Aug 3rd, 2029
Location: Classified
0730
After waiting five days for the government to respond to his request to have Rainbow Dash moved from the interrogation wing of Mossad HQ. Cpt. Pereira had been given the go-ahead to set her up in a remote private compound and placed under house arrest, and he had also been told that Rainbow's request to meet with the UN would be resolved the same day. So, at 0700 in the morning, they had quietly moved her into a bullet-proof van disguised as a civilian model.
So, here he currently sat with an anxious Sargeant from the medical branch who had requested to be at the wheel and a bored-looking Rainbow Dash in the back, with his eyes scanning the green hills around them, looking for any sign of danger. 'Sometimes I hate this job.' He continued to stare glumly at the empty road before him until he spotted a walled-off compound off to the right side of the road. "There, turn there," he said as he motioned for the driver to turn into it. As he did this, Rainbow seemed to perk up.
As the van pulled up to the closed gate, three armed men walked out from a small shack slightly forward of the wall. The lead man then walked up to the van and gestured for the Sargeant to lower the window, to which he complied. "Clearance?" Asked the large man, who could be identified as a Major by his rank.
"Here you go, Sir," Replied the Sargeant as he pulled out the necessary papers and handed them to the officer.
The Major spent about thirty seconds looking over their paperwork before handing it back to them. "Looks like everything checks out," He said as he turned to face the others. "Open the gate!"
At the Major's command, the gates swung open, and the van drove inside. Once they had passed the gate, the Sargeant was guided into a parking spot beside two large Anti-IED (Improvised Explosive Device) vehicles. Once he turned off the engine, he and Cpt. Pereira both got out of the van, and they, along with a few guards, opened the back door and let Rainbow outside. Her wings were still bound in light of the discovery of her possessing an unknown speed-increasing drug. "It's good to be out," said Rainbow as she arched her back, causing several satisfying "cracks" to echo out as she stretched her muscles. However, when she turned to the men around her, she was reminded why she was here. "Well, are you just gonna stand there?" She asked in an annoyed tone.
Cpt. Pereira nodded as he gestured for her and the Sargeant to follow him into one of the two single-floor buildings that made up the compound. "Alright, IDF command said they should call in a few hours. So, for now, we can just take a break," he said as he opened the door leading them into the house. The first hallway had only a few ceiling lights, a mat for shoes, and a small rug just after the entrance. After he and the Sargeant took their boots off, they led Rainbow into the first room on the left. "This is the living room," he said as he opened the door, allowing her to see that the interior had a few couches, a TV, a PS-6 gaming console, and a bookshelf. Then Cpt. Pereira closed the door before heading right. "This is the kitchen," he once again opened the door for the others, allowing them to see the small but compact kitchen, equipped with all manner of appliances and dining table. Before he moved back into the hallway and walked up to four more doors: Two of which were bathrooms, one was the master bedroom, and the last was a secondary bedroom. And then, they reached the final door. "Alright, this is the office," just like with all the other rooms, he opened the door and presented a small room with a single wooden desk, two office chairs, a computer with multiple monitors, and a lamp off to the side. He then turned to Rainbow. "Now, before tomorrow, I'm gonna need to teach you how to use a computer-" he stopped as she gave a loud chortle. "What's so funny?" he asked with a cocked brow.
Rainbow managed to stop herself. "Sorry, sorry, it's just...I already know how to use a computer," At this, both men raised their eyebrows.
"How can that be?" Asked Cpt. Pereira. "I thought Equestria didn't have computers,"
In response, Rainbow smirked. "They don't," she then proceeded to walk down the hall and into the master bedroom, leaving the two men dumbfounded.
"What the hell does that mean?" asked the Sargeant as he turned to Cpt. Pereira.
"I don't know... What I do know, however, is I'm gonna check the computer," he said as he walked into the office and closed the door.
Once he was gone, the Sargeant quietly walked up to the bedroom door and knocked. However, he heard no reply, and he was getting nervous, yet he cleared his throat. "It's Sgt. Peretz, and...I wanted to talk to you," he said as he waited for a response...until the Sargeant decided he'd waited long enough and gently opened the door. As he did, he could hear a beautiful voice quietly humming an unfamiliar tune. As he tried to locate the source, his eyes fell on Rainbow's sleeping form. Well, that would explain- His thoughts were interrupted as she began to sing:
"An’ it’s on the job we go
making weather for the land.
An’ if we fail the world shall too
and so we work on, damned."
