//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Providence // Story: Tiberian Eclipse // by Material Defender //------------------------------// “This is... interesting.” Wesley stared at the crystalline monolith, easily taller than the size of a walker as a group of research staff locked in sonic control rings, transportation rings designed to suppress growth, around the device in preparation for its ferry to the surface. “That is one large specimen. What do you think of this, Twilight?” “Well, it’s... enormous. Have you ever seen anything like this before?” Twilight responded from within Camp Greenwood, still in the command center with Harold. “In most circumstances, we only ever encountered the green variant...” “It’s certainly new to us, for sure. In our time fighting against Tiberium, we’ve come across a variety of strains... but nothing like this. Green, blue, red... purple is a new one. This ‘home shard’ must have some kind of communicative ability with the diamond dogs... but only after they’ve been afflicted.” Viers walked up behind him, dropping a pair of floodlights into the ground and directing them up at the ceiling. “Shame we don’t have any Ghost Stalkers around... they would be pretty useful in seeing if that’s true.” One of the staff finished locked in the final bolt and waved up to Viers. “Control rings are good to go, sir! Frame is in the green, thrusters are fired up, and EVA has the transportation route to topside calculated. Ready to activate thrusters on your go.” “Dagger to Aegis, have the facilities been prepared?” Viers asked. “Roger that, Dagger. The engineers have the research facilities set up near the landing pads. Just get it up here and let EVA do the rest. Be advised that base expansion is still under progress. Commander Alexandra is currently surveying for a base—now codenamed ‘Providence’—to establish his commander bunker.” “Read you clear, Aegis. Any progress on finding a location?” “It’s on standby. We’d ask ourselves, but the translation software that InOps managed to put together is still being distributed, and the city defense forces have yet to get them. We are, however, pouring down pavement as fast as we can, trying to get at least one road up the mountain before the Scrin get here.” “They’re overcrowded within Canterlot,” Wesley said. “Maybe we can finally get around to helping alleviate some of their overpopulation problems.” “I’ll talk to Princess Celestia when I get the chance,” Twilight said. “Or maybe Princess Luna after she’s finished recovering! I’m sure she’d agree. I think lots of ponies would be on our side, given that we’ve tried branching out from Canterlot before, and those didn’t end too well...” “Hence the sanctum and the segregation of those who had afflictions and those who did not. I wonder if medical and food supplies have reached Canterlot yet?” “Negative, doc,” Hampton broke in. “As it is, we’ve got a whole bunch of convoys ready to roll up the hill. Maybe you can grab one of them and head up to deliver the aid... and maybe find some prime real estate for Commander Alexandra?” “That sounds great. Lieutenant,” he said with a nod to Viers. “I’ll leave you to your supervising. Harold, are you listening? I need you to get down to the barracks and see if the engineers can’t rig up another suit...” “Wow, Twi!” Applejack said as Twilight exited the engineering bays. “Your suit looks a lot like mine! And here I thought they just slapped mine together usin’ some spare parts or somethin’.” “It does feel a little uncomfortable... but I guess I can chalk that up to being an actual power suit,” Twilight said, dropping the horn-fitted helmet over her head. “Can I...? Oh, darn it. I can’t use magic in this thing. I wonder if this is how the royal guards feel all the time.” “If it’s that essential, we could just remove it...” Harold said. “Well, unicorns are kind of known for being able to use magic. Could you ask if they could do that?” With a hiss, she took off her helmet and gave it to Harold. “I hope it isn’t too much trouble...” “It’s just a piece of metal, how hard could it be?” Harold said, strolling back inside as Twilight and Applejack looked over each other’s suits. Twilight giggled. “You know, it’s kind of weird seeing a pony without a tail or mane.” She looked over her shoulder at the extended posterior space within the suit allocated to fit pony tails. “At least they can make sure that crystals won’t catch on us. Mine feels a bit loose, though...” “Well, they probably are spare parts,” Harold interrupted, returning with the helmet with a small hole above the forehead for Twilight’s horn. “The armor plates we use for you ponies use are far too small to be used on power suits except in specific circumstances, and I don’t think any such ones have arisen yet.” He checked his PDA: Wesley was scheduled to return shortly, and from there, he and Twilight would depart for Canterlot. “Doctor Wesley, ETA on your return?” “Right now. Is Twilight suited up?” Wesley asked, as Twilight levitated the helmet gently onto her head yet again, letting the nub of her horn protrude through the helmet’s open space. “She just exited the engineering bays, and the suit looks good to go.” “Excellent. Send her our the barrack doors and I’ll meet up with her.” “Should I go with her?” Applejack asked. “Applejack would like to ask if her presence is required,” Harold asked on her behalf. “If she’d like to. Being that she’s been here in Greenwood longer than any of her friends, though, I would rather prefer it if she stayed behind to keep them in check, and to help you gather information.” “Information, sir? Information on what?” “Them, of course. From what I can tell, pony society seems shockingly close to Earth-level technologies, cultural habits, and even language, if what the reports you’ve