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Account Name: Sport Drucks Eschweiler GmbH & Co KG Dpt. Prolaxshop.com
Bank Name: Sparkasse, Aachen
If you have any questions relating to prepayment for orders via bank transfer or any other means, please don't hesitate to contact us either by e-mail at email@example.com, using the "contact us" link at the top right of every page on our website, or by phone on any of the numbers listed under "Service Hotline" at the bottom of our webpages.
For payments using bank transfer, please use the IBAN and SWIFT/BIC codes as required by your bank.
You do not necessarily need to use the entire company name in your transfer (we realise that space is limited on banking forms), but please use as much of it as you can, starting from the beginning!
Gift Vouchers/Store Credit are purchased just like any other item in our store. You can pay for them using the stores standard payment method(s). Once purchased the value of the Gift Voucher will be added to your own personal Store Credit Account. If you have funds in your Store Credit Account, you will notice that the amount now shows in the Shopping Cart box, and also provides a link to a page where you can send the Gift Voucher to some one via email.
To send a Gift Voucher that you have purchased, you need to go to our Send Gift Voucher Page. You can
find the link to this page in the Shopping Cart Box in the right hand column of
each page.
When you send a Gift Voucher, you need to specify the following:
The name of the person you are sending the Gift Voucher to.
The email address of the person you are sending the Gift Voucher to.
The amount you want to send. (Note you don\'t have to send the full amount that is in your Gift Voucher Account.)
A short message which will apear in the email.
Please ensure that you have entered all of the information correctly, although you will be given the opportunity to change this as much as you want before the email is actually sent.
If you have funds in your Store Credit Account, you can use those funds to purchase other items in our store. At the checkout stage, an extra box will appear. Clicking this box will apply those funds in your Store Credit Account. Please note, you will still have to select another payment method if there is not enough in your Store Credit Account to cover the cost of your purchase. If you have more funds in your Store Credit Account than the total cost of your purchase the balance will be left in you Store Credit Account for the future.
If you receive a Gift Voucher by email it will contain details of who sent
you the Gift Voucher, along with possibly a short message from them. The Email
will also contain the Gift Voucher Number. It is probably a good idea to print
out this email for future reference. You can now redeem the Gift Voucher in
two ways:
For any queries regarding the Gift Voucher System, please contact the store by email at 'firstname.lastname@example.com'.
Please make sure you give as much information as possible in the email.
December 11th 2013:
We are now offering a flat-rate shipping method for the EU based on the cost of each order - the rates for which are listed below. Please scroll down the page for further general information about deliveries within the EU.
Shipping costs for orders up to € 50,00 to be delivered in Germany:
Orders over € 50,00 for Germany will now be sent free of charge except for Goals and other very heavy items where we have to pay a supplementary handling fee to our Shippers.
This extra cost will be advised at the time of order wherever possible.
Orders up to a value of € 150,00 for all other countries in the EU will be delivered for a shipping fee of:
Orders above € 150,00 for EU countries except Germany will be sent without shipping charges, except in the case of Goals /heavier items as mentioned above
This EU zone covers the following countries:
Czech Republic
Republic of Ireland
The Netherlands
United Kingdom
NOTE: Certain smaller items or smaller packages may be available to be shipped at a shipping cost lower than that listed above as they can be sent through the Postal system.
Please contact us for confirmation of this.
If in such a case you pay for your order by credit card, any excess shipping will be refunded to that same card after the goods have been shipped, otherwise we will confirm the correct shipping costs and total amount to be paid before you make your bank transfer or PayPal payment to us.
NOTE: As mentioned above - if you order certain larger items, your delivery may be subject to a fixed delivery charge instead of the delivery charges listed previously. Where this is the case, the fixed delivery charge will be clearly stated on the product information page.
This condition applies mainly to Goals for which (since October 2007) we have been charged an additional 35 Euro per item handling charge by our freight forwarders.
This charge will be applied even if your order has exceeded our "delivery free of shipping charges" ceiling of either 50 Euros for Germany or 150 Euros to other EU countries.
Please contact us to confirm shipping charges and tax arrangements for deliveries to any country outside the EU.
This covers shipments to countries such as Switzerland, Norway, Serbia plus other defined economic areas such as Gibraltar, the Channel Islands and the Canary Islands amongst others. Except in specially-agreed cases we will generally not ship goods to the USA as the sales agreement we have with our suppliers/manufacturers is for Europe only.
* Orders to be delivered to Germany with a total order value greater than EUR 50,00 normally bear no shipping charge**.
* Orders to be delivered to all other EU countries with a total order value greater than EUR 150,00 normally bear no shipping charge**.
**We reserve the right to charge a fee for shipping of extremely heavy or bulky items such as goals. This fee is currently 35 Euros per Goal/Lax Wall Rebounder and is charged directly to us by our freight forwarder.
All prices for merchandise and shipping rates shown on our website include the appropriate German rate of Mw.St. (sales tax) @ 7% for magazines or 19% for all other items.
To work out how long it will take to get your stuff, add the availability of the item onto the delivery time.
* Normal delivery time 2-3 days.
* Delivery time for not in stock items 3-4 weeks.
Remember to check availabilities carefully if you order more than one item, as you will normally not receive any part of your order until all the items are available. In the case of pre-order or long availability items, it is recommended that you request separate deliveries as items become available (extra shipping cost at our discretion).
We kindly ask you to advise all guarantee requests and returns of merchandise by e-mail to before you ship them to us. You may be provided with a returns number, which will facilitate quick processing of your request.
Warranty returns are normally accepted subject to reasonable usage criteria and inside the time limits set by the equipment manufacturers which are generally 6 months from time of purchase. Please contact us if you have any questions.
Returns of unwanted purchases that are made within the Consumer Protection (Distance selling) Regulations online purchasing "cooling off" period of 7 working days after the receipt of the goods will normally be accepted.
The intention to return such goods should communicated to us in writing or by e-mail and the goods should be returned to us preferably unopened or at least unused with their original packaging intact wherever possible. Shipping costs for the return of unwanted purchase should normally be borne by the purchaser up to an order value of 40,00 Euros, thereafter the costs are borne by us. The total amount paid for the purchase (including any shipping costs) will be refunded to the purchaser within 30 days of the goods being safely received at our offices.


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Tag Archives: fifa 17 keygen no download
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Opinion: Guns of New York
New York City police commissioner Ray Kelly on whether stricter gun control laws really help prevent crime. Photo credit: Getty Images.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... back to Opinion Journal why Mary Kissel ... new York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled a twelve million dollar Gun Control ad campaign this past weekend ... the deceased focusing on the right problem ... York City police Commissioner Ray Kelly continues our conversation Mr Commissioner ... what the guns ... are used in most violent crimes he and the Surce all weapons ... or shortly ahead of us ... um ... I think is one of the band is a good thing overseas than it ... did in Congress ... but the ... only about three percent of the gun crimes in New York City or ... court was full weapons of ... that this majority of ... course can go steps the ... concern that that we have a ... the recall could design a pipeline that is the rampant guns taken to New York City ... ninety percent of the guns have become skinnier coming from ... from other states many southern states the Virginia was fifteen year ... old Pennsylvania to our core West ... and Florida ... guns come in here and ... an alarming rate we do know what to ... curtail but don't you ... go to don't have a comprehensive ... national strategy ... of going to continue going from there it's already very very difficult to own a gun in New York City so what lesson says that teach you about ... the effectiveness of gun control well you do when you can build and own ... up ... to every state and New York ... laws and regulations we be unfortunate ... but agrees to oversee and toes so that's where we needed a National ... Strategy initial approach for ... the mayor is trying to push the members of ... Congress to ... do the right thing in his mind and in my mind as well ... as pushing for ... universal background checks we think that will make some good ... there's no panacea ... we're going to have a problem with guns for a long time to come ... we have anywhere from twenty fifty to three hundred million guns ... in this country and they are not a wasting asset been going to be there ... so it is no easy easy answers that we've got about a minute left what is New York City doing right that say the city of Chicago is doing wrong all we can compare associate any of the city because different demographics difficult for the ... wheat single into right here is proactive policing strategies ... of ... some Christie is part of it but it has been turning up the love that the total answer ... of who we have operation impact will we have of this offices ... in concentrated form here is Lucy despite the footings and ... violence we're using a crew cut which is of ... a program to go after these young gangs thirty percent of the shootings in New York City ... was all from these couture or the most easily it again ... so when taking them one directly with that with a somewhat complex copper isn't over ... we think that's why our murders of them another thirty percent ... of the dishes so ... that we have more information when two weeks more to please sing even though were down six thousand police officers who will win or eleven years ago ... so ... as you said we didn't win something ... something right he would continue ... as much as we can no longer not ... impeded by the courts ... to keep New York City the safest big city in America keeping York safe as long as the court held stock in ... your city police Commissioner Ray Kelly ... thank you so much for being with us ... E-mail us at Opinion Journal Live that WSJ dot com Mr comments ... I'm Mary Kissel with the editorial board ... thanks for watching ...


