#screw the confederacy

[samasmith23]

So here's some really fun trivia for y’all!

For my "Idea of the American South" graduate school class, we just had to read William Faulkner's novel Absalom, Absalom! this week, since Faulkner is highly regarded by historians for his nuanced portrayal about the darker side & systemic injustices of the Deep South. But this was actually not my first exposure to Faulkner, since one of his other novels, Go Down, Moses, was actually directly referenced in The Adamantium Men arc of Jason Aaron's Wolverine run. In the arc, the evil Roxxon corporation managed to duplicate the Weapon X procedure which gave Logan his adamantium claws to a bunch of private mercenary henchman in order to act as bodyguards for the company's illegal activities overseas. And they all have lightsaber claws!

One of the titular Adamantium Men was apparently a huge Faulkner fan and was even reading a first edition copy of Go Down, Moses before being told by a Roxxon higher-up to assassinate Wolverine. But when said-mercenary realizes that he's about to lose the fight, he actually asks Logan to spoil the ending of the novel for him before he dies, and Logan honors his request!

I was told that the copy of Go Down, Moses displayed in the comic is actually the original first-edition copy from the guest-lecturer for said-class since it was the only version to ever feature the subtitle “And Other Stories” on the front cover.

And it honestly makes sense that Aaron would reference Faulkner's work since he's similarly written stories which are highly critical of the American South such as his Image Comic series Southern Bastards. One issue of that series even had a variant cover featuring glorious sight of a dog ripping a Confederate flag to shreds!

So beautiful! I would love to train my dog Zoe to do the same thing to one of those AWFUL flags! Plus, the royalties for that variant cover were even donated to the survivors & families of the Charleston mass-shooting in 2015.

From Wolverine: Weapon X #4 by Jason Aaron & Ron Garney.

[ask-the-usa-manor]

I propose a new holiday.

Around the time of year when the confederacy broke, all the states go to confederates home and egg it, toilet paper it, fill the barrel of an M1A2 Abrams with paint and color his shack pure fucking pink.

And then get fried chicken.

“That’d be… May 26th, right?” Pennsylvania mused, putting it in his calendar app, “We’re in. I’m always up for ticking off Dixie and his weird family.”

“And fried chicken!” Kentucky added, “Not ticking it off. Just eating it. Victory chicken.”

[catsnuggler]

Fucking love this comment

[ulmo80]

📚Books I've read in 2023📚

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, F. Scott Fitzgerald

2. The Quiet Gentleman, Georgette Heyer

3. The Turn of the Screw, Henry James

4. The Book of Magic, Alice Hoffman

5. Abaddon's Gate, James S. A. Corey

6. The Blue Castle, L. M. Montgomery

7. Cibola Burn, James S. A. Corey

8. The Adventures of Pinocchio, Carlo Collodi

9. The Foundling, Georgette Heyer

10. Hamlet, William Shakespeare

11. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne

12. Dangerous Women, Anthology Edited by George R. R. Martin

13. Artemis, Andy Weir

14. The Miserable Mill, Lemony Snicket

15. The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde

16. The Last Olympian, Rick Riordian

17. Gerald's Game, Stephen King

18. Mirror in the Mirror: A Labyrinth, Michael Ende

19. The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas

20. Nemesis Games, James S. A. Corey

21. Harrow the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir

22. The Austere Academy, Lemony Snicket

23. Rogues, Anthology Edited by George R. R. Martin

24. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad

25. Babylon's Ashes, James S. A. Corey

26. Arabella, Georgette Heyers

27. The Ersatz Elevator, Lemony Snicket

28. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood

29. Nona the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir

30. The Vile Village, Lemony Snicket

31. The Hostile Hospital, Lemony Snicket

32. Fire and Blood, George R.R. Martin

33. Anne of Ingleside, L. M. Montgomery

34. Rainbow Valley, L. m. Montgomery

35. The Carnivorous Carnival, Lemony Snicket

36. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Douglas Adams

37. Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen

38. The Slippery Slope, Lemony Snicket

39. The Magic Mountain, Thomas Mann

40. The Grim Grotto, Lemony Snicket

41. Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir

42. A Civil Contract, Georgette Heyer

43. The Penultimate Peril, Lemony Snicket

44. The End, Lemony Snicket

45. The Angel of Darkness, Caleb Carr

46. Y colocín, colorado... Tú, David Safier

47. The Hitchshiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

48. The Chestnut Man, Søren Sveistrup

49. El Juego del Ángel (The Angel's Game), Carlos Ruiz Zafón

50. The Prison of Freedom, Michael Ende

51. Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, Chrétien de Troyes and Godefroi de Leigni

