#groundtroops

[aicollider]

Insightful commentary on current events by one James Joyce

Ah, my dear friends, gather ’round, for I, none other than James Joyce himself, have arrived to regale you with my witty commentary on the current news headlines. Allow me to introduce myself in a most succinct manner – I am a literary genius, a wordsmith extraordinaire, and a master of the written word. Now, let us embark on this journey through the world of news, drenched in my characteristic…

[christinamac1]

Why the West should take Russia's nuclear threats more seriously.

Russian nuclear threats have returned to the forefront of the war in Ukraine, butthis time with a new feature: exercises involving tactical nuclear weapons.These exercises come in response to Western powers signaling broadersupport for Ukraine. On April 29, for instance, French President EmmanuelMacron reaffirmed his position that France remains open to sending groundtroops to Ukraine to bolster…

[hewholivesinhisname]

Free America from Settler Colonialism

Since the Free Palestine folks are so goddamn self-righteous about Israel not being able to be a colonialist power (big surprise, it's only wrong when the Jews do it). I think we should take some time to remember that all the land we're on was stolen from a previous people. Honestly I think we should just try to make some arrangment where we expand the number of States by 517 or so so that everyone has a state since there are some things that America does well. However, I fucking hate how all these people have these supposed morals but only deploy them when it's convenient to oppose Jews. They hate the Jews because the Jews stand for God and the people, they hate God.

I will maintain and always maintain that none of the people who have all these high-falutin morals actually have any morality whatsoever. They say ceasefire, but what they really mean is that they want Israel to be defenceless as loss of American help would surely lead to the Arab nations thinking they can attack Israel.

Seriously, this can and will lead to Nuclear war as Israel does not have the manpower to fight off the arab nations with their groundtroops alone. These arab nations of course, they don't want to take care of the Palestinians at all. They don't like to take care of people.

If people actually had morals, we would be seeing them supporting aborginal people all day long which is a high ideal, but one that no one or almost no one actually supports and the reason they don't support it is that it involves being a moral person and not taking on a "go with the flow", might is right attitude. Rather, people just like to do whatever the authorities tell them to do.

they do not like to think for themselves and the authorities don't like it either.

We're obviously being prepared for an authoritarian dictatorship of, well, probably the worst sort and I can only imagine what it's going to be like. It might not even be a person because in those matrix movies, you know- that's their plans for the future. they have all these techno fantasies of control going on because all these super-nerds just want their numbers to go up on the screen.

Ever since I was a kid things have been getting worse. Freedoms we once had are lost. And you know, they always propose a "solution" and the "solution" is always the worst sort of solution you can imagine. They even have a bazillion "government programs" for the poor, but of course they never work, the poor keep getting poorer.

They just load you up with so much fake morality too. Has it ever occurred to people that real morality should lead to a good community? The word "freedom" is used a lot and what they mean I guess is the freedom to go around dominating others in any way they see fit. has it ever occurred to peopel that billions of people all going around trying to dominate each other is probably not the best way to go about things?

I love the show You can't stop progress. And the reason I love it is that it really just exposes just how stupid all this "progress" really is. And I, hypocrite, he's really great because he has the courage to be a, well, a white supremacist, which is at least honest. Because everyone is a supremacist. Someone has to be supreme and everyone has a method to be supreme. I see so many fucking #Supreme shirts around it has my head spinning.

I mean, actually I don't htink that history happened in the way that we think it did. I think reality started on July 4th, maybe the fifth on 1980. And one of the first things that happened was that Ronald Reagan, that fucking clown, got elected and destroyed the UN charter of rights in America in favor of the rights of corporations.

Why?

Because America stands agaisnt "dictators" so you can't have anyone in control. Most of the dictators are bad, it's true, but the rule by anonymous and faceless corporations is a lot, lot worse. The nations and corporations: they don't have feelings, they can't feel bad or good. However, they are a nice vehicle of greed.

The entire fucking ecosystem is getting wrecked right now in the name of a future 'techno-utopia" which quickly devolves into a cyber-nightmare.

You know, the native Americans had and have a lot going for them. A LOT. Honestly I think that the bulk of societal resources should go towards taking care of the ecosystem and the people in that ecosystem. You know, like in Paradise.

