#Agent Development Kit

[govindhtech]

MCP Toolbox for Databases Simplifies AI Agent Data Access

AI Agent Access to Enterprise Data Made Easy with MCP Toolbox for Databases

Google Cloud Next 25 showed organisations how to develop multi-agent ecosystems using Vertex AI and Google Cloud Databases. Agent2Agent Protocol and Model Context Protocol increase agent interactions. Due to developer interest in MCP, we're offering MCP Toolbox for Databases (formerly Gen AI Toolbox for Databases) easy to access your company data in databases. This advances standardised and safe agentic application experimentation.

Previous names: Gen AI Toolbox for Databases, MCP Toolbox

Developers may securely and easily interface new AI agents to business data using MCP Toolbox for Databases (Toolbox), an open-source MCP server. Anthropic created MCP, an open standard that links AI systems to data sources without specific integrations.

Toolbox can now generate tools for self-managed MySQL and PostgreSQL, Spanner, Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL, Cloud SQL for MySQL, and AlloyDB for PostgreSQL (with Omni). As an open-source project, it uses Neo4j and Dgraph. Toolbox integrates OpenTelemetry for end-to-end observability, OAuth2 and OIDC for security, and reduced boilerplate code for simpler development. This simplifies, speeds up, and secures tool creation by managing connection pooling, authentication, and more.

MCP server Toolbox provides the framework needed to construct production-quality database utilities and make them available to all clients in the increasing MCP ecosystem. This compatibility lets agentic app developers leverage Toolbox and reliably query several databases using a single protocol, simplifying development and improving interoperability.

MCP Toolbox for Databases supports ATK

The Agent Development Kit (ADK), an open-source framework that simplifies complicated multi-agent systems while maintaining fine-grained agent behaviour management, was later introduced. You can construct an AI agent using ADK in under 100 lines of user-friendly code. ADK lets you:

Orchestration controls and deterministic guardrails affect agents' thinking, reasoning, and collaboration.

ADK's patented bidirectional audio and video streaming features allow human-like interactions with agents with just a few lines of code.

Choose your preferred deployment or model. ADK supports your stack, whether it's your top-tier model, deployment target, or remote agent interface with other frameworks. ADK also supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which secures data source-AI agent communication.

Release to production using Vertex AI Agent Engine's direct interface. This reliable and transparent approach from development to enterprise-grade deployment eliminates agent production overhead.

Add LangGraph support

LangGraph offers essential persistence layer support with checkpointers. This helps create powerful, stateful agents that can complete long tasks or resume where they left off.

For state storage, Google Cloud provides integration libraries that employ powerful managed databases. The following are developer options:

Access the extremely scalable AlloyDB for PostgreSQL using the langchain-google-alloydb-pg-python library's AlloyDBSaver class, or pick

Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL utilising langchain-google-cloud-sql-pg-python's PostgresSaver checkpointer.

With Google Cloud's PostgreSQL performance and management, both store and load agent execution states easily, allowing operations to be halted, resumed, and audited with dependability.

When assembling a graph, a checkpointer records a graph state checkpoint at each super-step. These checkpoints are saved in a thread accessible after graph execution. Threads offer access to the graph's state after execution, enabling fault-tolerance, memory, time travel, and human-in-the-loop.

[emmasmoke8]

G.U.N. agent Sonic AU:

Sonic appeared on Christmas Island as a hoglet, living with the chao and other animals. Before he could encounter Eggman, he was found and captured by G.U.N.

His first few years were training and experimentation. They cut/removed his quills to make their weapons. They pushed him to be faster and faster. They taught him to fight both hand-to-hand and with a lot of weapons. Most importantly, they molded him to be loyal and emotionless. For these reasons, Sonic didn’t fight when he was sent to ‘clean up’ an area. He was eventually so powerful that they only made him ‘clean’ other G.U.N. bases that needed to be erased from the records

Then, Abraham became the commander. He investigated this top secret project. He was absolutely horrified, and not just because this hedgehog reminded him of the one he used to know. Abraham shut the program down. Arrested, imprisoned, and even executed (if they were sentenced execution) many in the branch of G.U.N. who allowed projects such as this one

Unfortunately, Sonic was too powerful to be let free, so although he didn’t get missions, he was passed around across G.U.N. bases. He eventually got Sam Speed as a handler. Between him, Abraham, and other agents, Sonic developed a sense of self. He chose to become a proper G.U.N. agent despite the insistence that he didn’t need to. Sonic was stuck with G.U.N. and his training, so he didn’t see a reason not to

He was the one they sent after Eggman’s machines because only he was strong enough to handle them

Because of Sonic, Amy and Tails joined G.U.N., too, and Knuckles receives their support in keeping the Master Emerald safe. It should be noted that Sonic didn’t want any of this to happen.

I have Tails’ scene mapped out. Sonic accidentally saves him, like canon. He brings Tails back to G.U.N. only because he wants them to find Tails’ parents. Tails wants to stay with Sonic, and he proves his worth by showing off his intellect. He’s allowed to join. Sonic sneaks into Tails’ room after he finds out. He’s about to shoot the kid because he sincerely believes death is a better fate for him, but he stops when Tails awakens from a nightmare. Sonic comforts him, and decides in that moment that he can’t take Tails’ choice away from him. If Tails wants to be part of G.U.N., that’s the kit’s decision

My ideas for this Sonic is that he wears a gray-black G.U.N. jacket, only removing it when he needs to get serious. He grows his quills out because he’s finally allowed to, and he usually keeps them tied back in a ponytail-esque style (I like the hc, sue me). He has more boots than shoes, but they still allow him to run fast. He keeps a gun powered by a chaos drive (from his quills) on a thigh holster while a knife is attached to the interior of his jacket. He prefers hand-to-hand, tho. And while Tails eventually gets the plane, Sonic will probably keep a number of rides himself that help him preserve chaos energy.

[thebroccolination]

Hi! Love your posts. You might have seen too many notifications 😂 Oops okay so I have a question. Long time Peraya fan that went into hibernation you could say. Had NO clue the concept was asked for by Singto? Like he wanted it to be meta?? Exes? Could you tell me more about it?~

HELLO AGENT 🫶

I’ve been joking for the past year about dormant Peraya waking up like sleeper agents once the series started and it’s been so much fun seeing it actually happen. :’)

Okay SO, Aof actually said it! I don’t think he went into detail about what they talked about, but he said Singto called him, and then Jojo had the idea about a reporter, so I think they all pieced it together. I can’t remember hearing about Kit’s involvement in the early stages but it’s possible I missed a mention somewhere.

Timeline-wise, though, Singto must have called Aof before there was even ink on his contract because his return was announced in February of 2024 and the pilot teaser dropped in April at the showcase. So Singto’s return must have been in talks for months beforehand. I’d love to know more about the concept development if reporters could redirect focus away from whose fictional penis is going into who. :)

ANYWAY WELCOME BACK, COMRADE. :D

[sacredfixation]

Lokis metaphor kit antics

The foam apple would immediately become Loki’s favorite prop. He’d theatrically monologue with it every time Mobius tried to have a serious conversation. “Alas, the forbidden fruit. Who knew the true sin was stealing Mobius’ mediocre lunch.”

Every time Mobius starts to explain something serious, Loki would slowly pull out the metaphor kit, one item at a time, until Mobius snaps:

“Put the damn frog away, Loki!”

Loki, smirking: “I thought it was part of my… development.”

Loki would insist on upgrading the kit. “I require a miniature throne to symbolize my rightful place above such petty metaphors.”

Mobius: “You require therapy, but sure, let’s add a throne.”

Loki, mid-situation where things are spiraling out of control, suddenly pulls out the rubber chicken and squeezes it twice. “This is how you sound right now, Mobius.”

Mobius: “I knew giving you that kit was a mistake.”

Eventually, Loki starts offering metaphor lessons to other TVA agents. “You see, the rubber frog represents mobility through chaos. You must leap before you think. That’s what life is, really- a chaotic jump into the unknown.”

Mobius, walking in halfway through: “Oh god, he’s corrupting people.”

[thegildedbee]

Family/Laugh: May 12 & 13 Prompts from @calaisreno

The exterior nowheres that Sherlock inhabits can be charted by his footfalls as he wends his way through the precincts of temporary cities. The silent drift of assimilating interior nowheres, however, seems to leave no traces, even as he feels unseen changes taking hold. His suspension in the January North of a darkness that persists until late morning, and then quickly returns in the afternoon, intensifies his perception that he lives in a shadow-world, a lone dark figure extracted from the frozen rain that curtains his days. 

The patterns he seeks to capture as he hunts amidst the ones and zeros of cyberspace are likewise intangible – extended solitary vigils as his fingers command the keyboard to winnow through the tangle of codes – as well as tangible, of meetings with the technological mix of people here at Tallinn’s crossroads: software developers seeking the leading edge at corporate labs, security experts at NATO’s Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, the underground hackers who traverse the landscape of the digital realm’s hollow earth. Both the intangible and the tangible are intense efforts to spy glimpses of Moriarty’s covert presence in the spaces between the ones and zeros, summoning up the networks and nodes of the intersecting spheres of finance, and energy, and communications, as made manifest in trafficking, and counterfeiting, and hijacking, across the physical and human worlds.

He’s accumulated an abundance of leads, some he’s near-certain he understands, and others he’s yet to decipher – but it’s enough to reveal to him his next move on the chessboard: St. Petersburg. He’ll take the train from Tallinn, without needing to step out for border control, which is handled en route. He’ll be leaving Estonia under a new identity; he hopes to keep Lukas Sigerson in his back pocket for later uses, but it’s time to make his presence difficult to trace: it's time to step away from Mycroft’s grid. He’s left seemingly inadvertent clues to allow Mycrofts’s people to (think that they’re) following him, along a pathway that connects the nefarious doings of Mexican cartels involved in establishing meth labs in Nigeria for the Asian market. Their pursuit of him will be turned to good account in dismantling that nexus, even when they realize he is elsewhere. 

St. Petersburg is a hive of hacking activity, the physical site of the infamous Russian Business Network, which catered to the needs of cyber criminals. It’s not surprising that it is the city where Vladimir Putin lived, received his education, and joined the KGB, as an agent in its foreign intelligence wing, before tunneling his way to Moscow. Sherlock doesn’t believe that there are many degrees of separation between Moriarty and the dark internet of Putin’s hellscape. 

He arrives at the end of Tallinn’s usefulness on a Friday evening. As he packs up his kit in the office space he’s made homebase through a courtesy loan in deference to his Norwegian technology credentials, some of the younger workers have swept him up into their murmurating flock as they celebrate the coming weekend in search of alcohol, bar food, and music. In London, Sherlock would have begged off such a request, were anyone intrepid enough to suggest it, and he would have been unperturbed at whatever anyone might think. But he’s not Sherlock, he’s Lukas, at least for a short while longer, and although his persona is reserved, businesslike and uninclined to make small talk, Lukas possesses an average quantity of affability; and remaining unobtrusive is best accomplished by being amidst the motions of others, rather than making himself conspicuous by setting himself off from the norms of sociality. 

He did not, however, anticipate the karaoke session, which is putting a severe strain on the bonhomie he is channeling to Lukas, as it’s clear that he’s going to need to accede to accepting a turn in the spotlight, lest he put a damper on the good spirits of his companions. He nevertheless protests with a smile, holding out his hands, but any input he might have been able to exert on the decision-making disappears, when two of his impromptu friends conspire to tug him toward the microphone, explaining that all three of them will venture forth together, with a song they insist is dead simple to sing, and that the well-lubricated crowd will be delighted to join in with them in belting out the familiar refrain. Which is how he finds himself being carried along within a punchy, melodic stream that turns out to be excruciating emotionally, as the verses unfurl. He listlessly despairs, marooned, a hollowed-out laugh echoing inside his head in response.