text: crankcall 191 #1 Posted December 10, 2018 we dont have an issue often, we are usually tied to a dock overnite and usually have shore power. But morning coffee is very important. I dont want to mess around like we do at home grinding beans and such, it needs to be simple. I have a BBQ and a small crappy propane single burner. I'm leaning towards a Keurig , that way someone could have hot chocolate or flavored stuff if needed. My question is what are other people doing, and could i run a coffee maker through an inverter off two batteries ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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Recipe from Carl Wicker in Chapin, S.C.
Prep Time and Total Time: Start to finish about 3 to 4 hours
4 lbs pork ribs
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp Texas Pete hot sauce
1 tsp oil (to grease baking pan)
(For easier cleanup, I usually spray my roasting pan spray with a butter spray, cover it with tin foil, and then spray it again.)
1. Place washed ribs in greased roasting pan, and bake uncovered at 350 F for 45 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower the flame and simmer for one more minute.
3. Remove roasting pan from oven and drain juices. Spoon sauce over over ribs and bake covered for 1 1/2 hours and uncovered for 30 minutes longer, basting once.
*DISCLAIMER*: The information contained in or provided through this site section is intended for general consumer understanding and education only and is not intended to be and is not a substitute for professional advice. Use of this site section and any information contained on or provided through this site section is at your own risk and any information contained on or provided through this site section is provided on an "as is" basis without any representations or warranties.


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|Up a level
Sundaram, Venky and Tummala, Rao and Wiedenman, Boyd and Liu, Fuhan and Raj, Markondeya P and Abothu, Isaac Robin and Bhattacharya, Swapan and Varadarajan, Mahesh and Bongio, Ed and Sherwood, Walt (2006) Recent Advances in Low CTE and High Density System-on-a-Package (SOP) Substrate with Thin Film Component Integration. In: 2006. Proceedings. 56th Electronic Components and Technology Conference, 2006, San Diego, CA.


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Ten things that I love…
- Kawaii
- Stamps
- Paper
- Writing for my blog
- Stickers
- Coloring
- Folding flowers
- Embroidery
- Washi tape
- Cats
I love these postcards from Flexa paint. I like the colors and the funny names for each paint color. Stylish pink is one of my favorites! I made these cards for a pen pal. Just to tell her something about myself in a different way. I liked them so much that I thought I'd make a blog post of it. Hope it will give you some ideas and inspiration! See for details below.


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Are you one of the thousands of Canadians who work or volunteer with children and youth? Do you know:
Acting Out aims to help you answer "yes" to these questions. It describes the causes of aggressive behaviour in young people, and discusses approaches to handling it.
Aggression among young people is an important social issue. Fortunately, early intervention and treatment can significantly reduce the risk of harmful outcomes. This book:
Acting Out is a valuable tool for anyone who works with young people, including teachers and school administrators, day-care and recreation centre workers, youth shelter workers, social service workers, sports coaches, youth leaders, camp counsellors and directors.


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Antitrust Case Filings
Antitrust Case Filings
To filter the list of cases, select desired options from the left navigation pane.
View the list of NAICS and SIC industry codes used by the Division. To view all industry codes, visit Census.gov.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1
|Case Open Date
|Incident Date
|Case Type
|Federal Court
|Industry Code
|U.S. v. Bechtel Corp., et al.
|January 16, 1976
|Civil Non-Merger
|California, Northern District
|All Other Heavy Construction, Bridge, Tunnel, & Elevated Highway, Heavy Construction, NEC, Highway and Street Construction, Water, Sewer, and Utility Lines


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Star Frontiers: Crash on Volturnus
by, 08-27-2018 at 12:36 PM (4803 Views)
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
(After play testing Star Frontiers with the scenario Crash on Volturnus from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday with Jeff Tolle, Tim, RJ, Derick, Ryan, and Bethany.)
A small group of six had been hired by the government of Truanes Star to carry out a preliminary exploration of a newly discovered planet. The group included two Dralasites: short, rubbery aliens that had no bones nor hard body parts. The one who called himself William the Dralasite was an environmentalist while the other, named Autobot, was a psycho-social specialist. The lone Yazirian in the group, Cornelius, was a tall, thin biped with a simian face and two large flaps of skin growing on either side of his body. He was the computer specialist. A Vrusk named Schweppes, one of those centaur-like insects, was the robotics specialist in their party. The group was rounded out by two humans, a male doctor named Sir Neville Butterfield, and a female technician who merely called herself Damsel.
The six had been hired to journey by Starliner to Volturnus in the frontier and map as much of the planet as possible. The government was especially interested in contacting and studying any intelligent races living on the planet. The group also had orders that if they were to meet any intelligent race, they were to make friendly contact and learn as much about them as possible.
They were also told that the first expedition to Volturnus had disappeared without a trace as soon as it entered the Zebulon system. If possible, this secondary group was to locate and rescue any survivors of that mission.
The background report on the Zebulon star system that they were briefed with indicated that the system was first investigated 20 years before by an unmanned exploration probe launched by Truanes Star. The probe had indicated that Volturnus was the only inhabitable planet in the system and that great mineral wealth might have existed on the planet in the form of molybdenum, tungsten, gold, and other heavy metals. Truanes Star had soon made legal claim to the ownership of Volturnus and completed exploration of a star route to Zebulon, five light years distant, the year before.
The first manned expedition to Volturnus from Truanes Star was launched nine months before. The four member team of specialists was instructed to set up an outpost, gather data on possible colonization and mining of Volturnus, and report back. However, after passing into the star system, the starship carrying the specialists was never heard from again.
The four members of the lost expedition included Commander Louis V. Jameson of Truanes Star Military Exploration Force, a combat veteran; Geeko-sur-Mang, a Yazirian professor of geology at Capital University, and a recognized authority in geophysics and specialist in planetary crust formation; Itklikdil, a Vrusk cartographer with Vrusk Atlas Manufacturing Corporation; and Grod, a Dralasite technician in the Truanes Star Civil Service, a developer of the hydro-magnetic stabilization system in Dralasite air cars, and author of The Metaphysical Foundations of Dralasite Morality.
All were well known and well-respected in their fields.
So, were the B-team, Autobot said upon looking over the credentials of the first expedition.
The report also indicated that Truanes Star had found itself short of personnel and funds due to colonial troubles and associated police action on Cygnus Omnicron IX recently. They had hired the B-team, as Autobot had put it, a team of unknown adventurers, to mount the relief expedition to Volturnus. The government had provided them with a minimal amount of equipment, and transportation to Volturnus on the commandeered starliner Serena Dawn. After dropping them on Volturnus, the Serena Dawn would return in three months to transport them, and with luck, the original exploration team, back to Truanes Star.
