happen in a matter of days ~ four was decided to be the minimum amount of time. More than that and the government of the Democratic Republic might start asking far too many questions our hefty bribes and dubious paperwork couldn't cover. Less than that would leave the task forces launching operations with too little a chance of success.Our biggest advantage was audacity. The buildup would happen 100 km up the Congo River from Soyo, the primary target of the Southern Invasion, in the DRC's second largest port city, Boma. Though across the river was Angolan territory, there was nothing there. The city of roughly 160,000 would provide adequate cover for the initial stage of the invasion.There they grouped their vehicles & Khanate drivers with Amazon and Vietnamese combat teams. The Japanese were doing the same for their 'Chinese' counterparts for their helicopter-borne forces. Getting all their equipment in working order in the short time left was critical as was creating some level of unit dynamic. Things were chaotic. No one was happy. They were all going in anyway.What had gone wrong?While most children her age were texting their schoolmates, or tackling their homework, Aya Ruger ~ the alias of Nasusara Assiyaiá hamai ~ was getting briefings of her global, secret empire worth hundreds of billions and those of her equally nefarious compatriots. She received a very abbreviated version of what the Regents received, delivered by a member of Shawnee Arinniti's staff.When Aya hopped off her chair unexpectedly, everyone tensed. Her bodyguards' hands went to their sidearms and Lorraine (her sister by blood), also in the room on this occasion, stood and prepared to tackle her 'former' sibling to the ground if the situation escalated into an assassination attempt. No such attack was generated, so the security ratcheted down and the attendant returned her focus to her Queen. Aya paced four steps, turned and retraced her way then repeated the action three more times."How many people live in the combined areas?" she asked."The combined areas? Of Cabinda and Zaire?""Yes.""I," the woman referenced her material, "roughly 1.1 million.""What is the yearly value of the offshore oil and natural gas production?""Forty-nine billion, eighty hundred and sixty-seven million by our best estimates at this time,""How many live in Soyo City proper?""Roughly 70,000.""We take Soyo," she spoke in a small yet deliberate voice. "We take and hold Soyo as an independent city-state within the Cabindan-Zaire Union. From the maps it appears Soyo is a series of islands. It has a port and airport. It has an open border to an ocean with weaker neighbors all around.""What of the, Zairians?""Bakongo. As a people they are called the Bakongo," Aya looked up at the briefer. "We relocate those who need to work in Soyo into a new city, built at our expense, beyond the southernmost water barrier. The rest we pay to relocate elsewhere in Zaire, or Cabinda."By the looks of those around her, Aya realized she needed to further explain her decisions."This is more than some concrete home base for our People," she began patiently. "In the same way it gives our enemies a clearly delineated target to attack us, it is a statement to our allies we won't cut and run if things go truly bad.""In the same way it will provide us with diplomatic recognition beyond what tenuous handouts we are getting from Cáel Wakko Ishara's efforts through JIKIT. Also, it is a reminder we are not like the other Secret Societies in one fundamental way, we are not a business concern, or a religion. We are a People and people deserve some sort of homeland. We have gone for so long without.""But Soyo?" the aide protested. "We have no ties to it, and it backs up to, nothing.""Northern Turkey and southern Slovakia mean nothing to us now as well," Aya debated. "No place on Earth is any more precious than another. As for backing up to nothing, no. You are incorrect. It backs into a promise from our allies in the Earth & Sky that if we need support, they know where to park their planes and ships."Aya was surrounded with unhappy, disbelieving looks."The Great Khan is my mamētu meáeda," she reminded them, "and I have every reason to believe he completely grasps the concept's benefits and obligations."The looks confirmed 'but he's a man' to the tiny Queen."Aya, are you sure about this?" Lorraine was the first to break decorum."Absolutely. Do you know what he sent me when he was informed of my, ascension to the Queendom?""No," Lorraine admitted."We must go horse-riding sometime soon, Daughter of Cáel, Queen of the Amazons."More uncertain and unconvinced looks."He didn't congratulate me, or send any gifts. He could have and you would think he would have, but he didn't. He knew the hearts of me & my Atta and we weren't in the celebratory mood. No. The Great Khan sent one sentence which offered solace and quiet, atop a horse on a windswept bit of steppe."Nothing.Sigh. "I know this sounds Cáel-ish," Aya admitted, "but I strongly believe this is what we should do. We are giving the Cabindans and Bakongo in Zaire independence and the promise of a much better life than what they now face. We will be putting thousands of our sisters' lives on the line to accomplish this feat and well over two hundred million dollars.""What about governance of the city ~ Soyo?" the aide forged ahead."Amazon law," Aya didn't hesitate. "We will make allowances for the security forces of visiting dignitaries and specific allied personnel, but otherwise it will be one massive Amazon urban freehold.""I cannot imagine the Golden Mare, or the Regents, will be pleased," the attendant bowed her head."It is a matter of interconnectivity," Aya walked up and touched the woman's cheek with the back of her small hand. "We could liberate then abandon Cabinda with the hope a small band could help them keep their independence. Except we need the refinery at Soyo so the people of Cabinda can truly support that liberty.""So, we must keep Soyo and to keep Soyo, we must keep Zaire province. There is no other lesser border which makes strategic sense ~ a river, highlands, a massive river, an ocean ~ those are sustainable frontiers. You can't simply keep Soyo and not expect the enemy to strike and destroy that refinery, thus we must take Zaire province.""But the Bakongo of Zaire cannot defend themselves and will not be able to do so for at least a year, if not longer. That means we must do so, and for doing so, they will give us Soyo and we will be honest stewards of their oil wealth. We cannot expect any other power to defend this new Union and if we don't have a land stake we will be portrayed as mercenaries and expelled by hostile international forces.""So, for this project to have any chance of success, we must stay, fight and have an acknowledged presence, and if you can think of an alternative, please let me know," she exhaled."What if the Cabindans and Bakongo resist?""It is 'us', or the Angolans and they know how horrible the Angolans can be. Didn't you say the average person their lives on just $2 a day?""Yes.""We can do better than that," Aya insisted."How?" the aide persisted. "I mean, 'how in a way which will be quickly evident and meaningful?'""Oh," Aya's tiny brow furrowed. Her nose twitched as she rummaged through the vast storehouse of her brain."Get me in touch with William A. Miller, Director of the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service. He should be able to help me navigate the pathways toward getting aid and advisors into those two provinces ASAP.""I'll let Katrina know," the attendant made the notation on her pad."No. Contact him directly," Aya intervened. "We established a, rapport when we met. I think he might responded positively to a chance to mentor me in foreign relations.""Really?" Lorraine's brows arched."Yes," Aya chirped."Are you sure, Nasusara?" the attendant stared. She used 'Nasusara' whenever she thought Aya had a 'horrible' idea instead of a merely a 'bad' one."Yes. He owes me. Last time we met I didn't shoot him.""Didn't?" the woman twitched."Yes. I drew down on him with my captured Chinese QSW-06. I didn't want to kill him, but I felt I was about to have to kill Deputy National Security Advisor Blinken and he was the only other person in the room both armed and capable of stopping me.""Why is he still alive?""Cáel Ishara saw through my distraction and then took my gun from me, asked for it actually," she shyly confessed."Would you have shot him?" the aide inquired."What do you think?" Aya smiled.And Then:So, given t

