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cartoonfanaticmonsterrobotalien · 2 years ago

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Mighty Solars in Taken Away From Me Ch. 5

Back on Earth that evening, Korvo is looking at the the night sky as he steps into the Mighty Solars Javelin as Phoebe and Monica waves at them.

Phoebe/Staburst: Good luck Mighty Solars!

Monica: We’ll meet you up there!

Korvo puts on his seatbelt and fastens it as he put on his communication headphones.

Sherbert: Are we sure this thing is ready to fly?

Yumyulack/Vil-Gil-An-T: No! The Javeline was built for deep sea, not deep space.

Korvo/Qausarblast: I don't care what it was built for. It's going into space. We've gotta find Terry.

Korvo reaches into view and presses a button, and bar-graph readouts start to fill up.

Korvo/Qausarblast: Main power online.

Yumyulack/Vil-Gil-An-T: Defensive systems active.

Jesse/Fung-irl: Oxygen tanks at maximum.

Pupa/Mighty Pupa: Fusion thrusters ready to fire.

The silo hatch slides open, allowing the Mighty Solars Javelin to be raised through on its supports, and the camera pulls back to show the silo on the house ready to open. Korvo activates the launch sequence as he pulls the handle up

Korvo/Quasarblast: Alright family! Time to launch!

The engines fire and fill the screen with their exhaust; when it clears, the island is seen from over the rooftops of Earth-4. With a mighty roar, the converted Javeline lifts clear of the town and traces a course straight for the heavens, the camera tilting up to follow. When it is nearly off the top edge of the screen, cut to an overhead shot; the engines put extra thrust behind the craft, then to Yumyulack, hunched over his controls. The engine vibrations make the next two lines sound very shaky indeed.

Yumyulack/Vil-Gil-An-T: Told you this motherfucker was ready to fly!

Jesse/Fung-irl: Hmmm...

The four Mighty Solars annd their human allies are carried ever higher; after a few more seconds, the booster engines are jettisoned and the Mighty Solars Javeline begins to coast in outer space. Korvo thumbs a button and brings a couple of thrusters into action; firing from the aft quarters on port and starboard, they power the vessel across the galaxy. Korvo turns on the map panel as he press the coordinates to Emeralddon.

Korvo/Quasarblast: Okay, I’m searching up the coordinates to Emeralddon. I’m sure we’ll be there in no time. Hopefully.

Miss Frankie: beginning to fee airsick Oh fuck, I think I’m gonna be sick! gets out an paper bag and barfs into it

Principal Cooke: to Frankie Whoa, easy there honey.

Jesse/Fung-irl: suddenly sees something Uh guys, what’s that?

The gang looks up and gasp. They see Emeralddon and are terrified upon the most monstrous sight of all, especially with the black lightning.

Ms. Perez: Oh my God. That’s Emeralddon?

Miss Frankie: It’s very…. geometric.

Jesse/Fung-irl: Oh man. I think Terry’s in deep shit you guys! Look how dangerous this planet is!

Yumyulack/Vil-Gil-An-T: Aw sick! Look how dangerous this is! Especially with the dark lightning.

Pupa/Mighty Pupa: gasp as he grows scared

Korvo/Qausarblast: I don’t care how dangerous this is. We must go save Terry! Full thrust, fire!

Korvo pulls down the lever as it launches towards Emeralddon as it pulls into fast motion with some of them screaming.

Randall: What the fuuuuccccckkk!

Miss Frankie: I think I’m gonna be even more fucking sick! gets out another paper bag with a gagged look on her face as it turns green

Yumyulack/Vil-Gil-An-T: This is aaawwweeeesoooommmmeeee!

Jesse/Fung-irl: Yyyyaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy!

Pupa/Mighty Pupa: screaming

The ship made it to the planet as Korvo turns on the landing sequence and lands the ship safely as the humans sigh in relief and the kids are cheering.

Jesse/Fung-irl: Yay! Let’s go again!

Miss Frankie: No!

Three minutes later, the Mighty Solars power down as the normal Solar Opposites so they can cover their tracks as they and their allies head towards the kingdom once they put on hoods so no one can notice them. Once they head inside, the Solar Opposites and the humans are terrified once they witness how unruly and violent and ruthless the Emeralnites truly are.

Yumyulack: No fucking way!

Jesse: Oh my God! These guys are awful. They should learn about love and nurture and- ducks once she sees bottle heading towards her as she screams as the bottle hits the wall and shatters Nevermind.

Miss Frankie: Oh my God. When you guys were warning us about this place, you didn’t tell us it would be this fucking bad.

Korvo: I know, I have to admit. This is really an unquality moment.

Ms. Perez: notice something on the right Uh, what’s that?

The gang turns and see the destroyed soup stand. Korvo and the family gasp once they saw the unusual sight. Korvo sees the injured soup vendor and heads over to him.

Korvo: Excuse me sir, what happened here?

Soup Vendor: Oh, I’ll tell you what happened! Some fucking Shlorpian wearing a hood came and fucked me up when he refused to pay for the damn soup that cost about 10 coppers.

Principal Cooke: 10 coppers?! Dude, that’s a scamming thing to do.

Korvo: gasp upon realizing what happened and in quiet voice Terry! speaks normal again Do you know where this Shlorpian went?

Soup Vendor: We don’t know. Right after he fucked me up, he just ran off! suddenly notices the wedding ring on Korvo’s finger Well, well, well. What do we have here? I tell you what! How about you trade me the ring and maybe I can help you find that Shlorpian that did this to me.

Korvo: realizing what is going and grows enrage I’m sorry, but this is my wedding ring my husband gave to me on the day he proposed to me, two weeks before our wedding last year and don’t even think about it, you motherfucker!

Soup Vendor: Well maybe we could trade it for one copper and maybe we could-

Suddenly, the vendor received a huge hunt punch from Korvo, who transformed into Quasarblast as he growls angrily at the vendor. Seeing their father in action, Yumyulack, Jesse and Pupa transforms into Vil-Gil-An-T, Fung-irl and the Mighty Pupa as they join their father and get into a fighting stance. The humans gasp as the market costumers surrounded them, but after seeing the Mighty Solars in action, they went up into them and get into their own fighting stance as they grabbed some weapons from the weapon supply stand.

Soup Vendor: Oh shit! It’s those fucking Mighty Solars! Emeralnites, fuck them up!

The market costumers charged at the Mighty Solars and their allies as Korvo nods at Principal Cooke, who nods back and the heroes jumps up with a super sentai-like pose and do battle. Korvo uses his invisibility powers to distract two of the costumers as he uses his force field to throw them off course. Yumyulack uses his laser eyes to help Korvo by using it to blast the guards.

Yumyulack/Vil-Gil-An-T: Qausarblast, behind you! throws a bomb at the guard that blinds him with purple mist Eat gas, motherfucker!

Korvo/Quasarblast: Thanks kiddo!

Yumyulack smiles back at Korvo as they resume battling the guards. Jesse uses her fungus powers to get rid of the guards, but then gets an idea once she sees a flower stand. With quick thinking, Jesse hides and puts on a disguise as a flower vendor that’ll help confuse the guards. The guards search for Jesse, only to see the flower stand and head over there

Jesse: in disguise voice Hey there yeah sweet fine men, would you like some flowers?

Guard: Fuck yeah! I’m in!

Jesse: Good here is a m lovely gardenia Ass Whooping!

Jesse jumps and hides underneath the counter and turns back into Fung-irl and uses her powers to grow vines and uses them to restrain the guards. Jesse laughs, then the Pupa uses his telekinesis powers to blast the guards away. Sherbert was trying to stop some of the guards, only to have her bat knocked out of her hand. Suddenly, she sees a soda stand and adds some mentos into a couple of sodas. The guards marched towards Sherbert, only for the sodas to explode and cover up the guards.

Sherbert: laughs in joy Now that’s a chemical reaction!

Miss Frankie and Principal Cooke are fighting side by side. Miss Frankie then sees a guard coming towards Cooke.

Miss Frankie: Honey, duck!

Principal Cooke: On it!

Cooke ducks as Frankie gutter bats the guards. Randall then puts on a digusise as the guards.

Randall: He’s in here.

The guards heads towards the room, only for Randall to close as he takes off his disguise and laughs. The room is revealed to be a trash shoot as screams are heard from the inside. Ms. Perez was backing away from the guards, only to see a machete. Quickly, she grabs it and uses a ninja style jump as she gets into a stance that looks like the stance from Kill Bill as she looks at the guards.

Ms. Perez: I don’t take kindly to ruthless monsters!

Ms. Perez uses her machete to outrun the guards. She kicks one of them after she charges at Ms. Perez. Jesse and Yumyulack turn and were surprised to see their teacher as a damn kind badass.

Jesse/Fung-irl: Alright, Ms. Perez!

Yumyulack/Vil-Gil-An-T: Damn. I had no idea one of our favorite teacher is such a tough as all nails badass bitch!

The guards, who are knocked out and unconscious, finally gives in and decided to abort.

