NiNES: A Broken Galaxy

[Nylan]

A living room somewhere in the galaxy…

*click*

“We’re here live from Reykjavik, Iceland to cover the Opening Ceremonies of the first Interstellar Galactic Games. It’s a clear day out, and despite the cold, it looks like those present to view the festivities are having a great time. We’ve met delegates and athletes from most every nation, and even some Ascendants have come to observe the festivities.

The mixture of culture is quite refreshing. The military traditions of the Furians, the unique and polarized beauty of the Nekomi and Capellans, the ingenuity of the Norsk, it’s all quite breathtaking. Don’t you agree Rick?”

“Indeed I do Cathy. We’re here today to witness a historic moment of unity among the nations of the galaxy. Consul Aaron Mica, host of the games, is about to give the opening speech.”

The camera pans over to view the podium in the center of a gigantic stadium packed full of people. Consul Mica is dressed in his best suit, and clears his throat before addressing the crowd

“Friends, neighbors, fellow humans…welcome to the First Interstellar Galactic Games!”

There was great cheering all around, and fireworks of all colors exploded from the stadium. Mica is also projected on a gigantic hologram placed directly behind him, where the entire stadium can see his face easily. Mica put his hands up to silence the crowd before continuing.

“This event has been widely celebrated as a revival of the vibrance and joy of pre-Scourge life. It has given hope to those who have none, it has brought about a new national pride, it has reminded us that human civilization cannot be destroyed. We cannot be defeated, not by the Scourge, not by war, not by pestilence or famine. The spirit of human endurance is personified here, at the Galactic Games. Contestants will be not only emissaries of their respective nations, but of the undefeatable determination and will of humanity. We are here to defy the cosmos. We are here to celebrate life.

Now, before the festivities begin, I have a few notes of business to attend to. The first events to take place will be:

European Football
Tennis
Basketball
Uberathalon
Biathlon
Starcraft
Gyro-Hockey
And War Games”


Cheers erupt from the crowd, in particular from the athletes or fans of these particular events, and more fireworks explode, while a contingent of USC fighters flies overhead in close formation. A hologram of highlights from the local leagues of each event was displayed as it’s name was announced.

“I can see you are all very excited for the games, as am I. May they be of great benefit to us all, and bring us all closer together as friends and neighbors.

I won’t waste any more of your time. You haven’t traveled light-years just to listen to me babble on. So, without further ado…

LET THE FESTIVITIES COMMENCE!!!!!!”

On that note, a huge ring of fire erupted around the stadium. More fireworks and holograms filled the sky, and festive music began to play while more sorties were flown overhead. The camera then cut back to Cathy and Rick, with the stadium still in view behind them, a sparkling jewel in the night sky.

“Well Cathy, he’s got a point. We don’t want to waste your time either. You want to watch the festivities!”

“Indeed Rick, coming up, we’ll be covering the Opening Festivities as presented by the various galactic nations, beginning with the music of the Kalian musical genius by the name of Ivan Mjolkavitch and his Cosmic Orchestra. For those of you watching at home, I’m Cathy Fairchild.”

“And I’m Rick Meyleit.”

The screen flashes to a commercial

When you’ve really gotta go
But you’re not somewhere you know
There’s only one thing you can do!
Call Laxiware!

*click*

“I hate these freaking commercials. The advertising industry has really gone to pieces lately….”

 

[germanicus12]

To Every one participated in the IGG
From War Games Director, Furians.

The War games are kicking off and might be one of the first games to be posted. If you still hope to have your team represented and tested you have until Noon Eastern Standard Time, to bring in your team and orders. Your battlefield will be in the desert. Hope to see more teams joining up by tomorrow. By noon.

Otherwise the war games will be done and posted by tomorrow night if nothing disrupts my schedule tomorrow.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

“And I’m Rick Meyleit.”

A reference to a certain Orca moderator?

That would be appreciated, if there was an Incubus left to repair...

OOC:

I'll try and write a cultural story for the opening ceremonies tomorrow.

