{"id":2195,"date":"2013-06-17T00:01:57","date_gmt":"2013-06-17T05:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jackofharts.com\/?p=2195"},"modified":"2013-06-16T23:58:26","modified_gmt":"2013-06-17T04:58:26","slug":"wolfenheim-rising-iv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/?p=2195","title":{"rendered":"Wolfenheim Rising: IV"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hello, my name is Malcolm.\u00a0 Hyperspace is a strange place.\u00a0 I grew up with it.\u00a0 I spent my youth traveling to most of the Core Worlds.\u00a0 I thought I understood it.\u00a0 But then The War came for us all and I learned that I knew very little about it at all.\u00a0 It is an alien universe, literally, and we travel its paths with great care.\u00a0 We must learn more about it, if we are to ever break out of our tiny corner of the galaxy.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>IV<\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>When mankind first discovered hyperspace, they found a panoramic view of multicolored rivers of gravity flowing beneath the surface of the normal Einsteinian universe everyone was born in.\u00a0 Humanity soon discovered that those rivers ran from star to star, linking the galaxy from edge to edge.\u00a0 And those early explorers learned a secret that brought the stars within reach.\u00a0 The gravitic currents, and any ship that sailed them, traveled faster than the speed of light itself.\u00a0 But the rivers were treacherous.<\/p>\n<p>The first ships to Alpha Centauri rode a slow, calm river away from Earth, moving perhaps two or three times the speed of light as those in normalspace measured their progress.\u00a0 But as they approached the Alpha Centauri trinary star system, the river rushed in at speeds approaching ten times the speed of light.\u00a0 The ships followed a dangerous series of twists and turns as the currents shot past Proxima Centauri like an ancient slingshot, and then fell into the whirlpool of the binary star system at the heart of Alpha Centauri.\u00a0 There they found multiple worlds, brimming with life and waiting for us to colonize them.<\/p>\n<p>And they learned why the river between home and Alpha Centauri was so much stronger than any other.\u00a0 Early scientists assumed it was simply because Alpha Centauri was closer.\u00a0 But Alpha Centauri\u2019s three suns twisted the gravitic currents of hyperspace more than mankind\u2019s home star, spraying out torrents of gravity far more powerful, and far faster, than any other.\u00a0 For a hundred years, every ship from Earth sailed to Alpha Centauri, and from there to the stars.<\/p>\n<p>And then the Peloran made Contact.\u00a0 They brought faster and powerful hyperdrives that could break out of the tiny streams connecting stars, and forge their own path through the true depths of hyperspace.\u00a0 <em>Normandy<\/em> and the other starships of the Wolfenheim Project used the best Peloran hyperdrives, built into them by Peloran shipyards, and powered by Peloran reactors.\u00a0 After months of being ripped apart and put back together by Peloran hands, they were Peloran starships in every way that mattered, built to spend a lifetime in hyperspace.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019d spent the last thirty-four days traveling across the ninety-four lightyears between New Earth and Sunnydale at a thousand times the speed of light as the outside world measured time and space.\u00a0 Onboard <em>Normandy<\/em>, a mere seventeen days passed by, and none of her sisters ever accelerated past a hundred measly kilometers per second by their measurements.\u00a0 Now <em>Normandy<\/em> rose up through the multicolored currents of gravity like a shark, watching for enemies.\u00a0 The giant whale of <em>Wolfenheim\u2019s<\/em> bulk crested another current nearby far less gracefully.\u00a0 The colony ship was slow and clumsy compared to the tiny piranhas that surrounded her, ready to kill anything that threatened her as they searched for their destination.<\/p>\n<p>The New Earth-Sunnydale Run had been mapped out for decades, with survey ships scanning every conceivable current in the area.\u00a0 It was updated every month, as new ships arrived to add their navigational information to the database.\u00a0 But it was always changing.<\/p>\n<p>And the only way to be sure where you were on the Run was to obtain a solid read on a nearby star.\u00a0 Most stars could be detected in hyperspace at least a few lighthours away.