//------------------------------// // Chapter 17 Escape // Story: Freedoms Call // by Bronycommander //------------------------------// Chapter 17: Escape There was nothing Fletcher could do to prevent being killed by the 718 soldier, all he could do was closing his eyes, accepting it. Wolf and Midnight would mourn him, but that was unlikely to console them completely. A single tear escaped his eye, feeling guilty for failing to protect Scotch Tape, but he had tried. His life flashed before him, from the day he got his Cutie Mark, to several battles in the Civil War and afterwards. He had seen death so many times, it didn’t matter anymore for him, becoming routine. Then, there was the shot. It took minutes for him to realize… He wasn’t dead. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw that the Korean soldier was fallen over, a hole in his head, blood flowing down, Katie behind him, the barrel of her pistol was smoking. “Just in time. Are you hurt?” She helped Fletcher up, he grunted in pain from the hit to the head he had taken. “No, I’m fine. How did they find us?” He wondered. “I don’t know but it doesn’t matter now, we have to find out where they took Scotch Tape.” The Sergeant sounded determinated to find the young filly. “I agree with that, there’s no time to lose.” The unicorn paused for a second to think. “But they could have brought her anywhere, how can we find her fast enough before it’s too late?” Fletcher asked worried, not wanting to imagine what they would do with her. “Do I have to remind you that we have very good scouts and Spies? They will find her in no time.” The woman reminded him, heading out of the room, the stallion close behind. It made him wonder why they took only her and not him. Sure, a talking filly was one interesting thing, but a talking, magic casting unicorn was far more interesting. “Due the ongoing war, we suspect that they must be transported to one of the captured US bases somewhere in the West of the USA. If that’s the case, we can find her, if they managed to bring her out of the country, then there is nothing we can do for her.” Katie explained as she joined with the rest of her squad. “I hope so too. I have already lost someone that was like her and I won’t let that happen again!” The Knight exclaimed. The robotic unicorn looked at him with a weak smile. “Don’t blame yourself, you did what you could.“ He returned a weak smile of his own. “Appreciated. How long do you need to reboot?” “Pretty fast, within a minute, so we can resume fighting as soon as possible.” The officer explained. “Good to know. I feel kinda embarrassed about it but I owe you one for saving my life.” Fray blushed, looking at the ground. “You owe me nothing, Fletcher, soldiers work together, helping each other.” She replied. “Don’t worry Fletcher, I won’t rest until I have found her.” Joseph assured with an honest expression as the other bat pony drones assembled, ready to move out. “Glad to hear it.” He was really happy that he could count on them, that they would help him to find her and free her. The stallion took a deep breath, trying to stay calm, there was still hope they could find her in time. He didn’t want to imagine how Scotch Tape’s family and friends would feel if he had to bring the news that she was dead. That, however, was one of the many reason they had to save her, she didn’t deserve such a fate. One thought that popped in, was that they would experiment on her, which all hoped would not happen. For Fletcher, this case would cross the line. “I swear, if they only harm one hair on her, they will pay!” The Eternal Knight exclaimed in anger. He then helped to inspect the damage on the base, apart from the broken up elevator, there was no damage and helped to dispose the bodies. The entire time, he couldn’t help but feel worried about Scotch Tape, hoping she would be alright and that the scouts would quickly find her. The young filly had already suffered too much here and she didn’t deserved to die here, but to be reunited with her father save and sound. The foal had told him how brutal the KPA was towards the civilians, executing them for the slightest suspicion of any relation with resistance movements on the spot without trial. I will never forgive myself if anything happens to her. But, he had to think positive, that they would find and save her. Other than that, there was nothing he could do than to hope for the best. While Katie told him he shouldn’t blame himself, the guilt wouldn’t leave him, rather making him feel depressed about having failed to protect her. Still, even if he had managed to recover from the flashbang and fought back, they probably had overrun him anyway and had taken her away. This realization made him feel a bit better, swearing he would save her or die trying. He owed this