Forgive me if I stray too close to idea stealing but I came across the following quote whilst reading The Dresden Fillies False Masks by psychicscubadiver (Chapter 22 if required) and I feel the definitions would be perfect for a conversation involving Doug and the senshi (in particular Usagi, Rei and Ami). I have added the bold for emphasis. In case it isn't clear due to my abrupt cut and paste, the words are spoken by Celestia and pony form Dresden .

"...You have a strong spirit. Follow it, and you will not lose your way.”

Dresden flushed slightly and his ears folded back in reaction to the praise, but he recovered quickly enough. “Don’t you mean heart?”

Celestia shook her head. “No. A heart can feel rage without reason. A mind can be rational without compassion. You must let neither control you. It is the spirit that unites them and defines who we truly are.”

Whilst I could see the quote also being used in any other step with Doug as a teacher, I still see the senshi as the text book examples although given the time that has passed since I last saw the anime there is a real risk I'm relying on fanon characterisations particularly with Ami.

Mark

(God, I love it when a long and arduous process of composition falls into /dev/null because of a hiccup in my connection.)

I don't know if there'll be room for it in the final product, but surprisingly little work is needed to reconcile the historical Vercingetorix of the Arverni with Mark Johnson's Voltmaster (Super Scum, pp.54-55). The biggest thing Johnson got wrong is identifying the character as Germanic rather than Celtic, and as an emortal, he was already on my shortlist of important people. In fact, here's the stat block I derived from his SS writeup:

?Voltmaster [969 points]
    ST 11 [10], DX 15 [100], IQ 15 [100], HT 13 [30].
    Per 16 [5].
    CF: Celtic [0], Chinese [1], Roman [1], Western [1].
    Languages: Gaulish (Native) [0], English (Native) [6], French (Native) [6], German (Native) [6], Italian (Native) [6], Latin (Native) [6], Mandarin (Native) [6], Portuguese (Native) [6].
    Advantages: Artificer 2 [20], Attractive [4], Binding 10 (Rapid Fire 2, +40%; Breakable: DR 10, SM -4, -25%; Can Be Stolen: Contest of DX, -30%; Limited Use: 4 per day, -20%; Melee Attack: C1, -20%; Unreliable: 14, -10%) [7], Combat Reflexes [15], DR 1 (Force Field, +20%; Electricity, -20%; Limited: energy, -20%) [4], DR 10 [50], Electricity Talent 2 (Elemental + Super) [10], Enhanced Block 2 [10], Filthy Rich [100], Gadgeteer [25], Goggles and Headset (Hyperspectral Vision [Extended High-Band +30%; Extended Low-Band +30%], Microscopic Vision 2, Radio, Resistant to Psionics +3; Breakable: DR 5, SM -6, -25%; Can Be Stolen: Contest of DX, -30%) [41], Hands of Taranis (Burning Attack 7; Armor Divisor 2, +50%; Damage Modifier: Surge, +20%; Electricity, -20%; Melee Attack C1, -20%) [46], Healer 2 [20], High Pain Threshold [10], Mathematical Ability 3 [30], Photographic Memory [10], Rapid Healing [5], Unaging [15], Unusual Background: Super [10].
    Disadvantages: Absent-Mindedness [-15], Code of Honor (Villain's) [-10], Delusion ("War is good for humanity"; major) [-10], Duty (Deadly Dozen, 12 or less) [-10], Enemy (Hero group, 6 or less) [-15], Reputation (Criminal) [-15], Secret (Identity) [-20], Secret (his long history) [-5], Sense of Duty (to teammates) [-5].
    Quirks: Amateur science fiction writer; Donates regular large sums to charity; Only watches PBS; Video game fanatic; Wants desperately to travel to space. [-5]
    Skills: Accounting-19 [8]+, Acrobatics-15 [4], Administration-15 [2], Area Knowledge (World)-17 [4], Area Knowledge (Europe)-18 [8], Armoury/TL9 (Body Armor)-18 [8]*, Armoury/TL9 (Small Arms)-16 [4], Biology/TL9 (Genetics)-14 [4], Brawling-17 [4], Broadsword-14 [1], Carpentry-16 [2], Chemistry/TL9-17 [12], Computer Operation/TL9-16 [2], Computer Programming/TL9-18 [16], Diagnosis-21 [20]**, Driving/TL9 (Automobile)-14 [1], Economics-14 [2], Engineer/TL9 (Bombs & traps)-21 [8]*+, Engineer/TL9 (Communications)-21 [8]*+, Engineer/TL9 (Computers)-21 [8]*+, Engineer/TL9 (Electronic Weapons)-21 [8]*+, Engineer/TL9 (Holographics)-21 [8]*+, Engineer/TL9 (Medical Electronics)-23 [16]*+, Engineer/TL9 (Security Systems)-21 [8]*+, Engineer/TL9 (Sensors)-23 [16]*+, First Aid/TL9-17 [1]**, Gesture-16 [2], History-21 [28], Jeweler/TL3-17 [12], Judo-15 [4], Karate-15 [4], Market Analysis-16 [1]+, Mathematics/TL9 (Applied)-17 [2]+, Mechanic/TL9 (Small gadgets)-16 [1]*, Merchant-16 [4], Physician/TL9-21 [20]**, Physiology/TL9-18 [8]**, Piloting/TL9 (Multi-engine jet)-15 [2], Prospecting/TL9-16 [4], Research/TL9-18 [12], Savoir-Faire (High Society)-16 [2], Scuba-15 [2], Seamanship/TL9-16 [2], Shield-16 [2], Smith (Iron)/TL3-16 [1]*, Surgery/TL9-21 [24]**, Swimming-14 [2], Traps/TL9-15 [2], Writing-15 [2].
    * Includes bonus from Artificer.
    ** Includes bonus from Healer.
    + Includes bonus from Mathematical Ability.