. . . When I'm lonely, well, I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who's lonely without you And when I'm dreamin', well, I know I'm gonna dream I'm gonna dream about the time when I'm with you. When I go out (when I go out), well, I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who goes along with you And when I come home (when I come home), I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who comes back home with you I'm gonna be the man who's comin' home with you . . .

He’s exasperated at the universe conspiring to keep him unsettled, to deny him the solace of alone protecting him. He fears that he is fated to have any social contact whatsoever somehow conjure home and reminders of John. The song ends to raucous cheers, and the enthusiasm surges on, and he’s being importuned to name a new song of his own choice before being allowed to return to the table. He looks at the smiling faces helplessly, immobilized by the churning cacophony playing hide-and-seek inside his guts, incapable of conjuring up the simplest of answers. Undeterred, they jolly him along, prompting him to think of a film he’s recently seen, or club he’s been to, or a favorite television show. At the latter suggestion, his mind does slightly slip free, and there is John again, teasing Sherlock into watching another of his favorite shows, Sherlock pretending to be annoyed at being consigned to such a fate. He turns to the young people, and raises his voice to speak into the nearest person’s ear to be heard over the noisy crowd, and says with a question in his voice, Peaky Blinders? He seems to have pleased them, as they fiddle around to pull the selection, bouncing in high spirits and punching their fists into the air, as the music starts, a bell ringing out, and the slithering deep tones speaking of the edge of town, of secrets in the border fires, of a gathering storm -- and a tall handsome man, in a dusty black coat, with a red right hand. 

As Sherlock listens to the song unspool, his mind wanders back to the show's themes, reminding him of a line of thought he’d been considering the last few days – that to focus singularly on Moriarty and faceless confederates is not quite the right way to conceptualize the dead man's web: that there must have also been family members in leading positions, positions of trust. One of the deep divides between himself and Mycroft originated in Sherlock’s refusal in uni to agree to work for SIS. Mycroft knew that he would never be able to trust completely any of the professionals who worked for him – after all they are spies working for money. To be sure, he wanted Sherlock to sign on to be able to appropriate his intelligence, but even more compelling was the fact that never having to question the loyalty of a brother would have made him an asset par excellence. Mycroft considers getting what he wants to be an inviolable law of the universe, and Sherlock doesn't think his brother will ever be able to truly forgive him for the rejection . . . especially given Sherlock's devotion to the inferior endeavors of dedicating himself to a life of metropolitan crime-solving. Family; family is what matters. A Moriarty is gone; but there are other Moriarties yet to be unearthed. ........................................................ @calaisreno @totallysilvergirl @friday411 @peanitbear @original-welovethebeekeeper @helloliriels @a-victorian-girl @keirgreeneyes @starrla89 @naefelldaurk

@topsyturvy-turtely @lisbeth-kk @raina-at @jobooksncoffee @meetinginsamarra @solarmama-plantsareneat @bluebellofbakerstreet @dragonnan @safedistancefrombeingsmart @jolieblack

@msladysmith @ninasnakie @riversong912 @dapetty

.............................................................................

[sahashbelvanie]

Organizations of Iso — Metal Ruin

Many of Iso’s organizations trace their origins to the ancient past, during the Age of Metal Ruin, when mankind was nearly lost. The world was poisoned, rotted—and so humanity sought to mend the damage wrought through their neglect and careless industriousness. Some organizations were lost to history, either buried or subsumed by redundancy. The following are Iso’s most predominant:

 Fied: Fied is an organization that utilizes technology to cultivate livable conditions by developing environmentally safe methods of energy production, combat, and assistive devices. Their goal is to make the world a safer, cleaner place. Their signature color is red.

Ebb: Ebb is an organization that operates across Iso, with its facilities serving as trade inventory, local depositories, and hubs for the commercial transport of goods. Much of their revenue comes from trading salvage with the Diving Guild. Ebb’s signature color is white.

Bleek Delivery: Bleek is a residential delivery service. Its employees use specialized travel gear to traverse great distances quickly. A Bleek agent is typically equipped with a weapon to safeguard the package. Their signature color is brown.

Mint Medical: Mint prioritizes the portable availability of medical aid. The organization’s aid kits are stocked with essential resources such as antiseptics, tools, bandages, and instructional materials. Mint facility workers, especially their physicians, are known for their ferocity. Their signature color is teal.  

Tenwear: Tenwear is a company and clothing brand that specializes in efficient, all-terrain garments. The brand is quite popular, given the working nature of Iso’s people, where practicality is essential. Their signature color is green.

Karaban: Karaban is the epicenter of machine engineering and AI development. Its monopoly on the salvage market has allowed the organization to grow in both wealth and influence. Karaban’s industrial practices have sparked controversy with Fied due to unregulated pollutants. The organization also hosts a private military division. Their signature color is blue.

Diving Guild: The Diving Guild, or Diver’s Guild, refers to the regional practice of excavating salvage from the depths of various ruin sites. Divers play a crucial role in facilitating the salvage trade across the market, earning significant trust. Many Divers retire as wealthy merchants. Their signature color is black.

[darkmaga-returns]

A Scientific Explanation of the Fraud of RT-PCR Testing for COVID-19

Corinne Michels

Nov 05, 2024

“The COVID-19 PCR tests were a fraud.” You have heard this before, but is it true or just more hype? Read this report and decide for yourself. It explains the fundamentals of the RT-PCR (Reverse Transcriptase - Polymerase Chain Reaction) test kits for those who want to understand the facts. Do not expect an easy read. For starters, you will need to familiarize yourself with the basic structure of DNA. Understanding how misinterpretation of the RT-PCR test results was used to create the COVID-19 pandemic will be your reward. You will be immunized against future efforts to create fear and societal discord. Rest assured; they will try again!

A serious flu-like respiratory disease began to spread in early Fall 2019 with Wuhan, China, as “ground zero.” By December, worldwide spread of the disease was underway. Images of hapless pedestrians suddenly falling dead in the streets; overwhelmed hospitals in Lombardy, Italy; government-imposed lockdowns; and nonstop coverage of worldwide COVID deaths fanned the flames of fear surrounding this unknown disease. It was not enough to be symptom-free. People demanded the development of a test to detect silent carriers of the infectious agent.

Only the genome sequence of SARS-CoV-2 was known at the time, and the only available testing method used polymerase chain reaction, a.k.a. PCR. Despite many known contraindications, RT-PCR widespread testing for COVID-19 began. According to Dr. Trish M. Perl, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins and past president of the Society of Health Care Epidemiologists of America, blind faith in the results of technically complex molecular tests results in “pseudo-epidemics.”  [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/22/health/22whoop.html] The COVID-19 pandemic was one of those.

[havocdream]

Unheard and Unseen - Eleven

Summary: Two months after their departure from Coruscant as bodyguards, Clone Force 99 is tasked with an urgent rescue mission. Vintra meets alone with a Separatist Senator.

Word count: 8.3k

Warnings: Treason | Mentions of war | Mentions of firearms trafficking | Slight mention of a panic attack | Threats | Misogynist comments | Insults | Mentions of kidnapping

Notes at the end of chapter

Chapter ten -> A world alive

Masterlist

A tyrant's victory

Two months later

The lush planet of Taerra wasn’t only home to one of the most amazing ecosystems in the historical records of the Republic, it was also the main supplier of life to the most important star in the galaxy: Coruscant, the galactic capital. A world whose surface was ruled by an impressive urban and technological development that had ended the growth of any natural habitat, and that for a time meant an extreme survival crisis for its citizens.   

It was the price that the most powerful of the planets had to pay, because thanks to it, no other system in the galaxy would reach the economic or cultural capital to dare to challenge in authority the Great World of Coruscant. It was an unrepeatable case for history, for it wasn’t easy for an entire world to sacrifice all its natural resources in the name of industrialization; and, even if they did, nothing assured them to get the capital of Coruscant to be able to invest billions of credits in the manipulation of technologies and methods to produce the gases, chemicals and elements necessary to sustain the life of millions of living beings.   

That was why Taerra, with its tall, sturdy and healthy trees, was one of the vital planets for Coruscant. The oxygen emissions provided by its forests were enough to feed hundreds of worlds in the galaxy, it was a paradise of life that served as a lifeline for species on countless occasions, but had never developed intelligent life. Coruscant was the sole owner of this forested star, though bounded by ancient and severe laws that restrained it from encroaching or extracting more than necessary from the planet, so that its resources would always be sufficient. It could be said that without Taerra, millions of years of history and billions of species on Coruscant would perish for lack of pure oxygen.   

So, when the army's intelligence network relayed a distressing report that the Taerra barrier, which blocked any outsiders from entering the planet, had been compromised by droid armies, and that a team of Separatist warlords laid siege to the Republic's main oxygen extraction point, it came as no surprise to Clone Force 99 to be immediately dispatched to the planet to counter the threat. And since there were no specifics about the type of neutralization to be employed, the unit's sergeant understood that he was allowed to act at discretion.   

The expedition was estimated to take about fifteen days, as the enemy had set up an impenetrable defense from every angle according to the maps drawn by allied scouting forces. At the Operations Center, the outcome of the mission had hundreds of agents, generals and officers so on edge that many didn’t know if they’d survive the restlessness for so long. Nor was success assured, and there was a chance that the most important planet for the Republic would be deprived of oxygen.   

However, on the third day of the expedition they received a transmission from the leader of the defective clone squadron, with news that stunned all personnel.   

“We’ve regained control of the planet. The enemy's posts have been destabilized or destroyed, we took care of eliminating all their troops, and the five overlords were captured and prepared on a reinforced transport bound for Coruscant for prosecution.... However, all five of them were hiding an electro capsule in their mouths, which they activated shortly after being apprehended. They’re all dead.”   

On the other side of the hologram transmission, Jedi Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi, Kit Fisto and Plo Koon were monitoring the unfolding of the mission from their current posts on different fronts of the war, alert to the need for their services in case it went wrong and the clones needed reinforcements. Though it would be the first time such a thing had happened.   

“Splendid work, Sergeant, as usual from your squad,” the Nautolan complimented, a welcome expression gracing his face despite the grim news, able to take it as a tragedy, but also as a relief that the most sinister danger to the Republic was put behind. “Emergency teams have already been dispatched to Taerra to reinforce its deflector barrier,” confirmed the tall master, in charge of Taerra's protection committee for that situation.  

“Very well, I’ll brief the Senate on the results of this operation. Although this crisis is likely to spark intense discussion; Senator Burtoni will finally have the perfect argument for approval of the production of her additional five million clones,” General Plo Koon mused as he brought one of his hands to his jaw. His posture evidenced concern. “It is a shame that the criminals took their own lives, we had so many doubts about the nature of this attack...its mysterious purpose will now remain in the shadows, along with the many unusual tactics that have been raised of late in sporadic locations throughout the galaxy,” he added as a warning to those present. Hunter agreed with him, their last few missions had been strange, trails of suicide teams at key points for the Republic as desperate measures to bring it down once and for all, but each with the noisy question mark of how they’d managed to break through both the ranks and barriers of an impenetrable military formation of the Grand Army of the Republic.   

The wise jedi master was right, and something murky was stirring among the threads of those machinations. Hunter could see how they left a sickening trail, but it disappeared behind curtains of dense fog that hid them from his smell and touch.   

“We’ll have to leave these disputes in the hands of the galactic senators, from here the only thing we can do is to continue protecting the citizens from the droid forces,” suggested General Kenobi, whose gaze was abstracted from the present. Perhaps the situation at his post was crucial and had him worried.   

