//------------------------------// // 5. Chance // Story: The Last Soldier of Equestria // by KolyanGOLD //------------------------------// I got out of bed and leaned on my injured leg to see how it would behave. The drugs worked well, because the pain felt very weak. I glanced at the clock on the bedside table, which said eleven o'clock in the morning, and went to the mirror. To be honest, I didn't like the look of the pony looking at me at all. The mane is simply not smoothed, and the traces of dirt on the fur, that on the muzzle, that on the legs, it is long time to wash off. But this clothes were new. "Yeah, I need to wash off the dirt, but with what? The salt water will only make it worse.» After breakfast, I went outside. This time, the sun was obscured by a few white clouds, causing a slight shadow to cover the base. "So, the soldiers had to wash somewhere and get drinking water, right?" Remembering the map of the base I had seen in the generator room terminal, I moved to a small building that was located next to the barracks and was a local water treatment plant, next to which there was a shower. The first thing I saw, when I went inside, were two large tubes that led to three tanks, the front of which was made of glass to see the water level in them, and they themselves were almost as high as the ceiling. To the right was a device that connected to the tanks with tubes, and others went somewhere deep into the wall. Next to it was a small room with two terminals and a door to a room completely filled with metal empty barrels, under a tube coming out of the ceiling. There was also a drinking fountain, a couple of which I had already seen in other buildings. "It looks like these barrels were filled with drinking water. Just in case." Turning on the terminal, I saw data about the tanks and the water treatment machine that was turned off. Also, the water intake and discharge tubes were automatically blocked, and the tanks were previously emptied, but this happened after the power outage. When I tried to turn on the desalination plant, a warning appeared, reminding me to change the filters. Of course, why didn't I think of it before? The old filters are no longer functioning. Returning to the installation, I opened a wide rectangular hatch, in which several blackened filters stood in a row, which from the outside looked just like plates marked "FP-11" and were connected by hoses to each other. I pulled them all out, took one with me and went to the warehouse, because there should be extra parts for everything. Through the terminal, I found the filters, but when I came to the shelves, there were only a few plates of "FP-7" and two "FP-4", which were very different from the one I had with me. After looking around, I didn't find any other filters. "Well, at least I found something." It wasn't difficult to put the plates back in and connect the hoses to them, so I went back to the terminal to open the pipes. The device hummed, but the water, for some reason, did not go. The system immediately notified me that the valve of the water intake pipe did not open and I need to do it manually. Simply, I couldn't get to the tube so I had to hobble around the wall that enclosed the base. It's not just the fracture, but also the structure attached to the leg, which is not the most pleasant thing to walk with it. And it's even worse without it, I interrupted myself. At this place, the island was slightly cut, so that the shore was quite small, but it was quite close and I had to go not far. There were also two large pipes that went down into the water. At the place where the pipe were bend and then went straight up to the wall, there was something like a lever, which, apparently, allowed to pull the bolt. Leaning, I started pushing the lever with my body, but he refused to move. Looks like it's been stuck for so long. After a moment's thought, I turned my back on him and kicked him heartily. The lever, with a second's grating and a subsequent click, finally came into the open position. "At least it didn't break down, because I don't know what I did then." Ahead, against the water, was a small building that stood apart from the base. Oh, it's a shore gun, I remembered, after a few seconds of looking at it. It seems to have fired only once, when we decided to try it out by blowing up a makeshift wooden raft. Even thought, our island was far from any fighting, but, just in case, this gun got for us. Although it's not much help,, since it will not sink something larger than a heavy boat with one shot, and they are not very effective alone. Oh, and what fortifications I saw in Manehatten! There are such companies all along the coast that even a battleship could sink with a couple of volleys, not letting it get closer to the horizon line! Well, at least that's what they looked like. Returning to the terminal, I tried to run the installation again. The sound of running water was heard from the direction of the hall. It turned out that first the trickle-down water is collected in the first two basin, then goes into the filters and goes to another basin in the back of the shower, and the excess is poured into the remaining third. This water is quite suitable for the drink. But in order to be able to drink it, it is run through the filters several more times and heated, and then goes to the tank under the ceiling, from where it is carried around the base, and if necessary, into barrels. Of course, it takes some time, so I'll have to wait. Outside in the main hall, I watched the tanks fill up, while I heard a slight crackling sound, though it was drowned out by the sound of falling water. There were cracks in the glass of the first tank that I hadn't noticed when I first entered, and now they were growing! If nothing is done, the glass will simply blow and the entire contents will flood the main hall! I immediately cast to the terminal to turning off the supply to the damaged tank and turned on the pumping of water from it. There was a pop and the sound of water spilling from the hall. Looking out of the room, I saw the broken glass and a little water on the floor, which, fortunately, was already waning from the tank and poured out quite a bit. In addition to the broken glass, some stone had washed out. "But a rock is heavier than water, isn't it?" I thought at first. Picking up the object, I had no doubt that it was a skull, looking at me with empty eye sockets. Almost dropping it in surprise, I grabbed it with my telekinesis at the last moment. Passing through the broken glass, I saw the rest of the remains. It looks like he was inside at the worst possible time. The hatch at the top was closed, so he either drowned or died without food and air, which, undoubtedly, in any case, a horrible death! Clouds now occupied almost the entire sky, although