So basically there is something missing in my memory and I cannot find it myself so I thought id ask. How exactly did En find out Nikaido is the Sorcerer who can control time? I remember she went to this Smoke Shop, sold her stuff but then killed the Owner and destroyed the Evidence. Later on En buys the shop (I have no idea why if you know please enlighten me) and they somehow find out both about the magic of Ebisu (she sold smoke there too before she went wild and I guess they checked the storage of the store they now own but correct me if im wrong).
Now then once more later on we see one of the workers saying they found traces of a Sorcerer who can control time, what traces would those be? He later then sees an image of Nikaido and connects the dots but some points here confuse me a little. Id appreciate if someone could help me out here and enlighten me.
Thanks in Advance and yes for now im Anime only until I can enjoy the physical versions which im still missing two of.

Hey everyone,
Lately, I've been feeling anxious and scared about an incident that happened around my late freshman to sophomore year of high school. For context, I graduated last year, and this is my first year of college. Throughout my life, I’ve had some questionable friends, starting from when I met someone in 7th grade who was a bad influence. This friend, along with others we hung out with, liked doing illegal things, which I did not participate in—I have a clean record, unlike them.
By freshman year, I had started to distance myself from them, and when COVID hit in late freshman year, I stopped hanging out with them altogether. We still messaged each other occasionally, but during this time, my friend from 7th grade started his own gang. I was never a part of it, though I regret still talking to them.
After starting his gang, he got into a fight with the biggest local gang. Many group chats were created with me in them, and for the first two months, I was involved in some smack-talking (let me make it clear that by first two months I meant more like I only talked like 5-6 time during that time frame). I only directed my comments at one person, saying things like “you’re a pssy” or “come fight me, btch.” However, I never intended to fight and didn’t respond when he directly messaged me. He also found out what I looked like and shared my picture in the group chat.
This all happened 3-4 years ago. After that incident, I stopped talking because I didn’t want to fight anyone. My “friends” kept dissing their rivals and doing who knows what, and I’m afraid they might think I was part of my friend’s gang, which I wasn’t.
There was another incident a few months later where someone in a group chat dissed my friend's gang and asked if I wanted to fight. I declined and was eventually kicked from the group chat, with someone saying they couldn’t believe they were beefing with dorks. This made me think they associated me with my friend’s gang.
I've sought advice, and most people say I should be fine since it was so long ago and they probably forgot. But I’m still scared that I could be in danger. I don’t know what my “friends” might have done to them, and I worry I might be seen as a target.
Can anyone advise me on how to proceed? What can I do to ensure I’m not a target? Should I try messaging the person who directly messaged me, or someone higher up in their gang? What should I do?

I had a driver honk repeatedly outside my house waking me up saying that my house has dogs and that they could be on the loose. All of this while we can both hear my dogs barking from inside my house. I made sure to have them inside following the tracking information so the driver would feel safe.
I love Amazons tracking service because I'm able to keep my dogs inside within the delivery window. There has been one or two times they have been out but they have just barked and came to the door when I called them.
So is this normal behavior because someone's house has dogs?

As A Lot Of People Know, Toradora Portable In Its Base Game Only Is Played In Japanese. This To Many People’s Frustration Has Caused A Group Of People To Make An English Patch Of The Game’s Dialogue. I Personally Have Spent Hours Trying To Play It Myself. And After All My Hard Work I Can Give A Detailed Description On How To Play Toradora Portable In English Using An Emulator. I Set Out To Make This Post As I Find No One Has BotheredTo Try Make One.
Note : This Guide Is For Apple Users And Can Probably Be Done On Android In A Much Simpler Easier Fashion.
Upon Opening Your iPhone, You’ll Have Two Options. I’ll Explain To The Best Of My Ability Yet I Do Admit, For Those Unfortunate To Not Understand Much About Emulation, This May Confuse You.
Your First Choice Is To Download PPSSPP Off The App Store. This Is The Emulator You’ll Use For Toradora Portable As It’s Pretty Reliable If You Can Function It Correctly. PPSSPP Has Only Recently Come To The App Store And Upon Its Entrance To The App Store, Was Promptly Removed For Reasons Relating To Apple’s Privacy Policy And Contract. It Has Recently Returned And I Believe That The Creator Of PPSSPP Will Fight Hard To Keep The App On The App Store But I Wouldn’t Be Surprised If It Gets Removed Once Again In The Near Future. Downloading Off The App Store Will Always Be The Most Reliable Way, Yet I Do Not Know If It Will Last.
Your Second Choice Is To Download PPSSPP Through Questionable Sources. You Can Either Jailbreak Your Phone With A Computer Or Choose A Method That Will Work Without Breaking Your Phone. There’s A Video I’ll Leave The Link For Below Which Is A Much “Safer..?” Way To Download PPSSPP Without Breaking Your Phone But I Advise You Be Careful As The Video Does Seem Sketchy.
https://youtu.be/6FqNz4Og3qc?si=IYpj1_uiAe-wlLpy
Note : Downloading PPSSPP On The Site And Importing Into E-Sign Sometimes Gives Messages That Are Infuriating To Get Around, I’ll Explain How I Originally Got Around It Before Downloading The App Off The App Store.
Error Message One : This Apps Integrity Couldn’t Be Verified
Honestly I Haven’t The Slightest Clue On Fixing This Yet There Are Some Pretty Easy To Find Videos On YouTube Giving Some Possible Way To Solve This.
Error Message Two : This App Needs To Be Updated By The Developer.
You’re Downloading An Older Version. You Can Easily Solve By Checking The Website Download Page Again And Checking The Archive. In The Archive It’s Sorted Oldest To Newest. Newer Versions Are At The Very Bottom But You Can Solve This By Clicking “Click To Sort Backwards”
Note : These Errors Messages Are Only Received Through These Risky Methods.
Next You Need To Download An English Patch Of The Game. Most Say Use Toradora.xyz.is But I Find Difficulty Through That Method As It Brings Up A Separate Problem Later. I Used The Link Below And This Seems To Work Well.
https://romsfun.com/download/tora-dora-portable-12635/2
Once You Download It, You Have To Open Your Files App. Now Depending On Who You Are It’s Probably A Bit Messy. Now You’ll Notice The Addition Of The Folder PPSSPP. Leave This For Now. You Want To Search For The File You Just Downloaded And Hold Down On It. A Side Menu Appears Of Which You Click Move And Find The PPSSPP Folder. You Open It And You Put It In That Folder By Clicking Either Copy Or Move. There Should Be A Separate Folder Inside, Just Ignore It. If Not Open PPSSPP First And Then Move The File.
Once Complete You Load PPSSPP And A Little Tab Has Appeared In The App. You Click On It And Click Install And You Should Have Toradora Portable Downloaded. If You Have Any Questions Feel Free To Ask Below.

Hi everyone (31 M). I am a third year medical student who is going to be rotating at the hospital in his home town for the next two years. I moved in with my family cuz they live about 15 minutes from the hospital that I’ll be at. I am newly single and I want to try date but I feel weird about. One being that I am 31 years old and in school still and two that I’ll be living at home with my family. How do I date like this and it makes me feel undateable?

