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Stardate 32217
DaiMon Flax had hit the jackpot.
Each new mineralogy report bore it out further. The planets and moons of this system were richly endowed with dilithium, latinum, verterium, topaline, and other rare and precious minerals in abundant quantities. All just sitting there waiting for the Ferengi to claim it, since this system had no pesky inhabitants to argue ownership or resist strip-mining operations.
This was the kind of haul that Ferengi dreams were made of, and Flax had come across it on his very first voyage as DaiMon. It boggled the mind. His father, Bok, had spared no expense in ensuring that his beloved son could follow in his footsteps not only paving his path to DaiMonship with lucrative bribes in all the right palms, but hiring the most expensive tutors and driving Flax hard to ensure his skills were worthy of the position thus purchased. And that position was a prestigious one: commander of the Raider-class starship Seventy-Fifth Rule, a compact but high-powered scout designed to be at the vanguard of commercial expansion, racing far beyond known space to seek out new wealth and new opportunities and to claim them for his own and for the greater glory of the Ferengi Alliance, by means of the sizable percentages which the Grand Nagus and the GuiMon in Chief demanded from every DaiMon's claims.
But even Bok had never expected that his son would make such a valuable strike so early in his career. This is leverage, he told himself. This kind of luck suggested that the Great River was flowing in his favor, and if he played his hand deftly, he could impress the Nagus and GuiMon enough to stand up to them and negotiate a larger share of the system's wealth.
Careful, he told himself, recalling the Forty-third Rule of Acquisition: "Feed your greed, but not enough to choke it." He could negotiate for more, yes, but if he demanded too much, the Nagus would see him as ungrateful and disrespectful, and that would hurt his chances for profit in the long run. Besides, this system was a big enough prize that even a fledgling DaiMon's share would make him rich.
Yes, the River is generous, Flax reflected, taking a moment to consider the larger picture. Even Ferenginar's best-paid scientists were still hard-pressed to explain how exotic compounds like dilithium and duranium could form naturally, and yet such valuable substances could nonetheless be found in the mineral strata of many worlds. Flax took it as proof that the River was flowing beneath the surface of things, creating wealth and depositing it where Ferengi could make the best use of it. In this case, where Flax could make the best use of it. Maybe it was arrogant to think of the River choosing to provide for him personally. But other Ferengi had been endowed with legendary luck over the ages, and if this find didn't prove that Flax was one of those blessed ones, it was at least evidence that he could be.
A proximity alert sounded, jarring Flax out of his reverie. "DaiMon!" reported tactical officer Gorp. "Our remote probes are detecting an unidentified vessel approaching the system at warp!"
"On viewer!" Flax cursed himself for his complacency, even while commending himself for the decision to send out the sensor drones (well, actually it had been on science officer Mench's initiative, but since Mench was on Flax's payroll, that made it his idea by the Twenty-fifth Rule). Right now the ship was conducting a mineralogical assay of a deep impact crater on a moon of the system's giant fifth planet, and the kelbonite and other minerals that permeated the crust were interfering with sensors. The drones had been launched to speed the survey of the system's planets, but they also served as sensor and communication relays, compensating for the ship's current blindness.
Indeed, Flax realized that they gave him an advantage over this potential claim-jumper: he could see them, but if his luck held, they hadn't seen him yet. And hopefully not the drones either. "Shut down all thrusters on the drones. Communication on tight-beam only. Gorp, can you identify the intruder?"
"I don't recognize the warp signature, DaiMon." Gorp paused. "However, I could run it through the database for a match..."
Flax grinned at his subordinate's initiative. In an imminent crisis, military crews had no time for negotiation and had to follow their DaiMon's orders without question. But at the moment, the crisis was just imminent enough to give Gorp leverage while not yet so imminent that his delay posed a danger. "Five slips if you do."
"Seven." Don't push it, his tone said.
"Done." As Gorp worked his console's interface hemisphere to run the search, Flax did the same with the smaller globe on his command chair's arm, appending the seven-slip bonus to Gorp's pay for the week. "Here it is," Gorp said, then sucked in a gasp. "DaiMon...it reads as Federation."
Flax spun to face the tactical officer. "Starfleet?"
"I think so."
"Two more slips."
"Yes, definitely Starfleet." Gorp didn't look happy about his extra profit. "DaiMon...what do we do?"
Flax shared his crewmate's anxiety. In recent years, the Ferengi had been hearing increasingly about this United Federation of Planets from various trading partners. They had sought to learn more, but carefully, clandestinely, as per Rule 194: "It's always good business to know about new customers before they walk in your door." Besides, these people claimed to be explorers, seeking only peaceful contact and discovery, with no interest in profit. They even claimed to have a society without property or money. That meant one of two things: they were lying, or they were insane.
So Grand Nagus Zek had chosen to pursue a cautious strategy, ensuring that when the time finally came, the Ferengi could face these bizarre beings from a position of strength. The Alliance had begun negotiating with new races from a distance, through intermediaries or over audio channels, in order to create an air of mystery about themselves. Zek had offered their earlier trading partners incentives to stay quiet about the Ferengi's true nature particularly their small stature relative to most humanoids and even to spread rumors painting them as a vicious, dangerous race, a people who blew up planets that got in their way and served up females and children as afternoon snacks. Zek had also been investing more funds into a military buildup, both to bolster the Ferengi's new, meaner image and to improve their ability to defend themselves for real if the Federation proved as dangerous as Zek suspected.
But it was too soon. Zek's master plan was still being put in place; it would be years before the Ferengi were ready to face the Federation. If this Starfleet vessel discovered the Seventy-fifth Rule, scanned it, and learned its technical capabilities and the life signs of its crew, all hopes for a safe and profitable first contact could be scuttled. That could not be allowed to happen.
Moreover, the ship might be coming to jump Flax's claim on this system. That could really not be allowed to happen.
"Any sign they've detected us?" he asked Gorp.
"No, DaiMon. They still approach at a low but steady warp factor. The crater shields us well."
Flax studied their course plot on the viewer: it would bring them near the giant planet that this moon orbited. They seemed to be heading for a warp gravity-assist maneuver, banking around the planet's subspace gravity well to put them on course for the fourth planet without using thrusters. A smart, economical maneuver further evidence that these Federation types weren't as unconcerned with profit as they claimed. But it would be their downfall, for it would bring them well within the Seventy-fifth Rule's weapons range while never bringing them into line of sight with it, leaving them unaware of its presence until they were directly in its gunsights. Flax smiled. Maybe the River was still bringing him luck after all.
Captain's Log, Stardate 32217.3
U.S.S. Stargazer on routine survey mission into the Maxia Zeta star system. Initial scans indicate twelve planets, none habitable. The third and fourth are in Maxia Zeta's habitable zone, and may therefore be candidates for terraforming. Our science teams are preparing for a full survey and surface scan.
"So...where do you want to go for your birthday?"
Jean-Luc Picard looked askance at his first officer, who leaned nonchalantly against the starboard bridge railing. "This isn't a pleasure yacht, Gilaad. I go where the mission takes me. No telling where we might be on that date."
Gilaad Ben Zoma threw his captain a skeptical look. "Come on, Jean-Luc. This is the big one! A couple more months, and you'll have made it a whole half-century!" His eyes went up a bit. "And with fully half your hair."
Picard smirked and stroked his ever-increasing expanse of bare scalp, his hand coming to rest against what remained of his graying brown hair. "Don't knock it, Gilaad. It makes me sleeker. Cuts down on wind resistance and excess weight."
"Planning on running more marathons?"
"Well, it never hurts to be prepared for the long run."
Ben Zoma winced. "We could always make a run back toward Federation space if you wanted. Give the crew leave, take some personal time...if there's anyone special you'd like to spend your birthday with." He sidled closer, lowered his voice. "What was the name of that JAG officer back on Starbase 32 last year? Phillipa...?"
Picard glared. "The bridge is no place for gossip, Number One," he said, a bit of sternness entering his voice. Ben Zoma looked mildly taken aback. Normally Picard would not have been so bothered by a discussion of one of his liaisons; he was close to his crew, and they knew he was as romantic at heart as any Frenchman. This bridge had hosted banter about his love life before, most notably nine years ago when he had been ribbed mercilessly for his brief fling with Miranda Vigo, a human who coincidentally bore the same surname as his hulking, blue-skinned Pandrilite weapons officer. But his relationship with Phillipa Louvois had been...complicated. And it had come in the wake of Jack Crusher's death, reminders of which were still difficult to bear over a year later.
He shook off his mood, smiled at Ben Zoma to soften the rebuke, and rose from the command chair. "After all, we have work to do," he said to the bridge crew as a whole, his lively tone revealing that he didn't consider it work at all. "Why celebrate a birthday on some dreary starbase or prepackaged holiday world when new discoveries await us every day? Look out there," he said, eyes gleaming as he gestured at the viewscreen. "A whole new system beckons. Until now, Federation science knew it only as the sixth-brightest star in the Berengarian constellation of Maxia. Now it's a sun with twelve unexplored planets a dozen gifts just waiting for us to unwrap them and discover the surprises they hold."
Idun Asmund turned from the helm console. "A dozen lifeless balls of rock and gas? Good to know you're easy to shop for, sir."
He chuckled. "Come on, Idun, use your imagination. Every system has its own tale to tell." He strode toward the science station, gesturing at the system plot on its large display screen. "Look here two whole planets in the habitable zone, but for some reason no life has arisen on them. Or has it? Look how similar their compositions are, how young and uncratered their surfaces. Maybe they were once parts of a single larger body that was shattered sometime in the distant past, its debris then coalescing into new planets. What could have destroyed that planet? Was it a natural phenomenon, or artificial? Might there be ruins of some ancient, doomed civilization waiting for us to find?"
"If the planet was shattered," observed Vigo from where he stood at tactical, "it's unlikely any ruins would have survived."
"Perhaps they settled one or more of the system's moons before the cataclysm," Picard countered.
"Or maybe they never existed at all except in our wishful imaginings," Asmund said, belatedly remembering to add, "sir." Though human, Idun had been raised by Klingon parents and thus tended toward the confrontational.
Picard chuckled. "Ever the pragmatist. Well, good. Keeps us honest. Even so, it'll be intriguing to study the geology of such young worlds with such a turbulent history. I may go down with some rock-climbing gear myself."
"So long as you don't forget the oxygen gear," Ben Zoma said. "And maintain an active transporter lock at all times."
