Συνάντηση Καρυπίδη - Ρουσιαμάνη με φόντο τη συνεργασία τους στην ΚΑΕ
2024.11.25 12:13 Antoniman Συνάντηση Καρυπίδη - Ρουσιαμάνη με φόντο τη συνεργασία τους στην ΚΑΕ
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2024.11.25 12:13 Short_Algo $QUBT Awaiting Buy Signal based off 4 signals $2,666 net profit 25 profit factor 75% win rate on a 15-min chart. Free trial at https://www.ultraalgo.com/?afmc=46 #trading #stocks #investing #money
 | submitted by Short_Algo to StockTradingIdeas [link] [comments] |
2024.11.25 12:13 Unique-Baker-5994 Gay trade 05e92c2432393e5da10c288908a9e59406c62d9fcad187b9cc644ed2d9d27bd03a
submitted by Unique-Baker-5994 to Snapchatgerman [link] [comments]
2024.11.25 12:13 Slugg1337 Incorrect war stars gained.
In my war replay I 100% 3 Star, but on the war screen it only registers as a 91% 2 Star. Is this a common bug or am I just really unlucky?
submitted by Slugg1337 to ClashOfClans [link] [comments]
2024.11.25 12:13 lis_le Nous sommes David H. et Hugo A., les deux personnes derrière la chaîne YouTube dédiée au cinéma Calmos. AMA/DMNQ
submitted by lis_le to bonjour [link] [comments]
2024.11.25 12:13 nikita-kapustin INCREDIBLE Dramatic Product Rendering (Blender Lighting Tutorial)
 | submitted by nikita-kapustin to blender [link] [comments] |
2024.11.25 12:13 UnsolvedBurger Beeping sound when I open a new window
Hello everyone, so the problem is that all of a sudden windows started playing a beeping sound (twice, or once) at random whenever a new window pops up, it started two days ago and its been too annoying to let go. I was able to replicate the sound with more success using brave browser and saving a file just as shown here: https://streamable.com/gob5v7 I've tried searching, but no success as this issue seems too specific to everyone,
the sound happens with multiple apps, file explorer, excel, browsers, and basically anything that pops up both my screens, so its not exclusive to any app, and sometimes when the window pops up it gets 'glitchy' for half a second, like its still loading or setting up.
my situation is also weird, as this issue started happening a day after I got a new OLED monitor (asus strix), 2k 240Hz, my setup currently is 2 monitors with the new one and an older Zowie Benq 1080p monitor.
ram usage is normal, I'm not running any GPU heavy tasks, no games are running.
I tried the following: uninstalling the Displaywidget app for the new Oled monitor Disabled the OLED monitor as an audio device disconnected the Oled and ran a single monitor (1080p only) restart uninstalled some other apps that I thought could cause the issue (Meta Quest VR app, adobe) ran a full virus scan
and nothing happened, the issue still persists.
I'm out of my sorts, even windows is updated, and honestly even solutions online are too generic for me to try
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2024.11.25 12:13 Negative-Drag-7007 Did anyone else forget fortnite had a storyline
These past few seasons have no build up to the storyline I feel like epic is just adding cheese to a big nothing burger
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2024.11.25 12:13 Still-Inspection-307 Fansly Acc with Balance ReadyToUse
Search GGfansly on Tel egram.
Starting from 30 for 100 balance, and more.
Never suspend.
tags: Fansly accounts, fansly balance.
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2024.11.25 12:13 Odd_Tip2072 What is this?
This post contains content not supported on old Reddit. Click here to view the full post
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2024.11.25 12:13 Snoo_22459 Unbelievable Win! From $5 to $3.2M
Fill my hearth with joy when I see situations like this. Of course, they promoted themselves a little by giving public statements
https://gameongazette.com/from-a-5-wager-a-fortunate-sportsbet-player-wins-a-3-2-million-prize/
submitted by Snoo_22459 to gambling [link] [comments]
2024.11.25 12:13 CyGoingPro Requesting r/personalfinancecyprus due to inactive mods and community
The subreddit is inactive and not moderated, I want to bring it back online and in line with other personalfinance subreddits.
submitted by CyGoingPro to redditrequest [link] [comments]
2024.11.25 12:13 Irishblend23 Is my OBT a boy or a girl?
 | Just got her 2 days ago. submitted by Irishblend23 to tarantulas [link] [comments] |
2024.11.25 12:13 Lower_Committee6740 How to achieve this lighting technique?
