//------------------------------// // Chapter One: Facility // Story: Fallout: Equestria - Gaia Prevails // by John Colt //------------------------------// Chapter One Facility “Aideen’s Audiolog. February 2, 1247. Dear abandoned cabin, what secrets do you might hold? Is your security high enough for them to call an specialist?” After a three-day hike our destination came into sight. There was not much left of the cabin, as most of it had once consisted of wood. It was tiny; if it had been for living purposes there might have lived a single hermit there before the war. But with what once had been the border of Equestria being not far away, every cogitative equine would have abandoned it once the war started. So, why would there be a terminal with a security system that got the better of one of our scouts? Sure, they don’t have the experience I have, but... ahh, I wrecked my brain about it most of the way here. If something is hidden in the middle of nowhere and has high security it should harbor something valuable. Which is the reason why the Crimson Company sent out a delegation of four battle scarred guards and a hacker, to obtain whatever it might hold. One of my companions (I never bothered to remember the names of the ponies I go on missions with) scouted the building and searched for traps before the rest of us entered. Standard procedure, and it was for my safety too; it wasn’t as if my patience was being tested, I’m usually a patient pony; and it gave me the opportunity to sit down, rest, and enjoy the scenery. Spiky rocks, dead trees and the dreariness of the wasteland. After the bombs fell and the trees died, the wind coming from the sea could mercilessly whet the mountainside, making it quite hard to travel even the short distance from Colt’s Well to... “Equestrian Wasteland” I gave my PipBuck a little shake as if to jump start it. For some reason it hadn’t named this specific location. It should surprise one that the device is capable of knowing names of the unlikeliest places, but after a few years of this it was the other way around. For fun, I always imagined there being a server somewhere that collects the information of locations from every PipBuck-wearing equine out there and gives them out to everypony too. If my weird theory would hold true nopony with a PipBuck ever discovered this building. There is no sense in fretting over things I probably will never know and I returned my attention back to the scenery. Once upon a time it had to have been a stunning view. I imagine the trees being alive, the rocks being mossy green, and grass and flowers everywhere. In good view along the side of the mountain was the Hot Spring and Wellness resort of Colt’s Well where many little streams flow down forming the Colt, a small river that ended into the sea. The sea... It was beautiful, even now where everything else of the scenery has gone nasty. “It’s secure,” came a voice from the building and I immediately stood up, taking the statement as a command. With a urge of morbid fun I walked towards what had once been the entrance, even though most of the walls weren’t standing anymore. A doormat announced in big cheerful colored letters: “Go Away!” A doormat had the simple purpose of allowing and reminding people who enter the house to clean their hooves. Usually ponies had a cheerful motive on them, “Come in” or “Welcome” and pansy stuff like that. I chuckled at the thought of somepony deciding to twist this around and order his guests to go away, all while keeping up the good fun and use cheerful colored letters. *** *** *** I already managed to hack into the terminals system and I can see now how my suggestions are compared to the password. I already knew what terminal only accepts upper- and lowercase letters as inputs . The actual hacking process is already over, I only have to guess the password now in pot hitting style. You probably think I could have started guessing the password from the very beginning and you might be right, but with my hacking I see how correct my guess is. Most ponies choose something mundane, like the name of a loved one, or the name of the project saved on the terminal (how stupid can one be?). But I once stumbled over a terminal who used the first letter of every word in a poem as the password. It would have taken me quite a long time to figure it out if there hadn’t been a motivational-poster right above the terminal reciting it. I usually start with inputting a string full of only one vowel. Due to my hacking I usually could then see how many letters I have correct, and with the right tactic it’s pretty easy when you are in possession of a good vocabulary. But let’s be honest, in the wastelands there are not a lot of ponies gifted with one. >input_pw "OOOOOOOO" >Entry denied! >0/8 >Allowances: 3 >input_pw "UUUUUUUU” >Entry denied! >0/8 >Allowances: 2 Although I still had an allowance left I backed out of the terminal for the third time. No vowels, means either something really weird in the zebra-language or a gibberish-password. Either way wasn’t unhackable, but were going to be quite time-consuming. Certainly not something I want to do manually, and thankfully I have written a program once that is capable of doing just that. About twelve minutes later, while my program tested for upper case ‘L’s, a dark violet spark struck me from the terminal. “Ouch.” Terminals aren’t supposed to behave like that. I saw terminals explode when they get activated or overused, but my program was gentle, I