anyway in an absolutely wild turn of events I think I’m free of my hideous job and like. substantially richer for it??? lmao 2023 you really owed me

HASO, “Freak of Nature.”

A continuation from yesterday. I hope you all enjoy, and I hope you enjoy the setup for some other stories I am planning on doing :)

Have a good day!

Breaking News

The Galaxy is left stunned after the events of late yesterday evening, when a single armed shooter appeared from the crowd and fired on UNSC leader and cultural icon Admiral Vir during a routine press conference given at UNSC headquarters Fort Harmony on the eastern Mericandian coast. Reports describe the event as happening midway through Admiral Vir’s address as the single, hooded female pushed through the crowd and drew a handgun on the Admiral firing once before fleeing into the crowd. She was apprehended by armed security agents only moments later as she tried to flee the scene. On scene witnesses report that an accompanying marine tackled Admiral Vir to the ground just as the shot was fired.

 In a statement made early this morning by Admiral Vir  he reports that, “Thanks to the brave actions of Corporal Angel Ramirez I am alive and unharmed.” Corporal Angel Ramirez is a decorated veteren of the UNSC deep space division and served his first tour aboard the UNSC Enterprise on its maiden voyage. Since then he has served under Admiral Vir on both the UNSC Harbinger and most recently the Omen distinguishing himself in combat during the Burg war and the Kree engagement. Our sources report that Corporal Ramirez was once an up and coming champion in the Mericandian winter Olympic ice skating team before joining the marines. 

Reports say that the corporal came out of surgery early this morning and is in stable but critical condition. 

The only question remains is who would attempt an assasination on such a beloved cultural icon. More on that with our crime reporter Jim Shaw.

Thank you, Emily, early this morning we received reports from Fort harmony officials that the name and identity of the shooter is 37 year old Adrea Halen member of a traditionalist leaning moderate group the Hunt Party, who have condemned Admiral Vir in the past for his support of legalizing extrial relationships. President Hunt, leader of the hunt Party and CEO of Hunt Metals said in a statement today. “Our party had nothing to do with Ms. Halen’s actions, while we disagree with Admiral Vir on some fundamentals of government, we would never attempt to silence him through violence. At the end of the day Admiral Vir has done far more good than he has bad and no man deserves to die due to his political views. What Ms halen has done is condemnable, and the party does not support her actions.”

Further comment was withheld until a later date. As of yet police have been unable to determine if she acted alone or with the assistance of the group. Police chief Henry Winzer added in his statement today, “Ms. Halen has not, as of yet, divulged her motives behind the shooting, however based on preliminary evidence of the scene it seems as if these were the actions of a woman acting alone. Detectives have been unable to find any correspondence between her and a third party and even her husband had been out of the country for the past few months.”

Her motive remains, as of yet, unknown. There is evidence of a radicalized political view since she did attempt and target Admiral Vir, and some of her personal social media content has been leaked to the public reporting her dissatisfaction with going the GA and her open disgust for extrial activities especially in regards her oldest son who was in a relationship with a Finnari before moving to Noctropolis. We have since been unable to contact him.

In the past Admiral Vir has been known as a great political proponent in favor of extrial relationships, and a non isolationist view having once said that, “Cooperation and companionship with the GA will be the bedrock of human expansion into space.” With the popularity of Admiral Vir as a cultural Icon, it can be said that his political views have been influential on the younger upcoming generations of today, while the older populace still remains wary of political involvement with extraterrestrial life. In oth-

Adam shut off the TV sinking back into one of the stiff plastic chairs that adorned the hospital waiting room. His eyes felt grainy and dry, and his head ached dully behind his eyes. Off in the corner of the room much of Ramirez’s family lay asleep on the plastic chairs including his father and otters who had arrived late last night. They had fallen asleep after a nurse ventured in a few hours to go to let them know that he was stable and alive. Adam himself had not been able to sleep thinking about his friend, replaying the moment over and over in his head wondering if there was something he could have done to prevent all of this from happening. But the more he thought the more he realized that it was probably unlikely. He might have been able to dive out of the way himself before the shot was fired, but Ramirez was already in motion before that.

He couldn’t have seen it coming, no one could have, and no one did.

Ramirez had just been the fastest.

He sunk back into his chair miserably and stared at the wall. There were no windows in this room, the guard detail had insisted upon it incase someone else tried for his life. It all seemed so strange to him. Why would anyone want to kill him? 

He knew the answer though, as much as he wanted to think he was just some nobody, he wasn’t anymore. He was… a political figure, someone who could influence what happened in the galaxy and there were plenty of people who weren’t bound to agree with him on a lot of things.

He just wondered why he hadn’t seen this coming sooner.

His implant buzzed, and he looked down to see that his mother was calling. Whoopse, she wasn’t going to be happy that she was just hearing about this over the news, but he knew he needed to talk to her. He stood and made his way into the hallway, where a protection detail eyed him hawkishly.

Closing the door behind him, so as not to disturb its sleeping occupants, he answered the call, speaking out loud as the implants in his throat and ear picked up the sound, “Hey, mom.” 

“Adam! Adam are you alright! I just saw the news.”

“Yeah, yea I’m ok.” He took a deep breath, “Sorry I didn’t call. It’s just been kinda hectic.”

“And you’re sure you’re ok?”

“Yeah, I mean, I feel like shit but no bullet wounds….” he trailed off 

There was silence for a moment, ‘I’m so sorry sweetheart, how is Ramirez?”

“Doctor’s haven’t given us all the details yet, but he's at least alive and survived surgery.”

“Thank goodness…. We owe that boy.”

“I know, mom…. I know.”

Just then he heard voices off down the hall and turned to see Dr. kill and Dr Katie approaching from the wings.

“Mom, I’ve gotta go, but I’ll call you as soon as I can, Ok?”

“Ok.” 

She let him go and he hung up as the two doctors approached.

“How is he!”

They motioned him into the room and he followed just as Ramirez’s family members were waking up.

Adam hovered near the door not entirely sure if he was supposed to be there. Ramirez’s mother sat up, “Is h ok!”

Dr. Kati and Dr Krill glanced at Adam. Adam realized with Dr. patient confidentiality, and it being family, he probably wasn’t supposed to be here. He went to step outside, but Ramirez’s abuela waved him back.

Ramirez an Dr Katie nodded.

The little alien stepped forward towards the family, “I have both good and bad news.”

The group waited with bated breath.

“THe good news is that your son made it through surgery. He is stable and recovering in the ICU.” he glanced over at Katie, “The bullet went in through his back, through his right kidney and perforated some of his lower bowl. We were able to fix the tears but the kidney…. Was not salvageable.”

The family glanced back and forth between each other, “That…. That’s not so bad though. He has two….”

Krill shifted slightly, “Well that is the remarkable thing and also the bad news but…. Your son only had one kidney. We wouldn’t have noticed it were it not for our imaging, but it seems he has lived with this defect his entire life without complication.”

Dr. Katie Cut in just then, “Since he was born with the defect, his body compensated. The kidney that was destroyed was much larger than average…” She trailed off 

The family members looked between each other, “So…. So what does this mean.”

“We have him on dialysis right now, and he is going to need a kidney transplant.” Dr. Katie folded her hands, “There are a few options, there is always the possibility of getting him a donor kidney or equally possible and more…. Advisable would be to have a kidney grown for him using his own stem cells, that way we can grow him one like the one he lost considering there is no way for us to give him two. If he were to get a donor kidney, he would have to undergo chronic gene therapy to avoid medications that would leave him immunocompromised. However in that case he would need to be medically discharged. If we were to grow him a new kidney, he would be able to return to his post without being discharged, but the cost is…. Admittedly much higher.”

The family glanced between each other their faces pulled into grimaces.

Adam knew their financial situation. He had heard stories about Ramirez growing up and knew enough to know that his family had never been well off. They had been close, his childhood had been excellent, but they had never been rich. Affording either of those options was going to be a stretch.

“Well we will have to talk about-”

“I’ll pay for it.”

The entire room turned to look at him.

“You-”

“I said I will pay for it. With the settlement for the court case, I can pay for it. He saved my life this is the least I can do, Please…”

His pleading was so plaintive that the family could hardly say no. He did have a point as well. Instead, he received an enthusiastic hug from Ramirez’s younger sister who clasped her arms around him and nearly snapped him in half with her strength. She was an olympic boxer after all, so he wasn’t surprised.

“Thank you thank you thank you.” She repeated.

Dr. Katie looked at him with a pointed expression, but she didn’t need to ask. He intended to pay for every last cent of Ramirez’s treatment even if he had to fight his abuela for it. He wasn’t entirely sure he’d win against her, but he would damn sure try if it meant doing something fo his friend.

