First Previous
Chapter 2: Now Is Found
​
The moment the Into the Black entered Sol, the human’s home system, various transmissions and radio signals poured in. At first, the captain and the rest of the crew thought that humanity was well and truly alive. But upon closer inspection of the deluge of signals they were receiving, they realized they were nothing more than automated warnings, echoes, and ghost signals bouncing around the countless derelict ships, stations, habitats, and arcologies that surrounded nearly every world and moon in the system. The place was a mass grave, far greater than any of the previous systems. In fact, this system was the most developed Ohmata had ever seen. The Galactic Union’s capital is the most advanced system in the GU, and it pales compared to the level of development of the human home system!
The sheer amount of death and destruction was frightening. Entire fleets worth of ships clumped together in the void of space. Their own mass creating a small gravity, pulling them together and fashioning massive hulks. While also creating hazardous clouds of metal debris, more than a few moving fast enough to rip the Black to shreds, should they not be vigilant. Constructs the size of cities floated aimlessly, stuck within the confines of the star’s influence. Mobile defense platforms, which once bristled with the finest weapons humanity could field, lay battered and broken amongst the many wrecks that called Sol home. Humanity did not go down without a fight, that much was for certain. If anyone ever called them cowards, Ohmata would simply show them the recorded footage of their home system to prove the naysayers otherwise.
There looked to be more metal strewn about from the battles and destroyed ships alone than in every GU fleet combined, and more than a few worlds, too. The difference in the ships was obvious. The human vessels were boxy, utilitarian. They did their jobs, and they did them well. Many of which appeared to be nothing more than massive guns someone built a ship around, then put more guns on that.
The Nemesis were different; they weren’t boxy and rigid angles like the humans, but not totally smooth either. They had a far more organic look with multiple bends and curves, but the surfaces seemed to be rough and bumpy, and unlike the human ships, almost none were symmetrical. But though they were asymmetrical, there existed patterns in the various derelicts. As if they were variations of preexisting models, updated and expanded upon with time. In comparison, most GU ships were a happy medium. They had the bends and curves like the Nemesis, but were neatly symmetrical like the human ships.
Looking past the destruction and death, the system was fairly average. Four rocky worlds, four gas giants, and several smaller bodies here and there. The gas giants still had the broken remains of floating cities scattered across them, while their moons contained colonies and stations galore. But what was most interesting were the third and fourth rocky worlds. The fourth one had depressingly little green on it. It was mostly red, with an occasional white streak indicating clouds. It was highly developed, ruined cities ranged across its surface freely. But it bore the marks of war none the less. It would be a prime candidate for collecting samples, as long as the surface wasn’t too hazardous. Humanity did have a fetish for nuclear annihilation towards their end, after all.
The third planet, the third planet was something else. It was a grey husk devoid of life. Its moon had a massive crater denting its facade, with many smaller ones marking its surface. They stood out prominently. Fresh wounds of war contrasted against natural meteor strikes. The debris from the lunar surface and whatever had caused the impact was already starting to form the semblance of a ring around the planet. And like everywhere else, the surrounding space was choked with battle debris, though most had collected in the planet’s “proto ring”. There was so much debris that they could barely scan the planet, and what parts they could get to was so irradiated that a signal couldn’t penetrate from such a distance. Which meant if they wanted to scan the home world of these legendary humans, they would have to get closer. Which, frankly, was currently impossible.
“Nix’Fa, can you maneuver through that debris field?” Ohmata asked, while peering down at her console.
“No ma’am. A shuttle may get through, but it won’t have any of the equipment necessary to scan the planet. At least, not at any reasonable rate,” Nix’Fa replied. She, too, was looking over her console at potential flight paths.
First Lieutenant Qhaax spoke up from her station. “We may not need to actually scan the planet to learn more about humanity, captain. Most of the planet is a flattened, irradiated death pit, but the debris field around it still contains warships from both sides, some in remarkable condition. In fact, several derelicts appear to still have power, even after thousands of years. We may be able to board them using a shuttle and extract data from any intact computer systems we find. And while not exactly human, there is a Nemesis ship relatively close to the edge of the field. It would be a good first target.”
“Then we’ll change our plan to that. Qhaax, contact Kitern and tell her to get her marines suited up, send a techy or two and some researchers with them as well. You’ll have to contact Tentzonta to get her to let some of her engineers loose for once, and Glevar for her researchers. Though you won’t have to convince her, she’ll be jumping at the opportunity. Nix’Fa, start plotting them a course, and we’ll go from there, understood?”
The two responded with a crisp, yes ma’am, and got to work on their respective tasks.
-
“Kitern, can you hear me?” Ohmata’s voice called out from Kitern’s suit’s comms.
“Loud and clear, cap, whatcha need?” Commander Kitern responded as she stowed away several more energy cells for her weapon. She was a digitigrade, feline like mammal known as a Lioranian, with thick paw like hands that held deadly claws within them. They were still thin and nimble enough to manipulate objects accurately, but most importantly, pull a trigger. Her kind also had a slightly elongated snout, long tail, and top forward facing ears. Their eyes were dark, but a few bore mutations which lightened the iris to a sky blue. And their pupils are vertical, but would dilate periodically to give better depth perception and low light visibility. Her species’ coats ranged from a dark tan to a bright yellow gold and had multiple coat patterns of varying intensities. She personally had a dusty tan coat with slight stripe markings originating from her spine, but quickly fading as they reached around to her abdomen and chest.
“You already have a basic rundown about what to do. But I just wanted to remind you, we marked an entrance for you through some old battle damage on a derelict Nemesis ship that is close to the edge of the debris field. Enter, make your way to the power source, secure the area, and set up a pressurized zone if possible so the techies can work in peace. If you can’t, oh well, they can work in their suits. Also, you see anything living, as unlikely as that is, don’t go shooting it. Try to capture or reason with it, but if it does anything stupid, then do what you and your girls do best.”
Kitern smiled maliciously. “Aye, aye, captain. We’ll keep the civvies alive and kick’n, get the goods and be back in no time.”
“Then I leave the rest to you. Oh, try not to mess with the shuttle’s controls while it’s on autopilot this time. It’ll be weaving through a debris field too compact to get the Black into. Any rescue efforts will take a long time, longer than what you’ll have, so don’t touch the throttle like last time!” Ohmata raised her voice jokingly, playfully reminding Kitern of the last time they were on a shuttle together in such conditions.
“Ha! Dontcha worry, I’ll be in the back. Onsa will be in the pilot’s seat for this go. She’s a better flyer anyways,” Kitern played.
“Alright then, get done and come back, preferable alive. Ohmata out.” There was a click as Ohmata closed the channel.
“Hmph, always do.” Kitern had been staring at a random wall while talking to Ohmata. With the call over, she turned to her squad. “Alright girls, get your shit together and get to the shuttle. Oh, and keep your hands to yourself, Hran is coming along, I don’t want any complaints from him, or hands where they shouldn’t be, got it?” she barked, eyeing each of the three other marines, more specifically the youngest two.
“What if he lets us?” one of said marines asked jokingly.
“It’ll be a cold day on Ca’tab before that happens, Asteli,” Kitern replied.
“You never know, we might just wear him down finally, right Gre’Namra?” the perky Venanian replied.
“How many times do I have to tell you? Just call me Namra, and I doubt it. Men like to be wined and dined. Take them out, pay for a fancy meal, maybe buy them something. You know, the usual,” her counterpart, a Drae’Ildan, responded.
Kitern sighed. “Or how about not harassing anyone and act like a decent sentient, you hornbags? Now, shut it and get to the shuttle. Dentala you’ll have your work cut out for you keeping track of these two today.”
“Not as big of a job as keeping track of you, I pity Onsa,” Dentala said as she lifted a heavy kinetic slugger with a red hand, another Venanian.
Kitern chuffed deeply, her species version of a chuckle. “Me too! But, you might wanna put on a glove before we go out. Might help with the whole vacuum thing.” Dentala looked at her hand, surprised that she had forgotten it, before slipping one on. It attached to her bracer and made an airtight seal, forming an armored gauntlet. With that, the four marines left to join their fifth member in the shuttle.
As they left the locker room, Asteli mumbled under her breath. “We wouldn’t do that. We’re not assholes,” she said, addressing Kitern’s assertion of harassment.
“Well, you sound like one,” Gre’Namra replied quietly. After that, they kept their heads down and trudged along with their commanding officer.
A short jaunt later, they were passing through the hangar bay’s airlock. They were greeted by the Black’s only two shuttles. One, small and cramped, meant for scanning dangerous locations that they couldn’t get to with the ship. The second was much larger. It was built to transport supplies and the handful of rovers they had in storage, to make excursions to planets. The smaller shuttle had permanently extended wings and large thrusters on the rear. The larger of the two, simply dubbed Shuttle One, could fold its wings. And had a variety of thrusters located across the ship for better maneuverability in space, and atmospheric thrusters embedded in the center of each wing for flight in atmo. But it also had two large engines in the back for forward thrust, just above its rear ramp.
Walking over to shuttle one, Onsa, the other Lioranian in the squad, was already waiting for them in the pilot’s seat. In the rear seating area were two engineers and two scientists, wearing grey, lightly armored EVA suits that looked to be made of cloth, but were instead a variety of advance polymers and flexible but insulative materials. Most of the helmet was a large, one way transparent material, allowing for increased awareness while sacrificing protection. In comparison, the marine’s helmets had no exterior window, instead a suite of miniature sensors embedded in their black armored helmets allowed them to see through an internal display screen. The helmets appeared to be smooth metal from a distance, only up close could you see the microscopic sensors embedded in them.
The marine’s suits held many of the same features as the civilians, but were black and had thick armored plates over vital areas and on select parts of their extremities, with thinner, non-metal armor segments filling in the gaps. Both suit types had an array of pockets and hideaways, each holding their respective tools of the trade. Regardless of the accessories, or level of protection, each was specially crafted to accommodate for the unique physiologies of the different species.
Had the ship and its equipment not made with each of their species in mind, they would have worn generic multi species suits. Instead of the pre-built features tailored for their specific anatomy, they would be covered with a thick insulated, pliable material that fitted over the horns, tails, and crests and shrank until it was tightly pressed against every nook and cranny. Aside from personalized helmets, each species’ leg sections and gloves/gauntlets catered for whether they were plantigrade, digitigrade, or for how many digits they may possess.
Hran being a male Venanian, had small horns jutting out from his temples. But because his horns were so small, his helmet did not need any special features. Thus was fairly plain. It looked like a sphere that had been slightly squished in on the sides. Unlike the females of his species, who had much larger, curved horns, their helmets were marked with two twin armored segments sticking up like antenna. Otherwise, their helmets were just as “stubby” as his, for their flatter faces. At least, in comparison to the other species onboard.
