TLDR: looking for a friendly hypo active dog
will post the survey thing from 2016 at the bottom to help answer everything.
We are looking to get a doggo in the future. I have animal and dog allergies so we're looking to go with one that produces less dander and shedding.
We will be living in an apartment, for now, so we'll base it off that. The caretakers of this pup will be myself (27m) and my SO (24F) we both work full time but I work morning into days and she works late afternoons into late evening. So schedule shouldn't be a problem. But we are looking to get her on a similar schedule to mine. If that happens we are very open to the idea of taking them to a dog daycare where they can play and socialize while we are working.
We are advid hikers, backpackers, campers and mountain hiking folk. So we're looking for a fur best friend that can handle those things. It needs to be able to hike long miles at a time. (With short breaks of course) We also spend a lot of time on the water, paddle boarding and kayaking, so a dog that can do well with weather(with training) would be preferable.
Size wise, we'd like to go medium, if we have to go to something a little bigger than is okay
Grooming standards, I'm open to shaving/trimming the doggo myself as needed and washing as well.
We don't want to have our things chewed or destroyed, and will work to offset this possiblity with plenty of exercise and training but a breed who is known for chewing and destroying is not what we're looking for.
Doggo must be friendly toward strangers and shouldn't bark too much(good training is important here, I know)
Any recommendations are welcomed!
Thank you for reading and for your advice!
Introduction 1) Will this be your first dog? If not, what experience do you have owning/training dogs?
My first dog, fully training and caring for, but not my girlfriends
2) Do you have a preference for rescuing a dog vs. going through a reputable breeder?
Unfortunately probably not, past tramas can be very difficult to overcome
3) Describe your ideal dog.
Hiking, mountain climbing and camping buddy. One that also likes to snuggle, hopefully isn't to to big and is very friendly
4) What breeds or types of dogs are you interested in and why?
Hypoallergenic due to allergies, probably not a "doodle" as the mixes are hard to say on allergies but maybe a regular poodle?
5) What sorts of things would you like to train your dog to do?
Catch, chase a frisbee when commanded but not destroy my discgof discs, hiking, carrying its own (light weight) gear, socializing, maybe paddleboarding
6) Do you want to compete with your dog in a sport (e.g. agility, obedience, rally) or use your dog for a form of work (e.g. hunting, herding, livestock guarding)? If so, how much experience do you have with this work/sport?
No
Care Commitments

 7) How long do you want to devote to training, playing with, or otherwise interacting with your dog each day? 

several hours and as needed. With opposing schedules we can be with the dog for most of the day
8) How long can you exercise your dog each day, on average? What sorts of exercise are you planning to give your dog regularly and does that include using a dog park?
Hiking, walking ,jogging, catch, ECT Various chunks of time through out the day. But a few hours at minimum, really looking to bring the pup everywhere we go for the most part
9) How much regular brushing are you willing to do? Are you open to trimming hair, cleaning ears, or doing other grooming at home? If not, would you be willing to pay a professional to do it regularly?
As much as needed, I will trim hair, the SO is good with ears. Whatever we can't do we would pay for as kids
Personal Preferences
10) What size dog are you looking for?

• Medium
  11) How much shedding, barking, and slobber can you handle?
  *The less the better
  12) How important is being able to let your dog off-leash in an unfenced area?
  That is something I want to work towards, but not something that is completely necessary
  Dog Personality and Behavior*
  13) Do you want a snuggly dog or one that prefers some personal space?
  Some snuggles
  14) Would you prefer a dog that wants to do its own thing or one that’s more eager-to-please?
  
• A nice mix but averaging on more people pleasing
  15) How would you prefer your dog to respond to someone knocking on the door or entering your yard? How would you prefer your dog to greet strangers or visitors?
  
  • Maybe a single bark and then calm
  16) Are you willing to manage a dog that is aggressive to other dogs?
  
• Not preferably
  17) Are there any other behaviors you can’t deal with or want to avoid?
  
  • Aggression, anger, destructive tendencies, over barking
  Lifestyle
  18) How often and how long will the dog be left alone?
  Less than a few hours a day, as we would take it the doggy daycare if needed
  19) What are the dog-related preferences of other people in the house and what will be their involvement in caring for the dog?
  *Same as mine, must be a friendly dog
  20) Do you have other pets or are you planning on having other pets? What breed or type of animal are they? * We will be getting a cat(hypo as well)
  21) Will the dog be interacting with children regularly? * We will do our best to introduce them to children but we don't have any regularly around us
  22) Do you rent or plan to rent in the future? If applicable, what breed or weight restrictions are on your current lease? * Rent, many places have a 30-50lb limit but we're flexibleish
  23) What city or country do you live in and are you aware of any laws banning certain breeds?
  Beaverton, Hillsboro Oregon. I'm unsure of breed bans
  24) What is the average temperature of a typical summer and winter day where you live?
  Mid 80s are the high in the summer Mid 30s in the winter
  

I am moving to the area soon and the community that I have signed a lease for has since changed names from Meadow Creek townhomes to Elm Grove townhomes. I'm worried that this could affect my lease. I will be calling them soon but I am wondering if they are pleasant to deal with. The property is owned my Lincoln Property Company if that helps.

The car is basically brand new, has had only one owner and it was a lease. The car is 18k from carmax.
My question for you all, is it a dumb idea to buy a newer car with almost 100k miles?
Just looking for some advice, my chevy cruze just blew up on me and i’ve always wanted a 4wd manual hatchback, so subaru is the move!

Much of this is on the team for being so late on approving contracts and the length of them, but their situation changed substantially with the Next Gen last year. McDowell is 20th and coming off a season with 12 Top 10s, Gilliland has rebounded from the high 20s to 23rd, and Zane Smith just finished 10th at the hardest NASCAR race.
With that said, what options do they have? Well I thought I'd propose a few options and weigh in
-Settle for two drivers. In which case McDowell and Smith, a vet and a hot new talent, let Gilliland go
-Offer McDowell an executive position in competition and let him groom Smith and Gilliland with some part time starts in the 36 (Plate Tracks, Road Courses, maybe Dirt)
-Invest in Xfinity racing and allow Zane Smith to develop while they keep McDowell and Gilliland in Cup
-Offer to lease Spire's 77 charter and run three Cup teams
​
I'd lean more on the Xfinity play. They found immediate success in Trucks with Gilliland and Smith and this ensures a pipeline for talent to grow as opposed to skipping a series.
This is also much cheaper than funding a full time Cup team along with convincing Spire to lease that charter. In addition this creates more time for NASCAR and Drivers to settle on the charters as a concept and if they either issue a few more charters (23XI, Trackhouse, FRM, Kaulig, JRM) or do away with the concept entirely that saves FRM 10s of millions of dollars they can pump into their team and continue growth
Time is definitely of the essence, cause it's clear Gilliland got snuffed a bit and whether or not he feels this way, it's still a factor potential teams will bring up when convincing him to walk away. A multi year deal would go a long way

I'm looking for a combo deal and most are not in my area. This one i can actually go and look at without having to fly, as it is about an hour away. The deal also includes Honda generator. Everything looks to be in good shape from the pics.
Thoughts/opinions on the price tag?

