//------------------------------//
// By Whose Authority 
// Story: Innavedr 
// by Imploding Colon 
//------------------------------//

	"Overseer!"  A uniformed employee of Nightshade Industries ran across the bridge between the two facility buildings in northeast Blue Nova.  "Overseer Fatch!  I've been looking all over for you!  There's urgent news from the Madame!"

"Unnngh..."  The frazzled stallion ran a hoof over his face and spun from a tight cluster of advisors.  "What could it possibly be now?!"  He frowned.  "It's crazy enough as it is with all of these Ledomaritan Enforcers breathing down my neck."

"She needs you to relocate the Think Tank immediately!" the messenger exclaimed.  "There's been a security compromise at HQ."

"And there isn't here?!"  Fatch leaned forward, teeth gritting.  "Has any of my urgent memos gotten to the Madame?!  I do hope she realizes I have my legs full of this unsightly 'Shell' character—"

"All I know is that there's been a security breach at the Madame's building and she needs the Think Tank moved right away!"

"Spark alive.  It's a conspiracy, I swear..."

"Should I take a team into the basement levels, sir?"

Fatch blinked awkwardly in the noonday sunlight.  "The basement levels?!  What for?"

"To prepare the Think Tank for relocation."

"Uhhh... no..."  Fatch's eyes narrowed.  "They're across the way in the Supplies Department building."

The messenger blinked, then broke into a cold sweat.  "I... did not see them when I went by, sir..."

Fatch's mouth opened... but hung there.  His facial muscles twitched, dragging his gaze towards the entrance to the building on the far end of the bridge.  He broke into a trot... and then into a gallop... and at last into a sprint.  His nervous associates sped swiftly after him.

He burst through a door, turned around two hallways, and came upon the long corridor where a security detachment had gathered before the room in question.

"Overseer, s-sir!"  One guard gulped, his armor rattling as he struggled to salute.  "I-I was just about to update you!  It appears as if we have a development—"

"Let me see..."

"We had guards here stationed the entire time and we can't fathom how they could have—"

"Let me see!"

The guards opened the door with their magic.  Fatch immediately dashed in... only to skid to a stop.  His face paled as he looked at the empty lengths of the room.  A gust of wind blew at his face, for the doors were wide open, exposing the interior to the brilliant sky above the skyscrapers of Blue Nova.

"It... but... how...?"

"It's j-just like I said, sir..."  The messenger's voice could be heard, panting from the corridor behind.  "I thought they were supposed to be stationed here.  I don't understand—"

"Weren't they being checked?!  Weren't they being examined regularly?!"  Gnashing his teeth, Fatch spun around.  "I want to know who is responsible for—"

Shell stood in the doorway, his body flanked by dead silent ponies.  Enforcer Evans and a few other soldiers trotted up to his side, gazing neutrally into the room.  In the utter silence that followed, Shell's hoofsteps were like hammer drops.  He paced past Fatch's numb body and looked at the open windows.

After a few seconds, he slowly and icily pivoted towards the chalkboard positioned along the side of the room.

Fatch bit his lip, shifting nervously.

Shell shuffled closer towards the board, his one eye tracing the runic symbols and dimensions of the illustrated zeppelin.  He eventually opened his lips with, "This is not typical Nigthshade design..."

Fatch said nothing.

"But I do recognize some of this..."  Shell brought his hoof up and tapped the runes.  "I see it in my sleep, just as I hear the dying screams of my fallen comrades."  He glanced at the powdery chalk brushed off his hoof.  His nostrils flared as he turned towards Fatch directly.  "I take it you had ponies who were important to you... and now they are gone.  I don't suppose they were imprisoned here against their will... were they?"

At last, Fatch gulped hard and said, "If you would like to conduct an investigation, I can orchestrate a meeting between you and my chief executives—"

"My good sir, there has been an investigation going on before I even came by here, and now with all of the elements adding up, I see far too much to blame it all on mere coincidence."  Shell gestured towards Evans, and the young Enforcer nodded back before directing commands to his armored companions.  "Rest assured, if there is a search to be made of these 'renegade' ponies who once dwelled in this room, it is no longer up to you to manage it."

"Wh-what?!"  Fatch remarked breathily.

"The security of Ledomare at stake," Shell said.  "I have already rounded up several local companies of the Ledomaritan Defense Force to form a perimeter around this property, though we would be most fortunate if your industry's ineptitude in its own detainment hasn't already cost us the whereabouts of this nation's biggest potential enemies."  He threw his voice towards the corridor.  "Evans, send another message to Filta's armada.  I want the Steel Wing en route to Blue Nova immediately."

"Aye, sir."

"Wait a second!"  Fatch growled.  "You can't just... j-just seize our property!  This belongs to Nightshade Industries!  Just on whose authority are you doing this!"

Shell turned slowly and stared down Fatch.  In his one eye, the Overseer buckled down, trembling.