//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: EXECUTIONER ONE // by Hurgusburgus //------------------------------// The behemoth of metal lumbered onwards, trudging ponderously across the grassy field. Wildlife of all kinds scattered at the merest sign of its approach, yet the intimidating machine of war paid them no heed, instead proceeding resolutely towards its objective... “So, these reconnaissance drone things found them? Why couldn't they free the girls?” RECONNASSAINCE DRONES = UNSUITED FOR COMBAT. THEY POSSESS NO WEAPONS OR RELATED EQUIPMENT. THIS UNIT WILL LEAVE NEGOTIATIONS TO HIGH VALUE INDIVIDUAL ONE. I guess a broken machine of destruction would make for a poor diplomat, Twilight hummed to herself thoughtfully, proud that Executioner stayed true to its promise of not making trouble, but kept that thought to herself. She didn't need Executioner One to throw a hissy fit, or the synthetic equal of one. Could it even throw a hissy fit? She had no idea and wasn't particularly eager to find out, considering its capability for destruction, so she chose a new topic – the leaders of the Asahi Empire, Asahi themselves. The Asahi were as close as one could get to being a real god – they were immortal, their lifespans covering billions of years, and universe itself bent to their will – if they wanted to, they could create life, extinguish it, will planets, stars or galaxies into existence and annihilate them just as easily. They were an incredibly wise and educated people, their technological advances catapulting the Coalition into a new age of space exploration on one instance – the humans' archaeologists had uncovered an ancient template for faster-than-light drives at some point during the past millennia. The number of colonized worlds soared as a result. But that's a different story... The Asahi themselves were immensely kind and benevolent, preferring diplomacy instead of warfare. They cherished life – this mindset was strongly echoed across many a world in Imperial territory – hundreds of thousands of planets were meticulously cared-for paradises, their natural beauty and resources spared from exploitation by the fact that there were always more resources to be found out in the void. It seemed like an impossible task, to keep the hundreds of alien races coexisting peacefully. But coexist they did, thanks to the efforts of their immortal leaders. There were enough goods for everyone, eliminating the need to war for resources . Many goods could be acquired for free on their markets and shops, a significant testament to their wealthy economy. Conflicts were rare and were always resolved peacefully. Their worlds and people flourished. Their capital was an awe-inspiring creation, too – two artificial worlds that orbited each other. One planet was used to coordinate their military, while the civilian matters were handled by the other one – the Citadels dotting the worlds were massive, towering cities, ones that extended far up into space. The two worlds never slept, with thousands of ships paying homage to the seat of Imperial power every day. Dozens of galaxies were under Imperial control, with unimaginably vast amounts of resources at their beck and call. But all was not well for the Empire. They were constantly beset by the Brood, a race of spacefaring insects that sought to consume everything in the universe. Seeing as the Asahi Empire was a tempting target, they constantly threw themselves at Imperial-held worlds. The Empire responded, forming a line of fortress worlds, one that has held to this day, with millions of ships and trillions of troops forming the bulwark that protects the citizens of the Empire from the Brood, with both sides locked in a state of constant stalemate. The Asahi had tried diplomacy, of course, but the Brood acted on a single base instinct – hunger. It was soon understood that their enemies could not be reasoned with and so, the Asahi reluctantly permitted the utter extinction of the Brood, should the chance arise to do so. Strangely enough, when Twilight asked why there were so few Asahi in existence – seven, to be exact – she was denied an answer, with Executioner claiming it was classified data. It had been somewhat disappointing, but she quickly shook it off, and explored other various available topics, and she marvelled at the wonders of the universe laid before her... It was a well-known fact that Diamond Dogs were expert burrowers, able to create caverns big enough to drive a cart through in moments when working in numbers big enough. But this was quite different, however, as the three fillies gazed despondently through the bars of their cage, their eyes slowly dancing across the massive chasms, illuminated by fiery rivers of lava that lapped at the cliffs, as hundreds of Diamond Dogs scampered around, dragging all sorts of things with them. The noise echoed in the caverns, but the three small ponies were too tired to protest to it. They were also too tired to notice a pair of odd distortions hovering mid-air just above the cage. The guards didn't notice them either. As the machine of war proceeded onwards, the idyllic landscape was replaced with a more rugged one – ponies seldom wandered from their cities in small numbers. This task, however, was an exception – they had been following the pathfinding machines Executioner had sent out to find the tracks of the Diamond Dogs responsible for the foalnapping. Slowly, but patiently, they had tracked them back to a rather distant corner of Equestria, where few dared to tread... “So, you stay here and be intimidating – stomp around, make angry noises, that sort of stuff. It should work just fine and we should be able to get the girls back without anypony getting hurt – a display of force is usually enough to get them to cooperate. Got it?” ACKNOWLEDGED, HIGH VALUE INDIVIDUAL