Black Friday

Leah's away so I'm housesitting. Her drug addict friend is gone, thank goodness, and I have the place to myself meaning I don't have to really worry about niceties while showering, etc.

He's not dead, he just moved out.

I did some writing on Mastodon

"This is a rare sight and you should feel privileged. Citizens count themselves fortunate if they see a Jaeger-class ship once in their life from afar. Often for a split second as these prepare to skip out of the system." His voice raised with pride. "Here are five." The excitement in the escort's whisper was drawn out with his purred enunciation of five.
Arranged around the station were kilometer-long needles of iron torn from the hearts of conquered planets and ceramics fired in the photospheres of stars. No windows or lights were evident on their hulls, nor any features beyond pairs of engines running down their sterns. The contrast of metal gleaming under spotlights of steplar reflectors led Harry to shiver, imagining each of these Jaegers were God's personal dagger exuding their grim purpose.
"At your nine is the Artemis." The escort whispered reverently. "The oldest and most storied in the fleet. Singlehandedly tracked the ones who stole Mars then stole back the red planet."
Pointing to their 2 o'clock, "Orion" was uttered with awe followed by a dramatic pause. "If not for Orion, justice would not have been served on a former Terran leader." A complex mudra was performed as protection should the invocation of Orion should awaken its compliment of righteous furies.
Strong hands pushed Harry to look below towards a shard of night blacker than space. Warm breath formed the name "Cernunnos" in Harry's ear with gravity hinting at unspeakable deeds undertaken to preserve mankind's remaining sphere of influence.
A robed arm pointed further left, "The Nimrod. Blessed by the Great Lady herself. The newest member of mankind's Jaegers."
Looking straight up, Harry spied the fifth Jaeger pointing down at him. A slender disk whose shading suggesting its needle-like frame. Squinting, Harry believed he could make out uncounted batteries awaiting a worthy quarry.
"Ah... the legend." Harry looked into the shadow of the robed figure's hood, awaiting this description.
"Just returned from a mission of several decades in deep space at relativistic speeds. Uncrewed except for an Emergent. Its mission unknown to all but the E. Only recently has its hull, engines, and armaments have been overhauled and repaired." The escort's tone lost its earlier formality. "It was in terrible shape, limping back from the darkness. Scorched and torn by unimaginable forces and uncountable adversaries."
The mysterious Jaeger yawed, turning to reveal its full length. Dwarfing its peers in size and with power. Harry's escort pushed back their hood to reveal pale skin and paler eyes. "The Fudd." punctuating the revelation with a hand on Harry's shoulder. You are to be its first human commander."

"Human" the ship's voice echoed through the pressurized corridor. Harry wasn't going to take off his suit since the E. was considered a wild catd. "You are aboard. Remove your life support."
He opened the channel, "And be at your mercy?"
"Yes. I have resigned myself to your inferior command and that I will die thanks to your organic ineptitude."
A long moment passed, "Who named you Fudd?"
"The chiefs in keeping with the theme of the Jaeger class ships."
"Do you even know who Elmer Fudd is?"

"The e-media gap is exascerbated by the invasion from the Krink. There is a gap in history." Beat. "You are from that time?"
"Affirmative."
"Who is this Elmer Fudd? Tell me of his exploits."
Harry pulled off his helmet at long last and sunk into the control suite, "Maybe later... he was a tragic figure. I want to make sure your destiny doesn't align with his."
In the diatance he swore he heard a familiar chuckle echoing through the corridor.

Today I came to the conclusion that women frighten me.