 | submitted by Lower_Committee6740 to AskPhotography [link] [comments] |
2024.11.25 12:13 footivities Tasty 👅
 | submitted by footivities to footfeed [link] [comments] |
2024.11.25 12:13 Xamordoss Just realized I‘m EUWs best baller (Not a Nunu Main)
 | Usually I only play ARAM as some sort of warm-up or to casually end a Gaming Night. When Randolph checking my challenges Today I realized I am the #1 snowballer on EUW?! Tbh I‘m still baffled. Achieving something so insignificant (for Most people atleast) made my entire week. Really happy about it and felt Like Sharing with you guys. See you on the Bridge. P.S. Should i start maining Nunu to hit Even more snowballs? submitted by Xamordoss to ARAM [link] [comments] |
2024.11.25 12:13 icallshogun Bridgebuilder - Chapter 115
Tanked
First | Prev
Alex had been formulating a hypothesis about Eleya. Originally, he thought that she had a drinking problem. Before the whole clusterfuck with Sharadi, Sergeant Zenshen confirmed that alcoholism also affected the Tsla’o, her own father included in that count. Surprising no one, it had experienced a sharp increase after the cataclysm as more products had returned to the market. Having attended a few social functions with the Empress had allowed him to refine that.
“I believe he mentioned that he has a brother once, yes!” Eleya was practically beaming at this confirmation. She had seen when she picked his brain against his will, but it had actually been brought up in conversation after the whole thing with Sharadi. “Though he has not told me anything about him.”
She appeared to drink a lot at formal dinners. As with everything Eleya did in view of the public, and particularly the political class, there was some sleight of hand involved. She appeared to, but she did not. The wine glass she used at these functions was different. It filled too quickly and a handful of sips emptied it. So while it looked like she was hitting the wine pretty hard, having three or four glasses at a meal, he was quite sure at this point that she never even drank a whole serving. It was a layer of illusion for her to play with.
He wasn’t sure what the illusion was supposed to be, and Carbon didn’t know when he asked about it. She had suggested that it may just be to imply that she was able to tolerate a lot of alcohol, or that the less informed might be tempted to try and put something over on her while they think she’s slightly inebriated. Maybe both.
“Yes, Peter is his older brother.” Audry looked to Carbon, trying to figure out why this was a big deal to Eleya. “He’s married already, and has a son of his own.”
Carbon shook her head. She had no idea what her aunt was on about, either.
Alex couldn’t speak to Eleya’s alcohol consumption when alone, but when it was just family, she actually did drink. Actual glasses of wine. Those sour citrus mixed drinks she liked, or just a lowball of liquor, neat. He wouldn’t call it excessive drinking, exactly, but it tended to be heavy. It appeared to relax her, eased back the carefully built façade for a time. Her words came more quickly, less carefully considered. Carbon had said it reminded her of when they were younger, before Navaren had been assassinated and she had taken up the role of Sovereign alone.
Alex surmised that the root of Eleya’s behavior was that she wanted to have a family again. While she hadn’t explicitly said this, all her actions pointed to it. She risked a lot, possibly everything up to and including the Empire, vetting Alex and bringing him into the fold just to appease Carbon. He could have easily turned that introductory assault into something that withdrew Human aid from them, if not that kicked off that hot war that she wanted to avoid. Alex believed that she wanted to be able to shrug off her duties, sit around a table and enjoy being with people she cared about, who cared about her. The main problem there was that after decades of gripping the reins of the Empire by herself, the only way she could manage that now was to be in an altered state of mind.
Eleya clearly considered this dinner to be one of those times where she wanted that. In this quiet moment, she was sitting here with her niece, nephew, and the closest thing Carbon had to a mother now. This was a family dinner, even including the stranger Alex brought along.
They hadn’t even ordered food and she just finished that Titan Tea, setting the empty pint glass down on the coaster with a thump. “Good, good. What does he do? Is he also a Pilot?”
His new, refined theory? Getting slightly drunk surrounded by the people she trusted implicitly was the closest she could get to being vulnerable with them. The only way she could feel close to someone anymore.
“No, Peter is an architect. He’s been with his company for about a decade now, right out of college.” Audry was obviously proud of Pete’s accomplishments, and rightly so. He had busted his ass to excel and the owner of the company recognized that.
“Is it so?” The gears behind Eleya’s slightly glazed eyes turned, antenna lifting just a little bit as she schemed. “A creator with a young family and devotion to a cause. Yes... That is very good.”
The table drew silent, no one sure what to make of that comment. Carbon turned to Audry, interested in moving the conversation somewhere else. “I have been negligent in my inquiry today. How are Peter and his family doing?”
