"Mother, I think you can let go of her now."
"Well, I don't," Rarity mumbled into Berry's mane. They were in a small waiting room outside one of the Nemeton's many conference room. It was small, but it was private. The chairs were soft, and there were no distracting electronics.
Blue sighed quietly. For a moment he thought his mother had cried herself to sleep holding the pink pony. The fact that she had at least answered allayed those fears. "I understand."
"So do I," Berry reassured the older mare. "Grandma would be happy to know that so many ponies remember her."
"Oh, darling, Pinkie was not a pony you could simply forget." Rarity gave the pink pony one last squeeze, and finally let go of her. She rubbed at her eyes, smudging makeup that was already running. "She could be annoying at times, but she loved everypony, and it was hard not to love her back."
A box of tissues poked the older mare in the side, held in an outstretched wing. Radio was staring at the floor. "Here."
"Thank you, darling." Rarity took the box, and pulled out several tissues to dab away makeup with. "Rainbow raised an excellent colt, she should be proud."
To Rarity's confusion, her compliment seemed to hurt the colt.
"You think she would be?" He asked softly. "I injured dozens of your soldiers over a misunderstanding. I didn't contact you guys to get any sort of information first. I didn't demand an explanation. I jumped straight to laying a trap, and attacking."
"You held back," Blue reminded him, "you were focused on saving Berry, not hurting anypony."
"What if somepony had fallen off a catwalk, or hit their head on the deckplates? You think I would have stopped?" He sighed miserably. "I didn't try to hurt anypony, but I wouldn't have let it stop me. My mother would never have been proud of what I've become."
"Oh, darling, no," Rarity made her way over to the colt, "Not Rainbow, too?"
"Mom's... alive," Radio gave a tiny shrug. "She's been in Cryogenic suspension for the last twelve years. She's injured, and can't be woken up yet. I haven't seen her since I was five."
Swallowing hard, Rarity gave the colt a hug. "Well, I'm sure she'll be proud of you, no matter what. You protected me after all."
"Oh," young Blueblood suddenly remembered, "I wanted to ask about that. You've shrugged off several stun blasts today, and I can understand that given your modified nature, but mother's attacker wouldn't have used a stunner."
"He used some kind of plasma rifle," Radio confirmed. "Stung like you wouldn't believe."
Blueblood nodded. "Then, you are immune to all energy weapons?"
"Only to stun blasts," Radio corrected, "and even then, I'm not completely immune, just highly resistant." He unfolded a wing still dusted with plasma residue and soot. "Unless I can catch it on my wings. Then, I can handle pretty much any infantry level weapon. My feathers are pretty much indestructible, and the veins have a similar structure to the energy dissipating mesh used in body armor." He rubbed some more of the carbon dust off. " Still hurts, though."
"Leave it to Rainbow to have superpony foals." Rarity managed a weak smile, but it didn't last for long. "And, the others? How many Cryo chambers have been found? How many of our ships went missing? Was it just Seven? Or were there others? One through Three are on Canterlot, and Four's different modules had the dragons, gryphons, and changelings, as well as more ponies, so they obviously settled somewhere, but what about Five and Six?"
"You would have to ask Twilight about the other ships," Radio replied with a shrug, "I only left Furia for the first time less than three weeks ago. Berry left Sevus for the first time only days after that."
"Twilight?" Rarity managed another smile, and it stuck a little longer. "Twilight Sparkle? She's alive? How is she? The poor dear, she must be taking this all so terribly personal. She doesn't blame herself, does she?"
"She does." Radio scratched his neck, then corrected himself, "Well, she used to. Astral has been doing a good job of making her realize that it wasn't her fault."
"Astral?" Rarity tried to place the name. "Astral Aegis, Captain of the night guard, was Captain of Cryo Five. Or are you speaking of Astral Motion? He was a launch tech who worked on our initial rocket tests, had odd taste in clothing, but was on Seven."
"Oh, no," Berry cut in, "Uncle Astral wasn't from a pod. He's the pilot Twilight hired to help her find everypony."
"Your uncle?" Blue frowned. "Another relative of Norland's?"
"No," Berry answered quickly, "other side of the family. His father was grandpa Tekrin's brother."
"Ah," The young Prince accepted the answer and didn't press it.
"Who else have you found?" Rarity asked. "Are there any leads? The resources of the White Flags are here if needed. We will do everything we can to help."
"Twilight and Astral already left to follow a lead," Berry told the older mare. "If you want to help, could I call Canterlot Station Delta? I want to make sure Mac and Fluttershy are all right."