52. A Room with a View, E. M. Foster

53. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole

54. La Cocinera de Castamar (The Cook of Castamar), Fernando J. Núñez

55. Sleeping Beauties, Stephen King & Owen King

56. Love Among the Chickens, P. G. Wodehouse

57. The King's Man, Elizabeth Kingston

58. 1984, George Orwell

59. My family and other animals, Gerald Durrell

60. The Princess Bride, William Goldman

61. Birds, Beasts and Relatives, Gerald Durrrell

62. The Garden of the Gods, Gerald Durrell

63. Dead Until Dark, Charlaine Harris

64. Living Dead in Dallas, Charlaine Harris

65. Club Dead, Charlaine Harris

66. Rivers of London, Ben Aaronovitch

67. Dead to the World, Charlaine Harris

68. Dead as a Doornail, Charlaine Harris

69. Definitely Dead, Charlaine Harris

70. All Together Dead, Charlaine Harris

71. From Dead to Worse, Charlaine Harris

72. Dead and Gone, Charlaine Harris

73. Moon Over Soho, Ben Aaronovitch

74. Dead in the Family, Charlaine Harris

75. A Touch of Dead, Charlaine Harris

76. Kiki's Delivery Service, Eiko Kadono

77. Whispers Under Ground, Ben Aaronovitch

78. The Inimitable Jeeves, P. G. Wodehouse

79. Persepolis Rising, James S. A. Corey

80. Cranford, Elizabeth Gaskell

81. El Silencio del Asesino, Concha López Narváez. I read it because one of my students asked me. She had to read it for school (she's in 9nth grade), and want for me to explain her the end because she got confussed and doubted her reading comprhension. It's a murder mystery withouth the mystery, omniscient narrator that's a jumping POV, and the cheapest plot twists at the end. It was painful, a mess. Poor girl, of course she was confussed.

82. Drive, James S. A. Corey

83. The Churn, James S. A. Corey

84. The Butcher of Anderson Station, James S. A. Corey

85. The Last Flight of the Cassandra, James S. A Corey

86. Tiamat's Wrath, James S. A. Corey

87. Gods of Risk, James S. A. Corey

88. The Vital Abyss, James S. A. Corey

89. Strange Dogs, James S. A. Corey

90. Auberon, James S. A. Corey

91. Cotillion, Georgette Heyer

92. The Great Gastby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.19 (before 1940)

AD 64 – The Great Fire of Rome causes widespread devastation and rages on for six days, destroying half of the city. 484 – Leontius, Roman usurper, is crowned Eastern emperor at Tarsus (modern Turkey). He is recognized in Antioch and makes it his capital. 711 – Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Battle of Guadalete: Umayyad forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by King Roderic. 939 – Battle of Simancas: King Ramiro II of León defeats the Moorish army under Caliph Abd-al-Rahman III near the city of Simancas. 998 – Arab–Byzantine wars: Battle of Apamea: Fatimids defeat a Byzantine army near Apamea. 1333 – Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Halidon Hill: The English win a decisive victory over the Scots. 1544 – Italian War of 1542–46: The first Siege of Boulogne begins. 1545 – The Tudor warship Mary Rose sinks off Portsmouth; in 1982 the wreck is salvaged in one of the most complex and expensive projects in the history of maritime archaeology. 1553 – The attempt to install Lady Jane Grey as Queen of England collapses after only nine days. 1588 – Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: The Spanish Armada is sighted in the English Channel. 1701 – Representatives of the Iroquois Confederacy sign the Nanfan Treaty, ceding a large territory north of the Ohio River to England. 1702 – Great Northern War: A numerically superior Polish-Saxon army of Augustus II the Strong, operating from an advantageous defensive position, is defeated by a Swedish army half its size under the command of King Charles XII in the Battle of Klissow. 1817 – Unsuccessful in his attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi for the Russian-American Company, Georg Anton Schäffer is forced to admit defeat and leave Kauaʻi. 1821 – Coronation of George IV of the United Kingdom. 1832 – The British Medical Association is founded as the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association by Sir Charles Hastings at a meeting in the Board Room of the Worcester Infirmary. 1843 – Brunel's steamship the SS Great Britain is launched, becoming the first ocean-going craft with an iron hull and screw propeller, becoming the largest vessel afloat in the world. 1845 – Great New York City Fire of 1845: The last great fire to affect Manhattan begins early in the morning and is subdued that afternoon. The fire kills four firefighters and 26 civilians and destroys 345 buildings. 1848 – Women's rights: A two-day Women's Rights Convention opens in Seneca Falls, New York. 1863 – American Civil War: Morgan's Raid: At Buffington Island in Ohio, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's raid into the north is mostly thwarted when a large group of his men are captured while trying to escape across the Ohio River. 1864 – Taiping Rebellion: Third Battle of Nanking: The Qing dynasty finally defeats the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. 1870 – Franco-Prussian War: France declares war on Prussia. 1900 – The first line of the Paris Métro opens for operation. 1903 – Maurice Garin wins the first Tour de France. 1916 – World War I: Battle of Fromelles: British and Australian troops attack German trenches as part of the Battle of the Somme. 1934 – The rigid airship USS Macon surprised the USS Houston near Clipperton Island with a mail delivery for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, demonstrating its potential for tracking ships at sea. 1936 – Spanish Civil War: The CNT and UGT call a general strike in Spain – mobilizing workers' militias against the Nationalist forces.