“Certainly,” General Fisto replied, and turned to look at the clone present. “The Republic remains in immense gratitude to your squadron, sergeant, are you sure you're still not interested in the numerous decorations we wish to recognize your efforts with?” the distinguished Nautolan offered Hunter, intrigued as to what answer he was going to give him that time, as if it was going to be any different. Hunter shrugged.   

“It's not the reason we do our job, general,” he assured him, firm and confident of his and his brothers' resolve. General Fisto observed the clone with gentleness and pride, so he didn’t press his proposal any further.    

Both General Fisto and General Koon bid farewell to the rest and returned to their respective battlefields. But General Kenobi didn’t dispatch Hunter, but stayed a while longer beside him in the transmission, pensive or waiting for the two of them to be alone.   

“Is there a problem, general?” he prompted the general to speak, and the jedi master's brown eyes shadowed as they rested on the clone's. Even through a hologram, Hunter could make out the general's awkward posture.   

“Yes, I'm afraid so, sergeant,” Obi-Wan straightened and shed any wavering composure he let on. It was now only evident in his gaze. “Assemble your squad and contact me through the confidential channel,” was the last thing he said to him before disappearing and leaving him alone in the middle of a dense and silent ancestral forest. 

Hunter walked in the direction of the Havoc Marauder, a couple of steps behind him, in an area wide enough to land and hide the ship. Around it, Wrecker was piling up the remains of droids and amusing himself with them by smashing them into misshapen balls of metal with his fists. Crosshair was just walking inside, probably in search of rest, and Tech was checking the wires under the cockpit, to make sure they didn't have any mechanical problems on their way to the next destination.   

“General Kenobi wants a confidential meeting,” Hunter informed Tech once he stopped beside him. Wrecker caught up to his words and responded with an excited chuckle.   

“Maybe they're finally sending us to capture some Separatist Admiral,” the big guy celebrated after clenching his huge fists and crunching the bones in his fingers. Hunter ignored him, he had just seen Tech's jaw tense with concern.   

“You know something, don't you?” Hunter could now worry, it wasn't usual for Tech to know something and not share it with him. The one with goggles looked over his shoulder at him as he finished adjusting one of the power generators.   

“The information I have is inconclusive, better listen to the general directly,” he suggested, uneasy even with the few pieces he possessed from the military intelligence network. Hunter frowned, what was going on? “We'd better not keep him waiting,” Tech told the older of the lot, as he closed the hatch and hurried inside.  

When Hunter and Wrecker entered the ship, Tech was already in front of the communications panel, ready to link up with the general's confidential channel. Crosshair arrived just as Obi-Wan's image was finishing adjusting on the hologram. He greeted them and congratulated them on their exploits on Taerra.  

“I regret having to come to you with immediacy after this latest mission, gentlemen, but I'm afraid this is a matter of high intergalactic risk,” the clones turned to look at each other, as if looking to each other for just enough encouragement to be ready when they heard the news, ”Senator Selana is missing.”  

A hologram was displayed on a control table in one of the army's secret stations, where Clone Force 99 awaited directions to proceed on that critical mission. The virtual figures of Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mace Windu, along with Jedi Grandmaster Yoda and another team of admirals and commanders, glowed in the middle of the property as they discussed the recent events that had put Ederon's Intelligence Network and that of the Grand Army of the Republic on high alert.   

“Those of us present here are the only ones to know about this situation, and we intend to keep it that way,” General Windu spoke to those assembled, his gaze cold and concerned, whatever it was he knew must be a serious matter. “Senator Selana has made many enemies in the last few months since the introduction of her ceasefire bill in Druad, we don’t know what this information might provoke among her most dangerous opponents or among the public,” he explained to the clones in charge of the operation. He looked at one of the clone intelligence commanders and with a nod instructed him to give the report.   

“Our reasons for assuming the Ederon Senator's life’s in danger is because of a transmission we intercepted from Separatist channels in the Bryx Sector,” the clone commander unfolded the transmission file to the center of the navigation table, an encrypted audio from the enemy.   

The sound of labored breathing greeted the assembled officers, accompanied by indecipherable mumblings drowned out behind some facial device, such as a helmet or mask. “...Evadelar in ten hours—” more thumping sounds with clipped or muffled phrases, “...intercept and capture her...” more indecipherable noise, “...Vintra Selana dead or alive—” Hunter frowned as he listened to the recording, his mind assaulted with endless doubts.   

“The senator receives threats on a daily basis,” the clone mentioned to those gathered, as he recalled that part of his job when he was her bodyguard was to monitor the type of unknown correspondence and calls she received. The threats were constant, but almost none posed any real danger after investigating them. The clone in charge of filing the report looked at him with disdain.   

“Naturally, but that's not why we take them lightly,” the agent replied, and displayed on the hologram a report evidencing authorization to monitor the Evadelar area and vicinity, as well as to contact the senator about possible travel outside of Coruscant. “When we got no response from the senator's guard captain, a team went to make sure everything was in order at her apartment. But they found no one, neither her guard nor her... and neither was her ship,” the clone showed two more images in the center of the hologram, one displayed the senator as she boarded her ship followed by her guard, fifteen hours ago. The other was the report of the last twenty hours of departures from Coruscant from the Office of Space Regulation, which didn’t show Vintra Selana's ship. Hunter spotted the unusual trail instantly. “Then we got the report from our team on Evadelar...” and the next image caused the blood of Jedi masters, admirals and commanders, and elite clones, to turn to corpse breath.    

Hunter stared at the fragments that made up the image without understanding how that had been possible. Who had allowed it? Why hadn't they foreseen it? And a thought that had been haunting him for two months finally burst into shades of red and orange that blurred his vision and quickened his pulse. If he hadn’t left her alone, this wouldn’t have happened.   

The image showed the wreckage of a ship that had suffered a terrible explosion. Weightless limbs were scattered everywhere, not knowing if any of them belonged to Senator Selana of Ederon.   

“We’ve been trying to contact Ederon's Chief of Intelligence, Mavan Stent, to get information about the Senator, but he’s been in a meeting with the Chancellor since last night in the war room along with some Admirals and Vice Admirals,” Hunter raised his gaze to the clone, curious about that information. He remembered perfectly well the person behind Senator Selana's attacks two months ago: Vice Admiral Stass. “And we still don't want to alert the rest of the authorities, the least we need is a leak of information at this point,” the clone explained and turned to Grandmaster Yoda, awaiting his opinion and judgment of the situation.    

The highly respected Jedi pondered for a few seconds, with severe regret and anguish in his eyes over what he had just heard. All eyes were on the oldest and wisest in the room, intent on what the little greenish-skinned, long-eared being had to say.   

“Deceptive, the sight can be. Learn this, early, a Jedi must,” he began, with tender eyes and compassionate tone, as if to remind the hearts of the rest that their haste was only an instinct to rush to action, but that it lacked the calm of planning. “To give her up for dead, we cannot; investigate, we must,” Master Yoda turned to the clones of Clone Force 99. “Placed in you our hope is.”   

As Hunter bowed his head to assure the Grandmaster that they could count on them with finding the senator, General Kenobi's commander approached the jedi in stealth to inform him of the recent events reported on Coruscant. The Obi-Wan's face was covered by a shadow of confusion and horror.   

“At the moment, gentlemen, the information we have on Senator Selana is that she boarded her ship about fifteen hours ago, but there’s no record of her leaving Coruscant,” General Windu began, as he helped the rest of them understand the order of events. The clone in charge of the report nodded and displayed all the images in the center so everyone could see the evidence.   

“We still have no confirmation that this is the senator's ship, or that she was aboard this one. Also, no one on her team or in the Ederon network knew she was leaving Coruscant, we only have yet to consult with the Chief of Intelligence, but we don't know how much longer his meeting with the Chancellor will take...” the clone was interrupted by General Kenobi, who asked for the floor to share important news.   

“Gentlemen, I’m informed by my commander that the Senate Building has been overrun by bounty hunters holding a group of senators hostage, and the Republic Executive Building has suffered a power failure, the Chancellor and all other personnel inside are locked in and without communications with the outside,” the jedi master announced with distress, and planted a question mark in the minds of the rest that made the whole situation an even more sinister case. What was behind all these attacks on senators?   

“Is it not possible to invade the buildings?” asked General Windu to his colleague, Kenobi shook his head.   

“We don't know what the situation is inside these, we need information from there to make sure an invasion won't provoke a more lethal attack,” the brown-bearded jedi explained. General Windu let out an irritated sigh.   

“I'll go to Coruscant to take care of that, you gentlemen,” he turned to the Clone Force 99 clones, “focus on Senator Selana.” 

The rocky planets were not short of fame in the repertoire of the known galaxy. On the contrary, they were quite coveted by big businessmen, for they were worlds rich in useful materials with which they could make more wealth. Metals, salts, jewels... a planet full of mountains and rocks was a gold mine, available only to those with the capital to set up machinery or send miners to get them.   

That wasn’t the case with planet Rodova, whose soil, despite appearing firm and dense, had deceived explorers and miners on several occasions. Their textures were fragile, they broke and turned to mush anyone who dared to enter the hills and volcanoes in search of something valuable. The landslides, which buried hundreds of workers in their time, could never be controlled, and after finding nothing in the interior of the planet's mountains, interest waned until it was no longer an attractive place for trade.  

Over the decades, it gained a reputation as a planet in constant collapse. It had fallen, along with the neighboring stars, into a forgotten zone unvisited by the rest of the galaxy. No one noticed it when looking at a map, and in many it was no longer even known by name, but as the pile of uninhabited planets in the Jalor Sector. Irrelevant to billions, but essential to Arvin Haradan, a senator in the Separatist Parliament, who drew on his experience as a native of a world with hostile terrain to understand the personality of the lands of Rodova, and to operate clandestinely in them.   

Perhaps it was a terrible idea to follow Senator Haradan into a place so familiar to him, it was like following the bear straight into his cave. It could become his meal at any second.   

But Vintra Selana had no intention of becoming anyone's prey. She walked behind Arvin Haradan with her chin high and footfall firm, as if daring the stone walls around her to bury her, to show that the threat of the place didn’t terrify her.    

But it wasn't anything like that. In fact, she trusted the corridors through which the enemy senator led her, for, even if they were political opposites, there was more in the lives of both that bound them together as two individuals interested in the welfare of the galaxy's populace and the people they represented. A bond that the war had distanced, but not broken.   

Or so they were both about to put to the test, as soon as they reached a room deep in the mountains, which for so many years had been dug to create caves and passageways through which to transport and hide goods. Vintra had been unable to see such exploits, for it was until she heard a door close behind her that the blindfold was finally removed from her eyes, and the muscular, square face of her old friend at last was drawn before her in a dim yellow light, in which his green eyes glowed almost brown.    

The first thing Vintra noticed as she turned her mesmerizing purple gaze upon him was the absence of something. She didn't quite know what, but something about the man she remembered was gone. Whether that was good or bad for her, she couldn't know.   

“You have big balls to come here without your guard, Vintra,” a deep voice echoed in the stone-walled room, and Senator Haradan lay a few feet away from her, leaning on the edge of a stone table under the only light bulb in the place. He wore an elegant black full-dress uniform, adorned with a silver belt. He was wrapped in a long coat of thick, matte fabric, also black, with silver engravings on the edge of the opening and the lower sleeves.   

The Ederon Senator's relaxed shoulders shook slightly, a sign that something had annoyed her.   

“I find it offensive that you suggest that the only explanation for my spunk is because I have somehow, however metaphorically, grown balls, Arvin,” she gave him an irritated smile. “I've worked hard and long to have this courage, the credit is mine, not some biological part of you that you swear gives you superpowers,” Vintra attacked immediately, and the reaction of the only other present was exactly as she expected: rolling of eyes and wrinkling of nose, as if that complaint was the most idiotic thing he'd heard all day, as if trying to tell her it was just a figure of speech.    

But Vintra wasn’t in a good mood.   

