2-8 Recap · 7:16pm Sep 20th, 2014
Previously on IAIMAY
Washington just lay there, every breath seeming to be a struggle. “Church… the Meta… it’s him… it’s Agent Maine...”
Church crouched beside Washington. Maine? Like the state? If the host for the Meta was codenamed for an American state back on Earth, that could only mean one thing…
“The Meta’s a Freelancer?” Church asked incredulously.
Tex turned to Twilight. “Can you teleport us all to Repertum using the ship’s slipspace device and the origin coordinates?”
It shouldn’t have been too hard. It was exactly how Twilight got back to Equestria. Still, it was significantly harder when she was using her magic on more than just herself.
“Not all at once,” Twilight answered. “I can teleport us all in groups of three, maybe four at a time.”
Looking back at the ship, Simmons saw Twilight and one of her pony friends looking at him from the cockpit. They were there only for a few moments before disappearing from view. A thought occurred to Simmons at that moment and he turned to address Grif.
“Do you think we should have told them about the malfunction with the nav computer?”
Twilight pushed aside a lush green branch so she could see the rest of the jungle more clearly. Trees with tropical green leaves and vines hanging around them stood tall around her, sunlight poking holes through the canopy. Unfortunately, the trees were the only thing Twilight could see.
“Hello!?” she called out. “Girls? Church?”
The pony beside her gave a nervous squeak as she looked around the jungle with wide, fearful eyes.
“I-I don’t see them, Twilight!” Fluttershy said shakily.
A gruff voice grunted behind them, “Those dirty Blues gave us the slip!” Sarge exclaimed. “I thought they’d wait at least a little longer before betraying us!”
“Okay, until we can arrange to have them transported elsewhere, those three can stay...” Eberle declared in regard to Caboose, Rarity and Rainbow Dash.
This triggered a “Yes!” from Donut as he squeezed the two ponies tighter before releasing them.
“... so long as they do not interfere with our operation here.”
“So... what exactly is your operation here?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Rarity had to admit, she was rather curious about that as well, but based on the behavior of these soldiers it was top secret stuff. In fact, it kind of reminded her of the air surrounding the crashed ship in Dodge City. Just the same, Eberle seemed reluctant to go into detail about it.
“Look, all I can say about the artifact in these ruins is that Project Freelancer has placed great importance on finding it before anyone else does, and anyone who tries to interfere is to be dealt with immediately.” Captain Eberle turned to leave. “Trust me, it’s in your best interest to stay the hell out of our way.”
The creature regarded Rarity and Rainbow Dash one final time before coming to some decision and turning to leave with a resigned blarg. Tucker turned to the two terrified ponies.
“Sorry about Joey. He’s not exactly high up on the Elite social caste.”
It took some time before the two ponies had the courage to let go of one another. “What… was that thing?” Rarity asked once she found her voice.
“That was one of the aliens we have working with us here,” Tucker explained.
“One of the aliens?”
“Yeah. They’re called Sangheili, but most people call them Elites. They were the aliens we were at war with until recently. They’re really big into this ancient technology."
Tucker cursed under his breath. He looked from the man operating the radio to Rainbow Dash.
“Fuck it. I guess he can land for now, right? After all, we let you guys stay with us,” Tucker nodded at Rainbow. “We can always just refuel them and send them on their way if this turns out to be a mistake."
For some reason, Rainbow Dash had an uneasy feeling in her gut as Tucker reached for the transmitter. She found her thoughts returning to her favorite literary heroine as they had so often done throughout her time amongst the ruins. For some reason, the image of a trap closing in around Daring Do filled her mind’s eye.
“Okay! Go ahead and land,” Tucker transmitted. “Uh. I didn’t exactly get your name.”
“Just call me CT.”
Why do I need a password to view the story?
It's not showing up on the main page either.
I think the author had set up a password for this chapter that only his proofreaders know. He probably forgot to disable it after publishing it.
2470003 I am a proofreader and I don't know the password (because he uses Gdocs). Probably something to do with the site, like a mod not yet approving the new chapter yet or something.
Edit: After re-reading what you said, it is possible he did forget the password protection thingie; so you're right. Trying to get ahold of him.
2469960 2469964 2470003 Good news!: the chapter is up and ready for reading now so go enjoy :)