//------------------------------// // 3. This Place is Death // Story: Planet Hell: The Redemption of Harmony // by solocitizen //------------------------------// Planet Hell Solocitizen 3. This Place is Death 12th of Planting Season, 10,056 AC Present Day A squadron of dropships screeched toward the chasm in a tight formation. Their hulls skimmed the land below, and their massive fusion engines left the soil shaken and marred in their wake. One dropship broke from the group and veered to the right as they neared the chasm, while the other four plunged into the ruins just beyond the edge. Thunder Gale watched the edge long after the black and red ships had vanished. “Helios, this is Timberwolf,” said Lt. Cloud Twist over the radio. “We are beginning our descent into the complex and initiating search and rescue operations.” “Keep an eye on your squads’ rad levels, Timberwolf.” Thunder Gale angled his microphone closer to his mouth. “If anypony starts clicking into the yellow, I want you to pull your troops out of there immediately. Good hunting, Timberwolf, and stay safe.” “Aye-aye, Major.” Thunder Gale turned his attention back to the datapad resting in his lap. He tapped his hoof on the screen and continued playing. “…this entire project has spiraled out of control. So much is hopelessly wrong; I didn’t know monsters were real until today.” An image of an earth pony in a lab coat flickered across the screen in disjointed pixels, but the audio was clear. Thunder Gale had studied and dissected the recording fanatically over the last several weeks, but he still had a lot of trouble believing it was Hill Born. His gravelly voice, the dried blood staining his green coat, and his desperate expression didn’t belong to the Hill Born he remembered. “I’m taking a huge risk by sending you this message, but I don’t see any other choice. I need your help. Go to the third planet in the Azrael system and bring an army. Listen carefully – wait, something is coming.” At that, the screen went dark. The datapad asked the question: “Play again?” He tapped the screen and ran the recording, again. Breeze Heart, who had quietly watched him from the next seat over, reached for his hoof. He acted like he didn’t see it, and she settled for a place between his shoulder blades. “This was sent quite a while ago, do you think he’s still here? What if he got off the planet by now? I’m not trying to suggest we give up the search, but I have to ask, what makes you so sure we’re going to find him?” “I know we are.” Thunder Gale tucked the datapad away, pulled his crash harness taut against his officer’s cuirass, and focused his attention straight ahead. “We aren’t leaving this rock until we do.” The dropship touched down several hundred feet away from a brick-shaped building nestled in the shade of a communications disk. Thunder Gale popped opened the door and darted out, and Breeze Heart followed. Outside, the thrusters called up a storm of sand and dust. It clung to his blue-grey coat and rubbed against his skin, irritating him to no end, and staining him brown. Thunder Gale squinted and studied the nearby building. Its white paint was blasted yellow and brown from constant exposure to the sun and sand. “Sir, you sure that you don’t want us to accompany you inside?” asked one of the marines. She tapped the console on her forehoof and her jump systems buzzed to life. “No, we can’t risk scaring this guy,” Thunder Gale said to her. “Stay here with your squad and protect the dropship. Keep both eyes open.” “Yes, sir!” Thunder Gale shot her a nod and turned toward the building, and sneezed once he had his back to her. He sniffled and wiped his itching nose with his hoof. Breeze Heart adjusted her saddlebags and cantered up along side him, and together they approached the building. “She seems a bit jumpy, more than usual, at least,” said Breeze Heart. “Is it just me or has the crew been on edge since we got here?” “We’ve been on this planet for less than a day, they need some time to adjust.” “That’s kind of my point. We’ve been here a few hours and we’ve had two major crises.” “As soon as we find what we’re looking for, we’ll leave.” He glanced at her from the corners of his eyes. “Okay?” Breeze Heart stopped in her tracks. He took a few steps ahead before turning around to face her. She tucked a stray lock into her hair band, and stared at her hooves before making eye contact with him. He stared right on back. “And what if we can’t find him?” she asked. “Everypony on the Spitfire would follow you to the ends of the galaxy, but if we can’t find what you’re looking for, we’re going to turn back before we get that far, correct?” Thunder Gale stepped closer to Breeze Heart. “Most of the crew is working