After a failed firefight on the colony planet of Draco III , ODST, "Orbital Drop Shock Trooper," Rookie awakes in a new world. His new mission is simple. Get back home.
"The Rookie" was an ODST. His date of joining was July 7th, 2547. Time of death, 10:00 hours on the Planet Draco III, January 3rd, 2554. His first battle was at New Jerusalem. Most of his fellow ODSTs died, he was among the few survivors. In fact, the only survivor, in his whole platoon. Everyone else was killed in action. His next battle was at Mount Haven, where he again was one of the few survivors. After this battle, he was assigned to group Alpha-Nine, with Captain Buck in charge. His group was sent in to drop in on New Mombasa, the only human city on Earth the Covenant had managed to attack. His pod missed the target, and he landed in the middle of the hostile-infested city. Throughout several days, he managed to get out of the city and rendezvous with his team, once again managing to be one of the only survivors New Mombasa had, along with the rest of his team. He had outlasted several spartans in this regard. His careful planning and strategies saw through his survival. His last mission was to stop the United Rebel Front on one of their last strongholds. That was his last mission.
CASE FILE #2456ISC END
"The Rooke." 9:00 Hours. Location: Draco III
Several sounds of bullets whizzed by where I sat, all of them hitting the marble wall in front of me. We had just fallen into an ambush set by The Front. Unfortunately for us, we were outgunned and had to wait for support to arrive. I sighed and reloaded my weapon of choice, my SMG for a few moments, a bullet hitting a pot nearby. "Here goes..." I whispered, popping out of the cover I'd been in, spraying the magazine into the crowd that shot at us. I quickly popped back into cover and repeated the process, putting another magazine into my trusty weapon.
We were currently inside the Capitol Building of a human colony, Draco III. An influential leader of the URF, our enemies, was holed up in here. We had pushed them back here from the streets of the city, with relative ease. It gave the notion that we would be ambushed the closer we got, but orders were to keep pushing, to not stop. Captain Ingridson, the administrator of the group of insurgents, was the one holed up in the well guarded presidential balcony. That balcony was the last territory that they had on this planet.
Ingridson had committed several war-crimes in the past. She was to be tried immedatly, and her capture was deemed a high priority. We wouldn't have been on this planet otherwise.
We pushed on with several commands from our squad leader, Buck. The ambush itself seemed to be a last resort, an incredibly desperate one. On the way to the balcony, we were passing the legislative part of the building, a part with a multitude of pillars and seats where the legislators would sit to pass bills. Like a parliamentary building that you'd see in textbooks in the early 2000s. There was a balcony on our side, where a podium was set, where the speaker would, well, speak. We had managed to get halfway through the room, only for more hostiles to appear. It was yet another ambush. They had waited silently behind various pillars until we were between most of them. "Stairs. Now." I heard through my intercom, Buck telling us to retreat from this place. I followed orders, providing a few shots of covering fire before running up the stairs to the podium, a bullet managing to hit my side. It hurt like hell, but one bullet wouldn't do much to the self-regenerating armor. I ran to the top of the stage with the podium. Our only way out of this would be through the stairs to our left.
Buck was our quick-thinking leader. He managed to know what to do and keep calm, in the most dangerous of situations. Most of the time, anyways. He was arrogant and rude, but he did care about all of us. Including Romeo, somehow. Romeo was the asshole in our fire squad. Anything would annoy him, he was flat-out rude, but you could occasionally find a different side in him. He was quick to help us when it mattered. Romeo also happened to be quite the sniper. Hit kill count with that weapon must have been in the hundreds. Dutch and Mickey, they were more normal members of the squad. Then you had me. Rookie. I was the silent one of the group.
"Rookie! We're in some deep shit here, and we could use your skills. Why don't yo- Fuck!" Buck yelled beside me, seeing a bullet hit his side. Ouch. "Anyways!" he said, putting himself back into the cover of the podium to let his shields regenerate. "Go flank their left and distract them long enough until we can get reinforcements! I'll be right behind you. The others will stay here." I gave him a nod and sprung out of cover, running directly for cover down the podium from where I was. I trusted his judgment, there was no reason for any hesitation. A few of my squadmates provided covering fire as I ran down the stairs. I continued until I got behind a pillar. Now it was time to provide the fire for the rest of them to follow me down.
