Legends of the Halcyon Era

Episode 54 - The Avion Adventure: Arrival

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Previously, in Legends of the Halcyon Era...

During their voyage through space, the Terrans talked to the Mechadrakes Edge, Crossfire, SunFlame, and MoonRazor, and learned more about their origins and life back on Earth in 21XX.

Now, after several days' worth of travel – at least, by their personal clocks – they are approaching their destination...

Space.

Outside the atmospheric reaches of the planet Avion is a cosmic serenity. Without sound, the silence is almost deafening. Planets rotate and stars twinkle, as is the norm.

Suddenly, a part of the space near the planet seems to almost collapse into itself, as though it were the end of a large tube. A tunnel opens in the vastness of the void, and were it not for the vacuum, three sonic booms would be able to be heard shattering the silence as an enormous vessel emerges. A moment later, the tunnel closes, and space resumes its normal state of being.

"Looks like we've arrived, ladies and gents," Edge told the group.

"Yippee!" shouted Fenix, while Adam Powers let out a more subdued "Cool."

The Terrans went over to the window and looked out at the planet below, MegaMan Magnus's tail twitching all the while, as Janine gripped Black Steel's arm a bit more tightly while they surveyed the planet below them.

"I must say, my stomach is quite knotted from anticipation," Steel remarked.

As the ship started its descent towards the planet below, they began to see things more clearly. The planet itself was not unlike Terra, with large amounts of water, mountains, forests, beaches, jungles, deserts, and icecaps. However, unlike their homeworld, there seemed to be a much greater abundance of many of those things above the water than they were prepared to expect. It also seemed much larger than what they were able to see of Terra from space before they departed, and was orbited by two moons.

"It looks so different from Terra," Janine observed. "There's so much more land..."

Nytetrayn nodded, and added "But it still seems kind of the same, otherwise."

"Wow... whaddya think of that, Blade?" Adam asked the soul of the MegaMan trapped in the large sword he kept slung across his back. After a moment, Adam replied "Yeah, I think so too."

"What level of technology does this planet operate at?" Steel asked.

Edge put a finger to his chin, trying to think of how to answer that. After all, things that were commonplace and casual to them didn't seem quite so back on their guests' homeworld. He tried to give them a reasonable expectation, based on what they knew when he said "Pretty high. I guess it'd be kind of hard to say when compared to the levels you're used to."

The Digger continued his line of questioning. "Is there a unified government?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Edge replied. "There are local levels, of course, but otherwise–"

"Planetwide government... what kind?" Magnus asked. "Are there wars?"

"Not really. We've had our hands full with off-planet, intergalactic wars for so long... who's had time for infighting?"

As Steel stared out at the two moons for longer than he'd intended, he said without looking away, "Heh. Give it time."

Fenix snorted.

"Part of why we'd left Earth was to get away from so many of the petty conflicts that were so common there... it's become fairly ingrained into the society. Not to say it's perfect – people still disagree, fight, whatever. But we usually keep that sort of thing small here."

"They're not humans, Steel," Fenix added. "They're probably different from us in that way."

"Well, to be honest, we're really a little of everything," Edge said. "Life here is like a big wheel, and humans are just one segment of it. And we all just try to give each other a bit of space, really."

Steel shook his head. "All life is imperfect. Humans are not the only beings tainted."

"Don't be so negative," Janine chimed in. "We're on vacation! There's no need to bandy about philosophy, so let's just enjoy ourselves and have some fun!"

Steel stilled his tongue, as he picked up that he wasn't exactly turning any of his companions to his way of thinking, and avoided eye contact with anyone else.

As the craft drew closer to the planet's surface, they could start to make out some cities. They weren't like the ones on Terra, but higher-tech. What's more, they seemed to coexist with the environment, rather than supplanting it.

"So... now that we're here," Steel said, "care to explain what we are to do?"

"Well, since you're the Commander's guests, you're pretty much free to do or see whatever you want. Explore, have fun. Learn."

"Are there... ruins here?"

Magnus shuddered. "I sure hope not."

From behind his sunglasses, Edge gave Steel a curious look before replying. "Like the ones on Earth – er, Terra, I guess? Probably not quite like those. I think I've heard some stuff about some that are more... ancient? Primitive, even?"