sent to me are true. You have a unicorn, a pegasus, and our resident earth pony, so I doubt you’ll have much trouble trying to learn things. Unless asking things about their species is a no-no, but I highly doubt that.” “Right, then. Twilight, Doctor Wesley will meet you outside. How does everything look?” “Uh, there’s a lot of things that I can’t read in here...” Twilight said uncertainly. “Are there any red lights?” “No... uh, at least, if our definitions of the color red are the same thing, that is...” “Red like the apples on Applejack’s... uh, hindquarters thingy.” “Cutie mark,” Applejack corrected. “Right, cutie mark,” Harold said, making a note of it in his PDA. “How the heck did it end up with a name like that...?” he muttered to himself. Twilight blinked for a few moments, watching her HUD for anything outstanding. “When you put it like that... then I don’t see anything wrong. How bad is it if there are red lights, though?” “Among many things, it usually means that your suit might be undergoing an environmental breach or suffering a catastrophic failure somewhere in there. It’s just been simplified to the point where if you’re seeing red lights anywhere on your display there, you should probably notify someone as soon as possible, preferably an engineer. I’ve taken the liberty of uploading a translation program into your suit’s systems, so you should be able to communicate to other humans without the doctor around.” “Wow, this is all pretty impressive... uh, do I get to keep this?” Twilight asked, tapping her chestplate. “Unfortunately not. It’s property of the Interstellar Defense Initiative, so you’ll have to return it after the current crisis has been resolved. The barracks main entrance is down to our left,” Harold said, pointing down the hall past the front desk and towards the wall in the far distance with a giant yellow arrow pointing due right, labeled ‘airlock’. “Come on, we’ll walk you there.” “I feel like I should go with her,” Applejack said. “Twi’s never been much of a fighter, or at least when it actually comes to buckin’ a monster straight up. Can’t you at least give her one of your weapons?” “Applejack, even I’m not certified to use those sorts of weapons, much less being properly trained to use them,” Harold said, checking the arsenal pictures of the weapons normally used by zone troopers. Just the basic chaingun or cannon was easily over Twilight’s size... no, they’d need a far more hardier pony than her to wield such weapons. “And even then, you ponies don’t have fingers... how would you fire the weapon?” “Oh, I get you,” Applejack said. “You humans can sure do a lot of stuff with those hands of yours.” “Yeah, it’s something that we’re really known for... even among the other species. Five seems to be the magic number, as opposed to three, or for you ponies... uh, none.” They walked around the corner, and Harold stopped Applejack as Twilight walked into the airlock. She looked around for a moment, standing in the empty space and gave Harold a confused look. “Isn’t the door supposed to open?” “It’s an airlock, Twilight...” Harold said, as flashing red lights flipped on and the bulkheads into the barracks began to shut. “Can’t let the air from outside get in here, after all! Good luck!” he managed to end with, as the bulkhead sealed shut with a thud. “I hope she’ll be alright out there...” Applejack said. “Well, the convoy heading up to Canterlot is armed, and we seem to have eliminated the most pressing threat at the moment. I don’t think we’ll have much in the way of trouble unless something else decides to rear its ugly head.” Harold tapped on his PDA, bringing up the minute amount of notes that they’d amassed on ponies. “The doctor wants me to gather information about ponies.” “What kind of information? I ain’t tellin’ you anythin’ important, if that’s what you’re goin’ to ask ‘bout...” Applejack said cautiously. “No, no, nothing like that,” Harold assured her. “He wants me to learn about you guys. History, culture, the kinds of food you eat, what’s up with the whole different pony types and all that stuff.” “Oh, stuff like that? Well, I guess I can fill you in on that stuff... shoot, I’m not really much of an egghead. That’s usually Twi’s sort of thing, you know?” “She’s into research?” he asked. “And books. She’s practically read almost every book there was in the Ponyville Library... er, well, before all the books got moved back to Canterlot, that is. She can probably tell you every little detail on Equestrian culture and history without breakin’ a sweat.” “Damn. She could have practically finished my assignment for me. Oh, well,” he said, shrugging. “Things is, though, he wants me to gather information on the other pony types, too. Since Twilight isn’t here, I suppose Rarity and Rainbow Dash can help me fill in the details?” “You bet they will,” Applejack said, tossing her mane over her shoulder, irritated by it bumping off of her shoulder guard. “Dash just loves talkin’ ‘bout anythin’ related to pegasus history or culture, and I’m sure Rarity knows quite a bit ‘bout how unicorns act... they’re pretty frou-frou, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get it down right.” “Great. They’re probably still with Pinkie... so we should go find them there.” “Are we goin’ to ride those fancy movin’ metal boxes again?” Applejack asked. “You mean the elevators?” he said, raising an eyebrow at her. “Yeah, those things. We don’t have those ‘round here, so ridin’ in them is like takin’ a step into the future or somethin’,” she said, looking around for the telltale doorways from which elevator-goers exited from as she trotted towards the front desk. “Wrong way, Applejack... the medical center is the other way,” he said, as she came to a complete stop. She turned around and gave him an awkward