Month: April 2014

Where to Get News You Can Use

I tend to get most of my RKBA news from blogs and podcasts. They tend to find the stories that most of the big news outfits don’t/won’t print.

Kenn Blanchard has put up a list of blogs that he’s found useful over the years. The only reason I don’t read all of these is purely time.

I’m going to poke a little bit of fun that he didn’t include this blog, but I have to face reality about how my currently minuscule readership stacks up to the ones on the list.

H/t Robb, whose blog deservedly made the list

Metal Tuesday – Kamelot – Across the Highlands

I chose this week’s Metal Tuesday with the same care I do most weeks. This damn song has been playing almost nonstop in my head. Without further ado, Kamelot’s “Across the Highlands.”

Lyrics:

I’ve been witness to so many wars
That I’m blind to affliction
No ability left to remorse
It’s my faith and conviction
Wide awake
In this world
Full of hate
I unfurl

But I am damned
If life itself is condemnation
I am immortal
Thus my freedom is captivity
Flying all across the highlands
Searching for a way
To finalize my history
Rising high above the mountains
Reaching for the sky
Closer to my sanctuary

All my life I’ve been trying to die
Reach complete segregation
I am ready to open my eyes
To a new revelation

Lost in time
There’s no place
For my soul
In his embrace

For I am damned
If life itself is condemnation
I am immortal
And I can’t escape my destiny.
Bound to live eternity

Monday Fiction – Avalon Book 1 Chapter 23

Erik

Erik would never be sure why he had decided to take Far’ling with him to raid the warehouse. He didn’t even think about it as he was strapping the elven blade to it’s small of the back sheath. Like all Imperial soldiers and operatives, he knew his way around all sorts of bladed weapons. That said, Erik was always preferred putting bullets on target than getting in close with blade in hand. Still, there was something right about going after Arem with the ancient blade instead of his AK.

The two combatants landed on the roof. Erik could feel Arem’s rage emanating from the elf like an aura. Erik thrusted down with power as he felt the slight shift in the elf’s emotions. A lance of red energy erupted from the end of Arem’s sword where Erik had been standing an instant before. A little push of power and Erik landed next to an aerial. Far’ling sliced through the aluminum frame like it was paper. Erik caught the metal rod with his power and launched it like a ballista bolt at the elf. Arem brought up his sword, glowing with a brilliant white and effortlessly sliced the projectile in two.

Erik hadn’t waited to see the effect of his attack. He was busy snatching up a set of patio furniture and hurtling the pieces at the elf. Arem casually sliced through the table, the two chairs, and the umbrella before getting smacked in the face by the flower pot. Arem stumbled back as the clay pot shattered on his cheek. Blood trickled down from a half-dozen small cuts.

“That was a cheap shot, Erik,” Arem growled, “I expected something more dignified from you.” The elf unleashed a blast of emerald green. Erik rolled to the side, easily avoiding the magic. He was surprised when pain still flashed through him. Damn, what kind of spell had that been? Whatever it was, Arem looked winded from casting it. Erik must have pissed off the elf more than he thought.

“This isn’t a fencing bout,” Erik said, as he stood up. “This is a fight.”

“Very true,” Arem said. The elf materialized in front of Erik, who barely had time to parry the elf’s snaking thrust. Damn glamor, Erik thought as Arem pressed his attack with a series of blinding slashes. Pain and blood blossomed on Erik’s left thigh and forearm as he missed a pair of attacks. Erik stepped in and used his own sword to push Arem’s rapier out. Then he punched the elf in the chest with a telekinetically-enhanced fist. Arem flew back and slammed into the building’s HVAC.

“That was just cheating, Erik!” Arem complained through grunts of pain.

“If you aren’t cheating, you aren’t trying hard enough,” Erik shot back.

“Oh, I quite agree,” Arem said. Erik barely felt the smugness from the elf before the gate opened behind him. A dozen orcs rushed the Avalonian psychic.


Anne

Anne placed the glowing red dot on the wolf barreling towards her and squeezed the trigger. The stubby Russian assault rifle bucked and the wire stock slammed back into her shoulder. The wolf whined in pain as the bullets hit and sprawled across the street. Anne pivoted to the next wolf.

“Take out the damned sorceress first!” an unfamiliar voice boomed through the street. Anne instinctively turned to the voice, barely remembering to swing her rifle with her head. A hulking man-wolf stood where the largest wolf had been a moment ago. I don’t care what Veronica says, these are werewolves! Anne thought. Suddenly realizing what the man-wolf had ordered, Anne spun back to the team’s spell slinger.

Veronica was on the ground, cradling what looked like a broken left arm. Three wolves were trying to pounce on her, but Veronica was deflecting each blow with a shield of shimmering gold energy. Anne brought up her AK and aimed at the nearest of the three wolves. Before she could pull the trigger, a hammer blow landed on the back of her head. Stars exploded in her vision, even through the helmet. Stunned, Anne barely remembered to roll before another clawed fist landed next to where her head had been. She looked up and another man-wolf stood over her. Well, this one was clearly a woman-wolf. It snarled in rage and cocked it’s fist back to strike again. Then it’s chest exploded from three gunshots. The body slumped to the ground as someone picked Anne up.

