//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 - Impromptu Meetings // Story: The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds // by Kamahido //------------------------------// Later that evening Arc drives up to the front gate of the base. He shows the guards his badge and they allow him to pass. Parking the vehicle back where he and Auriel found it on their last visit he sits and waits for the shift change. Cherry calls out to him. “Looks like they’re moving.” “Yeah. Ready?” “This is risky, Arc. You don’t have Auriel with you to pretend she’s Diva!” Arc shrugs. “No one took a second glance at me last time. That and now I have this janitor’s disguise.” “Don’t forget what’ll happen if they figure out who you really are! Can’t you go in cloaked again?!” “Not this time. It’s important that I be seen.” Following the guards inside Arc joins them on the elevator. Without a word they make the descent together. As the elevator stops at the bottom, they step off. Arc heads for the Maintenance Bay as Cherry calls out to him. “I still don’t think this is necessary to the mission.” “Neither do I.” “Then why…?” “I need to do this. For Hammer.” Cherry sighs as Arc scans his card and enters the Maintenance Bay. Quickly heading toward the corner of the enormous room he spots Hammer at her workbench. Banging on a nearby machine to get her attention she turns. Spotting him, a huge grin spreads across her face as she walks over. “Hey there, handsome. Should we pick up where we left off the other night?” Arc shakes his head. “No, Hammer. We need to stay focused on the task at hand.” She wraps her arms around his neck and smiles sensually. “But I’m doing that.” Sighing, Arc gently pushes her back. “I already told you this, Hammer. It’s not good to be romantically involved with a client.” Grabbing him by the front of his uniform, Hammer pulls Arc’s face to within inches of hers as she giggles. “Then you better hurry up and finish my case.” Leaning forward she gives his lips a quick peck before letting go and stepping back. “So what brings you here tonight?” “I was… uh… kinda hoping to get some more information on General Mustang.” “Oh?” “I need to understand just how he’s manipulating you sisters, and why.” Hammer blushes. “I… may have something on that.” “Did something happen?” “Kinda. You remember how I told you my sisters have regular meetings with the general?” Arc nods. “I do. But you don’t usually go to those if I recall correctly.” Hammer nods. “Right. But given the circumstances, I decided to not only be there this time, but show up early.” “Looking out for your sisters?” Hammer grimaces. “I don’t want the general taking advantage of them and their emotions!” Arc sighs inwardly and nods as Hammer continues. “Anyways, as the meeting went on General Mustang kept getting up and walking around the room. But I noticed he never strayed too far from his glass.” “Alcohol?” “I thought it was too. But every time he took a drink I felt a little… strange.” “Describe the feeling.” “Well… it felt warm. Like there was a little heater in me. My chest also felt kinda pinched.” Arc frowns. “Has this ever happened before?” Hammer nods. “Looking back, yeah. But I just kinda wrote it off as something I ate. Stingray and Mio appeared to be a bit off too. Especially when he walked behind their chairs.” “So they looked to be… uncomfortable when he came near them?” “Not quite the word I would have used. It was kinda like they were trying to hold something in. Like when you have to use the toilet really bad.” “What about you?” “He never came that close, which I’m thankful for. You might do well to try and swipe some of that stuff from his office. He keeps a full decanter of it on a table near his desk. Can’t miss it.” Arc chuckles. “I already have.” “Really?” “Yes. I sent a sample to a trusted friend at a lab.” “What’d he find?!” “I’m… still waiting on the results. Says he’s having trouble analyzing the sample due to some of the components being exotic.” Hammer frowns. “When will you know?!” Arc shrugs. “No idea. But I’ll let you know the moment I do.” “Thanks.” She looks at the clock on the wall before turning back to Arc. “The general should be out of his office by now if you want to pay it a visit.” “I think I’ll do that.” Hammer point to the janitor’s cart nearby and grins. “Your mode of transport awaits.” Arc rolls his eyes. “Yeah. Here we go again. Shouldn’t you get home though? It’s getting pretty late for supper.” “I’m planning on heading out pretty soon. Meet me at my personal apartment tonight at midnight.” “Alright. Um… I might need some extra access to get this job done though.” Hammer reaches into her pocket and pulls out an ID. She looks at it a moment before handing it to Arc. “Here. This should get you into a few more doors around the base.” Arc takes the badge and looks it over before raising his eyes to Hammer. “But this is your ID.” Hammer nods soberly. “Yeah.” “What’ll you use?” “I’m not going anywhere other than out of here tonight, so I don’t really need it. That and I do have a spare one back at my place. Just be sure to bring it back when