He owed him after all.

And even if he didn’t Ramirez was his best friend. This wasn’t about owing him, this was about doing anything for someone he cared about.

Dr. Krill shifted in his place, “We will get the equipment ready and start later this week. I…. would be honored to perform the operation. I will be upfront with you and say that I am the universe's foremost surgeon, but I would also be the first Alien to perform a transplant”

“I of course, you saved his life last night-”

They seemed almost in shock. Everything was being paid for and the universe most renowned surgeon was practically begging to do it.

The only way this could have been better is if their son hadn’t been shot in the first place.

***

The steady beeping of the machine echoed around the room. Adam sat with one ankle crossed over a knee looking down at his implant and absently reading through that day’s news report as a soft whirring came from the machine just to his right. He wasn’ technically supposed to be here, but the doctors had made an exception for him and the family. On the other side of that a glass tube was busy growing an extra kidney. There was security outside the door and a doctor came in every few minutes to check on the kidney, and the man to which the kidney belonged.

Adam scrolled dow.

There was a shifting just to his side, and with relief Adam looked up to find Ramirez stirring. The man tried to open his eyes but squinted against the light and groaned raising one IV tethered hand to block the light.

Adam leaned over resting a hand on his arm, “Hey you’re finally awake.”

Ramirez cracked an eye at him and groaned.

“Come on ya freak wake up.”

Ramirez closed his eyes again, “Why…. When I wake up do I have to see your ugly ass.

Adam snorted, “How sweet, freak.”

“Freak, have you looked at yourself lately.”

“At least I was born with all my kidneys.”

Ramirez opened his eyes and frowned, “What?”

Adam smiled slightly, “Turns out your dumbass has lived his entire life with only one kidney. Congratulations, you are a freak of nature.”

“No shit, really? I had no idea.”

“We know, anyway the bullet sort of ruined it, so you have to get a new one. He pointed across the room to the glass tube and its slowly growing kidney which was no bigger than a jellybean right at that moment.”

Ramirez looked and frowned, “Ew, gross… wait who's paying for that,because I don’t think the military covers transplants.”

“It's taken care of.”

“By who.”

“By someone.”

“Someone who.”

“Someone who would rather remain unnamed.”

Ramirez looked at him,”It’s you isn't it.”

Adam sighed, “You saved my life, so shut up and let me buy you a new kidney. I owe you that much at least.”

“Fne, fine.”

There was a pause between them.

“I….. thank you, for saving my-”

“Dude don’t get all sappy and shit on me ok. You would have done it for me.” Adam went quiet still wishing to thank his friend but knowing Ramirez would never accept i.

Ramirez shifted to look at him, “So, you know why they tried to kill you?”

Adam shrugged, “Not really, the lady who did it has some political affiliations who don't tend to agree with me, but that connection doesn't seem to fit completely. Either that or she blames me for making her son an extrial in which case….. That hardly makes sense either.” he shrugged, “Either way she isn’t talking, and now I can’t go anywhere without five to six bodyguards spilling out my ass.”

Ramirez snorted, eyes closing, breathing deeply.

“You feeling ok.”

“Yeah…. I’m alright, just tired.”

“Then go back to sleep ya big idiot. Maybe if you’re a good boy santa will leave a kidney under your pillow.”

Ramirez let off a weak huff, “Didn’t know santa was a black market organ dealer.”

“He is this christmas, now shut up and go to sleep.” Ramirez didn’t argue with him beyond that point, and fell back asleep just as a nurse ws coming to check on him.

Adam was relieved. 

Ramirez was, hopefully, going to be ok.

Though what remained were far more questions than there were answers. 

Helfert, Joachim Murat, Chapter 3, Part 2

(We left Murat claiming to British visitors that he, despite wanting Napoleon to drive the Bourbons out of France, was still totally in the Alies' camp.)

In spite of these assurances, everyone now knew very well what to expect from his side. Moreover, the facts were in stark contradiction with his words. All kinds of armaments were brought to completion with restless haste, throughout the kingdom the press of sailors was ordered to man the vessels; the royal guards, all troops were ordered to be ready to march; his aides-de-camp were constantly on the move in this or that direction. A year earlier Joachim had already begun to give the civil militia a better establishment, this was now continued most assiduously. The capital also received a military guardia di sicurezza, six battalions on foot and an escadron; property and the intelligentsia formed the elements drawn to their service: the wealthy privateers, merchants and tradesmen, professors, civil servants of all grades; a special medal of merit with the motto: "Onore e fedeltà" was created to stimulate their zeal. Ever since the world peace had been concluded, and with explicit reference to this change, Joachim had also tried to create a Sicilian regiment, Neapolitans who had followed Ferdinand IV to the island, but for whom there was now, as Murat thought, no longer any reason to stay abroad; but the influx was very small, the intended regiment never came into being. Among the officers' corps, a very dangerous increase consisted of many Lombards and Romagnoles who had formerly served in the army of the Kingdom of Italy and who, according to the custom of such fugitives from the country, had their mouths full of lofty words, pushed for an immediate upsurge in arms, which would be met with the most brilliant successes: old comrades would flock to them from all parts of Italy, hundreds, thousands of them armed and uniformed, gladly joining the King's army.

These military precautions went hand in hand with some personnel changes in the upper circles of government. The Minister of Finance, Mosbourg, a Frenchman by birth, asked for and received his dismissal - he had made his penny dry and did not want to expose it again to all the storms and rigours of the weather; he became Secretary of State in place of Prince Pignatelli-Cerchiara, who took over the vice-presidency of the Council of State from Cianciulli. The portfolio of finances was given to Baron Nolli, who had to begin his office with the most hateful measures: the merchant class was hit with a compulsory loan of 2 million francs; all the coffers, not excluding those of the hospitals and charitable foundations, were emptied to the last penny. Maghella was once again put in charge of the police; General Manhès became the governor of the capital, two personalities whose very names were disgusting to the people.

The author here in a footnote quotes Mier from a letter of 12 March: "Ces deux individus jouissent de la plus mauvaise réputation et sont détestés comme étrangers".

Under these circumstances, Mier's position in Naples became a very unpleasant one, and he urgently begged Prince Metternich "not to forget him". In the face of Joachim's assertion and that of his organs, in particular the government newspaper, maintaining that the King was in full harmony with Austria, that his policy was also that of Austria, Mier took every opportunity to loudly contradict this: "Austria is rather resolutely opposed to having the peace of Italy disturbed; the King, by pursuing his warlike desires and a delusion of greatness, will drag himself and his own to ruin". He sent a confidential letter to the queen, imploring her to do everything in her power to prevent her husband from making a hasty decision. He had discussions with Gallo, to whom he gave his unreserved opinion and drew his attention to the fact that the first step taken by a Neapolitan soldier across the demarcation line agreed on 28 April at Bologna would have the immediate consequence of breaking the Austrian alliance.

As early as the 12th of March it was said that the King would leave for the army, Mosbourg and Zurlo with him, Gallo and Macdonald to follow, and the Duke of Carignano to conduct foreign affairs in the meantime. The Princess of Wales, on hearing this decision, had offered to precede the King to Ancona; but he had sent her his regrets through the Duke of Roccaromana that he would not be able to receive her there, whereupon she angrily departed that very morning for Civita Vecchia, and from thence to Genoa. But the king's departure did not come to pass for the time being. Once again, doubts had intervened: repeated and strong hints from the Austrian envoy, requests and ideas from the queen, insistent advice from serious men who were in Joachim's confidence [footnote see below, as somewhat longer]. For a moment it had seemed as if everything was to be reversed, regiments that were about to march had been ordered to halt, others had even said that they would be recalled from the Marches.

Then new favourable news arrived of Napoleon's advance in France - from the evening of 10 March, when he entered Lyon, which might have been reported in Naples on the 15th - and now there was no more rest and no more peace for Joachim. He hastily summoned the Council of State, which was attended by the Queen, all the ministers, and the top generals, not to hear the opinion of those present, but to win them over to his own, which he did with all the grandiloquent exuberance of a Gascogner: 8,000 of his own troops, 14 battalions of provincial militia, civic militia without number; in addition, appeals from all parts of the peninsula, here a letter speaking of 12 regiments in readiness, of 12,000 shotguns in stock, there a letter with the promise of four fully equipped regiments, another promising the whole mass of the disbanded Italian army. The majority of those assembled listened to these reckless reports in incredulous distrust; with regret they saw the King's self-deception, and urgently advised against a hasty step: "one should rather await the answers from Vienna and London, the last success of Napoleon's enterprise, the resolutions of the Congress of Vienna on this unexpected change of affairs". Joachim suspended the meeting without passing a resolution that he did not like, sent Count Beaufremont to France with the declaration that the Emperor could count on his services, and let the Roman Court know through Cardinal Fesch that he regarded Napoleon's cause as his own and soon intended to prove to the world that it had never been alien to him.