grin. “Sorry, I’m more of a mare of action... my hooves start workin’ before my brain does sometimes. Uh, I’ll just follow you... I mean, you don’t get lost much, what with that fancy book-thingy you carry ‘round, right?” “Well, the personal digital assistant does contain maps of the current base layout and building schematics... so, you’d be right. Not the most impressive thing we have around here, I’d say. That would probably be the nano-production facilities we have inside the construction yard, or maybe the interstellar troop carriers, but I can’t show you those.” He led them back down the tiled hall towards the medical center, a giant red arrow on the wall to their right pointing the way for them. They passed through the lobby that the ponies had sat in earlier that day as they nervously waited for the results of the operation, going straight past the chairs and for the elevator that sat undisturbed at the end of the hall, still at the first floor since Applejack, Twilight, and Harold had taken it down themselves. Giving a quick tap of the button, the doors parted and they stepped inside, and Applejack immediately pressed the button for the second floor. “Two. I can read human numbers now,” she said, chuckling as the elevator doors closed and the machine came to life. “Not bad. I might have to pull out some more advanced books for you. Maybe ones that revolve around agriculture, perhaps? I know there’s a whole slew of farming techniques that we use ourselves that would probably interest you,” he said, meeting her gaze as emerald green eyes stared back at him. “Well, I can’t farm or do anythin’ much ‘til our friends get out of here...” she said. “I’ll do it. I’d say you should pull up some adventure stuff for Dash, but she can’t read human. I’ll bet she would, though; don’t let her fool you, she just loves readin’.” “Does she now?” Harold said, smiling to himself. “I’ll have to keep that in mind...” “Do you like readin’, Harold?” she asked him. “Me? I guess I do. I mean, my job involves doing a lot of it, but there’s a clear difference between reading for work and reading for enjoyment. I try to keep them separate, otherwise I find that the staleness of work’s readings will tend to bleed into my enjoyment, and that’s no fun. What about your other friends? Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie... or even Luna?” “Mmm, the other aren’t much for readin’ types,” she said, as the bell dinged. They stepped off and into the peaceful halls, giving a nod to the guards that had been present ever since Applejack’s visit. “I think Rarity reads a bit, and so does Fluttershy, but I don’t think if Pinkie reads anythin’ beyond the Ponyville newspaper. And for Luna, well...” They entered the hall where Luna and Pinkie were being kept to find the other ponies gathered around the bed of the former, all eyes turned onto them. The Princess of the Night, although still feeble, managed to open her eyes and direct them straight at Applejack and the human. “...hello...” Princess Luna greeted. “Greetings, Twilight!” Wesley said, waiting just outside the door for her as a convoy of hover-trucks sat stationary behind him. “Are you ready to go?” “I guess I am,” Twilight said, her voice broadcasted through her helmet’s speakers. “Is the air out here okay to breathe without the helmet?” “For short periods, yes. Prolonged exposure combined with saturated air can lead to complications in the long run, and it certainly doesn’t help that we’re in the process of cutting down the nearby forest to prevent any more spreading here,” he said, leading them to an Chariot APC at the head of the column. “Those large machines...” Twilight said, staring in awe as a harvester passed by them on its way to the refinery to deposit its payload for processing. “How do they work?” she asked, breaking her gaze and entering the Chariot through the rear door, after which Wesley pulled a lever and the ramp lifted and sealed it off. “Breaks the crystals into manageable sizes, then simply sucks them up for storage in the vehicle’s collection bays,” Wesley said, holstering his cannon in the vehicle’s weapon compartments and sitting down; Twilight took the seat across from him. “From there, it takes them to the refinery, where our machines break them down into raw materials used for our construction. It’s a very intricate process; I’d love to show you it later.” “I’d like that a lot, actually. Wow, it’s just so... I don’t know how we can thank you, doctor. Our situation just seemed so hopeless, and then you all just sort of... showed up, out of nowhere.” Twilight nervously clapped her armored hooves together. “There is one way you could repay us: we need land to build a primary base.” “Oh, I heard you talking about that before... you can take the hills next to Ponyville, perhaps, up near Winsome Falls?” Twilight offered. “Or at least, what’s left of it now... it used to have clouds that poured liquid rainbow into the lake below.” Faint communications chatter drifted in from the driver’s compartment, the sound of Hampton’s voice a tone higher than the regular fare before it went silent. Not a moment later, the Chariot lurched forward as the sound of engines drowned out any ambient noise, save for the whirs of the Orca dropships en-route to the landing zones. “Waterfalls of rainbow...?” Wesley said. “Now that I would have liked to see... In any case, these Winsome Falls are the hills directly south of Ponyville?” Twilight nodded. “Yep! The falls are all but gone now, though... the clouds were taken out when the storms started rolling around shortly after the destruction of Cloudsdale. It’s probably dried up by now, but I’m sure some old buildings might still be up there.” Wesley marked the location on his regional map for Commander Alexandra to look at later on. Command bunkers