they were not rain clouds, but the lack of sun and the coastal wind created a noticeable chill, even among the buildings that should have prevented it. Ahead, against the background of the sky that had not yet been delayed in that place, there was a stone tower that was a lighthouse, and next to it there should have been a small port. Usually there were two heavy boats, that sailed to the mainland several times a week for new supplies and, sometimes, soldiers. Rins said that one boat sailed on the day of the explosion, but I don't know anything about the second one… "What if it still there?" I thought, "I could swim away from this island!" I had half an hour before the water would pass the first stage of purification, so I, having previously stopped to refresh myself, decided to immediately go along the gravel road towards the port. In fact, it was two large buildings, one of which had a warehouse and something like a workshop, and the second had two docks for boats. A little further away there was a lighthouse, and next to the docks there was a stone pier, to which cargo ships could also sail. It was here that they anchored when the base was just being built. It is stupid to transport materials in small batches for several hours a day, using only the boats assigned to us. There were two entrances to the workshop: one from the shore, and the other from the warehouse, so in order not to bypass the building, I decided to go through the warehouse. By itself, he did not imagine anything unusual. The dim light of the lamps illuminated several shelves and a large cluster of wooden boxes, as well as a couple of tables in the corner. Passing by another wall of boxes, something made me stop. Having noticed something that looked like bottles under the slightly ajar lid, I decided to open a drawer that caught my eye, which turned out to be completely filled with Sparkle-Cola bottles. And again, I had a flashback. *** "Get those crates on the boat," a large stallion in a navy uniform called to me from the entrance. "Why are you up? How long do I have to wait for you?" he asked a couple of other soldiers who were carrying off something large. The shift at the marine depot was my least favorite. Not only do we have to do all the work for the suppliers, who just come to ship and strike, they also complained that we are slow to work! And we didn't forget to shout... as if that would make us do it faster. Mentally expressing my displeasure, I pushed remove another box and saw someone's mane sticking out behind it. "Uuu-uh…" I said, watching the hair disappear. The color was too familiar! As I quickly pushed another crate aside, I saw the croup of a pegasus trying to crawl back into the warehouse, leaving two empty glass bottles at the scene of the crime. "Hey, where are you going?" I called out to him, then grabbed his tail with my teeth and dragged him back. "Oh, it's you," Pegasus said, turning around. "You're scared me!' "Rins?" I was wonder. "You again? Leaf gonna rip your feathers off and close you in office." "And why do you like this cola?" I asked, looking on the still unopened bottle under his wing. "Hey! If honestly, it's delicious!" he snapped. "Yeah, and you get used to it quickly... I like Sarsaparilla more, but can't get it anywhere!" "If you don't tell anyone that I've been here, I'll get it," Rins said, grinning broadly. "Okay, go already, before somepony else sees you…" *** Backing away from the wall where I was leaning against, I lifted the lid of the crate, and took out one of the bottles. There are cold in the building, so the cola was cold. Opening the lid, I was surprised by the subsequent hiss. "Wow, not withered yet!' I said, taking first sip of the carbonated liquid. Although, Sparkle-Cola wasn't my favorite drink, but I have to admit that it is quite delicious, especially when I last drank it just a couple of centuries ago! Leaving half the bottle, I went into the workshop and saw a boat standing in the dry dock, with a huge hole through the front hull. On the tables against the wall, in addition to the tools, lay a large engine, which seemed to have been taken from the same boat. "Rotten hey!" thought I, standing with the open mouth. So that's what happened to the second boat! And why am I so lucky? It will take at least a couple of weeks to fix it, and then, if possible. I wasn't a mechanic, but the engine didn't look disassembled either, judging by the blueprints hanging on the wall. So I just need to fix the case and get it back in place. Perhaps this is the most likely chance to get out here! Now I would like to figure out how to patch the hole, but nothing comes to mind. Maybe I should try using the steel sheets that I saw in the warehouse, but how to drag them here? In any case, I still have time to think. The day was already drawing to a close, so I decided to check the lighthouse before returning to headquarters. Inside the tower there was a spiral staircase that led to a cozy caretaker's room, under the roof. There was a large bed, next to which there was a beautiful wardrobe with a couple of books and a magic lamp on the bedside table, covering a pocket radio and a loaded pistol, and the room itself was illuminated by light from four windows. There was a staircase even higher up against the wall, where a large searchlight with a powerful lamp that could beat for many kilometers through the fog stood on a rotating platform. From here you could see almost the entire island, although most of it is filled with tall trees. There was a small panel in front of the lamp that was turned off, with which I could make the beacon work again. By pressing the button, I conducted electricity into a powerful lamp that was turned towards the ocean. Pulling the lever, I thought that the platform would start spinning around its axis, but after a short creak in the depth of the mechanism, nothing happened. There was a canister nearby, in which there was oil, which, it seems, lubricated the torque mechanism. Walking around the platform, I found something like a recess with a tube going inside. Relying on luck, I poured some oil into it. Pulling the lever again, at first I thought that nothing had happened, but the platform made a short turn, after which it began to turn slowly with a screech. The platform turned five or six more times, after which the screeching disappeared, leaving only a rare tapping, at the moment of the platform becoming in its initial position. Now the lighthouse habitually illuminated the area with the light of its powerful lamp, which once helped ships not to lose their course, and now showed anyone who saw it that there were still survivors here. It was already quite dark in the room, as well as outside. I lit the magic lamp on the table and, after a little thought, decided to stay here for the night.