The biggest thing we'd need to resolve is whether the "Vercingetorix" who surrendered to Gaius Julius at the Battle of Alesia, and was ultimately reported to have been executed after Caesar's Gallic Triumph, was the real deal or a volunteer impostor. Also, it occurred to me, based on his Chinese connections and his stated desire to start a global war, that he may have placed at least as much of a role in manipulating events to provoke World War III as anyone from Infinity.

?Comments?

EDITED to add his gear.

For historical (and, potentially, allohistorical) context. I'll post more as I find or think of them; please add anything that strikes you as relevant.

"Ich sah den neuen Menschen, furchtlos und grausam. Ich erschrak vor ihm!" (I saw the New Man, intrepid and cruel. I was terrified of him!)
-- attributed to Adolf Hitler, Gespräche mit Hitler by Hermann Rauschning (first published in English as Hitler Speaks, 1939)

"Superman or Green Lantern ain't got
Nothin' on me"
-- Donovan, "Sunshine Superman" (1966)

"I saw the decade end
When it seemed the world could change in the blink of an eye"
-- Jesus Jones, "Right Here Right Now" (1990)

Okay, so here it is!  A thread where we can discuss the next step without getting things mixed up in the other thread.  Just so you guys know, I've trimmed out the story bits for now since I'm going to repost those once I get around to getting this step started properly.  But I'll go ahead and copypasta everything else...

Quote:Black Aeronaut wrote:

---

So, the part I'm trying to figure out here... Where the heck do I have
Garrick show up in the timeline?  Well, ultimately I would love for him
to go on a knock-down drag-out fight with Tirac - first, before he
reaches full power, and then again when he is depowered...  Garrick will
kill Tirac, because screw the whole banishment to Tartarus thing - this
time Tirac is going to stay gone.
Slayed God-like Beings Counter: 1

Quote:Bluemage wrote:

---

...so, wait.  Is this Tenchi/Macross/MLP, or Tenchi/MLP/.../Macross?  I
lost track of what the actual plan was, except insofar as there was a
Macross stop someplace along the line.
Points given for language
barrier, for getting the slightly old-timey feel of MLP right, and for
going with logic over panic.  Points suspended (well, held in escrow)
for what, precisely, the language barrier is.
Why go with
Quenyak (or is it Saddldarin?), anyway?  Thematic reasons, or
practical?  I don't know what sort of language would suit an MLPony's
facial structure best, but I doubt it's Elvishlike.  On the other hand, a
fluid, soothing language would fit the Equestrian mindset better.  Not
sure whether it works or not, anyway.

Quote:Black Aeronaut wrote:

---

I'm not going for any particular language - Tolkein I am certainly not! I
simply wanted to convey a sense of 'sounds like language-x'.  Like you
said, I rather thought it fit their mindset.  Although if a linguist on
the board does want to chip in their two cents I would certainly welcome
their input.  I know that there is at least one or two, I just forget
who they are off the top of my head.
As for panic-vs-logic... 
Well, there's gonna be an even trade between the two.  Garrick is gonna
have a bit of a fit... Ah, what the hell.  I'll just show you.