As they boarded the starliner that would take them to Volturnus, the steward gave them each an interior plan of the starship and urged them to study it carefully. He also searched their luggage and placed all weapons and power packs in the weapons locker on the bridge. Williams electrosword; Autobots gyrojet pistol and rifle; Sir Nevilles automatic pistol, fragmentation grenade, and sword; Damsels doze grenade, poison grenade, and tangler grenade, Schweppes gyrojet rifle; and Cornelius weapons were all confiscated and locked away for the duration of the voyage. They were allowed access to the tool kits that would be used on Volturnus. However, the stewards assistant placed the military skeinsuits given to them by the government of Truanes Star in the cargo hold as well.
It took the starliner five days to cross the five light years to the Zebulon star system. In that time, they toured the rest of the ship. It contained recreation areas, the observation dome, the galley, and first class living quarters, and fuel storage. They were also given instructions that in the event they had to evacuate the ship, they were to proceed immediately to the nearest escape bay where two of the Serena Dawns lifeboats were stored. Each could hold up to eight persons. If it became necessary to use the lifeboats, they had been instructed not to open the hatch until all persons using the lifeboats were assembled and ready to enter them because they automatically launched one minute after the hatch was open. The boat would then seek the nearest inhabitable planet and land in the first safe spot.
* * *
William the Dralasite was in his cabin on the fifth day of their voyage, preparing to meet with the others and ready their shuttle to the surface, when he heard the sound of scuffling outside of his cabin. After a couple of seconds, he heard what sounded like a man crying Help! A loud thump followed the mans cry.
William had three arms at that time and so grabbed the cabin chair with the arm jutting out behind him and moved to the door, pressing button to open it. He made sure to keep the chair well behind him and low so that if there was trouble, it would be hidden.
In the hallway was a Vrusk. Eight legs grew from its abdomen, four on each side. Its torso was upright in front of its abdomen and the creatures head was that of an insect.
Hello, hello, William said. What seems to be the problem sir?
A man whom William recognized as his steward lay on the floor under the creature which was pounding on him with both of its hands. Blood was splattered on the floor and walls of the corridor outside of Williams cabin.
Autobot! Transform! William yelled.
He knew the other Dralasites cabin was just down the companionway.
The Vrusk rushed William and the Dralasite brought the still-hidden chair over his head and brought it down onto the Vrusks head. The creature folded like a deck of cards under the onslaught, knocked out by the massive blow.
Autobot! William yelled again.
He could only assume the worst. He quickly searched the Vrusk and found a lot of blood on the creatures hands. Otherwise he had nothing of interest on him. He grabbed the unconscious steward and dragged the man to Autobots door. Once he was close to the cabin, he could hear the sound of Dralasite vibratory music from within. He pounded on the door.
* * *
Autobot heard the pounding on his cabin door. At first, he thought it would be in beat with the music but it quickly degenerated out of that rhythm. He cursed and then opened the cabin door with one of his four arms to find William there with an unconscious steward. A damaged chair was in another of Williams appendages behind him.
He gave William a look.
These two were in a fight, William told him, gesturing behind himself with the chair. He beat up the steward pretty well. We need to get the medics over here.
Autobot looked out the cabin door and into the corridor. The dark veins that met at his eyespots were not meant for color but he recognized the blood on the floor and wall near the unconscious Vrusk. He was confused, as Vrusk were usually very calm and not prone to fly off the handle. If it had been a Yazirian involved in the fight, even Cornelius, it would not have surprised him. That it was a Vrusk was uncommon.
William suggested they put the two in Autobots cabin.
Do you mind if I use your cabin to get to the other corridor? William asked.
Go ahead, Autobot replied.
William put the steward down on the bunk and as Autobot went to retrieve the unconscious Vrusk, William opened the opposite cabin door into the connecting corridor and stepped out. He saw three more people he didnt recognize. One, a Yazirian, carried a bullwhip and stood at the top end of the corridor. The second, a Dralasite that had formed one of his legs into a peg-leg and wore a patch over one eyespot, was armed with a club and stood at the junction of the corridor leading from the airlock and the corridor running between the passenger-class cabins. The third, a human who wore silver shock gloves wired to a wide power belt, stood at the bottom of the corridor nearest to William.
William cursed when he realized all three had noticed him though they all seemed surprised to see him.
Hey! the man with the power gloves yelled.
Three more out here! William said over his shoulder. I need help.
He headed up the corridor towards the center pirate, banging on one of the cabin doors as he ran by.
Cornelius! Get out here! Trouble! he said.
He ran past the surprised Dralasite pirate and banged on the next cabin door where he knew another of his compatriots was lodged.
Human! Get out here! he said. Neville!
Autobot, by then in his cabin with the unconscious Vrusk, shoved the creature under the bed as best he could.
* * *
Both Sir Neville Butterfield and Damsel had been in the same cabin, talking very intimately.
What the devil? Neville said.
They both began to pull discarded clothing back on.
* * *
In his room down the hall, Schweppes heard someone running down the corridor, yelling and banging on the walls or cabin doors. He turned off the monitor on which hed been watching a Vrusk drama and sighed.
* * *
Autobot stepped into the corridor and spotted the three men. He ran down the corridor to the Dralasite pirate and was pursued by the human at the bottom end of the corridor. The Yazirian at the top of the corridor rushed William.
William ducked under the Dralasite pirates club and the Yazirian behind him tried to whip him without success as well. The man with the shock gloves grabbed Autobot from behind and the Dralasite groaned as electricity coursed into him.
William brought the chair over his head, striking the Dralasite pirate on the head. The creatures head actually went down into his body, he was struck so hard, and he collapsed to the floor, unconscious, his club rolling away from one of his now senseless hands.
Autobot spun around. The man grinned evilly at him and he punched the human in the head. The man stumbled backwards and laughed at him.
Lets go clubbing, Autobot quipped as he picked up the club that lay next to the fallen Dralasite. William, tickled by the wonderful pun, gave Autobot a big smile and a thumbs up.
A door opened by the Yazirian with the bullwhip and Sir Neville Butterfield poked his head out.
My God! he said. Hes got a whip!
Down the corridor by the man with the shock gloves, Cornelius door opened at that same moment and the Yazirian leapt out, scratching at the man and slamming an open fist into his ribs. The man was busy dodging Autobots club and ignored him.
You first! the man with the power gloves said to Autobot. The Dralasite ducked to one side.
William passed the chair from the hand in the front to the hand in back, swinging it wildly at the whip-wielding Yazirian, who ducked. The chair slammed against the wall next to Nevilles door, almost hitting the man in the head, and it shattered to pieces, leaving two large chunks of plastic in his hands. Neville shrieked and the bullwhip snapped high above Williams head.
Oh Lord! Neville said.
He closed the door.
* * *
Neville crossed the room.
Brigands and brawlers! Damsel yelled.
He pressed the button to open the door that led to the opposite corridor. It slid open with a hiss and he peeked out. That companionway was empty.
Damsel ran out past him and headed towards the bridge.
No Damsel, dont leave! he called after her.
He went to the airlock door nearby and manipulated the switches to open it. Then he closed his own cabin door.
* * *
Damsel ran into Schweppes, yelled Run! and passed him as well. He followed her towards the bridge. They stopped at the security door that led forward and she began to work on opening it.
* * *
The human gripped Autobot and there was a hissing crackle. The stink of burned Dralasite flesh and ozone filled the corridor as Autobot cried out Shocking! Then the Dralasite clubbed the man in the head, though he still did not fall.
Though tragic, William found himself almost laughing at the clever pun. Cornelius rolled his eyes and wondered if he should bother to save the clown and then tried to kill the man with the shock gloves with his bare hands.
The bullwhip cracked again, still too high, and William clubbed the Yazirian who wielded it, beating him about the head and shoulders. The whip snapped near him again.
You just like the sound of that thing, William said to him. You dont know how to use it, do you?
Shut up! the Yazirian yelled.
