Published October 4th, 2013
"Alright, you two ready to go?"
"As ready as we'll ever be, I suppose."
"Alright, then. Everyone else ready?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Arnold, you want front or back?"
"Front."
"Alright, then. Showtime, people. Remember your lines." The door opened, and Arnold led the way out into the orbital elevator docking area. On either side, our two squads made a perimeter, with Carlton in the back. I kept pace in the middle, behind Twilight and Rainbow as they made their way forward. We instantly started attracting attention, which was unsurprising given that everyone other than the ponies was in full combat armor. Rainbow and Twilight immediately started looking around, seeing all the various advertisements flashing on the walls and the aug'ers who worked there. I gave them each a tap on the shoulder to keep them moving, and we soon found ourselves at our destination: a reserved elevator car where there wouldn't be any civilians around to fluster the ponies. As soon as the doors closed behind us, Twilight, unsurprisingly, had questions.
"What was all that? Those signs were talking! And what was with those guys with the weird helmets? It was like they moved on their own! And I'm sure I saw at least one other alien in there! I thought you said we were the only friendly ones your race has come into contact with?"
"I did. The 'alien' you saw was a splicer. Someone who has used DNA modification to give themselves animal traits. They're pretty common, since the process was fine-tuned sufficiently for it to not have the old side effects of making the person super aggressive and about as illogical as you can get, not to mention that they also became much more susceptible to disease, since their immune systems usually got fucked up in the process. The helmets moving on their own are something else entirely, though. They're a type of cyborg known as an aug'er, short for 'augmentation user'. Basically, they got cybernetic pieces to enhance some part of their body. They don't actually need the augs to function properly, but they want them sufficiently to go through the surgery. Aug'ers usually get something that will be particularly useful for something they do regularly, though, so don't go thinking it's completely superfluous. Those guys, for example, looked like they were using theirs for electrical work. The talking signs were just electronic billboards. Nothing special there." She seemed pretty impressed at all of it, but Rainbow didn't look too particularly fazed.
"That was really cool, but I don't think it lived up to expectations."
"Why's that?"
"Well, you made it out to be some sort of huge, mountainous city. It really wasn't that big." I was confused for a moment, and then it came to me.
"You thought that was Altipolis?" She suddenly looked unsure.
"Um, yeah. Are you saying it wasn't?" At this point, almost everyone started laughing, while Arnold and Carlton just shook their heads.
"Rainbow, that wasn't Altipolis. That was the docking station for the orbital elevator." They both suddenly went wide-eyed.
"Wait. That was a dock?! As in, like, an ocean port?" I nodded. Her jaw fell. "But, where's the city, then?" I gestured to one of the windows.
"You're about to see. First, though, we need to go through the transition point." They both looked at me in confusion. "Right now, we're upside down in reference to where we'll be landing." They scrunched up their faces in thought, and Twilight gasped when she figured out what that meant.
"You mean that right now, we're falling head-first toward the planet?"
"Fast enough to simulate gravity 5/8ths of our home world of Earth. The elevator is ridiculously tall, and the cars need to move at an equally ridiculous speed in order to make them effecient enough to use." They both suddenly shuddered at what that meant if the thing failed. "Yeah, if it falls, we're pretty much all gonna die. Don't worry, though. The chances of one of these actually breaking are about equal with your chances of surviving the impact." Neither of them looked too reassured by that, and Twilight's ears were flat against her head as Rainbow started looking around with a slight case of obvious claustrophobia.
"Have any of them ever fallen before?"
"One. The third installation on Mars. That wasn't because of any problem with the system itself, though. Some dumb fuck decided it was a good idea to show up to work drunk. He lost control of his freighter, smashed right into the thing. Killed about half a million people. That happened before we even came across the Emrini, though. About... seventy years, I wanna say? Anyway, that's one elevator that's gone down out of about sixty-five that have been built. We're safe here. Don't worry." They both calmed down considerably after that before an automated message came over the speakers.
"All passengers, please prepare for gravity transition. All passengers, please prepare for gravity transition."