Yep.  That would be Twilight Sparkle there.  Katherine overrode the
security so she can get in - she's a smart cookie and knows that they
intend him no harm.
The language barrier probably won't last very
long, at least not between Garrick and Twilight.  Katherine will
probably figure out how to use Twilight's talents with magic to her
advantage and give Twi fluency in English and Japanese (both languages
have certain expressions that simply don't translate over too well - and
Japanese for REASONS!!!).
HOWEVER... 
Garrick will insist that Twilight not teach anyone else the
languages... at least until he's fluent enough in Equestrian to hold up a
conversation.  Even so, he'll probably need help now and then for those
'what is word?' moments.  Oh, and Garrick's accent and grammar is gonna
be really rough... Whenever he is speaking Equestrian it will be like
the equivalent of a Russian speaking bad English, but steadily improving
over time.  It'll be pretty funny for bits like this:
"Filly. 
Sun Queen keep standing army of armored Unicorn.  You cry about two
sword I have?  Methink you not know meaning of word dangerous.  You want
learn?"

As for the plan thus far....

1. Tenchi Muyo
2. MLP:FiM
3. Macross
4. ???
5. Strike Witches
6. ???
7. ???
8. ???
9. ???
10. ???
11. ???
12. ???
13. ???
14. ???
15. ???
16. ???
17. ???
18. ???
19. ???
20. ???
21. ???
22. ???
23. ???
24. ???
25. ???
26. ???
27. ???
28. ???
29. ???
30. ???
Believe me, we got a long ways to go here.  Some of
these steps are gonna be long ones.  Some of them are gonna be short. 
There will be sizable time-skips on the longer ones.  There will be
supplementary stories along the way.  And finally, YES I AM
INTENTIONALLY BEING TIGHT-LIPPED ABOUT WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT!  It's so
much fun being an evil author and keeping you guys in suspense.

Quote:ClassicDrogn wrote:

---

Some nice moments there, and as much of a deathworld as Equestria is the
general population is still very nice. Twi would be super-interested to
hear about other worlds and such as well, I'm sure, and between her and
Katherine, and Washuu and Tsunami on the other end, they'll probably
have some way to send messages at least when interdimensional "weather"
conditions are favorable.

Quote:Bluemage wrote:

---

Agreed.  I'd offer more commentary on the timeframe bit, but I stopped watching MLP after season 2.
Also, do you really have 30 different stops planned, or just most of them?

Quote:Black Aeronaut wrote:

---

Quote:ClassicDrogn wrote:

---

Some
nice moments there, and as much of a deathworld as Equestria is the
general population is still very nice. Twi would be super-interested to
hear about other worlds and such as well, I'm sure, and between her and
Katherine, and Washuu and Tsunami on the other end, they'll probably
have some way to send messages at least when interdimensional "weather"
conditions are favorable.

I'm glad you guys feel so.  I
never really thought of Equestria as a deathworld... I figured that only
really applied to the Everfree Forest.
And yes, the correspondence between Twilight and Washuu is gonna be something to behold.
I'm
planning on going the tried and true route of Humans being something of
a legendary species that is all but unknown in Equestria, wiped out
during Discord's reign and permitted to fall into fable and then
obscurity by Celestia... because really, why be reminded of something so
painful?  Garrick showing up... Celestia will keep it relatively quiet -
something isolated to Ponyville until herself, the other Princesses,
and the Element Bearers all determine that he's safe.  (This, of course,
is a relative thing.)
The primary conflict is going to be
Garrick's unwillingness to be befriended by anyone.  He'll be cordial
enough in his dealings, but for the most part he'll be solitary as he
tries not to form social bonds.  And what will make it all the more
frustrating for Twilight and her friends is that he is going to be very
polite and rational about it.  He explains his POV well enough that they
understand exactly what he means - that even though he really, REALLY
wants to get to know everyone, he doesn't want to suffer heartbreak
again by having to leave people he's come to love behind once more.
This
will make for some heart-rending friendship letters for Twilight to
write as she struggles to get through to Garrick.  Eventually, though,
adventures happen for reasons and butterflies, and over the course of it
all, Garrick winds up reluctantly opening up to the others.
One
character I would like to have as a reoccurring character would be
Lyra.  I've been looking at HiE fics over at FiMFiction.net, and I've
noticed that most HiE fics will either feature her as a main
character... or hardly feature her at all.  I'd like to strike a happy
middle
Also, everyone seems to love a good redemption of Trixy, so I'll throw my own twist on it in there.
Oh,
and Garrick will teach the little school foals about basic technology. 
Electricity, electromagnets, radio, quartz crystal clocks, internal
combustion, gas turbines, etc.  Garrick will usher in the age of Art
Deco and Diesel Punk.  In the years after Garrick leaves, Equestria
experiences a sort of technomagical industrial revolution, and power
plants, pumping stations, and rail terminals are all erected in a
magnificent Art Deco style.  Celestia and Luna couldn't be happier -
Garrick unwittingly gives them what was probably Humanity's greatest
strength - the unrelenting drive to go beyond.
In short, Garrick finds that he likes being a teacher and will pursue such occupations in the future where possible.

