No Deposit Free Spins - February 2021 - Play For Free Your

Continuing… (It's Part 6 in the saga, I fucked up. Sorry.)
So, after a few re-fueling and impromptu cigar-purchasing stops in South and Central America, we wheel up to the deserted jetway at LAX.
“Thought we were going to Elmendorf?” I asked.
“This isn’t it?” the pilot replied, feigning worry.
“No.”, I replied, “Looks like California. Fruits and nuts. All around. What’s going on? One minute we’re off to Texas, then Cali, then Texas again, now we end up here at the California airport of the iconic tower.”
“Yeah, it’s confusing enough haulin’ civilians around. But when we get a call from Virginia, we tend to comply without any questions,” the pilot explains.
“Aw, shit!”, I sort of exclaim, “Rack and Ruin called?”
“Yeah”, the pilot replies, “Figures you’d know these guys. They said they were closer to LAX rather than Texas and had us divert here. In fact, you look over there, see that dark blue Chevy? That’s them; and evidently, your ride.”
I tipped the airman from earlier a couple of cigars as he helped me with my gear off the plane and into the trunk of Rack and Ruin’s plain-Jane blue late modeled Chevy. Had to move the Sidewinder Missiles off to one side, though.
“Most honorable Agents Lack and Luin!” I quipped in my faux-racist greeting. “What the hell, guys? I’ve got to get to Japan and get some newly rigidified digits.”
“Let’s see your hand”, Agent Rack asks. “Nasty.”
“Yeah”, I sigh “And with the medicos in South America and their penchant for plaster, I don’t so much have a left hand as more of an ankylosaur tail.”
“Or Thagomizer”, Agent Ruin tittered. “Anyone gives you grief, and one upside the head should set them right. Or dead.”
“You’re a riot, Ruin.” I replied, “But not entirely incorrect.”
We all agreed that I really didn’t need any extra accouterments to make myself look more dangerous. I mean with my severe haircut, stern beard clip, and perpetual ‘Go fuck yourself’ scowl.
“Yeah”, I replied, stroking the aforementioned beard, “I just can’t get that. I’m such a people person.”
After Agents Rack and Ruin finished drying their eyes from laughing what I thought was en extremis, we finally got down to business.
“So, what’s the skinny, guys”, I asked. “New marching orders?”
“No. Not as such”, Agent Ruin said, still sniggering over my ‘people person’ comment.
I see we’re moving. Agent Rack is just driving casually, like Chewbacca when they were waiting to see if the Empire went for that expensive Bothan code.
“Then, what?” I asked, getting a slight bit piqued.
“Well”, Agent Ruin noted, “When you went to South America, you took some of your artillery collection with, correct?”
“You know I did. You even made some snide comments about my personal choice of sidearms and their ‘excessive’ calibers, if memory serves”, I reiterated.
“And if you are proceeding normally, as you always do, they’re all nestled in the trunk of this very car. All cleaned, quiet, unloaded, and smelling sweetly of Hoppe’s Number 9 and WD 40, correct?” Rack inquired.
“Yes?” I cautiously venture.
“Well, ya’ big dummy, do you think they’re going to let you saunter into Tokyo armed like the Third Fleet?” Agent Ruin chuckled.
“Um…well…I do have a Diplomatic Passport.” I ventured.
“That’s not going to work this time.”, Agent Ruin said, shaking his head. “They’re tighter than Dick’s Hatband about sidearms. Want to bring in your Rigby SXS .500 Nitro Express double rifle? Not a problem. Sidearms, especially in your alien hunting calibers, nope.”
Well, that’s just….*dandy!”, I reply, semi-put out. “Now what the hell am I going to do?”
“Ever think that’s why Ruin and I are here, now?”, Rack asks.
“And here I thought it was just so you could bask in the warm glow of my fucking wonderful personality. Or that you actually cared about me as a real goddamn human”, I joshed.
“Ummm…yeah”, Rack replies, “There’s no way we can answer that without going on some Deadpool list. “
I agreed.
“OK, here’s the deal: you get your sidearms, ammunition, speed loaders, brass knuckles, Asp, laser range finders, Sap, Zeiss scopes, Kukri, Wisconsin Cheese Whittler, Buck folding skinner, Marine K-Bar, those two ultra-illegal Cheburkov Cobra titanium switchblades...”
“Three. Olga the KGB lady sent me one for Geologist’s Day.”
“Ahem. Those three ultra-illegal Cheburkov switchblades, that Wyoming Speedholer, your MASER Time-Distance Computer, garrote, pocket rail gun and whatever else lethal you carry and deposit it in the iron box in the trunk. We’ll ensure that it’s delivered to Esme post-haste. And by post-haste I mean one of our guys will deliver it personally.”
“Well…I suppose”, I conceded, “But best send someone who’s been to the house recently. I don’t know how much bigger Khan has grown since I left on this little fantasy trip. Wouldn’t want a star on the wall in Langley for someone eaten by a mastiff. Want to see a picture….Oh, bother. That’s right. My phone’s at the bottom of fucking Lake Maracaibo.”
“Good point”, Ruin interjects, “Guess we’ll do a little road trip and deliver it ourselves. Best call Esme and let her know what’s going on.”
“I have no objections to your proposals. Please give Esme this when you see her. I had some luck in the Calaveras Casino and if I don’t send her some mad money. Ouch. She’ll never forgive me for not taking her along to Japan.” I asked.
“But I thought Esme hated Japan? Too crowded and too ‘fussy’, I believe was her estimation.” Ruin asked.
“Yes, but once she saw the Ginza, all bets were off. Shopping the likes of which even Allah himself hasn’t seen.” I replied, slowly shaking my head.
“I see”, Ruin said, “Well, since you’re off to Sapporo, perhaps you can do a recon for Esme on the shopping there.”
“Not bad. Not bad at all.”, I smiled, “Now I know why I let you guys hang around with me.”
So, as advertised, I am now standing on the tarmac at LAX, basically feeling naked.
“Can’t I keep just one switchblade?” I moaned to Agent Rack.
“Go ahead, if you’re really keen on donating it to Japanese customs”, he replied.
“Fuckbuckets.” I groused.
“There, there now. That’s the usual Dr. Rocknocker of which we’re all so fond.” Agent Ruin chuckled.
“Remember, you do have that wallet-sized credit card gizmo from the Company. So you’re not entirely ‘naked’. Think of it as an emergency breechcloth.” He smiled.
“I’d like a larger model if you don’t mind. It’s chilly out here.” I joshed.
After Agents Rack and Ruin stripped me metaphorically naked as they de-weaponized me, they handed me a Business Class ticket to Tokyo, and a pass to the Japan Airlines Hospitality Suite and Lounge.
“So sorry you guys can’t hang around and have a few farewell snorts”, I chided, “But you’ve got a bit of a drive, so best be off before the weather turns to shit.”
“Who says we’re driving?” Agent Rack asked as he hooked a thumb over his shoulder at the ready and waiting C-130 cargo plane currently taxiing slowly in our direction.
“Well, in that case”, I smiled even more broadly, “Let’s invite the flight crew to join us. That’ll make the flight home all that much more interesting.”
After near tear-jerking farewell sentimentalities, i.e., “Piss on you”, “Get stuffed” and “Take a fuckin’ hike”; Agents Rack and Ruin, my weapons and the Agency’s plain-Jane Blue Chevy were all nestled snugger than buggers in ruggers in the belly of the thundering C-130.
Now truly on my own, I trudge the hundred thousand or so centisteps to my departure terminal, make a quick recon that my flight’s still slated to go in a generally westward direction, and hightail it to the nearest courtesy desk to ask for a motorized cart to take me and my remaining luggage to the JAL Hospitality Suite.
Hey. I’m old, infirm, and currently among the walking wounded.
Anyone that disagrees risks an Ankylosaur tail club swat or Thagomizer to the skull.
Finally ensconced in the JAL Hospitality Suite, Polo Lounge of course; I was drinking Tokyo Teas (3 oz. vodka, 2 oz. gin, 2 oz. rum, 1 oz. triple sec, 1 oz. Midori, good splash of lime juice, a slight splash of 7-Up (diet, of course), over ice with a lime wheel) with Pabst Blue Ribbon Extra 1844 chasers and Hangar One’s “Fog Point” vodka on the side, hiding from the brutish realities of this foul year of two thousand and twenty-something, Common Era…
I’ve already called Esme and we’ve had a good, long chat. She still managed to give me her shopping list for whenever I find myself bored on the Ginza.
She’ll be shocked when she learns that I’m not going to be in Tokyo long, but have 1st class tickets on the Bullet Train to Sapporo. Still, I’ll probably find myself in Pole Town or the Stellar Place there, trading piles of US greenbacks for locally produced Japanese curios and clothing.
I can hardly wait.
I order another round of drinks, as the wonderful attendants in the Hospitality Suite were bored out of their skulls because of the COVID-induced drop-in customers flying anywhere that requires a hospitality room stay, and I was virtually the only one around. They tried their level best to outdo each other when it comes to Japanese efficiency and friendliness.
After a couple of hours, they ask if I would like something from the grill, as the day chef had “the COVID” and the night chef just arrived. A quick perusal of the menu and I chose a 28-ounce dry-aged Porterhouse and another round of drinks.
I usually don’t like to eat too much before I fly, but JAL tells me the flight is going to be virtually empty, something like <121 pax, all told, so restroom availability shouldn’t be too much of a concern.
Plus, who am I to say no to a free, blue 28-ounce dry-aged Porterhouse?
There was a bit of difficulty conveying to the chef through the intermediaries of the hospitality just how I wanted my steak.
“Blue,” I said.
“Brue?” was the reply.
“Rare. Very, very rare.” I continued.
Look of total bewilderment.
I drag out my Personal Language Pro, speak “Steak, very, very rate” into the infernal gizmo, and hand the contraption to the attendant.
“珍しい、非常に珍しいステーキ?”[ Mezurashī, hijō ni mezurashī sutēki?]
“Raw! Nama!” I say, louder than need be.
They toddle off to find the chef.
“How is it sir, that you would like your steak cooked?” he asks.
“Very rare. Just a minute or two per side. Inside still cold.” I instructed.
All I got for the trouble was a puzzled smile.
“Give me the language gizmo…” I type in a few words…
“お尻を洗い、角をノックオフして、ここから出してください”
[O shiri o arai,-kaku o nokkuofu shite, koko kara dashite kudasai.]
“Wash its ass, knock its horns off, and walk it out here.”
“OH!” as the lightbulb pops. “Rare. Got it! Excellent!” the chef laughs and zips back to the kitchen.
Like I always say, I’m nothing if not the international ambassador of amity and goodwill.
“Crack tubes!”
Dinner was fantastic. I do wish I could have somehow mailed the Porterhouse bone back home for Khan. After that hambone incident, he might even taste it.
Finally on the plane, in an almost empty Business Class, the flight captain informs us that we’re headed to Haneda Airport Tokyo and anyone not headed in that direction better ‘haul ass off’ the flight or forever hold their peace.
Late-night international flights tend to be a bit more wooly than your average Chicago to Omaha gig.
Especially when the flight’s damn near empty and we have the next 12 hours or so to be best friends.
We taxi, turn and head into the wind. I’m doctoring up a couple of dossiers and keeping my personal cabin attendant, Luna since there were two of us in Business and two business flight attendants, busy with her trying to play ‘Stump the Geologist’.
“I’ll bet you never had this before.” She beamed and handed me a tumbler of very dangerous-looking brown liquor.
I cautiously sniff, take a modest gulp, swirl and glug the rest down.
“Ohishi Single Sherry Cask”, I say with a muffled belch. “Light. Fruity. An Englishman’s drink.”
“Oh. You knew. Let me try again.” She smiles beatifically.
“I have no objections to your proposal.” I smile as nicely as this crotchety old Komodo Dragon could.
She returns with another flagon of spirits; it smells of obsidian, leather, and earth.
I just had some of this back in LAX. I take a snort, smile, and shotgun the rest.
“Hibiki Japanese Harmony…lovely stuff.” I smile. “A little light for my jaded palate, but I’d never turn it down if it were free.”
“Oh, you win again. Wait. One more.” She smiles and skitters off to the galley.
She returns with another soupçon of some more dangerous brown liquor.
“Here, try this. It will make you very popular at social gatherings”. She smiles.
Sniff. “Splendid.” Snort. Swirl. Smile. Shotgun.
“Kanosuke New Born, if I’m not mistaken.” I smile back. “Very nice. I really do like this one.”
“You too good at this. One more!” she stands and stomps off defiantly. She returns in a trice and hands me the glass.
“Hmm…brown. Light notes of earth, leather, dating your daughter, and Kentucky…
“Beam Suntory, right?”
“You know them all!” she says, feigning irritation.
“And I thank you. Those were all excellent. Now, anything in the dangerous clear liquor category? I asked.
Luna smiled as I palmed off a 20k yen tip.
“Oh, no sir. Wait until we land.” She demurred, referring to the gratuity; which is know is not de rigueur in the Orient, but she didn’t seem to mind.
“Just in case we never make it to Tokyo”, I laughed, unknowingly presciently.
We both chuckled about that last line as she tried out various sakes and shōchūs and an actual Japanese ‘White Liquor’ (ホワイトリカー), which were all excellent as was the company.
I tell her that I need to get some work done and could she bring me a tall Rocknocker. After explain the origins and construction of the eponymous drink, she brings me one that must tip the scales at 1 or so liters.
She settles down to an empty seat and I get after the work that I need to finish before we land. I’m about ½ way through my drink when it felt as if the plane hit a brick wall. She quivered and quaked and clutched at herself while I made some comments about the pilot’s mental health.
We dropped like a paralyzed falcon, then just as suddenly, felt like it was an express elevator to Angel’s 11. The plane bucked and shimmied, wickedly. Then we slam-danced right and fell a few more stories. It was like we were in a Mixmaster and the owner was trying out every speed.
The emergency lights in the 777-300ER popped on, and the fasten seat belt sign barked loudly so even sleeping travelers could enjoy the show.
Rinse. Spin. Shudder. Repeat.
Finally, the ride smooths out and we hear the captain on the blower.
“This is your captain speaking…ah, we seem to have hit some uncharted turbulence back there.”
“Thanks, Captain Obvious”, I muttered.
“Everything’s A-OK. “ he reports.
“That’s good”, I note.
“But…”
“There’s always the but…” I groan.
“…we have a couple of warning lights for which we can’t quite account. So to just be safe and certain, we’re going to divert to Hawaii, get a clean bill of health and resume this flight once we make sure everything here is hunky-dory.”
There were scattered groans and applause. Add them together and divide by two and the average response on the flight was “Meh. Whatever.”
Except for the other guy in Business, with whom I hadn’t shared two words. He began to absolutely lose his shit.
“Oh, man! We’re so screwed! Mechanical malfunction? What does that mean?” he positively fizzed with fear.
The flight attendants tried to calm him down, to no avail. They basically gave up and said they’d report his misgivings to the Captain.
I motioned over to my personal flight attendant, Luna, and asked if I could be of service.
“Oh, Doctor Rock”, she smiled at me, “If you could speak with him. You are so calm, and he is…”
“Losing his bloody mind”, I chuckled as I finished her sentence for her. “Of course, I’ll take a stab at it.”
So, I grab my drink and ease over to my Business Class partner and introduce myself.
“Hey, pal. How’s it going? I’m Dr. Rock, gentleman, scholar, and connoisseur of cigars and things alcoholic. You doing OK?”
He looks at me with an ashen face and his eyes the size of bloodshot dinner plates.
“Yeah. I’m Todd Schotts. I’m flying to Japan for business.” He mumbles
“No surprise there,” I reply calmly and take a slug of my drink.
“But now we’re all going to die. The plane is busted and we’ll crash…” he started off again.
“So, Todd is it? Good. You drink?” I asked.
“Yeah?”, he stammered back.
I asked Luna to make us a fresh batch of my eponymous cocktails.
“OK, Todd, listen up”, I began after the drinks were served, “I have flown literally millions of miles over the last 4 decades. On Aeroflot when it was still the USSR. On TACA (Take A Chance Airways), on Chalk’s in the Caribbean, on Bob’s Verrifast Plane Company in Rhodesia, on regional carriers that don’t even exist anymore. All over the world. Had some bad experiences flying, and me ol’ mugger, this ain’t one of them. This is nothing more than the glitch for this mission.”
I chuckled lightly and complimented Luna on a fantastic drink.
“Yeah…yeah…yeah…but we have to land and check out some lights…” Todd squealed.
“Well now, Todd. It would be rather difficult to do any external assessment while in flight, don’t you agree?” I asked.
“But we’re diverting. We have to land and that adds more risk. We’re going to crash and die!” he was coming more and more unglued.
“I will bet you every cent you have on your person and home bank accounts that that will not happen”, I chuckled.
That took him by surprise. At least it shut him up for a while.
“Look, Todd. This is Boeing’s latest model. They have the most incredible safety record. And if a little clear air turbulence were to be knocking planes out of the sky, don’t you think we’d hear about it as the press went berserk?” I asked.
“But they don’t know what the lights mean! What if one of the engines’s out? How far can we fly on one engine?” Todd stuttered.
Having my fill of a supposedly grown man with inane childlike fears, I calmly replied,
“All the way to the crash site.”
He went white.
“...hope we hit something hard. I don’t want to limp away from this.”
He went limp.
Then I went to my seat and motioned for Luna to prepare a reload.
Of course, 45 minutes later, we land without incident at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, Honolulu Hawaii.
We were told to just wait around until they figure out what the problem if any, was.
They had officials waiting at the end of the jetway to check our COVID status and passports before they let us loose in the terminal.
I asked Luna if she knew this airport. She noted that she did.