 

[TerrisH]

Ship Profile: Excelsior Mobile Research platform
Size: 12KM by 5KM by 4KM
Class: Modified Yamoto Class BattleCarrier
History:
The Excelsior Started out as an attempt to construct a Honest to goodness battleship. It's construction began a mere three months before the end of the Shuurai-Nekomi war. while it's construction continued for a short while after words, It's construction soon devolved into a mishmash of experiments and prototype weapon systems. Once It's super Structure was compleat and put into orbit, all semblance of rational Order abandoned It's construction, eventually, the attempt to turn it into a Battleship was abandoned completely. It's Classification was changed to a modified Battle Carrier, and commissioned as a Mobile Research platform. Several habitat and environmental moduals were grafted onto it's hull, and a half dozen orbital labs were installed, along with a few fighter bays.

Recently, a very large modual was put into construction among the mishmash of Girders. spanning the entire length, a lot of people wonder what they are up to exactly.

 

[Kozmos]

BananaLee answer my PM the deadline is approaching!

 

[Erik Mesoy]

Philosophical History 103

"Welcome to Philosophical History, class. I'm Professor Morrison, and yes, since everyone asks, I really did get this scar from the Scourge."

There were a few quiet titters from some of the pupils. The professor didn't hear them, since very few of the pupils were actually present, save virtually, and the schooling system suppressed speech under a certain volume to prevent it bothering others.

"Now, I assume everyone is plugged into the curriculum and not their favorite game. We'll start with a two-minute piece of homework: Name one of the two creators of the main schools of thought regarding relationships from all levels from intrapersonal to intranational inclusive."

Twenty-one of twenty-two students entered either "Machiavelli" or "Machinae" as their answer. The twenty-second wasn't listening and got a black mark on his record.

"Good. It seems at least some of you paid attention to the title of today's class, 'From Machiavelli to Machinae'. Now, since this an introductory course, I'll be explaining things that some of you will have heard before. Nicholas Machiavelli lived one thousand years ago, el Machinae five hundred." Morrison brought up 'Machiavelli 1500" and 'Machinae 2000' in the classroom virtualization. "Machiavelli wrote 'The Prince', and hence we will use 'Prince' to refer to our hypothetical figure. Now, in what way did Machiavelli suggest that a prince remain in power?"

"Fear, sir."

"Broadly correct. Machiavelli said that it is better to be feared than to be loved. Machinae, on the other hand, suggested that a prince should stay in power through using his power for the good of others, hence making it in their interest to keep him in power. Machiavelli's suggestion is the more stable in the short term up to about fifty years, or two generations, which is why it was dominant for a long time. Machinae's ideology is open to early betrayal and therefore less stable initially, but it can rapidly enter a self-reinforcing circle where the prince uses his power to better the lot of others and hence others give power to the prince. Also, Machinae lived at a time when longevity increased from eighty years to a hundred and fifty."
"In Machiavellian tradition, I quote: 'men will always grow into rogues before you unless it is necessary for them to be honest'. Will those of you who read the introductory material please present an opposing point of view from Machinae?"

"Sir, Machinae suggests making it in people's interest to stay honest rather than making them fear becoming dishonest."

"Excellent. Two sides of the same thing, really, but that goes for everything if you're into taoist synthesis. Also, this ties into the old Free Rider problem, which you'll want to read up on if you intend to continue taking this course. In the SIM (Standard Interaction Model), Machinae responded to betrayal by acting in a manner suboptimal both for himself and the betrayer. We can't know how Machiavelli would have acted, but it is likely that he would have used alliances in retribution. Well, that's all for this opening class. Homework - read chapters seventeen through nineteen of Machiavelli's The Prince, read the dissertations Derivation of Authority and Morality of Retributive Behavior by Machinae, compare and contrast. Include a section on how this applies to civilians. Ten minutes left of class - give me a five-sentence draft of a comparison between the two schools of thought before you go. Feel free to work in groups or ask my questions."

 

[Nylan]

A reference to a certain Orca moderator?

I don't know what you're talking about



I'm off to the beach, but when I return I will most likely post a cultural piece of some sort and present the initial group games for European Football

 

[Niklas]

Nice stories all around! (but I want to see more, more, more! )

I'm off to the beach...

Sitting here with 3^oC outside, that comment feels incredibly weird... and very unfair.

 

[Nylan]

oh it was great

I'll be doing a lot of that this next week

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Sitting here with 3oC outside, that comment feels incredibly weird... and very unfair.

It was -17 this morning where I live.