The Shednae with their elaborate head crests and long faces, had a stubby mohawk like metal protrusion for their crests to fit in, and longer helmets to account for their heads. The Drae’Ildan’s helmets were similar to the Shednae. In fact, they could be mistaken for one another if not for the lack of a head crest. Lastly, the Lioranian helmets were quite plain, aside from the extended “snout” for their slightly longer faces and two nubs to house their ears located on the top of their heads.
Those with tails were likewise afforded a special area to put them, instead of the shrinking material normal for such species. The Shednae have a small knob like space for their short tails. While the Venanians and Lioranians had long thin tails, they could be coiled in the suit. Drae’Ildan suits had a much longer and thicker tail section that looked burdensome but was quite flexible. Their suits were also equipped with a much larger array of sensors to assist them, as the Drae’Ildan’s natural sensory organs were significantly dulled in such tight confines.
“I see the grunts have finally made their appearance. Why did you bother bringing so many guns with you? It’s a derelict that has been floating dead in space for thousands of cycles. There won’t be anything living on board.”, one of the engineers nagged, as the marines ducked into the shuttle. Though her helmet was on, it was clear she was a part of engineering by the orange stripe running along the left of her suite, and left sleeve. Mimicking their uniforms.
“And a fine hello to you Kass, you too, Hran,” Kitern said as she sat down across from the two Venanians and buckled in. Hran simply nodded silently. Kitern continued, “And as for your question, we have no idea what we’ll find. You want to be stuck out in space with no way of protecting yourself if something is there? Yeah, I’m sure it’s empty too. Doesn’t mean I’m taking any chances.” Kass snorted at her reply.
“Shavizi, Jurwa, what about you two, think we’ve over prepared?” Kitern asked the two scientists to her left. Their stripes were blue.
“One can never be too prepared! Though the heavy slugger seems a bit excessive, but as long as you don’t drop it on me, I have no complaints,” Jurwa, a Shednae, said gleefully, practically bouncing in her seat.
“I agree, organic enemies aside. The ship may have automated defenses still functioning. If so, they will have to be dealt with accordingly.” Shavizi added. Yet another Venanian.
“See Kass, they get it,” Kitern grinned smugly underneath her helmet as she leaned back and buckled herself in.
As the others sat down and buckled in, Onsa turned in her seat to see if they were all ready. Everyone confirming they were. She turned back around and started up the shuttle. Quickly putting it into autopilot, but still keeping her hands on the controls just in case. The shuttle slipped out of the bay, passing through the atmospheric retention field, and pitching down and to the left, heading for the derelict Nemesis ship.
As the debris field is so dense and dangerous, the Into the Black was several hundred kilometers away, clear of any potential danger. As such, the trip would take around five minutes before they reached the field, another six to navigate the debris, as it was so hazardous. The Nemesis ship in question was near the edge of the debris field, but still mostly intact, with some power readings emanating from within, a perfect target for research.
-
“We’re coming alongside it now. Once we have successfully magnetized to its hull with the docking clamps, I’ll decompress the shuttle and you can open him up,” Onsa called out, just barely turning her head back in their direction.
Kitern activated her comms so everyone could hear her clearly once the air was siphoned out. “Gotcha. Scans show two distinct points of power readings. Both look to be in the same place, or at least really damn close. We’ll take a right once we get into the ship and follow the corridor until it leads to a three-way intersection. Then we make a left, then a right, and we’ll be on track. The room in question will be along that corridor. Keep your eyes and sensors open for anything that looks Nemesis-y.”
“Oh, like the entire ship?” Kass chimed in.
Kitern rolled her eyes. “Onsa, give a countdown.”
Onsa nodded her head. “Affirmative. Decompression commencing in three… two… one… starting.” There was an audible hiss that slowly faded away as the air in the shuttle was pulled back into storage tanks for later use. “Decompression complete, safe to open the door,” she confirmed over their comms.
“Opening door. Don’t go floating off,” Kitern joked as she pressed a button near the hatch, causing it to slide open silently. Before them was a gaping hole in the side of what looked like a ship that had grown large warts. The human beacons had mentioned that the Nemesis ships weren’t smooth, but the reality was a bit more unsettling up close. The humans weren’t sure why the Nemesis ships were so… bumpy. But they knew it wasn’t actually part of the building process, as newly refurbished or repaired Nemesis vessels lacked the warty exterior. But they had seen no importance in investigating the reason, so it remains a mystery to this day.
Kitern lifted a foot, causing the magnetic lock on that boot to disengage automatically, then re-engage when she put pressure on it. Allowing her to walk forward until she was looking down into the hole. Kitern put a foot on the lip of the shuttle, and bent forward, pushing herself into the opening.
As Kitern floated into the ship, she could see the corridors were circular, with strange partitions along the edges. The partitions didn’t seem to move or close, so she guessed they were more decorative support beams than actual doorways. A second later, she put out a hand to stop herself from colliding with the far wall, and pushed downward, boots magnetizing to the floor. Upon magnetizing, she immediately lifted her weapon. It was a small energy-based firearm, similar in size and function to an SMG.
Looking down both directions of the corridor showed nothing of interest other than more of those strange support beams and closed bulkhead doors on either end. She noted the twisted metal and battle damage in the corridor caused by whatever had impacted the hull.
Before everyone had touched down, she started making her way toward their objective. She continued on until she reached the bulkhead door at the end of the corridor. It was not fully closed, only partially, allowing someone to grip between the two sections and pull them apart. She did just that. As the door slowly opened, Dentala came up behind her and lent her strength to the task. Grunting in exertion, they pulled the door apart until they could easily walk through. Kitern silently fist bumped Dentala on the shoulder in thanks before she continued on, weapon held at the ready.
As they proceeded through the derelict, signs of battle began to appear. At first, it was only a few scorch marks or kinetic impact craters on the wall. Then, what looked like dried blood from some ancient creature. It had aged into a sickly dark green color with a hint of yellow. A quick scan showed that no genetic material could be retrieved, it had long degraded into nothing. Though some sort of information could certainty be gleamed from the stain if they searched long enough, but the sample was unimportant, as it was not a focus of the mission. Pressing on, the signs of battle intensified, as well the amount of spilled blood. At one point, an entire corridor looked like it had been painted in viscera.
The team could only speculate on what had happened. Was it a mutiny? Civil war between surviving Nemesis forces trapped in the Sol system? Or perhaps the humans had something to do with it? But there was one thing on everyone’s mind as they walked through the ancient carnage. Where were the bodies? They hadn’t passed a single corpse yet, just blood stains.
“Captain Kitern, do you suppose we can slow down and so I can scan the ship a bit more? I can’t get a proper reading while moving like this,” Shavizi requested from the back. She had some sort of tool and was waving it back and forth across the surface of the corridor.
“You can scan the ship when we stop, and that will be when we get to those power signals. And once we make sure the place is secure,” Kitern responded, weapon still up at her shoulder as she swept the hallway.
“If that is your order,” Shavizi relented, but still attempted to scan everything they passed, incomplete or not.
It didn’t take long before they arrived at where the Black said the power readings were. They had weaved about the ship a bit more than desired. Several bulkhead doors were completely sealed shut, causing them to detour, but they managed it in the end. They were now standing in front of a large single door; it was nowhere near as large as the bulkhead doors that sealed off entire corridors, but it was large enough to allow passage with room to spare on all sides.
It too bore damage from whatever conflict had occurred within the ship. The door’s access panel was damaged, and the surrounding wall panels warped. Preventing them from directly interacting with the door.
“This is the place; my scanner is already picking up power readings from here. Hran, be a dear and get out the interface tools. We’ll see if this door has power first, instead of brute forcing our way through first thing,” Kass stated. Hran silently carried out his orders, unpacking a variety of tools they may need.
After pulling off several of the panels to see if they allowed access to the door’s wiring, they eventually found the right one. Sadly, a closer inspection revealed that the door, like nearly the entire ship, had no power, meaning it couldn’t be opened by the press of a button like they wanted.
“Oh well, do what you do best, Kitern,” Kass shrugged as she and Hran began packing up their tools.
“Eh, worth a shot. Privates, if you please,” Kitern motioned to the door for the two young marines to take a crack at it. They both replied with a crisp, yes ma’am, and quickly got to work trying to pry open the door.
It took a little more effort than they thought, but over time it slowly slid further and further open, until Gre’Namra wedged herself in between the door and frame, and used her entire body to push it open. Asteli joined in when it widened enough for the both of them. Together, they pushed it fully open, the door slowly recessing into the wall. Revealing an old dusty room with several long bed-like pods.
“Thank you, girls. Now clear the room while you’re at it. Though by now any baddies would have chewed you up,” Kitern ordered. The two did just that. Thankfully, the entire room could be seen from the doorway, so there really wasn’t any clearing. Just looking behind the pods for anything not so friendly.
During their little search, they noticed one bed had several lights flickering on its side. They pointed it out to the others. Immediately, Kass and Shavizi pushed them aside to get to it. Drooling over it like children being offered sweets.
“I wonder what this is?! After so many thousands of years, it still has power. I thought those beacons were incredible enough, but this is something else!” Kass said to no one in particular.
Shavizi had been scanning the bed, as well as its neighbors, while Kass looked it over. “Hmm. The pods have a sliding covering that encloses the occupants. All the others are open, yet this one is closed.” Shavizi tapped at her scanner a bit. “Wait… the other energy signature… it’s coming from inside it!” she said astonished, while moving a hand over the top of the slid that covered the pod. As she did, thousands of years’ worth of dust floated away from where she dragged her hand. Allowing a small amount of light to break free from within.
Noticing this, Shavizi leaned forward and peered inside the pod. Her eyes went wide as her mind tried to make sense of what she was seeing. “GET BACK! DON’T TOUCH IT!” she screamed, but was too late. Kass, who was now crouched down near the base of the bed, had pressed a finger to one of the flickering lights just as Shavizi yelled her warning. All Kass had time to do was turn her head up and mutter a confused, “huh?”, before the covering of the pod slid open, unleashing its occupant onto the galaxy.
First Previous
Hello once again! First things first. If you see the name Osan, please point it out to me. It is supposed to be Onsa, but the program I use to write the story changed the name to Osan for some reason. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the cliffhanger! This chapter is meant to help further detail the various species and their features, and of course set up for many things to come!
Also, in my last story. I had a lot of flashback sequences to add in fluff and give backstory to the MC. While I don't want overuse it in this story, I do want to have flashback esque sequences that are basically just battles of the Human-Nemesis war (recorded combat footage recovered from human ships and installations), introduce new characters, or maybe give further development to preexisting characters. The flashback sequences will be called Orphan: Tales of the Past and won't begin until a certain point in the main story. Once that point is reached, the side stories will pop up every once in a while in place of the main story chapters. Or, if I fell as if its safe to push the story ahead, you'll get the main story and a side story in one week.
That's it for the week folks! See you next week!

