MAY DAY CELEBRATIONS SOMBRE IN AFTERMATH OF ALIEN ATTACKS NEAR LONDON. QUEEN ELIZABETH MAKES APPEARANCE TO THANK BRITISH PEOPLE FOR THEIR STRENGTH. “WHATEVER LIFE THROWS AT US, OUR INDIVIDUAL RESPONSES WILL BE ALL THE STRONGER FOR WORKING TOGETHER AND SHARING THE LOAD.”
CONSPIRACY THEORIST FAMOUS FOR FIRST PREDICTING ALIEN INVASION FOUND DEAD IN RURAL FRANCE TWO DAYS AFTER BEING REPORTED MISSING FROM HIS HOME IN OREGON. NO OFFICIAL STATEMENT HAS BEEN MADE REGARDING CAUSE OF DEATH BUT SOURCES IN MEDICAL OFFICE REPORT SIGNS OF SIGNIFICANT SURGICAL PROCEDURES ON HIS BRAIN WITHIN THE LAST 24 HOURS.
------
07:45, 05/01/2015, STARDUST LABS
The stylus flew across Twilight’s tablet as she skimmed what was quickly becoming a massive list of new things to search for. Every answer she found seemed to lead to a dozen more questions. I will need to ask Charles some questions the next time I see him, though… there’s a lot of things that the tablet won’t let me see, she thought to herself. She was quick to tamp down on any suspicion she had as to why. I shouldn’t assume why that is. I’ll just ask Charles when I see him.
The soothing sounds of piano chords came from the tablet as her playlist advanced, and Twilight couldn’t resist closing her eyes and simply listening. It’s beautiful. Why would anypo—anything want to hurt people who were capable of making something like this? Twilight’s thoughts drifted to the Thin Man and how he had reacted to her simply saying hello. Why would he do that? No matter how hard Twilight tried to approach his behavior, she simply couldn’t accept such violence as being justifiable.
Almost as though it was anticipating her mood, the piano piece she had been listening to ended and another one started. Twilight loved this piece as much as the previous one but the chords led her mind down darker paths. She quickly switched to her playlist and advanced to the next song and her mood instantly brightened. Rainbow Dash would love this one, Twilight nodded along with the beat as the song picked up. They say the main instrumental was with a guitar, but I’ve never heard one quite like that one.
Any further music listening was interrupted as the door to Twilight’s habitat opened and Charles walked in with his customary smile and greeting, “Good morning, Twilight. How are you feeling this morning?”
“I’m doing great! Joel visited me yesterday and did something to the tablet so I could access something called the ‘internet’! It’s got answers for just about everything I have thought to ask it!” Twilight gushed, and her good mood was clearly infectious as Charles’ own grin grew in response.
“I’m very glad to hear that, Twilight. Though I should warn you not to trust everything you find there. You’ll find as much opinion as fact, so always be sure to double check your research before running off with an idea,” He warned as he took a seat at Twilight’s table.
“You don’t have to tell me twice! It’s standard research procedure to not accept any claim as fact unless it can be verified after all,” Twilight agreed, though she hesitated. “Um… Joel also mentioned that certain topics were restricted and I would need to ask someone about them if I wanted to know more. Can I ask you some questions?”
Charles nodded in response. “I’ll do my best to answer any questions you may have, though there will be some that I can’t answer, and others that I might not know the answer to. Just keep that in mind.”
“Great!” Twilight cheered and telekinetically pulled a stack of papers from her desk over to the table along with a pen, “I’ve made a list of things to ask! I’m also afraid I’ll need to use the translation spell just a bit longer. I don’t think my English is good enough for some of these questions.”
The human gave the stack of papers a somewhat dubious look before asking, “Are those all questions you had from searching the internet? Just how long were you searching?”
“Oh…about eight hours or so. These aren’t all questions pertaining to my internet searches. A fair portion of them are further questions based on theorized answers that the original questions would yield, followed by another set of questions, plus room for anything else I can think of while we talk… what? What is it?”
“Sorry, Twilight, I just forgot how enthusiastic you could be,” Charles scratched his chin and gave Twilight a shrug. “So, what’s the first question?”
“Well, my first question came from when I was searching for information about when your people went to the moon. I even got to see it for myself at a place called ‘Youtube’!” The unicorn rapidly explained, and was again rewarded with one of Charles’ smiles, but his smile dissipated before her eyes as her question came about. “I wanted to do some research on that time in your history and something called a ‘cold war’ was mentioned. What’s a cold war? I think my people had one, but what little I was able to learn doesn’t match what I know…”
Charles schooled his features carefully and for just a moment Twilight regretted asking about it, but the human rallied and cleared his throat. “I suppose a little bit of history is in order. About sixty years ago there were two great nations in the world, who found themselves opposed against each other. Both sides had grown so powerful that they began to fear for the fate of the world if a fighting war were to ever break out between them, so they resorted to less… overt ways to try and beat each other. Economics and allies and so forth.” The human seemed to stumble towards the end of his explanation before he asked a question of his own, “I’m surprised your people would have a cold war. From everything you’ve mentioned, it seems out of character.”
“Oh, it was thousands of years ago, before the reign of the Alicorns,” Twilight said casually, “The three tribes warred with each other, which attracted the Windigos that froze the land. So long as they continued fighting, the Windigos chased them and brought the winter as well. The Windigos were only defeated when the three tribes stopped fighting and worked together.”
“Banding together to fight a common enemy? I suppose I can understand the sentiment,” Charles commented distantly before he regained his focus. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to distract you from your questions. I’m assuming you have others?”