"Alright, everyone get set up! Twilight, Rainbow, come here so I can show you what to do." We walked over to the wall, where there were several handholds attached to the window partitions. "Alright, so here's what's going to happen. The elevator is going to slow down sufficiently that we'll be in free fall. When this happens, you're going to feel weightless. The handles are so that you can keep yourselves oriented correctly. Hang on, and stay calm. The elevator will tilt on its own, but it turns slowly, so don't rush and panic. Just keep yourself level with the wall." I felt the car decelerating as I spoke, and by the time I was done, I could feel my equipment starting to float off me.
"Aren't you going to hold onto one of these, too?" Twilight asked. I shook my head.
"No, I've done this enough times that I can reorient myself without it. Which means I'm able to help you if something does happen." My feet stopped supporting my weight, and my body suddenly became aware of which way was actually down. After quickly fighting down the instinctive fear that came with that sensation, I focused my attention on keeping the other two calm. Twilight was coping by simply using the handle to push herself toward the floor, but Rainbow's reflexive wing flaps weren't doing her any favors. Once she managed to get herself back upright, though, she was fine. I floated in the air, looking around to make sure no one else had made a mistake. Satisfied that I didn't need to help prevent an accident, I turned back around, spinning slowly so I didn't fly out of control. Twilight and Rainbow were now holding themselves against the floor successfully, and the former decided now was a good time to ask one more question.
"So, what do we do when we get out?"
"There will be two pairs of Pangolin transports waiting for us."
"Pairs? Why do we need so many?"
"It's standard operating procedure for high value individuals. One set's a decoy, so if anyone who knows about you decides to make a poor life decision, they're just as likely to go after the false pair." They both gave me worried looks as the car began to tilt.
"What do you mean by 'poor life decision'?" I shifted my weight around to spin myself in time with the elevator.
"I mean 'try to hurt or kill you'." They obviously weren't comfortable with that, but they needed to know the dangers that could present themselves. "I'm about to tell you something very important, so listen closely. Everyone you've met so far - me, my squad, the rest of the crew, even Arnold and Staff Sergeant Klaxton - have treated you appropriately for the level of importance you signify. I don't think you've realized this yet, but you are about to kickstart the next chapter of human history, and I can say without a doubt in my mind that it will see changes in our technology, society, and customs that people, even from as little as fifty years ago, wouldn't have been able to foresee. That fact is going to scare a lot of people. Humans cannot be mentally categorized together as a species. Every single person in existence is different from every other in some way. And that means that there are people out there who aren't going to be happy about your appearance. They are going to shun you, hate you, and discriminate against you for no reason other than that you are different, and your arrival means that their life is going to change. There are lots of folks who don't like change, because to them, it signifies loss of interest in old ideas. Those who have power don't want to relinquish that power, and the public losing interest in whatever gives them that power is the greatest threat they know. Fortunately, there are more people who are willing to embrace change. Particularly those with very little power, and those who see ways to profit from change. You'll probably meet at least one person from each group before we leave." The car started decelerating again, and I slowly floated back to the floor as they processed what I said, looks of fear and hopefulness fighting for a place on their faces. "For the moment, just enjoy the scenery. Welcome to Altipolis, humanity's first home away from home." They turned around, and let out soft exclamations as the protective tube opened up, allowing us to see the city.
Massive skyscrapers reached up to greet us as we descended. They were well-cleaned up here, and massive advertisements for various products flashed from the upper stories. Archimedes had gravity only 3/4s that of Earth, so our already-impressive structures had gained even greater heights here, supporting each other with dozens of interconnecting walkways and light roadways. Someone who lives in the upper floors would be able to easily move between buildings without ever touching the ground thanks to the expert designs that went into the city's creation, either on foot or in a light vehicle, most often an Autobike. The Pangolins we would be using were of a rare size, as most of the people who lived in the heights didn't have need of a full car, even if they were willing to risk going over a weak bridge support. We came down on the south side of the city, and even from here we could see the Judges on the north side, the western panels of their protective housings shining in the morning light. The view was obstructed as we approached the ground, and the windows were filled with buildings rising around us as we slowed even further. Everyone moved toward the door, and I moved Twilight and Rainbow back to the middle of the group. The car jolted to a stop, and I saw everyone ready themselves for a worst-case scenario.
