Dawn

by on August 18, 2022 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

One might think that the party scene took a hit when the Hydes invasion started, but anyone who thought that did not know my Cowboys well enough. We were tasked with winning the hearts and minds of the local population, and Dawn DeMarco was a maestro at winning hearts and minds. And of course there were always people who had sworn everlasting loyalty to the liberation governments who didn’t actually mean it. Dawn and her misfits had their choice of people to search for and uncover and catch in the act. So the official balls and informal parties continued. Hearts and minds were won. Bad Actors were sent to prison, or paid massive amounts of money to stay free. And planet by planet, we advanced into the Hyades one party at a time. Never thought I would attend so many parties during a war. It was one of the more surreal parts of the whole campaign, but Dawn made it all fun.

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Dawn

by on August 17, 2022 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

There are not many people who can fly into a major fleet base system like Sunnydale as it was back during The War and bring the party with them. Dawn DeMarco is one of them. She arrived in Sunnydale mere days before the big kick off the Chinese had elected to receive, and that started a whole new series of balls and parties. They spread throughout the system in a matter of hours, and everybody who was somebody wanted to be there to witness the sendoff. Which meant of course that Dawn was still working. Literal years of work on her part had uncovered a deep network of war profiteers, and the big wings were coming to Sunnydale. She wanted them. She wanted them, she got them, and the War effort was never the same after that. After Sunnydale. Disappointingly few of them served actual prison time, but they paid heavy penalties in both money and political clout to stay out, and that kept the fleets flying into the Hyades for years. It really was the perfect start to the invasion.

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Afghanistan

by on August 16, 2022 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Today we remember Afghanistan. Against the recommendations of NATO and Americans on the ground, Biden ordered our military to leave without first evacuating our allies and citizens. And when the Taliban offered to allow him to control Kabul during the evacuation, he rejected the offer. That set up the conditions in which thirteen members of our armed forces were killed in a suicide bombing while trying to secure the entrances to the airport during the chaotic evacuation. In the end, Biden left behind tens of thousands of our allies, hundreds of Americans, and tarnished America’s reputation in the world. This is an object lesson in how much elections matter. And how careful we should all be when it comes to selecting those who will represent us to the world.

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Clearing

by on August 15, 2022 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

I said last week that I was going to start clearing out my mom’s stuff from her bedroom. I could not. Every time I went into her room, I just froze. I feel almost like a trespasser in her house, and throwing her things away is like throwing her away. I know it’s not true, but it’s how it feels. A friend came over on Saturday and helped me by standing and talking as I pulled out some shoes for donations to charity. It’s a small thing, but also a big thing. Just being there and talking so I can cut through the static and actually do what I needed to do. Which of course is the one thing I never wanted to do.

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Dawn

by on August 14, 2022 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Dawn DeMarco and Jesse James traveled from Alpha Centauri to Sunnydale during their multiyear campaign to send every War profiteer they could find straight to prison. They and their misfits caught dozens of well-connected conmen who thought they were above the law, and proved that they were not again and again. And in so doing they liberated more money than I can count, especially during the final months leading up to the Hyades Cluster invasion. They finished their whirlwind tour of the party scene mere days before we kicked that campaign off, and it was good to have them back if I’m being honest. My command felt a little light with them flitting around arresting bad guys. But it was a worthy cause. And Dawn made up for it when she arrived.

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