Quote:Bluemage wrote:

---

Also, do you really have 30 different stops planned, or just most of them?

Pretty much. I'm still playing around with it a bit. I'm not willing
to say which ones I'm still fickle on just yet. And some of these
worlds... Well, to say that Garrick is going to 'butterfly' them is far too
generous. More like 'explode a nuke in the eye of the temporal
hurricane'. Strike Witches will be one such example.

Quote:ClassicDrogn wrote:

---

Hurray for Art Deco! I always have liked that style, in most
interpretations at least. I'd hope Equestria as a magical civilization
could manage something cleaner than fossil fuels for power, though.

Quote:Bluemage wrote:

---

Same here.  Yay for Art Deco.
As far as the fuel situation, I'm
not sure what you're thinking Equestria has available to use, CD. 
Unicorn magic doesn't really seem to do much with 'enchantments', per
se; all its effects tend to be either instant, instant at the point the
spell finally goes through (for those that take some dramatic groans of
effort to get done), or last as long as the unicorns in question focus
on it.  Makes it sort of hard to do the 'enchant the generator to spin
continuously' trick.
Now, pegasi... that's a different
story.  There are a number of ways to break (or at least bend) things
with weather manipulation, the long-term one being solar power (with
predictable levels of sun and scheduled clouds).  Lightning collectors,
maybe?  Some sort of system that uses rain on command?  There's
potential there, even if I'm not seeing it this early in the morning.
As for earth ponies... treadmills.  That's all I've got.
Also,
props for a lack of friendship.  You don't see 'trying not to get to
care about people' done very often in fanfic.  Pity, that- it can be
very effective when done well.  I'm seriously looking forward to those
friendship letters... and hoping- PRAYING- you don't do any
shipping/harem-enlarging while there.

Quote:Black Aeronaut wrote:

---

Biodiesel is pretty clean. So is ethanol. Clean enough that if they
know the risks going and and know to manage them, then they should be
able to manage their carbon footprints fairly effectively. Can you
imagine a steam locomotive made with modern boiler technology and fired
with biodiesel?

Also, I'm pretty sure that a magitech method for producing both in vast
quantities from waste biomatter (ie, corn husks, stalks, etc) can be
figured out.

Oh, and Garrick teaches them about hydroponics. Why? Imagine pegasi growing crops in the clouds.
EDIT: Oh, hai there Bluemage!
Ah,
no. No real expanding of the harem here.  Though the departure is gonna
hurt a bit.  It's more or less what Garrick was afraid of - tearful
goodbyes and laments over friends lost.  Although I'm working on an
idea... Katherine leaving seeds behind that wind up sprouting... and
since they're her seeds she can maintain a line of communication between
them all, and potentially serve as guides for future dimensional
travel.

Quote:robkelk wrote:

---

Quote:Black Aeronaut wrote:

---

The
primary conflict is going to be Garrick's unwillingness to be
befriended by anyone. He'll be cordial enough in his dealings, but for
the most part he'll be solitary as he tries not to form social bonds.

But... but Friendship is Magic! Don't you want magic, Garrick?

Quote:Black Aeronaut wrote:

---

Although
I'm working on an idea... Katherine leaving seeds behind that wind up
sprouting... and since they're her seeds she can maintain a line of
communication between them all, and potentially serve as guides for
future dimensional travel.

Good idea for later, but isn't Katherine still a sapling right now? Can she produce seeds?