[September 2013]
We knew we didn't have it all figured out, we just hadn't had a reason to care, yet. God, we wish we had cared just a little. We should have set up a savings account. We should not have gone on shopping sprees or out to eat so many times. We set ourselves up for failure, and everything was quickly spiraling out of hand.
We didn't have the money to fix the fucking window. Where were we going to find the funds to cover transfer fees and all the other additional moving costs? My mom wouldn't have had any money to spare, and we were too ashamed to tell Devon's parents we were getting kicked out. We had to do this on our own.
We had already maxed out the credit card that I should have had no business with in the first place. We still owed the bank quite a few thousand for the vehicle that we had to take an additional line of credit out on in order to cover the costs of repairs. We had never missed a bill payment, and although our credit was decent, our debt-to-income ratio was garbage. No bank would be dumb enough to lend these two idiot kids another goddamn dime.
With too much pride to admit defeat, we left ourselves with no parental guidance on what to do next. They already had their doubts in our marriage, I didn't want to solidify those suspicions by confessing that we were, in fact, in over our heads. We didn't have to be in over our heads either; we were making good enough money. Reckless behavior and impulsive spending is what got us here. We did this to ourselves. This was our fault.
There was only one option left. I had to borrow against my school loans.
As I mentioned before, the military was willing to cover 50% of my college tuition since I was only active duty for less than a year. There were additional, optional, loans available to me that I had never accepted. These loans were meant to cover book fees and school supplies, but instead, they were going to help us get into a new living situation. The best part was, we didn't need to concern ourselves about repayment for those additional loans, or the other 50% of my tuition that wasn't covered, until 6 months after I was no longer considered a "full time student." I was sure we'd have our finances in line before I graduated college, but for now, we just needed to find a fucking place to live.
Fortunately for us, we were smack dab inbetween two large military bases. This meant that the area was full of temporary people; military personnel are constantly relocating. Also, fortunately for us, most landlords didn't require active duty personnel to jump through too many hoops to be approved for housing. Renting to active duty personnel was usually always a safe bet since active duty receives consistent, guaranteed income. A landlord also knew that the military would garnish a member's paycheck if said member didn't pay a debt.
Within two days, I found a house for rent. I called the agent on the sign in the yard and scheduled a walkthrough. She was able to meet Devon and I at the house that same evening. She didn't ask for references or living history, thankfully. She just wanted 2 month's rent to kick off the lease, and the house would be ours. Deal.
Thank god for loans.

Hey, are there any available rooms going currently or coming up?
I'm looking for a room with budget of $1300. Preferable neighbourhoods are Greenpoint and Williamsburg, but also open to downtown Manhattan or Bushwick if a good deal comes up. Move in date ASAP, with July 1st the latest.
I’m a 24 year old male originally from the UK, but moved to NY in 2022. I’m chill, clean and respectful. I’m into music, film, fashion, food, soccer, cycling, bars, etc. :)

Hey, are there any available rooms going currently or coming up?
I'm looking for a room with budget of $1300. Preferable neighbourhoods are Greenpoint and Williamsburg, but also open to downtown Manhattan or Bushwick if a good deal comes up. Move in date ASAP, with July 1st the latest.
I’m a 24 year old male originally from the UK, but moved to NY in 2022. I’m chill, clean and respectful. I’m into music, film, fashion, food, soccer, cycling, bars, etc. :)

Hey, I'm looking for a room with budget of $1300. Preferable neighbourhoods are Greenpoint and Williamsburg, but also open to downtown Manhattan or Bushwick if a good deal comes up. Move in date ASAP, with July 1st the latest
I’m a 24 year old male originally from the UK, but moved to NY in 2022. I’m chill, clean and respectful. I’m into music, film, fashion, food, soccer, cycling, bars, etc.

