Ashton Posted February 21, 2020 Report Share Posted February 21, 2020 Harle Blackclaw Singlestone It had been several weeks since harle and her crew joined up with Ice, and in this time, unsurprisingly, Harle's name had been completely cleared of any past crimes (though it was still hard to believe some of those were even allowed to be added to the list given how ridiculous they were...) Things seemed to be going well, not only had harle's name been cleared and she returned with the blueprints for her ship (though she was an emotional wreck for several days afterwards...) but Singlestone had contacted an old college of his about the aether technology (taking creat care to limit what information he passed on so he never strayed outside the exact wording of the NDA -honestly that unicorn could have been an extremely effective lawyer...-) and had in turn made great progress on his research... though he refused to demonstrate any prototypes yet and when asked about his research he pulled out a 3-inch-thick binder filled with complex formulas that would have made any but the best scientist's heads spin... ...but things are never that simple, are they? A report came in that there had been a robbery at a museum in fillydephia that was being pinned on Harle... though all of Ice's servailence would clearly show that she and her crew had been in the LP base's research center for the last week (with enough damage to the testing facility to more than adequately back up the servailence...) It seemed that despite Ice's best efforts, somehow Harle was still getting blamed for crimes she had no capability of committing (which did lend credence to the griffon's claims that they were false) but which set up what would turn into an ongoing problem if not nipped in the bud... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceStorm Posted February 21, 2020 Report Share Posted February 21, 2020 Ice Storm had seen the reports just like everypony else. However unlike anypony else she had actual evidence that none of what was reported could be true. She had documented evidence that Harle was inside her base during the siege, which meant that Ice was going to have to get dirty. Slander was something that she didn't take lightly to, and constant, debilitating slander was not going to be tolerated in the slightest. With her armor ahead on she clanked down the corridors as she made her way to Harle's and Singlestone's quarters and research center. When she found them she dropped the paper next to Harle. "Where are they? I'm not going to tolerate them doing this anymore. I want their names, I want their occupations. I'm done playing games, and I think you've seen what happens when the games stop with me." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashton Posted February 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2020 Ice would likely be at least mildly surprised as she entered to see harle, engulfed in flames, leap into a pre-prepared foal-pool full of water to extinguish herself Singlestone was making notes on a clipboard "that one was probably overheating causing a focus inversion...." He glanced up from his notes at ice long enough to nod as he scribbled more things a dripping-wet, and rather scorched and burned Harle sat up in the pool, turning to face Ice "eh? what did we do this time?" she asked, taking a nearby towel and drying herself off enough not to cause any water damage before reading the paper "this... I didn't do this! I've been here the whole time, and all of my crew! I swear!" she exclaimed, mistakenly thinking Ice believe her to be the actual culprit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceStorm Posted February 22, 2020 Report Share Posted February 22, 2020 ~~~Ice Storm~~~ Ice Storm just kind of rolled her eyes a bit when she heard Harle's response, apparently not hearing any of the first part of what she had to say. "I am aware that you were here the entire time. That's why I came to find you so that I can get the names of those two you mentioned before that here harasssing you and slandering your reputation, because now they're trying to tarnish mine, and I'm not going to let them get away with it and I have the legal power to make sure they can't ever again. I just need names and their last known location to you," she said before taking a step back again and looking over to Singelstone and the pool of water that Harle had put herself out in. Singel seemed to be hard at work documenting things probably in aspects to the Aetheric canons that she was wanting developed, or perhaps even more. Either way, she was happy to have someone that knew how to think outside of the box working on her advancements... so as long as they didn't blow up what they already had... