//------------------------------// // Part 11 // Story: Sins of New Eden // by Hivemind //------------------------------// “Holy shit...” “Look at this place!” “I haven’t been planetside in years. Feels good to finally feel some earth beneath my feet. Literally!” Canderous smiled widely as he walked alongside Bendak through the outpost. He looked upon the many faces of amazement and wonder on the marine’s faces as he passed them by from building to building. Some were using binoculars to gaze at the many mountain ranges that surrounded the land. Others were picking up rocks and wildflowers and observing them with hungry eyes. Strangely, there was a small group of marines using the old leg bones from a nearby bone pile as swords. He was annoyed for a moment at the marine’s barbaric, slightly childish behavior. But after all that those aboard the Iron Giant have been through, it was easily excusable. “Nord!” Canderous looked to see the captain’s hand waving him over from a nearby field terminal. There was a small arrangement of chairs around the terminal. Thane stood next to the captain, while Titas and Vadik sat in the chairs. Bendak and Canderous made their way over to the captain and gave a salute upon reaching him. “Nord! A fine if not superb job of finding a location for base deployment. You did in hours what would have taken the Iron Giant’s disheveled scanning system to do in a day or so. I thank you for your service to the Federation.” Canderous chuckled a little before replying, “Thank you sir. Always a pleasure to help.” “Good. Have a seat Nord. Unfortunately, resting will have to wait a bit. We have another task for you.” Sighing with discontent, Canderous did as he was told. “Titas, if you would...” The captain gestured to the husky engineer. “Yes sir.” Titas reached forward from his seat and pressed a series of buttons on the console. A grid-line map started to form as a hologram in the air. Some of the grid’s square spaces were malformed and jagged, meant to simulate the far away mountains and valleys. Then, a small red blip formed in the middle of a white circle. Around the white circle, was a large mass of green light, probably used to simulate the surrounding forest. “Now...” the captain pointed to the red dot, “This is where we are right now, and the white circle around it simulates the boundaries of the outpost. This green area around the boundary, is the forest that surrounds us. It stretches for miles on end...except in one direction.” The captain pressed a series of buttons on the console, causing the whole grid map to shift forward. The green mass steadily disappeared as the map moved, until it came to a stop where there was no tree cover at all, save for a few very tiny patches. “Using a few tidbits of information we have gathered and pieced together from both our atmospheric probes and the Iron Giant’s sensors, we have discovered a breakage in the treeline approximately one mile due North from the outpost.” “Sounds exciting!” Vadik stood up from his chair and yelled. Everyone, including the marines standing guard near the captain, shot a stern and confused look at the giddy surveyer, who slowly and quietly sat back down. “Really Vadik?” Titas unamusingly said to the embarrassed officer. “Shut it Titas.” Vadik growled under his breath. “If I may continue...” the captain said while he turned back to the grid map, “But continuing would be useless, seeing as to how that is all we know about the surrounding area.” He pressed a red button on the console, causing the grid map to fizzle then fade away. “Bendak, you and Canderous will make up a two-man team to venture into the forest areas north of the outpost. Titas and Vadik, you two will oversee the construction of the outpost’s perimeter defenses. And Thane...” The captain turned to give Thane her orders, but stopped when he saw that her head was turned away, her eyes staring at the ground and her eyes filled with concern. “...as you were.” Thane acknowledged the captain’s command with a simple nod of her head, then she turned and walked away from the group. “Anyway. You have your orders, now see them out. If the planetary rotational data from our atmospheric probes is accurate, it will be dark soon. So get there, get a good look around, then report back.” Canderous, along with Bendak, Titas, and Vadik, rose up and saluted their captain, who then motioned them to be at ease. “C’mon Nord, let’s get moving. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can come back for some camp chow.” Bendak had already started walking away, Canderous soon joining him. ~~~~~ “Aw hell, night’s comin’ on fast.” The sky above Bendak was nearly pitch-black with the night’s veil. Only a tiny sliver of sunlight remained as the moon continued to rise high into the sky, it’s unusually bright beams of silver light casting down onto the forest floor. The moon may have been bright on this night, but not even it’s seemingly helpful guidance could aid the two as they trudged through the forest undergrowth. “Just how in the hell did the sun sink so fast? And how in the hell did the moon rise so quickly? And I know that hasn’t been two hours!” said Bendak with multiple confused gestures towards the sky. “Just shut the hell up Bendak! You’ve been going on and off about the damn sky ever since we started walking. Now, do you wanna find this break in the treeline, or not?” Canderous argued to the sergeant. Bendak only responded with a grunt in annoyance. The pair continued on through the forest, avoiding any puddles of what they assumed to be mud, until they stopped at the edge of a naturally formed dirt road. They continued their journey down the road, not paying any mind to the forest noises around them. The moon now dominated the night sky, while the sun was left to slowly sink into descendance. There were no clouds out tonight, so the moon’s full force of bright light shone upon the treetops. The moon’s starlight companions dotted the blackness with individual specks of twinkling shimmers. Hundreds, if not thousands of them blanketed the sky above them. “Hey uhh...Nord? Doesn’t it seem a little...odd to see the moon so close to the planet?” Bendak asked as he gazed up into the stars. “Humanity hasn’t set foot on this planet in thousands of years. How the hell should I know?” “Yea...guess your right. Hey wait a second. Look!” Bendak pointed a meaty finger towards a wide spot ahead. With assistance from the moon’s light, the two found themselves staring at the forest’s exit, the moonlight on the other side beckoning them to come out from underneath the dark and damp flora. “Well it’s about damn time.” Canderous chuckled at Bendak’s gruff voice speaking these words. Slowly but surely, they stepped through the exit, and found themselves standing in a field in the midst of a large plain, with several rows of near-identical trees spreading out in all directions as far as the eye could see. The rows of timber seemed endless. They went over hills, dived through small valleys, and somehow managed to grow in perfect alignment on the side of a small mountain. “Ok, cool. First, big, dark, and dangerous as hell forest. Now, a bunch of trees somehow arranged in perfect lines through even the most seemingly impossible places. Isn’t life on the homeworld just great?” “Hey Canderous! Get a load of this!” While he was busy tallying up the strange events up to now, Canderous had not noticed that Bendak had wandered towards the nearest tree. He walked over to Bendak, while at the same time keeping an eye on the mysterious rows around him. As he got closer, he noticed that a large group of round and almost spherical objects were attached to the branches. “It’s fruit man! It’s goddamn fruit!” Bendak yelled out to him, his voice trailing off into a loud echo in the distance. “Fruit? Here?” Canderous cautiously approached the base of the tree as is he thought that the leafy branches would grab him by the shoulders and tear him apart if he did so much as look at them the wrong way. “Not just any fruit, it’s apples! Real apples!” Bendak reached up and plucked an apple from it’s gripping stem. He turned the apple and moved it around, inspecting it for signs of bugs or rotten spots. “This is a flawless apple! No signs of bruises, bad marks, or even bugs! And just look at all of em’!” Bendak sweeped his free arm over the hundreds of trees in the distance before continuing, “You could feed an entire ground militia and then some on this field alone! Speaking of feed...” Bendak was about to take a bit out of the apple, but Canderous swooped in and yanked it out of his hand. Bendak turned to the apple snatcher with annoyed eyes, his immense hunger getting to the best of him. “I know you rank higher than me, but I think it would be best to let the white-coats back at the outpost have a look at it first. Sure, it might look ripe and ready to eat, but for all we know it could be filled with poison instead of juice.” Canderous pocketed the apple and turned his head towards the sky. “Hey Bendak, you’re