had made sure of it. Then the sound of grinding metal (in need for lubricant) filled the cabin. What we thought was a floorsafe opened up and revealed a hole with a ladder going down. “Well what do we have here?” Our mission-leader softly punched me in the shoulder. He looked down the hole where I could hear light bulbs attempting to go on. Bang, bang, click, bang. Four lights were once needed to illuminate the whole way down. After approximately 200 years of not being used, one of them managed to not explode. Thankfully exploding light bulbs were no major cause of death in the wastelands. “That’s mighty interesting. Good work, doll.” I frowned. Dolls were supposed to be pretty, but most of the ones you can find in the wastelands were positively creepy; you can do to them whatever you want without getting a reaction and they are possessions. Altogether not a bad nickname for me, so I was quite surprised that I had heard it just now for the first time. But my new nickname wasn’t the reason for my frowning. The problem was that my program was still running, I had not opened that hatch. Maybe that dark violet spark triggered some shortcut to the hatch’s opening mechanism. Not to mention, dark violet was an unusual color for an spark coming from a terminal, unless it’s a magical terminal of course. The terminal doesn’t look that way, but from the very beginning I had known it wasn’t a mass produced terminal, maybe even one of a kind. Our trap disarmer climbed down the ladder and reported: “Another door down here. Room’s intact, no lids for turrets to pop out, air’s good. There’s a weird mechanical thingy, looks to be decorative. Room’s secure. My guess’s it’s only an entrance.” And that’s our cue to follow. Leader-guy first, of course, and I went in afterward. The shaft is giving me an eery feeling. The walls had moved on a rail to make place us to climb down. I climbed as fast as I could, there had been a malfunction already and I didn’t want put myself on the line even if crushed to death might be a quick death (I remember how fast it opened up). The weird decorative mechanical thingy in the center of the room turned out to be an orrery. I’ve heard of them only once, they are zebra-built and they were all confiscated and destroyed by the Ministry of Image as they are blasphemous towards the princesses. I didn’t know what they look like or why a model of the sun, moon and planet would be blasphemous, until now that is. The model neither showed just these three objects nor was the sun orbiting Equestria. There wasn’t even a planet labeled “Equestria”, only one of the orbs on the orrery fitted Equestrias description, but it was labeled “Gaia”. I’ve heard Zebras referring to the land as “Gaia” before. I figure “Gaia” is better than referring to the planet with the name of their land as equestrians did it. The planet “Zebra Nation”. When I think about it I don’t even know the official name of their land. It could as well be “United Zebra Tribes”, or something. Scree... The shaft was closing again. “ohnononononono...” Our last man was still in there. CRACKSQUISH, splash. The noise of his cracking bones, quickly replaced by being a squishing sound almost made me throw up. His bodily fluids rushing down on the floor, splashing around, and hitting me didn’t help much neither. The horror of my imagination had become true. He hadn’t even had the time to scream. My companions seemed to harbor similar emotions. I wasn’t the only one to gag, but at least I kept the contents of my stomach. Leader-guy only cursed, but quickly added: “Tell me we’re not trapped down here.” I swallowed the sourness in my mouth first. “No, there needs to be a terminal to open it from the inside too. There!” I walked over to the terminal right next to the ladder. Thankfully it wasn’t password-secured, I could simply... A drop of blood dripped down on me. He will come crashing down on me the moment I command the shaft to open. Okay, brace yourself Aideen, you can do this. >Open hatch? >confirm The shaft opened up again. The corpse was sticking in a crude way to the wall, but gravity was slowly getting the better of it. I quickly dodged before it hit me. Splash. Uuuuuhhh... Can’t trick physics. Blood splashed everywhere from the impact of the body, coating me. Breath... “You okay there?” Does it look like I’m okay? Breath, breath... Wait, breath? Where is the air coming from? It has been perfect until whatever-his-name got squashed. Where is a ventilation shaft? There it is... Huh, I know that design... “Hey, give me a lift.” Leader-guy saw my interest in the ventilation system and I guess he recognized it too, as he didn’t object to me giving him a command. After all, they have only been used in one kind of facility. I managed to remove the covering and jumped to him again. The cover was safely in my telekinetic grip, and I presented it to my companions so they could clearly see the logo on it. “Stable-Tec? Is this a stable?” I looked over to the orrery. “I doubt it, more like a vault for valuables.” When I think about it... “Yeah, makes sense. You know, a Stable that saves the culture, far away from ponies’ prejudice. I mean, this is an orrery.” From the looks I earned I added, “Zebra-made.” I saw leader-guys face light up. “You mean this’ a freaking treasure chamber?” I’m undecided. A treasure chamber would be pretty bad. Crimson could sponsor a war against RedEye. And whoever wins is going to be a slaver-superpower, and that’s not good for anyone. “There’s