//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: Expeditionary // by totallynotabrony //------------------------------// Weighing his options, Shining started giving orders.  “I think we should keep an eye on the casino.  Not only does it seem like pirates could pass through there, but we can’t count out Eddy just yet.  Cyrus, I’d like you to go back.  Skydancer, it shouldn’t attract attention if you go with him.”   “What about funds?” asked Cyrus.   Shining thought about that for a moment.  “You’re right.  I’ll get you some to work with, although remember that it’s the government’s money, so gamble carefully.”   Turning to Airborne and Pikop, Shining said, “You two relieve Puppy and Flash at Gilgamesh’s house.  I’ll send somepony to take over for you in a few hours.”   Shining glanced at Mag.  “Come with me to the police station and we’ll see what we can dig up on Anchor.”   He looked at the rest of the room.  “Everypony else get some rest while you can.  There’s no telling when something is going to happen.”   The assigned ponies departed for their duties.  Mag and Shining made the short walk to the police station.  It was quiet after dark, and other than some sky or street traffic, very little seemed to be going on.  Shining decided that was a good thing.  An active night life would have stretched his forces further trying to keep up with it.   The lighthouse had a blocker on the lens so that light was only projected out to sea.  Otherwise, it might have kept quite a few griffons up at night shining in their windows.  The rest of the city was not particularly well lit, with streetlights only on the main thoroughfares.   Going into the police station, Shining showed his Royal Guard badge to the clerk and asked to see the senior officer on duty.  He was eventually presented with a uniformed Sergeant and explained to the griffon why he was there at such a late hour.   “We’re looking for any information you have on a griffon named Anchor,” Shining explained.   “Stormfeather told me you might come by,” the cop said.  “I’ll help you out.”   He led them to the records room and after a little digging they managed to uncover some valuable information.  They had a mug shot and arrest records for Anchor that indicated his address down on the Coastal Annex Road.  He’d been convicted of robbery a few times before.  In fact, there was currently a petty theft warrant for his arrest.   Shining looked at Anchor’s address and asked, “If you know where he lives, why hasn’t the warrant been served?”   The cop shrugged.  “At the time when the warrant was first written, we might have been dealing with more important cases.  Maybe he slipped through a crack.  Maybe the address is wrong.”   “We’d gladly go knock on his door if you send an officer with us to make the arrest,” Shining offered.   The Sergeant shook his head.  “I'm not able authorize that.  Stormfeather is the one assigned to work with you.  He comes to work in the morning.”   That was discouraging, but it was only a few hours’ delay.  Shining and Mag went back to the boat.  He roused Rough and Ace, sending them to watch Anchor’s supposed residence.   Shining stayed awake long enough to hear them report in that the house was dark, and then he went to sleep.  It turned out to be a smart choice, as the next day was action packed.   In the morning, Shining went back to the Port Talon Police early to see if anything new had turned up.  He also met with Stormfeather and the two of them came back to the ship together.   During the night, Cyrus and Skydancer had come back from the casino with nothing to report.  Shining intended to send them back the next evening.   Pikop and Airborne had spent the whole night watching Gilgamesh’s place with no news to report, and when they returned to the ship Shining decided not to send anypony to continue the surveillance.  He figured that the pirates now knew that Gilgamesh had been arrested.   Shining sent Dim and Soft to the courthouse when it opened to search for more information on Anchor.  They returned with Báistí.   “I’m interested to know what you’re working on,” Báistí said to Shining.  “Your detectives told me that I should probably wait and ask you directly.”   Shining nodded at Dim and Soft, signaling that they had done the right thing.  He knew that Báistí was a valuable resource, and decided that to make full use of her abilities he was going to have to trust her as much as he trusted Stormfeather.   He gave a brief rundown on what had been collected so far.  Dim and Soft added what they had learned that morning, finding records that indicated Anchor’s address was the same as the one the police had on file.   The rest of the team came together for a morning meeting.  Shining looked over them, noting how some were looking very unlike their pristine Guard selves since he'd relaxed grooming standards.  Many of the stallions were sporting scruffy facial whiskers.  Soft wore her mane down out of its usual bun.  While Rough and Ace were still watching Anchor’s place, Shining remembered that Rough had tied up his tail with bands while Ace was still a neat freak and kept perfectly shaven.  Overall, however, the whole group of them were starting to look more natural and that was just how Shining wanted it.  It was starting to feel more like they were ingraining themselves in their new environment.   Shining decided how he wanted to proceed.  “We’re going to take another look at that bare piece of land where Gaston supposedly lives.  Mag, take whoever you need to get that done.”   The intelligence pony nodded to Dim and Soft.  “I’ll take the girls.  Plus Ms. Báistí, if you would be so kind as to accompany us?”   “Sure!”  Báistí seemed enthusiastic now that she had been let in on the investigation.   The four of them left.  Shining turned to Stormfeather.  “We have a pretty good idea where Anchor lives.  He has an existing arrest warrant.”   Stormfeather nodded, smiling at the prospect of getting things done.  “All right.  Let’s go.”   Shining decided to take Puppy and Flash, letting everypony else rest up for future assignments.  