I don't know if this is allowed, If not, I'll happily delete. This is a recent comment on one of Jessica's articles about the Idaho Murders and...I can't. I just can't.
We are being lied to about what happened that night. Let's remember, law enforcement is allowed to lie to us and they are under NO obligation to share the truth with the public! Nothing about the official narrative makes ANY sense and there is indeed a cover-up of epic proportions taking place! They are protecting some very important people, as well as the University, the town of Moscow - and their profit$! Everything points to this being drug related and a lot of people on the peripherals are somehow involved - including some corrupt law enforcement. Here are some things I've learned about this tragedy that I wanted to share with everyone...
Please keep in mind that anything I share has not been proven as fact and this is only information I've gathered from different sources which I believe to be true (or very close to the truth) :
1. Everyone go check out the YouTube channel: Thou Shall Not Kill. He has been 'boots on the ground' in Moscow ID and his videos contain unique local footage, information and perspectives. His sources offer the best theory I've heard so far - the theory that makes the most sense - it's very eye opening!
2. This was about DRUGS. Apparently Maddie was upset because the drugs being sold out of the house were being cut with fentanyl (and could therefore kill people).
Allegedly Maddie flushed roughly $275,000 worth of drugs down the toilet and threatened to 'snitch' on the operation and the dealers and report it to the authorities if it didn't stop. Xana was the one responsible for stashing the drugs and this would explain why she had the lock fixed on her bedroom door and didn't want the other roommates (or anyone else) having access to her room. Maddie "told Adam everything" - and Jack S (who was acquainted with Emma Bailey and maybe others involved in the drug ring) knew she was in danger and that "they were gonna get her for this" - which they DID - just a few hours later. Word got back to the 'King Pin' of the operstion and he ordered the hit - a gruesome cartel-style slaughter - to send the message that you don't F around with them or this is what happens!
3. Research and look into the REAL owner of the Mad Greek restaurant, where both Xana and Maddie worked. His name is 'Constantinos' and allegedly he's an international drug King Pin with legitamite business fronts all over. His daughter is in the same sorority as one of the roommates and she's also the owner of the abadoned white Elanta found in Oregon apparently. (This statement about the Oregon Elantra could be incorrect and I'm not 100% certain of this).
4. The owner(s) of 1122 King Road are involved somehow - that house is owned by an LLC and they were VERY quick to just give their house away to the University.. who can afford to just throw away a WHOLE HOUSE?!
5. Dylan (and possibly Bethany) knew something was gonna go down, they were told it would be some kind of a shakedown - NOT that the four would be murdered. I believe this is how they were able to get Dylan to cooperate and play a part, and how they had someone 'on the inside'. D & B were fully aware their "friends" were being murdered at the time and her story in the PCA is BS. They were likely involved in the cleanup afterwards and the killers told them to wait until NOON to call 911 - but to first call over some of their friends to muck up the killers' tracks and taint the crime scene. These girls are scared for their LIVES and it's why they won't step foot near Idaho. It's really weird they don't talk to any of their sorority sisters or friends in Moscow ID anymore ... you'd think that after something so horrific and traumatizing you'd would want the support of your friends and especially your sorority sisters .. but I guess not if you have something to hide and to protect ...
6. That VSCO picture of Dylan gazing at the camera with a HUGE knife - is creepy AF! Who takes a picture like that? It's not done in a funny or jokey way - it's intense and kinda terrifying - and if you ask me - very telling. Kinda like the matching tattoos Dylan and Bethany got VERY SOON after the murders .. TOO soon IMO. Those tattoos come across as a 'badge of honor' more than a tribute to the victims. Super sketchy.
7. Emma Bailey, Demetrius Robinson, Quinn Kelley and Brent Kopacka had something to do with the murders - as did some corrupt law enforcement (local police officers/FBI?) Officer Payne of Moscow PD owns some kind of warehouse for a meat processing/packing business in North ID close to the border apparently.
Large scale drug rings require the involvement and protection of LE to be successful and make the kind of money they make. Payne and Kopaka are connected through the Military (?) I believe. It's alleged that Emma stashed drugs in the house with Xana (and possibly also in the empty room that was under Ashlyn Couch's name on the King Rd. lease). Emma Bailey lives super close just behind the King Rd. house - and would be a very close spot for the killers to flee to after the murders.
8. The leaked audio is REAL and shows there was some kind of ambush that night. The authorities have 'debunked' it as fake - because it is proof of what really transpired! It's not as if they would admit to the public it is real.. This was an ambush and the killers were KNOWN to the victims in one way or another. No one snuck in the back sliding door in the dark, like some ninja assassin, and stabbed 4 people on two separate floors, inflicting such horrific injuries in such a VERY SHORT amount of time - then just dissapeared into the night without so much as a trail of blood! Sorry but that just didnt happen. The victims were awake and things went from normal to deadly fast.
9. There were at least 3 people inside the house that night - and likely a few more outside and on the perimeters, keeping watch. The cops nearby at around 3 AM who were busting those kids for drinking were lookouts that night. The officer involved in that encounter has since left the Moscow PD force - which I find to be a strange and suspect coincidence (?) Those cops were in plain clothes and an unmarked/undercover car RIGHT NEXT to the King Rd. house at the SAME TIME as the murders. I find it really ODD that they busted those kids (who were being pretty responsible really) and held them up for SO LONG, asking them A LOT of unnecessary - and frankly dumb - questions, like: "what brand of beer were you drinking?" If you watch the bodycam footage you can tell the cops were trying to draw that encounter out for as long as possible and stall those kids to prevent them from going anywhere near 1122 King Rd! You can even see 3 or 4 dark silhouettes (people) running in single file from the direction of the murder house in the bodycam footage! I don't believe that Moscow PD has undercover officers in plain clothes and unmarked cop cars just lurking around Greek Row at 3 AM to catch drunk kids stumbling out of apartment buildings.. I just don't buy that.
10. Drugs are a HUGE problem in Idaho and a quick Google search will show there is solid evidence the Cartels operate in that area. This has been covered by their local media many times and it's not like it's a secret!
It's not like it's far-fetched to say that huge drug rings operate in Moscow Idaho. It's a FACT. And it's not like it's far-fetched to say college campuses are a HUGE market for these drug rings and can make them a TON of money! Fraternities and Sororities are well known for dealing drugs ... just think about this: if every person at that 150-person party at King Rd. (that took place the night before the murders) spent $$ on drugs - that would be thousands of dollars in profit - in just ONE night at ONE party. It's not far-fetched to assume that pretty sorority girls would be tasked with supplying drugs to all the college kids and all their friends - because who would suspect them?! Especially considering we now KNOW FOR A FACT that they were all connected to Emma Bailey, who is a convicted drug dealer! There is even bodycam footage of her leaving the King Rd. house on one occasion.
11. Where there's smoke - there's fire.
We must ask ourselves WHY do we keep hearing that this was a known drug house and all these things alluding to drugs and a shakedown gone wrong - if there's nothing to it? WHY have so many people that are close to the murders (Jack S, Inan Harsh, the surviving roommates) all left town, never to return? WHY are the locals still so scared if the guy who did it is behind bars? WHY is there such secrecy surrounding the case and WHY do they want to demolish the King Rd. House before the trial even starts?!!
​

(Tl;dr: just moved into apartment that will soon be having major construction happening on outside, including tarping over the building and depriving us of light for months. This wasn't disclosed to us by the landlord. Do I have a right to be upset?)
I moved into an apartment last month with a friend. The apartment is in a complex with a bunch of separate buildings, each with 8 units.
We had been having trouble finding a rental (competitive market) and eventually got help from a realtor, which was great and secured us a place pretty quickly. All went smoothly there. But the other day my roommate and I ran into our neighbour and ended up chatting for a while. She informed us that our building was essentially getting a "facelift" as all the other buildings had. We had known that some work would be done on the unit, but had been under the impression it was just getting new balconies. But this neighbour let us know that the balconies wouldn't be happening until next year, and that our building needs a lot of work, which will include scaffolding going around our building, as well as it being tarped ovetented in.
As I'm sure you can imagine, we were very surprised to hear about this, as we had no idea. Another building across from ours is currently getting this "treatment" but we weren't aware that our building required it as well. So from what we understand, for the majority of our one-year lease there will be construction happening on the building, which will entail noise (not as much of a bother) and some deprivation of natural light as the windows will be covered.
I'm annoyed that we didn't get notice of this, and our neighbour was surprised no one had let us know, as it has apparently been in the works for quite a while. I checked the lease again, and there was no mention of construction. We contacted the realtor, who claims he had told me there would be construction happening, but it was all outside so it wasn't a big deal. I had just assumed he meant the construction on the other building, and I feel like he should have clarified it better. But he didn't seem to understand why we were concerned, and he recommended not speaking to the landlord until things start happening.
My roommate is hesitant to speak to the landlord, as he doesn't want to "piss him off and make him hate us," but I'm wondering if we should talk to him about it, or if I even have a right to find this annoying and inconvenient? Is there anything we can do about this?

Long story short I was involved in an accident and this is my first time really dealing with my insurance. My insurance rushed to total my car which had almost no damage but the airbag did go off, they gave me a valuation that was slightly less then the value left on the loan ~$100 but didn't include any sales tax in their claim. I asked about this sales tax before verbally accepting the claim and was told directly by the insurance agent "We will pay for the sales tax, but only after you accept the claim." so I accepted the claim and had to hold their hand and push for updates for over 3 months (was making car payments on two cars at this point because they were stalling on paying off the value we agreed on). Eventually They accidentally emailed me (I think this was supposed to be an internal email and they accidently left me on copy) telling me they planned to auction off my car for quite a large sum of money. A few days later they sent me an email telling me they actually don't have to pay the sales tax in OH and that I would need to pay the sales tax on the totaled vehicle. They also said they wouldn't reimburse me for sales tax on my new vehicle because it was a lease.
My question here is what are my options here? If they would have told me upfront and been quick/efficient about things I don't think I would be as annoyed. Does them giving me false info to accept the claim matter? I wasn't out to make money off my insurance I just wanted them to cover me so that I'm not stuck with thousands of dollars in bills. Looking back into their original evaluation there are features and configurations they didn't include in the valuation, can this be disputed still? I was naïve and assumed they WOULD cover the cost of everything so the valuation matching the balance of the loan was all I cared about ,but now with the possibility of me being on the hook for thousands of dollars I didn't think I would be responsible for I kinda care. The only time I had accepted their claim was verbally on the call that they told me they would cover sales tax after I accepted their valuation. I read through my insurance policy and confirmed their valuation was not dependent on them auctioning my car so would there be any legal reason I couldn't keep the title from being transferred to them and auction the car myself? It just seems odd that they are wanting me to pay sales tax for them to sell a "totaled" car for ~14k. I'm in Ohio and I was also made aware of a successful class action lawsuit against Geico (not my insurer) here in Ohio forcing them to pay the sales tax on totaled vehicles.
​
**Forgot to include that they slow walked even telling me they would not be paying the sales tax until 30 days after I got a new vehicle which is apparently the deadline to submit for reimbursement. I called, emailed and submitted messages through their portal atleast 2-3 times per week asking what was going on with the sales tax and it wasn't until well after this 30 day period they started responding.