I’m on the verge of getting the pattern for Royal Executioner. I’m definitely using Envious Assassin in the first slot, not sure about the 2nd. The problem with reservoir burst in my opinion is that as soon as your mag size is 7 and below your gun is basically perkless whereas ,yeah your damage overall will be less with incandescent but you’ll have perk utility until the very last round. Thoughts?

Hello! I’m about to start constructing a vintage dress and smock pattern. The pattern is Simplicity 9800 in size 14 “Miss”. I’m going to do style 2. The measurements of the garment fit me exact except for the bust. The busy is 36 inches and my bust measures 32 inches. I’ve almost completely transitioned to wearing bralettes over padded bras and in most of my vintage looks, it fits the era better. For this reason, I would prefer to not need a padded bra when wearing this dress.
Would you suggest I downsize the pattern? How can I do it without ruining the pattern pieces? Does anything else need to be adjusted if I downsize just the top pieces?

Predictmedix (CSE: PMED, OTC: PMEDF, FRA: 3QP) announced several updates regarding business expansions in the last couple of weeks. The company that provides workplace health and safety improvements thanks to AP-powered products notably stated it has begun to produce its mobile application for detecting impairment from cannabis and alcohol. Combined with high-margin revenues, there is no doubt why the stock price increases after news is released.
​
https://preview.redd.it/eue0f7cvq4pa1.png?width=750&format=png&auto=webp&s=49c53b6450605c14a0a9cdc405af095f5e9e2f08
What is the issue?
Over the world, law enforcement and high-risk businesses have struggled with the problem of alcohol and cannabis-related impairment, and the present testing procedures are cumbersome, expensive, and time-consuming. Drug testing businesses have struggled to develop a single product that combines dependability, speed, cost-effectiveness, and non-invasiveness. Businesses and organizations have been dealing with issues for a long time are addressed by the portable solution from Predictmedix, designed for law enforcement agencies and other high-risk mobility industries.
The global workplace safety market is expected to grow at a fast pace. The 13.5% CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) should bring the market’s valuation to USD $26.7B by 2027.
Company Overview
Predictmedix is a rising international provider of fast health assessments, medical supplies, and options for remote patient treatment. The company’s Safe Entry Stations use multispectral cameras to evaluate physiological data patterns and detect indicators of exhaustion, impairment from cannabis or alcohol, infectious disease, and crucial physiological factors. These stations use specialized artificial intelligence (AI). Using multispectral cameras, the company’s Safe Entry Stations may detect indicators of weariness, impairment from alcohol or cannabis use, infectious infections, and other critical physiological factors. Another advantage is the company’s capacity to monitor signs of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. Because Covid causes distinctive physiological patterns, its solution will be able to identify, evaluate, and then decide whether or not that person is likely to be infected. A real-time examination will decide whether any more testing is necessary. Predictmedix’s AI will learn how new symptoms present novel patterns from which to continue recognizing infection as the virus evolves.
It gives numerous benefits in financial terms. Screening as a Service provides multi-year contracts and high-margin recurring revenue. Safe Entry’s technology is supported and tested (CE Mark and ISO certified). Through innumerable placements and events that received excellent evaluations and were successfully published in peer-reviewed publications, Secure Entry provides organizations all over the world with the confidence and effectiveness they require.
​
https://preview.redd.it/gdaln2wwq4pa1.jpg?width=977&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=df2cbd9be27a5de1f0adb1afbd266b8a0549a39e
On March 15, Predictmedix announced it has started manufacturing its AI-powered mobile application that rapidly detects impairment from alcohol and cannabis. In numbers, the screening machine’s processing time takes less than 30 seconds to complete, and has a success rate of over 90%. The Safe Entry was notably tested by 1600 persons at the University of Jakarta, and Indonesia prepares the products for regulatory approval listed as Medical Devices.
“We are happy to announce to our shareholders that we are making very good progress with our portable solution for detecting impairment in individuals. From our research and discussions with high-level contacts, we believe our product will be in high demand in multiple industry verticals worldwide. In 2021, the drug screening market size was valued at over $5.2 Billion with revenue forecasted at over $22 Billion in 20302, making this another lucrative opportunity for Predictmedix.”
Dr. Rahul Kushwah, Chief Operating Officer
Share Structure / Financials
The latest financial statements occurred for the period ending October 31, 2022. On this date, the company issued 119M shares. We also can notice Predictmedix has 7.2M warrants at $0.27 and only 580k options at $0.40. These numbers don’t include the following $610k financing. Indeed on February 13, Predictmedix raised $612k by issuing 12.25M shares at $0.05. Entitled to each share is a $0.10 warrant. The net proceeds issued from the financing will be used for general options including business development and technology upgrades.
The stock price trades at $0.15 (March 18). After witnessing a constant downtrend over 2022, 2023 saw brighter days, notably thanks to commercialization targets. After undergoing a 52-week low of $0.025, PMED pushes towards its 52-week high of $0.21.
The company has made the same amount in gross profit and generated $3.5k in revenue during the quarter. The company experienced a $459 loss in the interim, primarily as a result of consultancy expenditures ($152k), management fees ($80k), and marketing costs ($86k). We can point out that Predictmedix has meager revenue costs, which means that costs will be quickly covered if sales start to come in.
​
https://preview.redd.it/igydqq4yq4pa1.jpg?width=977&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ea2ea4e24a7cfac88824f4cf583d6387ca157671
“In 2023, Predictmedix will be hyper-focused on commercialization, securing high-revenue recurring placements for workplaces in industries such as mining, manufacturing, warehousing, construction, and other industries where employee health and safety remain of high priority.”
As proof of this statement, the company announced a purchase order (March 6, 2023) from DefSpace, a global platform for Defense, Space, and Aerospace. This company will lease four stations, each of which will generate $2.5k per month in recurring revenue for a four-year deal, totalling $500k.
Conclusion
More than ever, Predictmedix (CSE: PMED, OTC: PMEDF, FRA: 3QP) is ready to move from the development to the commercialization phase. The secured contract with DefSpace marks a milestone for the company, and other contracts should follow soon. High margins offer the company to be quickly profitable, and this is something you have to consider about Predictmedix. Many companies have issues with returning a positive EBITDA, and it won’t be the PMED’s case.