The last days before the Great Hunt.Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.“Can the scorpion ever stop being a scorpion? “"Do we get our legally permitted weaponry back?" The bishop still held my hand."Sure. If it makes you feel better.""I would like to meet your people then," he gave my paw one last shake then released me. "Shall we go?""I will have someone take you to your car. I want to briefly meet with the President, of Havenstone, then I'll join you in the garage. We'll drive over to JIKIT and I'll make the introductions. Good enough?""That is acceptable," he nodded."What about you two?" I regarded the nun and the Swiss Super-soldier. The nun remained vigilant, and silent. The Swiss' eyes flickered to his boss before settling back on me."It is what I volunteered for," he stated firmly."Okay. Please never say I didn't give you a chance to take the sane way out. Also, Bishop Nicolö, circumstances have conspired to up my prospective wedding date to January 1st.""That will be more difficult. Why the change?" he remained grim."We are having twins. By March, this will be very visible.""That is, unfortunate," he shook his head."You have no idea," and then a brainstorm. "And I am curious about resurrecting the Order of the Dragon, the Societas Draconistarum." Technically that meant 'Society of the Dragonists' which was more appropriate than the literal Ordo Draconis."Precisely how do you plan to recreate a crusading Christian Order which was the purview of the Hungarian monarchs?" he didn't sound the least skeptical, just curious."I have billions of euros to fund such a thing," I winked. "Of far greater critical importance, I know where I can find the supernatural guidance and spiritual imperative for such an organization.""You are going to produce a dragon?" his eyes grew larger even as he fought down his fear. Good man. He was adaptive. He'd need to be."I never said such a thing. That would make me sound crazy," I smiled broadly. "Besides, when I say 'dragon', you think 'devil' and that's way too pedestrian for where we are going.""I am not a moral relativist.""Neither am I. I'm out to save lives and nurture the drive in the human spirit to reach for freedom, love and liberty. As you might imagine, I'm pretty freaking outnumbered.""I think you are crazy," he re-evaluated things."I just might be. In all honesty, you should back out now. Take your two compadres back to 25 East 39th Street (the Holy See's Permanent Observer Offices to the UN in NYC) and report 'Mission Failure'. You'll most likely live longer," I reasoned."I am not afraid to die," Sister Rafaela Sophia finally voiced an opinion."That's idiotic," I scoffed before the bishop could reprimand her for opening her mouth. "You should be.""My soul is in God's hands," she set her jaw."Does he talk to you?" I countered."His message is clear.""Not what I asked. I asked if he specifically directed you to toss your life fruitlessly away as an object lesson for the reckless, or careless?""This is uncalled for," Nicolö intervened."Nope. I bet you a phone call to my Brother to physically restore your bishopric that there are four people in this room who have murdered in cold blood," I kept eye contact with the nun, "and she's the odd one out. Right Juanita?""Yes, Ishara," Juanita slipped up. Her spycraft, like mine, needed work."You were in the military?" the bishop asked my bodyguard."Was? I am. Right now," she related. "I will be until I die."That earned me looks from the three Catholics."She is loyal," Nicolö nodded slightly toward her, referring to Juanita's declaration."Huh? To me? Nope. She's loyal to my office, which we shan't get into right now. Back to you, Sister Rafaela Sophia. Are you out to be a martyr, or has some saint, or angel, given you a directive the other two seem to be unaware of which causes you to devalue your life?""I am devoted to the One True God, Christ, our Savior," and Juanita snorted, "and the Virgin Mary," the nun stated firmly. "I don't hear voices in my head.""Juanita, that was rude. Apologize to our guest," I kept looking forward."No." Well, fuck you too."Gun," I commanded. I held out my left hand."What? No. I will not give you one of my guns," she resisted."Juanita, give me your primary weapon, or I will ask Pamela to beat you up the moment I depart for the Great Hunt. After yesterday's stunt, you know she will," I threatened. Fair, I was not. She drew a Glock-20 and handed it to me. I went through the routine, dropped the magazine then ejected the round before opening the door.Oh look, there were four SD chicks outside, ready to escort my visitors downstairs. I didn't even need to waste a phone call. It wasn't like the conference room wasn't being monitored."Excuse me," I took a half step out the door then hurled all three items down the hall. Looking back at Juanita. "Go fetch.""Fuck you," she snapped."And insulting her faith was as degrading to both her faith and her as me doing this to you is degrading to you right now," I lectured her. "It is important to her, therefore it is important to me because she is my guest in the same way it is important to me that I let my bodyguard do her job without being a total asshole all the time. Now go get your God-damn weapon," I barked. Off she went. I left the door open."Now Sister Rafaela Sophia, the point of all this is: I don't give a crap if you are willing to die for God. In fact, that makes you less than worthless to me and the team. I want to know if you are willing to put other motherfuckers in the ground so that Bishop Nicolá, or Mathias, might get to keep doing their jobs.""Murder is a sin," she declared."Go home," I sighed while shaking my head."She answers to me, the Church and God, not you, Mr. Nyilas," the bishop stepped forward."Then you can go home too," I shrugged. "I'm not asking for remorseless killers. I'm asking for people willing to kill to get the hard work done and best of all, for people who know the difference.""Everyone on JIKIT is a professional soldier, or killer?" he asked."No, but the ones who aren't don't carry guns and know to get down when things get funky," I bantered."I vouch for her," he insisted. Juanita came running back into the room."Cool beans. I don't know you either.""You apparently know my service history," he volleyed."Yeah. Ten years a foreigner in the service of France, then you went straight into a university which turns out Jesuits," I riposted."What turned your life around?" he evaded. That was okay. I'd gotten what I wanted. I was willing to bet he had read every bit of public information about me and it was rumored the heavy Catholic membership in the FBI had its benefits to the Church as well. Not so much as to give them insight into JIKIT, but,"Someone risked their life for me. It's been pretty much downhill from there," I confessed. It was the truth. After Katrina gave me the life line on Day Two, it had all spiraled to the revelation of my heritage, Dad's death, Summer Camp, the Hamptons, Romania and Aya's kidnapping."A person, a soldier, died saving my life," the bishop empathized. "Her story is similar. She seeks redemption. She is not suicidal. I am staking both our lives on it."Did he mean him and Mathias, or him and me? I wasn't certain. Still, it was good enough for now. I'd gotten a look at their emotional make up, even the relatively quiet Swiss."Very well," I agreed. "I have to go see the President about my new job description. I'll catch up with you at your car." To the SD team leader, "Take them to the garage. I will join the group of you very soon.""Yes Ishara," she nodded. I exited the room, Juanita in tow. Two SD entered. I was gone before the Papal team left. Upstairs we went, with one last chore to discharge. I had to check on Ms. French to be absolutely freaking sure it was Shawnee, because anyone else would spell disaster.{8:30 am, Monday, September 8th. Last day}A Room full of asistants:Well, there it was, the office of the Executive Director to the President, and not 'Executive Assistant', because this was Katrina's final 'fuck you, no, just her final 'fuck you' before the Great Hunt got underway. I shouldn't assume things, dang it!Anyway, according to the gray-haired matron running gatekeeper to the Office of the President, this was where I was supposed to show up. I shot Juanita a worried look. She glanced my way and shrugged, momentarily willing to not give me shit about the past 24 hours because where I was situated would determine how easily she could do her job.In we went. In the suite were three desks, the 'big' desk situated at the far end of the office space and two far more modest ones on either side of the entryway. The room expanded beyond the chokepoint formed by the two closest desks into a cluttered area. The walls were cluttered with inset bookshelves and portraits of women. Facing one another were a loveseat on my left with bookend plush chairs in an 'L' facing and a full sofa on the right. There were end tables at the ends of the sofa and the corners between the loveseat and each chair.As the door opened, I hadn't knock as this was my office, or so it seemed, the occupants, who had all been sitting in quiet conversation in the central section, began reacting. Oh look ~ Constanza! I nearly had a heart attack before I realized there were three other Amazons also in the room. Sadly, none were behind the 'big desk', so I couldn't tell who was in charge. Two of the other three choices weren't too much better. First off,"Ishara," Marilynn Saint John stood to greet me. I'd last seen her when I'd dedicated her grandmother's (Hayden's) spirit to the halls of my ancestors, not hers, after forcing the political crisis leading to Hayden's suicide ~ her taking herself to the cliffs and in doing so, destroying the Amazon Cult of Blood Purity. Marilynne was clearly still bitter with me. Umm, I could still incite passion in women I hadn't slept with, yet, woot?"Cáel," the senior-most and only friendly face in the room spoke next. Thank goodness it was Beyoncé Vincennes, Head of House Hanwasuit and House Ishara ally."Cáel Ishara," the third individual was deferential which I wasn't sure how to take as the last time I'd encountered her, yeah, things hadn't gone well either."Beyoncé," I started off with a smile. From there, I had to figure out, ah, Beyoncé's eyes flickered to Constanza then Sabia. I knew Marilynn, with her young age, had the least seniority, "Constanza, Sabia, Marilynn. How's tricks?"Glum faces by everyone except Beyoncé. I didn't ask about Sabia's particular well-being. It had been months since I'd beaten her into the mats of the Full-blooded gym. She'd attacked Yasmin, the Brazilian Hottie and my Brazilian Jujutsu sparring buddy, and I'd retaliated by ambushed her when she turned her back on us. Besides, she'd been giving me shit before I even could see straight.Constanza was minus her left eye because of her dire insult to me. If she wasn't capable of working, she wouldn't be here. If she appreciated my 'mercy' in sparing her life ~ her insult was worthy of her death ~ Constanza hid it well. I hadn't spared her expecting a change of heart. I hadn't felt words alone warranted anyone's death. I was a big boy and could take a few insults. House Ishara, as represented by me, could care less. These days, my sisters would be less understanding despite them knowing my heart."Constanza Landau of House Jaya and Marilynn Saint John of House Anahit are Assistants to President Shawnee French," Beyoncé eased things along, "so will be working closely with us, at least for the short term. Sabia Noel of House Guabancex, who I now think you know as well, has joined you as the other 'Assistant' to the 'Executive Director to the President', (that would make me an 'adept', but adept at what?), and since two of the three Regents are unfamiliar with the workings of Havenstone proper, Shawnee has asked me to perform in that role."Beyoncé was, or had been, Havenstone HQ's CFO (Chief Financial Officer). From what I was quickly piecing together, she would essentially be making all the day-to-day decisions concerning the running of Havenstone (how the Host made the majority of its money) until the Regents got up to speed.Only Buffy had actual experience with the New York office and, from what she had told me, solely within Executive Services. While ES knew 'who' did what inside Havenstone, they weren't aware precisely how those Amazons got their jobs done. That would have been an impossible task. Katrina could do it, but she knew it was beyond the ability of most of us 'mere mortals'. Since we were currently at war, the Host needed Katrina completely focused on her duties as Chief Spy-mistress, not baby-sitting the adults.Shawnee indeed had much gravitas among the other House Heads. Not only had she risen up to lead a First House, she had performed heroically during the final days of the last Secret War. Afterwards she had moved into the realm of Amazon jurisprudence and mediation. Until yesterday, she had lived in a House Arinniti freehold in Minnesota's Great Lakes region thus her desire for the 'Training Wheels' period.The Regency would not rule through telecommunication (the upper echelons feared being eavesdropped upon beyond the standard Amazon (read: paranoid) levels) and Havenstone: New York was the center best situated for the current war-fighting operations, so here she lived. I was sure a team from Executive Services was buying, outfitting/spy-proofing and fortifying a dwelling suitable for the President of a Fortune 500 company. Hayden's home would remain the domicile of Sydney thus Marilynn.The same rigmarole would be done for Rhada and Buffy (though I imaged Buffy would bitch endlessly). Publically, they were VP's of a company worth hundreds of billions of dollars and they had to present the public trappings of such leaders.Why did the Amazons do this ~ unmask their leadership to public exposure? Legal-simple: they could request and expect all levels of public and private security for their executives who happened to also be important officials of the Host. Certainly not all executives at Havenstone were officeholders, House Heads, or House Apprentices, but the high level of competence which permitted one often led to the other.Beyonce:As an example: Beyoncé wasn't the most 'bad-ass' lethal chick in House Hanwasuit. As she was preparing to be casted, her intelligence, creativity and diligence at her future craft, finances, was noted by the Host and the members of her House. In due time her name was circulated as Apprentice and the elders approved. When her elder cousin, the prior House Head, took herself to the cliffs, Beyoncé assumed the top spot. Beyoncé wasn't even one of that woman's three daughters.Mirroring her advancement in her House was her advancement in Havenstone's Accounting, Acquisitions and Banking Divisions until she was appointed CFO Havenstone HQ ~ the supreme financial authority inside Havenstone, though the individual regional branches had a greater degree of autonomy than you might normally expect from a 21st century conglomerate, or a Bronze Age autocracy.I had to constantly remind myself, despite the near-constant feuding, Amazons exhibited a phenomenally higher level of trust than I'd ever found in any other society I'd ever witnessed, or read about, before. Though technically Beyoncé could have gone to President Hayden to enforce her decisions ~ or now the Regency ~ she was far more diplomatic in her approach in dealing with the other 'continental' CEO's and CFO's.That meant she had to wrangle the aspirations and resources from:North America (including Latin America, the 'Canadian Arctic' and the North Pacific Ocean),South America (includes both the South Atlantic and South Pacific as far as Samoa),Europe (mostly Central Europe these days plus Antarctica, the 'Russian' Arctic and the North Atlantic),Africa (mostly West-central Africa),India (the subcontinent plus the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean) and,Southeast Asia (which includes Australia)All of which suggested Havenstone hadn't redrawn the Amazons' geographic demarcations since the late 19th century. As an example, an East African venture, say in Tanzania, was as likely to be under the purview of Havenstone: India (due to its control over the Indian Ocean) as Havenstone: Africa (which traditionally had no East Coast holdings due to their constant struggles versus the Arabic slave trade).Returning to Beyoncé: initially she had held the proper 'conservative' (aka man-hating) mindset. My behavior during that first Board Meeting began to change her opinion of me and the New Directive. After the Archery Range incident, Beyoncé became a vocal proponent of the New Directive and faced challenges within her ranks. House Heads do not have to accept challenges and Beyoncé didn't, reasoning with her detractors they had no alternatives save the 'Old Ways' which spelled doom for the Amazon Race.Bing-bang-boom ~ I became the Head of a resurrected House Ishara by the Will of the Ancestors and Beyoncé was vindicated. Not necessarily in the New Directive, but in her support of me thus the rebirth of a sister First House. The purge following High Priestess' Hayden's death was her ultimate absolution. The Ancestors and Destiny had spoken and shown Beyoncé had been piloting House Hanwasuit along the proper course all along.Back to my current circumstances:Oh, why was I Assistant to the Executive Director to the President? It gave me direct access to the finances of Havenstone which was a critical leg of the war-fighting stool ~ people, morale, money and equipment. As Chief Diplomat, I helped with all four of those in varying degrees, allied troops, allied victories, allied bank accounts and allied armaments.The Great Khan, my spiritual 'Blood-Brother', was ramping up his logistic support for my Amazons in Africa, Asia and the Americas. We were 'Allies in the Struggle' and he wasn't going to wait for the Condottieri to begin coordinating with the Seven Pillars to declare them to be his enemies. They were already fighting the Amazons and 9 Clans, his allies, so their fates were sealed.In Japan, my Amazons provided small yet highly effective strike groups which the Ninja families furnished all the support services for. Everything from food to bullets to medical attention as needed. Without reservation, we shared their death-grapple with the Seven Pillars.From the dispatches I was getting back from my family members and envoys in Japan, we were making serious diplomatic inroads with the Ninja. Once again, it was the Amazons shocking capacity for violence as well as their fanaticism, professionalism and proficiency which all impressed our hosts and terrified our enemies, and this from people of a philosophical mindset which had them historically battling samurai.The Black Lotus were running around like rhesus monkeys on crack cocaine unleashed in a China Shop and given RPG's. While the Amazons couldn't help them in China, Indochina & Thailand ~ the Khanate could and was. The Amazons were of more help in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, where the Black Lotus and Amazons were going everywhere on the offensive against the Seven Pillars while the normal tight cohesion and iron-clad confidence, traits which made the 7P's so dangerous ~ were shaken by their horrendous losses in the 'Homeland' aka Mainland China.Less we forget, the 'military intelligence' wing of their organization had been decimated by the Khanate's Anthrax attack due to members of the Earth & Sky sacrificing themselves by being injected with the toxin then allowing themselves to be captured, which always ended in torture and death.Furthermore, the People's Republic of China, while having a scary 18% of the population either captured, imprisoned, dead, or displaced due to the Khanate invasion, that had come with the loss of 63% of their landmass (they had lost all of Nei Mongol, Ningxia & Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Regions, Qinghai and Gansu as well as 90% of Yunnan, 80% of Sichuan and 20% of Shaanxi provinces) to the Khanate and the 'abomination' that was a free Tibet.Then came the Russian 'stab in the back' which entailed the loss of another 10% of their people falling under foreign dominion as well as losing 8% of their most industrialized territory, Manchuria (Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces ~ the Nei Mongol portion of 'Manchuria' was in the Khanate's greedy clutches, from the viewpoint of a Seven P's warrior).Don't get me wrong, they weren't about to throw in the towel. If anything, they were becoming more dedicated to trying harder, digging deep into their knowledge of every atrocity, inhumanity and perversion now deemed necessary to re-chart history back onto its 'correct' path. It was this willingness to act in an even greater sociopathic manner which was being used against them. After all, the 7P's had plenty of proxy allies, who were starting to get really nervous about what their paymasters were now asking them to do,We Amazons were getting some extra special help too. The Booth-gan (Do not call them Thuggee ~ the confederate 9 Clan member based out of India though long since ensconced within various Hindi enclaves across the Globe) had created an all-female group of ultra-fanatical Kali-devotees ~ a gift for the upcoming battle fomented by the Will of the Goddess herself.While Aya was our Queen and the Regency would rule until she wished to assume command of the Amazon People, the nuts-and-bolts of the Host's activities were handled by Saint Marie as Golden Mare (our Minister of War) (technically she held the top spot due to our State of War, though no Golden Mare had ever exercised such authority over a Queen (and she definitely believed Aya was our Queen)), Katrina (as Minister of Intelligence and Security), Beyoncé (as Havenstone (the multinational corporation) ~ our Treasurer/Economic Tsarina) and me (our Foreign Minister).Saint Marie had decided to forgo a public face in order to better facilitate her moving around to various battle fronts and holding clandestine meetings with her junior regional commanders. Her Havenstone corporate title was 'Chief of Security Training and Certification'. As an extra level of deception, the head of Security Services wasn't even a Director-level position, instead being folded into the duties of the Office of the President.To my current circumstances ~ I had been given Constanza's house name which could only mean she wasn't currently assigned to the Security Detail; a fact that couldn't have made her bad attitude any better. Marilynn had completely lost her way as an Amazon when I first met her, burying her pain and confusion in endless partying and intoxicants. I believed only her grandmother's status as High Priestess kept her from the severest of reprimands, or death. I didn't even know what Marilynn's caste was. Sabia,"While I'm sure you are both far more qualified than I, precisely how did you two get these jobs?" I had to ask my two non-coworkers. Constanza glowered. Marilynn flinched."I have an in depth knowledge of Havenstone security procedures and resources," Constanza replied."Shawnee requested me," was Marilynn's comeback. "I also have intimate knowledge of the City of New York and its environs.""Actually, Buffy Ishara recommended you both to Shawnee," Beyoncé corrected their misconceptions. I knew the score. I'd be working intimately with the tight community around the President (Shawnee) and Vice Presidents (Buffy & Rhada). Buffy wanted me to be surrounded by women who hated my guts, so I wouldn't end up boinking them. It rarely worked that way. All too often ladies