After a pause, he added "No crazed kangaroos" with a smirk.

"Excellent," Steel said, as his eyes glinted in anticipation of exploration. "Perhaps this trip will prove worthwhile, after all."

"This planet had other inhabitants before you came?" Magnus asked.

"Hmm? Yeah, it sorta looks that way. We always tried to make sure as best as we could that we weren't stepping on anyone's property before settling... funny how long that took. Anyway, we found some traces that there was once... something here. But no actual signs of any currently living civilization."

"Interesting," the Annihilator Unit mused.

Steel couldn't shake his newfound excitement. "The possibility of discovering an ancient race on a completely different side of the galaxy..." he whispered to himself.

"Oh, by the way," Edge said, as he pulled out a box. "Before I forget," he continued while distributing its contents amongst the group.

"...watches?" Celeste asked, as she and Nytetrayn took theirs, curious.

"Time passes at a different rate here. We figured these might help you cope better."

Each member of the crew accepted theirs and gave their own shows of appreciation, with Edge nodding to each in turn.

"One point of interest for you might be Arkopolis," Edge said.

"Arkopolis...?" Janine asked, as she examined her newest piece of jewelry as it glistened on her outstretched hand.

"The former space colony," Edge replied. "It's a historical site now, and has been largely kept preserved. If you're interested in how things were on your planet all those years ago, then that's a good place to go. It's also the scientific and historical capital of our planet."

"Sounds interesting," Steel said, as he began to get more and more into the idea of this voyage. "This whole planet sounds promising."

"Hmmm..." said Fenix. "You don't suppose I might be able to get myself a gander at some more... personal weapon technology, do you?"

"Personal?" the red Mechadrake asked. "Like, personal how?"

"Handheld."

"Oh, yeah, sure. We have some museums that feature that sort of thing."

Fenix pumped his mechanical fist as he let out a quiet "Yesssss!"

Steel smiled, almost despite himself, as they continued to look out the window at the wondrous new setting that stretched out before them. He also started to wonder just how effective his technology could be in a world said to be so advanced.

"How long are the days here, anyway?" Nytetrayn asked their guide.

"62 hours."

Nyte's eyes almost bulged out of his head at that, before Edge reassured him. "Heh, kidding. More like 28 of your hours."

"Hmmmm, that could affect our biological clocks," Steel said.

"Wait," said Celeste. "What happens to... er, affect us?"

"Humans subjected to extended periods of sunlight are known to suffer mental fatigue."

"Well, the sun isn't always out," Edge pointed out in a playful tone.

"I should hope not," Steel said.

"You all can go inside, if you need to," Fenix said haughtily as he crossed his arms and tilted his helmeted head back. "I never need to worry about the sun, personally."

Janine rolled her eyes. "That's an understatement, chalk lips."

One of Steel's eyes widened at the remark, Nytetrayn just fell over cackling, and Adam just turned back to the window.

"...didn't deter you from sucking on them, I noticed."

At that, Nytetrayn suddenly turned a shade more "ick," while Magnus leaned against the window from laughing so hard. Steel remained dumbstruck.

"Oh great," Janine said. "We broke their brains."

"It was probably inevitable," Fenix replied.

"Yeah, I need to get out," Steel said. "Open the doors!"

"Honey...?" asked a confused Janine, while Edge just quietly pressed a button to comply with Steel's request.

Steel anxiously made his way to the doors as he suppressed the anxiety of all the many emotions that had been sprung upon him. Should he kill Fenix with a mallet, shove his dirty sock in Magnus's mouth, or explore endlessly while humming nursery rhymes?

Meanwhile, it was Janine's turn to be dumbstruck, as she remained in her seat and watched her boyfriend bolt for the doors.

The ship began to come in for a landing, its shape changing as it had at the start of the journey to assume a more compound-like configuration as it came to rest in a designated spot within one of the cities.

"And here we are," said Edge. "Avion City. Home, sweet home." He added, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go meet with the Commander and the others," before he departed from the area himself.

While some of the others went off to pack up their things, Nytetrayn and Celeste looked out into the city. "Never seen anything quite like it," he said. Celeste nodded, holding Nyte's arm in sort of a hug as they gazed out the window.

"Biggest damn city I've ever seen," Fenix said.

