//------------------------------// // 7. Changing Times // Story: Millennia: Eye of the Storm // by Thunderblast //------------------------------// "All right, ponies, listen closely," Shadow began, all gazes in the room turning his direction. "Central Command is ordering the fleet to ship out some time within the upcoming month. Filed reports are telling us that Intelligence is picking up mysterious energy readings and radio signatures from five different locations ranging from eighty-six nautical miles due east, to about two-hundred and sixty nautical miles in a circular radius. "Their sources are unknown, although, our mission is to investigate said readings, and as quickly as possible. On top of that, we have reason to believe the Eastern Kingdoms, as well as the sovereign states on the same continent, Ajerstan and Foscovia to be more precise, are suspicious over the readings as well, and may also be preparing for an ocean-wide search," he thoroughly explained. One sailor raised his hoof. Shadow glanced in his direction and nodded. "Why is this such a concern, sir? If they are just as confused over this information, what is the issue with them joining in on our search?" The sailor questioned, his hoof lowering. "Well, I am pleased for you to ask, because that is the next important topic. The majority of you are not aware of the present situation between our fair nation and Ajerstan," Shadow replied, ending off rather grimly. "Ajerstan has been the focus by not just Equestria, but many other countries as well throughout recent years. These 'recent years' date back as far as thirty-two years in the past. We have kept a watchful eye for all of this time, recognizing the moves they have made that go against international law, and aggressive gestures at larger nations, such as our own. "More so, the region of the Antlertic in which we are under order to scan is still rather close to Equestria's coasts. In fact, they are still considered to be our waters. If the Ajerstanian Navy were to make any sort of movement, as quoted by Central Command, we as a fleet have every right in the book to defend Equestria against their vessels," Shadow lightly stomped a hoof down stoically. The tension and even fear developed quickly throughout the darkened room. Some of the sailors chatted silently over the matter, only prompting Shadow to whistle vehemently. Everypony's heads snapped back forward, the room now silent enough to hear a pin drop. "It is imperative that every pony in this room remains sharp and alert. There is much to be done in such a limited amount of time. Those who are a member of my bridge crew, I ask of you to stay put. The rest of you, head home and prepare, only pack what is necessary. Think of it as a typical deployment, which it still is, in a certain way. Dismissed." The majority of the sailors in the room stood and collected their paperwork, filing out through the door and clearing quite a bit of space in the room. Now it felt less awkward to be the only Marine in there. "I wished to keep this discussion less conspicuous and between us on the bridge. Miles of information and reports received from the Equestrian Weather Association, as well as atmospheric experts, are expressing concern for the upcoming hurricane season," Shadow said, albeit quieter between the eight of us. "Will it be more intense this year, sir?" I asked, shifting in my seat. "More intense, and earlier than the ordinary, according to readings collected by numerous weather stations and buoys. Oceanic temperatures are warmer than average, too, despite the frigid winter we had this past year." Shadow's head cocked slightly, then he furrowed an eyebrow. "How are you previously aware of this, Lance Corporal?" "I watched a lot of the National Weather Channel over leave," rather directly I replied. A quiet chuckle came from the others, cracking a faint smile on my muzzle while I fiddled with a pen in-hoof. "Right, then. Moving on," Shadow cleared his throat, once more bringing on a room-wide silence. "The weather is one more concern we should have on our minds while we are at sea. All of us are well aware of how rapid things can change. If all truly hits the prop, the mission may very well be scrubbed." With the click of a button, the screen projector turned off, and the room became lighter. "If this is all clear, then perfect. Navigation Officer, Radarpony, your only assignment for the moment is to determine a strategy of attack—er, route plan. One to ensure all positions are examined, before looping back home. Assuming all goes according to plan, we should be making port within a month. Any further questions?" *** Later on that evening, the heavy workload gathered, signaling late nights ahead. Already my fragile circadian rhythm had begun to crack. Nonetheless, one week was my deadline. After that, one more week of fire watch, then deployment. Simple enough. On the sunnier end of the matter, a laptop was provided to aid in organization of maps and other data necessary to get the job done. A nice one at that. For a hefty price, it could be mine permanently. But, until my next paycheck, it belonged to the Technical Corps, the IT side of the Lunar Navy and Marines combined. "Wow. Nice computer, Star. Where'd ya get it?" Nightpath questioned, breaking my focus briefly. "Oh, this? It's not mine. Not yet, at least. I am just using it for work," I returned my gaze to the screen. Night nodded, then noticed the small array of maps strewn across my bed and frowned. "Let me guess, it's for deployment?" "Afraid so. If you came to