“Don’t apologize, Charles, you can ask me anything you want. It’s not fair for me to ask all the questions, after all. And yes, I do have some more topics to discuss.” Twilight quickly checked off several things on the first page before shuffling it to the bottom of the stack. “During our first card game we had a discussion about the ‘devil’ and you mentioned it being a figure in the Christian religion. I was able to find dozens of religions besides Christianity, and several versions of Christianity as well. Why is that?”
“Er…well,” Charles said as he glanced away. “I don’t know if I’m the best person to talk about that subject. Religion is a lot of different things to a lot of different people. If you were to ask ten different people you would likely get ten different answers. That’s probably why there’s so many. I’m afraid I’m not qualified to answer more detailed questions than that. Sorry, Twilight.”
Twilight nodded slightly, not disappointed by the answer. “I understand. From what I was able to find it seems to be a rather personal—“
The question was interrupted as the door to the habitat opened to reveal a stone-faced Doctor Vahlen. Her entire posture was stiff and tense, like Fluttershy had been before Twilight had befriended her, though there was nothing like demure shyness in the scientist's eyes. There was something… colder in its place.
“Doctor Shen,” Vahlen started as she walked into the room to stand before Charles, “I thank you for your service to this project thus far, but it is no longer necessary.”
“What? Why?” The note of surprise in the engineer’s voice was alarming as he stood to face Vahlen directly. Gone was the fatherly approval Twilight normally saw in him or even the unease he had displayed just a moment earlier. He didn’t look at the unicorn but she could see that something had set him on edge.
“The lack of meaningful breakthroughs has earned the enmity of the Council. This lack of results combined with the security breaches in the past and the likelihood of security breaches in the future is forcing me to recommend termination of the Stardust project. All research material and specimens are to be prepared for transfer to a secure holding facility. As I said, your services are no longer needed.”
Any ghost of the smile of Charles face was banished. “You cannot be serious. We’ve only scratched the surface of what we can learn from Twilight. I can’t believe you would throw away such an opportunity.”
“And I cannot believe you would allow yourself to become so attached to an alien test subject. You’re letting your personal losses cloud your judgement. I know why you’re doing this, I knew the moment you gave her the book.” Vahlen’s response was colder than anything Twilight had ever heard her say, and it gave her the slightest of chills even though it wasn’t being said to her.
Charles gritted his teeth and his expression turned into a glare. “Don’t go there, Moira. Don’t.”
“This creature is not your daughter or Ellie, and I understand that it might be therapeutic for you to act like it is. But it is not, and if you find yourself distressed by my words then you have only yourself to blame, Raymond.” Vahlen spat her reply, and her cold expression began to heat as well.
“You’re one to talk!” Charles nearly shouted back as he finally lost his patience. The harsh words, volume and tone caused Twilight to jerk backwards. “You accuse me of letting my personal feelings get in the way when I know exactly what you do every morning to get yourself angry enough to commit all the casual atrocities you do. Don’t think for a moment I don’t know. You came to me to get the call recordings, remember?”
“Bradford will support me on this,” Vahlen bit out each word as though she was restraining the impulse to scream them. The hand holding her tablet had gone white while her other hand shook at her side.
“The hell he will! And I doubt Erika or Klein would—“
SMACK!
Vahlen’s free hand flew through the air and slapped Charles across the face with a sharp retort. Any pretense at cool detachment crumbled as Vahlen screamed back, “DON’T YOU DARE BRING THEM INTO THIS!”
“Stop!” Twilight said as loud as she could muster in English. I have no idea what is about but I have to stop this! I have to! “Please stop fighting! Friends shouldn’t fight. You shouldn’t!” She could feel her lips quivering and her vision blurred. “Please stop fighting…” The last words were chased by a soft sob, but Twilight rallied and looked to the pair.
Charles had staggered back a step with one hand over the spot Vahlen had struck. His eyes were filled with a mixture of anger and shame as he regained his footing and looked to the scientist. Twilight did as well, and what she saw did not bring her any comfort.
The anger of the moment was gone, as well as the cool demeanor the scientist had cultivated for the majority of the time Twilight had seen her. Her eyes were wide and locked on Twilight and her face had grown very pale. Both of her arms had crossed in front of her with the tablet against her chest like some sort of shield. Her head began to shake in some form of unspoken denial as she took a step backward. She took another step backwards, then turned and strode through the habitat door.
“I’m…sorry you had to see that, Twilight.” Charles said with a note of sincere apology in his voice. “I’m sorry, Twilight, but I don’t think I’ll be able to answer any more questions.”
“I’m not worried about questions, I’m worried about you!” Twilight abandoned her chair and planted herself directly in front of Charles. “Does that hurt? Why would she hit you? And what was that argument about?”
“I’m fine, Twilight. I really am.” Charles forced a smile and tried to go around the unicorn, but she moved to further block his path.
“Why did she call you ‘Raymond’? And who’s Ellie? I saw both of those names in the book you gave me. Talk to me, Charles! Please!”
The engineer’s smile faltered and died completely as he heard those two names again, and he sank heavily into his chair. He covered his face with his hands for a minute before he finally replied. “Twilight… I… I’m sorry. If I tell you, you must promise to never bring it up ever again, alright?”
Twilight merely nodded in response and took her seat again. “I don’t mean to pry, but I could tell that what she said hurt you. If you don’t want to talk about it then you don’t have to. I just want to help.”
“I know you want to help, Twilight. That’s the only reason I’m even considering telling you. It’s… a hard story for me to share.” Charles pulled his hands away from his face and Twilight couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for the sheer amount of despair written on his face. “I had a daughter named Marie. She used to call me Papa Ray or Rayman when she was younger because she thought it was funnier than Raymond. You two would have gotten along so well. She was brilliant at mathematics and languages. She always said that math was the most important language in the world because one plus one is always two no matter what language you speak.”