you’re done.” “Sure. That and if I discover something I’ll bring it to you tonight.” Hammer winks at him seductively. “I’ll be waiting.” Arc nods and grabs the cart. Leaving the room he walks down the corridor as Cherry calls out to him. “You wanted to tell her, didn’t you?” “Yeah. But… this really isn’t the right time.” “When will be?” “I don’t know. But let’s focus on the task at hand.” Proceeding to a storage closet he enters and looks around. “No cameras I can see in here.” Reaching for his ring Arc pulls out a wooden crate. He carefully removes several packs and stores them neatly in his cart’s trash bin before covering them with a handful of paper towels. “Let’s get moving.” Cherry calls out to him as they walk on. “What are those things?” “Plastic explosives.” “What are you…?” “It’s in preparation for the mission as part of my plan. Trust me on this one.” “…okay.” Arc walks around the base. Coming to a panel he opens it and carefully sets a pack inside. After attaching a device to it he closes the door. “I can remote detonate these if we need a distraction.” “Hopefully it won’t come to that.” Arc sighs. “Yeah. But we need to be prepared.” Continuing on his way Arc comes to a large overhead door with numerous large conduits running into it. Cherry calls out to him. “Where are we now?” “The backup power substation.” “A power plant?” “More like generators. If the municipal power goes out they need to be able to keep the lights on.” “Makes sense. But what are we doing here?” “Helping to create a foreseeable blackout.” Looking around to make sure they are alone, Arc picks up the rest of the packs and puts Hammer’s ID into the card reader. The doors slide open easily. Walking inside he wastes no time setting the explosives around each generator’s drive shaft. “Why not the computers, Arc?” “Because they only regulate when and how long the generators run. If there was an explosion here that destroyed this shaft it wouldn’t rotate. No turning, no power.” “Couldn’t they fix it?” Arc shakes his head. “No, they’d have to be replaced. And judging by their size, that wouldn’t be a quick and easy job.” “So we’d be long gone by then, huh?” “Exactly. This could also be used as a distraction if need be. Just a really big one.” “So what now?” “I need to see Rieper’s office.” “What makes you think he has one?” “As much work as he’s doing here, there has to be somewhere he can sit down and fill out reports.” “Like a cubicle?” Arc shakes his head. “Nah. Big shots like him would have a real office.” “But where?” “Probably just off the lab floor. Let’s go find it.” Returning to the corridor Arc pushes his cart toward the laboratory. Entering he looks around. “There’s Mustang’s office overlooking the lab. Aha!” He looks at a similarly sized office directly below. “That’s gotta be it.” Cherry giggles. “Are we going to clean his office too?” Arc shrugs. “Might as well. I need a cover story in case we’re discovered anyways.” Heading for the door Arc scans Hammer’s ID on the panel. With a click the door unlocks allowing him entrance. He closes the door behind him and turns on the lights. Cherry gasps. “ARC?! What are you DOING?!” “I can’t see otherwise.” “But now anyone walking by knows there’s someone in here! Just put on your armor!” “Fine, fine.” Flicking the switch off Arc calls for his armor. Looking around via his helmet’s True Sight Enchantment he spots a computer on the desk. “Let’s see what we have here…” Sitting down Arc turns on the computer. As it starts up he frowns. “Should of known. Password protected.” “We could guess.” Arc sighs. “As smart a guy as Rieper is I don’t think he’d make it that easy to crack.” A voice rings out behind Arc. “It’s really quite simple.” Arc whirls around to see Wiseman behind him. “What the…?! Where did you come from?!” Wiseman shrugs. “I was just passing by.” He gestures to the computer. “It looks like you could use some help.” Arc rolls his eyes. “Are you some kind of computer hacker now?” “No.” “Well, unless you have the password, I don’t see how you’re supposed to…” Wiseman leans forward and presses a few keys. “There you are.” Arc raises an eyebrow as access is granted. “How did you…?!” “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, Arc. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the password is ‘Knowles’.” Cherry gasps. “Auriel’s mother?!” Wiseman nods. “Yes. But it looks like you have this well in hand. Do take care.” Without another word Wiseman vanishes. Cherry sighs. “He seemed in quite the hurry today.” “Yeah well… let’s do as he says and get to work.” Arc presses a few keys. “Let’s see here…” “Are you looking for something in particular, Arc?” “Something about pheromone research. But where to start?” “How about with Mustang?” Arc grins. “Worth a shot. Let me do a search for… here we go!” “A folder called ‘Mustang’?” “It has files in it. Let’s see…” Double clicking on the folder Arc finds numerous weekly records. Each are meticulously detailed” “Reports?” Arc nods. “Looks like it. Let’s go back to the root folder though.” He clicks a few times and frowns. “Mustang, Stingray, Hammer, Mio, Diva… Rieper