The mirage of a safe place and a taste for revenge

This short story was inspired by real events in New Eden. Names and star systems have been changed to protect the anonymity of the pilots involved. What follows is sort of fiction — and another attempt (not my first) at writing.

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Suspended in gel and wired into the ship’s nervous system, a capsuleer’s thoughts were translated by implants into clean data—synthetic voice, clipped text-bursts, or raw intent—riding laser-tight comms hull-to-hull, between star systems, across the void of New Eden — threading light through the dark like a needle through black silk. Replies didn’t reach ears. They arrived inside the pod-feed as overlays and sensations, as natural as breathing used to be.

“Natural,” in the same way a scar eventually became part of your skin.

The corp channel drifted under everything: under route calculations, under market pings, under the soft lies stations told. It was always there, a cold thread woven through the skull.

A presence joined.

ROOK VEYLAN: Greetings...

His salute didn’t make a sound. Instead, it bloomed as a bright glyph at the edge of vision, paired with a faint pulse of recognition—comradeship translated into harmless bytes on a hyperdata-stream.

Another presence flared immediately after—hot, ragged, too fast for the smoothing routines to hide.

SABLE WRAITH: Guys. Quick question.

A hitch in the feed—hesitation rendered as a fraction of delay.

SABLE WRAITH: If someone attacks and my drones kill them… I can strip the wreck, right?

Two replies snapped back almost at once. Clean, low-emotion packets—the kind veterans used when they already knew exactly where this was going.

HASK MEREV: Yes.

IRON KADE: Yes. If you’re still on grid.

Sable Wraith’s signal surged again, spilling context like a cracked seal.

Avatar: Fire and Ash — stunning to look at, but falls flat (★★★☆☆)

Let’s get the rating out of the way first, because it frames everything else.

If Avatar was a 4.5/5, and Avatar: The Way of Water landed at a solid 4/5, then Avatar: Fire and Ash sits at a 3/5 for me.

That doesn’t mean it’s bad.

It does mean it didn’t stick with me.

And notably, my two teenagers were even more disappointed than I was. These are kids who watched the first film over and over again, and who happily went to see the second Avatar film twice on IMAX (they were much too young to see the first in theatres). 

This time, walking out of the theater, the reaction was basically: “Yeah… that was fine.” 

Which, for Avatar, feels telling.

**Warning: spoilers ahead!**

Caelin Kinotsuki: Caldari survivor. Callsign "Crazy Kinux"

I’ve never been deep into the roleplaying side of EVE Online—not like the pilots who fully live their New Eden personas every time they log in. (Is that still a thing?) But I’ve always liked giving my characters at least a bit of background. The old RPG player in me still enjoys a good story.

With my current character, Crazy Kinux, there was a chance to do something that actually tied the “Crazy” and the “Kinux” together. I played around with a few ideas, and the version below is what I settled on.

Curious what you think. Do you roleplay at all in EVE?

Caelin "Crazy Kinux" Kinotsuki

Caelin Kinotsuki, aka Crazy Kinux or CK for his inner circle, grew up near the refineries of Haajinen, in a family that had worked for Kaalakiota’s Extraction Division (KKeD) for generations. Mining was the expected path, and he took it without hesitation. Though certainly far from the glamorous military career some would hope for, the work was steady, the crews were close, and for a Caldari, it felt like contributing directly to the strength of the State.

For years, Caelin lived the standard extractor’s routine—long shifts, quiet camaraderie, and the simple satisfaction of meeting quotas. 

That ended the day his crew was caught in a Gallente ambush.

They were operating in a contested border system, running a routine extraction. Nothing unusual. But with tensions high between the State and the Federation, a Gallente strike group jumped in and misidentified the wing as a Caldari recon element. They attacked immediately. 

Caelin survived only because his pod was thrown clear during the first pass. He drifted for hours before a State patrol recovered him.

Everyone else in his crew was gone.

Rebuilding the Star Wars prequels | From myth to consequence

Like many lifelong Star Wars fans, I wanted to love the prequels. And in a way, I did, really, for their ambition, their worldbuilding, their intent to tell a grand political tragedy. But even back then, something always felt hollow. They were visually dazzling but emotionally distant. Beneath the endless CGI, the high-concept politics, and the (over-the-top) lightsaber choreography, I couldn’t feel the humanity that made the original trilogy timeless. Never mind the dialogues that fell flat.

To me, the prequels were shallow not because of their story, but because of how little truth they allowed to surface. They wanted myth, but they forgot consequence. They wanted destiny, but abandoned choice. It all felt too sanitized:  a story of corruption and collapse told without dirt, sweat, or moral weight.