Picard sighed. "Yes, mother. Honestly, Gilaad, where's your sense of adventure?"
"I have enough adventure trying to keep you out of trouble, Jean-Luc."
"Then where were you on Starbase 32 last year?" he teased.
Ben Zoma laughed. "Oh, no, Captain. That kind of trouble I trust you to manage for yourself."
Picard joined in the laughter, but Asmund remained all business, as usual. "Coming up on fifth planet," she reported. "Decelerating to warp 2 for gravity-assist maneuver."
"Acknowledged," Picard said with a residual chuckle before turning to the officer manning the science station. "Lieutenant Schuster, I want an intensive scan for life signs in the Jovian's atmosphere as we pass by. With luck the system might turn out to be inhabited after "
A perimeter alert klaxon interrupted him. Vigo whirled to his console, which was suddenly lit up with warning lights. "Unidentified ship dead ahead, Captain! They're firing!"
Picard headed back for the command chair. "Shields up. Brace for " But just then the first salvos hit. The deck convulsed, sending Picard stumbling across the chair. Schuster toppled over the rail behind him, landing on Ben Zoma, but the fall saved him from the shrapnel when the science station blew out. Picard could hear other explosions from the decks below. "Vigo!" he called as he took his seat, folding the safety restraints over his thighs.
"Shields damaged, sir!" the Pandrilite called. Of all the people standing on the bridge, only he had kept his footing. "They were only half-raised at impact."
"Warp field has collapsed, Captain," Asmund reported. "We're in the Jovian's gravity well, suborbital velocity."
"Full impulse, get us some distance."
Ben Zoma voiced Picard's question. "Where did they come from?"
"They just appeared over the crest of a moon," Vigo said. "They must have been hiding there."
"Hail them."
Vigo sent out a standard hail. "No response."
In the seconds it took the warp field to collapse, the Stargazer would have gained some distance from the attacker, but it could be closing in from behind even now. He had to assess their capabilities. "Can you identify them, Vigo? If they come in a second time with our shields damaged..."
"Sensors are offline, sir."
"Picard to sensor control. Retask planetary sensors for short-range tactical! Vigo, aft shields to maximum. Helm, evasive action, we're sitting ducks out "
A mighty thunderclap drowned him out as the Stargazer was struck again. The deck dropped out from under him, and even Vigo lost his footing this time. Fires broke out from the nav console before him and the system status displays behind him, and caustic smoke stung his eyes. "Report! Why isn't fire suppression working? Engineering, re " He broke off as the viewscreen cleared before him, showing an aft view. Through the smoke and tears, he saw bodies flailing in the vacuum. His ship had been hulled. His crew was dying.
Almost unconsciously, he rose and took a step toward the screen, reaching out as though he could somehow catch them, save them. His foot struck a heavy, yielding mass, bringing him back to reality. He looked down, recognizing the bulk and blue skin instantly. "Vigo!" The weapons officer's temple bore a deep gash, hemorrhaging purple-black blood. Picard knelt by him and felt for a pulse, reminding himself that head wounds always looked worse than they were...
But not this time. There was no pulse to find. "Picard to sickbay! I need a team here on the double!" If he could get help in time, maybe he could be revived. But Doctor Greyhorse's response over the intercom was too mired in static to decipher. Was help on the way? What was still working on this ship? Who was still alive? And who the hell was attacking them?
Picard shoved those questions aside. There would be time for them and for grieving later, but only if he pulled himself together now and started defending his ship. "Idun, continue evasive."
"Impulse engines are down, sir."
"Thrusters, best speed," he told her, knowing it would be a token effort. "Engineering "
Just then, the fire-suppression fields kicked in, flickering into place over the conflagrations. "Sorry for the delay, Captain," came Simenon's gravelly voice from engineering, relatively free of static. "The fusion reaction's surging, and the EM leakage is disrupting internal forcefields. I can't guarantee it won't " The intercom erupted in another burst of static and the suppression fields dropped out, leaving the fires smoldering.
"Warp engines?"
"In bad shape, sir. I can give you ten, twenty seconds, no promise of more."
"Get the fusion generators under surge control," Picard ordered, breaking down into a fit of coughing. He was dazed, off balance air circulation was down, and the fires had consumed too much oxygen.
"Where are they?" Idun asked, searching her helm screen.
"Ensign Durand," Picard said to the navigator, "Man sensors. Find them. Schuster, take tactical. Ready weapons."
The young Austrian lieutenant rushed to take over Vigo's station, but frowned a moment later. "Weapons not responding, Captain!"
Ben Zoma hit his communicator. "Bridge to fire control, what's happening down there?"
"We're working on it, Commander! Half the power circuits are down. We're rerouting now."
Ben Zoma moved toward the blasted, abandoned science station so he could supervise that process over his combadge without distracting the others on the bridge. Picard left him to it and turned back to Schuster. "Open a channel." Even if they wouldn't respond to his hails, he could still talk at them. The lieutenant nodded once the channel was active. "Do not attack again!" Picard cried, rising from his seat and striding forward. "We are on a peaceful mission!" The only response was another weapons volley, but a weak one this time. Picard staggered, as much from his dazed, weakened state as from the impact. They must have been at some distance, taking potshots. At the speed they'd needed to catch up for the second strike, they would have overshot considerably. But if they came in for another close-range attack run with shields and internal systems in their current state, the Stargazer would be finished. "Give your identity!" he urged, struggling to put a coherent sentence together. "You force us to defend ourselves!"
To underline his seriousness, he turned to Schuster. "Phasers full up! Arm torpedoes! Shields to maximum power!" It was halfway a bluff; he could still hear Ben Zoma coordinating with fire control to get weapons ready, and shields would be limited in power if Simenon couldn't get the fusion reactor to cooperate.
More salvos struck the ship. Smoke began to fill the bridge again, the fires rising. He coughed, waving smoke from his face. The suppression fields still weren't working. "Vigo! Get a fire control party up here!" he called only belatedly realizing that Vigo was no longer able to follow his orders.
But if anyone noticed the lapse, they left it unremarked. "Shields weakening, Captain!" Asmund called. Typically, she had taken it upon herself to monitor tactical status in Vigo's...absence. In other circumstances, Picard would have lectured her about letting Schuster do his job, but right now he was grateful for her warrior's eye.
Simenon's voice came over the intercom. "Fusion generator online."
It was the first good news in some time. Picard strode over to Ben Zoma. "Weapons report!"
"Phasers coming to full charge, sir. Torpedoes armed."
"Who are they?" he demanded one more time, returning to stand by his command chair and study the viewscreen again. "Identify them!" Even as he asked, he knew it was a futile request. He had to stop giving in to desperation and focus. Think!
Durand noted something on his sensor panel. "They're turning for a third pass at us, sir!"
"We can't take another hit, Captain!" Simenon declared. "We have a fire in engineering we can't fight it and hold this crate together at the same time!"
"Contain it if you can, evacuate if you have to, Phigus," Picard ordered. He checked the system status screens, but they were shorting out as the flames spread. He turned to tactical, trusting Schuster to have adapted his console to compensate. "Damage report!"
"Fusion generators under surge control, sir!" Schuster reported as Picard came forward and resumed his seat. Despite the panicked tone in his voice, the lieutenant maintained the good judgment to keep his report focused on the engineering situation. "Power systems failing!"
Picard had to act fast, before the ship lost any more power. He couldn't sit around and wait for the enemy he had to take it to them, and fast. But how, with the impulse reactor unreliable?
Ten to twenty seconds of warp, he remembered. At this range, it would be more than enough. At this range, he repeated, the ramifications coming together in his mind. In all likelihood, the enemy was relying on short-range tactical sensors at this point. There was a good chance that meant optical imaging and ranging, lightspeed-limited. If the Stargazer suddenly made a short warp hop toward them, outracing the light they gave off from this position...we could make them see double! Of course, they probably had subspace sensors as well, letting them see through the deception, but if he could just confuse them for a few seconds, it would be all he needed to regain the element of surprise. Even using a warp maneuver during a close-in battle could catch them off guard. For most ships it was preferable to keep to impulse, since the buildup of energy for warp could divert power from shields and weapons for precious seconds. But the Constellation class's four nacelles gave it an edge in power usage; the same ability that let it "warp coast," extending its high-warp capacity by alternating pairs of nacelles, could allow it to build up warp power with no loss to tactical systems. The unfamiliarity went both ways; if these aliens had never been encountered by Starfleet before, they probably would have no knowledge of this ship's special abilities. That would give him the edge he needed.
But first he had to know where they were. He could barely see them through the static a vague impression of a rounded vessel with a rust-colored hull, but with too little detail to make out the shape. That doesn't matter, he reminded himself. He needed to know the where, and the who could wait until after. "Sensor beam bearing on hostile ship," he commanded.
"Seven seven mark nineteen, sir!" Durand replied.
"Phasers, sir?" Asmund asked. "Sir?" she repeated when no answer was forthcoming.
But he had to time this just right. He waited another moment before ordering, "Ready phasers and lock. Stand by on warp nine. Heading...seven seven...mark twenty," he decided just enough to compensate for the attacker's probable motion. Durand moved to enter the course. "Engage."
Over the crackle of flames came the rising surge of the warp engines initiating their field. A distant explosion sounded as the ship struggled to jump into warp, but Picard couldn't divert his focus to wonder what it was. "Steady," he said, as much a plea to his ship as a command to Asmund. Another second and the warp field engaged, the bow shock appearing on the viewscreen. A second after that, Picard cried, "Now! Reverse and stop!" Idun jabbed at the console, taken by surprise but reacting with lightning speed as always. The warp streaks dissipated to reveal the enemy ship rushing into their sights. He'd timed it right, placing the Stargazer right off its bow, or effectively so by the standards of starships hurtling toward each other at hundreds of kilometers per second. The enemy ship fired, but the Stargazer remained untouched. His gambit had worked; the enemy had chosen the wrong target, firing toward the residual light from where the ship had been. He had to strike before they realized their mistake. "Phasers fire! Torpedoes away!"
On the screen, four blinding beams and six swirling balls of light converged on the onrushing ship. At point-blank range, they were devastating. With the phasers draining the shields, the first three torpedo hits were enough to knock them out completely, leaving the enemy defenseless against the final three antimatter warheads. As the ship disintegrated before him, Picard realized it was smaller than he had expected, the six torpedoes perhaps being overkill. But he knew there had been no choice. The Stargazer had been in desperate straits, moments from destruction by an enemy that struck without warning and gave no quarter. Their only chance had been to hit back with everything they had.
