“Manticore Company, third battalion, Manehattan Regiment. All clear.”
“Hydra Company, second battalion, Trottingham Royal Regiment. All clear.”
“Jesus, Shroud, how many more of these are there?”
“Well thanks to your stellar help, not much more.”
The officer leaned back, sighing tiredly.
“How many is not much more?”
“As in that,” Shroud set down the spreadsheet in her hands, “Is the last one.”
Jackson sighed in relief.
“Oh thank god,” He groaned and stretched, popping a few joints in his back, “I didn’t think we even had that many units.”
“We don’t.”
The general paused, staring down his subordinate.
“...What?”
“That was all backlog from the last six months.”
“...What?”
“Yep.” Shroud shrugged, “Apparently no one was keeping track of it and it just kept getting shoved off onto someone else until it ended up at the bottom of the totem pole where it couldn’t go any lower,” She plastered on a fake ‘happy to help’ smile, “That’s where your’s truly comes in!”
“...Six fucking months?” He repeated, “How in God’s name has anyone actually been armed this whole time?” Jackson shook his head, “Wait hold on, Manehatten Regiment? Trottingham Regiment? These aren’t even our units! These are army!”
“Like I said,” The lieutenant glared at some unseen point, “It got shoved down the line,”
“...Oh fuck that noise.”
Shroud barely had time to cry out in alarm before the man bolted up and out the door.
“Where are you going?” Shroud called back.
“I can’t believe that fat slimy piece of shit shoved that bullshit onto my men!”
“Sir! You’re still in front of junior officers!” The lieutenant glanced at the faces of the stunned ponies in the officer lounge.
This caused the officer to finally stop and look at the people around him. Not that it mattered to him, apparently.
“What the fuck are you staring at? Do your jobs! I heard we’ve got plenty of fuckin’ quartermaster forms to deal with!”
The officers jumped to their hooves, saluting in the process. Jackson ignored them, and continued his angered march.
“That’s not exactly what I had in mind, but…” The orange mare shook her head. “General Douglas, can you just tell me what you’re doing?”
Her calls fell on deaf ears as he exited the officer’s lounge and thundered down the hallways. The human’s longer legs propelled him much quicker than hers, forcing her to increase her pace to keep up with him. Ponies left and right stopped and saluted the man as he passed, and he gave a barely noticeable wave as he passed. Several of the younger enlisted looked up to the junior officer in confusion, and Shroud shrugged as she had no response.
Eventually, the paintings on the walls transitioned from large-scale battles to portraits of well decorated and highly respected military leaders. The lieutenant recognized where they were; this was the Armed Forces Joint-Command wing of the base.
“Hey! You there! Major!” Jackson pointed to a passing pony. The unicorn saluted.
“General Dou-”
“Yeah yeah yeah, at ease or whatever, do you know where General Steep Mountain is?”
“He’s in a meeting with the oth-”
“Thank you, dismissed.”
The man didn't wait to hear the rest and resumed storming off.
The now thoroughly confused major stared as the senior officer ran past. His eyes met Shrouds and, she shrugged to him. She was doing that a lot lately.
The general walked right past a pair of guards that were occupied checking another officer’s badge, causing the orange mare to frown.
A security checkpoint? She thought. Wait… Oh no.
“General Douglas, wai-”
She couldn’t even finish her thought as the man all but kicked down a large set of ornately carved wooden doors. With a bang, the doors hit the walls.
“Monty!” Jackson screamed.
“General Douglas?” A beige colored earth pony exclaimed. “What in Tartarus has gotten into you?”
“Why the hell are my officers doing inventory spreadsheets for your regiments? My department is not a bunch of desk jockeys for your lazy captains to shove paperwork on to!”
“Douglas, I hardly think this is the time for this!”
Jackson paused and looked around. The rest of the ponies present stared in mixed amounts of embarrassment and indignation. He frowned and looked up at the projector screen. There was a portrait of him next to several bullet points outlining his recent operation above a list of criminal charges. There was a pony standing next to the screen, the badge on his uniform dictated he was a from the Judicial Affairs Corps.
“...Is that me?”
“Douglas. You have to understand-”
“A fucking internal affairs investigation? What?”
“General Douglas!” Steep Mountain stood. “I will not ask you again! This is highly inappropriate! You cannot come barging in whenever it is convenient for you!” The general took a deep breath, smoothing his uniform. “But now that you are here, I suppose it's as good a time as any to tell you. Lieutenant?”