I’m not American I been working in sales for the American market for a while now, been talking to people from damn near every state and people from New York are generally the nicest, would say North Carolina, Arkansas or even Tennessee are way worst to deal with than people from ny

I am in the market for a used SUV (l use that term loosely!). Sub $18k, AWD or 4wd, 3 rows is cool but not necessary and under 100k miles.
It seems if my search criteria returns 100 results, it's 40% Audi vehicles, 20% Mercedes/BMW and the remaining 40% being Kia, Hyundai, some Chevy and Fords.
I have bought a Saturn and a Hyundai before and heard all the talk of "unreliable, and junk! They're cheap!" And honestly, they were the two best vehicles I've owned (although my current Acura MDX is pretty high up on that list too).
Do the Audis just get a bad rap?
I am in SW Florida, and it's a pretty affluent area, am I just finding lease returns and well-off owners needing a new car "since it hit 60k!" ?
I do all my own work and maintenance, so I do feel a bit uneasy about a European car. With that said, I thought the same about Asian vehicles and the Hyundai and Acura have been just as (if not easier) to work on then my many Chevy pickups....

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Chapter 89 - The Angels Have Chose
​
Afternoon, Two days before Shel
It was getting near lunch and Tom checked his omni-pad. It seemed as good a time as any to take stock of the day.
…Miv’s right, I’ve been climbing the walls…
There was a text from Bherdin. The IOTC girls were doing well, and would hold up their part to play in the banquet.
…That’s nice. I’d feel guilty as hell if Vedeem weren’t dating a Princess. That kind of evens things up…
And his suit was going to be delivered tonight.
Tom sighed and shook his head. Bherdin was happy as a clam. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be worse than the Warden’s outfit. The little Shil could make you believe in reincarnation, because he definitely had the soul of Liberace. Still, it was only one evening. Surely a state dinner couldn’t be that bad. It was a crowd of scientists and assorted nobility, for goodness sake…
…It’s not the audience I’m worried about…
There was a message from Lamana Duvari. The Interior agent had been cooperative, though he could tell she wasn’t happy about this plan. She was deferring to her Princess, but Duvari favored playing for time. There was just something about sitting back and waiting that didn’t have any appeal…
…She wasn’t the one with a knife in her guts…
That wasn’t fair. Whatever else you could say about the woman, if she’d been asked to trade places, she wouldn’t have hesitated. The woman's dedication was frightening, the more so because she spent most of her day in her disguise as ‘Professor Duvari, Totally Normal Person.’
…Well except for the orchestra. Mel and Kas’lin say she's perfectly at home…
“The woman would probably lend a whole new terror to ‘Ode to Joy.’”
At least she’d followed through, and, gods love her, so had Kzintshki. She’d explained her ability to evade most sensors, but the last three nights she’d slipped out on campus to ‘try something new.’ She’d texted every time, and according to Duvari, the Deathsheads in the bunker missed her every time.
…Whatever she’s doing, it could make all the difference…
The women in the bunker… Like Ce’lani. Things shouldn’t go wrong, but how many times had he said that? Something wasn’t right. The feeling he was missing something loomed over him…
“Fuck it… Time to call Ce’lani.”
He’d promised, and Miv would be gone for hours. Besides, it might make him feel better…
_ _ _
Deep in the Ops room out in the bunker, Sgt Diani perked up from her station. “Captain, you’re not gonna believe this. He’s calling her now.”
“You’re putting me on.” Captain Be’ona felt her eyes grow wide. “The woman can’t string two sentences together when she wakes up.”
“Ummm we’re recording this, aren’t we?” Yala asked from the ground team console.
“She threatened to sodomize me with a lasrifle over breakfast…” Be’ona steepled her fingers and smiled guilelessly. “Oh, Deeps, we are. Document that sucker!”
_ _ _
Miv’eire was a stunning woman. Tall, even for a Shil’vati, she was statuesque, yet elegant. She had poise, and it showed. Sholea was equally striking, though lithe, slim, and feisty.
At 6’2, Tom never thought he’d end up as the short one in the family, but somehow neither woman made him feel that way, and were feminine in the way Shil’vati women usually were. Both women behaved just like Human women, with all their cares and concerns - except when they didn’t. When they didn’t, they really didn’t.
It could be disconcerting to have your attitudes reflected back when you least expected it, but that was their ‘normal.’
Shil’vati men? Well, given the social pressures put on them, they behaved like Human women. Though he’d only met a few before leaving Earth, it was a rule of thumb that worked reasonably well. It applied fairly well to the men working as cooks and waiters at Human Food, and he’d been comfortable with adapting in a way. When in Rome… and the men had made an effort to help him adapt. After all, he was on Shil - the odd man out, in the most literal sense.
That said, there were young men like Aku and Vedeem who seemed to face their worlds in understandable ways. Then again, he’d also come to know Jama. While age had slowed him down, words like ‘notorious’ and ‘brazen’ tended to find their way into his thoughts. There were even a few men about like Bherdin, where worlds like ‘florid’ tended to flounder, unequal to the task… But all of them were at home with their lives. This was their normal, and he was the outsider looking in.
He’d adapted.
Staring at his omni-pad, he punched in the number, but held off dialing. What did he know about Ce’lani? They’d shared a morning together, and Miv and Lea approved… Once, that would have been difficult to accept. Now?
…it still took getting used to.
There was also the fact that she was military. Not just a Marine, but a Deathshead Commando, and while the difference was lost on him, it mattered. You couldn’t avoid meeting Shil’vati Marines.
Young, dumb, and full of… expectations… young troops were the same everywhere. They universally tended to piss off the locals.
Taken as a whole, it reminded Tom of his time on Okinawa. The governor of the island had been aggressively against the American bases there, and rightly supported policies to stop sexual violence against local women. The most dangerous animals on the island were, after all, several thousand unaccompanied Marines… though it was also rumored his daughter had been caught with a young Airman in the back of a Chevy.
The guy had to be smuggled off the island one night with extreme prejudice.
All of that came home to roost with the Shil’vati occupation. What had gone around had come around, in the form of young, inexperienced, and hopeful girls turned loose on the ‘sex planet.’ They had gone over just as well as anyone should have expected. If anything, Humanity ought to have known better than the Shil, but it was still a shock to the system.
Once the red zones calmed enough to allow the settlement programs to kick in, families had arrived on Earth. Shil’vati, Rakiri, Helkam… by fits and starts, each had started to appear, along with the other more exotic races in the Imperium. For a while, it had turned into a hobby like train spotting, but somehow people found their niches and things got on. The galaxy came calling, and it turned out that people were just people.
The Marines were the problem. Not as individuals, but as young troops out of their depth in a situation they weren’t right for. Not that the Interior was anyone’s choice, even for the Shil, but after a while people got on…
…Well, most did. God, I’m going to miss Cat…
He banished the weight of old memories and focused.