And they had won. They had survived. Relief washed over Picard, bringing a smile to his face in spite of the lives he'd have to mourn on both sides. The losses had been profound, true, but the Stargazer was still here. They would rebuild, and they would go forward, just as they had done before when Lisuni was killed, when Jack was killed.
But then Picard registered the red alert klaxon and the heat that was rising all around him. Open flames were pouring from both sides of the bridge, from the nav console, from everywhere. "Fire," he murmured in disbelief, his victory going up in smoke around him. "Fire!"
He shot to his feet as Ben Zoma came down to his side. "Fires all over the ship, Captain. Sickbay, the labs...they're evacuating engineering. Fire control teams are overwhelmed, the fields still aren't working...."
Evacuating...That was it. They needed to evacuate the whole ship, in both senses of the word. He slapped his combadge. "Picard to all hands. Abandon ship! Repeat, all hands abandon ship! Fire protocols avoid the lifts where possible." As the bridge crew left their stations and headed for the emergency ladders, Picard threw a wistful glance at Vigo's body, reminding himself that with luck, they would be back for him. He hit his badge again. "Picard to Simenon. Fire emergency, blowback protocol. Rig to vent all compartments to space once the crew is clear."
"I'll do what I can, sir, but control systems are iffy and we're working from tricorders and padds here."
"Do your best, but get to the shuttles."
After that, it was an organized frenzy as the crew raced to the shuttlebays and escape pods. Luckily, the Stargazer was designed as a platform for intensive planetary surveys and was thus equipped with seven shuttlebays around the rim of its thick saucer and over twenty support craft of various sizes, in addition to dozens of fifteen-person escape pods. However, many escape routes were cut off by fire, debris, or vented compartments. Picard and his command crew remained behind as long as they could, racing through the ship to assist personnel who were cut off from the shuttlebays or pinned beneath debris. More than once, Picard came across a crew member who was beyond help. Maybe some of them, like Vigo, could have been saved with immediate medical intervention. But sickbay was proving hard to reach and Greyhorse wasn't answering the intercom. At times, Picard wondered if he would make it himself, given all the smoke he was inhaling.
Eventually all but one of the usable escape pods and shuttles had been launched, some packed beyond capacity, and the command crew came together in the forward bay where the captain's executive shuttle sat waiting. "The atmosphere purge is set up as well as we could manage, sir," Simenon reported as he entered the bay. "Ready on your mark."
Picard glanced at the engineer's padd, its thermal readout showing the fires spreading out of control. Sickbay was an inferno by now, as was engineering. And Greyhorse and Cadwallader were nowhere to be seen, the last ones still unaccounted for. "Into the shuttle," Picard ordered with great reluctance. "Then start the purge. We can't wait any longer."
But just then, Tricia Cadwallader came limping through the door, bearing the much larger, barely conscious Greyhorse on her shoulders. Picard and Ben Zoma rushed to catch the doctor as he collapsed completely, and together the last four survivors rushed into the shuttle. "Open bay doors and purge atmosphere now!" Picard cried, not waiting for the shuttle's hatch to finish closing.
The outrush of air gave the shuttle an extra kick as Asmund launched it, and only her decades of skill kept them from colliding with the bay doors. Once they were clear, she spun the shuttle so they could see their wounded starship. All its hatches gaped open, spilling out the white mist of freezing atmosphere along with gouts of smoke and the occasional lick of flame, which dispersed oddly in the weightless vacuum. Other breaches were visible on the ship's underside, but no air or flame came from them; those sections had already emptied their contents to space, including the men and women within them.
Simenon made an unhappy noise in his throat. "As I feared, Captain. The purge is incomplete. Some of the hatches didn't respond we still have fires burning in much of the engineering section and physics labs."
A thought struck Picard. "Can you shut down ship's gravity? Without convection, the fires would smother in their own smoke."
The Gnalish shook his gray-scaled head. "I no longer have control of those systems." It was the paradox of Starfleet gravity generators: under power, their superconducting stators could be braked within moments, allowing near-instant gravity shutdown, but in the event of power loss the stators would continue spinning on sheer momentum for up to four hours. It was a safeguard against power loss, but right now it was working against the ship's survival.
"Oh, no," Simenon said. "I've read an explosion in nuclear physics. Atmosphere venting from those compartments...I'm detecting radiation spreading outward. Looks like...a canister of plutonium must have ruptured. No fission, but the plutonium dust is spreading through half the ship." He shook his head. "We don't have the equipment to decontaminate it."
Picard stared at his dying ship. "Then we can never go back."
After the crew had absorbed that for a time, Ben Zoma asked, "What if there are more enemy ships coming? Ships that do have decon equipment? Do we just leave her for them?"
"We never made a stable orbit," Asmund answered.
"She'll spiral down into the Jovian's atmosphere within a week, two at most."
"Can we make sure she self-destructs?" Picard asked Simenon.
"The engine controls are unresponsive. And these shuttles don't have the armaments to take her out. The only way would be to remove one of the shuttles' micro-warp cores and make it into a bomb."
"But we barely have enough shuttles and pods to hold all the survivors," Ben Zoma said. "We can't afford to leave one without warp power."
"Push it," Idun suggested. "Thrust against it enough to decrease its orbital velocity, make it splash down faster."
Simenon shook his head. "Still too much of an explosion hazard. And decelerating a mass that size would use up more engine power than we can spare."
"So we just have to hope," Picard said grimly, "that the enemy doesn't send reinforcements within that week or two. Or that Starfleet finds us first."
It was too risky to remain in-system, given that it may have been claimed by hostile forces. Picard ordered the escape pods to use their emergency grapples to join together and hitch onto the shuttles, which would then tow them out of the system at low warp.
Once this was under way, Picard realized there was one more duty he had to perform before leaving his ship behind for the last time. He struck his combadge. "Picard to Stargazer computer."
He resisted an irrational temptation to apologize. "Cap " His voice dissolved in choking. "Captain's log. Final entry, stardate...three-two-two-one-seven point four." He noticed his crew members looking at him, and he held their gaze as he began to speak. But no great valedictory speech came to him, no stirring words to inspire hope. In all likelihood, the computer recording this entry would be burned away to nothing within two weeks' time. So all he said was, "We are forced to abandon our starship. May she find her way without us."
I'm sorry.
Fifteen days later
Science officer Skwart came up to Bok uneasily, his reluctance to speak sincere rather than an invitation for a bribe. Bok had been in a simmering rage, quick to unleash his anger upon his crew since they had confirmed the destruction of his son's ship with all hands aboard. Worse, it had been no accident. He had been slain by the occupants of the battered, half-radioactive vessel that Bok's crew had salvaged from the fringes of the giant planet's atmosphere. The vessel they had identified as belonging to the Federation Starfleet.
Bok skewered the science officer with his gaze, impatient to learn all he could about the assassins. "Report! Is the ship a trap?"
"We do not believe so, DaiMon. Analysis of the scorch patterns on its hull suggests that it must have first fallen into the planet's atmosphere some days ago. By a thousand-to-one shot, its disk hit at just the right angle to skim off the atmosphere and bounce back out. That gave it enough velocity to remain in a decaying orbit long enough for us to find her." Skwart shook his head. "It was an amazing fluke of luck, DaiMon, the kind a Ferengi dreams of his whole life! We are truly blessed by the River to have such a valuable acquisition as this ship dropped into our hands!"
Bok glared at him. "Blessed, science officer? You dare to say that after the loss I have suffered?!"
Skwart cringed. "I meant no disrespect to your son, DaiMon. I simply meant that we can always find comfort in profit."
To Bok, the words rang hollow. The profit he could gain from this ship's technological secrets brought him no comfort, any more than did the mineral wealth of this system. His son, the only male heir his useless mate had ever spawned, was dead. Bok no longer had a legacy; upon his death, his wealth would be scattered on the waves of the Great River. So what was the point of wealth?
But Bok was too shrewd a negotiator to reveal such blasphemous thoughts; that could lead to his sanity being challenged, his command and wealth being taken from him. He might not care about those things for their own sake anymore, but they were still useful tools for pursuing the only goal that still mattered. He would keep this rage to himself, hold it inside him until he could find a worthy beneficiary to whom he would offer it...as a gift. The thrill of the obscene thought gave him the strength to continue.
The derelict was abandoned, its hangars empty. So the killers of his son had survived, no doubt escaped back to their Federation. That put them beyond his reach for now. But he understood how to let an investment mature. He would have the time he needed to prepare a suitable revenge, and be ready to spring it once open contact was finally made.
Gazing at the ship on the main viewer, he decided that it would be the instrument of his vengeance. Its crew must have thought it lost forever, doomed to destruction in a gas planet's bottomless atmosphere. Imagine its captain's joy when Bok found him and offered the ship to him again. It would be a precious item he would gladly reclaim, like the fabled treasure chest of Narj. And once he took the chest into his vault, then the trap would be sprung.
"Prepare for warp tow," he ordered. "We will take the ship with us."
Skwart grinned, the familiar light of avarice in his eyes. "Very good, DaiMon! We will profit handsomely from the technologies we can salvage from this ship."
"No! The ship is mine, Skwart, and I intend to keep it intact. Indeed, I want you and the engineering teams to work on decontaminating it and restoring it to operating condition."
"Ah...I see. You wish to sell it as a collectible?"
"It is for my own private use. Ask no further, Skwart. You will be well enough compensated for your labor."
"Thank you, DaiMon." Skwart hesitated. "But what of the Nagus and the GuiMon? They might have other ideas for the ship."
"I will offer them the mining rights to this system in exchange for letting me keep it."
Skwart gasped. "All the rights, sir?"
Bok realized he had shown too much of his hand. "I meant a suitable percentage, obviously, you idiot. Now proceed with the towing operation!"
Skwart acknowledged the command and hurried away to oblige. Bok resumed staring at the eyesore of a ship, memorizing its every line and contour. This ship had been used to murder his son, and now he claimed it as just compensation. But it was only a means toward his true compensation, a price that would not be paid until he found the commander of the vessel.
Days later, back in Bok's private shipyard, enough of the ship had been decontaminated to allow his crew to access the vessel's computer system. Bok listened to its logs, heard the voice of its captain. He learned the name of the man who had killed his son.
Zhon Look Picard, he mused. What kind of man is he? And what will become of him between now and the day when I take my revenge? Will he be disgraced for losing his ship, or rewarded for destroying a defenseless enemy? Will I find him wealthy and flourishing, or destitute on the streets?
Where will the River take you, Captain Picard?
Copyright © 2007 by CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.