On the evening of March 15, the Austrian envoy had a conversation with the Duca di Gallo, the contents of which left no further doubt. Joachim's minister complained about the obvious cooling in Austrian sympathies; about the neglect of his monarch's interests on the part of the Viennese Cabinet; about the small amount of effort the Cabinet had made to obtain the king's recognition from the other powers; about the humiliating way in which the king's ministers and other trusted individuals sent there by him were treated in Vienna. "The Congress will come to an end," Gallo concluded, "and Austria will not have fulfilled the promise she made to us. From this we can conclude no other than that she will abandon us in an extreme case, from which it further follows that the King must seek assistance where it is offered and resort to those means which he can hope will help him to his goal...". The next day, Mier appeared before the queen, who, as she complained to him, had been brought completely down by her sorrow, as well as by the continual quarrelling and disputes. "The King thinks," she said, "that Napoleon's successes will help to keep him on the throne. You know my opinion on this point. I will not cease to advise him that if the Vienna Cabinet should decide to oppose Napoleon, there is nothing left for him but to join Austria and follow her system and policy. You see, I am sacrificing my personal feelings and the agony of seeing my family persecuted, covered with shame and reproaches, to the duties of a mother, to the duties of a Queen of Naples. Emperor Francis has remained our loyal ally until this moment, and I am convinced that he will continue to do so in the future, if we know how to deserve it. This is his duty: but his own best interests also require him to do so".

[Footnote] Among them, in the first row, Pietro Colletta who, on March 11, "in his capacity as Councillor of State", sent a letter to the King urging him against any daring enterprise. The unification of Italy was a dream, "un filone di uomini caldi si abbandonerà a questa idea lusinghiera, ma la massa degl' italiani o la spregerà o la riguarderà con indifferenza o si armerà contro di essa". Twenty-five years of war and revolution had created a deep need for peace; the fine phrases used to flatter the passions of the people had lost their power. And how much preparation was needed to bring the war power up to the proper level! "L'armata di V. M. potrebbe esser battuta prima che aiutata!" The King should keep calm, so that time would pass which would only benefit the existence of his dynasty ... F. Palermo who published the letter in Arch. stor. ital. 1856 III p. 62-65, declares himself unable to state whether the letter really reached the king's hand or not.

Okay, this seems huge to me. I had no idea how much Joachim had suffered from being branded a traitor and how much it had weighed on his conscience. "[...] he regarded Napoleon's cause as his own and soon intended to prove to the world that it had never been alien to him." I guess the need to prove to both himself and to the world that he was not a dishonourable being played a huge role in his disastrous decision. (This actually reminds me of a dissertation on Austrian general Mack - the one from the campaign of 1805 - that claimed that similar mental stress led to the latter's irrational behaviour during the time auf Ulm.)

"Onore e fedeltà" may actually be a direct reference to Eugène's (at the time often quoted) proclamation to the people in the Kingdom of Italy, dated February 1, 1814, which publically announced Murat's defection and declared the Neapolitans an enemy to Napoleon's cause. ("Français! Italiens! j'ai confiance en vous; comptez aussi sur moi! Vous y trouverez toujours votre avantage et votre gloire. Soldats! ma devise est Honneur et Fidelité! Qu'elle soit aussi la vôtre; avec elle et l'aide de Dieu nous triompherons enfin de nos ennemis.") Murat basically claims that phrase - that had been directed against him - back.

Naturally I'm also interested in those "fugitives" from Lombardy who had come to Naples and may have presented a highly misleading picture of people's attitude in Northern Italy at the time. In truth, the different political factions there seem to have agreed pretty soon in their dislike of their new Austrian masters (I believe it is in August 1814, only four months after taking over, that Bellegarde has to send military to the Scala of Milan because riots were about to break out) but that does not necessarily mean they were friendly towards the Neapolitans - who by most were considered as foreigners just as much as the French had been. Also, the Austrians seem to have taken immediate measures to remove all rebellious elements from the country; I believe it is Méneval who mentions how all the Lombardian officers suspicious of still being too attached to the old regime, were transferred to Hungary and, on their way there during the Congress in Vienna, stopped by one by one to see their old viceroy. And to probably reproach him for not having marched on Milan in April when the riots broke out.

5 times Leonard was surprisingly affectionate

1 They had been loitering at the New York Zoo and Sara was just uncharacteristically frigidity. She kept inching towards the bird section that was chaotic with sounds of macaw squawks, dove coos and the never ending screech of some tropical bird that Leonard hated. The noise was driving him nuts.

Stein had advised that it would be a great place for a 3rd date as that if they had an awkward pause, there was an automatic conversation starter if a lion ever got loose. Right now he wished a lion would go on a rampage right now and kill those stupid birds.

Sara really seemed to enjoy the trip so far, he didn't get the big deal it was just a bunch of animals in caging staring back at you. Or just sleeping.

Sara just smiled and dragged him to the bird aisle. Leonard couldn't help but give a small smirk. He really liked her smile, it was bright and casual. Yeah, that's it, casual. Not too big or that blinding smile that made him feel warm all over.

Just casual.

He was with someone he trusted. Not a daily feeling in Leonard Snart's life. He hadn't felt safe since he killed his father with the cold gun those many months ago. Or was it a year?

But with Sara it was different kind of safety. An emotional one. That she understood what it was like to be one of the bad guys. The feeling that no matter what you did, you couldn't be redeemed. The vulnerableness of being with all those "heroes," the disbelief that you could ever become that good.

She went through it to. She got through it and somehow it made him feel hopeful that he could too.

Sara raced past the tropical birds and scanned the name cards. Then a beep sounded. From Rip.

"Savage, 1997." was his message.

"Oh,” Sara sighed, shook her head and strode confidentially out of the zoo.

At the Waverider, the team was leaving the base after Rip informed them that getting Savage before the Team had formed might be their only chance at saving Carter and maybe getting another muscle. Sara was leaving to her room to get a katana, when Leonard stopped at her door.

"I got this before we left." He handed her a wooden canary that started to play a simple tune.

"How did you?" Sara gently took the canary, a giddy smile unconsciously spreading over her face. "I have my ways."

2 She had been shot by Nyssa and was lying on the hospital bed getting stitched up. She stated that she didn't mind the pain, it was numb to her, she had worse things. But Leonard could tell she was in pain.

Just not the physical kind.

Leonard was aware of her past with Nyssa and he could just imagine the hurt of her former lover shooting her in the shoulder.

To be fair, Nyssa didn't know who Sara was. She was just raised as Ra's daughter, to kill. Sara had been standing between her and Chronos. He also knew Sara was berating herself for getting shot, for being weak.

"Sara, you can't blame yourself." "Yes, I can!" Sara protested "I knew she didn't know me, and I kept telling her what a good person she was. It was just stupid. I'm so stupid. Ugh!”

"No you're not. You're badass but not stupid."

"This is not the time." Sara glared.

"Fine but I'm taking your night watch" - Night watch was when two team members stayed at the base to study any activity from Savage then shifted to another two later in the earlier morning. Today was her turn to watch with Stein and Leonard was suppose to take the later one with Ray.

"Leonard, I'm shot not disabled, I'll do it." Sara insisted. "No, you won't." "Yes I will." "No, Sara." He leaned close to her, whispering in her ear, "It's okay to be hurt right now. Just sit and relax" Then walked away.

Sara remained in her bed like Leonard told her and in the morning she heard the toy canary by her bedside, singing and an exhausted Leonard was asleep in the chair next to her.

3 The third time was four months after they made it official. They were boyfriend and girlfriend and life couldn't be any easier, well love wise, the world was still in danger.

They were watching the Matrix on the couch and Sara had fell asleep at some point when the Matrix exploded.

Sara because of her assassin tendencies and the probability everyone tried to kill her in her sleep was a very light sleeper.

Sara hadn't been sleeping lately for various reasons, Nyssa being one of them. 2nd timeline Nyssa shooting her had been a recurring nightmare.

The sound of the Matrix exploding had been surprisingly calming, like how she wanted to kill someone and that just watching someone in pain made her feel better.

Sara had woken up to someone brushing her hair, she was about to stand up and ask what he was doing when she felt him lay his head on hers then he put her head on a pillow and walked away.

Sara shrugged and went back to sleep, probably some his brooding walks of thoughtfulness.

A few seconds, she heard him tiptoe back and put the blanket over her.

