//------------------------------// // 2) Kalis' Journey // Story: Fireteam Odium // by EchoTheFloof //------------------------------// Trees. Trees as far as the eye could see. Kalis had been walking for hours, praying to whatever god that could hear her. As she walked, her Ghost scanned as far as he could to find any sort of intelligent life. “Anything?...” Kalis asked, turned her head slightly to look at the little robot beside her. “I have had reading of all sorts of things, no humans though.” He responded. Kalis sighed at that. She couldn't tire, what with her being a machine, but she still wanted to find someone, something, that could help her find her fireteam. Another hour dragged on before her Ghost piped up. “Hey, the forest is ending,” he said. Kalis looked up to see that her ghost was correct. The treeline was coming to an end, allowing her to finally see the sky above her. It was beautiful; vapour trails were nonexistent in the clear blue sky. Small clouds dotted the plain of blue and the sun slowly set in the distance. This was quite clearly not anywhere she had been before. Stepping out of the tree line, she looked around herself. Endless fields stretched out in all directions, trading the dark green and brown she had become accustomed to for a light green. “Ghost, don't suppose you managed to save my weapons?” She asked, looking slightly to her side. “Of course. You still have everything that you took in your inventory, as well as the weapons you selected before leaving. Need one?” Kalis paused for a moment, “The Spindle, and maybe a special synth.” “No problem,” Two items appeared before her, a huge sniper rifle made out of Hive Chitin, and a small green and white box. “Thanks,” She said, bending down to pick up the two objects. She quickly found security in herself as she brandished the rifle. The chitin had been modified with a Taken skin, giving it a more ethereal look. She wasn't one for stealth and so was fine with the glow it gave off. Seeing no reason to stick around in a place she was unfamiliar with, she pushed forward, her Ghost disappearing from sight in preparation for a fight. As she walked, her Ghost gave her periodic readings, allowing her to track any being with even a mediocre amount of intelligence. “Kalis, you are not going to believe this.” Her ghost said after a long pause. “Why? What's wrong?” She asked, worried that something might have happened to her team. “I'm detecting three jumpships in orbit; I think one of the team's Ghosts managed to pull our ships through the portal!” “Well? What are we waiting for? Call the Inquisitor down and let's get moving,” she said happily, glad to finally get some good news after the trek she had faced. The Ghost nodded and looked up, Kalis doing the same, to watch as a small black dot got closer. After a minute of waiting, the large black and orange ship stopped a few metres off the ground, awaiting its pilot. Her Ghost teleported her into the seat, switching control of the ship to her. “Oh, I've missed you so much, baby,” she said, patting the console and revving the atmospheric engines, “Any ideas on a direction, Ghost?” “I would say East. We are bound to find something if we travel in a parallel line to the equator.” He advised, appearing beside her shoulder. “Can't argue with that,” She said, pushing forward on the sticks. The ship lurched forward, quickly reaching Mach 1 with its massive engines. As she flew, she watched the radars carefully, hoping to find a large cluster of beings that could indicate a town or civilisation. It didn't take long. Fifty-two seconds into the flight, the radars picked up an enormous gathering of beings. They appeared to be animals, but she figured it wouldn't hurt to get a closer look. As she got closer, the ship was able to figure out more about the beings before her. They were... ponies? She couldn't believe her eyes. Ponies littered the streets of the town below her. “You should probably go out there,” her Ghost commented, looking over readings with the same level of fascination. “What? Why? They're just animals...” She questioned, turning to face her companion. “Look around you, Kalis. These are quite clearly not 'just animals'. They appear to have a unique level of intelligence that I have never seen an animal capable of. After everything you have seen, is intelligent horses the top of your list?” He explained. Kalis almost shuddered at the thought of Golgoroth, God that was hideous, “I guess not, but I still think we should do more scans before we head down there.” - - - It had been a pretty average day for Flamelight. He was returning to his home after a hard day of work at the office. Being an artist didn't bring enough money in, so he had to look for other work elsewhere. He had eventually been pulled into the journalist business and had stayed since. The income wasn't spectacular, but it was enough to live comfortably with. He lived in a little house just outside of town. While the town was pretty big and there were many nicer houses to choose from, he preferred the solitude. As