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashton Posted February 22, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2020 Harle finished drying herself off and retrieved another item from the pool. It looked stylistically like her old lightning gun, but much smaller and more compact "Hey, water's not going to damage this thing, is it?" "No" said Singlestone "Just make sure its dried off" Harle started drying the weapon, which oddly enough seemed to be made of a dark purple metal, inlaid with ornate brass symbols and markings, though the inlays were so purposeful that they couldn't possibly be just for decoration. This weapon also had a more... sinister... feel to it. Clearly it was being powered by some particularity dark magic... Harle sighed "So you want to know about Felix's bloody parents, eh?" she asked as she cleaned it "They're high-ranking nobles. Used to be in fillydelphia -no doubt they still have connections there, sense the blokes robbing the museum- but now they've moved to canterlot to try to become even more highbrow than they were before" she paused, having finished drying the weapon and returned it to its holster in her coat "Their names are Goldenhoof and Flawless Amethyst. Felix, is their son - his real name though is Silvermane... neither of us liked the name so I gave him a griffon name - 'Felix'" she sighed "you'll find them anywhere there's a fancy party where important ponies gather --- and note I said ponies, not creatures, if you cant guess from their treatment of me, they think ponies are a superior race and all the rest of us are below them" Harle frowned "I dont know their home address, but I can give you their company office's address. Their company specializes in luxury items - gold and gemstone goblets, diamond necklaces, emerald-lined chamber pots, that sort of thing" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceStorm Posted February 22, 2020 Report Share Posted February 22, 2020 ~~~Ice Storm~~~ Ice Storm raised an eyebrow at a couple of the names that were brought up by Harle and it piqued her interest quite a bit. Firstly, she knew that the Golden Hoof that had destroyed her own early foal and fillyhood was no longer alive. His habit of destroying families having caught up to him. She knew that he was confirmed to be long deceased by the reports of Bluebelle, so she at the very least knew that these two pones were not one in the same. However, they sure as buck seemed to act like it. The name of Silvermane struck home a bit though, as that was the name of her own "father". He'd since lost that title ever since he refused to see her after reconciling with her mother. According to Silvermane, it was still her fault that the family fell apart and that she should have been stronger. She's pretty sure his anger is resentment now because he has no connection to her or any of her assets at all anymore. When she listened to Harle describe them, she nodded noticing the weapon but not saying anything about it. "Right," she said before pulling out one of the crystal communicators she had. "Alright, Attention all units in the surveillance and intelligence center. I want everything we can find on these ponies. I want to know where their at, and what they do right this very moment. I want every complaint and every false case that they've filed against Harle on my desk by the end of the hour. These ponies not only threaten one of our own, but threaten to undermine the integrity of the entire organization. We cannot let this happen. If they want to play political hardball, then we're going to play political hard ball. I want every scandal, every broken trust they've earned, accounts of every pony they've wronged to get to where they are today. By the time I'm done with them, they will know the true meaning of nobility, and what it will become," she said before dropping the announcement before "phoning" the shipyard. "Ready a destroyer, we embark in two hours," she finished turning back to Harle and Singelstone. "Come, you will want to bear witness to this." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashton Posted February 22, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2020 ((oh gawd... I pulled those names out of my arse and did not intend them to have any connection to Ice --- especially Silvermane (who ironically I named after a character in a game I'm playing named Thonar Silverblood) aka Felix, who is harle's significant other and essentially a bit of a damsel in distress thanks to his parents...)) Harle hesitated "Dealing with them has never been pleasant" she said "while I've grown more weathered and used to insults thrown my way, hearing them from the parents of my chosen is never pleasant" she sighed "though... it does give me a chance to see Felix, at least at a distance, knowing his mum and dad..." she shook her head "If things get too hairy, I'm sure the Aura Manipulator will come in handy, it could prove to be a good field-test" commented the unicorn "yeah... without a convenient pool to dive into if it sets me on fire again..." muttered harle, clearly not having a lot of faith in the prototype... None the less harle nodded and she and singlestone followed Ice When she got the report it was so large it too two binders to contain it. Clearly these were the typical underhoofed and conniving merchants/nobles that always seemed to spring up, wanting nothing less to rule the business world and become rich through any means necessary... there were even a few vague rumors of their participation in necromancy and eldrich magic, though these were hopefully just nasty rumors one of their no-longer-business-partners had spread about them... hopefully... The binder on Harle was of course slightly smaller, though they had been diligent at trying to keep the griffon at or near the top of equestrias 'most wanted' list. Though quite