Autobot backed from the man with the shock gloves even as Cornelius tried to beat on him without hurting him.
Fine! the man shrieked, and turned towards the Yazirian.
Cornelius punched at the man without effect.
Float like a Dralasite, swing like Ickpak-Mustala! Autobot shouted.
He swung and missed, unlike the famous Dralasite cricketer.
The man reached over to Cornelius and gripped him by the collar, burning him and sending his hair standing on end. The stink of burning hair and flesh filled the cabin and corridor.
Hurts, dont it? the man said to him.
Down the corridor, William smashed one of his clubs to splinters as it struck Nevilles door. He dropped the shattered weapon as the Yazirian whipped at him and still did not make contact.
Youre getting closer, he said, helpfully.
Shut up! the Yazirian screamed at him.
Should I put a cigarette in my mouth for you? William replied.
Then he beat the Yazirian with his club, leaving the creature badly injured.
Try taking a couple of steps back, he quipped. Maybe youre better at a distance.
The Yazirian stepped back and then whipped at him and William charged at the creature and beat him in the head again, receiving a whipping in return.
Oh, did you hit me? William said. I didnt feel it.
At the other end of the corridor, Cornelius couldnt even hurt his opponent, who blocked every blow.
What kind of Yazirian are you? the man said. Dont you know how to rage? You suck!
Cornelius ducked under the mans blows. The man turned back towards Autobot.
Im going to show you how my stand-up comedy knocks em out, the Dralasite said to him.
Cornelius glared at the creature and then Autobot struck the man with his club. When Cornelius tore at the man, he blocked every blow and grabbed Autobot, blasting him with the shock gloves.
* * *
The security door in front of Damsel slid open, revealing a long, dimly-lit, empty corridor.
Ill get it. Run ahead! she said to Schweppes.
She began to work on making sure the door would stay open as the Vrusk headed down the corridor. It dead-ended in another security door and he knocked on it. There was no answer.
* * *
Cornelius swung ineffectually at the man again but he was ignoring the creature now. The man, instead, grabbed Autobot and burned him again. With a yell, the Dralasite went down in a smoking heap.
Thats enough damned lousy jokes out of you buddy! the man yelled, laughing.
Down the corridor, William slammed the club down on the Yazirian and the creature went down in a heap. He turned to see that Autobot was down and looked dead.
Medic! William yelled.
* * *
Sir Neville had entered the airlock when he heard a shout for a medic and turned, opened the door to his room, and then ran through the cabin, grabbing his medical kit, and running to the opposite door.
* * *
William opened the door to Nevilles cabin, saw him run in and get his medical kit, and then the Dralasite moved down the corridor towards the man with the shock gloves. The man moved away from the Yazirian in the doorway and then readied himself further down the corridor.
Sir Neville stepped out into the hallway. A cursory examination showed him Autobot on the floor in the corridor next to another fallen Dralasite he didnt recognize. Williams back arm was pointing at Autobot. Nearby was an unknown Yazirian.
Dont worry snotman, Ill save you! Sir Neville yelled dramatically.
William rushed the pirate even as Cornelius disappeared into the cabin.
Bring it Dralasite! the man yelled.
The two scuffled in the hall for a few moments.
* * *
Damsel had finished jamming the security door and headed to where Schweppes was banging on the far door. She nudged him aside and started to work at opening that door as well.
* * *
Cornelius had crossed his cabin to the opposite door, opened it, and then ran around the adjoining corridors until he came to the bottom end of the corridor where the man and William were still fighting. William clubbed the man in the face.
This is how you hurt somebody! he said.
The man stumbled but did not fall.
That all you got? he said.
I have eight more, William said.
Cornelius rushed the man from behind and tried to slash at him without effect.
What the hell? the man yelled. Get off me monkey boy!
He tried to burn William but the Dralasite ducked to one side.
Hold still, both of you! the man yelled.
He was obviously badly hurt.
* * *
You dont have a leg to stand on! William said.
He swung at the man but the man ducked. Then Cornelius slammed him in the back of the head and he went down. William unhooked the power belt and removed the shock gloves from the man, putting them on himself. He found that the power belt had an LED display that read 34 SEU. He knew that shock gloves took 2 SEU each time they connected.
Cornelius got Williams club and held it in one hand as Autobot stumbled to his feet after Nevilles ministrations.
* * *
The security door opened for Damsel and she saw that the officers quarters beyond were in terrible shape. Someone had knocked over a table and the chairs were scattered and on their sides. The mattress had been pulled from a bunk and thrown to one side as well. The room was a mess and no one was within.
The other door, they knew, led to one of the two bridges of the ship.
* * *
As Neville headed back towards his cabin, he heard the pressure door to the nearby airlock sealing shut again.
Damn it! he muttered. It took so long to open.
William, meanwhile, beat the unconscious Dralasite and the Vrusk in the cabin nearby to death. He had found the Vrusk crammed under the bunk, his legs still sticking out.
Oh Lord! Sir Neville said. So brutal!
When they finally got together, they realized that two of their party were missing. Sir Neville said that they had gone to look for their gear. After only a short discussion, they moved to the nearest airlock and got the pressure door open.
* * *
Schweppes was moving the mattress and the chairs into the security doorway in an attempt to keep that door open. Then he moved to the door that led to the bridge and listened to it. He could hear talking, rough speech, someone laughing, and the sound of something being knocked over.
The ship is ours! he heard.
It didnt sound like the captain.
They left the room, going to the nearest airlock.
* * *
Sir Neville led them out of the airlock to the door they knew led to the cargo bay. Then he stopped and gestured for William to go ahead of him.
Here it is, he said.
William pressed the button to open the door to the cargo bay and was unpleasantly surprised to see that there was Vrusk within armed with a small, bulky weapon that he recognized as a gyrojet pistol. The creature looked alert and aimed at the doorway, ready to fire.
There were many boxes piled everywhere, with just enough room to walk between. There were also several rows of cargo cabinets that didnt appear to be locked.
William rushed into the room and the Vrusk fired a shot. The tiny missile flew out into the corridor and exploded against the wall. Neville followed the Dralasite into the room and another missile flew by and blasted the wall. The doctor took cover.
Oh Lord! he said. Hes shooting!
Cornelius ran into the room and rushed the Vrusk. Another gyrojet missile flew by the Yazirian and exploded against the wall. Autobot followed him into the room and the two attacked the Vrusk as William came around the back of the cargo containers and grabbed the Vrusks thorax, the shock gloves burning the creature. Autobot and Cornelius found their clubs just bouncing off its exoskeleton.
* * *
As Schweppes and Damsel crossed the airlock to a door to their left, they heard what sounded like the small explosions of gyrojet missiles coming from another door to the airlock about 90 degrees around the round chamber from the door where they stood.
I dont want to go in there! Damsel said.
They worked on getting the airlock door open.
* * *
William reached for the Vrusk and, just as he was about to grab him, Autobot clubbed the thing in the head. William ended up grabbing the Vrusks unconscious body. He let out a yell for wasting the charges.
The Vrusk was unconscious.
I found a computoy! Sir Neville called out.
* * *
As the airlock cycled, Schweppes was certain he heard Sir Nevilles voice from the same direction that they had heard the gyrojet missiles a few moments before. The two headed into the nearby corridor away from both sounds.
* * *
Autobot picked up the fallen gyrojet pistol and checked the weapons ammunition count. The LED read seven missiles within. He also noticed that the handle of the gun was damaged, as if it had been used to beat someone. He tried to fix the handle by beating it on the unconscious Vrusk. It didnt fix the weapon but did finish off the Vrusk.
They began to search for their equipment.
William found large machine gears in a cargo box. They didnt seem to have any value or immediate use. Cornelius found their skeinsuits and called out what hed found. Sir Neville found a crate of hand axes and called out.
William threw a Dralasite skeinsuit over his back even as Autobot started to suit up in his own. Sir Neville found several high-fashion human dresses.