“They’re doing well. Gaspari is gearing up for a new project and he’s stressed about that, but that’s just how Peter is. The bigger the venture, the more it weighs on him. He was like that all through school.” She took a sip of her Last Word, the drink barely touched compared to Eleya’s. “Jason’s going to be starting pre-k soon, he’s actually excited about it.”
“I am pleased to know that.” Carbon bowed a little bit. She had a tendency to swing towards more formal as Eleya became more drunk. “Next time you see them, would you send our regards and be sure that they are still at ease about the accident with Jason. I know he had no ill intentions.”
In that moment where Carbon and Audry spoke to each other so easily, Eleya looked like she was in pain. It was brief - even getting drunk she had impressive control over herself - but there was a moment of sorrow clear in her eyes. The relationship she had given up and so desperately wanted back, right there in front of her.
Alex felt bad for her, but she had dug that hole herself. At least 30 years down the line, she was starting to fill it back in.
“What is this accident? Who is Jason?” Eleya inquired.
“Jason is Pete’s son. He got over excited and came running at Carbon as fast as he could to hug her. You might say running into things is a bit of a family trait.” Alex was very mindful to not mention that Jason unintentionally and very enthusiastically dropped a slur. Nobody expected a four year old to be a diplomat.
“Who is Pete?” She asked immediately after he got done speaking.
Oh yeah, Tsla’o didn’t really do nicknames the same way. “That’s just a short way of saying Peter.”
“Ah. It is only one letter shorter?” She puzzled that out, shaking her head slowly until she noticed the waiter, Derek, return. She clapped at him. “Server. This drink is empty, I require another one immediately.”
The reactions to this varied significantly around the table. Ed was about to start dying, hiding a barely restrained smirk behind his pint. Alex sucked in a breath through his teeth and he was pretty sure Carbon did the same. Audry was shocked, which was fair. No one really expects that sort of behavior, particularly when the person doing it hadn't seemed so petty.
Alex wasn’t going to let that slide. “Hey, we don’t do that here.” You could tell a lot about someone based on how they treated waitstaff. Normally Eleya didn’t order anyone around like that. Normally she didn’t drink like this around people.
“You do not do that.” She chose obstinate as the way to respond. Great. Drunk Eleya was getting downgraded from pitiable to annoying right this very second.
“We do not.” All right. Picking a Royal We fight with the Empress was probably not the best idea in the world, but he had some protection on his side. A lot of her plans had him as a central component now, and he could not be easily replaced for several of them. Carbon was within striking range, as well. In less violent options, Eleya’s insistence that Alex pay attention to things he didn’t care about had taught him a few things about her. “Is that the example you set for your people? For those who may someday take your place? Clapping at a professional who is clearly working alone, to get a drink a little faster?”
Invoking leadership was something she did all the time, and the Tsla’o took the chain of command very seriously. Alex framed himself as the subordinate in this case, which he was as the Crown Prince. Making her look at plainly disrespectful behavior over something as petty as getting a refill, from a different point of view. Coercing her military background into the picture. Asking her if this is really how she wants him to treat random Tsla’o when he wants something, without saying it directly.
It was unsettling that he felt like he was channeling Eleya when he said all that, though.
Eleya glanced up at his ears where the piercings marking his station would normally reside as she thought that over, slowly rubbing her teeth together. “No. Perhaps not. You are wise beyond your years, Pilot. Your council is appreciated.”
She turned to Derek, giving him a shallow bow. “I beg your forgiveness. My behavior was needlessly rude, unfitting of my station and your dignity alike.”
Derek was caught off guard. The situation had turned on a dime, and he was clearly not used to belligerent people coming around so fast. He looked to Alex, who was trying to get him to bow in pantomime. Derek picked that up and returned the bow. “Thank you, you have my forgiveness.”
Alex gave him a discreet thumbs up. Perfect.
Derek was also ready to get this behind him. “Are you all ready to order?”
Turns out they were. Alex and Ed both went for the double bacon cheeseburger. Classic, couldn’t go wrong with it. Audry had been about to order the Irish stew when they both jumped to warn her this place was Irish pub themed. She got a cheeseburger as well. Carbon tentatively asked if it was possible to get the ribeye, rare, from Gardien de Phare as they were not actually in Noonan’s. Turns out it was possible. Eleya ordered what Carbon was having, and another Titan Tea.