The three of them loaded five sets of armor into a small wagon, covering them with a tarp. Puppy hitched up to the wagon and pulled it down the gangplank. The group set off.   They headed southeast through the city, meeting up with Rough and Ace near Anchor’s house. After a quick briefing, the five Guards put on their armor.  Unlike the highly polished sets they wore at the castle, this metal was dull and grey.  It was just as strong, however, and carried the same uniformity spells so they couldn’t be identified.   Ace and Flash took to the skies while the rest approached on the ground.  Shining sent Puppy and Rough around the back of the house while he and Stormfeather approached from the front.   Stormfeather knocked on the door.  A long minute passed.  He knocked again, harder.   “Yeah, yeah, hold up,” called a voice from inside.  The door opened and Anchor stood there, blinking sleep from his eyes.  It was already midmorning, but apparently he had still been in bed.   “Anchor?” Stormfeather asked.   The pirate seemed to come fully awake, staring at the police officer and armored pony in front of him.  He spun around and dashed for the back of the house.   “He’s running!” Shining shouted.   He heard the back door slam open as Rough and Puppy burst in.  Anchor took a sudden detour, crashing through a side window.  With a strong flap of his wings, he shot into the sky.   Flash ducked in front of him, flailing his hooves enough to distract Anchor and causing his path to divert straight into Ace, who dive-bombed into the middle of Anchor’s back, knocking him out of the sky.   As soon as he was on the ground, Rough had a rope ready and trussed up Anchor like a turkey while Puppy piled on top to hold him down.  The entire encounter was over in just seconds.   “Your boys do good work,” Stormfeather observed.   Shining nodded.  “Amazing how much pent-up aggression you accumulate while waiting for something to happen.”   They loaded the incapacitated Anchor into the wagon and hauled him to the police station.  Once he was in custody, Shining told his Guards to go back to the ship and take a break.  They’d earned it.   “We’ve only arrested him for theft, but I think I can wrangle some interrogation time,” Stormfeather said.   Shining regretted sending Soft on another assignment, but decided she could work her magic if he and Stormfeather couldn’t conduct an effective interrogation.   The two of them entered the room where Anchor sat wearing cuffs.  The shackled griffon eyed the armored Guard.  “Who’re you?”   “I’m here to ask you a few questions about your friend Gilgamesh,” Shining said, ignoring his question.  “What do you know about Gil?”   “Nothing.”   “Really?  We heard that you hung out with him quite a bit.  We heard that you’re pirates.”   Anchor looked away.  “Gilgamesh is an idiot.”   “No argument from me,” Shining said.  “Are you going to let him drag you down into this?”   “What, are you offering some kind of deal?” Anchor asked.   “Why don’t you tell us what you know and we’ll talk about what it’s worth to us?” Stormfeather suggested.   “Do you know Gaston?” Shining asked.   Anchor’s head bobbed.  “Yeah.”   “What does he do?”   “Not sure what he does, but he’s kind of important.  He might even be one of the three Lieutenants.”   “Who are they?”   “They work for Hookbeak.   He’s the top guy.”   “Do you know anything about Hookbeak?”   “No.”   “Do you know who the other Lieutenants are?”   “No.”   “Do you know anything about a griffon with a scar on his shoulder?”   “No.”   Shining concealed his exasperation.  “Let’s go back to Gaston.  Do you know what he looks like?  Where he lives?”   “He’s got a red head, grey body, and blue eyes.  I don’t know where you can find him.  He always came to me.”   “Where did he meet you?”   “At my house.”   “What times or dates?”   “It was random.”   Shining frowned inwardly.  He could devote resources to watching Anchor’s house, but if it truly was random then that might be futile.  On top of that, there was no way to guarantee that anything Anchor was saying was true.  Still, anything was better than nothing.   Shining asked, “What do you know about corn?  Why was Gilgamesh trying to sell it?”   “Well, it’s something everybody needs, right?”  Anchor frowned.  “Gil was trying to sell it?  He wasn’t supposed to.  He was supposed to hang on to it.  But then, he’s an idiot.”   “Why was he supposed to hold on to it?”   Anchored shrugged.  “That’s what Gaston said.  I get paid to do what I’m told and not ask questions.  Now, what were you saying about this deal?”   It soon became clear that they weren’t going to get anything else out of Anchor without a promise of immunity, and Stormfeather wasn’t sure the police would be interested in granting that for this particular crook.   Shining headed back to the ship.  He stripped out of his armor and took a shower.  He was just drying off when Mag, Dim, Soft, and Báistí returned.  They had uncovered something very interesting.   “We visited the property that Gaston lists as his address and examined it thoroughly.  There is a small shed on premises with a lock on the door.  It is concealed by a few trees which is probably why it wasn’t spotted from the air last night.”  Mag paused, knowing the important bit was coming up.  “After leaving, we stopped by the courthouse to check for sale deeds.  The property was previously owned by Gudgeon, the mayor.”   Looking worried, Báistí added, “I didn’t know about this.  But could it be just a coincidence?”   “We’ll have to figure that out,” Shining replied noncommittally.  He turned back to his intelligence staff.  “Anything else?”   “I took some soil tests, although I don’t know if it’s worth the effort to process them,” said Dim.   “We saw a pegasus stallion checking us out,” Soft provided.  “I don’t know if he was just curious, or knows something about the property.”   “I think I might know who it was,” added Báistí.  She gestured to the map on the wall.  “He lives near Gaston’s property.”   Shining thought over the evidence, trying to decide where the strongest lead lay.  “All right, I think I know what we need to do next.”