has files on all of them!” “We don’t have time to go over all of these, Arc!” “Right. Let’s see…” He pushes a few buttons and returns to Mustang’s folder. “Let’s see the latest report.” Opening the file he begins to read. “Looks like the doctor believes his research is bearing fruit.” Cherry gasps. “Do you suppose the general knows about this?!” “I’m going to assume yes, as the serum mentioned here sounds like the liquid in the decanter in his office.” “Why would he keep taking it though?” “Probably because it gives him charismatic power over his people. Think about it, Cherry. Stingray, Mio, and even Diva would follow him unquestioningly as long as these effects are maintained.” “What about Hammer?” “Let’s see.” Opening Hammer’s file Arc looks it over. “It says the effects are only minimally effective on her. More research is required.” “Is she in danger though?” “Probably not. But we need reports for Stingray and Mio to prove this to Hammer.” Pressing a few keys he prints the latest reports for Stingray and Mio. Grabbing them he stuffs the papers into his ring before turning back to the computer. “This might not be enough though.” “To convince Hammer’s sisters?” Arc nods. “Right.” Reaching for his ring, he pulls out a flash drive. Plugging it into the computer, he highlights several folders and copies them. “Now we just need to wait a few minutes for the process to finish.” “All well and good for Hammer. But what about us?” “I’ll have Viktor save a copy of this to his computer before I turn it over to Hammer. There’s probably a slew of incriminating data here. I get the feeling what I printed was only the tip of the iceberg. But it along with the rest of the files should be enough to close this case with Hammer.” “That’s good. Um… it IS good, right?” Arc shrugs. “I think so.” “You sound… uncertain.” “It will be nice to have my first big case completed successfully. But… I think she still has her eyes on a relationship.” “What’s the problem?” “Don’t I already have enough female companions already?” Cherry giggles. “So, add her to the herd.” “Humans generally don’t do ‘herds’.” “They don’t?” “Not usually, no.” “That explains a few things.” “Can we stay focused on this please?” “Sure, Arc.” The transfer completes and Arc turns off the computer. He removes the flash drive before storing it safely in his ring. “Okay. Let’s get out of here.” Pulling out his magic cloak Arc quickly puts it on and heads out the door. Cherry calls out to him. “What about the cart?” “Um… I guess I should bring that back to the Maintenance Bay.” “It’s on the way. More or less anyway.” Holding out his gauntlet Arc shrinks the cart down. He picks it up and carries it in the palm of his hand. “In any case, we should probably get home soon, Arc.” “Agreed.” Proceeding to the Maintenance Bay, Arc passes through a corridor with numerous doors on either side. As he walks by one suddenly opens and Mio runs out. With no time for him to move, she crashes into him and falls to the floor. “Ow! What the…?” Looking up her eyes widen. “YOU?!” Hearing the door behind him open, Arc grabs Mio’s collar and dives into the room she came out of. Turning, he quickly shuts the door. A few moments later there is a knock as Stingray’s voice rings out. “You ready to go, Mio?” Mio opens her mouth to speak, but Arc covers it with a gauntlet. Cherry calls out to him. “This is bad, Arc!” “Yeah! I can’t take both of them!” “What do we do?!” Stingray knocks again, this time louder. “Hey! I know you’re in there! Let’s get moving! We’re late enough as it is!” Arc sighs. “I’m going to have to let Mio go.” “Yes, I suppose so.” Releasing Mio she staggers forward before composing herself and calling out to her sister. “You go on ahead, Stingray. I’m going to be a little while still.” “You okay?” “Y-yes. Just fine.” “Alright. Just don’t take too long. We still need to make supper.” “See you at home.” Arc decloaks as Mio turns back to him. “Why… why did you do that?” “I… um… needed to talk to you about something.” She gestures to a small table and two chairs in a corner of the room. “Can we sit down?” Cherry calls out to him telepathically. “We should run, Arc!” “I kinda want to. But she’d call for Stingray AND the whole base to take us out.” “What do we do then?!” “Let’s just play this one by ear.” Arc nods and heads for the table with Mio. The pair sit down across from each other. “I… um… actually should have done this sooner.” “Done what?” “Sat down.” “I don’t understand.” Mio sighs. “This isn’t going as well as I was hoping it would.” “Is there something you wanted to tell me?” “Yes. I… I’ve been thinking about the last time we talked.” “In the cave?” Mio nods. “Right. I… um… really appreciate what you did for me back there.” “It was no problem. How are you limbs doing?” “They’re fine. But I need to ask you something about that time.” “What is it?” “Back then… you could have just left me there. I don’t think anyone would have found me either.” Arc shrugs. “Probably not. At least not in time to save you anyway.” Mio shudders before continuing. “I don’t mind telling you here in private that I was genuinely