on repairs as we speak, we’ll be able to fly again soon. If the situation is beyond our ability to help then we’ll leave. But right now, we don’t even know what happened. If he and everypony else is dead, then I’ll call off the search, but I’m not giving up until I know that for certain. “Look.” He paused for a moment, let himself cool down a little, and continued. “I understand if you don’t want to be here, and frankly, I think I’d be a lot more comfortable knowing our doctor was safe aboard the Spitfire.” “That’s not what I meant.” Breeze Heart’s eyes widened and she put out a hoof as if to stop him. “I want to be here and doing this with you. I’d much prefer our work to take us to a beach with some palms, but still this is better than nothing at all, so I want to try to make the most of it. You’ll need somepony with a gentle touch and impeccable bedside manner for this next part, so let me help you.” In truth, he knew what he wanted to say but not how to say it. So, instead of saying anything, he said nothing at all. She reached out for his hoof again, but she found herself pawing at the ground. “I’m worried about you. You sure you don’t want to, you know, maybe talk about what’s been happening?” “Yeah, I’m fine.” He forced a smile. “Trust me on that.” “I’m sorry, but why am I getting the feeling I’m not the only one you’re trying to convince?” A few of the marines caught ear of them, and as a result the formation around the dropship had relaxed. The entire squad was watching Thunder Gale and Breeze Heart. “Look, we shouldn’t be having his conversation here,” he said. “Later, okay?” “Sure. Later.” A pair of green eyes peered at them from out of a crack in a boarded up window on the second floor. Thunder Gale glanced in their direction, and they retreated out of sight. He inched up to the front door with Breeze Heart by his side and knocked twice. Before he had the opportunity to knock a third time, the door flung open and there stood an earth pony that was nothing less than a cross between a workhorse and a tank. He wore a jumpsuit stained in sweet and grease, and a nametag that labeled him as an engineer. “Hello, I'm Major Thunder Gale of the Spitfire.” He held out his hoof. “I take it you’re Chain Gleaming?” “And I’m Doctor Breeze Heart.” She put on a warm expression. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He looked Thunder Gale and Breeze Heart up and down with a wild set of eyes, and then glanced over their heads at the dropship. Thunder Gale and Breeze Heart tried their best to stay as pleasant and friendly as possible. The earth pony reached for something on his side of the threshold and aimed his eyes back at them. As he moved his muscles flexed and his jumpsuit threatened to burst under the strain. “Pegasus Military?” he asked. “The colors you wear do not match the banner I remember.” “No, we’re not in any way affiliated with The Imperial Military or The Empire.” Thunder fought back the urge to enunciate slower and louder. “We’re with the Manticore Mercenary Company. A friend of mine sent out a distress signal from this planet about three weeks ago and we came to help.” The earth pony lowered his hoof and stared right at Thunder Gale without breaking eye contact. He scratched at his scraggy beard. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to examine you for radiation exposure.” Breeze Heart took a step toward him with her warm smile still very much intact. “If you’ve been exposed to high levels of radiation, it’s important to get you started on treatment right away. May we enter?” “Very well, please enter.” The earth pony backed out of the doorway to let them in. “And yes, if you are not Imperial then you have found Chain Gleaming.” Heart Breeze ducked in right behind him and Thunder Gale followed after. It was dark inside. The only light came from half-dead holograms and what little natural light filtered in through the boarded up windows. The scent of decaying food and unwashed stallion was strong enough to force the slightest cringe out of Thunder Gale. If the smell affected Breeze Heart at all, she tolerated it without letting it show. It was hot in there, and humid, too. It made Thunder Gale feel trapped in his leather cuirass and squelched between the walls. The room they were standing in used to be a lobby, complete with a wall of mailboxes and a waiting area, but the couches were stacked against the windows and the table was turned over and positioned strategically to corral invaders into a bottleneck. Waving his hoof forward, Chain Gleaming led them deeper into the building toward a common room near the back. Along the way Thunder Gale counted at least ten private dorms, all of which were unlit and empty. The common room