Charles slipped his glasses off his face and placed them on the table before continuing, “She grew up and met a brilliant young man and they got married. As a father I couldn’t have been more proud. My little girl all grown up, you know? When she called me to say that her own child was on the way, I could have burst. They named her Ellie, and I expect she would have been just as bright and beautiful as my daughter.
“They’re not with me anymore. What I mean to say is… they died.” Charles closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I never got to know Ellie, and that’s a regret I’ll take with me to the grave. However I think she would have been a lot like you, and she would have liked you too. Vahlen’s right in the end, I suppose.”
Twilight’s eyes widened as he finished his story. “I’m sorry, Charles. I’m so sorry.”
“That’s… alright, Twilight,” Charles said as he slowly stood and placed the glasses back on his head. Twilight started to rise as well but stopped when the human waved her down. “All I ask is that you never mention this to anyone or use that name again. I’m afraid that I’m going to have to go now to call in a favor, and give a few out as well.”
Without another word Charles left the habitat, leaving Twilight behind to worry about her very first human friend.
------
08:45, 05/01/2015, OFFICE OF CMDR BRADFORD
David Bradford started on his fifth cup of coffee of the day as he continued to review the slurry of emails the research teams were sending his way. Immediately following his meeting with the Council he had sent a message to the Stardust researchers asking for their recommendations on the future of the project. One of Ngo’s people had replied with almost indecent haste, and the steady trickle of further messages had kept Bradford from heading to bed.
He had left to grab breakfast just over an hour earlier and upon his return there had been two messages received during his absence. The first he had expected but the second most certainly was not.
“Enter,” Bradford said absently almost before he heard the first knock. He looked up to see a somewhat sheepish-looking Shen push the door open and close it behind him. His discretion wasn’t out of the ordinary, but the ice pack he now held against his face certainly was. “Are you alright, Charles?”
“Oh, I’ve had better days,” Shen said with a self-deprecating chuckle as he took a seat in front of Bradford’s desk. “Was working on one of the SHIVs and the turret actuator had a little episode. Turret assembly swung around and clocked me. It’ll bruise a bit but I’ve had worse.”
“I…see,” Bradford said after a long moment, then dropped the issue. “What can I do for you?”
“Well, I had a little chat with Moira, and it seems the fate of the Stardust project is in doubt. I know I have no official say over research projects, but I cannot stress enough that shutting down that project will be a terrible mistake,” Charles spoke evenly and fixed Bradford with a look. “From my position as chief engineer, I feel that with Twilight’s cooperation we can eventually master a power that surpasses anything we could achieve by ourselves, or even the invaders. And…if Twilight’s safety cannot be assured without the Stardust Project, then I am afraid I can no longer work here.”
The last statement caught Bradford’s attention, as did the conviction it was delivered with. “I understand, Charles, and I thank you for coming to me with your recommendation. It seems that Dr. Vahlen’s revised recommendation will suit all parties in this matter.”
Shen had just started to wind up what was likely an impassioned plea but the words died as he realized just what Bradford had said. “I don’t think I understand. Just what did Moira recommend?”
“That the Stardust Project continues as it has.” Of all the things Bradford could have said, he greatly suspected that was the last thing Shen expected him to say.
“Ah, well. It seems I was a little premature in coming here then. I must have misunderstood Moira during our conversation,” Charles said with a stunned look on his face. “Well, I’d best get back to it. Let me know if you need anything, David.” The aging engineer then turned and left the office, leaving Bradford alone with what was quite possibly the two most conflicting messages he had ever received.
FROM: Cmdr. David Bradford
TO: Stardust Personnel
DATE: 05/01/2015, 00:15
SUBJECT: RecommendationsThe Council has expressed concerns regarding the current progress of the Stardust project, and have suggested more direct methods of working with the subject of the project at a more secure location. Before I make my decision I would like feedback from all researchers involved.
Cmdr. David Bradford
FROM: Dr. Moira Vahlen
TO: Cmdr. David Bradford
DATE: 05/01/2015, 07:50
SUBJECT: RE: RecommendationsThere are no current projections for substantive breakthroughs for the Stardust project as both the abilities it demonstrates defy all forms of detection, and the specimen itself has refused to comply with all of our instructions in demonstrating its abilities. The specimen has also shown new abilities on an almost daily basis without concern for the targets of these abilities despite being told not to do so.
Furthermore, the specimen is providing a significant distraction for the research personnel involved. Significant amounts of time are spent conversing with the specimen which amounts to little more than gossip when they could be directed to more fruitful endeavors such as decrypting the alien flight computers or interrogation of fresh specimens retrieved from the field.
In summary, at this time I recommend that the Stardust program be terminated and the specimen transferred to the new location for processing as it is providing little benefit to XCOM as a whole at this time.
Dr. Moira Vahlen
FROM: Dr. Moira Vahlen
TO: Cmdr. David Bradford
DATE: 05/01/2015, 08:42
SUBJECT: RE: RecommendationsI have reviewed previous research material and have reconsidered my previous position. As I am certain that the other researchers have come to their recommendations with opinions and emotion to guide them, I feel it is my duty to provide a recommendation based on reason: A threat assessment.
1.) The subject, Twilight Sparkle, is a creature capable of things that we cannot reproduce naturally or artificially. While I have no doubts that the facility the subject would be sent to would be extremely secure by our standards, I have little faith it could hold her for long. Removing her from the environment she is comfortable in will no doubt agitate her, and if she feels threatened enough to defend herself then a significant loss of life and resources is extremely likely.