terrified back then.” “Of the situation, or me?” “Both, actually. Without my staff I was relatively powerless, after all. You could have left me there or killed me. So… I… um… just have to know… why didn’t you?” “What?” “Or if you prefer… why did you save me?” Arc frowns. “Because it was the right thing to do.” “But we’re enemies!” “That doesn’t mean I can just leave you to die alone in a hole.” Mia smiles nervously. “I could tell back then that you were very resourceful. That must be how you got in here.” “Something like that. But now it’s my turn to ask you something.” “What is it?” “When Stingray knocked at the door a few minutes ago you didn’t turn me in. Why?” Mio looks down at her hands. “Because… I just couldn’t. You didn’t abandon me when I needed help. I had to return the favor.” She frowns. “Look, I… I don’t know who you are or where you came from. But I really, in all sincerity, believe that we shouldn’t be enemies.” “You asking me to sign up again?” “Yes.” “I can’t do that.” Mio sighs. “Somehow I knew you’d say that.” “So what happens now. You doing to call General Mustang?” “How… did you know that name?” Cherry groans telepathically. “Arc!” “I… overheard it in my travels.” “We need smart and strong people if we’re going to prevail!” “To what end?” Mio leans forward. “Fixing the world!” “How?” “I… can’t say.” Arc sighs. “Yeah, I figured. But if there isn’t anything else, I need to be going.” He moves to stand, but Mio reaches across the table and puts a hand on his shoulder. “Wait! I… I… um… need to say something!” “What is it?” “I… just wanted to tell you that… um… no one ever really… seemed to care before.” “Care?” “About me.” Arc raises an eyebrow under his helmet. “What about Stingray and Hammer?” “I know my sisters care about me. It’s just… we’re not very good at showing it, I guess.” “Don’t get along?” Mio sighs. “We do… to a degree. But just them. Everyone else just cares about me for my… abilities.” “Your magic, huh?” “Right.” “Why are you telling me all of this?” “Because you really stuck you neck out for me back there. Not just for me, but for my sisters too.” “I did?” Mio nods. “Yes. Stingray told me what happened at that farmhouse. You could have easily killed Hammer when she was down and out. But you didn’t.” “That’s not who I am.” “While I don’t understand that, I thank you just the same for sparing her.” Mio smiles at him. “You know… it’s really nice talking to you. I feel like… like I can just be myself without worrying about suspicious and fearful eyes staring at me. As if I would vaporize them any minute.” “You’re not a bad person, Mio. Even though I do disagree with what’s going on down in the lab.” Mio frowns. “Of course you would know about that.” “You claim to want to make the world a better place, yet your organization kidnaps and experiments on people.” “We’re not…!” “I saw the tubes. And their contents.” Mio sighs. “Sometimes… you have to hurt a few to help the whole.” “Oh really?” Mio nods. “The needs of the many over the few.” “Few, huh? You know, I could very easily kill you here and now before making my escape topside.” Mio leans back nervously. “Wha-what?!” “I would never have to worry about you detecting me ever again. My job would be so much easier.” Mio sighs. “Very well. Just please… make it quick.” Arc shakes his head. “No. I’m not going to hurt you.” “Why not?” “Because I don’t agree with the needs of the many over the few mentality. You’re a living breathing person. I won’t kill you needlessly.” “What about in the field? You may have no choice.” Arc sighs. “That may be. But I would only do it as a last resort.” “I feel as though you really mean that.” “It’s the truth.” Mio looks to him, hopefully. “Can I… um… join you?” “What about Stingray and Hammer?” “They… might come around. Eventually.” “Really?” Mio bows her head. “Probably not, no.” “If you came with me, you’d have to face them on the battlefield with me one day. Is that really something you can do?” “I… suppose not.” “Then why did you want to join me?” “Because… I… I really like you. Your methods are certainly… foreign to me. But I honestly want to get to know you better. To learn what makes you think the way you do.” Mio stands up and takes his gauntlet. “Someday I hope we can be on the same side.” “I’d like that too. But you know I can’t join General Mustang.” Mio nods sadly. “Who knows what the future will bring. Maybe one day you’ll change your mind.” “Maybe you’ll change yours.” “Perhaps. But we should get moving. After all, we both have places to be. I… just wanted to say ‘thank you’ for what you’ve done and… thanks for listening to me.” “No problem. But I do want to say one thing before I leave.” “Oh?” “Think about what you’re doing to those around you.” “But I have!” “Really? Then go take a look at those tubes again.” Arc stands up and heads for the door. Cloaking, he opens it and steps out into the hallway as Mio follows. The two part ways as Cherry calls out to him. “You were kinda hard on her.” “She needed to hear it.” “I know. But I do think you were starting to get through.” Arc nods as he approaches the elevator. “I can only hope.”