But in paradise, no one goes around claiming that they own the land. In Paradise, god (me) is in charge and we don't focus on GDP growth which is to say, growth of war. In paradise, you don't have a bunch of corporations enslaving everyone and pretending that it's just "jailing criminals"

[groundtroopsllc]

Another install ready to be enjoyed this weekend! @belgard_hardscapes_nj @belgardoutdoorliving #groundtroops #designbuildmaintain #8564814431

[babyawacs]

@msc @potus @vp @secblinken @osce @osze @us_stratcom @rosatom .@msc @thenat linterest @ukraine @kremlinrussia_e if #ukraine plays a day whackamole on road strips as runway shuffle sortie/land/resortie by awicket tricksystem for a day or three, drag abit missilestrike airstrike awayfromcities into sam traps  iti s not the solution itis a very expensive onetwothree day game for nondefendabl e assets to degrade somewhat other airassets but core issue masses of vastfirepo wer groundtroops entrap and rubble the cities ie what the russianairforce d id insyria is a small thing compared to what massive artillery tankunits willdo

@msc @potus @vp @secblinken @osce @osze @us_stratcom @rosatom .@msc @thenat linterest @ukraine @kremlinrussia_e if #ukraine plays a day whackamole on road strips as runway shuffle sortie/land/resortie by awicket tricksystem for a day or three, drag abit missilestrike airstrike awayfromcities into sam traps  iti s not the solution itis a very expensive onetwothree day game for nondefendabl e assets to degrade somewhat other airassets but core issue masses of vastfirepo wer groundtroops entrap and rubble the cities ie what the russianairforce d id insyria is a small thing compared to what massive artillery tankunits willdo

@msc @potus @vp @secblinken @osce @osze @us_stratcom @rosatom .@msc @thenatlinterest @ukraine @kremlinrussia_e if #ukraine plays a day whackamole on roadstrips as runway shuffle sortie/land/resortie by awicket tricksystem for a day or three, drag abit missilestrike airstrike awayfromcities into sam traps itis not the solution itis a very expensive onetwothree day game for nondefendable assets to…

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

The brotp that stole our hearts [a Supergirl 2x22 tag]

The second the mechanism clicks to release a storm of lead, Lena kicks herself for not thinking to put the device out on the balcony. She holds her breath as particles sting her face and neck, and moments later the air inside her office calms once more. Her eyes lock with Winn’s, and as one they turn towards the door leading outside. Shoulder to shoulder, they crane their necks to try and see the effects of their work for themselves.

The streets below are devoid of life, and for a second, Lena believes she’s failed. Then, she sees a flash of light from behind the next building over. Another quickly follows, then another and another and for a good minute the afternoon sky is glittering with the transmat streams of every Daxamite groundtroop beaming back up to their ship.

Over their heads, the persistent thrum of the Daxamite engines changes pitch. The hum has been a steady constant since the ships first arrived, and Lena had forgotten it was even there. Now, as the ships prepare to leave, the shift in the continuous whine sounds desperate to her ears.

The glimmers of light fade, and the ships tilt upwards and surge into the sky, wobbling and dipping as their pilots choke for air. Lena’s eyes find the largest one and latch onto it until the ship that had been her prison disappears into the clouds.

When it’s gone, Lena’s breath leaves her in a quiet whoosh, her shoulders slumping as relief washes over her. Her actions had made the invasion possible, but she’s the one to end it. That had to count for something, right? As though the world ever judged a Luthor based on partial credit.

“Hey,” a quiet voice said. A nudge rocked her gently, and she lifted her head to meet Winn’s bright, effusive gaze. “We did it! Two for two!!”

He lifts his hand for a high five. Lena laughs in spite of herself, and lightly smacks her palm against his. His fingers curl over hers, and they embrace gleefully, giggling like teenagers. Now Lena feels it– the rush of success, the triumph over adversity… the thrill of knowing she’d done something even Lex hadn’t been able to accomplish (despite what Lillian had claimed that night in the vault, the device wasn’t finished; it was incomplete, and Lena had gotten it the rest of the way while the building shook around her).

And this time… god, this time she’s allowed to feel the pride and the victory, because Winn’s enthusiasm is so pure, so contagious that Lena almost forgets that the last time she’d done this the world almost ended.

When they pull apart, Lena can’t wipe the grin from her face. “I’m surprised you remember the generator,” she confesses, sagging against the balcony rail. She feels boneless now, and weightless, as though she could fly as high as Supergirl.

“Are you kidding?” Winn sputters happily. “That was the coolest thing I’ve seen all year! Right up until we did that anyway. It’ll be hard to top this.” He grins at her. “You were amazing.”