who hated my still-beating heart ended up punishing me with sex. I wasn't sure why that happened, but it did."Beyoncé, didn't the Chief Diplomat of the Host have her own office? I'm pretty sure Troika had one before her unfortunate collision with Saint Marie," I felt entitled to inquire."Do you feel you've earned that office space?" she riposted."Oh, fuck no!" I waved my hands one over the other to accentuate my denial. "I was just wondering where I could stick Juanita while I'm hanging around, here.""She has the desk right outside the door, Cáel," Beyoncé smiled knowingly. "So there is no way you can sneak past her.""Oh," I grunted. "Buffy again?""No. Pamela Pile put in that particular request.""Oh, Sweet Mother of God, now she is conspiring against me too?""Yes. Some of us realize the greatest hazard to your health is yourself, Ishara," Beyoncé chided me. "We'd like to keep you around, so we listen to those charged with that nigh impossible task.""Is she going to be hanging around the office often?" Constanza asked, either myself, Juanita, or Beyoncé; I wasn't sure. She = Pamela."Please, Constanza," I attempted to intervene, "don't make Pamela kill you. It will upset Mona." Constanza's scowl was accentuated by the eyepatch covering her ruined left socket, the one Pamela had carved out when Constanza had insulted me and House Ishara on our first day of rebirth. I didn't tell Juanita this, because Juanita might just shoot Constanza over the insult before Pamela got a chance to finish the job.The tension was palatable."Mona and I have talked, about Romania, and other things," Constanza grudgingly allowed. It took me a second to realize there was a hidden meaning to what she said. Mona was part of my personal Security Detail bodyguard unit. If she felt Constanza, the woman who had raised her after her birth-mother had died, was a threat to me, she'd feel duty-bound to snuff Constanza first. Amazons were hard-ass bitches alright and I think Mona had made that clear."I hope things can improve between us," I offered to Constanza. "Beyoncé, I just stopped in to say 'hey'. I'm off to JIKIT and I've got three of the Pope's people waiting on me in the garage so,""Vice President Varma requested a moment of your time," Beyoncé smirked. "She is in 2604.""Who?""Vice President Rhada Varma, a moment of your time, alone?" she clarified."Sure thing," I backed out of the office. Once I had some space, I turned to Juanita. "Give me three minutes then bust in and say, I don't know, a tsunami is about to overwhelm the city, or something. Otherwise, I won't get out for at least an hour and I think I've put the Bishop and his people through enough delays as it is.""Are you actually asking me to stop you from having an in-office liaison?" she studied me intently as we walked in the direction of Rhada's office."Yes. It's not likely to happen often, believe me.""Oh, I do, in that you won't ask me to do it often," she grumbled. I'd deal with Juanita's morale problem later. Right now, I had to gird my loins so they wouldn't do anything else with Rhada. I had work to do, damn it!Rhada was sitting at her desk, working on something, stylus raised up so she could chew on the end. Her hair was pulled back in a half-ponytail, the type that captured the rear half of the hair in a ponytail while leaving the front and bangs free to flow down. Rhada's blouse was white & billowy and, as I was soon to discover, her pants were ultra-tight and contour hugging."Mr. Nyilas," she greeted me. "I would like a moment of your time," she relayed what I already knew. She was more than a tad nervous to boot."Vice President Varma," I started off."When in private you may call me Rhada," she interrupted."Rhada, you look more ravishing than ever."That got up her and coming around her desk, which revealed her ultra-tight pants with no sign of her wearing underwear. Yikes! My cock was preparing to do what a cock was meant to do and I just didn't have the time, Really!"Do you have any time?" she let her bosom heave."Not today, ugh," I groaned. See, Rhada took the stylus and dragged it down her chin, throat and in between her bountiful mounds.All of which exposed the top of her black bra."Are you sure, Master?" she enticed me by turning around and then leaning over her desk, point that ass in my direction. My mouth began salivating and my groin ached. I found myself quick-stepping to her and giving those buttocks two firm slaps, one on each cheek."No, damn it, though I'm going to make you pay for this when I get back," I rumbled."Master will make me wait?" she taunted me."That will cost you even more," I growled. "I have business which simply won't wait and here is my captive teasing me with the treasures of her flesh. Bad, war captive," I spanked her yet again, hard. "Bad!" and I spanked her a fourth time. With each beating, Rhada gasped in pain and then exhaled in pleasure."If I've been bad, Master must be extra harsh with me when he returns in triumph from the Great Hunt," she gloated. Rhada had gotten what she wanted, which was another affirmation of my lust for her and our 'game'. I could provide her the release she so desperately craved while allowing her the safety of remaining in the Amazon fold. It was a perfect pairing, for her.I had other problems, such as all the other baby mamas in my life plus the extra-marital affairs I was contemplating. I still took the moments we had to snuggle with Rhada, her grinding that tush into my rod while I held both her arms tightly to her side while raining kisses down onto her neck and head."Sir! A giant tsunami is approaching the city!" Juanita exploded through the door."What?" I coughed. I had a face full of hair."Huh?" Rhada pushed up and away from me. I let her go."Right now," Juanita insisted. She really needed to stop taking me so seriously when I gave her such advice."Really?" from Rhada. She shot me a curious look so I shrugged. What else was I supposed to do with such a flimsy lie forcing our separation? At least I got out of there on time?{9:50 am, Monday, September 8th ~ Last day}(JKIT HQ)"Is this a common occurrence?" Sister Rafaela Sophia whispered to the closest woman, who happened to be Wiesława, the Polish Amazon. Since she hadn't arrived with us from Havenstone, the nun might have assumed she was with the 'Americans', or British."What?" Wiesława responded evenly."Weapons combat, they look real," the nun clarified."They are real. We always practice with real weapons.""Really?""Of course," Wiesława smiled at her. "We believe a few cuts and scrapes now will save lives when the true tests come.""Oh, you are with, Havenstone?" Rafaela clued in."Yes. I am Wiesława of House Živa. I am currently assigned to Unit L, Cáel's unit within JIKIT," she offered her hand to shake. Despite being a full-blooded Amazon from a freehold, her 'human' skills were progressing nicely. The nun shook it."I am Sister Rafaela Sophia of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, that is a Roman Catholic Religious Order." Pause. "Do you hate Catholics too?""Yes. We have lived beside your people for many centuries and found your clergy to be much more dangerous than your pagan predecessors. Still, Cáel thinks you can be relied on and he's proven we can trust outsider women, which I was raised to believe was unlikely, and outsider men, which was basically anathema, so I'm willing to set aside my prejudices and judge you as an individual," the Pole imparted."Outsider men?" Rafaela mumbled."Well, yes," Wiesława smirked. "You are a nun, right?""Yes.""So you set aside the World of Men to live mostly among women, right?""Not entirely," the nun chose her words carefully. "We still rely on priests for religious rights and of course obey the life teachings of Christ and follow the leadership of his Holiness, the Pope, a man.""No one is perfect," the Amazon bantered back."Do you know the teachings of our Lord, Jesus Christ?" Rafaela ventured into dangerous waters."Yes. He was the semi-historical Son of your supposed One True God. We are not monotheists. We are Polytheists. Živa is my House's matron Goddess. It is also the name of the first woman to lead the House, her birth name surrendered to Destiny so all the daughters who came afterwards would be equals.""Oh, is Mr. Nyilas also pagan?" she inquired."I am unsure. From what I have been told, he has commended the spirit of his fallen father to your Jesus in a sacred ceremony then, in the presence of your Trinity and the Goddess Ishara, brought in new members to his House. I suspect he may be both," Wiesława reasoned. "Why don't you ask him?""Because he's fighting for his life?" Rafaela looked my way.See, the entire time their discussion had been going on, I had been sparring in a spare room at JIKIT HQ with Estere Abed, the Hashashin assassin (rather redundant ~ like saying the Sahara Desert). I had two tomahawks while she had a scimitar and curved dagger. While we sparred using the furniture as obstacles, Agent-86 was briefing me on various World events to get my input.Addison Stuart (CIA) and Lady Fathom Worthington-Burke (MI-6) were having a chat with Bishop Nicolé de Santis, verifying for themselves he was worth adding to the team. Juanita was having a similar discussion with Rikki Martin (US State Department) concerning my earlier encounter with the Papal team. Nicolé's buddy, Wachtmeister Mathias Bosshart of the Swiss Guard, was getting acquainted with the other security personnel.In comparison, those two had it easy. Both men were in their elements. Nicolé was a spook who pretended to be a diplomat for the Pope and was well acquainted with terms like 'deniable assets', 'plausible deniability' and your direct superior referring to requests concerning your identity/diplomatic status by saying 'I never heard of him and if I had, I have no idea what he was doing when you caught him doing what I don't know what he was doing', or something like that.Mathias was in the company of military-security specialists, brother professionals who were introducing him to his 'sister' professionals. Our Homeland Security gang were almost entirely former military by now. They got along with our JSOC folks and both had gained a limited acceptance with the Amazon security contingent.They bonded over the fact they were forced to work with really shady characters ~ the 9 Clans menagerie ~ who didn't always appreciate JIKIT operational security. Without going into particulars, the Wachtmeister was given the impression the abnormal was the norm and if you didn't think there was a 'down-side' to being able to carry your personally favorite bang-bang (the SG 552-2P Commando in his case) with some serious attachments (read: grenade launcher) around in downtown Manhattan, you probably didn't belong on this team.Back in the room,"He's not fighting for his life," Estere laughed. "He is fighting for mine.""Right," I responded sarcastically. We went through a flurry of exchanges, ending up with me kicking a chair at her. Estere stepped over it, colliding with me.I blocked her dagger, disarmed her scimitar and,"You are dead," she panted down at me, smiling. I was on my back, her straddling me. She had a belt-knife to my throat. I hadn't see her draw it. The scimitar 'disarm' had been a distraction."Woot!" I exhaled."But you're dead," Sister Rafaela misunderstood my good humor."He survived a minute and thirty-four seconds more today than his previous record," Estere responded. She slithered off of me, doing my arousal no good whatsoever, then offered me a hand up."And that's better?""He's a rank amateur with a few months on the job. I've been training to kill people for nearly two decades," Estere smiled. "Care to have a go?""With him, or you?""Either," Estere offered."I don't have a knife, or any hand weapons," she stated."We'll need to remedy that," Wiesława stated. "You should at least carry a knife.""Really? Why?""It is a nearly universal tool," I verbally stepped up. "Even if you are disarmed, you should be able to find one relatively easily, people are less likely to miss a stolen knife than a purloined gun, and a concealed blade could come in handy.""Do you train in knife-work?" Rafaela eye-balled me."Absolutely. It is part of my culture," I grinned."Okay. Can we spar, hand-to-hand?""Sure," I nodded. I put my tomahawks in their harnesses then put my harnesses aside. Estere gave me a wink before giving us the fighting space."So," Rafaela began to circle, "are you Christian?""By your definition, or mine?""By the definition of the Catholic Church."Oh cool, she went for a Savate stance. This was going to get ugly.My "no," was followed by her kick and my block, lunge and grapple. She wasn't nearly as good as Felix. I had her down and in a choke hold within fifteen seconds.Perhaps she thought I'd take it easy on her. She tapped out. I released her, retreated and flowed back to my boxing stance. It took her a moment to realize this was 'practice', not 'an interview'. She hadn't failed in anyone's eyes. We were both doing this to get better."See, I really, truly believe I have talked to supernatural entities ~ some who are considered divinities," I continued. This time she was more careful, trading jabs and blocks with me. "They don't claim to be the One True God. I believe in such a thing, but I also believe having been given the Message, Humanity has been left to muddle things out for ourselves."Whoops, she popped me one."The Woman-Thing this morning?""Yep," I evaded another flurry. She got cocky and I landed three blows, dropping her to the ground. I didn't help her up. Instead, I withdrew and let her get back up on her own before deciding if she wanted to continue. She did."I believe I've seen dragons and ghosts. I have felt legions of my ancestors give me quiet encouragement when I needed it. I know the dead have been brought back to life," I came at her. This time we both went for body blows, knees, elbows and fists. She was not SD-caliber and she needed to be. I grappled and she was forced to tap out again. After she regained her feet, she held up a hand for a pause."Do you believe any of that?" she addressed Estere."I am an adherent of Ismaili Islam yet nothing Cáel has encountered is contrary to my belief system. The Universe is a complex place and the Divine Light is often seen through a fractured lenses," she counseled the nun."Among the escapees were lawyer Francisco Luemba, Catholic Priest Raul Tati, economist Belchior Lanso Tati and former policeman Benjamin Fuca who are serving jail sentences of between three and six years each for supposed links to the rebel group FLEC (Frente para a Libertaé'o do Enclave de Cabinda), which carried out the attack on the Togolese football team at the start of the Africa Cup of Nations in January, 2010," Agent-86 read off yet another bit of global minutia."We need to get to them," I half turned. Sister Rafaela punched me in the gut and I folded up."Oh!" she gasped. "I'm sorry.""Okay," I mumbled. I had to keep with the plan. "Those men. We need to contact our Coils people in Kinshasa and the Warden of the Mountain Ways ('she' was the Amazon Host's leader of Africa ~ in the ancient times, the mountain ways had been the routes of southern vulnerability for the Amazon tribe thus the name).""Okay," both Agent-86 and Estere answered."Why?" 86 added."The Coils and the Host have had a serious problem with no nation in Africa giving them even back room recognition so we are going to take over our own country, Cabinda. It's been struggling to be free of Angola since 1975 and, by latest estimates, we've got strike elements of over 2,000 Amazons ready and waiting next door in Cameroon, Gabon and the Republic of Congo.""So you are going to go to war with Angola?" Estere frowned. "Don't we have enough enemies?""Au contraire," I grinned wickedly. "The resistance movement is genuine," I ticked off my points, "they have tons of offshore oil, and after we set off some spectacular explosions in the two main Angolan ports which are just down the coast, we allow global panic to bully the UN into intervening before the Angolan military launch an effective counter-offensive ~ considering the Angolan Armed Forces (I'd been reading up on a ton of CIA & MI-6 briefings) will most likely involve attrition warfare since they can't beat us in a stand-up fight.""They, the Angolans, have no overland access, they are separated by 60 kilometers of territory belonging to the Democratic Republic of Congo over some sad ass roads Plus the Congo River itself which is freaking huge by the time it gets that close to the Atlantic, Cabinda rests on the Atlantic Ocean by the way. No bridges. The Angolan Navy is anemic. Let me think."I began pacing."Hmm, they have no paratroopers though they have some Special Forces, we will need to hit as many of them in the barracks as we can. Their last invasion was from the north, overland, from the Republic of the Congo, in 1975, not likely to happen this time, though I may have my 'Brother' weasel up a battalion of Indian paratroopers to act as convincing peacekeepers after the initial take over.""Perhaps we can recruit some Vietnamese. I'm sure they'll love fighting in someone else's jungle for a change. We'll need some of 'our' guys to seize the port of Soyo, it is on the wrong side of the river, but has the major refinery the Cabindans will need. Since the entire surrounding province are the same ethnic make-up as the Cabindans, we'll have to take that too.""Man-o-man, I bet by the time this is over they'll really wish they'd given little Cabinda independence back in 1975. As for their other refinery, it is in their capital, Luanda, a few big explosions there too will get the markets jittery. Check that ~ the complete and utter destruction of their major petroleum facility will create a stampede for Peace," I continued. I walked over as our resident computer intelligence genius worked his magic."Blowing things up, you mean killing people," the nun blanched."Yes. This is what I do," I spared her a sympathetic glance. "I've got a madman roaming around in my head who provides me truly epic military advice which normally, but not always, means blowing shit up and killing folks. Welcome to the team," then as the data appeared, "Holy Shit! Did they build their oil refinery in the midst of their ghetto?" I was staggered. The refinery in Soyo was isolated from the town so it could be easily (and safely) seized. It was the one in Luanda which was the 'Holy Shit' site."It looks that way," Agent-86 agreed nonplussed. "Hmm, yeah, here is the port facility then your neighborhood of shoddily constructed one- and two-story dwellings between the refinery and the inland storage tanks, the perimeter barrier appears to be a chain link fence. I'd hate to be their Chief of Security.""Oh yeah," I choked. Estere slipped around to get a look."Whoops," she snorted."What are these people thinking?" I continued. "The whole shebang is exposed to the northern quarter of the city. The storage tanks have residential dwellings on all four sides with numerous side streets. Two teams with RPGs and four rounds apiece, Holy Crap. Sorry Sister.""But I want to save lives," she sputtered."Limiting the collateral damage could be pretty tough," Estere frowned. She toggled throw a series of maps to multiple pictures."Oh, look (dripping sarcasm); they light up the refinery at night. You can sit off the coast in a speed boat under cover of darkness and attack from there," she noted."Damn. Those are a lot of lights," Agent-86 agreed."24-7 operation," I suspected."We will need some experts," the government agent nodded."Or we are going to kill a fuck-load of innocent people. Not just the workers, but can you imagine a fire spreading to those neighborhoods? Shit," I muttered."You can't seriously be contemplating doing something like this," the nun sputtered. "It is inhumane. Think of the families, the children.""Lady, yes I am. Do you have any idea what the Human Rights record of the Angolan Army in Cabinda is? It is truly horrific and in case you missed it, one of the guys in dire need of rescuing by me, due to him being a huge rebel leader who has managed to escape, is also a Catholic priest. He's going to be part of the new government we are going to install once we kill a few hundred Angolans ~ mostly soldiers (more like well over a thousand).""We are going to kill a few hundred so a few hundred thousand can live free, democratic lives without worrying about the local police and political establishment torturing and murdering them. It is all part of the plan.""I think I need to talk with the Bishop.""Hang on. Let me finish," I forestalled her. "He'll get briefed along with everyone else. After all, it is a majority Roman Catholic country as is Angola, so I'm sure your guy can be of immense help.""The people you are putting at risk don't deserve this," she protested."They never do," I nodded in agreement with her. "It rarely stops terrible crap from happening to them though."I felt sorry for the Sister. She thought the Bishop was going to put a stop to this. Poor girl; he was going to do the exact opposite. See, the two competing forces at play here were a communistic kleptocracy (currently ruling Angola) and Catholic liberation theology united with a Cabindan national identity dating back to 1885. At stake was 900,000 barrels a day of petroleum. That was a bunch of funding for somebody. Last I checked, the state run energy conglomerate had misplaced $32 billion, in just three years.Mind you, the Coils of the Serpent and the Amazon Host didn't want to help the People of Cabinda out of the goodness of their hearts either. They wanted cover for the importation of weapons and other war-fighting material so they could kill the Condottieri in Africa. If the rebel leaders-turned-legitimate government didn't play ball well, the Coils were in the 'assassinating people' business and somewhere along the line the survivors would figure out keeping 'us' happy kept them alive. Problem solved.It was Bishop Nicolé de Santis' job to facilitate that understanding. If certain people with Vatican credentials explained the 'facts of life' to the new regime a lot more lives could be saved, Catholic lives. In turn, he could work to make sure the new group in power wasn't nearly as corrupt as the gang we were tossing out. Better education and quality of life, improved infrastructure & security and a nice shiny cathedral, or two.We, as in JIKIT and our component members, didn't want to rule the country and dominate the people's lives. We needed the ports and the airfields with a blind eye turned to our skullduggery. Sure, there would be future considerations. Amazons and Coil members would be fighting and dying for these people's freedom ~ public recognition definitely not required. No; the Amazons wanted to be left alone in their deep jungle homes which was an isolation they basically already had. This was a future chit which said 'don't come looking'.The Coils? Let's just say in the future Cabinda would have embassies around the globe and if occasionally they wanted someone to slip through under diplomatic cover ~ they were good for it. And if the Cabindans ever needed help in the future they knew they had friends in dark places who were now invested in Cabinda's survival. It was a win-win-win, unless you were an Angolan big-wig, or one of their foot-soldier currently serving in Cabinda. Amazons weren't big on taking prisoners, or even giving the opposition the option of giving up.For me, it wasn't lunch yet and here I was plotting to overthrow yet another government in yet another country ~ though in only two, small provinces this time. Thank the Goddess I had the rest of the week

