Intermission: Intrusion in progress…
“Don’t worry. I’m not supposed to be here either.”
Several weeks ago…
Nopony ever looked twice at a lowly recruit dashing back and forth from office to office, coffee in hoof and mail bag flapping behind him. It also really helped that Severe Turbulence had the most generic-looking face possible, which in turn made him hard to remember. A little mane dye to paint his outstandingly yellow mane a more generic shade of pastel orange to match his equally generic sky blue coat, and suddenly he was impossible to pinpoint in a crowd—something that he used to his advantage.
One stolen coltfriend’s uniform and four stolen “venti” coffees (plus convenient holder) later, Turbulence simply rushed right into the auxiliary data center and picked up the first mail bag that he found, all without being given a second glance. Entry had been the easy part—obtaining the data that he’d been hired to find was the hard part.
He’d managed to already bluff his way past two NCOs and their lackeys, but the locked door in his face proved to be just enough to halt progress. There wasn’t a keypad to examine or even a pressure-sensitive cloud anywhere—this was a simple lock, which needed a simple key to get past. Ironically enough, the only reason he needed to get into this room was because he needed yet another key open yet another door.
As not to look too suspicious to the scattering of ponies still doing their work, Turbulence placed the coffee holder on the floor and pretended to pat himself down for keys whilst he thought of another option. Lockpick? Didn’t bring anything besides the PDA. Break down the door? Definitely a no. Steal the keys? It was harder to tell who would have the keys to General Silverbolt’s office.
“You there! ‘Scuse me!” somepony called out, obviously pointed in Turbulence’s direction, but he chose to ignore it in favor of digging through the pockets of the mail bag for anything he could use to knock out a fully-grown stallion.
A hoof landed on Turbulence’s shoulder and he spun around, hoof still resting on the box cutter he’d just found buried in all the mail. “Yo. How can I help you, sir?” Just in case he hadn’t been blown, a nonchalant greeting would do for the time being.
The pudgy old stallion expectantly held out his hoof. “I’d like my mail, please.”
Turbulence didn’t miss a beat. “I’ll see if I’ve got it on me right now, but don’t count on it. Some joker in Sorting thought it would be funny if they dumped all the morning mail into one box to save time. I’ve been goin’ up and down floors all day trying to deliver packages.” He took out a random parcel and waved it. “This guy is third floor, but these ones”—a few letters joined into the waving—“go to different floors as well. All my mail’s messed up.” With that, Turbulence dumped all the mail back into the bag before the officer could read any of the names.
“That’s too bad. I’m expecting a very important parcel.” The—Turbulence glanced at the rank patches on the pony’s lapels and gulped—Major sighed. “Darn.”
Since appearances needed to be kept, Turbulence pretended to carefully look through his stolen mail. “Yeah, I’m not seeing anything. How ‘bout this—tell me what it looks like and once I deliver the General’s mail I’ll personally go find your package and deliver it to your desk, asap. Sir.”
“The mail waits for nopony, I suppose.”
Turbulence allowed himself a grin as he thought to himself, Neither do spies.
The Major tilted his head. “Say, I don’t think I’ve seen you around before.”
“Stormy Storm, fourth floor runner. I’m usually not up here most of the time,” Turbulence bluffed, shaking the stolen mail bag again. “You know, mail things today.” He made a show of patting himself down again. “You wouldn’t happen to have a key to the General’s office, would you? M’boss explicitly told me to leave this dossier on his desk.”
“That’s not standard operating procedure, is it?” the Major asked.
Of course it wasn’t, which was why asking was a huge risk for Turbulence. “Hey, not my problem. The boss tells me what to do and I do it. Don’t shoot the messenger, sir.” He shrugged anyway, as if it was actually true. As an afterthought, he gestured at the coffee on the floor. “Coffee, sir?
“I’ll pass, thanks.” The Major examined Turbulence, searching for any signs of deceit. Unable to find any, the Major shrugged and produced a key from one of the pockets on his fatigues. “Don’t all you mail runners have keys to everything?”
“Fourth floor uses those new card lock things. Haven’t had a physical key key since I got here.” Turbulence chuckled, one wing behind his head and a hoof firmly on top of the box cutter—just in case. “Like I said, today’s been a weird day.”
The door unlocked and the Major nudged it open. “There you go, airpony. I expect my mail on my desk by the end of the day.” With that, the old officer ambled off to do other things.
Turbulence trotted in, making sure to call out, “Will do, sir!” over his shoulder. He shut the door and, as a precaution, locked it as well. Ha. Chump.
Down to business. General Silverbolt always kept a backup keycard hidden inside the framed picture of his family, according to the information that Turbulence had purchased. Just in case, a search through the rest of the desk wouldn’t hurt either.