4 "Sara what were you doing?" Rip yelled.

Leonard cringed as Sara frowned. Sara had just killed a flight attendant that was preventing her from getting into Savage's private jet.

The killing had accomplished the goal to get into the jet, but Savage still escaped, Sara was covered in blood and the news reporters were more than eager to get the headline of Victor Scolia's attempted murder, assassin in jail.

Then the team having to go to jail to bust her out hadn't made Rip's twitch any better.

"My job to get Savage," Sara replied stiffly.

"By killing the guy. You could have just hit him on the head and be done with but now all of Cincinnati has your name on America's Most Wanted." Rip continued on with tirade on how she must use simpler means such as a small blow to the head to make people unconscious, not dead.

Leonard gave a small internal sigh himself. He knew how difficult it was for her. The spent many nights were Sara discussed her bloodlust and how she wanted more action. She needed to feel the blood over her hands, smooth and sticky and know that she was alive because she ended someone else.

Besides it was more practical, sealed the witness more quickly. But since his little deal with Scarlet he had resided these urges. Then again, he hadn't been resurrected from death in a Lazerus pit so this must be a different level of bloodlust.

Sara strode to her, poised as usual. But he noticed a slight dejected slump. She knew she screwed up It was best to leave her alone.

But the part of being a supportive boyfriend wouldn't let him.

Sara was sitting in her bed, staring at the wall.

"I had to kill him. For myself. Like a monster," Sara muttered, vaguely registering his presence.

Rather than doing another one of the talks that had been played over before, he sat next to her. Sara leaned against his chest and screamed in frustration. He slowly patted her shoulder.

5 She attempted to cook for him for their first anniversary. It was a simple meal, just some mashed potatoes and an omelet but it went wrong.

Really wrong.

She had burned both the egg and potatoes and left the bottoms scorched. She had tried to make it up by posting ice cubes to lessen the heat. Leonard felt a little fearful for his stomach but gave a shaky smile in return and put on his best poker face.

"Enjoy," Sara sat down with her own glass of water and played with her eggs.

Leonard noticed the way she looked at him worriedly. "She really wants me to like it.” Leonard thought and decided faking until he made it would be the best option. Just this once and it was for her.

He took a forceful of egg and shoved it in. It tasted awful. The grease and the smell of smoke filled his nose and mouth but Leonard valiantly continued and ate it all. Breaking a chair leg in the process of trying not to let his pain show.

The next morning Leonard was excused from work due to food poisoning that he blamed at the Taiwanese McDonalds.

Though Sara just knew it had to be her cooking. But he didn't say a word, he just smiled and ate those eggs.

And that was anniversary gift itself.

And the 1 Leonard had been in the shower in the men's room. Staring himself in the mirro r in disgust. He had ran into Lewis once more during their missions in the timeline and the scars across the front of his chest glared mockingly at him.

Of all those years of obeying the dead bastard.

Nothing big occurred between them, not wanting to mess up the timeline and such but seeing him again just brought back all those memories.

He pulled on his parka and strode into the HQ. He hit the table over and over with his fist, cursing.

Sara walked in, "What is it?" She asked soothingly.

"The bastard" he replied "The damn bastard that did this to me. The bastard that treated me like his flunkies for diamonds. Couldn't hold his damn liquor. The loser doesn't know anything. He took my childhood and put me in juvie he put a fucking bomb in my sister's head just so I worked with him because he couldn't do it himself! I have spent half my life in hell!"

"Hit me," Sara commanded, holding up the palm of her hands to hit. Leonard hit immediately, the impact only pushed her a few feet backwards.

”Harder." she insisted.

Leonard continued to hit her hands until her hands turned red and he was kneeling to his knees with effort.

Sara quietly lifted his head and hugged him. His cold body melted into the warmth of her arms

Episode Reviews - Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1 (6 of 6)

At last, we’re at the end of season 1 of Star Trek TNG, with only two episodes to warp through before we get on to the hopefully better performance of season 2 and beyond.  So, without further ado, let’s look at those last couple of episodes…

Episode 25: Conspiracy

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

While the Enterprise is en route to Pacifica on a scientific mission, Captain Picard receives a highly confidential message from an old friend, Captain Walker Keel of the USS Horatio. Keel refuses to discuss his concerns, even though the frequency he is using is supposed to be a secure channel, and insists on a face-to-face meeting. Once they arrive at Dytallix B for this secret meeting, the crew discover the Horatio and two other Federation ships already present. Picard beams alone to the surface and is met by Captain Keel and the other captains. Keel reports strange orders from Starfleet headquarters and what he implies are suspicious deaths of Starfleet officers, and expresses concern of a conspiracy. Picard refuses to accept this without proof, but Keel warns him to remain wary.

 When the captain returns to the Enterprise, he confides only in Counsellor Troi, who questions whether he should really his contact with Keel secret. Picard is sceptical about the conspiracy, but says that he trusts his old friend completely. The Enterprise resumes its previous journey. Picard has Lt. Commander Data review all orders issued by Starfleet Command in the past six months. While the ship is still on its way to Pacifica, a disturbance is detected in nearby space. Upon investigating this, the Enterprise discovers a mass of debris that surely must be the shattered remains of the Horatio. Data completes his study and finds several strange orders from the senior levels of Starfleet. Picard informs his senior staff of the conspiracy theory, and orders the Enterprise to Earth.

 As it approaches Earth, the Enterprise receives no response from Starfleet Command. Eventually, a transmission is received from a trio of Starfleet admirals: Savar, Arron and Quinn, an old friend of Picard's who recently made an inspection of the Enterprise (in "Coming of Age"). They are surprised by the Enterprise's presence, but invite Captain Picard and Commander Riker to dinner. Quinn requests to beam aboard the Enterprise for a tour. Captain Picard recalls being warned by Quinn about some kind of threat to Starfleet when the admiral was last aboard. Upon Quinn's arrival, Picard discusses matters with him and Quinn seems strangely evasive; Picard comes to believe that he is an impostor, or under some sort of alien influence. After warning Riker of his concerns and asking him to watch Quinn, the captain beams down to Starfleet headquarters to attend the dinner. On arrival, Picard is greeted by the other two Admirals who are accompanied by Lt. Commander Remmick.

 Meanwhile, Riker visits Quinn's quarters on the Enterprise and questions him about what he has in the small box he brought with him. Quinn tells Riker of a superior life form within the box. Riker attempts to leave but Quinn throws Riker across the room. A security team arrives to subdue Quinn, who is able to withstand a great amount of phaser-fire before he collapses. The ship's chief medical officer, Dr Crusher, finds a small protrusion on the back of his neck. She discovers that a bug-like parasite has wrapped its tendrils around the stem of Quinn's brain and is controlling him. Dr Crusher warns Picard of this incident when he contacts the ship in private. He is advised that the infected person can only be stopped by a phaser set to 'kill'; the captain points out that he is unarmed. He then has no choice but to go in to dinner with his three superiors.

 A bowl of living larvae is served at the meal, to Picard's disgust. He attempts to leave, only to find Riker blocking his way. The commander appears to be controlled by the parasite Quinn brought to the Enterprise. When the others see a prosthetic protrusion on the back of Riker's neck, he is accepted as one of them and allowed to dine. They reveal that the parasites are seeking to take over Starfleet, using humanoids as hosts. When he is about to put a handful of the larvae in his mouth, Riker suddenly produces a phaser and fires on one of the Admirals. Picard picks up a fallen weapon and the two Enterprise officers subdue the infected, causing parasites to leave the hosts and flee. One of the parasites scurries under a closed door and Picard and Riker follow it. They find Remmick ingesting the parasite to join several others inside him. Picard and Riker fire upon Remmick, destroying his body but freeing a giant parasite; the two continue to fire until it is destroyed.

 Later, Dr Crusher reports that the other parasites, including the one inside Quinn, have shrivelled up and died, as they were unable to survive without the mother-creature that had been inhabiting Remmick. As they help to settle matters with Starfleet headquarters, they find that before the mother creature was killed, it had sent a signal to a distant quadrant of the galaxy. The signal is thought to be a homing beacon.

Review:

This episode is notable in the show’s first season on two counts.  First, it’s about the first time we’ve seen the show display any real sense of a multi-episode arc beyond Wesley becoming an acting Ensign or Worf taking over as acting security chief and tactical officer following the death of Tasha Yar. Second, this episode was apparently quite controversial due to the fairly graphic nature of the scene in which a parasite-infested Remmick is blown apart to reveal the parasite mother-creature within.  According to Wikipedia, the show carried a warning message when aired in Canada to forewarn audiences of the graphic scene, while original British broadcasts simply didn’t happen; it was only shown in repeats of the show on BBC 2, and only in an edited format.