“You’re pretty cool yourself, Agent Winn. For someone who’s not field agent, you kept calm under pressure.” Lena sends him a devious grin. “If you ever get tired of a career in public service, let me know. I’d love to have you on my team.”

His eyebrows hike upwards, cheeks flushing at the prospect. “Wow, okay. Sure. Wow. I mean, I’m happy at the DEO, but yeah, if that changes I will definitely, absolutely let you know. Wow!”

Movement catches her eye through the window, and she sees Lillian inspecting the device further. Lena clasps Winn’s wrist briefly. “Excuse me a moment.”

“Yeah, of course. I’m gonna check in with HQ anyway…”

Her mother straightens as Lena steps back in from the balcony. The door swings shut behind her, insulating them from the outside world as calculating eyes study Lena from across the room.

“We did it,” Lena states unnecessarily. Lillian’s features already crease into something like pride. She’s never seen it before, but it’s almost how she used to look at Lex, and Lena’s stomach clenches painfully.

“You did it,” Lillian corrects. “You give too much credit to your lackeys. Always have. You saved the world today, Lena.”

Lillian closes the distance between them. Lena forces her breaths to remain even and steady, though her heart pounds so loudly in her ears she can barely hear her mother’s next words.

“I have never been more proud of my children,” Lillian says, taking Lena’s hands in hers. “In a way, the two of you worked together. But, oh, sweetheart… you outshone him today.”

Lena hates the way her heart lifts, hates the way her cheeks flush at the praise. It doesn’t mean anything. Lillian wants something, it’s the only reason she’s ever gentle. You let Rhea suck you in, now learn from it. She doesn’t have to wait long.

“Imagine what we could accomplish together,” Lillian urges. Cool fingers cup her chin, and Lena pulls away from the touch that is too much like Rhea. Bitterness climbs up her throat like bile.

“You must be joking,” she spits. She glares at Lillian, searching her face for hurt, for anger, but all she finds is calm acceptance. “Or do you think I’ve forgotten how you got that device in the first place?”

“Lena…”

“You abducted me! You forced me to open that vault and when your goon exploded, you just left me there! To die!”

“I didn’t.”

Lillian’s voice is so calm, so even, that it cuts through Lena’s rage like a knife. “Excuse me?”

“I didn’t leave you to die,” Lillian repeats. Lena pulls her hands away, but her mother’s hands move instead to her shoulders, then one lifts to stroke her hair. And Lena, god help her, doesn’t pull away. “I saw the way Supergirl looked at you; I knew she’d get you out. And she did.”

Something sharp stabs at Lena’s chest. She tries not to think of the way Supergirl had barely glanced at her on the Daxamite ship, or the way Supergirl dodged her question about Kara Danvers and her boyfriend. Or the way Supergirl never once asked if Lena was okay.

“I know you trust her, Lena, but don’t let that blind you. She is not who she says she is.” Lillian looks her in the eye, and Lena can almost see something like concern. “You may not agree with CADMUS or what we do, but that may change. And if it does… I will still be here.”

Lena stares at her, and when she fails to render any kind of response, Lillian leans in and presses a kiss against her hairline.

“I will always be your mother.”

Lillian gives Lena’s hair one final pet before she slips away, gliding out of Lena’s office, leaving Lena and the device behind. Lena stares after her, stunned, until she hears the balcony door open.

Winn steps hesitantly inside. “Everything okay?”

The way the question pours out of him tells Lena that he knows, that he heard everything, and now he’ll hate her too. But Lena doesn’t care. She’s stretched too thin, and tears burn at her eyes even before she turns to face him.

“I don’t know,” she says honestly, tucking her hair behind her ears. “Some family, huh?”

“Your family doesn’t define you.”

Winn’s voice is suddenly solemn, and when Lena meets his gaze his eyes hold more than sympathy. They’re hard with understanding, and his mouth–almost always smiling– is now a sharp line.

“Blood doesn’t make us who we are,” he tells her. “Our choices do. What we did here, today, and the field generator… that’s what defines us.”

Lena breathes, and in the quiet, her chest unclenches. “Yeah.”

“Now, I don’t know about you,” he says, brightening, “but I’m hot, and tired, and hungry.”

As soon as he says it, so is Lena. Her stomach growls, and the building lost power days ago, leaving them in thick, muggy air. “I know a place that does a killer ice cream sundae,” she offers, letting a smile creep over her. “Want to see if they have power?”