Let’s see if you’ve got anything interesting in here, General. Unfortunately, there was only so much paperwork that could be considered remotely engaging before even Turbulence lost interest in it as well. Without anything to copy physical files with, all the documents would have to go back exactly where he’d found them.
Taking apart the photo frame wasn’t even a challenge. The ID card slipped out from between the backing and the picture, right into Turbulence’s waiting hooves. “Huh. Cute foals,” he muttered, examining the photo a bit more closely. Sans freakishly large wings on the red one, it seemed like the General had a happy little normal family at home. Picture frame replaced, it was time to continue the job.
Turbulence mentally ticked off acquiring the General’s ID card and proceeded to the next step: accessing the data center on the sixth floor using the newly-acquired card. Even at minimum staffing, there were still enough ponies around that might take notice of a mailpony trying to get into the backup data storage room.
To avoid any chances of being seen by anypony, especially that Major, Turbulence decided to jump out of the window and leisurely glide down to the sixth floor, where he gained a few more property damage points and hopped into somepony’s office.
Unfortunately, the office was still occupied.
“Ma’am.” Turbulence fished a random envelope from his stolen mail bag and offered it to the surprised mare with a dramatic flourish. “Mail.”
The small reddish-brown pegasus, seemingly some sort of office lackey as well, hesitantly took the envelope without giving it a look. “Uh… thanks?” She wouldn’t stop staring at Turbulence like he’d just broken a window lock and swooped right on in, which really bothered him greatly.
Turbulence bowed and doffed an invisible cap at the mare. “Efficiency is our priority. Have a nice day.” Before she could get another word in edgewise, he was out the door and quickly trotting down the hall. Every interaction increased the chances of detection, so grabbing the data and bugging out needed to happen in the next ten minutes.
“Six twenty three. Where the buck is six twenty three?” Turbulence muttered to himself as he trotted past doors. “Six fifteen, fourteen, nineteen, twelve, who the buck labeled these doors? They’re not even in order.”
It took a lot longer than necessary to find the right door, especially since six twenty three was right between six fifty nine and a janitor’s closet for absolutely no reason. If somepony even asks me to go kill the bucking architect of this building, I’ll bucking do it for free. Who even puts fifty nine and twenty three next to each other?
At least the General’s keycard worked. The door beeped once and unlocked, allowing Turbulence inside.
The data room was dominated by a single massive supercomputer—not a cloud computer, but an old pre-war supercomputer kept in tip-top shape. Another security gate locked with a keypad stood between it and Turbulence, but that wasn’t a problem. The seven-digit codes were on a predictable rotation—not really high security, but it was a backup database after all.
“Seven… three… five… five… six… zero… eight.” Turbulence took a step back after stabbing the last button, just in case an alarm triggered, the door electrified, or if the room would simply explode. This better damn work.
Once again, his informant had come through. Nothing stood between him and the server now.
A horrible, unthinkable thought crossed his mind. Unless the reports aren’t even here, which would make me angry enough to strangle a small animal. It was the one thing he hadn’t been able to verify before starting the job. Still, bits were bits and the hookers wouldn’t pay themselves.
Thankfully, there wasn’t any security on the server itself. Turbulence plugged his PDA into the terminal built into the side of the server’s humongous case and let the programming do the work. In a matter of minutes, his PDA had copied fifteen complete files.
“That’s funny… there should only be four of you.” Turbulence sat down and opened the first and newest report. Most of it was still classified and the other reports didn’t appear to be in any numerical sequence, but the simple existence of the files on this server was all that mattered.
Sample ID: 209-79
Duration: 3 Days.
Test Status: Stopped after Stage I tests.
Notes: Mutation of strain 205-4B. Weak protein shell creates structural instability. Consider harvesting genetic viable material for further study. See detailed research notes that follow. Refer to “Nexus” specimen files for annotations.
Status: New sample created (SID209-80F), SID209-79 destroyed.
Additional note: New sample redundant. Report removed.
Once again, Turbulence began to wonder what he had gotten himself into. Contents still not verified, he moved onto the next one.
Sample ID: 209-42
Duration: 7.3 Days.
Test Status: Stage II testing complete, tests terminated during Stage III testing.
Notes: This new strain seems promising, although it is unstable and volatile when dispersed aerobically. Researcher contracted SID209-42 during testing, pending observation. Consider returning to SID208-11 for a more stable version of the virus. See detailed research notes that follow. Refer to “Nexus” specimen files for annotations.
Status: Contained. 7 units preserved in storage, blueprint and notes logged.
Next. None of these were the right ones.
Sample ID: 206-98 “The Bees”
Duration: 18 Days.
Test Status: Completed, pending approval.