a few of the accusations it seemed couldn't be traced to the directly and one or two simply had seemingly no connection to them... though given harle's personality and service even in this short time, there was no doubt the accusations were false - but how they were orchestrated was beyond even Ice's intelligence network... As for their current location, they seemed to stay at several different residences, some they owned, some owned by associates of theirs. It seemed they were well aware of how many proverbial bulls-eyes they had on their backs and were activly working to make it difficult to track their individual movements. Finally, the bind on Felix... while it did make it clear where to find him (at the company office mon-fri 7am-9pm) it held very litte negative information. Sure he had made a few bad deals and lost some business partners, but he seemed to be striving to be better than his parents... not that it would be difficult... in the end, the only truly criminal deed that could be turned up was where he had double-parked a wagon.... either he really was an honest businessperson or all his dark dealings had been absorbed by his parents in one way or another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceStorm Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 ~~~Ice Storm~~~ To say that Ice Storm was shocked about the amount of shady and underhoofed deals that these ponies had gotten up to was an understatement. She was expecting a bit of a record, but notice to the extent that was being presented to her. The binder that they had on Harle's accusations was small in comparison to everything else. One thing was for sure, this couple picked the wrong pony to cross. "So, they're in Canterlot huh? That makes this easy considering I'm very well known in the nobility there. All the way up that I've earned the respect of Blueblood himself. If they are still in Canterlot, I will find them. And they will be in for a rude awakening when I do," she said as they loaded the destroyer, the suitcase containing her armor following suit. Once aboard she moved into the Captain's quarters on the she and donned her armor. When she returned back out onto the bridge, she was in her full combat armor helm and all. She didn't know what kind of defenses they would have at their disposal and didn't want to be caught unprepared. The Royal blue armor accented with silver shimmered in the light. She looked down to the to the vessel's pilot. "Departure cleared, set course for the Canterlot low lands. I don't want to scare the general populace and alert the suspects to our arrival," she commanded. With that there ship took off and made its way through one of the reinforced tunnels and then into the air. Cementing the validity of the aether cores in the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashton Posted February 23, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 Harle looked suprised at seeing Ice in full battle armor and sighed "I cant believe I'm saying this... but... I'd rather if you didn't kill them... dont get me wrong, they're both absolute c---s but they're still Felix's mum and dad, and I dont want to see him hurt like that..." Singlestone smiled a little at harle, glad to see her desire for justice wasn't all-consuming and she was thinking about those involved Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceStorm Posted February 25, 2020 Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 ~~~Ice Storm~~~ "Sweet Celestia, they're Beaurecratic criminals, not military terrorists... I never had any intentions of killing them at all. However, and guard must be in full dress when making an arrest. Their fates will be for twilight to decide, not me. Now if they were plotting a massive invasion that would cost the loves of thousands... I have free reign to make that decision, but they aren't," Ice commented as the destroyer was finally out of the ravine and now approaching Canterlot. It wouldn't be looking before they touched down now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashton Posted February 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 Harle looked both relieved and a bit annoyed, though keeping proper decorum she simply said "For the sake of Felix, Thank you" before turning around towards singlestone and muttering "great so they're going to be captured, asked to 'please never do it again' and after they lie and say they wont, we'll be right back at square one... at least sunbut would have banished them to the moon or something..." Singlestone simply smiled "Dont worry, Captain, I'm sure they'll get what's coming to them" the devious look in his eye might be alarming to Ice, but harle didn't seem to notice. Of course considering that singlestone was a scientist who didn't think twice about joining what seemed at first glance to be a crew of bloodthirsty pirates, his morals likely weren't exactly the highest - quite possibly only being kept in check by harle... or else this was simply his own twisted form of loyalty to her... in either case, he clearly had some sort of plan... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceStorm Posted February 26, 2020 Report Share Posted February 26, 2020 ~~~Ice Storm~~~ Ice heard the small tidbit that Harle mentioned about them getting off the hoof by lying and saying they'll never do it again and they'd be right back where they were. "You give Princess Twilight too much leniency. In the wake of the information that's provided, once we've found them I'm taking them straight to the palace all evidence in hoof. Would have this been their first offence at something like this, you would probably be right, but since they've made a living ruining the lives of others, and displaying conduct unbefitting of nobility. I'm going to move to have their nobility status revoked and all assets seized and returned to the ponies that they stole them from," she said looking back to Singlestone. "Now... If somepony else heard that we found them and wanted to exact revenge from a far where they couldn't be seen by anypony else... In a way that I wouldn't be able to predict and defend... Well... I can't say anything of value would be lost. Naturally I don't condone such activities," she finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashton Posted March 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2020 Harle was about to say something but stopped when she heard Ice's comment to singlestone, giving him a very concerned look Singlestone smiled "oh dont worry, ma'am, I merely mean that... there are higher powers than us and I'm sure that their deeds will be noticed" Harley looked at her friend oddly "I think you should go take a rest, you seem tired and I'm sure it will be a bit before we get there" The unicorn nodded and walked to his temporary quarters on the ship Harle sighed "The whole time I've known Singlestone he has never directly hurt anycreature... well unless you count all the times his experiments backfired and left me burnt, twitching, frozen, or otherwise in pain... but that wasn't the same... this isn't like him... and he is not religious..." she looked over at ice "I hate to say this... and I hope you wont tell anycreature... but... honestly... I wasn't scared before, but I am now... and not of Felix's parents..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceStorm Posted March 4, 2020 Report Share Posted March 4, 2020 ~~~Ice Storm~~~ Ice Storm nodded at Singlestone's response before he made his way to his temporary quarters before turning to Harle. "You've seen the binders I've managed to pull. Shoot, I have them right here in these cases. The problem is, that's the entire problem. Once we've located them, they've wronged so many ponies that it will be hard to keep them safe once detained. Especially since bringing a full security force would have spooked them off. That would have done us no good," she commented before hearing Harle speak. She listened as they landed and began to walk off the ship. She had them touchdown just outside of Canterlot. The guards at the gate recognized the seals on her armor and let them pass unhindered. "I think that too many creatures, have fallen into the false narrative that just because we're ponies, and we live in Equestria that we live in the delusion that Harmony will solve everything. Heh, even ponies prey on one another, as you've seen. But there is always a limit. Before somepony rolls over, or stands up. That takes matters into their own hooves. After all, my entire organization was founded but the ponies that Equestrian society left behind. We aren't afraid to stand up to the wrong doings of others and holds them accountable," she spoke as she had the way to Felix's establishment. That would probably be the quickest way to track them down, and it wasn't too far away from her own store here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashton Posted March 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2020 Harle looked like she might burst out laughing but managed to hold back all but the tiniest chuckle "yeah... most of the world thinks you blokes're a few cards short of a deck. Its a bit of a running gag with 'most everyone that ponies all think some magic of harmony is going to save them from everything" she explained "No offense, of course. I kinda got the memo on that early as you can tell" As they walked they'd likely notice more than a few of hte residents kept their distance, muttering about the newspaper article about harle raiding a museum and wondering if this was her and if she was being taken to jail... or the gallows... Harle was gritting her teeth in frustration so hard that it was a suprise sparks weren't coming from her beak... clearly this gossip, however minor was getting to her. It wasn't long before she reached into her coat - making may fear she was going for a weapon (which only served to piss her off more) but instead pulled out her decanter and took a long pull at the brownish liquid within, clearly having to resist the urge to down the whole bottle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceStorm Posted March 7, 2020 Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 ~~~Ice Storm~~~ Ice Storm noticed the wide birth that most were giving them. She could see the reaction of the crowd as they walked by and this would play into her favor. She already had her press working on matters and she had already forwarded the contrary evidence to the claims to her higher ups, which was the Princess's inner circle. "No offense taken," she replied to Harle when she said that it was kind of