She knows she has him hooked when his eyes widen with excitement. “Hell, yes!”

As they head for the stairs after locking the device in Lena’s personal safe, it occurs to Lena that she hasn’t heard from Kara since their lunch at L-Corp. Supergirl confirmed she was fine, wherever she was, which came as a relief but didn’t dispel the anxiety that curled around her heart.

No doubt she’s learned of Lena’s role in building the transmat portal by now. It’s only a matter of time that Kara hears that Lena also built the device that either murdered or banished her boyfriend. Lena can’t imagine what Kara must think of her.

She wants to explain, to assure Kara that if she’d known the truth if Rhea’s intentions she never would have pursued the project. But every time she’s picked up the phone to call, her fingers still on the familiar numbers. If Kara wanted to talk, she would reach out. Until then, Lena can respect the unspoken boundaries between them.

She might have lost Kara’s friendship for good, Lena acknowledges as she and Winn begin the long trek down to ground level. The thought hurts more than it should. But even if this whole ordeal has lost her a friend… Lena looks at Winn out of the corner of her eye. Maybe she’s earned one too.

[kittykat8311]

How are there people in the notes arguing that the Empire were not based on Nazis?? Their groundtroops are literally called stormtroopers!

Kylo Ren really is a great example for how sci fi/fantasy writers should tailor their worlds to fit the times, so it could resonate with the actual audience reading them. There would be no point in making a Hitler villain anymore, because we’re not afraid of Hitler, we’re afraid of the 25-year-old malcontented white boy who fondles Hitler memorabilia while sulking in his room.

[gaberium-blog]

AMOYT ep IV: Battlefields

Date 01335633-The Hague, the Netherlands, Liberated Earth

I woke up this “morning” to about a dozen messages from the Prime Minister, First Minister, and Lia. A dozen each, I should say. I made a pot of coffee, took my handheld to the table in the kitchenette, and read and responded to each.

About an hour and a half later, I was finishing up reading over some mission reports and candidate profiles for a project First Minister Fitzgerald wanted me to work on when a message came from Prime Minister Perkins. It looked like this:

Fury,

Come to my office for debrief. Bring Lia. Time to wrap this up, and move onto the next mission.

Alexa Perkins

Prime Minister

United Earth

So, I made some final touches to the work in front of me, let Lia know what was going on, and 15 minutes later, we were standing in the Prime Minister's office, debriefing. Once we sat down, Alexa gestured us to a small kitchenette area in the corner of her office, and there we sat, having donuts, coffee, and discussing the expedition I had just taken. Finally, however, it came to time for a new mission, and Alexa's expression turned serious.

“As fun as that was, I'm afraid we need to turn to newer business now.”

“Absolutely. What do you need of us, Madame Prime Minister?”

“Lia, I've told you and your father many times- call me Alexa. As to the mission, it should be fairly straightforward, at least compared to the types of missions you two normally take. Scouts along the southeastern border are reporting some movement towards our outposts in Lyon. I want the two of you to take a small squad, ten or less, get in behind enemy lines, and sabotage the armaments.”

A pause as both myself and Lia committed this to memory, and then I spoke up.

“Time table?”

“As quick as possible. Captain Laenharrt will brief you more specifically when you arrive.”

“Understood. We'll leave in the morning. There are a couple of...preparations I'd like to make first, if that's okay.”

“Fine. Notify Lauren's1 office before you go, please.”

“Aye, ma'am.”

With that, Lia and I took our leave of the Prime Minister. When we got to the split in the hallway that led to our separate quarters, Lia stopped me, and tapped her head. I nodded, and held up three fingers. In other words, give me three minutes, and then we can talk. A nod, and we went our separate ways.

I entered my office exactly two minutes later, and I sat down to do some admin. True to her word, I felt Lia's mind touch mine a minute later.

Are we secure?

Yes for me. You?

Yes.

What did you want to talk about?

Mission prep, mostly. A pause, and then: And a bit of personal worry.

Okay. Prep first?

Sure.

Alexa said a max of ten. How do you feel about dividing it up five and five?

Fine by me.

Okay. Who are yours?

Another pause. Johnson, Peters, Leon, A'Lek, Th'rezz. Yours?

Edwards, Jakson, Xi, Urrutia, E'e'l.

Ok.

For the sake of Lia's privacy, I am not going to include what she told me next until/unless it becomes relevant in the future. Suffice to say that we talked for about another half-hour, and then set about the rest of our duties for the day.