text:
When experts call on people to brace for disaster, it's always based on signs that point to impending events. This quarter, we saw numerous signposts pointing to hazards to sensitive data that could lead to damages to individuals' personal lives and organizations' operations. The high-profile breaches, vulnerability exploits, and other attacks we saw this past…Read More
Our analysis of the Adobe Flash zero-day vulnerability used in the latest Pawn Storm campaign reveals that the previous mitigation techniques introduced by Adobe were not enough to secure the platform. Used in Pawn Storm to target certain foreign affairs ministries, the vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-7645 represents a significant change in tactics from previous exploits. It is…Read More
Trend Micro researchers have discovered that the attackers behind Pawn Storm are using a new Adobe Flash zero-day exploit in their latest campaign. Pawn Storm is a long-running cyber-espionage campaign known for its high-profile targets and usage of the first Java zero-day we've seen in the last couple of years.
In this most recent campaign, Pawn Storm targeted several foreign affairs ministries from around the globe. The targets received spear phishing e-mails that contained links leading to the exploit. The emails and URLs were crafted to appear like they lead to information about current events.Read More
By Brooks Li, Stanley Liu and Allen Wu Feedback from the Trend Micro™ Smart Protection Network™ has allowed us to discover that the notorious Angler and Nuclear exploit kits have included the latest Flash vulnerability (CVE-2015-5560) in their regular update. This means that systems with Adobe Flash Player 18.104.22.168 and earlier are vulnerable; however users running the…Read More
Microsoft has released MS15-093, an out-of-band update for all supported versions of Windows. This bulletin fixes a vulnerability in Internet Explorer (designated as CVE-2015-2502) that allowed an attacker to run arbitrary code on a user's system if they visited a malicious site. A compromised site, spear phishing, and/or malicious ads could all be used to deliver exploits…Read More