he walked, he hummed a little tune to himself, looking through the shop windows he passed. When he reached the edge of the town, he noticed a glint coming from one of the windows. He nearly passed it off but the colour of the glint made him stop. The light wasn't white, it was red. This confused the pegasus, as the sky was a bright blue, what with it being mid day. Curious, he started looking around for the source of the light, slightly hoping for it to be more than a simple light. After a few seconds of swivelling his head, his eyes finally locked on a small red light coming from one of the many nearby hills. Unlike a unicorn's magic, the light he saw was solid, almost unreal. As he squinted in an attempt to see more clearly, contemplating calling for the police, though when he really thought about it, what would they really do? It was just a light... And so, quickly coming to the realisation that his curiosity wouldn't go that quickly, he altered his path and began walking towards the hill, silently praying that he hadn't decided on something he would regret later. - - - Kalis looked away from her scope. She had been scanning the streets, watching how the ponies behaved. She had seen many things she simply couldn't believe. Magic, flight, the ponies actually talking to one another. Animals shouldn't be able to do that, and while her Ghost had been correct in stating it wasn't the oddest thing she had seen, it was still enough to send her mind reeling. Standing up, she turned to her Ghost, “Any results with the scans?” She asked. “Not really. The traveller's light is completely non-existent now, but that energy I detected earlier has done wonders for you. You may have noticed yourself that you have become stronger in many ways. You are far from invincible, but the changes should be noticeable when you fight.” Kalis looked down at her hands. It had been true that she had felt her light bolster since she had arrived here, but she had chalked it up to her recovering from the portal. “So what will happen to my Light as I stay here?” She asked, looking back up at the Ghost. “Well, I can't say for certain what will happen, but I have come up with theories. One of the biggest and most promising ones is that you will start to overflow.” “Overflow? Like, Warlock level overflow?” Kalis asked. “Not at that level, no. As a hunter, your Light can still overflow, just not at the rate that Warlocks and Titans are capable of. As you spend time here, organic beings that are around you for long periods of time will likely become stronger as they absorb the excess power coming from you.” “I see,” Kalis finished, looking towards the city. As her eyes scanned the many streets once more, an odd colour drew her attention away. There was a blue pony climbing the hill towards her camp. “Ah shit, looks like one of the ponies noticed my scope.” She commented, backing up and readying her weapon. “I did warn you, you should really listen to me more often,” her Ghost said, switching to invisibility. “Yeah, yeah,” she muttered, jumping behind a nearby rock for cover. It didn't take long for them to hear hooves hitting the ground. The pony had begun searching around their camp as soon as it had arrived, wasting no time in taking long looks at the gear she had left there. “Ghost, are there any other ponies in the area?” Kalis whispered. She had not looked away from the pegasus since it had arrived. It appeared to be a male, but she couldn't be sure. “Other than the ones in the town, no. The only ones in these hills for miles are us.” The ghost whispered back to her. She grunted at that. She knew that if she fired a round at the animal then the ponies in the town would most certainly hear it. She couldn't risk that as she needed to find help as quickly as possible. Readying her weapon and getting a smoke grenade ready, she jumped out at the pony. - - - As he crested the hill, Flamelight could quite clearly see a camp that had been set up. It looked pretty recent and there was still items scattered around, but he couldn't see any pony there. Turning to the objects, he decided to get a closer look. He started with the more flashy objects, as they peaked his interest with their colours and shape. Bending his head down, he looked a pale blue object. It appeared to be emitting a glow around it, and the surface of it almost seemed to be moving. He gave the thing a poke with his hoof, and when he found it didn't do anything, he reached out to pick it up. Before he could lift it, however, a rustle from the nearby bushes caused him to turn. There, running straight at him, was the strangest being he had ever seen. It walked on two legs and had two arms either side of its body. It held another glowing object in its hands, though it wasn't moving it like he would have expected. The creature appeared to also be dressed. It was pitch black with orange lights all across his body, and a long cloak flowing down its back. The cloak's collar was a bright orange that stood out against the black fabric of the clothing. He was about to call