After switching to the Z system right when the Z 6 and the Z 24 - 70 2.8 came out, I have to post just how amazed I am with the quality of that glass.
My first lens was the Z 24 – 70 2.8 which I bought as a work horse and I was immensely impressed with the fidelity of the images.
Then I bought the 50 1.8 more for myself and I was even more impressed. It’s more than the sharpness, it’s also the colors and the contrast that are just something else. It’s got some quality that I can’t really describe. At its best the images look like you can feel the depth and the textures.
Then I got myself the 14 - 30 f4 (also for work) which is also very sharp wide open, though not as amazing as the other two.
Finally I got myself the mc 105 2.8 and I am even more impressed. All photos are just so rich and brilliantly sharp … I could take photos with it all day just to pixel peep the images.
That being said, the sensor of the Z6 seems to be very good, too, the ergonomics are great, the autofocus is crap, though.
Also I don’t have much Experience with other modern glass but my impression is that there is something special about Z glass. It’s not the sharpness alone, it’s something else.
What are your impressions with Z glass?

First, the pictures. I had my (now discontinued) Rancourt Bennett court sneakers in cream re-soled with a welt construction.
Service: Custom Leather Resole with Welt from Goods and Services, an LA-based cobbler specializing in sneakers and modern, custom work.
The product comes with a choice of outsole, midsole, welt, and sidewall. I chose the white Vibram mini ripple outsole, white midsole, natural welt, and tan sidewall.
Cost: $300 + shipping to LA (I paid around $17 via UPS from the east coast US)
Timeline: ~13 weeks door to door
The originally estimated turnaround time once in the workshop was estimated at 6-8 weeks, but it actually ended up being about 10 weeks. Here's the detailed timeline: - February 25th: I shipped the shoes out. - March 6th: Received an email from Goods and Services that they had my shoes. - May 6th: I emailed to inquire about the status. The customer service rep said my shoes were close to the front of the queue and offered to have me select my midsole, welt, and sidewall colors right then so they could be started on as soon as possible. - May 15th: I received an email that they would be starting on the shoes soon. - May 21st: Shoes shipped out. - May 28th: Package arrived at my door.
Why did I do this?: The lactae hevea soles were super squishy and comfy when I first got them, but as many have noted before me, wore out pretty quickly. Particularly in the ball of the foot, the sole was very thin and the footbed was even thinning out and cracking. My bursitis was flaring up very quickly when I'd wear the shoes, so I was tending to avoid putting them on. I originally got the shoes in Fall 2021, so I only wore them for about two years. I reached out to Rancourt and they said that they could not do a resole. Not eager to throw some nice leather shoes in the trash, I decided to give Goods and Services a whirl. I had seen some videos of their work on Youtube and thought the end results looked really cool. I know it's a little on the expensive side, but I'm happy with the product I received and excited to have a unique pair of shoes that represent a blend of craftsmanship from two small American businesses. And hopefully a future replacement of the Vibram mini ripple will be much cheaper than this resole was!
Quality: The work is solid, as the shoes have about doubled in weight from before I sent them out. One could nitpick small details of alignment and stitching if one wanted to, but at a glance I think they look great and really stylish!
A couple things that Goods and Services did that I appreciate: cleaned up the suede uppers a bit, and glued together the upper and liner around the heel where the stitching was coming apart. I asked about the latter in an email I sent before making my purchase and was quoted $100 or $40 for repairs depending on how in-depth and visible I wanted it to be. I was pleasantly surprised to find they noticed and glued it up for no extra charge.
Comfort: So far, I've only worn them around the house. The soles need to be broken in, but I'm already so much happier having more substance beneath my feet. I can feel what seems to be some cork filling, particularly in the worn down area under the ball of my foot - I'm assuming that'll distribute and settle in after several wears. The beauty of doing a resole is that the uppers still comfortably fit just like they used to beforehand.
Overall, I'm happy with my purchase and really looking forward to getting to wear these shoes for many more years. The turnaround time is unfortunately slow, but if you've got a pair of old sneakers collecting dust in your closet and are interested in this kind of modification, I recommend going for it!

Was recently scrolling on Etsy for berserk merch and came across this cool decoration for my desk so I went ahead and bought two.(One for my friend.)(Not an advertisement just letting you guys know) 🥰🥰🥰

First and foremost for anyone curious, I've been trying to retrieve my legal documents for like two/three years now. Basically what happened was I planned on moving out of CA as soon as I turned 18, I told my foster mom, and she gave me a month to pack up and move out. Weirdly enough while getting to the end of the month, and I've already *been* finished with packing, she hadn't given me my legal documents yet? But when I went to go ask her about it she got all defensive and said I didn't need/deserve(??) them??? And when I tried telling her about how it was literally one of my first rights as a foster child, she got even more defensive and said I, quote; "wouldn't know a damn thing about what you need if you didn't have that phone." (Yea, she's fucked. :(( ) So I just gave up on it.
After my partner helped me move up to WA, I've been trying to figure out how to get my shit together since. Luckily, I've gotten at least my SSN, and my birth certificate. But I can't get any transcripts from my previous highschool, no matter who I've called so far (I went so far as to contact my school's administration office, but nothing.) and from what I know, unless I can get legal documents from the shitty foster agency I was dropped into (I got transferred from San Bernardino to this agency called Victor, it's in Perris CA) I'm screwed!! Pls help me reddit :"3

I've been working at a music school for several years and recently, the entire staff was presented with a new contract via email and was told to sign and send it back the next day. The owner stated that these are new policies. There are several points that concern me, especially considering my status as an independent contractor. The contract appears hastily drafted and not professionally prepared. I'm hoping to get some advice on whether I should sign it, and if I do, what aspects I can negotiate without jeopardizing my job.
It's worth mentioning that when I was initially hired, I never signed nor was presented with a contract. Admittedly, at the time, I didn't fully understand the implications of being an independent contractor, so I didn't question it. It's possible they overlooked providing me with the contract, or perhaps they assumed our longstanding relationship negated the need for formal documentation. Regardless, this is their standard procedure for hiring teachers, is hiring them on as 1099 workers. Here are some concerning points:

1. Mandatory Unpaid Meetings: The contract requires attendance at a yearly mandatory meeting without compensation.
2. Non-Compete Clause: Prohibits working for competitors while contracted with the academy.
3. Confidentiality of Salary Information: Prohibits discussing salaries with other employees.
4. Penalties for Late Timesheets: Imposes a $25 penalty for each day a timesheet is late.
5. Notice Period for Leaving: Requires a two-month notice period before leaving.

Example of the Contract Language:
Here's how some of the contract reads:

1. Teachers will agree with management on salary. Yearly evaluations will be implemented to determine salary rate and potential salary increases. Teachers should NOT discuss salaries with other employees. (side note: we are not on salary)
   
2. If applicable, teachers will teach all family members of students enrolled. No family members will be taught outside of the studio on the teacher’s own schedule. Failure to comply with this rule is grounds for dismissal and legal action.
   
3. Any teachers that are terminated will not deserve the right to continue any working relationships with clients previously contracted with the school.
   
4. Teachers will agree to give the school TWO MONTHS notice if leaving the school. (Private lessons)
   
5. Private Teachers will arrive 15 minutes prior to the first lesson of the day to prepare for lessons. (side note: those 15 minutes are unpaid)
   
6. All staff members will agree to resign if three strikes are administered for not adhering to the above or additional policies provided by the owner.
   