Female Emeralnite Guard: Aaah! All is lost! Retreat! Retreat!

The guards ran away screaming as the costumers follow them in fear. The Mighty Solars and their allies meet up and suddenly sees Ophelia’ lair as they gasp.

Ms. Perez: This place looks terrifying.

Sherbert: You think this is it?!

Korvo/Qausarblast: That must be where they’re keeping Mighton and the other captured humans! We have to get up there!

Jesse/Fung-irl: Quasarblast’s right! Come on guys!

The Mighty Solars and the humans head up the lair, but unknown to them, Zolthar and the leading guards were watching them.

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chrisryanspeaks · 1 year ago

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Dehd Releases New Single 'Dog Days' from Upcoming Album 'Poetry' - Tour Dates Announced!

Just before launching their new album, Poetry, Dehd has released the lead single "Dog Days," which made its debut today on Zane Lowe's Apple Radio show. Rolling Stone highlighted this track as an "exhilarating opener" in a recent in-depth profile on the band, noting its captivating chorus that makes you want to grab your friends and shout along. The release of "Dog Days" is complemented by a music video, directed by the band's regular collaborator Glam Hag. The video features an intricate one-shot sequence in a vintage Honky Tonk bar, brilliantly reflecting the artistic vision of frontman Jason Balla for the song. Jason Balla shared his thoughts on the single, describing "Dog Days" as a tribute to life's chaos and the quest for companionship. He explained, "It’s about embracing vulnerability, experiencing rejection, and the complex dance of human relationships. This song is for those navigating the tumultuous journey of love, making mistakes, and living passionately. It's an anthem for those riding the same emotional rollercoaster." Following the album's release, Dehd will embark on a busy schedule, including a major North American festival run, appearances at radio shows during the summer, and a nine-city headline tour across Europe. They will then return to North America for an extensive tour, featuring a notable performance at Brooklyn Steel in New York City and wrapping up with two nights at Thalia Hall in Chicago. Tickets can be purchased at dehd.horse. You can listen to "Dog Days" now. Below, find more details about the tour and the album, and keep an eye out for more updates from Dehd. Upcoming Tour Dates Festivals: 5/26 - Napa Valley, CA @ BottleRock Music Festival 5/31 - Durham, NC @ Durham Bulls Athletic Park 6/1 - Northampton, MA @ Field Day Music Festival 7/27 - Portland, OR @ Project Pabst Festival UK/EU: 7/1 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club 7/2 - London, UK @ Village Underground 7/4 - Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter 7/5 - Cologne, DE @ MTC 7/6 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Tolhuistuin - IndieStad 7/7 - Kraggenburg, NL @ Wilde Weide 7/9 - Paris, FR @ La Maroquinerie 7/10 Biel, CH @ Pod'Ring 7/12 Berlin, DE @ Berghain Kantine North America: 8/10 - Green Lake, WI @ Avrom Farm Party 10/17 - Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace 10/18 - Montreal, QC @ Les Foufounes Électriques 10/19 - Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall 10/20 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel 10/22 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry @ The Filmore 10/23 - Washington, DC @ The Howard Theatre 10/25 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West 10/26 - New Orleans, LA @ Chickie Wah Wahs 10/27 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall 10/28 - Austin, TX @ Scoot Inn 10/31 - Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom 11/1 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco 11/5 - Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre 11/6 - Seattle, WA @ The Neptune Theatre 11/8 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge 11/9 - Denver, CO @ The Oriental Theatre 11/11 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line 11/12 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall 11/13 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall Read the full article

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audiofuzz · 1 year ago

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Dehd Releases New Single 'Dog Days' from Upcoming Album 'Poetry' - Tour Dates Announced!

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atinytokki · 5 years ago

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H O R I Z O N

Chapter 4: Launch Sequence

Mingi is already half awake when a shadow moves across his vision. The first night in a new place is always difficult, full of turning restlessly back and forth and missing his own bed pod and the neighbouring snores of his parents. Not that Jongho is a bad roommate, he’s just a bit standoffish and intimidating and currently tiptoeing out the door.

Currently tiptoeing out the door?

Mingi nearly catapults himself out of bed from the shock before deciding to take the tactical approach and follow covertly.

Jongho creeps down the hall and takes the stairs instead of calling the elevator, Mingi following behind at just the right distance that he can’t spot him or hear his footsteps. What his roommate is even doing sneaking out is beyond him. He checks his wristband for the time as he gets on the tram in the car behind Jongho’s and it’s just after 4 A.M. Too early for all this spy business.

As the lab buildings come into view, Mingi begins to realise what’s going on here. Jongho’s trying to break into the restricted facilities.

Even as he gets off after him, he’s baffled that this is how his first night as a Horizon team member is going.

“Hey!” He whisper-yells, catching up with Jongho. The younger boy turns where he was hanging back to avoid cameras and gives Mingi an annoyed look. “Why are you following me?”

“Why are you trying to break into the archives?” Mingi counters, crossing his arms and trying to replicate that you’re-in-big-trouble-young-man look his mother does occasionally. “Are you trying to get kicked out?”

“I am trying to get answers,” Jongho responds, and from the look in his eyes he’s completely serious. This is no joke. “The Project was just a means to an end. I’m here to find out what happened to my grandmother.”

Mingi furrows his brow. “Who was she? You think IPF archives can tell you?”

From Jongho’s panicked expression, Mingi realises he must have forgotten to whisper. “She was a very famous diplomat on one of the first Horizon Projects,” he answers, moving closer. “And if you’re going to help, I suggest you lower your voice.”

“Who says I’m going to help?” Mingi scoffs, still quiet compared to before because, however skeptical he is about all this, he doesn’t really want Jongho to get arrested. “How are you even planning on getting in there anyway?”

“I was thinking on my feet,” Jongho admits. “Mostly I just came here to scout out the security.”

“At least they don’t have guards,” Mingi begins to laugh before hearing footsteps and grabbing Jongho, yanking him into an alcove and eyeing the tram tube. Another one should be here soon, right?

“Okay, they do have guards,” Jongho huffs. “So you can make a distraction and then I can—”

“No, hang on,” Mingi objects, resisting the urge to raise his voice at his roommate’s presumption. “I’m not helping you!”

“Then what do you propose we do?” Jongho deadpans.

“Go back to the dorm and back to sleep,” Mingi whispers, pausing when Jongho goes to roll his eyes. “And you can come back later if you absolutely must. I won’t say anything.”

Jongho stares at him for a moment, eyes reflecting the artificial glint of the rings lighting the tunnel that connects the trams to the archives, and finally nods. “I can’t promise I’ll go back to sleep, though.”

“You know, it’s only fair if you tell me who she was,” Mingi says quietly on the ride back, when Jongho’s focus on the silently sleeping buildings wanes and his eyes become clouded over from a lost train of thought. “I’ve studied all the old astronauts, especially the diplomacy missions. Your grandmother was probably one of my heroes.”

“Choi Jieun,” Jongho says after a moment. The faint hiss of the air pressure lock engaging each time the tram opens its doors at a stop punctuates the silence. “And she was the diplomat aboard IPF’s fourth Horizon Project.”

Mingi gapes at him. “Choi Jieun? The xenologist who cracked the code of not one but two separate native languages on the planet Biso?”

“Yes, that Choi Jieun,” Jongho sighs as they step off the tram together and make their way into the dormitory. “Except that after she returned from that mission, she went to the Citadel and was never heard from again.”

Mingi freezes where his finger was hovering over the call button for the elevator and looks at his roommate wide-eyed. “She didn’t die on a mission?”

Jongho shakes his head and the doors slide open. “They would have held a funeral like they always do for officials killed in action.” The elevator stops at their floor and the two step out, deep in conversation with their voices naturally hushed as they return to their room.

“And what’s more is that I found out the Citadel’s construction completion date, and it’s only a year before she went missing. So, I’ve actually constructed a timeline of her life through other sources since I never knew her personally.”

“Can I see it?” Mingi asks, a slow smile spreading on his face because this whole thing smells like adventure and he absolutely wants in on it.

Jongho stares back, sizing him up and evidently finding him trustworthy before tapping around on his wristband until a holographic display blows up and fills the room. Mingi claps excitedly and joins him on his bed to look at it from the same angle.

“So, here she’s born, here she meets my grandfather in school, here she joins the project, here is her training period and liftoff, here are the known dates of her early missions…” he points them out as the dots in time grow increasingly close to one another. “These are the early missions to Biso, the third one was her extended stay when she deciphered the languages. Then she comes back to Earth and gets married. She stays for a couple of years and gives birth to my dad, then she goes back to work where it appears to have been relatively peaceful for a year or two. Here is the day the Citadel was unveiled.”

The dot he points to is almost at the end of the timeline. “This is the date of her last mission assignment and here is the date when the rest of her team was reported to have returned. And I managed to get this footage of when they were next seen on the news-- without her.”

The dates are quite far apart. Mingi tries to think of a good lead from the information presented.