"Nice job Rookie! wait for my signal to shoot at them so we can run down too." I heard through my helmet. I nodded and looked away from the stairs, to see two people running at me. "Rookie!" I heard my radio chirp. I aimed my SMG up and sprayed, managing to wound one of the two that ran at me. It was far too late to shoot the other though. She'd already knocked the gun out of my hand with a swing, leaving me completely defenceless. I heard her pistol cock against my head before I could grab the pistol by my side.
"Come with me, and I won't shoot." She said, her face showing nothing but malice towards me. I raised my hands, showing that I would comply. "Good," she said, aiming the pistol down at my leg, pulling the trigger twice. The first one bounced off, but the second managed to go through the shields and into my leg. It hurt, a lot.
"Goddamn it! They've got Rooks over there." I heard Romeo yell through my headset. The rebel aimed the gun back at me and motioned me to walk, which I did. I could only hope that somebody could get a shot on her so I could escape. "I can't get any closer! Fucking hell!" I heard someone yell through the radio, as the rebel pushed me into the room containing the balcony. Directly where the enemy was holed up. Fuck. I was now in the same room as Captain Igridson, the separatist leader. The person we'd been sent to hunt down.
"Just wait a moment longer, Rookie. We have a Spartan coming to help us take care of thi-" I could hear Buck through my radio, only for the signal to be cut off. I could only hope that Buck was still okay.
"You're in an unfortunate situation," Ingridson said, across the room, sitting in a chair. She looked like a villain from an old movie. "I should shoot you right here. Luckily for you though, I think we can be beneficial to one another. You see, The Front still has troops on other planets, which means I can continue my battle. I can escape, in exchange for your safe release. Just comply and you won't die. Probably," she said with a sigh, picking up a pistol that sat on an end table next to the chair she sat in. She motioned for a subordinate to bring me closer, which they did. My legs gave out, and I was made to kneel next to her. Things were looking very, very grim.
"Let him go, Ingridson. We promise you a fair trial if you. Let. Him. Go." I could hear Buck yell through the room we'd just been fighting in, after a single gunshot. It seemed like that they managed to kill the insurgents in there. "We're coming in, don't you dare shoot. You know how that'll end." I heard from behind me, hearing footsteps go come out into the balcony.
I heard them all walk in, but I dared not to look back at them. There was a gun pointed right at my visor, after all. "Before you take another step..." Ingirdson spoke, "Will you let me go if I let this blind follower live?" There was no reply from Buck. I could feel the atmosphere in the room grow incredibly thin, it was almost impossible to breathe in here. "No? That's a shame." She said with a sigh. The last thing I saw in this existence was her finger pull on that trigger.
"Fuck…" I whispered as I opened my eyes, feeling a dry feeling in the back of my throat. Hadn't I just been shot? In fact, hadn't I just been shot dead? I sat up quickly, my hands supporting my weight on either side, on the soft grass. I looked around for a few moments, seeing nothing but plains. Nothing but plains? I was just in a building, getting executed. All I could see now was a forest to my south, but nothing else. Where the fuck was I? I looked at the map HUD in my helmet. There was not a single landscape or dot on it, other than the one that pointed out where I was. After a quick knock to the helmet and my head, another thing appeared. North. At least I had "North" to look at. I sighed, looking towards the pelican I saw moments ago. It was certainly a sight for sore eyes. It would at least work as a shelter, something to live off of until I could find out what was happening. As I stood up and made my way towards the pelican, I tapped my helmet to bring up its radio. It was not a long-range radio by far, but it still served as a means of communication, for someone to find me.