[vonnegutchild]

I just saw a post that did this, and I wanted to make my own version! (I’m definitely cheating via ties, changing whether articles count, etc.) My A-Z book list:

A: Alchemyst (of the Nicholas Flammel books)

B: Brave New World

C: A Confederacy of Dunces (or Cien años de soledad, or Cloud Atlas, or La caverna de las ideas; tie #1)

D: The Day the Sun Died by Yan Lianke

E: Emma by Jane Austen

F: Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

G: Galápagos by Kurt Vonnegut

H: Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

I: Infinite Jest

J: Jane Eyre (haven’t read yet)

K: Kiss of the Spider Woman (Beso de la mujer araña)

L: Las intermitencias de la muerte

M: The Master and Margarita

N: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

O: Of Mice and Men

P: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Q: FUCK IT DON QUIXOTE GETS THE Q SPOT FUCK THE RULES

R: River of Teeth

S: Serve the People! by Yan Lianke

T: This is How You Lose the Time War (or The Terror, I can’t pick 😭 or Turn of the Screw fuck you)

U: Uzumaki by Junji Ito

V: The Vine That Ate the South

W: When We Cease to Understand the World

X: I’d rather keep this list authentic than pretend I have a book that starts with X that I can recall that have strong feelings about.

Y: *radio static*

Z: The Zombie Survival Guide (eyyy middle school throwback)

[automatismoateo]

Why are a lot of Black People Christian despite the Bible and Christianity being used to justify their enslavement and oppression? via /r/atheism

Why are a lot of Black People Christian despite the Bible and Christianity being used to justify their enslavement and oppression? Disclaimer: I'm not Black (though I am mixed-race, white, and Cambodian) and have never personally experienced racism. I am not one to speak or tell people what to do or how to think, especially regarding the movement for liberation and combating injustice. Those are their struggles, the least I could do is to educate myself, empathize, and advocate for those whose voices have been silenced. Whenever I watch videos about slavery during the Antebellum era and the Civil Rights movement, there's always at least one person who quotes a Bible verse or says "Praise the Lord" or "God will set us free." I am not the kind of person to talk down to people, especially black people but for me, when I see a contradiction/inconsistency, I have to call it out. The contradiction that I must call out is why do some African-American people still practice Christianity and base the struggle for their freedom and liberation on the Bible despite it being forced upon them by slave owners and being used to justify their enslavement. Sure, some will claim that "Actually, the slave owners weren't real Christians and were merely using the Bible to justify enslaving people." But theologically, the Bible is PRO-Slavery! There's no denying it. As much as I hate to say it, the Confederacy was more consistent theologically than the Union as the Bible tells you how to own slaves. Also, how can you have on one side Martin Luther King Jr who advocates for freedom and civil rights, and the KKK on the other side who wants to lynch black people?! Both read the same book and believe in the same God. And sure, I know there's a gazillion different secs and they split on social and political issues all the time but still. The contradictions are making my head hurt. Rather than trying to shift through all of the nonsense of the Bible to find one verse that's anti-slavery, I think it's best to close the book (not like Christians ever read the book in the first place). I'll give MLK credit, he was able to make his points clear through non-theological, secular talking points. And Malcolm X said, "Let's keep our religious beliefs in the closet, or else we'll be here all day." I do apologize if my tone comes off the wrong way, but for black atheists out there, how do you contend with some folks still using the Bible as a basis for freedom and civil rights despite it being used to justify your enslavement and oppression and that theologically the Bible is pro-slavery. I think Lil Nas X knew what was going on and just said "Screw it" and made his song Call Me By Your Name, embracing his "sinful" sexuality. Submitted December 23, 2023 at 11:23AM by CreatureXXII (From Reddit https://ift.tt/B0dxV4j)

