//------------------------------// // The interrogation // Story: Ponies of the old republic // by peak //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash slowly rose up from her bed, stretching her wings and arms. Relatively speaking, the trip between Coruscant and Balmorra where rather short. It still took a couple hours. More than enough time for a quick nap, and some relief from the weight of the armor. Unfortunately, as the ship computer just had informed her, those hours where soon over, and it was time to prepare herself for the interrogation of her prisoner. She started strapping on her armor, careful not to fray some of her feathers as she worked her wings trough her back plate. She lingered slightly on her shoulder pieces, resting her eyes on the paintings: Her cutie mark, par the course for the republic troopers. The mark of the Wonderbolts, just like she had dreamt of since she enlisted. And finally, her lieutenant stripes, the first fruits of her labor. The shoulder plates clicked into place, and Rainbow grabbed her helm and rifle on the way up to the bridge. There she met Fluttershy, sitting in the pilots’ seat, preparing to dock the ship. “Do you think we should check with the prisoner, Rainbow? Angel is down with her right now, and I haven’t heard from them in a while…” “We’re docking in a few minutes, they will check on her anyways when they move her. It’s not worth the bother.” The lieutenant yawned. In her book, this was way too quickly after a nap to worry about that. Besides, they would be seeing more than enough of the prisoner soon anyways. … “We have placed the prisoner in an interrogation cell. On the table outside the cell are her belongings and a datapad containing all known information about her.” The officer in charge of the prisoners, a scarlet mare, where leading them to the cell block. “But if her behaviors during transport are a pointer, then I’d suspect you’ll have your hoofs full.” The two mares entered the storage room before the cell, and took a look at the table. “Oh my… did one pony carry all this?” Fluttershy held a hoof before her muzzle. The table was filled to the brim. Near the end where a blaster pistol, shaped like an old revolver with a polished wooden handle, and a large one-hoofed shotgun. In a pile beside the guns where about 10 vibroknives of various sizes, a whole bunch of grenades and other explosives, and several other weird things. A pack of balloons included Thrown over the seat of a nearby chair where a frayed duster coat, and an large brimmed fedora. A pin of tree balloons where fixed to the hatband. “It appears so… According to the datapad they gave up searching her after a while and simply confiscated her coat.” Rainbow answered, focusing on the datapad. “Would you mind use this? The old reports are dead boring.” They entered the cell, and sat down at the table across their prisoner, a pink earth pony with hoofcuffs. “HI! Are you the ones who are supposed to interrogate me? Are you going ‘bad cop good cop’? You do know I am innocent, right? Those meanies tricked me! I guess you are the bad cop, since this pink maned one looks soooo nice and you are surely nice you too but you looks so grumpy and we need to play this by the book or else this won’t be fun and it need to be fun! …” The pink mare didn’t waste time, that was for sure, “Oh my…” Fluttershy looked worried over at Rainbow, who had developed a nasty twitch in her left eye over the last minute. Rainbow busted up, slamming her hoof into the table. “I aren’t gonna stand for this!” “But you aren’t standing, silly!” The reply came cheerfully. “Although you are now, I guess?” Rainbow was fuming to the bursting point, so Fluttershy decided to interfere before it all went haywire. “Um... Excuse me, but could we try this again from the beginning?” She fidgeted. “We are Colonel Fluttershy and Lieutenant Rainbow Dash. This is an interrogation in accordance with investigation in chase 22349. You, Pinkie Pie, are suspected of transport and harboring of illegal materials, tax exemption, possession of a stolen vehicle and more severely, of aiding the imperial war machine. Do you have anything to say for yourself?” The whole speech was dry and matter-of-factly, as she more or less read it straight from the manual. The curly haired smuggler drooped. “It is as I said! I am innocent! Or, I admit I maybe weren’t entirely sure of the ship when I got it… and some of my load where maybe a bit suspect… but those crates you has been nagging about? I was told they contained adrenals. I was supposed to deliver them to some guy, that’s all I know.” “Some guy?” Rainbow Dash had composed herself, but her left eye still twitched now and then. “Yes! No question asked, cash on delivery, the usual. I would never willingly help the empire.” She crossed her forelegs, pouting. “Those guys are a bunch of meanies! Have you ever been in an imperial prison? I have, and it is awful!” Fluttershy