"This is Lance Corporal J.D., known as 'The Rookie.' Serial Number 11282-31220-JD, UNSC ODST. I require assistance." I spoke into the helmet, broadcasting the message out into the world. I only had to talk once, and I could keep the message on a repeat, as long as I'd let it do so. I kept the radio in my helmet on the side of the HUD, ready to hear any response. Hopefully soon. I soon arrived at the pelican. It was slightly battered, with damage to a side, but otherwise in a completely fine condition. In fact, it looked like a newer model. One of their nicer ones. It was time to check out the inside. I walked around the rear of the pelican and looked up at its hatch, pulling it open with a grunt. A bit of dust rose, but seeing inside would be no issue.
This was definitely a newer, maybe a spartan class pelican. There weren't more than four seats inside, the normal ones which were always filled to the brim with seats. Instead, in place of these seats, were crates, of differing sizes. I took a cautious step inside and looked around, looking into some of the crates that were half-open. There was a small, open crate, something that captured my attention. Inside was the superintendent, on an AI chip, mixed in with random assortments of ammo. It wasn't a smart AI, but it a guide for a soldier to get from point A to point B. Superintendent had saved my life a few times in New Mombasa. Its mapping technology was one of the best. It wouldn't know where we were, but it would start mapping everywhere I'd go. I investigated the pelican further after this, hoping to find other goodies like the superintendent. I couldn't see much else in the few open crates, so I decided to start sorting through all of them individually, and messily.
I searched each crate, finding a few valuable objects. I found a few hundred rounds of ammo for my SMG, and in fact, another SMG. I sifted more, finding two more weapons, and again, hundreds of rounds of ammo for them. The sniper and the shotgun, two weapons that were invaluable in this situation. I placed them aside with a feeling of satisfaction, opening one of the larger crates with I knife I'd found in an open crate. Inside of it was food… And quite a bit of it. There were a dozen or so four-man MRIs. Plenty enough food for me alone. I grabbed at one, took off my helmet and tore at it, grabbing a granola bar. I ate it as I sifted through the rest of the crates. I found grenades and more ammo, and a few first aid kits scattered throughout the crates. I only wished that I would find something to contact others with, other than my shortwave helmet. I finally finished sorting through the crates, at least partially each one, except for one. I opened it up with a small huff, this one being a little more tightly secured. I opened it and found one of the best things one could ever hope to find in an abandoned pelican. A mongoose, the motorcycle of choice for the UNSC. It was quickly getting dark once I opened up the mongoose though, so I put all of the objects that weren't too necessary in their respective crates with a bit of haste. I wasn't the tidiest person ever. I went to the hatch of the pelican and slammed it shut, putting on the lock. I didn't want anything sneaking up on me while I gave in for the night. I went into the cockpit, sitting at the pilot's chair. Things seemed... peaceful for once. I looked up at the moon. It reminded me a lot of my home, I was born on the colony of Luna. Earth's moon. I took off my helmet and placed it on the dash, drifting off into a deep sleep, the moon directly in front of my bird, in this strange land.
The Rookie. Location: Dreams
I awoke once again, this time with a little less pain. I sat up and looked around me. I was in a UNSC building. The constant changing of locations was getting a little annoying. I looked over to the dim, shivering light. It was a TV, and stuck inside the TV was a helmet that read, "DARE." Now I knew where I was. This was a dream. This is when I was stranded in New Mombasa, alone, and found Captain Dare's helmet. I stood and up and walked over to it, giving it a strong pull. There was a reason I was here. Mickey's box hit mine as I dropped. I landed far away from all of my squad when we were supposed to land together. I walked towards the window, looking out at all the destruction the Covenant had made on this city. Outside lay a broken warthog, a sculpture torn to pieces, and buildings burning as far as the eye could see.
This was a horrible dream. I hated having it. I looked back down at Dare's helmet. I wanted to go home, and enjoy the feeling of lazily sitting on the couch with my loved ones. That wouldn't happen though. Not in a long time. I couldn't help but feel something looking straight at me once I looked back out to the city. It wasn't a chilly and cold feeling like when you think someone is stalking you, but a warm feeling. I looked around for the source, finding it atop of the destroyed sculpture. I saw her flowing, galactic hair. Her blue eyes, looking directly at my own, seeming past my dark visor.