to her. Wolf and Midnight had done the same would they have been in his place, he had no doubt about it. The unicorn wondered still how the Koreans had discovered their location. A spy? A bug? So many possibilities but that had time until after they had found and rescued the young foal. Still, there was the danger of a counter attack or that the KPA might attack them again before they could find Scotch Tape. It made him also wonder why they hadn’t destroyed the base after kidnapping Scotch Tape. Maybe, they wanted to test the Eternal Knight. Then again, the former soldiers may have taken the Koreans out before they could destroy it. A day passed, maybe 2, Fletcher had lost track of time, it felt like weeks for him. Then Joseph returned. “Good news! I have found her!” “Finally! Where is she?” Fletcher asked, not wanting to waste time, hoping it wasn’t too late. “In an Airbase in Colorado, the KPA captured it when they invaded the USA.” “Great work, Joseph, let’s move out!” Katie ordered, her comrades saluted. Fletcher knew getting her out wouldn’t be easy, neither would get in undetected. But nothing was impossible. Hold on Scotch Tape, help is on the way! The filly came to with an aching head, groaning in pain. Ugh, where am I? Scotch Tape looked around, finding herself in what seemed to be a cell. “…She’s still a child, she wouldn’t survive this kind of procedure!” An elderly American voice ringed in her ears, seeing a yellow bar and a red bar on her PipBuck, out of her sight, the American sounded very angry, arguing with someone. “Mr. Archer…Why are you so reluctant to serve your country in its time of need? You must take heart in what patriotism can bring you. Our glorious leader, Kim Jong-Un, only wants to teach you to unlock your country’s natural resources. Bringing prosperity to all. It is our gift to you.” The other voice was English with a Korean accent, the foal recognized it. Colonel-Commandant Jeong, the same KPA officer who took her away from Kate and Amy back in Montrose. “What has that to do with this?” Archer wanted to know. “A talking pony like her could open new possibilities for your country, for our glorious leader. You should feel honored to study such a rare specimen.” Jeong’s voice was cold. Scotch Tape gulped, they would experiment on her, maybe even do an autopsy on her. But she knew, Fletcher, Katie and the others would save her, she was confident of it. The Korean stepped into her view, his expression neutral. “We meet again at last. Scotch Tape, right? I remember you, you were with Kate Carter and her daughter Amy.” She didn’t look at him, rather looking at the ground. She was scared, trying not to show it, being silent “Nothing to say, child?” The officer was a bit surprised. “I thought you would at least ask what happens to you or beg for mercy. Not that it matters anymore.” He made a sign, a soldier with a syringe in his hand walked into the cell. Scotch Tape started to struggle, it was in vain as the soldier managed to inject her and she felt suddenly very tired, drifting off. On board the airship, Katie and Fletcher were working on a plan to get Scotch Tape out. “The Airbase is heavily defended and locked up tight. A direct assault would be suicide.” Katie analyzed the defenses. “I agree, the AA guns would tear the airship apart, we have to sneak in.” “Agreed. I and the others have already thought of something.” “And that is?” Fletcher wondered. “You will see.” Was all Katie replied to him, leaving him wondering what she had in mind. Scotch Tape regained awareness of her surroundings, hearing the sound of an ECG and a muffled clashing of metal, finding herself in an operation room. Her entire body was immobilized, not able to turn her head or saying anything but a strongly increasing pain was in her torso. She couldn’t scream, only endure this agonizing level of pain, her heartbeats getting faster, panicking, trying to move but she had no feeling in her hooves at all. Faintly, there was a voice yelling to stop, before everything slowly started to fade. Maybe it was the drugs they had injected or she was dying, even near comatose, yet only one thought went through the delirium. I will...get out...You can't...hold me...I'm not your...your...toy... Then she fainted. “…She almost died, how can you do this to her?” Again, she heard faintly a voice, but she saw only black. “Thanks to you, she didn’t die. As such, we keep the restrains.” The other voice replied. “She fell into a comatose for Christ’s sake!” “But she awoke. As soon as she’s stable, continue.” Due her faint hearing, she couldn’t hear out the emotions of the 2 voices. She couldn’t feel anything but slowly, her vision and hearing returned. She could only move her eyes, seeing that she was in some kind of infirmary/experimental laboratory, her