//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Those Distant Sisters // by Rettro //------------------------------// Sounds beneath the tarmac at Hearth’s Core were thunderous during normal operations. The sound of a single plane taking off overhead was enough to make anypony stuck in the maintenance tunnels go deaf. For this reason, among others, only a single colt was cleared to work there during the day. The cream colored unicorn stallion trotted down the dank passageway, ignoring the now common sensation of the ground beneath his hooves shaking so violently that he should by all rights fall. There was a small malfunction in the fuel pump array for the back three runway, probably just a popped cable from all the shaking. He approached the suspect junction, lying on his stomach to get a better look at the connections. The colt stifled a giggle as the reverberations shook through his body. Funny thing, how such a simple idea as a rapid shake could make ponies mad with pain and agony, when he could so easily just shut it off. Flip of a switch, just as he was doing on the panel in front of him. One, two, three, fuel pumps back online, time to get up and get out. Five minutes later head engineer Sonority climbed out from under the tarmac and started towards the control tower. He made it halfway there when he was interrupted by a sharp pull on his tail. He turned to find a bright green mare in a reflective jacket, seemingly calling to him. “Oh, sorry, sorry, sometimes I forget myself coming out of the tunnels there.” The stallion reached up, pushed back a lock of light brown mane, and tapped the device permanently attached to the right side of his head. In a rush, a world of sound returned to him. The roar of engines, the chatter of nearby personnel, and above it all the voice of the mare in front of him, brought to the forefront of his mind. “Sonority, sir, they need you in the control tower, now! There’s some signal coming in but it’s too weak to hear. Priority one, it’s a distress signal!” The mare yelled over the nearby noise, but received no reaction from the stallion in front of her. “If the signal’s weak, they must be far out. We’re at the heart of the country, lass, let a strip on the shore handle it.” The advice was sound – the receivers at Hearth’s Core terminal were the strongest in the land, if a signal was weak then the plane must be offshore and closer to another airstrip. The mare hung her head in front of her superior, her voice low enough to barely be heard over the roar of a nearby jet. “Sir, it’s the Thunder Hawk. Your wife, her sister. They need you.” Despite her best efforts, the runway mare was left in the dust by the stallion galloping towards the control tower. Sonority reached the tower, bursting through the door at the top of the stairwell and immediately throwing himself underneath the radio control panel, having worked out a way to boost the signal whilst running over. The young colt working the radio barely managed a squeak as he flew to the floor nearby. After a frantic moment of pulling and reconnecting wires, the voice of an incoming plane’s pilot on the intercom doubled in volume. Sonority lifted himself to the main controls, changing the receiving station to that of his sister-in-law’s cargo ship. After a moment, a familiar voice appeared. “Mayday, mayday, come in Hearth’s Core, this … going down over an unknown population center. We … suitable landing zone or this bird’s going down … political stockpile on board! Code four-eight-six-three-delta.” Evanescence’s voice trailed for a moment, before a more mechanical voice added “Priority one message. Message repeats.” The colt who until now lay dazed on the floor pushed himself to his hooves and began manipulating the radio controls. “That signal’s about ten minutes old, coming in from five degrees south of east, distance… really far.” Sonority’s head slipped down, but his eyes stayed locked on the small speaker that moments before held a link to his love. “Sir, what do you plan to do about it? I don’t think any of our planes can make it that far and back.” The head engineer relinquished the radio seat to the younger colt, turning to slowly walk out of the tower room. Without turning his head, Sonority spoke to the younger officer. “She said they’re over a population center somewhere out there. That means I don’t have to worry about making it back yet. I’m going to get them. If anyone asks, tell them I’m following the guidelines of four-eight-six-three-delta. Nopony here knows what that means anyway.” With that, Sonority left the tower, destined for a nearby hanger owned by somepony who owed him a favor or two. An excerpt from the Hearth’s Core guide to aviation: Code 4863D: Cargo containing official copies of political edicts, typically en route to public halls or libraries to be used as reference. Insensitive copy data, receives lowest priority of cargo recovery in case of emergency.