The Conversion Bureau: Dogs of Winter

by Cloudhammer

01 - Grasping at Straws

The
CONVERSION
►Bureau

Dogs of
Winter

By Cloudhammer

Year 6, Week 5, Sunday

Day in, day out, the schedule was always the same. The guards would wake him up at 6am for the morning meal. Then he would spend the next few hours in his cell, before being fed lunch and taken outside for the hour of physical activity. Though for most of that he would simply enjoy the chance to be outside and see the sky. The other three men who had surrendered with him would sometimes come and enjoy the sun with him. After the hour was up he would be escorted back to his cell, where he would remain until dinner and then lights out.

To say that former HLF member Steve Rangel was bored would be a severe understatement.

There was at least one thing that make the hour outside more interesting. After all, being a fellow inmate to the first pony prisoners of a maximum security facility was pretty groundbreaking. They’d had something shipped in from Equestria, some special metal rings that nullified magic to prevent the unicorns from pulling anything. Though none of them seemed to be doing as well confined indoors, and there were rumors that the ponies would be shipped out to some other prison soon.

He knew, however, that this was the punishment for committing acts of domestic terrorism, even if he had not killed anyone or anypony. What had made his pretrial hearing mildly interesting to the media was that the ponies he’d been ordered to kill vocally protested his imprisonment. He’d found it amusing himself, though he supposed it was in their nature, especially since he’d saved their lives.

He was outside, back against the wall of the pit that formed the exercise yard, looking at a small piece of paper when a guard approached him. “Prisoner, on your feet.”

Rangel looked up, tucked the paper into the small pocket he’d fashioned, and pushed himself off of the ground. “Yes officer?”

“You got a visitor. Move.” The guard indicated with his nightstick and Rangel started walking, his mind now kicking into overdrive. He’d not met with his lawyer in months, had told the FBI and CIA everything he knew about the HLF, and reporters were banned from this most secure of prisons. So what in the world would make someone want to come all the way out to Florence ADX to see him?

“Are you sure about your recommendation, Cloudhammer?” Luna asked as they trotted down the hall toward the balcony.

“Yes. As much as I question his reasons for joining the HLF, he demonstrated an admirable adherence to his ideals over following an order he knew was wrong. Not to mention that letting someone who can make decisions like that rot in prison is a waste of his talents. He is perfect for this.”

“And what of the other four? Will they be ready in time?” Luna lit her horn as they reached the balcony, reaching out to her destination with a careful focus of power.

“I’ve ensured that each of them had an instructor who was capable of teaching them assigned. They will be ready,” Cloudhammer said confidently, only flinching a little as space twisted around him and he felt the dry heat of the savannah sweep across him. Looking around, he could see the same tree from his last visit, and swept his gaze around patiently until he spotted a slightly darker patch of grass. “There they are.”

“Indeed.” Luna said as the grass suddenly parted, a trio of hulking forms rising up to stand in front of them. Giving the figures an appraising look as they approached, she let a small smile cross her face. “K’rik, it is lovely to finally meet you. My sister speaks highly of you.”

“And you as well, Mistress Luna.” K’rik hefted a long fishing spear across his shoulders and looked down at Cloudhammer. Taking a brief sniff, his lips pulled back from his teeth in a smile. “And it is good to see you among the living, Cloudhammer.”

Cloudhammer nodded. “You’re looking well. How are things with the zebras?”

K’rik sighed. “The relations with the zebras go well, but food is getting scarcer. We will need to relocate the pack if we are to survive.” The bulky dog’s speech had improved drastically the more time he spent working with the zebras and the Equestrian ambassadors.

“Well, I am sure that given the circumstances of the arrangement, the United States would be more than willing to lend its support,” Luna said as she began to envision her next destination in mind. “However, we are due for a meeting with the project directors, and hopefully the first full test of the new serum.”

K’rik nodded and gestured to the diamond dog next to him. “This is Ferrik, my Beta in B’kar’s absence. He will teach the human, should he survive.” Ferrik nodded his head in greeting, and he and K’rik took their spears and passed them to the third, who took a few steps back. “We trust that weapons will not be needed?”

“Of course not,” Luna said firmly. “Well, we had best be going.” With a flash of gold light the four figures vanished with a faint thud of displaced air. The third dog growled his displeasure at the stench of magic on the air before slinging the three spears across his back. He trudged back toward the tree, dug his claws into the ground and soon vanished in a flurry of dirt.

