Sinclair could feel his body being shoved forward while his arms remained restrained behind his back. Boxcars paid him no attention as they marched wordlessly toward the team’s flight vessel docked at the northern most section of the facility. His arms hadn’t been bound by anything other than Boxcars’ hands, but his iron grip was as good if not better than any set of handcuffs.
As they moved down the hallway, they began passing the crews’ quarters for the OMI station. A majority of the doors were locked, which made sense; it was almost two in the morning aboard the space station, and most of the crew had simply retired for the night. This didn’t stop Sinclair from trying to wiggle out of Boxcars’ grasp and yelling back at the group.
“Wait, wait! If you’re going to kidnap me at least let me grab something!”
“No can do Boy Scout. If McCloud’s situation is as dire you say it is, then we need to move fast,” Shinji replied.
“McCloud can wait. He’s held his own before and I doubt he’ll have trouble now. This will only take a second.”
Laura gave him an uneasy glance, but ultimately motioned for Boxcars to release him. Sinclair scurried into one of the adjacent rooms and disappeared behind the wall. He returned shortly after with a large black case. It was bulky and if it was placed upright, it matched the coyote in height.
“Wha’s that you there?” Hammer asked.
“A pet project of mine; I figured it’d be a waste to leave behind. Come on, I’m all set.”
Laura motioned for the team to continue on down the pathway. Sinclair couldn’t help but feel uneasy walking next to the group. Their air of professionalism was unlike anything he had seen, even within the ranks of the Cornerian Army. They obviously took right after the general in that sense.
The heavy case rested under the coyote’s right arm. He let his mind wonder. What was it about these individuals that had him so on edge? He chalked it up to the simple fact that he wasn’t as hardened as them. He knew conflict, and this was neither fresh nor frozen in his mind, but there was still a tightly packed air of mysticism surrounding the White Glove Society.
As they approached the end of the hallway an automatic door slid open to permit the group to pass. They continued down the hallway until they reached the sealed door for their spacecraft which then unsealed itself once Laura had input a code on her wrist communicator. Sinclair found himself rather unimpressed with the ship. He almost expected something of a floating palace, but it almost resembled a merchant’s ship more than anything. It was then that his eyes trailed back down to Laura, where he once again got a peak at her interesting weapon.
“Commander, could I trouble you to tell me about your weapon? I’ve never quite seen anything like it,” he said.
“This?” she held the gun up to her chest, “It’s a Clockwork Assault Rifle. State of the art precision rifle with its own individual ammo supply, however, the weapon can operate to fire either ballistic or laser projectiles. Only one exists, and you’re looking at it,” she said proudly whilst adjusting her sleek red beret.
The crew spread out within the ship leaving Sinclair to awkwardly stand alone. He rested his case alongside one of the walls and leaned on it. He couldn’t help but sit and watch as the White Gloves quickly began to set the ship up for departure. He didn’t want to admit it, but it felt good to be in action again. He didn’t expect the life of a goodie-two-shoes to be all that interesting, but anything was better than sitting back and watching everyone else have all the fun. He was so deep in thought that he didn’t notice Mojave approaching from his side.
“So, whatcha got there?” she asked skeptically.
“Like I said, pet project.”
“I mean specifically,” she prodded.
. “I’d rather not say.”
The look Mojave gave him that told him that she wasn’t going to take “no” for an answer. He sighed loudly and laid the case down horizontally on the floor. He deactivated the fingerprint lock and lifted the cover. He hoisted out a large black contraption that seemed to vaguely resemble a rifle. He propped his knee up and rested the barrel there.
“What is that?” Shinji asked.
“This is the P.E.M.A.C. or the Portable Electromagnetic Accelerator Cannon.”
“A Portable what now?” Mojave said raising an eyebrow.