 Frankly, I felt that the conspiracy falls flat when revealed because the ultimate motivations of the parasites are never explored.  There’s no look into why they have this need to take over humanity and control the Federation, and subsequent Trek episodes never pick up the plot thread either. According to the Trek wiki website Memory Alpha, the parasites are only explored in tie-in media such as novels and comics, and as someone who is very selective about their Trek, I don’t think that’s good enough.  To really pay off the ominous ending, there should have been a follow-up episode down the line so it could be explored with the canon of the originating show itself. Without that follow up, the lack of exposition falls flat; you just get a bland attempt at horror and mystery. Considering how good Coming of Age was, I’m quite disappointed by this follow-up, and give it only 5 out of 10.

Episode 26: The Neutral Zone

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

While Captain Picard is away at an emergency Federation conference, the Enterprise crew discovers an ancient space capsule from Earth. Inside they find three humans in cryonic chambers. Lt. Commander Data asks to move the chambers to the Enterprise and Commander Riker agrees. Picard returns and orders the Enterprise to the Neutral Zone, as several Federation outposts near the edges of the zone have not responded to communications. He explains that the conference was about the potential threat of the Romulans, who have not been seen for decades. As Data and Chief Medical Officer Dr Crusher work to thaw the cryonically preserved humans, Picard admonishes Data for bringing them aboard during a crucial time, and puts Riker in charge of looking after them.

The survivors consist of Claire Raymond (a housewife), Ralph Offenhouse (a financier) and L. Q. "Sonny" Clemmons (a musician), all of whom are from the late 20th century. All died of incurable illnesses at the time and were placed in cryonic suspension after their deaths in the hope that cures might be found in the future. Dr Crusher, in reviving them, easily cures them of their illnesses. They have to cope with the culture shock of awakening in a distant future with the realization that everything and everyone they knew is now gone. Of the three, Clemmons seems to fare the best at adapting to life in the future and befriends Data. Claire is distraught at the thought of having lost everyone she ever knew, particularly her children, so Counsellor Troi suggests searching for Claire's descendants. Offenhouse is irritated by the lack of access to news or other information, and uses the comm unit to disturb Picard on the bridge. Picard comes down to assure everyone that all questions will be answered, but that the ship's mission requires Picard's full attention.

The Enterprise reaches the Neutral Zone and confirms that the outposts have been destroyed. They are soon met by a Romulan Warbird and Commander Tebok questions why the Enterprise has approached the zone. As Picard tries to explain his actions, Offenhouse arrives on the bridge and threatens to disrupt the tense situation, though he correctly ascertains that the Romulans are also seeking answers. Picard and the Romulans agree to pool their resources to discover the culprit. Picard later comments that while the encounter went favourably, the Romulans may be a significant threat in future engagements. Picard arranges to transport the 20th-century humans to another ship that will take them to Earth. Troi locates one of Claire's descendants on Earth, and while Claire is unsure of her place in her new reality, Troi suggests that family is a good starting point. Clemmons expresses enthusiasm for the future, and Picard explains to Offenhouse that in this time, the challenge is that of improving himself rather than attempting to accumulate wealth and power.

Review:

As a season finale, this episode leaves much to be desired.  The title plot is ok, but doesn’t have room to really be fleshed out or explored in the way it should be, and as such, the impact of the Romulans finally appearing is somewhat lessened.  The lack of room results from a waste of time b-plot in which we get some very bad stereotypes of 20th century humanity thawed out and given a horrendous morality lecture that falls flat due to being so incredibly condescending in tone. Frankly, later episodes in the franchise like the season 2 opening episode of Voyager, The 37s, handle this kind of plot much better, and we’d have been much better sticking to just having more time spent focused on the re-introduction of the Romulans. Really, the episode’s only redeeming feature is a good guest appearance by future DS9 actor of note Marc Alaimo, better known to fans of the DS9 Trek series as Cardassian villain Gul Dukat. All in all, this episode pulls in only a meagre 3 out of 10 from me.