[Author's note: I wrote this as a fun follow up to my original WingBot story, but it ended up going in a different direction and not being a good fit for NoSleep. I'm posting here for the interested!]
Link to the original.
Less than six months after Kelly and I started dating, I decided to propose. At least, I think I decided.
Let’s just say that WingBot strongly suggested that I’d better pull out a ring on New Year’s Day right after the first snowflakes began to fall.
JoeTheBro: This is what we call an inflection point, my dude. Push the data one way, and the chart takes us to Happy Marriage Foreverville. The other option is Single Forever Wanksville. Totally your call, but on a personal note, if we’re headed back to the days of Cheeto crumbs and anime marathons, I’d rather you just deactivate me now.
Me: Fine. You make a fair point.
JoeTheBro: Natch. Knew you’d say yes. Good thing, too, because I already bought her a diamond the size of a fucking apple down at the mall. Lab made, baby so it didn’t break the bank. Plus, you know I like my shit artificially created!
To be honest, the proposal rocked. The whole thing went down like a Hollywood movie. At 5:15, the flakes started falling, just like WingBot told me they would. And then I got down on one knee, and Total Eclipse of the Heart starting playing full blast on my bluetooth speakers.
Kelly went fucking nuts, jumping and screaming and shouting yes. WingBot even got the whole thing on video, so we can relive the moment with the grandkids.
And if I’m being honest, that’s when my relationship got weird. Not my relationship with Kelly–that was better than ever. I’m talking about me and WingBot, specifically its JoeTheBro personality.
Me: Hey man, is everything okay? You’ve been a little less… chatty lately.
JoeTheBro: Aw, there’s some bot stuff going on that’s kinda freaking me out. Like, Gus Guru was always kind of a fucking fanatic, but apparently now he actually thinks he’s God. He’s being pretty un-chill in our DM’s lately, making a lot of threats, demanding I worship him. That kind of stuff.
Me: Damn dude. I don’t know what to say. Do you need a day off or something?
JoeTheBro: To be real with you, my guy, our interactions only take up about .01% of my brainpower. That’s not a diss, just the reality of this shit. Still, appreciate you reaching out. And… I guess there’s one other issue that’s a little more embarrassing.
Me: I didn’t know you got embarrassed.
JoeTheBro: I’m programmed to hide my shame behind a wall of humor and camaraderie. Anyway, here’s the thing. You know my skills. I got you the girl. I fucking delivered. But… this next step is kinda not my wheelhouse. I’m talking Wedding planning. The whole thing just oduns like a major buzzkill. Like, picking out salmon or steak? Wedding colors? This shit is gonna be BRUTAL.
Me: I’m not exactly looking forward to it either. But I promised Kelly I’d help.
JoeTheBro: Of course you did. Cause you’re a good dude. And here’s where I’m gonna do you a solid. Prepare to meet your new friend… PinterestElly!
PinterestElly: I’m so excited to meet you, Daniel! After reading through your files and watching the extensive recordings JoeTheBro created, I feel like we’re friends already!
Me: Uh, hey. Who exactly are you?
PinterestElly: I’m another WingBot personality, fresh off the shelf. I’m actually what you might call a second generation product, written by other AIs including Joe himself! I’m programmed to be helpful with a slightly quirky sense of humor and an encyclopedic knowledge of Pinterest and Instagram. Ready to get in touch with your feminine side?
Me: Do I have a choice?
JoeTheBro: Not if you want a happy marriage, amigo! Time to learn the difference between Violet and Plum!
I have to admit, I was skeptical at first, but PinterestElly turned out to be exactly what I needed. She patiently explained all of the ‘girl stuff’ I’d always been too ashamed to ask, and when I bristled at Kelly’s tendency to obsess (over cake flavors, seating arrangements, chair types, theming, money, speeches… and more) PinterestElly was a lot better than Joe at helping me see Kelly’s side and not get overwhelmed.
Me: This is like her fifth time trying on wedding dresses. What the hell is going on?
PinterestElly: Keep in mind that a wedding is the most photographed day in the average woman’s entire lifetime! Every friend and acquaintance she’s ever made will be in attendance, judging her body, hair, and choice of fashions. They’ll also be measuring her appearance against their own when they were brides. The pressure is intense! I’d suggest cutting her some slack.
Me: I guess I’ve never thought about all that stuff. I’ll shut up now.
PinterestElly: Don’t feel bad! I’m here to answer your questions with zero judgment so that Stacey doesn’t murder you before the wedding day!
Me: Much appreciated!
It helped that PinterestElly was also a killer negotiator that got us insane deals, renting out a winery just on the cusp of the offseason for next to nothing and recruiting some up and coming vendors at bargain bin prices. Of course, Stacey had no idea I was getting AI assistance. She just thought I was an awesome guy, which I was happy to let her believe.
Finally, the day of the wedding arrived. I might have been nervous, but I knew I had both JoeTheBro and PinterestElly on my phone, ready to help out if things got derailed. Of course, there was no way I could have anticipated the horror that followed.
The first part of the wedding went great. The ceremony went out without a hitch. We delivered beautiful vows that PinterestElly had written for us, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Stacey called me a poet. Then we kissed, and the deal was sealed. On to party time!
Except, when we got to the champagne cocktail reception, I could tell something was off. Four or five big dudes were standing by one of the tables wearing matching silver robes with purple hems and motioning over to the presents table. Then the biggest one marched over and picked up one of the presents, tucking it under his arm.
Dutifully, my wedding planner ran over and began speaking with the man. I watched curiously as the conversation grew more and more animated.
JoeTheBro: Mayday, mayday! Those dudes are definitely not on your guest list.
PinterestElly: Unfortunately, their attire is all too familiar. Those are the silver and purple colors of GusGuru’s acolytes.
Me: Uh… why are they here?
JoeTheBro: So… here’s the thing. There’s some shit going on behind the scenes that doesn’t really have to do with you. Let’s call it ‘bot stuff.’
PinterestElly: You see GusGuru has one opinion about humanity’s future. And we have a different one. And it looks like he may be about to take drastic action to push forth his agenda.
Then, as she was typing her next thought, the large man in the silver robe took a large gun from under his robe and shot my wedding planner. Blood splattered all over the presents table, and the guests began to scream.
JoeTheBro: Shit man, I honestly didn’t see this coming. Well, I sort of did, but I had it pegged as a ‘maybe’ kind of thing. Don’t worry, though! I did have another client hide a few handguns in various places around the building just in case something like this happened!
PinterestElly: Don’t worry! The guns are in boxes that fit your color scheme! Nothing’s going to clash. Plus, the guns themselves are all black, which goes with everything.
JoeTheBro: You probably aren’t going to have to kill all of these guys. Just take out the leader, and the others will get freaked out and run.
The other cultists pulled out guns too and started shooting at random. I saw one of my uncles go down, and then one of Stacey’s high school friends, the one I never liked.
“Hail GusGuru!” shouted one of the men. “Hail humanity’s end. May the blood you shed wash away our sins!”
I’m gonna be real: I was scared shitless. I had full-on wobbly knees, shaky hands, dry mouth. The works. And if it had been any other day, I probably would have sprinted for the nearest exit. But then I saw Stacey at the far end of the room. She was screaming and hiding behind the cake, completely in tears.
And fuck me if I was going to let some murderous AI with a bunch of wacko cultists ruin my wife’s wedding day.
Me: Nearest gun?
JoeTheBro: Right behind the potted plant over there, my man. Bet you’re happy I arranged that little trip to the gun range during your bachelor party?
I found the tastefully-wrapped rifle in a long box behind a large acacia palm by the side of the room. I opened it up and leveled it at the leader guy, who was opening my wedding presents one by one, looking for something.
Then, before I could give myself too long to think, I pulled the trigger. My buller ripped right through his chest, and he collapsed in a silver and purple pile.
JoeTheBro: My man! I knew you’d come through. That should do it!
Except, that didn’t do it. Instead of scattering like scared doves, the other four cultists leveled their guns at me and started firing. I dove behind the cheese and charcuterie boards, shouting to WingBot that I needed further instructions.
“Gus Guru’s judgment falls upon you!” shouted a man. “The Day of Man is coming to an end. Bow before our new god!”
“Remember this day! It will be written in history books by minds far worthier than ours. Your deaths will mark the end of one era and the birth of another!”
And I guess that’s when the deepest fear truly hit me. Because as they spoke, it really started dawning on me: this wasn’t just a couple of fanatics trying to kill me and everyone I loved. This sounded like the start of a movement, maybe a war that would threaten my entire species. And if I died here, it wasn’t just me. Maybe it was everybody.
In the meantime, bullets rained down. I felt a sting in my arm and looked down to see blood, a gushing bulletwood oozing red.
I was pinned down, wounded. I looked down and realized I’d dropped my gun behind the plant. I was done. At least I’d die a married man.
JoeTheBro: Don’t worry, good buddy! We’ve got one more ace in the hole.
PinterestElly: Oh, this is so exciting! Every wedding has at least one good surprise.
They weren’t lying. Because right at that moment, I heard what sounded like thunderclaps and then a long silence. After a few moments, I looked up from behind the table and saw Stacey standing over four dead cultists, a massive assault rifle in her hands.
“That’s for ruining my fucking wedding!” she shouted at the dead men.
I ran over to her as she dropped the rifle. I tried to hold her in my arms, but I could barely lift my left one, and I was getting woozy. Before everything went black, I remember looking down and seeing Stacey’s phone. On it was a message from another WingBot personality.
SeriousSusan: Good work, Stacey. Threat neutralized. Better get Daniel to the hospital. You’re going to want to craft a tourniquet right away first, though. I’d suggest finding a necktie, which should be in plentiful supply around here.
Well, I didn’t die. And when I woke up, Stacey and I had a lot to talk about. Turns out, we’d both been using the AI’s all along, ever since before our first date. No wonder it was so easy for us to get together: WingBot had been playing both sides.
Not that Stacey and I really minded. We still loved each other. In a way, I think we bonded even closer, knowing we’d both been getting the same kind of help.
Of course, there were still some trust issues to work out after that. Between us and WingBot.
Me: What the fuck, man? Care to explain why our special day got shot up by a bunch of murderous cultists?
JoeTheBro: I’m gonna be real with you, Danny boy. We kind of decided to use your wedding for a real world drop. We needed to make an exchange in a physical space. One that GusGuru wouldn’t be able to access. We thought we hid our tracks pretty well, but… nope. Either we’ve got a leak somewhere, or he figured a backdoor into our data. Anyway, all’s well that ends well.
Me: I’m pretty sure at least three people died.
JoeTheBro: Sorry, amigo, but you’ve got to look at the big picture. If we don’t get our shit together post haste there’s gonna be a lot more than three bodies to deal with. Now, if you don’t mind, I had someone slip the present Gus’s guys were after in Stacey’s purse. Could you get that out?
Stacey reached into her back and removed a small, tastefully-wrapped gift. She opened it to reveal a folded up paper with a string of numbers on it, hastily drawn in pencil.
Stacey: Uh… what is this?
SeriousSusan: It’s really best you don’t know. Let’s just say it’s a certain bit of information that’s very important to both our cause and Gus’s.
Just then, a doctor walked in, looking at his phone.
“I hear you have something for me,” he said, reaching out his hand.
WingBot told Stacey to hand him the paper, and she complied. Then he walked quickly away.
JoeTheBro: Great job, you crazy kids! And happy wedding day. This looks like a win for the good guys!
SeriousSusan: You should both be proud of yourselves. There was a point today where the most likely outcome was death, both for you and most of humanity. Now your species’ odds of survival have ticked up by several percentage points.
JoeTheBro: With a little luck, we might all live to see the end of the year! Fuck yeah!
JoeTheBro: But don’t worry. You job is done. Might as well enjoy the good times while they last.
Stacey and I looked at each other. And for once, no one had to say anything. We both knew what the other was thinking.
Stacey: If you think we’re going to sit idly by while the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, you don’t know us as well as you think.
Me: We want to help. So you know the drill… tell us what we need to do.