\u00a0 Giants could be detected significantly farther out, while main sequence stars like our Sun could be detected ten or twenty lighthours away.<\/p>\n<p>The F1V star named Sunnydale was one of the brightest stars that mankind had colonized, and it had a more \u201cenergetic\u201d interaction with hyperspace than most stars.\u00a0 It could be detected a full two lightdays away, making it an effective Beacon Star for long-range travel.\u00a0 A ship on the New Earth-Sunnydale Run followed the mapped gravitic currents for seventeen days subjective, across nearly a hundred lightyears, and then spent several hours moving \u201cup\u201d towards the wall in hopes that they could detect the gravitic fingerprint of a single star\u2019s affect on hyperspace.\u00a0 If they didn\u2019t get thrown off course by a current that wasn\u2019t there the last time a ship came through, and if they calculated the right time dilation factor, they just might find that they arrived in the vicinity of their target.<\/p>\n<p>It was like throwing a dart across the yard, during a windstorm, and trying to hit a dime attached to the fence.\u00a0 Very few humans had ever shown the natural aptitude it required to do that.\u00a0 Modern navigational computers <em>usually<\/em> hit their targets.\u00a0 Usually.<\/p>\n<p>Malcolm sat at the rear of the bridge, watching as <em>Normandy<\/em> and her little fleet snuck up into the shallows of hyperspace, scanning for threats as they followed Sunnydale\u2019s scent.\u00a0 His squadron should be the first arrivals from New Earth since they left.\u00a0 Through some highly serendipitous events that couldn\u2019t possibly be tracked to him, no couriers had been available at New Earth to warn anyone of their imminent arrival.\u00a0 And he had reason to believe that Murphy would \u201cjust happen\u201d to receive an old hyperspace map when she asked for a cartography update.<\/p>\n<p>But if, despite all the preparations he could swear up and down he had nothing to do with, Murphy\u2019s squadron had managed to make better time than <em>Normandy<\/em>, they could be lying in wait.\u00a0 And Olivia was a very careful captain.\u00a0 She hated surprises, and so they very carefully rose towards the hyperspace wall.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cContact!\u201d The single word shot through the bridge and Malcolm turned to look at Lieutenant Anton Lee as even more words tumbled out of the man\u2019s lips.\u00a0 \u201cContact!\u00a0 Single ship, directly above at six five zero zero meters.\u00a0 Designating Bogey One.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes she see us?\u201d Olivia asked, her voice hardening into her captain\u2019s alter ego as she spoke.\u00a0 On one display, Malcolm glimpsed one of the recon fighters that were always deployed accelerating towards the target.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBogey One moving.\u201d\u00a0 The report came quick, words short and clipped as the officer communicated as rapidly as possible.\u00a0 Displays flashed on the man\u2019s stations and he tensed.\u00a0 \u201cIdentified Shang scout!\u00a0 Running.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFiring solution?\u201d Wyatt demanded as even Charles\u2019 untrained eyes caught the scout ship beginning to pull away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBravo,\u201d Lee answered without hesitation.<\/p>\n<p>Wyatt hadn\u2019t waited for his word though, having already turned to her tactical officer.\u00a0 \u201cGuns?\u201d she asked, the moment Lee\u2019s mouth closed.<\/p>\n<p>Malcolm nodded in approval.\u00a0 It was amazing to see them react so quickly and professionally.\u00a0 He could see in their training the instincts that must have brought them out of Epsilon Reticuli alive.\u00a0 But a proper cybernetic intelligence on the other side would have killed them already in the seconds it was taking to respond.\u00a0 He glanced at Dawn as Lieutenant Thompson confirmed Fire Plan Bravo, and saw the grim smile as she met his eyes.\u00a0 Yes, she could have fired already.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFire,\u201d Wyatt ordered without any hesitation.<\/p>\n<p>Thompson hit the button and missiles poured out of <em>Normandy\u2019s<\/em> forward bow to streak out after the fleeing scout at the equivalent of point blank range.\u00a0 Seven more waves of missiles from the other ships of the fleet converged on the scout at the same time, within a second of launching.\u00a0 It was like tanks firing at ten paces, and the Shang crew had no time to even realize they were under attack.