Ce’lani was… well, not a marine, but the thought stuck in his head. Her letter had been hopeful, not young or inexperienced. The music she’d sent along had been thoughtful, expressing her longing, desire, and optimism in a way that touched the heart… presuming she’d understood the words.
Either that or she’d gotten lucky.
Still, taken as a whole, words like ‘daunting’ tried to edge their way into his thoughts. Personally, she was polite, deferential to Miv and Lea, and had already put herself on the line for him more than once. Physically, though… the woman screamed ‘military.’
Ce’lani Tonis was a beautiful woman with a defined chin and piercing gold eyes, though it was difficult not to think of her body first. Once someone threw you over their shoulder and took off at a dead run, it made a lasting impression. Athletic, in the way that you’d say Arnold Schwarzenegger was ‘well defined,’ everything about the woman said ‘focused,’ - though that seemed normal for Shil’vati women.
For better or worse, Ce’lani had focused on him, and Miv and Lea approved. That was how things stood… and he needed to call the uber-girl and make a date.
“Just when I thought it would stop feeling strange…” Tom shook his head and hit the icon to dial.
The omni-pad rang a few times, and Tom was about to give it a miss when the call connected. While he didn’t enable the feature often, she must have had video on…
“Mn… Hnogh…?”
The uber-girl lay mashed into her pillow, eyes screwed shut as she started to gently snore.
“Ummm... Hi. Ce’lani?” Somehow, her camera lay at an odd angle, barely keeping her in the frame and Tom turned his to match. “Ummm, hello? It’s Tom?”
“Tom…? Tom’zzz cute…” Ce’lani rolled back and snorted once. Part of him considered hanging up, but he lingered in bemused fascination as she carried on talking in her sleep. “All those wommm chazzing... I beat their asses… an… ’e’s cute…”
The polite thing to do would be to hang up and call back later. It wasn’t as if he was going to get anything sorted… Still, it seemed rude not to say something. Besides, if this was recording on her end the least he could do was leave a useful message. “So… would you like to go out for something to eat?”
“Nmm... nice restaurant… does wrestling…” Ce’lani rolled over, her arm flailing at the omni-pad, knocking it askew. “Builds creidszz…”
“Ah…” If she slept during the day, maybe she worked nights. “This seems to be a bad time, so maybe dinner?”
The omni-pad offered a view of the ceiling. “Dinnerz good for wrestling pages…”
“Ok, I’ll set something up.” There was no way not to make this awkward, but if there wasn’t a recording, the worst he could do was call back. “Sweet dreams.”
Shaking his head, he broke the call.
…Alright, maybe not so daunting then… A date won’t be so bad. At least we’ll have something funny to talk about, if it’s humorous from a Shil’vati perspective…
“From a Shil’vati perspective…” The thought stuck in his head, and he punched in a text to Lamana Duvari. ‘Need to meet you this afternoon. Bring cadets. Important.’
Kzintshki did things the Pesrin way. The Shil did things the Shil way… and he’d been approaching this whole banquet from a Human perspective…
And maybe that was all wrong.
_ _ _
As Pathfinder of the Natahss’ja Warband, Sunchaser had known Marakhett since she was a mere kit named M’rast. Admittedly, she was only forty-three Pesh-years older - or five, going by the local calendar - but the years were enough. When she’d started training as a Pathfinder under old Starwise, her mentor instructed her to pay attention to the young kits as well as the adults. They’d be her peers one day and as the future warriors and band mothers of the Woodspirits, knowing them was important. So it was that she remembered Marakhett being born and watched her grow from a kit.
Starwise had lived up to his name. She’d not only learned to deal with other Warbands and the art of contract law, she’d also come to appreciate her family more intimately than most. She knew their strengths and weaknesses. She’d come to appreciate their character as a whole.
She’d been the odd woman out - the social one, though that wasn’t so unusual for Pesrin. Everything back home on Pesh depended on who you knew, who you were related to, who you had or hadn’t eaten… Social ties were everything. The only remarkable thing was that she managed to remain social, coming from a family of dour, uncommunicative, introverted… Well, they were family.
At least if they found it hard to laugh at themselves, she was there to do it for them.
In that respect. Marakhett was everything a bandmother of the Natahss’ja should be. Not without a certain dark and severe sense of humor, but still…
“You’re pulling my asiak.” Sunchaser crossed her arms, her asiak swishing uncertainly.
“I have never pulled your asiak, though if you want amputation…?”
Pathfinder sighed. Naturally, it would be Kzintshki. Talk about the prodigal daughter… “So it’s a brothel? Like… really a brothel?” She pinched the bridge of her nose a moment and rallied. “Well, I suppose if you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong, but Mother of Light, there’s such a thing as overcompensation!”
Marakhett stared balefully and groomed her asiak. Sunchaser took the hint.
“Alright, you’re not kidding. Scout me through this from the beginning and stop me when I’m wrong. Your daughter found a boy - a Pesrin boy - in a brothel," Sunchaser supplied helpfully. Marakhett continued grooming. The pause grew longer, but she knew how to wait. After all, Marakhett had come to her…
“You are not speaking.”
“Oh, you just noticed? Because I was hoping that was the point where you were going to stop me.”
Marakhett arched an eyebrow. “Then you must learn to live with disappointment.”
“Daily.” Sunchaser looked at her another moment. Sometimes it was good to remember you loved your family enough to eat them, and some days you wanted to eat them so you didn’t have to remember you loved them. “I see… So this ‘Parst’ is in a brothel. You think she’s getting tied to him?”
“He is the right age… and she is very much in the right season. It is possible.” Marakhett shrugged slightly. Anyone not familiar with her would have missed the gesture. From her, it was positively eloquent, but she unbent slightly. “You are just repeating what we already know. I hoped by the time I returned you’d have found out more about the Rithagian.”
“Don’t get hasty in your middle age - it’s not your style,” Sunchaser snorted. “I’m just laying the trail here. Please tell me you did some scouting? Why don’t you and the other bandmothers just break the boy out? Kzintshki can grab him by the-”
“Of course, I scouted,” Marakhett replied tartly. “That is the problem.”
“Riiiiight… Well, that’s clear as the bottom of a coal mine at midnight.” Sunchaser settled back. Being the extrovert in the family was a penance sometimes, but Marakhett gave her pause. The woman was a careful hunter, but had never been afraid to be the first to use violence. She used it as a tool. Usually as a scalpel and sometimes as a blunt object, but if she said violence wasn’t the answer, it likely wasn’t. This was going to be one of those conversations where she just had to drag the information out. “So you scouted. Are you going to tell me the problem, or just let me guess?”
“The Tide Pool is not merely a brothel. The people work there... Apparently by choice.” Marakhett paused significantly. Sunchaser appreciated the effort, as that was a lot to take in. “The men and women there… and there are more species than I have ever seen… all consider themselves employees. I spoke with four or five and the ones that don't consider themselves ‘entertainers’ for the clients are there as staff. They are all healthy, happy, and abundantly well paid.”
“Well, money can’t buy you happiness, but if that’s true, you could die trying.”
“That is humor?”