“Is there a JAL hospitality room here at this airport? I asked.
“Yes, Doctor. It’s the Sakura Lounge. It is located on the third level above The Local, Terminal 2.” She replied.
“Please notify whoever needs to know that that’s where I’ll be for the duration”, I smiled and handed her my business card. “See you soon, I hope.”
“Oh, Dr. Rock”, she replied, “I am sure it is nothing much. We’ll be back in the air within mere hours.”
“Well then”, I smiled, “Guess I’d better get ready to hoof it to the lounge.”
“Oh, Doctor Rock”, she smiled, “No rush. I will call for you a courtesy cart. You are injured, you are Business, you are priority.”
“I love that Asian efficiency.” I smiled back and toddled down the jetway.
At the terminus of the jetway, I show my COVID-clear papers, dates and times of my Anti-Virus vaccine administrations, the letter from Virginia clearing me of all detention, and my red Russian diplomatic passport.
While in the cart, whizzing our way to the JAL lounge, the driver said “Man! You must be some kind of VIP. You were through that welcoming committee in less than two minutes!”
“Me? Nah!”, I chuckled, “Just an old phart of a geologist that they didn’t want to mess with. Not on such a bright, sunny day as this.”
“I see you’re not wearing a mask.” The driver quipped.
“Very observant. There are reasons for that.” I replied.
He careens around a corner and if this were a normal pre-Covid day, I’m certain we’d have killed hundreds. However, the airport, as I’ve come to grow accustomed to, was virtually deserted.
“Yeah? Like what?” he asks.
“Well, Scooter, 1. I have an active and hardworking immune system that I let off the chain every once in a while for exercise. Got to let it know what it’s up against, right? 2. I’ve had all my shots and some that were experimental. They seem to have worked. And 3. I find it difficult to drink and smoke cigars while wearing a mask. However, if you’d prefer, I will mask up. No problem, though it still is optional.”
“Nah, man”, he said, “I was just wondering if you were one of those religious idiots or conspiracy nuts.”
Nope”, I smiled back, “Just another geologist out in the world plying his trade for cash. Y’know, whorin’ around for money.”
He laughs aloud as we skid to a stop right in front of Lounge.
I slip the guy a $20 and ask if he’d listen for the JAL flight I was just on. If we’re going on ahead today, I’d need him to scoot by and putt-putt me back to the plane.
He laughs and pockets the $20 as quick as a mink ruts.
“No worries. I’ll just hang around this area. I hear anything about the flight, I’ll come and let you know.” He grins.
“Good man”, I say, as I hand him my card. “I’m Dr. Rocknocker. Call me Rock”.
“And I’m Kapula Mano, call me Kap” he replies.
“Good man”, I say again, “Hope to see you in a while.”
He grins, floors his electric cart, and peels out at speeds approaching 4.5 MPH.
I wander into the lounge, show my credentials, and am escorted to a post up on Mahogany Ridge.
The bar is very quiet. Besides the bartender, I can’t see anyone else in the darkened and Smooth Jazz-infused drinking emporium.
I order a local drink, a Mai Tai, just for the experience and something a bit different.
It’s served in a goldfish bowl on a stem, bedecked with a slice of lime, a sprig of mint, a stick of sugar cane, a polychromatic orchid, and the obligate paper umbrella.
“Ah. Mai Tai. I will enjoy it.” I said to no one in particular.
One was enough, and I decided to go back to the old standard. Once I explained to the bartender what that was, he made them heroic and enthusiastically.
I’m reading up on a random dossier, making notes in a new file, and puffing away on a Fuentes Onyx double Maduro Churchill cigar.
I hear a slight cough coming from my right, and this here lovely lady, she sat to my immediate starboard and looked at me semi-quizzically.
Not in the mood for shenanigans of any stripe, I give her the obligate Baja Canada nod and tilt of the drink. I return to my dossiers and continue to read and take notes.
“Excuse me!” I hear.
Fearing the worst, either the woman is Karen-oid anti-smoking or a religious fruit-and-nutburger, I slowly turn to face her and reply, somewhat glacially, I have to admit.
“What?”
“That cigar…”
“Here we go…” I mutter, eyes rolling northward.
“Smells exquisite. Could you tell me the brand? My husband would enjoy some like that.” She notes.
Instantly my demeanor switches 180^0.
“Yes, ma’am. It’s an Arturo Fuentes Onyx. Churchill size, or 60 ring x 7” length, double Maduro. Here, take one for your husband. I have an ample supply.” I smile.
“Oh, no. I couldn’t. Could I?” she asks.
“Please. I insist.” I smile the best I could given the circumstances.
“Thank you. You’re too kind…umm…Mr….?”
“Doctor. Doctor Rocknocker. World traveler, oilman, and international ambassador of amity, good drinks, and fine cigars. Call me Rock” I said.
“Oh! A Doctor?” she brightens.
“Yes, of Petroleum Geology and Engineering. Not medicine.” I chuckle.
She chuckles back.
“And I am Hella Aaberg”, as she offers her hand for a quick shake.
“Interesting name, Hella. Scandinavian or Old German heritage?” I ask.
“On my father’s side. He’s Finnish.” She replies.
“But I’ll wager your mother is not Scandinavian, correct?” I ask.
“She was from Truk, an island…”
“In the South Pacific, Micronesia. Was she from Weno city?” I asked.
“Why yes. How could you possibly know that?” she asked.
“Oh, I’ve been there. Great diving amongst the WWII wrecks. I think it’s actually called ‘Chuuk Lagoon’ or something like that now.” I said.
“That’s right! Amazing. Where else have you been?” she asked.
“Anywhere there’s oil, strife, booze, cigars, heavy explosives and typically long distances from whatever most normal people call civilization,” I replied with a chuckle.
Suddenly, I hear a voice booming out behind me.
“Why don’t you save that rapier-like wit for those musky-fuckers back home, Rocko?”
My expression changes. My eyes pop fully wide open.
“Hella?” I asked.
“Yes?”
“May I ask you a favor?”
“You can ask…”
“Thank you. Now, looking over my shoulder, is there a hulking goon of a person, thin up top, paunchy halfway down with the most ridiculously tiny sized shoes you’ve ever seen for a so-called grown man?” I ask.
“Yes. Yes, there is.” She replies.
“I thought so. Many thanks.”
I spin and launch off my barstool and grab Toivo by the hand. He hadn’t seen my left-hand Thagomizer yet.
“Toivo! You old sumbitch. What the flying fennec fox fuck are you, of all people, doing in Hawaii?” I laughed.
“Just keeping an eye on you, Rock!” he laughed equally as loud.
“No, fucking-A, seriously. What the actual fuck? What are you doing in this actual nice place?” I asked.
“Just headed to Tokyo to conduct a bit of service company business. I walked into the lounge and smelled a foul cigar. I figured it can’t be the venerable Dr. Rocknocker. He’s back at some school up north terrorizing geology and engineering grads and undergrads.” Toivo laughed.
“But there I was. Surprise!”, I laughed and pumped his hand.
“What the fuck, Rock. Now what did you do?” he asks, referring to my Ankylosaur tail club left hand.
“Ah, fuck. Long story. Oh, pardon me. Toivo, this is Hella. We were just talking about the South Seas Islands.” I said.
“Planning on running off together?” Toivo laughs, to the amusement of neither party.
“Oh, and this idiot is Toivo, a man with a congenital foot-in-mouth disorder. He’s mostly harmless.” I noted to Hella.
Greetings were shared all around. Hella made some small excuses and said she needed to depart. I gave her another cigar for her husband, shook her hand, and wished her well.
“Here’s my business card. If your husband has any questions, have him drop me a line.” I noted.
Hella smiled beautifully. She said she would. Then she thanked me shook our hands, and like that, there she was, gone.
“Well Toivo, you old bastard. Don't just stand there in the doorway like some lonesome goddamn mouse shit sheepherder, get your ass over here and have a drink.” I motioned over to my perch on Mahogany Ridge.
“Don’t mind if I do”, he says as he deftly winds his way to a seat to my left, snagging a cigar out of my pocket on the way over.
“You might want these”, I say in an exasperated tone, and hand him my gold Dunhill Hobnail lighter and V-cutter gizmo.
He cuts and fires up his heater.
“What you drinkin’, Rock”, he asks.
“Anything with alcohol, as usual. You know that Toiv.” I reply.
“No. I mean right now.” He clarifies.
“Well, I had a Mai Tai. Very nice if you like fruity, flowery drinks. It’s the locals’ favorite.” I reply.
“Sounds good. I’ll have several. And you?” Toivo asks.
“My usual. The bartender is already apprised of the situation.” I reply.
Toivo smiles the smile of one knowing his sobriety is going to be taken out for a swim. Hell, taken out and tossed into the deep end.
Toivo and I sit there, swapping lies, smoking cigars and sipping at our toddies.
Hell, Toivo was slurping them like a sump-pump during an extra-wet summer.
We chattered about family, work, whether or not Tokyo was going to host the Olympics or if the COVID-boogie man scared everyone off.
Toivo, always one afflicted with TB (“Tiny Bladder”) got up to go to the loo for the third time that hour. He left his pocket organizer on the bar and I swear on a stack of Origins of Species, I didn’t touch it.
I reached over to his vacated seat to retrieve my cigar lighter when I looked down and saw in his organizer a tab that reads “Rack & Ruin”.
“Oh. No. Fucking. Way.” I recoiled as I’d just reached out and petted a 6-foot hungover scorpion.
“One of my best friends? Secretly allied with the Agency? No. Not possible.” I drained my drink and called for another.
“No. No. No. It can’t be. No. No fucking way…” as doubt began to dissolve when I thought back to all those times I had just ‘run into’ Toivo.
“But he’s oil patch as well. That could be chalked up to coincidence.” I ruminated quizzically in my brain.
I quickly reflected back on J.M. Darhower: “Yes, you see, there’s no such thing as coincidence. There are no accidents in life. Everything that happens is the result of a calculated move that leads us to where we are.”
She may be the author of the execrable New Adult Sempre series, which Esme likes and I loathe, but she might just be right on this occasion.
Toivo return, lighter in the bladder and good sense. He never even noticed he’d left his organizer out in broad bar light for all to see.
“So, Toivo, when’s your flight?” I ask.
“Oh, man. Was I lucky. The JAL flight to Tokyo from Los Angeles had mechanical trouble and had to divert here. I got a ticket on the plane for that flight, when it continues.
“You mean ‘if it continues’,” I replied.
“Yeah. Yeah. That’s what I meant. Hey! Was that your flight?” he asks innocently. He’s really innocent of fieldcraft.
I decide to have some fun at my old friend’s expense.
“Yep. Hit some CAT (Clear Air Turbulence) and the JAL pilots reported some lighting problem. No apparent ruin to any of the systems. They relay racked their brains to figure it out, but they couldn’t that’s why I here.” I said, waiting for the words to swim upstream in Toivo’s coconut and make some sort of connection.
“Yeah. Double lucky. No problem with the plane and I get to go to Japan early.” Toivo crookedly grins.
“So, no trouble with the plane? Then why haven’t I heard that the flight’s going to resume?” I asked as I pushed a fresh, seriously strong drink to Toivo.
“Oh, must have heard it in the john.” Toivo countered and tried to cover his tracks by taking a huge gulp of his drink and damn near dying coughing.
I pound on Toivo’s back.
“Heimlich time?” I ask.
Toivo signals ‘no’.
“Jesus Christ, Rock. What was that?” he asks.
“Just my usual”, I innocently replied.
“Holy fuck. No wonder you have the reputation of…” Toivo realizes too late that he’s said too much.
“Yeah. They can rack you out. Really ruin a person if they’re not careful.” I reply icily.
“Why, Rock. Whatever do you mean?” Toivo slurred as he realized he’s been caught out.
“The jig is up, you turncoat. You know Agents Rack and Ruin from the agency. Right? You keeping tabs on me for them? You Quisling! You Benedict Arnold!” I almost was on the verge of losing my cool.
“It was nothing. They approached me years ago as I kept being mentioned in your reports. They asked me for some information. One thing leads to another…” Toivo was ready for an Ankylosaur tail club swat to the bean.
“Oh, put your fucking hands down, you asshole.” I smiled and chuckled.
“You’re not mad?” Toivo slurred badly. I had the bartender make him another special drink.
“No, Toivo. Not mad. Just disappointed.” I said, smiling like a Komodo Dragon just finishing up a fortnight-old wildebeest.
Toivo sat there and puzzled and puzzled until his puzzler was sore.
“You’re not going to kill me or anything rude like that?” Toivo asked, half-assedly trying to inject humor into the proceedings.
“Nah. The paperwork’s too ridiculous for me to do another liberation. But, Jesus Fucking Christwagons, Toivo; you could have mentioned it to me. Fuck, I thought we were friends to the end?” I said, dejectedly.
I was really getting through to Toivo. I could tell he was loaded; feeling like shit and massively deplorable.
Great fieldcraft, indeed.
I told him things “are what they are” and that I won’t blow his cover nor his honorarium.
He began to feel better. I often wonder if he was serious about the sanctioning thing.
Then I delivered the strategic missile strike.
“Just remember, Toivo. I wrote your dossier for the Company…”
He swivels to look at me.
“And one for the KGB. Olga says ‘howdy’.” I grin evilly.
Toivo short-circuited at that. Russia is his company’s bread and butter. Now he has the KGB as well as his best buddy looking over his shoulder at every move.
I bought him a few more drinks and continued to needle him about his ’leading a double life’. He was well and truly fuckered when the electric tap-tap driver from before came looking for me to whisk me back to the plane.
Seems it was simply some knocked-out wires on the plane, or slammed bulbs that were generating a false positive, indicating something other than the system that alerts one to something haywire went haywire.
Toivo was pretty much down for the count. I got him sober enough to hand them his ticket and ensure that he was really supposed to be on this flight. Thing was; h e was in Economy, and I was, as always, in Business.
I spoke to Luna, and the plane was going to be even less crowded than previously because some folks could or wouldn’t wait, or didn’t want to go on with the rest of the trip on a ‘damaged’ aircraft, or were just stupid and superstitious.
“Luna, could I pay for the difference between Business and Economy for my less than 100% conscious friend here? He’s had a rough day.” I asked.
“Dr. Rock. Just put him into Business. No one will be the wiser. Luna says so.” As she gave us a grand smile.
“Luna, I owe you. Thanks so much.” I said.
“Now get on board. Your friend looks like he needs all the downtime he can get.”
“Yes, ma’am!” I said and saluted here be best I could which dragging a schnozzled Toivo down the jetway.
I dumped Toivo in a window seat well away from my seat. I know Toivo. He snores like a semi-load of live hogs rocketing downhill locking up the brakes at 88 MPH.
Surprise! There was no one else in Business. Luna looked at me, at Toivo, and gave me a thumbs up.
Whatever I can write to further her career at JAL, she’ll have it before I deplane.
We finally get everyone settled, and with Captain Kangaroo at the helm, we bounced gracelessly off the tarmac, into the warm, tropical Hawaiian air, finally headed for the Land of the Rising Sun.
Toivo was snoring like a chainsaw hitting rusty nails as I worked on the various letters, communiques, and dossiers which needed updating before we reached touchdown. I gave Luna a thick letter with instructions not to open it until we were on the ground and Toivo and I were well off and away into the terminal.
We left Hawaii at 1300 hours, so we should arrive at Tokyo Nareda around 4:00 pm, the previous day. I was so bereft of time and time zones, I couldn’t figure out what time it really was, as judged by my biometric rhythms, so I asked Luna for a stiff drink as I was kicking off my boots and going to attempt to get some kip.
She brought me another liter or so eponymous drink. I was sawing logs by the time I slurped the last swig of that nifty drink.
Suddenly, or later, I have no idea really, some loudmouth drunk asshole from way-the-fuck-back in economy-land toward the ass end of the plane staggered into Business demanding free drinks.
Luna was nothing but civil, and asked him to both shut up and return to his seat. His air cabin hostess, or whatever the fuck they’re calling them these days, will attend to his needs.
“Naw they won’t! They want me to pay for more drinks! I’m broke but I demand more booze! You fucking owe me.” railed the asshole. “I sat at the bar in Hawaii for four hours. Them fuckers charged me an arm and a leg!”
“No, they don’t owe you shit”, I said in a voice that unmistakably loud and clear.
“Fuck you, old man! You stay the fuck out of this!” he bellowed. “Shut up or I’ll do ya’!”
“’Old man’? ‘Do me’? Excuse me. Luna, may I have a word alone with this individual?” I asked sweetly.
Luna shook her head in the affirmative, and I stood up to confront this flagrant asshole.
“Now look, Scooter. You have gone way, way over the fucking line. You are loud. You are abusive. You are obnoxious. And you stink. Plus you insulted a person who is just barely containing his righteous wrath right now. So, I’m giving you one and one only chance to shut up, sit back down before your body spontaneously develops all sort of bruises, contusions, broken bones, and unconsciousness.” I said calmly, evenly, and threateningly.
“What da’ fuck you think you’re going to do…old man?” he screeched, trying to inflate himself into full mammalian threat posture, all 5’ 9” of it.
He didn’t notice Toivo walking up quietly behind him, as Toivo was returning from the head, quiet as a moose.
“Well, Scooter, I am an Air Marshall. Duly appointed, fully trained, and properly pissed off. Right now, I can arrest you, physically detain you, turn this flight around and take you to the Hawaiian police, at your cost for the inconvenience of the entire flight. Or I could arrest you, physically detain you, and turn you over to the Japanese authorities when we land. It’s really your choice. Choose wisely.”
To be continued…⇝