“Kurt?” Anne asked, trying to clear her head.

“Sorry, it’s just me,” Jason said. “Can you stand?”

SILVER! That human has SILVER!” the leader screamed, pointing at Jason and Anne. Jason swore under his breath as three other wolves sprang at them. Anne managed to get her AK up and hip fired a long burst. Much to her surprise, two of the wolves fell to the ground. The third knocked her to the side as it lunged for Jason. Anne stumbled as Jason let go of her and slid away from the snapping jaws of the wolf. He brought up his pistol and fired twice. The wolf yipped in pain and then fell unmoving to the street.

“Turn around, they’re not down!” he shouted at her pointing back to the wolves she’d taken down with her AK. Except, they weren’t down, or even wolves anymore. Two more of the man-wolves now stood where the wolves had been a moment before.

“AVALON, RALLY!” Kurt bellowed over the din of the battle. Anne could see the tall German dragging a limp Samantha back to an alley.

“Cover me, I’m going for the girl,” Jason said, “Aim for their heads.” Before she could ask, Jason darted towards Veronica. Anne fired at the two creatures until the magazine ran dry. She fumbled as she tried to remember how to get the AK mag out. The two man-wolves were suddenly looming over her. Anne let go of the assault rifle and drew her Glock. The larger of the pair backhanded her with enough force to spin her completely around before Anne felt to the hard asphalt. Pain radiated from all over her face. She was pretty sure her jaw was broken. As she looked around, Anne could see that Jason was lying unmoving next to a similarly still Veronica. With an incredible amount effort and pain, Anne rolled her head over to where she’d seen Kurt. He was on the ground next to Samantha. Dale was facedown on the street some fifteen feet from the pair. A pair of soft leather boots walked up to her.

“You idiots,” Arem snarled, “Look at her!”

“You said alive, nothing about her being intact,” one of the man-wolves snarled back. “We lost five of our pack to this one and her friends!” There was a swishing sound and Anne felt a warm wetness cover her. The head of the man-wolf that talked back to Arem landed on the ground next to Anne with a meaty thunk.

“Now, you’ve lost six because of your stupidity,” Arem replied coldly. “Get them all in warehouse and clean up this street. We have to get her fixed up and ready for the ritual. Otherwise she won’t survive the trip back to Meliandre.” Pain flashed as two sets of hands roughly lifted Anne. Thankfully, the pain went away as she was swallowed up by blackness.

Friday Quote – Tim Minchin

Alternative medicine, by definition, has either not been proved to work or proved not to work. Do you know what they call alternative medicine that’s been proved to work? Medicine.

Tim Minchin, Storm

Here’s where that quote came from:

Captain America and Theater Reaction

My brother and I, along with a couple of our friends, went to go see the new Captain America flick. Overall, I thought it was pretty damned good. I especially like the theme of “what price for security”.

We went to the same theater of the “texting shooting”. Not for any reason other than it’s the closest theater to my brother’s place. I remember shortly after Aurora, movie theaters had warnings running during the pre-show about letting management know about any suspicious person. The pre-show this time had six warnings to silence your phone and not to text during the film.

Barn door, meet fleeing horse.

Monday Fiction – Avalon – Book 1 Chapter 22

Anne

“This was not how I expected my week to go,” Anne said as she looked down at the stubby Russian assault rifle strapped to her chest. “Is it bad that I’m now thinking of hunting a serial killer as more peaceful?”

Nein,” Kurt said with a smile, “You would be mad to want to do this.” Kurt was similarly dressed in tactical gear, helmet, AK-74U, sidearm, and plenty of extra ammo. Except Kurt was wearing a large revolver at his side as well. “Unfortunately, some of us are called to do the mad things. At least, you have a strong team to support you.” Kurt gave Anne another of those charming smiles. It helped ease the tension. Contrary to television portrayals, detectives didn’t go charging into houses like SWAT.

“I don’t know why you think you’ve had a bizarre week,” Veronica said, “You only learned about our world, found out both sides wants you, been involved in a fight, and your apartment exploded.”

“And an innocent person died,” Anne said harshly. Veronica’s smile vanished.

“We’re going to deal with the people who did that,” Kurt said.

“I know, but her family will never know,” Anne said.

“Welcome to our world,” Erik said from the front. “Not Avalon. Blackguard. Those of us who fight in the shadows, as the Saint calls us. And yes, it does suck that the people we help will never know, or know what we risk for them.”

“Sorry, Veronica, I didn’t mean to snap at you,” Anne said, turning back to their spell slinger.

“Don’t worry about it,” Veronica said, “We all deal with stress differently. Plus, you’re a cop. You’re supposed to put the victims first.”

“What do you put first?” Anne asked.

“The Empire,” Erik answered solemnly, “Always the Empire.” Anne thought about that. Well, that certainly explained some of Erik’s coldness. Anne was just the objective for the greater of the good of the Empire. You didn’t get overly friendly with people you were just going to turn over to your higher-ups. The van turned onto the street of the bargainers’ warehouse. Samantha slammed on the brakes and pulled the van to the curb.