“That is an observation,” she replied a bit tartly, turning the matter over in her mind and weighing it against what she’d been able to uncover. “Look, prostitution is a filthy business everywhere we’ve been. Places like that in the Consortium are little better than slave houses, and the Alliance was worse. Men and boys beaten down into lifeless outcasts. No one looks at them as anything but toys until they’re too old or too used up, and then they just get cast aside. Sure, actual slavery is a filthy business, but it’s only illegal because otherwise no man would be safe anywhere! It’s bad enough here with the Silver Suns, but that's better than the Alliance or Consortium. At least the Imperium tries to stop it! You said this place has a lot of money rolling through - if it’s everything you’re saying, then something is going on.”
“So I surmised,” Marakhett said blithely.
Of the Woodspirit’s seven bandmothers, Marakhett was her favorite, but Sunchaser counted to eight, her patience getting thin. “Based on…?”
“The Tide Pool employs Rakiri security, but the staff were armed.” She finished grooming her asiak and let it fall free. “Discreetly, but still…”
Sunchaser parsed that over. An armed staff wouldn’t be easy to subdue. No gang would allow it… and Rakiri? Rakiri were capable fighters and should be respected, if not invited to dinner… but still. Birds flew. Fish swam. They did what they did supremely well and were both good eating. That didn’t make them interchangeable.
“Rakiri don’t make good criminals.” Sunchaser tapped a claw on a bulkhead thoughtfully “It’s just not in their nature.”
Marakhett’s fur arched and settled, displaying she was pleased with herself. “Exactly.”
“So when you say armed, do you mean ‘a little,’ ‘quite’ or ‘very?’”
“My waiter was carrying a knife on a leg strap, and the security women I saw had X-tel GP fives.”
“Flechette pistols?” Sunchaser felt herself staring, despite herself. “Light, those are nasty! Exactly how many ‘staff’ are in this place?”
“I have seen smaller fortresses,” Marakhett said flatly.
“Bigger than the-”
“Yes.”
Sunchaser felt her stomach purge as the conversation ground to a halt again. When Marakhett got into monosyllables, that was about it for information. That made it her turn.
“I heard back from Moonwhisper. She’s wed to their bandmale, and he’s on good terms with the male in the Curmoica.” She felt a moment’s gratification as Marakhett winced slightly. As an extrovert stuck in a family of reclusive mercenaries, a little exposition was her best revenge. Still, there was no need to push it. “They confirmed the Rithagian arrived on Shil a year or so after they did… They took a contract with Duchess Elieana - our employer. Funny she’s never mentioned it.”
“I am laughing on the inside.”
“Really? I’d love to cut you open and hear what that sounds like, because thanks to your daughter we find the ‘quiet old commodities trader’ employing us lost a Warband! Not just some of them - the whole family. That means there’s something up with the Duchess on one side and a fortress on the other.” Sunchaser pulled her asiak in raw frustration. “You know what that means?!”
“You undercharged,” Marakhett said archly.
“YES!” Sunchaser wailed, slamming her fist against the wall. It was humiliating, but she had to make the best of it. “Are you and the other bandmother’s going to tell Lathkiar?”
“Our husband? Not at this point.”
“This could involve slavers, violence, kidnapping, and mayhem.”
“Naturally, but Lathkiar is still learning to use his prosthetic leg. Getting us out of Consortium space cost him dearly, and we don’t want him to think he is missing out… or that we’re out of practice.” Marakhett sighed. “Until we can afford something better, he would slow us down. We are not risking him, so the less he hears, the better.”
Somehow, Kzintshki had negotiated actual land for the Natahss’ja, but while land and herds were a fortune for posterity, until the lands were actively worked, they remained a fortune out of reach. In the meantime, every spare credit that wasn’t being put into their ship now had to be plowed into renovations. That included the money set aside to provide Lathkiar with a good prosthetic, but he’d insisted. The savings was far more than he’d earn with work from the Duchess, and Sunchaser nodded grimly, acknowledging his sacrifice. It was something he could do for the family, and no one was going to take that from him.
“Why did you not marry Lathkiar as well?” Marakhett asked. The question caught Sunchaser by surprise.
“I’m a little old for that,” She pondered the idea. Starwise had negotiated well when she brought Lathkiar into the family from the Konjrel. Normally the price for a man like that would break a family for a year, but he was as laconic as Marakhett. They loved each other dearly, but the idea of sharing quarters with them all? Torture. “That's very kind. Marriage may be a wonderful institution, but I don’t want to be institutionalized.”
“Mn.” As usual, Marakhett’s asiak did the talking for her, and Sunchaser leaned in to rub shoulders with her friend.
“So this… Parst?” she asked circumspectly. The sting of undercharging was painful, but a male… on the loose… with no family charging a dowry for him? Now that was a bargain! “Good looking boy, is he?”
“I can possibly see the attraction,” the bandmother shrugged.
“You threatened him?” she asked mildly. It was an unusual situation, but there were the formalities to consider.
“Yes.” She nodded briefly, “Appropriate to his situation.”
“Good, good… and Lathkiar might like having a young male to bring into the family.” Sunchaser desperately wanted to rub her hands together, but a Pathfinder should never display greed - just embrace it. “It would be good for the family. The girls are getting older and you know Cahliss would be thrilled to have a share of him. Ptavr'ri doesn't get on well with Kzintshki, but she’ll either adjust to being third or go without.”
“I can’t say I don’t agree with you.” Coming from Marakhett, that was practically a manifesto. The woman’s asiak actually perked with joy. If she had a least favorite bandwife it was Harasf, and Ptavr’ri was her daughter. Despite her unusual choice of a Human hahackt, Kzintshki had brought the family land. If she brought home a male, her place as the next bandmother would be uncontested by her bandsisters - including Harasf and Ptavr’ri.
“Who are we to stand in the way of true love? It’s been so long since we’ve had a wedding… It will do the family good, since we’re so far from home,” Sunchaser said firmly, setting her thoughts in order. There was still a great deal to find out about the Rithagian, but they were niblifos. Not enemies, but certainly not allies… Besides, any distant branches didn’t even know about the boy! “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Marakhett nodded thoughtfully. “If he has no family, who do we eat?”
_ _ _
Bherdin D’saari watched Jeidri Shel’ara expectantly. As a Cadet Senior Agent in the IOTC, she’d proven over the last week she could be driven, demanding, and determined. While polite and properly deferential to him, she’d battered down barriers to anything less than perfection in her troops, and was ready to face the worst things the galaxy had to offer.
He sniffed at the waste… In another life she would have made a fabulous maître d'. As it was, she made a marvelous test subject for his latest dessert!
“That is absolutely the most disgusting thing I have ever seen,” she breathed in horrid fascination as Vedeem picked up one of the rectangular mounds. Industrial brown goo discharged suggestively from the sides, but what really captured the eye was the sticky mass oozing out the sides.
Cadet Agent Vandra Elidre leaned in for a closer look before turning pale. “I’m going to be sick.”
Still, none of them made a dash for the bathroom or had the option to refuse. Bherdin appreciated that, since Vedeem was handing them out… Over the last week, his son had truly come into his own, training them day after day… And if that wasn’t enough, who cared!? He was the Princess’ boyfriend! What could they say?