ONE. Twilight smiled and nodded at that, then turned to look at her friends. Understandably, they seemed nervous, especially Rarity and Applejack. “Well, this is it. Just stay calm and we'll pull this off without a hitch.” She received a couple of nods in return and she breathed in deeply, and turned to look outside one last timeBY CELESTIA'S HOT SMOULDERING FLANKS, WHERE DID THEY COME FROM. There were dozens, if not hundreds of Diamond Dogs swarming across the ground in front of the mech, all of them eyeing the machine, alertly. Some of them had set up cannons a ways off, numerous Dogs manning them. Twilight gasped in shock as her senses returned to her, then eyed the scores of freshly-dug tunnels dotting the ground. Of course. They would have noticed the tremors kilometres away. Executioner One wasn't exactly the most subtle of machines, after all. She gulped nervously as everything turned utterly silent. “Whoa, nelly... that's sure a whole lotta Diamond Dogs...” Applejack muttered out nervously. Rarity nodded in agreement, eyeing the mobs stiffly. That's when all hell broke loose. And it was in no way caused by Executioner One. ...Yeah, I can't even convince myself about that. As fate would have it, Executioner One had come to a halt where one of the vast caverns was. Its heavy footsteps had already fractured the tightly-packed soil on its approach, and now the entire weight of a fully-loaded Executioner-class mech rested on the precarious plain. Suddenly, ground gave way, making one of the mech's legs sink into the crevice created. The combative subroutines reacted and the mech stirred, suddenly forgetting its promise to Celestia. AMBUSH. EXECUTIONER ONE, RETURNING FIRE. Inside, Twilight yelped in surprise as the deck sunk a little lower to the left, and a slight tremor ran through Executioner's superstructure. Then she blanched in shock as a pair of cannonballs ricocheted right off the windowpanes. It seemed like the Diamond Dogs were far more jumpy than they were. “What? No, don't attack them!” Her horrified plea went unheard and she saw numerous weapons rise from Executioner's hull, turning to aim at the offending weapons and their crews. All she heard was the whine and click of charging weapons as she stared in shock. When the onslaught commenced, she fell on her back in surprise, the muffled thuds, shrieks and cracks of alien weaponry reverberating through the mech's hull. When she got back up, gazing hesitantly through the window, she immediately froze. The ground was scattered with dead or dying Diamond Dogs. Only a paltry few had survived the salvo. The thing is, Executioner-class mechs produce a lot of recoil when firing their weapons, and compensate by digging their legs into ground more firmly. This time, it was a bad choice and the soil below Executioner One gave way under the machine's weight. The surviving Dogs could only stare in shock as the mech spoke defiantly, quickly disappearing into the hole. I REGRET NOTHING~ It plummeted downwards, with its passengers screaming in horror as it fell. Its immense bulk shattered several crudely-hewn bridges as it descended into the caverns proper. Alarms blared inside the command centre as the six mares hung on for their dear lives wherever they could latch onto. The faint glow below them slowly grew brighter. Suddenly, without a warning, they came to a halt with a shrieking clamour of metal as the mech's legs gave out, its knees nearly snapping under the weight of its body. Nevertheless, various damage reports popped up on the screens, bathing the command centre in orange and blue light. Occasional sparks flew from a loose panel or two. After a couple of moments, the mech's monotone voice spoke. EXECUTIONER ONE, INITIATING SELF-REPAIR PROTOCOL. It could only gape in shock at the events that had unfolded. This... this idiotic machine had nearly torn itself apart! It had fallen for nearly two-hundred metres and come to a rest somewhere in the incredibly expansive cave network the canine indigents resided in. And now, it was in full-on combat mode, eager to engage anything dumb or brave enough to shake a stick at it. And now, it was doggedly accomplishing its mission objective – the rescue of the three foals colloquially known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. And it didn't seem to care about any collateral damage it was liable to cause. Groaning in exasperation, the intelligence did the only thing it could – observe. The nanites could not finish the mainframe repairs too soon, truly. Empty autocannon shell casings tumbled through the air, clattering across Executioner's hull. The disassemblers carved lines across the cavern walls, erasing Diamond Dogs from existence – literally. High-calibre grenade launchers coughed, sending clusters of explosive ordnance downrange. The mech's entire arsenal – its matter collider aside – was firing, carving a bloody path towards the prisoner cells – towards its objective. THIS IS FUN AND SAD. BUT MOSTLY FUN, the loudspeakers boomed as Executioner vomited great gouts of flames upon the scurrying hordes of Diamond Dogs. I MUST BREAK YOU, it rambled on, sending salvos of explosive missiles everywhere – it was almost as if there was an actual Ortalian at the controls, gleefully obliging to his hard-coded DNA's appreciation for high-calibre weaponry. Needless to say, the six mares that were hiding inside its command centre didn't dare look outside. I see spandex~ “Huh?” Sweetie Belle sat up, roused from her sleep by a distant, booming voice. At her side, Applebloom stirred from her sleep, letting out an irate grumble. “Wha's that...? Why ain't y'all lettin' me get some sleep?” There was a distant, but noticeable explosion, followed by hundreds of yelping voices. That woke Scootaloo up as well. You got your damn make-up on me~ Explosions because reasons. “Huh?” The