out to the creature but stopped when his mind caught up with him. It was running at full sprint, right towards him. Panicked, he tried to turn and run from it. He didn't manage to get far before he felt a huge weight slam into him, pulling him to the ground. He looked up, dazed, to find the end of the object that the creature was holding pointed right at his face. It gave a small huff before doing something he swore he imagined. It spoke. “You ain't going anywhere.” It turned to its side, “Ghost, now's your chance,” When it had finished speaking, a small white... thing appeared beside the creatures shoulder. It flew close to him, looking over him with its one eye. “It doesn't seem to be a threat, Kalis, though to be fair, I don't think it was that much of a threat even when it was standing,” it said after a moment, flying back to the creatures shoulder. “Still, better safe than sorry,” Flamelight was petrified. With the creatures leg pinning him to the ground he couldn't use his wings, and he most certainly wasn't a fighter. He could only hope that it would be reasonable, and not kill him if he said something wrong. “Uh, excuse me?” He asked meekly, turning his eyes towards the large being. It shot its head around to stare at him, the lights on its face unblinking and unmoving. After what seemed like hours, it spoke once again. “Ghost, please tell me you heard that,” It said, still staring at him. Realising that not only could it understand him, but it was now listening to him, he tried to speak up once again. “Please, don't hurt me. I just wanted to see what the light was; I won't tell anypony, just please let me go.” His pleading seemed to work as the creature pulled its object back slightly. It seemed to be pondering on what he had said. “You don't seem to be trying to lie your way out of it... alright, I'll let you up, on one condition,” It said, rising up slightly. “W-what do you want?” “Information. I need to know where the capital if there is one, is. I have to speak with a leader about something,” the creature explained. He had honestly expected it to be something worse. “Uh, sure, I can show you. Do you have a map?” He asked, hoping that this would all be over soon. “No. Let's just say I have only been here for a short time. I assume you have one?” Flamelight gulped. He had one, but it was at his home, and he doubted that he could get away with running away under the guise of getting the map. Seeing no easy way out of it, he went with telling the truth, “Yeah, but it's at my house. If you let me I can go get-” “Not gonna happen,” He had known that it wasn't going to be easy, but the dismay still hit him. He had no idea how to get out without being hurt. Thinking hard, he came up with an idea. It was probably stupid, but it was all he had, and he was getting desperate. “What is the point in keeping me here, though? Even if I gave you directions I could still tell the police,” he said, putting on the best neutral face he could. “And what is to stop me from killing you as soon as you give it to me? In fact, I could kill you right now and find a different pony,” It replied, its simple but cold answer giving him chills. Steeling himself, he pressed forward, “You wouldn't risk doing something like that, if a pony linked it to you then you would be hunted down.” It seemed to realise the problem it was now facing. While it may have had the ability to hurt or even kill him, it couldn't do anything for fear of being caught. The situation had turned to his favour. “So, what are you going to do now? Kill me? Or talk like reasonable beings?” He finished. While on the outside he seemed calm, almost cocky, his insides were whirling. He had never been so terrified, and he knew that one slip up could mean certain death. The creature grunted, standing up straight and pulling its object to the side, “Then what do you propose?” It asked. “Let me go home. I'll get my map and give it to you, in return, you let me go free,” he answered. Hesitating a little, the creature gave him a small nod, its eyes still locked on him. He hadn't felt a level of relief that he felt right there and then in years. Slowly, he turned and began walking down the hill, practically feeling the creatures gaze burning into the back of his head as he began his trek to his little home. - - - “You think he'll be back?” Kalis' Ghost asked when the pony went out of earshot. “He?” The exo responded, temporarily ignoring the question. “Yes, everything about him stated that he was a male pony, but that is besides the point. Do you think he will be back?” Her Ghost repeated. Kalis thought upon the question for a moment, watching the blue pony get steadily further from her. “No,” she said, “he will likely hole up somewhere or start telling other ponies about the strange monster that attacked him.” Sighing, she sat down on a nearby rock, resting her head in the palm of her hand. “Well, this could be going better,” the Ghost commented. “You think?” - - - Flamelight's mind was in turmoil. Half of his mind was screaming for him to either hide