As soon as what he assumed to be the first verse was over, he quietly made his exit. But, before he closed the door, he took one final glance at Rainbow. "She looks so..." he trailed off as, just for a moment, instead of a rainbow mane poking out from beneath the sheets, he saw long black hair attached to the face of a peacefully sleeping girl no older than seven or eight... Then he blinked, and she was gone. Not again! he thought as he desperately tried not to scream, and Sgt. Peretz could feel the cold beads of sweat dripping down from his forehead as he dashed for his room. Not again, dear God, not again! As soon as he reached the door, he swiftly opened it before closing and locking it. After a few moments of sitting behind the door, he took several deep breaths as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a picture of a younger version of himself wearing traditional Arab clothing, standing beside a woman with the same little girl standing between. As he did, tears began to pour from his eyes as he held the picture close to his heart and fell to his knees. "Aisha, Amani, please forgive me," he whispered to himself as he quietly muttered a prayer.
Aug 3rd, 2029
Location: Classified
1300
Once she had gotten up from her nap, Rainbow, a slightly downtrodden Sgt. Peretz and Cpt. Pereira had spent the rest of the morning getting to know one another. Rainbow had turned out to be quite the talker once she got into a topic, going on about flying and her job as the CEO of the weather company in Cloudsdale, Sgt. Peretz perked up once he began talking about some of the wired and humorous experiences he had heard and seen throughout his service in the IDF, and Cpt. Pereira told them some of his less classified stories. They then ate a simple breakfast and proceeded to play Star Wars Squadrons: The Clone Wars on the PlayStation in the offline setting. After a quick lunch, they went back to gaming.
During the current match, Rainbow had her face scrunched up in concentration as she nimbly flew her Vulture Droid through a debris field in an attempt to flank the Republic Corvettes. Then suddenly, she started getting shot from behind, and she put full power on engines as she tried to jink and escape. But the other pilot stayed on her and fired until she lost control. "Gerr- come on!" She yelled out in frustration as she waited to respawn.
"Ha, I thought you said you were a good flyer, but it looks like you're not a good gamer either," said Cpt. Pereira, with a smug smirk as his V-wing, flew past where Rainbow's vulture droid exploded.
Sgt. Peretz broke out into laughter at his remark as Dash scowled. "Ha, good one, sir!"
"Ugh, I'll get better... But flying in a game is not the same," she grunted in frustration as both men raised their eyebrows.
"How so?" asked Cpt. Pereira as he paused the game.
She seemed to sigh before she took a breath. "I don't know how you humans feel about flight. But, for us... Flying is the difference between life and death..." she trailed as her expression darkened and her wings attempted to extend from under their bindings. "It is what makes a Pegasus. And if they can't, then they deserve nothing more then-" she cut herself off as her eyes grew wide at the alarmed stares the two men were giving her. "I-I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me," she said as she scratched the back of her head with a forehoof before trying to fix her ruffled wings under the bindings, and her tail gave a nervous twitch.
Sgt. Peretz blinked once. "Uh...okay," he began as his mind continued to churn for a proper response. "I mean, I guessed flying was significant to a pegasus. But, I didn't know it meant that much to you,"
Cpt. Pereira, meanwhile, had put his hand to his chin in thought and only now became involved. "Well, think of it this way Sargeant. For a bird, if they cannot fly, how can they survive?"
At this, she gave a sheepish smile as she looked away. "Well, uh, yeah, that's...actually pretty-"
And, just as she was about to finish, they all heard Cpt. Pereira's ringtone and he scrambled to take his phone out of his pocket. "Hello?" he asked as he answered and put it to his ear. After a moment of standing and listening, he nodded to them. "Yes, sir," he responded as he quickly left the room.
"Where is he going?" asked Rainbow as she cocked her head.
"It sounds urgent...which means it's probably the call he mentioned earlier..." began Sgt. Peretz as he seemed to struggle for a moment with something on his mind.
Rainbow quickly picked up on this as she cocked her brow. "Is there something else you wanna say?"
Once she asked this, he made up his mind as he sighed and reached into his pocket. "Do you know what this is?" he asked in a nervous tone as he pulled a half-empty bottle of fluorescent blue liquid out of his pocket.
As soon as she saw what he was holding, her eyes widened, only to narrow as her grin slowly widened. "Oh...have you had some?" In response, he slightly lowered his head. "And you want to know where to get more?" he nodded solemnly. "Well, I can help you with that. Heck, I help make the stuff. As for what it is, it's a little something called spectra,"
-
Aug 3rd, 2029
Location: Classified
1330
Cpt. Pereira sat at the desk chair in his room with his phone to his ear. As the General on the other end finished speaking. "Yes, Sir, I will tell her. Goodbye," he said as he hung up and put his phone back in his pocket and ran a hand through his hair. 'Well, guess I should tell them.' he thought as he stood up and went out into the hall. As he entered the living room, he saw Rainbow and Sgt. Peretz were sitting beside each other on one of the couches with their eyes fixed on him in expectant stares.