“I don't want to involve them in this, so let's get it over with at once, before they notice my absence,” she explained, and pointed to the table Arvin was leaning over. He gestured with his hand to the seat next to him to invite her to take it, as he rounded the table and looked for the opposite one. 

“Well, you were the one who wanted to see me before the official meeting with the two representatives of each Court present, why are you here?” the inquisitive gaze of Arvin, accentuated thanks to his thick brown eyebrows, tried to unsettle the ederian's assurance, but it didn't seem to even scratch her firm posture. With one leg crossed and her back leaning against the backrest, Vintra didn't seem worried about finding herself alone deep in a mountain with an enemy. Arvin knew her, there was something that made her feel safe despite her surroundings. If it wasn't her guard, it had to be information. 

Vintra noticed in her old colleague's eyes that he had finally realized the reason for the meeting. It wasn’t nervousness or concern what was painted on his pale face, but awe. As if he admired witnessing how impressive her intelligence network was in coming up with such data.   

“Twenty-four hours ago, I was summoned to the Supreme Court for a private hearing with the department assigned to investigate my proposal about Druad,” she began, as she settled further into her chair and deposited one hand in her lap, while the other danced near her chin and used it to complement the tone of her eloquent speech. “The agents had two pieces of news for me...the first was accompanied by a warning, it was about a press image in Druad about a young druadan carrying a 'whistling' rifle,” Vintra watched as Arvin arched an eyebrow and opened his mouth, but held up her hand to stop him in his interruption. “I had to clarify that I wasn't the one supplying them; after all, I was the one who vetoed the use of that rifle in the entire galaxy, I had no idea how it had gotten to the druadan... especially since my intention is the peace of the planet,” she emphasized her last sentence by raising her tone as she said it, “not to incite more violence,” Vintra narrowed her eyes before continuing, her eyes fixed on the face in front of her, who was looking at her without hesitation. “The second was about you, that you had agreed to a negotiation for a ceasefire between our armies on Druad,” she reported on the main reason for her departure from Coruscant. “It was no surprise, you were always close to me before your decision to join the Separatist Parliament, we shared visions of what the Republic should be as an institution, so I was looking forward to have the opportunity to find a peaceful solution to the war in Druad with you...” her words might have sounded hopeful, were it not for the bitter tone with which she blurted them out and the way she leaned forward, narrow-eyed, to look at Senator Haradan accusingly and angrily. “So you can imagine my outrage when my chief of intelligence discovered early this morning that the supplier of the rifles to the druadan is you—”    

“Vintra,” Arvin interrupted an annoyed Senator Selana, who didn't hold back in expressing her irritation at such a rude gesture with her face.   

“So I wondered! Why would someone who profits from the war in Druad be interested at all in negotiating for peace?” she enunciated the question with mock interest, for Arvin knew she already had her answer. “Unless, of course, the intention was never to negotiate, but to meet with me without risking breaking the law.”   

Vintra Selana had beaten him to it, though he already knew that. When he received the unexpected message that she was outside the location where the meeting would take place in a couple of hours, intending to talk privately, he thought it was a stroke of luck. He could make his proposal to her without having to get rid of the judicial representatives, whose presence was required to monitor that this enemy meeting was not a violation of the laws of both governments. But he didn’t expect Vintra to already know the reason he had agreed to the negotiations.   

“I don’t profit from the war in Druad, Vintra. I don’t receive a penny for providing them with weapons,” the Magastea representative defended himself, an irritated and offended tone in his voice. “I do this to give them a chance to defend themselves,” with hearing those words, Vintra tensed her shoulders. “I understand that your fight on Coruscant requires certain measures and conditions, but druadan die every day from deliberate attacks from both sides, and they attack them because you know they can't defend themselves!” exclaimed Arvin, his hands shook with frustration, and his saddened look reflected helplessness. 

“You're making them look like terrorists!” she complained as she clenched her hands into hard, shaking fists. “I don't know how the scenario’s painted on your side, but on Coruscant I know many who’d be happy to accuse the druadan as a hostile and violent species,” Arvin slammed his fists down hard on the table, causing Vintra to recoil in surprise. She saw him deny with his head down, defeated.   

“We are invaders, Vintra,” he began to mutter under his breath. “It's been years that the druadan have been invaded by us, don't you think it's time they let us know we're not welcome?” but as soon as he returned his gaze to her, an icy current that traveled down his back made him fall silent. Vintra's eyes glowed almost red, like two blinkers announcing the soon-to-be explosion of the place. It was useless, Vintra Selana wasn’t going to be part of that game.  

“Tell me,” a change could be heard in her tone of voice, like caution and fragility, “how do you get past those weapons undetected?” the question took him by surprise, and when he looked at her again, that warning in her eyes had disappeared, they were now an indecipherable riddle, though she looked sad.    

“I'm afraid I can't tell you,” he replied as he leaned against the back of the chair and crossed his arms. An amused “hmm” was heard, coming from Vintra. It was the response she had expected.   

“It's not that I dislike the fact that the druadan can respond and defend against military oppression, Arvin, it's just that you're playing a very risky game... if the druadan open fire they’ll officially become an armed party to the war, enemies of both droids and clones,” Vintra's elbows landed on the surface of the table, her hands clasped and her chin sharpened, like a spear in Arvin's direction, oblivious to doubt and fear. “It's hard enough to convince the entire Senate to side with an oppressed populace, rest assured that it’ll be impossible to rally support for a party that reveals itself as an enemy,” she retorted angrily, but it only elicited a shrug from Arvin.   

“Well, Vintra, it's not my problem that you're not good enough to handle that scenario,” he insulted her without hesitation, as he held her gaze in pure anger. Vintra was sure that Arvin had hoped to get her support with that project, and that she had disappointed him terribly. He saw that solution as something that actually helped the druadan, that saved and protected them, but for how long? If they became enemies of the Republic and the Separatists, they’d have to face both armies at the same time... 

Although... wasn't that what they were already doing?   

“No, it's you who’s not good enough to think and create alternate paths to peace that don't involve more violence,” she challenged dismissively, clearly disgusted with the insult. “Didn't they teach you that in the academy? War is symbolic of government failure,” she smiled, “or a tyrant’s victory.”   

He looked at her with one side of his nose wrinkled, an expression Vintra knew well on him, it appeared when he felt humiliated, but he was too proud to admit it. Arvin gave in easily to anger, and his ego prevented him from acknowledging his screw-up or correcting his mistakes.  But Vintra knew he had good intentions in his heart. That was where she could start.  

“Why did you want to see me? Did you want to ask me something?” she asked, in a calmer tone of voice, as if to let Arvin know he could trust her. But he remained motionless in his chair, his gaze fixed on Vintra's purple one. She sighed. “Perhaps I’m open to a proposal, if yours interests me,” the ederian tempted, and watched the muscles in his chin relax little by little until said calmness reached his eye sockets, which released all pent-up misgivings and gave way to a premature, almost innocent desire. The illusion that perhaps not everything had been thrown overboard.   

“Your ships,” Arvin leaned forward and took the same position as Vintra, his elbows resting on the surface of the table and his gaze wrapped in intrigue and hope. “Ederon has a license to ship solidarity goods to those affected by the war, and I'm getting more and more at stake with the illegal trade,” he didn't need to say more, and Vintra let him know it with a nod.   

“My ships are registered, Arvin,” she said, about to start shaking her head, but he raised his hand to ask her to speak.   

“My problem isn't hiding weapons, Vintra, it's getting my ships to make it to land on Druad,” he explained and waved his hands, as if he wanted Vintra to get things straight at once. “If I used yours, the only thing my people would have to worry about is hiding them, an art they’ve mastered to perfection,” Vintra let out a wry chuckle. 

“And if they find your merchandise on my ships, how do I know I won't be the one to pay the price? Is there anything on them that they can involve you in the situation with?” she questioned with false intrigue, for she was sure the answer was no. Arvin lowered his gaze and sighed. “Uh-huh, I thought so,” she widened her incredulous smile and rose from her seat to pace back and forth in the small stone room.   

As she rose, Arvin noticed for the first time the elegant wardrobe in which she had decided to attend their meeting. An ankle-length dress, of fine fabric and dull gold, fitted to her slim, accentuated figure. It covered down to her chest and below her shoulders, and a solid pattern of light bronze trim surrounded her figure to her hips, a plain chocolate skirt descended to her feet, and long loose sleeves held at the back an even thinner and longer fabric that fell to the floor, which she dragged as she walked in her golden high shoes. Her hair was tied up to her neck in a voluminous coiffure that gave her a sovereign air, when he saw her standing while he remained seated. He didn't know how to explain it, but it was as if Vintra Selana had dressed to win that negotiation.   

Vintra stopped in her anxious steps and folded her arms, her back waved for a long time to the senator of Magastea, who looked at the ederian up and down again and again for some sign that would tell him how much she was meditating. He could almost see her mind tugging and untwisting the threads of the political scenario she found herself in, attentive to care what she might or might not say.   

“The truth is, Arvin, I need your help with something,” she said after a long moment in silence. Arvin's eyebrows instantly rose, his pulse beginning to pound in his chest in urgency, as if insisting him to make Vintra speak at once. She turned to face him, but not before taking a deep breath, hoping that this wasn’t going to cost the end of her Senate career. “But first, I want you to sign this.”   

She held out a tiny device that she’d probably hidden in her hair, as she’d been searched by Senator Haradan's security. Arvin took it and activated, it was a hologram of a peace agreement, stating the Separatist government's interest in opening channels of discussion and negotiations in search of a definitive ceasefire, and an irrevocable cessation to the appropriation of the thusten.    

Arvin chuckled under his breath and shook his head. “I can't sign this... the Parliament isn’t interested in forgetting about the thusten,” he explained pleadingly, as if that would convince Vintra to forget the issue. She shrugged her shoulders and looked at him with disinterest.   

“Your choices come down to accepting that deal or dismissing yourself from your position as a Separatist Senator... You see, Arvin, my information network and I have a duty to the Republic,” Vintra took two steps toward him, her tone of voice soft and drawling, her threat striking Arvin's ears with subtlety, but chilling. “It was my chief of intelligence that hit with you and the rifles, my duty is to report this to the Senate and the press,” Arvin didn't take long to follow the thread she was beginning to pull. He couldn't help but remain still and immovable, he sinned as he swallowed saliva and demonstrated his unease. “Your actions cause Druad to be considered a planet under Separatist control, the Republic could allow laws that threaten the entire planet and justify total colonization,” Vintra raised and quickened her tone further, frustrated of the scenario that was painted if she reported this to her superiors.  “Which would be a terrible problem for you Confederates, and you’d be charged with high treason for supplying weapons to an enemy and hindering the extraction of the thusten, not to mention the number of druadan lives you would sacrifice wh—”   

“Vintra, if I sign this I become the only Separatist to lead a ceasefire... you want me to be in the Separatist Parliament,” Arvin pressed his longest fingertips to the center of his chest, “what you are in the Galactic Senate,” and then pointed them at her, his agitated, jerky gestures emulating those of a cornered prey, claustrophobia at a prospect so threatening it was becoming increasingly cramped, no air to think straight. From one moment to the next, Arvin believed Vintra had transformed into a giant, for he could have sworn it loomed huge before him and blocked all escape from her grasp.    

“I could use it, yes,” she said, her posture shifting to bear her weight on her right leg, and her hips stood out more on that side. Arvin interpreted that he wasn't going to have a say in that situation.   

He tried to think it through. It wasn’t in his best interest to send Vintra down the drain, he knew she’d keep her word, especially since it didn’t suit her and her bill for the druadan to be seen as military threats. 

Arvin straightened up in the seat and took in enough air, as if the gesture was a plea to the universe to inhale some correct answer that was nearby. His hands, still clasped and resting on the table, showed unease as they were unable to stop the thumbs from colliding with each other.    