7. Contract teachers will NOT create any type of 501-C or foundation with association with any families enrolled with the school.
   
8. Teachers will not work for any competitors while 1099 contractors with the Academy, unless discussed and approved with the owner.
   
9. Yearly Mandatory Meeting: Teachers will be asked to attend a one-day meeting yearly. (No pay is required by the studio to attend this meeting, as it will be part of your staff duty)
   
10. All teachers will be considered 1099 workers
    

Recent Mandatory Meeting Incident:
Recently, we had a mandatory meeting at a sophisticated venue that spanned 5 hours, including my travel time (I live an hour away). I included my hours in the monthly timesheet we send, but the owner stated they do not pay "employees" for mandatory staff meetings and planned to deduct that pay. I emailed back, basically explaining that this is considered paid work time. They responded that they would pay me this one last time, but only myself and another person who was typing the "meeting minutes" would be compensated.
Following this, the owner sent an email to all staff stating they will not be paying for mandatory meetings because they spent thousands on the venue, and we should be grateful for this "treat." They emphasized the necessity of the meeting. There were over 30 workers at this meeting. It seems like the owners want to treat us as employees, even though we are 1099 workers.
My Questions:

1. What aspects should I prioritize for negotiation to make the contract more fair?
2. How can I negotiate these terms without risking my job?
3. Has anyone dealt with a similar situation, and what was your experience?
4. What are my rights in this situation as an independent contractor?

Given my long history with the school and my multiple roles, I'm hoping for advice on how to approach this situation delicately. I want to maintain a good relationship with the owner while ensuring the terms are reasonable and reflective of my status as an independent contractor.
Thanks in advance for your help!

So, we’ve been dating for 7 months, and in January we both resolved to quit a bad habit. I stopped eating chocolate before dinner and he stopped vaping. I’m aware how hard it is to quit smoking of any kind so I was just proud he was even trying.
He was doing really well for like four months but then one day he came in my apartment with a vape cartridge in his hand and I was like “did you start smoking again?!” And he immediately said no, this was just leftover in my car. But I thought that was strange so I pressed him again and he still insisted no and even said what would be the big deal if I did in fact slip ? He even said hey look, proceeded to inhale it for a second to demonstrate the cartridge was old and almost empty. Which I thought was weird because a real addict who quit smoking wouldn’t casually inhale like that. And I said it’s more that you lied to me about it, that’s what was upsetting me more than even the thought of him smoking again.
That night he went home and I went to clean up and found another vape cartridge (a second one, different color) on the floor of my basement and he just so happened to send me a picture of something in his house that he didn’t realize had damning evidence in it. In the corner of his photo I saw two more vape cartridges.
Naturally I called him and was like you’re kidding me right ? And he continued to deny it, at which point I got very angry and decided to just outright say, you know I know you’re smoking again right? He got really quiet, then finally said I know.
I was SO upset, again because he lied to me, and he did it so convincingly too! Not just a one and done “no”, but like repeated times, demonstrations, etc.
He apologized profusely and said he was ashamed and didn’t want me to be disappointed. But this is worse! Because now I don’t trust him AT ALL. He says I’m being too much. But I don’t know, am I ? Now even when we talk about our future I doubt everything he says.

So, I’m coming at this backwards, I know. I have three pairs of Arizonas I size 44 narrow. Two are soft foot bed and one is regular. I just measured my foot and it is 270mm. If I add 5mm for the heel and 10 mm for the toes, I get 285mm, which is a size 44. Am I correct? Thanks!

Hello all. I am a 28-year-old female and a mother of two littles. Within the last month or so I have been waking up every morning with my hands feeling stiff. It feels like a basketball or something has jammed all four of my fingers. My right hand is worse, but my left hand is experiencing this too. (I'm left-handed) I'm starting to experience pain in the joints of all of my digit fingers and at the base of my thumbs. My wrists, and my elbows.
Occasionally, the discomfort causes me to have to end my task. For example, when I was pulling weeds I couldn't take it anymore. I was at an anniversary dinner with my husband and I ordered crab legs and couldn't do it without help (poor me, no crab legs, I know. It's just to give a good example.) Aside from this, I don't have any other symptoms.
The discomfort is relatively new. I woke up one day with the hand thing, and since then I've had a lot more discomfort throughout the day when I'm doing fine-motor things. When you google "stiff joints in the morning" and "28-year-old, joint pain in both hands" RA comes up. Maybe you can walk me off a ledge here. Am I being dramatic here and grossly jumping to conclusions? Is RA much worse than this from the get-go?
I am scheduled to see a doctor, but I have to wait a while longer. Tell me what your experience was like.

My asd 4 year old is a Disney super fan. We have to play Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique every day (I’m getting super good at Elsa and Anna’s hairdos). We listen to the It’s a Small World song multiple times a day 😅. Her favorite YouTube videos are of the parades, she knows a ton of fun facts about the park, etc. Y’all get the picture.
That being said her dad and I are considering not going back for a bit 🫣. We’ve been twice for her birthday and she loved it but this last trip there was a $50 sale I guess and the lines were so long it made it truly miserable. Even with DAS there was no way we could do more than a few rides. No photo ops. Toontown was so hectic and busy that even just playing in the playground area was a no go. We always buy genie+ and avoid using DAS because she’s low support needs most of the time but at one point that early march trip every ride was a 1+ hour wait and the character meet and greets were worse. That’s just not doable for our family.
We are trying to decide if we go back in the next couple years and it makes me sad to consider not going when she loves it so much but man the meltdowns and disappointment broke our hearts and it was really hard on her.
Is that info on the sale days posted anywhere? Is that just a pointless thing to figure out? Is there another Disney experience that will give her some Disney magic but not be so expensive to waste (we live far away). Florida is a no go for us because of the temps and medical issues. Any info is appreciated!

Often a question comes up in this subreddit: "I have a busy life, how do I fit in practice?"
The first thing to realize is that there are two main paths to awakening, the ascetic and the householder. Both are equally valid.
The vast majority of meditation advice is for the ascetic. This is the path for one who gives up career, money, family, sex, and personal ambition, and becomes a full-time monk, nun, or yogi.
That's a legit way to get enlightened. If that's your path, go for it. And then there's the rest of us. We can still awaken, it just looks a bit different.

Attitude

The most important bit is your attitude towards practice. The attitude that's helpful is "my life, exactly as it is, is the best environment to awaken."
Don't cultivate craving by imagining "if only's." "If only I was on full-time retreat," "if only my work was more peaceful," "if only I didn't have kids." That's just going in the direction of more suffering.
Don't resist things as they are. Instead, look for opportunities to wake up right here, right now, in the very midst of your life. Resolve to wake up on your morning commute, while cooking food for your kids, while taking out the garbage, while watching your child sleep, while sitting in yet another Zoom meeting, and so on.
Such intentions are extremely powerful.