"Thou seems to be lost, much like I was. Thou is troubled, shaken. Thou isn't from here." She spoke, and even from outside the window, I could hear her words as clear as daylight. Her words soothed me. "I will send ponies, and with due haste, they will find you, lost warrior."
I don't often have dreams. I'm not a very superstitious person, dreams weren't serious. However, the one I've just had was different. I have dreams in Mombasa occasionally. They're always in different areas of the destroyed city, in differing situations. I despise these dreams. I saw many things I'd never want to see. Millions of civilians died there, and what was the largest city on the African continent was reduced to nothing but rubble. This dream felt very different from the rest. I didn't feel alone when she was there, watching me. I've always been alone, especially in my dreams. I've survived, had survived, many different battles, most alone. The cold, dreadful feeling of loneliness, I've gotten used to that. Even now, I'm alone, but now, the feeling stung. When she was there, that feeling was gone, that I haven't felt in a long time. Not even with Alpha-Nine.
I sighed and got up, putting on the helmet clutched in my hands. There was still no response to my radio message. It was unnerving, being alone again, it wasn't a good feeling at all. I got up, heading over to my cargo hold. I needed some fresh air. My boots touched down onto the cool grass, it was much like Earth's. There was an uncanny similarity on this planet compared to Earth, but there was no way I was there. I had just been shot in the head on Draco III, a good distance from the human capital. I had no idea where I was, and the only sign of any life was a beat up pelican in the middle of nowhere. I seemed to have just jumped into existence here out of nowhere, and for all I knew, that pelican could have too. I took a good moment to look at my surroundings for a while. I hadn't looked too far when I had first gotten here, I was too shocked from Draco to have had a clear mind.
There was a collection of clouds to my south, and they were the oddest thing I've ever seen. They seemed to be raining, not rain, but rainbows? It was an odd sight, for certain, and I was interested in finding out what they were. I remembered a sniper that was stored in the hold of the pelican, and I could look around for a greater distance than I could with my eyes. I went inside, grabbed the rifle off of a weapon rack and headed back outside. Now I just had to find a good spot. I walked away from the pelican, finding a small hill I could comfortably look around on. I propped up my rifle on the ground, laying behind it, and looking into the scope. I didn't need to use the trigger, I hadn't even loaded the gun, but I still held onto the trigger as I looked around. I suppose I had done it so much by now, it was hardwired into my mind. I looked at the clouds, the sight confusing me even more than I already was by the sight. There seemed to be buildings on top of these clouds, from what I could tell. Even with the advanced sniper, the sight was blurry and I couldn't see everything in detail. I decided to look around at other locations too, looking directly south, towards a mountain. I was going to skip this mountain, but something had could my eye. On an edge of the mountains, barely visible, there seemed to be a collection of towers. They were too perfect to be mountain peaks, and I could only see this mountain around.
I looked back, without the sniper, looking at these two anomalies. There were both strange, things I had never seen. Mountains weren't ideal strategic locations to put bases or cities in, and clouds were clouds. You can't put things, especially buildings on top of clouds. I had to check these locations, perhaps I could find the UNSC, or someone, there. I picked up the rifle and got up, heading back to my pelican. I put the rifle in place once I was back, closing the hatch to the plane before heading to the pilot's seat. I wasn't an experienced pilot, by no means, but I was trained how to fly a minute amount in ODST training. ODSTs were meant to be adaptable, no matter the situation. If that meant you had to fly a covenant ship, with all its oddities, so be it.
I sat down and set a course for the mountain, going at a low and slow speed. Pelicans weren't silent planes, so going too fast or high could startle whoever I ran into, who wouldn't be expecting me. While the covenant war had ended, we still had the threat of starting a fight with ex-covenant races, and it happened on occasion. I kept my hands on the pilot's wheel and continued on, the soft roaring of the engines my only companion. It seemed like an eternity, but after a while of approaching the towering mountain, I saw something in the wide plains. I looked down at what seemed to be train tracks. My heart raced as I saw that, my eyes following along its path, leading towards the mountain. Trains were a Human invention, that had to mean that this planet was occupied by the UNSC. I looked further on at the track, seeing it go into the mountain, meaning it would most likely come out from the other side. I set the pelican to do so, going towards where it would come out of the mountain, between a ridge of mountains to my east and the towering one to my west.