"Fluttershy! Big Macintosh!" Rarity headed for one of the two doors to the room. "Right away, dear. We can use the command station in the conference room."
"Hold on," Radio interrupted, "you need to know, Fluttershy, she, um... She probably doesn't look the same as you remember."
Rarity paused as the door opened to the conference room. One massive wooden table filled the room, surrounded by chairs, and there was a large, frosted glass cylinder hung over the center of it. An antique holotube projector, though it served as a light fixture for now. "How do you mean?"
"She spent nearly eight years alone on the abandoned planet Pisces IV," Radio explained, "and, a magical artifact in her DNA made her susceptible to a retrovirus present on the planet, which left her with some... permanent changes."
"Magic in her DNA?" Rarity gasped. "Is she Flutterbat again? Can't Twilight change her back?"
Radio shook his head. "Twilight described the Flutterbat incident. This, this isn't quite the same. It's too dangerous to try and reverse, but it isn't that bad, considering. Just, I don't want you to freak out because she has fangs and one red eye. She isn't having the easiest time adjusting."
"Well, a trip to the the spa should help her immensely," Rarity smiled to herself. "She and I used to visit Aloe and Lotus at the Ponyville Spa every week. I would very much enjoy having my spa buddy back, whatever she may look like."
"What's a spa?" Berry quietly asked Blue.
Rarity froze, having heard the younger mare's question. "What's a spa?" She repeated. "What's a spa?!" She turned around to look at the earth pony. "You mean to tell me, you've never been to a spa?"
"No?" Berry answered with some hesitation. "Or, is that yes?" She shrugged, and decided to answer the question without vague affirmations. "I've never been to a spa."
"How?" Rarity could barely process the other mare's statement. "How does any mare not visit a spa at some point in their life?"
Berry shrugged. "I grew up in a junkyard on a dying planet, surrounded by barren wilderness?"
"Oh my," Rarity brought a hoof to her chest, "that sounds dreadful."
"It does, indeed," Blue agreed. "But, before we get too far off-topic, mother, we need to discuss the issue of Berry's freedom. I believe she's more than proven that she has not followed her grandfather's path."
"Oh, of course, darling, no question there." Rarity sighed quietly. "But, there are others who won't see it that way. Other bounty hunters, criminal groups who desire a connection to Norland's notoriety, and who knows whom else." The older mare looked over at her friend's granddaughter. "Berry, I wouldn't dream of keeping you prisoner, but it may be safest for you to remain in the custody of the White Flags. At least then, we could protect you."
"That doesn't sit well with me." Blue crossed his hooves. "If she is unable to leave the Nemeton, then she has still lost her freedom. What if... What if she remained in my custody? Would that be enough? As Prince of the White Flags, I would stay with her, be responsible for her. We could get her and Norland's bounties rescinded, and tell the other bounty hunter groups that she is cooperating with us to take down a larger target."
"Such an arrangement wouldn't stop the criminal element," Rarity pointed out.
"No, the arrangement wouldn't," Blueblood agreed, "but I would. And this would let me help them with their mission. Finding the Cryo-chambers is important to you, isn't it, mother?"
"Of course, darling, but that doesn't mean you need to be the one taking on the responsibility."
"Of course it does," Blueblood countered, "you have responsibilities to the White Flags that I simply can not fulfill, and more than that, Juki, Bobbin, Charity, and Pearl need you here."
"Really?" Rarity whined softly. "You would use your siblings against me?"
"Without hesitation, mother," the young stallion answered coldly. "They need you more than they need their big brother. Though, I would return as often as possible."
"I will consider it," she reluctantly conceded, "but later. You have a mission first, a very important one related to the Hearson Financial case." Rarity cleared her throat. "Your father and I snagged the supposed ringleader of the Hearson incident while he was purchasing a false identity on Zargon. We traced another identity from the same broker to an arrest made recently in a Canterlot hospital. And, they may not have been the only fugitives in this case to do so. Anyway, among his belongings was a ticket to the travelling theater, Crystalia."
Blue nodded. "The same Crystalia where we saw Pirates of Penzance on my twelfth birthday?"
"The one and only," Rarity replied with a smile. "Now, here's where things become worrisome. Analysis of his personal electronics turned up coded messages describing a, 'phase two,' implying Hearson Financial was merely a test run for something larger. Our intelligence division was able to pull a few more interesting tidbits, but hit a roadblock after finding a fragment of nonbinary quantum computer code. None of our equipment can parse enough of it to make sense of. And this is merely me relating what our technicians told me, because I barely understand what binary is."