Imperfect Practice is Perfect

Ascetic results are going to look differently than householder results. The ascetic path is basically remove every possible trigger from your environment. That's nice if you can get it, as it leads to profound levels of inner peace.
But for us householders, we are constantly subjected to our personal triggers, whether that's a demanding boss, a screaming baby, an angry spouse, or an endless number of screen-based distractions. It's as if we are meditating in an active war zone.
So instead of aiming for perfect samatha, extremely deep jhana, boundless love and compassion, or blindingly clear insight into the nature of reality, try aiming for making consistent progress on practical things.
A little bit less angry this week than last week? Excellent work! Sadness decreasing? Wonderful! Less anxiety than you used to have? You're doing great!
You can gradually reduce suffering while still being quite imperfect. Give yourself metta when you inevitably fail (and you will). Self-compassion is a huge part of the householder path, precisely because you are constantly being exposed to situations where anyone would find it challenging to remain calm.
So don't concern yourself with comparisons between your practice and anyone else. Don't concern yourself with whether you are peaceful enough, enlightened enough, or aware enough. Just continue to do the best you can, with the circumstances you've got.

Make Everything Into Practice

Yes, retreat time is helpful. Yes, formal meditation time "on the cushion" is helpful. Do what you can there. And then try to make everything into practice.
How present can you be while driving, while having a conversation with a coworker, while sipping that morning coffee, while making love? Everything can be an opportunity for greater awareness, kindness, sensory clarity, etc.
It can help if you find a practice that you discover you can do while doing other activities. Some practices are better for this than others. I find that centering in the hara is particularly adapted to practicing while doing things, where as a S.N. Goenka body scan Vipassana is only good for passive activities. Open-eye meditations such as Zen and Dzogchen tend to adapt better to action than closed-eye, although I still enjoy a good closed-eye meditation too.
Try different meditation techniques and see which ones you can easily do in the midst of driving, talking, working on a computer, and so on.

Incorporate Microhits

Do lots and lots of microhits (as Shinzen Young calls them) of meditation throughout the day.
Even just 10 mindful breaths when transitioning between tasks or activities can be remarkably amazing:

• After getting in your car but before turning it on,
• After arriving at your destination but before getting out of the car,
• After using the bathroom,
• After a meeting is over, etc.

By threading in 10-20 micro meditations of 30-120 seconds during the day, you'll notice a significant difference. Or at least I do. John Kabat-Zinn's now ancient book on mindfulness called Full Catastrophe Living is full of ideas for doing this sort of thing. It's overlooked by modern meditators, but still a classic.
Microhits tend to work best for me if I get 20-45 minutes of formal practice time in the morning, and then do the same practice for my microhits. Like if I'm doing centering in hara for 45 minutes in the morning, I'll do 30-120 second "meditations" where I center myself throughout the day. It's easy to return to a state you've already been strongly in earlier that same day.
With the attitude "My life is the perfect context for awakening," practicing imperfectly but aiming to make tiny improvements, making every activity all day long into practice, and incorporating microhits during the day, you can make huge progress in awakening right here, right now.
May all beings be happy and free from suffering! ❤️

I attached a picture because l'm not quite sure how to explain the situation but here we go https://imgur.com/a/rFOKHoJ My daughter has 4 wisdom teeth one that is severely impacted against her 12 year molars. Two orthodontists said we can remove her wisdom tooth and save the molar with braces however the surgeon says they can try but it's basically impossible. Should we use braces to attempt to lift the tooth or just remove it along with her bottom wisdom teeth? Any and all advice much appreciated!

Discord: https://discord.gg/FmFzg9yU Patreon: patreon.com/FalconBookWork
2/15/2048 (military calendar)
CIA-operated Spaceship, Lunar-Mars Trajectory

