//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - Kapsula // Story: Sidejacked // by SurveyShip //------------------------------// I suddenly wake up from my sleep, my heart momentarily going at a thousand as I jolted my head upwards. It took me a second for my brain to warm up to remember I used one of the torn sofas as a bed for the night, Silver was on the opposite side of the living room doing the same. Curled up on the other sofa akin to a cat, her legs tucked under her body and her head upon the armrest peacefully sleeping despite the severity of our situation, it's almost adorable in a way. Both of us have removed our armor before sleeping for obvious reasons and suffice to say it's strange to see ourselves 'naked.' The room was now dimly lit by Celest... oh, I guess it's no longer Celestia's sun anymore. Anyway the sun provided feeble illumination to the room, I'm able to discern the general silhouettes of my surroundings. I get off the couch and stretch my joints, they give off a satisfying pop. Then I make my way to the radio that's now placed beside the coffee table, no way I am putting such a priceless device on a wonky piece of furniture. My senses make me aware of the chilly surroundings, it's not intolerable per say but it isn't welcoming either. I shiver in response. Then I remember last night's events, after Cosmo explained to us what a space station was we then entered into a conversation and how technologically dissimilar our worlds were. Equestria's technology and science is decades, maybe even centuries behind the feats Chevalier had. Silver, being the gigantic nerd she is, had her ears glued to the radio, I doubt that she even understood most of the technology Cosmo was describing like trains that use 'magnetic levitation' or a 'space shuttle' but I would be lying if I said I did not show interest on the subject. Still though, the idea of a station whizzing around the planet makes my head spin. I get close to the radio and stare at its main screen, a series of small digits are displayed on the top right corner of it. "7:09 утра." "It's pretty early, huh?" I mumble in my groggy state. Yesterday Cosmo gave us a little bit more insight on the radio, I discovered how to operate the 'Mute Mic' switch and the fact that the screen can tell the time. But now I have something to do, Cosmo told me that he needed to prepare the equipment and it was going to take a while to do, so he recommended that we sleep off yesterday's events. But as soon as we woke up to report to him and ask about the status of the equipment. And that's what I did, I levitated the microphone near my muzzle and spoke. "Cosmo? you there?" I was unsure how this strange radio knew when I spoke into it but I guess it was the advanced technology that did the work. for around thirty seconds there was no response and I was about to repeat myself until I heard that familiar voice. "Dobroye utro Frost Blossom! How are you feeling?" He responds in an upbeat mood. not sounding even remotely tired. "I'm alright. I'm also getting the feeling you didn't sleep." I asked him as I held back a yawn. "Sleep? There was no time for sleep! There was so much I needed to prepare." He answers in high spirits. "And it's good you called me at this time, the equipment is ready for delivery! In thirty-two minutes I'll be within launch range." "Launch range...?" I absentmindedly repeated his last phrase. My mind is still half asleep. "Frost, You do remember what I told you yesterday night, right? I was the one who sent out the radio. I will do the same for the equipment." Then I remember another detail, that weird metal orb thing the radio came in is called an 'Orbital Capsule' and Cosmo was the one that sent it to us. From his space station he can launch those but only in tiny windows of time when he is above us since he is 'orbiting' around the world. "Ye-yeah, I do. I'm just waking up." I say as I rub the tiredness off my eyes. "So... where is this capsule-thingy going to land?" "Within 500 feet of your immediate vicinity" He answers. "Same deal as the first one, pull the red lever down and it will open up." "Ok, after getting the equipment what do we do afterwards?" I ask him, wanting a heads up on our future task. "After that you'd trek to the nearest metropolis in order to get out of the Red Zone, it's called 'Gorod Chernoy Kobyly.' Translated into your tongue it's 'Black Mare City.' And don't worry about directions, it's mostly a straight shot to it and you got me as your 'tour guide,' heh." He answers cheerfully. "Alright, and the Mechanoids? are they going to be trouble?" I get straight to the point. "The Mechanoids have largely given up on searching. I've kept my sensors on you the whole night and not even a peep from them was detected. But still, I will have an eye on your surroundings in case they decide to creep up. Your best course of action right now is to avoid them entirely. With no weapons or proper defenses for their ranged attacks you two will not fare well against them." A cold shiver runs down my spine. The Mechanoids are something you definitely do not want to meet with unprepared. "What about supplies?" "Down there scavenging is going to be your best friend. Tons of food, water and