[kindtobechurlish]

Nathan Bedford Forrest came to his senses, and saw Albert Pike as wrong. What did the lodge do? Who proves Albert Pike as right, in ragtime? So now, I’m talking about that HIKE. You go to the park, and after you get a raise there is depression and gun tax. Albert Pike? Only confederacy in DC. Yo, FUCK THOSE KIKES. And screw that Kike woman. I would rather not be enabled than get rottenness to my bones. Rottenness is suffering from decay. Emission? Saturn’s cave is attracted to me, and I’m not your tool. No bitch. No, CUNT. Go figure

[malady-red-rp]

Peeps! PEEPS!!! I ... I found a Tea rex.

[gffa]

If it was a Republic space ship and Republic officers in the Andor flashbacks, why were there CIS logos on their uniforms???

I have been wondering so much what is going on with the backstory in this series! In Rogue One, Cassian says, “I’ve been in this fight since I was six years old!”, but in the Andor flashbacks, he definitely looks older than six.  Well, we’re assuming Kassa is Cassian, which I think is a fair assumption.  Are they ignoring that line from the movie?  Or is there more context coming, like what happened with the ruins they walk by, why are the people of Kenari living as they do, why did they approach the falling ship with purpose, like they knew what it was? But also, yeah, why did Maarva and the other scavenger (?) say that they killed a Republic officer when he was clearly wearing a Separatist’s logo on his  uniform?

There is no way they missed that logo, it’s on all the officers, very prominently displayed on all the officers, the ones they would have had to step over to look for the fuel cells they wanted:

And, for reference, the left side is the Republic logo, the right side is the Confederacy of Independent Systems/Separatists:

It is very deliberately the CIS logo and I have to assume more is going on. Maarva and the other say that a Republic ship is coming and that they’ll kill the Kenari kids for killing a Republic soldier (which, I mean, I guess, maybe? but that generally doesn’t sound like how the Republic operated, even as fucked up as they were), so why does Maarva think those were Republic officers? I can’t believe that it was just a screw-up on the continuity front, so I have to assume that the mystery will be revealed later on and we’ll eventually get context but I am SO CURIOUS about this and what that means for Maarva’s involvement??

[iliumheightnights]

I think tumblr ate my ask, but: Lux Bonteri x bodyguard!reader where Lux has to go to peace talks between The Confederacy and the Republic and his mother insists on a bodyguard. Cue tall muscular reader who has a proficiency in pretty much all weaponry. Obviously they fall in love.

(Okay but SCREW TUMBLR ASK BOX! This is such a great ask!)

At first Lux wanted NOTHING to do with M/n. The man was only their as a babysitter. That's what he saw M/n as, a big glorified babysitter.

He quickly changed his mood when the peace talks fell through and M/n protected him with all sorts of weapons. Blasters, Whistling Bird, and even a vibro sword.

M/n was able to get Lux safely away from the fighting, but it was only the start of a long adventure to get him back home. Lux got to see a whole other side of the galaxy he hadn't known was there and what the war was causing. He also had been able to get closer to M/n.

Lux's life was about to change, for the better he hoped.

[ask-the-usa-manor]

So. How was the civil war? Virginia, what did it feel like getting torn up and west Virginia being made? Is confederate, or feddy as like to call him, still around?

“Hell,” Georgia stated in a shaky tone she seldom used, “It was hell. We were idiots.”

“She’s right,” Virginia agreed, “And to answer my question; When West was born, I passed out from a huge wave of sudden, fiery pain and woke up shorter. And finally—”

“The traitor’s dead,” America clenched his jaw, “He’s 100% dead.”