was the only room that hadn’t been looted or fortified. The long windows along the walls were boarded up, but the couches and furniture were arranged around a coffee table and a holoscreen in feigned normalcy. Bookshelves lined the wall to the left, and to the right a small kitchen pumped out light and the smells and sounds of brewing coffee. “Please, take your spot.” Chain Gleaming gestured at the couches. In silence, a cat crept out from a doorway across the room. Its fluffy white fur was tarnished with soot and dirt and three slash marks cut through its right ear. It watched Thunder Gale with green eyes, and he stared back at it. “Tck, Tck, Amâtst wauntea choa.” Chain Gleaming crouched low at the cat, and glanced up at two pegasi. “This is my cat. Her name is Amâtst, which means Amethyst in Standard. After Rarity’s cat I named her. The folk legend, do you know her?” “I’m afraid I never heard it before,” said Breeze Heart, “But it’s a beautiful name and she’s a beautiful cat.” The cat held perfectly still and eyed Chain Gleaming, ready to lunge away at the slightest sign of danger. He clicked his tongue, and the cat darted out of the room. Chain Gleaming lay down on the couch closest to the holoscreen and tucked his legs underneath his body. A fan hummed overhead but did little more than churn the hot air. Heart Breeze shrugged her medical kit off onto the coffee table and started a rummaging a hoof through it. She retrieved an empty syringe and a disinfectant wipe and set them out on a clear spot on the table. “You know, I’ve never heard an accent like yours before.” Thunder Gale plopped himself down on the couch across from him. “If you don’t mind me asking, where were you from originally?” “I was born on the Trosche Colony,” said Chain Gleaming. “I didn’t learn to speak Standard until I was a young stallion and I avoid its use when possible.” He glanced at Heart Breeze and her kit and shook a hoof in her direction. “Please, doctor, no tests for my blood.” “I need a small one to check your exposure levels,” she said. “There is no nuclear exposure here. Or at least not in any amount that can cause harm. I know. I maintain the communications array. No matter how slight, it always gets problematic during such events.” “We had just assumed that there was a reactor meltdown or a nuclear detonation.” Thunder Gale squirmed in his spot and leaned forward with his ears perked up and listening intently. “What happened here, exactly?” Chain Gleaming’s eyes drifted to empty space above his holoscreen. He mouthed words silently to himself. Thunder Gale and Heart Breeze both watched him intently. A fly buzzed next to Thunder’s ear, and he shooed it away without letting his focus slip. Finally, Chain Gleaming shook himself out of his trance and sat up on the couch. “This was a research facility for Sigil Tech Industries, and they are the ones who produce everything from FTL ships to candy bars,” he said. “You’d think if they were making FTL drives they’d be a little more famous.” Breeze Heart closed her medical kit and edged around the side of the table toward Chain Gleaming. “How come I’ve never heard of them before?” “You do not understand.” He shook his head. “They own everypony who makes FTL ships. They are all child companies of Sigil Tech. This research facility was part of their competitive advantage. They conducted research here no pony thought to conduct or was willing to risk.” Thunder Gale’s heart beat quicker, and his thoughts returned to the statue he found half buried in the dust. Sweat started building underneath his coat, and his glued his cuirass to his flesh. Heart Breeze notices the change in Thunder Gale, and she shot a worried glance at him. “Did this research some how involve hairless ape creatures?” Chain Gleaming snapped around at Thunder Gale. “How do you know of them?” “I woke up next to a statue of one.” Thunder Gale glanced at Breeze Heart; he had her full attention. He turned back to him and asked, “Were those ape creatures responsible for the disaster here?” Chain Gleaming crossed and his tail wrapped around his legs. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak. “No, the ape creatures came to this planet before Sigil Tech,” he said. “I don’t know much about them other then they called themselves humans and all that remains of them are their machines. They were dead before anypony else arrived. “Sigil Tech imported their own demise. Here they brought horrors from all over the galaxy for study. They were the very same material out of which little foals’ nightmares are made. The prisoners got out, and the scientists detonated a neutron bomb that killed every living thing in one hundred kilometers. I was in orbit making repairs to the commutations satellite when it was detonated, luckily.” Over the last several years Thunder Gale had seen Breeze Heart at her fiercest and at her most vulnerable, and he had watched her experience inconsolable rage and utter bliss, and she knew him likewise. Her tail swatted at a fly, then she paused, and nothing short of absolute terror spread over her face. She listened to Chain Gleaming and Thunder Gale, and hid her fear in feigned sympathy. Only her front hoof, which was poised above the floor prepared to bolt, and her tense posture betrayed her nerves. “So how did Amethyst survive a neutron blast?” “She came with me,” he said. “Along with food and water for several weeks. Always do I travel prepared.” Breeze Heart’s shoulders were bunched up and her hind leg tapped against the floor. She nodded her head and tried to hide the fear in her face. The fan kept humming away overhead, and sweat kept dribbling down Thunder Gale’s temples and pooling up beneath his uniform. “I am assuming that you are here to provide me rescue, yes?” Chain Gleaming leapt off the couch and clapped his front hooves together. “I suggest you take me back your ship and we leave immediately. Sigil Tech and their monsters may all be dead, but a devil still walks the hills at night and I do not want to be here when he comes to knock on my door.” He raised a hoof and held his head high. “But you are guests in my home and I must provide you with hot tea first. As I understand it, that is custom in the Pegasus Empire.” With that, Chain Gleaming cantered into the kitchen and started rooting through the cabinets for a teapot. Breeze Heart snuck next to Thunder Gale while he sat there thinking, gave his shoulder a quick tap, and whispered in his ear: “I’m going to find the restroom.” “Okay.” She trotted off down the hallway and took her medical bag with her. Thunder Gale scooted off the couch and followed Chain Gleaming to the countertop island between the living room and the kitchen. A fly buzzed by his ear and landed on Thunder Gale’s flank. He swatted at it with his tail, but the pest relocated further up his body. He resigned to ignoring it and leaned up on the countertop. “I’m sorry, I can’t believe that they’re all dead.” He shook his head. “Something teleported me off the bridge of my ship down to the planet’s surface. Unless you have a transmat hidden somewhere, there must be somepony left on this planet and I’m not about to leave them behind.” The sound of pots and pans clanking together died, and Chain Gleaming stood up with his front hooves propped on the countertop between him and Thunder Gale. “I regret, but I tell you that whoever you’re searching for is dead as trees that once grew here and the cities we stand upon,” said Chain Gleaming. “This place is death, and whatever forces conspired to bring you here, they did so for you to die." Thunder Gale lowered himself onto a stool beside the countertop and stared at the wall. A fly landed on him and he shooed it away. “I can’t accept that.” He cranked his head around at Chain Gleaming. “Not until I know for sure.” “I had better get the tea started.” Chain Gleaming pushed himself off and descended behind the countertop and out of sight. Thunder Gale’s radio chirped. He tapped the earpiece with his hoof. “Major, sir, this is Timberwolf,” said Lt. Cloud. “Are you alone?” “No, but I can be.” Thunder Gale hopped off the stool onto all fours and glanced around for a secure place to talk. “Standby, Timberwolf.” He excused himself, and without pulling his head out from the cabinet Chain Gleaming pointed him to a room off the side of the kitchen. Thunder Gale trotted into the other room and shut the door behind him. Right away he knew he wasn’t alone. None of the clatter from the kitchen bled through the door, and nothing stirred the dust clinging to the shelves and workbenches and the eviscerated computer scraps they held. The only source of light came from a holographic projector at the other end of the room, and it was stuck on a blue error screen. But the hairs on the back of his neck tingled as if somepony were watching him. That alone gave him reason to keep his guard up. “Go ahead, Timberwolf.” Thunder Gale tapped his radio again. “It’s not ideal, but this end is about as secure as it’s going to get.” “We’ve explored several of the buildings and we haven’t found any sign of survivors.” Lt. Cloud fought to keep his voice heard above the drumming of steel hooves on metal. “As far as we can tell we’re completely alone out here.” “So what have you found, exactly?” Thunder Gale swept the dust off the casing from a server’s casing with his tail, and uncovered a Sigil Tech logo, the heart over the shield. “I figured this was strictly need to know. I