sighed. “OK… But the reality still stands… Do you think you, if it weren’t too much of a problem, could tell us who your contact was?” “Nope!” The reply was cheerful like ever. “I can find him, tho.” A sly smirk crept across her muzzle. “What do you mean?” Rainbow looked suspicious at her. “Well, Dashie, it is obvious that you consider my contact very important, or you wouldn’t waste spec force officers just to interrogate me. Not to mention doing it off world. It also is clear that whatever where in those two crates, we are talking juicy stuff, not just some boring stuff like ammo. And my sense tells me I am the best, maybe even only lead you got. So, I got the high card here.” Rainbow Dash’ ears pointed backwards as her eye started twitching again. Fluttershy saw reason to defuse the situation again. “Well, let’s suppose you are right, Pinkie. Then what?” She gave her a kind, but stern smile. “Well, we could strike a deal.” Pinkie chippered. "Yeah right!” Rainbow didn’t even bother compose herself this time. “And, what are your terms? Presuming I’m even going to listen and not just throw you in jail for life for collaboration with the enemy?” “That wouldn’t be very nice, I mean, I can prove I were unaware of its contents. But, if we still pretend you are contemplating my deal? I want my charges dropped. Then I’ll lead you to my contact. And, if you clear my record, I’ll stick with you till the end of this, and I promise you, I got friends absolutely everywhere. I could be really useful. And I’d like my gear back. As a bonus I’ll throw us a great party as a celebration of the success!” She finished off with a cheer, blissfully unaware of the smoke curling out of Rainbows ears as she crushed the datapad between her hooves. “…Why…you…I’m… but…ARGH!” She slammed her head into the table. “I give up. Fluttershy, what do you think? She resigned. “Well, to be honest, it is a good idea… She will be very useful. But… Sorry for asking, but how will we know you won’t just run at first moment?” “If you do, I’ll gonna personally hunt you down” Rainbow pouted. She did maybe agree with everything said so far, but she didn’t have to like it. “Yay! You don’t need to worry. I’ll promise I won’t do anything bad. And I’ll keep my promises forever!” The last word came in a rather ominous shriek, but it lasted for less than a second before she was back to her chipper self. “What’s next point of the plan? Or are we done here?” “Well, we did get free hooves. Shall we go along with the deal?” “I don’t like it, but yes. She is our best shot.” Rainbow rose from her chair and turned towards the door, ending up with her face an inch from Pinkie. “Waugh! Weren’t you just hoofcuffed to the chair?” “Yes, I ‘were’!” Rainbow Dash facehoofed. … Back into the Thunderclap, the four of them sat in the meeting room. Fluttershy where catching up with Angel, who had been guarding the ship in the meantime. Pinkie stood near her lockbox, stuffing all the earlier confiscated gear into her pocket. Rainbow sat slouched over a chair, eying the smuggler. Where does she put all that? She mused impressed, as bombs, knives and who-know-what’s where stuffed into pockets and compartments in her hat, her coat, the bandolier across her pale shirt, and in her belt. She ended sheathing the shotgun in a hidden compartment over her left shoulder, making only the grip sticking out, and skillfully twirled her gun around before she stuck it into her quickdraw hoister. “Ah, it feels great to have everything back! What are we going to do next?” Rainbow snapped out of her absentmindedness. “Well, first we need to clear the mission with the general. “ They went into the main room and contacted the headquarters. A short while later the general appeared on the holoterminal. “Good evening, Lieutenant? Ah presume yer interrogation has yielded fruits?” Rainbow saluted her. “Yes, General. The prisoner was cooperative, but we had to strike a deal with her. It is above what we would do with a common criminal, but given the circumstances, we decided to agree with her terms.” “Oh? Interesting. But Ah did say Ah would give ya the benefit of doubt, and Ah’ll stick to mah word. But remember, this is happenin’ below tha table, so if it goes wrong, Ah might not be able to aid ya.” “Very well, general. It is a risk we’ll have to take.” “Ah wish ya good luck, lieutenant. Dismissed.” “I think that went as well as expected” Fluttershy said absentminded as she restocked her utility belt. “The general are sometimes a bit hard to read.” “Yes… But, Pinkie, where do we start?” Rainbow sent a glare at the smuggler. She still didn’t trust her completely, and where still annoyed with the deal they made. “Let’s see, Dashie. First I need some stuff from my old ship.” “Shouldn’t be too hard, we still got it in custody.” “Actually, Rainbow, it got stolen six hours ago.” Fluttershy covered under the lieutenant’s expression. “Yes!” Pinkie chippered. “M co-pilot is very