 

[jeps]

lurker's comment: Late March here is +17°, not -17. A few weeks ago... Snowstorms worse than December and November put together (doesnt say much, thats about an inch this year. Brown Christmas....)

 

[Disenfrancised]

I was wandering round the park in shorts last week and it was snowing yesterday, spring is the craziest season. Anyway get back to the NES and story writing.

-A story was going to go hear but I think I'll sleep instead of finishing it .

 

[germanicus12]

Sahara, Africa

"Welcome to Sahara, Africa where the first War games will be played!! Today we will be watching the Emergents they will be the Red Team, square off against the Confederation of Kalia, they are the Blue Team, in what promises to be a wonderful match! The Emergents are the heavy favorites of this game due to their uncanny ability to have Lady Luck on their side. But with Kalia looking well fit and prepared to tackle anything, it will be a hard fought battle nonetheless…." *pauses* "Ladies and Gentlemen!! Kids of all ages!! Please turn your attention to the Holographic screen in front of you as the teams come out and establish positions."

As the two teams arrived and were handed their maps, they immediately got down and busy building their defenses.

The Emergents struck first, sending 200 men and 100 tanks Code named Group Spear, down in a quick drive. They were met by snipers who picked off several infantry before being driven off by tank fire. The Red Team Commander deciding that it wasn’t a major engagement decided to push on.

As Group Spear continued to push their way past the snipers, the Blue Team who had several advance scouts saw the tank force coming up and radioed down to headquarters and told them about the advance. As Group Spear continued to drive they were immediately surprised by the Blue Team tanks who hid themselves behind dunes showing only their turrets and sensors. As Group Spear fell back the Blue Team infantry raced forward trying to intercept the tanks and disable them somehow.

The Blue Team sent their army on the offensive, as 250 tanks and 800 infantry raced forward chasing the remains of Group Spear, Group Red launched their attack circling around attacking the flanks, the advance guards placed to watch flanking attacks failed to catch them. A lucky break for the Emergents. As fighting got bogged down around the area, the Blue Team tried repeatedly to retreat back into more favorable positions. But with the arrival of Group Red for the Red team they failed. The causalities as known by both commanders stand as: Red team, 150 infantry, 35 tanks. Blue Team 200 Infantry, 75 tanks.
Group Red has 920 infantry, 50 tanks. Group Spear, reinforced by reserve units now has, 165 tanks and 330 infantry. While Blue team has 700 Infantry and 225 tanks.

As Group Red slammed into the left flank of the Blue Team, another group, Group Blue launched their attack as well they attempted to outflank the army and attack the headquarters in the rear but they were spotted by advance scouts and were promptly reported. But with the bulk of the Blue Team bogged down in fighting, the commander decided to send in their reserves, mostly anti-tank infantry and supporting artillery units, 50 tanks and 100 infantry. As they attacked they sent the Red Team into confusion as Artillery started exploding behind them. Group Spear started retreating in confusion thinking that somehow the enemy got behind them. Group Red seeing the situation becoming bleak fell back as well, they started retreating back towards their flag. But the bulk of the Blue Team retreated as well, leaving the battlefield without a victor declared.

With Group Blue, of the Red Team advancing dangerously close to the Blue flag. The Blue team immediately regrouped and pushed their advance towards the Red team hoping that they can break through and take the flag quickly. Which threw the defensive plans into disarray and threatened defeat for the Red team, as engineers started disarming mines and booby traps for the advance by the Blue Team. Again luck intervened and several booby traps set by Group Fortress and were supposedly disarmed by engineers went off and threw Blue team’s attack into trouble.

As Group Blue moved within range of the Blue Flag, the mines and advance warning systems went off. One soldier reported that he thought he entered hell. With Group Blue in trouble and losing nearly half of their numbers and still struggling, Group Red retreated and raced past the bulk of the Blue Team to aid in the attack of the Blue Team headquarters. As darkness descended onto the battlefield and the howl of coyotes and wild animals could be heard. Both teams were facing the threat of capture and possible defeat.

As the battle raged throughout the night, artillery fire, along with tanks and laser guns blasting away, there seems to be no end to this carnage. As daybreak came and brought a better look at the field of battle, both teams lost a great deal of men and equipments during the tenacious defense of their flags. With the Red Team losing men under the constant charges of the Blue Team who tried vainly to breach their defenses.
The Blue Team as well has lost a lot of men but seems to be faring better considering the small force remaining from Group Red and Blue.