needed to be established somewhere easily defensible, and the top of Winsome Falls sounded like the perfect place to build one. No doubt that the hills would end up looking like a fortress by the time the week was over. “Waypoint Delta has been reached, now heading straight up to Waypoint Castle. All convoys, check your cargo and buckle in,” the Chariot driver warned. “Stay right and follow my lead.” “I doubt they’ll have much trouble with their cargo...” Wesley muttered. “They’re damn hover-trucks, after all, and they’re just bringing up food and medical supplies, along with the staff that we’re bringing up at the moment to bolster OP Castle.” “OP? What’s that mean?” Twilight asked. “It means ‘observation post’. OP Castle sits right outside Canterlot and has an unobstructed view over the entire valley as well as having clear line of sight into the skies. That makes it particularly useful for defense... or at least until Providence is established.” “Providence?” Twilight further inquired. “The base that we plan to center our operations around, as well as being where we plan to establish our refugee camp for the ponies. How are the living conditions in Canterlot?” he asked, deactivating his visor’s natural green fog so Twilight could see his face. “Very bad. I ventured out into the city once, and most of the buildings are barely being kept standing as it is. Most were destroyed when the worst of the storms blew through Canterlot, and lots of ponies unfortunate enough to not have a roof over their heads have to suffer through the night and cold. The sanctum isn’t that much better: everything inside has been rationed, from food, to water, and even space.” “I noticed you had gardens on the castle grounds.” “Yes, but that isn’t enough; it’s nowhere near enough to feed the mouths of every pony that we currently have. And to think that most of it is allocated to the rich nobleponies that would rather spend their concern on their own well-being than making sure that those who need the food get it first. Not to mention Prince Blueblood...” “Prince Blueblood? Does he hold the same authority that the princesses do?” Wesley asked. “No, he doesn’t, but the way he connives and schemes has been wholly detrimental to our efforts. It’s always little things: something missing here, or a different thing handed off there, but it all adds up when you see Prince Blueblood still able to take those lavish baths and indulging in expensive foods.” Wesley frowned. “It looks like we’re going to have a conflict of interest with him, then, and these other nobleponies. Why hasn’t Princess Celestia seen fit to deal with them yet?” “Because there’s never any proof!” Twilight shouted. “It’s just so frustrating because we are clearly in a time of crisis and he’s off... fucking around when we should all be focusing on trying to survive!” She panted heavily, as Wesley tilted his head at her. “...you seem to be taking this a lot more personally than one would think,” he said evenly. “Sorry, sorry, it’s just... lots of pent-up stress, and... that uncouth bastard is surrounded by sycophants, and he tried to make a move on me, and all of my friends! And when he didn’t get his way, he started trouble after that. Only when Celestia stepped in did he finally tone things down, but he...” She sighed and shook her head. “He’s bad news.” “I’ll instruct the men to keep close tabs on our supplies, then, and make sure it gets distributed to the right parties. And if not, well... I can always persuade our commander to make sure it does.” “How much influence do you have with your commander?” Twilight asked, shifting the subject to something less uncomfortable. “He’s in charge of the whole force, right? Isn’t he pretty busy?” “Well, Twilight, I’m a pretty important man, or at least as important as things can get. Doctor by trade, intelligence officer by rank. Every commander has a contingent of ISDI Intelligence Operations members to help supplement his command with field intel gathering and analysis. I myself was assigned to his expeditionary force as an authority of the biological matters of Tiberium. My initial purpose would have been to land with the spearhead force, document any unusual traces of Tiberium growth, report the findings, and obtain any specimens of life we may encounter, Tiberium or not.” “...specimens? You don’t mean us, do you?” “Oh, heavens, no. I was brought on-board to analyze local plant life, but since we found you ponies instead, I seem to have had my role relegated to being an actual doctor instead a... well, biologist, essentially. We didn’t really count on finding untampered life here, much less an actual sapient species. But I guess that just shows how hardy anybody can be when they want to.” “Well, we ponies are pretty resourceful...” she said, nodding. “Having magic tends to help with that, I’d assume. Speaking of which, I do have some questions pertaining to the gigantic shard that we’ve found down in the caves. Has there been any instance recorded on your side in which Tiberium has shown to exhibit magic-using qualities?” “No, none at all, actually. Most of the time, it was just the green variant, and nothing else. This is as much news to us as it is to you, doctor.” She fidgeted around in her seat; sitting on a seat made for much larger beings coupled with her suit’s flat armor plating made her feel sore. “But you have said that it communicates. That means something bigger is working behind the scenes causing all of this.” Wesley leaned forward. “Are there any other races in Equestria capable of using magic? Maybe one of them could be the cause. It might even be a pony, perhaps a rogue unicorn?” “Well, the griffons were never really one to use magic... the zebras don’t use it... the dragons could possibly fit the description,” she said, tapping her