There are lot of new to mining folks here, I’m one of them. Here is my journey and some of the lessons I learned

Why did I go here?

When Bitcoin hit $40k I finally decided that cryptocurrency isn’t going to go away. And if it’s not going to go away I should look into it. The sad thing is that in the early early days of bitcoin I had played with getting a miner going. I even got to the point where it was happily mining away on my computer. But then I had to get back to work and when my computer rebooted I never started it up again. What a loss!
I should also call out, the EtherMining guide is really good. If you are starting your mining journey it’s very helpful

The Wallet

I made the investment in a Ledger wallet. I’ve seen the reddit post that made it to all about poor souls that lost huge amount because of some hack or thievery. If I’m going crypto I’m controlling the keys. I did some research and determined that Leger or Trezor are the best cold wallets. After which I read on Ledger’s site that you shouldn’t mine directly to ledger because it can’t handle a large amount of small transitions (more on this later). Did some google and went with Mew for my mining software wallet figuring I’ll transfer to ledger after.
Here I learned about the magic 20 words or a Mnemonic phrase. Unlike banks, Ledger and Mew don’t hold your account. They are simply devices. If Mew is installed on your phone and if you lose your phone you’re screwed and you can lose all your holdings. Unless you can rebuild your wallet with the Mnemonic phrase that is. Alright, good stuff. I have mine and a safe wallet

And Ethereum?

Of course first I looked into mining bitcoin again. What? You need an ASIC miner these days? Holy shit they cost how much? Alright, who’s number 2. When you start researching about Ethereum it’s pretty freaking cool. This thing could overtake Bitcoin someday and you can mine it with a GPU. Hey I have one of those!

The card

I have a 2070 super which I got shortly after they were released for under $500. I’ve been using it for video games and it’s great. Who knew there would be a run on GPUs and the cards worth more than I paid for it!

The Pool

I quickly learn that solo mining is a fool’s game with Ethereum, you need a pool. I went with Sparkpool simply because it was the largest. As the new guy I don’t need to be trying out the newest pool, I want stability. I also wanted to stay anonymous, turns out all you need is a deposit address. Nice

The miner

Fees to use a miner? The heck? I’m not afraid of a CLI, let’s go with the free one. I download the latest Ethminer. Now we hit the first real challenge as the example configurations were all over the place. After some trial and error I settle on a .bat that does;
ethminer.exe -P stratum1+tcp://

[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]):3333

We’re mining!

On Sparkpool you can search by your wallet address. After ~10min, there I am. Cool! I’m mining! Change the sleep settings on Windows and I’m mining while I sleep. Now when can I get my earnings? Let’s see they pay out at 0.1 ETH….. Let’s do some math…. Yeah that’s not happening for a long time. Ahh, they pay out on the 28th of the month even if you don’t make 0.1. Just got to wait. And this is where I was for a few weeks

On to Upgrading

I’m mining, what a fun start. I’m not in a position to put together a rig though. Maybe there’s some reasonable changes I can make

The Miner

Let’s start easy, the miner. I see post on EtherMining that Phoenixminer is just the best (I’ve since read the same thing for about 3 different miners). Ok, I don’t like the idea of a fee but I have stats at Sparkpool, let’s see what it does to the average. Around this time I found the guide on EtherMining and learned about adding commands to my .bat file for etherminer or phoenixminer as well. My .bats now start with
setx GPU_FORCE_64BIT_PTR 0
setx GPU_MAX_HEAP_SIZE 100
setx GPU_USE_SYNC_OBJECTS 1
setx GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT 100
setx GPU_SINGLE_ALLOC_PERCENT 100
Turns out I do get a bit better results with Phoeixminer. Nothing amazing but it is better. And the reporting in the CMD prompt is better. I can see information on my card and hashrate. Cool!
I also finally take the time to find my electricity bill to see what I’m paying. My cost per kWh is 0.09, lucky me! Plug that into mining calculators online, I’m ok. At least I’m not losing money.

How about a 3070?

Alright, this is fun and all, but what if we can could do more. My computer has some more PCIe slots. How much could I make with a Nvidia 3xxx? Turns out betterhash let’s you know. You can plug in any card there and get a hash estimate. Turns out I could make over $100 month with a 3070. At $600 the card would pay for itself in 6 months!
….There are no freaking cards for sale. Anywhere. What the heck. How late am I too this game? And the ones that are available, they want $980 for a 3070? I look deep. I make the half hour trip to Micro Center and get told to try coming in at 8am every day and I might get lucky. Not looking good.
Finally I recall I used to order stuff from CDW at my old IT job. I hit pay dirt! They have a 3070! It’s expensive but it’s not $900. Card ordered! (Since then, they’ve been out of stock. I got lucky)

Upgrade issue #1

I need to make room for the 3070. My 2070 Super is a 3 fan and it’s long. There’s not room in the 2nd PCIe slot in my case for the long card. I end up moving everything around and break off some plastic from the hardrive cage, I got it in!
I have a 3rd PCIE, can I put a card there? Not unless it’s super thin, the power supply is right under it. Looks like I’m limited to 2 cards for now.

Upgrade issues #2

My new 3070 is extra wide (PHY uprising edition if you care). The fans literally sit on the 2070. And with both cards in there my computer is hot! My computer feels like a heater right now. Let’s google on how to deal with heat. I learn about and download MSI Afterburner. Pretty cool tool! Not only can you see the temperature you can adjust a lot of settings on your GPU. I spin up my miner and start MSI afterburner. Ok, the 2070 is doing fine, let’s see how the 3070 is doing.. 90 degrees, ok, ok. Wait it’s Celsius, holy crap! What the heck! That’s 194 degrees F! It’s gotta be that wide ass 3070 making the fans sit on the 2nd card. The cooling air it’s sucking up is coming straight from the 2070…
I switch the cards (why did I break my hardrive cage?). Now the 2070 is back in the first slot which is not ideal, I liked the idea of using the 3070 for video games.. Spin up my miner, we are doing better. Both cards are in the mid 70s Celsius. That’s fine right? Do some googling… Crap, no it’s still too hot…
Time to upgrade the fans in the computer. Another half hour trip to Micro Center, I get a 140 and 120 size fan. I also get a fan controller because I noted that I only had 1 free fan plug in on my motherboard. The fan controller ends up fitting perfectly in a hardrive slot, like it was made for it. Fortunately I overbought my PSU and I have plenty of power slots for adding one offs like a fan controller.
Alright, I’ve filled every Fan spot on my case, there are 5 fans going…. And there blowing wrong…. After redoing everything because I messed up the fan directions…. (Remember kids, air should flow front to back and heat rises) Let’s try again!
Spin up the miners…. I’m under 70 degrees Celsius! Progress, progress. But high 60’s is still in the danger zone. Here is where I find some nice post in EtherMining on MSI afterburner settings. Raising my fan speed to almost 80, cutting my power to somewhere in the 70s, raising the memory clock to +500. Now I’m at 63 c! And my hash rate went up as a bonus!

Here I am and where I’m going

If you’ve made it this far, it’s been a learning journey for me. There are some things I can still do better at but I think I have the basics of Ethermining down. I’m happy with where I’ve gotten. I’ve also learned a ton about crypto currency.
Going forward, I might change from Sparkpool but I’m still on the fence. From EtherMining I know everyone and their mother is going to Flexpool. But I’m a small player (~100 MH/s) and waiting for 0.2 ETH for payout would take a long time which is risk. And I’m not sure what the PPLNs type plan would net me.
I’m also considering using the address for my ledger for my proceeds. It’s going to go there anyway and I would like to avoid fees from moving my coin around. I know ledger cautions about large amounts of small transactions but with a pool the payout is only once a month so I don’t think it applies. If the ledger can’t handle 12 deposits a year then I need to find something else anyway.
You know, I might have gone big but with staking being the future of Ethereum, the rising difficulty level of mining, not really having a place to put a rig or honestly the funds for one, I think I’m going to stay a small player and just see if I can eventually pay back this 3070 I bought. In the end it’s been a ton of fun and added excitement to the monotony of being quarantined to a house all day. Thank you for the forum post and the new hobby!
Were you entertained? You can always send things to 0xAD0cd237BDE28AF4Dc4E0D913285e74217384e29 (worth a shot)

I was asked to make a post about some stories within the Casino grounds so I thought I'd share. I have many so I'll do my best to pick the better ones.
Some back information: I've been a Casino Dealer for 11 years, I've been a supervisor for five years, and I've been a Surveillance Operator for one year. I've worked at three properties, none of which are connected or owned by the same company. I've worked on : Government/Private/Native American owned casinos.