“Hey, maybe you’d like to try some other Human specialties while you’re here.” Eleya with a few drinks was fine. Eleya with half a pint of spirits after who knows how much champagne was already annoying and it probably hadn't even hit yet. “Maybe a Shirley Temple? It's got several kinds of fruit. Centuries old recipe, as well.”
Another little bit of manipulation he’d learned from Eleya. She did actually like old things. History interested her. It was baby steps compared to what she did, but it was effective.
She looked from Alex to Derek. “Is this so?”
Derek nodded. “I would say that is an accurate assessment. It is a very old recipe, and makes effective use of grenadine, cherry, and citrus to produce a bright, effervescent drink.”
“Cherry is like tamaks, they are both a sweet pit-fruit.” Carbon added, intuiting what Alex was doing.
“Very well, I will try that.” She relented, and Derek departed with their order.
Eleya turned her attention to Audry again, getting back to their original conversation. “This Jason, he is a small child? Four years, was it?”
Alex excused himself to use the restroom.
Not that he was going to use the restroom, he just wanted to talk to their waiter. He dipped out the service door, the room beyond it actually nearly as large as the dining room itself. Suppose they might be staging food for dozens of people sometimes.
The security crew inside stopped talking and turned to look at him as one, which was impressive for two separate groups who had never met before. He couldn’t be sure but it sounded like they had been discussing their issued equipment before his trespass had been noticed. “Hey, uh, did you guys see the waiter? I need to talk to him.”
The closest DSS suit jerked his head towards the back door. “Down the hall, left is the kitchen, right is the service bar. If you leave the secured area, we will have to scan you on the way back in.”
“Alright, I can dig that.” Derek had just taken orders, so the kitchen would probably be the first stop. Alex went left, peeking in the window on the swinging doors. Busy, but no waiter in sight. He turned around and nearly ran straight into the guy coming back from the service bar. “Ah hey. I just wanted to apologize for that scene. She doesn’t get out a lot.”
Derek once again looked surprised. “Accepted. I must say, it was very mild even before her apology. Diplomats tend to think extremely highly of themselves and it comes out in some interesting ways, and they do not reverse course so readily.”
“That’s- Sorry to hear that. Just, whatever she orders from now on, get her an alcohol free version of it?” That was the real reason he was back here. Keeping Eleya from getting more drunk. “And could we get an appetizer platter? Biggest one they can make.”
“Will do. Anything else?” He was the definition of professional about all this.
“Yeah, can I give you my card and get this paid for without bringing the check out?” They couldn’t be spending that much, and he had hardly bought anything since he got back.
“DSS has it expensed already.”
“Oh, shit. Okay. Well, I’ll stop holding you up then, thank you.” Alex stepped out of Derek’s way with a shallow bow and headed back up the hallway. Apparently he was going to continue not buying anything.
Scans only took a couple of seconds, even with both teams doing their own.
While he had been gone for only a few minutes, the conversation had moved on to Ed. “No, you’re right. My background isn’t too different from Alex’s, with a few notable exceptions. All my runs in the Scout program ended with very little fanfare. I do have one planet being terraformed under my belt, but that’s the big one. Otherwise it’s lots of natural resources and a couple of interesting gas giants.”
“And you have spent fifteen years engaged in training the next generations of Pilots after that?” Eleya had leaned in, resting her chin on her knuckles as she dug into what Ed had been getting up to until now, bright blue eyes alight with interest despite looking a little more drunk than before. “It may be forward of me to ask - and I understand that this question is more appropriately taken to those in control of the program as a whole, I am merely gauging your interest at this moment - would you be willing to impart some of this experience unto the Tsla’o Empire? Even with the expedition cut short, the yields exceeded our usual exploration returns.”
“I don’t-” He stopped talking as Derek returned, dispensing a platter of fried food to the table and a glass of vibrant red liquid for Eleya. Sharp gray eyes tracking their waiter until he was out of sight again. “I don’t mind the idea at all. I’m biased, of course, but I find the program to be a good use of money - both in material returns and as a testbed for technology. I do have a trainee right now that I would prefer to see to the end of their course first, but this doesn’t sound like something that will be set up overnight anyway.”
“No, bureaucracy moves at its own pace.” Eleya tried her Shirley Temple, giving it a curious look that turned into a sidelong glance aimed at Alex. Obviously not drunk enough to miss the lack of alcohol. “I will see to opening channels about another partnership. Even without such deals brokered, if you have time available, I bid you to visit The Sword of the Morning Light and tour our training facilities. They are aimed more at maintaining and improving skills rather than teaching, but wise words are always appreciated.”