helmet’s chin guard in thought. “It could be them...” “Dragons? In human culture, they’re considered mythological creatures. Unsurprising that we’d find one in land where unicorns and pegasi exist, though. What can you tell me about them? Visual description, habits... location?” “Well...” Twilight began. “...dragons are usually scaled, in various different colors, and prefer to stay to themselves except when migrating as a group, and tend to be variable in levels of magical power ranging from miniscule to something comparable to the princesses.. They’re located up in the north, and they eat gemstones on top of regular fare given their omnivorous diet—” “Wait, stop for a moment. Did you say that they eat gemstones?” “Yes. I thought that would pique your interest,” Twilight said, laughing herself. “My assistant, Spike, is a dragon, though he... he departed for the dragon lands near the beginning of this crisis in order to contact the dragons. We haven’t heard from him since...” “We’ll get to that when we come to it. That is a worrying prospect: they can use magic, they eat crystals, and... how hard are they to kill, normally?” “Killing a dragon?” Twilight voice wavered for a moment, surprised by the unexpected question. “Well... Equestria hasn’t fought the dragons for... ages. Not since ancient times. Like, really, really ancient. The eldest of the dragons are probably weaker than the princesses, but far more powerful than any other being on the planet, and even then, most are pretty tough to kill given their natural constitution.” Dragons. That was an interesting note that Wesley never thought he’d be adding to his specimens list. “Yes, very worrying. If they’re hard to kill, then chances are that they may not have been destroyed... they might have ended up being mutated and become reliant on the Tiberium itself to sustain themselves.” “Oh, no... how bad can it be?” “If they were mutated? Very. Moving on now, I’d like to ask about the average scale of dragons in comparison to, say... you or me.” “A fully grown dragon is very large, even larger than the mechanical walkers that the ISDI uses,” Twilight said. “Gosh, I should have brought my own notes; I had an entire section dedicated to dragon biology due to taking care of Spike... anyway, a good deal are probably twice as tall as you are. And the biggest ones in known history can even reach the size of entire cities like Canterlot.” “Then let’s hope that my worst case assumptions are entirely incorrect,” Wesley said. Size, power, constitution, and surprisingly, eating habits, all factored into this. Had there ever been any recorded incident in the ISDI archives where someone actually ate Tiberium? He’d have to check that later. “Doctor Wesley, we have arrived at OP Castle. Aid is ready to be delivered under your supervision.” the Chariot driver called back to him. “Take your time while you’re in the city. We can leave whenever you want.” Wesley fogged his visor again, as he pulled the lever and opened the rear hatch, deciding to leave his weapon behind since he was entering a civilian zone. “Well, Twilight, let’s get that aid to the city as soon as possible.” One of the worst things about being commander was a condition simply named ‘flat-ass’, or discomfort of the aforementioned body part from sitting at the command console for prolonged periods of time. At its worst, a commander could be sitting in his command bunker in a contested area, the explosions shaking the ground only adding to the discomfort. It was one of the reasons why Alexandra had paid for a luxury chair out of his own pocket. “Commander, the relief aid has just reached the indigenous settlement,” EVA notified him. “Doctor Wesley has notified me that malcontents may be present, and has allocated increase security to ensure that the aid is given to those who need it.” “Does he now? Patch me through to him,” Alexandra said, flipping through his channels from CENTCOM. Ever the pencil pushers, commanders always seemed to get the worst of the paperwork. If he’d known that the red tape associated with being a commander was so great... he might have just opted for a forward battle command instead. “Yes, this is Doctor Wesley. I assume EVA has told you about my concerns...” “Explain to me about these malcontents. Are they getting violent down there?” Cute colorful ponies... getting violent. Amusing, but most sapient species had their fair share of violence ingrained into them; conflict was ingrained into nature itself, after all. “Well, they’re not... outright blanching at our presence. I’ve been notified by my friend Twilight here that there are groups within the refugees that are... well, I’m sure you know that certain corporation heads get leeway in times of emergency?” “I’m well aware of that.” At least in the ISDI, the only time they ever flexed their emergency powers was when things needed to get done. The Idris Corporation CEO had capitalized on that on more than one occasion to ferry sensitive components on his private spacecraft with authorized clearance to avoid being hamstrung by conventional transportation. “Well, assume it’s something like that, except the parties involved want to get their hands first on the goods before anyone else does. I’ve put extra troopers on security, and I have Twilight supervising the whole thing to make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong... hooves. She isn’t very confident, as it seems that they also have eyes and ears everywhere...” “Then just make sure that the afflicted get highest priority on the aid and the food. I’d rather not have an incident on my hands... the news network are already well aware of my situation as it is,” he said tiredly. “It certainly can’t be that bad,” Wesley said, though the lack of enthusiasm on his face certainly said otherwise. “What