four hooves restrained, lying on a table. Her chest was bandaged, it looked bloody, like it was not long ago, or freshly changed. That was very painful… The filly remembered it, her chest was still aching a bit as the door opened. Her visitor was an elderly man in a white lab coat, his hair was greying and his eyes green. “You are awake, I thought you would never wake up.” He sounded very relieved and very sorry. The foal tried to speak. “W-where a-am I? W-what h-happened? Her voice was weak and dry. “In the infirmary of the Airbase. They…forced me with a KPA doctor to cut you open. As I had feared, it was too much for you to take, you almost died and fell into a comatose for a few days.” He felt guilty for it. “You…are Mr. Archer, the master…mastermind…behind… Project Horizons…” the filly managed to say. The man was surprised. “How did you know?” “A…long story…” Even though she was much weakened, she managed to tell him who she was, where she came from and how she discovered the project. The scientist was impressed. “I’m a bionical engineer, my field is bionics, that’s the reason why project Horizons was possible at all. It pleases me to hear to hear that they were successful in battle.” “They…don’t blame you…for doing this…” Scotch Tape paused to breathe. “What happened to you…?” “Well, Wyatt fell victim to theKnoxville Cough, only I survived. As the invasion begun, the KPA captured me, forcing me to work for them. Their airships, Seeker and Wolverine drones are all my work. Work I hated to do. As for you, the Korean doctor, which I see more of a madman with a medical license, damaged your somatic nervous system and the anesthesia was very strong, that’s why you lost your ability to feel and move.” He told her, having sympathy. A tear left her eye. “It…It is…” “No, I managed to prevent permanent damage, you should soon be able to regain your sense of feeling.” “G-glad to…to hear it.” The foal managed to form a weak smile. “You don’t deserve this, Scotch Tape. I’ll do anything I can to prevent that they hurt you again. Promise.” He returned the smile as the door opened and the colonel walked in. “Mr. Archer, please leave us, I would like to talk with our young guest.” His voice was cold. The American walked out of the room, worried for Scotch Tape. “You…won’t hold…me here…” The filly was not scared of him. “You are restrained and there are guards patrolling this base, there is no escape. Still you struggle, never giving up, never backing down. You would have made a good Korean. Of course, the Americans have this sentiment too but the difference is...it doesn't work for them...as I intend to prove.” “We…will see…” The foal taunted as the officer walked out. She knew that she had to get out but in this condition, there was no way, she could. "Scotch Tape, can you hear me?" Katie’s voice echoed in her mind. "K-Katie?" The pony wondered. "Yes, it’s me. You and Fletcher are still connected to our hive mind, a side effect of when we showed you our past. It will be only temporary.Don’t worry, we get you out of here." "Yes we will. With a little…friend." Fletcher added in her mind. It made her wonder what he was meaning, as suddenly, the vent on the celling next to her opened and a drone jumped out, it’s design resembled somepony that she never expected the last to see. Herself. The drone removed the bonds. “Is that…me?” The filly asked confused. "Well, yes, it was planned for maintenance work, the blueprint still exists, we based your case on it." Katie explained slightly embarrassed. “I can’t move.” The filly still had no feeling in her body, her counterpart placed her gently on its back in response. The robot had no problem to lock-picking the door, gently opening it. A guard was walking past the room, not noticing the two. “Shh.” The robot putted a hoof to his mouth, the foal nodded. After the guard was far enough away, the drone silently walked out of the room, taking a right turn into a corridor to another room, where a syringe was on a tray. “That should do it. Nothing like a little digoxin to fix you up.” Scotch Tape’s counterpart injected her with it, she hissed from the pain for a second. Slowly but steady, she could feel her body again as the robot sneaked down the corridor, on the celling was a red sign saying “exit.” At the end of said corridor, the drone peeked with the filly around the corner, seeing another exit sign and a yellow sign saying “restricted area.” The pony noticed a guard walking towards the yellow sign, stopping to face the chest-level window. Scotch Tape also saw that this guard wasn’t a KPA soldier, as he was wearing a blue uniform with security written on the back. “Buzz me out, Carter.” The guard said with an American voice, probably a collaborator. “Where’re you going?” Carter asked, having also an English