I eventually saw where the train tracks came out, leading towards a small town. There was a river between here and there, with a large forest to it's south. I brought the pelican to the east side of the river, hidden in some foliage. The sight of the town brought some relief to me, I just had to see if it was inhabited by someone. I went to my cargo hold, deciding the quickest way to this town would be with the mongoose. I took it out of the pelican, slamming the bird's door shut and hopping on the bike. I turned on the vehicle, it's engines roaring to life. I rode towards the town, the river was shallow enough to allow me passage. I rode along for short while, arriving on top of a collection of elevated hills, looking down towards the village. I zoomed in with my helmet, looking around with an astonished look. These houses and buildings all seemed to be made out of straw, something entirely strange to me. My whole life, buildings only had been made out of metal or concrete, straw and wood seemed far too outdated, almost medieval. Behind these group of buildings, there was a towering castle, made out what seemed like gems. It was an odd sight, and I gave it a couple glances over to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. It was real. It must've been where a highly distinguished figure or an important bureaucrat lived. I glanced over to the mountain that had led me here, wondering what the towers I had seen on the north-facing part were. On the side of the mountain lay a large city, with a towering castle towards it's back. That must have been what I had seen earlier.
I took a deep breath before driving onwards toward the town. This looked to be like a human settlement, based on the building's structures, meaning the UNSC had to have had a presence here. It could also mean that a rebel group could have been holed up here. I had to proceed with caution. I arrived fairly close to the town, putting the mongoose in a group of bushes, doing my best to conceal it. If hostiles were present here, I had to have a way out, a quick one. I glanced towards the village and approached it, my gun at the ready. It was starting to get dark, and I used the looming shadows to my advantage. I walked over a bridge, a town center in front of me, a large building in the middle. There were buildings to its right, businesses maybe. It seemed as if no one was here, maybe due to the chilly, cold air, and the fact that it was becoming dark. I was going to go in closer when something came out of the main building, a being similar to the one I had encountered in my dreams. Her mane and tail were graying, and she wore yellow glasses. I attempted to duck for cover behind a nearby cart, but she had noticed me before I could.
She took a good, long look at me, halfway hidden behind the cart. She quickly dashed back into the building, a flurry of papers dropping all around where she had just been. Damn. I got up with haste, backing up towards the bridge, keeping my gun level upwards. Three came out, two of them in golden armor, with spears pointing towards me. I pointed my weapon at them, taking a step back. This wasn't looking good.
"Go get the Princess, Mayor! We'll deal with this!" One of them said, approaching me, spear pointed upwards. "Stand down, creature! We order on behalf of Princess Twilight and all other ponies of Ponyville, stand down!"
The 'Mayor,' nodded and bolted off towards her right, leaving a trail of dust behind. I took a deep breath and pointed my gun at the two in front of me, backing up slowly. More of these, 'ponies,' started to gather around from adjacent buildings, gawking at me. They stayed a good distance away, but I was still able to hear some of the words they said. "That thing is scary!" "What is it wearing?" "What is it holding in its claws?" "Is it dangerous?"
I kept my eyes on the two holding their weapons at me. They were holding spears, out of all weapons, yet had railroads. It confused me, that they had such primitive weapons with their current technology. One of them suddenly started to move to my right, once we were on top of the bridge. Before he could fully flank me, I shot a bullet in the air, causing him to panic and go back to his companion. The crowd seemed to be unnerved by the bullet, taking a few steps back while staying silent.
