Last Chances
"A single Searonese bandit has stopped you in your tracks?" The centermost equine image remarked. The bright blue projection shimmered within the center of the pitch-black cabin. "We find that hard to believe, especially considering the numbers of Xonans you have taken down single-hoofedly in your illustrious career."
"She had the element of speed and surprise on her side," explained Enforcer Shell. The one-eyed stallion was frozen in a perpetual bow as he spoke towards the glowing figures before him. "Her smoke screen effectively disoriented our managlider pilots in pursuit of the target. If I attempted to intercept the bounty hunter's vessel with artillery rounds, I risked harming my own forces."
"Has the importance of this mission been lost to you, Enforcer?" Another image inquired. "Do you know what is at risk here? What sort of weapon we stand to lose against the Xonan menace?"
Shell took a deep breath, his jaw clenching. He did not raise his gaze. "I am doing what I can to assure the safety of my stallions while keeping a firm pursuit of the target."
"And yet we do not see how any of this is actually helping you catch the target. Prime Enforcer, there is no way for us to be more emphatic about this situation. The capture of the target is more important than your very own life. Perhaps it is high time that you decided what you stand to sacrifice in order to accomplish this goal."
"We have all three ships scanning the forest canopy of Foxtaur," Shell said, more like muttered. "If the bounty hunter attempts to flee, we will see her immediately and—"
"Just like you were able to anticipate the metal mare's interference to begin with?"
Shell's nostrils flared. He didn't say anything for a few seconds, but ultimately growled forth, "Captain Filta is gifted in mana-sensitivity. Like all metal mares, the intruder undoubtedly possesses a central power core. She cannot make off with the target without our tracking her movement—"
"Your list of enemies climb higher and higher. First, there were two ponies associated with the target. Now—a metal mare?"
"I seriously doubt that they are in league with each other, council."
"Whatever the case, you must seize the target at all costs. Do not go on any unnecessary hunts for residual targets. You are at war with one winged mare. Anything standing in the way is forfeit. Do you understand this?"
Shell took a deep breath. "I understand this thoroughly, good council."
"And we have noted your understanding. Should you fail, we can only assume that it is not a matter of incompetence, but treachery. Your career and title are on the line, Prime Enforcer. We expect a report on your progress by the next time we converse."
Bowing his head, the stallion murmured, "In honor of the Queen, I give myself."
"We shall see." And in a wave of static, the projection of the Council disappeared.
Wincing, Shell took several seconds to stand up. The metal, mana-lit brace over his shattered leg was doing little to numb the pain of his injury. A sane pony would have turned himself in at a hospital unit days ago. There was no telling what permanent damage there was to the limb.
Shuffling about on the wooden floorboards, he made for a pair of doors and opened the passage to the main deck of the Steel Wing. There was no blinding light, for night had fallen. Stars gathered overhead as a brisk evening wind kicked through his mane. There were fewer crew members on the deck at this point. A great deal of the ship's stallions were piloting managliders, mounting a thorough search for the wanted pegasus among the trees below.
From the deck's edge, Shell gazed out. He saw the spiraling blue specks of the hovering managliders against the dark, purple sky. Everything was peaceful, calm, and almost dreamlike.
A piece of him shivered, and his face stretched long beneath the scar that had long consumed his eye.
Suddenly, there was a distant noise. Glass and wooden furniture was being shattered. With a pricking ear, Shell glanced to his right.
Near the stern of the ship, the windows to the starboard cabin were flickering with shadowed movement against amber lamplight. Shell heard a grunting voice—followed by a raspy chuckle. He squinted with one good eye to see the shape of an obese stallion standing up as if having just recovered from a horrible pratfall. He leaned up against a wall inside the chamber. Something levitated in his grasp which the neckbearded Enforcer tipped against his lips with a drunken smile.
With a breathy groan, Shell pivoted towards the stern and trotted with his hobbling prosthetic towards the door to Josho's quarters.
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Josho's back!
Looks like Shell's about to get into more trouble than he thinks, considering he doesn't know about EE, Zenith, Crimson, or Phoenix yet.
That Josho.
When will he ever learn?
Hmm, as I suspected. Shell is driven, loyal, committed... but he refuses t put his own men in danger. When faced with the possibility of losing his target or losing his soldiers, he takes care of his ponies. He is loyal to his country, but first and foremost, he is loyal to his soldiers. In a very odd way... I almost relate to him.
No push-ups this round, ):(. A complex villain like that is a thing of beauty.
Shell be getting a scolding.
Yes, it seems Ahab is running himself ragged because of that white wha--I mean cyan mare.
Or at least being commanded to by some jolly old fatcats.
No! I don't want the council to kill Shell, that would be far too simple! He has to die a painful and lingering death alone in the wilderness, after being made to understand that he has failed horribly at everything that ever mattered to him.
When his hopes are ashes, he has my permission to die.
2180520
2180514 's point stands. Shell is certainly driven, but the added complexity of oversight casts his whole character back into the light of loyalty to country. It is a near role reversal. In the facility, Shell was the demigod, the near faceless shadow that controlled the world. On this mission he is merely the Knight on a chessboard.
