//------------------------------// // Building Bridges // Story: Heads and Tails // by Corvo //------------------------------// Lee turned his head to the left, then the right as he stared at himself. It was currently 10:06 PM in Planetary Timezone b-2, the Gryphon Kingdom. He was expected to be in Oldaela by approximately 1pm PTB-2. At the moment, the commander was deciding on exactly what to wear in order to appear a bit more formal, and less combat ready. He’d ditched the powered combat jump suit for his standard semi-formal uniform. It consisted of a pair of black dress pants, belted at his waist with a buckle sporting the USSF emblem. Tucked into the pants was a white dress shirt, and on top of that was his coat, upon which were pinned his many decorations. Lee’s coat had a good number of ribbons pinned onto it. The most prestigious of them being The “Certificate of Exemplary Command Under Pressure”. It was awarded to those who “Demonstrate leadership despite lacking formal training, and are able to exceed expectations during extenuating circumstances.” That ribbon had been awarded to him when he earned the rank of Commander. Unlike older military unit uniforms, similar to the ones when earth was divided into countries, there was no order, or specific location for the ribbons and medals awarded. Rather, the requirement was anywhere but the back, which was considered extremely disrespectful, or shoulders, as decorative buttons, showing branch and rank normally went there. Lee’s choice had been to place the medals on the left side of his chest and the ribbons upon his upper right arm. The Commander slipped on the coat and smiled at himself in the mirror. The coat was modeled after a long suit jacket, and reached to just above his knees. It was a dark black, that matched the pants perfectly. The buttons keeping the coat closed and on his shoulders were a shimmering gold. The shoulder buttons had overlayed on top of them a silver, decorative, USSF emblem similar to the one on his belt. It signified his rank as Commander of the USSF Monarch. Over all, Lee looked rather formal. Turning on his heel, Lee walked towards the armory. Due to his position of leadership on the ship, regulation stated he must be armed at all times with weapons capable of “sufficiently defending one’s self from harm on the target planet.” This regulation had been implemented after some rather brutal ransom situations on 214; where commanders and high ranking officers, who had been invited to peacemaking meetings, had been taken hostage and held at ransom. To prevent this from happening, most commanders had a standard issue SAW aboard the armory of the ship assigned for their use. Lee had selected to take a weapon slightly smaller, in the interest of concealability. Entering the armory, he was greeted by Rifleman Andrew Rich. The rifleman gave a quick salute before addressing Lee, “Commander Lee. Everything is in order for your departure, sir.” Lee cast his gaze towards Rich. He had been assigned as one of the members of the crew to drop him off at the LZ, a clearing a few miles away from the city. He’d taken the time to read up on the rifleman, along with the rest of the crew that would be working with him on this specific mission. His background had been rather odd. He originally had been an operative in John Punch’s OSS squad before John had received the rank of Elite. On the occasion of Punch’s promotion, Rich had stepped back and joined the main military core, selecting to despecialize and join as a standard operator. He seemed to work as designated marksman for his squad due to his vast experience with high powered long range weaponry. He was also certified to fly specialized aircraft and dropships. All in all, he was a very over-certified soldier. “Good to know, rifleman. So, give me the rundown. How will this be done from your end?” “Well, from our end it’s simple. We’ll fly you out to the LZ, and from there we’ll drop you off with the queen. Once you’ve moved out of sight, I’ll be deposited at an overpass overlooking the palace. The ship will be positioned there as well. I’ll be given a rifle, and in the event that anything fishy happens, I’ll step in.” “And by ‘step in’, do you mean you’ll start shooting?” “Yes,” stated Rich flatly. “That doesn’t sound very friendly.” “I’m just doing what needs to be done, sir. Better her life than yours,” replied the rifleman with a rather restrained annoyance to his voice. “I’m not comfortable with whoever made that calculation,” Stated Lee with a frown. Holding out his hand, Lee stated  “Whatever. Alright...I know I need to carry a weapon.Did you get what I asked for?” The rifleman reached to the side and grabbed a combat knife and the case mounted to his belt. Pulling the knife out he handed it to Lee, handle first. The weapon was built as a standard issue blade for the soldiers of the USSF ground corps. It was nearly indestructible. “Alright,” stated the Commander with a bit of excitement lacing his voice.         “Sir...why a knife? I know the whole no visible weapons thing, but wouldn’t a compact pistol work better?” asked Rich eyeing the blade with skepticism.         “I asked for this because it’s scary,” stated Lee, waving the knife around.         “Elaboration would be appreciated, sir.”         “They don’t really understand modern weapons down there. But a knife? Everyone understands knives. Knives are dangerous.” Lee calmly said. “And I’m a crazy space human that showed up in power armor. If I have weapons that can incinerate crossbow bolts as they fly through the air, think of the improvements I’ve made to the simple knife!” shouted the Commander with fabricated awe. “And now, that modified, crazy knife is pointed at...” Lee manipulated the blade so the tip was directed at Rich. “You.”         “Right. This seems like a long shot,” muttered Andrew. His gaze seemed to be more piercing than the tip of the blade pointed at him.         “They told Doctor Ann Sanders that wormhole generators were a long shot too,” stated Lee, “Now look at us.” He made a flourishing gesture down the room. “Trust me. If there’s one thing I know how to do it’s bullshit people. And by that I mean deal with politics.”         ‘So that’s how he landed this job.’ --- Autumn on Earth was an odd time. For the last few weeks, they had simply enjoyed each other's company before the next deployment. On this specific day, they had decided to simply sit on the porch with some coffee. They sat next to each other, on a bench, neither speaking a word. The silence was a welcome and relaxed one. There was no need for words to be exchanged, simply basking in their togetherness slated their need for communication. She had chosen to read a book, one of the old physical books that normally spent time gathering dust on one of the shelves in the study of the house. He was staring out into the forest, and watching leaves as they danced and fluttered to the ground. Feeling a small nudge on his arm he turned towards his wife and raised an eyebrow. “We have to go soon. They’re deploying us.” She stated with a firm but gentle tone. It was almost motherly. “Have you gotten your things together?” Not wanting to fall into a conversation, he simply nodded. “Toothbrush?” the wife asked. “Yes.” replied the husband. She looked up from her book for a moment, and towards her partner. “Clean underwear?” “Yes” was his answer. “Sorry. I get nervous when we they call.” “It’s fine.” The pair sat quietly again, simply enjoying each other's company, and basking in their togetherness. --- “Why me?” asked John to no one in particular. Opening an eye he began scanning the room. He was sitting, or more accurately sleeping, on a landing of the stairs leading to Pinkie Pie’s bedroom. The secluded little area gave him a nice view of Sugarcube Corner’s shop. Rarity and Pinkie were standing behind the counter dispensing various confections to a line of customers that stretched out the door. The crowd was creating a pleasant hum, similar to one you’d find in one of the various coffee shops back home. He could hear the rapid fire chatter as Pinkie spouted, then laughed at a number of jokes her signature jokes. The aroma about the place was also rather inviting. It smelled of pastries and chocolate. Taking a deep breath, John opened his other eye and brought his hands together. Squeezing his fingers, one by one he cracked each knuckle. Yawning, he slowly rose from his sprawled out sitting position, and began slowly walking down the stairs on which he had been resting. As he reached the bottom he heard a whimper from outside the door followed by a loud “Now go to the back of the line where you belong!” Looking at the door in confusion he raised his eyebrows as the entirety of the line quickly shuffled out the door. ‘I wake up and and now this.’ Fluttershy quickly stalked into the store and made her way to the front counter. Deciding to stay out of the way, John hugged the wall, and kept a watchful eye on the pegasus as she conversed with her friends. As they talked, John slowly made his way to the window and peeked outside. A bunch of ponies were milling about, nervously whispering, humans had been rounded up and were sticking unusually close to their caretakers. CRASH John turned his head and his right hand flew to his side, where his sidearm would normally be holstered. Noticing that nothing dangerous had happened, and that he didn’t have a side arm in the first place, he lowered his arm, and turned around. Upon closer observation he noticed that Pinkie was now wearing punch, and the bowl it came in, like a hat. And Fluttershy was walking away with her nose up. ‘Either someone has anger issues, or they aren’t friends anymore.’ Eyebrows furrowing, John slowly walked towards the door, and cut off the pegasus. Rarity’s eyes widened as he walked and she frantically shook her head no, and mouthed the words “stop it!”. ‘Judging from Rarity’s reaction, one point goes to anger issues.’ The Elite pretended to not see her. Standing in front of the door, Punch crossed his arms and waited. Fluttershy, whose eyes were closed and face was adorned with as smug smile, bumped into him. She fell back on her haunches with a small ‘oof’. As she quickly snapped out of her surprize, she looked up at John and bared her teeth. “Hey! What are you doing?” John’s face took on a sly smile.  “Nothing much. How ‘bout you?” “Get out of the way.” “I’m not in your way, you’re in mine. But that aside, did you see Pinkie’s new hat? It looks wonderful on her, don’t you think?” asked Punch gesturing towards the bowl atop the party pony’s head. “Did you give it to her?” She gave a hearty eye roll and said, “It’s not a hat, idiot.” Her voice was laced with annoyance.  “This is why ponies are in charge and not you half apes. Now move!” John raised an eyebrow. ‘Damn, demoted to a half ape! Well this shows that they got their evolutionary biology in line...sort of.’  “Alright then, Butterfly-” “Fluttershy,” “Sorry. Anyway, why don’t yo-” “No. Sorry doesn’t cut it. My name is Fluttershy! Get it right!” “Fluttershy?” said the Elite rather uncertainly. “Good. Now move!” she asserted, taking to the air as to see eye to eye with John. “Move where? Ther-” “When somepony tries to block, show them that you rock!” ‘Egads! I’ve been rhymed at!’ Fluttershy swung her hoof at him. The Elite quickly took a step back, just out of the reach of her hoof. As the hoof swung however, a magical aura encased it, pulling it to a stop mid flight. John hastily slid out of the pathway between the door and Fluttershy, as the aura was released. The pegasus gave a loud “harumph”, and glided out the door. Rarity and Pinkie quickly galloped the door, just to watch Fluttershy violently kick a stallion out of a taxi. ‘I wonder if she’s on medication, because that seemed like a serious case of roid rage to me.’ ---         The tour of the historical wing had finished and Lee had been fascinated. The Gryphons had not censored anything and had fully described the dynamic of the relationship from when the humans had been discovered to the current day. They also described many of the wars and various important historical events that had taken place.         Videte had decided to personally give the tour, and from what Lee had gathered he was being treated to a huge honor, as the queen only gave historical tours to the leaders of other nations, or close personal friends not of the gryphon kingdom.          The Commander was proud to say he was able to view how quickly the times had changed in the city. According to Videte, Humans originally were considered pests, and were hunted as game. Older tribes of Humans were said to break into farming areas set up on the ground and perform well coordinated thefts. Or rather, raids. The thefts would be performed in the dead of night. Two small groups of people, normally running about three people each were the initial team that engaged the farms. The first three man cell would be sent out around dusk to monitor the farms. As soon as the farmers had turned in for the night, the real raid began. The first three man unit would move up and check for guards. In the event that guards were spotted, the cell would wait and watch the cycle, and note post rotation along with any odd quirks about each guard. Habits such as smoking and even approximate meal times were recorded. When the coast was clear the first team would use a bird call like whistle, that would signal the second team to enter, take would they could, and leave. They would move any food collected in that run to a centralized location, and wait for the next signal.  It was said that if a raid team worked for an entire night without a hitch, the six man group would be able to rob over sixteen acres of land.  Human hunting, as it had been called in the older days, had become something of an industry as the raids had gotten worse. Special guards, trained to hear the difference between real birds and humans came into high demand. An entire industry was built around the killing of humans. When Equestria adopted humans as assets to perform busy work in large factories, and generally do the tasks ponies didn’t want to do, the gryphons followed suit.   