subset: commoncrawl


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FIX Korea announced that the FPS game Tactical Intervention, presently undergoing development, will start its first testing services in the European market in the latter part of this year.
Tactical Intervention, which will be released by European publisher, 'Mayn Interactive', is scheduled to start its testing services at the end of this year. 'Mayn Interactive' is a publisher successfully servicing 'Twelve Sky 2' in Europe, and it has settled a contract with FIX Korea last November on services in the European district.
Tactical Intervention, having received the spotlight by the participation of Minh Le, presently Vice president of FIX Korea and, famously known as the original creator of 'Counter Strike', is gathering interest with its realistic graphics, dynamic action, and looking to revitalize MMO FPS market.
In the present, Tactical Intervention has received positive responses in the North American region on CBT tests and tests at internal offline events. Especially, the VIP escort mission mode, a unique game mode of Tactical Intervention, is most liked by testers due to cooperation between team members being emphasized. One can also enjoy shooting while driving.
Chang Hee Kim, the chief marketing officer at FIX Korea, stated that "Tactical Intervention is a strategic team play based game, and one should be able to feel strong achievement you wouldn't feel in previous FPS games."
Downloads, info, & more: Tactical Intervention on ggFTW!


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The John "TOMMO" Thompson Memorial Ride has been combined with the Buxton Spa sportive for 2015. Run in memory of one of our regular event competitors John 'Tommo' Thompson.
After the success of the inaugural Buxton Spa last summer, the event is back once again for 2015 – this year the sportive principally explores the Staffordshire Moorlands. With revised routes, village hall feed-stations and a new start venue, the 2015 Buxton Spa is set to eclipse the 2014 event – in addition this year's event incorporates our annual John "Tommo" Thompson ride, previously based from Carsington Water.
Starting just outside the centre of the historic Roman Spa town of Buxton, all routes now head South through Harper Hill and into the Peak District at Earl Sterndale. Passing over the river Dove, the riders pass out of Derbyshire into Staffordshire Moorlands. The short route takes a slightly extended path to the first feed-station at Warslow passing through Wetton, which the long and medium route visit later. The new figure of 8 layout of the long and medium route results in the riders visiting the Warslow feed-station twice.
For the riders on the long and medium, the challenging ascent of Elkstone comes soon after the first feed, climbing up to one of the highest points of the Staffordshire Moorlands. From here the long route riders head further South out of the Peak Park and onto the Southerly loop. The medium route follows the edge of the Peaks before rejoining the long route at Winkhill. The long route finally starts heading back North at the climb of Freeway. From here it is onto the Tour of Britain climb of Star Bank before re-entering the Peak District at Winkhill. Dropping into and out of the majestic Manifold valley, the long and medium route riders will finally return to Warslow.
The return leg takes all riders over Morridge (another ToB KOM) and the long ascent of Axe Edge. All routes finish with a nice, easy 5km descent back to the finish.
For lots of information about what Buxton has to offer including entertainment, accommodation, shopping etc see Visit Buxton
Rider Times
Buxton Spa 2015 – Rider Times – Excel
Buxton Spa 2015 – Rider Times – PDF
Read our comprehensive pre-event road book – includes a full in-depth preview of the route and all the climbs
Event Summary
- 2015 John "Tommo" Thompson Ride
- NEW VENUE: Buxton Community School
- Revised routes
- South West Peak District
- 128.8km, 87.9km & 61.1km
- Chris Meads event photography
- Bronze, Silver, Gold awards
- Beat the Bonk feed-stations
- Buxton Spa Road Book
Event Information
Start LocationBuxton Community School
Temple Road
Buxton Derbyshire SK17 9EA
Registration opens at 7:30am
Start time between 8:00am – 9:30am
We advise all riders to start before 9:00am to ensure they reach the cut off times!!
Finish closes at 5:00pm
Registration process
At registration you will have to sign on, where you will be provided with a SPORTident Card 'dibber' (a small plastic tag about 2″ long with a timing chip in it) and a detailed route map. The detailed route map will include positions of feed-stations/control-points, public toilets and route split points. This is your own personal guide to the route, the route will be clearly marked but if you are ever unsure of where you are please refer to your map. Please keep your map with you for the duration of the event.
Entry Fees
- Long 128.8km £27.50
- Medium 87.9km £22.50
- Short 61.1km £20.00
£3 additional charge for entry on the day
- Covered HQ
- Toilets/ changing facilities
- Post event hot drinks & snacks
SPORTident Event Timing
- Instant post event timing
- Ultra reliable
- Weather proof
Buxton Spa Long
128.8km / 80 miles
~2660m / 8727ft of ascent
3 Feed stations
9 Categorised Climbs – including Elkstone, Star Bank, Morridge, Axe Edge
Buxton Spa Medium
87.9km / 54.5 miles
~1850m / 6069ft of ascent
2 Feed stations
8 Categorised Climbs – including Elkstone, Douse Lane, Morridge, Axe Edge
Buxton Spa Short
61.1km / 38 miles
1200m / 3937ft of ascent
1 Feed station
54 Categorised Climbs – including Sheen Moor, Morridge, Axe Edge
GOLD – Sub 6hr 00 SILVER – Sub 7hr 30 BRONZE – 7hr 30+
GOLD – Sub 6hr 45 SILVER – Sub 8hr 15 BRONZE – 8hr 15+
GOLD – Sub 4hr 30 SILVER – Sub 5hr 30 BRONZE – 5hr 30+
GOLD – Sub 5hr 00 SILVER – Sub 6hr 00 BRONZE – 6hr 00+
GOLD – Sub 3hr 20 SILVER – Sub 3hr 50 BRONZE – 3hr 50+
GOLD – Sub 3hr 45 SILVER – Sub 4hr 15 BRONZE – 4hr 15+
All finishers will receive a GOLD, SILVER or BRONZE finishing certificate. We also believe women should have separate timing awards to make gold certificates more achievable.
Fastest Times 2014
GOLD – 5hr 34 SILVER – 6hr 01 BRONZE – 7hr 31
GOLD – 3hr 47 SILVER – 4hr 19 BRONZE – 5hr 31
GOLD – 2hr 35 SILVER – 3hr 14 BRONZE – 3hr 36
Chris Meads Photography will be on hand to capture you hard efforts.
Dark & White Cycling Newsletter
Keep bang up to date with all our events with our sportive newsletter.
All entrants will be automatically added to the list. You can easily remove yourself from the list by hitting the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email.


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Your outdoor living space will look vibrant and fun when you add these two red and white polka dot pillows to your patio furniture décor. These cute accent pillows are made of 100-percent polyester with a canvas weave, self-corded edges and coordinating trim. These weather-resistant pillows stay mildew free, even when left outside for long periods of time. They also resist fading, so the attractive pattern stays vibrant. The pillows are filled with 100-percent polyester, so they are soft and comfortable.
Number of Pieces: 2
Style: lumbar pillow
Features: Reversible, Self-Cord Edge
Textile Material: Polyester ( 100, %)
Fill Material: Polyurethane Foam ( 100, %)
Protective Qualities: Fade-resistant, UV-resistant, Weather-resistant
Care and Cleaning: Spot Clean, Do not bleach, Do not dry, Do not dry clean, Do not iron
Assembly Details: no assembly required
Quantity: 1, 1,
Dimensions: 24.500 L x 16.500, W 24.500 L
Warranty Description: No applicable warranty
other Info.
- Online Item #: 12856632
- Store Item Number (DPCI): 009-03-1322
- Made in the USA


text:
Definition of hypnopompic in English:
Relating to the state immediately preceding waking up.
Example sentences
- Also the state in-between sleeping and waking is NOT the hypnagogic state but the hypnopompic state.
- The level I am talking about is also hypnagogic & hypnopompic, because sleep brings on the same feeling of hypnosis.
- Sleep paralysis occurs in the hypnagogic state or the hypnopompic state.
Early 20th century: from Greek hupnos 'sleep' + pompē 'sending away' + -ic.
For editors and proofreaders
Line breaks: hypno|pom¦pic
Definition of hypnopompic in:
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
Comments that don't adhere to our Community Guidelines may be moderated or removed.
= trending


text:
AgSouth Farm Credit, ACA has an opening for a Loan Officer Trainee in the Rock Hill, SC location.
Education and/or experience equivalent to a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Agriculture, Economics, or Finance required.
This position serves present and prospective members/customers with sound, short, intermediate and long term agricultural credit according to Association and District policies, standards, and procedures. Services all assigned existing loans within delegated authorities. Represents the Association at local events and meetings.
Applicants must possess strong analysis, judgment, and communication (oral and written) skills. Strong interpersonal and sales skills necessary. Salary is commensurate with education and experience.
Submit resumes to Loan Officer Trainee, AgSouth Farm Credit, PO Box 1146, Orangeburg, SC 29116 or email to email@example.com .