“What in the sweet goddess’ name is that?” Cadet Agent Prindi Ama’dis prodded at hers with horrified fascination, moving it about on the plate, before pulling it apart. A visceral horror crept over her features as the white morass dribbling down, clinging suggestively in ropey white tendrils. “You know what this looks like?”
Vedeem D’saari grinned cheerfully and picked up his own. “Like porn on Shel morning?” One long entrail dribbled suggestively. “Don’t worry! The best things in life are a little sticky!”
Bherdin felt a warm glow of pride in his son. He’d come so far, so fast.
Vedeem smiled compassionately at the girls. Even in their distress, none of them were willing to show weakness… They watched in horror as he picked up his piece and bit deeply. Thick goo surged from the crust, coating one tusk.
Prindi Ama’dis looked like she was going to faint.
“They’re called a ‘s’mores.’ Just try a nibble, please? For me…? Surely, you’re not afraid, are you?” Vedeem tried wiping the sticking mass from his mouth. It trailed away on one fingertip. He gave them a winsome smile. “This can't be the messiest thing you’ve thought of with a boy?”
“I…” Jeidri was withering. Vandra looked at her for moral support as Prindi started to wheeze. As the senior cadet, she seemed to be fortifying herself… just as her omni-pad rang. Snatching the unit from her belt, she held it like a talisman. “I’ve got to get this! Vandra! You try it!”
Well, you couldn’t win them all over at once… A love of fine cuisine didn’t come to everyone naturally.
Jeidri’s lower lip quivered, but she picked up the square and gulped. “What… um… what's in it?”
“The brown stuff is chocolate. It’s a vegetable… sort of.” Vedeem ran a fingertip along his own. She and Prindi watched, spellbound… If some savages simply couldn’t appreciate good food, what was one to do? Still, there came a time for selling yourself, and at last Vedeem was learning!
“Umm…. sort of?” Prindi asked nervously.
“Don't worry, I’m sure big girls like you can get a handle on it…” Vedeem’s tongue snaked out and wound around the brown-coated finger suggestively.
“A-and umm… and the… the white stuff?” Vandra whispered horsely.
“Marshmallow…” Vedeem smiled sinfully at the pair… Bherdin couldn't be more proud. All his son needed was a bit more fashion counseling and nothing would stand in his way! The universe would deliver itself to him on a platter!
Of course, first they still needed a test. Some people just had inexplicable tastes.
“Alright…” Prindi and Vandra shared a look and took a bite…
Jeidri Shel’ara hung up on her omni-pad, suddenly all business. “Girls, that was a call from… umm… anyway, we have to get back to the campus at once!”
The cadets looked like they’d found their way to Shil’s own bedroom.
“Oh, thweet ghothess…” Vadra said as she gobbled it down. “Thif if the beft fing I’f ever thafted!”
“Well, of course it is!” Bherdin exclaimed before checking his reflection. As hard as it was to believe, some people just didn’t understand the things an artist had to endure!
__ _
Diani brayed like a turox when she laughed, but at least the girls enjoyed themselves. Yala was wiping tears from her eyes when Be’ona turned off Tom’s monitor. She hadn’t laughed outright…
Well, maybe a bit.
“Right. Eyes back on the job!” she rumbled. Diani was still snickering, but they had a job to do and Be’ona nodded as the sergeant ran a status check on her board. They had a sacred trust, and while breaks in the monotony kept you sharp, they couldn’t become actual distractions.
The board was clear. Princess Khelira was just settling down to lunch with her friends…
“Ma’am? Captain To’nis still has her wake-up call for four?” Diani settled back. “Same as every day, right?
“Mmhmm…” A pod leader should not laugh at their peers in front of the grunts… Be’ona stomped on the chuckle as it threatened to escape and throttled it.
Diani glanced over her shoulder. “Yala? Five credits says she doesn’t remember a thing.”
“Sergeant, that is unkind…” She pulled up the maintenance check from Pod Eight. “I’ll make it twenty. Grow a pair or go home.”
It was good for morale.
_ _ _
It was barely noon and Desi was already worn out.
The files on Earth were starting to blur together every night, but she dug in and kept careful track. Still, the late nights were taking their toll. Even lunch had taken on an aspect of grim determination over the last week, and while it had been useful, Desi missed the days when it was just the carefree banter that started the year. She wouldn't trade her friendship with Melondi for anything, but the revelation had changed everything.
Well, alright, Kzintshki would have shown up anyway, and she seemed impervious to change. She certainly wasn’t what Desi’d imagined a ‘sister’ to be. The Pesrin was seated next to her, prodding the tosip out of the baked goara from today's menu with deep suspicion.
“So, I want to bring something up…” Jax’mi cleared her throat. Desi nodded as the other girls all looked over at Melondi. They knew what was coming, and just now their Princess had her mouth full. “It’s about the calendar.”
Mel... Khelira… was good at reading body language, but Desi suspected the whole table staring at her gave it away. Well, except for Kzintshki. She’d started prying bits of fish from the sauce and took a moment to catch on… Jax didn’t waste time and dove right in.
“I know you’ve been wondering about the news on the calendars… Umm…well, that and one or two other things. I sort of rolled part of the money into another product. You know that Rubik’s thing? I sort of passed that off through my cousin, and we have an offer to market the ‘Chel’xa Block,’ but…” Melondi was trying to finish her bite, so Jax pressed ahead. “Well, anyway, taking out the seed money for the printing and my uncle’s one percent cut for the marketing… ummm… They sold out the first and second runs, and we have an offer to do another.”
“Okay…” Mel bit her lip and frowned at the attention. “How much money is that, and why are you all looking at me?”
“Wellll… We got around a credit per calendar, and my uncle said it sold nearly as well as something called a ‘sports illustrated’ edition… We got an offer from them, by the way, once he mentioned the diving team…”
Melondi had gotten used to eating through unexpected news and started picking at her pippiya. “How much?”
Jax bit her lip. “Allowing for the conversion rate?”
“Fine… allowing for that?” Mel canted her head, looking at Jax’mi warily.
“For both runs?” Jax shrugged. “Around eight hundred thousand credits.”
Melondi dropped her pippiya “What!? For… For pictures of us in bikinis!? That’s… that’s…”
Jax nonchalantly flipped a long wavy lock of silver hair over one shoulder. “The most successful school fundraiser ever!!!”
Jax looked smug, but Desi decided to get things back on track, “The point is, we wanted to talk to you about the money, Mel. We’ve all talked it over, and we’re setting it aside for you.”
“I was going to say preposterous, but why for me?” Mel looked at her, as confusion replaced consternation. “Desi? I think you all know I’m… umm… ‘socially secure.’ We were going to split that... I mean, back when we thought it would just be fun money, but this? I don’t understand. Why would you give it to me?”
“It’s not giving it to you, Mel.” Pris leaned forward, “Well, not as such. It’s more like setting it aside… We need to give some to the school, but we ran it through Dihsala…”
Dihsala pushed her tray away and made a face. “What they’re trying to say is you might need money that can’t be traced.”
“I don’t understand?” Mel said flatly, though there was a defensive note in her voice and Desi suspected she understood perfectly.
“What if you have to run? What if this banquet goes badly?” Dihsala waved a hand briefly at the table, taking everyone in. “We know you don’t want to hear this, but if it’s life or death, you may need to disappear for a while.”