Oh excellent! he said.
William had found 12 packets of dehydrated food and read on the side that each packet would feed six people for a day. They were safe for all the major races. Cornelius found and pocketed 10 laser rifle clips.
* * *
Schweppes and Damsel arrived at the door of the cargo bay and opened it up. The Yazirian within was armed with a hand axe and looked surprised to see them. He had been caught looking into one of the boxes.
The Yazirian rushed forward towards them and both Schweppes and Damsel tried to punch the creature as he reached the door. They didnt appear to do any appreciable harm. Schweppes tried to grab the creature without luck and Damsel attempted to punch him again. Neither hurt him.
The Yazirian swung his axe at Schweppes but the Vrusk ducked under the blow.
* * *
As Autobot suited up, he thought he heard the sound of fighting somewhere forward. He looked over at Cornelius and the Yazirian had obviously heard it too. Autobot continued putting the skeinsuit on as quickly as he could even as Cornelius bolted for the far door of the cargo bay.
Sir Neville, meanwhile, had found some more laser rifle clips.
I found our laser rifle clips! he said. Theres just clips. Theres no rifles.
William had found a prize Vrusk statue. He tucked the heavy thing into his belt. Then Neville found Vrusk body wax and William found another crate of hand axes.
Theres a lot of axes here, Sir Neville said.
I need a wheelbarrow, William replied.
He tucked five hand axes into his belt.
How many axes are on this ship? William asked.
Well need a lot, Sir Neville replied. There are trees where were going.
* * *
Damsel struck the Yazirian in the face with her fist and he stumbled back a step. More blows were exchanged without any appreciable effect. Then Schweppes punched the villain again but only harmed him a little bit. They continued to fight, all of them avoiding being badly hurt.
* * *
Once Autobot finished suiting up, he moved out to the corridor in the direction where the noises had been coming from. He activated the pressure door and then returned to the room to search along with William and Sir Neville. He was unsure where Cornelius had gone. He had headed the opposite direction.
Meanwhile, William had found a holographic fireworks projector.
Something to impress the natives, he said.
Sir Neville found a chronocom, a combination watch, calculator, and communicator. It was somewhat useless alone, however.
I found a watch, he said.
Then he tossed it aside.
* * *
Cornelius had gone down the other corridor, through an airlock that they hadnt been to before, and then into the corridor opposite the other cargo hold. He thought the cries he heard earlier might have come from there.
He got through the airlock and headed for the door to the cargo hold.
* * *
William found another prize Vrusk statue. Then Autobot came into the room and searched one of the cargo containers, finding chocolate anchovies in aspic. He picked them up. Meanwhile, Sir Neville found boxes of ball bearings.
The search of the cargo hold continued. William found Yazirian punching bags, deflated. He took some of them.
Youre being ridiculous, Sir Neville said, finding more ball bearings.
Autobot found 12 packets of dehydrated food and tucked them into his skeinsuit, then left the room. He found his way to the airlock and entered, moving to the other pressure door and activating it. It slowly started to cycle and open.
* * *
The Yazirian struck Schweppes with his axe, cracking his exoskeleton. Schweppes screamed out profanities at the creature, who just grinned back at him. He backed further into the room and the two pressed their attack.
* * *
William ran out of the cargo hold and through the door to the airlock as it was closing, and went through the other open door. Cornelius was just opening another door and so he slipped by the Yazirian and into the cargo hold.
* * *
Sir Neville found another chronocom in the last unopened cargo container. He looked around the room to find that he was alone.
Im coming! he called, and headed out the open door.
* * *
Schweppes tried to grab the Yazirian in a wrestling hold but missed him. Damsel swung a fist at the creature as well but didnt connect. Then they spotted William come through the door on the other end of the hold, rush the Yazirian and try to grab the creature with the shock gloves. The pirate noticed him and ducked to one side.
As Cornelius moved to flank the creature, the pirate moved back into the corner and readied his axe for any takers. Cornelius rushed the creature and hit him with a club. William moved into position and flung his axe at the Yazirian, missing completely.
Meanwhile, Schweppes and Damsel started to search the lockers. Schweppes found crates of hand axes while Damsel found a computoy. Schweppes next found chronocom and Damsel found a full set of Galacticana Encyclopedia. Sir Neville came into the room, saw them, and pulled out a locker of his own, finding Vrusk body wax.
This is so gross, he muttered.
Autobot appeared in the doorway and looked into the room. Then he moved closer to the combatants to get a better shot with his gyrojet pistol. At that moment, William grabbed the Yazirian with his shock gloves, making the creature twitch and burn. The stench was almost overwhelming but the creature did not fall. As Cornelius tried, ineffectually, to injure him with his club, the pirate swung at him. He ducked and the hand axe slammed into the wall, dented beyond repair.
Autobot aimed and fired at the Yazirian. The gyrojet missile struck the wall behind the pirate. Then William grabbed him with the shock gloves. He screamed and jerked around as Cornelius missed again. The pirate got his bearings and swung at Cornelius again but he easily ducked back and out of the way.
The other three were still searching. Sir Neville had found another box with 12 packs of dehydrated food. Damsel found costume jewelry and started to put it on. Schweppes found yet more Vrusk body wax.
The Yazirian turned to William and swung at him, missing him completely.
Right on the chin, William quipped. What I failed to tell you is: Dralasites dont have chins.
Thats not funny! the Yazirian screamed.
Then William grabbed the creature, shocking him again. He fell back, smoking and his hair standing on end.
Autobot tried to convince the pirate to surrender but he didnt listen to him.
He just attacked me you son of a *****! he yelled at the Dralasite.
Cornelius backed up and started growling at the Yazirian pirate even as Autobot aimed the gyrojet pistol at the pirate again. The pirate flung his broken axe at the Dralasite but missed completely. Then William grabbed him again with the shock gloves. The Yazirian screamed and jerked before he fell to the floor, smoke coming out of his mouth. Cornelius yelled at the corpse.
Sir Neville found another holographic fireworks projectile even as Damsel found another set of the Galacticana Encyclopedia. Then a third holographic fireworks projector was found. They all set to searching the room as quickly as possible and found another chronocom, another Prize Vrusk statue, more high fashion human dresses, 12 more packs of dehydrated food, more Yazirian punching bags, more chocolate anchovies in aspic, two more holographic fireworks projectors, more large machine gears, and more boxes of ball bearings.
They hadnt found their possessions anywhere.
They realized they had left the skeinsuits in the other cargo hold. Schweppes pointed out that bridge was occupied.
We know there are multiple people on the bridge and they are not friendly, he said.
They decided to get the skeinsuits first. Sir Neville gave Cornelius a shot of biocort and bandaged him up. The Yazirian suggested using the computers to try to take control of the bridge but then remembered that they were separate systems. He told them he might be able to hack into the security system and possibly see the bridge. He also wondered about opening all of the doors between them and the bridge.
Autobot was working on what to do with the ball bearings and realized he could put them in a fist to act like brass knuckles. Damsel suggested putting them into a bag to make a sap. While they talked, Damsel started shoving hand axes in her belt, her boots, and even down her shirt. William tucked five of the hand axes into his belt and donned his skeinsuit.
Sir Neville and Damsel headed back to the other cargo hold and retrieved the skeinsuits. Autobot covered the other door with his gyrojet pistol. Everyone donned their skeinsuits.
They realized that their weapons could be in the weapons locker on the starboard bridge. They also discussed disabling the engines and taking the ship that way or possibly storming one of the two bridges. Sir Neville asked if they could disable the bridge life support from the engine room but Autobot pointed out that only from the bridge could such a thing be done. When asked, he noted that all they could do from the engine room would be to disable momentum. William wanted to get to the weapon locker and get their weapons. Sir Neville mentioned putting on pirate clothing to try to disguise themselves. Schweppes searched the dead pirate for credits but found nothing.