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
So Shell apparently dies care for his soldiers. I don't think this bodes well for him in the future...Whenever the bad guy is put in a humane light, it usually means something bad is about to happen to them. Also, this Council is becoming more and more corrupt sounding. I'm finding it hard to believe that Dash will just leave Ledomare without liberating the country or something. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
2180539 Oh, no, I definitely agree that Shell is not yet willing to sacrifice everything and everyone...yet. We shall see if he caves to the demands of the council in coming chapters or if his morals stand up to the challenge.
2180539>>2180520
Exactly. Shell isn't evil, he's just on the other side. It's become clear to me that he is not hunting Dashie because, "WE WILL BE ABLE TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD, THEN WE CAN KICK BABIES AND EAT PUPPIES WHILE WE TRAMPLE WILDFLOWERS! MWUHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"
He's a loyal soldier to his country, and he has been told, or maybe actually believes, that this pegasus will give his country the edge they need to stop the grueling war against a lethal, ruthless enemy, and possibly make the rest of the world safe from violence, as well. In much the same way that most Nazi soldiers were not raging anti-Semites, or a good number of insurgents in Iraq are simply poor farmers who agreed to blow themselves up if their family got a few thousand dollars, Shell is not some mustache-twirling villain. He's a soldier, just trying to make the world better.
A shred of compassion? In my heartless villain? It's more likely than you think.
Hmmm, this is interesting...seems that She'll does have a shred of decency in him after all. Question is, hat next? Will he be willing to go all in and use every last means necessary to capture Rainbow Dash, or will his good side win out in the end?
I highly doubt he will do anything like joining Dash's merry bad of misfits, though.
Damn autocorrect. I meant "Shell". And I can't fix it on mobile because this place isn't mobile-friendly and Knighty went and hid the buttons...
2180770 No, you can do it, just click once on the place where the buttons should be, in the upper right, and lo' they shall appear in all their buttony glory.
At least, it works for me on android.
I just so this and I favorited both this and the other one. Only 373 chapters to read!
@Roarke: tried that before. Doesn't work. And I'm using android.
Shell is basically a pony that, if not for having been forced into a walk of life that demands a gross violation of ethics and morals, would otherwise be a good stallion.
2180593
Reading through this conversation, I wonder if Shell will pursue Dash as far as we all thought he would. It's becoming very clear that she is extremely difficult to capture and plenty willing to use violence against her enemies. Shell's different priorities will eventually put him at odds with the Council, especially if Dash gets Roarke's ship to work for her. The sudden threat posed will most likely not be worth pursuing in Shell's mind, at which point his concern for his soldiers makes him a traitor to Ledomare. He will be wanted by the Council as much as RD currently is. Will he purposely allow Dash to escape in order to protect his soldiers? Today's chapter seems to hint at that possibility.
Shell seems to have it hard. I can't imagine being in his place.
2180948
No, Shell has that honor of his to uphold. He sacrificed hundreds in the Blue wing, and now that the council has made its priorities clear, Shell likely will be perfectly willing to sacrifice the lives of his soldiers.
Time to go beat the daylights out of Josho.
2180857 See you in a few days then.
2180769
I am aware. When saying "she" I was meaning Dash - Dash should show EE the ropes in trying to woo Crimson with awesome, so to speak.
looks like josho is about to have a bad night.
2180948
Yeah... I dunno. Shell obviously cares about his men. I don't think he's going to get them all killed in a suicidal chase that will almost certainly leave them with no pegasus.
This is Australia...
2180866
Mobile.fimfiction.net/ whatever.
This will give you the buttons. Simply replace "www" with "mobile"
The more you know!
now i have empathy for the guy...
He'd probably sacrifice all those stallions in the blink of an eye if he thought it was for the best. I've not forgotten what he did to his own Beloved.
Just because he's cautious doesn't mean he's not capable of killing them all or he's a "father to his men" kind of guy. Shell's a fanatic, first and foremost, and he's just as likely to send every one of those stallions to certain death as he was torturing and killing his Beloved on the (false) rumour that she was a sympathiser.
2180948
My guess? HE will, but he will tell his troops to stay behind. Like, it will come to a point where the orders from the HQ will be too much, and he will go alone.
I foresee him either dying in sacrifice, knowing full well it's coming, or begrudgingly letting her to arts she saves him.
Either way, he's the deepest villain of the story this far.
2178169
It's certainly possible. Despite being a large conglomerate, we have to take into consideration that many of the groups are non-equine. Remember, Ledomare conquered nearby countries to form it's confederacy, and if the number of species found in Blue Shelf are anything to go by, a fair few of these states are non-equine and hence not unicorns. This limits the potential pool.
Of the unicorns we have seen, many have been either military ponies, or in highly technical jobs which could only be carried out by a unicorn.