gonna want to see this...” “See wha-? Oh...” Canderous gestured towards the sky above them. The dual-pronged ECM projection system, otherwise known as the bow of a Nyx-class supercarrier, loomed high above them, it’s running lights making it look like something out of an alien invasion style holo-reel. “Who knew that one of the most powerful capital ships in the Gallente Federation Navy looked so god damn sexy...” Bendak commented while rubbing his chin. “Wait, what?” Canderous gave the sergeant a confused and somewhat disgusted look. He was about to say something against Bendak’s last remark, until he took a second look at the ship. Strangely, his mind had to agree with Bendak. “Yea, I...guess you’re right...” Just then, a low growl from behind interrupted their moment of silence. Bendak and Canderous froze still in fear. “Did...did you just hear that?” Canderous whispered. “What the hell...?” Bendak turned around to meet the intruder, Canderous slowly doing the same. Their eyes meet with the territorial gaze of a small dog with a red band around it’s neck. It’s teeth were bared and it’s brow was furrowed over it’s eyes. “Hehe, it’s just a damn do-” Before Bendak could finish, the dog began to bark loudly, it’s yelps echoing off of the trees and carried off into the distance. “Aw’ hell, just great...” Bendak said while crossing his arms. “Damnit, this is bad. We were supposed to be back at the outpost a long time ago. We can’t head back there now with this dog’s barking attracting who-knows-what.” “So what do you suppose that we should do? I’m in the mood for some dog jerky if your interested...” “Your shitting me right?” “Maybe.” “Hang on Big Mac! Sounds like Winona ran off and found somethin' again...” said a squeaky voice off in the distance. Canderous and Bendak both turned their heads in the direction of the voice and saw a tiny yellow light slowly creeping up over the hillside. “Aw’ shit, who could that be?” Canderous started to panic as the light drew ever closer to the hilltop. “Humans maybe? Maybe some humans other than us still exist on the planet.” The dog was still barking loudly, drawing the attention of whatever far off master there may be. “Should we kill it?” asked Bendak who already had his hand on his pistol grip. “Nonono! We don’t know what would happen if we tried that!” “You have a better plan?” “What in tarnation?!” Canderous and Bendak both froze once more. The dog paused and looked back, then it continued it’s barking. They were staring into the face of an short, unknown creature with a tan coat and a long, red mane running down the back of it’s neck. The two parties just stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, after much waiting, the creature spoke up. “Who or what in the hay are you?” It asked with a mild tone of shock. Bendak leaned over to your ear and whispered a single word of wisdom. “Run.” Like two olympic sprinters, Canderous and Bendak turned and sped off toward the forest entrance. The dog saw their attempt to escape and would have none of it. After taking a moment to muster up it’s strength, the dog gave chase. ~~~~~ “Winona! Come back! It’s dangerous to go in there!” But it was too late. Winona ran after the two unknown intruders and started to chase them back into the Everfree forest. “Oooooh no! This is bad, this is bad, this is bad!” Winona was nearly out of sight. Applebloom had to act fast before she lost sight of her beloved pet. She had to go after her, but she was afraid to step into the dark forest, especially at night when all the monsters of the forest were out to hunt. “No!” she yelled to herself, stamping a hoof on the ground in protest. “I’m a big pony! I’m brave enough, and no stinking forest is gonna stop me from saving my Winona!” Appleboom’s sudden burst of bravery and confidence made her charge to the edge of the entrance, and before she knew it, she was charging through the forest undergrowth on a daring mission to save her beloved dog. “I’m comin’ for ya’ Winona!” ~~~~~ “What in the hell was that thing?” said Canderous while he gasped for air. “Just shut up and keep running!” Bendak commanded, his lungs also desiring oxygen. “This path will lead us back to the outpost!” The dog had been chasing the two for about ten minutes after their encounter with the unknown creature. It’s barks still resounded around the forest, but neither Canderous nor Bendak dared to glance behind them to see if it was still chasing them. “Winona! Come back!” echoed the same voice of the unknown lifeform that