the briefing, you would know that," I retorted, glancing briefly at him. "What briefing? I was asleep!" Night responded in an obvious-fake innocent tone. "Well, to be fair, every pony in there was a squid. I stood out of the crowd," I said, tapping a pencil to my chin and scribbling down on a blank piece of paper. "Oh. Well, that makes better sense," Night shrugged, slipping his jacket on. "All right, I'll see you tomorrow, I guess. Don't stay up too late on that, you hear?" "I will try," I nodded to him. "Stay warm." Night rolled his eyes from the door. "Two days and it will be March, it surely cannot still be that cold outside at night," he grumbled as he exited the room. At last, some peace and quiet. Not that he was much of a bother to begin with. This was tougher than I had previously conceived. Perhaps I'd be better off without using this damn laptop. None of the programs made any sense whatsoever! Constantly I would find myself clicking on the wrong tab, and more confusion is caused between sets of data that were copied on to the screen. Of course, the last time my hooves laid on any sort of computer was during the last deployment, and that had to be four months ago, or longer. Since the attacks, no ships have left port. The Eclipse only just returned from the repair docks in the south port, and quite nearly every system on board needed to be reset entirely. Simply imagining having to use a new operating system altogether was stressful on its own. About two hours in now, I dropped the pencil and rubbed my temples with both hooves, blinking slowly as I kept my gaze on the bright, migraine-inducing screen filled to the brim with conflicting information. Just then, a knock came on the door. Finally, an excuse to leave the work alone for a moment. Opening the door, I was met with a familiar face. "Oh, Sea Watch. What brings you here?" I blinked twice. "Seeing as you are the Eclipse's radarpony, I hoped we could work together on the plans," said the bluish-green earth pony, one hoof looped around another closed laptop and held to his chest. He was missing his cover, likely being off duty. If he is having similar problems, how could I possibly help him? "Sure." Damn my stupid mouth. The stallion smiled. "Thank you so much, you're a true lifesaver," Sea said as he stepped inside. "Not a problem," it was a problem. Yet I continued to smile and walk back with him. "So, what are you caught on?" Sea Watch nervously chuckled. "Where do I begin?" *** Nightpath entered the room, taking his cover off with a hoof and closing the door with a soft click. Without pausing, he made his way back into the tiny bedroom, only to freeze right in the end of the small corridor just beyond the bathroom door, staring with a raised brow at the bewildering sight before him. An audible clearing of his throat had me awake within a couple of moments, leaning upright and squinting gently at the room's brightness. There stood the larger brown stallion, head slightly cocked. Yawning and stretching my hooves out, I spoke. "Morning. Why are you staring like th—" At some point late the evening prior, both myself and Sea Watch had passed out right on the spot. Evidently, it had to have been simultaneous, otherwise he would have gotten up and left. What had me in a whole heap of shock was the fact that the spot in which I laid partially overlapped with the earth pony. Now, I found myself with a face full of red, and a racing mind searching for explanation. "I-it's not what it looks like, Night!" I squealed out, inadvertently waking a slumbering Sea Watch. "Really?" Nightpath stared blankly, giving that 'don't-you-lie-to-me' look any pony could make out with a fast glance. "Hmmh..." Sea groaned, sitting upright and looking around, eyelids just narrowly cracked. "Oh man, did I fall asleep on you, Star?" "You're not helping!" I grumbled, smacking my forehead with a hoof and proceeding to hide much of my face. Recoiling, Sea nodded, then glanced to Nightpath. "This your roommate?" "He's my roommate, thank you very much," replied the brown pony with a tone of aggression, though it was faint. "Star, can I talk to you in private for a second?" I stood up, awkwardly heading to the kitchen with him. "Night, I can assure you, it's strictly not what it looks like! We were working late, and we—" He raised his hoof to stop me. "Forget about that, there's something I need to tell you." I stopped, blinking. "What is it?" "Silver and Anchorage are heading up north, wanted to know if we were interested in going with them." "I... can't. I'm sorry," I shook my head. "I have a ton—we have—a ton of work to get done. We cannot wait to finish this." "They're seeing Solar up at Valor Lake." At that moment, time froze. "What?" "They are going up to Valor Lake to see Solar before we deploy again," Night's ears fell back slightly. Gradually my rear fell to the floor. My eyes glassed over. "When are they going?" "Later today. Anchorage figured the sooner they go, the better, and the quicker they can get things done the moment they come back." I gulped down a thick lump blocking my throat. "We can't not go, Night. It wouldn't be morally right." "I am aware of that. I told them I would ask a little in advance in case you literally couldn't—" "No, no. I'll go." Night nodded once. "All right." He proceeded to head back to his bed, strip off his uniform, then into the bathroom to freshen up. I simply walked back and put on my jacket from yesterday and grabbed my cover. "Sorry, but I have to go," then left. "Hey! What happened?" Sea called, perplexed as ever.