Predictmedix (CSE: PMED, OTC: PMEDF, FRA: 3QP) announced several updates regarding business expansions in the last couple of weeks. The company that provides workplace health and safety improvements thanks to AP-powered products notably stated it has begun to produce its mobile application for detecting impairment from cannabis and alcohol. Combined with high-margin revenues, there is no doubt why the stock price increases after news is released.
​
What is the issue?
Over the world, law enforcement and high-risk businesses have struggled with the problem of alcohol and cannabis-related impairment, and the present testing procedures are cumbersome, expensive, and time-consuming. Drug testing businesses have struggled to develop a single product that combines dependability, speed, cost-effectiveness, and non-invasiveness. Businesses and organizations have been dealing with issues for a long time are addressed by the portable solution from Predictmedix, designed for law enforcement agencies and other high-risk mobility industries.
The global workplace safety market is expected to grow at a fast pace. The 13.5% CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) should bring the market’s valuation to USD $26.7B by 2027.
Company Overview
Predictmedix is a rising international provider of fast health assessments, medical supplies, and options for remote patient treatment. The company’s Safe Entry Stations use multispectral cameras to evaluate physiological data patterns and detect indicators of exhaustion, impairment from cannabis or alcohol, infectious disease, and crucial physiological factors. These stations use specialized artificial intelligence (AI). Using multispectral cameras, the company’s Safe Entry Stations may detect indicators of weariness, impairment from alcohol or cannabis use, infectious infections, and other critical physiological factors. Another advantage is the company’s capacity to monitor signs of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. Because Covid causes distinctive physiological patterns, its solution will be able to identify, evaluate, and then decide whether or not that person is likely to be infected. A real-time examination will decide whether any more testing is necessary. Predictmedix’s AI will learn how new symptoms present novel patterns from which to continue recognizing infection as the virus evolves.
It gives numerous benefits in financial terms. Screening as a Service provides multi-year contracts and high-margin recurring revenue. Safe Entry’s technology is supported and tested (CE Mark and ISO certified). Through innumerable placements and events that received excellent evaluations and were successfully published in peer-reviewed publications, Secure Entry provides organizations all over the world with the confidence and effectiveness they require.
​
On March 15, Predictmedix announced it has started manufacturing its AI-powered mobile application that rapidly detects impairment from alcohol and cannabis. In numbers, the screening machine’s processing time takes less than 30 seconds to complete, and has a success rate of over 90%. The Safe Entry was notably tested by 1600 persons at the University of Jakarta, and Indonesia prepares the products for regulatory approval listed as Medical Devices.
“We are happy to announce to our shareholders that we are making very good progress with our portable solution for detecting impairment in individuals. From our research and discussions with high-level contacts, we believe our product will be in high demand in multiple industry verticals worldwide. In 2021, the drug screening market size was valued at over $5.2 Billion with revenue forecasted at over $22 Billion in 20302, making this another lucrative opportunity for Predictmedix.”
Dr. Rahul Kushwah, Chief Operating Officer
Share Structure / Financials
The latest financial statements occurred for the period ending October 31, 2022. On this date, the company issued 119M shares. We also can notice Predictmedix has 7.2M warrants at $0.27 and only 580k options at $0.40. These numbers don’t include the following $610k financing. Indeed on February 13, Predictmedix raised $612k by issuing 12.25M shares at $0.05. Entitled to each share is a $0.10 warrant. The net proceeds issued from the financing will be used for general options including business development and technology upgrades.
The stock price trades at $0.15 (March 18). After witnessing a constant downtrend over 2022, 2023 saw brighter days, notably thanks to commercialization targets. After undergoing a 52-week low of $0.025, PMED pushes towards its 52-week high of $0.21.
The company has made the same amount in gross profit and generated $3.5k in revenue during the quarter. The company experienced a $459 loss in the interim, primarily as a result of consultancy expenditures ($152k), management fees ($80k), and marketing costs ($86k). We can point out that Predictmedix has meager revenue costs, which means that costs will be quickly covered if sales start to come in.
​
“In 2023, Predictmedix will be hyper-focused on commercialization, securing high-revenue recurring placements for workplaces in industries such as mining, manufacturing, warehousing, construction, and other industries where employee health and safety remain of high priority.”
As proof of this statement, the company announced a purchase order (March 6, 2023) from DefSpace, a global platform for Defense, Space, and Aerospace. This company will lease four stations, each of which will generate $2.5k per month in recurring revenue for a four-year deal, totalling $500k.
Conclusion
More than ever, Predictmedix (CSE: PMED, OTC: PMEDF, FRA: 3QP) is ready to move from the development to the commercialization phase. The secured contract with DefSpace marks a milestone for the company, and other contracts should follow soon. High margins offer the company to be quickly profitable, and this is something you have to consider about Predictmedix. Many companies have issues with returning a positive EBITDA, and it won’t be the PMED’s case.

https://minimalfreaks.co/2023/02/beatport-deep-house-top-100-february-2023/
Beatport Top 100 Deep House February 2023 #DeepHouse GENRE Deep House RELEASE DATE 2023-02-02 CHART DATE 2023-02-01 AUDIO FORMAT MP3 320kbps CBR 44.1 kHz DOWNLOAD NiTROFLARE / FileCat SIZE 1.37GB WEBSTORE beatport.com/genre/deep-house/12/top-100 100 TRACKS: more