Today's Scripture passage is Numbers 3:33 - Numbers 4.Read by Christina Edmondson.Get in The Word with Truth's Table is a production of InterVarsity Press. For 75 years, IVP has published and created thoughtful Christian books for the university, church, and the world. Our Bible reading plan is adapted from Bible Study Together, and the Bible version is the New English Translation, used by permission.SPECIAL OFFER | As a listener of this podcast, use the code IVPOD25 for 25% off any IVP resource mentioned in this episode at ivpress.com.Additional Credits:Song production: Seaux ChillSong lyrics written by: Seaux Chill, Ekemini Uwan, and Christina EdmondsonPodcast art: Kate LillardPhotography: Shelly EveBible consultant: JM SmithSound engineering: Podastery StudiosCreative producers: Ekemini Uwan and Christina EdmondsonAssistant producer: Christine Pelliccio MeloExecutive producer: Helen LeeDisclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

Graduation Day.  Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels."You know nothing of what you speak of, Ishara, yet you now feel free to insult us," she simmered."Don't know, don't care. It was all before my time. I care about the 'here-and-now' as well as what we do in the future. What I am asking you is what concrete item or 'thing' can be provided to House Zorja to put this blood feud behind you. Name it and House Ishara will endeavor to procure it for you.""We are not merchants," Jana's eyes narrowed."No. I didn't imply you were. If you want new sandals for everyone in your House, I'll find you new sandals. If you want 100,000 acres of ranchland, I'll find you the land. Name it," I persisted."Our prestige cannot be bought," she 'explained'."No, but a blood feud with House Ishara can be avoided by making a request of us in the same way as expressing your desire to harm my daughter can be expressed by denying my offer," I hardened. "And 'fuck you very much' if you think I won't use every son, daughter, mother, aunt, and uncle of Ishara when I come gunning for House Zorja too.""You wouldn't dare bring outsiders into this," Klavdiya interjected."Why not? The offices of Ishara handed House Zorja the coup of the century ~ the capture of the People's Liberation Army Navy nuclear carrier. A member of House Zorja commanded that task, yet they did so by leading forces marshalled by House Ishara, outsider forces. You may wish to keep playing by old rules concerning who is and isn't part of a House, but I am not so constrained, sisters.""So Klavdiya, if House Meenakshi pursues its blood feud with House Zorja, House Ishara will gleefully join them in the pummeling. And we have Isharans in the 9 Clans, the Khanate and the Illuminati who will gladly help us out in slapping them around like the old-fashion curmudgeons they are showing themselves to be, or, House Zorja may request a gift from House Ishara and we will happily clear accounts between them and House Meenakshi in the name of our daughter, Parvati. Their choice.""You are still on the mats," Elsa reminded me. Sikia coiled protectively next to us."And you said something about a lesson being long overdue," Pamela smirked, "Kitten.""Cáel Ishara," Shawnee said in a soft voice, "perhaps it is germane to the argument: the fault of the blood feud rests with House Zorja, not House Meenakshi."I fell on my back, carrying Tad fi with me. She gasped out in surprise while remaining closely cuddled with me. Her right hand never left my lips."Why does no one tell me this shit?" I moaned."You are hard," Tad fi announced. "Are you ready to have more sex?" She was sounding upbeat about our prospects. She was also ignorant of our surroundings being deaf and blind to the mortal realm."Gossamer Wing," I created a pet name for the augur, "we are lying on the sparring mats of a large combat arena in the central Full-blooded training center for Havenstone with roughly 500 sisters in attendance (the audience had grown). While I am enticed by your scent, words, proximity and sweet memories of what we've shared, I'm probably going to be badly beaten up really soon for a terrific diplomatic snafu.""But then we can have sex?""Yeah. I'm totally up for having sex with you after they release me from Medical," I assured her. I looked around her to a very unhappy Mahdi."Can you find it in your heart to forgive House Zorja? Anything I can,""Yes," she abruptly cut me off.What the fuck?"At this time, my hatred of House Ishara, and you in particular, make any grievance I have with House Zorja pale in comparison. You have bewitched my only daughter. She bares your child, and it will be a wonderful child if the soiled augur you've stuck your cock in is to be believed," she ground out bitterly. "I want to go home. I want to find enemies to kill. And when I do, Cáel Ishara, know each and every one of them will carry your face in my mind."She turned to Jana. "Do you agree that we both hate Ishara enough to put aside our current differences?"Jana studied Mahdi, me, then Mahdi again and agreed. She stood. Mahdi stood. They clasped arms like Amazons, then hugged like sisters."Agreed. He is much worse."My thoughts on the matter. Woot! I was having sex! Oh, and I was making Aya happy by ending a blood feud."My admiration of you continues to increase," Krasimira looked at me. "This diplomacy stuff is harder than it looks yet you pull it off so effortlessly.""Yay me!" I muttered."Keeper, are we done?" Sikia asked Krasimira."I believe so," the older Amazon rose to her feet. Sikia was far faster in rising."Mahdi of Meenakshi, you have insulted me and my augur. Defend yourself," she snarled. If Tad fi hadn't been immediately present, Mahdi wouldn't have even warranted a warning no doubt."Had you done your job," Mahdi flowed into her fighting stance, "you both wouldn't be pregnant.""Whoa now," I struggled to rise while keeping Tad fi close and my body between her and the Meenakshi/Zorja side of the mat. "Sikia, I can't let you fight. You're pregnant too.""Don't be stupid, Cáel Ishara," Sikia retreated off the mat, so she could shed her jacket and footwear. "Amazons have fought pregnant for thousands of years.""Hold on now," NYPD Sgt. Larisa Kutuzov said in English as she moved forward. I was a millisecond too late. Larisa's foot touched down on the mat and Marlene Zorja popped her one, a hand chop to the larynx. The senior cop stumbled forward."Mom!" shouted Nikita. Marlene followed up with a leg sweep, putting Larisa face first on the mats, then a fist strike to the back of the head, knocking her out. Neat and tidy in less than two seconds.Nikita was about to charge in when Chaz stopped her."Footwear," he advised in the tone of voice I had learned to associate with him and imminent violence. The moment he stopped her, he was quickly removing his own socks and shoes. Virginia and Pamela were doing the same. I was allowed freedom of movement because I was holding Tad fi. Krasimira exited because of her unique status. The rest were already barefoot."Gale, could you please stay with Tad fi," I tried to hand her off."No," Gale looked me over. "I will fight." No hint on whose side she would be fighting on. Krasimira came to my rescue."I'll take her.""Tad fi," I told the augur, "I have to go get beaten up now, but I promise I will be back for you directly.""This is not your fight," Krasimira said. "The words and deeds are Sikia's.""A, she carries my child and B, the deeds being called into question are my fault.""You told me once they were the Will of Ishara," Krasimira mused."We are one in the same," I gave a lopsided grin."Be careful," Tad fi pleaded. "Your future is a chaotic jumble, I cannot see,""Eh, I've been very bad. We'll talk about it later. Gotta go," I headed onto the mats.Pamela was giving the ground rules to the 'normals': No 'fair warnings'. No 'fair play'. No 'time outs'. You fought until unconscious, or you surrendered."This is going to suck," Virginia assessed our odds. Two Amazons had removed Larisa from the mats and were tending to her. Nikita was kneeling by her side until she heard Virginia, then came our way.Besides Sikia, we had Pamela, Chaz, Virginia, myself and Nikita. Oneida stepping up was nice. She wasn't a great combatant, but we dearly needed the help. Gale joining us was, unsettling. Amazons don't play fair, so this could be a ruse.Against us were all three Zorja and both Meenakshi ~ I imagined Rhada felt she had something to prove to her mother. They'd picked up ten other Amazons and Rhonwenn Nemain. Klavdiya joined them to counterbalance her baby sister. Eight to seventeen ~ ouch."Damn," a familiar voice from my first days on the job spoke up from behind me, "we almost missed this." I didn't dare look over my shoulder. Desiree stepped between Chaz and Virginia. Rachel came up on my left and Tiger Lily on my right. At the tail end of our line was Mona, Meridian, Brielle and Wiesława. Fifteen to seventeen was looking much better, especially considering Desiree had brought five Security Detail warriors with her, all of whom were moving to further bolster our numbers."Rachel," Elsa looked to her underling, "you have no idea why you are fighting.""It is for Cáel. So it must be for a better tomorrow," Rachel laughed."Very well," Elsa smirked."You!" Mahdi pointed at me, and we both charged. It was a jumbled nightmare of clashing bodies, war cries and flashes of movement all around. Our side had two main advantages -While Chaz was by no means the best hand-to-hand combatant present, he knew the basic Amazon style and most Amazons didn't know his. Added to his overall height and bulk advantages, he bought us time.Of greater importance, Rachel, Tiger Lily and Mona had extensive training working as a team, which none of the opponents had.Elsa was the most dangerous individual on the mat. Pamela was the second most dangerous, so Elsa grabbed a couple of partners and ganged up on her to drive her off the mats. Chaz went next, out-Elsa'ed and beaten unconscious. The issue was, it took her too long to accomplish those two feats. By the time she rounded on me, Rachel and Tiger Lily, our half of the field had wiped out theirs. It was six of us (me, Rachel, Tiger Lily, Gale, Wiesława and Desiree) versus four of them (Elsa, Marlene, Klavdiya and Rhonwenn).Still, I was facing Elsa, so a judicious bit of treachery was required."Gale," I huffed and puffed, "please retire. I don't want you to fight your sister.""What?" Gale snapped. She'd taken a beating, yet remained feisty."No, fighting her sister is okay with me," Desiree scowled. "We are still facing fucking Elsa.""All the other women you have mated with have failed. I remain," Gale trumpeted."Oh, you are right," I half-turned. "All the reason you are more precious to me.""Really?""Of course," I deepened my introspective appreciation of her."Oh," and Klavdiya punched Rhonwenn. That was an 'oh, Cáel Ishara must actually care for my baby sister and not be just a Playa' on Klavdiya's part. Yeah. I'm a horrible fucking person at times.Rachel, Tiger Lily and I rushed Elsa. Marlene pivoted to ward against Klavdiya while Gale and Wiesława stormed in against her. Desiree helped Klavdiya finish drubbing Rhonwenn before they combined to force Marlene off the mats. Elsa chose to go down swinging in a dogpile of bodies. I took an ear-ringing blow to the head which allowed Rachel to apply a chokehold and it was lights out for the Head of SD.After some water bottles went around and those concussed returned to wakefulness, the resolution of the brawl was decided. Mahdi apologized to Sikia. It was short, terse and sparing of any empathy, yet was within the bounds of Amazon etiquette. She departed with Rhada, which left me to pick up the pieces, starting with Nikita's mom."Oh," the older woman moaned then, "Ms. Fredrickson? What are you doing here?""Avenging you, Mother," Nikita fluffed up the truth. "She, Cáel and the others cleaned house on the woman who jumped you and her allies.""Desk Sergeant," Desiree gave a curt nod."This isn't over," Larisa winced as she moved to a sitting position."Mrs. Kutuzov, it is over," I headed off a colossal waste of time. "This is my daily life and part of your daughter's life with JIKIT. You will find scant witnesses and no tape recordings of these events. This craziness is just another day in the life here at Havenstone. You stepped on the mat and thus became fair game to any physical confrontation an opponent cared to mete out. Consider this sovereign soil of an independent nation-state.""We," she looked around. "You kicked their asses?""Definitely," Pamela gave a feral snarl."This is plain nuts," she shook her head, winced in cranial pain, then put her aching head in her hands."One of the reasons we've put our dating in hiatus," Nikita comforted her mother while looking at me, and smiling affectionately.Ah, for fuck sakes! I was engaged to someone else and having a dozen kids by ten different women. How could I still possibly be considered viable dating material? Oh yeah, martial valor, laughing at death, I hung out with truly exceptional cool people and I would always be in need of saving, a plus for a crusader like Nikita.I had so many allies to tend to, but only one who seemed to be making an exit. I swooped down on Tad fi long enough to place her fingers to my lips."I'll be right back, friend of a friend in need," and off I went. I caught Tavi of House Stolgos just outside the door. She wasn't avoiding me. She'd been observing Chaz and he had been otherwise occupied.My British companion had played a pivotal role in the combat and taken his beating like a man. He'd been rendered unconscious. So had many others, so no stigma was attached to his loss. Post-battle, he had chosen to sit on his haunches, knees up, talking to several of the Amazons, both kneeling and standing. A few had been bystanders and a few others foes.He stayed on his ass to reduce his height advantage. Letting Amazons make eye contact while not having to look up at you created definite benefits. His good natured approach to his role in the fight and pummeling earned him positive vibes as well. He made it clear the tussle to him was not macho-personal. He was my 'brother / sister / sibling' spiritually-speaking via Pamela adopting us both as her 'grandsons', so my fights were his fights. Sikia had my (Cáel's) child, so that bond extended to her as well ~ family.Pamela and I had schooled him on Amazon psychology and those lessons were now paying serious dividends. 'The Male' hadn't wanted to fight them ~ 'Amazons are tough' he'd confessed, he knew this because he worked with several every day on JIKIT~ but family was on the line, so he fought. Mahdi had apologized, so the matter was settled. The other Amazons he'd fought? They had fought for their reasons and he was okay with not questioning them about it.Why? He was conscious of his conspicuous status as a 'guest', knew he was in no way an Amazon, and was not privy to what motivated them. He didn't want to be an Amazon. He had his own, much younger, martial tradition he was proud of, yet was eager to learn from the vastly greater Amazon war lore because 'winners' didn't have a gender-bias and no other tradition could compete with the Amazons' 3,000 years.Under normal circumstances, the women around him wouldn't have given credence to his praise. He was a male after all. Through the tiny tear I'd created in their insulating social fabric, Chaz was building upon his own exploits. In the after-battle analysis, the Amazons reflected on the realization Elsa had concentrated on him as her number two objective, second only to Pamela who scared everyone who knew anything about her. That bolstered Chaz's appeal.For the Amazons who thought a male would get all pouty and cry over being beaten up by a girl/girls, Chaz was breaking the mold. He wasn't angry. He was amused. The fight had been a learning experience and he'd felt honored to watch, no matter how briefly, a warrior of Elsa's caliber fight. He'd explained 'I', Cáel Wakko Ishara, considered Elsa one of the top 5 combatants I'd ever seen, which included Ajax the Unconquered. The others were Sakuniyas, reborn Amazon and former Queen of Assyria, Saint Marie, the Golden Mare, and Pamela, the Cliff-walker.More happy Amazons because the list's only non-Amazon was a dead Hero from the Trojan Wars and it was well known I 'got around' (aka dealt with violent outsiders.) Chaz was telling the truth, almost. The 'fifth' person on the list was Alal, but explaining him would be difficult, so Chaz edited him for this particular audience. Good man.In the hallway, "Tavi, a moment," I called out. She slowed down, took a few more steps allowing me to catch up."Yes Ishara?" she gave me her best neutral look. Yep. She was jealous."I beg two favors from you," I quickly went down to one knee in her path. That caught her off guard and left her in the awkward position of me being terribly close and staring up at her."I, I will listen," she muttered."I would like to know if you are pregnant," I asked very softly. Yes, she was, but she didn't want to tell me. She contemplated pushing past me. It would be very easy. "I know I am stepping beyond the boundaries between warriors. Please. My destiny has brought you two together. I am at fault here." 'Fault' was the key word."If I have a son, he will be given to the Queen," Tavi's face was stern and unforgiving. "He will live.""That's not what he's worried about," I shook my head. "He wants to be a father to your daughter, Tavi. He wants to introduce you to his mother and grandmothers, maybe his sisters too, if that can be arranged.""Huh?""He is not like me, Tavi. There is no other in his life, but you.""I, I will not leave my House for him," she protested angrily."He would never ask you. That doesn't mean he doesn't want to remain at your side for years to come. He can be a father to your child and not be a part of House Stolgos in the same way you can be a mother to your child and not be a part of Clan Tomorrow.""Oh," she furrowed her brow. "How would this possibly work?""I have an 'in' with the Queen," I winked. "I'll work out something.""He knows I will never stop being an Amazon," she elucidated intensely."Absolutely. He is an intelligence operative after all. He's figured a few things out for himself.""Why doesn't he tell me these things?""Tavi, he threw his body on top of me to shield me from a bomb blast, so he's undoubtedly brave, but telling you what is in his heart is scary for him. As his brother, I see behind his silence,""Oh, what should I do?" she was vexed."Go back in there, demand to speak with him and tell him the truth," I stood up."The truth?""That you are going to have a little StolgosTomorrow-ite running around sometime next year," I exuded confidential friendliness."Cáel Ishara," she tilted her head slightly, "you don't know much about infants, do you?""Nope," I pseudo-confessed. I actually did know something about newborns. I'd studied up so I could make a move on a cute girl whose free time was eaten up by babysitting, so I 'helped out'. Oink."They aren't 'running around'," she turned to head back into the gym, "until the ninth month at the earliest. Normally, running doesn't happen until the eighteenth month.""My fiancée has a three-year old, so she should be able to help me through some of the hardest parts," I babbled along. Tavi didn't give a crap.In we went. Tavi stormed straight toward the bevy of Amazon babes concentrating on 'her' Chaz."Color Sergeant Tomorrow," she abruptly interrupted. "A moment of your time.""Ladies," Chaz uncoiled himself from the surrounding women. The Amazons were either mildly put off, they thought they were about to get laid, or pissed off, they were sure they were about to get laid, and Tavi was stomping on their happy."Yes, Ms. Gentry," Chaz linked his hands behind his back in a 'rest easy' stance. 'Gentry' was the fake last name Tavi used in the outside world. She motioned toward the windows with her head. Off they went. I couldn't hear what was being said, but my lip reading skills were up to the task.T: (I am pregnant)C: (I love you)T: (Oh) ~ stunned. Go Chaz!C: (Well, I don't imagine the Amazons have a marriage ceremony and an Anglican service would be inappropriate, so perhaps we could research a Scythian ritual which could make both families happy) ~ delivered in the patented smooth Chaz style.T: (Marriage? To you?)C: (I will not submit to being anyone's slave nor would I ever ask you to submit to me. Outside of that, will you be my partner and my partner alone until the cliffs separate us?)T: (Amazons are not monogamous)C: (I am)T: (I will, I mean, can I think about this?)C: (I am not going anywhere, Tavi){Pause}T: (Did you put Ishara, Cáel Ishara up to this?)C: (Yes)T: (Why?)C: (I imagine he explained what I am feeling better than I could)T: (Oh, do you want me to meet your mother and grandmothers?)C: (Absolutely)T: (Okay)C: (Okay ~ you would like to meet my Mother and Grandmothers?)T: (No, yes, I mean, yes I would like to meet them and I am okay with you being with no other woman until the cliffs separate us, and I will do the same, no other males)C: (If I pick you up, hug you and kiss you, will your sisters freak out?)T: (I don't know)So Chaz swept Tavi up until her head was higher than his (a feat, considering their 8" height differential) and kissed her deeply. Mumbled words followed. Tavi wrapped her legs around Chaz's waist and out they went. Around me were angry murmurings of the 'did that Amazon just run off with our man' variety. Not my problem. I had plenty of different Amazons wanting my attention. Hallelujah!