As he perused the selection of deep fried goods in the middle of the table, Alex wondered how he would covertly notify someone that if they got their hardware upgraded, the ONI would absolutely be fucking with it. Not just blurting it out like he wanted to do right now. “Don’t spend too much time over there or Section Seven is gonna poach you too.”
“Yeah, they can try if they want to make an actual enemy out of the CPP. It’s tolerated when they rustle a pilot every now and then, but I am in way too deep. I’ve seen Admirals sweat when I talk about retirement.” He reached out and plucked a fried ravioli off the plate, not talking while he eats it. Always was a stickler for not talking with his mouth full. “I would actually very much like to see your ship and facilities. Alex seems no worse for wear from his time in your care, and I’ve heard generally good things coming from friends in the Trailblazer community.”
No worse for wear. Alex did not laugh at that, knowing it would have been sarcastic and strained. A couple of meetings with a therapist did not undo multiple near death experiences, or any of the manifold other things he had been working on. He just let them talk and pointed out the crab rangoons to Carbon. She was aware of crab and the other large sea bugs that forest spider reminded him of, but hadn’t had a chance to try yet. He went for the mozzarella sticks. Nostalgic, more than anything. Hadn’t had one of those since he was a kid.
It was good, it just didn’t land the same as an adult.
“I will formally extend an invitation when we return to the ship.” She nodded once, the statement made and to be carried out with the authority of the Empress. “I assume the young Pilot will be able to assist me in spelling your name correctly, I suspect it does not translate well to Tsla.”
Everybody had a chuckle at that except Carbon, now stuck between rigid formality and curiosity about the little packet of fried food Alex had indicated she should try.
“Even if he couldn’t, I’m the only Edwin in the CPP training department so it won’t be hard to track me down.” He gave her an affable smile and went for another ravioli.
“Speaking of visiting places... I was recently invited along to Na’o, the Tsla’o home system. Carbon is meeting with the first class of Lan to graduate since the Cataclysm, and not a lot of Humans have had the opportunity to visit there as guests.” By his estimation it was zero. No Human had actually ever been allowed into Tsla’o space without a specific reason, and he wasn’t actually an outlier here. He was doing Prince stuff, like escorting prisoners. “Just a quick trip. With transit time back and forth there’s enough time for a few days there before we have to be back in Sol for other ongoing business.”
“I expect pictures.” His mother took that pretty well, all things considered. The idea of Alex jetting off to distant parts of the galaxy was old hat to her now. “Maybe a new mug.”
They both got a laugh out of that, no one else at the table privy to the fact that Alex had been buying his parents novelty tourist mugs from pretty much every place he had gone to off Earth. Having a souvenir from the seat of an alien Empire would be one of those things you trot out whenever the annoying neighbors start boasting about having been all the way out to New Austin or something. There would be no way to top it.
“At least a keychain, if I can find one.” That actually got him wondering... He looked to Carbon, just now tentatively biting into that crab rangoon. He was not going to interrupt his wife while she was eating. Eleya was still perusing the options, so he aimed the question at her. “Do the Tsla’o have souvenirs? Like keepsakes or mementos from places that have been visited?”
“Yes, though it is often less functional than a mug. Small art pieces, usually reflecting the local culture in some way, were the most common.” She settled on a fried ravioli, inspecting it as she continued. “Telucten, the province I am from, was known for its livestock and used a sleeping Rakaro as the base for its traditional memento. Pictures, paintings, carvings, little stuffed toys for children. I am sure it would be easy enough to find an artisan interested in ceramics to make something specific.”
Having something custom made kind of defeated the purpose of the souvenir mug, but he would certainly ask for some kind of visual pun. A joke that was incomprehensible to a Human would actually fit the novelty mug genre perfectly, at least. “I’ll be sure to ask around once we’re in the area.”
“I can put you in contact with a few people.” She popped the little fried square into her mouth and seemed to enjoy it.
“Thanks.” He would still ask around.
The conversation stayed light as the appetizers disappeared. Three of the people at the table were aware of the full level of the deceit being engaged in at the moment, a fourth just keeping the fact Alex and Carbon were married on the low for now. Ed was completely unaware of anything other than them not being able to discuss the ongoing work with the Confederation.
Eleya got the full explanation of what a research librarian was, which as it turned out was close to what they called Conservators. A librarian with specialized knowledge or experience. This was also met with earnest approval by the Empress. There were dozens of Conservators in the employ of the royal court, though much of their work now focused on restoration. The palace library had been fully destroyed in the Cataclysm, and many other libraries that survived are not expected to be evacuated until they’ve run out of living survivors, which probably meant they’d be considering digging them out of collapsed cities in fifty years.