they had encountered not too long ago. “Shit, now that other thing is following us?” said Canderous through his gasping breaths. “What in the hell is a Winona? Aw’ shit just forget it and keep moving!” Bendak shouted. Bendak and Canderous kept running for what felt like hours, never stopping for anything. They leaped high over tree roots and ditches, yet somehow, the dog, and the other creature, were still following them. “There! The outpost!” Bendak pointed and shouted. Brightly-lit spotlights shone from within the outpost. The streaks of light were carved into thin slices that shone through small nooks and crannies in the treeline. Suddenly, a loud siren started up from out of nowhere, startling Canderous and Bendak and almost making them trip and fall. “Perimeter!” the voice of a far-off marine shouted. “Go go go! Perimeter!” cried the voice of another marine. “Perimeter? Shit we must have tripped one of the hidden field sensors!” said Bendak. Bendak reached down to his belt, pulled out his radio, and held it high into the air. “Do not shoot! Do not shoot! That is an order!” Bendak shouted his command. “Huh?” In the distance, one of the marines leaned his head over the cover of the outpost’s walls. “Guys! Lower your weapons! It’s Bendak and Nord! Lower the gate!” At the marine’s command, a large, steel gate that identified the entrance to the outpost dropped to the ground, landing with a loud thud. Canderous and Bendak sprinted through the open gate. When they were safely inside, Bendak turned and shouted to the marines up high on the walls. “Raise the gate! Now!” The gate instantly raised upward and locked in place. The marine’s rested the muzzles of their weapons on the edge of the walls, ready to engage anything that should ever dare do the Federation any harm. ~~~~~ “Winona! Please come back! We have to go back now! It’s to dangerous...in...here?” Applebloom skidded to a stop when she looked upon a long row of giant metal walls, with a large gate planted in the middle. Two tall guard towers occupied a space close to the gate from inside the walls. She could see the near-identical faces of several creatures. They looked just like the two intruders that she found trespassing on the family farm. Every one of them was holding what looked like a long, metal pipe. The pipes were resting on the farthest edges of the walls, their front ends pointing downward at something in front of her. Winona. She gasped and ran towards her standstill pet. Winona’s eyes were full of fear and her legs were wobbling back and forth. Applebloom grabbed onto her pet and held her close. “Don’t worry Winona! I’ll get you back home!” Just then, two large spotlights attached to the sides of the guard towers switched on and pointed at her, shining their bright beams of light directly into her face. She shut her eyes to shield them from the light’s painful intensity. “Do not shoot! Do not shoot!” “What is that thing?” “Do not shoot!” The gruff shouts of the creatures came in wave after wave, coupled with the shrill alarm and the marching of boots on the ground. Applebloom was absolutely terrified. Her very soul was struck with fear and her face was drizzling with tears of distress. She had to escape. She had to get safe. Winona finally snapped out of her fear-induced trance. She wrestled herself out of Applebloom’s grip and took off down the road from which she came from, yelping all the way. The loud shouting continued to fill her ears. She just wanted to go home. Just then, a large burst of green gas exploded in front of her, blocking out the spotlight’s beam and allowing her to see again. She turned her head left and right to try and see what was happening. But before she knew it, something grabbed her by the back of her neck and started running. She was screaming in horror as she was being carried off. She shut her eyes and tried to convince herself that this was all just a dream, but to no working avail. She watched the crooked trees of the forest fly by her eyes. She could faintly hear the sound of hooves on hard ground behind her. She had no strength left to turn her head and find out who it was that was carrying her. Completely out of energy, her vision faded into nothingness, and then, she passed out. ~~~~~ “Just what in the hell happened out there Nord?” the captain said while handing Canderous a metal flask of water. Canderous slowly accepted the flask and drank heavily from it. After a long, drawn out gulp of the precious liquid, Canderous passed the flask back to the