2.) Twilight Sparkle’s method of arrival on Earth highlights several serious concerns, especially when combined with her familial and professional relations in the upper echelons of her world’s government. Considering her brother’s high placement in the military and married into nobility, her childhood friend who is part of the nobility, her status as personal student of the current ruler and her status as a paragon of her people, it is far more logical to prepare for when her people find her, not if.
3.) Should the previous point come to pass and Twilight is damaged or dead, the best case we could hope for would be a second front opening up in this invasion where the standard enemy infantry possesses more physical strength and speed than Chryssalids, more nimble flight than Floaters, and far more terrifying and effective mental powers than the Sectoids. The amount of time humanity could hold in such a conflict would be significantly reduced.
4.) The worst case that could come to pass would be that if Twilight’s reports on her mentor are accurate. Princess Celestia is described as a multi-millennia ruler of her world that is capable of moving the star in her system with nothing but her powers. If this ruler were to appear on Earth and find her protégé damaged or dead, there is absolutely nothing XCOM could do to prevent Celestia from hurling the Earth into the sun if she so chose.
5.) If the forces of Twilight’s world appear on Earth and find her healthy and well-cared-for, we may have a powerful ally.At this time I recommend the Stardust project be continued for the foreseeable future. The risks in altering the current program far outweigh any potential benefits that might be gained from harsher interrogation methods.
Dr. Moira Vahlen
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17:56, 05/01/2015, SENIOR STAFF QUARTERS
>>SECURE TERMINAL
>>LOGIN/PASSWORD REQUIRED
>>m.vahlen65345
>>************************
>>USER AUTHENTICATED
>>GOOD EVENING, DOCTOR VAHLEN>>C:/USERS/M.VAHLEN/AUDIO/CALLS
>>RUN FILE: LASTCALL.MP3
>>FILE INFO: RECORDED PHONE CALL
>>WOULD YOU LIKE A TRANSCRIPT OF THE CALL?
>>Y
>>CALL DIALOG TRANSLATED FROM GERMAN TO ENGLISH
>>THREE (3) IDENTIFIED VOICES: Dr. Moira Vahlen (MV), Klein Vahlen (KV), Erika Vahlen (EV)(EV)--"Hello, this is the Vahlen residence. Who is calling?"
(MV)--"It's Aunt Moira... is that little Erika I hear?"
(EV)--"Auntie M! It's been forever since we heard from you! Dad says you're doing big stuff to save the world! Is that true?"
(MV)--"Yes, I suppose it is, dear. Is your dad home? I would like to speak with him."
(EV)--"Sure, one second. Daddy! It's aunt Moira on the phone!"
(KV)—(background) “Don’t yell in the house, dear. The phone is cordless, just bring it to me…Yes? That you, Moira?”
(MV)—“Yes, it is. I hope I’m not calling at a bad time?”
(KV)—“Oh it’s no trouble. I know your job is a bit strict about contact so I understand you have to call when they say you can.”
(MV)—“When you say it like that you make me feel like the villain.”
(KV)—“You know what I mean. Don’t be obtuse.” (laughter)
[Background voice (BV) detected, synthetic in nature]—“Sodium.”
(MV)—“Oh dear, obtuse is a large word. Keep working on your vocabulary and I might admit being related to you.”
(KV)—“It was on my word-a-day calendar, sister dear. We all know you sucked up all the smart genes in the family gene pool.”
(MV)—“Oh I don’t know about that. Erika’s math scores on her most recent tests are two grade levels higher than where she’s currently at. I suspect with a little help she’ll be taking algebra before she reaches middle school. All she needs now is a good tutor in the sciences and she’ll be fine.”
(BV)—“Aluminum.”
(KV)—“I’ll admit, she does her father proud…wait, how do you know about her school scores? The finals aren’t supposed to be released until next week.”
(MV)—“Well…you know I’ve got friends from university working in Germany. I contacted them and they asked politely for a sneak peak.”
(KV)—“Moira…”
(MV)—“Is it wrong for an aunt to be curious about the academic performance of her dear niece?”
(BV)—“Titanium.”
(KV)—“I think it’s wrong when you break the law in doing so. Bribery or extortion?”
(MV)—“Extortion is such an ugly word.”
(KV)—“Moira…”
(MV)—“I’m sorry, Klein, but I worry for Erika.”
(KV)—“Moira, that’s my job. I’m her father. You’re her aunt. You’re supposed to spoil her rotten during visits and nothing more.”
(BV)—“Palladium.”
(MV)—“Oh bah, that’s nonsense. I want to be involved as much as I can.”
(KV)—“Then why don’t you have a kid of your own? You know mom always wanted you to settle down and raise a family of your own.”
(MV)—“You know the answer to that. My career is too important right now, and besides—“
(KV)—“—there’s no man out there who’s an intellectual match for you?”
(MV)—“Yes, that.”
(KV)—“Why don’t you just adopt, then? Or, hell, get a pet or something. Seriously, before you took your new job the neighbors were starting rumors that I was being unfaithful to my wife because some strange woman kept coming by.”
(MV)—“Well, you are the sort.”
(BV)—“Hydrogen.”
(KV)—“Sister dear, don’t be obtuse again. Every time you visited to see Erika the neighbors gossiped. You know I hate gossip. Seriously though, have you even considered adoption?”
(MV)—“We both know that would be a bad idea in the long run. With my career I don’t have the time to adequately raise a child. But I can do everything possible to help Erika become everything she wants to.”
(KV)—“Speaking of which, thank you so much for buying her that keyboard. She’s always loved music, but adding a special setting where the keys are replaced with elements has gotten her a little more interested in the sciences. It’s just…”
(BV)—“Helium.”
(MV)—“Yes?”
(KV)—“You know what I’m going to say. The moment you have kids, I’m buying them a big snare drum.”