The junior officer next to Monty stood, clearing his throat.
“The Joint Forces Command has voted to conduct an internal investigation of General Richard Jackson Douglas of the Department of Arms Race Prevention following recent actions of his of which include false testimony, desertion, unsanctioned hostile actions in a foreign sovereign nation, and extrajudicial killing of a wanted individual.”
Jackson stared at his fellow general long and hard, his face setting into stoney acceptance.
“I see,” He nodded, “And is her majesty aware of this?”
“It's none of her concern.” A nearby general stated. His uniform labeled him as army.
“I believe she has a right to know what goes on in her military.”
“She's emotionally compromised.”
“Bullshit.”
“Jack!” Steep Mountain stood. “Hallway! Now!”
The human stared down the earth pony, both waiting for the other to make the first move. Jackson glanced over at the other ponies presents. Generals representing the army, navy, guardsman, and ariel combat units were all present as well as his second in command, Brigadier General Longbranch. He knew whatever this was, it was bigger than he could control. With a barely hidden curse under his breath, he turned and left the room, Monty and Shroud right behind him. The doors had barely shut completely before he began his tirade to his fellow general.
“What the fuck is all this?” He shouted, “An internal affairs investigation? Really?”
“Jack, you and I both know you cocked up,” Monty was barely hiding his contempt, “You heard the list of charges, and you know they can prove you did it. Why are you fighting this?”
“I’m not fighting because I think I didn’t do it, I’m fighting it because it’s bullshit that I’m being charged for anything. You know what these guys were gonna do, and you saw the equipment they were packing. How was I supposed to just let that go by?”
“We are not saying you should have let him go, we’re saying you should have done it through the correct channels.”
“Come on, Monty, you and I both know they would’ve ran the minute we started talking to the Yaks!”
“That doesn’t mean you can wage war on foreign soil without approval!” The earth pony yelled, “I mean, for goodness sake, Jack, this is a international cock up the likes of which we’ve never seen! And believe me when I say the Yaks know you were there and they will hold it over our heads!”
“Well what the fuck do I do now then?” Jackson sighed, running his hand through his hair, “God fucking dammit. I’m gonna lose everything, aren’t I?”
Monty softened, and nodded sadly.
“It’s a very real possibility.”
“Well,” The human shook his head, “Maybe it’s for the best. ‘Bout time I started thinking about retirement anyway.”
“Why did you do it, Jack?” Monty shook his head, “I know you hated the fellow, and believe me I think he’s a knobhead too. But you knew better than to run off after him.”
Jackson shook his head, sighing.
“I don’t know. I guess I got too big. ‘The untouchable human’ or whatever. Maybe this was all a mistake, getting involved in this department.”
“Jack,” Monty sighed, “I hope you understand my part in this is not by my own choosing.”
“No, I understand. Don’t worry,” The human nodded, “And no matter what happens, I don’t blame you for anything.”
The earth pony nodded in return.
“You know what happens next, don’t you?”
“You’re going to arrest me?”
“As soon as we get approval to conduct the investigation,” Monty nodded grimly, “And I hate to say it, but after your little tirade in there, it’s all but guaranteed.”
The human shook his head, staring off at some unseen point.
“I guess I have no choice.” He muttered, “I’ll be in my office, I guess. Waiting for my arrest.”
The earth pony stallion nodded.
“I suppose I should be heading back now.”
“Yeah.”
“Goodbye, Jack.”
“Bye, Monty.”
The earth pony nodded to him, and then Shroud, before leaving. The resounding bang of the doors closing was a stark punctuation to the end of the conversation. They let the silence hang for a long time, Jackson deep in thought and Shroud unsure of what to do next. Eventually, the general shook himself from his thoughts and wearily looked at his surroundings.
“Fucking hell.” he sighed, “Uh… I need a pen and paper.”
“...For what?” Shroud asked.
“I never got a chance to tell Monty to do his own fucking paperwork, and I kind of feel like it’s too late to go in there.”
The lieutenant grinned sadly, nodding.
“I think there’s a guard station down the hall. They’re bound to have something.”
The pair started off. The orange mare glanced up at the human every so often. His mind was somewhere else. Understandably, so. When they approached the guard post, the two guardsponies saluted him.
“At ease,” he ordered, “I need to write a note. Either of you have a pen and paper?”
The guardspony nearest the wall stepped over to a nearby lectern by a pair of chairs, and reached behind it. He pulled out a notepad and a pen, handing it to the general. The human took it, and jotted down a quick message before handing it back the guardspony.