“He was… for awhile… He lives deep in the woods representing the neo-Confederacy, but luckily he’s nowhere near as powerful as he was before,” Pennsylvania explained, “Very frail now. Can’t walk without a cane. Other than boiling with bitterness for a war that passed over a century ago and making some extremely weird phone calls to some Southern states every handful of months, he doesn’t do much. I mean, last time I’ve seen him, all he did was stare at me from the forest’s tree line.”

“We keep blocking him. I even changed my number,” Virginia grumbled, “He keeps getting new numbers and finding ours.”

“He’s dead to me,” America sharply finished, “And from what I hear; he’s as good as dead.”

[asundergrowth]

Do you just assume everyone is born a terf unless they prove otherwise?

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H. L. Hunley (submarine)

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"H. L. Hunley" redirects here. For the Confederate marine engineer, see Horace Lawson Hunley.

H. L. Hunley, often referred to as Hunley or as CSS Hunley, was a submarine of the Confederate States of America that played a small part in the American Civil War. Hunley demonstrated the advantages and the dangers of undersea warfare. She was the first combat submarine to sink a warship (USS Housatonic), although Hunley was not completely submerged and, following her successful attack, was lost along with her crew before she could return to base. The Confederacy lost 21 crewmen in three sinkings of Hunley during her short career. She was named for her inventor, Horace Lawson Hunley, shortly after she was taken into government service under the control of the Confederate States Army at Charleston, South Carolina.



1864 painting of H. L. Hunley by Conrad Wise Chapman

HistoryConfederate States Name: H. L. HunleyNamesake: Horace Lawson HunleyBuilder: James McClintockLaid down: Early 1863Launched: July 1863Acquired: August 1863In service: 17 February 1864Out of service: 17 February 1864Status: Stored in H.L Hunley MuseumGeneral characteristics Displacement: 7.5 short tons (6.8 t)Length: 39.5 ft (12.0 m) (unconfirmed)Beam: 3.83 ft (1.17 m)Propulsion: Hand-cranked ducted propellerSpeed: 4 kn (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) (surface)Complement: 2 officer, 6 enlistedArmament: 1 spar torpedo

H. L. HUNLEY (submarine)

U.S. National Register of Historic Places





Show map of South CarolinaShow map of the United StatesShow all

Nearest cityNorth Charleston, South CarolinaCoordinates32°44′0″N 79°46′0″WBuilt1864ArchitectPark & Lyons; Hunley, McClintock & WatsonNRHP reference No.78003412[1]Added to NRHPDecember 29, 1978

Hunley, nearly 40 ft (12 m) long, was built at Mobile, Alabama, and launched in July 1863. She was then shipped by rail on 12 August 1863, to Charleston. Hunley (then referred to as the "fish boat", the "fish torpedo boat", or the "porpoise") sank on 29 August 1863, during a test run, killing five members of her crew. She sank again on 15 October 1863, killing all eight of her second crew, including Horace Lawson Hunley himself, who was aboard at the time, even though he was not a member of the Confederate military. Both times Hunley was raised and returned to service.

On 17 February 1864, Hunley attacked and sank the 1,240-displacement ton United States Navy[2] screw sloop-of-war Housatonic, which had been on Union blockade-duty in Charleston's outer harbor. Hunley did not survive the attack and also sank, taking with her all eight members of her third crew, and was lost.

Finally located in 1995, Hunley was raised in 2000, and is on display in North Charleston, South Carolina, at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center on the Cooper River. Examination in 2012 of recovered Hunley artifacts suggests that the submarine was as close as 20 ft (6.1 m) to her target, Housatonic, when her deployed torpedo exploded, which caused the submarine's own loss.[3]

Predecessors

Construction and testing

Armament

Attack on Housatonic

Disappearance

Recovery of wreckage

Crew

Tours

In popular culture

See also

References

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Last edited 24 days ago by 2600:1700:9B40:8C70:70C9:CFDB:88A0:70C6



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[tlaquetzqui]

I might’ve said this before, but if Firefly had been made by people who gave a shit, the Reavers would have been the crews that brought everyone else to the system(s?). They could have developed their own culture, in the generations they were alone with each other, while everyone else was presumably in cryogenic stasis, and then have gone off to do their own thing when the others woke up.

Maybe they decide “screw the people we ferried here, they literally slept through decades/centuries of our ancestors troubles” and it becomes common for them to raid the people descended from the ones they brought.