"Not for me," said Magnus, "but still, a welcome change."

"We should go get ready to depart, too," Nyte said, before he and Celeste went to get their things.

Meanwhile, Adam had gone on to pack his things, and Steel returned to the room he and Janine shared to do the same. Inside, she came up behind him as he packed, and asked "Are you okay?"

Steel tried to avoid her gaze, instead focusing on his equipment. "Yeah," he replied. "Just... I'm feeling too many things right now. And when I hear Fenix or Magnus make remarks like that to you... I'm not sure how I should feel."

Janine looked sadly at the floor. "It isn't their fault, though. That's... that's just really the way I am... or was." She looked back up at Steel. "There's no use hiding it. I'm not ashamed of it."

"It's more that..." Steel began, as he tried to find the words. "No matter what... I just feel like you deserve more respect than you get."

Janine smiled at the Digger. "You give me more respect than I deserve. That's enough for me."

Steel stopped his organizing, and turned to look at her. They wrapped their arms around each other as she draped herself against him. "I'm... sorry... for making you worry needlessly," he said.

"It's okay," she replied. "Just tell me if something bothers you, alright? That's what I'm here for. Well, that, and maybe a few other things... but I can wait until you're ready for that," she added with a wink.

Elsewhere...

"So... how are you feeling?" Celeste asked Nytetrayn.

"I dunno," he said. "Excited, I guess..."

"You still want to talk to him, don't you?"

Nyte just nodded in return.

Celeste hugged Nytetrayn and told him "You'll get your chance, don't worry..."

"I hope so," Nyte said, as he finished packing his stuff. "Anyway, let's go meet the others so we can explore this place."

Celeste nodded and grabbed her stuff, ready to go, and they headed back to the hub area.

As they met up with everyone else, their luggage in tow, Fenix and Magnus seemed to be discussing something. Steel followed Janine in, carrying her luggage in addition to his own, and looking like nothing so much as a pile of walking suitcases with hands and feet.

Fenix expressed his opinion that Janine had filled out since Magnus last saw her. "She's a 36 double-D now?" Magnus asked. "She used to be a 32. Interesting... maybe the techno-organics do age."

"It only makes sense," Fenix said. "I'm just glad she only aged as much as she did."

"Yes, her hips are rounder now, too."

"Urge to kill... rising..." Steel muttered from beneath the bags.

Janine patted him on the arm. "Remember, you're the one that kept me. They will never see me naked again."

This seemed to placate the encumbered Digger, while Magnus seemed to pout.

"Hey, Nyte!" Fenix shouted. "Let's take those new upgrades of yours for a spin! Race you to the elevator!"

"Huh?" asked the surprised – but accommodating – Digger. "You're on!"

"Ready... steady... Celeste! Don't take off your top here!"

"...huh?" Nyte asked, turning more out of a surprised reflex than anything, only to see Celeste looking back with a perturbed expression on her face. As he did so, Fenix took off like a shot, cackling all the way.

"HEY!!!" Nyte shouted, bolting down the hallway after his ex-roommate.

"Okay, maybe you should kill him," Janine told Steel.

He dropped the bags in his right hand and held out his Buster with a gleeful, sinister smile, when Magnus grabbed the arm cannon. "Bad Digger," he said. "No homicide for you."

"You're no fun," Steel said.

"Aww, c'mon, Magnus..." Janine pouted. "Just a little homicide? A teeny, tiny little bit?"

"Not until we're off the bus, at least."

Janine gave him the finger.

Meanwhile, Celeste grabbed Nyte's stuff and joined Adam in following the pair down the hallway, the latter muttering something about maturity.

As Nyte started to gain on Fenix, he picked up speed. Then, halfway down the hall, some sort of thrusters on his feet kicked in and lifted him off the ground as he ran, his feet starting to go everywhere due to the loss of traction. He zoomed past Fenix, who skidded to a halt in time to see his former roommate crash upside-down into the wall next to the elevator. After a moment, Nyte fell flat on the ground, leaving some cracks in the wall.

Celeste and Fenix's eyes both bulged at the sight, and she dropped the luggage she was carrying to go check on Nyte, while he just died laughing.

As Celeste arrived, Edge stepped off the elevator. "...what the?!" he exclaimed, before he knelt down by Nytetrayn. "Nyte! You okay?" He turned to Celeste, and asked her what happened.