“Deliver this to General Steep Mountain.” He ordered. The pony saluted and started off down the hall.
The pair then started down the hall again, making their way back towards the department’s wing of the building. The lieutenant, unsure what to do, followed the man as they passed the door to the junior officer lounge and entered the general’s office.
The general set his cap down on his desk with a sigh, the lieutenant standing across from him. Jackson turned around and leaned on the windowsill, staring out into the world in silence. Shroud took the time to look around his office. Framed around the room were various pictures taken by the signal corps or the man himself. On his desk sat a picture frame that was facing away from her, a small Equestrian flag and the department’s flag on a wood block, and a stack of paperwork that made her inventory spreadsheets look like a foal’s homework.
“Do you know what I did back home?”
Shroud looked up at the sudden question. The general was still staring out the window, but was obviously talking to her.
“I know you served in your own military, sir.”
“For ten years,” he nodded, “Did I tell you what I did when I got out?”
“No, sir.”
“A whole lot of fuckin’ nothin’.” A ghost of a smile graced his face before slipping, “But that wasn’t the plan for long, obviously. I was trying to get a job before I came here, but my degree made it difficult.”
“...Your degree?”
“What I studied in college.” he clarified.
“Oh. What did you study, sir?”
“History,” His smile returned, more genuine this time, “Military history and US history, specifically. I even got my teaching certificate with it.”
“...You were going to be a teacher?” Shroud grinned. “I can’t imagine being your student.”
“Oh ha ha, you’re funny.” The human shook his head, “I can’t help but imagine what my life would’ve been like if I had been a teacher instead of going into the Marines.”
“Do you think you would’ve ended up here?”
“I dunno. I don’t really even remember how I got here in the first place, honestly.”
“You don’t?” Shroud was surprised. The man just shook his head.
“Everything before waking up here is a bit fuzzy. Even for a few weeks back. Been that way since I got here.”
“Doesn’t that bother you?”
He nodded.
“A lot. But there’s not much I can do about that, can I?” He shrugged, “Maybe someday I will.”
The air fell silent after that, his gaze never leaving the window. Shroud sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk. From here, she could see the picture on his desk more clearly. It was a younger version of the man in front of her standing next to a man she assumed to be Joe.
“What was he like?”
The question finally tore Jackson’s attention away from the window.
“Who?” Shroud pointed to the picture. “Oh. Joe.”
Jackson sighed and sat down in his chair, picking up the picture.
“Joe was an odd kinda guy. You could never really put a label on him. He was just a little bit of everything while also being a whole lot of nothing.” He shook his head, “That’s not a very good answer, is it?”
“It… kind of makes sense.” She nodded.
“I guess. It’s just… he was always great with people. No matter where he went or what he did, he could always talk with anyone about anything.” Jackson laughed as he remembered a story, “There was this one time, in 1998 when we were in college. We were juniors, so we were legally allowed to buy beer. Of course, we’d had it plenty of times before, but this time we actually went to a bar. On the way home, we were completely drunk.” he grinned, “Like, completely drunk. I’m talking just fucking brain-dead drunk,”
This made Shroud laugh.
“Something like the other night?”
“Oh even worse,” The general grinned, “And we were passing by this Dairy Queen- uh, a cheap restaurant back home. Anyway, we had to piss real bad. We tried to go in, but the place was closed. And we were so drunk it took us about ten minutes of pulling on the door to realize the lights were off and there was no one there. And after all that, Joe decided: ‘Well we’re still gonna piss here anyway, fuck y’all.’ and he just walked up to the side of the building, unzipped his pants, and pissed right there on the wall in the bushes.”
The two shared a laugh at that.
“So I finish my business and I clean myself up and walked off and start zoning out, staring at nothing. Then, out of nowhere, this cop car pulls up and the headlights go right on Joe.” He shook his head, smiling wide, “And what does the fucker do? He turns around, sees them, and fucking smiles at them. Like they walked up to him while he was mowing his lawn or something. And then he just shook it off, zipped himself up, and turned around and started talking to them.”
“I can’t imagine that went well,” Shroud shook her head.
“Oh, I thought it was all gonna go down in flames immediately. But then, for some reason that I still don’t know to this day, the cops just let us go with a warning! Just like that! Just because he talked to them for a few minutes! The son of a bitch just talked his way out of getting arrested for public urination!”