text:
Tortuga Island
Tours & Tickets
Page: 1
Private EcoAdventure Tour in Santa Teresa
Are you that type of person that enjoys sun, white sandy beaches, watching animal, walking on trails, sharing nature and swimming beneath Waterfalls? If the ... Read more
Location: Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Duration: Flexible
Tortuga Island Cruise from San Jose
Leave the bustle of San Jose behind on this full-day tour to the tropical beaches and warm waters of Tortuga Island, located on the Gulf of Nicoya. Featuring ... Read more
Location: San Jose, Costa Rica
Duration: 12 hours (approx.)
Tortuga Island Cruise
Spend a day cruising the waters of the Gulf of Nicoya as you head to Tortuga Island on a full day tour from Central Pacific. The white sandy beach and ... Read more
Location: Jaco Costa Rica
Duration: 12 hours (approx.)
Page: 1


text:
Join us for Upcoming MUSCLE Events
Members of MUSC's MUSCLE Group joined the 2014 Gullah-Geechee Nation International Music & Movement Festival held August 2, 2014, at the Charleston Maritime Center. The Festival celebrates the culture of the descendants of Sea Island slaves. The MUSCLE Group provided information and answered questions about lupus, which disproportionately affects African American women and impacts many within the Gullah-Geechee community
"Life With Lupus" Testimonial Banquet in honor of National Lupus Awareness Month was held on Saturday, May 31, 2014, at the NCO Club on Fort Jackson Army Base, hosted by nonprofit organizations Skip to My Lupus and Lupus of CSC. Skip to My Lupus and Lupus CSC have a goal to help improve the quality of life for people affected by lupus and their families in South Carolina.
At this event, Brittney Nicole Kennedy (pictured at left in the photo below) was honored and recognized as the 2014 Butterfly Star Award Recipient, in recognition of her bravery and strength to stand and fight the war against lupus.
MUSC was proud to participate in Put on Purple Day on May 16, 2014, to support the Lupus Foundation of America! Photos from the day helping spread awareness of lupus and the LFA can be found here.
Thank You to the DAMM Inshore Fishing Tournament organizers and participants for donating to the MUSC Lupus Education and Research Fund!
Thank you to everyone who supported Team MUSCLE on the Walk for Water!
The MLK Unity Run / Walk promoting lupus research and awareness in Greenville was a big hit!
Thank you to the organizers and to everyone who showed their support for patients with lupus at the event at Furman University in Greenville, SC on January 15th, 2011. Check out the video on You Tube (click here to link).
Photos from the 2010 Lupus Walk can be viewed at: Click here for photos
Our fearless leader Gary "Go Go" Gilkeson took the Go-Go Challenge… and completed the Walk for Lupus Now in a pair of Purple Go Go Boots since Team MUSCLE exceeded the total team donation goal of $4,000.00 (by an additional $3,000.00)!
LUPUS PATIENT EDUCATION SEMINARS - Volunteers needed for Fall 2014's Event (email us at email@example.com)
Do you have lupus or are you interested in learning more about lupus?
The MUSC Division of Rheumatology & Immunology and MUSCLE (MUSC Lupus Erythematosus) Group hosts a Lupus Patient Education Event each Fall so that patients, friends, family, healthcare professionals and interested community members can come together and learn more about lupus and how to help manage this autoimmune disease.
Examples of topics covered during the workshops include: Living with Lupus, Understanding Lupus and Finding New Treatments, Lupus and Heart Health, Medication Use During Pregnancy, Childhood Lupus, and Medication Side Effects.
We also have information available on the local lupus support group, research and clinical trials, diet and nutrition, the Prescription Assistance Program, disability, oral health (from the Center for Oral Health at MUSC), and bone health including free bone density screening available at the event.
Lunches are provided for those who register in advance.
See photos from past Lupus Patient Education events held at MUSC:
And thank you for making the past Lupus Education Events a big success:
Click Here for Photos & Talks from the 2011 Event
Click Here for Photos & Links from the 2012 Event
Click Here for Photos from the 2013 Event
If you did not have a chance to attend, email us at firstname.lastname@example.com and we will be sure you are on the mailing list for next year's Event!


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shoppers recently viewed this!
Be and D
Greta Portfolio Patent Bag
- Color:
- brown
Qty: 1
- 1
- 2
Description: Tortoise print patent leather bag with vintage chain strap and handwrapped leather-covered buckle. 14" L x 2" W x 8" H. Available in Brown.
Material: Cowskin
Brand: Be and D
Origin: United States


text:
- Report: #1011130
Report - Rebuttal - Arbitrate
Complaint Review: Andrew Ayers
Andrew Ayers540 President's Street 3rd Floor NY, New York United States of America
Andrew Ayers unethical lawyer who lies in court all the time to get his way. He has a desk in an acting studio in a warehouse. He is an arrogant and rude lawyer who wrongfully churned case for years to extort mo NY, New York
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This lawyer should have his license to practice law revoked and he must return all legal fees he stole from litigants as he did not earn anything ever in my dealings with him.
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 02/08/2013 06:15 PM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Andrew-Ayers/NY-New-York-/Andrew-Ayers-unethical-lawyer-who-lies-in-court-all-the-time-to-get-his-way-He-has-a-de-1011130. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year.
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- Report: #784698
Report - Rebuttal - Arbitrate
Complaint Review: CBEYOND - Liers, heartless people, ZERO customer service
CBEYOND - Liers, heartless people, ZERO customer service320 Interstate North , Parkway, SE Atlanta, Georgia United States of America
CBEYOND - Liers, heartless people, ZERO customer service Cbeyond telecommunications No customer service when we wanted to shut down the business and get out of contract, charged us $3500.00 Atlanta, Georgia
*Consumer Comment: Breach of Contract!
*Consumer Comment: That must have been some big gun they held to your head(s)
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CBeyond claims to be a small business company, they locked us in the 3 year contract,made us sign all these document in fine print, sold us services we did not need and never used for 3 years, contract that says if we get out of a contract even when we are going out of business, we have to pay for all the charges and termination fees running into thousands of $$. Refused to work with us to lower our contract. They are lying SOB, please do not do any business with them. In spite of being on the phone with them and pleading to lower the cost, they were not budging. Heartless company, Beware, You will be cheated!!!
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 10/04/2011 03:55 PM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/CBEYOND-Liers-heartless-people-ZERO-customer-service/Atlanta-Georgia-30339/CBEYOND-Liers-heartless-people-ZERO-customer-service-Cbeyond-telecommunications-No-cus-784698. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year.
Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report.
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- Only search one name at a time if Company has many AKA's.
#1 Consumer Comment
Breach of Contract!
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, September 16, 2014POSTED: Tuesday, September 16, 2014
When a company makes promises to deliver service and they breach the promise by not providing the agreed upon service, they broke the contract. The consumer doesn't need a "gun to his head" reference about signing the contract. The customer agreed to pay for a service he was not given... that's Fraud on the part of the company! I suggest anyone who has a complaint against this company call their respective Attorney General in their state and keep on calling. Hopefully this company will get the picture that they can't defraud people with their unfair business practices!
Are you an owner, employee or ex-employee with either negative or positive information about the company or individual, or can you provide "insider information" on this company?
#2 Consumer Comment
That must have been some big gun they held to your head(s)
AUTHOR: Ken - (USA)
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, October 04, 2011POSTED: Tuesday, October 04, 2011
MOST contracts have terms "locking you in" to their terms and the reason you are attempting to opt out are not even considered.
What would you think, if you were still running your business and THEY decided to not honor the terms of the contract?
"They are lying SOB...."
What specifically did they "lie" about?
If they lied and circumvented the written contract, you have a case agains them.
If you are just using hyperbole, you probably don't.
Sorry for your hard times, but even though they "held a gun to your heads" and made you sign a multi-page, fine print, one sided, unfair contract....you DID sign it. Then again, the force they obviously used may be cause for you to claim you signed under duress. ;)
Are you an owner, employee or ex-employee with either negative or positive information about the company or individual, or can you provide "insider information" on this company?
Advertisers above have met our
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text:
ADA Info
The Summer Reading Program for 2013 is well underway. Be sure to register in order to be eligible for awesome rewards! Children and teens who sign up will receive a free bracelet. Children will receive a free book after completing the required reading. Teens will receive a glow in the dark water bottle - supplies are limited. Finally, adults who register will be entered into a raffle for a gift card at each branch. Other rewards will be given throughout the summer but you will have to register now before it is too late! Click on the following links if you want to register today:
Children Summer Reading Program. (12 and under)
Teen Summer Reading Program. (13-18)
Adult Summer Reading Program. (over 18)
Be sure to stop by the next children's program! Ronald McDonald will stop by the library on Wednesday, June 19 at 3:00 p.m. For more information, please call us at (713)673-3237.
May is Asian Pacific Heritage Month and your Jacinto City Library will be having family game night to celebrate. On Thursday, May 16 at 3:00 p.m. we will be playing Chinese Checkers, Mahjong and Taipei in the meeting room. Families are encouraged to attend. For more information, please call (713)673-3237.
©Jupiter Images
Computer basics will be offered every Tuesday during May. These classes include mouse and keyboard practice, internet basics, email, and file and folder management. Classes will be in Spanish at 10:30 a.m. and in English at 2:00 p.m. There is no need to register! Computers and handouts will be offered for use in class. For more information, please call (713)673-3237.
April 14 - 20 is the "Week of the Young Child." This annual celebration brings forth the importance of early childhood programs and services. On Wednesday, April 17 at 11:00 a.m., Rosalinda, the Children's Librarian will have some fun activities planned along with her reading of "Curious George Visits the Library." After story time, a short movie will be showed in the meeting room. All children and their parents are encouraged to attend. For more information, please call (713)673-3237.
Your Jacinto City Library will be having a technology petting zoo on Saturday, April 6 from 10:30 to 12:30. Stop by during this time to test out eBook readers and tablets that you have been curious about. Staff will be at hand to answer questions you may have about how eBooks and eAudio can be downloaded from the Harris County Public Library digital media catalog. For more information, please call (713)673-3237.
Flickr CC: Kindle & Kindle Touch: jornijorni
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Information for Persons with Disabilities: Programs and services are Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Compliant. Special accommodations can be requested in advance by contacting the library.
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Graduate Students
Brown Ph.D. Students Protest Policy That Puts Funds in Limbo After 5th Year
Tension at Brown University over how Ph.D. students in the humanities and social sciences are financed in the later years of their programs fueled a series of protests on the campus last week, and administrators scrambled to secure money for students...
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johns dad replied to johns dad's topic in Ford Mondeo / Vignale ClubExactly as you said. Disconected the connector coming from the external switch and boot no longer opens when it feels like it! Also got functionality back on the cabin switch too, billy bonus. cheers paul
johns dad posted a topic in Ford Mondeo / Vignale ClubRecently, the boot opening button on the dashboard stopped opening the boot, but all was well as I could use the remote and also the key. Now the boot opens when it feels like it, normally when the ignition is turned on, but more alarmingly, whilst driving as well. I have replaced the battery in the keyfob, checked the wiring at the dashboard end and at the boot lock end, all appears ok (no sign of damp or charring). The switch on the dashboard activates (shorts across the contacts) but cannot measure a voltage at the lock end..... should there be? any help with wiring diagram or tech assistance appreciated. Ta