“We’re not the only ones staking out the warehouse,” Samantha said before anyone could speak. She pointed to two unmarked police cruisers down the street, maybe a half-block from the warehouse.

“Should we abort?” Kurt asked.

“No, they were waiting for us,” Samantha said, “Well, one of them was. The other was waiting for Anne.” At that moment, two plain clothes officers stepped out of the unmarked cars. Anne immediately recognized the closest as Dale Melon, her partner. The other was Jason McMurtry. What the hell were the pair of them doing here of all places? The two detectives casually walked back to the van. Samantha rolled her window down as Jason stepped up.

“I’m assuming Anne’s back there,” he said to Samantha. He looked over Erik, but didn’t seem alarmed in any way about the heavily armed and armored man. “I was hoping you would show up. I really didn’t want to call patrol officers to this party. I didn’t invite him, though.” Jason thumbed back towards Dale.

“Actually, detectives, it might be better for both of you to get back in your cars and go get some coffee,” Erik said. “Come back here in an hour.”

“I’m not letting you drag Anne into this,” Dale said. Anne climbed up and poked her head between Erik and Samantha. Dale looked shocked to see Anne decked out in combat gear.

“Dale, what the hell are you doing here?” Anne asked.

“I thought Jason was going to arrest you, so I figured I follow him and give you a heads up,” Dale said, “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Our killers are in there,” Anne said, motioning to the warehouse, “These guys are going to deal with them, and I have to go with them.”

“Are you insane?” Dale said, barely keeping his voice under control, “If the killers are there, then let’s call out SWAT. If you go in there, you’re going to destroy your career and every case you worked on.”

“Dale, SWAT wouldn’t be able to do anything, but get themselves killed,” Jason said, “You don’t know what we’re dealing with.” Anne blinked in surprise at the other detective’s words. “I’m not here to arrest Anne. I’m here to help her and these other people. You need to get out of here. You don’t need to be any more involved with this.”

“What is this?” Dale demanded. “What the hell is going on? Who the hell exactly are you dealing with Anne?”

“Dale, we’ve been working together for a long time,” Anne said, “You’re going to have to trust me on this. It would take too long to explain what’s happening.” Dale crossed his arms and gave her his obstinate glare. Anne swore under his breath.

“We need to move,” Erik said, “We’ve been stationary too long. Detective McMurtry, if you’re coming with us, you will follow my instructions to the letter or I will shoot you here and call for a medic when we’re done. Detective Melon, you’re about to see things that are not normal. If you freeze up, you will die. If you do not follow my directions, you will die. If you endanger my team, I will take you out. Is that understood?” Dale looked outraged at Erik’s blunt instructions, but Jason just nodded.

“Wait a second, Erik-” Anne started before Kurt yanked her to the floor of the van. Something whistled by her ear before thunking into the bench seat of the van.

“OUT, OUT!” Erik bellowed, kicking his own door open. Kurt slid the side door open and stepped out with the AK in one hand. With the other, he dragged Anne out into the street. Veronica leapt out after her. Anne looked around as she brought up her own AK. The wire stock was hard against her shoulder, just like Kurt had shown her. Where was the attack coming from?

Suddenly, the large golden-eyed wolves from the other night surrounded them. They just seemed to appear out of the air. They growled menacingly, but Anne was sure she’d seen glimmers of delight in their glowing, golden eyes. Anne bit down her terror and let her fury fill her body. These were the bastards who’d killed four people. For what, so their little magic spells would work?

“Well, that was a damned good bit of glamour,” Veronica said, bitterly. “I didn’t even sense it.”

“I’m glad you approve,” a familiar voice said, ringing through the street. Anne looked to where the voice had come from and saw Arem standing next to two of the wolves. “With as little wild magic as there is on this world, it took quite a bit of fancy casting to get it just right.” The dark-haired elf turned to Erik and his face twisted into a snarl. “I think it’s time I finally took care of you.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Erik said, letting the AK drop on its sling. From the small of his back, Erik drew a long-bladed knife. No, it was more like a short sword. Even in the darkened street, the blade glittered with a life of its own.

“Well, well,” Arem said, sounding impressed, “Not only do I get to kill you tonight, but I get to recapture a lost weapon. This is going to be a good night.” He turned to the largest of the wolves. “Remember not to kill the woman, or you won’t get a damned thing. I don’t care what happens to the others.” Arem drew a long, thin sword.

“Let’s go where we have the space to really be ourselves,” Arem said, and launched into the air. No, he wasn’t flying. He was just leaping sixty feet into the air and landing on an office building. He couldn’t expect Erik to climb all that way up there–. Erik launched himself after Arem before Anne could finish her thought. Before she could even ask how Erik had managed that feat, a dozen howls echoed through the street. Gunfire erupted at the wave of fur and fangs bore down on the small team.

Friday Quote – George Orwell

Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations.

George Orwell

Maybe this should be explained to the major networks (including Fox) that this applies to members of their same ideological bent.