We exited the elevator, and I was instantly on high alert. The city was huge, and the population density was immense, especially here. If someone did decide to try something stupid, it wouldn't take much effort for them to get within killing distance. Fortunately, we were already prepared. Our escort party already knew what to look for in the crowd to identify threats, and sniper nests had been set up when we initially docked to provide overwatch for the entire operation. The four Pangolins were parked nearby, facing away from each other. The Pangolin APCs were designed for high-speed, short-range deployment, and their armor was built so that the vehicle's sides flare outward, creating an effective impromptu section of cover. Right now, that armor was flared to help prevent anyone who might be watching from being able to tell which one we would load the ponies into. We made our way between the plates, and everyone got situated into two of the vehicles. The other two were already loaded with other soldiers carrying equally heavy-duty equipment, prepared for any violent eventualities. Once we were in, the plates closed around us, creating a slightly claustrophobic area. I relaxed more once the vehicle started moving, and I listened to the radio as the snipers communicated when we entered and exited their field of view. The Pangolin tilted upward, and stayed that way for several seconds. When it leveled out again, I checked my HUD's altimeter.
Elevation increased by one hundred feet. Looks like we're taking the side streets. I felt the Pangolin make turns as we went, doubling back multiple times and climbing ramps at various intervals, before I heard the engine rev higher than before. Back on the main road. We're close, now. If anyone's going to try anything, it'll be soon. As it turned out, no one did, but as soon as we were out of the APC, there were reporters everywhere. The occupants from the other Pangolins were already trying to hold them back, but the camera flashes and half-heard questions were enough to set my nerves back on edge and fluster both Twilight and Rainbow as they got out. I put a hand on each of their shoulders to guide them through the crowd.
"Just keep moving! We need to get inside, and these idiots will wind up keeping you here for another three hours if you let them." We swiftly climbed the stairs up to the main building, aided by the rest of the group clearing a path for us. Once in, the reporters stopped following us, knowing full well that any unauthorized entrance without a damn good reason would land them in the defendant's chair for trespassing and disturbing the system. Only extremely important cases ever made it to the Judges, and no one had the patience to be held back by some schmuck who doesn't understand personal space, so very specific laws had been put in place to prevent it from happening. Everyone sat down, and I went over to the registrar to get the process of getting the ponies out there started. After making sure everything was ready, I went and sat down next them, their flattened ears giving away their trepidation.
"You two still worried?" They both nodded, and Twilight spoke up.
"What if we don't pass? What if they decide we're too much of a threat? We could be arrested on the spot! Or experimented on! Even you wouldn't be able to keep them from doing that! And then we'll never see home, and everypony else wil think we're failures, and what about the Princesses? They might never be free again! What if-" I decided not to let this get any worse by laying a hand over her muzzle, which instantly got her to stop.
"Okay, first of all, even if you are somehow denied citizenship, all that will happen is that you'll be brought back to the ship until we find your planet. After that, we'll probably just leave a ship or two in orbit for security. And you won't be arrested or experimented with. Even if you both decided you wanted to fight us, you wouldn't make it out of the city. Not only that, but there just aren't enough of your species for you to be considered a proper threat for that sort of reaction, and we have more than enough laws to prevent any sort of horror movie lab scene. You're worrying over something that you really don't need to. We have more than enough experience with your habits and evidence of your behavior patterns now to make a sufficient case for you, and chances are that we'll get a more than competent representative. Just relax. We'll be in there for less than an hour, I guarantee it." Twilight didn't seem too enthused.
"Would we really not make it out of the city?"
"Yeah. We have enough security to protect you from a small army, but we could turn that around frighteningly quickly if needed. But to make you feel better, think about this: If we have that much firepower for a security detail, how much do we have pointed at the Emrini?" They both thought about it for a moment, and their eyes went wide. "Yeah. Relax, you'll be fine. Just try not to say something that is blatantly aggressive. That's about the only thing that could botch this up." Twilight nodded, and after looking around for a moment, Rainbow spoke up again.
"So, how long are we supposed to be waiting for?" I shrugged.
"Dunno. Could be ten minutes, could be two hours. Depends on how quickly the cases that came before us go. Until then, we just have to be patient." I decided to take advantage of the fact that my helmet prevented anyone from seeing my face, turned off my helmet's outer speaker function, set a proximity alert for the room, and drifted off to sleep. Didn't want to go in there without proper rest, right?