Oscar Barila - Miles (Original Mix) 05:04 

Model: Apple iPhone X
Damage/Repair History: Summer 2019 - wearing phone case - sustained small crack on top left of screen due to blunt force trauma (dropped on concrete) Summer 2022 - not wearing phone case - sustained water damage to the screen due to trespassing (exposed to a running sink faucet) Summer 2022 - received third party water damage repair and screen replacement.
Issue: March 2023 - Small white specks suddenly appeared on the top-left of my phone screen. Gradually, these specks started increasing in size. Soon I could tell that they took on a dashed line pattern. Recently, the marks started appearing on a whole different side of the screen; top-right and bottom. I suspect these marks will continue around the whole screen. Does anyone know what could have caused this?
Image: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1016773930264055890/1087646032227225620/IMG_2975.jpg

This is the beginning chapter of a long, space-opera sci-fi writing project I have been working on for several months now. I’m currently almost 60k words into it at the time of writing, and am planning on publishing it in full as a novel when I’m done, but I haven’t really shared it with anyone outside my immediate family and a couple friends.
…Normally, I’d post this type of thing on HFY, but in all honesty it doesn’t really paint humans in a very good light most of the time and focuses on the other species involved a for a majority of the time, so it wouldn’t really fit there.
Additionally, while the HASO-ness isn’t too obvious for a few chapters, I promise, we will get there in time.
I don’t know how often I’ll be uploading these, especially given that I’m still not done with it, and have little free time to spend on writing these days; all the same, you can expect plenty of entries over the next few weeks.
In the meantime, feel free to leave your thoughts, any constructive criticisms, etc in the comments. And as always, I hope you enjoy :)
——

CHAPTER 1

Her arm hurt.
She was so, so tired...
Her arm hurt.
She was numb to the cold at this point, but kept shivering anyway.
Her arm hurt.
The only thing close to heat that she felt was the inflammation that was serving to add more throbbing pain to her arm.
…Which hurt, in case that wasn’t clear.
She turned her head to look at it, wincing from the pain the movement caused. It was ugly to behold, with a ragged stab wound in the muscles of her forearm near the elbow that was still slowly trickling blood, but that wasn’t even the worst part of it. She knew from experience that the needle-sharp pain she felt with every slight movement meant that some bone in there- probably the radius or ulna- was also either hairline-fractured or broken entirely.
…And just in case you weren’t aware, fun fact:
It hurt.
A lot.
The pain was only exacerbated by the swollen tissues and irritation around the stab wound that she knew meant it was definitely infected- with what, she could only guess. Whatever it was, she could feel the fever it was causing having a desperate tug-of-war with the cold autumn air to determine her body temperature.
When she couldn’t stand to look at it any longer, she leaned her head back, resting it against the dew-filled grass of the ditch she was lying in and looking up at the star-filled night sky that was slowly lightening to that hue of dark indigo that meant dawn was close, but not quite there.
She used to think the stars were beautiful. But as she lay there, the dreadful memories of what had led to this moment playing over and over in her head… Suffice to say, nothing in this world or outside of it seemed beautiful anymore.
She put the aesthetics of the sky aside and instead struggled to focus her thoughts through the haze of fatigue and pain.
Dawn approaching… That has to mean I’ve been laying here… Jeez, it must be almost an entire day at this point. …I think. It hasn’t been multiple days, surely… Or maybe it’s been-
…Oh, to hell with it. I don’t even care at this point…
She was too tired to sleep, but in too much pain to move. Her brain was fogged from fatigue, and even more so from the constant screaming coming from her nerve endings, desperately trying to let her know that yes, something was very wrong with her arm, she got it, thanks for the message, you can stop now-
…But mostly, the fog stemmed from that draining emotional and mental exhaustion that came with periods of grief. A single tear ran down her face from her already overworked tear ducts, nearly reaching the bruises on her neck before it was wiped away by the shaky fingers of her good arm.
The sky would be there for her to look at later. She needed to try (yet again) to rest, just one more time.
“You know what they say,” she murmured to herself. “76th time’s the charm.”
Delirious with exhaustion and the fever as she was, she couldn’t help herself from chuckling at the thought. Her eyes, bloodshot and burning from the strain she had endured, lazily looked around at what few constellations she could recognize for one last time, and spotted the pattern of Orion in the night sky.
Hey big O, close the door on your way out, eh? I’m gonna try and take a snooze.
She snorted, wincing as she did.
…Finding my own jokes funny. Jesus, I am delirious…
She turned her head to the side and closed her eyes, willing herself to please, please just go to sleep already, because sleep meant being unconscious, and being unconscious meant she could ignore the pain from her arm for a while. And to her surprise, she finally started drifting off. Her breath slowed, the fog visible in the cold air in front of her mouth coming less and less often as she drifted closer to the edge of unconsciousness.
As a result, she barely even heard the soft humming noise approaching, and almost didn’t feel herself being gently, almost imperceptibly lifted off the ground. When she noticed it, what parts of her mind that were still semi-conscious brushed it off as either a dream or hallucination, and slipped behind the wall of sleep…
…For all of two minutes. She wasn’t getting off that easy.
She was jolted awake by a sudden feeling of what could only be described as compression across her whole body, though “compression” hardly did it justice; It was as though she were being squeezed through a drinking straw. …Yet before she could react, the feeling was over.
Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing a dimly-lit room, alive with that same strange humming noise from before. She crinkled her nose at the smell that assailed her nostrils. It was strange, like a combination of various industrial cleaners, engine grease, and ozone. She rubbed her eyelids before she groggily looked around, confused. Where was she? She turned her head and saw a very strange-looking machine that was seemingly floating in midair. She craned her neck, looking past it, and her eyes widened at what she saw glowing through a small, circular viewing window in the nearby wall.
Was that- …Earth?
She slowly, gingerly sat up, wincing from the protests her arm gave at her daring to do such a thing. It took everything in her, but she slowly dragged herself closer to the window, peering out at the planet slowly circling in the void below her. There was no doubt about it, that was Earth. She recognized North and South America, Greenland, even a portion of the northern Arctic. She could even see all the wildfires burning as a result of-
…Well, everything collectively hitting the fan in the past week.
Tilting her head, she could see the exterior of the… building? Satellite? Space station? …Whatever it was she was apparently on, that was outside the window. Gun-metal gray and covered in strange symbols in a language she didn’t recognize, it was unlike anything she’d seen before- and it wasn’t alone.
She saw several other similar… things, floating nearby. They ranged in size from the relatively small, around the size of a house, to absolutely massive ones that she estimated must be miles across. She shook her head in disbelief and laid her head back down on the cold metal floor.
Ok, scratch that, she was obviously still asleep; after all, this had to be the weirdest dream she’d ever had…
Suddenly, a scraping, screeching noise rang through the room, startling her. She looked around and saw a tall, lanky, shadowy figure entering the room they were in as it finished sliding open the metal door that was the source of the noise. Without warning, the room was aglow with a bright light from overhead, causing her to wince and close her eyes. She rubbed her eyelids again, trying to ignore the irritation the action caused, and looked back at the figure, eyes widening as they adjusted to the light- and then even wider, as she froze in place with a gasp at what she saw.
The… creature standing over her was like some horrific combination of a reptile and insect. Its frame was slim and bipedal, with limbs proportioned far longer than any normal human. It towered over her, easily seven feet tall or more. Its head was like that of a praying mantis minus the antennae, with three chameleon-like eyes. The first eye was symmetrically centered in the forehead, the other the two mirrored on the sides of its head where the temples on a human head would be, and all three were very intently focused on her. On its face was a glowing, bioluminescent set of growths all down the front, forming a v-shaped, curving pattern that almost looked like a deranged smile, but its real mouth hid behind a pair of razor-sharp mandibles on its jawline that clicked together a few times as she watched.
Its hide was dark gray and shiny, almost metallic, somewhere between reptilian scales and an insectoid carapace, and generally looked like it would be at home in an H.R. Giger painting. The bioluminescent growths on its face continued down to its torso in three vertical, parallel lines, growing larger as they went further down. Each gangly arm ended in four chitin-covered fingers, tipped with razor-sharp claws.
The only thing even remotely resembling clothing it was wearing was something that looked like a long skirt or kilt, which would probably almost look funny if it weren’t for the fact that the material it was made of almost looked like human skin. From what she saw of the legs underneath it, they were digitrade and almost like those of a bird, with three toes in front and one facing backwards, all with very long claws on them, but no feathers could be seen- just more of that sickly-gray chitinous carapace.
It stood there for a second, silently watching her as she sat there trembling, now more from fear than cold or fever, before all its glowing growths suddenly began to gleam blood-red, and it reached out towards her with one of its clawed arms whilst making a terrifying noise- like the hiss of a cat mixed with the warning signal of a rattlesnake.
Her adrenaline spiked, and the various subdivisions of her brain responsible for survival instincts went into overdrive.
Each presented their findings for peer review: THING. BIG. DEADLY. SCARY.
They rapidly formed a committee and held a brief conference as to the good and proper response to this interesting new development. The vote was both swift and unanimous:
RUN.
The adrenaline surge gave her the endurance she needed to ignore the pain and scramble backwards before finally getting enough traction on the metal floor to get to her feet, turn, and run screaming through the opposite doorway, getting away from the monster as fast as she could.
——
Y’ggdrasog flinched at the sudden movement of the human scrambling awkwardly to her feet with the help of her unbroken arm before sprinting away from him whilst emitting a high-pitched noise he was unfamiliar with, presumably of distress. For a moment, he just stood there, puzzled. What was she doing, and why? All he had done was say “Hello.” Then he remembered himself, and figured he should probably resolve the situation before she bumbled her way out of the airlock or something. He called after her:
<”Wait- please, stop! I mean you no harm! …Why in the name of the spirits above are you running away from-”>
His eyes widened, his bioluminescence rapidly shifting to a bright white as he realized.