*****

While Captain Mathew Ryder leaned into his chair while he read a military history book, he opened one of the food-based smoothies and drank it. As he swallowed, the captain's senses went on the fritz as they were overwhelmed by the fruity taste, feeling disgusted. "You know, I am never going to drink these again. I am so sick of them."
Warrant Officer One Rommel King laughed. "I never thought I would miss MREs. If these were the last food on Earth, I'd shoot myself."
Ryder chuckled as he understood the sentiment. "Speaking of Earth, what do you plan on doing once we return?"
Sergeant First Class Gregory Barrett leaned forward. "Probably go to the pool bar and hustle some privates for money. Then a five-star meal."
"Don't you think that is too easy to fish?” King asked.
"Maybe," Barrett replied. "I don't need the money; I just enjoy seeing that look in their eyes that an old timer like me whipped their asses."
"I will drink to that," King stated. "What about you, sir, after this pleasure cruise?"
"I know what he is doing," Wallace interrupted. "Going to the club to get some senoritas."
Barrett leaned around his chair to face his subordinate. "Knock it off, Wallace, or you will spend the rest of the trip outside."
"I wouldn't mind working on my tan," Wallace replied as he flexed his arms.
“You can try, my friend, but you will never be as good-looking as me,” Barrios replied as he looked at his tablet.
"Man, those two can be a handful," Barrett said.
"But when he is right, he is right," King said. "Matt, you do need to move on."
The Captain of Comanche, out of everyone on the team, shook his head with a grin. Staff Sergeants Eger Wallace and Bruno Barrios acted like brothers, closer to Twins than brothers. It was customary to see them competing for dominance, but they always had each other back in a sticky situation. To Wallace's point, though, he knew that the bulky Sergeant was correct. He had to work on his life. While he loved his career, there had to be more.
As the captain looked for the right words to convey what was on his mind, his eyes were drawn to the ceiling lights flickering. They suddenly turned off, and for a moment, the room was pitched black before a red glow from the emergency lights switched on.
"Comanche." Ryder didn't have to say more as his team started to mobilize, getting into their combat space suits.
Mathew Ryder unbuckled his seatbelt and pushed himself toward his space suit. Once dressed, he then floated to the ship intercom. He could feel the starship shake as he floated, making him wonder if they hit something. "Ryder to Bridge."
Hearing nothing, this started to concern the young captain. It seemed what Commander Nelson was worried about was coming to fruition.
"Rommel," Ryder said. "I cannot get through to the Bridge. Once Comanche regrouped, I want you to prepare a team and investigate."
"I wouldn't bother," Barrios said.
Hearing Bruno Barrios calling for him, the captain saw the Sergeant staring out into the void by the window.
Quickly floating himself to Barrios, Ryder grabbed a handle and looked outside. To his horror, he saw one of the bridge crew float past them. "We are under attack."
"Who are we missing?" Ryder asked.
“Kurt and Higgins are in the barracks,” Barrett replied. “Gonzales is guarding the package.”
Realizing how spread thin they were, Ryder knew they had to act fast or end up like the bridge crew. His first priority was to secure their section of the ship so they were not caught with their pants down. Even now, they could hear some weapons fire. Most likely, the attackers engaged any remaining crew scattered throughout the ship.
"George," Ryder said. "Head to Forest position and secure the left. Rommel, deploy a defensive line in the passageway. We cannot wait here, or we will be flanked and pinned. Teams of two on each side should do it."
"And the hull," King said. "If they can crawl around the hull, they can flank us."
"Good call," Ryder said.
"I will take the gym team and secure the left side," Barrett said.
It only took a few moments for everyone here to prepare as their training kicked in. Being some of the most elite soldiers in the United States military, they all knew what needed to be done.
Hearing a gunshot outside their hatch, everyone aimed their weapons in preparation to be swarmed. Rommel King then signals the Twins to line up and face the direction where the airlock would open.
Wallace aimed his P52 at the hatch, ready to kill anything that came through. Barrios floated over to grab his buddy and drag him to the wall and then held him in place. This stabilized the Comanche, so his aim was as steady as possible in zero-g. Ready to snip through the opening crack of the hatch.
As expected, the hatch cracked open wide enough for the personnel on the other side to throw an object inside their room. Most likely a stun grenade to which Wallace was prepared for. Once the hatch was wide enough, he placed a well-aimed shot through the hostile skull. A small explosion sounds from the stun grenade going off within the passageway.
Barrett floated and quickly opened the hatch while Barrios tossed a stun grenade, blinding the other hostile temporarily. He then grabbed the body and pulled it into the room while Wallace killed another target. Then, the Sergeant First Class called out for his team to storm the center passageway, firing their P52s in semiautomatic mode.
Ryder floated toward the dead body, meeting his second-in-command. The captain first noticed that there were no official symbols or markings on the corpse suit—only two different color armbands, red and tan.
"This is definitely covert ops," King said.
Lifting the facemask, Ryder noticed that this man looked Middle Eastern. "RIA or the Turks. They're the only two that could launch such an operation."
"The balls on them," King commented. "They have to know we are transporting something important."
"Agreed. Most likely the RIA, then. I do not know if the Turks would risk losing our support over what’s left of Iraq. They would more likely blackmail us over a raid if they knew anything over a direct assault.”
“They don’t call it Cover Ops for a reason, sir,” King said. “Still, I think you are correct about our opponents.”
The two went their separate ways as King went to secure the passageway while Ryder joined Eger Wallace to secure the storage section. The two floated toward the hatch that led to the next section.
Hearing the muffled sound of weapons throughout the ship, Mathew Ryder saw three hostiles approaching the forward hatch. Realizing that they had not been spotted yet, he took a quick shot, wounding the closest target. The other two took cover with the realization that a firefight was about to begin.
A firefight began as they sought cover from the bolted-down containers. Ryder saw a few corpses of former CIA crewmen floating, except for one who was taking cover behind one of the crates.
"Cover me." Ryder pushed against the bulkhead and toward the crewman, pulling out his sidearm. “Soldier, take this and cover.”
“I am not a soldier,” the crewman said as he took the pistol. “I am a mechanic.”
“Tell them that,” Ryder replied as he turned and provided suppressive fire. “Rally up or be left behind. Now, watch our six."
The crewmen took the sidearm, feeling bold now that he was not alone.
The Comanche Captain heard Wallace calling his name. He then saw that two additional hostiles entered the storage room. His first thought was shit before he aimed his P52 and fired.
Realizing that he was secured in place, he switched his weapon from semi-automatic to fully automatic and fired in bursts.
The sudden fire change confused the enemy as one was caught in the burst fire. The 5.7×28mm easily shredded through his target combat spacesuit after enough impacts. While there was armor on their combat spacesuits, it was not meant to withstand a direct engagement.
The crewmen floated to the other Comanche, and once Ryder saw his chance, he followed right behind. His comrades provided cover for fire, and an intense exchange of bronze impacted the containers. He floated back and felt something impact his shoulder. A section of his HUD started flashing yellow, confirming that something impacted him.
He stopped by one of the containers and checked his shoulder. He did see that he was hit but that the bullet didn’t go through. Seeing his luck, he hoped God was not planning to push his luck again.