"Isn't nonbinary used in A.I?" Radio asked. "C.R.I.S. has a ternary positron core matrix. Combat Role Impersonation System, he's Furia's latest attempt at a battle android. Didn't make the cut for mass production, mostly because they suspect he could gain sentience along the way. His core uses yes, no, and maybe, to better emulate fuzzy logic and all that. But I thought putting an artificial personality inside a quantum core was a surefire way to end up with an insane, homicidal computer."
"Suicidal," Berry corrected, "an artificial intelligence that can process information faster than they can receive it turn inward, and become imaginative and create information to try and fill the void, but quickly burn out in the solitude. They devise ways to corrupt their own code to end the emptiness."
"Wow, giving me flashbacks there, Berry." Radio shook his head. "So, what's the big deal with this quantum code? It isn't exactly hard to access a quantum computer, most public libraries have one you can rent time on."
"Small binary ones, sure," Blue pointed out. "The Crystalia is a repurposed Effshian warship. If I recall the tour guide correctly, it has a quaternary quantum core capable of coordinating the status and movements of millions of troops across multiple planets while adjusting strategies and issuing orders based on sensor data from an equal number of devices. It is curently used to process video for a number of Subnet video editing services, with billions of subscribers across the galaxy."
"So, a shit-ton of processing power," Radio concluded.
"Language, darling," Rarity scolded lightly. "However, yes, quite a lot of processing power. Hearson Financial involved the skimming of financial transactions, specifically the miniscule fractions of currency generally rounded up during tax calculations. So, you can see why this has many ponies worried. A few thousandths of a bit isn't much, but spread across a billion transactions a day, every day, it adds up quickly. Now imagine every transaction in the subspace data network being skimmed."
"Billions of bits a day, disappearing without a trace." Radio pursed his lips in contemplation. "And, not just bits, most likely, Curraxan credits, Earth Dollars, Dragon Gem Standards, every currency in use could be hit, and nobody would notice unless they were looking for it."
"Ponies are looking," Rarity assured the colt, "most definitely looking. However, it is in the best interests of everypony in the galaxy if we snip this in the bud, so to speak. Before entire planets start having to make up for deficits in tax revenue. We can't be sure they will keep the skimming to relatively low amounts. They may go for broke, so to speak, and skim a larger percentage for a shorter time. Imagine all the money that changes hooves in the space of ten or twenty minutes across the entire galaxy. They could steal all of it." The mare looked over at her son. "Blue, we need you to go in undercover and find out what is going on aboard the Crystalia." She reached into a pocket and withdrew a small metal sphere,smooth and dull, except for a few inscribed lines around its equator. "This was found in a bag in his aircar rental, locked in a metal box, with a phase pistol and a great deal of cash. Though, we aren't sure exactly what it is. Scans show mechanical components, and what looks like a computer, but no way to activate it. It's either antiquated, or highly advanced, and we can't even guess what it's for. I'm not sure if you should bring it with you, or leave it here."
"I should probably bring it," Blue decided, picking up the device. "At the very least, I may be able to use it to elicit a reaction from any suspects." The young Prince sighed, and looked over at Berry. "I'm sorry, but it seems discussion of you leaving the Nemeton will have to wait until I return."
"I'll just go with you," Berry suggested.
Blue looked over at her. "I'm sorry, I may have misheard. Did you just say you would go with me?"
Berry nodded. "If I helped you, and we get the mission done sooner, I could get back to Delta sooner."
"You inherited your grandmother's sense of logic," Rarity observed.
Berry's ears perked up at the mention of her grandmother, and the implication that she resembled her in some way. "Is that good?"
Rarity shook her head. "Not in this case."
"Oh." The pink pony's ears drooped ever so slightly, but she didn't let go of hope just yet. "But, I can still go, right?"
Rarity shook her head again, a stern motion this time, joined by a frown. "Absolutely not, darling."
"Berry," Blue jumped back in before the earth pony could protest again. "I must agree, you could be in danger if you accompanied me."
"And you'll be in danger either way. I can help you if you get into a fight, I've proven that."
"The whole point is not to fight, that's what undercover work entails."
"I can help in other ways. Like, what if you need to reprogram the quantum computer? I can do that."
"That would be useful, but no, Berry, and that's final. If I am to protect you, I can't allow you to be involved with what could be a hazardous mission."
"But you will," she said confidently.
"And what makes you say that?"
Berry grabbed the sphere out of his magic, and held it out in her hoof. Four sharp little legs popped out of the sides, and the spider-like robot stood up. "Authorized user detected," said a tinny, metallic, little voice, "do you have a command?"
"Because Granpa's involved."