we’ve found here is better than anything in the past. We didn’t find them nearly extinct, scattered across an entire continent in groups of a dozen or less.” “You do have a point. But this can go either way depending on how we play our cards, and the news are... well, let’s just say that running into more sapient life is cause to plaster this sudden revelation all over the news networks.” He sighed. “With lots more discussion about myself interspersed with it.” “Oh, really? I haven’t really stayed in tune with the news... it can’t possibly be that bad, could it?” Wesley said. Alexandra shook his head, chuckling. “If only you knew...” He tapped a button off on the side, a mute of all the news feeds he had left unattended until now. The resulting audio unleashed came through all at once, a massive overlap of accounts and opinions that Alexandra had become rather used to. “—Commander Martin Alexandra has discovered sapient life on an inhabited planet, as released by ISDI Central Command! Can we really trust the man to—” “I’m telling you, this can only end in disaster! Alexandra is a loose cannon commander given too much leeway with the men under his command! Innocent lives could be put at risk, so why not—” “—see, this is why I agree with General Hallman’s decision. He’s afraid—nay, he knows that this situation is a volatile bomb just waiting to explode! It makes perfect sense to send a more sensible commander like Trent Redding to defuse this before it gets any—” “—and we’re just going to let this stand? Our feeds have revealed to us that this so-called ‘inhabited’ planet rife with Tiberium is about to come under Scrin attack very soon. We all know of the Hammerfest’s departure from Osiris Naval Base. Clearly, this is a threat that requires more than just an expeditionary force to—” “—we have a man like him presiding over first contact with another species! Honestly, this could go either way. I’m sure his bravado and unorthodox methods are what his detractors are focusing far too great on. People cannot forget that Alexandra has shown clear respect for the preservation of all lives involved, and I believe he can—” “—his own Inferno Corps will absolutely be needed to combat this threat. Faithful of Kane, do not forget that we, those of the Word of Nod, have one of our descendants among the ranks! From the lineage of Elias, Martin will purge the ranks of the heretical Scrin through cleansing fire! Kane watch over him, for—” “—and why not have our two of our best commanders sent to deal with this threat? Okay, see this: Initiative News Network says that the number of these new sapient species is far greater than any previously ever seen before! Hallman’s protocol again shows its utility in allowing the ISDI to respond quickly—” Alexandra reactivated the mute, looking at Wesley with a dry smile. “See... everyone knows. And everyone won’t stop talking about it. And me, apparently.” “I... didn’t realize you subscribed to the Word of Nod network, Commander Alexandra...” Wesley said. “It’s surprising how they’re still given any chance to speak after the Ascension Conflict.” Alexandra shrugged. “Old times, old people. My father, by grace of his social ties, introduced me to them early in my life, and they seem to think I’m a success story, of sorts. They’re not bad people; they just like adhering to Nod’s teachings a little more than the average person. Nowhere near as fanatical as they used to be, though. Or well connected.” “Allow me to say that I’m not entirely convinced by that...” Wesley’s looked off-screen for a moment, nodding several times as he uttered assurances to whoever he was speaking to. “Well, commander, allow me to introduce you to...” There was the click as Wesley switched the transmission view from him to his suit camera feed. As the screen suddenly flickered, Wesley’s face was replaced with another, a equine face colored in a most pristine white, staring at him with pale magenta eyes as the sight of her horn and ethereal mane easily caught his attention. “...Princess Celestia. Ruler of Equestria and the current leader of the ponies. It’s an honor to have you down here with us, princess. I didn’t expect you to leave your castle,” Wesley said. “But that does save me the trouble of having to find you.” “So it would seem,” Celestia said, as a small notification at the bottom right of the screen appeared to notify him that his console’s local translation program was doing the brunt of the work. Given that the data it was receiving was ripped directly from Wesley’s own PDA translator, the most up-to-date version, the conversion was quick. “How did the operation go? Did you manage to save them?” “The operation was a success, Princess,” Twilight answered for him. “They’re currently resting down at the hospital, in the base near Ponyville.” Celestia gave a heavy sigh, then wearily smiled. “Thank you, doctor. You have my deepest gratitude for saving my sister, and Pinkie Pie. And now you’re even going so far as to provide us with your own provisions...” She levitated a carrot up to her eyes, rotating to give her a better examination. “I haven’t seen produce so fresh in such a long time...” “But... uh, you know what that is?” “Of course she would,” Twilight said, her tone bearing a trace of disbelief. “That’s a carrot. Everypony knows that.” “Right, I had this sort of conversation with Applejack, too...” Wesley recalled. “You know what apples are. You know what oranges are. And now you know what carrots are, too. This is getting stranger by the minute.” “Let’s not get distracted here, doctor,” Alexandra broke in, earning a surprised gasp from Celestia as she looked around to determine where the sound of the voice came from. “That would be Commander Alexandra speaking, princess. He is viewing and listening in on our conversation