"I dunno," she said. "Nyte and Fenix were racing for the elevator, then something weird happened and he was picked up off his feet, and then he hit the wall..."

"Ah, I see. I guess he needs to get used to those boosters that were installed a bit more first."

"...boosters?" Celeste asked.

"Ooh, antigrav skates," Fenix mused as they looked at him. "Kinky!"

Turning back to each other without comment, the red Mechadrake continued. "Yeah, they're sorta common around here. He should be okay."

As Adam walked up with an amused look on his face, Nyte slowly pulled his face off the ground. "...is there... anything else... I should... know about...?" he asked, before letting his head fall back face-first onto the ground.

"I think there's a bit more –" Edge began to explain, when Fenix nudged him. "Hmm?"

"Did you upgrade any of his 'other' equipment? Tinker with his gearbox? A few extra hammers in the toolbox?" the caped Digger asked.

Edge gave him a puzzled look.

Fenix sighed. "Look, I just want to be sure he doesn't accidentally hurt Cel on their first time..."

"Hey, don't look at me," Edge said. "I didn't upgrade anything. But you heard what was said at our meeting back on Earth. I think there's some other stuff, but I don't know if that's part of it. As far as I know, I think the Commander and Clank were the ones who fitted him with most of his new stuff. Probably best to talk to one of them about it."

Nyte pointed a finger upward as he spoke into the ground, muffled. "I think I'll get right on that..."

"I believe I may very well just do so!" Fenix said. "I want my little buddy here to have only the finest sexual experience he can, and accidentally tearing Celeste in half with one of your fancy Gobotron surprises would definitely kill the mood!"

Celeste decided not to comment.

"I think I'm going to be ill," said Magnus.

"Can Celeste kill him?" Janine asked.

"I recommend and encourage it."

"...later," Celeste said, as she and Edge helped Nytetrayn to his feet. "Ugh, thanks," the Digger said, as he shook his head a bit to clear the cobwebs.

Fenix freaked out a little, and hid behind Magnus.

"Hey, no fair!" Steel shouted as he trudged up with the luggage. "I had dibs!" he called out, between his wide, interested gazes at Avion. "Marvelous," he said quietly to himself.

"Anyway," Edge said, "since you're guests of the Commander, you've got accommodations set up for you near the capitol building, and I came by to show you all the way."

Celeste nodded and went to retrieve the abandoned luggage, with Nyte following.

***

A short time later, they arrived at what looked to them like a very nice hotel, and Edge set the lot of them up with rooms. Rather nice ones, at that.

"Here you guys go," he said. "You're all probably sort of space-lagged, so I'll let you rest up for now. If you need anything, you can contact me via the built-in communicator on the watches I gave you. They also have all the vital info you need to get a hold of me or the others, points of interest, directions to the capitol building, which is where the others and I will be, dah-dah dah-dah-dah-dah..." he trailed off, as he rattled off the functions on his fingers.

"Wow," said a wide-eyed Steel, as he looked into the room from the doorway, still in his walking luggage-cave. "This... is impressive."

"Indeed," said Adam.

"Perhaps I can hold off on exploring for a bit... thank you."

"Oh, and Nyte?" Edge said. "Clank should be along soon. Says he's got something for ya'."

Nytetrayn, Celeste, and the rest all thanked Edge before going into their respective rooms. Celeste and Nytetrayn shared one room, while Janine and Steel shared another. Adam, Fenix, and Magnus each got their own quarters to stay in.

Janine tried to help Steel with some of the baggage, but he remained insistent on carrying it himself, as his pride wouldn't allow him the convenience. Nevertheless, he found himself quite relieved when they got into the room and he could finally put everything down.

"Awww, my big, macho, manly hero!" Janine said in a tone that wasn't quite teasing, but wasn't not, either.

Steel puffed out his chest with his hands on his hips with a manly smile on his face. "Ah, who the hell am I kidding?" he asked, before he doubled over and tried to count how many discs in his back must have slipped.

"Lay down," she said. "I know a thing or two about massage."

Steel did so, with a bit of guilt at his anxiousness to do so. He quickly forgot the sensation of guilt as his eyes widened at the sound of Janine loudly cracking her knuckles behind him, however. Before he had a chance for second thoughts, Janine pushed his shirt up and began to knead his knotted muscles. Steel had never received treatment like this before, and was in total awe at how good it felt.