1. From Hero to Zero.

At my first Casino, I was one of the first group of people who were trained to deal Roulette . After 4 weeks of working 6PM-3AM then doing roulette training from 3AM-8AM (Not paid) , I actually really enjoyed the game and after about six months I became extremely quick at the number game and the pace of the action was steady with very low margin of errors. Young man walks in, cashes in for $500. He buys in for $2 chips and just loads the board. After a few spins and pretty decent hits, he then changes his chips from $2 to 5$ then to $10 and racks his winnings up to $10,000. It was then, five spins in a row, he loaded the board with some pretty gross bets, and every spin I would hit the ONE number with either NO CHIPS on it, or maybe 1 chip , He lost all $10,000 in a matter of minutes. He leaves , and I go on break. After my break I was going back to the same table and wouldn't you know it, the same young man walks in and cashes in another $500. He tells me he just sold his car outside and this is all that he had left. So we do the same deal, buys in for $2 chips, then slowly starts betting $5 chips, $10, $25...and he makes $10,000 AGAIN. Within the next 25 minutes it was straight agony. Every spin, same thing, he would bet $2500 in chips, and win only $250, $400, and after about a half hour he lost it all . Never saw the guy again.
2) Man down
At this property, we are 24 hours for table games. It's currently 5AM , and I'm dealing some $25 Blackjack to this guy. He's probably early thirties , heavy guy. He's sober as can be, but right away I can tell he's been losing. We know how much you've bought in for, how much your down, or up, and I could see he was down $2000+. After about twenty minutes of pure losing, his temper starts to flare.At this point I now have two other guests at my table. Drinking coffee, not saying a word, just losing their money. After losing hand, after hand, this guy looks me straight in the eye, seized up, starts shaking, he can't move. He tries to punch towards me and smashes his stack of chips all over the place and falls backwards to the floor. I call for security, we cannot touch him due to liability . I can't move from my table because, well, liability / casino cash property, all I can do is try to talk to him. As I'm doing so, these other two woman who are sitting at my table just look at me and one says "OK, dealer, cmon lets go " as she taps the table telling me to start dealing and forget about the guy having a stroke on the floor. As security takes him to the ambulance out front, I had to stay behind for a couple minutes and give a statement. I go on break. I come back, and 45 minutes later, he comes right back in with a oxygen tank and keeps gambling for the remainder of the morning.
3) You get a dildo, and YOU get a dildo!
On a late summer Saturday night, we had a large event for these massive muscle guys/strongman competition type thing. After their show, I'm at the roulette table , and five of these boys come over to play. They were absolutely hilarious. They were feeling pretty good, cashed in somewhat large amounts and I could tell this was going to be a fun time. After about a hour of dealing to these guys, it's almost midnight, everybody is pretty hammered , I spin the ball, and all five of these guys take out these god damn (what I can only tell was) two feet purple dildos from inside their pants, and wiping them around in the air. The ladies were just loving it, one of the dildos landed in the roulette wheel and we had to shut the table down to re-calibrate the wheel to make sure nothing had been changed. I just remember that night was so much damn fun, I couldn't believe what I was seeing and I would never forget it.
4) Full Moon
On this day, I was actually training dealers / supervising them on small games like Three Card poker. We opened the table at 10AM, and this older man came and sat down . He played all day. The jackpot was $21,000 and that was pretty high for this table. He played, and played and played. He's one of the players where you know he's wearing a diaper because he's been drinking coffee/pop all day and hasn't moved in eight hours. As the day went on, this man never moved from his chair. Getting closer to midnight, he was aggravated and said "I need to go have a smoke, I'm getting killed in here". He left, and the very next hand, the lady beside him was dealt the jackpot . He didn't say much, but you could just tell he just hated life at that very moment because had he not gotten up, it would of been his hand. The man calmly took his cane , his hat, jacket, coffee, and left. The next morning I found out when he did leave he drove his car straight through his bank and was arrested.
5) Slick Robber
I actually give props to people who can actually pull this off. This story may confuse you so I'll try and explain things as best as possible. A lot of casinos have machines as soon as you walk through the front doors. A man walks up to one of these machines and sticks in HIS $100 bill. He doesn't gamble it, instead he hits the cash out button and gets a $100 TITO ticket where he then takes the ticket to the ATM machine to get his $100. Now remember, his Original $100 is in the slot machine. He then takes the $100 from the ATM and goes back to the same machine, and repeats this process over a hundred times. Essentially he's taking money from the ATM, and loading up the Slot Machine . Now he knows he can't do it too much because if the slot machine gets full of money, the machine will shut down and the slow attendant will have to take all the cash out. So he deposits over $10,000 , then has a small crowbar, he cracks the machine open and makes a run out the front door. To my knowledge he was never caught . But damn, that was pretty smart .
EDIT:
6) Mental Health is a thing.
10PM man walks in to play some high limit BlackJack. This guy knows the game and played well. Dressed nice, drank juice/tea , a little bit of a attitude, cashed in over $10,000. When this man was half way down his buy in, he said something a long the lines of "If I don't win here tonight, I'm going to go set myself on fire." I wasn't sure if he was serious because when people are down, they tend to say a lot of nonsense. I actually left early that night, and from a third party was told he did exactly that in the parking lot. The next day it was clear something terrible had gone wrong in the parking lot .
EDIT:
7) Nothing good happens after midnight
After a busy Saturday night, I was dealing a mix of games, and during this story I was in the middle of Blackjack. I had one young kid (probably 19) sitting in the middle, one older male probably in his later 40's sitting beside him on his right, and I had a really nice couple in their 20's sitting together at the other side. This young kid wasn't playing just sort of watching, and ever time the old man won he would give this young guy some of his winnings. The older man, was a wine drinker, and he had black between all of his teeth, I'll never forget. He's a little drunk but nothing terrible. As the night goes on, the older man goes and uses the washroom, at which point the couple asked the young guy "Oh was that your dad?" and the young guy says "Hah, no I wish!". The couple and I just looked at each other. This old guy, was in complete control over this kid. Absolutely disgusting. The night ends, and I find out the couple called a few of their friends, and they all waited outside by this old mans truck and beat the living hell out of him. 40 years old, sleeping with a 19 year old, completely brain washed . Very weird.
8) That one co-worker where you just wish they would quit.
One of our co-workers, nice guy but had a very big ego and we as employees just sorta left him alone. One day he had enough of the atmosphere and quit. Now usually when you quit, you cannot come back until you paperwork is finalized. How ever, HR was in that day, and he was given the paperwork the very next day. He came in, cashed in $1000, and made $50,000 in about a hour at the Baccarat table. My manager, was extremely annoyed, because now this guy is just mocking the casino and having the time of his life (Thanks for the big tip by the way :) ) and so he decides to call it quits. He wants to ban himself and he wants $50,000 in cash. The casino says Nope, we are going to give you a cheque. Now here's the thing, most business people will take the cheque, how ever you CANT CASH the cheque until the following monday because it's on that day where the funds are available. The casino on the other hand will cash their own check in anytime , because they want you to play. So this guy pretty much said go to hell I want my cash, and he called the police. Police show up, and management promptly gave him the cash.I though it was absolutely hilarious .
​
9) No good deed goes un punished
I was dealing Three Card Poker, and the jackpot was around $17,000. This old man (a regular) was sitting there all day grinding it out. Super nice guy, always a pleasure to deal to. Well, after hours of playing, he stands up and says "Hey john!, can you come here for a minute?" so his buddy John comes over. He says to John "I need to go take a piss real quick, can you play my card until I get back?" John agrees . John takes the chips and I stop him and explain he can't play his friends chips, he needs to cash in and play his own. And he does. Welp, second hand out and bam, doesn't he win it. The old man comes back and is so happy, he can't believe it. John, took his $17,000, didn't say a word to his "buddy" and walked away. I never felt so much hatred in all my life. Didn't give him a dollar, not a thank you, nothing. The old man sits back down again, the progressive resets to $2500, and he sat there grinding away again.
10) The Top Knot
I had this player , young guy, who was born into a fortune. One of his relatives passed away and left him a pretty big sizable amount of money, so he played poker every single day for the rest of his days. I will add, he IS a good player. I did not enjoy his company just because of the "Know-it-All" attitude, but he was good. We'll call him John. John is 5'10, and well build, with muscle. John also decided today was the day to show off his Top Knot. (google top knot if you're not sure what I mean) So he sits down, and he's absolutely KILLING the table. Every hand, after hand, after hand. And because he's in such a good mood, he's playing any two cards, calling any $500 bet, and he's just dominating. This one guy at the table decided he had enough. He got up, without saying a word and left. A moment later, he comes back in, walks behind John, and takes a pair of scissors , and cuts off his Top Knot. I for one couldn't believe it, dying laughing inside, and it just turned into one big brawl. That was a good day.
11) That one bad seed
One of my best friends who I haven't seen in YEARS ended up being part of the crew. Was kind of nice to catch up. We never really got along as we grew up because he has a very high picture of himself . He wanted that 10/10 woman. A mansion, and a new Corvette. So every month or so we would all go up to the other casino to play. I myself would bring no more than $500, but I couldn't understand how this guy (we'll call him Kyle) was spending THOUSANDS of dollars at the tables. So this wen on for a few months. Well, one day, as we're closing the casino, he and I are in the High Limit room and we're getting ready to close the tables. We are told to take the chips out, count them, put them back, sign this piece of paper and that's it. Well as the supervisor was locking the tray, the piece of paper fell to the floor, so she asked Kyle to grab the piece of paper. As he bends over, a great big $500 chip falls right out of his sock. Kyle was fired immediately , but it all made sense. They offered Kyle a deal where if he replaced all the stolen chips they would not make it public. Not sure how that turned out.
12) If I ever decide to write a book, this will be the last chapter: <3
After working at my first Casino for five years, I met a Indian woman who was visiting from another part of the country. During this time I was explaining a game to her, which honestly I don't think she even cared. She explained she was visiting and sight seeing , and that was that.Well, two years later I ended up moving to the other side of the country and transferred casinos, and low and behold she worked there as a Dealer. We got married , and it's been 5 years.
13) The Tip
One of our tables that we've had for a couple years had a progressive jackpot that had reached $100,000. The dealer at the table was sitting pretty lonely. Nobody really played the game because people knew it was extremely difficult to win the jackpot. My memory is a tad foggy, but you somehow needed to flop the royal flush. This young guy sits down and says to the dealer, we'll call him John. "John, if you pay me that jackpot, I will tip you $10,000" Well John started dealing, and about a half hour into his shift, he F*cking did it. He dealt him the royal. And you know something?This young lad, kept his word, and he made sure there was a audience, and he tipped exactly $10,000. That was a moment right there. That pay cheque was real nice. I think we all got about $500 more than usual. The moment that jackpot was awarded they got rid of the table because the money it was making was not near what the casino wanted. I'm sure there have been bigger tips at other casinos, but that was something special .
14) The Lawsuit
Now this story I'm going to have to beat around the bush a bit due to the nature of what happened. I can't won't answer any questions that you may have on this topic other than what I have to say because it had a lot of publicity . The waitresses at this casino had to wear very thin sexy clothes. Not borderline legal, but it was noticed. One day they called all the waitresses to come in and explained they were changing their outfit to something even more sexier. Now these new dresses were very very borderline legal . The staff said No way. We're not wearing that.So , friday night comes, and the staff work their whole shift, then at the end of their shift were called into a meeting and were all fired. Welp, one of those ladies father was a pretty big time lawyer. Brough the casino to court and won. They won big. Good for them. We had no waitresses for a couple days haha.
Thanks for reading along, I have many more I can add as the day goes on, those were just some off the top of my head. Feel free to ask any questions of the Casino industry. I don't really have many stories about the surveillance department because that's the one area where I can't really say a whole lot due to its privacy and contracts I was and still am under.