Notes: Although this version of the virus has been heavily modified for more subtle effects, there is still a high probability of transmitting the disease to other unintended hosts through bodily fluids and liquids. Unintended side effects include lethargy and vivid hallucinations. Under-performs to requirements. See detailed research notes that follow. Refer to “Nexus” specimen files for annotations.
Status: Strain viable. 25 units preserved in storage, all relevant research catalogued. New samples created for further study. (See annotations)
Turbulence began to wonder whether breaking into their cold storage could be worth a bonus. Crates of beer didn’t pay for themselves, either.
Sample ID: 205-01
Duration: 0.4 Hours
Test Status: Failed Stage I testing.
Notes: Specimen expired in the incubator. No research notes follow.
Status: SID205-01 destroyed.
Personal note from the Head Scientist: What idiot put this one together? HOW DID THIS HAPPEN WHY DID I HIRE THEM WHO EVEN SIGNED OFF ON THIS ONE?
“Heh. There’s always an idiot somewhere.”
Sample ID: 203-33B
Duration: 2 Days.
Test Status: Stage I testing completed.
Notes: This strain of the virus functions no differently to SID203-30. Testing discontinued to save resources. See detailed research notes that follow. Refer to “Nexus” specimen files for annotations.
Status: Strain viable. 1 unit preserved for records.
This “Nexus” specimen seemed like the file Turbulence was looking for, judging by the many references to it. All the files were dated from newest to oldest, so he scrolled to the bottom of the list. Sure enough, the last file in the list appeared to be exactly what he was looking for.
Sample ID: 198-23 “Nexus”
Duration: N/A
Test Status: Complete.
Notes: This is the recovered specimen being modified. The virus appears to have a very low reproductive yield with a very high efficiency rate. However, due to what appear to be manufacturing fallacies by the previous creator(s), pegasi appear to be immune due to the unique nature of their semi-avian blood cells; the virus simply remains dormant within the body. Testing on non-pegasus test subjects reveals the following: Irrational thought, hallucination, increased hyperactivity and outbursts of unprovoked violence. As the virus progressed, test subjects repeatedly voiced that they were hungry but refused to eat food offered to them, instead attempting to bite the researchers themselves. By the end of Stage V testing, eight of the ten test subjects had resorted to devouring their own flesh to sate their hunger. The other two displayed potential of free thought through the medium of very colorful death threats once restrained. All subjects were terminated or perished by the end of testing. The corpses have been preserved for future study and reference. See detailed research notes that follow.
Addendum: Pegasi with any of several specific genetic defects (all ranging from uncommon to rare; see attached list) have been proven to be susceptible to the virus to varying levels of severity. SID201-88U created to study.
Addendum: The virus appears to respond positively to certain combat drugs. Subjects that had experimented with drugs (tests revealed recreational or otherwise) appeared to have a weaker immune response to the virus, regardless of drug. Additional study on multiple subjects have revealed that the presence of certain drugs can negate a pegasus’s natural resistance to the virus. SID203-81B, SID203-84, and SID 203-87 should be divided for modification and testing.
Status: Multiple units stored for further manipulation and research. (See annotations)
Personal note from the Head Scientist: When the recon jocks said they hit a fruit cart for this stuff, they really weren’t kidding. Guy brings me an apple in a hazmat box and says “Science this, bitch.” Unbelievable. Anyway, whoever made this shit went through a lot of trouble trying to secretly test this stuff using the “care packages” that’ve been going down to the dirt-munchers. After initial analysis, I’ve noticed that this stuff is heavily modified—and we’re the only ones with the resources and time to do so. Stiffy thinks it’s the Thunderhead nerds, but there’s no way to confirm without running into all the red tape in the galaxy. There are markers in the genetic material that confirm my suspicions, but that’s really not my job to worry about it. Somepony’s going to get fired for losing their deadly pathogen, that’s for sure.
Turbulence smirked and tucked his PDA away. Thanks to that scientist, he had definitive proof that somepony had indeed stolen the shipment, knowing full well what its actual payload was. The research notes attached to it would probably confirm that this was the same stuff that his employer was looking for.
Suddenly, a foreleg appeared around Turbulence’s neck, seized him in a chokehold, and tried to push him to the ground. Being larger than his assailant, he didn’t budge and instead tried to find the box cutter in the mail bag before he blacked out. Elbowing the pony behind him didn’t even cause a grunt of pain.
“Woah there! Stand down, stand down!”
His assailant immediately allowed him to fall forward and gasp for breath. “As you wish, commander,” she droned. This wasn’t part of the plan. A double cross, then?
“Huh. Didn’t plan on seeing you here, Turbs,” the voice remarked. “This just got awkward.”