Quote:Foxboy wrote:

---

Hm. Okay, you're going to want a lot of liquid consonants and clear vowels. I had been working on an "Equestrian" for another project, but that one went closer to "Make horse sounds musical, if you can."

Some sample sentences of that: (aeiou are Italian/Japanese, h is always pronounced, r is rolled/trilled/flapped, and v and f are pronounced with the lips, no teeth.)

I lihro hepu-za vo.
/ee LEEH-rro HAY-poo-za vo/

1p.s like/enjoy Apple-acc prsnt.

"I like apples."

It's got a bit of a complicated pronoun scheme, with inclusive and
exclusive plurals, and a "royal" register that tends to imply strong or
intimate feeling, mainly due to Celestia's use of it over the last
thousand years compared to the old Unicorn royalty. Additionally,
"hi'in" is supposed to sound like a "joyful" whinny, with the apostrophe
indicating a glottal stop: what the hyphen in "uh-oh" sounds like.

Soi, didua hi'in i-za vo-vis.
/SO-ee, DEE-dwa HEE-een EE-za VO-vees./
Yes(friendly) 2p.s.royal make.proud 1p.s-acc prsnt-fut.

"Of course you're making me proud, my little pony/my faithful student."

Quote:Black Aeronaut wrote:

---

Quote:robkelk wrote:

---

Quote:Black Aeronaut wrote:

---

The
primary conflict is going to be Garrick's unwillingness to be
befriended by anyone. He'll be cordial enough in his dealings, but for
the most part he'll be solitary as he tries not to form social bonds.

But... but Friendship is Magic! Don't you want magic, Garrick?

*Snrk!*  In all seriousness, Garrick will desperately want to make friends, but he's holding back for previously stated reasons.

Quote:robkelk wrote:

---

Quote:Black Aeronaut wrote:

---

Although
I'm working on an idea... Katherine leaving seeds behind that wind up
sprouting... and since they're her seeds she can maintain a line of
communication between them all, and potentially serve as guides for
future dimensional travel.

Good idea for later, but isn't Katherine still a sapling right now? Can she produce seeds?

... A most cogent point.  Oh well.  Celestia is pretty much a Goddess anyhow.  I'll think of something.
...Oh,
and just imagine her reaction when she finds that Garrick is a slightly
more than mortal?  I'd imagine at some point when no one else is around
(except maybe Luna) she'll glomp him and start blubbering about how
terrible it is spending thousands of years with others whose lives are
so brief and what a joy it is she found him.

Quote:Foxboy wrote:

---

Hm. Okay, you're going to want a lot of liquid consonants and clear vowels. I had been working on an "Equestrian" for another project, but that one went closer to "Make horse sounds musical, if you can."

Some sample sentences of that: (aeiou are Italian/Japanese, h is always pronounced, r is rolled/trilled/flapped, and v and f are pronounced with the lips, no teeth.)

I lihro hepu-za vo.
/ee LEEH-rro HAY-poo-za vo/

1p.s like/enjoy Apple-acc prsnt.

"I like apples."

It's got a bit of a complicated pronoun scheme, with inclusive and
exclusive plurals, and a "royal" register that tends to imply strong or
intimate feeling, mainly due to Celestia's use of it over the last
thousand years compared to the old Unicorn royalty. Additionally,
"hi'in" is supposed to sound like a "joyful" whinny, with the apostrophe
indicating a glottal stop: what the hyphen in "uh-oh" sounds like.

Soi, didua hi'in i-za vo-vis.
/SO-ee, DEE-dwa HEE-een EE-za VO-vees./
Yes(friendly) 2p.s.royal make.proud 1p.s-acc prsnt-fut.

"Of course you're making me proud, my little pony/my faithful student."

Whoah. 
Yeah, you see, I'm no linguist at all.  I could never have come up with
even half of that.  Would you like to help me out on the Equestrian
Language until Garrick is fluent?  Pretty sure you'll wind up working
out a lot of the kinks and expanding the vocabulary by a wide margin.

Quote:Bluemage wrote:

---

...one thing I'd like to see is Garrick having problems speaking
Equestrian.  Like, he can get most of it, but his mouth/throat can't
quite make some of the sounds.
Worst case, he has to
sort-of-approximate some of the sounds- or substitute others- leading to
new people having to learn to interpret his dialect.  Sort of a bad
speech impediment.
Best case, one heck of an accent.