As the battle winded to an end, the Blue Team finally achieved breakthrough with their tanks overrunning the enemy infantry who had no remaining tanks defending the flag.

Causalities:

Kalia: 1,000 Infantry lost; 450 tanks.
Emergents: 2,900 Infantry; 270 tanks.

I congratulate both teams for well thought out orders and making it extremely difficult for me to determine a victor.

I hope this wasn't too detailed, I love going into details so, I apologize if it seems to go on and on.

 

[Nylan]

OOC:

No, no, not at all too detailed. I loved every moment of it, I had no idea until the last line who would win. Quite a battle indeed.

IC:

The Kalian representatives at the Galactic Games would like to formally congratulate the Emergents on a very well though out, very epic contest, which has brought much excitement to the people of Earth and encaptured the true competitive nature of the games.

 

[Nylan]

Some other living room on the other side of the known galaxy…USC vs Nekomi (Part 1)

*click*

“Welcome back to Channel 4,728’s coverage of the rivalry game between the Nekomi and United Systems Commonwealth. We’re here live to keep you informed on the latest sports happenings, and they don’t get much bigger than this. It’s halftime Joe, you know what that means?”

“That’s right Ain, it’s time for the halftime report. We go live now to the New Coliseum in Rome, Italy, where Jim Jahooney and Bob Dylan (no relation) will be taking a brief overview of the sports world and an analysis of the game thusfar”


“Thank you Ain. Currently the score for the game is 1-0, with the USC leading by a narrow margin. The Nekomi have gotten a few more shots off, but the Commonwealth has had a slight edge in terms of possession, giving them their current lead.”

“How much of a factor do you think the augmentations of the Nekomi are Jim?”

“It’s hard to say. On paper they should be more dexterous and faster, giving them an edge. That hasn’t proved to be the case so far though. The USC has somehow managed to keep the ball away from the most dangerous Nekomi forwards, and it seems the big ears on two of the players have actually managed to throw off their heading game. I really don’t know Bob. This game could go either way. If the Nekomi can get the ball to their forwards, they could pound in a few shots and walk away with enough points to put them through to the elimination round.”

“True Jim, very true. Our stats are up next, taking a look at what’s been happening in the world of Euro Football and the IGG games. The two groups are:

Group 1
Capella
Colonials
Cybrans
Democrats
Emergents

Group 2
Furians
Kalia
NAMgp
Nekomi
USC

Currently, Capella leads the pack with two wins, one a crushing 4-0 victory against the Colonials, putting them firmly in the lead of Group 1. They are in the middle of a game against the Democrats, and odds are heavily in their favor, as the Democrats have recently lost to the Cybrans and don’t seem to show the exceptional prowess that the beautiful Capellan team has demonstrated.

Group 2 is a bit more competitive. Kalia has an early lead with a razor’s edge win over the Furians, but the Furians have rebounded to crush NAM and are following closely behind. The Nekomi and Commonwealth are trailing these two teams, but the result of this match could easily change that.”

“Indeed. In other news, the Uberathalon is well underway. Norsk and Hurisian competitors seem to have the edge with the beginning here. Their natural tendancies towards mountain climbing and skiing are surely paying off.

On a more interesting note, the site for Starcraft is being revamped as a result of a few Nekomi fugitives. Extra security measures, necessitating the re-structuring of some parts of the Battle Complex in San Francisco, are being implemented to avoid hacking and other unfair advantages. Games are expected to begin there shortly.”

“Mm, sounds like a lot of fun and a lot of chaos. Must be the work of those blasted Zerg, eh? Tomorrow night at 5 GMT the first Gyro-Hockey match between NAM and the Colonials is set, it should be a very entertaining match. The remainder of the events are yet to be launched, but I have no doubt they will begin soon.”