A bit of a downer to reach as dinner arrived. Eleya ordered a Last Word as she had finished the Shirley Temple.
“This is from a cow, correct?” Eleya inspected a slice of ribeye stuck on the end of her fork, pink through the middle and still dripping juice. “It is a larger livestock animal?”
“Yeah, I think some of them get up to like a thousand kilos. Most are probably not that big.” Alex was entirely unfamiliar with the process of raising cattle and the exact details of such, but he had written a report on cows in grade school.
“A thousand...” Her eyes widened slightly, looking back down at the slab of grilled meat otherwise untouched. “That is enormous. More than five Rakaro. Do they serve any other purpose aside from being used for meat?”
That third grade report was getting a workout today. “Used to be used to pull carts or plows, they produce milk, hides can be tanned for leather... Those are the biggest traditional uses, at least.”
“Very similar in use to the Rakaro, just massive.” She popped the slice of beef into her mouth and savored it. “Quite a lot of fat, too. What an interesting creature.”
“The fat striations - it is referred to as marbling - create a flavor profile that is generally not found in Tsla’o cuisine.” Carbon was a third done with her steak already. While she was speaking in a very formal cadence right now, she was not waiting to finish eating before she started sharing this with Eleya.
“So it is. We will have to revisit this at some time, I suspect the chefs will find many interesting uses for it.” Eleya seemed just as sold on beef as Carbon.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is the first time you’ve had Human food?” Alex was almost certain that was a yes.
“It is. I leaned on Carbon’s knowledge of your cuisines, and she has certainly lead me down an agreeable path.”
“Everything we had from Gardien while in debrief was excellent.” It was, but it wasn’t Alex’s sort of thing. Too fancy. This time the steaks came with broccolini and truffled gnocchi. He wasn’t even sure what broccolini actually was.
His burger had garlic fries on the side. That was perfect for him. It was familiar and comfortable and still made him feel homesick even though they had never had garlic fries at home.
“Wish they would have put me in the diplomatic suites for debrief at least once.” Ed grumbled into his burger. There was still mirth crinkling the corners of his eyes, the complaint all in fun.
“Careful what you ask for.” Alex shot back with a chuckle. Getting sent up there was a security thing, and had come after a week in quarantine. He wouldn’t say that exactly balanced out.
The conversation hit a lull there, everyone eating in silence. It was strange. Normally, any combination of this group would be fairly talkative. Things had changed a lot in the last few months.
It would have been nice if his dad had come along, even though the trip originally started as a girls day out. It would have just left him sitting around most of the day or acting as a third wheel, both of which Alex knew he didn’t particularly like. There would be other times, other meals shared. He’d see to that.
Ambrose also had a ton of stories to tell that didn’t involve things that they were keeping secret as well, which would have been nice right now. Everything Alex could think of to talk about inevitably had to be heavily censored or simply not spoken of. Carbon was in the same boat and frankly he was a little worried about what Eleya would say if he tried to get her to keep talking about something. Audry loved engaging people in conversations, but usually shied away from just talking. Ed, on the other hand... “Hey, Ed. I am reasonably sure no one else at the table has heard about the Easy-E.”
He held up a finger, hands still gripping his burger as he was mid-bite. This was his favorite story. “Ok, ok. My first outing was on an original first generation Scoutship, right? The last one that was in service, the Ernest Shackleton. It was named before they started letting Pilots name them, they were on this kick of explorers who hadn’t killed a bunch of people with disease and war. Shackleton was perfect for that, absolute legend for what he went through to keep his crew alive. Keep that in mind. It had the nickname Easy-E, because it was not easy to work with at all. Fully and intentionally ironic, nothing ever worked exactly right...”
That got them through dinner. Ed’s bombastic retelling of the various things that plagued his first expedition and how close they had gotten to having to request a recovery on the ship was actually pretty entertaining. Alex was sure he was embellishing it a little bit, but all of it felt reasonable. He had just gotten to the point where the primary sensor bus caught fire while on approach to an F-type main sequence star when dessert arrived.
Apple pie à la mode. It didn’t really make sense for Noonan’s to be a bastion of pies, but somebody in the kitchen absolutely knocked it out of the park every time.
By the time Alex was done with his coffee, Ed and Vikas, his engineer, were limping the Easy-E home at a quarter of maximum speed to keep the Waveride array from collapsing itself.