Quote:Black Aeronaut wrote:

---

Pretty much what I had in mind with him coming across to them like a Russian with a bad accent does with us.

Quote:Foxboy wrote:

---

Yeah, I'm thinking that part of his accent, if you use that Equestrian,
would include "H" dropping, smearing vowels and "teething" the V and F.

Imagine a relative reading the sample sentences without a pronunciation key, and laying the local color on thick.

Like, a similar accent in English:

Teh samous zocalist, Sassi-uh Shoahz (The famous vocalist, Sapphire Shores)

The vowel smearing: imagine an uneducated person from the Deep South
saying "milk" versus a news broadcaster: "Meeeeyulk" vs. "milk." English
has a crapton of vowel sounds and we subconsciously use them
everywhere.

Quote:Bob Schroeck wrote:

---

Quote:...one thing I'd like to see is Garrick having problems
speaking Equestrian. Like, he can get most of it, but his mouth/throat
can't quite make some of the sounds.

I recall that there was
an attempt to teach a chimp to speak English during the 1950s, I think
it was. Late enough at least for substantial film documentation of the
process and the results. The results were... mixed; one of the details
thereof is one that might be of use here -- in order to say some sounds,
the chimp had to use its fingers to force its mouth into a shape its
facial muscles couldn't make. It might be interesting if Garrick had to
do the same for some Equestrian sounds.

"It's not an in-apt analogy to compare this to light sabers," Lukin added. "When these photons interact with each other, they're pushing against and deflect each other. The physics of what's happening in these molecules is similar to what we see in the movies."

http://phys.org/news/2013-09-scientists ... -seen.html
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

Their contract (javascript required)
It appears that not only do they charge
you for damage without having to provide any actual evidence for
damage and without your permission to take your money, they will take
money for damage that they have admitted in writing is NOT
your fault, including damage from hail, when their vehicles
would suffer the same damage in an airport car park.And they
admit as much in their terms and conditions (but not the ones
available at the point of rental).
Given that they are willing
to admit as much, either such exploitative and unfair contract causes
are legal, or they have enough money and lawyers to bludgeon any
attempts to call them on this. Which means my only recourse is to
warn all my friends, family and acquaintances about them to save them
from the misfortune of ever dealing with this company if they can
possible avoid it.

Well, I've just been thrown a small box from them (Mimic Miniatures) that was found on the porch. I think I ordered more heads then what I've got (three mini's + three heads) Could be wrong, it's been sooooooooooo loooooooooonnnnng. It's brought down my count of unfulfilled Kickstarter projects by one, four more to go.

I've done a rough scale check, a Sister of battle and Bolt Action's Sgt Wilson are chin level, a Victoria Miniatures Victorian Guard's pith helmet is forehead level. Yet a Reaper mini I've got has it's eye's at roughly nose level. True line of sight wargames friendly I doubt these miniatures are.