Rangel sat quietly in the chair, eyes calm as he stared at the suit across from him. A small, thin metal briefcase sat on the table between them The handcuff chains holding his feet to the chair clinked as he shifted slightly. “So, what brings you out here to pay me a visit? I gave all the info I could to the FBI and CIA when I was taken into custody.”

“I’ve been instructed to ask you, have you given thought to Conversion in the past?” The man’s voice had a reedy, rasping quality to it, though the expression on his face remained stern.

Rangel was taken aback by the question. Sure, he’d considered it for all of thirty seconds before he’d decided it a colossal load of shit. Joining the HLF had seemed like a logical thing to do, and had appealed to his sense of pride in his species. But then had come the deployment to St Louis. He and a few other guys from the scratch unit that had been formed were ordered to clear a room filled with foals and civilians. They’d refused, shot their former comrades, and surrendered to the police. Which had, of course, led to his current predicament.

While spending twenty-three hours of each day locked in his cell, he’d thought often of the one pegasus stallion he’d briefly spoken with, Cirrus. The majority of their conversation had been Rangel sticking his foot in his mouth and the pony calling him out on his decision to join a group like the HLF. He’d realized, after some deep staring at the ceiling, that while he still felt that efforts should continue on finding an alternative, using the solution that did work for now wasn’t really a bad thing. And even then, there might be a way to change back, for those that wanted it, at least. Besides, maybe being a pony wouldn’t be that bad after all

He realized he’d been staring blankly when the suit coughed roughly. “Well, I’ve given it some thought, yes... but why is that important?”

The suit nodded and opened the slim briefcase he’d brought with him. Taking out a piece of paper, he pushed it across the table to him. “Read this document please. At the top is a standard non-disclosure agreement stating that you will not repeat a word of what you’ve read should you decline this offer.”

Rangel stared at the man for a moment, then pulled the paper a little closer and gave it a closer look. Eyes tracking back and forth, it wasn’t until he reached the third paragraph that he blinked and sat back. “Experimental? How dangerous is this shit?”

“I do not have the details of the project. I have been told enough to tell you that it has been strenuously tested. If you read on, you will see that in exchange for your volunteering on this mission, you will immediately be pardoned, and allowed to go free.”

Rangel hesitated again. As leery as he was of ponification, spending the next ten to twenty years in prison like this was not appealing to him either. He took a deep breath and met the suit’s gaze. “Alright, I’ll do it.”

The suit nodded and slid a pen across to him. “Excellent, thank you.” Once Rangel scratched his signature onto the line at the bottom, he pushed it back to the suit, who tucked it into the briefcase. Motioning for the guard to unchain him from the floor, the suit got to his feet and adjusted his tie. “Let’s get going, the helicopter needs to leave soon if we are to reach the facility on time.”

Rangel blinked as the guard started leading him toward the door. “Wait, we’re going to do this today?”

“There is no time like the present, Mr. Rangel, and we are, I’m afraid, on a schedule,” the suit said as he followed them out the door.

Ferrik felt his knees go weak as the teleport completed. His nose twitched madly as a host of new smells flooded it, and he was dimly aware of something nearby making noise. Shaking his head to clear his vision, he looked around and gaped at his surroundings. The floor, walls, and apparently ceiling were made of some light grey stone, but as he concentrated on the bottoms of his hindpaws, it felt... off. He dropped to all fours and licked the floor, a multitude of flavors warring for his attention. “There deepstone here!”

He felt a paw seize him and haul him upright as K’rik snarled, “Mind your place! You are not a sniveling cur, to taste another’s stone!”

Ferrik snapped his teeth, but relented under his alpha’s glare.

“Soooo, we’re sure they’re friendly, right?” Dr. Walter Lewis said as he watched the two doglike creatures snarl and snap at each other.

“Of course,” Luna said calmly, “they just tend to be more... vocal than ponies are.”

The bigger one finally turned his stare to meet Lewis’, and he was pointedly reminded of those nature shows on wolves that had them staring directly at the camera. Only this time a mere eight feet separated them, and he was decidedly uncomfortable with that.

Finally, the moment passed and those yellow eyes turned to Luna as it spoke a short, guttural string of words. Luna nodded and looked at Lewis. “He says that you need not act like prey in front of him, he is not hunting you.” She inclined her head toward him. “This is K’rik, the Great Alpha of the savannah diamond dogs. Beside him is Ferrik, his Beta.” The smaller one opened its jaws in a form of a grin, though that had the side effect of displaying its mouthful of very sharp teeth.

Lewis swallowed nervously. “Right. Right, okay.” He took a step forward and held out his hand. “My name’s Walter Lewis, it’s nice to meet you.”