He was very intrigued as to why Vintra was willing to commit treason against the Republic by letting him continue his arms dealing, or why she was willing to complicate her own fight in the Senate. He doubted it was just to have an equivalent in the Separatist Parliament, for the agreement didn’t even obligate him to be as successful as she was.   

He stared at the hologram for a long time, but it was no use. No matter how much he wanted to put it off, Vintra would still be there, standing with her hands on her hips, demanding his decision.    

There was always the possibility of refusing and then eliminating her, but that didn't suit him either. The representative of the Supreme Court of the Republic and her guard knew she was there, Mavan Stent and the Supreme Chancellor as well. If anything happened to her, the Republic would have full authority to arrest him. And besides not wanting to take that risk, he didn't really want to hurt her either.   

After all, they both intended to help the druadan.   

Vintra was beginning to grow impatient with every second, she fought with all her might the urge to stamp her foot on the ground and reveal her desperation. She needed that signature, her short-term political outlook depended on it and the direct liaison with an enemy party, one she trusted and with whom she shared victory or misfortune, that way she was assured of not being betrayed.   

With Arvin on her side, the ederian could convince hundreds of senators to support her bill, as many were still reluctant to vote for it because they believed it was in the Republic's self-interest, that the Separatists would never agree to withdraw from Druad or negotiate a ceasefire.    

So, Senator Haradan's involvement was crucial, and she knew she had to handle the situation with caution and a lot of patience. It wasn’t easy to sign what she was asking for, just as it wasn’t easy to decide to commit high treason by hiding the rifle information from Republic authorities, or to break the law by meeting with a Separatist Senator without a bailiff present. And, worst of all, tarnishing the image of the druadan and complicating her struggle on Coruscant to defend them. Neither senator was safe, but for Vintra it was a risk worth taking.   

And that was what she tried to convey with her purple gaze to her old colleague and friend. Arvin had had his eyes fixed on hers for some time now, looking for a last resort of succor to help him make the decision.   

Now she knew what Arvin's gaze had lost: hope. The ridiculous wheel of the cycle of violence, the political reasons for promoting war, the countless hours of discussion in Parliament to never resolve anything and only make the galaxy more expensive. What was his office for? Was there anything worth his vote? Was the Confederation of Independent Systems just an excuse for war?   

It was as if Vintra could read everything in his opaque eyes. The characteristic emerald glow that made him rise as one of the most attractive politicians was gone. He seemed now to have aged thirty years, and to have given in to the pessimism that characterized most politicians after three years in office.    

What Arvin Haradan found in Vintra, however, was a last star in a dull firmament, clinging to its dim glow amid utter darkness. She’d been in the Senate and on Coruscant for months with her relentless fight, she had received attack after attack, criticism after criticism; but she kept going, somehow managed to turn the tide in every tribulation that came her way and returned to the next Senate plenary with more votes in her favor.   

Perhaps Vintra Selana owned one of the last glimmers of the fading glory of a solid, united democracy, fractured now by wars, divisions, and corruptions of what high government office meant. If no one was going to help Druad by hook or by crook, at least there was Vintra.    

“You know...” began Arvin after several seconds in which neither took their eyes off the other, unsure if anyone's next move would be a kill shot or an outstretched hand, “the one thing that stopped me for a long time from joining Count Dooku...” Vintra watched her old friend move closer to the hologram and set it up to be edited in the specific area of the signature, which she looked at with glowing, excited eyes, “was your Ederon Network,” he said with a chuckle, as she signed what had become the most important piece to Vintra in that instant with some trepidation.  

Arvin wasn't sure he had what it took to be Vintra Selana's equivalent in the Separatist Parliament, nor did he know what kind of danger he was in; but this was the only opportunity he’d been presented with to do something for Druad outside of his own means. Vintra had an outrageous network in terms of information, with high profile contacts, a wealthy planet and, above all, public approval. Having her as his ally and negotiating partner, despite her demands, had its benefits, ones he didn’t want to lose when he spent months with uncertainty about leaving the Republic and joining the Separatists.    

As Arvin's hand traced over the image the curves and lines of his name, Vintra's heart rate began to accelerate in excitement and delight. She was unable to keep her eyes neutral and impassive, they grew wider and wider, and her desperation to finish it all and scream victory grew in her chest and spread throughout her body, as if her blood was the conductor of the feeling.   

She felt that a terrible burden had been lifted from her shoulders, as if after long months she was finally allowed to take a deep breath that would completely fill her lungs. Returning to Coruscant no longer seemed such a terrifying idea, and she had gained a powerful letter to present to the Senate at its next assembly.   

And Vintra knew she needed it. She wouldn’t have ventured to the far reaches of the galaxy at the mercy of her enemies, or dared to commit treason and break the law, were it not for the fact that she was in quite a predicament.    

The agreement Arvin was signing not only got her a voice on the enemy side, but forced him to sign the official negotiations pact that both Courts would present in a couple of hours, at the official meeting for which he had supposedly agreed to participate. When Vintra learned that Arvin had only agreed to this one to ask her to join his “project”, and not to actually discuss ways of peace, she acted quickly to see how the situation would turn in her favor and to get confirmation that the enemy was willing to negotiate for Druad.  

And though she had been quite nervous the whole time since leaving Coruscant, unsure of how it would all turn out as this was the riskiest move she’d ever made, she nodded to herself for comfort that she had succeeded. She already got the first thing she needed from Arvin.   

Now she could ask for the most important, and the most dangerous.  

A slight shaking in the room, which seemed to have whipped the entire mountain, caused Arvin's hand to become unsteady and ruined his almost-to-be-finished signature. Vintra had to reach over to the wall to brace herself so she wouldn't lose her balance, and she looked in frustration at Arvin and his mangled signature.   

“Don't worry, it happens all the time,” he assured her in a nonchalant tone, and shook his hand a little, as if downplaying the situation. He pressed the button on the device to rewrite his signature.   

But a second later, the only light in the room suddenly vanished. The cool blue tones of the hologram image were the only thing that gave them both a point of reference, as the darkness around them gave the feeling of an endless passage into the unknown.   

“Oh... this is weird...” commented Arvin with a nervous tone. Vintra felt the quickness of her pulse abandon the warm, victorious feeling for a murky, heavy one. A chill suddenly began to creep over her, unable to identify whether it was from fear or some current that had crept into the room.   

It was then that the shuddering creak of the door being thrown against its opposite wall elicited a scream of horror from Vintra, who perceived in the air how the room filled with an unknown gas and shadows approached Arvin and pushed him against the wall and the floor, while the hologram was annihilated by a gunshot, whose screeching sound merged with the screams of pain of her colleague.  

“What the fuck is this, Vintra?! You lying traitor!” 

“Shut up, you separatist piece of shit!” shouted a voice with urgency and authority, Vintra tried, with trembling arms, to reach under her dress and her ankle the handle of a blaster that was tied and hidden there, forgetting it had been confiscated before by Arvin’s guards. The black darkness that surrounded her, mixed with the slight thickness of the gas that crashed hot against her skin, made her feel sick and disoriented. She hurriedly crawled in the blackness of the place in search of an escape or something to help her defend herself, but was prevented from it when she felt how a hand approached her and tried to grab her arm and lift her up. “For the serious crime of the forcible abduction of a Galactic Senator, you are hereby arrested without pardon in the name of the Republic,” that frightening voice repeated, above Senator Haradan's curses and wails towards Vintra. The ederian was struggling with all her strength and tears to shake off the grip of someone dragging her away from Arvin and the best chance she’d ever had for peace in Druad. She listened in her head to the racing pounding of her heart, so loud that she was barely aware of the person holding her repeating over and over “Senator Selana” in the hope that she’d react and be able to be examined.   

Arvin's voice faded from her hearing range, and it seemed as if someone was pushing or pulling her across a path, as her legs moved backwards without finding a wall to stop her. Vintra knew she was moving away from Arvin; someone was taking her.   

She wanted to hit him, to break free of his grip and run somewhere safe, but the other person's strength was greater than hers. Vintra's panic became evident as her breathing became so rapid that she could barely catch her breath properly. Her tears were running rampant in her eyes, and she could have sworn her heart was going to explode. Someone had discovered them, and they were there to kill them both. The darkness around her made everything even more terrifying, she wouldn't even see her killer's face, and no one was going to find her in the most secluded place in the galaxy. At any moment hands would land on her neck and end it all, and if it weren't for her own gasps of terror, she could have sworn that everything was already over, in that place where not even a ray of light, of hope, could reach her.   

“...panic...she...ech!” she heard a voice in the distance, drowned out by her own shock. She wondered where Arvin was. Would he be dead by now? Where was she? Thousands of feet away from him?    

Lights suddenly flashed on in what appeared to be an enclosed corridor with no beginning or end in sight. The impact of the brightness startled Vintra even more, who reacted defensively from hands trying to touch her arms.    

“Senator! Senator!” heard Vintra better ahead, and a figure in black began to make sense in front of her eyes as they adjusted to the light of the place. Her strength began to fail her from exhaustion, and she was unable to pull away from the gloved palms that clung to her cheeks and held her face tightly. “No, I sense no wounds,” Vintra closed her eyes, certain that was what she needed to finally regain her senses. “Senator, it's me.”   

Vintra thought she was going to need to open her eyes to recognize the person in front of her, but once her ears heard the voice speaking to her perfectly, she didn't have to waste much time figuring out who it was.   

And although the last few seconds had been an absolute nightmare of horror for her, and the hands on her face did their best to reassure her, none compared to the intensity of what Vintra's eyes reflected as she finally opened them and met the attentive, tattooed face of Clone Force 99 sergeant, who gradually reduced the depth of his breaths as he paid more attention to how bloodshot and angry the ederian's eyes were glaring at him. 

Chapter twelve -> Jawa-brained animal

hello!! I'm back! :)

I'm actually surprised on how fast these two months passed, or I don't know if it was only me since I've been really busy. But I have a lot more time now that I finished my commitments. I hope that you're still interested in reading further, there's so much to come yet and I can't wait to bring to life everything I have planned.

This is oficially part 2, which will be longer (around 10-15 more chapters, I think), with so much drama and, of course, more tension between Hunter and Vintra. I must remind this is a slow-burn, one that takes very seriously the word "slow". We're still in very low heat concerning romance. But concerning drama, we're adding more fuel! I'm very excited with this part and the next!! Hope you like it!! :)

So… welcome back! I've missed Vintra so much and this story, so I'm glad to be back.

thank you for reading, thank you so much for also waiting this long. See you very soon! Let's see what Vintra does to Hunter next ;p

[notmxverick]

HSR OC info: Zyta Lisowski

Zyta Lisowski - 5* Occupation: Double-dealing artifact hunter, thief, relic agent. Faction: Belobog, Wildfire, Masked Fools, Penacony Birthday & Age: April 10th (25-30) Height: Around 157 cm (Topaz's model, idk how tall she exactly is)

»【Alignments】«

Element: Imaginary Path: Elation/Nihility (still can't decide) Lore Path: Elation

»【Game mechanics】«

Tags: Buff, Debuff, FUA, Break Role: Amplifier

Description: Zyta empowers follow-up attacks (FUA) for herself and her allies. Her kit revolves around boosting FUA damage, improving shield-breaking efficiency, and adding random elemental versatility with her Aftertaste ability. She excels in team compositions that capitalize on frequent follow-up attacks and strategic shield-breaking.

»【Story line】«

(yes the shortest summary I can write)

Veleska Zyta was born on this Polish based planet called *Veleska* (self made planet). It was pretty much a pieceful planet. She lived with her parents Radoslaw Lisowski and Lidia Lisowski on a farm, since the planet was full with rich agriculture. Both of her parents used to be members of the Masked Fools. Her dad, Radoslaw, was a well known smith, amongst the people in their town, especially Masked Fools. He used to forge little trinkets for Zyta and organized together with her mom treasure hunts around their farm.