The two guards suddenly charged at me simultaneously, their spears pointed directly at me. I aimed and was about to shoot, my finger putting pressure on the trigger. As I was about to shoot the two, my gun was surrounded by a purple aura and snatched from my hands. The guards in front of me both stopped in place as their spears were also enveloped in the purple aura, snatched from their hooves. "What is going on here?! I thought we all knew not to judge a newcomer by their appearance!" Said a voice from behind them. The two guard's eyes widened as the moved aside, a large, purple 'pony .' She was unlike all the others I had seen, she was slightly larger, and she had both a horn and wings. From what I had seen from the others, they only had one of the two, or none, like the guards in front of me. My gun dropped in front of me, and I knelt down to get it. How she managed to get the weapon without physically touching it, I don't know.
"I'm sorry about those two. Some of us are still learning how to be more accepting," She said with a cough, the two sighing.
"Princesses Twilight, with all due respect, he could have been related to Tirek and..." one said, only to be interrupted. "It's just Twilight, Gloomy. Tirek is no longer an issue, he is locked away. He presents no threat to us. Now, what was your name?" 'Twilight,' asked, looking at me. She couldn't see my face past my obscured visor, but she seemed friendly, or at least acted so. I leveled my gun downwards, looking at this princess. I hesitated for a moment, before opening my mouth.
"I'm sorry, what was that? I couldn't quite hear you," the princess said, stepping a touch closer to me. She was much alike to the one I had seen in my dreams, her coat only a couple of shades brighter. It was a surreal experience, being in front of an alien species that I had had no previous knowledge of, perhaps humans as a whole. It wasn't a clear cut answer, though. ONI, The Office for Naval Intelligence, loved to keep secrets, so perhaps this world wasn't exactly new news to them.
I coughed, clearing my throat. I wasn't one for speaking very much. It made my superiors upset at times, but with the low manpower, they took anyone. I was always the silent protagonist, for as long as I can remember.
"Rookie." I clarified, looking at the... Pony. They were certainly strange looking. They certainly weren't as ugly as the members of the covenant though, not by a long shot. I looked at those behind her, she'd certainly made their party a lot larger. The two guards, herself, and five others. One hid behind another, two looked at me with menacing looks, and two others I'd glanced at too quickly to tell. "Rookie?" A pink one asked. She had a wide smile, an almost unnerving one at that. "That's a funny name! Rookie what?" She asked, before going on a large ramble, one I don't care to remember.
I looked away from that one, after a moment of stunned silence, back to the princess. Having a decently sized crowd around me had me a little anxious to say the least. I was no Spartan. I wasn't invincible like the stories they told us of the Chief, or of the Sargent. I was an elite ODST, nothing to scoff at, but definitely not bullet-proof. "Would you mind... Moving to a less populated area?" I asked, looking at the colorful crowd of aliens. They seemed afraid of me, of my intentions, of what I would bring with me. It was unsettling.
"Are you really going to let this thing walk into our home, then tell you to move somewhere else? I want to hear it right here or I'm not letting it take another step!" The blue one that had been giving me a dirty look a moment ago yelled, looking directly at her leader. That one clearly didn't seem to like me. The purple one sighed, shaking her head. "Rainbow... Can you please let me talk to him before you start a fight? He hasn't even said more than two words for Celestia's sake!" The princess yelled in response, giving the rainbow maned one a small snack on the head before looking back at me. She looked uncertain. "Well... Rookie... Why don't we go to the castle, and we can discuss there. I'm sure having all these ponies here may be making you a little nervous." She said with a smile, that look look of uncertainty disappearing. The others all seemed to cave into her decision, the felt much less tense. The guards gave me yet another dirty look, going to the princess's side, to protect her no doubt. I gave her a nod, and she turned around, beginning to walk steadily with her group.
I assumed I should have been following, and so I did. I stepped forward, a few of the ponies flinched, standing still as I began to follow the princess, all watching me with that same uncertain look. They'd clearly had a bad run-in with something a little ago. "I dunno if this is is ah good idea, Twilight," The orange one whispered to the princess, quite loudly. "What if he does work for Tirek, or somethin' worse?"
"Shh! Did you forget that we should respect everyone, no matter their appearance! Let's talk with... Him, first and we'll find out what to do. I already sent a magic scroll to Celestia. Her guard should be down any moment, if we need it, we'll be fine." The princess whispered back, looking back and giving me a wide smile, before looking back at her friend. They weren't very quiet, if that's what they were trying to accomplish.