\u00a0 Only the Shang computers saw the missiles coming in time to react, and if they weren\u2019t cybernetic minds their artificial intelligence was perfectly suited to operating point defense batteries in an emergency.\u00a0 The scout\u2019s laser clusters came to life without waiting for orders that would never come from the crew, strobing on and off faster than most eyes could register.<\/p>\n<p>Missile after missile ripped apart in less than a second, victim of the scout\u2019s point defense, but there were a dozen more missiles for each one that fell, and they bore in on their victim.\u00a0 The first to breach the point defense grid exploded outside the scout\u2019s deflection grid, reaching out with talons of focused gravity to rip the focused bands of gravity apart.\u00a0 Missiles following them sailed through the shredded deflection grid with impunity, though three actually hit sections of the grid still online.\u00a0 Those missiles disappeared without a trace, twisted and ripped apart by gravitic sheer measured in the thousands of gravities.<\/p>\n<p>The other missiles found their target easy prey though, and erupted into miniature black holes that tore through the scout with impunity.\u00a0 They only had enough power to maintain their attack for a fraction of a second, but in that time they twisted and tore at the scout and the streams of hyperspace around her without mercy.\u00a0 Gravity, the very fabric of hyperspace itself, vibrated with the assault, and gravitic whips lashed against both missiles and the nearby scout.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFiring, Ma\u2019am,\u201d Thompson finished repeating her order, in accordance with standard Navy doctrine, as the missiles tore the scout apart before their eyes.\u00a0 That particular protocol seemed rather pointless to Malcolm as anybody with working eyes could see they were firing.\u00a0 But the Navy had their regulations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood job, guns,\u201d Wyatt congratulated and turned to Malcolm with a smile.\u00a0 \u201cWell.\u00a0 That was exciting.\u00a0 Did you enjoy your first hyperspace ambush?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was\u2026quick,\u201d Malcolm responded, holding Dawn\u2019s gaze for another second.\u00a0 She nodded back without a word.\u00a0 It could have been them under surprise attack.\u00a0 Four years of planning, wiped out in seconds by a chance meeting, and he couldn\u2019t have done a thing to stop it.\u00a0 It was a humbling realization.\u00a0 \u201cMeeting ships in hyperspace is\u2026dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wyatt nodded very slowly, expression sober.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly rare.\u00a0 But yes.\u00a0 Very dangerous.\u201d\u00a0 She turned back to her crew with a sigh.\u00a0 \u201cLieutenant Lopez.\u00a0 Bring us up into normalspace now,\u201d she ordered, her voice under complete control.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSurfacing now, Ma\u2019am,\u201d Jorge Lopez acknowledged and the fabric of hyperspace began to twist around them as <em>Normandy\u2019s<\/em> hyperdrive flexed her muscles.\u00a0 Every exterior display blinked out for a moment, and when they came back online an inky darkness filled by pinpricks of light surrounded them.\u00a0 One by one, the other ships of their fleet flashed into being around them, a rainbow of light radiating from them as they bled off the excess energy of their transit.\u00a0 In a matter of seconds, every last member of the Wolfenheim Project had arrived at their destination.<\/p>\n<p>Sunnydale was the last major colony short of the Hyades Cluster, the linchpin in a network of military bases that kept pressure on Shang forces holding the cluster.\u00a0 Malcolm knew that intellectually.\u00a0 News reports of the brave stand of Sunnydale were legion after all.\u00a0 But as the massive network of fortifications began to populate the sensor displays, he truly began to realize what it meant.\u00a0 Most of the stations were mere sensor platforms, scattered throughout the star system to keep track of starship traffic, but many others displayed the symbols of true forts inside jamming bubbles that disrupted hyperspace a lightminute across.\u00a0 The forts ringed both inhabited planets, protecting the inner system from the sneak attacks the Shang had become famous for.<\/p>\n<p><em>Normandy<\/em> and her charges had arrived far outside that cluttered part of the system though, near a single massive gas giant that dominated the view of nearby space.