As they talked, they heard a pressure door opening and when they looked around, they saw that William was gone. Sir Neville quickly picked up one of the holographic fireworks projectors and grabbed two axes.
To the bridge! they heard William yell from the starboard corridor. A moment later, there was a violent explosion out in the corridor and then the whine of a sonic stunner. Shrapnel rattled down the corridor and in through the open door.
* * *
As William, loaded down with holographic fireworks projectors, hand axes, Vrusk statues, packets of dehydrated food, Yazirian punching bags, and boxes of anchovies in aspic, looked through the opening pressure door into the airlock, he saw there was a Dralasite and a human standing in the room. The Dralasite had a small, round object in his hand, while the man held a sonic stunner.
As William watched, the Dralasite tossed something into the corridor. William rushed into the airlock at the Dralasite. The grenade went over Williams head and landed in the corridor. A moment later it exploded behind him. Then the human fired the sonic stunner at him but he wasnt stunned.
Little help! William called.
The man with the sonic stunner grinned.
Weve killed anyone with him, he said. Then he moved closer, bringing his sonic stunner to bear.
Suddenly, the rest of the group piled into the large, round airlock. Sir Neville had a can of spray on flesh in his hand. He had dropped the holographic fireworks projectile in the cargo hold. Cornelius crossed the room and put a foot on the airlock door.
William tried to grab the man with the sonic stunner but the nimble fellow danced out of the way. Damsel flung an axe that clattered against the far wall.
Autobot tried to persuade the pirates to give up.
Weve killed all your friends! he said.
You killed my brother? the Dralasite said.
My cousin is dead!?! the man said. You bastard! Ill kill you!
The Dralasite tried to beat on William but he managed to block the blows. The man fired his sonic stunner at him as well but missed completely. Then they both turned towards Autobot.
The Dralasite moved towards Autobot, who fled back into the blackened corridor as the door cycled and closed. William grabbed the man with the sonic stunner, burning him. Cornelius tried to hit the same man with a club but missed him completely. Damsel threw an axe across the room and it struck the far wall.
Sir Neville sprayed plastiflesh on the side of the face of the man with the sonic stunner. The pirate let out a scream, ripping at it, and turned towards him, his face half covered with the stuff.
The door next to William finished cycling and opened all the way, even as the pressure door that Autobot had fled to started to cycle again.
Damsel flung another axe, hitting the man again even as William grabbed him with the shock gloves. Sir Neville fled from the man who was still trying to pull the plastiflesh from his face. The pirate turned and fired the sonic stunner at William and the Dralasite fell to the ground, stunned. The Dralasite pirate tried to punch Sir Neville but didnt injure the man at all.
Sir Neville tried to spray the Dralasite in the face with the spray. He hit the creature but the eyespot moved out of the way of the plastiflesh. Sir Neville cursed.
Damsel crossed the room and flung an axe at the man with the sonic stunner even as a missile flew from the opening pressure door and exploded against the far wall courtesy of Autobot. Sir Neville crossed to William and administered a stimdose.
Get up! he yelled.
The man with the sonic stunner fired at Cornelius but the beam missed him completely. He aimed again at the Yazirian but missed. He had moved away from the others and Damsel flung her axe at the man with the sonic stunner. He fell with a long, drawn-out scream, dead.
They congregated on the Dralasite pirate and fell upon him en masse. Cornelius tried to convince the pirate to surrender or he would die as Schweppes picked up the sonic stunner. The pirate struck Cornelius and then William slashed at him with a pair of axes. Then Damsel flung another axe and the Dralasite fell to the ground.
Sir Neville was holding open the pressure door even as Damsel retrieved the axes shed flung.
To the bridge! William said again.
He went down the corridor as Sir Neville asked if anyone was injured. He tended to Schweppes injuries from the cargo hold as the Dralasite examined the door to the bridge. Once Schweppes was tended to, he followed William down the corridor. Autobot lingered behind in the airlock while Cornelius took one of the chronocoms from Neville and then worked on opening the airlock door to the nearby computer room.
William found the door to the bridge unlocked and he manipulated the controls. He immediately realized a struggle had taken place there. Chairs, instruments, and even unconscious or dead officers lay strewn about the floor. He saw four armed space pirates on the bridge, each of them armed with a gun. The first, a Vrusk, held an automatic pistol; the second, a Yazirian, held a needler pistol; the third, a Dralasite, held an electrostunner; and the last, a human, held a laser pistol. From his vantage point, he could see the weapons locker had been destroyed, along with everything it once contained.
The pirates spotted William. He closed the door and then backed up to the other side of the hall from the rest.
The weapons locker is destroyed, but they have some nice stuff in there, he said calmly. Theyre going to come swarming out in just a second.
Lock the door! Sir Neville said. Lock the door!
Schweppes aimed his sonic stunner at the doorway. Damsel had an axe ready to throw at the doorway. Autobot aimed his gyrojet pistol at the doorway as well.
* * *
Cornelius found the computer room a mess. Several of the monitors and much of the equipment was damaged or destroyed. Other monitors appeared dead. The few that were still working displayed broken words and a warning that read:
He started working on the damaged computer to try to turn off life support to the bridge.
* * *
No one came through the door to the bridge.
I dont think this is a fight we can win! Sir Neville said.
He suggested they lock the door and they realized that the door lock was on the other side of the door. Damsel said she could get the door to lock when the door cracked open and William swung into the crack with both axes. The door slammed shut again.
Maybe theyre more afraid of us, William suggested.
Theyre coming a different way! Sir Neville wailed. The lifeboats are this way!
He pointed behind him.
Schweppes headed out of the corridor and back into the airlock. He made his way across the airlock to the pressure door to the escape bay and began to work on opening it.
Not a bad idea, Sir Neville said to him.
I do have enough Vrusk body wax to hold me over for a while, Schweppes thought as he worked on the door.
William moved to stand in front of the bridge door and waited, his axes in two of his hands. The rest also waited to see if anyone else would come out of the airlock door.
As Schweppes got the airlock door open, he heard the rattle of automatic weapon fire and a burst of bullets ricocheted off the airlock doorway. Someone was in the escape room! He moved back to the cover of the doorway.
What!?! Sir Neville cried. Whos shooting at us!?!
Lets just make a run for the lifeboats! Schweppes called to the rest.
William opened the door of the bridge and saw there were still three pirates in the room. All of them had their weapons pointed at the door. He turned and ran down the corridor, through the open pressure door and into the airlock, and from there into the escape bay. The rest of them followed him, Damsel moving to the center of the airlock so she could see both of the open airlock doors. An axe was in her hand.
Sir Neville ran to the open bridge door and slapped the button to close it. He heard weapons fire strike the closing door and cringed. Then he headed for the escape bay.
As William entered the escape bay , he saw that one of the lifeboats was gone. To one side was a Vrusk pirate armed with an automatic pistol who fired at him. He turned and charged the pirate as the bullet ricocheted around the bay. Autobot, meanwhile, ran to the lifeboat. Looking into it, he noticed an item inside labeled Survival Pack. It seemed to locked in some sort of cabin.
The lifeboat itself was a wide, nearly featureless ship with a wide door on the side and narrow impeneglass windows all around a forward cabin. The engine was towards the rear. A single iris door stood closed on the side with a single activation button next to it.
Suddenly, the Serena Dawn lurched and they heard three loud explosions from the bridge. The ship trembled for several seconds, then lurched again and they heard another explosion somewhere. They could hear various squeaks and groans as the ship twisted and buckled beneath their feet.
Autobot slapped the button on the ship and the door slid open. A computerized voice announced: One minute to launch. Please fasten your seat belts. For a moment, Autobot thought about going back to try to repair the Serena Dawn.
* * *
In the computer room, more monitors began to go black. Cornelius only struggled with the machine for a few moments after the explosions before he fled out of the computer room into the corridor towards the airlock.
* * *
Schweppes stepped into the escape bay and fired the sonic stunner at the Vrusk standing near William. The pirate fired another shot at William but missed again.