voice. “I need some air, those Korean doctors give me the creeps.” “Yeah, I know what you mean, they brought in a prisoner and I got told the entire base is locked up tight.” Carter replied before he buzzed his co-worker through. Scotch Tape’s counterpart sneaked under the window and into the back to some lockers. In one locker was her overall. Now, having enough feeling in her hooves, the drone placed her gently down and she putted her overall on, seeing how the drone took a Taser out of an internal holster, knocking Carter out, then pressed the button to open the door. After passing through, they hid in an alcove as another American guard was approaching the intercom. “Hey Carter, I’m on in five, buzz me in, would you?” He asked before getting hit with the Taser by the robotic pony to avoid sounding the alarm. Taking a right turn, they had to hide in another alcove as a KPA solder walked past, only to get knocked out too. Seeing no other yellow and red bars on her PipBuck, the foal and her friend made a dash for the exit. Scotch Tape couldn’t believe it, she was almost out of here! I owe you one once I’m out of here. “Alright, hold it, kiddo! Stop right there!” Someone ordered in English behind her, the filly turned around, holding her hooves up in surrender, her robotic counterpart just stayed still. She recognized the man, it was the same guard that got buzzed thorough a minute ago, having black hair and brown eyes, a M9 trained on her. “Please, they will hurt me if I stay here, I’m innocent.” She tried to explain. To her surprise, the guard holstered his weapon. “You’re right, you’re no prisoner. Over here.” He led her and the drone to a window. “I overheard this KPA colonel, they plan to kill you. You can get out here.” He opened the window. “Thanks.” Scotch Tape was glad that he helped her. “If you’re trying to get to the airfield, it’s southwest of here. I’ll check in with the security office and cover your absence as long as I can. Good luck!” The guard explained. “You’re taking a huge risk, guard.” The filly was concerned for him. “I took an oath to uphold the law, I’m no traitor, they all forcibly recruited us. You don’t have much time. Good luck.” “Thanks again.” Scotch Tape replied as she and the robot climbed through the window, not thinking she would ever see him again. "Katie, Fletcher, are you still there? I’m out of the infirmary." The foal reported. "Good. I got good news and bad news. Good news: You’re not far from getting out of here. Bad news: The only exit is in a lab complex on the other side of the base. From there, you can get out, I explain once you got there." "Okay, on my way." Scotch Tape noticed it was night, making it easier to remain undetected. The two sneaked through an alleyway taking a right and left turn at the corners, coming to a parking lot with two KPA trucks. One of the trucks drove away, the drone took a lone KPA soldier out that that was patrolling the parking lot. They got into another alley, climbing on a box to get on the other side of the wall, landing on the ground with a thud. “Did you hear that?” A soldier asked his comrade. “Hear what?” “I thought I heard something, I gotta check it out.” Knowing that a soldier would check the sound out, the 2 hid behind another box, seeing a KPA soldier using a flashlight to investigate, then turning his back to them as he was about to walk back to his post, allowing the drone to knock him out with the Taser. They climbed on some boxes to get past the other soldier that was blocking the way, her counterpart hit him with the Taser too to make sure he wouldn’t sound the alarm. The foal and robot sneaked down the corridor into a hanger, seeing another truck driving past. They followed the route the truck was driving, coming to another hanger on the left, a Korean was guarding the exit, having his back to them. After the robotic pony had taken care of him, the filly saw the lab on the other site, the entrance guarding by 2 KPA soldiers. “Doesn’t seem like the front is an option.” Scotch Tape said to her counterpart. “It’s the only way in. Hmm…” The drone spotted a parked truck, having an idea. “Watch this.” Scotch Tape saw how the robot walked up to the truck, starting the engine. “What the hell?!” one of the guards exclaimed as the truck reversed. “Look out!” the other warned, the truck crashed into a building. “Help!” a third guard called out and the others leaved their post to help, the distraction Scotch Tape and her counterpart needed. Once they got in, Katie informed the filly, "There should be a vent to your left. Climb into it." As told, Scotch Tape saw the vent, the drone helped her in and they crawled through until they came to what seemed a lab for chemicals. “Okay, where do we need to go now?” She asked. "Follow the vents, I guide you