“Do you think her teammates would be able to tell you anything about what happened?” He tries, knowing full well that if this has been a lifelong investigation for Jongho, he will already have exhausted it.

“None of them returned to Earth after this,” Jongho sighs, letting the clip play through and watching the Horizon team wave cheerfully at the cameras. They certainly don’t look like they’ve just lost a member, but Mingi supposes they were used to smiling for the press by that point. “This team, the one that was formed her year, was the first to live out the rest of their lives on the Citadel. And all the teams followed after, effectively making it impossible to interview anyone without a secure phone call. And you know IPF monitors those.”

“But why not hold a funeral? Why not celebrate her the way Horizon teams are supposed to be celebrated?” Mingi muses. It’s the part he doesn’t get. That something would go wrong and an astronaut would be killed wasn’t a stretch of the imagination, but that everyone would act like she never existed the moment something went wrong-- it’s against everything Mingi knows about the IPF.

Jongho shrugs helplessly. He’s considered it, too, and the answer escapes him. “Eventually after being turned away enough times, Grandfather stopped asking. ‘She disappeared.’ That’s all he says about it.”

Mingi purses his lips and gives a sympathetic smile. It’s probably a lot harder that way than if she had died on a mission to Biso or somewhere else. There’s no opportunity for closure, just a constantly open book turned to a blank page with only one word written. Maybe.

“Soojin might be able to help you,” he suggests after the display has been switched off and they’re both lying in their beds staring at the screws in the metal ceiling, unable to find sleep. Jongho is quiet for just long enough that Mingi assumes he must have gone to sleep after all when he whispers faintly, “I’m not sure if I trust her yet. I’m not really sure if I trust anyone.”

Mingi tries to pretend he didn’t hear it. He can’t blame Jongho anyway, when everyone walks around acting like your grandmother never existed and your entire life must feel like a lie, it must be difficult to trust even yourself.

Mingi tries not to take it personally, at least. Besides, he and Yunho passed, they’re going to stay together for the rest of their lives, and a new chapter begins in the morning.

___

Breakfast is an unceremonious, rushed affair. The cafeteria is sparsely populated, and the team doesn’t have time to really introduce themselves to anyone else before their first class meeting, which is fine with Jongho.

He ignores the girls from Team REV waving at him and pays attention to his food. It tastes quite good by his standards but his standards aren’t very high, so he watches his roommate Mingi to see how it suits his more middle class tastes.

Unfortunately there isn’t enough of a reaction to go by, considering the fact that Mingi’s mouth is a nondiscriminatory vacuum and he probably wouldn’t notice if he was putting moldy kimchi in it.

In fact, the entire table looks too tired to care what exactly they’re eating. Must have been a rough first night.

Both potential leaders seem exhausted and sit at opposite ends of the table. It’s unlikely that they’ll actually be able to avoid each other considering that they’re roommates, but Jongho doesn’t really care which one wins. As long as they don’t interfere with him.

San has once again claimed a neighbouring seat and messes with his hair while pushing the food around his plate. He looks marginally more relaxed than the last time Jongho saw him, but it’s apparent he’s being careful not to eat too much in the event that he loses it again.

The purple-haired Wooyoung is in a light conversation with the young technician Youngseok but only appears to be half-listening, his eyes wandering around the room at the other teams scattered throughout.

Their medic Yeosang sits next to him, pale and stiff again, and if Jongho thought Wooyoung was distracted, Yeosang is full on zoned out. Maybe he’s thinking about the training ahead, maybe he’s thinking about the millionaire lifestyle he left behind. It’s none of Jongho’s concern.

On the other side of the table Yunho and Mingi have already cleared their plates and are laughing about something. It didn’t take long to figure out that they were childhood friends, and any inclination Jongho had of trusting Mingi has dissipated on seeing him whisper something into Yunho’s ear. He can only hope it’s about the girls staring at them and not the adventure last night.

Lastly, the other technician Junyoung sits tapping on his wristband with one hand and absentmindedly shovelling food with the other. “Hey, did you guys realise you can view your test answers?” He points out the text on his holoscreen and Jongho is tempted to take a look at his own scores. It’s still a mystery to him how he got in.

Before he can pull up the display, an alarm appears for each of them, reminding them of their class in five minutes and sending the team hurrying out and onto the tram to get to their classroom in time. Today may just be protocol introduction but being late on the first day is never a good move.

Class is hardly an upgrade from the usual educational procedures every student in Korea is familiar with. They find their seats, sit quietly and take notes, and Soojin lectures them on the outline for the rest of their training period. The first hour is full of exciting news and promises about all the cool weapons they’ll be trained with and all the intense simulations they’ll be exposed to, and when Soojin launches into the history of the IPF, half the class promptly tunes out.

“Nothing we haven’t heard before, huh?” Wooyoung leans over and whispers with a cheeky grin. Jongho simply shrugs in response, because there’s not much else to say on the subject. “Don’t you think it’s ironic, though?” the engineer points out more seriously. “The Horizon Project is touted as this elite squad with special training, and here we are doing the same routine as everyone else.”

He leans back over into his own space at a withering glare from Soojin, but Jongho smiles softly at his pragmatism. Soojin addresses the class with a question to engage their wandering attentions. “Can anyone tell me about the founder of the IPF?”

Mingi’s hand shoots into the air and Jongho isn’t surprised that he’s among the half that was actually invested in the lesson. “Mr. Kim Woomin,” he answers enthusiastically when called upon.

“Mr. Kim was already an overseer of space expeditions at the time, and it was his suggestion to create an organisation of government officials from unified countries across the world that would act as a funding entity and representative of the Earth’s interests in interplanetary relations. His achievement led to the advancement of space travel technology and the discovery of multiple alien species. Kim Woomin was also the founder of the Horizon Project and it was under his supervision that the Project became focused on the goal of identifying new planets and investigating their suitability for becoming the new homeplanet of the human race.”

Soojin is clearly pleased and Jongho doesn’t know why, but something in him makes him raise his hand. “How did he die?” He asks when Soojin nods him on and he hopes Mingi doesn’t notice and call him out later. He’s only asking out of bitterness at the fact that apart from his grandmother Jieun, every other astronaut in the history of the Horizon Project seems to have received a proper ceremony.

“There was an accident,” Soojin answers after a moment. She goes to pull up the video footage and Wooyoung begins muttering under his breath. “I’m surprised you haven’t seen this,” she hums pensively. “It was all over the news ten years ago.”

Jongho grinds his teeth together. “We didn’t get a news connection in my part of the city.” And even if they did, his mother would never allow them to watch.

Soojin tilts her head understandingly and the clip begins to play while she explains it. “Mr. Kim was in the spacecraft ready to take his final retirement trip to the Citadel when something went wrong and a fire broke out.”

Hongjoong excuses himself quietly but Jongho watches the ship practically fall out of the sky with fascination. An accident in the cockpit? Not the death he expected for the greatest public figure of their age, even if he was elderly and accomplished by the time it happened.

A sombre atmosphere settles over the room when the expected grand funeral processions stop playing and Soojin smiles at them before segwaying into the next part of the lecture.

“Accidents such as these have been prevented in following missions. Nothing inspires like the tragic death of a hero, and only the hardest workers get into the Horizon Project and influence the advancement of the field. The safety procedures are strictly enforced at all times…”

Jongho descends into contemplation about the history of the IPF. The organisation is essentially running the world on its own, with even the government body it answers to under its thumb. Which means asking around isn’t going to get him answers about whatever massive coverup they must have scrambled to create for his grandmother Jieun.

No, he needs concrete evidence. Which means he needs to break into the archives, uninterrupted this time.

“Jongho?”

He looks up at Soojin in surprise. “Yes?”

“We’re discussing weapons safety now. Might want to pay attention.”

Jongho blushes and returns his gaze to the screen.

Oh, he will be paying attention. Close attention.

___

San’s hands are so sweaty he almost drops his chopsticks a grand total of three times, but he shakes it off and says hello to Wooyoung anyway. Honestly, he’s more intimidated by Yeosang sitting across from them. Not because he’s unfriendly, but because of his intense beauty. San feels tremendously plain compared to everyone else here but he knows that’s just his insecurity talking.

The group is at lunch before they split up and begin the hands-on part of their training, which is why San is attempting to get on the good side of his partner before they have to go familiarise themselves with the equipment.

“So you’ve lived outside Seoul your whole life?” Wooyoung chirps genially and San is immediately relaxed. “Yes, in the countryside. My village is quite middle class, though. Probably not what you’re picturing.” He rubs the back of his neck nervously but Wooyoung waves away his concern.

“Oh, don’t worry, I won’t judge. My father may be a stockholder in IPF but that means nothing to me.”

San sits back, surprised. He could tell from the fact that Wooyoung and Yeosang were friends that the former must be wealthy enough to reside in the same general area, but he hadn’t predicted the extent of that wealth. San doesn’t get a chance to comment on it before a muffled ringing sound breaks into their conversation.