{8:00 pmDon't try this at home.I covered my face with a pillow and pressed down hard. I'd already tried breathing exercises, meditation and even contemplated more cranial trauma before thinking up this particular crazy idea. It took some mental effort and accessing some of my Alal-'pain sorting' skills to accomplish, but in the end, I felt myself 'let go'.I sat up."Hello," Tad fi beamed."Hey," I took a deep breath. Since we were talking, I must have passed out. Her eyes wandered over the room."Is this the world as you see it?" she wondered. Oh yeah, I had to be creating the environment for her to enjoy.Sikia was kneeling on the bed a foot away, her gaze moving between the two of us. The 'grayness' of her form suggested she was wholly in reality and not in the 'Ishara-space' the goddess had shown me and I was now sharing with my augur."This is how you see me?" she examined her fingers, her wrists, then some long locks of her hair."You are more beautiful," I answered. The impact of my words crossing over drew her eyes back to me. It was the magic of hearing for the normally deaf girl. I concentrated, peeled back some fantasy and attached a realistic form to Sikia. Tad fi followed my gaze."Your hair," she addressed her guardian, "It is lighter than I imagined."Sikia said something I couldn't understand, muffled as it was by my dreaming."I cannot hear you, but I see you through his eyes," the augur carried on her conversation. They touched. It had to be somewhat bizarre for Sikia. As she reached for Tad fi's hand, her friend intercepted the extended member. Their fingers intertwined before completing the journey to the guardian's lips."Don't cry, no, we couldn't have, no, we shouldn't have knocked him out sooner. I don't think he was aware of this discipline when we first met. Were you, Cáel?""No. Perhaps if I had understood more about the consequences of seeing ghosts, I might have," I tapered off. "Now that we know. I can try this more often.""Your health?" Tad fi worried."I might be immortal," I confessed. I was confessing because I was desperately seeking a way to share some of my genetic quirkiness with her ~ some strength to carry her through this pregnancy and spare her life, Dot Ishara be damned."And you would seek a way to spare me," she graced me with her gentle presence. Lying in the 'spirit' world was a whole lot tougher than in the flesh."Yeah. I've got some arcane lore rattling around in my head, plus I have a few outside sources I can ask for help. I'm not giving up on you.""I have foreseen my death.""Well, un-foresee it," I scolded her. "Dot Ishara told me we see what might happen, though nothing is guaranteed. So even your death isn't an absolute. Since it hasn't happened, I see no reason to let it happen. You are going to live to hold our daughter. If not, my immortality is worthless.""You can never save everyone. Sometimes you must let a few go to save the rest," she advised."If I find someone I'm not attached to, I'll let them go. I promise. Until then, I'm, ugh, I'm fading, and I'm keeping you.""We shall see," she murmured. I fell back into my body and into wakefulness."Now we have sex," Tad fi announced in a melodic voice."He is ready to perform," Sikia agreed. She was fondling my balls with one hand while her breath played across my rod. I sat up to see the augur climbing up the bed between my thighs. She kissed my glans, licked across its top, then kissed it again."I've got it from here," she told Sikia."What?" Sikia was confused. Tad fi's lips began to engulf my sceptre."Sikia, come here," I gently pulled on her arm. She was conflicted yet up some came.We started out with tender kisses on the lips. I kept drawing her toward me. My lips and tongue migrated down her chin and throat to her breasts. When she thought my target was her breasts, she was all onboard. That was a mere stop-off point on my journey, though I played around for a while.At the same time, I had to use subtle movements with my hips and clenches with my gluts to school Tad fi on her fellatio. Thankfully, I was doubly-blessed. This wasn't my first time schooling two girls at once and Tad fi could determine more from such minimal reactions due to her heightened sense of my muscle contractions through her touch than any other woman I'd ever met.When I began running my tongue in large lashes underneath her breasts, I confused Sikia once more. She was resistant as my hands on her hips pulled her higher so that my lips and teeth could tease her taut stomach while I twirled my tongue in her belly button. She giggled.I had been slowly wiggling down the bed, backing Tad fi up, so when it came time to mount Sikia on my face, I had the headboard room. I kept her muscular thighs securely in hand because the moment I had her happy, I pushed her up. She looked down, seeking guidance and I motioned her to turn around. She did the eye-ball math, realized she'd be facing her augur, and hastily obeyed. Of course, her movement on the bed alerted Tad fi through mattress vibrations.Sikia was sitting on my face, leaning down so she could run her hands through Tad fi's hair and along her face and lips (and my phallus). I kept my hands pressed between our bodies. My right made the sojourn to my pubic area to play around and give them both something else to suck on, my fingers. My left loitered around between Sikia's breasts and her clitoris when my lips were otherwise occupied.I could cup her clit with my tongue in a U-shape, rubbing it along my taste buds. Most of my time was taken up with my tongue broad lashing her vulva or tightly-twisted and delving into her cunt and my nose pushing against her brown hole. I could tilt myself up so I could make tongue-intrusions into her back passage as well. The first time, she squealed.Before she could decide if she wanted to make me stop (she did, virtually all first timers always default to asking their partner to stop, so you have to distract them), Tad fi wanted to know what had brought her reaction on. Then came Sikia's troubled revelation of what I was doing, how the augur shouldn't suffer through it, despite the increasing pleasure she was receiving, only to finally be unable to supply the answer as to why Tad fi shouldn't experience it too.Sikia shot me a treasured look of bewilderment. I'd brought her to orgasm with my tongue alone. I was a guy after all."Switch?" I suggested. Tad fi was still administering one of the slowest, most considerate blowjobs I'd ever experienced. She wasn't rushing toward anything. Sure, she was unschooled, but was devoting her incredible sensitivities to my pleasure and taking pleasure in her ability to bring me to such excitement."Change places?" she mused. "Okay." Tad fi's lips slid off me with one final, loud 'pop', then she used her spider-like fingers to climb up my body while Sikia traveled south. She lavished butterfly kisses on my face ~ childish, yet so very appropriate between us ~ and I mirrored the gesture.With some reluctance, she mounted me, facing Sikia. My tongue flicking across her clit on its first exploration brought out a joyous gasp. It only got better from there.The Long Slide Into Domestic Life:"Twins?" Hana snuggled into my arms. We were at her place, naked in bed together after a late late-night unscheduled meeting with some VIPs. Despite the late/early hour, she was alert, tense even. It had been a mentally stimulating late night encounter which had brought me to her bed."Yes. That is what Tad fi predicted," I inserted between raining kisses down on her forehead. Hana liked non-distracting attention when she was in this kind of mood. She was exhausting herself mentally as she was building up to being amorous."Ana-Călina and  rp d?" she worked over the names on her tongue. "They have a special meaning?""Only if you are Hungarian and Romanian," I teased her. She elbowed me slightly. " rp d was the semi-mystical pagan warlord who led the Ten Tribes who became known as the Hungarians ~ the Magyar peoples ~ into the Carpathian Basin, present day Hungary. Ana-Călina was born a Byzantine princess of the storied House of Basarab; she married Radu Negru, thus becoming the first Princess of a free Wallachia ~ the foundation for a free Romania. She was also the great-grandmother of Dracula.""So they are famous names with regional historical significance, did they live long, happy lives?"" Árpád, no one knows for sure. His kids were quarrelsome, but they did manage to found a dynasty at the start of the second millennia which ruled for three centuries.""Ana-Călina, yeah. I think so," I continued. "She lived into her seventies and her eldest son left his country stronger, richer and safer than when he received it. She did out live her husband by over fifty years, and got to see her youngest grandson bury most of his rivals, the kids from her husband's first marriage.""Ah, what?" Hana rose up until we were eye to eye. Since she was naked, her boobs swayed slightly as she did so. My eye flickered. "Eyes forward, Mister," she playfully barked. "What happened to all her other grandsons?""Wallachia in the 15th century was a tad rough and tumble," I evaded."They killed one another?""Mostly they were killed by conspiracies amongst their boyars, nobles of the time.""Why does, Tad fi want to dredge up these names again?" she kept eye contact."Not a clue," I pleaded."But you think it is important?""No. I think you are important. Screw Fate. It can name its own kids. We can chose whatever names make you happy, except 'Up'. Up's been taken.""You've named another of your offspring 'Up'? That's cruel, or does that mean something in another language I'm unaware of?" she shifted her shoulders so her boobs wobbled again. Of course, I broke eye contact. I hadn't had sex in hours and her boobies were right there, damn it!"Actually, Pamela and I named this secret agent in Hungary that, just to fuck with his head," I divulged."Oh. Pamela. I should have known," she slowly smiled. "You are being very well behaved," she added. Woot! She noticed I wasn't throwing her down and pawing her delectable flesh. "One more thing before the nookie.""Name them. Their dead," I pledged."Not necessary," her sigh turned into a giggle. "If I'm going to be having twins, I'm going to be rather big come late March. We need an earlier wedding date."Oh, fuck me!"What do you have in mind?" I tried to keep the creeping dread out of my voice."New Year's Day?" she suggested. I did a quick calculation. That was annihilating 78 days out of what remained of my bachelor life. In 114 days my life would cease having any meaning whatsoever. I'd be a Mr. to someone's Mrs. The end"Sure, I can arrange to be killed before then," stumbled out of my mouth."What was that?" Hana pouted."Nothing Dear. Cosmic psychic intersection with an Al -demon; don't know what came over me," I fibbed."Man up," Hana bit my nose. "Our marriage won't be that bad if we both work at it. It isn't like I'm demanding celibacy from you." Then she mouthed 'yet'."Wait. Did you mean celibacy, as in no fun at all, or monogamy, as in only 'happy time' with you?" I desperately sought clarification."Oh," she pursed her lips. "I meant monogamy. I didn't mean to scare you.""Oh, thank goodness," I sighed."Here," her gaze turned tender. "Let me make it up to you." Hana placed one hand on my shoulder and rose up my body until my face was gently nestled in her bosom. Then she wiggled back and forth, basically because I'm a big baby and easy to please. I was alternating which nipple I was kissing in no time."Mmm," she murmured. "I've missed you." Her other hand's fingernails coasted down my abdomen and found 'Mr. Happy' had risen to attention. Okay, he'd been hopping up and down on my groin since she'd said we were 'going to bed' 30 minutes ago. Hana decided wrap up my shaft with her hand, then applied a few tender strokes. I reciprocated by cupping her left tit in one hand, forming a mound with her areola at the center, and began to twirl from the outside inward to her hardened nipple with just the tip of my tongue.It was 4 a.m. Why was I taking it slow when I had my final work review with Katrina in three hours? Hana deserved this and more. Why was Hana doing it? She was her own boss, plus her life was careening wildly outside of anything she'd imagined before she'd first laid eyes on me. Half of the financial empire she shared with her father was suddenly in the hands of a military dictatorship, her beloved father was dealing with the murder of her hated step-brother and she was marrying a Prince in a European cathedral which required someone high in the Vatican's approval process to use.Yeah, her life had gone nuts. Worse, she loved me. And I wasn't the kind of man she ever thought she'd love. She'd thought she'd never love anyone again after her life with her asshole of an ex-husband and their bitter, contentious divorce. I was barely someone she could classify, and Hana was a terribly ordered and organized person. Saying my life was messy was being generous. I was some mysterious warrior-diplomat-playboy-aristocrat who hung out with people more bizarre than me.Hana picked up her tempo. I switched breasts. Her motor was really starting to hum. Any other night, I could have moved straight to revving her up to an orgasm. I had the time to make it two without any problems. A good one and Hana would be happy and drift off to sleep. Instead, I intuited she wanted more, so we developed our own game of cat and mouse with her climax, and its suspension, being our ultimate goal.My left hand danced down the back of her ribcage like playing keys on a piano. It was a light, teasing gesture. Her hair the color of tarnished gold cascaded down as she began placing her own kisses upon my crown. Each move by one partner evoked a response by the other. Hana ran my glans over her glistening labia, getting it nice and slick. I worked down her waist, cupped her ass, and then glided over her thigh to the back of her knee where I started tickling her. She snickered."You are distracting me," she murmured. I wasn't. I knew these things."I like to get the feel of every inch of your flesh," I responded. More mirthful noises from her. Slowly, her gooey vestibule rubbed against and over the top, until I felt myself entering. There, she hesitated. I propelled my hips an inch up, twisted right then left before falling back down, a micro-fuck."Ah," she emoted her approval. "My turn." Hana's knees spread to the side, making a memorable sound on the silk sheets as she impaled herself. This time she rolled her hips forward, back, then did a slow 360 with me  inside her, letting the slow progress over her spark memories for her to savor. "I never believed sex could be like this," Hana hiccupped."How so?" I knew the answer, but wanted her to put her chaotic passions to words. It would make her happier."Experimenting, silly. Stopping in the middle and doing, this," she reversed her hip rotations this time. "I never imagined a lover having such patience, or,""Yourself as being so openly sexually adventurous?" I finished."Yeah," she huffed. "I really, really owe your college professor, plus you and all your diligence, for this," at the last moment, she encountered the gateway to her G-spot. I knew precisely where that gem was. Previously, Hana had gained a vague idea where it was from the perspective of masturbation and our prior lovemaking. Now I had let Hana rediscover that joy with my cock as her tool to utilize as she wished."You realize pregnant women want even more sex," she hummed. She was vigorously working my cock now. Hana had bridged a huge gap, sexually. Normally, a woman of Hana's quality tried to please her man first with the hope her orgasm would soon follow. I was different. My greatest sexual gratification came from her ecstasy. She was confident in that now. By bringing herself to climax, she was making me excited for what would come next."That's okay," I propped myself up on one elbow now that Hana was riding me cowgirl-style. "I dig big chicks." The open-palm slap to the chest was a given."Hercege, you, you are horrible," she growled around a feral smile. The lip-biting, tongue-sucking kiss was equally vicious, primal and leading Hana to the end of her tether. Not only was Hana's sexual trust in me/us expanding, she was putting extra effort into her physical workout regime too. She might still have a ways to go to compete with an Amazon, but it was still going to be a great night."Hercegn , I am nothing but a twisted shadow of masculine lust whose every contour is cast by your muliebrous glow," I teased. Her eyes twinkled. Yes, definitely still going to be a great night."Okay," Hana yawned, "I give up. What does 'muliebrous' mean?" She'd been holding on to that for an hour and a half. It was five-thirty and I was dressing in my biking clothes before heading into work."From the Latin 'muliebri' which means 'womanly'," I answered. Her sleepy eyes drank in both my response and my physique. I had discovered another thing Hana liked and that was to expand her academic/linguistic frontiers. She was enchanted with the idea that I liked to engage her mind along with her body, sparking on all cylinders.She'd crawled over to my side of the bed, her head resting on my pillow, soaking up my scent as she watched me. I knelt down, kissed her on her ear, cheek and finally the side of her lips. Hana was beat."Have a good day and be careful," she mumbled. Her eyes closed. Her chest rose with one last, waking breath before her sleep rhythms took her."Ditto," I whispered. I snuck into  Annela's room and planted a kiss on her head as well. The craziness of my life had a way of cascading over to the ones I loved. Loved? Oh boy,7:00 am Monday, September 8th, Graduation Day!Brielle and her buddy were humming along as the elevator doors closed. Once more, my 'hellish' schedule demanded I change in the elevator. I'd gone to gun practice with my bike clothes on, so I absolutely had to change into business attire in the magic box, in front of them.Juanita adjusting my tie was a less than subtle attempt to strangle me. I was about to be late to my final 'start of day' meeting as an intern in Executive Services, so her chastisement would have to wait. Who would have thunk it? Juanita would have to wait outside for this ceremony. Paula raced with me to be the last one in, only to have Daphne grace us with the 'news':"The meeting won't start for another fifteen minutes," she grinned. "Katrina is bringing up the 'new hires' for the fall program."I finger-flicked my head. The 84 days as an intern was merely the 'training wheels' period. To really be a member of ES was at least a two year training process. The Amazons around me had started their training for this gig when they were fifteen and were eighteen and nineteen now, their ID's said they were older for legal purposes.In theory, my four years in college was counted as 'preliminary' training and provided things such as acclimation to outsider culture ~ aka 'acting normal'. Logically, I would train under someone like Desiree or Buffy for a year before being a full-fledged member of the service."How many this time?" I asked Daphne since she seemed to be in the know."Twenty," she grinned. "We are getting two."I noticed there was still only my tiny desk in Katrina's office. That meant the new guys would be out in the office pool with everyone else. Probably for the best. The ladies were now used to having a male around, so would be careful in what they did and didn't say. I yawned."Tired," Fabiola smirked."Oh yeah," I stifled another yawn. "Met an emissary from the Pope." Fabiola glowered. "No. Seriously. I met an emissary from Holy See. I let Hana know I wanted to get married in a highly improbable place, a ruined cathedral, so she contacted the Catholic Church and one of their guys wanted to meet with me.""That had to be fun," Tigger grinned. "What does the Cult of the Nazarene think of you and the Goddess Ishara?""We actually discussed polytheism and the place of an omnipotent, omnipresent being in the scope of things," I placed my hands behind my back and rocked back and forth. "It was quite interesting. The guy knew his shit."By that, I meant he was probably with the Pope's Secret Service as well as a Brainiac with a PhD in something. He'd promised to be in touch as soon as he heard back from his superiors. He had this hot chick with him who I suspected was a nun. And if his driver wasn't ex-military, it was because he was still in the service. On the plus side, Hana had been beaming when we left, which assured me the meeting had gone well, so we had sex from 4 AM until 5:30, thus my current fatigued state."Are you going to abandon your faith?" Fabiola taunted me."I don't have faith, Fabiola of Minerva. Faith would imply I don't know there are supernatural entities screwing with our lives. I know they do exist, I've met a few. To satisfy your disingenuous curiosity, we discussed the nature of the Weave and it being the possible manifestation of God's Will.""How did that go?" Paula appeared interested."He strongly suggested I should 'revisit my Catholic roots' soon. By that, I think he meant I'm supposed to start attending church regularly," I shrugged. "The Pope is sending an envoy to the Great Khan too, so odds are good I'm getting married," I pronounced the last bit as the doom-laden prediction it was."Oh, yes," Fabiola reached passed Paula and smacked me in the chest with the back of her hand. "That is for insinuating you and I had intercourse to my Mother and the Council.""Was that chastising me for lying, or for not making it so?" I winked."Ah, no!" she pouted. "Stop lying about me."I looked down at my phone."We've got twelve minutes," I double-pumped my eyebrows. "Want to go to Katrina's bathroom?""What! No!" Fabiola