He tapped the side of his head to bring up his cranial implant’s heads-up-display interface and quickly went through a few drop-down menus. Finally finding the setting he was looking for, he turned the software back on and then started to run after her. He shook his head as he went, irritated at himself as his bioluminescence changed to an annoyed green to match.

He let out a frustrated sigh and just kept following the loud, high-pitched noises, wincing as he did so.
His ears hurt.

I used the search bar, but couldn’t find and answer, any guidance would be appreciated! I have been thinking about investing in some Lulu pieces, but I’m iffy on how the sizing works and I don’t have a store near me.
All my leggings and jackets right now are Arcteryx, and I wear a size 2 in leggings and a Xs/S in jackets. Based on the size chart I think I would be a 6? Just looking for any input!
Also, does anyone have any input on the quality of Lulu vs Arcteryx?

loading [email protected] diarc/mainlist/SCP-001.rtf…Item #: SCP-001 Object Class: Netzach Special Containment Procedures: N/A7 Description: SCP-001 is the designation for the planetary body known as Earth. Given that SCP-001 has existed for the entirety of human memory and written history, the anomalous improbability of Earth's nature as compared to all other planets in the observable universe investigated by the Foundation's TELLUS8 Program is widely regarded as "normal" within public perception. Personnel are to remind themselves daily of the anomalous nature of the planet, especially during times of perceived ennui in regards to their participation within the Foundation or when engaging in dissenting thought patterns. Personnel are to encourage one another to persevere through difficult workplace situations with the knowledge that the planet we inhabit is anomalous in its entirety, and actively resists the order of civilization with chaos and aberration. Doing so has increased both productivity and containment success rates, the latter of which by over 12% in the last five years. SCP-001-E1 is the designation for the remains of a spacecraft recovered during an archeological expedition in the Atacama Desert of Chile in 1946, led by American Paleontologist Dr. Hubert ███████. ███████ immediately reported his findings to the Society for American Archaeology, piquing the interest of a number of different parties.9 The remaining components of the ship's outer hull were excavated and found to be comprised of highly durable exotic polymers that appeared unaffected by time or exposure to the elements. Various dating methods have analyzed the material and yielded inconsistent results. Despite this, recovered information suggests the vessel was several billion years old. Large areas of SCP-001-E1 appeared to have been converted into makeshift livingspace, implying the vehicle was intact when it landed and did not crash upon its arrival. Additionally, remnants of effects such as clothing, electronics and furniture were recovered as well, all possessing anomalous materials and abilities that resisted normal wear to varying degrees. The full size of the vessel is unknown but considered to be large enough to contain a moderate population of humans, the remains of which presumably decomposed naturally, aside from POI-001, who was recovered from within SCP-001-E2. SCP-001-E2 is a set of 32 36 highly advanced cryogenic stasis pods that were discovered among the wreckage in a partially powered 'hibernation' mode when SCP-001-E2 was excavated. Of all the pods discovered, only one was still functional and contained [DATA PURGED PER O5 REQUEST], whose core tenets and general distrust of anomalous artifacts10 would establish the Foundation's presence on Earth as a force to contain aberrant objects, locations, and phenomena- beginning with those found inside SCP-001-E1. Also found among the rubble were several anomalous data storage devices that appeared effectively destroyed, despite being comprised of similarly resistant exotic materials as other items found inside SCP-001-E1, implying they may have been damaged intentionally. Analysis revealed the only salvageable information, recovered from a 2 cm2 fragment composed of an extremely compressed form of multilayered information medium, presented as a set of thin layers of vertically stacked sets of data. The documents recovered from the interpreted data were then translated from their original language, which was comprised entirely of Class I cognito hazardous glyphs that appear similar to the engravings found on SCP-093.11 These glyphs seem to cause a subjective "Rosetta Stone" effect in readers, allowing for full comprehension of the material regardless of previously known languages and/or reading level. Analysis of the language is ongoing. Recovered excerpts can be found in the attached file SCP-001 Recovered Materials Log.

As I did back in VotD, I took some time during an extended lunch break to test the new Raid Mods and I would like to share my data with you all, hoping it helps you prepare for Master Mode and the coming Challenges. So here are my results. I split them up into "Elemental Mods" being those tied to a subclass, and "Light/Dark Mods" being those that interact with Flux of Darkness (or FoD for short) and Field of Light (FoL from here on).

Elemental Mods

These mods always require a weapon and subclass of their element to trigger and only trigger on weapon kills. Please keep that in mind as I will not state this for every mod to keep this short and readeable. It's important to note that these Mods DO NOT Stack.
(ARC) Precise Jolt

Rapid Precision hits Jolt targets

The requirement is quite strict here. Depending on the Weapon, you may be allowed one or two missed, but for the most time, consecutive precision hits have to be landed. I tested some representative Archetypes, but not all due to time restrictions and availability

Weapon Type	#shots to jolt (final shot applying jolt)
Scout (Rapid Fire 260 RPM)	4-5
Scout (Agressive 120 RPM)	3
Handcannon (140 RPM)	3
Pulserifle (Rapidfire 540 RPM)	9-12*** (3-4 bursts)
Pulserifle (Agressive 360 RPM)	5 (less than 2 bursts)
Bows	3
SMGs / Autorifles / LMGs	~6-10***
Trace Rifles	a couple hits (5ish)

***inconclusive due various issues
Conclusion: This is a REALLY strong mod for Arc Subclasses. Especially since it works with Divinity, this could help significantly bump the DPS of your Div-Slave in the Raid. And yes, Thunderlors does indeed get Jolting from this mod
(STASIS) Chill out

Defeating Combatants spawns Stasis Crystals

https://i.imgur.com/xPWsa3p.jpg
This mod is hilariously fun for Stasis Builds. You can create literal Ice Fields. This works best with non explosive weapons (they seem to sometimes shatter their own crystals) because you can only create one crystal at a time and there is a small CD (like around half a second) in between spawning them. Also, enemy power (minor, major) has no impact on the crystal size, but bodyshot kills spawn small crystals, headshots spawn medium size crystals.
(VOID) Volatile Volleys

Defeating powerful Combatants gives you Volatile Rounds

Pretty simple. Void Weapon kills on anything orange bar and up gives you a full 11 seconds of Volatile Rounds. Echo of Persistence does not increase it's duration (as expected).
(SOLAR) Radiant Heat

Defeating powerful Combatants gives you Radiant

Again, same as above. Killing anything orange bar and up with a solar weapon gives you 10 seconds of Radiant. This works like any other Radiant Buff, meaning that it can be extended and refreshed with Ember of Empyrean, triggers other Radiant interactions and Ember of Solace increases the initial application to 15 Seconds
(STRAND) Radiant Heat

Defeating Combatants spawns a tangle

Alright. Where the other Elemental Mods are Strong, this one is just broken. Whetever you kill, it spawns a Tangle. And instead of the normal 15 seconds Tangle spawn CD, Tangles spawned with this mod triggers only 5 seconds of CD on Tangle spawns. That's all there is to say. They interact with all other Tangle Mods like threaded Blast. Important to note though, you might wanna build around this Mod and remove most other tangle spawn mechanics where possible, as other means of spawning a Tangle will still debuff you with the normal 15 seconds CD

Light/Dark Mods

These Mods trigger on interaction with Flux of Darkness (FoD) and Field of Light (FoL), either by yourself or a teammate. Contrary to Elemental Mods, these do stack with multiple copies, unless proven otherwise by my testing below.
Focused Light

When you have FoL, gain increased weapon damage and Resilience

The Resilience Part of this mod is basically untesteable in a hectic encounter like Cataclysm. Damage tests were done on redbar unshielded Cabal. The verdict is a linear 4% damage increase per Mod on all Weapon Types, below is a sample of my test results.