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Sky could hardly believe it, it was so surreal. He could see for miles in any direction, all the buildings and people seemed so small from his vantage point. The wind carried him higher and higher, it was liberating, almost like a piece that had been missing from him had finally been found. For the first time since leaving the Dread Throne, he felt truly free.
The wind tugged against his wings as he adjusted to try and hold his position in the air. The rope around his waist was a reassurance, but he wanted to learn how to fly by himself. He figured that he was doing a fairly good job at maintaining his position as he did not feel it tug at his waist to keep him from drifting. He looked down to David, what he saw caused him to lose his focus as a brief moment of panic made his wings falter in the wind.
David had completely let go of the rope and it was dangling well out of reach. Sky's initial panic slowly gave way to the realization that he had achieved unassisted flight. Pride, happiness, and a general feeling of accomplishment welled up inside him to the point of overflowing. He started dipping and swooping through the air, trying his best to mimic the pair he had seen earlier in the day while he celebrated. It felt amazing, the wind, the sun, the near weightless sensation as everything on his body tingled from head to talon in delight.
Sky heard a howl from David down below as he bellowed into the wind. The sound was full of energy, and for some reason it made Sky feel even better about his accomplishment. Maybe it's something humans do to celebrate with their pack. The grin on his face was only constrained by the limitations of his muscles at this point.
Speaking of muscles, Sky could feel the strain on his wings now. They shook with exhaustion and he could feel the aching resonate through them. It was time to land lest he fall, the only problem was, he wasn't sure how to land. He began to decrease in altitude as smoothly and quickly as he could manage in his current state.
Once he got within ear shot of David again he yelled out to him. "David, how do I land?"
Sky couldn't hear him, but it looked like he mouthed "Oh". David shook himself slightly then called back up to him. "Get a little lower, I'll grab the rope again and pull you in."
Sky did so and slowly lowered himself by gliding downwards. The rope eventually came into reach of David once again and he grabbed hold to reel him in. Sky fell back almost completely on the rope and his wings burned with exhaustion. That fancy flying he tried to imitate really did a number on them. David was tugging him closer and he slowly descended to around thirty feet. The wind shifted direction slightly and Sky did not have the strength left to compensate for it. His wings buckled and he was sent into a downward spiral.
Sky started panicking as he lost orientation of what was up and down. He flailed desperately to try and regain his balance but then he felt the safety belt David gave him kick in. It pulled upwards against his fall and he slowed quite significantly though still dropping at a fair speed, like a partially deflated balloon. Sky managed to properly orient himself and he saw David waiting below to catch him.
With a soft thud he landed in David's arms and sighed in relief at having survived. David had a slightly nervous grin on his face but he just chuckled a little. "You ok there?"
Sky took stock of himself. His breath was ragged, he couldn't feel his wings, he could barely even lift them, but other than that he was fine. "I'm good, can't feel my wings though."
David laughed and had a full smile on his face now. "Yeah, I figure this is the most workout they've had in a long while. You are gonna be sore tomorrow."
Sky really didn't like the sound of that and wasn't looking forward to it in the slightest. David put him back down on the ground and told him to sit for a minute while he packed everything up again. The rope and the belt were removed from him and he took a seat in the soft sand. He watched David walk up and down the beach collecting the pylons from where he left them. Returning with all the equipment he packed it all into the duffle bag, including the rope.
Slinging the bag over his shoulder and picking up the empty box to dispose of it, David helped Sky to his feet again and they walked back to the nearest hotel. David stopped along the path to tear up the box and stuff it into a trash can. What was a simple activity also highlighted the discrepancy between their strength. Sky could probably tear up the box if he utilized his talons, but he would be hard pressed to do that with sole upper body strength the way David did with apparent ease.
The box now in pieces and thrown away, they continued towards the hotel. Inside David went for one of the public terminals once again while Sky took a seat in a chair about his size. David used the computer for a while, giving Sky plenty of time to rest. Sky felt the creeping soreness start to enter his wings as they pulsed with his heartbeat. It was uncomfortable yet satisfying at the same time, like a reminder of what he had accomplished.
David apparently found what he had been searching for and gestured for Sky to follow. Sky was worried that they would have to walk again, but luckily this time David acquired some transportation. Another one of those hover crafts that they first arrived in, though slightly different as it was larger, was waiting for them outside. There was no driver in it so Sky figured it must be heavily automated.
David unlocked it and got in, Sky did the same. Once inside David input some more information into the vehicle, the lettering was all Terran so Sky had no idea where they were heading. They moved close to the ground instead of through the air like the other one, but it still traveled at speed and very accurately.
They arrived at their destination fairly quickly, It looked to be a store of some kind. Getting out and moving closer he saw many different kinds of electronic devices in the windows. Inside was very well lit and professional. David was greeted by another human in Terran and they had a conversation that Sky was not privy to. The other human led the way around the store and pointed out a couple of different devices. They talked for a bit about each one and then David made some selections. At the front David paid for the things he selected and entered some information on a data pad before receiving four boxes, two small, and two larger.
Back at their vehicle David placed the two larger boxes in the back and once he sat down in the front, started opening the smaller boxes. He pulled out a small device that looked like a miniature data pad. he placed it down and removed the second from the box before turning them both on and fiddling with them for a minute.
Now finished with whatever it was that he was doing he handing one of them to Sky. "Here you go, this one's yours."
Sky accepted the device. "Oh, thank you, what is it?"
"A communicator, I would call it a phone, but apparently that's not quite an accurate term for it. Don't really understand the specifics on how it works but you can call someone in another system with this. I put the information for mine in there already and attached a speed dial for it. Let me show you." David went through a brief explanation on how to operate the communicator and how to call him should he need to.
With the new knowledge and device now acquired Sky slipped it into his vest pocket, it fit almost perfectly. David put more information into the vehicle and they were off once again. Sky took the moment to admire the islands beauty again as they sped by. The jungle trees and thick vegetation were pleasing to the eye and very comforting for some reason.
They arrived at another professional looking building. Sky was about to get out when David stopped him. "Actually Sky you don't have to come in for this one if you don't want to. This is going to be quite boring and might take a while. Why don't you mess around for a bit with your... God damnit I'm not gonna call it a communicator every time, that's annoying. Phone, it's a phone, play around with it for a bit while I take care of business inside."
David went inside, Sky felt a little anxious being apart from him but he did as David asked and started experimenting with his new phone. The language was set to common, which came as a relief, as he did his best to navigate the device. There were a lot of useful tools on it, notepads, calculators, recording functions, etc. As he was swiping through he found something called an app market. Curiosity got the better of him and he tapped on it.
On initial observation he concluded that it was a place where you could download additional tools and functions to your phone. He looked through the front page and was confused by one that didn't really look or sound like a tool at all. He opened it and was greeted with bright colors and exaggerated characters. He started reading what it was all about and found out it was a form of game that you could play. The discovery of entertainment mediums that were readily accessible was exciting to Sky. He started to wonder how many there were and he got an idea.
Inputting a generic search for puzzles he was pleasantly surprised by the frankly massive amount of results he got. Selecting a few that looked unique he waited a moment for them to download. A couple of seconds passed and he was notified of their addition to his phone. He went through and found where they had been deposited on his device and opened the first one, diving into it with glee.
He was singularly enthralled by the digital puzzles that he had acquired and had apparently been at them for a fair amount of time. Before he even realized it, David had returned, the door opening startled him away from his puzzle. David dropped into his seat with a sigh. "Sorry that took so long, I had to wait and there was a lot to take care of. I see you found the app market, what are you playing?" Sky showed David the puzzle game he was currently enjoying and he smiled. "Very nice, and very much what I expected. You do have a thing for puzzles after all." Sky just nodded in response as he finished the puzzle he was working on then put the phone away.
He had been waiting longer than he thought, the sun had started to dip towards the horizon and shades of orange and red filled the sky. David spoke up again as he put a new location in. "I got us a room for the night earlier, nothing fancy, but it does accommodate Aoulooron so you'll have a proper bed." Sky liked that he would have a place to sleep tonight.
The vehicle moved towards their destination with only a slight detour as David stopped so they could pick up some food. The islands fruits were very delicious and Sky took much delight in their consumption on the ride to the hotel. David was right about it not being fancy but it still had it's own aesthetic that was pleasing. They checked in and David received a key card to the room.
Leading the way, David found the room in question and they both entered. It was average by all standards, a small kitchen was the first placed they entered, it had a stove, a microwave, and a small fridge. The bedroom that came right after it was very clean, had a large glass door on the far wall with curtains currently pulled back as the rapidly fading light outside cast long shadows. The room just had one human bed and a perch that looked like it was moved in after the fact.
David sighed. "Sorry Sky, when they said accommodating I didn't think it would be such low effort.
"It's ok, this is still better than what I used to sleep on." He recalled what was essentially just an unused pipe welded into the wall of the Dread Throne that served as his sleeping perch.
"Right, they're not getting a good review though." David went for a short dive onto his bed and flopped face first down onto the surface with a slight bounce. Sky found the maneuver highly amusing and snickered a little, which surprised him, the sudden outburst was uncharacteristic of himself. He worried for a moment if he had insulted David with the half laugh. "Don't knock it till you try it." Came David's muffled voice from where it was buried in the bed. He removed his face from the bed and was still smiling, so that was a relief to Sky.
There was little left to do but it was still too early to turn in. David suggested a course of action. "Why don't we go out and find a bar for a quick drink?"
"Oh, uhh..." Sky really didn't want a repeat of what happened last time.
David laughed a bit. "Don't tell me you got scared sober after your first hangover? Moderation is the key to a good time both while drinking and after. I think if you stick to one or two drinks you wont be so bad tomorrow."
So it's the amount that determines the severity of the side effects? If that was true he thought he could attempt to drink again without feeling like his head would split open the next day. "Ok, I'll try again."
"That's the spirit, just stop when you start to feel lightheaded and enjoy the buzz." They got up again and exited the room in search of a bar. The sun was set and the atmosphere of the island changed. Torches and fires were lit all over the place even though they had normal lights. The glow of the flames and the heat they gave off were oddly pleasant in the night as they walked down the path from the hotel.
They traveled along the ocean front towards some of the larger hotels. Luckily for Sky the trip was relatively short as David decided on the bar they would visit that night. The rectangular bar looked primitive in construction to Sky at first, but as he got closer he realized it was just a façade and most of the materials were synthetic and not natural. Two humans manned the bar and several more humans, and aliens, sat around it either drinking or waiting to receive a drink.
David and Sky sat at the bar and waited for one of the bartenders to come take their order. David ordered something that sounded exotic, Sky nervously asked for a recommendation, which was given and ordered. They waited for a few minutes while Sky took in the sights and music of the area. His gaze fell on a stage a little ways away as performers came out. Some very energetic drumming music started playing and performers broke into a dance.
Part way through the performance one of them lit the end of two poles on fire and started twirling them creating a dangerous halo of light. Sky was quite worried that there would be an injury yet he couldn't look away, it was as mesmerizing as it was dangerous. The performer displayed skill born of endless practice, spinning and throwing the rods through the air creating many streaks of color that seemed to linger in the night air. With a grand flourish the performance came to an end with no one injured or even singed, which was the most impressive thing to Sky.
Turning back towards the bar he noticed that his drink had arrived and he didn't even notice it. The drink was extremely colorful, had a few different fruits floating in it, and was delivered in a glass that seemed to be designed for ease of pouring into ones mouth. David was sipping on his own equally colorful beverage though he noticed that it didn't have the same pouring feature his did. Sky came to the conclusion that if they had glasses designed specifically for him than they must get members of his species that visit often enough to warrant it.
Pouring a little bit of the drink into his mouth he was delighted by the taste of sweet fruits. The cider that he first tried was crisp and refreshing, this drink on the other hand was sweet, relaxing and carried juicy fruits that sometimes dropped into his mouth alongside the liquid. Sky paced himself while he drank, doing his best to heed David's advice on the matter, as a consequence David had finished his first drink well before Sky and ordered a second.
Sky finished his first drink as David was half way through his second. He felt a pleasant tingling sensation in his body and the aches in his wings seemed to lessen. He opted for a second drink but resolved to make it his last for the night. They continued drinking and about the time Sky finished two-thirds of his drink he started feeling the tell tale light headedness that David warned about and stopped drinking. He felt rather nice, the aches in his body disappeared and he felt like his body was vibrating softly.
David turned towards him after noticing he had stopped. "You hit the sweet spot I take it?"
Sky had to process for a second to infer what he meant. "Yes, I feel rather lightheaded at the moment."
David nodded in return. "Alrighty then, I'll finish up mine then we can head back, and do you mind if I do the same for yours? I'd hate to waste it." Sky gave him the go ahead and he finished up his drink before moving onto what was left of Sky's. "Wow, this is definitely a fruity drink. Pretty good though." David drained the rest of what was in the cup and they both paid for their drinks before leaving.
The walk back to the hotel was much more pleasant than the walk from. The air had taken on a slight chill but the warmth from within him negated it. The wind tickled his feathers and he was happily swaying in the breeze. David was whistling a little tune as he walked and they both stepped in time with the notes as best they were able.
They made it back to the hotel and set about preparing for bed. Sky simply removed his vest and hopped up onto the perch. It felt pretty good, but anything would feel good after a metal pipe. David removed his boots, shirt and pants, pausing before removing his underwear as he seemed to remember that he had company. He closed the curtains most of the way and then slipped under the sheets of his own bed, getting comfortable before turning out the lights.
Sky saw the shine of David's eyes in the moonlight before he closed them, It was still unnerving. David said goodnight and Sky echoed him for a reply, It felt oddly nice to say. Sky closed his eyes and relaxed, not a very hard thing to do with the couple of drinks in his system. It didn't take long for him to drift off to sleep, head filled with pleasant memories of the day.
Sky dreamt that he was flying over a vast jungle. The details were blurred and out of focus, though there were a lot of blues and greens that stretched as far as the eye could see. A feeling of warmth and serenity were dominant in his head. He noticed there were two others flying with him, they were bigger than he was and he couldn't make out any of their features, but he felt happy just looking at them. They flew slightly in front of him and he felt it was easier to fly after they did. They looked back at him and he felt joy, and then a slight twinge of melancholy that had no reason to be there.
His happiness was interrupted by a distant sound. He didn't know what it was but it got progressively louder. He was unsure why, but it was making him anxious the longer he listened, his surroundings began to fade. The noise was becoming clearer now and it was starting to make him panic for some reason. Just as the last feature faded, and the sound came up to full volume, Sky snapped awake.
Blinking and looking around the dark room he tried to get a hold of his thoughts. His dream was fading quickly from his mind and he finally registered the sound that had awoken him, shallow, rapid breathing. It only took him a moment to locate the source as he made out the vague outline of David's form on his bed.
Sky couldn't see too well in the gloom of the room but it looked like David was writhing in his bed a little yet wasn't awake. The sounds were practically pained as they escaped him, Sky had never heard of painful dreams, if that was indeed what David was having right now. He was about to hop down off the perch to see what was wrong when David gasped and shot up in his bed.
Sky froze as David sat panting in the moonlight, he rubbed his face a little and his breathing slowed. Suddenly David's eyes flashed in the darkness as he looked over towards Sky who promptly closed his eyes as fast as he could and pretended to be asleep. Why am I pretending? He didn't know why he avoided confronting David on this, it just didn't feel right, and he had no idea what to do about it anyway.
There was a rustling of sheets as David got out of bed and quietly moved about the room with only soft sounds shifting in the night. Sky didn't open his eyes for fear of being caught in his little lie but eventually he heard the door to the room open and close gently. Sky dared to peek an eye open and saw no movement, or the glow of eyes staring at him in the dark. He was alone.
Sky didn't understand what just happened and considered going after David for a moment before deciding that after pretending to be asleep, he just couldn't do that. He was worried if David was alright or not, but they were on his home planet so he should be fine, right? There was nothing Sky could do about it at the moment, even if he knew what was going on, so he decided to try and fall back asleep. After a few minutes of worried relaxation he eventually drifted into an uneasy sleep.
He woke once more to a ray of sunlight that caused the room to be dimly lit. Sky yawned and attempted to stretch his wings but was met with only painful soreness. He groaned as he pushed his wings out all the way, then sighed as he retracted them back in. His mind came back to last night and he looked around the room, David was still missing.
He was deeply worried now and hopped down from the perch to retrieve his vest. He donned the piece of clothing and made his way towards the door with the intention of finding David. Before he reached it there was a click and the door slid open revealing his missing friend. David stopped in the door way as he noticed Sky standing there. "Oh, you're awake." David smiled but there was something off about it.
"Where did you go? I was worried when you weren't here."
"Sorry to make you worry. I just, went for an early morning walk to get some coffee." He raised the hand holding his excuse to show Sky.
Could that be true? Sky did his best to hide his knowledge that he had seen David up before dawn. He didn't know if this was a regularly scheduled thing for him and didn't want to falsely accuse him, or unjustly question him, he did provide a reason for it after all. Maybe everything is fine and I'm overreacting.
David came inside sipping his coffee, which still made Sky wince as he sucked down the poison. Sky decided it was best to put the event out of his mind and just focus on what they were doing now. "What are we going to do next then?"
David stopped drinking for a second to answer. "Well I'm gonna make a quick phone call, and the result of that will let me know the next course of action."
Sky nodded in understanding as David sat to finish his coffee. Sky observed his friend for a moment, looking for anything out of the ordinary. The only thing that seemed off about David was the look in his eyes, but he didn't know what it meant, if it even meant anything at all. Sky released a quiet sigh and stretched a little more to try and work out the stiffness in his rigid wings. He dropped the issue for the moment, if it happened again he would ask, until then, he would just continue traveling with David.
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Like always, let me know what you think down below and of anything I could do to improve my writing.