Israel startet neue Bodenoffensive in Gaza / Verhaftung Imamoglus schlägt hohe Wellen / Russland und Ukraine tauschen 372 Kriegsgefangene aus / Albanese verspricht PBS-Gesetz im Falle einer Wiederwahl / Kanada kauft Australiens Over-the-Horizon-Radarsystem / Hochwasserwarnung für Far North Queensland / Indigene Kinderbuchautorin gewinnt Literaturpreis in Victoria / Greenpeace muss Schadenersatz an Pipeline-Betreiber in North Dakota zahlen / Spekulationen über Papstvertretung beim Ostersegen / Landgericht Berlin ordnet Einziehung von 58 Immobilien von Clans an / Fußball: Socceroos treffen am Abend in Sydney auf Indonesien

This week's lore is Diablo, covering Lilith and Inarius and the creation of Sanctuary!To support the show, head to our Patreon or Kofi for exclusive content, or check out our Merch Store to grab some Lore Boys branded merch.Here's a survey that can help us grow, please fill it out: http://bit.ly/loreboys-surveyWe have more Battletech lore for those hungry to listen:BattleTech 1 - The Inner Sphere BattleTech 2 - Clans and the Deep PeripheryBattleTech 3 - The Fedcom Civil WarBattleTech 4 - The Blake JihadBattleTech 5 - Republic of the Spheres and the Dark AgeBattleTech - The Bounty HunterBattleTech 6 - The Battle of Tukayyid part 1BattleTech 6 - The Battle of Tukayyid Part 2Check out James's stream on Twitch!To join the discussion and suggest a topic, check out our Discord.As always, we super appreciate you listening, and hope that if you enjoy the show you'll tell your friends and leave us a review on iTunes and the rest our social media. We wanna hear from you guys, so shoot us an email at contact@loreboys.com .Special thanks as always to Eric Skiff for the use of his song A Night of Dizzy Spells. Get ad-free content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