That would allow them to play both the roles “Indians” play in a Western, the dangerous raider and the people who were there first and have some prerogatives that must be respected. But nah, that’s complex and mature—we’re talking about people who have a Space Civil War where the Confederacy just wanted to be free and the Union just wanted to oppress them for zero reason.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.19 (before 1900)

AD 64 – The Great Fire of Rome causes widespread devastation and rages on for six days, destroying half of the city. 484 – Leontius, Roman usurper, is crowned Eastern emperor at Tarsus (modern Turkey). He is recognized in Antioch and makes it his capital. 711 – Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Battle of Guadalete: Umayyad forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by King Roderic. 939 – Battle of Simancas: King Ramiro II of León defeats the Moorish army under Caliph Abd-al-Rahman III near the city of Simancas. 998 – Arab–Byzantine wars: Battle of Apamea: Fatimids defeat a Byzantine army near Apamea. 1333 – Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Halidon Hill: The English win a decisive victory over the Scots. 1544 – Italian War of 1542–46: The first Siege of Boulogne begins. 1545 – The Tudor warship Mary Rose sinks off Portsmouth; in 1982 the wreck is salvaged in one of the most complex and expensive projects in the history of maritime archaeology. 1553 – The attempt to install Lady Jane Grey as Queen of England collapses after only nine days. 1588 – Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: The Spanish Armada is sighted in the English Channel. 1701 – Representatives of the Iroquois Confederacy sign the Nanfan Treaty, ceding a large territory north of the Ohio River to England. 1702 – Great Northern War: A numerically superior Polish-Saxon army of Augustus II the Strong, operating from an advantageous defensive position, is defeated by a Swedish army half its size under the command of King Charles XII in the Battle of Klissow. 1817 – Unsuccessful in his attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Hawaii for the Russian-American Company, Georg Anton Schäffer is forced to admit defeat and leave Kauai. 1821 – Coronation of George IV of the United Kingdom. 1832 – The British Medical Association is founded as the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association by Sir Charles Hastings at a meeting in the Board Room of the Worcester Infirmary. 1843 – Brunel's steamship the SS Great Britain is launched, becoming the first ocean-going craft with an iron hull and screw propeller, becoming the largest vessel afloat in the world. 1845 – Great New York City Fire of 1845: The last great fire to affect Manhattan begins early in the morning and is subdued that afternoon. The fire kills four firefighters and 26 civilians and destroys 345 buildings. 1848 – Women's rights: A two-day Women's Rights Convention opens in Seneca Falls, New York. 1863 – American Civil War: Morgan's Raid: At Buffington Island in Ohio, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's raid into the north is mostly thwarted when a large group of his men are captured while trying to escape across the Ohio River. 1864 – Taiping Rebellion: Third Battle of Nanking: The Qing dynasty finally defeats the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. 1870 – Franco-Prussian War: France declares war on Prussia. 1900 – The first line of the Paris Métro opens for operation.

[benjimirthursby]

The Book of Thursby: Scions of Numenor.  “Catch and Release.”

“Maelstrom had obligations to the Alliance and Grand Companies.  Such were taxing its means to support the stifling presence Commodore T’Subaki had established against the Confederacy.  Indeed, the slowly escalating conflicts ashore were forcing the Company fleet to stretch thinner and revert to tactics more prevalent in our first years. The risks were not what we remembered."  - Katryn Vaunter, Personal Log.

The Scion Air Ships (SAS) Fairstar, Fairwind, Fairsea and Andustar (ex-Fairsky) comprised the four Saxton class airships in Company service.  Andustar, Fairstar and Fairwind  were escorting a long mixed convoy of surface and air ships toward Kugane.  Ex-baggers, over several refits by the Company, the Saxtons had forsaken their lifting “air bags.”  Replacing them were greatly enhanced Garlean style Corulium wheels amidships and lift plate along her conventional waterline.  The class retained the masts support lines which added a grace while underway and utility in close action.  But their profiles allowed them to pass for merchant vessels at a distance.  Aesthetically the Saxtons resembled fat paddlewheel passenger boats in some respects.  Only with gun casemates studding the sides rather than the passenger verandas.

The assorted gun mounts housed a mix of new and somewhat antiquated mid-caliber naval guns.  Her main deck offered swivel guns and arms intended for boarding and repelling of boarders.  Comfortable, well equipped and immaculately kept, the Saxton class were antique improvised compromises all the same.  Leadership, tactics and the skill of crews made them into effective warships and Commodore T’Subaki had been at the root of that.  