“Well Bob, it looks like we’re out of time. We’ll return to the coverage of the game after these brief messages from our sponsors…”

 

[Nylan]

The Interstellar Galactic Games are brought to you by:

Laxiware: When cheese just ain’t enough anymore
Dehydratorama: The best dehydrated water on the market
And Cerebellum: “Challenge your mind”

“Have you ever been traveling long distance, say from Alpha Centauri to Fury, and just really had to go? I mean really, REALLY had to go. Have an unnatural fear of space bathrooms and their odd, vacuum utilizing mechanisms? Are you just a germaphobe? Then Laxiware is for you. Laxiware waste containers are specially designed to-“

“…We apologize for the interruption for this breaking news: A group of Nekomi hackers, most commonly known as R0xy C475. has been seen in your local area. Please take note of the following pictures…these men are wanted on multiple accounts of fraud and destruction of federal and private property. Rewards have been issued for the capture of these wanted men. Thank you for your patience”

“-The instructions for our product are relatively simple. Just add the contents of the canister to 1L of water and your dehydrated water will be ready for the drinking. It’s so simple a child could do it! Great for backpacking trips.”

“…Imagine that four prisoners have been buried up to their necks in desert sand in the following order: Pepe (white hat), a wall, Pedro (black hat), Sancho (white hat), and Carlos (black hat). Each man can only see what is in front of him (all face towards the wall, see image), and none of them can see over the wall. They are told by their captors who put the hats on them that there are two hats with black bands and two with white, but none of them can see their own, as the brim covers it. The buried men are given 2 minutes, in which time one must guess the color of his own hat. If the first to speak is correct, they are free. If incorrect, they will all die. No communication is allowed, and a wrong answer means they all lose.

After about a minute, one prisoner correctly calls out his own hat band color. He did not guess. Who is he and how did he know? Answers when the next commercial rolls around.

This message brought to you by Cerebellum: “Challenge Your Mind”

“And now, back to the game…”

“Hey Herman, can you pause it for a second, Jimmy is playing in the street again and I think he’s found some radioactive waste. I’ve got to get him before he condemns his children to having three eyes or an extra tongue or something.”

“Sure thing”

*click*

 

[germanicus12]

“Welcome to Death Valley, USA!! As we prepare to watch the Furians, Red Team, face the Hurisians, Blue Team in an even numbered match, after watching the game between the Emergents and Kalia, we hope that this game will be just as close and edge of your seat thriller. The Furians are known as masters of warfare and should be interesting to watch. The Hurisians on the other hand have no notable traits that may help them today, but in an interview earlier today the commander has said, “We will never back down, we are going to make them fight for every inch of land.” With both teams taking the battlefield, lets shift our attention to the game.”

Furians: (Red Team) 1,000 infantry, 500 tanks.
Hurisians: Blue Team) 1,000 infantry, 500 tanks.

As both teams settle down and prepare their defenses, an unexpected enemy came into play. The battlefield was suddenly overwhelmed by a major dust storm that blotted out the sun and plunged the battlefield into temporary darkness. Both teams nervous about possible attacks during the dust storm made no move forward and waited out the storm.

When the storm finally lifted the sun was setting and sky was getting dark, but the Red Team decided that they have waited long enough and moved to attack. They sent 500 infantry and 250 tanks forward to scout out the area, but with darkness overwhelming them they were easily surprised by a Hurisian quick strike force comprised of 100 infantry and 50 tanks who pounced on the unsuspecting Furians who eventually fought their way out, but losing most of their tanks in the process. As both teams retreated back a ways, the first casualties were taken in…. the Red Team lost, 200 tanks and 50 men. While the Blue team lost 100 men and 15 tanks.

The Red Team waited for the eventual attack that they thought would come, but the Hurisians took a more defensive stance and never did launch an attack. So the Red Team pushed out again, as dawn came and with the desert in full light, they raced across the sand meeting no resistance. Finally when they got to within a mile of the Blue Team’s flag they were attacked by more quick strike teams, again the Furians fought their way out and regrouped, they launched their attack again learning from their mistakes, when the quick strike teams pounced again the Red Team was ready and delivered a quick and decisive victory, though small but decisive nonetheless. The Red Team pushed on eager to end this once and for all.

When they got to within half a mile from the Blue Team headquarters they ran into resistance, the Blue Team created a seemingly impregnable defense, with tanks, mines, anti-tank barriers set up in a circle around their headquarters for as far as the eye could see. While the Red Team stayed back to figure a way through the defenses the Blue Team attacked again, driving off a small detachment from the area. The Red Team launched a counterattack before the group could retreat back to the safety of their own lines. The counter-attack was decisive and the Blue Team’s quick strike team was annihilated.