At the time, their homeplanet was protected by the IPC in exchange for the planet's crops and stuff. Veleska already had some problems before the beginning of Zyta's life. It had only one last layer of atmosphere and it was soon gonna rip which will lead to massive radiation and billions of dying people. Zyta was around 10 years old when that happened and her parents were just rich enough to buy one ticket for her to leave the planet on time. The IPC had left their planet with all of their crops right after announcing that there is nothing they could've done to prevent the massive solar flare from ripping the last layer. Since then Zyta developed major hate towards the IPC's. The way they just left her people to suffer made her blood boil.

Penacony Zyta was an orphan and a street thief after she left Veleska. She didn't want to go to an orphanage and the whole city was something completely new and loud to her since she was a farm girl. In her free time she went to local funfairs with stolen coins. It was her only entertainment at the time and it became her hobby to play those games.

She met Mr. Reca near a funfair once and went to pickpocket him. Reca caught her and wanted to pay her back for what she did but instead her memories started flashing through his mind about her loss, cuz like memetic entities can probably do that shit so..... He decided to take her in instead. Since then she started living with him. Reca sent her to school which was not fun for her at all. She had problems making friends, didn't want to study. That soon changed as she got more confident. She was a bold yet quiet child, she eventually started obeying him, learn manners and see him as her new dad.

Travelling era Zyta was old enough (around her early 20s) to start travelling on her own. She loved to study more about history of planets and ancient relics. She visited planets like Kalevala, Salsotto, Amphoreus, etc. On one of Epsilon's planets, she found Aha's mallet (a giant hammer) and Zyta was extremely drawn to it, claiming that the hammer called out to her.

IPC era Zyta's hate for the IPC didn't subside one bit throughout her years (she was in her mid 20s or sum) and she decided to apply there for a job. She worked there as a waitress at first, doing sneaky malicious activity, until Aventurine caught her red handed and made her his ally since they both shared hate for the IPC (they became partners-in-crime and lovers). He upgraded her into an Artifact Recovery Specialist, giving her more acces to places for authorized workers. Bit by bit, Aventurine and Zyta started to cause little sabotages to the IPC. While he was keeping it small, Zyta started to get more bold in her plans and actions, wanting to destroy the IPC as quickly as possible and for good. This lead to them into fights. Originally, Aventurine wanted to make her one of the Stonehearts, but her hate was too big so she refused to get more into whole corporation and prefered to stay loyal to her Masked Fools.

One day, she decided to take matters into her own hands, end the IPC's monopolization, which would also lead to Aventurine's downfall. However Aventurine stopped her on time due to his massive luck, saving his own ass while she gets thrown into jail. He caused her a massive debt, loss of all of her belongings and life in prison. Zyta was destroyed and despised Aventurine so much for it. Meanwhile, Aventurine started feeling so bad for her and decided to hire specialists and professionals to remove all of the articles outside of Penacony's internet and professionals to help her escape prison. He is basically the one that sent her to Jarilo-VI, where the place wasn't really influenced by the IPC so much, and couldn't easily find her. He wanted to give her a chance to start her life over without him.

Jarilo-VI She arrived there completely broken with little money. She had no choice but to start farming money by stealing from rich people at the Overworld. She met Captain Gepard on her first week, fell head over heals and tried hard to impress him, despite his stoic demeanor. She created a double life within her: a legal relic agent to the captain, but a relic hunter and thief in reality. They hit it off ig and started dating without him knowing how much lies she is putting into their relationship. Meanwhile she met Sampo, who kept interfering with her plans, including her heists. At some point, she decided to work together with him (becoming partners-in-crime again) just so she gets some good amount of money. Overtime they had become very close, until she revealed to him that she was dating Gepard. Zyta noticed that he was getting more distant at that point.

Meanwhile, Gepard started noticing some odd behaviour in Zyta and slowly got suspicious of her. He usually just brushed off that feeling because he was blinded by her love. Gepard soon realized that she has lied about everything and what person she actually really was. He also found out about her past with the IPC by going through the Penacony's internet. A bunch of things happened, he caught her and sent her to prison. Zyta became once again broken and lost.

Despite Sampo acting all distant and stuff, he heard about the news and felt the urge to save her. Not only because it would worsen their business plans, but also because he started to realize that he genuinely cared for her. He pretended to be a Silvermane Guard for days to try and help her escape prison. He confessed his feelings soon after that. This gave her hope and started enjoying time with him as true parnters and Masked Fools.

(This all happened before the in game trailblaze missions started. I still need to plan what roles she has during those trailblaze missions.)

»【Trivia】«

- Zyta's weapon is a giant hammer that is known as Aha's Mallet. It is believed that the hammer was crafted by the Aeon of Elation itself. - Zyta will get a boss form called *The Laughing Conductor* when Aha decides to finally make her one of its emanators. - Zyta's full name is *Zyta Roza Lisowski*. *Roza* is the name she used when she worked as an IPC worker. Roses are her favorite flower too. - Zyta has a sensitive stomach when it comes to travelling. Her nightmares about the loss of her homeplanet and parents keep reminding her as she travels throughout the galaxy. - Zyta loves foxes and cats. - Zyta's biggest insecurity is being flat-chested. Uses extra push-ups to feel more confident in her looks. - Zyta has her own special mask, but that is unfortunately still at Aventurine's place. - Zyta has picked up some smithing skills from her father when she was little. This came later in handy with her relic work.

»【Voice claims】«

- EN: Cristina Vee (voice of Yayoi Kusakabe, High rise invasion) - JP: Sekine Akira (voice of Thelema, HI3)

»【Love Interests】«

- Zympo: Sampo x Zyta (current lover) - Avenyta: Aventurine x Zyta (former lover) - Zypard: Gepard x Zyta (former lover)

I might change some things in the future but this is what I have for now. I hope y'all enjoyed this <3

[all-eyes-lead-to-the-truth]

All Eyes Lead to the Truth | Pine Bluff Variant (5x18)

The tires on August Bremer’s Taurus rub along the curb as the car creeps to a stop. Lamplight beaming from the entryway of Hegal Place shines down on an injured Agent Mulder climbing the steps to his apartment. Mulder winces as he opens the door with his left hand held aloft, the pinky finger bent sideways at a sharp, unnatural angle. 

August shakes his head. Haley’s New Spartans goon is a sadistic piece of work. Finding the perfect moment to remove that asshole can’t come soon enough. 

Flicking the switch on the listening device, August points the red laser at the window of apartment 42, puts his headphones on and listens for the truth. 

“…what you’re talking about,” Agent Mulder says to someone — someone already waiting in his darkened apartment. 

“What happened to your hand?” August knows the soft, concerned voice belongs to Agent Scully, Mulder’s redheaded partner who risked her own life running after him in the park. August saw the fear for her partner drain the pink from her pretty face all the way from the getaway car. 

“Nothing,” Mulder lies. Badly.

“Oh, Mulder, what did they do to you?” she tsks. “God, this needs to be set. You’re in pain.”

“Yeah, if you keep pulling it around like that.” The man’s a smart ass even while doted upon.  

“Let’s get the swelling down.”

Choosing the greenish hued light emanating from Mulder’s apartment to focus on, August ruminates on the reason they’ve all been pulled into this clusterfuck to begin with.

Classified orders to develop a recalled bioweapon in secret were given directly to the army from the US Government. Instructing August to keep evolving the banned toxin, hastening it along. Cultivating a variant of a biological agent to become one of the most deadly bioweapons in the world sure as hell wasn’t August’s idea. But what could he do as a Pine Bluff stationed soldier, eager to use his biochemistry degree? Saying no to the CIA was never an option. So as years passed, August and his team analyzed chemical compositions to carefully create an aerosol version of a flesh-eating streptococcus compound capable of casualties nothing short of devastation. 

And he hates himself for it.

“Why do this to you, Mulder?”

“They’re testing me, too. Haley’s paranoid. Spooked. I was sure he was going to kill me.”

Sending Mulder on the inside with Haley was a risky test he could have easily failed. But that won’t be Mulder’s only test of trustworthiness. August knows Mulder’s involvement in this is a set up — just another pawn for the CIA’s own selfish means. Mulder’s strong opinions on the withholding of governmental secrets is the perfect way to kill two troublesome birds with one bio-weaponized stone. Now, August must be certain Mulder hasn’t flipped sides and become one with the terrorists he’s dutifully warned the bureau about. A final test to pass in order to be saved.

Agent Scully exhales. Her relief that he’s still alive is as loud as her concern. “What stopped him?”

“They still need something from me. And I’m sensing there’s someone Haley trusts even less — the man giving him his orders. Someone I haven’t met yet. A guy named August Bremer.”

Mulder’s right. August had created an alias to go behind the New Spartans’ back by leaking information to the bureau, and Haley will know the truth soon enough. Time is of the essence. If this militia isn’t stopped before the bioweapon spreads, millions may die horrific deaths. 

August just has to kill off the New Spartans without killing himself, too. 

“I hate that they hurt you,” Agent Scully murmurs. “You need to be cautious from here on out.”

“Always am,” Mulder quips, before gasping in pain. “Ouch! Okay, I will be. Scout’s honor.”

She scoffs, “You’re no Boy Scout, Mulder.”

“Yeah, Haley didn’t seem to think so either.”

“Not funny.” August hears the playful lilt in her tone vanish as quick as it came. “Let me get my med kit from your bathroom.”

Only the sounds of footsteps and Mulder’s heavy sighs fill the void until Agent Scully returns. 

“Scully, before, on the tape… You didn’t think I’d really…”

“Betray our country? No, Mulder, I refused to believe that.”

“Betray you.”

Even through the padded earpieces, August hears her breath catch. “Mulder…”

“Because I wouldn’t — I’d never, Scully,” Mulder says adamantly. “Never.”

“I know. I know that, Mulder.” August can imagine her hand reassuringly covering his. “You were doing your job. You didn’t have a choice in keeping it from me.” 

“It doesn’t make it any easier. For either of us.”

“No, I suppose it doesn’t.”

Silence stretches for a long time. Nothing but the crinkle of med-grade wrappers and the burbling of water from what sounds like a fish tank drifts through the headphones. August may be on the outside listening in, but he can practically feel the tension from here.

“Scully…”

“The swelling’s lessened. Luckily it’s a clean break.”

“Hey,” Mulder’s voice is soft, gentle. “Look at me.”

“Hold still while I splint your finger.”

“Scully-”

“This is dangerous, Mulder,” she huffs, her words wavering. “Extremely so. It worries me we’re separated on this.”

“Believe me, Scully, I’m not a fan either.” The clack of the metal finger splint tapping against wood has Agent Scully humming in agreement. “But I’d be lying if I said I’m not relieved you’re nowhere near a man that breaks bones for a living.”

“So who has your back, then? Skinner can only do so much and I’m not sure I trust the CIA agent in charge here.”

“You have my back, Scully. You do, and you’re the only one I trust. Remember?” There’s a smile laced within Mulder’s meaningful plea, and August nods in respect. Only a good man appreciates what keeps him that way. 

“I could hardly forget.”

August clicks off the listening device with a smile of admiration. Some truths are better left unheard. 

Read the rest of All Eyes Lead to the Truth on Archive of Our Own!

@monikafilefan

[snicketstrange]

Behind the Periscope: The True Story of Captain Widdershins

Many people don't like Captain Widdershins, but he is actually humanity's greatest hero. Moreover, he possesses the best skill in hiding truths: he can tell half-truths and mix them with lies. I would say he is on the same level as Quigley, or even higher, in deceiving people.