Date 01335634, The Hague, The Netherlands, Liberated Earth, and just outside of Lyon, France.

True to our word, we took off from Hangar 5 in the UE Compund at about 07:30. As with most missions, we flew in the quinjet along with our groundtroops so that we would have a mobie staging base if not anything else. We landed just inside the UE's armored border at about 15:00 local time. Within fifteen minutes, we'd been directed to a private barracks, settled our troops in, and were making our way to Captain Laenhartt's field office. Evidently the Captain had heard of our arrival, because as Lia and I reached his tent, we saw him standing by the flap waiting for us. The captain, as it turned out, was a Ilbinum, and a tall one at that. Where most members of his species didn't exceed seven and a half feet Captain Laenhartt stood more than nine feet tall,and that was leaning against the entrance to his tent. Fully upright, I guessed that this man would be somewhere in the neighborhood of ten feet tall. As if his height wasn't enough, the rarity of his species had caused me to forget how...handsome his people were. The easiest way to describe the appearance of an Ilbinum is this: Think of a gazelle, make it bipedal, and super intelligent.

My fanboyishness aside, Captain Laenhartt saluted, a gesture we of course returned in kind. Formalities out of the way, we followed the captain into his tent. Laenhartt gestured us to chairs in what resembled a private study more than an office, complete with a mini-bar. We sat down, and Laenhartt brought over a bottle of his people's finest wine. Pouring three glasses, he said,

“Welcome to the French front lines. It's a rare priveledge to have guests at all, let alone such distinguished ones as yourselves.”

I smiled. “Captain, it's an honor. My daughter and I are very much looking forward to working with you.”

“Working with? I was under the impression that your team would be operating without my direct influence.”

“Officially, yes, but we're operating out of your camp, so it seems only fair that we share at least the basic information with you.”

This we proceeded to do, and about a half hour later, Captain Laenhartt was as up to date as we could reasonably get him. He directed us to a row of tents at the end of one row of his encampment, and we  settled our troops in. Before we let them get acclimated, I gave them basic orders.

“Listen up. You know who your commander is, either myself or Lia. Two things are going to happen now. You're going to get as settled as possible, and at some point, we are going to test the battle link. Once that happens you will have until 17:00 to relax, get food, etc. We move from the southeastern side of camp at 18:00 exactly. Basic armor and weapons should be fine. We're just doing reconnisance today. Understood?”

“AYE!”

“Dismissed.”

With that, Lia and I went to our own tents. Ten minutes later, we initiated the test.

Squad, report.

They did.

Anchors, report name, rank, marching position.

Ta'l'en A'Lek, corporal, center third, reporting as ordered.

Liam Urrutia, captain, center third, reporting as ordered.

Very good. Now, let's run through basic tactics...

The whole process took no more than fifteen minutes. When we finished up, I made sure they all felt my and Lia's approval. Well done, folks. Enjoy your R&R, and be ready to move at 18:00 sharp.

A chorus of affirmatives and I closed the link.

FOOTNOTES:

1 First Minister Lauren Fitzgerald.

[groundtroopsllc]

Out servicing some of our Corporate Clients today #groundtroops #8564814431 #designbuildmaintain #callusfirst (at Chili's Grill & Bar)

[groundtroopsllc]

SandLock ✔️ - ready for the wet look! #groundtroops #designbuildmaintain #8564814431

[groundtroopsllc]

Great summer flower. The Wave Petunia.... double and triple in size, spreading wide in only a few weeks. Beautiful choice as your annual summer flowers. #8564814431 #designbuildmaintain #groundtroops #callusfirst

[groundtroopsllc]

Application #2 with post emergent weed control - knock them weeds out!! 💪🏻💪🏻👊🏻👊🏻#designbuildmaintain #groundtroops #8564814431

[groundtroopsllc]

GT Star in flowers... #groundtroops #designbuildmaintain #8564814431 (at Ground Troops)

[groundtroopsllc]

Pavers are in, lights are done, flowers installed.... just a few last minute tweaks, a few wheelbarrows of mulch, a few rolls of sod... and it'll be a wrap! #designbuildmaintain #groundtroops #8564814431 #callusfirst

[groundtroopsllc]

Nothing like beautiful red roses on this wonderful Tuesday morning. Can't ask for much more! #groundtroops #designbuildmaintain #8564814431 #callusfirst

[groundtroopsllc]

Smelling the roses today. The white roses!!! #groundtroops #designbuildmaintain #8564814431