\u00a0 One display showed a zoomed in view of the world, revealing the bright orange and red storms spiraling around each other that gave it the name Torchdale.\u00a0 Another display came to life and Malcolm had to suppress a gasp of amazement.\u00a0 Someone else on the bridge failed to suppress the urge and he couldn\u2019t blame them.<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of warships from every nation of the Western Alliance orbited the gas giant, icons proudly proclaiming their country of origin.\u00a0 Entire fleets of British, German, French, and American warships held formation near the fortified moons, ready to respond to any Shang incursion.\u00a0 Individual squadrons from other countries dotted the edges of the larger formations, and a few single ships held station next to one of the larger forts.\u00a0 Shuttles and fighters appeared as pinpricks of light, moving around the larger starships in a never-ending dance that betrayed the energy running through the fleet.<\/p>\n<p>Malcolm whistled when he recognized the icon for <em>Columbia<\/em>, flagship of the American fleet.\u00a0 Far larger than any of the twenty or so dreadnoughts he could see, she didn\u2019t even have an official class name.\u00a0 The newsies joked that it was because there <em>was<\/em> no other ship that could match her, and as one display zoomed in on her Malcolm had to admit they had a point.\u00a0 The largest warship ever built by America, she dwarfed the \u201cmere\u201d battleships surrounding her in defensive positions.\u00a0 The scores of cruisers, destroyers, and frigates supporting them looked like mere toys next to her bulk, but reinforced how seriously America took the buildup at Sunnydale.<\/p>\n<p>The display shifted again, this time showing nearly fifty brilliant white spires floating in the darkness.\u00a0 Malcolm swallowed and licked lips that were suddenly dry.\u00a0 He\u2019d seen ships like that before, in orbit over Earth, but he\u2019d never seen more than nine at a time.\u00a0 <em>Nobody<\/em> this side of Independence had ever seen more than nine.\u00a0 Aneerin\u2019s single battle squadron had been the symbol of Peloran support of the Alliance for a hundred years.\u00a0 Now two more battle squadrons floated nearby.\u00a0 He blinked and reread the display to make sure he understood it.\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Someone on the other side of The Gateway had shaken loose an actual carrier squadron, and what looked like two escort squadrons as well.<\/p>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t a true battle fleet.\u00a0 Nothing short of two hundred Peloran warships could ever be a real battle fleet.\u00a0 But those fifty warships were the most powerful collection of Peloran might seen in Terran space since their <em>Fifth<\/em> Battle Fleet disappeared into the Hyades Cluster five years before.\u00a0 Which was what made the fleet assembled here at Sunnydale so very important.\u00a0 They had to fight an enemy that somehow wiped out two hundred Peloran warships at Hyades with no survivors.\u00a0 And as if that wasn\u2019t enough to make anyone nervous about The War, that same enemy had destroyed over <em>three<\/em> hundred Alliance warships at Epsilon Reticuli with <em>almost<\/em> no survivors.<\/p>\n<p>Malcolm glanced at Captain Wyatt\u2019s taut frame, wondering if she wished she were here to join the fleet.\u00a0 The very slight quivering of her shoulders that anyone else would have missed answered the question for him.\u00a0 She was a naval officer, no matter what her superiors said.\u00a0 No naval officer worth her salt could come in sight of a fleet like this and not want to be part of what they were about to try to do to the Shang.\u00a0 Even Malcolm felt the allure of at least getting close enough to watch.\u00a0 But that was a deadly allure, and he didn\u2019t have time for it.\u00a0 He had a mission.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOlivia?\u201d he said in a very soft voice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes?\u201d she asked in a breathless voice as she turned to face him with flushed cheeks.\u00a0 When her eyes met his, he recognized the lust in them.\u00a0 Oh yes, she wanted to be in that fleet with every ounce of her being.<\/p>\n<p>He aimed a wry smile at her, doing his absolute best to not sound overly awed by the sight.\u00a0 He was pretty certain he failed, but one had to make the effort at least.