“When were you going to inform me that Celekh is an umbrum?”
“Princess?”
“Did I not make myself perfectly clear, captain?” Luna looked at the chief of security with significance.
The chief kept silence. A chain of heavy thinking was plain on his face. Luna's face, on a contrast, was emotionless. A useful skill for royalty.
“I didn't want Your Highness to be... disappointed.”
Luna continued staring at him, expectant.
“...I knew their kind shouldn't be here. Tyrek, I opposed this assignment! I have a pull up there and, dammit, my word has some weight back in the capital. But this time it was all useless. Someone tugged at the strings, there was nothing I could do. Nothing! I knew nothing good could ever come from an umbrum!”
Luna studied him patiently. A flash of thought in his eyes. His slouch was short-lived. He recovered rather quickly.
“What's your next step, captain?” she inquired.
“We should run a damage evaluation,” Lash answered, deep in thought. “Make sure that the facility systems weren't compromised. The ponies responsible should be subject to repercussions... obviously. Myself, I'm going to be busy putting a report together. The storm might have interfered with the radio but cable comms are still live. Should be live. One incident is more than enough for today.”
“That was not what I had in mind, captain. Are you going to send somepony to... track Celekh?” Luna was cautiously picking up the words. Her emotions were hard to read. The chief though, it seemed, never tried to do it in the first place.
“Into the storm?“ he sniffed. “Sure as hell no! Instructions clearly forbid that. You aren't very familiar with our lovely storms, are you, Princess?”
“Enlighten me then,“ the alicorn smiled politely.
“In all these years Weather Control was never able to determine precisely what causes a sandstorm to be born. One might wonder what were they doing all this time...” Lash wrinkled his muzzle and waved his hoof. “Bah, to Tyrek with it. Still, we all learned on our own skin: the storm is always deadly. Visibility is practically zero. There's constantly electricity in the air. Perhaps you Equestrian folks have your thunderstorms when it rains, but in here it's much more common to see thunderbolts in a weather like this. One good charge is enough to leave a pony a charred shell... or a cripple for the end of his life. The air here is disgusting as it is, but during sandstorms you won't be able to breathe without a filter. But the worst news is sand. The sand here is able to skin you alive...” he coughed, “er, I mean, an unwary pony, Princess. To skin alive. Trust me, that's not a pleasant sight.”
He managed a polite smile. It seemed he completely regained his self-control.
“No sane pony would want to be outside in this storm. Perhaps you were thinking I made this little tour of local attractions just for the sake of entertaining Your Highness... In this case you were wrong. Any officer aware of the rules would recommend you to land a ship and wait through the storm in cover. Speaking of Yurga, perhaps we don't have these fancy force shields they have in cities but mining constructions will weather any storm. Luckily we're safely shielded from lightning here, and ventilation systems can run on recirculation for a long time. Behind the walls of steel and the thickness of stone Your safety is assured.”
“If everything is truly as you claim it is,” the princess pondered, “why is it that Celekh decided to choose this moment to disappear? Sure, she has her CRV...”
“Who can truly say what these umbrum want? Shadowspawn are vile creatures. We should interrogate the drivers about how she got her hooves on one of their ignition keys. When this storm is over I'm going to send search parties. With any luck they will find what remains of the vehicle. All this paperwork,” he almost groaned. “Even one lost CRV is a serious event.”
“Lost? Didn't you tell me about its sturdiness earlier?”
“CRVs are durable, and our Sokolkas are additionally modded to work in dusty terrace conditions. Still, even a mech like this won't last long in a sandstorm. The scoundrel wouldn't make two steps away from an airlock without it, but even with its support she won't be able to get back.”
“Why is that? You won't let her back in?” the alicorn snorted. “Is this also mentioned in the rules?”
“Why would she escape if she was expecting to turn back?” the captain retorted. “Besides, the vehicle won't be able to even if she wanted,” he noticed the princess' confused gaze and explained. “The storm generates a serious jam preventing any communication and interfering with the devices. Even something as simple as a common compass won't help her now. No idea what was she thinking but this umbrum just made the last mistake in her entire life,” he grinned. “Celestia's Providence if you ask me.”
“You're trying to say...”
“Forecasts suggest the storm will continue at least for the next several hours,” Lash said, confirming her surmises. “Whatever Celekh does, she's already dead.”