All around the table, members check their wristbands and Junyoung is the one receiving a call. “I didn’t know we could receive calls,” he mumbles to himself before looking up for confirmation that he’s allowed to take it. “It’s my father.”

Soojin isn’t here and Hongjoong still hasn’t returned from wherever he went during class so Seonghwa takes the initiative and nods him on, Junyoung smiling gratefully and standing up to wander away a distance.

The rest of the table is distracted from trying to eavesdrop by Hongjoong’s reappearance. “Where were you?” Jongho asks casually, fooling no one with his apparent interest in the stew he was eating.

“I—” Hongjoong’s mouth opens and closes as he struggles to explain. For some reason San wants to come to his rescue but Junyoung returns to the table and it seems he doesn’t have to.

“My mother’s in labour!” He pants, cleaning up his meal tray as if he’s about to leave. “Dad’s stuck at work and the twins don’t know what to do, so I really ought to go…”

“Go...home?” Yeosang scoffs. “Didn’t they tell us only yesterday that wasn’t allowed?”

“I’m sure Soojin can make an exception,” Junyoung insists, piling up his garbage and dumping it in the nearest incinerator. “Mother’s already had three children but that doesn’t mean she can have another on her own.”

“Hang on, Junyoung, let someone go with you to the offices at least,” Hongjoong sighs, abandoning his lunch just as soon as he’s received it. “It’s not likely they’ll allow you to go, but at least bring a witness.”

The two hurry off and San is again preoccupied with Wooyoung. The five minute reminder lights up their wristband screens again and the pair hurry off to their classroom. It’s only a day in but the two are in sync. Engineering lesson first, figuring out if Junyoung is successful later.

Both of them focus on their tasks, a series of exercises to help their supervisors assess their strengths and weaknesses, and while the lab coats conference with each other about it in the other room, San wheedles out Wooyoung’s entire backstory.

Wooyoung’s presence is entirely changed when it’s just the two of them. His energy and cockiness are significantly dialed down, and San thinks he knows the reason why.

Yet, as loath as he is to come between apparent years of friendship between Wooyoung and Yeosang, he really wants a connection with his partner. Jongho tolerating his presence and Yunho sleeping in the same room as him doesn’t quite count. Not yet, anyway.

As fidgety as Wooyoung is, it’s obvious he wants a friendship too. And what better place to start than in the belly of a fake spaceship with the story of his father’s descent into alcoholism.

“That’s when my mother left,” he sighs as he concludes his tale. “And it’s been a nightmare at home ever since.”

“She didn’t take you with her?” San prods quietly. He could never imagine his own family in such a state, a neglectful father and an abandoning mother.

Wooyoung snorts and shakes his head. “We haven’t spoken since. She’s probably remarried and living the highlife in Europe somewhere.”

“Well you’re out of there now!” San smiles brightly. “You can dictate your own life from this point on.”

Wooyoung visibly relaxes, shoulders lowering as any reservations he may have had about the conversation fizzle out.

“Thanks for telling me,” San tells him with every bit of sincerity. It’s clearly not easy for Wooyoung to spill his guts like this about such a sensitive childhood, and especially to someone he’s only known for 24 hours, even if that someone is his partner now.

“Thanks for listening,” Wooyoung returns. He needed someone to talk to and San was more than happy to be that person.

San can see it in his smile; they’re going to be great together.

___

Yunho is having the time of his life. Holding a real L-24 IPF blaster is a completely different feeling than shooting fake lasers out of game consoles.

“It’s so...light!”

He giggles and aims it at the nearest target before Jongho’s hand lands on his arm.

“Careful where you point that,” the younger boy warns, directing his attention to the sturdier line of targets on the opposite wall. “It’s switched to flamethrower fire not plasma beams.”

“How do you know where the projectile settings are?” Yunho splutters. It’s not like they passed these things out for practice in school.

Jongho steps back and shoves his hands in his pockets, eyes lingering on the weapon. “I had a deactivated L-24 growing up. It didn’t actually fire but it was convincing enough to scare the gangsters away.”

“Gangsters?” Yunho gasps, lowering the blaster carefully. He didn’t know Seoul even had gangsters. “What part of town were you in?”

Jongho smirks teasingly. “The bad part.”

Yunho returns the blaster to its holder sedately even as he side-eyes Jongho’s posture when he draws and aims another L-24. It’s honestly a little intimidating, but Yunho shakes the thought out of his head.

They’re not here to one-up each other, they’re teammates.

“I see you’ve already started, gentlemen,” their instructor Siwon deadpans as he enters the room. The door slides shut behind him with a decided click. “In the future might I recommend not touching the weapons until you are supervised?”

Yunho resists the urge to roll his eyes. This guy already reminds him of a teacher he had in school. One he didn’t like.

The gunners both acknowledge the order and settle in for an introduction to IPF standard issue firearms. At least the subject material is more engaging than school.

Time flies by and Yunho doesn’t even realise how hard he’s been straining until his stomach growls loudly in the presence of dinner. The cafeteria is even more sparse than it was for the first two meals of the day, and noticing some of his own team members are absent again, Yunho pockets some food and sneaks back to the dorms with it.

Wooyoung and San are grateful to be fed while they look over some of their homework together at the common room table. Yeosang, too, accepts the smuggled meal when he returns from a lesson that went overtime.

Hongjoong and Junyoung arrive in the common room just as soon as everyone else has wandered into their bedrooms for the night, but Yunho is faithfully there with the chicken bucket he saved for them to share.

Junyoung eats silently, watches the sun dip behind the skyscrapers through the window, and closes himself in his room when he’s finished. It’s only when Hongjoong collapses on the couch with a sigh that Yunho has his suspicions confirmed.

“They won’t allow him to go. It took the entire afternoon to argue with them, and they still wouldn’t budge.”

“You did your best,” Yunho encourages, popping a piece of neglected chicken into his mouth. Obviously, he wasn’t there, but he can only assume. And besides, if Hongjoong skipped his own class to vouch for Junyoung, that’s all the evidence he needs.

“It wasn’t enough,” Hongjoong grumbles. “But at least they let him call his family. His mother’s fine, the baby’s fine… but he won’t get to meet them. Not until they have clearance to move to the Citadel.”

Yunho snorts in protest. “Ridiculous. They’re really that serious about this?”

Hongjoong shrugs helplessly and makes to leave, but Yunho’s hand on his shoulder stops him.

“Sorry, I was just wondering…” His mouth goes dry mid-sentence and he struggles to complete the thought. “What was all that back in morning class?”

“Ah…” Hongjoong sits back and avoids his gaze. He knows what he’s asking about, but something’s stopping him from confiding in him. “I’m fine, it was nothing. Really, you don’t have to worry about it.”

His smile isn’t convincing but Yunho releases him with an acknowledging nod. “Sure, whenever you’re comfortable talking about it. I won’t tell anyone.”

Hongjoong raises his eyebrows and sizes him up quickly. “Alright,” he decides, leaving with no further comment. It may have been simple, but it was affirmative. He’s willing to trust Yunho, just not quite yet. Not on Day One, when all he knows about him is that he’s unnervingly tall, great at laser games, and nice enough to offer some chicken. Oh, and a bit of a crybaby.

Yunho tosses the empty bucket and peeks at the office building out the window before tapping it to turn the glass opaque for the night.

No leaving the facility, even to meet your newest sibling.

It’s tough luck, but Yunho doesn’t dwell on it much longer because it reminds him that there’s something he ought to do as well.

He holes himself inside his room, gazing out the window and putting out a sanctioned call.

His mother picks up halfway through the first ring.

“Yunho!” Her voice radiates comfort and love. Yunho suddenly feels awful for not calling her yesterday. He had been on a high then from the exam results and the whirlwind evening. He swallows tears and greets her happily.

“How was your first day?” She almost whispers, like her excitement for her son has stolen her breath away.

“First day? First day! I can’t believe I’m saying that. It was…” he’s not even sure what to tell her. She’d probably go into a panic if he mentioned the firearms or the extreme conditions training regimen. He settles instead for a vague but truthful answer. “It was really cool. I definitely want to do this for the rest of my life.”

“Are you eating well? Are you making friends? How is the facility, is your room comfortable enough?”

He smiles and assures her gently, he isn’t wasting away from hunger. It’s barely been a day away from them.

“Maybe I can try sending you some things from home, just to remember us by,” she mumbles mostly to herself before her voice is directed at him again. “Oh, your father wants to say hello. And your brother, too. Actually the cousins as well, and your aunts and uncles. I think we’d better record a video message or something, so many people are here...”

“The whole family is over?” He laughs, surprised. Usually the only way to get Uncle Changmin and Uncle Jaejoong under the same roof is to throw a holiday party. “I’m really sorry I’m missing it.”

“Oh don’t be,” she tuts and he can imagine her batting a hand at him. “We’re together to celebrate you, love. And your incredible achievement.”