In UN Bribery Case US v Ho Jury Charge Agreed To After FCPA Venue Spat a... In UN Bribery Case US v Ho Jury Charge Agreed To After FCPA Venue Spat and Questions of ExhibitsBy Matthew Russell Lee, Video I II III RS HK FEDERAL COURTHOUSE, December 3 – In the UN bribery prosecution by the US against Patrick Ho of China Energy Fund Committee, both prosecution and defense rested on on the morning of December 3. In the afternoon the jury charge was agreed to, after the defense temporarily argued that "New York, New York" might not be in Manhattan and thus in the Southern District's jurisdiction. Prosecutor Daniel Richenthal said he was ready to re-open his case to prove the 60 Wall Street, where Deutsche Bank is, is in fact in Manhattan. Defense attorney Benjamin Rosenberg said, after a time, "We won't make that objection. Judge Preska said, "That's a wise move." She also asked if the exhibits had been made available. Inner City Press replied Not yet, which remains the case as least as to it as of 6:35 pm the night before summations. (Before 9 am Inner City Press had written requesting particular exhibits, on which we will have more.)  Despite Wednesday's national holiday in honor of George H.W. Bush (of whom Judge Preska spoke a number of times during Tuesday's down-times), Ho will on that day be produced (legalese requiring translation from the largely Hong Kong media left) the jury will deliberate. We'll be there. There was hardly any defense, other than the explosive cross examination of Senegal's former foreign minister Cheikh Gadio (who admitted taking cash from an undisclosed businessman for his previous presidential campaign). The government finally put into evidence CEFC's purchase of Apartment 78B in Trump World Tower, which PGA Vuk Jeremic, Gadio and others visited. There were weapons for oil offers prepared inside the UN. The jury will be charged on December 4. on the morning of November 30 the prosecution  detailed how CEFC bought UN PGA Sam Kutesa - and played an audio wiretap of Ho discussing bribing UN PGA John Ash with Sheri Yan, who did jail time in the first UN bribery case of Ng Lap Seng. As to Uganda, CEFC instead of $500,00 case did a wire transfer - it was cheaper, through pliant HSBC bank which also money launders for Mexican drug cartels - and there was Ho, in purple like today, as Museveni's inauguration. He brought gift with him - a vase, painting, what locked to be a clock - to a dinner at Kutesa's residence. Then the prosecution flashed a list of the times Ho entered the UN - the UN has that information, you see, though they refused to provide it when Inner City Press asked, as to Francis Lorenzo, Ho and Carlos Garcia, preferring to ban Inner City Press. The prosecution left for Monday showing the agreement under which CEFC and its missing Chairman Ye bought unit 78B in Trump World Tower. After a wan cross examination by Ho's lawyer Benjamin Rosenberg (Judge Preska essentially shut him down), the jury was told they may get the case as early as Wednesday, when Antonio Guterres like his predecessor will be put up for sale at Cipriani on 42nd Street. This week, along with the depths of UN corruption, revealed how in China the formal government has a murky relationship with quasi state firms like CEFC, which on the one hand paved Xi's way into the Czech Republic and on the other, tried to get Chad's Deby to "make" Chinese state oil company CNPC to get it a piece of the action, perhaps for the Defense Committee of the Chinese Communisty Party, presumably the sources of the weapons and drones CEFC was offering to Deby and others in Libya and South Sudan. This is the NGO that Antonio Guterres has refused to audit and keeps in the UN while roughing up and banning Inner City Press. Kutesa's sale of the UN began through previous PGA Vuk Jeremic, who told Kutesa it would be "win - win" with CEFC. Then Ho emailed Kutesa's chief of staff Arthur Kafeero, whom Inner City Press wrote about before being banned from even entering the UN by UNSG Antonio Guterres. Later Ho did his emailing with Sam's wife Edith Gasana Kutesa, who asked for money to supposedly make good on an electoral campaign to  pledge help Kutesa's young constituents (although she also bragging that Kutesa had no opposing candidate). She wrote, Youth are impatient - so send me the money! Ho arranged for $500,000 while pitching Edith on all the things (and people) CEFC had bought in Czech Republic. As Inner City Press reported and asked about before being roughed up and banned by UNSG Antonio Guterres, the Czech Ambassador headed ECOSOC, which refused to even look into CEFC's accreditation after Ho's arrest. CEFC used the UN to pitch weapons to dictators. And Guterres is covering up for them. Ho met Kutesa and his son Isaac for three hours in the PGA office - the type of entry Guterres is trying to prevent coverage of - and as his "PGA residence." Ho would email Kafeera and be scheduled as  speaker at the UN, which under Guterres took CEFC's $1 million even AFTER Ho was arrested. The UN of Guterres is corrupt. Periscope video here. Also on November 30, finishing up on the Chad scheme with FBI Agent Galicia, a CEFC web page with Bill Clinton was shown. We'll have more on this. On November 29, Senegal's former Foreign Minister Cheikh Gadio admitted he took $20,000 from an unnamed courier from a businessman he did not want to identify. Then Gadio pushed a journalist in the street and told Inner City Press he would answer its questions later. Video here (YouTube), shorter (Twitter). But if that seemed to give home to Ho, the upcoming Uganda scheme should not. Whether not a disputed prosecution chart comes into evidence, the undelying timeline is damning. Ho for CEFC told then UN President of the General Assembly Vuk Jeremic, who was already working for CEFC, that they wanted to meet his successor Sam Kutesa of Uganda. This culminated, while Kutesa was still UN PGA, in CEFC's chairman Ye Jianming being named a special adviser to the United Nations PGA. This is disgusting, given that CEFC was pushing weapons to Idriss Deby in Chad. More disgusting, Ho used Ye's inroaded into the Czech Republic, whose ambassador to the UN, chairing UN ECOSOC, refused to act on ECOSOC accredited CEFC even after Ho was arrested. Guterres and his spokesman Stephane Dujarric played their cover up roles in this. We'll have more on all this. Gadio is not the defendant in this bribery case - he is, at least so far, the prosecution's lead witness, with a Non Prosecution Agreement. But does that NPA cover Gadio, after his testimony, pushing a journalist on the street outside the court? Video here (YouTube), shorter (Twitter). Inner City Press along with other journalists, mostly from Hong Kong media, waiting outside the Southern District of New York courthouse at day's end. Gadio emerged and Inner City Press asked him how he thought the day had gone. He did not answer but rushed past. Inner City Press asked, louder, "Are you still running for president of Senegal?" Gadio turned back and pushed a journalist who was following him. This happened again a few blocks away. Finally on the stoop of a pharmacy on Canal Street Gadio's companion said he would not be answering questions today but to give your business card. Inner City Press gave its and asked if the former President of Senegal Gadio who took money from China for dropping Taiwan was Abdoulaye Wade. Gadio looked back in recognition - then was gone. Inner City Press previously questioned him in the UN when he was the Organization for Islamic Cooperation's envoy on the Central African Republic. Much has changed since then. As Inner City Press reported yesterday, Gadio was already on shaky ground when his email to Ho complaining he hadn't gotten Chinese money after, as Senegal's foreign minister in 2005, he worked to drop Taiwan and recognize the PR of China. But the bag of (campaign) cash allegation, dropped without warning in cross examination by Edward Kim, caused a break in the proceeding. Inner City Press rushed down to retrieve its phone and tweet and quickly live stream the news, here. Back upstairs, the name of the businessman was not disclosed, allegedly to protect him - from current president Macky Sall? We'll have more on this. Gadio testified for a second day about how he tried to broker weapons to Chad's President Idriss Deby from CEFC's Patrick Ho, who delivered gift boxes with $2 million in cash inside. Gadio's testimony got more specific, that in March 2015 Deby wanted to keep the meeting with CEFC small and confidential, "because of the war situation." Gadio cited Boko Haram, and Ho in a text message said CEFC's offer, for CNPC's 10%, was $200 million "and some arms." This is the head of a still UN accredited NGO, offering weapons for oil - with no audit by SG Antonio Guterres. Gadio tried to get paid for offering opportunities with the Chad - Cameroon pipelines. Gadio's firm Sarata had its bank account in Dubai closed for not being able to document where the money came from; his joint UN tax return with his wife, the head of the UN in Equatorial Guinea, was found to be false and is part of Gadio's non prosecution agreement. And the UN? And Gadio's reiterated dream to run for President of Senegal, after saying in writing he wanted money from China, while foreign minister, for flipping the country from Taiwan to the PR of China? The defense began its cross examination shortly before the lunch break, getting Gadio to admit he misspoke when he claimed Deby was calling him everyday. Mid-day Periscope video here. These will be more in the afternoon, which we'll report, while Guterres' UN tries to cover up the corruption in its walls - by banning the Press. Watch this site. - and what happened afterwards. But there are clouds on the horizon, unless Judge Preska swats them down, for the cross examination of Gadio. The lawyers for Ho, who it seems clear was using the corrupt UN's "special consultative status" to promote oil business and military equipment, point out these US statements, which the prosecutions does not want the jury to hear about: "That Dr. Gadio had intentionally omitted a key asset from his disclosures to Pretrial Services (Ex. A at 20 (“[T]he only reasonable interpretation of that is Mr. Gadio doesn’t want to admit his association with that firm although it is not reasonably subject to dispute.”)); • That Dr. Gadio’s statement in an email to Dr. Ho in 2014 was “referring to a $2 million bribe that Mr. Gadio later wrote about how he should get a fee for and he negotiated it and he got $400,000 to the firm that he omitted from the Pretrial Services report” (id. at 21); • That Dr. Gadio had “admitted facts that the law recognizes as criminal” (id. at 25); • That Dr. Gadio had omitted foreign income from the Pretrial Services report “both to avoid taxes and because he didn’t want anyone to know what it was for because it’s a lot of money, $400,000 wire or two $200,000 wires . . .” (id.); and • That the omissions are “an additional indication [Dr. Gadio] is running away from what I’m referring to as the Gadio Firm which he omitted in the description of his employment because that is a serious problem” (id. at 26). " These statements, like Gadio's threat to trash CEFC to Deby unless CEFC paid him money, are serious problems - unless blocked. The only certainty here is that the UN is corrupt, and a venue for corruption. Gadio texted Deby that his "Chinese friends" were coming to N'djamena with "excellent offers." But when the meeting happened, after speeches by Deby and Ho and CEFC's Zang, suddenly CEFC brought in gift boxes, "as big as that TV," Gadio told the court. Deby accepted them. But then Gadio, back in his hotel, got a call to return to meet Deby alone. According to Gadio, the coup leader Deby was offended. He had no problem with the cash staying in the country, but required a letter re-characterizing it as a donation. This was provided but Gadio criticized how it was written. By this time, the email made clear, Gadio was mostly focused on getting paid. He'd asked CEFC for $100,00 for a Dakar event co-sponsored by France's then-President Francois Hollande. (He also took money from Total, Hertz and a Zimbabwe cell phone company). Gadio texted his son Boubker in Dubai that if the Chinese didn't pay him by January "we will go to Chad in January and destroy their reputation and strategies in Chad! The President will listen to us!" This was ALL IN CAPS. When asked about the threat by Douglas Zolkind of the prosecution, getting ready for the defense's cross examination, Gadio said he as "translating my frustration" which Zolkind repeated as channeling. This might not work well on cross, which we will be covering, watch this site. Day 3 video here. Initially, UN President of the General Assembly Vuk Jeremic set it up, putting CEFC who he went on to work for in contact with Gadio. Both met Ho - Jeremic with UN Security who said nothing - in Trump World Tower. Gadio used the UN to reach Deby, in a "high level" meeting on Central African Republic. (In another Gadio UN connection, when confronted about the $2 million in cash Gadio called his wife, the head of the UN in Equatorial Guinea.) UN PGA Jeremic's deal making culminating in CEFC offering tanks and surveillance equipment to military coup leader Deby (Gadio lauded him a Pan Africanist, citing no less than Marcus Garvey). Gadio's emails may kill off once and for all his ambition to run again for President of Senegal. In one, he complains that in 2005 when he was Foreign Minister and Senegal switched from recognizing Taiwan to the PR China, he didn't get paid. He wrote that the then President of Senegal got millions of dollars from the Chinese but didn't pass through any to him and that he complained to his Chinese counterparts about it. How will this play in Senegal? Watch this site. The opening statements were given on November 26. US Prosecutor Paul A. Hayden said Patrick Ho used UN accredited NGO CEFC to cultivate Sam Kutesa while he was President of the General Assembly, and is caught on audio tape planning to bribe other high UN official(s) - and still no audit by UNSG Antonio Guterres. On November 27 after former UN President of the General Assembly Vuk Jeremic under subpoena testified about the role of Cheikh Gadio in CEFC reaching Chad's president Deby, Gadio himself took the stand at 4:35 pm. Post-testimony stand-up video here. He said he didn't know that CEFC's Ho would have $2 million in gift boxes to hand over at Deby's mansion -- he said he could "only think of it as a bribery attempt" -- but that he "didn't walk away." Why not? Gadio said he wanted to get paid for his and his company SARATAs work - and then Gadio said Deby needed help to fight Boko Haram, an excused use for example by the also long term president of Cameroon, Paul Biya. Inner City Press has heard from Senegal that, contrary to a portion of the defense's opening statement, Gadio is no longer running for president there but instead supports incumbent Macky Sall. He stopped abruptly a few minutes before five o'clock and, unwittingly, stayed in the court room as defense and prosecution began to argue about whethere Ho's visits to the US when he did not enter the UN should still come into evidence. Inner City Press has repeatedly asked the UN to disclose its knowledge of how many times Ho, from his base across First Avenue in Trump World Tower, entered the UN - but Guterres' UN has refused. Likewise, Gadio when asked to disclose his jobs after being Senegal's foreign minister listed a political party but NOT his stint as the Organization for Islamic Cooperation's envoy on Central African Republic. We'll have more on this - and this: earlier on November 27 a CEFC voluteer then staffer, David Riccardi-Zhu, said he was referred to CEFC by his father who worked for the UN. He attended meetings in CEFC's office / apartment in the Trump World Tower, where Ho met with a yet to be named "foreign representative from the United Kingdom." He described UN DESA bending over for CEFC and its sustainable development award - which in 2017 Guterres' DESA still took CEFC's money for even after Ho was arrested and indicted for UN bribery. Inner City Press asked the UN repeatedly about it - and was then roughed up by Guterres' security and has been banned from entering the UN 145 days and counting.  Earlier on November 27, Jeremic described doing work for CEFC while still PGA. He tried to get CEFC business with Mexico's PEMEX through "Emilio." He later tried to broker the sale of a potash mine - in court he said since this is related to fertilizer, it is "a high priority of the UN." He went to meetings in Trump Tower - the one across from the UN, in Apartment 78B, not the one on Fifth Avenue - and acted as a go-between for a CEFC Texas foray, with Noel Thompson who, Jeremic said, promoted wrestling in the UN. The UN comes off as entirely corrupt. And it emerged that Ho was trying to cut his own deal, around CEFC which is paying his legal fees. As soon as Jeremic left he started the process to sign on as a CEFC consultant at $333,333 a year. This require a waiver from Serbia, where he had been foreign minister. But the UN, then as now, has NO cooling off period. Inner City Press asked Jeremic about it during the court's lunch break. He said he had complied with rules - Serbian rules. There are no UN rules; UNSG Antonio Guterres refused to audit CEFC, lawlessly roughs up and bans Inner City Press which asks, including banning it from UNGA week which must now be seen as a hotbed of oil and gas and potash deals. We'll have more on this - it is unclear if Jeremic will take up the rest of the court's day, or if Gadio may start before the end of November 27. On November 26 at 9 am before heading to cover jury selection, Inner City Press in writing asked Guterres, his Deputy Amina J. Mohammed and Global Communicator Alison Smale: "November 26-7: On this the day the UN bribery trial of Ho / China Energy Fund Committee / PGA Kutesa begins, please immediately provide the UN's read out of the DSG's meeting Nov 22 with China's FM, and separately state where the increasingly reported issue of Chinese (government aligned) NGO bribery in the UN was discussed. Relatedly, again, what safeguards are in place for the SG's appearance, for which money is being charged, to ensure that the (Ng Lap Seng) pattern does not repeat itself on the evening of December 5, 2018." Hours later, lead UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric's deputy Farhan Haq replied with this, seeming recycled from the Ng Lap Seng case: "Regarding question Nov. 26-7, we can say that the Organization has cooperated extensively in this matter by making thousands of pages of documents available, as well as providing access to UN personnel." Did Guterres' UN really make thousands of pages of documents available in this Patrick Ho case? If so, how can Guterres claim the case does not concern the UN and merit an audit? We'll have more on this. 