such were left behind during The Uprising when the ponies of the big cities evacuated to the far stretches of Hoovestroya, although mostly in cans. If you are lucky you might find gear left behind by the military to better equip yourself." Cosmo added. "That is good to know. How far is the city anyway? Are there ponies there?" I asked the stallion some more. "Negative Kobylka, ponies do not live in the Red Zone due to the Mechanoid presence. To answer your first question it's around a three hour trot northwest." I grumble under my breath, a three hour long endurance race was not what I had in mind. But I guess it's a necessary step. Perhaps if I had something to eat it would make this more tolerable. Maybe we'll find something on the way there? I hope so. "OH! also, I have a surprise for you!" Cosmo interrupted my silent grumbling. "A surprise? what for?" I questioned him, for the lack of a better term, surprised. "It's in the capsule too, but I am not giving you a hint, you will have to find out when it lands. Heh Heh!" He responds in a rather smug demeanor. Its' almost charming, almost. "Consider it as a thank-you-for-helping-me-fix-this-mess." I can't help but crack a smile. I take it back, his antics are a little charming. "I appreciate it Cosmo." I thank him. "Aww, you flatter me Frost." He responds bashfully. "Anyway, I have to make some last checks before I send out the equipment so I'll go off-radio for a sec. I'll contact you again when the capsule touches down so I can give you the location." "Okay Cosmo." I respond before Cosmo goes silent, this time for a while. I stifled a yawn once again, I don't know how many hours of sleep I had but it was definitely not enough. Cosmo did say that the capsule was going to take thirty minutes to land, so perhaps I can rest my eyes a little more, the radio right beside me just in case. I lay down on the floor and stare at the time again. "7:13 утра." Add thirty minutes and you get seven-forty-three... whatever that Hoovestroyan gibberish on the side means, which I assume it's 'AM' in Ponish. I close my eyes but without the intent of sleeping, I just need to rest my eyes a little more. A rested sentry is an efficient sentry. I just need a little more rest. Just a... little more... Little... More... ... *BA-THUMP* I jolted upwards, my heart felt like it was about to explode in my chest. I swear if something inside of me is not ticking right I'm going to curse out never before spoken profanity. An internal issue is not something I need right now. I shake my head and recover my bearings. Something made a muffled thumping noise and it sounded close, I got on my hooves in an instant. Thinking the worst, I levitated the nearest blunt object; which happened to be one of the coffee table's wooden legs and kept my ears swiveling in case even the most minor perturbation alerts me. although my groggy mind was making it difficult to focus. "Hello!" The voice of a certain stallion echoes in the room. "GAAH!!!" I let out the most feminine yelp I've ever done in my life. I sounded like a filly and that is saying a lot coming from a fully grown mare. "Uh... I didn't spook you did I?" The stallion retorts awkwardly, then I realized that I have cocked the table leg over my head. ready to smash the radio into a million bits, I quickly levitate the table leg down. I can't believe I was about to do that. Maybe being in this strange world made me a lot more twitchy. Perhaps I didn't take a swing at it but the fact I was ready to do so was enough for me to feel a bit of shame. "NO! No! you... did not!" I give out a bold faced lie to save my diminishing pride. "Heh, Kobylka, you know that is not true." And now my cheeks are aflame and my pride is obliterated. "Anyway, I have news!" Cosmo added. I quickly compose myself before speaking. "Ahem, news huh? what is it about?" I inquired, my pride still hurting. "The capsule has landed!" The stallion replied happily. "Landed!? You just told me a few minutes ago that it was still a half hour away!" I replied perplexed, Is this some sort of joke he is pulling on me? "Are you suuuure you didn't fall asleep just now?" Cosmo replied a lot more smugly than usual. "No I did not, I just rested my eyes for a second and then I heard a thump and... Uh..." I lose my sentence midway through saying it as I unconsciously look at the radio's screen. "7:51 утра." Then I notice that the room is a lot brighter than usual. "Ah, ponyfeathers." I let out one of my more subdued expressions of annoyance as I face-hoof, I just embarrassed myself royally. "HAH! Hah! It's alright Frost." Cosmo chuckled kindly as he tried to save what little pride I had left but it did little to reduce the pain. "At any rate, in a second I will have the location of the capsule so you two can go pick up its contents." The stallion explained as electronic noises were heard in the background. "Just one more moment..... And... It's... Oh... Oh dear." Cosmo exclaims in a surprised tone. "What? What happened? Did something go wrong?" I begin tossing questions at the stallion, readying myself for his answer. "It landed on the roof..." Cosmo deadpanned. "On the roof? On what roof?" I toss another question at the stallion. "On the roof of the building you