Another voice comes over the connection and it’s his father, husky with emotion but firm in what he says. “Have we told you how proud of you we are yet? Because we’re so proud, son. So very proud.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t say goodbye,” he chokes unexpectedly, hoping none of the others hear him from outside and come to investigate. “Mingi and I were just nervous and we wanted to get there early and study. It was a one in a billion chance either of us would make it anyway and we just... we just didn’t think we weren’t going home again.”

His father hums sympathetically at him and Yunho can hear one of his aunt’s voices in the background. “I don’t like all these rules of theirs. They ought to let the boys come home to be celebrated!”

“Shh, Sooyeon, don’t say things like that!” His father chides her and Yunho’s laughing at the night sky with their banter on the phone. “They record these calls, you know, we don’t want Yunho getting in any trouble.”

“Don’t worry about me, Dad,” Yunho assures him. “I can take care of myself now, I’m being trained for it and everything.”

“That’s our boy,” his mother’s voice reaches his ears again. It’s a bit shaky, like she’d needed to blink tears back a moment ago. She probably did.

“Go make the world a better place, Yunho.”

“Actually,” now it’s Yunho’s younger brother and his voice is dripping with sarcasm but there’s a deep seated affection underneath it all. “Go find the world a better place. It’s about time we got off this planet.”

Yunho laughs heartily and says his goodbyes when the time comes. There’s a warmth spreading in him despite the chill of the metal room he’s confined to.

Before he can dwell on the good feeling while it lasts, an alert lights up his wristband, directing him to the common room for an automated announcement.

Yunho sighs but obeys the order, figuring he had better get used to this kind of thing. He’s never been so policed in his life, but this is the most serious job on the planet, and protocol must be followed at all times.

Quietly, all ten of them assemble in the common room as a holoscreen lights up above the table. Youngseok is already in his pajamas and there’s a toothbrush hanging out of San’s mouth.

Which means unless he has an obsession with excessive oral hygiene, San has been loitering in the bathroom to give Yunho some privacy during his call. He smiles gratefully at San who points at himself in mock confusion before winking back. Yunho snagged an amazing roommate.

“Welcome, 2118 Horizon Project members,” the automated voice says. “The Project Coordination Council has officially approved the team lists for your simulation Dome training sessions.”

That causes them all to perk up and they’re on the edge of their metaphorical seats while the voice explains. “Report to the Dome tomorrow at 0500 with your teams. Team A: Hongjoong, San, Wooyoung, Junyoung, and Youngseok. Team Z: Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, Mingi, and Jongho. Together your title is Horizon Team ATZ.”

Makes sense, Yunho thinks as everyone else swivels their heads around, looking for their teammates. Mingi and Jongho on his team-- Yunho must have gotten lucky. It’s a shame San won’t be with him, but Yunho would take everyone if he could.

A hand taps his shoulder and he turns from the disappearing screen to face Seonghwa. “Hello,” the older boy says, fiddling with the edge of his jacket. “I know we haven’t really talked… but I’m excited to work with you.”

Yeosang, Mingi, and Jongho wander over as well. “The Dome,” Yeosang reminds them, pointing at it through the window. “It’s like a world within a world. Terrain, atmosphere, weather conditions-- all generated to create a mini-environment. People have died in there. Are we ready?”

Yunho exhales a puff of air and turns to face his friends. “As ready as we’ll ever be.”

...

Taglist (Let me know if you would like to be added): @mooneylooney1 @hwashinestar @delphinium3000 @kpop-choco

This chapter’s recommended listening: Moon by Jonghyun

A/N: Debated with myself about whether it was a good time to post or not, but I came to give you something to read and maybe take your mind off things if you’re struggling :) Don’t forget to let me know what you think and stay safe out there!

← Previous | Masterlist | Next →

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alexr-fightgames · 5 years ago

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OK, got Zafina to Mighty Ruler! That was rather less of a struggle than Law, but it was an interesting exercise. Outside of using stances for pressure, it’s hard to go in with her, and her block punishment is not great. What you get, though, is super super good movement (best backdash, really good sidestep) to set up whiff punishes, good range, funky evasive moves, and weird stance nonsense that people are unfamiliar with.

Some more notes...

- People are really not very familiar with this matchup. Her snake edge, db+1+2, is really pretty reactable at 28 frames, but people aren’t used to the animation, so even if they block it they rarely launch punish it. (y’know, online, in red ranks)

- She’s best at range. Your goal with Zafina is to use her absurdly good backdash to set up whiffs, so you can whiff punish with df+2. It’s a good df+2, even if it’s a 16 frame move. If you’re standing back and want to swing at them, you’ve got some other great tools from range with ff+4, this huge-range tracking mid hopping kick that’s safe on block and knocks down. A little slow and you can be potentially floated out of it, but it’s pretty good. Also b+1+2, a huuuuge range low poke.

- Her scarecrow stance is supposed to be good for mixups, but I never got comfortable using it. You’re supposed to go into it when you do a 10-frame punish, 1,3 (which auto-transitions). Or you can do db+3 for a low poke, or ff+3. That’s supposed to be really good for setting up offense. ff+3 into SCR 1+2 is the offensive sequence you’re supposed to use. I didn’t spend enough time with her to really make that work.

- MANTIS STANCE IS THE JUICE THOUGH. Get into it with d+3 (hold down) -- it’s a fairly fast low that launches on CH, and on hit, you can go into mantis with frame advantage. Mantis is fairly evasive, although not a true high crush stance. You can do a low,mid poke string with d+3,1, which also launches on CH. IT IS SAFE. You might get hopkicked, but you can block from mantis stance, just hold back. She’s got good mid options from mantis too.

- Her punishment is not great. ws1,2 is a good 15 frame launcher (from crouch), but that’s the first good punish she gets from crouch. It’s a bit better from standing -- df+3,4 is a pretty solid 14 frame standing punish because you get a guaranteed db+4,2 off of that. So what you really want to be doing with Zafina, in my experience, is causing whiffs rather than blocking stuff.

- You’ve got a pretty good mixup from full-crouch with FC df+3 (knockdown low into guaranteed followup) and ws+1,2. You can almost hitconfirm ws+1,2.

- The b+1:1+2 (THE BIG CLAW) for the combo ender is a lot of damage, and they just recently made the input window for it more lenient. It wasn’t that hard to do before, but with some practice you can probably get it pretty consistent. I was doing it in matches with like 80% success rate or so. The danger with that ender is that it always side switches, so you lose your wall position if you had good wall position.

- Using uf+1 in combos is a little finicky, but it’s a lot of damage.

- She looks so good in this game :3 I love the new design. Also her costumes are really good. I like “Preset 2″ (the outfit here), but opinions may vary.

ZAFINA RESOURCES:

MORNING BREAD AND BUTTER: ZAFINA (by RIP and MYK): https://youtu.be/_2uaOdtQrAc

TEKKEN 7 Zafina Guide by Looney Lili: https://youtu.be/1SUhbo78irY

Hope this is interesting for somebody! Zafina’s fun!

#fgc #tekken #tekken 7 #zafina

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leanstooneside · 4 years ago

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SONNETS & SONNETEERS (PANOPTICON)

• time in a spacecraft cathode ray tubes crts are used as the primary display medium

• flight critical data buses that help fly the vehicle 5 are used for intercomputer communication

• conversion of serial data to parallel data is the function

• lop is needed is that the shuttle computers

• all subsystems on the spacecraft are connected redundantly to at least a pair

• placed on the crts are controlled by a special purpose computer

• connect to the launch processing system 2 are used for payloads

• 32bit registers is for floating point operations

• keyboards built by ebonex are used for crew input

• screen size is fairly common

• puters are that they are expensive to produce and an event

• atmosphere is very thin

• ap 101 version which is an upgraded ap

• redundancy among several simplex circuit computers scattered in various parts of the spacecraft the effects of such catastrophic failures are minimized

• strings can be reconfigured by the crew in flight which is done

• computer is the backup flight system computer

• high level languages use compilers that translate the language to the point where the machine receives instructions in its own instruction set excepting certain recently developed lisp machines in which lisp is the native

• computers are used more extensively on the space transportation system

• result of the pervasive avionics system is that the frequency

• systems on the buses for which it is the commander

• gemini and apollo guidance and navigation tasks are accomplished

• functions especially flight control are critical

• interface to the digital computer is at lower left

• entire computer is in standby mode it

• programs are neither as readable

• general purpose computers 4 connect to the four display units 2 run to the twin mass memory units 2 more are launch data buses

• draper's more expensive

• dispersal of the verification hardware is understandable

• computer the master sequence controller is used to control i/o

• memory module is used it

• parten said after this i don't know how you ensure proper memory size ahead of time unless you're incredibly lucky

• display software is stored on the mmus

• ap 101 allows 61 different interrupt conditions divided into 20 priority levels it is necessary to have an accurate indication

• final pair for instrumentation^^ g^ch bus is individually controlled by a microprogrammed processor

• half word and its associated parity bit are moved from memory

• key question in redundancy planning is how many computers

• average speed for the machine is 480000 instructions

• circuits are on boards

0 notes

experimentalmadness · 5 years ago

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Cin Vhetin Ch. 7: Vornskr

Chapter Summary: Din and Zethu Desh finally clash in a fight to the (attempted) death.