Their laughter filled the small office. It took a long time for them to calm down, but eventually their laughter died down to a few phantom giggles. The man shook his head as he rubbed his eyes.
“Anyway. That was a tangent and a half.” He said.
“It was a funny tangent, though.” Shroud nodded.
“Glad to hear it. Joe sure would’ve thought it was,” Jackson leaned back in his chair, shaking his head still. “I dunno. That story is stupid and just moronic, but it just sums up all of what Joe was. He could just talk to anyone about anything at any time, and people just liked him. People listened when he talked. And they cared about what he had to say. Right from the start. I had to earn a lot of that with people. A buddy of mine always said people listened to me ‘cause I had an air of authority. But people listened to Joe ‘cause he was just a genuinely cool guy. You just liked being around him.”
Shroud nodded.
“I understand what you’re talking about. There was a mare in basic that was like that. She was this pegasus from Manehattan that just had no filter. If she thought something, she would say it. But she would say it in a certain way that you didn’t feel too offended by anything she said. The Drill Sergeant liked her and made her squad leader for one of our tacticals, but busted her back down after that once he learned her brutal honesty didn’t stop with her fellow trainees.”
“She mouthed off her Drill Instructor?” He scoffed, “Big mistake there, I’m sure.”
“Oh not only that, but it was the senior drill sergeant.”
Jackson erupted in laughter.
“My god what an idiot,” he sighed, “What happened to her at the end of training?”
“I don’t know,” Shroud shrugged, “I think she was assigned to the Manehattan Regiment and got sent home.”
“I was always jealous of people like that. I always bottled up what I felt and only let it out to people I trusted, as long as they weren’t the people I had a problem with. Joe always managed to bring the truth out of me, no matter how pissed I was. Even if it was with him.” he shook his head, staring at some far off object, “He was just… He would’ve known what to do. With all,” he gestured vaguely, “this shit. Field commanding was always his strong suit. I’d just deal with the brass whenever they didn’t like what he was doing.”
“How often was that?”
“Every other week.” Jackson grinned, “But I’d do it every other hour if it meant he could be here today.”
“What do you think he’d do in your situation?”
The general shrugged.
“I don’t know. Maybe he’d have ordered the companies ba-”
A knock on the door interrupted him. The mood fell immediately. They both knew what that knock could mean.
“Jack?” A kind voice spoke through the door.
But they could also be wrong.
The man in question stood and opened the door, revealing a worried looking Celestia.
“Hey, sweetheart. Um… what’s up?” He tried and failed at being casual.
“Can I come in?”
“Sure. Shroud’s here, by the way.”
“Oh! Hello, Lieutenant,” Celestia greeted as she stepped in.
“Hello, your majesty.” Shroud scrambled to stand and bow.
“Oh, um… that won’t be necessary, Lieutenant.” The princess glanced up at Jackson. “ I’ve just got some… news.”
Jackson frowned as he shut the door.
“I take it it has something to do with my investigation?”
“They’ve told you?”
“Walked in on the other generals at a meeting. Monty explained it to me and Shroud here.”
She sighed and sat in a chair in front of Jackson’s desk.
“This’ll be a huge mess, won’t it?”
The man took his seat again, Shroud apprehensively sitting in the chair next to the princess.
“Most likely.” He nodded.
“The reporters will find out and then we’ll have the media all over the place.” Celestia shook her head. “We haven’t even revealed you’re commanding anything. Ponies barely even know you exist anymore.”
“It’s been years since the news did that story on me.” Jackson nodded. “Everyone’s pretty much forgotten about me since then.”
“They’ll remember you very soon, but not for the right reasons."
The man nodded again. The silence of the room was overpowering. It was eventually broken by a sudden, staccato knock on the door. A pit formed in the man’s stomach. He looked up and smiled sadly at his companions as he stood.
“Well,” He straightened his uniform, “Here we go.”
He swung the door open.
“General Douglas.”
Two uniform ponies stood outside the door, the armband on their sleeves depicted them as Military Police. Behind them stood a third uniformed pony, this one an officer. He was the one who spoke.
“You are to come with us.” The officer stated.
The general nodded gravely, already having accepted his fate. He straightened up, tucked his cap under his arm, and stepped out into the hallway. Shroud and Celestia watched from the doorway. The officer quickly bowed upon noticing the princess.
“Your majesty, I apologize. We did not realize you were here.”
“It’s alright, Captain. I understand you’re doing your job. Please, continue.”
“Thank you, your majesty.”