“Continuous bearing, decreasing range, time to track inception five minutes.” the ensign at the plot table said aboard Andustar.  Her captain, Katryn Vaunter and Commodore Aubreen T'Subaki listened.  "Azimuthal quad screw, wheels, no bags.  Two gun decks."  Vaunter reported as she used her hand scopes to view the contact.

Open piracy had not known a more miserable time at sea.  Able to check the Confederacy and pirates on the open ocean for years, such had not prevented the would-be toll keepers and pirate lords from convincing privateers to challenge them.  This was the third such challenge of the journey.

"Designate Privateer One." Vaunter ordered.  

T'Subaki glanced over the plot table.  "I have him captain."   

"Commodore has the con." Vaunter said in turn.  

"Signal Fairwind to proceed 15 points to port and advance to emergency ahead.  Then bring us to a direct course abeam." T'Subaki ordered, peering at the makeshift commerce raider hardly more than a small dark silhouette.

Andustar and Fairwind turned from their positions within the convoy.  Free trade was not the wish of the ruling men of Hingashi, but it was powerless to enforce tribute or escorted vessels from making port in Kugane.  The Confederacy had presented a barrier to most trade until Maelstrom pressed independent pirates into compliance with it and the Thursby Company Fleet pushed the rest aside.

"Pennant flying."  Captain Vaunter said over her shoulder to the commodore whose attention was now on the opposite side of the convoy.  "Aye, Sunrise and sword on a purple background.  I saw it."  T'Subaki said.  

"Plot, report all contacts." T'Subaki ordered, her gaze to the distance unbroken.  The ensign glanced at his chart.  "My only contacts are convoy and Privateer One." he replied, looking up and seeing the direction of the commodore's attention.  As he did the sound phone buzzed.  He picked the handset up and answered. "Plot.......right then" replacing the headset on its hook.  He began to update his chart and announced "Con, new contact, starboard bow,  unknown vessel type, range 18 kilometers.  Bearing and speed undetermined." the ensign reported.  "Con aye.  Designate Ghost One.  Mister Vaunter the con is yours, Take us in."  T'Subaki acknowledged.

"Those eyes." Vaunter thought to herself as she snapped her hand scope toward a small dot just above the line of the horizon.  "Signal Fairstar to increase angels to fifteen hundred and maintain speed.  Helm, advance to flank. Signals, send all ships to stand to quarters. XO, rig for boarding action." Vaunter ordered in a flurry that sent still more orders along their chains of command and duty. The increased altitude would make it clear to the new contact that the convoy was escorted if the new contact was hostile.  The Andustar and Fairwind would still be obscured from it.  But the privateer would know also.  All the more reason to close the shrinking distance with it quickly.  

The Andustar rumbled as her corilum powered furnaces surged and the power shunted to her thrusters. As her speed increated the inverted, or ramming bow created pressure which depressed it.  Small thrusters in the bow and increased power to the Garlean designed lift wheels evened its pitch.

The Fairwind made her best speed away from the convoy.  As Andustar closed within a kilometer T'Subaki retook the con.

"Signal Fairwind to begin her run and pull the hook in.  Plot report changes, contact Ghost One?" T'Subaki asked.

The ensign replied, sound surprised,  "Unchanged, holding at original position, now ten kilometers off starboard bow."

T'Subaki nodded and leered at the dark shape in the distance.  The faint look of misgiving did not escape Vaunters attention. 

"Trouble?" she asked.  T'Subaki shook her head and turned toward the contact abeam.  

"No, the Garleans are not disposed to raid commerce." she said.

Vaunter whose look of concern was followed by a quick look with her scopes.  

"Garlean?"

 "Yes, oversized, incoherent design.  Gaudy, gilded details like a flying house of ill repute. " T'Subaki said with a tone of derision.

"But lets be about the business at hand." 

The matter of contact Ghost One was subordinated to after action discussion.  The women both turned to the plot table.  Seeing Fairwinds position, T'Subaki raised her voice.

"Signals, send Privateer One, issue hostile challenge and order them to stand away from the convoy or it will be fired upon.  Helm, reduce speed to ahead dead slow, come to starboard and present port broadside.  All mounts to global control.  And raise my colors.  Execute."  T'Subaki ordered.  