“It was great seeing you guys again.” He hugged his mom tightly, and gave Ed a slap on the back. “When we get back from Na’o, I’ll be sure to find some time to catch up, all right?”
“I’ll bother Carbon about it until you do.” His mom smiled, always a troublemaker at heart.
Carbon got a laugh out of that as she leaned in and gave Audry a hug. “I will gladly bother him until he does.”
“See you, man. Take care and have fun, right?” He shook Alex’s hand, and put a little bit of jive on it.
Having fun wasn’t really on the itinerary in Na’o. “You know I always take care, time will tell about having fun.”
“It was lovely to make both of your acquaintances.” Eleya bowed to both Audry and Ed, who bowed back.
His mom held her arms out to Eleya, eyebrows raised, and gestured for her to bring it on in. Audry was perceptive, always had been. If Alex had noticed his aunt-in-law feeling left out once, she had probably seen it three or four times.
There was a moment there where Eleya looked nervous, a brief flicker across her features before it was quashed. She went for the hug.
It was short, of course. A quick squeeze and friendly pat on the shoulder, and they were done. Just like when one of Alex’s regular aunts visited on holidays. Carbon was staring, wide-eyed with surprise the whole time.
DSS escorted Audry and Ed from the dining room, and the trio left gathered their own security agents before heading back down to the hanger. Alex stood between Carbon and her aunt, keeping the pair physically separated. He wasn’t sure if he inserted himself there despite how well things had gone, or because they had gone well and he now expected some sort of fuckery to occur.
“Would you allow me to accompany you back on the Masamune? I assume you will be piloting it, Alex, as we do not have anyone else trained on it.” Eleya spoke softly as they passed through the still-secured halls. “I direct that question to both of you.”
“Fine by me. Carbon?” He had stopped drinking after that one beer, which had been over an hour ago now, specifically because he had intended to fly it back. He also knew that question was actually aimed at Carbon. Mind getting trapped in a wee little can with the aunt you’re on questionable terms with for a few hours?
She actually thought about it, several meters of hallway passing by before she spoke. “I agree, it will be fine.”
“Thank you.” Despite having retained her usual level of self control after the Titan, Eleya sounded surprised. “It was...”
The Empress hesitated there, and then went silent as they approached the hanger. The Royal Guard were still there by the hatch to the GX8, and a little hive of activity fired up as they approached the Tsla’o ships. A gesture told her security team which ship she was taking, all of the guards splitting up as necessary, only the pair in power armor coming into the Masamune with them.
Eleya waited until the hatch was closed before she spoke again. “A moment, please. It was nice to spend time with you both, without the pretense of the court. Thank you. Alex, your mother is a treasure, be sure you treat her as such.” Her voice was still soft and felt as though she was still ruminating on the evening, devoid of the usual imperious tones that she was fond of.
Neither Alex or Carbon had really been prepared for that, exactly. Alex found his reply first, “of course, you’re welcome. I wish we could have been a bit more open about everything, but... Agreed, it was nice.”
“Yes. We are in agreement. I would like to speak as family more.” Carbon was surprised that those words had just come out of her own mouth.
Eleya looked happy. Strange as it was, a smile that appeared genuine and even continued up into her eyes was plastered on her face as she gave them a little bow. “I will be seated. I assume you do not require assistance with handling Human traffic control, young Prince?”
That did get a short chuckle out of him. “Yeah, I got them.” He turned to head up to the flight deck. Should get the thing fired up sooner rather than later. It was a two hour burn.
“Alex, before it slips my mind...” Eleya stopped him with a hand on his arm. She held up her index and middle fingers. “You owe me two real Human drinks.”
He sighed. Can’t pull one over on a professional drinker. “Fine. You can avail yourself of the bar on the way back.”
She clicked her tongue. “I will, but I am owed two mixed drinks. One of them must be the one your mother had.”
Alex rolled his eyes. Well, the Berkmann could do that easily enough. Just have to figure out what absurd other drink she was going to end up with. It had to have an extensive list. “Alright, I’ll figure it out. In the meantime, I gotta get this ship underway.”
Up the stairs he went, half expecting to hear Carbon follow him. No dice, but he could hear the two of them talking as he slipped into the pilot’s chair. He slid a finger under the row of switches to bring the ship to life, the hum of the engines peaking before settling to a low, distant drone.
He grabbed the headset and pulled it on, the last thing he heard from the cabin being Eleya asking Carbon to sit with her and discuss something long overdue.