only one way to find out.” It was a neutral answer, of course. I’ve learned most ponies in some kind of power-position should not have their hopes crushed when somepony is present they can take their anger out on. “Just don’t get your hopes up; I doubt Stable-Tec would have built an death trap as an entrance.” “Also that,” I pointed to the logo above the door, leading further into the bunker, “doesn’t look quite like Stable-Tec.” The logo was just two words arranged in a typeset which seemed quite weird. Dots, squiggles and streaks were in unnecessary places. Huh... I looked back at the orrery, at one specific orb in particular. “Okay, safe in here. You’ve gotta see this.” Trap-guy’s voice came from inside. I nodded to myself. Yes, somehow I think I have got to see this. I walked through the doorway, looking one more time to the words adorning it. Gaia Prevails *** *** *** It’s not a treasure chamber, it’s a museum. While there was some valuable stuff in here I doubt anyone in the wastelands will spent a lot more than the pure material price on it. But there was also some weird things in here, like two copies of the same books with their differences pointed out. In the “banned”-department was a comic book of “Sword Mares” with a zebra as a supporting character. Can’t make kids believe that zebras are able to help the protagonist, right? Next to it was a newspaper article with the headline “Ministry of Image confiscates ‘ideologically incompatible’ works of art”. I have no urge of reading it as I already know what’s written in there. This facility was proof of it, someone saved as much as possible. Equestria had always seemed like an utopia to me. But censorship and... do I want to know what happened to the guy writing an article which ended up in the banned section? I know what happens to ponies when they challenge authority now. There might have been a healthy environment, but without free speech it sure wasn’t anything close to an utopia. My sightseeing didn’t last long as trap-guy called me over to the edge of the room. “Hey, hacker, over here!” I had gotten used to not open doors to rooms which were possibly still unsafe so I simply stay away from the walls to never get tempted. I saw the doors but avoided reading their markings. This door was marked “weapons”. Looks promising. “The door is computer controlled, but this terminal wont start up.” He attempted to tap against the dead terminal just to get struck by a dark violet bolt of lightning. He yelped and stumbled backwards only to fall over his own feet. The terminal sprung alive and opened the door. “Err... you okay.” Of course he wasn’t okay. He had struck his head against the table behind him. I poked him in the side as a puddle of blood began to form around his head. “That’s bad... GUYS!” I called out the last word. This is really bad. Leader-guy had come running, briefly observing the scene he asked: “What happened?” He voice implied more of a question on why I killed that guy and not what he had actually said. Or is it just me being paranoid? “He just... stumbled.” “Stumbled? He screamed before.” “Well, ahh... yes. He got an electric shock from the terminal, that’s why he stumbled backwards to begin with.” “Two freak accident and both times a terminal had been involved.” “You are saying I killed them?” “You don’t seem surprised I accused you.” “I... err...” I never though being paranoid would get me in trouble like that. “What would I gain if I kill you one after another?” Glare... Stare-fight, don’t blink. Count to three, then look awkwardly away. Surrender. Make him think I have the weaker will than him and I’m not capable of murder. I mean... I am not capable of murder. He was no stupid pony; he knew there was no possibility he could proof I did it unless he could get a confession, something I am obviously not going to give him, so he did the best thing he can come up with. “Congratulations, I promote you. Go check for traps.” Two birds with one stone, he punished me and he got somepony for the job. And yes, checking for traps was a punishment. Usually a dangerous job, but I don’t think there are really traps in here. At least nothing that is intended to kill ponies. I entered the weapons room. Okay, rephrase that: There is nothing in here that is supposed to kill ponies on its own. The weapon room was no armory; it too was kept in museum style. Zebra swords and lances were neatly organized on mounts blocking my view deeper into the room. I focused my attention on the ceiling and walls, but found nothing, the terminal next to the door had no turret control either, and that was pretty much everything I know about traps. “No turret hatches and I’m still alive, so...” “You have no idea what you are doing, right?” I saw no reason to lie. “Not the slightest.” Leader-guy and the remaining guard entered the weapon room. “Nothing to properly equip an army. Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight, right?” “I guess you need an education to even use these things.” The guard had walked over to one of the mounts holding swords. “They might only be decorative...” He shook the frame holding the weapons, when a flash of the dark violet magic released them. Taken by surprise, he didn’t jump back immediately before he got cut up neatly. “It’s not even trying to be subtle...” Leader-guy stared at me, my horn to be specifically. My aura was golden, like my hair and he knew enough about magic that I couldn’t have done it. “What do you mean? What’s going on?” “I don’t know, it was a feeling when we came in, and the spark striking the other one was violet too. Err... We should get out of here, now.” He continued to stare for a second, but the fear in my face probably assured him in his opinion about my suggestion. “You’re right.” He bolted for the door before I even realized. When I started moving the door had already automatically shut down. Not good... not good at all. The terminal beside it was out. And I couldn’t restart it. Chances of survival are dwindling into single digits now... There was another door further back in the room, I know it lead into a direction where another door from the main room lead too. I might be able to get out from there... The door was labeled “Control Room”. Okay, that sounds promising. Inside was a neat big computer with various screens. An unicorn skeleton adorned the chair in front of the main screen. I probably would have appreciate the amazing setup of the computer, if my life wouldn’t be endangered at the moment. The door back to the main room was closed... obviously. The door back was closed too, I’m trapped. There is still the third door, but did I want to go further into the facility? The door was labeled “laboratory”. My chances are probably higher if I try taking control of the facility, this is the control room after all. Whoever is killing us has to have used... No, scratch that, only the very first death could have been caused by a good control over the facility. The screens showed the security-feed from cameras. Leader-guy was in the entrance room, lying on the floor, probably dead. The ventilation system was extracting smoke from it. My guess was on neurotoxin. And there’s nothing anyone could do against neurotoxin, unless they have a gas mask, or they have access to the control system. Come on, you’re my last hope. I connected my PipBuck... 46,656-digit password. I sat down into the chair next to it and leaned back. I’m dead, no point in hiding it now. “Hey, how’s it goin’? You come here often?” I asked the skeleton. “Mind if I join you?” The skeleton didn’t respond. “Well, I don’t know what I expected.” I guess, fear made me snap. I stared at the skeleton for a while. I’m not good at equinology but I guessed the skeleton to have been male. His lab-suit told me ‘Stand back while I am going to attempt a science’. He was sitting in a strange position. His hoofs were oddly crossed, like he had been meditating when he died. Whoever he had been, he had known he was going to die, like I do. Wait a moment... IT let us in. If this dark violet magic thingy didn’t want us, it wouldn’t have let us in to begin with. And I’ve been in this room for a good minute now and hadn’t been gassed or something. I quietly asked: “What do you want from me?” And the door behind me opened. Of course it had heard me, and now I was invited into the laboratory. Okay... let’s have it your way. The lab was of a museum quality too, but it only had three exhibits. And there were a few well-equipped terminals, whoever had built this facility had certainly not lacked money. Once again I found myself thinking I could have kinky thoughts about this setup if it weren’t for the figurative gun a bodyless entity was holding at my head. The first exhibit was metal in ore and refined bar form. While the ore was almost black, the refined version was of blueish-white color. The second exhibit was an energy weapon. Not like any energy weapon I have ever seen before. The handle was certainly not made to fit into a ponies mouth, or a griffins or hellhounds claw. It’s energysource was removed from the weapon, it was a liquid substance in a phial glowing in a light blue. The weapons casing was of the same metal from the first exhibit. The third exhibit was a big mannequin in armor. A shiver ran down my spine. The temperature might as well has dropped 20 degrees. I know this armor, I have seen it before. It was pictured in lore, every foal (in the stable) knows the story. Something was driving me to walk towards it, until I could touch it. I couldn’t control my own body! I lifted my hoof and reached out for it. The metal was surprisingly warm... Nightmare Moons armor and the mannequin immediately changed to my size. NOPE! I turned around and ran. NOPE! NOPE! The doors were open but I didn’t wonder about it, my head was filled with a mantra of negation. NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! The shaft was open too and I climbed up the ladder. NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! I ran out of the cabin, along the cragged mountain path. NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! I ran until my heart raced and my lungs pumped battery acid. NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! I stumbled and fell. I slid on the ground, badly grazing myself. NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! I slid off the cliff. *** *** *** Footnote: You have reached Level 2! New Perk: Rule One of the Wasteland: Cardio (1): You can run for 20% longer than usual. Special Perk: Touched by Nightmare Moon: +2 Intelligence and +2 Perception when standing in the direct moonlight. (good luck with finding some in the Wastelands) Skill Note: Magic has reached 25. Skill Note: Medicine has reached 25. Quest: Gaia Prevails [X] Find Gaia Prevails facility at Mount Mustang [X] Find a way inside the facility [ ] Optional: Investigate every room of the facility [X] Investigate the lab [ ] Report back to the Crimson Company in Colt's Well