GNAPES is a Canadian Scaper who just got his infernal cape on his UIM. He plays in a band and runs a small in-game clan.RSN: BagaholicClan: https://discord.gg/PykYRQ2His Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4xhlxiyPi35WrptUbMfpZ3?si=mzw3bniySf-S4GVQCAExEASupport my content directly:YouTube Membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaLDfbgwz7heFps4uMaPahg/joinPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/saederFollow me:Twitch: https://twitch.tv/saederTwitter: https://twitter.com/SaederRSYouTube: https://youtube.com/saeder

Take flight with The Magic Story Podcast and explore the dragon-filled, temporally tempestuous, and all-around amazing plane of Tarkir. We're breaking down the five clans of Tarkir: Dragonstorm with Senior Narrative Game Designer Lauren Bond and Senior Art Director Forrest Schehl, giving you a behind-the-scenes look at this truly epic set. The Magic Story Podcast is an official production of Wizards of the Coast.Hosted by Harless Snyder and Natalie Kreider Produced and directed by Angelina Harris Written and directed by Jubilee Finnegan Edited by Jonathan Choi  Preorder Tarkir: Dragonstorm: mtg.social/MagicStoryTDM Read the Story: MTGStory.com

We'd love to hear from you – we have a talanoa episode coming up! Send us your written or voice recorded messages via email or instagram for us to discuss on an episode. Please submit before the end of March 2025. Innez Haua PhD is a Māori scholar based at Macqurie University in Sydney, Australia. With hundreds of thousands of Māori living in Australia, Haua researches how her people connect to their cultures while living away from home. Australia's indigenous peoples include hundreds of Mobs and Clans of First Nations peoples as well as Torres Strait Islanders - those indigenous to the islands between Australia and Papua New Guinea. Dr Innez refers to “so-called Australia” as Te Whenua Moemoea, which means the land of dreaming in te reo Māori, honouring how First Nations' conceptualise their home. She also speaks about ‘manuhiri-tanga' asking what it means to be a good guest and what it means to be indigenous on other peoples' indigenous lands. Send us a textThe Moanan is not just an educational platform but an online community — connecting diasporas all over the world. We'd love to connect!Find us on all podcast streaming and social media platforms — including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.Email hello@themoanan.com

In Episode 238 we each talk about 5 board games that have the types and level of player interaction that we really like. We also discuss a poll on whether complexity and price should have a correlation.Timestamps:00:00 Introduction00:44 Poll Time: Do you correlate complexity with price?14:02 Player Interaction19:52 Parks (Agricola)25:35 Ankh: Gods of Egypt (Carnegie)30:31 Clans of Caledonia (Gaia Project)34:35 My Little Scythe (Wolves, Gaia Project, Sol: Last Days of a Star)40:01 Stockpile (Pan Am, Lancaster, Modern Art)45:24 Nidavellir (Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest)48:54 Great Wall (Lancaster)53:10 Hegemony: Lead Your Class to Victory56:44 Troyes1:01:00 Carcassonne (Barrage, Terraforming Mars)1:07:44 Baseball Highlights 2045 (Blood Rage, Magic: The Gathering)1:12:31 Rebirth (Tigris and Euphrates, Samurai, Blue Lagoon)1:17:17 Fractal (Rising Sun, Blood Rage, Dune, Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy, Battle for Rokugan)1:25:34 Bruxelles 1893 (Lancaster, Barrage)1:30:33 Final ThoughtsIf you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/boardgamehottakesFollow us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/boardgamehottakes.bsky.socialJoin our Board Game Arena Community: https://boardgamearena.com/group?id=11417205Join our Discord server at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/vMtAYQWURd

This week we're existing in a state of being and non-being, living in a canon that is dead, exploring the potentiality of what once was. What I mean is we're talking about the clans of Tarkir as seen in the set Khans of Tarkir, all of which was wiped out of reality by time travel! But these clans give us insight into what the new Tarkir may look like. You can read more about the new world of Tarkir in the planeswalker's guides! The first one is available here: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/planeswalkers-guide-to-tarkir-dragonstorm-part-1 If you'd like to join our Discord server to talk all things Magic, sign up for our Patreon at Patreon.com/TheVorthosCast, where everyone who pledges a dollar or more a month gets access! For $3 a month, you get access to our live listen, where you can hear the show recorded live on Thursday evenings!