They talked more and more along the way to the large crystal castle, the guards eyeing me as we came closer and closer. The more we got closer, the more guards I saw, a few standing to attention at the door. I kept the gun at the ready, my finger on the safety, ready to flip it at a moment's notice. It felt much too much like a trap, something I'd fallen for already. We walked inside, and two of the guards at the door followed from behind, prompting me to turn on the helmet's HUD. I didn't want to get suprised like I did before. Being transported to a pony-filled world was okay with me, for now.
I followed until we reached the end of the grand hallway, and into a large room. There was a table, with six chairs around it, all made of the same crystal the building was made of. It was certainly visually appealing, but that wasn't my top priority for what to think about. "So..." The princess said, heading to the largest chair, and sitting on it, the other six doing the same, still in their unique ways. "Why are you here? What are you? Where are you from? What is your full name? Are you from Equestria? If so, how come we don't know about you?" She asked, all of those questions seeimingly happening at the same exact time, with no pause in between them.
I coughed, thinking of the proper response. It seemed she knew nothing about me after all, or what I was. That meant I was likely the only human on this planet, the only representative of the UNSC, of humanity. I took a deep breath as I took that in, letting it dissapate slowly. I wasn't an ambassador, I was a soldier. "I... My name is J.D. "Rookie." Service number 11282-31220-JD, rank Lance Corporal. I serve the UNSC ODST," I said, looking straight at the princess, "As... The United Nations doesn't have a representative on this planet, from what I have heard, I will represent that role until I can be relieved. I hope you can bear with me until I know more about where I am."
They all sat in silence, looking at me with looks ranging from fear, to boredom, to seriousness. I took a few steps towards the princess, making of the few guards very tense. I reached my hand out, the princess staring at me wide-eyes, clearly confused. "I ask that you please create a non-aggression pact with the United Nations." I didn't want the UN to have another group to fight. I'd seen enough destruction.
I unblurred my visor for her to see me, to see that I wasn't just a helmet, a scary figure. She looked up at me with a blink, before smiling. She clearly saw what intended it by it, that I was appealing the their... humanity? She shook my hand, and I blurred my visor again with my other hand.. "The Equestrians will gladly agree to your request," she replied, moving back her hoof. I nodded in quick reply, taking a step back.
"I'm glad to see you seem to be friendly. I was almost a bit worr-" The princess uttered with a sigh, only to be cut off by the sound of the chamber's doors opening. A handful of new dots appeared on the radar, making me look over. There came more guards, only these looked much different than those I'd seen. A few were bright white with golden armor, and the few others with more darker coats and armor.
"Excuse us for interrupting, Princess Twilight. Princess Celestia and Luna ask to speak with our newcomer, at the earliest convenience. We will escort him to the capitol, if he so wishes." One spoke, stepping out of the group, then back in with clear discipline. These soldiers were obviously better trained than the ones here. I turned back to the princess, who looked back at her group, then back to me.
"I suppose we don't have to keep them waiting, J.D. Let's go meet the other two, I'm sure you'll enjoy their company." She said with a smile, pride clearly visible. I nodded, stepping back from the table she and her entourage sat around.
I guess she wasn't the only royalty I'd meet today.
There were times I got nightmares. A lot of times, actually. Memories, especially the more horrifying ones, of the battles I'd fought. Countless times I'd find myself waking in a cold sweat, looking for a rifle or a knife, anything to defend myself, only to discover there was no trouble. There were things that no ordinary human would ever want to see. Countless things. This was one of those times. I came back to in my pelican, in the pilot's seat. "Right…" I whispered, remembering where I was. After the guards had come to ask my presence to the princesses, I decided that I would visit them alone, on my own time. Traveling with armed guards in their own land, it was all a little too suspicious of me. While my initial contact seemed very friendly and great overall, there was still no doubtedly a aura of mysteriousness around me and my origins. There was no assurance that I wouldn't be detained at their earliest convenience, even with what the princess of this territory had said. I had to play this safely, for myself. I didn't intend on dying again.