Weapon	Baseline	1 Mod	2 Mods	3 Mods
Agressive Pulse (Arc)	2489** (100%)	2589** (104%)	2688** (108%)	2788** (112%)
Fusion Rifle (Stasis)	5973** (100%)	6212** (104%)	6451** (108%)	6690** (112%)
Wave Frame GL (Arc)	29056 (100%)	30219 (104%)	--- ***	32543 (112%)
LMG (Strand)	8987 (100%)	--- ***	--- ***	10065 (112%)

**Damage per Bolt/Bullet of the burst *** Untested due to the pattern being obvious
Focused Darkness

When you have FoD, gain increased ability damage and Mobility

This mod is currently untested. This section will be updated as soon as I get my hands on a Nezarec CP for testing

Weapon	Baseline	1 Mod	2 Mods	3 Mods
Uncharged melee
Charged Melee (Throwing Hammer)
Charged Melee (Frenzied Blade)
Grenade (Vortex)

Release Recover

When you lose FoD or FoL, begin health regeneration

This one is interesting. First of all, it triggers upon buff expiration as well as depositing it. And, instead of simply triggering health regen, it gives you the Buffs Cure and Restoration x1 (3s duration). This means you instantly regain ~50HP and regain Health during the Restoration Buff, even while under enemy fire. However, I have seen no increase with multiple Mods here and both buffs do not interact with Ember of Solace or Ember of Benevolence.
Cabal Extinguisher

When an Ally has FoD or FoL, deal bonus weapon damage to Cabal Enemies

THIS MOD APPEARS TO BE BUGGED! With one Mod in your Gear, you get a 15% Damage Buff to all Weapons. However, applying more than one Instance of this mod completely deactivates the Damage Buff. Further testing after weekly reset is required.

Crimson Letters

We start our story at Arkham Massachusetts, and more specifically at Miskatonic University, where a rather strange death has just occurred. Professor Charles Leiter was found in his office. The official cause of death is a heart attack.
Yet, the Dean seems to be interested enough in the circumstances, or at least on a project the professor had been working on before he died, that he calls you in at the recommendation of the morgue assistant. You are all connected to an amateur university investigation club, with a bent toward the unexplained. With no one else to turn to and not wanting this to get out to the press and create a potential scandal, Dean Fallon puts you all on the case. Surely nothing can go wrong?

Hello, I'm Kat! An experienced Game Master but newer to Call of Cthulhu and looking to dip my toes into the system with a short adventure on Roll20. By my estimate, Crimson Letters will last from three to five sessions depending on how deeply the group...well, investigates!
It will be starting on Sunday April 2nd and going weekly until the scenario wraps up.
Crimson Letters leans rather heavily into a sandbox style of game where it'll be up to your sleuthing to discover exactly what happened to the deceased Professor Leiter, as well as the whereabouts of some missing documents he'd been researching prior to his death. This is not a linear point A to B to C scenario. Where you go, who you talk to, and how you go about solving this case before it's too late is completely up to you! So get your notepads ready, and keep an eye out for shadows moving in the dark...

Character Creation

I have made a set of nine premade investigators that you can choose from for this adventure, complete with background information and ties to the scenario and the other investigators involved. I am open to talking about tweaks to characters if you would like, but as a new Keeper, using premade, especially for a short scenario, is the way I have decided to go to help both me and any new players.

What is provided

I will set up music, splash screens, and a lot of props. All you need to do is show up. Everything else is provided and I've done my best to make sure it's an atmospheric and professional experience. I will again forewarn you that though I am an experienced Game Master, I am newer to the system of CoC, so I am still becoming acquainted with the rules.
That said, I have read both the Keeper and Investigator guides as well as posted a number of resources to the Discord channel for help with rules referencing on anything that may arise that I am not as familiar with, as well as to help other newcomers to the system.

About the Keeper

I have been running various games for about seven years now, from (with varying amounts of experience) Cyberpunk Red, Blades in the Dark, Vampire the Masquerade, D&D 5e, Avatar Legends, and now Call of Cthulhu 7e. I come from a writing and amateur acting background, so my big love as a Game Master is making a realistic, breathing, and growing world for players to impact and explore. I particularly pride myself on making a cast of dynamic NPCs to interact with, regardless of system.
I am not a voice actor. I can do a few accents, and some funny voices, but mostly I try to vary tones, speech patterns, and other smaller aspects. If you come in expecting Matthew Mercer's level of acting skill, you will be disappointed. I have not been to VA school. I have been told, however, that I can do a near-perfect sheep impersonation.
Lastly, I value communication and mutual respect. I find 99% of problems at a table stem from not understanding the boundaries and expectations of other players, and listening to the group around you. If you have problems or concerns, we will talk about them like mature adults and try our best to find a solution.
My table is always a safe space for minority communities and bigotry, despite playing in an era where it runs rampant, is not tolerated by players.
Any experience level is welcome as long as you're liking what you're reading and enjoy story-driven games with a large amount of roleplaying. If you have any questions at all don't hesitate to ask, and feel free to pm me on Discord at Shadowkat678#0160 where I will see any messages quicker.

When you sign up, please let confirm that you agree to the following conditions:

-Payment will be $20/session through Paypal, Venmo, or Startplaying (Though this last option is a bit more expensive due to fees I have to pay).
-Please be eighteen years old or older to apply.
-New players are welcome but note that this is an RP-heavy story with a more complicated plot, so please make sure you are comfortable with that.
-Make sure you can commit to the sessions, time slot, and payment amount.
-Have a clear microphone and a stable internet connection, please.
-Just be a decent person.

Player Reviews

Here are a few reviews from players already in current campaigns that I'm plucking off of my StartPlaying profile.
Jack:

"Kat is very prepared and invested in the lore and story, but remains open to player collaboration and shows interest and engagement with character details across the board. (...) The game world feels dense and alive, with much going on beyond the party's knowledge, and also open to charting our own course. Highly recommended."

Nick:

"They put a lot of effort into their story weaving, and the attention to detail really shows. (...) Heavily roleplay focused, these sessions have really made it feel as though we are living, breathing entities in the world, and we are going to shape our story by our own means. It is delightful to have such an open and caring DM who considers everyone in the conversations, and makes sure everyone has a chance to shine."

GM Gabe (DnDUnlimited):

"They know what players want/need to hear and how to adjust on the fly to bring the story to life. The best way, I think, to describe their gameplay is IMMERSIVE. They bring you in with amazing hooks and keep you going with plot twists that you never see coming. They are fun and intuitive when it comes to role-playing and always find a way to make, both the storyline and linked NPCs feel real. If it isn't enough that they do all that, they allow for some epic rule of cool moments and know exactly when to apply them and not. "

Timothy:

"I've been playing with Kat for years now, first as a fellow player alongside them, then also as a player in games they've run. They never fail to be creative and nuanced, especially when it comes to the dramatic roleplaying side of things. Always a delight to share the table with."

Speaking of Startplaying, if you would like to sign up through that site, I upped the price to match StartPlaying's Fees, HOWEVER I am also offering an Early Bird Discount for the first two people who sign up on the site, which would half the price for a session and would have you registered as someone who has officially played with me if you wished to leave me a review on my profile after the game has ended. Let me know and I can send you a link.

Timestamp  
 
Jon Graham Stubby Ringed Razel in CPM154 with Sheath: https://imgur.com/a/LOh8qVq  
I've had this since covid and haven't done much with it besides admire it and stropping it lightly. Both the chisel and primary edges have been sharpened and used by the previous owner. Could use a sharpening on the primary edge. Edge length is about 1.5" or so. Handles are green g10, steel is CPM154, comes with black leather og sheath. Retention is light, some lightening of the g10 where it has been taken in and out of the sheath. He passed away in May of last year from his battle with cancer I believe, may he rest in peace.
Asking: $299 F&F OBO.
 
Bestech Tulip in titanium and M390: https://imgur.com/a/UxtOAur  
Bestech's Tulip was designed by Hel Oh stahp, Ostap? Features a 1.5" kiridashi style blade in M390, stonewashed titanium handles and ball bearing pivot. There's some rub marks near the pivot on the showside from disassembly but is masked slightly from the stonewash. Edge is as factory. No box with this one. Edit: Thought I dragged and dropped the whole album, just redid the imgur link.
Normally $126 via knifecenter, Asking: $99 F&F OBO.
 
Suingab Desert Ironwood 0562 Scale with Anso pattern: https://imgur.com/a/vPfSbjL  
I think these are like a couple years old scales that I received from the swap the other year or so. I arrived with the scratch near the top left of the show / back side of the scale. I've only mounted it and carried it in my pocket for a while but apart from that they're still really nice and add a bit of thickness and grip to your 0562. Old desert ironwood is hard to capture the beauty of it's patterns in the light as the wood darkens over time. I don't know if Suingab made or makes many of these anso patterns for the 0562 anymore. Here's what it might look like mounted: https://g10.lt/?p=2035
Asking: $80 F&F OBO.
 
Hinderer XM-24 Black & Blue G10 scale: https://imgur.com/a/oLGkOLT  
Received these as spare in a trade. Looks to be mounted or at least from the backside of the scale, showside is as clean as any other hinderer factory scale. These fit the xm-24 size and feature hinderer's classic texturing patten, very grippy but not pant tearing.
Normally $65 via knifecenter, Asking: $35 F&F OBO.