//------------------------------// // Chapter 22: Suspicions // Story: Warframe: Equestria // by Urimas Ebonheart //------------------------------// POV: Karn / Location: Equus - Equestrian Plains - Outside the Liset "Alright. Take an hour break and get something to eat. We'll continue training after that," I tell them. They cheer and head back into the Dojo to switch back into their real bodies. They return and head outside with a picnic basket and set up their lunch. Nightshade sits beside Fluttershy, and her new female kubrow puppy, Cobalt, who hatched eleven days ago. True to her name, she has a deep blue coat of fur with light blue stripes running up her back. She's currently trying to climb up onto Nightshade. I believe she thinks he is her father. Nightshade just tolerates the young kubrow's attempts to scale him. Once lunch is finished Applejack says she's going to look at the Aeroponics Labs to check on the crops there. She's very interested in how they function and make crops grow faster, she even has a small one set up on her farm as well powered by solar panels on the roof. The others are talking to each other while I go over what they've learned and evaluate their progress. "Operator. Gryphon signature detected. Target has been marked," Ordis tells me. I look to the south-west and barely see a brown furred gryphon flying directly at us. I pull out my Lex just in case it tries anything. Time seemed to slow down as a loud gunshot echoed over the plains, that didn't come from any of us. The gryphon screams and begins to fall. "RAINBOW DASH! CATCH THAT GRYPHON!" I order her quickly. Thanks to her new body's strengths. She quickly bolts into the sky, flying towards the tumbling gryphon. "GILDA!?" I can hear Rainbow yell faintly. The others seem to gasp as Ordis speaks up. "Gunshot origin located, area has been marked. Deploying Archwings, Operator." My Archwings attach themselves to my waist and I take off towards the marked location. Rainbow soars past me and lands besides the others with the wounded gryphon. "Operator. The signal interference is still in the area. I have managed to narrow down its point of origin. Target area has be remarked," Ordis tells me. I alter course and head towards the forest's edge. Ordis is trying his best to track the signal but the target marker is jumping all over the place. Who ever fired that shot is moving pretty quick if they're managing to keep ahead of my Archwings. A gleam of light from a metallic surface catches my eye below me. I spot a cloaked figure with a strange looking rifle flying through the trees, the target marker seems to be trying to lock onto the mystery gunner. I keep following above the canopy, looking for a way through. I get my chance when he flies into an open clearing and I take aim with my Lex. I fire off five shots, the first four miss as he weaves about, but the fifth hit their left wing right near the middle joint, blowing half of the limb off. I have to give them credit. They didn't make any sounds of pain, even when they tumbled across the ground. I land on top of it and pull their hood off. Judging from their features, it's male like Lamar. He has black fur and dark grey feathers. I can also see why he didn't make any noise. His throat has a large scar going across it. He scowls at me and bites down on something with a loud crunch. I frown as he starts convulsing and foaming at the mouth. "Operator. A poison has entered his bloodstream. He is suffering from heart failure and aortic ruptures," Ordis informs me. A few seconds later, the gryphon dies. I frown and examine his rifle. It looks similar to the pistol Lianna had when I cornered her in that cave. Except this one is longer with a primitive looking scope. I place the rifle on my back where it's locked into place and put my Lex away. I check the body for the origin of the signal jammer. "Operator, the jammer signal is coming from the amulet around his neck. Please bring it back to the Orbiter where I can analyse it and prepare countermeasures," he tells me. I pull the amulet from his neck and examine it. It's glowing a dark purple with a tint of black. After digitising the amulet and the gryphon's corpse, I fly back to the Dojo. I land beside Rainbow who is trying to comfort the wounded gryphon. "Gilda... You'll be alright." Rainbow says and looks up to me. "Karn! Give her one of those healing canisters!" she asks me. I look to this Gilda and see a bullet wound in her chest, she's breathing heavily and her eyes look unfocused. I check around her to see if there was an exit wound... There isn't. "I need to bring her into the Orbiter to remove the bullet in her chest," I tell Rainbow. I pick Gilda up and bring her into my ship. "All of you wait here, I'll remove the bullet and then bring her back," I tell them all, making Rainbow grumble but comply. I then bring her into the small infirmary to the left of the armoury and place her on the table to the right before getting some medical equipment ready. I hear some rumbling to my left as the ship's Helminth's large mouth idly moves. Using the scanners in my helmet, I locate the round bullet and with a pair of medical tweezers, I carefully try to extract the small ball from her chest. She grunts in pain and tries to struggle. I can't risk an anaesthetic as I don't know if she'll react badly to it. Looks like it just missed her heart and lungs. I pull out the bullet and place it on a tray and then inject her with a Health Canister. The wound closes and she stops struggling, but still has an expression of pain on her face. I unstrap her and pick her up, carrying her back out and to the others. "The bullet has been removed and the wound healed, but she'll need rest," I tell them all and place her gently down on the incubator's soft padding. I then hold up the projectile she was it with. It's just a simple round lead ball, just slightly bigger then a Lex bullet tip. "Is she going to be okay?" Rainbow asks me. "Yes. She's very lucky, the bullet just missed her heart and lungs, but one of her ribs was cracked from the bullet's entry. The Health Canister helped repair it, but she'll have to be careful as it heals itself from now on," I tell her. While we wait for Gilda to come around, I examine the rifle I took from the dead gryphon. It's a flintlock musket with a very crude scope attached