While the guards and princess Twilight initially seemed a bit taken back by my refusal for an escort, they seemed to understand my reason to do so. They gave me a map of the land, and sent me off with a couple of other odd things. A necklace, from the pink colored one, and an apple where some of the few things I got. I had came back here and slept after leaving, for a good while it seemed. The sun was beginning to set in the background of the scene. It was quite the sight to see. The sun never set on Luna, the human colony on the moon, and I rarely saw it in the times I was out on missions. I always took a good look at the various sunsets I could see, but none seemed quite as… Beautiful as this one. I sighed and looked down at the map, deciding I would make the trip tomorrow in the evening, for now, I wanted to relax. It had been far too long since I'd had a moment to myself, to forget all of my responsibilities. I took off my helmet, the HUD shutting down with the flick of a button, and placed it on the dashboard of the pelican. I needed a bath.
I travelled to the nearby river with my rifle, took a quick bath before the sun had completely settled in for night, and headed back to the pelican. This place seemed too calm, like violence rarely saw the land. I always expected a sort of ambush or raid when alone in other planets, but this place seemed to have none of the. I came back to the pelican with a soft sigh, seeing the slightly battered bird still in the place it had been in. My paranoia was too much for a place like this. I walked to the back of the bird and opened it's back hatch, full of the half empty crates I'd opened when I first found it. Crates I decided to organize and fix so I would know exactly I had, and where I could find it.
I turned on the light inside of the pelican and sifted through the crates, one by one. I'd also closed the hatch behind me, keeping it locked tight. I loathed the idea of anything sneaking up behind me and mauling me. I'd prefer to at least put up a fight first. I put ammo in one part of the pelican, hung my three spare guns up, put the mongoose in a safe corner, and put all my MRIs in another part. It was still certainly cramped, but at least this space was walkable now. I couldn't help but stand and marvel at all of the organization I'd done, the pelican was certainly starting to look like my "home" now. A sudden noise startled me though, a rasping at the back of the hatch. I looked over at it, my hand grabbed the shotgun that hung next to me. There could have been a numerous amount of things at that hatch, perhaps even nothing, but it was still too suspicious to not check. I turned off the light and quietly snuck to the cabin, flicking on the dashboard. The rear camera would surely show me what was there, if technology had progressed since the 2000's.
The camera flickered on, quickly adjusting the darkness. It showed one of the ponies standing at the back of the pelican, marveling up at it, alone. In fact, it was Twilight herself. I sighed, turning off the dash with a flick, going to the back to the cargo bay.
"Hey! Rookie? Are you in there?" I heard, through the muffling sound of the metal hatch. I put the weapon back up, and opened the door with another button, the door slowly expanding out as a platform. "I am." I said, looking at the princess who recoiled slightly at the sight of the closing door. Her reaction was slightly amusing to watch.
"Oh… Hello. You don't mind if I go on in there right?" She replied with a grin. I shook my head, a motion I'd hoped she'd understand. She seemed to understand, though, and began going up the platform, into the cargo bay.
"Can I help you, Princess Twilight? It's late." I said bluntly, looking at her move to the mongoose and give a slight touch with a hoof. It seemed like this room would be a treasure trove for her, judging by her reaction to my possessions. She laughed sheepishly and shook her head, examining the mongoose curiously still.
"No-no… A few ponies pointed out that they saw a 'metal bird' in a forested field nearby, and were a little concerned. Judging by the description, I figured it would be you, though. After all, you also wear a metal sort of outfit. I hope you don't mind my visit, I was curious to see what the technology of another people would be like. Checking in on you was also of a bit of importance to me, as well." She said, moving over to the shotgun I just put up to the wall, only for me to grab it defensively. I most definitely didn't want her to see what it was capable of doing, especially inside of my home.
"Well… I certainly don't mind, but don't touch without asking." I said with a soft sigh, keeping my hold on the weapon for a little longer. "I'll show you a few things, though." I said coldly, motioning her to follow me into the cockpit with a soft sigh, letting go of the gun.