(MV)—“Speaking of, have you given any consideration to my previous offer?”
(KV)—“No, Moira. I’m her father and I’ll provide for her myself.”
(MV)—“But—“
(KV)—“No buts, Moira. I’ll admit I don’t think I’ll ever make as much as you do, but this is my family and I will provide for it. I thank you for your offer and I will also thank you for never bringing it up again.”
(EV)—(background) “Daddy? Are you two fighting?”
(KV)—“No, dear. Go back to your keyboard.”
(EV)—(background)“You should stop fighting! You’re family! Family shouldn’t fight!”
(KV)—“Dear, we’re not fighting. I promise, sweetie. Go back to your keyboard.”
(EV)—(background)”Not until you both apologize.”
(KV)—“Well there’s no arguing with that. Moira, I’m sorry for getting angry with you.”
(MV)—“And I apologize for being so insistant.”
(EV)—(background)”There, all better!”
(KV)—“…are we good then, Moira?”
(MV)—“I guess so. I won’t press the matter again, but if you need anything, you give me a call and I’ll do everything I can.”
(KV)—“You’ll be the first…what in god’s name is that?”
(MV)—“Hm? What’s wrong?”
(KV)—“There are shooting stars, but they’re huge…”
[phone audio cuts out for 1.7 seconds due to audio overload]
(MV)—“Klein! Klein! Can you hear me?”
(KV)—“I’m here, Moira. Something crashed down the street…it looks like metal.” [Door opens and closes]
(MV)—“Klein, what are you doing? Get back in the house, now!”
(KV)—“I’m still on the stoop, there’s nothing to worry about. Though the thing is starting to spew green smoke. It’s…the smoke isn’t moving with the wind. What’s it—“
(MV)—“Klein? KLEIN!”
[9.4 seconds pass]
(EV)—“Aunt Moira?”
(MV)—“Erika? Oh thank God. Where are you now?”
(EV)—“By the front door. Daddy went outside and now there’s all this green smoke and he hasn’t come back in. Should I go looking for him?”
(MV)—“NO. Erika, daddy’s fine. I need you to listen very carefully, okay? I need you to lock all the doors and windows in the house, then go and hide in the cupboard underneath the staircase.”
(EV)—“What? Why? And where’s daddy? If I lock the doors then he can’t get back in.”
(MV)—“Erika, listen to me! Your dad is fine but you need to lock all the doors right now and make sure all the windows are closed. You have to do this now!”
(EV)—“O-okay.”
[10.7 seconds pass]
(EV)—“All the doors are locked, and the windows too. What’s going on? This is starting to scare me…”
(MV)—“Don’t be scared, Erika. You’re a big girl and you’re doing a great job so far. Can you make it back downstairs to the cupboard?”
(EV)—“Yes, I can. What’s going on, Moira?”
(MV)—“I’ll explain later, just get to the cupboard.”
(EV)—“I’m almost there…huh, there’s someone knocking at the door. Maybe it’s daddy!”
(MV)—“ERIKA, THAT IS NOT YOUR FATHER. RUN NOW!”
(EV)—“What’s…it’s breaking down the door! It’s a monster! Ohnonono, help me!”
[Sounds of wood splintering]
[Unknown sound]
[Sound recognition using current information… sound recognized: Chryssalid]
(EV)—“Help me! DADDY HELP—“
(MV)—“Erika! …Erika?”>>END AUDIO PLAYBACK
Moira Vahlen dropped her head into her hands and wept.
------
02:35, 05/02/2015, STARDUST LABS
Twilight awoke with a start.
She had been dreaming of…something. It wasn’t a nightmare, at least not the one she usually had. Ugh, I just wish I could consistently get a decent night’s sleep. The unicorn stretched and shuffled out of bed towards her sink. She began to fill her cup with water as she lazily looked around the room. Her eyes traced the darkened forms of her friends, then the princesses, then the drawings of Equestrian wildlife. I really miss home.
I feel sorry for Charles. And Matt. These are good people…but I want to go home, Twilight absently rubbed her eyes and tried not to dwell on what both men had told her in the last few days. Tomorrow I’ll ask if I can start doing research into how to get home.
With her now full glass of water Twilight shuffled over towards her desk for some late night internet browsing when she stopped and looked to the side. A figure was sitting at her guest table, silent and unmoving. Twilight’s reaction was quite natural.
“EEP!” She yelped and the glass of water clattered to the floor. At the same time a telekinetic jab pressed into the light switch hard enough to push the switch and its fixture a quarter inch into the wall. The lights flicked on and as Twilight’s eyes adjusted she could better make out the features of this mystery person.
It was female, and clad in loose and baggy green clothes similar to what Matt and Lana wore but without all the pockets and pouches. Her brown hair was also loose and hung almost to her shoulders. Her face was a terrible mess, with red puffy eyes and an enflamed nose that betrayed a significant amount of crying recently, and she held a tablet in front of her chest and behind her crossed arms like a shield or piece of armor.
The last mannerism was what finally caused Twilight to recognize her late night visitor. “D-doctor Vahlen? Uh… can I h-help you?” Vahlen’s worn eyes fell upon Twilight and the unicorn couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for whatever she was going through. There was anguish in those eyes. Suspicion too. And desperation.
“Or did you want to talk about something?” Twilight ventured awkwardly as she used telekinesis to pull the water off the floor and drop it down the sink drain before she shuffled slowly over to the desk.
“Are you real?” Vahlen asked after a long moment of simply staring at the unicorn. “I mean, is this what you really are? Just a lost little girl? Nothing more?”
“W-well, I don’t think I’m little. I’m no foal. But I am lost so I guess that’s pretty much accurate. Why?” Twilight replied as she kept her eyes on the human. With every word the scientist seemed to cringe and cling more tightly to the tablet between her arms.