through." Katie replied as suddenly an alert went off. “What the?” The foal wondered, fearing it might have blown her escape attempt. "Damn it, they know you’re escaping! Time for plan b! Don’t worry, we get you out of here!" Katie promised as Scotch Tape spotted a Korean in heavy armor, he was wearing it from head to toe outside the room. He fired a few rounds from his SMG at the window, it was bulletproof. “Get this door open, now!” He shouted in English. Another soldier entered the room through another door, firing at the foal that dived for cover, he hit accidently one of the vials on the table, blowing himself up, Scotch Tape coughed from the smoke. Her counterpart helped her up. “Follow me!” The drone led her through the door the guard had come through into another lab where a vent was. It led out of the room to the corridor. Scotch Tape followed the drone to the left, the robot came screeching to a halt. “Back up, back up, BACK UP!” it screamed as bullets flew past, meaning that this direction wasn’t an option, so they took the right side, coming to another lab with a vent. This vent led to a cold storage room. “This room is used to storage bodies of the nerve gas victims. We are almost out.” The drone explained, opening another vent. “In there!” A Korean fired some rounds into the vent, they missed, the filly by inches, she could hear the hisses in her ears. This vent led to a locker room, the door opened and a squad of armored soldiers moved in. “Stop or we will open fire!” “Don’t shoot!” Scotch Tape surrendered, knowing there was no way out. And I was so close of getting out… She thought in defeat, her head lowered. “Nobody escapes the Greater Korean Republic, you-“ An explosion cut the soldier off, Scotch Tape raised her hooves to protect herself from splinters, coughing from the smoke. Once it cleared, she saw Jeff, he had caused the explosions as the Koreans were lying dead on the ground, being blown away by the blast. “The ABS armor may be protecting from bullets but not from explosives. Come on!” He climbed first through the vent, fired a round from his grenade launcher on another KPA squad, the bodies were still burning as he lowed himself to let the child and drone climb on him “Hold on tight!” He galloped down the corridor, firing another round on another soldier that tried to intercept him, the explosion sent the guard flying towards them, the grenadier ducked to avoid that Scotch Tape would get hit by the flames before moving on. Taking two left turns, another guard appeared, only to be blasted by the former soldier before climbing through another vent, the corpse was completely burned, black. 4 KPA operatives ambushed them from all sites, Jeff took then out quickly one by one with his grenades, the explosions made Scotch Tape’s ears ring, the bodies were coal black and on fire, getting blasted away, some of them still burned. “Almost there!” He yelled as he walked to the security office of the labs as another soldier rolled into the doorway, firing at the mechanic stallion. Jeff punched the soldier, thanks to the cybernetic limbs, he could easily knock his opponent out, despite the heavy armor. Then he used the terminal, so Katie could override the security locks main doors. “The power has been cut but you should be able to open the doors manually.” His commanding officer said on the radio. “Copy.” “Watch out!” Scotch Tape warned as one guard came from behind, Jeff reacted quickly firing a grenade before the guard had a chance to fire, the explosion threw the body towards them, Jeff sidestepped to avoid it. While the young foal had seen many times how her father used explosives, she really hoped that those soldiers had a quick death instead of burning alive in their armor. After that he opened the door, Scotch Tape saw a Humvee driven by Kate stopping in front of them, Fletcher was manning the minigun. “Get in!” The woman shouted. After Scotch Tape, her counterpart and Jeff got in, the Sergeant drove towards the exit while Fletcher fired at KPA Humvees that chased them, taking either drivers, gunners, or the entire vehicles out until they exploded in flames, leaving only burning black wrecks. Scotch Tape couldn’t believe it, she was really getting out! She could already see the checkpoint that was the exit. Looks like I’m getting out of here after all! She was very glad. KPA trucks moved up, blocking the checkpoint. “They blocked our escape route!” Fletcher shouted but the robotic unicorn didn’t think of stopping, spotting a few explosives barrels on a shelf next to the checkpoint. “Shoot those barrels!” She replied and the Knight did as told, the explosion created a ramp. “Hold on!” Katie drove towards the ramp, the IMV flew over the wall, the landing was a bit rough, making Scotch Tape grunt in pain but they had made