Turbulence knew that voice. He’d been hired by that same pony in the past several times. “Eight Gauge, is that you? You sound different without my dick in your mouth.”
“It’s Twelve Gauge, you asswipe.”
“Whatever.” Turbulence pulled himself back up into an upright position to confront the two ponies in the room with him. Twelve was definitely the bluish stallion in the back, still sporting his really stupid bronze-colored crewcut with an annoyed scowl on his face. Turbulence didn’t recognize the little teal mare standing slightly in front of him, but the vacant stare she was giving him was curiously perturbing.
Being the charmer he was, Turbulence decided that he needed to introduce himself. “Name’s Turbulence. Severe Turbulence.” He held out his hoof to the mare and tried not to stare at the gaudy blue stripe running through her white mane. “And yours, madam?”
The mare didn’t respond. In fact, she seemed to not even notice that she was being spoken to.
Twelve took a step forward and shoved the mare out of the way, who simply tottered to the side and took much longer than expected to recover her footing. “Enough with the small talk. What’re you doing here?”
“This place is haunted. Would you believe I’m an exorcist?”
“…No.”
The box cutter seemed like a very good idea to Turbulence at the moment, but it was possible that he could still talk his way out of the situation he’d found himself in. “So… commander, huh? When’d that happen?”
“It hasn’t happened yet, but I still outrank you.”
Confusion set in. “But she just called you—”
“Oh, she’s just sort of stuck like that for the moment.” Twelve gestured at the mare who was pointlessly—and still just as vacantly—staring at the wall. “It’s her go-to response.”
There were many words to describe a pony, but “stuck” usually wasn’t one of them. Peculiar wording aside, Turbulence still needed a way out with the data he’d just stolen. Twelve and the mare probably didn’t know just yet, since he’d managed to tuck away his PDA just in time.
“Hold on, don’t you dare change the topic. I’m going to ask you one more time: what are you doing here?” Twelve snapped.
Turbulence smirked. “I’m just trying to download the latest episode of ‘Honey, Where Are My Horseshoes?’. I can’t stop watching that show.” He needed to buy time until a plan could come together.
“How do you even manage to watch that show? It’s just half an hour of some retard walking around a house yelling about his lack of hoofwear.”
“But that character development!” Turbulence briefly considered the air vents. No, that leads right into the air conditioner. That, and this mare’s smaller than I am so she’ll have the upper hoof.
“What character development? He literally does nothing but ask where his horseshoes are for the entire episode!” It was a mind-numbing show and a terrible excuse, but Twelve still hadn’t caught on. “Hey, stop changing the subject!”
Or maybe he did. Curses.
There wasn’t anything in the room that would function as a weapon to incapacitate a stallion, let alone two battle-ready pegasi. “Look, I’ve got places to go and ponies to k–meet. We done here?” It was only after Turbulence had said that when he realized that wasn’t his best attempt at ending a conversation.
“I’m going to ask you one more time. What the buck are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” An idea came to Turbulence’s mind which could potentially buy him some time. Maybe if I can trap them behind the security gate, I can get out of here scot-free. “I’m doing maintenance on the server, buddy. What’re you two doing in here?”
Twelve snorted impatiently. “That’s it. Airpony, apprehend.”
The mare suddenly snapped to attention. “As you wish, commander.” She turned and pounced impossibly fast, showing no sign of the clumsiness that Turbulence had noticed earlier. Before he knew it, he found himself face-first against the tile with his wings and forelegs pinned behind his back.
“Let’s face it, Turbs. I know how you work, and meeting you here isn’t a coincidence. You’re after our research notes, aren’t you? Because, coincidentally enough, so are we.”
Turbulence didn’t answer, on account of the increasing amount of pressure being put toward bending his wings the wrong way. With no way out, he hoped that Twelve would monologue long enough for an opportunity to reveal itself.
“Who’s paying? It’s somepony from Thunderhead, isn’t it?”
“C’mon. You know how this’ll work. I’ll say no, you’ll guess again, I’ll mislead you, you’ll believe it, then you’ll get into trouble and none of us are any better off. I have never failed on a mission, Commander. Any mission.”
Twelve tapped his chin in thought. “In that case, one of use is bound to end up gravely disappointed, because neither have I. Airpony, break his wing.”
“Your wish is my command.” The mare on Turbulence’s back twisted her body for better leverage. She gripped the base of his right wing in her teeth and pulled backward until it made a cringe-inducing cracking noise.
“Aaaugh!” Turbulence screamed. “My wing!”
Disregarding the other pony’s discomfort, Twelve groaned and facehoofed. “I meant the other wing. The one that you were already holding onto.”