“It’s a rail gun,” said Maddie shyly. The sudden attention from the others looking at her made her flinch, but she continued. “It harnesses electromagnetism to fire a solid projectile at high velocity for maximum damage output. Most models are found on Cornerian cruisers as frontline weaponry. May I ask how you were able to manage condensing the size? If not that’s alright, it’s no big deal…” she trailed off.
“Well,” Sinclair started, “It was primarily about finding materials that wouldn’t bend or succumb to incessant firing. I had to find a way to equalize the recoil without sacrificing firepower. Not as easy as it sounds.”
“It didn’t even sound easy. So how does it work?” Mojave asked.
“I can’t tell you that,” he answered.
“Tell m–”
“No,” He was surprised at the firmness in his voice but nonetheless maintained his ground. “This is the only prototype of this weapon in existence and it’s my most prized creation. The case is sealed with a biometric lock that only opens to my DNA. Any attempts to force the case open will trigger the explosives that line that case, destroying the weapon and killing anyone stupid enough to be standing nearby. The explosives will also detonate if I give a voice command, preventing me from being taken hostage and forced to open the case. This piece of technology could firmly tip ground battles in the favor of the Cornerians. It isn’t to be divulged to anyone, White Glove or not,” he finished.
“Alright cowboy I can take a hint, I was just curious,” Mojave said, raising her paws in mock defense. “Looks like we’re gearing up to take off anyway.”
“Everyone!” Laura’s voice boomed within the ship, “Get to your stations and prepare to trail the Great Fox. Sinclair, the coordinates if you may?”
Sinclair nodded and ran over to the navigation consoles. After some nimble button pressing he gave Laura the all clear.
“Right, let’s move out!”
Fox carefully opened one of the emergency hatches on the side of his ship. Sunlight quickly blocked his vision and he was forced to cover his eyes. The scanner that covered his right eye dimmed and quickly adjusted to the change in sunlight. He hoisted himself out of the hatch, careful to mind the hotspots that still burned on the Great Fox’s hull.
Fox tightened his gloves and activated his optical scanner. It quickly began processing information regarding the environment, including the status of his beloved mothership. He then turned and scanned the hillside. His scanner searched for heat signatures. Nothing. Then for electromagnetic fields. Again, nothing. Finally it began searching for the presence of a heartbeat. Fox could feel his own heart sink when he discovered the result.
There were little pulses ranging anywhere from fifty to one hundred. The scanner could sense their heartbeats through the hill itself, but the sheer amount of them was staggering. If this group was indeed hostile, Fox had neither the firepower nor the manpower to drive them all off. He opted for stealth and nimbly ran down the length of one of the Great Fox’s wings. Once he reached the edge, he clambered down and rolled into the dirt to absorb the impact. Without missing a beat, he quickly began to scale the wall of dirt created by the impact. His gloves sank into the warm dirt as he hoisted himself out of the large ditch. He quickly scanned the hilltop again for heartbeats. They were getting closer.
Fox tightened the strap on the rifle and made a beeline for the trees that had been unscathed by the impact. He ducked down into the bushes, careful not to snag his flight jacket on anything. Once he felt he had camouflaged himself rather effectively, Fox removed the rifle from around his back and shouldered it. It took him a moment to zero in the rifle’s scope and to set his sights on the hill. He allowed his scanner to calculate the distance between himself and the hill and promptly adjusted the sights. He waited in silence, mentally preparing himself for what he might see.
It was another minute before the first figure walked into view. As ROB had stated, it appeared to be an equine, and a rather tall one, but much of its finer details were hidden by the sun’s glare. Fox watched as the single equine became two, then four, then eight and so on. He saw what appeared to be a decent sized militaristic gathering behind the tall equine, who he had labeled as the commander. Fox kept his eye on that individual in particular, ready to eliminate him and scatter his forces if absolutely necessary.