The Vrusk pirate switched his pistol from single shot to burst.
Theres eight spaces on that lifeboat, William said to the pirate. You want to come with us? Drop your weapon now.
Then he ran to the lifeboat even as Autobot climbed into the lifeboat and yelled that he was going to close the doors and the pirate needed to drop his gun if he wanted to live. Schweppes moved closer to the pirate and fired the sonic stunner at him. The Vrusk jerked and fell to the ground. Schweppes reached forward and grabbed the automatic pistol.
Damsel ran into the escape bay and leapt into the lifeboat. She was closely followed by Sir Neville and then Cornelius. Schweppes moved back to the lifeboat, a light flashing yellow and red above it. He waited in the iris door until what he felt was the very last second and then leapt in just as the door was closing.
The lifeboat jerked into motion as it moved towards the hull of the Serena Dawn. As Schweppes desperately tried to strap himself in, four pirates appeared in the escape bay, all armed with automatic weapons. They opened fire, shooting at the lifeboat, and they felt it shudder and lurch as the bullets struck it.
See you in hell! Sir Neville said.
Then they were free of Serena Dawn, only open space ahead of them. They saw the starship tremble again. A few metal chunks floated out of the escape bay and then all was quiet.
The lifeboat quickly accelerated towards the forbidding planet of Volturnus. As they approached the daylight side of the planet, they saw nothing. A great portion of the planet was shrouded in clouds. The lifeboat entered a shallow orbit and traveled to the other side of Volturnus, where it began its descent into the dark, clear night.
Sparks began to fly from the onboard computer. Then, after several seconds of jolting, a rear engine exploded and a fire erupted on the exterior of the lifeboat.
Fix it! William yelled at Damsel.
The fire grew larger and hotter as they descended, even entering the passenger compartment. After two minutes of intense heat, the lifeboat crashed into a high outcropping of rocks. The fire seemed to die down but the flames still flashed from the rear engine and the onboard computer.
The survival kits popped out of the locker and were ready for removal from the lifeboat. They also noticed a foul-smelling liquid seeping from the engine compartment. Some of the liquid was starting to burn and they recognized it as a highly toxic, flammable acid used in ship engines.
They grabbed the survival kits and got them away from the burning ship, finding that they were in the middle of a great desert. Both Autobot and Schweppes went back for the extra survival kits, getting away from the ship just as it burst into flames.
Run! Damsel said.
They fled the ship and only a few seconds later, the lifeboat exploded.
They quickly looked through the survival kits. Each contained a machete, a box of matches, an allweather blanket, a first aid pack, a chronocom, two small packages of survival rations, a tangler grenade, a compass, a lifejacket, 10 salt pills, a pocket tool, a flashlight, a doze grenade, 10 meters of rope, a toxyrad gauge, eight liters of water, a pair of sungoggles, a pair of stretch coveralls, a poly-vox, and a laser pistol with a 20 SEU clip.
The sun was rising. A desolate wilderness of sand and rock stretched as far as they could see in every direction. The desert was occasionally broken by green, flat plants similar in appearance to tiny lily pads. Though it was only minutes past sunrise, the heat was already overbearing.
They had crashed on Volturnus. They were on their own.


text:
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"I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!" —Revelation 1:17-18
When Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples the mother of all questions, "Who do you say I am?" (Matthew 16:15; Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20). Mormons answer this question by saying that Jesus is the spirit brother of Lucifer; Jehovah's Witnesses answer by saying that Jesus is the archangel Michael; New Agers say Jesus is an avatar or enlightened messenger. Jesus, however, answered by claiming that He was God.
First, Jesus claimed to be the unique Son of God. As a result, the Jewish leaders tried to kill Him because in "calling God his own Father, [Jesus was] making himself equal with God" (John 5:18NIV). In John 8:58 Jesus went so far as to use the very words by which God revealed Himself to Moses from the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). To the Jews this was the epitome of blasphemy, for they knew that in doing so Jesus was clearly claiming to be God. On yet another occasion, Jesus explicitly told the Jews: " 'I and the Father are one.' Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, 'I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?' 'We are not stoning you for any of these,' replied the Jews, 'but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God' " (John 10:30-33).
Furthermore, Jesus made an unmistakable claim to deity before the Chief Priests and the whole Sanhedrin. Caiaphas the High Priest asked him: " 'Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?' 'I am,' said Jesus. 'And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven' " (Mark 14:61-62 NIV). A biblically illiterate person might well have missed the import of Jesus' words. Caiaphas and the Council, however, did not. They knew that in saying he was "the Son of Man" who would come "on the clouds of heaven" he was making an overt reference to the Son of Man in Daniel's prophecy (Daniel 7:13-14). In doing so, He was not only claiming to be the preexistent Sovereign of the Universe but also prophesying that He would vindicate His claim by judging the very court that was now condemning Him. Moreover, by combining Daniel's prophecy with David's proclamation in Psalm 110, Jesus was claiming that He would sit upon the throne of Israel's God and share God's very glory. To students of the Old Testament this was the height of "blasphemy," thus "they all condemned him as worthy of death" (Mark 14:64-65).
Finally, Jesus claimed to possess the very attributes of God. For example, He claimed omniscience by telling Peter, "This very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times" (Matthew 26:34); declared omnipotence by not only resurrecting Lazarus (John 11:43) but by raising Himself from the dead (see John 2:19); and professed omnipresence by promising He would be with His disciples "to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). Not only so, but Jesus said to the paralytic in Luke 5:20, "Friend, your sins are forgiven". In doing so, He claimed a prerogative reserved for God alone. In addition, when Thomas worshiped Jesus saying "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28), Jesus responded with commendation rather than condemnation.
What Credentials Back Up Jesus' Claim to Deity?
"When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, 'Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?' Jesus replied, 'Go back and report to John what you hear and see; The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.'" —Matthew 11:2-5
Jesus not only claimed to be God but also provided many convincing proofs that he indeed was divine.
First, Jesus demonstrated that he was God in human flesh by manifesting the credential of sinlessness. While the Qur'an exhorts Muhammad to seek forgiveness for his sins, the Bible exonerates Messiah saying Jesus "had no sin" (2 Corinthians 5:21). And this is not a singular statement. John declares, "and in him is no sin" (1 John 3:5), and Peter says Jesus "committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth" (1 Peter 2:22). Jesus himself went so far as to challenge his antagonists asking, "Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?" (John 8:46)
Furthermore, Jesus demonstrated supernatural authority over sickness, the forces of nature, fallen angels, and even death itself. Matthew 4 records that Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching, preaching "and healing every disease and sickness among the people" (v.23). Mark 4 documents Jesus rebuking the wind and the waves saying, "Quiet! Be still!" (v.39). In Luke 4 Jesus encounters a man possessed by an evil spirit and commands the demon to "Come out of him!" (v.35). And inJohn 4, Jesus tells a royal official whose son was close to death, "Your son will live" (v.50). In fact, the four Gospels record how Jesus demonstrated ultimate power over death through the immutable fact of his resurrection.
Finally, the credentials of Christ's deity are seen in the lives of countless men, women, and children. Each day, people of every tongue and tribe and nation experience the resurrected Christ by repenting of their sins and receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives. Thus, they not only come to know about Christ evidentially, but experientially Christ becomes more real to them than the very flesh upon their bones.For further study, see Millard J. Erickson, The Word Became Flesh: A Contemporary Incarnational Christology (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1996); and William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics, rev. ed. (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1994), chapters 7 and 8. Log onto the Christian Research Institute's Web site at www.equip.org.
Adapted from Hank Hanegraaff, The Bible Answer Book (Nashville: J. Countryman, 2004).
"Too often in our contemporary culture, theologically informed beliefs are not considered a legitimate claim to knowledge." — Frank Beckwith


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Sellers' paradise: House hunters get the blues
I should have a bumper sticker warning "I brake for House for Sale signs." Numerous times I have had near-death experiences swerving into side streets to pursue a "House for Sale" sign.