What could almost count as disappointment surfaced in the mare’s eyes for a brief, fleeting, moment. “Right away, sir.” Obediently, she carried out the mirrored action for Turbulence’s other wing and forcibly dislocated it with a hideous pop.
The sounds of Turbulence screaming were drowned out by Twelve shouting, “No, no—that’s not what—ugh, never mind.”
Turbulence was starting to feel that he wasn’t being paid enough to die for somepony else’s cause. Well, it was that and his tortured wings sending waves of pain that kept him from coming up with any other methods of escape. It was time to spill the beans, in the name of being able to fly again.
“Buck! I don’t know, okay? You know how I work—no names, no faces. It’s somepony from Thunderhead and that’s all I know!”
Somepony at Thunderhead must have noticed something was wrong and was trying to find out exactly who was responsible for the string of “unfortunate accidents” happening to their research. Pieces of the puzzle were suddenly coming together in Turbulence’s mind with the reports he’d just read. Neighvarro operatives must have hit the Volunteer Corps’s caravan in transit, knowing full well what its true purpose was. They’d then gone and had their science ponies repurpose the virus for their own means.
“Anything else you’d like to share?”
This much pain wasn’t worth the money he’d been paid, that was for sure. “They knew how this tricky shit went. They set a drop point, backup drop, surveillance, everything. Big league stuff,” Turbulence cried. “Just heal me up and let me go on my way already!”
Twelve thought about it for a moment. “Alright. Turn over the uniform, the bag, and whatever’s up your butt.”
“There’s nothing in my butt!” Turbulence lied, trying not to bring attention to his hindquarters. “That was one time, and you know it.”
Of course, the last time the two of them were on the same “team”, and Twelve’s other operative that had tagged along didn’t really want to touch the handle of the flip-knife that Turbulence had produced. As uncomfortable as it was, a safety knife up the butt had actually saved his hide exactly twice.
“Airpony, keep him restrained. If he struggles while I confiscate his tools, we’re going to have problems.” Thankfully, Twelve hadn’t decided to have his lackey shove her hoof up his bum to verify.
“Yes, commander.” The mare on Turbulence’s back tightened her hold on his forelegs. Not that he was even struggling to begin with, since his wings were still killing him.
With nowhere to go, Turbulence was forced to painfully lie on the ground as Twelve finally found the PDA with the reports on it. “What’s this then? Looks like you’ve been busy.”
“That’s all I found, okay?”
“And I believe you. Airpony, tie him up and treat him. We’re bringing him with us once I get the data transfer done.” Twelve turned away and began to do things with the terminal.
“As you wish, commander.” The mare abruptly snapped Turbulence’s left wing back into place, making him cry out in pain.
Twelve chuckled. “It’s a good thing this room is soundproofed. Otherwise it might sound like somepony’s getting raped in here.”
“That’s not—ow, shit—funny!” Turbulence growled as the mare roughly pulled his right wing back into alignment. “Only assholes make ra—”
He was interrupted by the mare cramming a potion vial into his mouth. “Drink.”
As he drank, his wing mended itself thanks to the power of magic. The mare quickly produced a pair of cable ties and tied his legs together in the meantime.
“The reports have been moved and the existence of the project no longer exists.” Twelve returned to observe the mare’s handiwork, apparently finished with whatever he needed to do. “Good job, airpony.”
“Thank you, sir,” she emotionlessly droned.
“You know what? Have a treat.” Twelve tapped the mare’s jaw and pulled out a small pouch from the pocket of his fatigues, carefully shaking out a small red candy. “Open.”
Obediently, she opened her mouth and waited.
He tossed it into her mouth and pocketed the pouch while the mare contentedly sucked on the candy, finally showing another expression other than “neutral”.
Satisfied, Twelve headed toward the door. “Come along now, Frosty. Don’t forget the spy.”
The mare nodded and effortlessly threw Turbulence onto her back. “I understand, and will obey.”
Footnote: Memory unlocked.
WHAAAAAAAT.... she was a mindless drone?
Bobulator, this chapter is giving me chills! Project Horizons, Oulaw, Memories... eheheheh…
This wasn't in the older version. What are you planning? I'm trying to guess how Frosty's gonna react to this. Once again, a good chapter, speaking volumes of the hidden side of the Enclave.
Okay, this is new.
And I find myself more interested then I was previously.
Continue...
It was the super OP mindhax bs that the enclave love to do
Whaaaat?
Hm, yeah some things make more sense, now.
That explains the dick in her head telling her to do shit. This is definitely going to be a problem for her in the future.
Somepony among the military cared for art projects, and there is an actual Enclave culture? Do they maybe have an "official" collection of media approved by the government?
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I like to think it's all super controlled nonsense propaganda because that's how a government works. That, and I just watched the Lego Movie.
...who downvoted this?