"Never thought anything could surpass the sensation of kicking someone in the head, but whoa..."

Janine leaned down and whispered "Be right back" into his ear, allowing her lips to brush against the lobe, before she got up and skipped over to her bags to rummage around for something. Steel already missed her as soon as she moved away from him, but his pining was short-lived, as she rubbed something between her hands as she returned. A moment later, a trickle of warm oil descended upon Steel's back.

"My god..." he said, eyes wide. "That's like..." His sentence went unfinished as he tried not to drool at the sensation.

Janine's hands ventured down Steel's back as though they were the emissaries of ecstasy, firmly but gently working the tension out of the Digger. Steel lost the ability to speak as his newfound goddess revealed to him pleasures that most men would never imagine.

Steel's eyes widened and he began to sweat a little as he squirmed under this attention, this touching. A part of him he tended to ignore began to tell him to do things he just knew weren't proper.

As she began to nibble at his ear, he said "Jan... I'm not... I mean..."

"Hmm?" she asked with a lick.

Steel writhed as he wished this didn't feel so good. "It's just... just..."

Janine stopped for a moment, still resting on his back. Steel felt the moment stretch into an eternity.

"Jan... I'm not too familiar with this sorta thing. In fact I... uh..." He stammered as he tried to figure out how to say this. "Despite having a name like 'Steel'... I've never, eh... used... 'steel', so to speak."

Janine looked on with a perplexed expression. "What?"

"...I'm a virgin."

After a brief, awkward pause, Janine broke the silence when she said "Wow. And here I thought Nyte and Celeste were unique."

Steel just looked utterly defeated by that, but Janine nuzzled the back of his neck and asked, "Wouldn't you like me to help change that?"

While Steel's body screamed "Yes, you fool! You want! You reaaaaaaaaallllly want!", his mouth offered a more subdued "I... Yeah... because it's you."

"Wait," she said. "Is that 'Yes, I don't want,' or 'Yes, you want'?"

Had the bed been a wall, he might have pounded his head against it. Eventually, he told her, "If it were anyone else? No. But you?" He paused. "...yeah."

After another awkward moment, he continued. "Dammit... It's hard for me to be clear on something like this. Not exactly used to talking about it. Janine... please... teach me how to... uh, you know... have sex?"

He winced, unable to believe he just said that out loud. And to her, no less. He just set himself up to be a laughingstock, and began to wonder to himself if he should start packing his bags now and just walk back to Terra. As stupid as the idea was, it still sounded less embarrassing than –

"You betcha, sweetie!" Janine said with a jovial smile, hugging him tight.

***

Meanwhile, in another nearby room, Nytetrayn and Celeste each carried their own luggage in. They plopped down at the end of the rather large bed next to each other to rest for a second, and decided to share a moment before getting started.

Unfortunately, the pair were interrupted by a sort of electronic chirping sound. After a moment of locating the source and touching a glowing, blinking beacon on the nearby device making the sound, Nyte said "Yes?"

"Mr. Nytetrayn," came the response, "this is the front desk. Someone is here to see you, sir. Shall I send them up?"

"Who?"

After a pause, they replied, "His name is 'Clank'."

"Er, yeah... send 'im up..."

"Yes, sir," they said, followed by a clicking sound which ended the call.

Nyte sighed.

"Oh well," Celeste said. "Later, I guess."

A short time later, a knock came at the door. Nyte answered, to find Clank on the other side. "Hey, how goes?" the Digger inquired.

"Good, thanks for askin'," the Avion medic replied, before turning behind him. "C'mon in, guys! Come say 'hi'!"

As Nyte looked on curiously as Clank stood aside, revealing Twirl, Blaster, and Surefire, all repaired and restored.

"Hope you don't mind, but I did take the liberty of upgrading them a little bit."

"Upgrading?" Nyte asked, eyebrow raised. "Like how?"

"Like this!" said Blaster with a big smile.

"...they can talk now?"

"And think and act on their own, too," Clank said as the three GunRobos entered the room. "May I?"

"Oh, right, sure," the still-surprised Nyte said as he stood aside and gestured for him to come in.