From where Fox was positioned he could tell that there was chatter going on amongst the forces. He began remotely scanning them one by one. They were unmistakably equine, but some of them had features that made them look more like mythical creatures than anything, with some of them bearing pegasus-like wings or unicorn-like horns. The commander appeared to be a hybrid of the two, possessing both wings and a large horn. They stood on the outside field but ventured no closer to the Great Fox itself. Fox continued to scan them, and determined that their weapons consisted primarily of spears while others had what appeared to be crude crossbows. What disturbed Fox the most was the fact that the crossbows did not rest in the hooves of the equines, but remained suspended in mid-air next to them. Puzzled, Fox magnified the image and was able to catch a shimmer around the crossbow. It had a faint light blue hue around it, and when compared to its respective equine, especially around the horn, the aura matched. Fox deduced that some sort of advanced function located in their brains allowed them to possess pseudo-telekinetic abilities. He couldn’t help but be impressed.
“Are these Andross’ cronies?”
Fox watched as the commander turned to talk to one of his subordinates, although this one, a purple coated unicorn, did not appear to be part of the army. An adviser perhaps? Fox trained his sights on the newcomer, who seemed rather concerned. At that moment Fox witnessed one of the troops, who appeared slightly more decorated than the others, approach the commander and salute.
“Captain Shining Armor reporting ma’am!” The stallion barked in a hearty voice.
“Big brother!” Twilight found herself saying, but in the presence of Celestia and with the situation at hand, he did not respond.
“Shining Armor, as you can see the situation here is more complicated than originally anticipated. We are unaware what this object is capable of as well as its hostility to us. I would like you and your troops to keep constant surveillance over it and to seal off the area to all non-military or exempted ponies. All residents who approach the area are to be reassured and sent home, understood?” Celestia commanded in her regal tone.
“Yes ma’am!”
Shining Armor turned back to his battalion and began shouting orders, having some prepare to set up a checkpoint into the area while others were told to circumnavigate the crash site and form a perimeter. Twilight turned back toward the hill from which they had come. Her friends were racing toward her, and did not stop until they too were near the crater.
“Oh my word…” Applejack sputtered.
“It’s even m-more massive u-up close,” Fluttershy choked out.
“Whoooooooa,” Pinkie and Rainbow Dash announced in unison. Rarity remained in silent awe.
Before she could receive any objections, Rainbow Dash took to the sky above the object. She slowly scanned it, but never fully approached it. She stopped momentarily, and then quickly flew back to the group.
“Hey! It looks like there’s some writing on this thing!” she shouted.
“A message perhaps? What does it say?” asked Twilight.
“I dunno, the writing’s a bit faded and covered in dust.” She returned to her friends’ sides. “So any idea on what this thing is?”
“I’m afraid not,” Celestia answered. “It simply fell from the sky. We’re not sure of its intentions nor if it is a friend or foe. This unpredictability is what makes this situation so dangerous. We don’t know what to expect.”
“M-maybe we should just leave it be,” Fluttershy stuttered. “Live and let l-live and all that…right?” She feigned a smile.
“I’m inclined to agree with Fluttershy on this one,” Rarity spoke up. “If we have no idea what this thing is capable of then the last thing we want to do is cause some kind of aggravation.”
Rainbow Dash scoffed. “If we leave it alone how are we gonna find out why it’s here? We should investigate it!” she yelled. Suddenly, the object groaned loudly as it once again settled in the dirt. Dash’s face turned a ghostly pale white as she quickly darted backwards. “Yeah okay, maybe not.”
Celestia sighed loudly and turned to the girls. “I believe Rainbow Dash may have actually had a point. If this being does indeed turn out to be hostile, then this is something that must be determined sooner rather than later.” She closed her eyes and breathed heavily, allowing her to mentally prepare herself for whatever catastrophe that may be lying just around the corner. “I’m going to approach it.”
“Princess, I really don’t think–” Twilight began
“Twilight,” Celestia interrupted, albeit in a soothing tone. “I promise you that I will not succumb to any tragedy,” she smiled. “You need not worry about me.”