are in right now..." Cosmo responded, his voice somehow duller. Then it clicked. That thumping noise coincided with Cosmo's call, he did say that he would call when the capsule landed. It must have been the capsule landing on the roof that made that noise to begin with! "Oh it's here!? Wait hold on, how do I get on the roof!?" I toss yet another question. "It's an apartment complex, it surely has a stairwell that leads to the roof. Get going frost, the parachute is still attached and if the wind picks up it might hurl it off!" Cosmo ordered. "I am on it!" I say with a stern determination. I quickly pick up the radio with my magic and head towards the front door, no time to put on my armor. But before I exit the room I take a glance at silver, she is still sleeping even after all of the commotion Cosmo and I made. I simply roll my eyes and head outside. I was greeted by a familiar cold sensation, my breath condensed into clouds of vapor. I shut the door and began inspecting the exterior. everything was tinted in a red-orange hue, a sign of it being in the very early hours of the morning. But I have no time to gawk at colors, I need to get to the building's stairwell and head to the roof. I traversed the rickety first floor corridor as fast as I could, it still creaked and groaned angrily. As I made it to the stairwell I looked up to see if it even led to the roof but a large beam of orange light shining at the very top gave me the answer. Thankfully the stairs were made of a very non-rickety concrete and it was a brisk walk to the top with radio in tow. As I walked up the flights of stairs, snow became more prevalent forcing me to slow down a bit, better safe than sorry. When I reached the final step I saw that the beam of light was coming through an open door leading to the roof, and by 'opened door' I meant it was torn clean off its hinges and tossed aside. I wondered what story was behind this. I lay a hoof on the snow covered roof. There was a little bit of a gust, not a good sign. I quickly scanned the top of the building and looked for something out of the ordinary but it did not take long. A blue light blinking off a metal sphere just few a feet away from the opposite end of the building's wing, Which is good! What was not so good is that a large white tarp connected to the capsule and was billowing over the edge of the building. "Aw Crap!" I swore loudly as I began hoofing it to the capsule. The snow was not as deep compared to the ground but it still hindered my movement. As I got closer to the capsule the wind began picking up some more, the tarp was billowing more and causing the capsule to rock menacingly. I was not going to lose my lifeline back to Equestria because of a light breeze, I laid the radio on a lump of snow as gently as I could, leaving it behind temporarily so as to free my telekinesis and began focusing on the capsule looking for the red lever. There! just out of view, over it. I summoned my magic and focused on the lever. I then pull it down with all my might. *CLUNK* A familiar noise came from the capsule as the seams made themselves visible, then they pop outwards before finally bursting off. The tarp was now freed from the capsule and floated away from the building like a deformed phantasm. I take a quick glance at the inside of the orb and see its contents are unscathed. I breathed a sigh of relief as the capsule was no longer in danger of being dragged off of the roof, I telekinetically recovered the radio and reported it to Cosmo. "I have secured the capsule." "Excellent! now go ahead and inspect the cargo." Cosmo requested. I got closer and Inside the capsule were three objects tightly crammed in. "I see a thin black case with metal edges. A thick beige plastic box with Hoovestroyan text on it and a... Saddlebag?" I inspected each item thoroughly. Starting with the black case, it had a strange texture on its surface. Almost like sandpaper but uniform in its grittiness. The beige box's most distinct feature was the text splayed across its width. "Инструменты" The texture was a lot more smoother but it had numerous scratches and scuffs all around, it has seen better days. And finally the saddlebag, a curious detail about it is that it had a lot more pockets than your standard run-of-the-mill variant and it looked like it was heavily worn. "So what exactly is all of this?" I asked the stallion. "Go ahead and open the black case," Cosmo asked me. I levitate the case out of the capsule and place it in front of me, unlocking the sole latch I flip it open and the contents are revealed to me. A device of some kind was inside. Its main body was a thin gray slab of metal, on one end it had a folded tripod stand and on the other it was a camera of sorts. "It is a... Camera?" I asked curiously, honestly all this tech is confusing. "A camera? Ah ho ho! It ain't just any camera." Cosmo sounds eager to explain what it is, let's hope his explanation is not too convoluted. "That's a Portable Arcane-Ethereal Astro-Parallel Full Spectrum Scanner!" I think I just had an aneurysm when he said all of that nerd-speak. He explains it with a sales-pony façade, almost like he is trying to sell it to me at a good price. "So it is the special equipment?" I