He created an entire character to distract those around him. We see this in a comparison between his young version in ATWQ and his adult version in TGG. Let's analyze his adult version in TGG and see how he is an impressive agent of VFD.I find this book very interesting. I'm not following the reread, but I remember some important points in my theory. Firstly, Captain W. is certainly a big liar.

He is looking for the SB in the ocean because he received information that the SB had been thrown out of the HQ window. Certainly this information must have been received through the telegram equipment that is hypothetically broken. But it was working all the time. Surely after Klaus calculated where the SB was, Captain W sent the information to the mysterious woman or her supporters. He must have sent this information while the children were sleeping.

Thanks to that, the woman got to GG and grabbed SB. She must have arrived at the submarine with the SB in hand. And Captain W decided to abandon the submarine so urgently because the woman said something like: "I can't breathe." He must have taken the SB with him. That's why he needed to send the SB to Hotel D via the crows. The reason SB needed to go to Hotel D was because SB contained a lot of confidential information, much of that information was being cataloged in the real Hotel D.Another key thing is the backstory of the W family that mixes with the Anwistle family and Olaf's actions. It has been explained several times that the word "schism" refers to different events in the recent history of VFD.

We had the Great Schism, which the Man with a Beard and the Woman without a Beard participated in, about 40 years before the main events. As they said, it was at this event that the serpents took the willing side of the schism. Olaf, evidently still quite young, took the willing side of the schism as well, and was trained along with Lemony by VFD. Another important schism was the Anwistle Schism. It is this schism that the W family was unsure whether to participate or not.

Captain W's wife evidently sided with the schism that wanted to use the deadly MM fungus against the enemies that already existed (the incendiary side) while Captain W himself was unsure whether he would support his wife or not. That's certainly what led to the end of their marriage, and the lame excuse about Fiona's mother's death. Fiona herself was still a baby. Around this time, Olaf and Fernald teamed up to put an end to the threat of the deadly MM fungus. This development of events made Fernald very confused about VFD's morals and Olaf's morals.

According to Fernald and Lemony's words about him disagreeing with some of Captain W's attitudes, and Olaf's words about the W family never deciding which side to support in the schism, and the fact that Olaf and Fiona were close when she was still a baby, leads me to believe that Captain W was actually the great hero of humanity. An unrecognized hero, but a hero nonetheless.

The deadly MM fungus needed to be destroyed. That is a fact that, at least I, recognize. But only people who supported Anwistle's schism could approach where the fungus was being cultivated. This is evident by the fact that Kit Snicket tried to convince Anwistle through a letter, instead of solving the problem herself.Captain W had to pretend to be a supporter of Anwistle's schism and infiltrate the sect. In order to help him complete this mission, Captain W managed to marry Fiona and Fernald's mother, one of Anwistle's main persons of interest due to her research work. Additionally, Kit Snicket achieved an engineering feat: building a submarine that required a very small crew to operate, as it did not use human propulsion.Thus, Captain W became a person of interest for Anwistle's plan since his submarine could be used in all the necessary logistics. But at some point, Captain W was responsible for bringing a person from VFD with a bad reputation and experience in causing fires to Anwistle's facilities: Olaf.

Unable to explain his true intentions to Fernald, Captain W posed as a supporter of Anwistle's ideas in Fernald's eyes. And for that reason, Fernald allied with Olaf and helped in the destruction of AA and the deadly MM fungus, without knowing that this was exactly what Captain W had in mind.It was a complicated situation. Anyway, Fernald could not conceive the idea that Captain W would remain a member of VFD even knowing that VFD was responsible for cultivating the deadly MM fungus, without making the proper separation between the wheat and the chaff of VFD. That's why he joins Olaf, who from his point of view was a dissident member of VFD and one of the responsible for saving humanity.

Another important detail is how Captain W manages to pretend that he is completely unaware of JS. At no point did he show any lack of knowledge about the fact that he was actually working with JS, and instead he simply changed the subject and stated that Jacques Snicket was dead. But evidently, Captain W was working with JS. After all, JS knew that the children were arriving in a submarine. This information must have come from the submarine itself and reached JS, and this could only be possible through W's communication with JS or a supporter of JS. This leads us to believe that JS, the recipient of the message in the refrigerator in TSS, was expected at the VFD HQ. He would receive the SB. And he must indeed have received it. After all, the person who really took on the role of Jacques Snicket must have been his brother Lemony Snicket, who is also disguised as a taxi driver, and received the SB just as he had wanted to from the beginning. (In TPP). In other words, Captain W saved humanity again: he prevented the SB from falling into the wrong hands.

[shootingcookielover]

Introducing: Jay!! My ducktales oc!! (If it wasn't blatantly obvious lmao)

Do you want to know more about them? No? Too bad!

Jay, aka January was the first ever clone F.O.W.L. created. However, due to a lab accident, Jay ended up not only with scrooge's DNA, but also Bradford's. Deeming the clone a "failure", Heron drops the created baby off at an orphanage.

(Bradford becomes enraged when he later learns of this - a child with his and scrooge mcduck's dna?? Just out there??? Has Heron no concept how problematic that could shake out to be???)

Jay spends the first 9 years of their life kinda bouncing from foster home to foster home (kinda developing a bit of a thing abt people seeing them eat. Because of how their beak is a bit weirdly aligned, they can't eat quite the same as most others, and people stare.). But eventually they scrape together enough resources for like, one of those online-dna testing kits that spit out who you're related to.

Turns out their parents are Scrooge McDuck!!! (And some random vulture guy? Weird)

Thus, Jay sets out to become an adventurer like their dad, to meet him one day on their adventures!

Except, first adventure they immediately get trapped in a parallel, kind of very hellish dimension. They get out after three years, but they're pretty traumatized - and pretty much pu off of adventuring forever.

(Though they do find and keep a magic amulet in [hell dimension] that they use to cast spells. Mostly teleportation spells, really.)

Deciding they don't really want to meet a guy who's whole schtick is adventuring, they instead begin their search for dad#2, that vulture guy.

They find out he works for scrooge mcdad (of course he does) but don't judge him too harshly yet. From what they can find online (public libraries for the win!) the guy doesn't really... Do anything. Let alone go on adventures.

So Jay decides to find out where he lives and well, just kinda shows up at his door.

Much surprise is had, it's not quite the family reunion Jay was hoping for but they haven't been kicked out so they count it as a win.

Staying with their dad is pretty great, actually. He even hires a private tutor for homeschooling, since Jay missed 3 years of school and has a lot of catching up to do.

(they definitely hoard food in their room somewhere, just in case. They also have a bug-out bag ready at any given time. Just in case.)

Turns out, Dadford doesn't only also hate adventuring with a passion - he has a whole secret organization to take over the world and stop all adventuring! Forever!

(Jay found a secret stash of files on the computer they use for video games.)

Thus, at the ripe age of 13 they become the youngest FOWL agent ever!

And because they are kind of a big security risk now that they know, they get moved out to live in the outpost at the library of Alexandria instead, together with a bunch of the villains Dadford recruited.

(including Phantom Blot who Jay has an ongoing rivalry with just because they use magic sometimes lol)

(they and the villains play mario kart/party together on sundays)

Eventually, (three years later) season 1 happens and seeing the mcduck family successfully overcome the rift that della's absence left, dadford decides to put one of his better pawns into play.

Through some posturing, magic pyrotechnics and a fake mystical artefact, Jay gets planted into the mcduck family as scrooge's "magic child/clone".

(this happens during the episode "The Depths of Cousin Fethry", while huey and dewey are out meeting their cousin, scrooge, louie and webby go to find an invaluable treasure and return with Jay. Cue scrooge introducing Jay as his kid and Huey and Dewey going "wtf did we miss")

They go along on an adventure or two, mainly because saying "I hate adventuring and I don't want to do it because I was traumatized and hate it" doesn't make sense for someone who was just created from an ancient magic artefact. But after a couple adventures they can finally just put their foot down and stay home. It's chill.

They draw sometimes, do a few commissions.

Scrooge wants to bond with them so they teach him how to play video games and they watch some shows together.

Eventually, the last adventure rolls around.

At the point where Webby pretends to be June and kidnaps... Herself (yknow what part i mean. Probably) Jay comes with the clones, obviously shocking Webby.

But they make it to the library without any particular incident - except Huey getting discovered, obviously.

Jay stays behind to "escort June and Webby". They've very much realized the switcheroo that Webby pulled and use their (thus far mostly benign) magic to switcheroo back.

They nod to June, explaining that they didn't say anything earlier so that Director Dad doesn't get on her case too bad about "failing".

After that, Jay kinda just goes off to hang out a bit. Drink some pep. Chill.

On the way to Webby's cell, she wakes up and takes out June. (Because of course she does. She's Webby.)

Cue the rest of the finale.

Right up until Dadford is fighting McDuck and his fam. Because now, he calls Jay forward, who kinda immobilizes the fam with their magic for a bit.

Dadford throws his employees into the death pit, but oh shock! He picks up to throw Jay in as well.

And he does. He does throw them in.

Luckily, Jay is a master at magical teleportation and nobody realizes they weren't, in fact, erased from existence.

Bla bla bla, scrooge signs the papyrus, "family is the greatest adventure of all", boom the other vilalins show up to defeat dadford once and for all.

But what's this? It's Jay, with a magical barrier, protecting her dad from being turned into a non-sentient vulture!

They teleport themself and Dadford outta there.

At this point they're assuming they got thrown in the pit as a sort of surprise/back up, to make everyone think FOWL was already defeated when they were still there and alive. Yknow, a backup plan.

They live on the street for a bit, but Jay manages to get a job, securing the two of them an aprtment.

Dadford doesn't rlly come out of his room for a while.

Jay gets it; having ur thirty year-long plan derailed like that couldn't be, yknow, pleasant.

At some point, Louie finds them at their job and basically blackmails them into helping him out during adventures. (They kinda hide in his shadow, basically/louie summons them, so when something particularly dangerous happens they can subtly magic it away.)

Dadford eventually emerges from his room and drops the bombshell we all already knew: he very much did intend to kill Jay that day.

Jay is kinda shellshocked. They sort of robotically just return to their routine; go to work.

Louie summons them to deal with an adventure again, and wouldn't u know it? Its an adventure in that hell dimension that Jay got stuck in as a kid.

This, coupled with the revelation that one of their dads tried to kill them, kinda makes them very uncareful. They get revealed to the rest of the family but manage to get everyone out of there.

They reveal that Louie's been blackmailing them and the fact dadford tried to actually kill them sorta spills out in the same, emotionally charged rant and to their surprise scrooge offers to allow them back in the mansion, despite everything.

Jay hesitantly accepts, but mentions that they would like to keep working their current job. This is agreeable to everyone.

Jay returns to their apartment later, under the cover of "going to work" and find dadford packing his things.

They're like, what r u doing? Where would u even go?

And he's like, idk, i'll dip into my grandma's account or smth, its not like u want me here anymore, what with the attempted murder.

And Jay's like, I didn't say that.

Stunned silence.

So anyway, Jay sighs and tells dadford he's allowed to stay at the apartment and that Jay will stay at the manor again.

This is how far ive gotten. If u have any ideas/thoughts/complaints, drop 'em somewhere i can see 'em!

If anyone's even read this far lol.

If u have, have a virtual cookie, you've earned it🍪

[toku-explained]

New Generation Stars: After Beliarok again has to remind Zero how far he's gone, Zero explains saving Mirror Knight, his capture by Kaiser Belial, the resistance assembling, ending on the moment Emerana entered Jean-bird's Emeraldium Reactor. Beliarok is excited to finally be reaching the climax.