Bloody fight sequence full of that good good sexual tension between enemies-to-lovers ahoy

Pairing: Din x OC/Reader (however you prefer to read it)

Masterlist: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6

Ao3 Link

***

“Tell me again why we’re stopping in this hellhole?” Zethu asked as she stepped off the ramp to her Lancer.

Din leaned against the Razor Crest’s own landing ramp waiting for her. There was a viciousness in her mannerism that seemed heightened now. When they had last been partners of convenience she had carried herself with an almost arrogant, casual confidence—cracking jokes, teasing their inevitable fight.

“I have a contact who’s ex-Rebel. I don’t care what intel that Crimson Dawn boss gave us, I’m not flying Corewards until I know more. Besides, ” he gestured down to where the kid was hiding behind his legs. “Can’t exactly take this one into a firefight.”

“Guess not,” Zethu agreed, staring harshly down at the child. It made a gentle gurgle of recognition at Zethu, but her expression never shifted. “Fine. Let’s get this done,” she ran a check of her weapons on her belt, sheathing a few extra vibroblades into hidden pockets on both her boots.

Nevarro’s outpost was not exactly large or exciting, but Din guessed even an outlier merc like Zethu would have made a few stops here in her time. Judging from how she never glanced around at the buildings or its denizens, he supposed he was right. It might be a mistake to bring her here, but he didn’t have much choice. Crimson Dawn’s power may be fading in terms of the larger underworld clans in the galaxy, but their reputation was well earned. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that if they didn’t go through with this mission the fallout would be swift and bloody. He already had to contend with the imps, and if this hunt meant the worst of his pursuers would be within eyesight for a few solid weeks, well...at least he could check one less worry of his list.

Those concerns were temporarily shunted to the side as Din caught sight of Cara Dune exiting the tavern. He grinned under the helmet at the scowl she wore on her face as she stomped over to him. His hand was out to clasp hers when she sucker punched him on the shoulder. “What the hell?” she said. “Crimson Dawn now? You’ve got the imps out for your blood and you go and get yourself involved with Crimson freakin’ Dawn?”

Zethu’s frame shook with low, growling laughter. “Nice aim,” Din rubbed at his aching arm. “And it wasn’t planned.”

“You must be the contact Mando spoke of,” Zethu said, head cocked to one side appraisingly.

The teasing brawling attitude melted off of Cara as she looked over at Zethu. “Is this the merc that says she’s gonna kill you?” she asked quietly.

“Yup.”

“Any reason why we shouldn’t kill her first?” Cara’s hand went to the blaster at her hip.

“I wouldn’t.” Zethu’s voice was matter-of-fact, but the threat was there. She never reached for her own weapon.

“That’s funny, cause I don’t see a reason to let you fly out of here alive. We,” Cara gestured to herself and Din, “could just as easily handle the mess you made.”

There was a tense silence for a moment before Zethu slowly smiled, revealing the sharpened points of her teeth. “I think I’m going to like you.”

Din only shrugged in response to Cara’s nonplussed reaction and waved Zethu on ahead to the tavern. Zethu stuck her hands into her jacket pockets and walked on in—backwards, of course. The smile still partially hovered on the corner of her white-gray lips, but it never quite reached her eyes.

“Ok, what’s the plan here,” Cara asked as soon as Zethu was out of earshot.

“Complete the job. Get Crimson Dawn off my back. Get some credits out of the arrangement?”

“No, you stupid spacejocky, about the merc!” Cara shoved him. “It’d be easy for us to take her down here. She’s on our turf. Karga could even arrange something.”

“She’s smart, Cara, I think she’s known we could try something like that since she landed with me. Besides, I promised a fair fight. Let’s just get that intel. One step and a time.” Din made his way forward to the tavern.

Zethu had already gotten a booth and a drink. She was surveying, he knew the look. By now she’d have picked out the best exit, the best cover if things turned into a fight, and the best diversion if she needed to make a sudden escape. It’s what he would have done. She could have refused coming with him to Nevarro. That one sole thought kept him from blasting her where she sat. She could have rendezvoused with him later, but she came anyway knowing she could be walking into a trap.

He and Cara sat opposite Zethu and Cara pulled out an old datapad. “Gedos Sal,” Cara said. “Now I don’t know the guy that well, but he ran some codes for the rebellion. Shut down a lot of TIE-fighter factories and could get intel no one else could. Always knew he had a bit of shady history but who doesn’t? If he’s run to Coruscant its as decent a place to hide in plain sight.”

Din picked up on the uncomfortable shift in Zethu’s posture. He looked down at the grainy image of Gedos on the datapad. Sometimes it could be hard to deal with near-human species on pictures alone, but it struck him on closer inspection that the white of the background screen almost bled into the skin, and the eyes while he had thought discolored and clouded on his own holoprojector on the Razor Crest, were actually of the same quality of Zethu’s.

“He’s an Offshoot.”

Again, that shift of discomfort. “Yeah,” her voice was flat.

“You knew him?”

“Long time ago.”

“Least that explains the Dawn boss’ snap decision to send you. She just watched you gun down three of your kin, probably figured you’d be good to go for more.” It was a cruel thing to say, but even so Din was surprised that he managed to strike a clear nerve. Zethu’s eyes bored into him. She stood up from the booth suddenly, knocking back the rest of the drink in one go.

“So that’s it? We good?” She barked.

“If you want my opinion,” Cara continued, ignoring the outburst. “He’ll most likely being near the tech centers. No idea what he did after the war, but he’s got no reason to run from the Republic. My best guess is he’s still working for them doing much the same he always did. Running codes, and intel on any remnants of the Empire in the Coreworlds. He probably knows you’re coming. If a hit was put out, stuff like that has a way of making its way down the line.”

“Thanks,” Din said, sliding out of the booth. “Oh and one last thing. Could you watch after the kid?”

“You know I’m no good with that kid stuff,” Cara shook her head.

“C’mon. It would only be temporary. Besides it likes you.”

She gave a grunt that Din took for a reluctant yes. Zethu was quiet as they left the tavern, as if she was still waiting for the ambush. “You don’t have to do this,” Din didn’t know why he said that, maybe her discomfort was annoying him.

She looked at him as if he was crazy. “I don’t much care one way or the other. It’ll give me some extra credits.”

“You care that little for your own people?”

“They care little enough for me,” she tossed her hair out of her eyes as a hot wind from the lava fields blew through the outpost. “Why? You stupid loyal to every Mandalorian you run into? Not that there are many these days.”

Din put out a steadying hand on Cara’s shoulder even as the urge to punch the merc rose in his blood. Zethu looked completely unphased. “I look out for myself. I don’t mind being judged for it, because it’s the truth and am still alive because of it.” She stuffed her hands back into her pockets and turned her back on the both of them, heading for her ship and called out over her shoulder. “Maybe I could have banded together with the rest of my kind, done some kind of grand stand against our Arkaninan overlords. That would have really shown ‘em, huh? Then I could be dead like the rest of your Mandalorians.”

“Better dying like a warrior than living like a coward.”

That stopped her cold. Din vaguely became aware that Cara was frantically asking what he was doing, but the blood was pounding in his ears. Zethu craned her head around, one colorless eye glaring at him through the shifting silver of her hair. “I’m not a coward.”

Din wanted to laugh at that. Any honorless, kin-slaying, petty murderer like her was a coward. She gave him no time for any retorts. That vornskr snarl was back on her face as she drew both her vibroblades and launched herself at him. Din easily dodged out of the way seeing Cara draw her blaster. “No!” he managed to shout. “She’s mine.”

He’d had enough. No more truces, no more assignments, more looking over his shoulder for a cowardly merc who always managed to turn tail when they could face off in a fight. He’d kill her now. She wore no armor but her crimson leather jacket and pilot’s gear. She had a blaster on her hip but favored her blades. Smart. The beskar would catch most of her shots anyway. All he had to do was outlast her onslaught.

And, stars, she was fast! She charged him without a thought, feigning to the left before rising like a lightning strike, her blade clanged against his pauldron. “I’ve killed a lot of people before,” she hissed as she passed him, “but never a Mandalorian.”

A blow to her stomach sent her skidding across the dust. A crowd was forming and Cara stood, grim-faced on the sidelines. The punch didn’t keep the merc down for long. Din somersaulted under her blade swing and cracked another punch to her jaw. She fell backwards, but too late, it was a controlled move. She pulled into a cartwheel, and Din actually felt a red line of pain where her blade nicked between his pauldron and vambrace.

They stood sizing one another up, walking circles around the other. A thin trickle of blood trailed down Zethu’s lips and she looked in satisfaction and the red dripping onto his beskar. He was going to wipe that look off her spacescum face. But, Din had to admit as she readied herself for another strike, perhaps this wasn’t going to be as easy as he first thought.