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I've been on the phone all day trying to find a new OB and haven't had any luck. My current OB/GYN is HORRIBLE, has his student doctors run the show, and has let a lot of issues slide (1. Didn't find out I had endometrial polyps last year until I found out I was pregnant in September. 2. Told him we've been TTC for 4 years and was told very coldly to lose weight even after telling him I'm pretty sure I have PCOS and have a very difficult time losing weight.)
I'm on pregnancy medicaid because I'm a 1099 freelancer and hubby works for an out of state company. It seems like no OBs wants to deal with "us". I want to give birth at a specific hospital where I live (has a great reputation in South Florida) and they only had one OB pop up in their referral line.
I just want a caring, diligent OB...is that so much to ask?


text: The Summer White House has nine rooms, each with a theme for the First ladies of the past Presidents. The Nancy Reagan room was very comfortable with good views from the second floor overlooking Lenox. Our hosts were very friendly and greeted us as soon as we arrived. They provided us with information about Lenox and the surrounding area and... 更多


text: Hello, I've been using Duplicator for a long time and have no issues. It's really great software. I have just installed new instance of WP 3.9 with MariaDB 10.0.10 (drop-in replacement for MySQL with extended performance for InnoDB, better scalability and many other ehnancements). I'm curiuos if Duplicator is compatible with MariaDB ? IMHO it should, but I would like to know from source (in case if it was not tested yet, I can prepare different testing server especially for testing). Best regards.


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Light-rail project gets boost from Transportation Secretary LaHoodUPDATED 3:19 PM PST Jan 07, 2013
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was in Sacramento on Monday to announce federal funding to complete a light-rail project.
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Charlotte Python Meetup Message Board › BlendConf - Charlotte's UX/UI/Dev Conference - Sept 5-7
|Bermon P.
Charlotte, NC
It's about time Charlotte had its own web conference so that's just what we're going to do. I give you, Blend Conference, a 3 day, 3 track, generalist conference featuring 40 speakers, 4 keynotes and 6 half-day workshops. All sharing ideas and conversations about user experience design, user interface design, and web development. It will be held at the Blake Hotel.
Register with the discount code 'earlybirdgetstheworm' and save 30% off the workshop and conference day passes. This discount code is only for Charlotte people and only being passed around to our local meetup groups. Keep is secret. Keep it safe.
There are only 100 tickets with this code. The discount code only be available until June 30th.
You can also follow @blendconf to stay up-to-date. We're still announcing things. The full site will launch on July 1st.
We wanted some of the smartest & nicest folks in our industry to come to Charlotte. Boy were we excited when they said yes. Prepare to have your brains filled with some most excellent knowledge. Here's a list of the speakers:
For the folks that prefer a bit more hands on approach to learning we've got it covered. The first day of the conference is filled with 6 half-day workshops.
It's an exciting time for Charlotte and we think it will be a blast.
I hope you can join us.


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It looks like Xbox exclusive game Titanfall was indeed planned for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation at some point, according to what has emerged online today.
NeoGaf forum member fade_ has discovered that both PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 are mentioned in the texture files of the PC version if Titanfall. This is probably not too surprise, since both versions have probably been planned before EA decided to keep the game a Xbox exclusive. You can learn more about the matter by going here.
Earlier today Respawn's Fairfax McCandlish has explained why Titanfall was designed to be inclusive. The general idea behind the game's experience was that all play styles would be good to play the game while letting hardcore gamers play the game the way they prefer.
A few days ago the Titanfall beta has become open for all Xbox One owners. If you don't have access to the beta you can check out these really nice Titanfall gameplay videos that emerged online last week.
Titanfall will launch on Xbox One and PC on March 11th in North America and on March 13th in Europe. The Xbox 360 version will be released a few days after the other versions of the game.


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Central Falls has seen some tough times, but are there positive things going on in the city? Absolutely. City Council member Stephanie Gonzalez and other CF High School graduates are launching a Central Falls Alumni Association to promote civic pride, provide mentors and offer networking opportunities. �This is a call to action to those who live in the city and those who have left,� she said. �We want to ask them to be bold enough to remain in the city or, if they�ve left, to volunteer in schools, but most of all to feel proud of where they grew up.� An inaugural reception is set for Thursday at the Madeira Club. The first alumni scholarship will be awarded June 7.
All corruption is deplorable, but it�s especially galling to see public officials prey on the state�s smallest, poorest city � a city that just emerged from bankruptcy in 2012. Last week, a former Central Falls clerk � Joyce Tager, of Smithfield � pleaded no contest to a felony for embezzling $17,000 from the city. She paid full restitution, lost pension benefits and must serve six months on home confinement. �What makes this act more egregious,� Attorney General Peter Kilmartin said, �is the financial strain the city of Central Falls was operating under at the time Ms. Tager lined her pockets with thousands of dollars that could have been put toward critical city services.�
Location, ST | website.com