"Well? Don't just leave me hanging," said Rainbow in an excited tone as she sat back and crossed her hooves.
Sgt. Peretz did the same. "Yeah, what she said,"
Cpt. Pereira shook his head before sighing. "Well, Miss Dash, it would appear your meeting with the UN..." he trailed as Rainbow's excitement drained from her face. "Has been scheduled for 1700 tomorrow," the moment he said this, her face lit up once more.
"Yes, finally!" Rainbow yelled as she pumped her hoof in the air. "Now, let's get back to the game!" she then jumped down and grabbed the remote as she glared at Cpt. Pereira. "And you're going down!" she challenged as he smirked, and Sgt. Peretz began laughing.
"You're on sprinkles!" Cpt. Pereira yelled as he picked up his remote and sat down beside her. As she glared at him and then unpaused the game.
-
Aug 3rd, 2029
Location: Classified
2200
Rainbow, Cpt. Pereira, and Sgt. Peretz continued playing round after round in an attempt to one-up each other for the rest of the afternoon. Then, before dinner, the trio had gone on a short walk around the compound to get some fresh air. However, they soon returned, as the summer heat made it impossible to stay out for long. After a short dinner, they decided to watch some TV, in the form of 90's action flicks, such as demolition man, starship troopers, and mission impossible. As the credits rolled on the latter, Rainbow yawned as she looked at the clock on the wall. "Alright, I think I'm gonna head off to bed. Night guys," she said as she hopped off the couch and headed to her room.
Cpt. Pereira stretched as he shut off the TV. "Yeah, big day tomorrow and all that," he began as he slowly stood up, trying not to wake the silently snoring Sgt. Peretz, who had seemingly fallen asleep sometime near the end. "Well, better rest up," and with that, he followed after her before turning to his room and heading inside, locking it behind him.
-
Aug 3rd, 2029
Location: Classified
2230
Rainbow slowly opened one eye, then the other, as she checked the clock that sat on the wall. Then, she perked up her ear and, upon hearing nothing, slowly got up and stretched. 'Alright, go time.' She carefully made her way across the relatively empty room and put her ear to the door before quietly opening it and peeking out to make sure she wasn't being watched. Once she was sure the coast was clear, she quietly made her way to the office. She then closed the door and made her way to the computer, and turned it on. As it powered up, she ran a hoof through her mane, only stopping when she felt something hard and smooth, and she pulled out a small, orange USB stick. "Perfect, just where I left it," she whispered as she plugged it in. "Now time to see if this works. If it doesn't I’ll have to have a word with the Main Computer System... Speaking of that, we really need to come up with a better name,"
She quietly sat on the chair as the plug-in did its job, and she watched with narrowed eyes as a green loading bar appeared in the center, slowly filling up as the percentage of completion was displayed below. Once it reached 100%, the screen turned black. Then, quick as a flash, it turned back on, and in the center of the screen was a neon green outline of a pegasus mare sitting with its wings outstretched and holding a gear, inside which sat a cloud with three slanted, factory towers sticking out of it. Above it sat the letters CWC in bold in the same neon green. "Enter Voice Command," stated a feminine voice in a monotone. 'Yes, it worked!'
"Code Green," said Rainbow just loud enough so it could hear while also trying to hide her excitement.
"Access granted. Welcome, Rainbow Dash,"
-
Aug 3rd, 2029
Location: Classified
2235
Cpt. Pereira awoke with a start as he heard the quiet alarm play on his phone. He quickly picked it up, and what he saw caused him to smirk. 'Gotcha, good thing I bugged the computer,' Cpt. Pereira then pressed the warning sign on the screen, giving him access to the monitor in the office and a view of Rainbow's face through the camera in the same monitor. As he did, his satisfied smirk became replaced by a look of confusion. "Wait, what happened to the computer? In fact, how did she even gain access?" he whispered. 'Maybe she uploaded a different AI? But, that would be impossible-'
"Enter Voice Command," stated a robotic voice.
"Code Green," replied Rainbow.
In response, Cpt. Pereira's eyes widened in realization. 'Looks like she did...' "Access granted. Welcome, Rainbow Dash," said the voice as he shifted to a more comfortable position. 'Alright, Rainbow, your move...'