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Does that make Rumcake Alfred, then?
3998864
Spot the multireference! I'm so witty.
4009158
You don't even know a fifth of the references I've thrown into this story!
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And neither do any of us editors! And neither does Bobulator himself—sometimes I'll highlight a weird thing and ask what it's a reference to, and his answer is "I don't remember".
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Holy poops someone actually got it. HOLY POOPS SOMEONE ACTUALLY GOT IT
4030858 How could anyone NOT get it?
I've actually got at LEAST 87.9% of all the references so far.....
This story is Fan-Tas-Tic!
This is the part where I claim "cruel and unusual punishment" for leaving us in suspense. How could you do such a heinous act?
Anyhow, I can't wait for the next chapter to be uploaded.
Wait, was this intermission canon?
Good help is so hard to brainwash.
Enclave. Simply put, I hate everything they stand for.
Yay a short one! And I have no bucking clue what to expect from the 'intermission'
Given how fast everything passes in this fic, are we talking back around the time she was on the mission to Old Ol'neigh, Sometime before that, or back when she was still in training in Enclave Boot Camp?
True, amazing how much you can get away with if you ust look like you know what you are doing and carry around some kind of paperwork or drinks.
Wait... this isn't from Frosty's POV? Well then, this is interesting, so what's going on? Also, can't tell if that's a crack about how all the ponies pretty much look the same except color or not....
Hmmmmmm, so is this going to be comedic and all this effort is for what amounts to a punchline... or serious and this is really an infiltration.. and where are we? Up in the Enclave? Or, something on the surface? Wait, coffee, rare on the surface, and something only higher ups in the Enclave get, so... Enclave. Though, that assumes the story remembers it's own details...... See story this is why consistency is important.
So Enclave for sure. Hmmm, this should be before Frosty's trip to the surface, so how does she play into this?
Of course.
That just sounds weird, think it should have been 'So as not to'
The what? I hope the stands for something other then what it stands for.
Okay so, less and less likely to be a punchline set up, and more and more something serious, so, how is this going to elate to the rest of the story?
Ohhhh nice cover. Very nice. This guy's smart, quick, now if I just had any clue who he was and what he was doing.
Wait, how the buck are there spies in the Enclave? Who the buck is spying on them? How? Why? What the buck is going on?
Really? Your going with that name? Okay maybe you aren't as smart as I thought you were.
Then again.. outside the name, he's really good at this. Right attitude, just blame things on somepony above you and act all "Well I'm just doing what I was told, even if it's stupid. Blame the boss." That will get you so far, and add in coffee.. how the hell is there a spy, THIS experienced in the Enclave? Working, to get something from the Enclave?
Turbulence aced is Bluff check? Or does the Major just have a shitty Sense Motive skill?
That makes no sense, one of the main problems the Enclave had was stagnation. They didn't have the resources to innovate a lot, they were scrounging what little pre-war tech they could, had almost no raw material left, why would they be making some kind of fancy new lock that relies on some tech nopony else has, meaning they had to create, when creating new tech is something they didn't really have a lot of interest in. Could have just said you only have keys for the floor he normally works on.
Okay so he is a Pegasus. Was kind of wondering if maybe he was from the Steel rangers and just had a cloud walking spell. Up here to spy for them... hmmmm, Redeye maybe? Would need an explanation how he got a pegasus working for him but, given this is Redeye, I could believe he did somehow.
And checked the link, so, characters from another FoE story.. so just a cameo, or does this make more sense in relation to that fic's story?
Yeah I broke out laughing at the one, very nice. This guy is good, knows just how to act, and, again just being that confident, the sure of yourself, and acting like you belong can get you so much further then trying to be sneaky.
Or perhaps they are ordered in a fashion that is far beyond your limited understanding...... Or the pony that did it was some idiot that only worked there because he was a relative of come council member.
Given how long the Enclave has been sitting without resources to build new stuff, likely he's already dead. Also, not sure if reference I just don't get or not. But, only think it might be because, well, Genre Savvy pretty much, so if it was one, very well done one.
Hmmmmm, okay I can buy it. Yeah they had to have some kind of advanced mainframes. Yeah there were only three Crusader's ever created, but those were just the best and most advanced super-computers, nothing says there couldn't be less powerful ones that nonetheless were better then the majority of other computers.
Okay, so, just doing it for that or, just a joke? An, Enclave still using bits, makes sense, but just adds to how the buck did Frosty get the hang of caps so quick without anypony ever telling her about them.
Not sure.. no no am sure, do not think I like that. A PDA.. seems a bit higher tech then what Pre-War Equestria could come up with. Yeah they had terminals, but the only remote, portable hard drives and computer tech we've seen is the Pip-Buck. Then again, they do have PipBucks, so they have the tech for that, and it's likely a lot less advanced, just data storage, no SATS, EFS, etc.... so, the overall idea of it, yeah can work, think it's just the name I don't like.