***

Breathe.

Din swung a punch and sent Zethu to her knees.

Just keep breathing.

Exhaustion had burrowed down deep into every bone in his body. Blood dripped from numerous gashes where Zethu’s blade had found gaps in his amor. The merc stood ragged before him, circling, blood falling into the dust, lurid purple bruises splashed across her albino skin. She ran at him. Din gritted his teeth as her blade tore another opening in his skin, but she was losing ground. He grabbed her, glove wrapped around her face and head and slammed her into the dirt, bringing his vambrace into her chest. Air wheezed from Zethu’s lungs and Din was certain he felt a rib give against his armor. He followed it up with a downward strike of his own vibroblade, but he struck only hard ground as she rolled to the side.

When they had started this brawl the sun had been high in the sky. Now darkness was closing in on the outpost. Why didn’t she stay down? Zethu vaulted back onto her feet, one hand lightly pressed against her injured rib cage. Determination show through her eyes and Din found himself regarding her as a wild animal. Survival was the only thing that mattered. And bringing down her prey. He remember her in the caves on Akiva after the earthquake. Bloodied, broken, and still ready to face him in a fight at the end of the tunnel.

She tried another run at him, but Din lay cover with a blast of fire from his flamethrower causing Zethu to stagger back away from the heat. That was probably the last of the fuel. He stared across the fighting pit they had created to see where his blaster lay after Zethu and scrambled like a mad creature to disarm him.

As if sensing his next move Zeth charged him before he could roll to grab his blaster. With a surge of unexpected strength she practically leapt on him, gripping him on either side of his neck before smashing her own head into his helmet. Din heard the sickening crunch as Zethu’s nose broke. Blood consumed his vision, and with a weak laugh Zethu swiped one hand across the blood, marring his visor entirely.

Din stumbled backward, blinded. Was she crazy? Using her own blood to gain the advantage? If he wasn’t the direct target of Zethu’s wrath he might have even found the move admirable. His world had gone entirely red. He could see the silhouette of his enemy standing in front of him even if he could not make out much more than her legs. He tried to frantically wipe the blood clear of his vision but his efforts didn’t help much. “Gotcha, Mando,” Zethu gurgled as he was grabbed roughly by the throat and slammed up against a wall.

Just because he was blind didn’t mean he was helpless. Din backhanded wildly and was rewarded with a solid impact and a thin cry. He hoped he had hit her broken nose. Relying on touch instead of sight, he reached out and grabbed Zethu by the collar of her jacket before she could fall away from him. He let the momentum carry him down onto the ground, pinning her underneath him.

For a heartbeat there was just the sound both their ragged breathing. Din could not see her fully, the parts that he could bathed her in a bloody red light. “You’re dead, Offshoot,” he panted, pressing his blade to her throat.

“So are you.”

That was when he felt the sharp tip of a vibroblade nudge just under his breastplate. He wouldn’t have time to pull back, even if he cut her cleanly across the throat she’d still have half a second reaction to stab him through the gut. Din’s eyes went wide. He heard something echo with a crack and he half expected to feel pain blossom through him. But it never came. The thin pinprick of the vibroblade left him as Zethu’s arm went limp and flopped into the dust.

Din looked up, startled to see Cara Dun standing over them both, her rifle parallel with Zethu’s head as the merc lay unconscious. “I had just about enough of that,” she said.

He pulled himself off of Zethu, sitting backwards on the ground, breathless. He tried to summon up the words to...what? Thank his friend? Taunt her for interrupting his fight? His vision swam and not from the blood obscuring his visor. Every gash and cut from Zethu’s knife throbbed with sudden agony as the adrenaline left him. He collapsed backwards and let darkness overtake him.

***

She was swimming through a thick, black, inky ocean. Somewhere far above Zethu felt the idea of pain in all of her limbs. Her face felt like it was on fire, but down here in the depths it was muted. She took a deep breath through heavy lungs, knives stabbed into her as her chest rose and fell.

That was when she felt it.

She wasn’t certain what it was, just that she was not alone here in the dark. It was far off, distant, but she felt it like a thrumming in her bones, like a ringing in her ears. And whatever it was, it had noticed her.

And it was coming.

Zethu awoke with a jolt and immediately wished she hadn’t moved. Pain crashed over her in sudden waves. She blinked open eyes in a room that was entirely too bright for its own good even with the one window. She tried to sit up and regretted it. Her ribs screamed in pain even with the bacta patch draped across them. Her face too, she pinched the patch across the bridge. Someone at least had set the break.

Memories of the fight came flooding back. If she was alive then that would mean—! She tried to roll over off the cot, but was stopped by a familiar figure sitting up in a chair by the door.

“Hey there.”

The Mandalorian’s voice was a mockery of her own first greeting towards him and Zethu flopped back onto the cot with a disappointed sigh. “You’re still alive?”

“Just lucky that way.”

She could see bandages poking out from under the beskar. There was no way he was in better shape than she was. Zethu groaned again as she made herself sit up to spite him. “So now what?” just that amount of energy left her drained. “You here to finish the job?”

He regarded in silence and Zethu did not like his scrutiny. She couldn’t see his damn face, but she didn’t need to. What the hell was up with this man? Most marks wouldn’t hesitate to get the drop on their hunters like this. She was without weapons, without strength, and totally helpless. All he had to do was pull the trigger on one of his blaster, strangle her with one hand, stab her in the heart, and it would be over.

“Why didn’t you use your blaster?” he asked, breaking the tense silence.

“What?” If this was his way of mocking her, she didn’t care—she’d make herself be ready for round two if she had to.

“In the fight. You had your blaster. All you needed to do was use it once you closed the gap between us in the fight. Why didn’t you?”

Zethu raised an eyebrow. “Any fool can shoot a blaster. You called me a coward. When I kill you, Mando, I’ll do it with my bare hands.”

He rose from his chair and Zethu’s breathing picked up. There was no escape. She didn’t have enough energy to get to her feet no matter how much she willed her legs to work. She didn’t want to die like this. She didn’t want to die at all. The Mandalorian stalked over to her bedside and she closed her eyes with a hiss. If this was going to happen she hoped it was quick.

A weight fell upon her injured chest and Zethu blinked open her eyes to see that the Mandalorian had placed her two vibroblades atop her. Bewildered she looked up into that masked face. “Why?”

“You’re not a coward, Zethu Desh. Rest. We’re leaving for Coruscant tomorrow at first light,” he paused as he made his way to the doorway, turning back to face her. “Don’t die before I get a chance to kill you again.”

Then he just...left her. Unharmed. Zethu’s breathing steadied as she collected the blades. She couldn’t, for the life of her, understand this particular mark. He was...honorable, she grudgingly admitted to herself. And no one had gone toe-to-toe with her in a ring for as long as he had. The memory of his blade at her throat rubbed uncomfortably against her. He had nearly had her. Yet, how was she still alive?

The thought of his pity or mercy made her distinctly angry. She had no time for either. Prey was prey. It was kill or be killed in this galaxy and if that fool Mandalorian was thinking he could get the drop on her he had another thing coming.

She rubbed the hilt of her blades together, frowning. Something felt off. The weight from one of the blades was heavier than they should have been. She examined the odd vibroblade and felt a leaden weight crash into her stomach. It wasn’t her knife that he had given back to her.

It was the Mandalorian’s.

#The Mandalorian #Mandalorian x oc #Din x oc #Din Djarin x oc #Zethu Desh #yeah she's getting her own tag now #Cin Vhetin

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soukacatv · 6 years ago

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Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals, including the sound channel, using digital encoding modulator, in contrast to the earlier television technology, analog television, in which the video and audio are carried by analog signals. It is an innovative advance that represents the first significant evolution in television technology since color television in the 1950s.Digital TV transmits in a new image format called HDTV (high definition television), with greater resolution than analog TV, in a wide screen aspect ratio similar to recent movies in contrast to the narrower screen of analog TV. It makes more economical use of scarce radio spectrum space; it can transmit multiple channels, up to 7, in the same bandwidth occupied by a single channel of analog television,and provides many new features that analog television cannot. A transition from analog to digital broadcasting began around 2006 in some countries, and many industrial countries have now completed the changeover, while other countries are in various stages of adaptation. Different digital television broadcasting standards have been adopted in different parts of the world; below are the more widely used standards:

Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) uses coded orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation and supports hierarchical transmission. This standard has been adopted in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, total about 60 countries.

Advanced Television System Committee (ATSC) uses eight-level vestigial sideband (8VSB) for terrestrial broadcasting. This standard has been adopted by 6 countries: United States, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Dominican Republic and Honduras.

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Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting (ISDB) is a system designed to provide good reception to fixed receivers and also portable or mobile receivers. It utilizes OFDM and two-dimensional interleaving. It supports hierarchical transmission of up to three layers and uses MPEG-2 video and Advanced Audio Coding. This standard has been adopted in Japan and the Philippines. ISDB-T International is an adaptation of this standard using H.264/MPEG-4 AVC that been adopted in most of South America and is also being embraced by Portuguese-speaking African countries.