If you haven't heard, it's a seller's market. That means even the most unprepossessing cottage is being snapped up for big bucks, sometimes even more than the asking price. Houses go on the market and are sold in a day.
A house is usually the most expensive purchase you'll ever make in your life. Yet these days you have to make the decision after looking at it for 15 minutes. You cannot sleep on it for risk of losing out to another buyer. You get more time to think about buying shampoo.
You barely have time to take your co-buyer to the side to discuss the pros and cons. My husband and I need a secret code to communicate without the agent knowing. What we're doing now isn't working, since I translate his, "We'll have to discuss this," as "We'll have to discuss this." It turns out he meant, "Run out now! Jump in the car!"
And my open-armed shout, "I love this house!" translates into, "We'll beg, borrow, and steal to come up with more money, so don't take our first offer– or our second."
The agent's question, "When do you need to move?" translates into "How hastily will you buy any crap I show you?" The minute we say we have no deadline we're flexible and willing to wait for what we want they fall back like vampires before the cross.
No matter what we tell the agents, they pay no attention. They send us listings in our price range, and that's it. Because our range falls between "urban pioneer" and "handyman special," our basic requirements adequate storage, two toilets, low crime neighborhood are ignored.
The Internet may be a blessing to agents, but in a seller's market, it is a headache for buyers. You know that all the new listings are being simultaneously received on office and home computers across the city at the same time. Hundreds of people know the minute a house goes on the market.
Many times I have rushed out at lunchtime to check out a new listing– only to find several other cars suspiciously driving slowly down the same block, stopping in front of the same house. By the time I get back to work, the "Active" on top of the house's picture in my listing has already changed to "Pending."
Pre-Internet, the agents had to make individual phone calls, so they probably called the customers most likely to buy the house ones who expressed a specific desire for particular features. You had limited competition. Maybe you were the first one to receive the call, and the agent wouldn't even call a second person until you had decided. What a wonderful time that must have been!
Well, no more! It's like a toilet paper sale in a third world country. Word gets out, and the masses descend.
Listings are a curious thing, most notable for what they don't tell you. I've learned to stalk neighborhoods, peek through windows, sneak into backyards while no one is home. In this way, I've solved the mystery of the great house at a great price in a great neighborhood but still on the market. It is, in short, a pit bull next door.
These houses are always vacant. The owner did not wait to sell before fleeing. The better the house and the more reasonable the price, the louder and more snarling the dog next door. At one house, there was no resident dog, but a pool all the neighborhood dogs were using as a day spa while the owner was at work. When I pulled up, the dogs got out of the pool, gave me sheepish looks, and trotted off down the street. At least they seemed friendly.
I hate seeing basketball goal posts in the streets, but some subdivisions have more of them than trees. Cul de sacs often sport two. You have to wonder about neighbors who decide the street is part of their property. I envision evenings and weekends full of the relentless thudding noise of basketballs and kids yelling and cursing at each other. My first house was a condo where a dozen little kids and their Big Wheels lived. The rumble of plastic wheels on driveways still haunts me.
So I cringe at the sight of playsets, doghouses, and yards strewn with toys. Too many men of working age sitting on stoops in the middle of the day is another bad sign.
My husband cringes at Confederate flags or No. 3 banners waving from porch rails, and junked cars in yards– although in our price range, this is the norm.
"This is our socio-economic peer group," I tell him. But to him, Dale Earnhardt NASCAR flags and cars-on-blocks mean dogs running loose and eating his cats like cheese biscuits. Real estate agents don't understand when we tell them what we're looking for is a nice cat house.
Are we being unreasonable? After all, this is where we will live, and at twice the cost we're currently paying in rent.
Equity is the Holy Grail, we're told. You're nothing without equity. But how much do we have to sacrifice, how much discomfort do we have endure, how many more weekends do I have to spend running from dogs just to have equity?
Central Virginia essayist and shelter-seeker Mariane Matera owns a pasta pot.


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Northwest Environmental Defense Center (NEDC)
Oregon Regulators Welcome Dangerous Crude Oil
August 22, 2014
Just one day after denying an application for a removal fill permit that would have enabled coal exports, Oregon authorized a state air permit that fails to protect Oregon's air quality and local communities from the ongoing expansion of a massive crude-oil terminal on the Columbia River.
Global Partners' crude-oil facility was originally permitted for producing and shipping ethanol. But in 2012 the facility was quietly transformed into a shipping center for volatile crude oil transported by rail through the Columbia River Gorge, Portland and numerous other Oregon communities.
"Normally, a new permit would have been required to convert the facility to an oil terminal before shipping substantial amounts of crude," said Marla Nelson, an attorney with NEDC. "However, under the guise of 'operational flexibility,' Oregon allowed Global to ship both crude and ethanol."
When Global failed to move any ethanol and increased its crude shipments well beyond what Oregon allowed, Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality issued an order and a $117,292 penalty. Global contested the order and has since continued shipping crude oil without the necessary permit.
"Oregon should not turn a blind eye to the threat of oil trains and supertankers on the Columbia River," said Brett VandenHeuvel executive director of Columbia RiverKeeper. "Approving Global's permit threatens one of the world's most important salmon nurseries."
Global estimates it has the capacity to move 1.8 billion gallons of crude a year with its current facility and its track record includes many oil spills including one in Albany, New York on August 20. Despite the escalating risks associated with moving millions of gallons of crude in Oregon, Global's concealment of the true nature of its operations and its continued crude-oil shipments through Oregon's communities without the necessary air permit, Oregon issued a new permit for the facility that accounts for only a small portion of Global's possible operations.
"Global's 'new' air permit fails to comport with Clean Air Act requirements," said John Krallman an attorney with Neighbors. "With Global's tremendous capacity and plans for expansion — including construction of a second dock at the oil terminal — this new permit is woefully inadequate to protect Oregon's air quality."
In May a coalition of regional and national conservation organizations, representing tens of thousands of Oregonians, called on the state to deny an air permit and instead initiate the necessary process for a federal permit that would require stringent controls to protect Oregon's air quality. Based on Oregon's proposal to issue an incorrect and less stringent state permit, Northwest Environmental Defense Center, Center for Biological Diversity and Neighbors for Clean Air filed a lawsuit in which they are represented by Earthjustice asking a federal court to require Global to go through the more rigorous federal permit process.
By issuing the state permit for a crude-oil terminal, Oregon has set an inconsistent policy that denies dirty coal but welcomes dangerous crude oil. As justification for denying Ambre Energy's removal fill permit for a coal terminal at the Port of Morrow, the state explained that "it is not consistent with the protection, conservation, and best use of the state's resources." In striking contrast, the state took an extremely limited approach to analyzing the impacts of Global's operations. DEQ stated Global's terminal for volatile Bakken crude does not "present an imminent danger to human health or the environment." The coalition of conservation groups says it will watchdog Global's permits.
"In every step of this process Oregon regulators have chosen to ignore the skyrocketing risk to our health, safety and environment," said Tanya Sanerib, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. "We will continue to fight to protect Oregonians from the escalating threats tied to these dangerous dirty oil shipments."
More on Global's crude oil transloading terminal in Clatskanie, Oregon: Earthfix - Oregon Approves Subsidies For Oil Transport, Not For Coal


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From garden gathering to beach-themed cakes, there's plenty the versatile, affordable plastic pail can do.
All too soon, the leaves will have turned and Halloween will be on the horizon. Enjoy what's left of summer with an easy-to-plan backyard get-together.
Ever wondered how to throw the most fabulous - yet frugal - baby shower in the history of the world? Read on to find out how!
I am not exactly a Twinkie fan. I moved to the USA in my mid-twenties and so I hadn't acquired a taste for them. And most likely never will (although I did try a deep-fried Twinkie recently...not bad, considering).
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