While it is certainly possible that mana is channelled into an object by a unicorn - where it will remain as a finite amount until used up - it doesn't necessarily mean that the energy has to come from the unicorns themselves. It would be more likely that the mana originates as some form of chemical energy, such as coal. The coal would be refined and processed by unicorns to form the final product: large stores of easily accessible mana. This mana could then be used to empower and enchant objects on a large scale whilst using a minimal amount of skilled unicorn labour.
Smaller, quicker enchantments could easily be carried out by a unicorn using their body's supply of mana.
This also fits with the highly industrialised setting of Darkstine, which seemed to utilize both steampunkish, chemical-based technology and mana-based technology.
World-building. Yay.
2182017
Yeah, I hold similar reservations about Shell.
We've seen a few extra shades layered onto his character, but part of me wonders if this isn't setting up for a further exploration of Shell's loyalty. What happens when he has a conflict of loyalty? Will he once again cast everything aside for his 'loyalty to Ledomare'? Hmmm. . . things are facing up to be interesting.
I don't know why, but I'm seeing Shell and Roarke having some unresolved history.
2182133
Judging Ledomare culture, a person's Beloved is their everything. When something supersedes a Beloved and you willingly torture and kill your Beloved for that thing, you are pretty much capable of anything. In a conflict of interest - for Ledomare or for the lives of his men - Shell will choose Ledomare every time. Even the trauma (or not, depending on how much of a fanatical psychopath he is) of torturing and killing his Beloved was not enough to make him doubt his devotion to his country.
Arg. Shell has been downgraded from massive wanker to large wanker.
Still deserves to get that beret shoved so far up his ass that it looks like he's wearing it, mind. But the council has been promoted to Supreme Fatal Titanic Wanker level.
I highly doubt the council would be a prominent part of this arc if they were not to be later included in more depth, though. Something's gotta give.
2180720Not yet.
But we can bet there will be after chapter 200 of Eljunbyro, which isn't too far off.
2180757Well...I was wrong in the end...
2180947You're probably right. But knowing Imploding, anything's possible.
I miss staying up till 11:00 typing frantically away...
2182662Well, I would still do Marathons if I could, but at this point, I'm all caught up to the latest chapter. So I really can't.
2182686Yes. Yes, it has.
2182823Oh, God...
2183240Well, I've been evaluating since last...September now? So I can sometimes tell what he's planning.
2183298<EE> W-WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?!?!
2183323Maaaaaybe...
Hm. Geez, never thought I would've liked Shell. It's a really interesting perspective; rather than being the "evil Nazi captain" that wants to rule the world, it shines a new "Army-hardened General" light in him. On the exterior, it seems like he's all evil, but it turns out he's just been loyal to Queen and Country for so long that he's fallen into a Commander Hardass schtick.
It really brings to mind the fact that each side believes that they are a force for good and that the enemy is purely evil. I mean, while America likes to portray Nazi Germany as heartless, cruel killing machines, many other countries around the world (especially in the Middle East) do the same thing to America. It's very odd.
On another note, what the hell is the Queen doing while the Council makes decisions?
I mean, after all, if the Queen makes the decisions herself, why does she need a whole council to tell people about it?
Oh, Josho, how I have missed your shenanigans.
On another note - of course Shell's just doing his job, following orders, all that jazz. He's still a grade A douchewaffle, but I like how he's not a maniacal tyrant just for the sake of it. Buuuuut, he still needs to be trapped in a cell and forced to listen to Rebecca Black on repeat for thirteen years (the same amount of time Sirius Black was in Azkaban for. Why is that relevant? Its not). Onward!
The tensions between Prime Enforcer Shell and Queen Ledo herself have been rapidly growing, as Shell is forced to report issue after issue regarding the re-capture of the one and only Rainbow Dash, including a steadily increasing amount of foes...
However, nopony other than Enforcer Josho has returned, with the potential to reignite the link between himself and Pilate, or perhaps shed some more light onto the current situation...
Will Shell's efforts prevail, or will Dash leave them in the dust once again?
Onwards!
Am I feeling... Sorry... For Shell?
His predicament is terrible.
Also, Josho.
Shell's totally screwed.
Shell, you flip flop.
One chapter, you throw your men are Dashie no matter the risk
the second one you're too prissy to want to hurt them
you're fucking jello m8
You know, now I kinda feel bad for shell. He's been ingrained with Ledomarian military doctrine probably from a very young age. Diabolical as his actions are, his superiors justify them. Thus, so does he. But now we see him questioning the true value of what he's chasing.
Oh good the council is actually even worse than Shell, can we just burn this place to the ground yet?
Oooh, I do hope Shell's thinking what I'm thinking.
After all, didn't the council interrupt and demand he immediately report to them, just as Roarke arrived back in Chapter 149: Deus Ex? And didn't this prevent him from effectively responding to the changing situation?
"A single Searonese bandit has stopped you in your tracks What do you do! You can cast a magic missile for 5 mana or just punt the fucker to the moon for 12.
I honestly thought they were going to fire Shell.
Oh well, he still had one more chance to prove his worth, or he gets the boot. Who knows what he’ll do.
9154952
I punch the fucker to the moon, duh
-12 Mana-points