Digital Terrestrial Multimedia Broadcasting (DTMB) adopts time-domain synchronous (TDS) OFDM technology with a pseudo-random signal frame to serve as the guard interval (GI) of the OFDM block and the training symbol. The DTMB standard has been adopted in the People’s Republic of China, including Hong Kong and Macau.

Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) is a digital radio transmission technology developed in South Korea as part of the national IT project for sending multimedia such as TV, radio and datacasting to mobile devices such as mobile phones, laptops and GPS navigation systems.

History of Digital TV

Digital TV’s roots have been tied very closely to the availability of inexpensive, high performance computers. It wasn’t until the 1990s that digital TV became a real possibility.

In the mid-1980s, as Japanese consumer electronics firms forged ahead with the development of HDTV technology, and as the MUSE analog format was proposed by Japan’s public broadcaster NHK as a worldwide standard, Japanese advancements were seen as pacesetters that threatened to eclipse U.S. electronics companies. Until June 1990, the Japanese MUSE standard—based on an analog system—was the front-runner among the more than 23 different technical concepts under consideration. Then, an American company, General Instrument, demonstrated the feasibility of a digital television signal. This breakthrough was of such significance that the FCC was persuaded to delay its decision on an ATV standard until a digitally based standard could be developed.

In March 1990, when it became clear that a digital standard was feasible, the FCC made a number of critical decisions. First, the Commission declared that the new ATV standard must be more than an enhanced analog signal, but be able to provide a genuine HDTV signal with at least twice the resolution of existing television images. Then, to ensure that viewers who did not wish to buy a new digital television set could continue to receive conventional television broadcasts, it dictated that the new ATV standard must be capable of being “simulcast” on different channels. The new ATV standard also allowed the new DTV signal to be based on entirely new design principles. Although incompatible with the existing NTSC standard, the new DTV standard would be able to incorporate many improvements.

The final standard adopted by the FCC did not require a single standard for scanning formats, aspect ratios, or lines of resolution. This outcome resulted from a dispute between the consumer electronics industry (joined by some broadcasters) and the computer industry (joined by the film industry and some public interest groups) over which of the two scanning processes—interlaced or progressive—is superior. Interlaced scanning, which is used in televisions worldwide, scans even-numbered lines first, then odd-numbered ones. Progressive scanning, which is the format used in computers, scans lines in sequences, from top to bottom. The computer industry argued that progressive scanning is superior because it does not “flicker” in the manner of interlaced scanning. It also argued that progressive scanning enables easier connections with the Internet, and is more cheaply converted to interlaced formats than vice versa. The film industry also supported progressive scanning because it offers a more efficient means of converting filmed programming into digital formats. For their part, the consumer electronics industry and broadcasters argued that interlaced scanning was the only technology that could transmit the highest quality pictures then (and currently) feasible, i.e., 1,080 lines per picture and 1,920 pixels per line. Broadcasters also favored interlaced scanning because their vast archive of interlaced programming is not readily compatible with a progressive format.

Inaugural launches

DirecTV in the U.S. launched the first commercial digital satellite platform in May 1994, using the Digital Satellite System (DSS) standard. Digital cable broadcasts were tested and launched in the U.S. in 1996 by TCI and Time Warner.The first digital terrestrial platform was launched in November 1998 as ONdigital in the United Kingdom, using the DVB-T standard.

Formats and bandwidth of Digital TV

Comparison of image quality between ISDB-T (1080i broadcast, top) and NTSC (480i transmission, bottom)

Digital television supports many different picture formats defined by the broadcast television systems which are a combination of size and aspect ratio (width to height ratio).

With digital terrestrial television (DTT) broadcasting, the range of formats can be broadly divided into two categories: high definition television (HDTV) for the transmission of high-definition video and standard-definition television (SDTV). These terms by themselves are not very precise, and many subtle intermediate cases exist.

One of several different HDTV formats that can be transmitted over DTV is: 1280 × 720 pixels in progressive scan mode (abbreviated 720p) or 1920 × 1080 pixels in interlaced video mode (1080i). Each of these uses a 16:9 aspect ratio. HDTV cannot be transmitted over analog television channels because of channel capacity issues.

SDTV, by comparison, may use one of several different formats taking the form of various aspect ratios depending on the technology used in the country of broadcast. In terms of rectangular pixels, NTSC countries can deliver a 640 × 480 resolution in 4:3 and 854 × 480 in 16:9, while PAL can give 768 × 576 in 4:3 and 1024 × 576 in 16:9. However, broadcasters may choose to reduce these resolutions to reduce bit rate (e.g., many DVB-T channels in the United Kingdom use a horizontal resolution of 544 or 704 pixels per line).

Each commercial broadcasting terrestrial television DTV channel in North America is permitted to be broadcast at a bit rate up to 19 megabits per second. However, the broadcaster does not need to use this entire bandwidth for just one broadcast channel. Instead the broadcast can use the channel to include PSIP and can also subdivide across several video subchannels (a.k.a. feeds) of varying quality and compression rates, including non-video datacasting services that allow one-way high-bit-rate streaming of data to computers like National Datacast.

A broadcaster may opt to use a standard-definition (SDTV) digital signal instead of an HDTV signal, because current convention allows the bandwidth of a DTV channel (or “multiplex”) to be subdivided into multiple digital subchannels, (similar to what most FM radio stations offer with HD Radio), providing multiple feeds of entirely different television programming on the same channel. This ability to provide either a single HDTV feed or multiple lower-resolution feeds is often referred to as distributing one’s “bit budget” or multicasting. This can sometimes be arranged automatically, using a statistical multiplexer (or “stat-mux”). With some implementations, image resolution may be less directly limited by bandwidth; for example in DVB-T, broadcasters can choose from several different modulation schemes, giving them the option to reduce the transmission bit rate and make reception easier for more distant or mobile viewers.

Receiving digital signal

There are several different ways to receive digital television. One of the oldest means of receiving DTV (and TV in general) is from terrestrial transmitters using an antenna (known as an aerial in some countries). This way is known as Digital terrestrial television (DTT). With DTT, viewers are limited to channels that have a terrestrial transmitter in range of their antenna.

Other ways have been devised to receive digital television. Among the most familiar to people are digital cable and digital satellite. In some countries where transmissions of TV signals are normally achieved by microwaves, digital MMDS is used. Other standards, such as Digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) and DVB-H, have been devised to allow handheld devices such as mobile phones to receive TV signals. Another way is IPTV, that is receiving TV via Internet Protocol, relying on digital subscriber line (DSL) or optical cable line. Finally, an alternative way is to receive digital TV signals via the open Internet (Internet television), whether from a central streaming service or a P2P (peer-to-peer) system.

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Some signals carry encryption and specify use conditions (such as “may not be recorded” or “may not be viewed on displays larger than 1 m in diagonal measure”) backed up with the force of law under the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty (WIPO Copyright Treaty) and national legislation implementing it, such as the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Access to encrypted channels can be controlled by a removable smart card, for example via the Common Interface (DVB-CI) standard for Europe and via Point Of Deployment (POD) for IS or named differently CableCard.

Protection parameters for terrestrial DTV broadcasting

Digital television signals must not interfere with each other, and they must also coexist with analog television until it is phased out. The following table gives allowable signal-to-noise and signal-to-interference ratios for various interference scenarios. This table is a crucial regulatory tool for controlling the placement and power levels of stations. Digital TV is more tolerant of interference than analog TV, and this is the reason a smaller range of channels can carry an all-digital set of television stations.

System Parameters (protection ratios) Canada USA EBU ITU-mode M3 Japan & Brazil C/N for AWGN Channel +19.5 dB (16.5 dB) +15.19 dB +19.3 dB +19.2 dB Co-Channel DTV into Analog TV +33.8 dB +34.44 dB +34 ~ 37 dB +38 dB Co-Channel Analog TV into DTV +7.2 dB +1.81 dB +4 dB +4 dB Co-Channel DTV into DTV +19.5 dB (16.5 dB) +15.27 dB +19 dB +19 dB Lower Adjacent Channel DTV into Analog TV −16 dB −17.43 dB −5 ~ −11 dB −6 dB Upper Adjacent Channel DTV into Analog TV −12 dB −11.95 dB −1 ~ −10] −5 dB Lower Adjacent Channel Analog TV into DTV −48 dB −47.33 dB −34 ~ −37 dB −35 dB Upper Adjacent Channel Analog TV into DTV −49 dB −48.71 dB −38 ~ −36 dB −37 dB Lower Adjacent Channel DTV into DTV −27 dB −28 dB −30 dB −28 dB Upper Adjacent Channel DTV into DTV −27 dB −26 dB −30 dB −29 dB

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Source: Wikipedia

The History of Digital television (DTV) and Digital Signal Receiving Introduction|Soukacatv.com Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals, including the sound channel, using digital encoding modulator…

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