The most pressing question of our time might be: How bad is it?

As a candidate and now as President, Donald Trump has smashed the gauges that once tracked the normal temperature, pressure and wind speed in the climate map of American politics. Now when it feels like the barometer is plunging, we can only watch and wonder: Who can predict what’s coming next, with so many broken indicators?

Yet certain old ways survive. Like a farmer forecasting the weather by the ache in his knee, Washington has a feeling that this storm could be a monster. And the twinge that forecast the deluge was Donald Trump Jr. facing a camera and issuing what sounded a little like an apology. Which is an ominous sign in an Administration that means never having to say you’re sorry.

A bombshell report in the New York Times revealed the junior Trump’s enthusiastic response to “obviously very high level and sensitive” morsels supposedly collected by the Kremlin–a report so accurate that the young Trump shared the proof himself on Twitter rather than try the #FakeNews dodge. Then the President’s eldest son paid a visit to Fox News host Sean Hannity’s show. For Trumpers in trouble, this is like a grounded child serving detention at Grandpa’s house. He frowns, then spins a better excuse than the child could ever create alone, followed by ice cream.

Even in that gentle setting, Trump Jr. felt a need to drop the nonstop offense of brand Trump. “In retrospect,” he said, “I probably would have done things a little differently.”

So, how bad is it? Investigators in Congress and the Justice Department have miles to go before determining whether President Trump or his son, son-in-law or advisers cooperated–or even conspired–with Russian officials to tilt the outcome of last year’s election. But this much is now clear, thanks to Trump Jr.’s Twitter stream: whether the Trumps teamed up with the Russians or not, they certainly wanted to. And that overrides the months of denials from the Trump orbit that there was anything to what the President has repeatedly called a “witch hunt.” When Trump Jr. was asked on July 24, 2016, about Democratic claims that Russia was trying to help the Trump campaign, he responded with unmitigated outrage on CNN. “It’s disgusting. It’s so phony,” he said. “I can’t think of bigger lies.”

He now admits that he knew of purported Russian attempts to help his father weeks earlier. In fact, he tried to make it happen. The proof is in an email chain, with the subject line: “Russia – Clinton – private and confidential.” It involved Trump Jr., who shared it with both Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and former campaign manager Paul Manafort. Whether they read what he sent them is a matter of some dispute, but the email managed to gather all three men for a meeting. The campaign was in furious swing, yet these inner-circle advisers hosted a visitor from Moscow at Trump Tower. She was said to be conveying dirt on Hillary Clinton, compliments of the Kremlin. The tipster who arranged the meeting promised the younger Trump that they could expect “official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.” And in case that wasn’t clear enough, he added, “This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.” He said it had been passed by Russia’s “Crown prosecutor” just that morning. To which Trump Jr. replied, “If it’s what you say I love it.”

So much for White House efforts to deny a Russia problem. At the time of the meeting last June, Manafort–later resigned over his financial ties to Russia and its loyalists in Ukraine–was still riding high. Donald Trump, the billionaire giant killer of primary season was struggling to assume the mantle of presumptive GOP nominee, raise money for the general election and transform his campaign from chaos to clout, all while the party’s Never Trumpers hunted feverishly for a miracle to stop the takeover. Just hours after the Russia meeting was scheduled, candidate Trump announced to the world that he was drafting a “major speech” to make public “all of the things that have taken place with the Clintons.”

Trump Jr. acknowledged on Twitter that he took the meeting in hopes of mining the dirt, but says he instead received a dreary lecture on issues of Russian adoption from an empty-handed lawyer, along with some vague claims about donors to the Democratic National Committee. The meeting “went nowhere but had to listen,” he typed; later he assured Hannity that he had left Dad out of the episode entirely, a claim echoed by White House officials. Kushner maintains that he failed to read to the bottom of the email invitation to the meeting, so he did not understand the Russian promise it contained. “It was on the fourth page of a forwarded conversation,” said a source familiar with Kushner’s knowledge.

What actually happened is a mystery for special counsel Robert Mueller to unravel. What may matter more in the meantime, though, is what the three men did not do. Unlike the President and his spokespeople, these key insiders never dismissed the offer of “very high level” Russian “support” as phony or fake. On the contrary, the prospect of Russian assistance was real enough to pull three very busy men into a Trump Tower office to meet with a messenger from Moscow. They also failed to report the alleged effort of a foreign power to influence the election. Kushner failed even to report the meeting on his initial security-clearance application.

Again: How bad is it? The entire 2016 race was a test of shifting standards. In that sour season of deeply unpopular candidates, millions of people undoubtedly felt that stopping Clinton was a cause so important that they could countenance any number of strange alliances. Likewise, there were millions who, in the waning days of the campaign, clicked happily on a salacious dossier of anti-Trump material gathered by gumshoes in an effort to stop him.

But while partisanship is one thing, Russia has long been an entirely different matter. From Damascus to Turtle Bay, from oil fields to outer space, Russia is a fierce rival of the U.S. and has been for generations. What politician jumps in bed with Russia? Whether overt or covert, Moscow’s stance toward Washington runs a short, troubling gamut from mischievous to hostile. “Russia is the one country that could physically destroy America,” former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer noted in a Brookings Institution paper published last October. For advisers to a would-be President to take at face value an offer of clandestine assistance from Moscow is foolish at best, reckless for sure and potentially treasonous in the worst-case scenario.