“It’s not like your face is known by the press, but word wouldn’t take long,” Lark pointed out with a nod. “Not if the Palace made an announcement, or your identity was blown.”
Kzintshki stabbed some tosip on one fork, examining it critically. “If the people stalking you decided it helped them flush you out, they’d do so in a minute.”
“They’re right…” Nestha nodded. “My mothers toe the line when the Palace wants something silenced, but if it got totally out in the open, even they’d try and take the lead. Every news outlet and pundit would be offering up something on the data-net.”
“We decided to create a fund to make that happen, if it needs to.” Jax’mi lowered her voice. “My family has a few ships here on Shil. We could get you off-world.”
“My family on Wilist would take you in,” Belda nodded. “There are all kinds of places you can disappear, out on the ranch.”
“Or maybe farther,” said one of the twins. “Mara and I were thinking about Earth. If we asked, maybe the Painters could take you on their ship?”
“I could fool people for a few days… At least the ones off campus,” Desi whispered as she reached out to take Melondi’s hand. “If I slept in your room and we let Vedeem in on it, maybe I could throw them off and give you a head start.”
“I appreciate it... All of you,” Mel looked down at her plate. Her hands fluttered a moment before she clasped them together. “But no, I’m not running away from this. How would this look if I ran at the first sign of danger?”
“The first sign of danger was in the library,” Pris’ voice was full of compassion, but her words made sense. Desi was about to chime in when Mel put her foot down.
“No! I know you’re thinking of me, but what kind of person cuts and runs like that?” Melondi glowered. “Kzintshki, you aren’t Shil’vati. What would it look like to your people? How could I live with myself like that?”
“Easily another fifty years... Longer if you can make money posing in skin suits.” The Pesrin girl frowned. “A Bandmother would not run, but that is different… We are surrounded by family.”
“You’re my family…” Mel said wretchedly before drawing in a long breath. “I… look, you’ve all taken risks for me, and I know you don't want that to be for nothing, but I'm not running away. I couldn't respect myself. Thank you… but no matter what happens, I am not doing that.”
“We had to offer…” the other twin… that would be Kas’lin, reached out for the bread tray. “Anyway, it wouldn’t have been so bad if you went to Earth. We want to know what a ‘rolls’ is.”
“A what?” It was a non-sequitur, but Desi grabbed it like a lifeline. Melondi was embarrassed… That was something a Princess couldn’t afford, and changing the topic was something they could all do for her. “Why don’t you ask the Painters? We’ve barely seen you since they landed… As if we didn’t know why…”
“They’re our heroes!” Mara protested, but she was turning bluer by the second.
“And it would be embarrassing!” Lin nodded. “We’re going to ask the Professor but yeah, we’ve been kept… umm…”
“We’ve had lots of… of intellectual discussions!” Mara nodded a touch frantically. “And you should see the modifications to their ship! It has a magnificent sch-”
“We get it!” The table crowed with laughter as the twins stammered into silence.
“Look, I know we’ve all been under a lot of pressure…” Melondi said tentatively. “Why don’t we have movie night tonight, then go out for a drink tomorrow?”
“What, out in town?” Let’zi spoke up. “Is that safe?”
“We all could use a break. Maybe it’s a good idea, as long as we’re careful. We’ve all been busy,” Desi offered, turning the idea over in her head. It might be good practice impersonating Mel one more time… “Even Kzintshki has been disappearing at night.”
“I have been engaged on your behalf.” Kzintshki started prodding a pippiya apart, scooping out the insides. And picking them apart with a claw. “I have tested evading the sensors. I am told it was satisfactory.”
“What, in your skin suit?” Belda started blushing as she asked.
“In... somewhat less.” Kzintshki’s asiak twitched once. “It was necessary.”
…Less? Less than a bikini? But that meant…
“But… umm… it’s cold out,” Desi stammered as a hush fell over the girls. “Didn’t you freeze your tits off?”
“Pesrin are naturally adaptable… and it’s only forty out. In the skin suit, I am virtually invisible to sensors. ‘Virtually’ may not be enough, this Shel. It required field tests.” Kzintshki’s asiak slipped out of sight and focused on her pippiya as if it was the most important thing in the universe. “It was late. I was not seen.”
“I… I have nothing for that…” Desi found herself staring back to Melondi. The entire table was a sea of blue, now.
“Um, I realize I haven’t asked…” Melondi looked back at her for help, and Desi shrugged. There was no telling with Kzintshki sometimes. “I know why everyone else is helping me. They’re Shil’vati, but you’re a Pesrin. This has to be more than just impressing Professor Warrick as your…?”
“Hahackt. That matters… particularly if I am to engage a mate…” Kzintshki drew herself up, though she glanced about furtively. “Though if you take more pictures in skin suits, I wish to join in. Pesrin are not against easy money.”
“You can have my place!” Belda offered fervently. “I’m going to be a married woman… well, eventually! Liam might not like it if I did it again.”
“There has to be more to it than that,” Melondi asked softly. “This means a great deal to me, so really… anything at all, please just name it.”
“Anything?” Kzintshki set aside the pippiya and picked up her asiak, grooming it modestly. “There is, perhaps, one thing.”
“Name it,” Melondi said. Desi knew the tone... It was her friend sitting there, but Khelira was doing the talking.
“Very well. Immunity from prosecution. From now until the end of Shel.” Kzintshki canted her head, as if issuing a challenge. “You are all nobles… I may be one now, but I am not Shil’vati. If you are caught, it is one thing. If I am caught… as improbable as that may be…”
“Done.” Melondi nodded sharply and raised her voice, “You have my word, as… what I am… before witnesses, and probably being recorded… Immunity from prosecution. A full Imperial pardon for until the end of this Shel.”
“Well, Deeps!” Dihsala breathed. “As long as you’re offering…?”
“Count me in for that!” Pris nodded. “My mother was a magistrate. If I get expelled, she’ll kill me and they’ll never find the body!”
“Alright, fine!” Khelira, Princess of the Shil’vati Imperium had spoken… but Desi saw her friend Melondi… At least until she had to stifle a yawn.
“So, movie night tonight?” Melondi offered. “We still need to pick a film for next week’s class.”
“Oh! Great Waldo’s Peeper has a cute guy named Redford in it,” Kas’lin piped up with a grin. “He’s sexy!”
“The one from Star Wars?” Let’zi cocked her head and perked up. “I like him!”
“That’s Harrison Ford. This one is Redford… though his hair isn’t red…”
Desi looked around the table at her friends as they started to talk about movies. There was no telling what the Shel would bring, but all the same? Life went on…
At least for one more day.

My wife got an offer to turn her lease in early and so we’re going today to see what kind of deal they can make for her. We got into a fender bender and had it fixed. Nothing but the front fascia was replaced. I know accidents on a CARFAX are basically a nail in the coffin for any kind of equity in the vehicle, but this dealer has 11 used cars and a smattering of new, so I’m thinking they may not be too worried over the CARFAX. Can anyone shed some light on what to expect?
She’s getting out of a ‘21 Tiguan SE and may be looking for something similar, possibly a Cross Sport, she’s not 100% yet. Leasing is most likely the finance method as well.
Thanks

Company: Crouse Hospital
Location: Syracuse, NY, United States 📍
Date Posted: June 08, 2023 📅
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