Operation: Roanapur
2020

James stood on the bridge of the Carrier Vessel “Werewolf”
and looked out its large waved Plexiglas window at the partially completed
station that either housed or would be his next mission. Over The Rainbow
Station was in a word, an eyesore, the problem was a combination of population
and location. The original station was supposed to be for industry, thus it was
put in an L-5 orbit to facilitate easy movement of goods and people into and
out of the gravity well of Earth. The problem was the station was never
finished for its original purpose, causing the beginning of the monstrosity.
Then came another company who wanted to basically turn it into a flying tourist
trap, would have worked possibly if it hadn’t been a huge cover for an
earthbound drug cartel dipping their toes into the Boskone issues of the day. But
after a while the cartel got stupid and took a shot at someone important and
was put down hard, being run out of orbit by the entire collective. This
however left a bit of a problem in that the workers for both companies, the
ones not guilty of crimes that sent many of their bosses for long vacations in
Azkaban Prison, didn’t want to return dirt side. From that point Over the
Rainbow became the first, and sometimes only, stop for the poor and practically
destitute that wanted to leave earth for a better life among the fen. Because of
that, it wasn’t long before the station became a free port in the sense of the
golden age of piracy.
Smuggling of all stripes passed through there and as long
as it was kept to the semi- and quasi-legal, Operation Great Justice and Space
Patrol didn’t really bother with trying to police the station. Unfortunately
someone had decided that it was a safe way to move a person most wanted by the
legitimate forces of Fenspace. Dr. Asmodeus Grey, long wanted for various
crimes against humanity and one of the few persons still on the run from his
time during the Boskone war, had been spotted on the station by one of Great
Justice’s sources. The information was deemed credible as the Doctor apparently
had two catgirls with him and because of that, now less than 24 hours after the
source had informed them, the combined might of Operation Great Justice and
Space Patrol were converging on the station to take him into custody. James
hoped that things would go quietly, his unit was still fairly new and while
they were almost all experienced from the Boskone war and hunting down small
cells in the intervening six years this had the ability to be Jusenkyo bad if
the entire station was in on it, or at least the ones in power. Location meant
that they couldn’t just slowly and carefully evacuate the station and blast it,
the doctor was smart enough to hide somewhere that would have air regardless if
they just depressurized it, and starving the bastard out by interdicting all
ships would harm too many civilians. No, someone was going to have to go into
that slapdash hell hole and pry the bastard out of whatever hole he had pulled
in around him, and that was likely to cost lives. It was almost time for FSOG
to earn its magnificent pay and in doing so keep the deaths to a minimum.
Part of the problem in James’s mind was the Rules of
Engagement, he hated wishy washy liberalist ROE’s. The problem was he also knew
that while a more liberalist ROE would not necessarily keep civilians alive, a
more proactive one was more likely to get someone, probably a civilian, hurt or
killed. With the rule being “Do not fire on until visibly threatened” they took
the chance of losing operatives instead of civilians unless that civilian
stumbled into the cross fire. Adding to that, James had ordered that all personel
use non-lethal rounds, thus why they were mainly using Ithaca model 1898 pump
shotguns in 12ga. The guns were less likely to jam than a more modern firearm
on the bean bag rounds that FSOG was using and it allowed the unit to use DMSO/gamma
scopolamine capsule rounds to incapacitate if necessary. Side arms still loaded
lethal rounds, but if they needed those rounds then things had really fallen in
the crapper and James wouldn’t begrudge each person their personal choice of
sidearm.  The problem of civilians still
existed though and the stations hails to the ships surrounding it had started
to wear on James’s nerves. Finally he watched as the com tech held her hand to
her ear before turning around in her station chair. “Sir, command says the ball
is yours.”
“Thank you lieutenant, open a general broadcast channel and
stand by.” James waited while the young lady did so, her classic Star Trek clinging
to her form as she moved a few switches before nodding to James.
“Channel open sir,”
she said calmly.
“Rainbow Station,” James started. “Operation Great Justice
has arrived to seize one Doctor Asmodeus Grey who was spotted on your station
within the last twenty-four hours. Since his observation there have been three
ships leave your port, each and every one searched and providing no Grey. This
leads us to believe he is still on your station, and we ask that you find him
and his two prisoners and turn them over to us immediately. We currently ask
only for your answer and assistance in this and if you are unable to apprehend
him we have operatives standing by to take him into custody ourselves. If you
do not show your willingness to cooperate, then we will be forced to land a
contingent on your station and take him by force.” As he had spoken, sticking
very closely to a prepared script, several windows had popped up on the various
view screens around the room. On them seemed to be rather irate or serene faces
alternately smiling and glaring at the wolf biomod.
**************************************Currently this is where i sit with this, i'm working on it diligently but its going to be a while in building. Comments and corrections are welcome.     
 

Just want to check and see if anyone else is having the same problem.  Forum search yields no results, even on terms that should yields thousands of results.  :p

Saw it yesterday!
It's the most fun movie so far this year! It's got action, comedy, a little bit of pathos (but not too much!), stunning effects, likable characters... A music AND design sense that I swear to god looks like Chris Foss summed up ALL his work and make one gigantic moving musical tapestry of awesometacular... STUFF... SO MUCH WIN AND AWESOME!!! I am seriously considering going to see it AGAIN before the weekend is out AND I NEVER EVER DO THAT!!!!Here's the last trailer they released - NOW GO SEE IT NAO!!!

Oh and BTW - almost doesn't need to be said - It IS Marvel. So stay past the credits! Especially THIS TIME! I'm not kidding, I literally had a "David Tennant 10th Doctor" Moment with the Post Credits Stinger - 
"...what...
...What?
...WHAT?!?!"
Then... slowly grinning like a MANIAC.... 
"Marvel... you magnificent SLY SONS OF BITCHES!!!!" ^_^