efficient! We were to meet on an abandoned mining facility on a corellian moon once I got out.” “Corellia it is, then.” … After a four hours trip through the hyperspace, the Thunderclap landed on a rocky plain near a large quarry. “This is it, Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked, as she finished the landing procedure. “Yuppie, this is where we was to meet. Let’s go!” Outside, Pinkie leaded them towards a large mining shaft. “I believe it was this way… OH! I know! It’s here!” She ran towards a large cavern near the shaft. They walked into the deep of the cavern. The faint lightning made Rainbow anxious, and she soon pulled out her rifle, igniting the flashlight near the barrel. As they walked out of the tunnel into a huge open cave, Pinkie started giggling. “Relax, Dashie. It’s no one here, sill~” The rest of the word drowned in a shriek from her and Fluttershy, as a piece of the ground busted into the air nearby them. Rainbow immediately dropped into combat mode, taking a long dive behind some rocks and released the safety on her weapon, scanning the area for threats. A female voice carried through the caverns. “Leave now, or the next shot will be considerable more painful!” “Hello! It’s I, Pinkie!” “What? Wait a sec.” The sound of rustling feathers echoed through the cave, and soon a grey coated, blonde maned pegasi landed in front of them. She wore a white shirt and a midnight blue west, and held a long barreled sniper rifle aimed at them from the hip. She glared at them through yellow tinted sunglasses for a lingering second. “It is you, captain! You managed to escape?” The newcomer exclaimed as she pulled Pinkie into a hug. “And who are these? They look like soldiers…” She looked suspiciously at them. “Yes! I got a good deal with them; they are gonna clear my record if I help them out! Guys, this is Ditzy Doo, my co-pilot. She’s a super good sniper!” “Hello, Ditzy. I am Fluttershy, and this is Rainbow Dash. We are of the Republic Special Forces, indeed. But don’t you worry. We are not going to use anything we hear during this mission against anyone. It is a part of our deal with Pinkie.” “Yeah. This is more important than some smugglers and information brokers. Wait, I shouldn’t have said that…” Rainbow facehoofed at her own slip. “Very well. But Pinkie, why did you come here if you are with them?” “I needed some secret stuff from my ship, and I wanted to see you and Dinky first! Who knows how long time this may take?” She said as she gleefully skipped into the cave. The others walked after her. Fluttershy glanced over at the sniper. “Who is Dinky, if you mind me asking?” “She’s my daughter. A beautiful little filly, She’ll be 12 later this year.” “What? Do you mean you are dragging your daughter with you through crimes? “What other choices do I have?” She removed the scarf around her neck, exposing a slave brand running across her throat. “I was born a slave on an imperial backyard of a planet. When I found I was carrying Dinky, I decided to try to escape, or die trying. Fortunately, I managed without too many problems.” She stopped walking, and removed her sunglasses. A golden eye stared directly at Dash, filled with unwavering determination. The other had a glassy tint and looked up through the roof of the cave. “My main problem is that even as an imperial slave, I am still just a slave in the eyes of your precious republic. I am barely able to get a glance of passer-by’s, not a fish’ chance in the cooking pot’s to get a job. I’m going to do whatever it takes to give her a better life than what I got. No exceptions.” They arrived at the ship, and any reply from dash got interrupted by the sound of cheerful laughter, as they saw Pinkie rolling around, playing with a pre-teen purple unicorn. “Hi, Dashie! I got what I needed from the ship, so now I am ready for the fun!” “What did you need, by the way?” Ditzy wondered as she walked up to the ship. “Some supplies… I missed your muffins, by the way! The prisoner’s food is baaad. But, Ditzy, while I am gone, you can keep the ship! Don’t ruin it for me!” Ditzy shook her head. “Pinkie, our ‘ship’ is an eighty year old bucket; I couldn’t ruin it even if I tried. But, I promise.” Fluttershy cleared her throat. “Sorry for interrupting, but it’s getting late and we don’t even know where we are heading next. We should find out where we are going next.” Pinkie perked up. “Yes! It’s a loooong way to Nar Shadda! We got to run! Take care of the scrapheap for me! Seeya later, Dinky, be good to mommy!” She chatted while pushing Rainbow towards the exit. “Oh my… It seems we are leaving. It was a pleasure, Miss Ditzy, take care.” Fluttershy smiled at her as she followed the pair. As they left, Dinky sat down beside her mother. “Mommy, where is auntie Pinkie going with her new friends? “Well, sweetie…” Ditzy started absentmindedly, as she munched on a muffin. “I believe they are going to change the galaxy, one way or another.”