on top. I place it on the Fabrication Table where Ordis dismantles it. Looks like a really simple one shot design where the bullet is fed down the barrel. POV: Rainbow Dash / Location: Equus - Equestrian Plains - Inside the Liset I sit beside the pod where Gilda is breathing heavily. Karn is looking at the rifle from the assassin he told us that's been stalking the Dojo for the last couple of weeks. "Oooooh. That clucking hurt sooo much..." Gilda says with a groan. "Gilda! Are you alright?" I ask her as I lean up on the table. "Dash?" she replies with confusion. "Yeah, it's me. What are you doing here?" I ask her. She frowns and looks at me. "I..." She starts but blinks in thought. "I... I came here to warn you and Equestria. The King plans to invade with an army in about three months..." She groans in discomfort and places a talon on her chest. "W-Why ain't I dead. I... I was shot... Who saved me?" she asks. I point to Karn who is now looking at her. "He did. He removed the bullet and patched you up," I tell her. Gilda's eyes go wide. "I heard the King talking about a tall black and red creature... but I didn't think he was this big," she says looking up at him. "Ask her how she feels right now," Karn tells me. "He says, how do you feel right now?" I ask Gilda. "Errr, fine I guess. My chest feels sore, but other then that. It doesn't feel like I was shot," she replies and looks around. "Where am I?" she then asks. "Inside Karn's ship. He brought you in here to heal you," I reply. I tell Karn what Gilda told me about the King and how she's feeling. "That's good. So she heard what they're planning to do. That means we'll have to clear out the Hive within the next month, then prepare for an invasion from the gryphons," Karn says. I was about to reply, but a few knocks on the ship's door gets our attention. "Operator, a dark red and white male gryphon wearing a black cloak is standing outside the ship. My sensors only just detected him. I apologise for not detecting him sooner," Ordis informs Karn. I look from the door to Karn. "What do we do?" I ask. Gilda is just laying there with a confused expression as I speak Karn's language. Karn pulls out his Lex and heads over to the front of his ship, we follow him as he opens it and points his pistol right between the gryphon's eyes, but the gryphon doesn't even flinch. "Rainbow. Ask him who he is and what he's doing here," Karn tells me. I look to the gryphon who just looks up at Karn. "Who are you and why are you here," I ask the gryphon. He looks from Karn to me. "My name is Hawkeye. I was a spy for the previous King before he was killed, and I don't approve of our new King's methods. I want to stop him from destroying the small amount of peace we had with Equestria before it is too late," he says and looks back to Karn. "I believe helping you lot will be my best choice for that." I tell Karn what Hawkeye said. "Hmmm. I can't take that risk right now. Tell him he'll stay in a cell until we can confirm his intentions," Karn tells me. I look back to Hawkeye. "He says you'll be kept in a cell until he can confirm your story," I tell him. "Very well. I knew trying to gain your trust would be difficult. If that is what it takes to earn your trust, then so be it," he replies and removes his cloak and two daggers which he places on the ground. Karn picks up the items and places them to the side of the door. "Fluttershy and Twilight. Can you stay with Gilda and watch over her for me? I need to take this Hawkeye to the prison for now," he says to Twilight and Fluttershy. "Okay, Karn," Twilight replies and heads back. "Rainbow. Tell him to follow you and head for the prison. I'll follow behind him to make sure he won't try anything," Karn tells me. I nodded and tell Hawkeye to follow me. He nodded to me and we head to the Dojo. Hawkeye looks impressed with his wide eyed expression as he looks around inside. We enter the elevator and start going down. Hawkeye yelps in surprise as the elevator starts moving down quite fast making me chuckle at his reaction. Though we did the same when we first rode it. We reach the bottom where I start walking forward and turn left down the third hallway. We pass Applejack as she exits the Aeroponics Lab, she says hello and eyes the gryphon curiously before heading to the elevator. I enter the prison area and head to the third cell. As we pass the two cells holding Lamar and Lianna, Hawkeye speaks up. "I know those two. Always getting into some sort of trouble... Though I guess they got more than they could bargain for this time," he says. "And how do you know them?" I ask him. "I knew their father. He was a soldier in the army... until he was killed by a dragon that attacked a small village four years ago... They were never the same since, always trying to find a way to join the army to get revenge on the dragons," he replies with a sigh. "Last I heard, they were sent to get something. I guess that by being here, that something belongs to you," he finishes. I don't answer him and open the cell door. "You'll be staying in here until Karn decides what to do with you," I tell him. "Very well... Oh and do tell Princess Celestia that I'm here. I used to be a contact for her and the previous King. She'll be able to give me a good word," he says and steps inside. "Hmmmm, I must say. This is very nice for a prison cell," he comments as I close and lock the door. I tell Karn what Hawkeye just said. "Get Twilight to send a letter to Celestia saying that we have a gryphon she might know. I need to start building the next section of the Dojo," he tells me. "Alright! See ya later!" I say and head back up to his ship. POV: Karn / Location: Equus - Equestrian Plains - Inside the Dojo Rainbow leaves the room and down the hallway. I turn back to the cell with our newest resident and watch him reading a book. I frown, does he really want to help or was he sent here to gather information or to steal technology. Well until Celestia can confirm his claims, he's staying in there. "Ordis, begin construction of the Landing Craft Hanger above the Clan Hall and extend the elevator up," I tell him. "Yes, Operator. Drones have been dispatched," Ordis replies. Good thing the Extractors brought back a lot of ferrite from the mines in the forest over the past two weeks. I head back up and wait for the Princess's reply.