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Note: This is a complete standalone story. It ties into larger events-- particularly how other star systems are handling a very bad invasion problem-- but the characters are "one off". This is complete by itself, without any backstory reading (although that helps!)
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Behavioral Expectations
Aldi waited to be blasted into vacuum.
Twelve other pilots waited with him, crammed chest to back into an airlock meant for five. It was beyond claustrophobic: His chest felt cramped, lungs unable to expand enough to draw breath. Squirming was pointless; every inch of space he gained was a vacuum someone else filled with an elbow. A hip. A knee. They were packed in so tight the neck seal on the skinsuit in front of his was slowly gouging a line across his faceplate. It joined a cutting block's worth of other slashes, some so deep it was a wonder the suit held pressure at all.
His skin felt fear-slick under the suit, rank and rashy from constant terror and too little washing. Itches everywhere: The crevice of each toe, behind his knees, crook of an elbow. Chest and neck crawling with imaginary bugs. Something twitched on his cheekbone. Maybe imaginary, maybe not. He squinted anyways, rubbing hard against the faceplate. It left an oily smear. Good enough.
They waited in airless timeout, but that didn't mean it was quiet. Aldi could feel the deck vibrating beneath his boots, shocks and explosions tapping both soles with an irregular rhythm. He could hear his own breathing, mouth open in a gulping rattle of not-enough-air. Pressed helmet to helmet like this he could even hear low vibrations, transmitted through shared suit contact. Conversations from the other pilots as they said goodbye, told loved ones to hold on, begged to go back inside.
The man in front of him was chanting quietly, without the embarrassment of engaging the radio for everyone to hear. It sounded like names. He was probably going insane.
That was fine.
Every indicator light on his skinsuit suddenly lit up, then burned out with a smell like shorted electronics. Aldi wanted to feel surprised, or angry, or worried, but couldn't muster enough energy to get started. Everyone's suit was secondhand, busted, desperately patched by sleep deprived techs with next to no training. If it worked at all was a miracle. If it worked long enough to get to a ship you were blessed.
The station broadcast came on, panicked systems controllers screaming over their suit speakers to get ready get ready get ready. Well, not his speakers: They were crispy piles of melted wires along with everything else in his suit. But he borrowed the notice from others' radios, more feeling than hearing it through direct contact.
Everyone suddenly tensed, all at once in a space not big enough to handle expansion. It felt like a giant hand squeezing the air out him from every side. He had time to wheeze once in panic, lungs straining.
Then the airlock blew.
Thirteen skinsuited pilots ragdolled into space on an overpressure wave, caught in a haze of frozen vapor that obscured everything. Aldi spun wildly, screaming into the dead faceplate for an eternity until the belt tether caught, doubling him in half with an 'oof' before whipping him in an arc onto the station hull. He bounced once off the surface, scrambling for a hold, then took a boot to the neck as another pilot's tether crashed them together. The rebound gave Aldi a second chance to catch a grip, gloved fingers hooking onto a bent antenna mounting. He clutched it hard enough to feel knuckles pop, just in time to take a second hit from a flailing suit. This time he grabbed the man back, pivoting around his anchor to smash them both into the hull a second time.
It probably hurt like hell. But it gave the pilot time to grab something. An opaque faceplate looked at Aldi for a moment, perhaps thanking him over the radio. He couldn't hear it, so he waved a free arm instead. Then he looked outward, away from his one-armed grip on the station hull and nearly threw up.
Hell crawled over the station skin.
Corporate living station Price Fixing was a massive facility, thirty miles in diameter and built in two groups of circular segments like stacked plates. Their smaller top plate rested on the broader one below, creating a dropoff five decks high that eventually angled outwards again. The half mile wide difference between the two plate diameters created a shelf going all the way around, regularly studded with everything from docking bays to sensor arrays. At full capacity nearly three hundred shuttles could dock at once, carrying cargo or personnel on- and off-station in a choreographed dance.
From where Aldi floated he could see half of the Fixing's entire docking arc, outlined brilliantly against the system's primary star. It should have been a chaos of shuttles, patiently orbiting haulers and teeming autolifters. But instead of square, ugly cargo units the entire upper surface of the station swarmed with... things.
Metallic, roughly triangular and five inches thick, they spun and flipped across the station skin on whip-fast cables that snapped from each corner. Easily a hundred thousand of the foot-long machines, squirming around and over each other in a dizzying ball of motion that somehow seemed purposeful. They carpeted the top of the hull in every direction, pouring through holes in the station like maggots on rotten meat and carrying materials as they went.
Station Admin called them attack drones, in a single hurried briefing given before cramming everyone into an airlock. Aldi remembered wondering how the hell something as simple as a drone could be destroying a station as big as the Fixing. It seemed absurd. But Management was taking it deadly serious and by that point he'd already endured weeks of lockdowns and mandatory relocations. Residents doubling up, then tripling, then practically living on each other in a vacuum of official information. Station information networks crashing, or sanitized so thoroughly no one knew what was going on.
But the rumors circulated, free of Corporate information control. People talked of hostile takeovers. Invasions from incoming ships. Whole arcs of station habitation blown out into vacuum. Docks overrun. Haulers scrambling to depart as boarders claimed control, seizing vessels. Even entire warships embattled, drifting through the system while they fought an unknown enemy.
The population nearly rioted when station Management began forcefully rounding up workers into ad-hoc Security groups, posting each at far-flung access centers across the station. But anger turned to fear when only a fraction of those groups came back, bloodied and telling stories of skittering metallic beasts and scything cables in the dark between corridors. That confirmed the rumors. It was real. Something was on the station with them.
And they were losing.
Those in the know (or with connections) quietly felt out the possibility of escape. Just break worker contracts, find a ship and head out. Eat the sanctions and penalties. But they quickly found there was no way off the Price Fixing: No ships arriving, none scheduled to leave. Every single dock on the station's outward ring was a hazard zone, locked down and impossible to operate.
That was when Aldi started seriously worrying. He lived with the philosophy that things could always get worse so it was important to be thankful for what he had. It was a good way to live, he figured. Meal vouchers sanctioned? It could be worse-- some people didn't even get vouchers. Entertainment feeds cut for seditious activity? Could be worse; some living zones got regularly raided. Aldi moved through life taking position after position, always getting by or making do, finding happiness in the moments between. And there was happiness: It was there to be found. If he lowered expectations far enough.
Living on the eclectic edge naturally lent Aldi a wide spectrum of "just useful enough" certifications. If dock work became available he'd take a cargo lifter test and qualify. Work a few months there, until someone more qualified came along. Then he'd drift off, orbiting the communal recreation areas until word of a shortage came his way. That was another area where super low expectations helped: He could maintain friendships with just about anyone, without even the trivial demands acquaintances tend to place on each other.
In fact, that was how he'd become pilot certified. The rumor grapevine threw a hint his way while Aldi was between jobs. Within hours he was at the Admin area checking in for a pilot certification, looking for a temporary working contract.
The receptionist-- a middle aged type, slightly thick with hair in a bun so severe it doubled as a fetish-- hadn't been impressed. She'd looked him over from the secondhand shoes up to his fourth hand jacket, then sniffed just once like the smell of communal living was offensive. Then a cheap handheld console made an appearance on the desk for him to pick up. "Minimum score to qualify for training is ninety out of a hundred." Poor lady sounded bored and expecting less than nothing. Aldi approved. "Anything above ninety five qualifies for reduced-cost employment."
He'd nodded, took the tablet and did the entire two hundred question exam standing in front of her desk. It took nearly an hour, but that was fine. Low standards meant a lot of standing around without furniture (or laying down without it). When his score came back in the 99th percentile Aldi just handed the tablet back, smiled through her surprised doubletake and asked when she got off shift. Because he knew a good place to eat, liked interesting conversation and wanted someone to share a new position with...
Low expectations made for a lot of friendly encounters.
That was how Aldi ended up spending most of a year navigating low-speed cargo haulers around the Price Fixing's docking spaces. Two shifts a day, six hours each, doing painfully slow flights between enormous ship haulers and comparatively small station docks. Transferring hundreds of tons of dry goods or thousands of Agro animals at a time.
Some of the temporary pilots quit, frustrated or driven to distraction by endless space and walking-speed docking shuttles. Not Aldi. He never had high expectations for his time, so every task was good enough. When the contract was up he'd simply drift off to the next thing... and hopefully the next appreciative receptionist.
Which came full circle when station Security showed up in the overcrowded communal area, interviewing packed-together refugees for anyone with a pilot certification. Wrist IDs were checked, faces scanned and certifications pulled. When they got around to Aldi's little blanketed-off area the console lit up like a star, scrolling certifications completely off the screen for everything from waste processing to hauler pilot. The Management exec-- youngish and still desperately trying to grow in an authoritative goatee-- actually ran Aldi's ID twice, then took a second console off his team to confirm results independently. It didn't improve his mood at all. "Huh. Why didn't you volunteer sooner," he accused. Thin whiskers bristled angrily. "We've been calling for pilots for three days!"
Aldi put forth the opinion that the ones doing the asking would benefit from being more open minded about results (and perhaps more attractive). This earned him a shocker round to the sternum from a disgruntled Security member, dropping him onto the deck in a spastic heap. Which was unexpected. But it could have been worse: They could have forced him into contracted service.
Retroactively speaking the press-ganging afterward shouldn't have been such a surprise.
After that Aldi found himself stuffed into a briefing room too small for everyone to sit in, waiting through a hurried lecture on something called "VIP Asset Relocation". This quickly turned out to be a presentation on how to quickly exit an airlock (explosive decompression) followed by the best strategies to cross the outside of the Price Fixing's hull in the direction of some uncrewed haulers currently undocked on stationary orbits ("grab anything you can" featured prominently).
It wasn't until a harried technician in charge of the presentation reached the part about leaping off the station hull into a collision course with the orbiting haulers that Aldi decided his personal standard for bullshit had been reached. He stepped away from the wall, passed a stick of candy to the nice guy on his left and then ambled toward the hatch. Anything was better than leaping through vacuum without a safety line, hoping enough people landed on a hauler to navigate it back for an Executive evacuation.
The room was treated to several minutes of shocker rounds applied to a spasming sometimes-pilot.
When Aldi regained enough motor control to pay attention again he caught the back half of an explanation about the drones attacking the station. But he'd been out of it and in a lot of pain. Besides: No matter how bad it was, it could always be worse.
He was staring at the worst now.
In fact the entire station hull was writhing with The Worst. The Worst surrounded them, occupying every docking bay along the outer rim and eating inwards. Those forcible relocations over the last few weeks suddenly made a lot more sense-- nothing much existed beyond a mile from station center anymore: It was all undergoing intense disassembling and repurposing into new triangular drones.
Aldi would have stayed rooted in horror until the metal tide came in if someone hadn't slapped him on the shoulder. A surprised twitch nearly sent him flying directly off the hull; only a desperate snatch caught the handhold just in time. He rotated in place, heart hammering and eyes wide for an attack, but it was just the other pilot in their mismatched suit. They were urgently motioning inwards, towards the center of the station disc. At least that's what it looked like-- it was hard to see through Aldi's smeared, deeply scratched visor.
But he got the message: Move or die.
Death being one of the lowest expectations, Aldi decided moving was better. It helped that every glance behind him seemed to draw the things forward faster.
They took off together, angling randomly between a forest of antenna and equipment mounts. Aldi didn't know what half of the machinery encrusted on the station hull was for but at the moment he wished very hard for all of it to go away and give him a clear shot to the meetup point. If it wasn't for the other skinsuited pilot he would have already bounced off several pieces and floated into the void; they rescued each other half a dozen times before the halfway point. Aldi decided right there that whatever their real name was, this was now a Friendly Suit.
Meetup went badly. Aldi squinted and turned his faceplate around, counting other mobile figures and coming up a half-dozen short. He checked again, just to make sure, then held up seven fingers and threw both arms up in a 'what the hell?' emote. One of the larger skinsuits just pointed behind them, up and slightly away to where small figures drifted off into space.
That bothered Aldi. A lot. It bothered him more when the same big-suited figure pointed directly outwards at the distant cargo ships, currently powered down and waiting in stationary orbit. The nearest had to be a mile away, easy, and that was a mile of empty space. No tether, no handholds, small targets and infinite ways to miss. He was trying very hard to think of How It Could Be Worse and drawing absolute blanks.
Then the big suit reached behind himself, pulling out a shocker pistol. He pointed the weapon at the other six suited figures, then aimed at the ships drifting in the cold distance. Then he did it again: Weapon trained on them. Then the ships.
Gun Man's implication was pretty clear: Jump or die.
Ah. This was how it could be worse.
Their first try was an immediate failure. Either fear or nerves got to the man, sending the poor suited figure off-course immediately. They watched as terror took hold a second later, sending him into a spasm that spun endlessly around his center of mass. A human cannonball, less than forty feet away but already too remote to ever save.
The second person tried being smarter-- he tied his suit tether to the station, pointing to it and then to the nearest person, miming unclipping the tether. Save me if I fuck up, but unclip if it looks good. Aldi thought that was a hell of a good plan. Sensible. Worth repeating. He kept right on thinking that as Tether Man jumped off the hull, then stopped believing when his friend fucked up the unclip and hit the release far too late. Instead of sailing to victory Tether Man reached the end of his line and jerked, then spun as the line came unmoored. Rebound momentum sent him off at a slight angle away from ever finding a solid surface again for the rest of his short life.
Aldi had never been more grateful for a broken radio in his life.
Gun Man made Clip Fuckup jump next, angrily thrusting the weapon into their faceplate and counting down with his fingers. Five, four, three-
Fuckup jumped for it, arms straight up like he was diving into the void. Everyone watched his trajectory for a long minute, then silently cheered when it looked like he was on course. That was a good jump; he had a hell of a chance to make it. Whether he bounced off or not at the other end was a different story. But it was a good enough technique that the fourth person copied his strategy, crouching down and then diving outwards with hopeful arms.
Then the weapon was in Aldi's faceplate. It was very unfortunate his skinsuit recycler wasn't accepting deposits: Taking off his boots was going to be a waterfall later on.
"Okay. Shit." He crouched, staring desperately outward. His damn faceplate was a mess, he could barely see. What was the best strategy here? Should he dive? Push off hard, or soft? He had an old knee injury on the left, was it weaker? Maybe he should push off harder with that leg. "Dead stars, that hauler is smaller than my palm, how the hell can anyone hit that?!" Maybe he should try the second guy's strategy and use his suit tether-
The suit tether!
Aldi threw his arms up in a 'wait, wait!' motion, then unclipped his tether and pointed at Friendly Suit. They immediately waved a frantic 'no', trying to indicate they didn't want to be responsible for unclipping him. But Aldi didn't care. "Come here!" He made frantic motions until Friendly Suit approached, then leaned forward to touch helmets.
"Can you hear me??" He shouted hard, forcing vibrations across the helmet material.
"^{Use your fucking radio, idiot!}" High pitched voice, so quiet Aldi could barely hear. But hey, it could be worse.
"It's broken!" He screamed back, then waved the tether clip under their combined faceplates. "Tether with me and jump!"
"^{Absolutely no fucking way! You'll kill me too!}" Suited arms tried to push him away. Friendly Suit might be in danger of becoming Aggressive Suit.
"No, no! Look! It increases our odds!" How the hell did he explain this? Best to go simple. "Both of us don't have to land! Only one! Then pull the other person in! Shit, even if we BOTH miss the tether might hook on the ship in between us!" Then the obvious occurred to him. "Fuck, we all should have tethered into a net to begin with, caught the ship between us like a web!" Missed chances there.
Friendly stopped trying to push him away. Then Aldi picked up a weak vibration: Were they using the radio?
Question answered: Gun Man shoved them apart, then looked thoughtfully between the two before unclipped his suit tether. He looked at Aldi, who nodded and clipped his to Friendly. Gun did the same, linking them together for the attempt. Three people: Three chances to land. They all crouched, faceplates turned upwards and hands on each other's shoulders. He more felt than heard the countdown, but at the end they all pushed off as one, kicking away from safety toward the stars.
All three drifted away immediately, fear and muscle tension giving slightly different angles. But that was fine-- the tether stretched and stretched, then strained tight at a hundred feet. Aldi stared straight ahead, listening to himself scream as the three of them slowly began to orbit each other.
The hauler grew in his scarred faceplate. Palm sized. Head sized. Then bigger than his entire suit, seeming to come faster and faster until it filled nearly the whole front of his vision.
Aldi missed.
He threw an arm out, fingers straining for handholds on a battered hull less than ten inches away. The motion made him spin axially, screaming in horror the entire time. "NOOOO!" So close! So close! But vacuum didn't care-- an inch or a mile had the same result. He'd be screaming into the void until the skinsuit ran out of oxygen. It was over. He'd tried, but The Worst was here.
The tether suddenly snapped taut, arcing him into the hull in a surprised smash. Aldi's chest hit first, turning a scream of mortal terror into a surprised burp of air. An instant later he was clutching anything, everything, boots and knees and hands adhering with the intense fear of an insignificant speck trying to grasp the meaning of life. But he knew the meaning of life, now: It was nine square feet of pitted hull plating, currently sustaining a man in an extremely saturated skinsuit.
His tether tugged again, rhythmically. It took a moment for Aldi to realize that meant motion. Someone was moving, and trying to take him with them. Raising his head, he looked frantically around until he spotted the familiar figure of Friendly Suit, cautiously crossing toward him one handhold at a time.
But there was no other suit. Gun Man was gone. Aldi twisted, looking at Friendly's belt for the tether attachment. Where was...?
Friendly held up a free hand, displaying a tether hook cupped in their palm. Five inches of frayed, cut line drifted off the other end, softly waving in zero gravity.
Aldi decided he might need to watch Friendly Suit very, very carefully.
He followed Friendly around the hull, finding the airlock near midship and carefully cycling through one at a time. Inside the ship was darker than being in space; all the lights turned off and equipment powered down for long term storage. But Aldi could see the room pressure sensor next to the hatch indicating normal atmosphere. He anchored a foot, then reached up and tore off the skinsuit helmet with a violent jerk, bouncing it off the deck and screaming.
"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!" The relief was so intense he almost melted.
A second helmet spun through the darkness, freeing a high pitched voice with it. "HOOOOOOOLY SHIIIIIT!" Then a patchwork skinsuit hit the bulkhead next to him, followed by a small hand grabbing Aldi's collar and pulling him into a hungry kiss.
It turned out Friendly Suit was actually the most attractive person he'd ever seen in his life. Low standards be damned.
She came up for air first, impatiently flicking brown hair out of her eyes. "Don't take that the wrong fucking way. Just promised myself and you're the only goddamn person who made it. What's your name?"
Swinging wildly between raw deathly terror and heavenly arousal left Aldi in a stunlock situation. "Strawberries."
"Your parents hated you." She cuffed him once, hard, brown eyes flashing. He noticed there were colored flecks in both pupils, woodgrain brown. Irregularly beautiful. Fascinating.
Then Aldi rebooted, brain engaging. "No, you taste like- nevermind. Aldi Netrische." Was it okay to grab her back? He didn't like to assume. "Do you happen to have low expectations...?"
She laughed, slightly crazy and surprised at the same time. "You have no idea, Aldi. I'm Tinker-- don't you fucking say anything about that," he wasn't going to. It sounded lovely. "And let's get this damn ship moving. People to save."
Tinker (he kind of wanted to ask, now) kicked off him once, using their momentum as a launching point for the far hatch. She caught the rim deftly, turning forward momentum into a right-hand turn into darkness. Corridor lights snapped on a few seconds later, showing a scarred set of deck plates and the heavily grease-stained wall surfaces of a commercial cargo vessel perpetually in need of cleaning.
Putting a boot down, Aldi tried to ignore the sodden squish between his toes as he kicked off, chasing her path through the long ship to the tiny bridge. It should have been a quick catchup, but apparently he wasn't as good as he thought at speeding around corridors... or perhaps Tinker was just that much better. He only met up at the bridge, floating through the hatch while she was already buckling in.
"I'm taking primary guidance. You get literally everything else. Don't fuck it up." She was all business, snapping relays and booting consoles to life.
He loved it. "I won't. Done this before, I can handle all the systems." He looked down at the console, watching her plot a short angular course to the station. "Wait, where are we going? That's not the Executive docks."
Tinker froze suddenly, hands eerily still over control surfaces. "You a Corpo?"
Well that was a first. Aldi laughed. "My standards do have bottom, although I don't hold it against anyone else if they happen to be."
She nodded sharply. "Good to hear. I was reconsidering plans for my bunk time later." Which immediately hard crashed Aldi's brain again. Tinker kept going, oblivious. "And nooooo-- we're definitely not going to any fucking Executive Extraction Plan Zulu Batshit Whatever spot. First we're going here," she tapped a bright marker point a third of the way across the station. "To pick up my partners. Then we're going to the other haulers, you're all going to take one, and we're gonna fucking evac everyone that isn't Management off this station."
"That sounds-" fantastic, wonderful, strawberries, bunk time. "Like the best thing I've ever heard."
"Glad to hear it. Strap in, it's going to be a great day. The worst is behind us."
Aldi smiled. "The Worst... is Behind Us."