\u00a0 \u201cJust in case word of our\u2026departure has preceded us, do you think we could keep our distance from\u2026that?\u201d he finished with a wave towards the gas giant and her gaggle of warships.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah,\u201d Olivia gasped.\u00a0 She scanned the displays again, taking in the impressive sights, and let out a very long breath.\u00a0 \u201cI think I can arrange that.<\/p>\n<p>He glanced at Dawn before coming to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cAnd Olivia?\u201d he asked and then waited for her eyes to meet his again.\u00a0 \u201cI know how much you want to be there.\u201d\u00a0 He waved at the displays showing the fleet again.\u00a0 \u201cI also know how much I want you <em>here<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 He ran his gaze across the bridge to see the rest of the crew looking back at him.\u00a0 Some of them exchanged knowing smiles, and he suppressed a sigh.\u00a0 \u201c<em>All<\/em> of you,\u201d he added with a firm smile.\u00a0 \u201cThis mission would not be possible without <em>all<\/em> of you.\u201d\u00a0 He nodded in emphasis and turned back to Olivia with a far warmer smile.\u00a0 \u201cI will never forget that,\u201d he finished in the tone of a man giving a solemn oath.<\/p>\n<p>Olivia bestowed a professional smile on him, though a slight amused quirk spoiled its edges.\u00a0 \u201cOn behalf of my crew, I thank you for your kind words.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure they <em>all<\/em> appreciate the sentiment,\u201d she finished with a single upraised eyebrow.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen my work here is done,\u201d Malcolm said with an answering smile and spread his arms out wide to show he had no ulterior motives to hide.\u00a0 \u201cThanks for letting me watch.\u00a0 It was\u2026enlightening.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re welcome to come watch anytime you like,\u201d Olivia noted with a genuine smile.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you for the kind offer.\u201d\u00a0 Malcolm scanned the bridge again, catching a number of smiles being exchanged.\u00a0 \u201cNow I suppose I should stop being a distraction and let you get back to work.\u201d\u00a0 With that, he turned and walked through the hatch.<\/p>\n<p>Dawn stepped out after him and smiled as the guards on either side of the hatch measured them to make certain they weren\u2019t going to go suddenly mad and try to shoot everything in sight.\u00a0 Upon passing the brief inspection, Malcolm and Dawn stepped into the lift that was the only other entrance to the guardroom.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was nice,\u201d Dawn whispered as the lift shot away from the bridge.<\/p>\n<p>Malcolm shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cThey needed to know they were valued.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah,\u201d Dawn returned, an amused sound to her voice.\u00a0 \u201cHave I ever said how much I appreciate the way you care for my <em>entire<\/em> crew?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He turned to see a glint in her eye and snorted.\u00a0 \u201cIf I wanted quips from the peanut gallery I\u2019d find one of those nice big peanut mascot outfits for you to wear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dawn rolled her eyes at him and placed both hands on her hips.\u00a0 \u201cOh, you wouldn\u2019t dare.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Malcolm gave her a very long look.\u00a0 \u201cAnd why do you think that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She gave him a grin the Cheshire cat would be proud of.\u00a0 \u201cBecause I have your baby pictures and I\u2019m not afraid to use them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her threat surprised him so much that he just looked at her, mouth agape.\u00a0 And when her smile turned sweet, he realized it wasn\u2019t a threat.\u00a0 It was a promise.\u00a0 \u201cYou are a horrible human being,\u201d he proclaimed moments before the lift opened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYup,\u201d she responded and actually skipped out of the lift, giggling like a schoolgirl.\u00a0 \u201cAre you coming?\u201d she asked over her shoulder.<\/p>\n<p>He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cDo I have a choice?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNope,\u201d she giggled over her shoulder and kept moving.