Protein Shell? Okay that means it's likely something very small, like single cell type. And mutation.. or are they experimenting with IMP and it's the celluar damage that killed... wait, strain, phase I, protein shell..... is this them working on biological warfare? The disease that Frosty has!?
This, just got a whole lot more interesting.....
Holy SHIT! Okay, so, ummmmm, this better have a good explanation for what is going on but, damn....... while I did say the Enclave didn't really have the resources to innovate, that's more in the, upgrade equipment, build things... stuff like this.. yeah I could see them being able to R&D. But why? What is the virus supposed to be used for? Wait..... Frosty possibly has it... Raider Frosty... this isn't the stupid Raider virus idea is it? Please don't tell me it's that....
"Bees, my God."
Lethargy, and hallucinations!? What the fuck did they give Forsty, why? how? Is that the caused of the Head!Frosites? Please no, I like them, I don't want them to just be... well then again, either way they really are just hallucinations of Frosty, mental images. So caused by the virus instead of whatever it was the ripped out her memories? And, transmissible by bodily fluids, and not intended, so they aren't meaning this to be a plague if they don't want it easily transmittable, so what does it do? Also, better watch out Rummy.
Okay, I really want to know what that one was about.
Nice touch, and just goes along with my points above about the limited resources the Enclave had.
So, Frosty is okay, and her issues aren't the result of the disease, she' just a carrier?
Wait, is this that stupid "raider virus" thing? I thought you hated PH...
Orrrr not... Okay, not raiders, but, zombies? Recovered.... is this the virus that turned the Everfree forest into, well the death trap it is?
So Frosty isn't immune, just, has a lessened effect on her? So, this is the cause of Raider!Frosty and her love of blood?
No, she started immune, and the drugs caused it to activate and start working on her... it was only after that massive hit of drugs raider Frosty showed up.. but seriously, you aren't claiming this is at all related to any of the bullshit from "FoE done right, only totally fucking over everything that was good about it" is it?
it is isn't it..... oh..... *(^%*(^&%$#%*(&%)(^*&$()*^&$*(&^*$#*()^&)*&#_&^)*($%
Seriously, why? WHY!? Why connect your story to something that does nothing but insult, retcon, screw over, and make an utter mockery of everything FoE was about. And using some of the shit that IS part other outright "Fuck You!" it gives to the original through utterly rewriting shit, just because Somber either wasn't paying any attention or just didn't give a fuck and wanted to retcon shit to fit his story.
You cannot be an FoE fic, and have PH also happen, they are mutually exclusive, PH goes out it's way to fuck over every damn part of the original it can, why WHY! Why ruin an other wise amazing story by tying it to one that.. that... to that fucking piece of shit sadistic fuck over of everything the story you claimed to be setting your story in the same verse stands for!?
This is another reason I fucking loathe PH so much, it not only screws over everything good about the original, screams how it's the 'real' story, while being utterly revolting and insulting about it, but it's a fucking cancer that spreads everywhere, you can't fucking escape it's malignant crap.
And it goes on... not just the raider virus, not just a little bit hinting at stuff, but this whole chapter relies in Somber's fucked up, retcon, screw you Kkat My story is better, horseshit take on the Enclave? I was really REALLY hoping this wasn't the case but, yup... so... bother going on with the story at all at this point if it's a PH fic instead of a FoE one?
Sorry.. just... you have no idea the depths of my utter and total loathing for ANYTHING tainted by that abomination that is PH or Somber. And, bringing that fucking bullshit into your story, ruining any chance of being an FoE fic by using shit that not only isn't possible in that verse, but outright goes against everything it stands for!? Just, seeing it come up is enough to trigger... yeah it's pretty much a trigger for me.. blame Somber and is "rape is the only way characters can develop and everypony needs to be raped because being raped is the best form of character development" bullshit. Or just how damn much FoE means to me, and how utterly fucking horrible every single aspect of PH is and how badly it completely screws over every single aspect of the original that meant anything in pursuit of it's own glorious "I'm the real story while being an utter mess of pain suffering and not even being able to be my on story despite having to totally rewrite another one to exist." it's is... it is something that I will rant on endlessly about
Why, WHY!. Why bring that fucking bullshit into this?
Frosty? So memory issues are a result of something else? Somepony was fucking with her head even back then?
haha Yeah something like that..... doesn't exist. And, so in a secure data center for that? Yeah, so much for smart...
Yup, going right into PH grimdark fuck you and everything you sand for FoE territory. Though, some restraint, if this was Somber, he's just rip it off.