Once back with his team, Ryder ordered Wallace to open the exterior emergency hatch. Remembering what his XO said that the enemy would soon use their superior manpower and flank them from outside, he needed to act fast.
As Ryder and the other crewmen provided cover, pinning down one of the hostile attackers, Wallace floated to the hatch and opened it, exiting the ship's hull.
Ryder connected to Wallace's camera feed; he saw that the moment the hatch was opened, his teammate encountered the enemy that was toward the rear of the ship to flank them. The Staff Sergeant quickly engaged the new targets, catching them by surprise.
"Turn to the front section," Ryder said.
Once the flank was secured, Wallace turned toward the spaceship's front section.
This was where Ryder saw the true extent of what was going on. Half a dozen enemy soldiers entered the bridge, with more floating toward them. What terrified the captain was seeing a black smooth ship anchored to them. While smaller than their vessel, the enemy ship was clearly designed for covert operations.
Skimming through the feed of the rest of the team, the enemy seemed to be hitting hard, outnumbering his Comanche team three or four to one. Far more than that spacecraft was able to sustain. He could only conclude that this operation was explicitly designed for them. Most likely, they were trying to acquire whatever they were transporting.
The only thing that seemed to be going their way was that Comanche was there. The enemy didn't expect a Special Forces group within a CIA spacecraft. While that proved a temporary advantage, he knew it wouldn't last long. And with the enemy spacecraft hitched to theirs, escaping wasn't impossible. A continued shootout would only defeat them just because they had more bodies.
"Sir," King said over TEAMCOM. "We are not going to be able to hold. We need to fall back and regroup."
"Regroup? where-." As Ryder spoke, he remembered the Aether-class capsule in the hangar. "I need Kurt here to take my position. George, do you have any other friends by you?"
"Affirmative."
"Roger. I am heading to you."
Ryder saw Sergeant First Class Kurt Forest quickly float into their room. "Kurt, secure that hatch. Everyone else, pull back and secure our starting point."
The captain then pushed himself back into the lounge section and headed toward the inner passageway.
He saw the intense firefight between his men and the enemy. Two of his teammates used a hatch as a shield to provide suppressive fire. It seemed they refused to give them an inch based on all the bullet impacts and scary walls, which was good. Losing this passageway would give the enemy full access to the ship.
Waving toward them, Ryder signaled that he needed cover to cross. King ordered everyone to open fire, allowing him to pass through. "Rommel, just hold on a bit longer."
"As long as you need. I don’t think they were expecting us."
Floating through the ship hatches, Mathew Ryder moved through the many different compartments of the spaceship until he reached Sergeant First Class Kurt Forest, who was holding the kitchen.
"George,” Ryder said. "Is one of the friendlies the Aether pilot?"
"No idea," Barrett asked. "But I assigned two of them to guard the storage compartment."
Ryder then pushed himself back to the previous section and floated up. Once there, he opened the hatch to the storage room and saw two CIA personnel taking cover by bolted-down compartments. One armed with an M18 pistol and the other with a P52 personal defense weapon. On the other side were hostiles advancing, to which he fired a few rounds to stall the enemy while seeking cover.
Seeing a short pause in the fighting, Ryder moved toward the two men. "Are one of you the Aether pilot?".
"I am," the man with the sidearm replied. "Why?"
"The ship is lost, so I need you to fly us off this wreck."
"That is a stupid idea. We won't get far in that tin can."
"Why the hell not?" Ryder asked in a frustrated voice.
"It is basically out of fuel. Entering and exiting a planetary atmosphere, even a low-density one like Mars, requires a lot of fuel, and we are not a propellant depot. The life support was not designed as a lifeboat, even if it had fuel. "
Hearing that statement only infuriated Ryder, as his only option for survival was to be tossed out of the hatch. Even if they did use the Aether as a lifeboat, the enemy would have to move their ship to pick them up, and they would be helpless.
Ryder realized the enemy ship was ruining other potential ideas to salvage their situation. Retaking their vessel was a lost cause, and their ship would run them down if they tried to leave. Fighting to the last man would only result in defeat and the enemy acquiring their objective. Even the insane idea of trying to capture the enemy ship to escape forces them into the open, being easy picking.
That was when the captain remembered his conversation with Commander Nelson. The commander wanted him to know what was happening in the surrounding area. While he still did not know if there was a more profound lesson or that the formal commander was seeking conversation, he remembered there were other starships nearby. Relatively speaking.
If he recalled, a French Ship was the closest. He was concerned that if they contacted a civilian ship to intervene in a covert operation and rescue them, it would blow into an international crisis, excluding how highly irregular it would be.
Relations between the United States and the French are mixed. While allies, France had always pushed for strategic autonomy within NATO and the Artemus Accords. While the old Global Order collapsed into regional factions, this had strained relations with completing interests. His wife once considered the relationship a ‘frenemies’ one, and with heavy influence with Western Europe, they weighed to get away with it.
However, he saw no other choice.
“Higgins, can you patch through the Aether systems and access communications?” Ryder asked.
“I could if I had a few hours and wasn't being shot at," Higgins said with much confusion. "The issue is that everything is dead on the ship.”
"And they are probably jamming us," King added.
“What do you want?” the pilot asked.
“There is a French vessel about a day away from us,” Ryder replied. “If we can get in contact, we are safe.”
“Then he can access the capsule communication system,” the pilot said. “I do not know what hit us. It's probably some scaled-up anti-drone EM weapon. However, the hanger is more protected than the rest of the ship.”
“Why is that?” As Ryder asked the question, he realized how dumb the question was at this time. He was talking to spooks on a spook ship while engaged in a life-or-death battle. And right now, he doesn't care why, just that it could work. “Forget that. Higgins, did you hear that?”
“On my way,” Higgins said.
“There is still that ship problem outside,” Wallace said. "And they seemed pissed."
Ryder took a deep breath as every problem continued to point toward the enemy vessel.
“Ryder,” King said. “Why don’t we blow up our ship? That should remove it while preventing the enemy from acquiring this one.”
He considered scuttling the ship earlier for that reason. This ship probably had many highly classified technologies that the CIA wouldn’t want the enemy to get their hands on. However, since they were still on the CIA spaceship, he didn’t seriously consider the idea until there was no literal choice. Now that they have a way off the spaceship, the sudden explosion could take out the enemy spacecraft while it was still anchored to them, solving most of their problems.
“Agreed,” Ryder said. “Bruno, can you plant explosives?”
“I can,” Barrios said. “The engine room would be the best place for that.”
“Roger,” Ryder replied. “Kurt and Barrett, start pulling back. Rommel, maintain control over the passageway and cover the Engine room and the hanger.”
He then turned to the pilot. “Head to the hangar and see if you can start it up.”
As the pilot left, Ryder fired and engaged the enemy to cover the pilot's retreat. He saw one of the enemy soldiers’ speed floating past one of the storage units as he fired. Seeing his opportunity, the young captain killed the target.
Turning to check on the pilot, Ryder saw blood floating in the zero gravity, which was coming from the pilot’s side. “Shit. Gonzales, get over here now. I have priority wounded.”
Ryder pushed himself from the storage wall and floated past the hatch, grabbing the pilot and pushing the man out of the way into cover.