Maybe this is what it means to elect a billionaire dealmaker to the White House. Trump has promised to put “America first.” But in this episode, the guiding mind-set seems, at best, to be a very strange, postnational wheeler-dealerism. The juicy fruit dangled in front of Trump Jr. was supposedly passed from the Kremlin’s chief prosecutor to a real estate oligarch named Aras Agalarov. He has been a pal of the Trumps ever since the future President staged a Miss Universe pageant in Moscow in 2013. Known as “Putin’s builder” for his close ties to the Russian leader, Agalarov proposed a partnership to construct a Trump-branded skyscraper in the Russian capital, and he remained in touch with the new President even after the deal fell through. Agalarov also had well-established ties to Yuri Chaika, Russia’s prosecutor general since 2006, and publicly came to Chaika’s defense against corruption claims in 2015.

Agalarov’s son Emin, a pop star in Russia for whom Trump once appeared in a music video, is on a first-name basis with Trump Jr. It was Emin who first asked for the meeting–via his publicist, a Fleet Street veteran of Britain’s rough-and-tumble tabloids named Rob Goldstone. Although Emin did not wind up at Trump Tower (instead, the visitor was a connected attorney named Natalia Veselnitskaya), the overall picture was a series of transactions, from mogul to mogul, heir to heir, Moscow to London to Manhattan. Borders vanish when you’re looking down from a private jet at cruising altitude.

But with Congressional committees at work and with Mueller bulking up his staff at the Justice Department, questions of patriotism may pale beside questions of legal and political jeopardy. In 1974, before Trump had built his first tower or Trump Jr. had drawn his first breath, Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas explained in a silky drawl the reasoning behind his proposed ban on international support for U.S. political campaigns. “I am saying that contributions by foreign nationals are wrong,” Bentsen honeyed, “and they have no place in the American political system.”

Over the years, the Bentsen amendment has been interpreted to ban many types of information sharing, on grounds that information is itself a thing of value. For example, the Federal Election Commission ruled in a 1990 case that polling data can be a thing of value if shared with a campaign. Legal experts are split on the question of whether Trump Jr. could be charged with conspiring to break Bentsen’s law by accepting anti-Clinton research–a thing of value to the Trump campaign–even if the supposed research was never, in fact, delivered.

One skeptic is Jan Baran, an expert on campaign laws at the firm of Wiley Rein. For many years, he notes, federal regulations have permitted foreign nationals to volunteer on U.S. campaigns, and in this case the Agalarovs might simply be volunteers who offered to carry “documents and information” that they picked up at no cost. So where is the foul? “Everyone’s upset that Don Jr. met with Russians, but I don’t see where there’s a violation of campaign-finance laws, let alone a conspiracy to violate those laws,” Baran says.

Other theories of legal peril lurk outside of campaign law. Perhaps Trump Jr. violated the ancient Logan Act, a relic of the 18th century that forbids “intercourse with any foreign government” in connection with “disputes or controversies with the United States.” Would it matter that no one has been convicted under the law in more than 200 years?

Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia and Clinton’s running mate, raised the stakes further by saying that these fresh revelations move the Russia investigation into the realms of “perjury, false statements and even, potentially, treason.” The first two crimes on his list might apply to Kushner, who had to fill out a form disclosing contacts with foreign officials as part of the screening process for security clearance for an official White House position. If he could be shown to have omitted the meeting with the Russian lawyer on purpose, he could be vulnerable. Neither Trump Jr. nor Manafort was subject to the vetting.

Treason, meanwhile, is an extremely hard case to make. Only about 30 Americans in the history of the country have been charged with it. The only crime defined in the Constitution, treason is limited to “levying war” against the U.S., “adhering to their enemies” or “giving [those enemies] aid and comfort.” The attempted hanky-panky at Trump Tower is not likely to meet that test.

A more plausible charge is obstruction of justice–and here the President himself might be vulnerable. As investigators dig deeper into all things Russia-related, they might find explanations for some of Trump’s seemingly erratic decisions. Why did he praise former FBI director James Comey publicly, allegedly court his loyalty privately and then fire him so abruptly? Why did Trump encourage the Russians to hack Clinton’s emails, then deny evidence that Russian hacking took place? Was he trying to derail or divert the investigation? Even if he was, can a President be indicted for thwarting an investigation when his executive authority clearly includes the Justice Department?

Such questions may explain why one of Mueller’s first hires is an expert in constitutional law and the limits of executive power. Mueller, who was for a dozen years the director of the FBI, has been summoned back to the Justice Department to riddle out his own version of the question “How bad is it?” So far he isn’t saying.

Beyond the legal implications lies the political damage, which will be tallied over time. Trump had just returned from a trip to Europe when the latest bad news broke, blotting out coverage of his speech defending Western values in Poland and casting a jaundiced light on his first meeting with Putin. With his agenda bottled up in Congress by the cork of an unpopular health care bill, Trump may be losing any ability to focus political attention on matters of his choosing. Few elected Republicans were willing to defend the Trump camp when the email chain went public.

Their silence pointed to the one measuring stick that Trump hasn’t yet broken: the voters. The year 2016–the year of Trump’s unexpected victory–is receding as quickly as 2018 approaches, and members of the GOP must decide how closely to embrace their party’s leader in their next campaigns. This is a delicate calculation. Polling suggests a deepening determination among core Republicans to shut out what they’re hearing from established institutions. Strong majorities on the right express skepticism, not just of the media but also of many government agencies, colleges and universities. For them, the sound of established authorities howling over the emails might as well be music.

But polls also make it clear that core Republicans are not a majority in the U.S. Trump’s nationwide job approval remains stuck at about 40%. If you think of elected officials as a needle wobbling between the GOP base and persuadable independents, you can watch them to see how much political damage is being done. So far, special elections in places like Georgia, Kansas and South Carolina have shown the needle tilting away from Trump, but not enough to lose him any Republican Congressmen.

Inside the White House, the mood was, once again, weary and grim. The President dropped from public view, surfacing briefly to praise his son as “a high-quality person” and to tweet his approval of Trump Jr.’s Hannity appearance. “My son Donald did a good job last night. He was open, transparent and innocent.”

Sources describe the President as “frustrated” by the Russia mire–his millions of online followers could tell you that–and he continues to be unwilling to recognize that his impetuous and improvisational actions are partly to blame. It was his choice to praise Putin throughout the campaign, his whim to suggest that the Russians should hack Clinton’s email, his decision to hire figures as Manafort and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, and his impulse to fire Comey after a meeting in which the former FBI director says the President asked him to dial down a part of the investigation.

Instead, Trump is said to have turned on his lawyers, blaming longtime personal attorney Marc Kasowitz for the team’s failure to put an end to his woes. Adding to their burden, the lawyers have been hamstrung by a deliberate decision inside the White House to avoid an internal investigation. Fearing the bad odor that news of an inquiry could create, the Administration has not asked individual staffers to produce lists of their contacts with Russians during the campaign and transition. Such lists are an invitation to nitpicking by the press and investigators, one White House official noted, but the alternative is no better. Without asking for lists, the Administration is flying blind, unsure whether their own statements will prove true, just waiting for the next shoe to drop.

Trump’s attorneys, meanwhile, hope they have enough remaining credibility with the President to drive home just how perilous his predicament has become for him. The incriminating interplay between his son and a potential business partner in Russia points Mueller ever deeper into the guts of the Trump Organization, which Trump Jr. now runs with his brother Eric. In hopes of limiting the damage, the lawyers, not to mention some White House staff members, would love to shut down Trump’s Twitter–but he made it clear in remarks to the New York Times Magazine that this will never happen. “It’s my voice,” he said. “They’re not going to take away my social media.”

It all adds up, in the words of a senior Administration official, to a “sh-tstorm” that no White House staffer even tries to deny. The #FakeNews defense won’t work when the Trump family is the one tweeting the potentially incriminating emails. And all of Washington has awakened to the fact that the Russia issue has spiraled beyond anyone’s control. There are too many investigations and too many targets–each with his own interests to protect and his own team of attorneys to protect them–and too many enemies created by Trump’s bull-in-a-china-shop style. It’s not a question anymore of putting them all in a box and shutting the lid. It’s only a question of how bad it will get.

–With reporting by MASSIMO CALABRESI, ZEKE J. MILLER, MICHAEL SCHERER/WASHINGTON and SIMON SHUSTER/BERLIN

This appears in the July 24, 2017 issue of TIME.