Celestia began her slow march toward the monolithic being. She held her composure as she neared closer and closer to the crater’s edge. Her horn began to glow a bright white in preparation for a simple teleportation spell when suddenly she heard a loud bang. Wildlife in the area screamed and hollered while the ground in front of her kicked up dirt which coated her immaculate white muzzle. She instinctively drew back and planted her hooves in the ground. She didn’t realize it at the time, but she was breathing very rapidly.
“Princess Celestia!” the girls shouted.
“Stay back girls!” she shouted. “Whatever that was it didn’t come directly from that thing. Something’s in the woods trying to prevent us from getting close!” As the princess looked out across the clearing, she noticed the guards had also noticed the noise. Some of them were even pointing with their spears in the suspected direction that the noise had generated from. Celestia studied the area very closely. Nothing seemed out of place or disturbed. She used a very slight amount of magic to boost her senses, she could neither hear nor see anything, however, with a tiny shift in the wind, she was able to pick up a very faint scent, but this scent was unmistakable. Whatever was hiding in that area, was from the beast.
“Something is over there!”
Fox relaxed as the chills of firing such a loud weapon subsided. He had successfully prevented the commander from closing in on the ship, but he had also sent the entire area into high alert. Soldiers posted in the area began to point to where they believed his shot had originated from however it wasn’t until he heard distant shouting followed by the direct approach of the soldiers that he knew that his area was now a hot-zone.
Fox slipped out of the bush and quickly ducked behind a tree. He peered around it to find the soldiers approaching more quickly than anticipated. With lightning reflexes, he darted from cover, but his pursuers had nonetheless caught sight of him. They spread out in formations, ready to take him down. One hurtled his spear with his telekinesis, which missed Fox’s head by mere inches. Fox slammed down on a button on his wrist communicator and continued heading deeper into the forest. He vaulted over a fallen log and quickly juked left, hoping to cost his pursuers a few extra seconds, but they remained hot on his heels. There was no way Fox would be able to draw his rifle in time to fire, but the reverse was not true for the soldiers. One drew his crossbow and fired off a shot. Guided by telekinesis, the arrow serpentined left and right until it dug itself violently into Fox’s left shoulder.
“Augh!” he grunted, fall down into the dirt. Within seconds the soldiers were on top of him. He wasn’t sure if it was a result of his translator or not, but their voices came through loud and clear.
“Stay right where you are!”
“Don’t even think about moving!”
One of the equines planted his hoof down onto Fox’s back, causing him to stifle a yelp. They dragged him to his feet and prepared to restrain him when they suddenly ceased their efforts. A progressively strong wind was pulling in and it wasn’t until the sleek frame of the Arwing aircraft came into view that they could see what was generating this wind.
Fox used the distraction to slam his elbow into one of his captor’s cheeks. He quickly spun around and drove his metal boot into the chest of another, knocking him on his flank. A third soldier attempted to skew Fox with a spear, but lucky for him, years of experience on the field allowed him to nimbly dodge the attack. He gripped the shaft of the spear and pulled, and with it the soldier, whom quickly collided with Fox’s palm. Using the brief moment of peace, Fox painfully removed the arrow from his shoulder as the Arwing finally touched ground. Covering his wound with his right paw, Fox scaled the side of the cockpit and nestled himself in the Arwing. He disengaged the autopilot and removed the ground pads. With a little push from Fox, the ship quickly ascended into the air and over the forest.
Fox’s victory was short lived as the aircraft’s radar began to pick up multiple signatures nearing his location. Peering out of the cockpit window, Fox could see a dozen troops aiming straight for his ship. He had no real intention to start a war with these folk if it wasn’t necessary, and especially if they weren’t connected with Andross, but Fox wasn’t about to allow himself to be killed. He pushed on the throttle and calibrated the opening of his wings. Swinging his ship in a wide circle, he turned back and faced the oncoming squad of soldiers.
“All-range mode!”