Gavv: Hanto sees how Lakia is, and sends Ichiro and Jiro Frappé after the Granute, then hears Lakia demand Sachika find the Granute again. Hanto, not having the full story, tries to calm Lakia down for now, especially realising how injured they both got, but Lakia just walks off. Nyelv's experiments involve the Bitter Gavv Driver and records if Suga's last battle, when an Agent informs him they've found the Stomach's traitor. Lizel treats Shoma to food, thanking him for causing Jeeb's emotional devastation, informs him of the recent changes to Stomach, and knowing he'll continue to beat up Jeeb if she continues, is excited, keeping him from fighting now by reminding him of the patrons. At the lab, Hanto digs out medical kits and tries to get Lakia to open up about Comel, Lakia snaps about trying to compare until Hanto explains about his mother and how long he knew nothing, Lakia finally explains about Comel, and Hanto notes Comel, trying to escape his addiction on his own, must have been impressive. Nyelv drops into Dente, trying to pressure him to return to Stomach, Dente refuses, vowing to stay by Shoma until the end and refusing any further association with Dark Treats. Nyelv leaves, and aware he could now he eliminated at any time, Dente begins work on a new project. The Frappé's notify Hanto and Lakia of where the Granute is, as Shoma confronts an Agent to recover the Presses, using CaramelMel's caramel bullet attack. Valen and Vram for the first time battle in a coordinated fashion, the Granute refusing to answer if he killed Comel. Valen shields Vram from an onslaught of mucus so he can lay the final blow, the Granute admitting to knowing nothing as he does. Shoma arrives having saved the humans. As they celebrate later, Shoma sees the two are now getting along, but they still bicker. Borscht's Dark Treats have successfully gotten Maagen willing to do anything for more, so he instructs him to defer to Nyelv, introducing him to the concept of "humans"

Gozyuger: TegaJune and Kuon introduce to Bouquet their latest recruit, a possessed Meguru, as the only one capable of using Daizyujin, Bouquet objects until TegaJune intimidates her, saying her love must be focused on her queen. Kinjiro finds Sumino working at a bento store, she claims it's temporary undercover work, but she's worked their long enough to no a guy's order, this guy then hears a Showa appreciating No-One. Sumino's issue is she has to provide for her family, and so she had to do other work outside her detective work. Kinjiro (sincerely) appreciates her Showa-esque work, and the Showa No-One, declaring this Showa Year 100, appears, turning everything into the Showa era. Ryugi shows some sympathy to Hoeru for his family situation, Hoeru has an idea where Kuon took Meguru. As Sumino objects to some aspects of the Showa world, Kinjiro, a man who lived through it, competes in a Showa off with the No-One. The No-One wins a game and claims all the opponents cards, sleep learns English, while Kinjiro uses old manga advertised toys and go-go dances. Showa No-One is the winner, as Kinjiro has forgotten how to use a rotary phone and reverts to smartphone use on instinct, he goes to sulk. As Sumino complains about the changes, she runs into Aoi and him mother who shows something they couldn't see due to modern development, an open view of the sunset. This gives Sumino a new appreciation, and she goes to find Kinjiro at the edge of Showa, letting him know you can appreciate Showa and Reiwa. Hoeru and Ryugi try to find gates to No-One World, Bouquet appears and summons Aiyee to fight, then when they fight through them summons her own guns to attack. Showa No-One watches the story of the Number One in Japan, Kaiketsu Zuvat, mourning missing a chance to catch a hero show picture opportunity with the hero, when Kinjiro and Sumino show him how how you can get such a two-shot without even attending, all the new Zuvat merchandise that didn't exist before, and how the foods he eats can now be found in new variations, living in Reiwa can give you an all new appreciation of Showa. The Two Engage, and the Number One Battle begins. They declare the people of the Showa era were moving forward, and clinging to the past isn't what it was about, enabling them to free the host and win the Number One Battle. As the other battle progresses, Tega Sword Blue suddenly appears to destroy the forces. Bouquet, recalling how it caused the destruction of her Rikuo merchandise, is suitably angered to summon Black Daizyujin (Black recolours of main mecha are exceedingly common, even if they typically never appear in show (exceptions exist, like King-Ohger and Gogo V, as well as Abarager's versions which were green), and thanks the Power Rangers this true for Daizyujin more than most, but this here is the on screen deut if this colour scheme after 30+ years.) Bouquet tells them Meguru cannot tell friend from foe and leaves, as Black Daizyujin overpowers Tega Sword Blue. Everyone regroups, and TegaSword has Hoeru become Akaninger, the combined Shows Spirit and maxed Nintality burning up, triggering the 5 elements Jutsu, allowing all 5 forms of TegaSword to fight together. Together they manage to defeat Black Daizyujin and free Meguru. Meguru thanks them, proud to see how they've developed as a team.

[darkmaga-returns]

Chances are that your DNA is already in a database somewhere, waiting to be analyzed by wannabe Technocrats for markers to discriminate against you. Perhaps you gave blood, had surgery, or used companies like 23andMe. You will never know who gave you a negative assessment nor who ordered it in the first place. But, when you can’t buy life or health insurance you will get the picture. ⁃ TN Editor

The news came four years ago, at the end of a casual phone call. Bill’s family had always thought it was a freak coincidence that his father and grandfather both had ALS. But at the end of a catch-up, Bill’s brother revealed that he had a diagnosis too. The familial trend, it turned out, was linked to a genetic mutation. That meant Bill might also be at risk for the disease.

An ALS specialist ordered Bill a DNA test. While he waited for results, he applied for long-term-care insurance. If he ever developed ALS, Bill told me, he wanted to ensure that the care he would need as his nerve cells died and muscles atrophied wouldn’t strain the family finances. When Bill found out he had the mutation, he shared the news with his insurance agent, who dealt him another blow: “I don’t expect you to be approved,” he remembers her saying.

Bill doesn’t have ALS. He’s a healthy 60-year-old man who spends his weekends building his dream home by hand. A recent study of mutations like his suggests that his genetics increase his chances of developing ALS by about 25 percent, on average. Most ALS cases aren’t genetic at all. And yet, Bill felt like he was being treated as if he was already sick. (Bill asked to be identified by his first name only, because he hasn’t disclosed his situation to his employer and worried about facing blowback at work too.)

What happened to Bill, and to dozens of other people whose experiences have been documented by disease advocates and on social media, is perfectly legal. Gaps in the United States’ genetic-nondiscrimination law mean that life, long-term-care, and disability insurers can obligate their customers to disclose genetic risk factors for disease and deny them coverage (or hike prices) based on the resulting information. It doesn’t matter whether those customers found out about their mutations from a doctor-ordered test or a 23andMe kit.

For decades, researchers have feared that people might be targeted over their DNA, but they weren’t sure how often it was happening. Now at least a handful of Americans are experiencing what they argue is a form of discrimination. And as more people get their genomes sequenced—and researchers learn to glean even more information from the results—a growing number of people may find themselves similarly targeted.

[belsasim]

To stay in shape for work and also just because he loved it, Kit regularly went for a jog around town. Often early in the morning, when both Penny and Aska were still asleep. On his off days, he'd go for a late afternoon jog as in the middle of the day, temperatures in Strangerville could rise quite high.

During his runs, Kit could enjoy some me-time and clear his mind. But lately, he noticed strange plants popping up around town. It started with just one weird pinky-purple sprout on the edge of time, but with every run, he saw more of these plants appear. They looked weird and even a little alien, but at the same time they seemed to fit their environment pretty well.

Still, when Kit saw such a plant, he felt uncomfortable. A gut feeling that something wasn't quite right.

One day, when he ran past Erwin's Curio shop, he decided to not just nod his usual 'hey there', but check if Erwin might know something. He had noticed that Erwin had been a little distant towards him since he had enlisted, but he hoped that once he got Erwin talking about strange phenomena, he might shed some light on the appearance of these unusual plants. Erwin's conspiracy theories could be a little 'out there', but so were those plants.

Kit: "Hey Erwin, how's it going?" Erwin (slightly squinting): "Hi, private Cade. Or should I say Kit now? Why do you want to know?" Kit (shrugging): "Man, I'm just saying hi... It's been a while, with work and a baby, you know?" Erwin: "Work... Yeah... You know how I feel about the military, Kit. Gotta admit, I'm a bit disappointed you enlisted. I mean, the military? Really?" Kit (sighing): "Yeah, look, there's not a lot of jobs around here and I have a family to feed. I'm sorry about the name thing, but I had to stay low for a while.... And you know, for now the military seem ok..." Erwin: "Of course they seem ok at first, but don't be fooled, Kit! Don't say I didn't warn you, something's up, I just know it!" (A twinkle appearing in his eyes, Erwin seemed eager to share a theory with someone, anyone, even if it was a recent military recruit) "There's something in the air..." Kit (clearing his throat, this was his chance): "Did you notice those weird plants around town?" Erwin: "Have I noticed? Have I? I've already been searching every book and botany website I know to find out what those plants are. Not a thing... You know what I think? That "secret" lab in the desert all those scientists in town work at - seriously where else could scientists around here work, there's nothing secret about that lab - I bet that they have been developing something in there and somehow these plants out of there and are infesting our town. Mark my words." Kit (thinking about Erwin's theory): "..." Erwin (taking his chance): "Say, Kit? You could be a double agent of some kind. Go snoop around there, in that lab. You surely get guard duty there or something, right?" Kit (slowly shaking his head): "Sorry to disappoint you, but I haven't been assigned any guard duty at any lab, secret or not, yet... But I have to admit, it is intriguing."

Before Erwin could really try to convince him to break into a secret lab somewhere in the desert, Kit ostentatiously checked his watch and with an "Oof, look at the time. Gotta get back to my girls. See you around!", he took his leave.

Erwin watched him run home, slowly shaking his head. "I wonder what's your deal, Kit Dreamer," he softly spoke to no-one. "The son of an undercover agent, who exposed a dangerous criminal organisation. Why are you here, in this sleepy, insignificant desert town? I don't believe in coincidence..."

[dertaglichedan]

Genetic Discrimination Is Coming for Us All

The news came four years ago, at the end of a casual phone call. Bill’s family had always thought it was a freak coincidence that his father and grandfather both had ALS. But at the end of a catch-up, Bill’s brother revealed that he had a diagnosis too. The familial trend, it turned out, was linked to a genetic mutation. That meant Bill might also be at risk for the disease.

An ALS specialist ordered Bill a DNA test. While he waited for results, he applied for long-term-care insurance. If he ever developed ALS, Bill told me, he wanted to ensure that the care he would need as his nerve cells died and muscles atrophied wouldn’t strain the family finances. When Bill found out he had the mutation, he shared the news with his insurance agent, who dealt him another blow: “I don’t expect you to be approved,” he remembers her saying.

Bill doesn’t have ALS. He’s a healthy 60-year-old man who spends his weekends building his dream home by hand. A recent study of mutations like his suggests that his genetics increase his chances of developing ALS by about 25 percent, on average. Most ALS cases aren’t genetic at all. And yet, Bill felt like he was being treated as if he was already sick. (Bill asked to be identified by his first name only, because he hasn’t disclosed his situation to his employer and worried about facing blowback at work too.)

What happened to Bill, and to dozens of other people whose experiences have been documented by disease advocates and on social media, is perfectly legal. Gaps in the United States’ genetic-nondiscrimination law mean that life, long-term-care, and disability insurers can obligate their customers to disclose genetic risk factors for disease and deny them coverage (or hike prices) based on the resulting information. It doesn’t matter whether those customers found out about their mutations from a doctor-ordered test or a 23andMe kit.  

For decades, researchers have feared that people might be targeted over their DNA, but they weren’t sure how often it was happening. Now at least a handful of Americans are experiencing what they argue is a form of discrimination. And as more people get their genomes sequenced—and researchers learn to glean even more information from the results—a growing number of people may find themselves similarly targeted.