through this device here: a camera, right next to my visor.” He tapped the lens several times for emphasis. “I decided to let him in on the conversation. He’s set to arrive here soon, but, uh... we still need lands for a proper base. Twilight has suggested that a location called Winsome Falls is a prime candidate for it?” Celestia’s face moved forward, an eye taking up the span of the screen as she spoke. “As it is, doctor, I’m perfectly willing to fulfill any requests for aid you may ask. Winsome Falls seems to have been mostly stable, as the trees died out early on when the skies were clouded over. The land should be suitable for your construction.” “You can stand back, Princess, I can see you just fine,” Alexandra said. “So, Winsome Falls. Where is that, exactly?” “In the hills just due south of the ruined town, sir,” Wesley said. “I’ll upload the coordinates to EVA and she can mark it down on the regional map for you.” “So, I’d like to make sure: I have your clear permission to build a facility on top of that spot?” “You are correct.” “Wesley, get it in writing. I’m afraid to end this conversation on such short notice, because construction has been put aside long enough... and I’m due for a visit.” Alexandra got out of his seat, putting on his commander’s jacket as he ordered the nonessential screens of the console to be shut down. “Wait, does that mean, you’re...?” Wesley asked. “Roll out the welcome mat, doctor. I’m paying you guys a visit.” “I swear to God, Alexandra, that’s why I told the board that we shouldn’t just rip all that Scrin tech and reverse-engineer it all willy-nilly,” Masterson said, putting on the bulbous helmet of his hazmat suit. “What if there’s, like... a crazy backdoor for their systems? For our systems? Maybe they planned on us using their technology all along! What if they have some sort of killswitch that can just shut off our jump drives at any freaking time that they want?! I’m pretty sure I saw that happen in a video game once.” Alexandra shook his head, letting him ramble for a moment as he donned his own integrated combat suit. Would he need weapons? Most likely not, and he had a protection detail anyway. “If they had something like that, Henry, don’t you think they would have used it already?” “Well... maybe,” he said, shrugging. “But it’s possible that they’re just saving it for later as a trump card or something.” His suit hissed as his seals activated, and he stood triumphantly in his custom-made hazmat suit, decked out with a variety of strange components across his torso and back. “Finally! It only took me about... twenty minutes to put this all together. Not bad.” “And it was just a hazmat suit,” Alexandra commented. It had taken him a similar amount of time to put on his ICS, but that was more because of the underweave and locked-in components than dealing with the hodgepodge of electronics that Masterson carried on him. “What the hell do you even need all that stuff for, anyway?” Masterson clicked on his flashlight and began cycling through his kit. “I... uh, this here’s a camera, this right here is a microphone for... data-gathering purposes... and this... well, I’m not sure what this one is, but it was in the box, so I think it’s important... oh, this one’s a naval distress beacon, for big emergencies, and this little box on my belt hooks up to EVA’s GPS system so she can have my position at all times. You know, since I’m not wearing a power suit.” Alexandra’s helmet hooked into his neck’s underweave, the folding plates dropping into position over his face and sealing his helmet. He shut his locker with a slam and waited for the audio-visual receivers on his helmet to activate, providing him with a near-perfect perspective of normal eyesight, complete with HUD. “Just how much money did you drop on all that, Henry?” Alexandra wondered out loud. “And why do you need recording hardware?” “Several thousand. It’s all good, though, my salary can easily cover for that. And I have the recording hardware because, quite obviously, if I’m going to tell people that I was among one of the first to make contact with another sapient species, I’m going to need proof,” Masterson said, clapping gleefully as his test on the camera’s record function completed without error. “I repeat myself: don’t start trouble, okay?” Alexandra said, wagging a finger at him. “Don’t worry about that. Actually, I won’t record a single thing until after I receive permission from you, is that alright? Hmm, what’s this wire doing here...? Oh, they’re earphones from my old music player! I was wondering where they went...” Masterson said, untangling the device from his other wires and tossing it into his storage box before shutting his locker. Alexandra rolled his eyes and walked out of the locker room as Masterson waddled out, earning several curious glances from a pair of naval personnel passing by. Alexandra’s HUD immediately hooked into EVA’s navigational systems and translucent blue arrows appeared over his display, contrasting with the dull yellow that the hallway was basked in. “EVA, are you prepared for transport?” “Affirmative, commander. Final diagnostics were completed three hours and twenty-three minutes ago. My local systems on the Methuselah have had all power transferred to them while the main core is on minimal functionality in preparation for imminent departure.” “Good. Henry, stop trying to poke at your leggings with that pen. You might breach the suit.” “I know, Marty, I know. Sheesh, you act like I’ve never done this before...” he huffed. “I can’t believe I have to wear something as primitive as this. Idris should make civilian-sector power suits.” He snapped his fingers. “Yes, that will be the topic of my next meeting with the board of directors.” They walked along the hall with a momentary silence, letting