“I…” Vahlen swallowed before her next words came out in a flood. “I wanted to hate you. I want to hate you so much! You’re not human, you came here uninvited and people are dying every day because of the invaders and we still don't know why! Every single day more people die. I can’t carry a gun or fly a plane but I can tear their bodies to pieces to know how they think and live. It’s what I do. It’s all I can do!”
Twilight’s eyes had gone wide as Vahlen continued to rant but she remained silent.
“It was so easy to justify it. They killed so many, they killed my little Eri… so it was easy to hate them. To do unspeakable things to them. I could have gone on and saved humanity by taking the aliens' secrets from their flesh and minds by force. But then you come along! You… you…”
“I’m sorry,” Twilight apologized, though she had no idea why. It just felt right to do so. “I don’t know what I’ve done wrong but if you tell me then I can do better! Or do you need me to do more? What do you wa—“
“STOP.” Vahlen shrieked, and her head drooped as she began to sob. “How can you be like that? So willing to apologize to me? I’m a monster, I’ve done terrible things to the invaders. To you. How can you be so… nice? To everyone? To me? Why?”
“Everyone deserves another chance,” Twilight said solemnly. A long moment of silence passed while Twilight simply sat as Vahlen’s shoulders slowly stopped shaking. “Are you alright?”
The scientist slowly rose and turned away from Twilight. After placing her tablet on the table she gathered up her hair in a practiced motion and clipped it in place before turning back. “Thank you for this discussion, Twilight. It was extremely enlightening for me. I will have to ask you to keep the content of this discussion private.”
Twilight was already nodding before the request was complete. “I understand…” Charles asked the same thing. “I don’t want to sound demanding but the next time you see Charles, could you please apologize to him? Friends shouldn’t fight like that.”
Vahlen’s face was a study in shock at the words, but she quickly composed herself and nodded. “I will as soon as I see him. Now I’m afraid I’ve…wait, what’s that?”
Twilight blinked and looked up to see what appeared to be a small black cloud no larger than her hoof appearing above the table that she sat at. Before anyone could speak or act, the cloud coughed green flames and out spat a large bundle of rolled scrolls on faded yellow parchment. Each one was wrapped in a red ribbon and clasped with a small brass clip with a very familiar design.
“What!?” Vahlen exclaimed, and her earlier mood nearly vanished with the surprise, “Where did these come from? Did you do this?”
“No, I didn’t do this,” Twilight replied as she used her telekinesis to grab the first wrapped scroll and opened it. The letter began to shake in the air and the unicorn continued, “And these are from my friends.”
Afternoon folks! I actually had this done and ready to go this morning but had some family plans which prevented me from providing adequate attention to this.
And if you've made it to the comments section you've no doubt deduced that this is a WHAM chapter. Lots of stuff happening and with a cliffhanger too!
DAMN YOU CLIFFHANGER
But I loved this chapter, I love the character development, how Moira and Charles interacted and what will happen in the next one. I am sure Xcom wants in on any communications between Twilight and her friends.
Interesting chapter. Now that Vahlen isn't a bitch anymore I wonder where we will get our source of conflict. I'm putting my money on Zhang. Or the invaders, of course.
WOOHOOO
Dude if you could get the next chapter out by Tuesday that would be a sweet birthday present. But no rush, and once again, I will be watching.
I cant wait for next great job. Eith Valhen and Shen past
The thot plickens, my good sir. I must say, I have been following Stardust eagerly since I first heard about it, and I have to congratulate you on your ability to blend the universes of two disparate works of fiction a) accurately, and b) seamlessly. I can almost hear the characters speak, and the dialogue doesn't seem contrived at all.
I'm looking forward to what comes down the pipe next, and the next chapter can't come soon enough! :D
HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ME ARAD?!
THIS IS NOT A CLIFFHANGER
THIS IS TORTURE
2952142
It's only XCOM NA that has accepted Twilight, the rest of the world still needs to learn of her and come to terms.
Oh, and that bit with Vahlen. So many feels were had. So many.
And the end of the chapter too! There is light at the end of the tunnel! And a dragon.
2952222 Arad clearly has found the secret to the South American XCOM base. And he is using it on ALL Of us.
Totally saw the confrontation between Shen and Vahlen coming, but I would be lying if I said it wasn't satisfying. While reading the transcript, one realizes that poor Twilight must come across to Vahlen as a personal reminder and insult to everything that she once held dear. Geeze, no wonder she wanted to expedite throwing Twilight into a lava pit.
Poor Vahlen, and to think Twilight arrived and what's the first thing she does? She squishes a crysasslid like the bug it is.
Glad that she did come to her senses as to the danger of injuring Twilight. I was wondering why noone had said it yet, but glad that you were working on it before my last comment.
Also, unless Celestia just managed to 'amp up' and reverse Spike's Dragon-Fire (Which sent the messages to Twilight wherever she is) then that means that Moria's objection just became very real because it indicates that they are well on their way to locating her.
I did have one question: Just making sure, but is the discussion between Moria and Twilight all in English? I am just trying to double check, but I didn't realize that her English had progressed that far yet.
Okay, now... back to my own stuff... which I put down to read this *returns to my own works, attempts to ignore distractions*
Yay! They made it through! Now I'm dying for the next chapter!
i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/293/590/6f6.gif
holy shit
OMYGODOMYGODOMYGODOMYGODOMYGOD!!!!!
Can't wait for more
Well, this changes things. Wonder if the communication will be two way.
MMMMMOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRR!!!!!!