Hello, Reddit,
Im a new player to destiny and id like to share my story of my 2 raid completions and how i sort of came there, those raids happened yesterday and today (7 and 8 February 2021). Im going to tell you in this long story, about how i got into this game, how i found my best friends in this, my Destiny Family, if you will, and how i finally, got my first 2 raid clears, 2 days in a row, and finally, after 3 months, got my dream weapon: Divinity.
(please dont bully me for my English mistakes, im Dutch so English is my second language, also this is gonna be a long one, but please read, this took me about an hour to type and it made me happy sharing this.)
I started playing Destiny 2 on the 26th of november 2020, i started playing this game because of a youtuber you mightve heard of, IHE/IHateEverything, he is a critic type youtuber that makes reviews (mostly negative) on video games and movies, i really enjoy watching him and i loved watching his videos on Destiny, Destiny 2 and its expansions, he bashed the main campaign, Forsaken and Shadowkeep, at the same time i was watching these videos i was very burnt out on my current video games and was really needing something new. (trust me when i say GTA online is a nightmare to play in the long run). Even though IHE was bashing the game for its flaws, to me it looked pretty interesting, and it even went free to play!, so a few days later i downloaded Destiny 2, started making my first character (a warlock) breezed through the new light quests and found it to be.... quite entertaining! i wanted to play more and more because holy hell playing the few strikes i could was super fun, slowly i came closer to light level 1200 and it was also around the time i discovered what expansions were and that one, Beyond Light, just released before i started. So i waited until christmas discounts on the PSN store and to my luck, Beyond Light was on 25% discount! (instead of 40 euros i had to pay 30), i immediately took my chance and bought it. i was instantly hooked! i loved playing through the campaign with my trusty riskrunner by my side, after 2 days i finished it and it was so fun! i wanted to play more campaigns and heard that new light players get 3 campaigns for free! so i started looking through the game and couldnt find the quests or anything regarding red war, curse of osiris or warmind (i think thats what theyre called?). So i hopped on google and went searching for answers, after really going through everything and digging deep (maybe i was looking for the wrong stuff). And came to the conclusion that i couldnt play those anymore because they got vaulted. removed from the game to maybe return one day. That was pretty depressing but y'know i still got my lament quest, so i can set my teeth into that one, i kept completing the lament quest steps until i came to the step, complete an exo challenge, i didnt know what it was but i found it on the map so i went there, "Recommended Power Level 1230+" s***. i was only 1210, so i went looking for people to help me on Discord LFG groups and someone quite quickly answered, (lets just call him V1) V1 was his name, he was like power level 1260 so i really looked up to him, he helped me easily complete my exo challenge and i was insanely thankful, we talked over on discord for some more and he invited me into his clan (im still in it and i dont plan on leaving :D) i made friends with all the people in it and they learned me about sunsetting, powerful drops, power levels and more questions i had. I finally felt, something i havent felt in a long time, happiness, being liked in a group (im getting tears in my eyes just by writing this because of how happy i was, and still am because of this). I completed my Lament quest and got my 3rd exotic.
After completing Beyond Light i bought Shadowkeep, why? because i had absolutely nothing to do and it sounded promising, especially the name "Garden Of Salvation" (this will come up later). i breezed through the campaign with ease and it was quite entertaining, but dissatisfied, why? well, beyond light gave me 3 exotics eventually, Salvations Grip, The Lament and Cloudstrike. then why did i only get 1, Deathbringer (and one armor piece for completion at the end if you count that). so i went googling and it was due to most exotics being in the golden wall thing i saw at the Tower, or because of seasons and quests being limited time. But then i found the golden youtube video, telling me about the Divinity (VERY IMPORTANT) and Xenophage, both of these were quest related and the video said, *very easy quests*
Now, i wanna talk about this important gun, the Divinity. To you, this might just be another exotic trace rifle, now to me back then (and now) the idea of a death ray lazer gun sounded AWESOME! i wanted this gun so badly like i cant explain it in words to you how badly i wanted this rifle, it looked awesome, someone on youtube promised me "it was quite easy" and it is literally a death beam, and apperantly it was a very handy gun too for boss battles because of its exotic perk that makes it create a huge crit spot on the boss's body. So i set my eyes on 1 thing and 1 thing only, acquiring the Divinity.
I spent a lot of times watching a lot of different videos on Garden Of Salvation and the Divinity quest. After i knew absolutely everything about GOS and the Div puzzles, i asked my clan if we could please run it, i explained to them how badly i wanted that gun and that it was my mission to obtain it. Well, it wasnt as easy as i thought, not enough people in the clan (the clan is quite small, its like a little cozy family c:) owned shadowkeep, and getting a group willing to run it is quite hard because of the new raid, DSC being super popular in LFG groups and such, i ended up trying one time with an LFG group, it took us almost 4 hours to get to the 2nd encounter, Spire defense, so i (very sadly) had to put the dream of owning Divinity on the shelf for now.
Then me, V1 and another clanmate who is super friendly (ill call him XK) XK, helped me get xenophage, (a bloody explosive LMG that was apperantly super good). After this i went full D2 grind mode, collecting exotics, grinding levels for my battle pass, grinding for good rolls on my SOTH weapons, grinding prophecy and harbinger, bought and completed forsaken, etc.
after all this i still didnt have my Divinity, even though i had the knowledge, just no proper team to run it with. Now im gonna talk about the most luck ive ever really had, my friend, V1, knew some people in another, bigger clan, they are absolute experts at this game and are like destiny veterans. they let me into their clan discord and made friends with the big members, Femme and Wingy, and some other people in the clan, i really love the people there and really felt home just like in my main clan, they told me they do Divinity runs every Sunday and i could be part of it soon too! Now at that point, i was SUPER HAPPY, finally! a team thats super good, and has the time and knowledge to help me get that first raid experience properly and obtain the long sought after Divinity. I finally had hope again, i WILL finally get it.
A few weeks later and it was time, that golden moment, my very first proper raid run for my favourite raid and that sweet sweet Divinity. We did the first 3 encounters with ease, it was almost funny, all the div puzzles were a joke and we breezed through. Also, can i just say, GARDEN OF SALVATION IS A GORGEOUS RAID!!!!! i cannot say this enough and for the lack of a better term, this raid is absolutely beautiful, holy s*** it is gorgeous, i love the skyboxes and background art, especially the view you get of the Black Garden near the final boss. Okay next,
Sanctified Mind, Sol Inherent. Oh you beautiful bastard with your gorgeous racing game 8-bit-ish music, yeah i see you in the sight of my Xenophage, im coming for ya, we wiped about 5 or 6 times before getting it down, finally! i was actually crying a little when i saw his health reach 0 and his body slowly falling apart, the black piramid in the back opened and i rushed as fast as i possibly could towards it, i needed to make sure i was there first. I dropped down, walked up to the beautiful ending room, presented my divine fragment and collected it, at last, the Divinity was in my inventory. I, no We did it. Without the help of my team, i couldve never done it. I was insanely happy, happy beyond words.
Now, skip forward to the next day, (today) it was about 1 pm/13:00 and i was bored as hell, but i really wanted to use my Divinity on something interesting other than strikes, so i went on the D2 app, no one running dungeons other than 2 groups, which were both shattered throne which i still want to run but they were french and german only so, pass. then i found one “DSC teaching run, anyone can join”, i looked on my watch, 13:07, f*** it, lets see what the hype is all about aye?
I joined, got a friend request and joined their PSN party, they were all really nice and the sherpa knew exactly what to do, great! He talked us a bit through and i sort of knew what to do in the first part, but after that, close to no idea honestly. We made it to the Crypt, disabled the security with ease, and then, WENT TO BLOODY SPACE!!!, i was really stressed what the heck i was supposed to do because i didnt watch many videos compared to my research on GOS beforehand. So the 2nd encounter, magic space station, it went really good, they said they usually 3 phase it but we did it with ease in only 2 (all 6 of us had lament so we melted the s*** out of the boss. got my DSC shotgun with good rolls, i was happy! next one, now this one i gotta be honest, i didnt know SHEET. i was super confused what the heck to do (something with picking up bombs and putting them away?) now i was totally useless and got carried in this part because all i did was stand near a bomb deposal thing near the ceiling watching the the windows and looking into space, seeing the blast shields activate and fall off, and seeing that we are crashing the space station back to Europa, apperantly they completed the entire encounter without my help because i was just daydreaming while watching the view from the windows. Now we had to run like hell to a safe room. the screen went white and suddenly we were in the wreckage of the station back on the entrance of the Crypt where we started, they asked around what weapons we had and the sherpa asked, who here has Divinity? i was waiting for someone to say “i do/me” but to my surprise, no one had it, so i, the boy with his brand new Divinity said, “yep i do.”. now i thought all i had to do was beam the boss when damage phase started but he said i was assigned to Operator role, now i was stressing out because i didnt pay attention to what the operator did in the other 3 parts and i didnt know much about the final encounter. Well, i asked and uhm, literally all i had to do is shoot the large white spots on the purple ball on a player to free them from their cage while theyre delivering the bombs. Phew, not much, so we wiped about 3 times at this part, either because some of us died during the damage phase because of the spinning garbage around his electric dome, accidentally bumping against eachother running from the so called “purple rain” or because of me, because my operator buff stopped working and i didnt know what to do now because i couldnt shoot the white spots on the purple ball now, after those 3 or 4 tries, we bloody did it, we got that monster of a boss down and holy crap did it feel good, got my loot (apperantly we did the challenge of depositing bombs all at the same time so we got more loot, i got two LMG’s with good drops so i was happy. and i did it, my 2nd raid ever within 24 hours away from my 1st raid ever, and that with an LFG group while i didnt know anything! i was so happy, i love DSC! the vibe, the bosses, and the MUSIC, aaa! its all so perfect!
and now im here, writing this 23965832 page book about this 3 month experience of playing a video game, fascinating how so much can happen in only such a short time period And finally, i got my first two raid clears on GOS and DSC. I got my dream weapon: Divinity, and the awesome experiences. Thank you. Thank you Bungie, V1, Femme and WIngy, and you, the reader, for reading all this, my amazing experience with this game so far, ive enjoyed it and still do a ton, it brought me friends, happiness and a group i can be a part of and feel loved in. Thank you, Thank you friends, for making me get this far.
The End.