"Thanks," Clank said as he entered and took a seat. Meanwhile, the GunRobos went to greet Celeste. "They should run more effectively in battle and other situations now."

"Yup!" said Surefire.

"That's right," added Twirl.

"That's good," Nyte said, though now he felt a little awkward. With them around, privacy might be a little harder to get.

"Um, question," he said, deciding to change the subject. "I found out about my new shoes earlier..."

"Heh, yeah," Clank replied with a gruff but good-natured chuckle. "Edge told me about that. Still getting used to 'em, huh?"

"Yeeeah, you could say that," Nyte said. After a brief pause, he asked "What else did you guys do to me?"

Clank thought for a moment. "Besides repairs and some minor upgrades to your systems, not a whole lot," he said. "Oh, wait. There is the AAG..."

"AAG?"

"'Attribute Amplification Generator'. It allows you to temporarily amplify a different attribute when you need to. Speed, strength, even intelligence. You might be able to do more with it as you learn to use it, but it consumes a lot of energy. So use it sparingly, or else you'll wind up burning yourself out."

Clank thought some more. "Might be some other stuff we added. I can't rightly remember what all was and wasn't there, especially after the Commander got involved. I think there was some sort of electromagnetic hover mechanism in there. I think it lets you stop your descent for about 1.7 seconds, if I remember correctly..."

"Er, okay," Nytetrayn said, a little surprised at the new additions, and maybe a little irked that he didn't know, and couldn't get a clear record of everything.

Clank continued. "Besides clearing out some cobwebs and stopping your system deterioration, I think that's pretty much it. Anyway, just wanted to drop the boys off here for ya'. I have some stuff to do now that we're back, so I'll catch you two later."

Before the medic left, Nytetrayn took him aside to ask him something privately.

Once he was gone, Celeste walked over and asked Nyte "What did you ask him?"

"...let's just say that Fenix's fears are unfounded."

"Oh," Celeste said, before realization struck. "OH. Right..." she said, as she nervously turned a little red at that.

Nytetrayn turned to the GunRobos. "Sorry about what happened back on Terra, guys..."

"Eh, no biggie," said Surefire.

"Not your fault," Twirl added.

"Sorry we weren't much help, boss," Blaster chimed in.

Nytetrayn knelt in front of the three, placing his hands on the two outermost shoulders of the lot, and reassured them. "Eh, I'm just glad you guys are okay." They nodded in return.

Celeste put her hand on Nyte's shoulder, and nodded reassuringly as well.

Suddenly, Nyte stood up. "Know what? I need to use the facilities. Be right back..." he said, before quickly stepping away and into the washroom, where he shut the door tight and locked it.

"Er, okay... Nyte..." Celeste said, as she wondered what that was all about.

Inside the washroom, Nyte urgently tried to raise Edge on the communicator in his watch. Quietly, he said "Paging Edge, come in, Edge..."

After a moment, Nyte received a response as Edge's visage came up on a viewing window holographically-projected above the face of the watch. "Edge here, what's up? Something the matter?"

"Yeah, you could say that," Nyte said, a little sheepishly. "Clank was just here. And he upgraded my robots' AI..."

"Oh? What's wrong with that?" the red Mechadrake asked.

"Well..." Nyte said, as he felt frustratingly conflicted about this. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they're back and better, but..." He paused, as he visibly tried to think of the best way to put this. "It kind of affects the... er... 'privacy level' of our room, if you get my drift..."

Edge raised an eyebrow before it all clicked. "OH," he said in full understanding. "Gotcha. Alright, tell y'what: You put up with 'em for a little bit, and while you do that, I'll get them their own place. I guess since they're able to enjoy it, now, I'll set them up with something to keep them... ah, 'entertained'."

Nyte breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Thanks, Edge."

"Hey, no problem, kid. Just hang in there for now. Edge, out." And with that, the communication ceased.

Nyte stepped out of the washroom to find Celeste and the GunRobos, all sitting on the sofa and watching television. 'The Simpsons' was on, and while the GunRobos were amused by the surprisingly long-running animated sitcom, Celeste seemed more amused by the GunRobos themselves.

It wasn't long before Edge got the three their own room, which left Nytetrayn and Celeste to finally get to enjoy a bit of privacy together.

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