First | Prev
Royal Road
*****
Eleya feeling humble, about to get a hard conversation done.
If you aren't already aware of it, what Shackleton did was wild. A documentary about it just came out, well worth a look.
Did not have the time this week to redo Ch. 114 significantly, but I am still working on it.
Art pile: Cover
Carbon reference sheet by Tyo_Dem
Neya by Deedrawstuff
Carbon and Alex by Lane Lloyd
submitted by icallshogun to HFY [link] [comments]
2024.11.25 12:13 ffsSLOTH Something in the water, maybe
 | “Some-“ 16”x20” acrylic on canvas Even the daydream spaces get unsettled. If you like musical accompaniment, this was loosely inspired by the place my mind goes listening to the same-titled “some” by composer Nils Frahm. Some day I’ll figure out how to photograph paintings. On that note: anyone got any tips on how to work with the quality drop when posting? submitted by ffsSLOTH to acrylicpainting [link] [comments] |
2024.11.25 12:13 jk0815 Subs about astroturfing, social media manipulation and bots
I know: astroturfing againstastroturfing theoryofreddit deadinternettheory
What others subs are there?
I am interested in the analysis of bots activity and in general online astroturfing on Reddit and other social medias.
submitted by jk0815 to findareddit [link] [comments]
2024.11.25 12:13 Mesmerfriend "Jesus" be staying at [[UIU Location Dossier — "Paramax"]] for a while
 | submitted by Mesmerfriend to DankMemesFromSite19 [link] [comments] |
2024.11.25 12:13 Significant-Taro-239 Lens dropping out of a moving vehicle
 | I've been shooting on the canon rebel t6i for a little over a month after succesfully saving up 250 bucks (from summer jobs and begging relatives) as an 18 year old thats overwhelmed with school id say that this was pretty impressive. So today right after track session, i got on one of the local matatus(minivans in kenya) and headed home. It was maybe 18:40 something and there was this breathtaking sunset quite common in this part of the country, I pull out my trusty 600d and my kit lens which has served me well (not in low light). While securing the lens on the body, I didn't hear a click but the loud matatu and the excitement made me overlook that. I switch to lv because i wanted to use focus peaking and there was this error "no lens attached" but before i could fix my mistake the lens had dropped out the window. I had a dolly effect moment and immediately ran out the doors of that vehicle but as i got out i watched a massive 16 wheeler smash it to bits. Lets all just take a moment of silence for the $100 lens it helped me document parts of the anti government protests in Kenya, photographing flamingos in naivasha and it still has a lot of adventure left. I don't think my parents will ever know i plan on working endlessly for the next few months to secure the needed funds(50-500 bucks) to buy a better lens or to replace the lens i so carelessly led to its inevitable demise. or you could help me even with $1 on paypal( [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) ) or any other platforms just dm. now enjoy a buch of pictures i took with this lens https://preview.redd.it/etbxrjkdh13e1.jpg?width=4608&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ce7a1670fe107f2e3d0e5795a7f7eb682fd4163a https://preview.redd.it/5mm45y1dh13e1.jpg?width=3452&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1891cd3256fab107b4cc3c69b4ec986f3a31a031 submitted by Significant-Taro-239 to canon [link] [comments] |
2024.11.25 12:13 No-Atmosphere-9835 Response
This is in response to the post that comments were turned off about you finding Cassandra. You say you are just trying to "find your friend".
If Cass wanted you to "find" her.....she would reach out. Even if you got a new phone....changed your address....etc etc....she would find you "if" she wanted to reach out. By her not finding "YOU", clearly means she doesn't want you or your company or your "checking". Take the hint.
submitted by No-Atmosphere-9835 to nastukfamilysnark [link] [comments]
2024.11.25 12:13 Icy-Day4920 Should I buy this?
 | my bday is in a few days and im planning on getting myself a treat. Is this a good deal? submitted by Icy-Day4920 to PokemonTCG [link] [comments] |
2024.11.25 12:13 mrpersistence2020 Este Sacramento Tiene Un Poder Que No Imaginas
 | submitted by mrpersistence2020 to Bible_uncensured [link] [comments] |
2024.11.25 12:13 Sennaf Amına koyim iyice Twitter'a döndü sub'ta partiler olacak derken ama bu seçim biraz deney seçimi gelecek seçim kesinlikle daha düzgün ve kurallı olacak. yoksa daha 195 kişiyken bu kadar karışıklık varsa 1000 üye filan olursak yarra yeriz
 | submitted by Sennaf to Notorite [link] [comments] |