James smiled sadly at the princess. Her face was expressionless, but he could see small cracks in her facade. He nodded to her before turning around.
“I believe you know your rights, General.” The captain stated.
“I do.”
“If there’s anything you need to do before we leave, we have been instructed to let you do so.”
“Thank you, captain, but I’m fine.”
“Yes, sir. Sergeant?” The officer nodded to his subordinate, who nodded back before leading their little group down the hall.
Celestia watched, repressing her emotions for the time being. Once they’d turned the corner, she hung her head.
“Your majesty?”
She glanced over at the pair of solar guards next to her, her personal entourage.
“Are you alright, your majesty?”
“Ah, yes. Sorry, sergeant. I’m quite alright.” She nodded. “I think I’ll be going to visit my sister now. You two are dismissed.”
The guards glanced at each other, worried. Neither wanted to protest, though, so they bowed.
“Of course, your majesty.”
“Lieutenant Shroud?”
“Yes, Princess?”
“You may return to your duties.”
“Yes, your majesty.”
“Sister? Is something the matter?”
“Oh, Luna.” Celestia shook her head. “Jackson’s been arrested.”
“General Douglas?” The lunar princess tilted her head, “We do not understand. Did he commit a crime?”
Celestia laughed bitterly. She’d forgotten her sister didn’t know about his past.
“Well, Luna. He has, a bit.”
“...What has he done?”
“Well. There was this operation, not too long ago. He lead the ponies in the field, and they found some… insurgents, in the woods.”
“Insurgents? We do not follow.”
“Bandits. Criminals. Some very bad ponies, to put it simply.”
“Ah, yes. We understand now. Please, continue thy tale.”
“Well, these… bandits… made a very large explosive device. They were planning on using it to kill many innocents with it at the Summer Sun Celebration.”
“What?!” Luna screamed, infuriated. “Why those wenches should rot in-”
“Luna!” Celestia shook her head. “They’ve been dealt with, I promise you. Everything is alright.”
The lunar princess nodded, taking several deep breaths to calm herself.
“We… apologize, sister. We did not intend to become so infuriated with the past.”
“It’s alright, Luna. But yes, they were very bad. Jackson discovered they were being supplied by another bad pony far away, and he believed it was best for him to go and… well, kill them.”
“A fair punishment, indeed, if we do say so ourselves!”
“Maybe. But this pony was not in Equestria. They were in Yakistan.”
“The Yaks killed them?”
“No, Jackson did… deal with them. But that’s the crime he committed. He faked his death to the Equestrian government so he could go to Yakistan without political permission.”
“...Oh. That is a predicament.”
“Very much so.” Celestia nodded. “And the other generals did not appreciate his stunt. They formed a council and voted to arrest him and investigate this event.”
“Can you not do anything to help him, sister?”
“I can’t. Me and the General’s relationship has not been a very well kept secret, I’m afraid. The generals decided I was emotionally involved, and so they cut me out.”
Luna scoffed.
“Under what right do they possess the power to do so?”
“There’s been a lot of political change since you’ve been gone. To prevent any sense of bias, they instituted a series of checks and balances in case any part of the government risks becoming too powerful.”
“That is a shame, sister.” The darker alicorn frowned. “If we are not mistaken, only a Princess may preside over a military tribunal, correct?” Celestia nodded. “So if thou cannot become involved, who will preside?”
Celestia stared blankly at the wall.
“...I hadn’t thought of that.” She muttered.
“Would it be correct in assuming, perhaps, that… We could preside over this tribunal?”
Celestia turned to her sister. A smile formed as the gears turned in her head.
“Yes.” She said to herself. “Yes. Yes you would!” She was beaming now. “Luna! This is perfect! You’re an unbiased third party! You can be his judge!”
“Sister, We must remind thou that We will be unbiased in this tribunal. Otherwise, We become just as emotionally involved as thou art.”
The solar princess forced her emotions aside, and sighed. Luna was right. There had to be justice. Besides, there was also the jury to worry about.
“Of course, Luna. I’m sorry. I’m just not thinking straight right now.”
Luna nodded.
“We understand, sister. Thou hast had a hard day, undoubtedly. When may thou retire?”
“I suppose I could now. Day court’s done for the day, and I’ve just got paperwork to deal with for now.” Celestia nodded and stood. “Thank you, Luna. I guess I just needed to get off my chest.”
“We are happy to help, sister. Fare thee well for now.”
Celestia laughed.
“Good night, Luna.”
“Good night, sister.”