the yellow on the wall direct them to the hangars, where their transport awaited them. “EVA, status of current weather developments in the region.” “Storms are minimal, and ionic interference has dropped to sustainable levels.” “Good. With any due luck, it’ll stay that way. Scan the region known as ‘Winsome Falls’ and gauge defensibility and subterranean capabilities. Location is in the hills due south of Camp Greenwood.” Their Orca dropship was the only transport ready to launch on the deck, and Alexandra’s trooper detail was already inside prepped for launch. “The region is clear. There is a clear lack of plant life, but the mountainous region located against the mountain face would serve nicely as a foundation for the command bunker, and the hills immediately above can be used as an airbase.” “Great. Estimate construction time and shield deployment charge-up.” The landing hatch began to whine, slowly closing as he and Masterson sat down across from the zone troopers. “Assume that all systems will skip shakedowns.” “Initial construction to a complete functional command bunker and base will take, at minimum two days. Crystal shield calibrations will take at least one. Citadel shields will take at least three.” He locked in his seat’s harness as the whir of the VTOL engines began to rev up, filling the cabin with the smell of exhaust. “Factor into refugee camp construction. Assume population count to be unknown, but factor in worst case scenario based upon area scan of the mountainside city,” he continued. There was no clear count of the numbers. He made a mental note to clarify that in person. “Destination set,” the pilot said. “ETA to Camp Greenwood: ten minutes.” “EVA, check weather scans again. What’s the difficulty of reaching OP Castle from our atmospheric entry?” Alexandra asked, as the vibrations from the craft pushing through the atmosphere made his voice shaky. Masterson was busy measuring gravitational pull on another one of his many devices as the butterflies in his stomach increased. “Minimal interference. Skies within the Greenwood region are safe to maneuver in.” “Pilot! Change course from Greenwood to OP Castle! EVA, notify OP Castle that friendlies are inbound... hope they can clear out a landing zone fast enough.” “Yes, sir!!” the pilot said. The tilt of the craft came in response to the order as he altered their course of direction. “New ETA: five minutes.” “OP Castle is on standby for your arrival, commander. Ample space has been allocated next to the orbital defense cannon for your landing.” “This is clearly not the average civilian spacecraft...” Masterson managed to say, stuffing the device on his velcro hip-belt before hanging onto his harness for dear life. “I think I’m going to be sick...” “First time on a dropship?” a trooper said, laughing aloud. “Yeah! You guys have to deal with this all the time?!” “Nope. Usually we just go in via drop pods, man! Twenty times as worse but a hundred times shorter. How the hell did you get on the Methuselah?” “First-class transit from Idris’ own corporate spacecraft, of course! Hard to complain when you’re not the one paying for it!” he said, heaving several times as he fought to keep down his nausea. “But I guess there’s a first time for everything!” “At least you’ll earn your burn-in wings, brother! Extra bragging rights if you don’t end up puking on your first time!” The trooper gave him a thumbs-up with his large hands as a meager reassurance. “Don’t remind me, damnit! God, I think I’d hate to think what the flight would be like when the weather was still just ion storms up the wazoo. Er, aside from the part that we’d all probably be falling to the ground at neckbreak speeds, screaming as we’d be locked inside this metal coffin with no way out.” “For you, maybe. We have jetpacks, man, we can just jump.” “Damn. Okay, jetpack is going on my Christmas list.” “Final stretch is visible, commander, making our landing now,” the pilot said, as the atmospheric seals on the back of the craft opened up to reveal the sky and valley behind their approach. Though still tinted with the faintest traces of foggy green, sunrays were visible and served as a calm contrast to the darkened skies in the distance beyond the valley. The Orca dropship rotated itself as it went into full vertical landing, turning their view of the valley into one of ornate city walls and the giant throngs of ponies now scrambling over each other to gain a better view of the flying machine. Alexandra judged by the numbers that they easily matched the average population size of the space colonies around Earth’s moon, if not more. “Woo, yeah, I made it,” Masterson half-heartedly said. “Oh, man, remind me to never volunteer to ride on a ship with you ever again, Marty.” He unlocked the harness and had to have Alexandra help him out of his seat before merely waving him off and sitting back down, deciding to let the discomfort subside before walking outside. Alexandra and the zone troopers, however, had no such problems, though he did think that it would have probably been a good idea to let Masterson know about the existence of anti-disorientation pills before he got on the dropship. He walked across the worn path leading to the Canterlot gates, passing by the defense cannon and meeting Wesley and his pony charges outside the gates. He walked up to Celestia, putting his hands on his hips and merely taking in her details in silence before looking at Wesley and tilting his head questioningly. Wesley didn’t respond, nor did any of the ponies or the humans: he realized then the attention was turned on him. They were waiting for him to speak, to utter the first words exchanged between important representatives of both ponykind and humanity. “...you know, doctor, I could have sworn that she looked bigger on the camera.”