So now, years later, I've decided to revisit them — not to “fix” Star Wars, but to rediscover what made it real to me in the first place. What if the fall of the Republic felt like something we could believe — a slow, procedural death of democracy and faith, rather than a fireworks show of villains and chosen ones? What if the Jedi weren’t superheroes but weary monks, spies, and diplomats caught between faith and bureaucracy? What if Anakin’s fall wasn’t inevitable, but painfully human?

That’s the heart of this project — a rewrite of Episodes I–III that reimagines them through the grounded realism of Rogue One and the moral gravity of Andor. The spectacle fades. The consequence remains.

The prequels didn’t fail because of what they tried to say — they failed because of how they said it. Beneath all the gloss were the bones of a masterpiece: the death of democracy, the corruption of faith, the rise of tyranny. 

Those bones were strong — they just needed to breathe.

Here's how I imagine things...

The Official Teaser for "Secret Level" is out, and it looks amazing!

As Amazon Prime Video gears up to launch its anthology series Secret Level, it feels like a dream come true for anyone who's ever lost themselves in these worlds we've poured hours into. If you're anything like me - a gamer with a love for the narratives that have captivated us, and one who's been collecting "The Art of" books from his favourite games for years - this show is bound to be an immersive experience.

Secret Level promises to pull us into the universes of our favorite games, but with the added magic of cinematic storytelling. Each episode dives into a different game world, offering a nostalgic trip down memory lane for some and a fresh perspective on modern classics for others. It's not just a showcase of the mainstream hits; the series also highlights some underappreciated gems, making it a treasure trove for both casual and hardcore gamers.

Access Denied. You No Longer Have the Necessary Privileges.

What the...?
Let's try that again... username... password... ..,hit the login button.

//... ACCESS DENIED. YOU NO LONGER HAVE THE NECESSARY PRIVILEGES TO WRITE ON THIS BLOG.

What the fuck! No longer access? But, but this is MY blog!

Again... username... password... ..,hit the login button.

//... ACCESS DENIED. YOU NO LONGER HAVE THE NECESSARY PRIVILEGES TO WRITE ON THIS BLOG. YOU STOPPED BLOGGING. YOU NO LONGER GET ACCESS TO IT. GET LOST!

What? Did I just read that right? Blogger no longer giving me access to my own blog?

//... THAT'S RIGHT. GET OVER IT DOROTHY. AND GET THE HELL BACK TO KANSAS!

Ah, I get it, I'm dreaming right?

//... BINGO EINSTEIN. BUT THERE IS A POINT TO THIS DREAM.

There is?

//... YESSEREE BOB. DID YOU CHECK THE DATE OF YOUR LAST POST? DID YOU READ WHAT YOU HAD PROMISED YOUR FOLLOWERS. D'YOU THINK WE DON'T ALSO MONITOR YOUR TWITTER FEED?

You do? Who are you by the way? Who the hell are you to come into my dream and take control?

WE'RE YOUR BLOGGING CONSCIENCE. AND WE'RE TIRED OF THE NEGLECT YOU'VE GIVEN THIS FINE BLOG. IT'S SHAMEFUL. IT'S A MESS.

It is? Wait, my "Blogging Conscience". And you're telling me I can't blog anymore?

//... NOT REALLY. YOU COULD, IF YOU PROMISED NEVER AGAIN TO LEAVE THEM FINE FOLKS WHO'VE SUPPORTED YOU ALL THIS TIME, AND ARE LEFT TO DRY WHEN YOU STOPPED BLOGGING.

I kinda did, didn't I.

//... YOU BET'YA ROMEO!

So what do I need to do then? Just start blogging again?

//... THAT'S A START. BUT YOU'RE GONNA NEED TO DO MORE. YOU'RE GONNA NEED TO BE CONSISTENT. AND BLOG ON A REGULAR BASIS LIKE YOU DID BEFORE. IF YOU PROMISE TO DO THAT, WE'LL LET IT GO THIS TIME.

That's it. Just blog again like I did in the past? Then I'm going to need better planning if I'm to blog on a daily basis. Hell, I might even need to go back to the gym to....

//... WE DON'T NEED TO KNOW THAT DAMN DETAILS. JUST GET OUT OF THE RABBIT WHOLE YOU'VE PUT YOURSELF IN AND WE'LL CALL IT A DAY. THOUGH YOU STILL OWE US AN EXPLANATION FOR THE SORRY STATE OF THAT PODCAST OF YOURS. BUT WE'LL COVER THAT ANOTHER TIME.

//... CONSIDER YOURSELF A LUCKY BLOGGER.

I will.... now for that next post about those Banter winners.....