it. “Let’s see how they want to follow us now!” Jeff taunted as they left the base behind, driving into the woods. “No enemy forces in pursuit. Success! Now, we got an airship to catch!” Katie shouted triumphed. After their successful escape, the KPA soldiers were running around, trying to put out fires and cleaning up, Jeong just quietly turned to Archer, who's looking very calm. “Dr. Archer...” “Colonel Jeong?” Archer asked in return. “Who was that?” The colonel asked. “As far as I know, that would be Fletcher Fray. He's from wherever the filly's from or thereabouts. He's been tasked with taking her home.” The Korean officer paused for a moment “...You...mention...this...now?” The scientist shifted around with faux-shame. “Well...be honest, Colonel, if I told you, sincerely, that there was a talking, green unicorn with a flying bow and arrows running around Occupied Philly...would you have believed me?” He asked. Jeong’s Face was devoid of emotion but Archer noticed fury in his eyes before the colonel looked at one of his men. “Private.” “Yes, sir?” The soldier saluted. “Do you think we can believe this man?” His hand slowly went to his holster. “Uh, yes sir, thanks to his work we-“ The soldier couldn’t finish as the officer drew his M9 on Archer. “I don’t think so. We should execute him on the spot as traitor.” Archer stayed calm. “If I die, my research does with me and I don’t think your glorious leader would like that.” Jeong did not reply, his expression neutral, the pistol still trained on the scientist for what seemed minutes,then swiftly, he pointed the gun away, not even looking where pulling the trigger, the private had an expression of surprise and horror before the bullet went through his head, blood splattered from it, the body hit the ground, forming a puddle of blood, 2 other soldiers dragged it away without saying a word. “Do not test my patience, Doctor.” Jeong walked away. Once the officer was out of hearing range, Archer mumbled, “I can't very easily test something that doesn't exist.” Back on the airship, Mia checked Scotch Tape for any further injuries. “I owe you all something. I don’t want to imagine what else those doctors had done to me.” The filly shivered at the thought. “You owe us nothing sweetheart, we did only our job and friends help each other.” The medic smiled at her. “Wait, what about Archer, we can’t leave him behind!” The young pony was worried for his safety. Katie and Fletcher walked in. “Don’t worry, Grace and Joseph are getting him out as we speak.” The Sergeant assured her in a calming voice. “As for that Korean colonel…we deal with him another time.” Fletcher sounded slightly angry yet his emotion was neutral. A beeping noise ringed in the room. “Ah, there they are. As I expected.” Katie commented with a smile as the door opened, the two soldiers and the scientist walked in. “Welcome aboard, Archer, It’s nice to see you again.” She greeted friendly. “It’s nice to see you too after all those years. I’m impressed, proud and touched that you managed to finish what I could not, even improving it in ways I never thought were possible.” Archer replied, happy to see them too. “We took take of ourselves once your support stopped.” “Ah yes, I remember. I could never have one single benefactor, otherwise the whole thing would be a dead giveaway. There had to be small payments from multiple investors. It started with the new victors in this desperate new age. Dubai, Rio, Helsinki, Johannesburg, Manila, all had fairly decent and very clever men ready to move up in the world. After them came...less savoury folk. Gangsters in Moscow, slum lords in Amsterdam, sheiks in the Sahara, tribal kings in the Congo, even some whack-nut dictator in Slovakia who genuinely thought he was Emperor Caligula. I had to take money from men I would rather shoot in the face...Can you imagine what that's like? Knowing you are that desperate?” He asked them. “I am Fletcher Fray.” The Eternal Knight introduced himself, offering a hoof shake which the elderly man returned with a smile. “I can imagine how hard it must have been for you back then.” “It’s a pleasure to meet you too and yes it was hard for me. It’s quite exciting to meet you in real life.” Archer admitted a bit embarrassed. “It’s fine. I’m quite impressed about the efficiency of your work.” The unicorn replied. “Yes it is, I was quite impressed myself when I saw how effective it was. Which reminds me, the KPA airships and drones you encountered in Philadelphia, Scotch Tape, those were only tests.” He explained. “Tests? What is their actual purpose then?” She asked, fearing the worst. “To reinforce San Francisco against the upcoming attack of the US forces.” Fletcher and Katie had the same thought upon hearing this. Looks like our work isn’t over yet, cut out for us.