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OAKLAND — Marketed as a "powerful journey inside one of America's most troubled cities," a documentary appearing on the Discovery Channel this month makes a loaded claim about Oakland's population.
"Here, almost 10,000 gang members rule with deadly force," a narrator explains at the beginning of the two-hour program that aired Monday. "Recruiting teens, running drugs, selling guns and murdering on a whim."
Local police brass say the figure is inaccurate. Movie producers have not said where they got the number.
But if the television program is correct, between 2 percent and 3 percent of Oaklanders are in gangs.
If all those gang members were, say, between the ages of 10 and 24, they would represent nearly 15 percent of young Oaklanders, according to the census.
And if all of the 10,000 gang members were male and in the 15 to 24 age bracket, they would represent 44 percent of Oakland's young men.
The problem is that the figure is impossible to confirm, local police and researchers say, and unfairly blights an entire city.
"There's definitely not 10,000 gang members in Oakland," said Victor Rios, a former member of an Oakland youth gang who is now a UC Santa Barbara sociology professor studying them. "I lived on those streets, and I studied young people on those streets."
Oakland police officers do keep track of gang-affiliated people by writing up field identification cards when they run into one, but Officer Jeff Thomason, a police department spokesman, said he doubted that adding all those cards up would result in the figures cited in the documentary.
"Do we think it's 10,000? No," Thomason said. "We use our own internal tracking. But it's not going to be over 1,000, for sure."
A statewide criminal intelligence registry lists only 858 known Oakland gang members, which is what Thomason cites as the most verifiable number. Outside agencies, however, said that number could be low because Oakland police do not fully contribute to the state network.
"We use (the database) to solve the whodunits. It was never designed to collect statistics," said Sonoma County Sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Smiley, who helps manage the network. "The database is only as good as the data that's put into it."
And some departments such as Oakland, he said, don't put as much data into it as others.
A federal report suggests there might be up to 10,000 gang members in the larger region, but that number includes gang members throughout all of Alameda County, not just in its biggest city. A map of California produced as part of the report by the National Gang Intelligence Center, a branch of the U.S. Department of Justice, shows between 3,500 and 9,999 gang members in the county. About 25 percent of the county's residents live in Oakland.
The Discovery Channel and the company that produced the film, part2 pictures, did not respond to phone calls and e-mails seeking comment on Thursday and Friday. A woman who answered the phone at the production company Friday said a producer was traveling and unable to be reached.
The first segment of the two-part program (which will finish Monday) mentions the 10,000 gang members several times but does not cite a source. The narrator also says the number of gang members has increased tenfold in a decade, and that youths are joining gangs at younger ages than before. Nearly all of them, said the narrator, are black or Latino. The second part of the program is scheduled to air on Monday night.
Those who have tried say efforts to count the number of people who belong to gangs can be difficult.
"Frankly, record keeping by police departments does not support accurate, right-down-to-the-last-gang-member estimates," said John Moore, director of the National Youth Gang Center, which is also affiliated with the Department of Justice. "There's no way to track them."
Moore's agency tries anyway, using estimates from about 2,500 of the nation's 15,000 law enforcement agencies to guess how many gang members live in the United States. The most recent estimate was 788,000 gang members belonging to 27,000 gangs nationwide, he said.
The agency rarely releases city-specific figures because those numbers can be inaccurate and based on the subjective views of local officials.
"What is a gang member? We've struggled with that for years and years and years," Moore said.
The Los Angeles Police Department keeps internal records of its gang estimates but stopped publicizing them in 2007 because of concerns about their accuracy.
The department estimated earlier this year that there are 44,000 gang members in the city of about 4 million, but those numbers — also based on field identification cards — probably duplicate people and are not scientific, a gang detective there said.
"The only way to determine the number of gang members in Los Angeles is to include them in a census," said Detective Julie McAllister. And ultimately, she said, it's gang crimes, not people who identify with a gang, that's the more important statistic.
It is easy for cities to inflate subjective gang estimates when they want more federal money for police and deflate them to improve their reputation, said Rios, who was in a gang in the mid-1990s.
Rios, who has spent about five years studying Oakland gangs for a book due out next year, said his best guess for the Oakland gang population is 2,000.
"That includes all the kids who pick up a street name because they live there," he said.


text: May 16/09 Kev-O's Birthday Skip to the rants (2) Share this on: Share on Facebook Tweet it (2) responses to: Kev-O's Birthday lol ^^ so funny, you could make ballons to let it look more llike a story No. but maybe Posted: 7 years ago Permalink hoho I envy your life chylin Posted: 7 years ago Permalink Leave your rant Hey, you can't leave a rant here cause you're not logged in. Go log in!


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I have installed the All in One SEO plug-in which seemed pretty straight forwrad and I thought I understood what I was doing.
I have entered the relevant data into the Home title and Description fields on the plug-in option page and on every individual page. However, when my site appears in Google, the description is still showing as "This is an example page. It's different from a blog post...". Does anyone know how to chnage this? Many thanks


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Minorities Flock to Cause Of Vouchers for Schools
By JAMES BROOKE
Published: December 27, 1997
DENVER, Dec. 26— A new class-action lawsuit here underscores the depth of support among black and Hispanic parents nationwide for a favorite cause of the conservative movement: publicly financed vouchers to send children to private and parochial schools.
''It is only natural that African-Americans and Hispanics would sign on,'' said Joe Rogers, a conservative black lawyer who helped organized the lawsuit. ''They are among the most affected by public education in this country.''
Recruited at black churches and Spanish grocery stores, nearly 3,500 mothers and fathers of public school students had joined the case by the time Mr. Rogers closed the rolls of plaintiffs last month. ''If we had kept going, we would have had 10,000 plaintiffs,'' he said.
Indeed, two national polls this year indicate that blacks favor vouchers more than whites. In a Gallup poll in the summer for Phi Delta Kappa, a professional education association, 72 percent of black respondents favored vouchers, while the general population split evenly on the issue, with 48 percent for vouchers and 48 percent against them. In a second survey, support for vouchers ranged from 65 percent of Hispanic respondents to 56 percent of blacks to 47 percent of whites. The poll was conducted in the spring for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Washington research group that specializes in black issues.
''It's common sense; the poorest people want help,'' said Janie Perry, administrator of the Watch-Care Academy, one of two all-black private schools that opened here recently. ''Minority children are the ones doing the worst in public schools. But parents have no money for alternatives.''
Although court challenges are legion, voucher proposals are being prepared in about half of the nation's 50 states. The plans run the gamut from bills in state legislatures to proposals for state constitutional amendments to initiatives by local school boards.
Only a handful of voucher programs have been established. The nation's two largest, in Milwaukee and Cleveland, serve low-income, largely black and Hispanic children.
The program in Cleveland covers 3,000 children, while the Milwaukee program, launched in 1990, covers 15,000. Reading and math scores have improved for children participating in both programs. Last summer, Harvard University researchers surveyed parents of children receiving vouchers in Cleveland and reported that two-thirds were ''very satisfied'' with the program.
In the black community and in civil rights organizations, vouchers appear to be deepening a generational and income divide between the older, more affluent leadership and the younger, more impoverished rank and file. Last summer, for example, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People voted to oppose vouchers.
But, in the poll for the Joint Center, vouchers for private and parochial education were supported by 86 percent of black respondents between the ages of 26 and 35. In contrast, only 19 percent of blacks 65 and older supported vouchers. The greatest support for vouchers came from poor blacks -- 70 percent of those earning less that $15,000 advocate such plans. Support dwindled to about 50 percent among those making over $35,000.
Undaunted, the N.A.A.C.P., teachers' unions and Democratic politicians have led anti-voucher rallies around the nation. They argue that vouchers will drain public funds and the best students from already beleaguered public schools.
''Instead of abandoning our schools, we should continue to support proven reform efforts,'' President Clinton warned in September before the Senate voted to block a voucher experiment for the District of Columbia. ''I will veto any legislation that damages our commitment to public education.''
But some Democrats are breaking ranks. Representative Floyd Flake, a New York Democrat and member of the Congressional Black Caucus, was a vocal supporter of efforts to create a $7 million voucher program for 2,000 poor children in Washington.
Fueling some black dissatisfaction is the end of busing to promote integration, and the resegregation of many public schools.
''There has been a fundamental fear that has existed among black folks,'' said Mr. Rogers, who went to public schools here in the 1970's. ''I said, 'O.K., if I send my kid across town, they'll be likely to put money in. But if the schools are resegregated, they will be less likely to put in resources.' ''
In Denver, the end of busing two years ago coincided with a perception of general decline in academic performance in public schools.
Last month, the first districtwide reading and writing scores for 4,700 fourth graders illustrated just how low minority achievement is in the schools. The results showed 58 percent of white students were proficient in reading and 31 percent were proficient in writing. Among black and Hispanic students, 24 percent were proficient in reading and 10 percent in writing.
Even before those scores were released, the parents of black and Hispanic students, who account for three-quarters of the 68,000 in the system, were widely dissatisfied.