Casualties: Red Team lost, 350 tanks, 400 men. Blue Team lost, 300 tanks, 600 men.

The Red Team still unable to figure out how to defeat the gauntelet type defense, decided to stick with their old plan of wearing down the enemy and forcing them to retreat. So they brought up reinforcements, and attacked with 100 tanks, 500 infantry, leaving 100 infantry and 50 tanks at headquarters. This will be a do or die attack for the Furians, for if they fail this attack they will be left defenseless. With renewed determination and the superior fighting skill of the Furian infantry, the Red Team attacked, under covering fire of artillery and tanks the Furian infantry charged forward and several men sacrificing themselves leaped onto barbed wire to allow the rest of the army to jump over them. As the infantry came closer to the lines, they fell under intense artillery barrage, followed by an infantry charge which ended with a melee battle between the Hurisian tanks. As the tanks fought each other trying to end the tank battle so they could help their brothers by killing the enemy infantry. But the Furian tanks, despite being greatly outnumbered kept the Hurisian tanks from helping with the infantry battle by recklessly driving in and out of the battle forcing the Hurisan tanks to watch them so that the Red Team doesn’t attack them unawares. Eventually the Blue Team tanks destroyed the Red Team tanks, but it was too late, the Red Team infantry has won the melee battle and charged straight for the flag, but standing in their way is a deadly minefield. With the Blue Team tanks moving around and preparing to fire at them, and a heavily populated minefield, the Furian soldiers have a choice, go for the flag braving the minefield, or go after the tanks and worry about the minefield later…. With the Red Team outnumbering the Blue Team tanks 3-1 but with the tanks heavy armor and the infantry’s light laser guns will even those odds to 1-1. The Furians being the stubborn fools they are decided to risk it all and push forward across the minefield. They prayed for no fire from the tanks which will come no doubt, but when none came the Red Team stopped and looked behind them, to their joy they discovered that their reinforcements that they so desperately called for awhile back had finally arrived, 50 tanks came and distracted the Blue Team and forcing them to turn again and defend themselves. As the Red Team advanced several mines went off killing several men. This continued for a few minutes until the forward elements of the Red Team, 10 men, arrived at the flag pole, but then they were surprised by 100 infantry who were hiding out inside the bunker, but the remaining 200 infantry that survived out of the 500 who started the charge, easily overran them and took the flag.

With the end of the bloody two day long battle, the Furians emerged as the victors. They will face Kalia in 4 days for the right to call themselves the best damn division in the universe.

Of course they will get a medal too.

Casualties:
Red Team: (Furians) 700 Infantry, 475 tanks.
Blue Team: (Hurisians) 940 (Some are still hiding) infantry, 400 tanks.

Post game report:

"Wow, talk about an interesting game.... no doubt the championship game will be just as tough if not tougher. Lets go to Tom who will be telling us about the championship game." The camera shifted to show a man standing in an open field dotted with hills and a mountain range in the distance. "Thank you Sasha, now with the recent victory over the Hurisians, the Furians will be proving to the universe that they are unmatched in warfare when they face Kalia in 4 days. Kalia themselves have fought a difficult battle and emerged victorious purely due to strength and great determination to win. The Furians are no doubt the heavy favorites, but with this battlefield behind me as the next site, it is possible the battle could end in disaster for someone and another teams finest hour. The battlefield is dubbed by locals as Bloody Valley, for its bright red flowers that grows here. But soon they might have another reason for calling it Bloody Valley. This is Tom Tucker signing off."
"Now on to..." TV goes dark.

As soon as Kalia gets their orders in I can start the battle. I have my second set ready.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

I can't help feeling that you were a bit biased. But hey, Fury is a very militarily strong team.

Good match. May I have good luck for the Bronze.

 

[Nylan]

I can't help feeling that you were a bit biased. But hey, Fury is a very militarily strong team.

Good match. May I have good luck for the Bronze.

I doublechecked his orders and yours. He also sent me the report to see if it was biased before posting it. I read it and thought a few things were slightly odd, but after looking at the orders they make sense. It was fair as far as I can tell. If anything is going to be biased, it's going to be our finals match

Good luck with Bronze

 

[Erik Mesoy]

OOC: germanicus12, TerrisH, how are your negotiations going? I'd like to send orders soon, so I want to know whether you've agreed to play nice with one another as well as me.