Moira is right though. Dead/Tortured Twilight + Celestia = ANGRY Celestia. ANGRY Celestia could acquaint the Earth with the Sun. Acquainting the Moon with the Earth would be enough even.
To stop there... you evil genius... you better post fast... that is if you want to
your faithful reader, Sniperwolf24
P.S. It also comes to my attention that I may have been a total "asshat" about your version of Dr. Vahlen... she does has a soul.
Spike!!! You magnificent bastard! That has to be the longest Flame mail ever.....
2952263 I highly doubt news of Stardust will reach the ears of anyone outside the facility. Most in their own facility don't know about the project. The only people who know about Stardust and have any sort of trepidation are the Council Members and Zhang. The Council has chosen to accept Bradford's judgement. That just leaves one.
2952104
I love my cliffhangers! :D
2952142
Feel free to speculate!
2952146
:D
2952162
I'll see what I can do. I'm -hoping- to get at least two chapters done before Tuesday of next week. Cause then the new Tales game comes out and I'll have to take a break from writing to plow through that.
2952182
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I've had this particular chapter in my mind for almost as long as I've had this idea for the fanfic.
2952202
Thanks for your feedback! I like to -think- I write believable characters but it's always good to hear that from others.
2952222
Unfortunately for you, my readers, this torture will not be completed instantly.
Seriously. I need at least two days to crank out the next chapter.
2952263
That's a point we all need to remember. Twilight has mostly won over the Stardust personnel but that's less than ten people total. The vast majority of authority figures in XCOM have (quite justified) suspicions.
2952297
Indeed. Vahlen was using the recorded phone message as motivation to commit the brutal interrogations she did. Having some alien come up and start taking that from her would have been jarring. After all, when fighting monsters, monstrous countermeasures are justified. And Twilight was anything but a monster.
And the main reason the threat that would be posed if Twilight were damaged or dead never came up because the only verified being they know of is Discord, who sent her there in the first place. Discord is proportedly an avowed enemy of Twilight's government and would likely be doing everything to hinder said government while Twilight is captured (according to their train of thought). Vahlen just took the time to spell out the worst case scenario for people to put things into perspective.
And Twilight and Vahlen's final conversation was in English. Sorry if that wasn't quite clear. I may revisit the last section and tweak it a bit to make that more clear.
And do your best with your own work! I can't wait for your next chapter of EVERYTHING.
2952336
:D I might have tomorrow off a bit early so I could get started as early as tomorrow but that's no guarantee I'm afraid.
2952396
2952419 2952458 2952533
Soon!
2952433
You'll have to wait and see!
2952482
Or the Earth and deep space. Just toss the Earth out into the void and we all freeze.
2952560
It's actually several scrolls rather than one monolithic one. :D
2952574
Yep!
2952643 indeed!
Also, I keep forgetting to do this but I really, really wanted to thank you for not painting the ponies a pack of impotent fucking pansies, like a lot of fanfics do. There's so many fanfics out there where a single soldier beats the living shit out of, say, Princess Celestia without even trying, and all I can do is scream at my monitor that Celestia should just telekinetically crush his skull or something. It's nice whenever I see a prey species -- the ponies -- living on a planet full of eldritch abominations and stuff that had somehow risen up to become the dominant species get their due respect.
2952709
It is a fine line that I've spent a long time agonizing over. 'Exactly how physically and emotionally capable are the equestrians in a fight?' I've been discussing things with some friends regarding this and I think I've come up with a happy medium, at least for now.
2952730 I think you've done pretty well so far in that regard. The ponies seem be pretty pacifistic and not actively looking for confrontation, at least going by Twilight's apologetic nature and her avoidance of confrontation, but they're still driven by survival instinct and do have the ability to preserve themselves when monsters come knocking -- the Chryssalid got a hooves-on demonstration of that.
2952730
They are as capable as they need to be. Celestia hides a lot of the world from them, but if things went completely to pieces she is fully capable of lifting that veil and magically as well. You could see the kinds of things that you see in some fics with Luna before the war 1000 years ago. A little magic goes a long way to changing pony minds if you are willing to use it. Any power like Cadance who can spread love could do the opposite. The ponies could be a terrible weapon if their leaders found the absolute need to do it.
Oh! They figured out how to contact her!
Just caught this in the re-read, minor error in Vahlen's first recommendation. Although it could be simply an artifiact of English not being her first language.
I can't help but feel that Bradford wasn't just going to take Vahlen's stance at face value in this matter. It just wouldn't make sense for him to do so.
He has to know that she's very biased in this, and holds (or held) a lot of resentment for anything alien/Twilight on a personal level (And if Shen mentioned her little recording she listens to every day, then that pushes a bit more doubt on her impartiality, and that's only IF he doesn't already know about it. He'd have her psych profile). And would be just as inclined to lash out at her in any manner possible. She's not allowed to do so herself, so sending her off to somewhere that will do it...
Also, he would already be aware of the potential for the things Vahlen mentions in her second mail. That Twilight's homeplanet WILL end up finding exactly where she went, and are a species capable of things they've never even dreamed about, even beyond the current invaders. And that they'd want a good first impression and a smile, not a dead/tortured VIP.
Not only that, but I'm pretty sure the majority of those emails he was getting flooded with would be recommending the opposite. And protests to the morality of doing so.
While a bit of a hiccup, I don't think Twilight's future was hanging in the balance depending on Vahlen's word alone.
Well, it was obvious that Vahlen lost someone, and I was sure that one way or another she got front row for execution show. Although, bringing Chrysallid in abduction seems... contradictory.
That was one overdue main. They what, used "Stalliongrad Mail" for this?
2952709 Through it seems, that he is bent on putting it at opposite scale, with all-powerful ponies, like no less authors, and, honestly, that's thing I'm liking less and less here.