simplify. "Yes, now. To operate it you'd need a phone book sized instruction manual to do it but I, being the helpful soul I am, simplified it down to a single page with pictures!" Cosmo responds with a jolly tone. I silently thank Celestia for not making me read an entire dictionary worth of instructions. "But worry about the instructions for later. Now, check out the plastic box." He asked. I close the case and set it aside. Then I levitated the beige plastic box out of the capsule, removing the two pins keeping the lid closed and then I open the box. It is full of... …small bags and containers? "Uhhhh.... what is all of this?" I comment quizzically, I think I am more confused over this than the camera. "Rations, Kobylka!" He answers without skipping a beat. "Wait!? Rations!? You mean food!?" I retort to him, not believing that he just sent a box full of food. "Yes, It is food. I did say that I was going to lend you a hoof for helping me. It's mostly non perishables and it might have a strange texture but it's perfectly edible" He answers gleefully. "Where did you get all of this!? Can you just drop a capsule full of supplies whenever you want!?" I was simply not accepting the fact that I was seeing a box with a week's worth of food, much less the possibility of a supplies-on-demand dynamic with Cosmo. "Well, not exactly. Perhaps I should explain something to you." Cosmo clears his throat. "As much as I would like to shower you with supplies whenever you need so that my research can be done as quickly as possible, I can't do it 'whenever I want' for two reasons. One being that it's a freaking capsule parachuting from space and that is certainly one way of getting the attention of the mechanoids if launched in the wrong area. And two is that I have a limited number of capsules, removing the last two I sent out I am down to eleven capsules, and they are better spent on replacing the important equipment in the event that the camera or radio gets damaged." Cosmo explains. "Oh, alright then. I will keep that in mind." Although I am disappointed by this new information I only got myself to blame for getting my hopes up. "Ah! I almost forgot, check out the saddlebag!" He commands me with a certain eagerness. I seal the box and set it near the case and then levitate the saddlebag close, I can not help but gawk at it. It was made out of olive-colored canvas and it showed signs of age. Unlike the two other containers which looked modern and sleek this one seemed to be from a different era. It even had tarnished buckles to close the satchels and faux leather straps. But still, it did not feel like it was about to fall apart. Whoever made this made it to last. "This seems to be a bit old-school, even for me." I commented on its ancientness. "It used to belong to my Dedushka, my grandpa. Then it was passed down to my dad and then to me." Cosmo explains with a small scintilla of nostalgia in his voice. My eyes grew wide, this was not a simple beaten-up bag. It was essentially a family heirloom that survived three generations. I feel like, somehow, me holding it was disrespecting it's legacy. "Cosmo! Are you just giving this to me?" I question the stallion. "Frost, that bag used to carry the hopes and dreams of my dad and his dad. At one point it used to carry my hopes and dreams too but now I am stuck up here in my little space station, and if I'm stuck here then it is not serving its purpose." Cosmo answers with a never before seen resoluteness. "I, Cosmo, pass this saddlebag onto you so it too can carry both you and Silver's hopes and dreams." He finalizes. I can not help but feel a teensy bit inspired by his words, even if it sounds a little silly. Cosmo definitely has a way of wording things. "And besides. You need something to carry stuff, Heh." He adds with a chuckle. "Hah, I guess you are right." I requite the feeling. "So I am guessing this is my surprise, huh?" "What? no! Your surprise is inside the saddlebag, didn't you check?" Cosmo responds sounding a bit huffy. I then noticed that the saddlebag had some bulk in it, just how did I miss that? I quickly unbuckle the straps and open it. Two objects float. One is an empty backpack, I am guessing this is because there are two of us on the ground, and the other is a metal cylinder. Take a guess which one has my attention. "What the heck is this tube?" I questioned into the radio's microphone. "It's a thermos! go ahead and twist the cap off!" Cosmo adds. I carefully twist off the cap and look inside, but before I can analyze the contents a peculiar scent invaded my nose. A very peculiar, warm but pleasant scent. My eyes grow wide as I immediately recognize that magnificent beverage. Ever since I woke up I was craving for this drink but my heart fell into the deepest pit of despair as I was unable to procure it. But Cosmo, like a divine messenger, hands me a sizable flask full of it. My stomach was beckoning me to chug it all down in one go but I resist the urge, not only it would cause me painful burns I knew that I had to share it with Silver, because deep down I know that it is going to be a long time before I get a chance to taste liquid glory again. "Heh heh heh heh, you won't find a finer Brew anywhere else." Cosmo quips smugly.