Grabbing a handle, Ryder turned and signaled for the other crewman to pull back. That man started floating toward the hatch as he fired his P52. However, before getting to the hatch, he was gunned down. Feeling anger from watching another comrade be killed, he was forced to close the hatch and turned to the pilot. He saw Sergeant Marcos Gonzales, the team medic, treating the pilot. “Gonzales, get him to the hanger. Keep him alive at all cost.”
“I got it, boss,” Gonzales said as he pulled the pilot to the internal hatch.
After Ryder gave Comanche the order to start falling back, he saw Barrett’s team pull out of the kitchen. One of them tossed a stun grenade into the room before closing the hatch. They then placed thermal tape around the door, lightly welding the hatch shut.
"That is not going to last for long," Ryder said.
"Just long enough," Barrett replied.
“Alright,” Ryder said. "Keep things locked down here; I am heading to the engine room."
"Negative sir. Let the NCOs handle those tasks. Your focus should be on the space capsule. None of these matters if we cannot get out of here."
Acknowledging that his head NCO was correct, Ryder headed toward the hangar. The most crucial detail was ensuring they could communicate with the French vessels and escape.
Entering the inner passageway, the Comanche captain again saw the firefight. The signs of intense battle as blood and bullet casings floated around. Even an enemy corpse hovered between the two factions; Rommel King held his location firm.
As the captain passed his men, he told them they were performing excellent work and that they only needed to hold for a few more minutes before getting off this dead vessel. Then he floated further down the passageway, pushing away a crewman's corpse so he could get by.
Ryder reached the hatch that said 'hanger,' he opened it and floated inside. Once inside, he pushed himself toward the hatch and swam toward the Aether. Once he grabbed the railing, he climbed to its open hatch. "Higgins, talk to me."
"Communication systems work after some hotfixes," Higgins said. "However, we're jammed, so there's no way to send a message until that ship is gone."
The gravity of how motivated these hostiles were to claim whatever they were transporting. It made him wonder what on earth they were transporting. Forcing all non-essential thoughts from his mind, he focused on the task at hand. "That won't be a problem in a few minutes. That is assuming we can fly out of here?"
"I can only get a few thrusts out of this thing," the pilot said.
"That will have to do," Ryder replied. He then reaccessed TEAMCOM. “Engineering?”
“Nearly ready to blow this hundreds of million-dollar piece of metal,” Barrett said. “We are good now.”
“Alright. Comanche, pull back to the hanger. ASAP. Open the hanger, Gonzales, with me.”
Noticing that the hanger bay started to open above him, it reminded him of the old NASA Shuttles where the hatch was on top. It made sense why the CIA converted this spaceship with a similar hanger, the only way they could hide a space capsule.
Connecting a metal robe to his suit and then to the Aether exterior railing, Ryder pushed himself forward to reach the ship's hull. Looking backward, he noticed that Gonzales was not far behind. “Wallace should still be out there, so we must provide cover until they are ready to launch.”
The two Comanches reached the hull and were immediately engaged by the enemy. Ryder saw a hostile standing on the enemy spacecraft side hanger with two more guarding the bridge section.
Forced to use the opened hanger door as cover, Ryder peaked around and returned fire, aiming for the man on the enemy spacecraft. After a few well-placed shots, it seemed like he killed or wounded the target, so he readjusts his firing position to engage the rest.
“Hey guys, I need cover,” Wallace said.
“Gonzales, cover me.” Ryder quickly jumped from his side of the hull, jumping over the open hangar bay to the other side. Once he landed, he secured himself and took cover, using the other opened hanger door.
Finding where Eger Wallace was, the fellow Comanche took cover on the ship's far side—using a new hole within the hull as a makeshift foxhole. Ryder could only assume that the enemy was trying to flank them earlier from the exterior, and he prevented them.
“Wallace, let's go.” Ryder peaked around the hanger door and provided cover fire. Looking back, he saw Wallace trying to run toward them, relying on a zipline connecting him to the hull. The issue was that the man was an easy target in the open.
Not wanting to lose a man, Ryder stood up to make himself more of a target and opened fire. He was able to take one of the hostiles, but in return, the other two started to fire at him. "Hurry up!"
Seeing that his teammate was almost there, Ryder requested cover fire. He then reached out and grabbed Wallace's hand and swung him around the hanger after being unhooked from the zipline.
Wallace swung around and rammed into the captain, slamming him into the hangar door. “I didn't know you enjoyed getting this close, sir. Are you going to buy me dinner or take me straight home?'
A part of Ryder wanted to laugh at how calm Wallace acted, never allowing the situation to get to him. He pushed his fellow Comanche warrior away. “Right now."
The two Comanches turned and started to engage the emerging hostiles that were appearing from the many breaches within the hull. Wallace commented that the enemy seemed to be figuring out how to use the spacecraft to flee and were trying to stop them. That was fine with Ryder, as that meant they did not know that they had just turned the ship into a bomb.
Checking his feed, he saw Warrant Officer 1 Rommel King finishing loading up the last of the survivors into the Aether. From what he could tell, almost none of the ship's crew made it. The pilot and one other crewman were the only survivors from Commander Nelson's crew.
From what Ryder understood, the Aether only had eight seated, so that it would be a tight fit. He knew that Rommel King would try and fit as many as he could inside, but everyone else would need to hang outside until help arrived.
“Launch when ready,” Ryder ordered.
The latches that held the Aether space capsule to the spaceship. Now free, the large cone-shaped capsule started floating out of the hangar bay, with only the air thrusters giving it a quick boost.
“Gonzales, get on now!” Ryder ordered.
“I don’t have a line,” Wallace said.
Ryder grabbed his teammate, and the two men ran on the spaceship's hull to the edge of the open hangar bay and leaped toward the Aether. The three Comanches floated onto the capsule and grabbed the railing. “We're on. Fire the engines!”
The three Comanches secured themselves to the exterior railing and held as tight as they could to the capsule, feeling the shake violently, freaking them out.
With the sudden rumble of the Aether, Ryder and the rest looked down and saw the engine coming to life. The red and orange colored blast propelled the space capsule away from their formal spaceship, abandoning it to the enemy. The blast didn't last long as the thrusters shut off, and now, they were drifting. However, he hoped they drifted fast enough to escape the blast radius.
Looking back, I saw the enemy rushing back to their ship. He wondered if they found the bomb or felt they needed to chase after them. Either way, it no longer mattered.
“ETA,” Gonzales said. “Three, two, one.”
The CIA spaceship engine section exploded, with the rest of the ship following suit. The enemy ship attempted to escape; however, it was too late. A chunk of the spaceship hull flew straight into the underside of the enemy vessel, followed by the large blast that consumed it, causing the enemy ship to explode.
Shrapnel from both ships flew past them, and for a moment, Ryder was forced to cover his visor from the sudden brightness of the combined explosion.
Wallace threw out his fist and yelled, “I will see you in hell for round two, bastards!”
Ryder could not stop himself from laughing from the burst of energy from Wallace. He looked toward the man and said, “You are insane, Wallace.”
“Sir. Would you have it any other way?”
“I don’t think you want my honest answer.”
After the two laughed, releasing stress from the situation, Ryder looked back and took a deep breath as he saw that the battle was over. The thought from before suddenly returned about the package they were transporting. A lot of lives were lost in protecting it, and the RIA was willing to go to war over it. He had no idea what it was and how valuable it could be. He just hoped it was worth it.