unicorn filly frowned in puzzlement, then froze as she saw something approach, trudging through shallow lava towards them, numerous Diamond Dogs scattering as it advanced. She recognized this certain something. Executioner One. The intimidating machine strode towards the array of cages, the ponies imprisoned in them perked up momentarily at the sight of Executioner One, then shrunk back in fear – only a paltry few knew of its existence, with most of the captives having spent considerable time in the caverns. The three fillies, however... “We're saved!” Applebloom cheered, leaping up and down. What few guards were present scampered away once the mech sounded its horn, its spotlights illuminating the cages, and Executioner One soon came to a halt in front of the cages perched on the elevated cliff, retracting its guns. A couple of moments passed and a hatch opened on top of its hull, and six very familiar mares climbed out, galloping up to the edge of the armoured hull, quickly jumping or flying over the gap, cantering up to the cages, and opening them. “Oh, thank Celestia, you're alright, Sweetie Belle!” Rarity squee'd, hugging the smaller unicorn tightly. The filly gladly returned the gesture. A similar scene was unfolding between Applejack and Applebloom. Scootaloo didn't miss out, either, being hugged by Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and Fluttershy were busy with opening the rest of the cages, freeing the rest of the captives. Understandably, they were suspicious of the mech that was looming nearby, but Twilight had managed to assuage their reservations. In short order, they were boarding Executioner One, eager to leave the oppressive caverns. It was a tight fit, but in the end, they didn't have to leave anypony behind. “So, uh, how do we get out of here? I don't think we can go back the way we came from.” Twilight eyed the screens, which offered extremely detailed charting off the Diamond Dog caverns. The recon drones had mapped out the caves to their full extent, which would have been useful if Executioner One wasn't three times taller than a fully-grown dragon. WHERE WE ARE GOING, WE WILL NOT NEED ROADS, Executioner answered, starting to charge its matter collider. “I'm not even going to ask...” Rarity muttered out miserably and prepared for the worst. MY FIST SHALL BE THE ONE TO PIERCE THE HEAVENS. Several long moments later, the outlandishly powerful gun fired, blazing a tunnel through dozens of metres of rock and soil. It also affected a small vein of magma. Well, small when compared to a Sterrikan landcrawler... The tremor caused by the weapon's discharge tore through the small, fragile layer of rock separating the caverns from magma, sending a veritable torrent of molten rock pouring inside. Twilight gasped in shock as more and more lava poured in, splashing against the Executioner's armoured hull, climbing higher with ever passing moment. “Oh, no! What're we going to do now?!” Her words were met with no response and she quickly glanced at one of the readouts – the mech's surface temperature was soon going to reach critical limits, literally cooking everything inside, ponies included. Several long, torturous moments passed before she received an answer. MISSION SUCCESS IS NON-NEGOTIABLE. “Wh-what? What's that supposed to mean?” Twilight frowned in worry, then fell on her back as the floor shook violently, a deep thrum permeating the air. In addition to monstrous recoil, Executioner-class mechs produce immense amounts of heat when in combat, heat that has to be vented. To accomplish this, superconducting heat sinks were implemented, collecting the waste heat and discharging it when at full capacity. Considering that its entire hull was heating up drastically, the heat was automatically channelled towards the heat sinks, which were filled to capacity in mere seconds. And then, they were purged. In a rather explosive manner. Due to the way they were placed – to allow for the disassemblers to be implemented – the heat was vented downwards, almost like a VTOL flier's engines would work. Using the ample amounts of heat built up in its hull, Executioner One slowly, but surely rocketed up the tunnel it had blasted out, quickly gaining speed, squeezing out some extra acceleration by mixing in some secondary coolant to allow for better heat transfer. The tunnel collapsed behind the monumental machine of war, sealing the doomed caverns off from the rest of the world. Twilight giggled in disbelief as she saw daylight slowly grow stronger with every passing moment. Executioner had apparently suffered another glitch and was blasting loud music from its speakers for reasons she couldn't even begin to fathom. Got no restraining shackles Just a highway stretching far and wide The sun shines down and feeds me with what I need There ain't nobody waiting I'm free to do whatever I please I've flipped the coin and now I will be seen... The music was loud and nothing like she'd ever heard. Rainbow Dash seemed to enjoy it, as if to make up for the fact that she'd been scared out of her fur by their imminent death experience. Either way, there were just a couple dozen metres to go until they finally were back above the surface, and could return to Equestria... With a metallic groan, Executioner One pulled itself out of the impromptu tunnel it had created, last pitiful wisps of heat sputtering out of its heat sinks. It straightened out, covered in soot and dirt, then blasted a long, victorious note. HAIL TO THE KING, BABY. Slowly, it began the long trek back to Equestria... What is this insanity? Why do you keep acting like this? What has gotten into you, you over-designed tin can? By the Ancestors, this is the last time I volunteer for testing prototype technology! Urgh... Apologies are in order once I can reclaim control of this chassis, that much is certain...