don’t know if I overstepped over my authority on that one, because I really wasn’t trying to or anything.” “Lieutenant,” Thunder Gale said. “Sorry.” He spoke in between breaths and huffed every other. “We’ve found one of Sigil Tech’s research stations, and sir, there’s an armory here full of weapons unlike anything I’ve ever seen. What’s more, these buildings weren’t constructed with equines in mind. The hallways are too narrow to turn around, and the stairs are spaced way too close together. The building is fighting us each step of the way.” “Any idea where those weapons came from?” “No, sir. All I know is no pony in their right mind would put together stairs like this. I bet the guns belong to whatever put this place together.” White light flickered across the walls and over the computer parts. Adrenaline pulsed through Thunder Gale and he whirled around to confront the source of the light on reflex. Floating on the far wall, directly above the holographic projector in white letters, was his name. “Secure the lab and hunker down. Helios out.” He tapped his earpiece again and cut the channel. He backed toward the door and cracked it open just enough to poked his head out and keep an eye on the projector. “Excuse me, one of your projectors just turned on all by itself,” he said. Chain Gleaming stopped rustling through his cabinets long enough to answer him. “That is a terminal for MIRAGE, the last of our AI computers,” he said. “We were attacked on our systems after we arrived. If you know what I mean, she’s one can short of a six pack now, but somehow she survived.” Chain Gleaming laughed from his belly. “She calls her name Urizen now and is insane. Ignore her. She lies.” “Thank you.” Thunder Gale crept back into the room. “Just wanted to make sure nothing was up.” He shut the door behind him and inched up to the projector. As he approached the projector, the floating letters blinked out and were replaced by an image of Chain Gleaming, and the sound of his heavy accent. He was sitting at a desk, clean-shaven, and in a fresh jumpsuit. “Today is the thirty-first of Planting Season, 10,053 years After the fall of Celestia,” said Chain Gleaming’s recording. “Informed me my supervisor has that I must keep a personal log as part of the company’s policy. The idea of a daily log I don’t like, but I can put anything on it that pleases me, or so they tell me. So here is my cat, Opal. I took her name from one of Rarity’s cats. I will talk about her for the next hour.” “He got the name wrong,” Thunder Gale whispered to himself. Thunder Gale’s eyes widened and his ears pivoted all the way forward. He glanced over his shoulder at the door to double check it was shut, and then stepped closer to the hologram. “Up, up, up!” Chain Gleaming dropped out of sight beneath his desk, and emerged from under a few seconds later with a small kitten in his hooves. “In system we arrived and the stress of travel tolled too greatly on my Amethyst’s heart and she died. Summer Sky’s cat had a litter of kittens and I was able to adopt, luckily.” The cat purred in his hooves and rubbed her head on his jumpsuit, and he giggled with joy, and that was when the hologram cut off and left him alone in the dark with a mind racing with the horrid implications of what he had just seen. The first was that the pony in the kitchen wasn’t the real Chain Gleaming, and the second was that Breeze Heart was still alone with him. He burst into the kitchen as a flash and boom. His wings were unfurled, his teeth bared, and his body bent low in a combat stance. As he cleared his corners, he spotted Breeze Heart lying on a couch with her legs and hooves tucked under her. “Listen, Chain isn’t who he says he his.” Thunder Gale galloped up to her after sparing a few glances to make sure they were alone. “He’s an imposter, and a damn good one.” A quick tap at his earpiece called up the marines outside. They were chattering and throwing slight jabs at each other as bored soldiers typically do. “Break-break,” he said. That got them to shut up in a hurry. “Siren, this is Helios. Get ready to move in on the building on my signal.” “I know.” Breeze Heart put a hoof on his leg and slowly eased it back to the floor. “Flies can’t survive a neutron blast any more than a pony can. At least, not at that intensity.” “You knew?” His wings dropped a little. “Why didn’t you say anything?” “Well, I wasn’t sure if you’d believe me, or how you’d react even if you did.” She sat up on her hindquarters and glanced down the hallway leading to the exit. “He’ll be back any second. He just left to dig up some teacups. Anyway, I’m trying to keep it together here and stay quiet because I’m not convinced he’s alone. He said that a bunch of prisoners got