*****

Captain Mathew Ryder hung outside the Aether, tied to the exterior railing. Being stuck outside because there was no way inside the capsule without decompressing the spacecraft, he and his fellow two Comanches hung outside. He was trying to breathe slowly, not to consume oxygen too quickly. His body felt numb.
Looking inside the capsule, he saw that everyone looked exhausted, freezing, and thirsty. Sergeant Gonzales was deeply concerned with the pilot's wound because of the cold temperature, causing hyperthermia. Other members of Comanche were so dehydrated they were no longer combat-effective.
It had been over eleven hours since abandoning their spaceship. Eleven hours with nothing to do but sit and wait for the French vessel to arrive, assuming they got their SOS or a quiet, cold death in the emptiness of space.
“I am so thirsty,” Gonzales quickly said.
“Do not speak.” As Ryder spoke, his mouth felt chapped and dry. The throat throbbed with pain. “Every word is wasted air and energy.”
While checking over his men within the Aether, Ryder saw Sergeant Charlie Higgins working on the dashboard, desperately trying to find power. So far, he had been unsuccessful as it remained dead.
“Sir,” Wallace barely said. “We have a contact.”
Ryder turned to face his teammate and then looked out into the darkness of space. He saw emptiness beside this one distant object that was too far away to identify correctly. The first thoughts were that it was an asteroid as they were in the Apollo Group or, hopefully, a spaceship.
A moment later, the object started flashing. While he was too dehydrated and too tired to translate the flashes, he quickly realized that it was artificial. That mean it had to be man-made, a spaceship.
Ryder pointed toward his medic and the incoming spaceship, signaling him to fire the flare. The captain then banged against the Aether window and spoke through the radio that help was about to arrive.
The captain could feel the moral spike within his team without needing to look as if hope had finally arrived. He said over the radio, “No angel of death this day.”
Ryder could see the French flag on the side as the spaceship arrived. Now, he only wondered what the reaction from Space Command would be once he learned of this. As the ship approached, he looked around his team, wondering if this would be his last mission, but if so, he got them out alive with their objective.
The French freight vessel slowed down. Once both vessels’ speeds matched, the side airlock opened. Two Frenchmen crewmen stood there, and the two crewmen jumped toward them with a zipline. Ryder and Gonzales grabbed him and pulled him close.
Ryder tried to communicate with the Frenchmen; however, they didn’t have Coms. Still, the man already got to work in connection with both ships and soon enough, the Aether was being pulled to the spaceship.
As the Aether got closer, the Frenchmen pointed toward the airlock and then jumped toward it. They realized they would be trapped outside once the capsule docked, so they had to jump.
“Alright, you two jump first,” Ryder ordered.
The first Comanche that jumped was Gonzales, with Wallace followed quickly behind. As Ryder prepared himself to jump, he saw the Canadarm unfolding and moving to attach itself to their capsule to help guide them into the airlock.
Ryder jumped and floated toward the airlock. The two Frenchmen grabbed his arm and pulled him in. The door closed, and the five of them entered the French ship. The three Comanche soldiers fell to them now and threw their helmets off, gasping for air. Even though the air was recycled, the captain thought it was the best breath in his life as he felt a new wave of energy jolt throughout his body.
A thumb was heard behind them as the Aether docked with the French ship. The two crewmen opened the hatch, and some of his team fell out, consuming the recycled air.
As Comanche exited the Ather, Captain Mathew Ryder felt senses partly returned. He noticed the Frenchman's eyes were wide and shaking. It took him a moment to understand why. The man was probably expecting lost merchant souls that were drifting through space. Not highly armed soldiers.
Ryder knew he had to refuse the situation as quickly as possible before a more significant international crisis began. While his body just wanted to collapse, he forced himself to stand up, holding his hand out, trying to calm the man. Once he got the man's attention, he started pointing toward the American flag on his shoulder.
Once Ryder believed the Frenchman understood the situation, he turned to his team. “Gonzales, Wallace, get the pilot to the medical bay. Everyone else, stay here. The last thing they need is to think we are invading them.”
“What will they use, gummy bullets?” Barrios jokingly asked in an out-of-breath tone.
“They would just surrender without a fight,” Wallace added as he took deep breaths.
As the two-fist bumped, Warrant Office 1 Rommel King slowly said, “Both of you…. Shut up….”
Ryder then ensured the Frenchman understood they had a wounded man and needed medical attention. Seeing the sight of the near-dead pilot, the man did not need much convincing.
The Frenchman reached over to an intercom, and Ryder could only assume that he had reported the situation to his ship commander. A voice came through the intercom, and then the man waved to Ryder to follow. He then ordered Higgins to follow, and the two followed the Frenchmen.
Summoning the strength to push against the wall, Ryder began floating through the starship. As the three passed through the ship, he noticed a similar design. The only significant difference was that this ship was cargo-focused over passenger. There were a few other ship personnel, all keeping their distance out of fear. It was not every day to see armed men floating on a spaceship that looked trashed. It must have been a terrifying sight.
The Frenchman led the two Comanche to the bridge, where Ryder saw the ship commander sitting in his seat.
The commander's seat turned, and the commander looked directly at them. “Americans. Infesting space with their militarism, believing that they own everything. What do you call your Second Manifest Destiny? An excuse to push above and beyond before anyone else gets a chance to stake a claim? Believing that you are above the rest of us because you have the might? And yet, here you are. Now, what are soldiers doing on the way out here?”
Throughout Ryder's career, many people complained about American militarism and Second Manifest Destiny. The United States was born through warfare, fighting for their beliefs. That included expanding to become the most powerful nation on Earth. Some politicians avoid using the Manifest Destiny term as it is heavily loaded, using military might to conquer lands that have blessed the nation to this day. Some believe the US might follow a similar path to establish its dominance in space.
While he does believe that his country does abuse its power at times, most still seek their protection. They always preferred some rule-based system that benefited others. America has the power to go it alone but chose to include others.
Ryder ignored the insult and said, “Thank you for the rescue. We were attacked and forced to abandon ship.”
The commander took a long look at the two Comanches before replying. “I am a veteran from the AAE. I know Special Forces when I see it. If you were attacked, then it had to be something big.”
“Noted,” Ryder replied. “I request that you turn this ship around and return to Earth. Higgins here can give you the protocol.”
“I am sorry, Captain, but I have to refuse,” the commander said. “I do not take orders for you, and I have my country's interest to consider. We are carrying vital supplies for our Mars base, and missing this would set back our plans for years. Unless you want to tell me what you were doing out here?”
Feeling nothing but exhaustion, Ryder realized that the commander knew that. “This is the last time I am going to request, sir. Higgins, give him a protocol to contact Space Command.”
“You do not threaten me on my ship,” the commander said. “I do not care that you are armed. You will not dare risk headlines that say American Special Forces raided and hijacked a French vessel. Your country would lose all connections to Europe. And you would be in prison for life, and I would be treated as a hero.”
“Sir…. My mission is more important than that. Contact Space Command, or I will make you.”
Ryder stared directly at the French commander's eyes. In contrast, he felt sweat and exhaustion pressing down on his body. It's almost as if someone doubled the gravity level in this zero-G environment.
The commander sat there, waiting for the young captain to flinch. However, the Comanche captain refused to remove his posture, and the commander fully saw his determination. The commander suddenly waved his hand. “Alright. A call will not hurt anyone.”
Charlie Higgins floated over and provided the necessary protocol.
“Now leave my bridge,” the commander demanded.
Not wanting to press further, Ryder and Higgins floated outside and waited.
“Do you think he will listen?” Higgins asked.
“I don’t know,” Ryder replied. “I don’t see why not, but there isn’t a reason for the French to do so. If the roles were reversed, we wouldn’t just because of the goodness of our hearts. Unless it was considered a vital natural security.”
The two Comanche waited about fifteen minutes, but it felt like hours. One of the crewmembers brought over water and a fruit smoothie.
Ryder remembers not long ago, he swore never to have another one of these smoothies again, but now, it was the most sumptuous meal he had ever had.
The bridge hatch opened, and the commander appeared.
“What did Space Command say?” Ryder asked.
“I never contacted them,” the commander replied. “As I said, I don't take orders from Americans."
"That being said, my command spoke with my President. Then my superiors spoke with yours.” The commander paused as he took a deep breath. “The ship is yours. I have been ordered to get you wherever you need to go.”
The Comanche captain thought he would feel relieved that the worst should end. However, the idea of what they were transporting quickly convinced the French shocked him. The fact they were willing to hand over Command of the ship quickly forced him to wonder what, indeed, was going on.
Knowing they were still days away from Luna, he didn't want this crew to feel that they were beneath them. Mainly because everyone in CFT-1 was in no condition to fight; they needed the French crew's best behavior. “With all due respect, sir, it is still your ship, and I will not relieve you of command. Please take us to Freedom Space Station.”
“It will be done,” the commander said before returning to the Bridge. "I already ordered the crew to prepare beds and meals."
The two were escorted off the bridge, Higgins asked. "That was strange. How do you think that conversation went?"
“No idea. But it seems that our government offered something worth all this mess. That only makes me wonder what else is going on.”
“Who knows.”
“Let's get back to the team and rest,” Ryder said.

Hey all. Here's the TL;DR up front. I'm contracting for a brand new organization, getting everything from A to Z setup. One of the things they've requested is a multi-model standard for their endpoints. The kicker here is it MUST come all from one manufacturebrand, and it MUST be an American company. I'm worried about compatibility and support issues by fielding more than 1 or 2 model types.
Essentially what they are looking for is to have 4 different types of laptops available to their end users:

1. Standard issue 15.6" laptop. 16GB RAM, SSD, no other requirements beyond "matches market". $1000/u budget.
   
2. Slimline option. Somewhere around 13", smaller frame, but the something that still matches the power of the standard. $2000/u option.
   
3. Large screen option - talking 17" minimum, ideally larger. Still no changes to specs.
   
4. Super user model - no screen size requirement here, but they want 32GB RAM minimum, NVME, i9 fast-as-heck processors, dedicated graphics, etc.
   

My two questions for the community are:

1. Is there really a manufacturer that ticks all the boxes here? My mind immediately goes to the big players like HP and Dell, but trying to make sense of their product lines is a nightmare.
   
2. Is there a concern about support for such a wide range of models? In the (distant) past mentors always warned me against this sort of thing because there can be such a wide variance of internal parts, drivers, etc. that can cause compatibility issues with peripherals or turn up strange problems that the Help Desk struggles with because they're trying to familiarize themselves with multiple types of devices.
   

Just looking for some advice as to how normal this is, an approach I can take, etc. Thanks for your time!