away or go to the police, while the other half screamed for him to do what he promised, in case the creature follows through with its threat. Grunting, he facehooved, “What have I gotten myself into?” He asked himself, mentally cursing his curiosity that landed him in the situation. After a few minutes, he finally reached the front door to his home. Pushing it open, he walked inside and turned on the light. The house's interior was pretty well maintained, he didn't spend all that much time there so there wasn't much opportunity to mess it up. He slowly approached a nearby table. There, laid out in full, was a full map of Equestria. He had been studying it for a column in the newspaper he worked for and had forgotten to pack it away. His eyes studied the map as he contemplated what to do. He was risking his life regardless of what he chose. He had no doubt that the creature could track him down and end him pretty quickly and his bluff wouldn't work forever, but then, if he had the police on his side, surely it couldn't fight off all of those ponies, right? Groaning, he dropped his head on the table in exasperation. As he grumbled to himself, he mind started to settle, and not on an idea he liked. It made more sense to him to make sure the creature wasn't going to hunt him down and skin him alive, and trying to catch it probably wouldn't work. The way its items looked indicated something far more advanced than he had ever seen. He initially though of them as clubs but the way that the creature had held it stated otherwise. And so, raising his head, he came to a decision. Every fibre of his being was telling him to just run and hide, but he resisted the urge. He picked up the map and walked out of the door, turning off the light and locking the door behind him. - - - “Holy shit,” Kalis said in disbelief. She had honestly expected the pegasus to go running but lo and behold, here he was, walking towards them with a roll of paper in his mouth. She put her sniper on her back, not seeing any reason to still have it out, and began walking towards the pony, meeting him half way. When she reached him, he lifted his head, lifting the scroll up to her. The hunter took the scroll from his mouth, surprised to find it completely dry. She quickly opened it on the ground and turned to the pony. “So where are we right now?” She asked him. “Oh, uh,” he managed to get out, he had apparently thought his job was over, “We are right... here” he said, pointing to a dot on the map. The text was relatively hard to make out but after a few seconds staring she finally read 'Manehattan' just above the dot. “And the capital?” “Here,” the pegasus pointed to a larger dot, the word above it was much more clear than the other one. 'Canterlot.' “Hmm, I see.” She muttered, trying to work out the distance between the two points. “Am I, uh, done here? I really want to go back home,” he asked quietly, looking away slightly. “Huh? Oh, yeah, you are okay to go home. Ghost, can you memorise this?” Her Ghost moved forward over the map, scanning every section of it in detail. As he scanned, the pony stared at it in fascination. “Done,” the Ghost said after a while, “you can have this back now,” The blue pegasus nodded in thanks and rolled the scroll back up, picking it up in his mouth once again. Before he could leave, however, he noticed her Ghost behaving oddly. He was staring at Kalis, as if expecting something from her. “Oh for fuck's sake fine, if it will get you off my back,” she grumbled, turning to face the pony, “I'm, uh, sorry about earlier. I could have probably taken that a little less rough.” “Yeah... sure, no problem,” He said in response, his eyebrows raised in surprise. “Jesus, that wasn't awkward at all,” Kalis muttered, turning and walking back to her camp, her Ghost in tow. As they walked, the little machine turned, giving a nod to the pony that had helped them, and getting a small smile and a nod in return. - - - Night had fallen upon the land as Kalis sat, trying to get in contact with her team. She was using her ship's comms to try and reach out to any member of her team that might have been near their ship. After three hours of attempts, she had almost given up, reaching the end of her tether with the waiting. “Ghost, is there no way to boost the signal?” She asked, her head laid back against the top of the chair. “For the seventeenth time, no. Not without constructing a signal booster.” “But there has to be SOMETHING we can do. We can't sit here for days, hoping for contact.” “If you come up with a better idea, I'm all ears, but until then, you are going to have to keep doing what you are doing,” her Ghost explained, remaining at her shoulder. Kalis groaned at that, pushing the button on her comms, “This is guardian Kalis-29 to fireteam Odium. If you are receiving this, please respond.” She waited yet again, hearing nothing but the faint crackle of the otherwise silent radio. “You see, there isn't any-” She began before being cut off by a sound coming from the machine. “This is Exodus, how are you doing, Kalis?”