Humans had begun as slaves. The gryphon crown had ordered the capture of humans looting farms, rather than their killing. When they were captured they would be extensively trained, then sold to the public. Gryphons began noticing some of the better qualities of Humans as time went on, and at one point groups of aristocrats decided to make their right hand men humans. They were considered to be completely obedient and rather reliable when it came to work. On top of that, humans could be disposed of in the event that they didn’t meet expectations, and the repercussions would be far less than if one were to kill a fellow gryphon. Eventually, more gryphons began selecting one human to assist them and slowly but surely a dynamic partnership evolved. Humans became friends, and took a more important role than simple assets. As the partnership evolved, so did laws and ceremonies, until the modern day dynamic of human relationship was formed. A binding of a human and gryphon was a sacred thing, according to the queen. It was never done lightly, and normally only happened between the very closest of friends. A partner was on par with a spouse or child, and it was very common for a human family to be bound to a gryphon family through partnerships. It was common practice for the two families to stay in one home, and as a result, form clans. As Lee followed Videte up the stairs towards the dining hall, he heard her say over her shoulder, “You know, the partnership does add a dynamic to conversation that you should learn.” “Does it? I hope I haven’t offended anyone by skipping out on something.” “Oh I doubt you have. I’ve been doing most of the talking after all.” stated the queen, with a haughty ruffle of her wings. As the pair reached the top of the stairs Lee’s eyebrows shot up. They had entered a massive hallway. The ceiling reached up well overhead, allotting room for flight should one feel the need. The hall was nearly the size of the dropship deck on the Monarch. Gryphons were flying about the hall, others were walking. Humans also were part of the flow. In the air, the Humans rode on the back of gryphons. On the ground they carried loads, and walked about easily sliding between groups of guards or people standing about chatting. Bright sunlight streamed in from the glass on the upper parts of the hall. “This,” said Videte, glee filling her voice, “is the Grand Hall. It is the center of the palace. It functions as a market, a bank and as shelter. At the end of it is my throne room.” “The place is quite...accommodating.” “It’s quite the sight isn’t it?” a slight bit of smugness leaking into her voice. ‘Yeah. They love showing off.’   "Follow me,” stated the queen. "Of course your majesty.” She quickly stalked away, slipping through the crowd. As Lee caught up to her he quickly considered asking to fly out, but decided against it due to the fact that she would more than likely say no and possibly take insult at the suggestion, despite it being more efficient than attempting to navigate through the congested halls. Riding on the back of a gryphon was considered a very big honor. Especially if that gryphon wasn’t your partner. To ask a queen to carry another would be ludicrous. Finally reaching their destination, Lee wasn’t surprised to see a grand pair of double doors, nearly twelve feet high. The guards, who stood in their usual silver armor, opened the door, allowing the pair into the throne room; which was near empty. They quickly closed the door behind them. “You said the Grand Hall was a market? What’s sold there, if you don’t mind my asking?”                  “Anything and everything that’s legal.”         Ruffling her plumage again, the queen slowly walked towards her cushioned throne, assumed the small flight of steps and sat down. Raising a claw she beckoned Lee over, and gestured for him to sit on a small cushion near the bottom of the steps. It was quite common for visting subjects to be seated there when conversing with the queen.         He quickly followed the instructions and then turned his attention toward the queen again.         She was frowning.         “I’m rather surprised. And a bit offended.”         The Commander lowered his head. “Oh? Reason being?” asked Lee. As he stared at the ground, he became acutely aware of just how fast his heart was pounding. Slowly, as his heart rate picked up a knot formed in his stomach. She was offended? Had he done something wrong?         “You came with no guards, no weapons and no armor. Are you not the leader of a nation? What would your people do if you died? Do you really feel you are so far above us that you need not protect yourself?”         The statement came as such a shock that Lee’s breath caught in his throat. His attempt at alluding to trust was taken as an insult.         Selecting to tell the truth, Lee slowly looked up and made eye contact with Videte. “Honestly speaking, they’d simply elect a new Commander and continue operations as usual. It’d most likely be John Punch who replaced me. He’s investigating Equestria at the moment. As for my lack of guards? I thought it would be a symbol of trust.” A small smile graced Videte’s beak. “You are quite the odd one.” “Was that a compliment or an insult?” asked Lee more to himself than anyone else.         “Why it was a compliment of course.” Stated the gryphon with a mocking tone, imitating the one Lee had used during their first meeting.         “Oh...very clever.” Lee drawled with a roll of his eyes. “Well...I’d like to thank you for you time, and showing me the history of your people. I must be on my way.”  “I thank you for your trust, and apologize for misinterpreting your gesture of kindness. But before you go, I wish to provide you with a bit of help.” “Help?” asked Lee “With Equestria.” stated the queen matter of factly. Lee raised his eyebrows then nodded. “I’d really appreciate that, Your majesty.” “In the next few weeks, the bimonthly summit of rulers is coming. It’s a meeting in which rulers of the different nations meet and discuss the ongoings of their homes. It is going to be held in Canterlot this time around. If you would like, you could attend with me.” Lee slowly nodded. “That sounds like a very good idea. We should meet to discuss the details.” “That we should. When would you like to do so?” “If you have time tomorrow evening we could bring you up to the Monarch, and I could gather my advisors to plan thing out, your majesty. Then maybe I could show you the history of my people.” “That sounds agreeable enough, Commander. Although, I should state, that this John Punch, you successor, should be called back for the meeting. It’s imperative he’s there.” Lee nodded. “Very well. Thank you again for the tour, and lesson on history. It was amazing.” Vidette nodded and gave a friendly smile. “I expect the same from you tomorrow. Oh, and commander?” “Yes?” “When coming to the summit, bring guards. It would be disrespectful if you didn’t.” “I’ll keep that in mind.” --- “Have you any idea how dangerous that was? “ The Elite gave a sigh as Rarity began her lecture. “As your caretaker, my job is to ensure that you are safe! And you just recklessly tried to anger Fluttershy! Oh, and poor Fluttershy! Something is wrong with her! Whatever that monster Iron Will has done to her has to be stopped!” ‘Poor her? Wow. Talk about understanding.’ “Honestly John, what possessed you to get in her way after a display like that?” “Look at me, I’m at least three times her size. What’s she going to do? Cute me to death? As for her ‘display’, all she did was spill punch on Pinkie,” replied John nonchalantly. “Yeah she spilled you all over me!” interjected the pink pony from across the room. John looked at Pinkie for a moment and slowly shook his head. “I seriously am unsure if you understand how dangerous that was,” shouted Rarity, recalling the Elite’s attention. “She tried to hit me, Rarity. Knowing her, she was more likely to break her hoof than actually hurt me. You need to calm down. Go take a bubble bath or something.” Rarity shook her head. “You’re like a child. You have to be watched constantly. You’re just lucky I was here. Please, be more careful. I really have my hooves full, and I don’t want to act as a babysitter. This is why I didn’t want you in the first place!” ‘Again with the treating me like a dog.’ “Alright, mother.” “Good,” Stated Rarity, ignoring John’s backhanded acknowledgment. “You know, you really should be more appreciative of those around you. Now, we have to go see Fluttershy. Something is obviously wrong with her.” “Yeah, you’re telling me,” stated John casually. “Excuse me? Was that an insult I just heard?” asked Rarity in a sickeningly sweet false voice. ‘Yes.’  “No.” Turning on quickly, Rarity began marching out of the door. As she left, she gestured for John and Pinkie to follow. The pink pony quickly zipped out the door. John slowly began walking towards the door, and exited the building, closing up the entrance as he left. Turning around he began sauntering towards Rarity and Pinkie. He took care to remain very quiet as he listened to their conversation and concerns about their friend, and as they spoke, John began picking up new information about little Fluttershy through osmosis. According to the pair of ponies walking ahead of him, she was very sweet. She was also easily scared, and had sort of lacked the ability to say no, or be assertive in any form. As they approached the overgrown cottage where Fluttershy lived, Rarity stopped and turned to John. “Johnthan. I need you to put this on.” she gently said, as a white collar engraved with Rarity’s cutie mark flashed into existence.   John stared at the collar for a moment and raised an eyebrow. “Why?” “Traditionally all humans put on warded collars in dangerous and sparsely populated areas. It’s for your own good.” ‘Nope.’ “Okay, give it here.” Rarity levitated the collar to his hand. John then slowly put the collar over his head, and suddenly stopped. “Some privacy please!” Both the girls quickly turned around. John, ensuring both of them were not looking, worked the collar back off and chucked it  into a nearby bush, He then announced “Ready to go!” ---