a running gag to most that they thought ponies were a few cards short of a deck. She knew that, and she's knew that was her advantage. They didn't expect anypony else to know how to play the game. She watched Harle reach for her flask and held her hoof up. Easy there. Everything is about to fall into place," she told her. About this time a paper pony ran out of one of the press rooms shouting. "Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Harle Blackclaw cleared from all burglary and robbery charges! Video evidence released of Harle in a research facility during the alleged time of the break in!!! Repeat, the infamous Pirate has been cleared off all crimes once again as the evidence and facts do not support the charges brought forth!" He exclaimed waving a freshly printed paper in the air. Now they waited. If Felix's parents were still in Canterlot, this would surely draw them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashton Posted March 7, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 Harle glanced at Ice sideways, as if to say 'really? you think that would work?' Though likely to both of their suprise, a figure they'd both recognize did come out to buy a paper... Harle's face contorted into a grin as her front end went down and her tail and but went up, shook twice, and leapt forward in a flying pounce "FELIX!" The other pony was knocked over backwards onto his back, looking stupefied "H-H-Harle! What are you doing here!?" he exclaimed, then as if as an after thought began to hug her, but looked very nervous and uncomfortable... though perhaps it was their long separation... or perhaps it was something else... Harle was too busy holding him on the ground and purring to notice anything for a moment... it was quite comical how to big tough pirate turned into a giant kitten around the pony she loved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceStorm Posted March 8, 2020 Report Share Posted March 8, 2020 ~~~Ice Storm~~~ Well, Ice managed to draw out the easier of the three ponies that she was after. Felix was the pony that Harle was infatuated with and her reaction when he came out to buy a paper matched that. After watching the reaction Ice backed off a bit motioning for her guards to spread out around the square. With Felix and Harle entangled as they were, there was no don't that if his parents hated Harle as much as Harle said, then they would make themselves known. Then she would make her move. Honestly, while she had records upon records of their dealings, she had no idea what to expect. She stepped inside one of the local stores and watched it the window as to not scare them off with her armor. She thought about shifting into hey disguise but she didn't think being a dragon would help much in this situation. If anything it would only server to complicate things even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashton Posted March 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2020 Felix groaned "Harleeeeee, I'm working..." he commented, trying to push her off "...stupid cat..." finally he managed to get enough leverage to roll her off, which seemed to come as a surprise to the griffen "huh? what? since when were you so serious about work?" she asked "Since mom and dad dumped most of the daily runnings of the business on me, I'm here every day from open to close, its not easy and its not fun." he sighed "Sorry, I have to get back into the office, you should probably go before they catch you around here" he said as he took his paper and headed back inside Harle was left sitting in the street with a confused and slightly hurt look on her face... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceStorm Posted March 9, 2020 Report Share Posted March 9, 2020 ~~~Ice Storm~~~ That... didn't go quite as expected. She wasn't entirely sure what had happened, but Harle looked like she had been emotionally hurt. Being inside age couldn't hear the exchange that way between them, but given the history that Harle had told hey she could summise that it likely went down the path of, 'you shouldn't be here, get out now before you get caught. She looked out to one of her guards that she could see from the store that she was at and motioned him to follow Felix. Tracking him could help them pinpoint where the parents are. One thing she was relieved of. This was definitely not the pony that had given her life. She wasn't about to call the lowlife a father. This pony at least looked like he had a modicum of sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashton Posted March 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2020 Harle just sat there in the middle of the street staring at the door, completely at a loss. the guard would follow him inside the building which was a warehouse filled with crates and pones going through the crates, clearly this business was more of a wholesaler than a direct to-the-public goods shop. Felix was reading the paper and wandering through a series of crates heading towards a small walled-in area that was labled 'office' - inside the office were several other ponies going over reports and one that was working at an adding machine, clearly the finance manager, but the two ponies that the group was after were nowhere to be found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceStorm Posted March 10, 2020 Report Share Posted March 10, 2020 ~~~Ice Storm~~~ At this point, Ice had made her way out of the store that she was in and made her way into the alley next to it. She pulled out the crystal communicator from her saddle bag. She confirmed with the guard that followed Felix that his parents were not there. The business seemed to be that made for shipping and industrial clientele rather than the individual consumer. Because of that, be it would make it easy for them to uproot at any moment. She would have a guard approach Harle and tell her that Ice was initiating Plan Draco, explaining that Ice would look very different and to not be alarmed. Harle would also be given a much smaller crystal that seemed to be able to fit around and in her ear. Once Ice watched the guard give the communicator to Harle, she then moved back further the alley and tapped on her necklace. When she did, the magic I'm the amulet activated, and the costume that Masquerate had made for her started to wrap itself around her. Once it had, a small flash occurred as her form now took on that of the costume she was wearing. She was now a unicorn sized black dragon with dark blue talons. Her armor was absorbed into the costume, but the amulet remained around her neck. Once the magic was complete she started making her way back out onto the street with another communicator in her here. If she wasn't able to get answers as Ice Storm, then she would get answers as Frostbite. "Harle, can you hear me?" she asked her voice noticably deeper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashton Posted March 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 When the guard walked up to harle and started talking to her the griffon was quick to assume her usual demeanor, though if Ice paid close enough attention she'd easily see that Harle was still upset, but was hiding it really well. When the guard gave harle the headset, ice might hear the griffon mumbling again about wishing she had cool gadgets like this... after a few awkward moments of positioning the headset on her head; since griffons lacked any sort of bodily structure that most would define as an 'ear' she responded "I hear you... er... which one are you?" before ice would get a chance to respond though the guard whispered something to harle and the griffon quickly corrected herself "Oh, sorry, ma'am, I wasn't expecting the voice" clearly harle had mistaken ice for one of the guards, and yet again Ice would likely hear harle muttering about how she wished she had just a quarter of the mind-blowing gadgets that Ice had because any of them would make her work so very much easier... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceStorm Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 ~~~Frostbite~~~ When 'Frost' heard Harle comment about all the cool gadgets and stuff that she had she couldn't help herself from raising and eyebrow. Were communicators really that uncommon? It wasn't that hard to reverse engineer the crystals that Tempest had bought over from the Storm King's army and make them smaller and more efficient. It was literally just a crystal with Aether in it that was paired with the others. Still, she proceeded forth. "It is fine. That's a common mistake that most in the base make. It's not very well known that I have this image. While I'm in this state though, I am not Ice Storm, my name is Frostbite. I use this when I need to go under cover. This is actually the first field test of the disguise..." She commented. "That said, we'll have to communicate through the communicator until we've acquired our targets from here as we don't need them piecing together that I'm two individuals. And they would have seen me come into the city with you. I'm going to work my way to the factory. I want you to grab one of the papers and then go on a tirade about somepony finally listened and saw the evidence and how you've been innocent the whole time. If that doesn't draw them out, they likely aren't still here," Frost told her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashton Posted March 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 ((Actually Tempest used cauldrons to talk to the Storm King, the one who used crystals was Chrysalis. But beyond that, we've had communicators since all the way back in S2! Iron Will from 219 "Putting your hoof down" had headsets he used to communicate with his goat lackeys and with the PA system. the only in-universe reason I can guess that they're not more common is they're hella expensive... or maybe ponies themselves couldn't make them...)) Harle cocked her head "No offense, ma'am but I thought a disguise made you blend in more... you stand out like a sore thumb as a dragon in a city of unicorns..." when it got to the instructions harle sighed "Thats not my usual demeanor, some bloke would call me out... unless..." she paused a moment in thought "I just need to get a half-empty bottle of whiskey, splash a little on my face so it seems I've been drinking, and all the scavs will just think I'm drunk.... you'll have to bail me out of jail afterwards, and I make no promises against a brawl of two, but it would work!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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