2952894
According to the humans who've never met another pony other than Twilight, a near all-powerful pony in their eyes. She's their baseline, so of course they're thinking "Holy shit!"
They're probably thinking she's two or four times more powerful than a normal unicorn. Not a hundred.
2952933 No, not "according to humans", just all-powerful.
2952894 The humans only have Twilight, both as an example of a pony and as a font of information regarding her homeworld. As a result they don't have a lot of first-hand information regarding anything, so of course they're going to be cautious and extrapolate whatever information gleaned from what Twilight says and does, with the inevitable result being that ponies are portrayed as having super-duper-ultra powers. We've actually seen relatively little of what the ponies can do in this fic beyond Twilight doing whatever it is she does and an emotionally distraught Celestia sweeping the planet with her sun to find her student.
2952983 As if what we seen wasn't enough. Yes, I do understand that Twilight is THE unicorn but even the things she show is disturbing, because it's what ponies are capable of doing. Not even exact things, but ways magic can work.
2953058 But it's not like any of Twilight's abilities shown in this story are out of the actual cartoon's realm of possibilities. Pretty much everything shown and described is a logical conclusion or extrapolation drawn from the canon capabilities of the ponies.
2953058
I'm pretty sure Twilight hasn't shown anything outside what the show itself has shown. Teleportation, Want-It-Need-it (And it's opposite, the Wallflower spell, which I would imagine exists is the other does), and 60+ tons of telekinetic force (Lifting a bear that's the size of a three story house).
2953178 2953182 Yeah, I know, and it's not like I wasn't having same emotions when I first saw them. But show doesn't talk much about mechanics and limitations, and authors can maneuver there. Also, some minor points could be up to interpretation. Arad have transformation here, I believe from "Too many Pinkie Pies" episode, but I don't remember that we were actually told about effect behind the spell maybe it was actually an illusion? (Honestly don't remember spell being stated as transformation.)
Also: now I'll want to know density of star Ursa.
Poor Vahlen...
DIS-COOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD!
2952574
The council is part of the rest of the world. Once Celestia finds Twilight, and if peaceful relations can be established, the public needs to come to terms with them as well, realizing they are not another alien invasion. That revised recommendation from Vahlen should be forwarded to the Council. I could imagine them being much more lenient with the schedule after they realize that these aliens' powers are pathetic in comparison to the equestrians'. not to mention any allies the equestrians have. The death or torture of a valuable political asset would be... sub optimal, to say the least. They'll have a war with the gods on their hands. They may be a species that subconsciously emits a beguiling aura, but I doubt they'd abuse that fact. It's not like they're making us be their friends, they just make it easier. They may even help with driving out the invaders. Imagine what our ingenuity could produce when combined with their magical abilities. I for one, welcome our new pony overlords.
Heck... even the changelings could help us in certain ways. They'd be amazing interrogators.
2952709
2952730
I believe Ponies are physically quite strong, akin to their terrestrial counterparts. Earth ponies would be more durable and have more endurance, with a "sixth-sense" that utilizes their connection to the natural world around them. Unicorns have magic, at the cost of endurance and fortitude. and Pegasi are a mid-ground on durability and endurance, with heightened agility and elemental resistances.
Mentally, most are quite willing to put themselves in danger to help their friends and loved ones, but they grow weary of combat faster than humans. They are also more prone to the psychological traumas associated with combat.
I just had a thought... Pinkie with Psi abilities. That would be frightening, if I didn't already think she had some kind of chaos magic akin to Discord's.
...........And THAT my children is why I am such an ass for jumping to conclusions......
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go hide in shame.
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Ah, Vahlen has ceased being a bitch queen and returned to the realm of normal human emotions. I am content.
That phone call though, so many feels... The good doctor seriously needs a hug.
I can't wait to see how her personality is changed from this little episode, or whether she'll try to hide it from the rest of the staff. So many questions, the next chapter must arrive sooner rather than later!
Oh yeah, there's also the cliffhanger with the letters. I suppose I'm curious about those too.
2953790 I'm howling at the moon, whatever did we do, to make you take away the woooorld?!!!
0-0 holy cheesetits. Talk about long range messages.
2954677
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8hJddMR8ZU
I can´t shake the feeling that Twilight got those scrolls as a reward for completed objective.
Zomg. Instant progress just add Spike. Who needs the Ansible anyway? Dragonbreath is way cooler.
Nice to see Vahlen explained, too.
If Bradford acted anything like I do when playing XCOM then the next Council call would go something like this;
Zero: The Council has come to the dicision that Project Stardust should be trans-
*scroll hits screen*
Zero: ...fered to a more sec-
*another scroll hits the screen*
Zero: ...ure loca-
*third scroll hits the screen*
Zero: ...tion... Bradford, what are you doing?
Bradford: Waiting for you to hear the sound of progress.
2952709
Prey species have a massive advantage over predators, in that they are generally not a single injury away from starving to death. Where as herbivores doesn't exactly need to be in peak fittness to eat plants.
This allows some prey spieces to be amazingly aggressive with little regard for personal safety as they have a safety net in terms of being herd animals and not requiring to be uninjured to catch thier food.
The Hippopotamus, is one of the most aggressive creatures on Earth and it's a plant eater.
Oh gosh, Vahlen! No one deserves such a fate.
And now the Xenos/X-rays will pay.
2955087
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Ungh... the full phone call was heavy.
I mean, when I translated the first part of the call for the chapter "Decisions" I was already guessing that it would end up with Erika and her father dead, killed by the invaders.
It definitly explains why Vahlen hated Twilight with such a passion.
Equestria is so threatening that it takes an entire high school to beat it!
ERMAGHERD