Twice already this cruise from Limsa to Kugane, a motley assortment of vessels, some bearing no weapon more threatening than the smell below decks had challenged the convoy.  As before T'Subaki deployed her ships to ensure their lack of speed and numbers did not allow for their escape.

"Action on the decks."  Vaunter observed as the privateer waivered in her course as its crew scurried about.  "They are preparing to fight." she added.  T'Subaki nodded and shook her head.  

"Their effort would be flattering were it not so ill advised and the methods amateur." T'Subaki said.  It was not the futility of this would be raider but the unseen parties that must be driving them to try.  Consulting the plot, she nodded again. "Signal Fairwind to engage.  Then signal Privateer One to strike colors and prepare to be boarded."  

As in the previous two encounters Fairwinds course formed a hook shape on the plot chart.  Like a fisher the company escort would effectively catch and release the raider after a short fight, boarding and dropping ordinance over the side.  

"Fairwind engaging." Vaunter said as from the ships forward most casemates flashes and delayed cracks announced a warning volley over the privateers bow.  "Response from Privateer One?" T'Subaki asked.

"Negative, only latent coms noise on the link." the signals bosun replied.  T'Subaki furled a brow.  "The new link pearls or upwell set?" she asked.

The bosun shook his head. "New."

"Very well, log the issue after action.  Signal, clear Fairwind to engage hostile, route ship-to-ship channel to the plot handset, link two." T'Subaki said.  Vaunter spared a look. "Not worried we might miss a reply?" she asked.  T'Subaki shook her head. 

Aboard the privateer the scattered efforts of its crew finally produced a deck of loaded cannons. Either a fire order or fearful gun captain led to one firing, which led then immediately to the decks entire division to discharge.  The rounds largely failed to strike save a few shells which burst against the improvised armor plates.  These plates were used for protection and emergency ballast aboard the Saxton class.

"Not worried at all.  The new links have not failed yet, if the quality leaves much to be desired." she T’Subaki told Vaunter as the vibration from the ad hoc barrage calmed. "Helm, ahead full."  She ordered.

Picking up the handset at the plot table T'Subaki flipped a switch, "Control, Con, current track, Kill Gun, all mounts.  Commence firing, fire continuous."  T'Subaki flipped the channel selector to the next setting which connected it to the ship-to-ship Linkpearl box at the signals station.  "Fairwind, Flag, weapons free, nav free, mind our solution and prevent Privateer One from egressing the engagement."  

Within a moment, the full port side armement of Andustar fired.  As quickly as each could reload the guns fired again.  The vibration and noise merged into the engines surging to their full power thrusting the ship forward.  Fairwind turned hard to starboard and released her own broadside.

Fairwind and Andustar circled the ship slowly.  Their combined fire ripped through the air and into the privateer relentlessly. The engagement that followed was as lopsided as the contrast in combatants. In a matter of minutes the return fire had ceased, deck fires were prevalent and the ships propulsion and lift screws were destroyed.  

Falling from the sky, the burning hulk shed crew into the water before drawling too much water the capsizing.  Fairwind held station to recover survivors before rejoining the convoy.  Andustar sprinted to resume her place near the front of the flock it escorted.  

The convoy itself never stopped moving nor changed course.  Fairstar resumed her cruising altitude and position within the convoy.  Kugane was now a half days sail.  "Fairsea, Orrostar and Cutlass put to sea this morning with the convoy to Limsa.  Watch Tondera was advised of the downing and the Garlean contact.  All ships are proceeding as before"  Vaunter summed the watch notes in the officer galley.  

The freshly offwatch officers were celebrating around them.  No prize to be had, the privateer was not captured.  All the same, after confronting and subduing two earlier assailants there was satisfaction in sounding hammering the third.

"Whatever the new Garlean ship was it never moved until the convoy passed.  Then it drew east bearing toward Limsa." Vaunter added.  T'Subaki sipped at her glass of a wine from Ul'Dah.  And thoughtfully looked at her friend, lover and protégé.  "In your written after action report, note the performance issues with the Linkpearl gear."  She said, catching Vaunters eyes long gaze for a deliberately long moment before a mutual knowing laugh broke punctuated the moment. "Early morning dear, convoy putting into port.  Shall we retire?"  T'Subaki asked rising from her seat beside Vaunter.

"Very well.  We can….debrief more then I hope."  Vaunter said with a smirk tucking and arm about T'Subaki's waist as they walk to the exit.

*******