This is gonna be a long one, so I appreciate all that stay and read the whole thing.
​
Sonic the Hedgehog: Robo Rebellion
TEST YOUR METTLE AGAINST THESE MECHAS AND SEE WHO’S THE WORLD’S STRONGEST!
It’s been 30 years since the events of Sonic 3 and Knuckles (the game), unfolded. The threat of Dr. Eggman is in the distant past, and Planet Mobius is peaceful once again. The great hero, Sonic the Hedgehog, has retired and now lives with his lifetime best friend Miles ‘Tails’ Prower. Knuckles the Echidna now lives in serenity in his own house on the downed Angel Island. The world is safe. But then, one of Eggman’s old creations begins to stir. Metal Sonic, after years of disuse, has finally reawakened and is ready to cause some good old-fashioned havoc.
Using the Doc’s ancient computers, Metal uncovers long lost data on a few other failed robotic experiments. Using this data, he revives the robotic rejects as his right-hand men in his conquest to take over the world. Take control of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, or Silver and face off against Metal Sonic, Silver Sonic, and Mecha Sonic in an ultimate duel to the finish! The fate of Mobius is in your hands! Good luck, and may Chaos be with you!
Gameplay (Sonic)
Sonic the Hedgehog is a natural-born speed freak, and has a need to bring about justice to the world! He controls as he normally would, with the analog stick in charge of most forms of movement. He has three play styles: Classic, Adventure, and Boost. The player now can create custom play styles, similar to Sonic Generations, however, this feature is only accessible after completing the game’s story mode once with any character. This feature is available to all characters. You can mix and match moves from any playstyle with these custom movesets. Going with the Classic style gives Sonic the Spindash, Dropdash, Super Peelout, and Insta-Shield. This style is influenced by momentum gathering and slopes. If you find a ramp, you can roll down it while curled in a ball to gain lots of speed!
Choosing Adventure playstyle gives Sonic the Spindash, Lightspeed Dash, Rail Grind control, and a new move called Lightspeed Burst. This style relies on the usage of the jump button a lot, because it is more platforming oriented than the other playstyles.
If you choose the Boost playstyle, you have access to the Boost, Jump Dash, Stomp, and Boost Drift. With this style, you use golden Rings to power your Boost (like in Sonic Unleashed). On the lower-left corner of your screen, there is a speedometer. It will calculate your approximate speed while running. With the Jump Dash, all you need to do is jump, then press A or X while in midair to hurtle forward. For Stomp, jump then press B or Circle to slam back down. For Boost Drift, start Boosting with X or Square, then hold down the Right Trigger while running around tight corners. Sonic’s levels are more geared towards speed, with Dash Panels, Springs, and Speed Launchers everywhere to help you gain velocity.
Gameplay (Tails)
Tails is a Technique-type character. For this fabulous fox, you get two playstyles. Classic or Adventure. His Classic moves are Spindash, Flight, Pseudo Tail-Swipe, and Dropdash. His Adventure moves are Spindash, Lightspeed Dash, Tail Swipe, Flight, and Dummy Ring Bomb. The Classic playstyle once again revolves around using momentum to achieve max speed, but this time with a slight twist. For Tails, there are different routes crafted especially for him to navigate. Some of them are faster than the normal routes, some are slower. The Adventure playstyle is more about platforming and making good use of your ability to fly. Press A or X repeatedly while in the air to gain altitude. There is a 15-second flight timer, which when depleted, will cause the fluffy fox to flutter back down to the ground. If you wish to stop flying in midair, simply press Down on the D-pad and press A or X. The controls for Spindash are the same as for Sonic. For Tail Swipe, you need to hold down the B or Circle button to put Tails into a crouching position, then flick the movement stick in whatever direction you want the tails to swipe.
Gameplay (Knuckles)
Knuckles is a Power-type character. For this extraordinary echidna, there are three playstyles. Classic, Adventure, and Fighter. His Classic moves are Spindash, Glide, Climb, Drop-In, and Wall Crush. His Adventure moves are Spindash, Climb, Wall Crush, Shovel Claws, Glide, Spiral Upper, and Mach Punch. His Fighter moveset is Mach Punch, Mach Kick, Meteor Crash, One-Two-Combo, Basic Punch, Drop-In, and Axe Kick. For the Classic style, Knuckles is more inclined to climbing up walls and gliding over spike pits to access hard to reach areas of a stage. For Adventure, Knuckles is more geared towards exploration, with certain areas of a level being diggable, giving you to capability to drill through portions of the zone. For Fighter, Knuckles aims for straightforward hand to hand combat. He does have his usual moves, but all of the common combat moves are replaced by the upgraded ones. To access your technique arsenal, all you have to do is hold down the Right Trigger and select the move you want to use based on the button you mapped it to.
Gameplay (Shadow)
Shadow is a dual-type character. Having both Speed and Technique on his side, he is quite versatile. For good ole edgy the hedgy, we have two playstyles. Adventure and Boost. His Adventure moves are Spindash, Homing Attack, Jump Dash, Stomp, and his plethora of Chaos attacks. For the Boost playstyle, he has Boost, Air Burst, Homing Attack, Stomp, and Consecutive Chaos Spear. With Adventure, Shadow’s task is to move quickly while remaining as stealthy as possible. With Boost, Shadow must learn how to use his moves while moving at high speed.
Gameplay (Silver)
Silver is a Technique-type character. For this time-traveling titan, we have three playstyles. 06, Boost, and Psychic. For the 06 playstyle, his moves are as follows: Kinetic Wind, Psychic Blade, Foot Flurry, and Rubble Crunch. For the Boost playstyle, he has: Boost, Kinetic Wind, Rubble Crunch, Air Burst, Jump Dash, and Stomp. For the Psychic playstyle, he has Kinetic Wind, Psychic Blade, Rubble Crunch, and Don’t Move! The 06 playstyle is more geared towards solving simple puzzles and moving things around to progress through the zone. You may use a partner character in these levels (if using the 06 playstyle), who is required to assist Silver in the completion of the level. For the Boost playstyle, the main goal is to learn how to use your psychic abilities to hover while boosting to cover long distances. For the Psychic playstyle, it is more geared towards the technicality of Silver’s powers, and the ability to use them mid-level without difficulty.
Levels
The levels in this game vary in difficulty, and they are abundant with special prizes and powerups for those who decide to explore. Finish all levels to unlock the final boss!
Peaceful Plains Zone: A good first level to any good Sonic game! Mostly linear, with areas for each character to explore using their respective abilities. Spiral through hollow tree trunks and wade through the tall grass as your character sets out on the first outing of their journey! Here, you can find plenty of Rings, powerups, and Giant Rings to access the Special Stages. Complete Special Stages to earn Chaos Emeralds. Get seven Emeralds, and your Super form will be available for use! Defeat the miniboss and major boss to move onto the next level. Don’t forget to pop that animal Capsule!
Flaming Factory Zone: One of Metal Sonic’s munition factories have been torched! Enter the burning complex and save the animals, all the while snagging as much intel as you can. Be stealthy but move quickly! You don’t want the patrolling Baby Mechas to catch you! Find as many Giant Rings as you can and grab those Chaos Emeralds. There is a miniboss and major boss in this zone. Bust through the doors at the end to finish the zone before it explodes!
Traumatic Thunderstorm Zone: Take to the sky on the Tornado (or if playing as Silver or Tails, fly on your own) as you shoot and dodge your way through a horde of flying Badniks! There aren’t any Giant Rings in this zone, but never fear! You still have plenty of time to collect the remaining Emeralds. This zone has only one act and isn’t too long. Occasionally, lightning may streak down from the sky and try to hit you, but a warning sign appears when that’s about to happen, so look out for it! Land the Tornado and proceed to the next zone.
Blizzard Mountain Zone: In a similar fashion to Ice Cap Zone, you must snowboard down the side of a snowy mountain! You are deposited in an ice cavern, which depending on your character, determines how hard the level will be. Using Silver’s psychokinesis, this level will be a piece of cake. Using Sonic or Shadow’s superior speed, this level might take some precise platforming and a bit of time. Traverse the large glacial crevasses, all the while a blizzard rages around you! Make it through, defeat the bosses, pop the Capsule, and scram outta there!
Roboticized Ruins Zone: This is a twisted, evil, and metallic version of the Sky Sanctuary Zone, ruled over by Silver Sonic. It is a city full of smog and pollution, and your job is to find the main power plant of the place and shut it down! Avoid pools of molten metal and deadly electricity sparks as you traverse this ironclad municipality. Enter Giant Rings, collect more Chaos Emeralds, and free the animals!
Outrageous Oasis Zone: This zone is a nice change of pace from the last few! Race through the sands and pools of crystal clear water holes as you snag the remaining Chaos Emeralds! There are palm trees, boulders, and small bushes everywhere. Some of these might contain a surprise for curious players, so make sure to look out for those! Defeat the miniboss and major boss to move onto the next level.
Flying Battery Zone: In this return to a classic zone, you are tasked with reaching the ship’s cockpit to stop the ensuing bomb raid! Speed your way through this giant zeppelin, and find the flashing Giant Ring somewhere in Act 1! Here, if you have all the Chaos Emeralds, you can enter and exchange them for Super Emeralds. In act 2, you have to make a hasty escape from the ship along its exterior, as it begins to descend from the clouds. You can collect three Super Emeralds here. If you make it in time, pop open the animal capsule and make a quick getaway. There is both a miniboss and a major boss in this zone.
Toxic Sewer Zone: Go into the bowels of Robotropolis, as you try to sneak into the Intelligence Tower and not get caught! Here, you are faced with Toxic Sludge, Poisonous Gas, Acid Vapor, and lots of Badniks! This zone has a miniboss, but no major boss. Steal Metal Sonic’s battle plans, trash the intel tower, and scram outta there! Make sure to look for flashing Giant Rings so you can collect two more Super Emeralds.
Volcanic Blast Zone: Wander through magma tubes and avoid rivers of molten lava as you try to escape this volcanic hellscape! Dodge flying rocks and jets of superheated steam. Depending on which character you use, this may or may not be an extremely platforming heavy level. Using Knuckles or Silver would be the best bet here. There’s both a miniboss and a major boss in this level. Pop the Capsule and move onto the next level. Collect the last two Super Emeralds here and prepare to face off against some big baddies!
Boss Rush!: Face off against all the bosses you’ve defeated so far in quick succession! Don’t worry, you’re given plenty of Rings, but make sure to time your hits right or you’ll lose them!
Titanium Titan Zone: Metal Sonic, Mecha Sonic, and Silver Sonic have decided to take matters into their own hands and band together to get rid of the threat for good! The three doppelgangers have fused into one large, very powerful, cunning, and agile robot. The final product’s name is Mechallix! Transform into your Hyper form and square up against the super armored monstrosity! This boss takes 15 hits to defeat. Dodge the bombs that are thrown at you, keep your Ring count up, and make sure to look for openings to attack! Hint: after the large energy beam attack, you have five seconds to make a mad dash towards Mechallix and hit the vulnerable point. Once you’ve scored the final hit, Mechallix begins to deconstruct, and you can rest safely knowing that the world is once again at peace!
Items
Rings: Just your average golden Ring. Their origins are unknown, but they have been discovered to hold immense healing properties and give whatever user an imperviousness to death, except under certain circumstances.
Red Star Rings: Rings that have been infused with a small amount of Chaos energy, giving them twice as much healing properties than normal Rings. Red Star Rings are worth more than Rings.
Chaos Emeralds: Gems of immense power, the seven Chaos Emeralds grant the user a Super form. Even one Emerald can power an entire city.
Ring Monitor: A monitor that, when opened, gives you ten Rings.
Speed-Up Monitor: A monitor that, when opened, gives you a speed boost for twenty seconds.
Electricity Shield: A monitor that, when opened, gives you a shield made of lightning, that grants you imperviousness to electricity damage. This shield is lost when touching water or fire.
Flame Shield: A monitor that, when opened, gives you a shield made of fire. This shield grants imperviousness to fire and lava. This shield will be lost if you touch water or electricity.
Water Shield: A monitor that, when opened, gives you a shield made of a water bubble. This shield grants imperviousness to drowning. This shield will be lost if you touch fire or electricity.
Star Post: This is an item that looks like a lamppost, with a red circle at its top. This functions as a checkpoint, and once you pass one, it makes a chime sound and the top spins. If you die, you will respawn here.
Invincibility Monitor: This is a monitor that, when opened, grants the player twenty seconds of nigh-complete invincibility. White sparkles and a catchy tune accompanies the invincibility. You can’t, however, escape death by crushing, drowning, or death pits.
Springs: These items are usually found on the side of slopes, to help the character run up the side. There are two types. Yellow and Red. Yellow springs are the least powerful of the two and are used to scale small ramps. They give a small speed boost. Red Springs are the more powerful and give you a way bigger speed boost. When used, they are accompanied by a boing sound.
Super Emeralds: These are a bigger form of the Chaos Emeralds, powered directly by the Master Emerald. When collected, the seven Super Emeralds grant the user a Hyper form. Your Hyper form is extremely powerful and outclasses the Super form in every way.
Rails: Rail grinding is a staple of every modern Sonic game, and this one is no different. When grinding on rails, your character moves at high speeds over long distances, and they usually serve as separate paths. In order to use the grind rail, all you need to do is jump on top of it. Special kinds of boost pads called Dash Rails grant your character an additional speed boost. You can usually find long lines of Rings sitting on top of grind rails, and there are also some obstacles that serve to impede your progress, such as spikes, iron balls, and even badniks!
Side Quests
In the Hubworld, the player can access certain Side Quests. After a level is completed, five side quests will appear. With the game having a total of 11 Zones, this means that there is 55 side quests that the player can do! They range in difficulty from easy to hard. There are 11 side quests for each character. There are several types of quests to choose from. Top Speed, Ring Grab, Clone Race, Badnik Survival, and Powerup Abuse, to name a few.
Special Characters
After the completion of the main story mode, the player has unlocked three new characters. The villains themselves. Metal Sonic, Silver Sonic, and Mecha Sonic.
Gameplay (Metal Sonic)
Metal Sonic is the first killer doppelganger of Sonic that Dr. Eggman ever built. He’s on par with Sonic, if not better than him, at everything he does. His speed is unmatched. Metal has two playstyles: Classic and Boost. With his classic playstyle, he has Spindash, Energy Field, Full Power!, and V. Maximum Overdrive Attack. Metal Sonic is able to fly for a short period of time, on a 40-second timer. Metal’s Spindash works the same way as all the others’, by holding down with the analog stick and pressing A or X repeatedly to charge up. The Energy Field is a green sphere of energy surrounding the robot that temporarily makes him invincible. It is on a 7-second timer. Full Power! is a special technique that grants Metal Sonic a small power boost, that surrounds him in electricity sparks.
With his Boost playstyle, he has the Boost, Jump Dash, Boost Drift, and Stomp. All of these techniques operate the same way they normally do.
Gameplay (Silver Sonic)
Silver Sonic was Eggman’s second Sonic copy, and his design was...rough. He wasn’t exactly agile, and his body was quite bulky. When Metal Sonic revived Silver Sonic, he made sure to eliminate these imperfections in his design to create the perfect warrior for his army. Silver Sonic has two playstyles: Classic, and Fighter. With the Classic style, Silver Sonic has his own version of the Spindash called Rocket Smash. With this attack, Silver Sonic’s rocket booster shoes roar to life and he shoots forward, spiked hands first. Silver Sonic also has an attack called Spine Slam, in which he jumps high into the air, disperses sharp spines in the hope of them hitting the target, then slams back down to the ground. Silver Sonic isn’t as speedy as the other two Sonic doppelgangers, but he has a wide range of skills to make up for that.
For the Fighters playstyle, Silv. Sonic has quite a few moves to show off: Ground Pound, Death Cannon, Energy Discharge, and Shock Punch. This version of the Fighters playstyle is a little different from Knuckles’ version. While playing as Silver Sonic equipped with Fighters style, most of the levels you traverse through take place in the air, or at least hovering above the ground. Enemies can approach you from any direction. Underneath, above, left or right. This is where your attacks will come in handy, especially Energy Discharge and Death Gun. Using ED, you create a sphere of energy around Silver Sonic that blows enemies away. It is a large AOE attack that usually one-shots enemies. Death Gun is your next best friend in these situations. It is a wide, sweeping energy beam that emanates from Silver Sonic’s one large eye. When using it, tilt the analog stick left and right to eliminate surrounding baddies. This attack takes three seconds to charge up, and is most useful in life-or-death situations.
Gameplay (Mecha Sonic)
Mecha Sonic is the most agile of the three doppelgangers, with immense speed, strength, and durability. He was the third, and final, robotic copy of Sonic, and is widely considered to be one of the strongest artificial beings in existence. He has two playstyles: Boost and Fighters. The Boost playstyle is arguably the funnest mode to play in. Mecha Sonic was created with a built in boost feature, e.g., the miniature RD-180 rocket engine in his back. He was the last to be brought back from the dead, and all the while, he’s had data on Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles inside him. After his fight with the trio on the Sky Sanctuary, he was forced into stasis mode. Metal Sonic found him this way and decided to bring him up to speed on the current events.
With the Boost style, Mecha Sonic can tear down the track of whatever level he’s in. Utilizing his ability to fly, you can cross wide distances, all the while attacking with the Mecha Sonic Energy Barrage. With this attack, Mecha can produce balls of Chaos energy from the hatch in his chest that home in on and follow its target. Another attack of Mecha’s is called Spiky Comet. He rolls into a ball of sharp steel and spikes, and careens toward his opponent. The move is lightning quick, and most people wouldn’t expect it if they didn’t know anything about him. Mecha Sonic has a super form; he is the first robot to ever achieve this status. It was, at one time, powered by the Master Emerald, but he has been adapted to be able to absorb Chaos Emeralds. Mecha Sonic’s Fighters style is similar to that of Silver Sonic’s.
Woo! That's it for this fangame! Tell me whatcha think in the comments!