If I had any room for emotions but rage, hatred and disappointment for tying a story into one so sick, fucked up and that I can't stand even the mention of, that might be funny.
&(*^($*A035*)(&$86&*q#_(&*()$&(*&^$()*w&^)*(_^*(
WHY!?!?!?!?! Why fucking bring in that gooddamn, screw you Kkat, cannot exist with the REAL story crap from another story and ruin your own by association!? Why!?
Oh hahahaha
Seriously story..... if you want to be a PH fic instead of a FoE fic you should have said that from the start so I knew not to even bother starting you.
This means something and would give me stuff to talk about if..... I wasn't to fucking upset over this turning out to not be an FoE story.
And ruins the story by being so and making the fucking crap from PH part of the story, thus making it NOT and FoE story.
overall, worst chapter of the story.
See in my review I said that the What mattered to me more then the how, remember? And, here the how... is actually pretty damn good, best in the story so far.
But the what... is so utterly fucking repulsive triggering and horrendous just by including shit from THAT fucking cancerous mass of retcons and suffering... it taints and nearly ruins this story now.
Sorry, PH and me...... this was just a minor taste of the utter and total loathing I feel for ANYTHING connected to the fucking pathetic excuse for a insult to FoE.
why!> Why would you included something from the piece of shit insult? And not just part of it, but one of that parts that IS an outright "Fuck you Kakt this is MY story now" piece of retcon bullcrap that goes against everything from the original and shows how little Somber gave a fuck about it and cared only about shoving his own "right' version of the story down people's throats.. and now, infecting other stories with that bullshit. Do you see how fucking wrong and bullshit everything about Ph is? And you include parts of it that outright contradict the original .
And it's now ALL part of your story, turning it from a fun, good story, into, a twisted mockery of FoE.
5130474 Uuuuuuuuuugh.
Uuuuuuuuuuuuugh.
Memories DOES NOT consider Project Horizons canon. I repeat: DOES NOT.
However, it did used to be part of PH's verse. But then Bobulator started hating the story. One of the goals of this big re-edit was to remove all PH references, and in the original version there were plenty before this chapter.
However, Raider Frosty is a pretty big deal, so this is one part of PH that unfortunately couldn't be removed. Instead, it was simply altered (the disease now has slightly different characteristics, and the politics are now quite different than what's shown in PH). This chapter wasn't in the original version of the story—it was written so that the story would stand on its own without the reader having any PH knowledge. This is the first and last time anything from PH shows up in this story, but it's necessary because there's no other good way to explain Raider Frosty (and normal Frosty's ongoing descent into insanity).
Nothing else from PH is canon. This is one specific Lego brick that's been borrowed from PH and added into here. Just roll with it.
5130776 Okay, not PH, just using some idea from it, while hopefully making it not result in <insert rant about PH and what it does to FoE here>
Really should have warned my about that.
Okay, most of that was just.. yeah that's my reaction to PH being brought up.. and that was me restraining it.. i LOATHE that fucking.. thing. And Somber for, well a long list of things and, just either of them popping up is enough to set me off. So, just, let the PH fuels stress bleed off and I'll go back to check out the rest of it looking at without an connection to... something else....
...what. Okay, this chapter is mostly references, some of which I get, but that raises further questions of how far they relate.
I laughed way too hard at this.
5130474
Wow, i kinda get the feeling that you might take the whole "FoE vs PH" thing a tiny bit to serious...
5626913 .... you have no freaking idea how much I loathe that thing.
5627654 Your comment showed that its propably somewhere around a "metric-fuck-ton" on a scale of one to fucked.
But yeah, thats what i found strange, as ive never before seen someone hate a "story" so much, except the Twilight Saga (the sparkle vampire crap), still makes me wonder why exactly, but guess thats not a conversation for this comment section.
Dude, this is so incredibly immersive, I think mxr himself would she'd a tear.
R.I.P, our grey angel. There will always be "Tommrrow".
So now that my lore breaking, somewhat spoiled balefire egg has been dropped on this comment section, time for my actual comment.
Great job.
what? Too generic for you?
I sure hope not, because that's most of what I got to say.
you did an excellent job explaining things clearly and cleanly with a good reason, while also explaining how this can fit into the lore because of Frosty's involvement, since it seems she was "stuck" in some mentality or motion.
but "stuck" does not equate "Completely unaware".
Unless they messed with the part of her brain responsible for creating memories, it's likely her memory is just "repressed".
It's a form of amnesia, actually. But with magic, I wouldn't be surprised if there was some third element to it.
It also does a good job dispaying her skills, completely unrestrained by any personal thoughts. It tells just how skilled she is-likely why she was the unfortunate pick for this "Twelve Guage" fellow.