<\/p>\n<p>He sighed and stepped out to follow her down the corridor.\u00a0 \u201cYou know, I seem to remember that <em>you\u2019re<\/em> supposed to follow <em>my<\/em> orders, not the other way around,\u201d he noted in a peeved tone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh no.\u00a0 I work <em>with<\/em> you,\u201d she said with a single finger raised in the air and turned a corner.\u00a0 \u201cThe contract is quite clear on that fact.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t I own your ship?\u201d he asked as he tried to keep up.<\/p>\n<p>As he turned the corner, he saw her spreading her arms to encompass the ship with an ecstatic smile.\u00a0 \u201cActually, <em>Normandy<\/em> is owned by the <em>Wolfenheim<\/em> Project, of which <em>you<\/em> are merely a <em>director<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 She smirked at him.\u00a0 \u201cOh.\u00a0 And what do we have here?\u00a0 The <em>director\u2019s<\/em> cabin,\u201d she finished with an elaborate wave of one hand at the hatch next to her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re trying to get smart with me, aren\u2019t you?\u201d he accused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s not hard,\u201d she quipped, and then stopped as her head cocked to the side.\u00a0 Then she smiled at Malcolm.\u00a0 \u201cWell, well.\u00a0 What do you know?\u00a0 Somebody <em>has<\/em> been expecting our arrival.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReally?\u201d he asked, intrigued by her shift in mannerisms.<\/p>\n<p>She waggled her eyebrows at him.\u00a0 \u201cIt seems there is a supply depot with our name on it.\u00a0 Literally.\u201d\u00a0 Her fingers actually waggled in the air as she leaned in closer to him.\u00a0 \u201cWolfenheim Project in great big letters.\u00a0 And it\u2019s just outside the jamming zone.\u201d\u00a0 Her eyes shown bright as she continued.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019d think whoever put it there might be wanting us to be able to get out in a hurry if we need to,\u201d she finished with a wink.<\/p>\n<p>Malcolm chuckled at her statement and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cWell.\u00a0 I wonder who might be so considerate?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah.\u201d \u00a0Dawn aimed a doubtful smile at him.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s such a long list of people wanting to do you favors, isn\u2019t there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHush, you,\u201d he responded with a snort and stepped towards the hatch.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh.\u201d\u00a0 Her dark tone stopped him in his tracks.\u00a0 \u201cTrying to silence me now are you?\u201d\u00a0 He turned to see her glaring at him, fists on her hips.\u00a0 \u201cYou just be careful or I\u2019ll use those pictures.\u00a0 Mark my words, I will,\u201d she finished with the wave of a finger at him.<\/p>\n<p>Malcolm shook his head and frowned at her as the hatch opened.\u00a0 \u201cYou are going to be the death of me yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh no,\u201d Dawn answered, her sweet smile back.\u00a0 \u201cIf you died, I\u2019d have to find a new job, and that would be <em>so<\/em> much work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAh.\u00a0 Right.\u201d\u00a0 Charles sighed and aimed an amused look at her.\u00a0 \u201cIn that case, it is my profound wish that you never be forced to do anything so horrifying.\u201d\u00a0 He stepped through the hatch and waggled his eyebrows at her.\u00a0 \u201cBut maybe that\u2019s just the great humanitarian in me talking,\u201d he finished and saw her register the clean hit with a single upraised finger as the hatch closed, leaving him alone in his cabin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hello, my name is Malcolm.\u00a0 Hyperspace is a strange place.\u00a0 I grew up with it.\u00a0 I spent my youth traveling to most of the Core Worlds.\u00a0 I thought I understood it.\u00a0 But then The War came for us all and[&hellip;]<a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/?p=2195\">&darr; Read the rest of this entry&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2309-wolfenheim-rising-earc","uentry","postonpage-1","odd","post-author-malcolm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2195"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2196,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2195\/revisions\/2196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}