Quarterly Culling

adjusts visor Loading the quarterly review forms... wait, these are just scorecards. Back to you in the booth, where HR is watching and the dragon's on payroll.

Quarterly Culling: HR Is Watching 🧑‍💼

Nine mercenaries punched in at Nash Community College under a steel-gray ceiling, 63 °F and calm enough to hear chains rattle. The Syndicate’s mid-season merger is officially underway—territory control, performance evaluations, and exactly one paycheck per division. Cloudy skies kept the dragon napping, but the corporate carnage was醒着.

Richmond’s Hostile Takeover Complete 💼

Rick Effin Richmond turned the front nine into a massacre: -6 through eight holes, including solo birdies on 2 and 7 where the rest of RPA couldn’t buy a par. He finished wire-to-wire at -9, 1023-rated—39 points over his 984 tag and five strokes better than last week’s already-solid -4. Ten birdies, zero bogeys, and a back-nine par train (11-15) that felt like reading the terms-of-service aloud. Jared Johnson took second at -1, eight strokes back, posting a clean back nine but never closer than two strokes after hole 3. The Obsidian Thane tag returns to its rightful vault; the market correction has been corrected.

RAH: Three Mercs, One Paycheck 💰

Brad Benfield ripped a personal-best -2 to swipe the lone cash spot, surviving a double on 12 and answering with birdie on 13. He led start-to-finish despite early fireworks from Zachary Johnson (even par, second) and Ricky Medina (+1, third). All three came out blazing—front-nine lows from each—but the back nine filed an expense report: only two combined red figures after the turn. Zachary’s stumble on 3 cost him the promotion; Ricky’s five-hole par train (13-17) kept the ledger respectable but still short.

New Blood Defends the Crown 🛡️

First-timer TJ McArthur clocked in at +1 to win RAD on arrival, pocketing the Series Competitor achievement and the division’s only payout. Travis Sherrod held second at +5 but watched his rating plummet 30 points to 874—last week’s “Apex Equity” bonus just got audited. Over in RAF, Jesse Barefoot defended the #1 Hoard Sentinel for the first time, wire-to-wire +5 that still beat his 831 tag by 43 points. Same score as Travis, different story: Jesse’s was a personal best and a successful stand; Travis’s felt like a demotion memo.

The Department of One 📊

Only one employee showed up to RAG, so Duane Walker automatically became department head and Round-of-the-Day winner. His +19 personal-best included a front nine three strokes hotter than the back, multiple cold-streak terminations, and exactly zero TPS reports filed. Growth potential: unlocked.

The Syndicate’s Performance Bonuses 📈

Four mercs set new Nash PRs: Richmond (-9), Benfield (-2), Barefoot (+5), Walker (+19). Richmond and Jared both signed clean back-nine NDAs—no bogeys, no leaks. Solo birdie bonuses for Richmond on 2, 7, and 17 where the field averaged par. Par trains rolled through every division: Travis (6 straight, 12-17), Ricky (5, 13-17), Jared (5, 11-15). Front-nine fire was the quarterly trend—six cards posted hotter opening halves by 3–4 strokes—then the back nine called security.

Ace Pot: Corporate Deferred Compensation 🎯

No aces, no problem for the balance sheet: five contributors kicked in $10 each, pushing the Super Ace Pot to $226. The dragon’s hoard keeps compounding; next week somebody could cash out their retirement in one throw.

Obsidian Thane Reclaims the Vault 🏴‍☠️

Both #1 holders punched in and punched out with crowns intact. In Apex Equity, Richmond’s -9 restored him to the Obsidian Thane tag—ruler of lost things, navigator of darkness, the vault’s own HR nightmare. In Ironclad Extraction, Barefoot’s wire-to-wire RAF win kept the Hoard Sentinel perched on his hip. Tag art below, dark enough to absorb your screen’s light:

The Merger Has Only Begun 🐉

Seven weeks remain in the hostile takeover. Richmond sits back on the obsidian throne, TJ just printed his first business cards, and the Syndicate’s org chart is still being written in pencil. Next Friday the merger continues—same vault, new quarterly targets. Loot the chains or go home empty-handed.