Ferrik tilted his head slightly, leaning forward to take a deep sniff at the outstretched hand. Feeling a bit more adventurous, he gave it a tentative lick with his tongue. His muzzle screwed up in a half-snarl at the plethora of flavors and scents emanating from the flesh. “Taste bad.”

K’rik chuffed in what could be approximated for laughter as Lewis nervously took a step back, then looked back to Luna. “This human amuses me.”

Luna allowed a small quirk of a smile to touch her face. “He is the lead researcher on this project, so I believe frightening him is not exactly wise.”

K’rik flicked an ear. “If we are to proceed with this, then he must know the pack. We are not ponies after all.”

Luna nodded. “That you are not, my friend.”

Lewis waved his hand to catch their attention. “Umm, sorry to interrupt, but I’ve not got a clue what you’re saying. And if the phone call we received was right, our first patient will be arriving here at any moment, and there’s some more things that need to be discussed before he gets here.”

Luna nodded. “Of course Dr. Lewis. Lead the way.”

Giving the two canines another nervous look, Lewis led them through the door to the inner labs. “Well, there was some... peculiarities with the last test that Azure discovered, I think you’ll be very interested to hear this Luna...”

Rangel jolted awake as the helicopter settled onto the pad. Looking out the window, he could see that it was well and truly dark outside. As the rotors spun down, the guard escorting him unlocked the leg cuffs from the floor. Opening the door, he helped Rangel shuffle awkwardly onto the concrete and toward a well-lit, heavy looking door. Glancing around, Rangel could tell that they were still somewhere in the Rockies, but any more than that was beyond him.

As he was led inside, he blinked a little at the blinding lights spaced evenly along the ceiling. The hallway was the same as any other government facility he’d ever been in, dull grey and lifeless, even with all the scientist types walking around. Dull brown doors barely served to break up the monotony of the walls, odd numbers on the left and even on the right.

Finally, the guard stopped him in front of one of the doors, number 111 gleaming in dull bronze on the front. Bending over, he unlocked the leg and handcuffs and bundled them up. “You will have new escorts from here. Proceed through the door for further instructions.” The guard opened the door, revealing yet another featureless hallway, though the pair of soldiers standing there waiting for him seemed very lively indeed.

“Please, come this way.” The one on the left said, gesturing down the hall. Rangel obliged, the soldiers falling into formation on either side of him as they walked toward a single, massive door at the far end.

“So, have you heard anything about this serum? All I got was that it was experimental.” Rangel asked as one of the soldiers typed in a long passcode on a pad next to the door. At the soldier’s silence, he shrugged. “Just asking.”

The door swung open and the soldier motioned for him to walk through. The next room was a wide, sweeping space, with medical equipment and computers spread around. In the center of the room was a single operating table, with life support equipment patiently waiting nearby. Along the left wall was an observation area, where he could see the unmistakable form of Princess Luna conversing with a scientist, an officer, and someone he couldn’t see.

One of the soldiers walked over to a speaker and pressed a button. “The patient is here.”

Luna and the scientist turned their heads, saying a few more words to each other before they walked out of sight of the windows. The door swung open a few seconds later, the officer, a colonel, leading the scientist, a blue unicorn, Princess Luna and her guard. What rooted him to the floor were the two hulking forms stepping through the door after them. The shorter of the two was six feet tall and brown-furred, the taller seven and coal grey. Both wore crudely made shirts and pants, with what looked like crocodile hide armor on top. Their forearms were elongated, almost like a chimpanzee’s, the fingers tipped with large claws. Their eyes were like wolves’, yellowed and decidedly feral, yet bearing intelligence as well. It was a very unnerving stare, but Rangel was determined not to pussy out and stood his ground. “So, guess I was wrong about this ‘experimental’ serum being ponification serum then?”

Luna smiled. “Indeed not, Steven Rangel, indeed not.”

Comments

[AegisExemplar]

This has been a *very* long-awaited story. So glad it's finally going up

[Da Bunnana King]

Oh lordy Cloudhammer delivered. Tis really the end of the world.

Edit: Let my friend here tell you how its going to be.
24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0sjo6TdLQ1rqfhi2o1_250.gif

[airbournesquid]

I have a sneaking suspicion that this is going to be nothing less than epic.

[djthomp]

Aww hell yeah. Been looking forward to the next mainline Cloudyverse story.

[Skeeter The Lurker]

Ok then.

This looks like fun.

~Skeeter The Lurker