 On the tenth episode of The Avatar Podcast, host/producer Albert into the newest Empire magazine teases. Enjoy!Chapters00:00:00 Start (coming soon)Linkshttps://open.spotify.com/show/7K5MUtSw66D6by2sncCGrR?si=hJ1cEFOuQXGIYlzjkE0xMwhttps://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-avatar-podcast/id1520505741https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDbvv13jn1lhBdE5pFLe8rZ5Did5YNdii&si=HVLiifQOG683j42whttps://www.instagram.com/avatarpodcasthttps://www.bsky.app/profile/AvatarPodcast.bsky.socialhttps://www.threads.net/@avatarpodcasthttps://www.x.com/AvatarShowhttps://www.facebook.com/AvatarPodcastOfficialhttps://www.tiktok.com/@AvatarPodcasthttps://www.avatarpodcast.tumblr.comhttps://www.reddit.com/u/TheAvatarPodcasthttps://ko-fi.com/avatarpodcasthttps://patreon.com/avatarpodcasthttps://imgur.com/user/AvatarPodcast/https://discord.gg/xdBcWVhPOfficialhttps://avatar.comhttps://instagram.com/avatarhttps://tiktok.com/@avatarhttps://www.facebook.com/avatarCommunity Friends (Constellation of Clans)https://avatararcticlife.orghttps://www.etsy.com/au/shop/BecomingNavihttps://www.youtube.com/@DiscoveringPandorahttps://www.youtube.com/@AvatarsRobinhttps://www.youtube.com/@AvatarPodhttps://www.youtube.com/@AVTRhttps://www.youtube.com/@AvatarTheoryhttps://kelutral.orgCredits and LinksThe Power of Avatar Documentary (The Angry Hippie)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BTPwoesL64(Please reach out if there's any credit you'd like to know or have added to this description)

Es zirpt und surrt und plätschert – der größte Regenwald der Welt beherbergt nicht nur eine unglaubliche Artenvielfalt, der Amazonas ist auch das Zuhause des Volks der Tenharim. Doch das Gebiet wird seit Jahrzehnten bedroht: durch Abholzungen, Gold-, Öl- und Gasförderungen. Der junge Krieger Madarejúwa Tenharim und sein Volk wollen das nicht hinnehmen – und kämpfen gegen die Zerstörung ihrer Heimat. Wie sieht das Leben der Tenharim in und mit der Natur dort aus? Wie kämpfen sie für ihr Leben im Regenwald? Die Geschichte der Tenharim erzählen Madarejúwa und der Journalist und Autor Thomas Fischermann in ihrem Buch “Der letzte Herr des Waldes – Ein Indianerkrieger aus dem Amazonas erzählt vom Kampf gegen die Zerstörung seiner Heimat und von den Geistern des Urwalds” (Ullstein Verlag). Bereits in Folge 315 sind wir mit Thomas Fischermann in das Amazonasgebiet gereist: Zu den letzten Jaguarschamanen des Clans der Huhuteni. In dieser Folge berichtete Thomas von der Zauberei und der Kraft der dort lebenden Schamanen. Grundlage des Gesprächs war sein Buch “Der Sohn des Schamanen - Die letzten Zauberer am Amazonas kämpfen um das magische Erbe ihrer Welt” (Heyne Verlag), das er zusammen mit dem Schamanenlehrling Dzuliferi Huhuteni verfasste. Dieses Mal sprechen wir mit Thomas also darüber, welche Lösungsansätze es geben kann, um die Natur des Amazonasregenwaldes und die Heimat der Tenharim zu schützen. Redaktion: Janna OlsonPostproduktion: Erik LorenzDieser Podcast wird auch durch unsere Hörerschaft ermöglicht. Wenn du gern zuhörst, kannst du dazu beitragen, dass unsere Show auch weiterhin besteht und regelmäßig erscheint. Zum Dank erhältst du Zugriff auf unseren werbefreien Feed und auf unsere Bonusfolgen. Diese Möglichkeiten zur Unterstützung bestehen:Weltwach Supporters Club bei Steady. Du kannst ihn auch direkt über Spotify ansteuern. Alternativ kannst du bei Apple Podcasts UnterstützerIn werden.WERBEPARTNERhttps://linktr.ee/weltwachSTAY IN TOUCH:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weltwach/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/weltwach/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Weltwach/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/WELTWACHNewsletter: https://weltwach.de/newsletter/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Art's past comes looking for him.  Awkward.   --- Intro & Outtro Music by: Jack Le Breton Website: jacklebreton.com Twitter & Instagram: @Jack_Le_Breton   Website: https://www.Withoutanetpod.com Discord link https://discord.gg/TbE5Ajc If you like the show, swing by our Patreon where you can get access to over 15 extra hours of content. https://www.patreon.com/posts/43800673 Email us: Withoutanetpod@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WithoutANetPodcast Copyright: Without A Net Podcast 2018-2025   Disclaimer: This Vampire: The Masquerade chronicle is a non-official, fan-created work by the Without A Net Podcast.  Portions of the materials used in this Actual Play are the copyrights and trademarks of Paradox Interactive AB and are used with their permission.  All rights are reserved.  For any further information in those regards you can find them at worldofdarkness.com.

Oldton is a relatively new Old School player who enjoys alting, boosting, and efficient gaming. He's a staff member of Log Chasers clan, and member of SKSC, Totus, and a booster in Petcord.Twitter: https://x.com/oldton_rsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@oldton_rsSupport my content directly:YouTube Membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaLDfbgwz7heFps4uMaPahg/joinPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/saederFollow me:Twitch: https://twitch.tv/saederTwitter: https://twitter.com/SaederRSYouTube: https://youtube.com/saeder Support this podcast on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time for the blood to flow. Brian, Kris, Will, and Lucas bring their top 40 games of 2024 and then brutally cut each other's choices until only the 10 best remain. Enjoy!TOPICS & TIMESTAMPS:Intro - 0:00 |Format Explanation - 1:39 |Kris' Top 10 - 4:57 |Will's Top 10 - 5:40 |Lucas' Top 10 - 6:17 |Brian's Top 10 - 4:57 |Building The List - 9:16 |Protected Games - 11:16 |V Rising - 13:36 |Metaphor: ReFantazio - 14:29 |The Axis Unseen - 23:06 |Marvel Rivals - 27:09 |Read Only Memories: Neurodiver - 32:22 |Inkbound - 35:25 |Indika - 40:10 |Metal Slug Tactics - 45:00 |Rise Of The Ronin - 51:04 |Earth Defense Force 6 - 59:05 |Wizardry - 1:08:56 |Indiana Jones & The Great Circle - 1:16:20 |Lorelei & the Laser Eyes - 1:25:52 |Yars Rising - 1:30:00 |Fate/Stay Night Remastered - 1:37:20 |Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred - 1:43:33 |Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance - 1:50:50 |Neva - 1:53:55 |SMTV (Full Discussion) - 2:00:05 |MechWarrior 5: Clans - 2:09:20 |Pacific Drive - 2:18:50 |Dustborn - 2:28:05 |Shiren The Wanderer - 2:32:02 |Helldivers 2 - 2:39:53 |Narrowing It Down To The Top 10 - Part 1 |More Helldivers 2 - 2:52:53 |Wizardry Part 2 - 2:58:38 |Like A Dragon - Infinite Wealth - 3:04:44 |UFO50 - 3:11:20 |MechWarrior 5: Clans - 3:21:55 |Ordering The Top 10 - 3:26:38 |Tekken 8 - 3:27:32 |SaGa Emerald Beyond - 3:35:07 |Skald: Against The Black Priory - 3:46:24 |Balatro - 3:53:38 |Will's Proposed Top 10 Order - 4:01:19 |Mouthwashing - 4:06:08 |1000xResist - 4:10:44 |The Final Ordered List & Honorable Mentions - 4:15:45 |Heart & Critic Picks - 4:17:49 |POTENTIAL EPISODE TITLES (EACH "+" IS A HOST VOTE):John Platformers |++Torso Like A Dr. Mario Level |++Paint Me Like One Of Your French Turtles |I Cut My Own Game In Solidarity |A Weird Hill To Die On, But At Least You're Dead |Stockpiling Social Capital |How About That Invisible Woman, Though? |+Man Cannot Live On Metroid Alone |We Solved The Action Game 20 Years Ago |+If This Is Being Sick, I Don't Wanna Be Well |Amazing Hot Dog |When You Don't Want The SMT Cake |I Was Trying To Be Reasonable |+Send It Into The Great Emerald Beyond |What If We Remade Cuneiform? |Allowing Yourself To Be Consumed By The Darkness |+I Want You To Tell Playstack It Was Me |+Hair to Hair, Sphere to Square, 6 to 1 |+In The Company Of Three Very Long Men |The Platformers Top 10 Games of 20241000xResistMouthwashingSkald: Against the Black PrioryTekken 8LAD: Infinite WealthSaGa Emerald BeyondPacific DriveMechWarrior 5: ClansBalatroWizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad OverlordHONORABLE MENTIONS:V Rising |Metaphor: ReFantazio |Marvel Rivals |Read Only Memories: Neurodiver |Inkbound |Metal Slug: Tactics |Rise of the Ronin |EDF 6 |Indiana Jones & the Great Circle |Lorelei & the Laser Eyes |Yars Rising |Fate/Stay Night Remastered |Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred |Indika |Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance |The Axis Unseen |Dustborn |Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island |Helldivers 2 |Neva |UFO 50 |Power Rangers Rita's Rewind |Castlevania Dominus Collection |Harold Halibut |Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven |Shadow Generations |Tactical Breach Wizards |Cataclismo (Early Access) |Thank Goodness You're Here |Dragon Age: The Veilguard |Arranger |Marvel VS Capcom Infinite & Beyond (Mod) |MvC Collection |[The Platformers Video Game Podcast is created, hosted, written, edited & streamed (Twitch.tv/Ribnax) by Brian ‘Ribnax' Barnett]

On the ninth episode of The Avatar Podcast, host/producer Albert dives into a special clips segment

Lone Gym Rat is a YouTuber focused on completing the collection log on his ironman. JT plays an ironman and is currently dry on mega-rares from all three raids. LGR & JT run the Collection Log clan "Log Chasers"LGR YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LoneGymRatJT X: https://x.com/GreyhelmedJT YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GreyhelmedJT Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/greyhelmedLog Chasers Discord: https://discord.gg/wGrfdcKeYrSupport my content directly:YouTube Membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaLDfbgwz7heFps4uMaPahg/joinPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/saederFollow me:Twitch: https://twitch.tv/saederTwitter: https://twitter.com/SaederRSYouTube: https://youtube.com/saeder Support this podcast on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

В этом выпуске мы рассказываем о КНДР - о домовых комитетах и талонах на рестораны, частном секторе, которого нет (но он есть), Трех Полководцах Пэктусана и трех видах денег, особо глубоком метро и поездках за сто первый километр. В после-шоу Аур спасает своих колонистов на Марсе от песчаной бури, а также начинает добычу полезных ископаемых на астероидах. Домнин, тем временем, приводит в порядок жилище, параллельно играя в MechWarrior 5: Clans, после чего выигрывает за Мексику в Victoria 3. В завершение подкаста обсуждаем очередные новости про Гренландию и Канаду.

In today's episode, Trenayce will open with the “The Internal Light Meditation” and then we will look at all the readings, for all the Clans, and summarize the overall energy of humanity at this time. This is a Deep Message that you don't want to miss! #TheAwakening  #Transformation  #Empowerment  #EarthAstrology  #Enlightenment