captain and began to explain. He told them about the strange rows of fruit-bearing apple trees and the mysterious perfection of every apple on the branches. He described in deep detail about how each fruit had no bruises, rotten spots, or bugs on any part of them. Canderous even showed him the apple he had brought back and asked the captain to see if Vadik and his researchers can analyze it for any strange properties. “Hmm...yes...and what about those two creatures following you?” This question caused Vadik to rise out of his seat and move slightly closer to Canderous, holding a holo-tablet in his hand, ready to jot down notes. “Well...I’m assuming you all saw the dog right?” The captain nodded in acknowledgement. “Yes. And what about the other creature? With those spotlights being much brighter than they should have been our marines could not get a clear view of it. You and Bendak both saw it right? What were it’s features?” Canderous tried his hardest to remember it all. The recent excitement of the chase blotted out most of his memory. “Well...it had four legs... when we first saw it, it held a lamp in it’s...teeth I think?...” “Anything else?” “Yea...well...” “It could speak!” Bendak barged in on the conversation, earning him a look of disapproval from the captain, but a look of amazement and wonder from Vadik. “Are you serious?” said Vadik while he typed out various notes on his holo-tablet. “Damn right I’m serious. Me and Nord heard that thing talk with our own ears.” “Really? What did it say?” “How should I know? I couldn’t hear or even think over that damn dog’s barking.” The captain turned and nodded to Vadik. Vadik nodded back and ran off towards a building with a radar dish on it’s roof. The captain then turned back to Canderous and Bendak. “Is that all you have to report?” Both of them nodded. “Good. I thank you both your assistance and support of undertaking this dangerous task. Your actions will be remembered. Now, with all that has transpired today I’m sure that the two of you are feeling hungry.” The captain turned and pointed towards the building in the middle of the outpost, “Head over to the central barracks and make your way to mess tent. We have plenty of meatsteaks there. Now head on. Vadik will analyze the apple that you brought back and send the results once he is finished. Additional orders will be issued tomorrow.” The captain saluted both of them, and they saluted back. Canderous and Bendak sluggishly made their way to the barracks, their stomachs growling and their minds full of the day’s events. ~~~~~ Luna and Twilight walked through the elegant doorway that lead into the dining hall. Princess Celestia and Twilight’s friends were already seated. Twilight sat near her friends, while Luna took her seat next to her sister. Celestia looked at Luna’s face, then at Twilight’s,both of them showing a look of disappointment. “How did everything go Luna?” Celestia asked. “Uneventful. The object wasn’t near the moon at all. We searched everywhere for it and it left no trace of where it may have went.” “I’m not sure as to how long we can keep up this up.” Twilight started, “If we don’t find anything soon, we may just have to give up.” Twilight said while she sulked down in her seat. “Absolutely not!” Luna raised her voice to Twilight, “We are not going to let this thing elude so easily. We will find it! It will come to us! We just have to be patient, and keep watching.” “Uhh...sorry to ask this, but the two of you have been looking for this thing for days now, nonstop!” Rainbow Dash added to the conversation. “And we won’t stop until Luna and I solve this pesterous mystery!” said an exuberant Twilight. “I’m sure that the two of you will find it due time. I still find it rather strange that I have stopped detecting it’s presence...” Celestia said with reassurance. “I am just as baffled as you are dear sister...” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THIS IS NOT OFFICIALLY FIRST CONTACT THIS IS NOT OFFICIALLY FIRST CONTACT THIS IS NOT OFFICIALLY FIRST CONTACT THIS IS NOT OFFICIALLY FIRST CONTACT Special thanks to Jonsey for helping me brainstorm for this chapter after I have already rewritten this same chapter several, several times. When I say that “THIS IS NOT OFFICIALLY FIRST CONTACT” I mean that this was more of a passing glance of a pony/human encounter between the two species. Special thanks to, my brain, for not forcing to me to snap with frustration when I was writing this chapter and smash my computer against the wall...