loose, as in more than one. Maybe even a whole lot more than just one.” “Standby, Siren,” he said into the microphone by his face. “Wait for my signal. Helios out.” “Wilco, Helios,” replied the squad leader. “Just say the word and we’ll charge in. Siren out.” Thunder Gale glanced over his shoulder and down the hallway. No sign of him, at least not yet. “We’re going to have to do this as quietly and as quickly as possible,” he said. “Do you have anything that can knock him out?” With a flex of her wing, Breeze Heart revealed the pink side of her chest, and a small super-osmosis patch tucked in between her feathers. She folded her wing up again and the patch disappeared. “I loaded it with enough sedative to knock out three stallions,” she said. Right then, a set of hoof steps clipped and clopped up the hallway. Thunder Gale rushed over to a chair and sat himself down on his haunches. Breeze Heart lay back down, adjusted her wings, and tried to look anything other than terrified. A few seconds later the pony who called himself Chain Gleaming came cantering into the common area holding a tray of teacups in his mouth. He set it down, and hurried into the kitchen for his kettle. Thunder Gale and Breeze Heart eyed each other from across the coffee table. “If I am seeming hurried you must forgive me,” Chain Gleaming said. “I know the tea ritual is one best enjoyed slowly, but I am eager to depart.” He cantered back to the coffee table carrying the kettle in his mouth. He filled each of the little teacups and sat down across from Thunder Gale. “Don’t hold your breath,” said Thunder Gale. “We still need to finish our search and rescue operations.” “This friend of yours means a lot to you, I understand that, but I can assure you that there is nothing more. Sigil Tech and their prisoners are dead entirely.” Leaning as far forward as possible, Thunder Gale looked him right in the eye. Breeze Heart watched them without moving. “For the sake of the prisoners, I hope you’re right,” Thunder Gale said. “Hill Born was my best friend. If he really is dead and if I find any of those monsters are still alive, I will kill every single last one of them.” Chain Gleaming met Thunder Gale’s glare long enough to take a gulp down of his tea, and sit back in his chair. The hairs on the back of Thunder’s neck stood up, and his mane tingled. There was a slight heaviness weighing down on him now, and with that heaviness came a hum of static and a slight sensation of pins and needles all over his body. Breeze Heart felt it too; he could tell by how she retreated into the couch. Instead of shying away, Thunder Gale held eye contact and said: “Starting with the sorry shit who murdered my friend.” The pins and needles running over Thunder Gale stung, but he caught himself from flinching. After taking a moment to sip at his tea, and set it down on the table, Chain Gleaming leaned forward as if to meet Thunder Gale and said in a voice too sly and clean to belong to him: “This sure is escalating quickly. Let’s just drop the pretense and skip to the inevitable conclusion of this encounter, shall we?” Green fire flared behind Chain Gleaming’s eyes. The coffee table burst into a cloud of splinters, metal, and shards of porcelain. The boom shook the foundations of the house and sent the pegasi sailing out of their seats and skidding onto the floor. Thunder Gale’s ears were ringing. He raised a hoof to shield his eyes. In an instant Chain Gleaming was on top of him and reared up with his front hooves poised to strike. The first stomp forced the air from his lungs, the second drove and ground his soft belly into the floor, but the third never came. Thunder Gale coughed, gasped for breath, and clenched his stomach. There, standing next to Chain Gleaming on her hind legs, was Breeze Heart. She held a super-osmosis patch against his neck until it stuck and skirted away. For a moment Chain Gleaming stood upright while his front legs dangled at his sides. Then he wobbled and dropped onto his rump. Groaning, Thunder Gale and rolled over onto his hooves. Despite the pain in his chest he whirled around and bucked him right in the mouth. Green blood splattered across the room, and Chain Gleaming crumbled to the floor. Thunder Gale didn’t waste any time tying him up. Breeze watched for a moment until her shock wore off enough to work again, and then finally checked Chain Gleaming’s pulse and collected some of his green blood with a vial from her kit. Once they finished with their prisoner, Thunder Gale ushered Breeze Heart out of the room under his wing. The two galloped out to the dropship and rounded up the squad of marines. But by the time they charged back into the common room to collect Chain Gleaming, he was gone.